Holly Jolly Follies

The bet was set and Mercury couldn’t wait to collect her money, wholly confident in where she’d placed her chips. On the surface, the thought of a couple as private and reserved as Mythal and Serilda getting involved in a scene like this made bafflingly little sense. However, there was one giant factor that clued Mercury in to what she believed was an underlying openness and playfulness with them, or at least an otherwise uncharacteristic comfortableness with the lewd and provocative: They were close friends with Ruzatz and Agatha. There was no way that those two couples hung out together without at least some portions of Agatha and Ruzatz’s natures coming out, because Mythal and Serilda just weren’t the type of people not to be themselves. It had been evidenced in the way that Ruzatz had come bursting into the Order’s compound at Serilda’s call, stumbling in half naked and releasing flirtations off the bat, which he surely wouldn’t have done if Serilda was uncomfortable around him. No, Mercury was more than a little certain that the couple would participate.

So when the conversation eventually came around to the dressing pods, with Simon demanding that Vandrad participate to show off his tattoo, that Mercury eagerly awaited for him to explain about the more relaxed dress code. Simon made it more than clear that there was no pressure to do, and even warned them ahead of time that many of the outfits were a bit more on the scandalous side, even if they had been toned down a bit for tonight’s gathering. She and Vandrad both were smirking in anticipation when Serilda laughed her amusement at the family’s antics before stating that she thought dressing up sounded like a good time, and Mythal agreed. “Ha!” Mercury exclaimed in triumph, not even bothering to hide their wager from the people they’d put upon. She held an open hand to Vandrad, palm up, flexing her fingers to gesture for him to hand the money over to her. “Pay up!”

Once the transaction had been completed, with Mercury cackling lightly as she counted the jewel and tucked it away in her clutch, the small group of them walked over to the pods, including Gren who had also elected to play along. She was greatly looking forward to how that would turn out. Giving the older man a playful wink, everyone disappeared into their changing stations. Mercury flipped through the selections merrily, looking for something fun and different from what she’d worn last time. There were a lot of good options but she ultimately kept coming back to the ridiculous sexy bunny selections that had her giggling. Making her choice, she slipped on a pair of nude pantyhose before slipping into the tight fitting, black one piece bodysuit, making sure to adjust herself to be as perky as possible in the strapless attire. She stepped into the sleek black heels that came with the outfit before securing the white cuffs on her wrists and the white collar with the black bow tie around her neck, causing the whole ensemble to look like a sexy female version of a men’s black and white tuxedo. On went the black bunny eared band onto her head, and with one final check in the mirror she was ready to go, snatching the all too exciting prop of a classy, masculine looking cane and stepping out, lamenting only that the outfit hadn’t come with a top hat to complete the look.

When she walked out, Mythal, Gren, and Serilda were already there waiting. The first person she noticed without a doubt was Gren, who had opted for a full blown toga outfit that left his unreasonably muscled chest almost completely bare, and was just barely enough to cover his nethers. There was even a laurel wreath around his head. “Hello Big Daddy,” she cooed, speaking the sentence slowly and enunciating each word with a delighted tone that was ripe with flirtation. It was only insatiable curiosity that pulled her attention away toward Mythal and Serilda. The former was garbed almost like a biker, in a tight black leather pant and tank top combo with a commando halter around his shoulders, a silver chain around his neck and hanging from his belt loops, and black gloves and wristbands. He’d even elected to have a temporary tattoo thrown in the mix in the form of tribal markings down one of his arms. All in all, he looked damn fine, and her lingering gaze betrayed that before she managed to rip it away toward Serilda.

That was when she started laughing. The Voidwalker had also elected to go with one of the bunny outfits, it seemed. “I see you are a woman of class, like me,” Mercury teased with her trademark, shit eating grin, knowing for a fact that class wasn’t exactly one of her strong suits. Serilda’s was more white, causing them to be almost yin and yang with one another, and damn did she look fine. Granted, the Voidwalker was always a smoke show, but she had never worn anything this tight and revealing in front of them before, and Mercury was definitely having some sex thoughts about basically the entire group. The two women laughed together, equally amused at the situation as everyone waited for Vandrad to come out.

“Wait, I’m sorry, I have to ask: Five out of ten chest? That sounds like a story.”

Mercury literally could not help herself. It was such an odd comment for Serilda to have made, once that was clearly a reference to something as Mythal’s face scrunched in confusion before he called Seri out on waiting two years to throw that back in his face. At the request for enlightenment, the Voidwalker turned an adorable shade of bright pink and stammered a bit, which was a first. Serilda was usually so composed even in the worst of times that it was certainly a treat to see her so flustered.

But to her credit, she told the story anyway after a quick nod from Mythal. Mercury was already aware that the engaged couple hadn’t exactly gotten along with one another when they first met, but she had not expected the truth to be so juicy and scandalous. Apparently, they had been bickering and arguing so childishly that Serilda couldn’t even talk about it without her cheeks turning even more red, and in the heat of the moment she’d turned things physical by shoving Mythal after he’d made it clear he didn’t want her touching him. Mercury was soaking the story up with an almost starstruck look in her eyes, utterly captivated by this golden nugget of knowledge about the typically reserved and private couple. It had all culminated with Mythal accidentally copping a feel during the pushing match and dumping water on the noblewoman’s head in an attempt to distract her, only for the anger to flare more after she was more upset about the wasted water, prompting him to accuse her of having a mediocre bosom.

“Please tell me that was the first time you two hooked up,” Mercury begged, dying to know the truth even if it meant prodding into their personal lives. Serilda only blushed deeper and hid her face in her hands in shame and embarrassment, trying not to laugh, while Mythal chuckled and remained equally silent. Though neither confirmed it verbally, there was clearly no denying it. “Ha!” She playfully slapped Vandrad on the shoulder with the back of her hand. “Look at that, we have more in common with them than we even realized. You Ragnos boys sure have a thing for jumping women in the desert after they’ve pissed you off, eh?” Pretty much everyone who knew the two of them knew by now the story of their first foray into sex with one another, if only because Mercury was all too happy to tell anyone that was interested in hearing about it. And anyone who didn’t know -- which was likely only Mythal and Serilda at this point -- would quickly realize the comparison she was making given the way she waggled her eyebrows at the prince with a knowing, teasing look.

Simon joined them then, looking like an angel that she’d very much consider getting on her knees for. Again. He complimented everyone, even pausing to look over Gren a bit more than he would usually give consideration to men before flat out admitting that he could see why Themmy let Gren impregnate her, and that he’d just experienced what it was like to be attracted to his same gender, if only a little. Mercury giggled merrily, before following with the rest of them back to the couches only to find the best surprise ever waiting for her: Santa. The Father of Christmas, looking much the same but without his jacket and now being covered in glitter, took stock of everyone before his gaze fell to Mercury, who was all too happy to give him a little show of her outfit. “Do tell,” she replied to his euphemism, wasting no time in walking right over to him with every intention plopping right back onto his lap and snuggling up.

Before she could get close enough, however, Vandrad prevented her from getting to her desired destination, telling Santa not to waste his breath. Mercury gave the prince a look that was half glare, half pout. “You know, just because I call you daddy doesn’t make you my real dad.” Despite the look on her face, there was a glint of mischief in her eyes that betrayed her good humor. The two men shared a quick exchange about the appropriate placement on his lists for people who attended parties such as this, with Santa explaining that this was clearly meant to be a place of freedom of expression and movement, thus making it good, not naughty. Honestly, he had quite the talent for twisting Vandrad’s words around, almost as much as Mercury herself did, the Silver Wolf mage grinning and giggling with merriment.

They all sat down and enjoyed their drinks and one another’s company for a bit until Themesycia and Victoria arrived, both of them looking sexy and satisfied. After a brief confirmation of what they’d been up to, Themmy got right into thanking everyone for joining the after party before admitting there was a secondary reason why she had hoped they would all come. Mercury’s brows furrowed as the duchess looked at Vandrad, accusing him of purposefully not divulging to anyone that his birthday had just passed. Mercury had really only come to recently understand the tradition of celebrating such occasions, as she had observed how Earthlanders behaved around such times over the near year that she’d been on the planet. However, that was more than enough for her to know that Vandrad had probably kept it from her knowing that she would have used it as an excuse to be a pain in his ass.

But that certainly wasn’t going to stop her from fully playing up the realization now. Mercury breathed in with audibly deep offense, pulling back from Vandrad dramatically and fixing him a stare like he’d just kicked a kitten in front of her. “How dare you,” she all but whispered over the fact that he’d kept this information from her. It was all she’d be able to get out before Themmy cut off the prince’s protest, insisting that she was going to have none of him not celebrating this year. All his life she had tolerated his desire not to celebrate the occasion, but here, tonight, amongst family new and old, and friends he’d never had before, they were going to celebrate whether he liked it or not. The crowd even parted to reveal Bartrand and Ophelia lofting a massive cake that was laden with bright, sparkling candles. A look of panic washed over his face as Vandrad attempted to retreat, and Mercury cackled as Gren physically stopped him by grabbing his shoulders and holding him in place.

She joined in with everyone else in cheering for him to relent, the prince looking around at each person in the area before his gaze finally fell on Mercury, her face split into her trademarked, shit eating grin -- an expression which softened just a hair after she realized that he actually wasn’t actively panicking at that moment but instead seemed rather content with everything. Finally, he sighed and gave in, agreeing to play along if only long enough to deal with his candles and let the cake be passed out. This was the first birthday party she would have ever attended, and she was quite fascinated to learn all the various traditions. One of them was apparently singing as suddenly the entire room burst into the exact same song once Themmy started it. Mercury looked around, amused and captivated and doing her best not to look like she’d never done this before. Hopefully everyone would be too busy focusing on Vandrad to realize that she wasn’t singing. The song ended and Vandrad blew out the candles, causing a cheer to erupt once more through the room before the cake was hauled away to be sliced up.

And in the quick few seconds while everyone had been singing, Mercury had been quite literally wracking her brain to look up more information about birthday parties and what to expect from them. It was another occasion to give gifts, though this time the gifts were only for the person whose birthday it was. And some of those gifts could be quite scandalous depending on who they were from. She was still glaring at him after things had settled down. “I can’t believe you would hide that from me. Me, your very best friend in the whole wide world. If you had just told me from the start I might have only given you a mild hard time, but now your punishment is going to be more moderate to severe. When we get back to Fiore, I’m going to throw you another party and invite so many people just to--”

She cut herself off with a gasp, a devilish little idea materializing out of nowhere to practically slap her in the face. Her lips curled into a mischievous grin. “You know what, no. Forget that. We’re gonna get all the proper celebrations handled right here and now.” Turning to Serilda, she continued. “Can you do that party trick again? Calling Ruzatz? We need to get him and Agatha and Monica here, cause I’ll bet they’re great company for a birthday party.” Without waiting for an answer, she moved right over to addressing Themesycia and the rest of the du wolffs. “Seriously, you all would love these guys. The three of them are all married to each other and they run a literal sex guild. In fact, the Mouvement Sensuel troup is made up entirely by members of their guild, Lusty Titans. Her gaze shifted briefly again, giving Everance and Dudley a knowing grin.

And while most people likely wouldn’t wholly understand her reasons or interest for wanting to invite the trio into the party, there were a few things that would be obvious. Clearly, Mercury had some kind of ulterior aim here, though most likely wouldn’t know what it was except something that clearly was meant to pick on Vandrad in a very specific way. Ever and Dudley likely would have seen the look in her eyes that promised trouble, the type that may even play into their plans to get Mercury and Santa separated from Vandrad long enough to have some fun. But only Vandrad would likely realize the true reason Mercury was doing this: to get Agatha in the room for him. Oh, she could not wait to get the only woman in the world that had managed to turn the gruff prince into a bumbling teenager, ready to put all her attention and focus on the birthday boy.

And thankfully, Themmy was curious and interested enough to allow it. Serilda made a joking comment about how Ruzatz would not let them live down dressing up for this party, which Mythal confirmed, before she called out to the Prime Sin and told him to bring his wives. She had barely finished speaking when the familiar portal opened and out came Ruzatz similarly as before, half covered by a Christmas themed kimono with a trail of lipstick kisses to compliment the tattoos down his body. And, like before, he came right out the gate to lavish flirtations upon the white haired noblewoman and the way she was apparently getting into the habit of calling upon him so needily. Of course, his words stopped when he finally looked around and took in the site, realizing the setting he was in, and gasping. He berated them playfully for cheating on him by attending someone else’s orgy, insisting that they could have just invited them from the start. Ruzatz’s mind continued to run at a mile a minute, jumping from realization and sentence to the next as he noticed the cake and asked about who’s birthday it was before noticing others in the room that he recognized.

Mercury was practically giddy on her toes even as he purred his greeting to her with a flirty wink. “Hey there, handsome!’ He introduced himself to Themesycia, offering a hand to her and praising both her beauty, and the sexiness of everyone in the room. Really, once Ruzatz got talking there was no stopping him, but Mercury loved it. He was so full of life and fun, and it was infectious as far as she was concerned. He explained that his wives would join them as soon as Monica finished Agatha up. Once he was finished hitting on Serilda again, the conversation having come full circle, Mercury caught his attention. “This is the rest of the du Wolff clan, Vandrad’s family. They typically host an after party after their formal celebrations, and I thought it would be fun to bring you three along and introduce you all. I think you’ll get along famously.”

It wouldn’t take longer than another minute or two for the other women to come in. Agatha stepped out gently with Monica beside her, glowing about as much as Themmy had been a few minutes ago, her long red hair tossed a little on her head. She was dressed in a sexy Christmas themed dress with an exceptionally short skirt and off the shoulder sleeves that was designed to resemble Santa’s attire. The look was completed with white fishnet stockings and white knit boot heels that came up to just above her knees. ”Sorry for the delay! Hello everyone, I’m Agatha,” she told everyone, her demeanor as soft and genuine as it had been the first time they’d met her. And like before, the entire room practically halted in its tracks to stare at the woman, who quickly took in her surroundings. “Oh!” she exclaimed in gentle surprise, only just now realizing where Serilda and Mythal were. A small, innocently excited smile spread across her face. “Are you two branching out? Goodness, both of you look so good! You should dress up more for our parties!”

Agatha quickly hurried over and gave Mythal and Serilda both hugs. In the process of doing so, she started seeing other faces she recognized. “Hi, beautiful!” The Hand gave Mercury an embrace as well as a quick compliment before she saw Gren, giving him a little grin. “Well, don’t you look hunky,” she teased, giving him a hug as well as a familiar kiss on the cheek. Moving right along, she didn’t hesitate to prove herself a touchy woman, her amber eyes lighting on the prince with a smile. “Oh, Vandrad, that outfit really compliments you! I love it! It’s good to see you again.” Once more she extended a friendly hug, not really giving Vandrad the chance to say no -- not that he probably would anyway.

And Mercury wouldn’t even wait long enough for the smoke show of a woman to pull back very far. “Don’t forget to wish him a happy birthday!”

Agatha blinked briefly at Mercury before gasping, her attention snapping back to Vandrad as her hands went to her cheeks in surprise. “Oh, happy birthday!!” the Lusty Titan leader exclaimed with a bright smile, giving him another hug that lingered a bit longer and was a bit tighter than the first, paired with a light kiss on his cheek much like she’d given Gren. “Is that why we’re here? Are we celebrating your birthday? Oh, I didn’t even bring a gift! Don’t you worry, I’ll think of something!” It was possible that was a threat of giving him some kind of sexual favor, but frankly she said it with such innocence and purity that one really couldn’t be sure -- and that just made the situation even more delightful for Mercury.

Except she would dare. Mercury absolutely dared, and she wasted no time at all proving that point. Soon enough the trio had arrived, with Agatha and Monica introducing themselves in their various ways. Vandrad managed to compose himself exceptionally well, even complimenting Agatha’s attire and exchanging a hug with her without his face flushing. Of course, that only lasted as long as it took for Mercury to let the other shoe drop, announcing for the newcomers that they were officially celebrating Vandrad’s birthday. Then the Hand was off, her excitement raised enough to hug him all over again and even plant a kiss on his cheek, which had now gone a full shade of pink. She asked if that’s what the party was for, and Vandrad fumbled with his answer to explain that it hadn’t meant to be such a thing, that his mother had sprung it on him.

And then he was cut off by Monica coming right out and slapping him on the ass, voicing her compliments of his backside before also lamenting that they hadn’t had time to come up with a suitable gift. But it seemed the heavily inked woman had quickly caught on to Mercury’s plot, a wicked glint in her eyes as she openly rubbed Agatha’s posterior in front of everyone, reminding the red head about her desire to get to know Vandrad a little more and how this was the perfect opportunity to make good on that. “I couldn’t possibly take him away from all the people that are here to see him…” Agatha voiced humbly, clearly eager to do just that but earnestly not wanting to hog the prince all to herself for his own birthday party. Whether or not she had caught on to some kind of ploy was anyone’s guess.

However, Vandrad himself elected to rise to the challenge, stating in open defiance that he would actually like to get some time to get to know her, and that getting a few moments of alone one on one time with her was exactly what he wanted to do for his birthday. She looked surprised, but not disappointed. “Oh! Well, in that case, I would also love the opportunity to get to know you better.” She smiled up at him brightly, easily slipping her dainty arm inside of his beefy one and hugging herself lightly to the limb as he led them away. Off they went to a booth out of sight of the group, with her sliding in first and the prince sitting beside her. As she settled into her seat, he opened the conversation by asking how she was and remarking at how little they’d gotten to talk before. “I know, I was so disappointed! But, it could hardly be helped. That whole thing turned into a much bigger situation than any of us could have ever prepared for. And there was so much tension and anxiety, even after everything had settled… It just didn’t seem like the appropriate time to steal you for a bit, especially when I knew how much Gren had been looking forward to seeing you himself. It was just better to wait, I think.”

She smiled at him again, shifting her weight on the seat so she could pull her legs up and tuck them beneath her hips, her knees coincidentally brushed up against his thigh. Turning to face him and give him her full attention, she moved on to actually answer his question. “And now, my patience has paid off! I’ve been doing pretty well, all things considered. Running the guild gets crazy, though Ruzatz and Monica handle the bulk of that while I assist them with whatever they need help with. I have my own small business that I run, so that generally keeps me busy during the days. I certainly can’t complain, though. Especially not when I get a handsome gentleman all to myself for a little while.” With a flirty grin, she playfully trailed her fingers briefly down the side of his arm, the act less sensual and more innocent in its coquettishness. Agatha was clearly just the type of person that was fond of physical touch, whether or not that involved sex.

She teased his arm only briefly before pulling back and getting comfortable once more. “What about you? You seem to have recovered just fine since everything with Faera. How have you been adjusting to everything with Gren? I know it was absolutely torturing Mythal and Serilda not to say anything to you at first. They tried so hard to get things worked out. Are you two settling in okay with one another..?” It seemed that she wasn’t afraid to skip right over the small talk and get right to more meaningful conversations, her amber gaze fully invested in the prince as she sought to know him on a deeper level, though not in a fashion that came across as prying. Rather, she seemed genuinely invested in getting past the surface to truly appreciate what made Vandrad tick, to be a listening ear and a source of support and comfort and earnest conversation.

He agreed that their last meeting had been unfortunately tumultuous do to the circumstances, admitting that it wasn’t how he had hoped to meet Gren but there was little he could have done to change any of it. Still, he was grateful to her for being considerate to the bigger things going on at the time, if only for his father’s sake. Agatha flirted with him a bit, trailing her fingers along his arm and picking up immediately on the effect it had on him, which she could sense was something he was struggling with. It didn’t seem like he didn’t want her to touch him. If anything, it was quite the opposite, yet clearly he wasn’t used to such inclinations and wasn’t entirely sure what to make of himself, so she elected not to go too hard on him.

Instead, she asked him about how things had been going with Gren, remarking about how well the prince seemed to have healed. Vandrad explained that healing was a relatively quick process for him due to his magic and his ability to absorb ethernano from the world around him. Agatha was fully invested in his words, interested in quite literally anything he seemed to want to talk about. But it seemed that Vandrad felt he was getting off topic, stopping himself in the middle of his explanation as a slight wave of embarrassment washed over him. To her credit, Agatha simply waited patiently for him to find his bearings again, and she was rewarded by it with a bit of opening up from the man. He answered her question, claiming that things were well, both in general and with Gren. It was simply an odd situation. He hadn’t been raised by his father, so there was an unfortunate disconnect between them, but nothing that stopped them from getting along or enjoying one another’s company. Gren was still his father -- they just didn’t have the typical bond that a man normally would have with his dad after having gone nearly four decades without such a figure in his life. They were simply more friends than anything else.

“That makes sense,” she assured him with a nod of appreciation before he went on, giving his thoughts about Gren being a good man if a bit headstrong like the rest of the family. Agatha laughed lightly, appreciating the comment. “Yes, he is definitely a stubborn one. It’s admirable, really. Poor Monica has been trying so hard to break down that noble barrier of his, and while he certainly teases her a lot he’s remained steadfast in his decision not to engage her, despite how tempted he seems by the idea.”

With a breath to steady himself a bit further, he looked over toward her and commented on how strange it likely was to be randomly invited to places so suddenly, though Ruzatz always seemed eager to see the Voidwalker. Agatha giggled, a soft bubbling sound that was rife with sincere entertainment. “Oh, yes, he is always happy to see Serilda. He has such a big crush on her, and it’s the most adorable thing. The two of them started off so rocky, you see. Serilda was in just an awful place emotionally when they ran into one another, and she just wasn’t in the right space to deal with someone as enthusiastic as he is, you know? Not to mention it didn’t take her long to work out that he is a demon, and at the time she was being cased by Ozorith…” Her voice trailed off a little sadly at the recollection of the things that had happened when they’d first met Serilda, both Ruzatz’ first encounter and Agatha’s. “It didn’t help that he had been trying to help her on a small job and accidentally exposed her to a bit of his magic. For most people, it has a positive effect, but for Serilda… well, she was still struggling with the loss of her first husband. She hadn’t known yet about what kind of man he truly was, and was still grieving his passing, and Ruzatz’ magic accidentally brought back a lot of memories for her…”

She shook her head a little. “He felt so bad about it. It plagued him for weeks. That, and knowing that Ozorith was clearly interested in her for reasons that we hadn’t quite managed to work out for ourselves at the time. He truly is a despicable man.” A vein of anger washed through her as her mind wandered briefly, cutting through her gentler nature to reveal a woman that was certainly capable of more than just being constantly happy and playful all the time. But, it only lasted for a moment before she pressed on, not wanting to give the Prime of Wrath any more of her time or emotions than she needed to. “Anyway, I think Serilda simply found a special place in his heart because of all that. He’s such a sweetheart, always so giving and just wanting everyone around him to be happy and fulfilled. He’s not used to being a source of pain for others, whether purposefully or accidentally. It really struck him, you know? So the fact that she came back later and was willing to look past everything, including her own fears, to give him a second chance… it really meant a lot to him. To both of us, really.”

Once more she graced him with a soft smile. “We’re always more than happy to be spontaneous for our friends, and Serilda and Mythal mean more to us than we ever expected them to.” Vandrad asked about the guild then, remarking upon the knowledge that they were information gatherers and how he might have taken the time to go to them about Gren in the first place had he known about them. “Yes, we do focus most of our efforts on gathering intel and gossip around the continent. Our agents are very effective. Sadly, though, I don’t know that we would have been able to help you. We actually already knew your father, but not by his first name. He introduced himself by his middle name, Ignatio, and it wasn’t until Serilda came and begged our help to save Mythal from Kingdom Darkness that we discovered the connection. Even back then, though, we knew he was working for the Order and that he had to lay low from Faera… so unfortunately, without his permission, we may have had to decline helping you.”

“But thankfully, it seems you didn’t really need us. Mercury hides it well, but she’s as sharp as she is stunning, and from what I understand she helped you quite a bit in getting the information you needed. I wish we could convince her to join us. We extended her an offer and I feel like she wants to take it, but she hasn’t yet, despite how much incentive Monica has been offering her.” She chuckled merrily before turning the tables back on him. “So, tell me more about you. All I really know is that you’re Gren’s son, that you grew up as a noble in Bellum, and that you were once a member of the army here. That, and that Mercury seems to be quite attached to picking on you.” Agatha flashed him a teasing grin. “I’d love to hear about the things you enjoy doing in your free time, or maybe what kind of goals or aspirations you have for yourself… really anything you’d be open to sharing.”

“I’ll bet it does,” Agatha replied, a small smirk on her face as her petite nose scrunched with mischief over the comment of Mercury getting great pleasure out of annoying Vandrad. It was the first true implication of sexual awareness that she had made toward him thus far, teasing him only a little over the obvious nature of his relationship with the Silver Wolf mage. But, it was the only thing she said before listening raptly to his answer to her inquiry. He admitted that primarily he spent his time training, which was no surprise given his bulk. Like father like son, she reasoned fondly, happy to see that they had such a large part of their passions in common. But, he had other pastimes too. Apparently, his exposure to Mercury had opened his interests to the technological world. Now, the lavender haired beauty spent time guiding him in the education of engineering, while he returned the efforts in teaching her how to play the piano.

Outside of that, he mentioned that he hailed from a long line of people that that loved sex and partying, the current setting being more than enough evidence of that. They also enjoyed the political world. These were all things he was sure that Ruzatz and Monica were currently discovering for themselves, and Agatha giggled a little alongside his snort. “Oh yes, I am quite sure they are. The entire group over there is just a delightful little bubble of steadily building arousal right now, even more so than the rest of the room is. I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to locate either of my spouses before the morning.” Continuing in the line of firsts between them, Agatha casually revealed her own empathic abilities without it really seeming to be a very big thing to reveal, almost like she was used to others simply knowing that about her, or at least guesstimating it. Still, it might be a pretty big thing to a man who had been attempting to quell his arousal and flickers of other emotions around her to know that she could absolutely sense each one. And yet, to her credit, she had never once tipped her hand or made any indication that she had noticed anything, even his moment of heightened interest in her during her brief spell of anger.

He went on to address the matter of his personal goals, admitting that he didn’t really have any anymore. The only one he’d had for some time was finding Gren or confirming his deceased status, and now that he had done so the prince was at a bit of a loss as to where to proceed from there. After giving it a small think, he talked a little about his family and how he wasn’t much like them at all, but that he was learning to at least appreciate them. He had grown up in this self same environment of open lust, but had always rejected and distanced himself from it, finding the practices disgusting and honorless. However, age and experience had fostered self growth, and these days he was able to look back upon his younger years to understand that he had simply been hellbent on grasping to negativity and to the anger that resonated in his core. Because of that, he’d never really turned his focus outside of himself to give his family much of a fighting chance for room inside of his heart. Now, he could see how wrong that was, and as such he seemed to think his next goal was to repair the relationships with his relatives and give them the love and respect they deserved from him.

His own soft smile brought a similar one to Agatha’s face. She reached over and took his hand in hers, gently caressing the flesh on his palm in a soothing and encouraging fashion as though it was a common form of physical interaction that the two of them had already done several times a day. “That’s so good, though. I’m happy to hear it. There are so few things as precious as family, and it always breaks my heart when I see relatives that are at odds with one another, that can’t find a way to treat each other with love and respect. It doesn’t seem to me like you necessarily resented or hated them, but… there is still a difference between tolerating one’s family, and truly having a relationship and strong rapport with them. I’m glad for you, and I hope the change is something you find fulfilling.”

Unless he moved to pull away, she would continue to stroke his hand softly with her nails as he inquired more about her, stating his only knowledge pertained to her marital status, her guild, and her beauty. That last part seemed to have slipped out without the prince meaning it to, a slight shade of pink rising to his cheeks as he shook his head and stammered out a slight change topic, asking about her story with Ruzatz. And surprisingly, she blushed a little too at the compliment, showcasing that even a woman as remarkably sexual as herself, who surely had people hitting on her right and left everywhere she went, was still capable of true humility and appreciation of comments regarding her looks. “Thank you, that’s very sweet of you to say,” was her gentle response, electing for once not to overlook the slip up but instead to address it with reassurance that he didn’t need to feel awkward or ashamed in being honest with his thoughts.

Then, she moved right along to answer without lingering on the matter. “Ruzatz and I certainly do have quite a tale. If you had told me a few years back that I would wind up married to one of the seven strongest demons in the universe and his chosen slayer, acting as his Hand and vassal, I probably would have had a lot of questions.” Agatha chuckled a little, shaking her head. “I actually met him through Monica, funny enough. She and I had ran into one another at a tavern where I was working at the time, and hit it off immediately. She was with someone else that night, so we didn’t get to really know one another for a while, but she wasted no time once she was free in tracking me down. We became close friends very quickly, and it didn’t take very long at all for her to admit that she was a slayer, her powers having been bestowed upon her by a demon of lust known as Ruzatz.”

“At the time, I was doing a lot more travel than I do now. I mean, I still travel a great deal, but I didn’t have a static place of business. I was a minstrel and a bard, wandering Earthland with the desire to see and learn as much as I could, plying my trades in music and entertainment in exchange for temporary housing and basic provisions before I’d move on to my next destination. I already lived a very promiscuous lifestyle. Life on the road can get lonely, and I learned to appreciate the beauty and worth of the people I met along the way, and was blessed enough be able to connect with many of them in small ways that assured I was never truly without companionship, whether emotionally or physically. Monica knew that as soon as Ruzatz and I met we would mix like chocolate and peanut butter, and she wasn’t quite ready to share me yet, so amusingly enough she actually went out of her way to not introduce us for quite some time, despite both of our inquiries.”

Agatha grinned a little there, an innocent appreciation for a time long since passed. “So, Ruzatz eventually took it upon himself to find me personally. While I won’t say there was anything as silly as love at first sight, it was definitely a very passionate meeting… though perhaps not quite in the way you’d expect between a demon associated with lust and a woman that had little qualms about sleeping with near strangers. I mean, that certainly happened, too, but not right away. We were surprisingly far more invested on getting to know one another on an emotional level. At the time, he was…” Her voiced trailed off for a moment, a light wave of sadness rippling gently within her, a mirror to the sobered and soft smile on her face. “Well, he wasn’t anything like he is now. He wasn’t very happy or satisfied with his life, mostly just going through the motions and acting in the manner that was expected of him as one of the seven demon kings of hell. He was still kind, of course. His association with lust and passion naturally meant that he wasn’t predisposed to be as heartless or violent as demons are often presumed to be, but he was… stoic. Reserved…”

She searched aloud for the right word before finding it. “Numb. He was… numb. He felt like being a demon, and the lord over an entire realm of other demons, meant that he needed to live in a way that didn’t truly match what he felt in his heart. Like he didn’t have the luxury of having a heart, and true emotions. After we met and started getting closer, he began to question all that. And in turn, I started questioning some of my own insecurities.” Agatha paused again, her mind reflecting on a memory that was still tender for her, the redhead flitting gently with a mixture of sorrow, bittersweetness, and perhaps a bit of what one could consider regret.

“I… actually was a bit scared of commitment, at the time. My childhood sweetheart killed himself after I made the decision to travel rather than make roots where we had been raised, and after that I was terrified of letting anyone in too closely. I wasn’t ready to be in any sort of exclusive relationship, and was intent on maintaining a free, unattached lifestyle that allowed me to connect with others without being held to any expectations. And that was when I met Ramuh. Ramuh is one of the ten Divines; the god of Faith. He took an interest in me immediately for… well, a number of reasons, but what originally caught his attention was that I was able to sense his presence, despite being a mortal. I had never met a god before, and was fascinated by him and humbled by his attention. At first, his visits were only occasional, but… as he spent more time with me, he began to show up more frequently. And that was fine with me. I greatly enjoyed his company.”

“He was… greatly displeased when I met Ruzatz. The two were already enemies, naturally, but… Ramuh had fallen in love with me, and viewed Ruzatz as competition. He became possessive, constantly acting with aggression toward Ruzatz without provocation, and trying to treat me as though I belonged to him, despite the fact that he knew I didn’t want any commitments. I did everything I could to try to be patient with Ramuh, hoping that I could get him to see reason and to understand that I was my own woman, that trying to control me and pick fights with my friends wasn’t something that was going to endear him to me.” She shook her head sadly. “Eventually, I had to sever ties with him. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, and it still hurts, but there’s nothing else I could have done. He had become obsessed, so consumed by his feelings for me that he no longer treated me with the respect and understanding he once did. I still see him from time to time -- it’s impossible to avoid him completely when the world of gods and demons overlaps in so many places. I know he still loves me, and I never stopped caring for him, but.. I still keep him at a distance, for his sake as much as my own.”

“And Ruzatz, well.. He was patient with me. He never once resented my desire for freedom and travel, and actively encouraged and fostered it in any way that he could. He loved every part of who I was, despite my being a mortal, and he waited patiently for me to realize I felt the same way, for me to understand that a commitment with him wouldn’t hinder me from living the kind of life that I had grown to love. Admittedly, it took me a while. He had designated me as his Hand long before I accepted that I was in love with him, but… it worked out eventually, and I’ve never felt so alive, so completed. I just needed time to realize that I didn’t have to be afraid of what I truly wanted, that my fear of one day losing someone I loved shouldn’t stop me from loving them while I had the time, that I could have that kind of long, lasting relationship without having to sacrifice everything that made me… me.”

Her story seemed to resonate with the prince, who didn’t say anything right away after she finished speaking. He hadn’t needed to. She could sense every bit of how familiar the greater strokes of her tale had been to him. Still, after a moment Vandrad did speak up, admitting his own exposure to similar emotional reluctance. He hadn’t seen what good settling down would do for him except to hold him back. It was a believe so resounding an unapologetic that it had bled into the rest of his life and personality, actively keeping people that he would otherwise have learned to care for at bay. Yet it had only been a matter of time before something -- or rather, someone -- had come along and paid no mind to those defense mechanisms, kicking them down and exposing the beating heart that lay hidden beneath. And now, he understood that the right person wouldn’t require him to give up any parts of himself, but rather would foster, encourage, and embrace every facet of him. He claimed it was insufferable, but true nonetheless, drawing a small giggle from Agatha to go along with his snort.

Vandrad admitted that up until that point he had assumed that Ruzatz had been the one between the pair to have come out with the most gained from their relationship, but now he saw it was nothing like that at all. It had been a wholly mutual benefit, with both of them completing the other in ways they had never dreamed of. It was something he was envious of. Agatha smiled softly at him, giving his hand a squeeze. “You have no need to be envious, Vandrad,” she told him gently. “As far as I can tell, you have exactly what you need. It just…” Her voice trailed off for a moment, her amber eyes glancing toward the general direction of the group, the two of them speaking of the same person without outright saying her name. “...needs a little more time to blossom”

Even before developing her empathic abilities, Agatha had always been good at reading others. She saw a lot of herself in Mercury, including the darker parts that the alien tried to keep hidden beneath layers and layers of confidence and bravado. She could see how much the prince meant to Mercury, but she also knew from personal experience that, for one reason or another, the lavender haired beauty wasn’t ready to be there yet. It wasn’t Agatha’s place to speak for Mercury, nor was it her business to interject herself into the complicated machinations of their relationship. However, she absolutely could and would reassure the prince, and encourage him not to abandon his hopes just yet. It did not hurt at all to suggest that the object of his affection simply needed to work things out at her own pace, much like Agatha herself had. He just needed to be patient a little longer, just like Ruzatz had been with Agatha.

After a moment, he decided to switch topics, though it didn’t seem to be coming from a place of discomfort with their current discussion. Rather, he seemed much more relaxed and at ease. Vandrad opened up a line of inquiry regarding the gods and demons, wondering how much she knew about them. He admitted that before everything with Faera he’d been ignorant of the divine hierarchy that existed within their world, and now it felt like he couldn’t stop hearing about them. He wanted to know more. Agatha nodded gently, clearly understanding his curiosity. “I know quite a bit, though not necessarily as much as I’d like to. At least, as far as the Divines are concerned. I know all of their names, and I have met a handful of them, but very few are willing to consort with me due to my status as Ruzatz’s vassal. I have met all of the Prime Sins, of course. They meet regularly to keep in contact with one another.”

She shifted and made herself more comfortable, adjusting her legs so that one was stretched out comfortably over the top of his knee even as she continued to absently stroke his palm. “There are seven Sins, as I’m sure you’ll agree is appropriate. Each of them is powerful enough to be considered what would essentially be demon gods. They are feared and respected even among demons. But, they are not all necessarily equal. There is a… pecking order, I suppose you’d call it. At the bottom is Ilgan, the Sin of Greed. He is a truly awful being.” A small shiver raced down her spine involuntarily at the mere thought of the demon, a feeling of disgust and discomfort rippling through her that betrayed how she found Ilgan to be exceptionally creepy and invasive.

“Above him there is Eraeth, the sin of Sloth. She really isn’t so bad, just dislikes being forced to socialize. Or do anything, really. Then there’s Goroth, the Sin of Gluttony. He’s a bit of a wild card, so to speak. Then there’s Azaur, the sin of Envy. He’s also alright. Ruzatz and I get along with him fairly well. We’ve gone out of our way to spend time with him in the past, and it’s almost always been pleasant. Above him is Xural, the Sin of Pride. She’s… a handful, a lot of the time. Honestly, it’s a bit difficult to really describe her. Then it’s Ruzatz, and Ozorith at the top. Ozorith is the only original Sin. All the others, including Ruzatz, had predecessors that either stepped down or were forced out of their positions in one way or another, but Ozorith has held the role of the Sin of Wrath since the dawn of demon kind.”

Agatha shook her head sadly. “He is not the hot head that one would assume would come with his title. He’s charismatic, even attractive. He’s intelligent, patient, opportunistic, calculating… Out of all the Sins, he is by far the most dangerous. He knows how to cover his tracks, how to read people to manipulate and control them. I feel so bad for Serilda. As strong as she is, she never stood a chance. He had made up his mind on what she would become, and he accomplished it with little more than planting seeds here and there that pushed Serilda closer to him.” Her anger rose again, broken through with sorrow as she continued. “Even I was used in his campaign to whittle her down. Do you remember when Seri talked about confronting Hugo’s ghost, and learning the type of man he truly was?” Agatha looked up at him, briefly giving him a moment to acknowledge that he remember the extremely vulnerable admittance that Serilda had revealed back with the Order of Souls, before the fight with Faera.

“I was the one who summoned his spirit. Ozorith had led her toward the crumbs on a breadtrail that he knew would eventually lead her back to me, and to Ruzatz. I don’t like summoning spirits… it rarely ends well, and even before I went through with it I could sense Serilda’s emotional state. But, it wasn’t my place to tell her that she couldn’t have the opportunity to confront her ex. I watched that man tear her down when she was already in such pain.” She shook her head again. “And now she is bound to him for the foreseeable future. I know it’s not my fault, but… it hurt to be used, like that, you know?”

After a moment, she chuckled sadly. “I’m sorry, I got off topic. As for the Divines, there are ten of them, and they also have their own hierarchy: Iahael of Selflessness, Bilios of Piety, Xuhtia of Patience, Amos of Repose, Zalona of Pacification, Kihlene of Reticence, Orena of Purity, Faera of Love, Kronelia of Truth, and at the top Ramuh of Faith. Unlike the Sins, there is not a single Divine that has had a predecessor. Or at least, not that we’re aware of.” She frowned. “I admit, we’re still a bit perplexed by the revelation that there are actually eleven Divines. Very little is known about Ataxia, the Divine of Entropy. In fact, we haven’t found anything at all about her. The only thing we do know is that Kingdom Darkness was her realm, and that the reason Faera is so corrupt now is because she volunteered to try and keep Kingdom Darkness under control after the Divines and Sins banded together to seal Ataxia away. And the only reason we know that much is because Gren and Victoria saw the memory themselves.”

She would give Vandrad a moment to process all that. Agatha had certainly needed it when she’d first heard the story after Gren had passed along what had happened inside Mythal’s head. Then, she would follow with her conclusion. “Outside of that, the only other things worth knowing is that Sins and Divines both are capable of utilizing chosen mortals in two key ways: Vassals, such as myself and Serilda, and slayers. Each of the Sins mirror seven of the Divines, acting as their antithesis while sharing an element that they control. That is why Ruzatz was able to send Serilda to Kingdom Darkness, once. Lust and Love are two sides of the same coin, and as such Ruzatz and Faera are yin and yang to one another. They both also each control their own versions of darkness. That’s why Mythal and Monica are both darkness slayers. It’s also why Serilda’s slaying magic is frost based, because Ozorith’s element is ice. It doesn’t line up perfectly, as there are more Divines than Sins, but there it is all the same. To tell you more would involve getting into deep conversation about them on individual levels, and I don’t know all of them that well. Some I don’t know at all. Those I do… well, it’s not really my place to talk about it…”

Agatha wasn’t necessarily keen on doing some of them any favors, but there was still something that sat sour to her in talking about people behind their backs. She was an information broker, yes, but she wasn’t a gossip. Even when it came to someone as vile as Ozorith or Ilgan, she preferred to take the higher road and show respect, even if it wasn’t due. “Anyway… I hope that helps answer some of your questions. I’m sure you have more, but I’m probably not the best person to answer them. Ruzatz and Victoria could probably tell you more. I can’t speak for Victoria, but I’m sure there are some things that Ruzatz would be willing to answer. He can’t do or say anything that would be considered a betrayal of the Prime Lords, but… he’s pretty good at treading that line.”

Once the conversation had winded down, Agatha sighed a bit wistfully. “Not that I haven’t enjoyed our time together, because I really have, but… I should probably stop being selfish. There are a lot of people here to see you, after all. And I’m sure we can find more time to see one another. In fact, Ruzatz and I would love to have you and Mercury over for dinner some time. I’m sure he’s already…” Her voice trailed off as her focus once more shifted to the group on the other side of the room, broadening her senses so she could get a better idea of what all of them were up to.

“Huh, that’s weird. I wonder where Mercury went.”

Everything was going according to plan. In fact, it was going better than planned. Monica, the devilishly crafty woman that she was, picked right up on Mercury's game and pushed it further, the two women all but challenging Vandrad to see if he could spend time alone with Agatha without bumbling like a love struck teenager. And in typical Vandrad fashion, the prince gave them an indignant stare before stubbornly stepping up to prove he could overcome the boyish feelings that Agatha gave him, declaring that he would love nothing more than to spend some alone time with the redhead. Mercury was barely stifling her giggle as the pair walked away, and the moment they were out of earshot the laugh finally came sputtering from her lips. “Monica, you are just my flavor of terrible," she told the inked woman, slipping a friendly arm around her waist and praising her for how quickly she'd chipped in to the scheme. “Has anyone introduced you to Santa yet?"

Turning Monica until she was facing the Gren sized man, Mercury revealed the true reason for her game. “You see, poor Chris Kringle here has been locked inside Prince Party Pooper's head for almost the entire month of December, subjected to the ornary man's lack of desire for fun. And now that he is finally free, Vandrad simply refuses to let me reward the man with a good time." Oh, how easily Mercury was always able to spin tales of Vandrad against him, painting him as the bad guy when in reality it was the prince that had been getting harrassed for the last month. At this point, everyone here knew the pair well enough to know that Mercury always twisted situations to fit her needs, if only just to be playful. “But now that he is nice and distracted by your sexy wife, I am free to finally help Santa relax and enjoy the holiday. So Santa darling, you be sure to reward this thoughtful woman with a suitable gift for being so nice, yeah? Same for Ever and Dudley."

Mercury gave Monica a familiar grope on her backside before wandering over to the big guy and once more plopping down on his lap, wrapping an arm around his neck and making herself comfortable. “Once Vandaddy has had a few minutes to get nice and comfortable and drop his guard, though, we should have our window to sneak away." And they surely did. Mercury was content to relax on the big man's lap, teasing him occasionally even as they continued to engage in conversation and cake with everyone else present. When she felt enough time had passed, the Xocili thanked everyone for helping her with her dastardly scheme to get Santa laid before managing to sneak off with him without Vandrad being any the wiser. After only a couple minutes of being gone, and making sure Father Christmas wasn't opposed to it, she had also zipped a message to Gren inviting him to come join, hoping the delay was enough that no one would suspect the real reason he'd walked off for a time.

When she returned with Santa, Gren presumably having returned at his own time, she looked absolutely pleased with herself a she plopped into the seat next to Vandrad, grinning like a cheshire cat that had just gotten away with murder. While she made no mention of Gren for obvious reasons, she didn't bother hiding her success in wrangling some private time with Santa. Vandrad would grumble, surely, but at the end of the day she knew he didn't really care. He'd just be annoyed and impressed that Mercury had managed to pull yet another fast one on him.

But eventually, the night began to wind down and it was time for everyone to make their way to bed, with or without a partner -- though unsurprisingly, there were very few that wound up heading off alone. Santa had been given an appropriate send off as the Naughty King for the night, with Agatha herself being the first to volunteer to spend time with the patron saint up in the naughty booth, more than excited to partake in the du Wolff tradition. One by one -- or well, two by two -- everyone ultimately retired for the night until it qas finally Vandrad and Mercury's time as well. The Silver Wolf mage was well and truly exhausted, but she wasn't quite ready to sleep just yet. First and foremost, she had to take a much needed shower. On top of that, she also still had to figure out a way to give Vandrad the gift she had for him.

She wasn't sure why she was so nervous about it. She'd exchanged practically a dozen gifts thay night, to people she greatly cared for, but for some reason the prospect of presenting Vandrad with his gift was a bit… well, intimidating. Perhaps it was because it was something she had made herself, or maybe it was just because she had an inkling it was going to spark more of the strange feelings that often cropped up around him that she didn't understand or know what to make of. Maybe she was just afraid he wouldn't like or want it, though she knew that was unlikely. But the truth was that this whole gift giving thing was new to her, and she wanted to get it right. Especially with Vandrad.

In her typical way, however, she hid the slight trepodation behind a facade of playful confidence and contentment, blissfully unaware of just how well Vandrad saw through her otherwise flawless charades. Mercury lamented her need to wash off, which was standard issue at this point. Not a day went by that Mercury didn't take a shower, the woman practically obssessed with being clean. She dismissed herself into the bathroom with her pack that had already been put in Vandrad's room, and hopped right into the large facility, not nearly as overwhelmed by its ridiculous size as she had been the first time she'd ever stepped foot in his room. While she didn't necessarily dawdle, she didn't rush through the process either, using the time to try and formulate her plan and approach. Once she was done, she dried her hair and slipped into her chosen pajamas for the night, which was really just a pair of underwear and a thin, long sleeved red shirt.

“So! How'd you enjoy your one on one time with Agatha?" she asked the prince playfully as she walked out of the bathroom, assuming he would be up on the dias by his bed, wrapping up his evening workout. “Did you manage to spread your wings and get a little birthday lov-" She cut herself off with a frown as she realized he wasn't in the room, her emerald gaze panning until she noticed the open doors that she hadn't seen before, leading out to a balcony where the prince was leaning against the railing, staring off into the night sky. Setting her bag down on a table, she wandered slowly out into the cold winter air until she was standing beside him, on the other side of where the little box was sitting. She had noticed it, of course, and had a feeling it was probably her Christmas gift, but rather than ask about it she simply rested her elbows on the railing beside him and gave him look. “You alright..?"

Mercury could only watch in mild confusion as he opened up about the balcony and its purpose that it had served the prince for over the years. It was definitely a strange way to start answering her question, particularly given that a balcony was hardly the most noteworthy topic of conversation. The view had always been great, as he admitted, but it had never meant anything to him because he’d never really been the type to stop and smell the roses. The only thing he’d ever used it for was as a tranquil spot to digest the day and prepare for the next one, but there was little else about it that he’d ever appreciated, least of all the stars in the night sky. As beautiful as it was, the stars were just burning balls of gas billions of miles away that held little to no consequence to his existence. Or at least, that’s how he’d felt before he met her. He admitted that he hadn’t known she wasn’t a human from the start, but he had realized that she was different. She hadn’t cared about his walls and in fact took great pleasure in ignoring and breaking down the stubborn way he had been living his life, forcing him to adapt whether he wanted to or not.

And now, those stars meant a lot to him, because he knew that all this time she had been out there among them. His words were teasing, but his tone was soft and meaningful, causing a lump to form in her throat. She had known this was coming. Well, not this necessarily. Mercury had suspected that there would be some kind of emotional exchange between them that night, she just hadn’t expected him to come out swinging with it. Typically they found those moments accidentally, or more accurately: begrudgingly. They certainly were dodgy at best most of the time, allowing themselves a brief moment to be sincere and even sweet to one another before quickly turning it around and retreating back to more comfortable territory. That wasn’t what was happening here. Vandrad just came right out and opened up about how thankful he was that she was in his life, and Mercury was left speechless, unsure of what to say or do in response.

He told her that he’d never enjoyed a Christmas celebration before, not since long before he could remember. Before his grandmother’s abuse and the day that she and Yuna were killed. Yet, tonight had been a joyful experience with him, even with Santa’s presence. He even went so far as to admit his hope that Mercury gave him a proper send off, if only to put the poor old man out of his misery. Mercury smirked. “Oh, don’t you worry about that,” she said, finally managing to find her voice with the sillier topic. “He had a jolly time, I assure you.”

Thinking that was the end of the subject, she turned to look out into the night herself, her mind churning on how to bring up her gift to him after all that. Her train of thought was interrupted by him speaking up again, remarking upon how well she and Gren seemed to be getting along. Mercury chuckled, not really catching his meaning at first until she turned to say something teasing and stopped at the knowing look in his eye. Immediately she froze, emerald eyes wide as a comical look of mild panic tried to claw its way to her face like she was a child that had just gotten caught stacking chairs on top of one another to reach the cookies on a tall shelf. She opened her mouth to try and deny the claim, but was stopped before she could even begin by the prince raising his hand to quell her protests. He assured her that he wasn’t concerned about it. If anything, he simply thought it was amusing that they had felt the need to hide it.

At the end of the day, he was simply used to the atmosphere of family and friends sleeping around. It was what he grew up with, his normal, whether rightly or wrongly. It didn’t bother him. In fact, it seemed that Themmy had already informed him about the tryst she’d had with Mercury and Simon the first night Mercury had invited herself to the du Wolff manor. Did that mean that the matron had also finally opened up about not being related to Simon and Ever by blood? It had to, since he knew that the three of them had slept together at the same time. Mercury couldn’t possibly envision Themmy admitting to such a liaison without bringing up the truth of their relationship. And frankly, Vandrad had just been impressed that they’d still managed to pull one over on him when he thought he’d been covering all his bases.

But, it didn’t bother him. And honestly, Mercury never truly thought that it would. The only reason she’d never told him was because it was just more fun for her to keep the knowledge to herself and see how much she could get away with before he caught up to her. At the end of the day he was just glad that his family had taken such a shine to her because while they were friendly, they weren’t necessarily easy to trust. The prince looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped himself, shaking his head and expressing how he felt the eggnog was making him silly.

Mercury was silent for a moment, doing her best to collect her thoughts, both the serious and the playful ones. A wry smirk tugged on her lips. “Well, at least I can finally talk about that. Cause boy, let me tell you, Themmy and Simon called my fucking bluff that night.” She chuckled. “If it makes you feel any better, you were this close to keeping it from happening.” Mercury held up her finger with a miniscule distance between them to emphasize and visualize her point. “Their plan was to let Themmy basically play with me for a little while when you were with Dudley and Ever -- they were definitely in on it, too, by the way -- and then I guess Simon was going to use his magic to get some free alone time with me afterward. Except Simon decided to try and sweep the rug out from under your mom’s feet and steal me first. I thought I was real tough shit, daring siblings to sleep with me at the same time. I had to eat my pride real damn fast.”

Laughing lightly, she pulled away from the balcony only to swing her legs over it and perch upon the railing, her bare legs dangling in the open air. “As far as Gren goes…” Her voice trailed off a bit, as she tried to find words for a topic she hadn’t been prepared to talk about. One that she never thought she would get to talk about, for reasons she was about to express. “He was the one who wanted to keep it a secret. In fact, it was his only stipulation when it first happened. He’s still trying to figure himself out, I think. After everything that happened to him. That, and he definitely still feels very strongly for your mother. That’s the biggest reason he hasn’t slept with Monica yet -- she reminds him too much of Themmy. But, it was his desire not to tell anyone, so I agreed to keep it to myself, for his sake.”

“He is a really good man, though. I do like him a lot. He’s charming and thoughtful, very playful… way more observant than he has any right to be. Honestly, he reminds me a lot of you… and not just because of your looks.” A cawing noise drew her attention as Bandit soar lazily toward them from around the building, having found his way outside at some point only to discover them there. The crow landed on the railing between them, hopping lightly on his feet and staring up at Vandrad with sharp, beady black eyes before skipping past the prince to try and peck at the box. Mercury rolled her eyes but said nothing, knowing Vandrad would deal with the pest himself. There was another nervousness bubbling within her, this one stronger than before, as she worked up her courage to speak.

“He knows. That I’m not human.” The words were so soft that he might not have even heard her if they hadn’t been so close together. Mercury’s eyes were on her lap, her toes fidgeting against one another as she brought the sensitive subject up. “I think he knew before I even told him. It took him a few days, but he practically coaxed it out of me. Makes me wonder how many others besides him have figured me out. Given the nature of her magic, I’m assuming it was Serilda that put it together… who knows how many people she’s told.” It wasn’t a bitter or resentful statement. The truth was that Mercury actually did trust Serilda to keep something like that to herself, because the woman had shown quite a number of times that she was a strong supporter of keeping one’s hands to their chests until it was absolutely necessary to tip their hand. That, and she felt that Serilda was respectful enough not to be a gossip. But it wasn’t a stretch to assume that if Serilda had found out, she had probably mentioned it to Mythal, and thus that it had gotten to Gren once they’d revealed Vandrad’s existence to him.

While it was nice to have a couple people that knew and clearly still accepted and trusted her, it also made her feel extremely self conscious. She was supposed to be hiding her true identity, not doing anything to draw attention to herself, but the nature of this world and the types of magic that the people within it possessed made it almost impossible. That, in and of itself, was frustrating. And terrifying. Magic was fascinating, but it also was starting to become really damn inconvenient from time to time.

“Challenge accepted,” Mercury shot back at him when he claimed he would never fool around in a closet. For a moment, her confident, teasing smirk was back on her face, her eyes already dancing in the knowledge of yet another impending victory that she was probably already calculating and planning for.

The crow squawked at Vandrad in annoyance over the box being taken away from him, flapping his wings and hopping in place in indignation and offense that surely did little to cow the prince. Then, with the air of a person that was clearly busying himself with something else because he chose to, and not because Vandrad had robbed him of his point of interest, he settled back down and began preening his feathers. He looked understandably shocked when she revealed that Gren had managed to get the truth of her heritage out of her, but remained silent as she voice some of her thoughts on the subject, and her suspicions that there were more people than she might necessarily be comfortable with knowing about her biology. Or at least, knowing she wasn’t the same as everyone else on the planet that she happened to look like.

Vandrad nodded before finally chiming in, agreeing that between Victoria and Serilda’s affinity for blood magic, it was entirely possible that the noblewoman had managed to suss out the truth. He did voice, however, that he doubted Serilda talking to anyone about it would have been out of any sense of gossip so much as keeping it between a select few people that might otherwise be in the best place to pester Mercury about some of her less common quirks and abilities. In that way, she was saving the Silver Wolf ace the hassle of having to confront it directly. Mercury supposed that was true. As Vandrad expressed, she did feel that Seri and Mythal liked and respected her, in their own way. At the very least, they accepted her. How long that would last was anyone’s guess. Sooner or later, everyone Mercury had come to cherish on this crazy little rock would come to hate her eventually. It was only a matter of time.

Before she could get too deep into her head about it, however, Vandrad elected to hand her the box. Mercury took it carefully as he informed her it wasn’t expensive or flashy, merely something that he had taken the time to make. Giving him a brief look, she gently pulled the lid off the box and looked at what lay within: a bracelet composed of several links of pure gold. But the links had something engraved on them. Narrowing her gaze curiously, she slipped her fingers under the bracelet and picked it up in her hand, setting the box aside so she could pull the chain closer to her face and inspect it more clearly. It looked like… coins? Not just any coins. She quickly realized that they were exactly like the horde of gold coins that had been collecting dust in the cave from their first job together. Mercury had taken practically the entire load with her back to Silver Wolf when Vandrad had expressed his disinterest in it, but it stood to reason that a few wayward pieces had gotten left behind.

It seemed the prince had gone back and searched that cave, collecting a few of the stray bits and using them to craft a simple but elegant band to put around her wrist. Something to serve as a reminder of the day they met, and the progress that they had made together since. But more importantly, he hadn’t wanted to just buy her something and call it a day. He’d wanted to gift her something that would hold meaning, something he had put effort and real thought int, so she could look at it and know how deeply he appreciated her place in his life. She could only look down at the delicate gift in her palm, her face unreadable but her emotions a rippling pool of appreciation and overwhelming affection. Closing her fingers carefully around the chain, she finally looked up at him, her gaze rife with emotion. “It’s perfect. Thank you, Vandrad.”

Her eyes held his for only a moment to impart how much it really had meant to her before she silently insisted on putting it on right then and there, wordlessly enlisting his help in clasping the band around her wrist. Bandit was already eyeing the piece himself, the black feathered demon looking very much like he was trying to calculate the best way to get to Mercury without getting shooed off or yelled at. Mercury gave him a stern glare and the bird immediately went back to preening like that’s all he’d been doing the entire time. Fingering the band gently with her free hand for a moment, she found herself speaking before she could really even think about the words that came to her lips.

“I… made you something, too.” she told him. “I’ve actually been working on it for a long time, but I couldn’t figure out a good time to actually give it to you until I learned about this whole… Christmas thing.” Not really sure what else to say, she gently slipped down from the banister back onto the balcony. With a wave of her hand, the teleportation ray appeared and she used it to open up a portal, asking him to give her a second as she stepped inside. When she came back, she was holding a rather large, rectangular shaped box in her hands. Her slight trepidation from before returned to betray that she was a bit nervous about giving this to him, a feeling he could likely tie back to realize that this was what she had been thinking about when she’d felt nervous before upon them retiring ot his room for the night.

After only a brief moment of hesitation, she held the box out for him to take. Inside, he would find a matching pair of ornate swords that were gold in color, but not crafted of the Earthland element. In fact, they seemed to have been made with an entirely alien ore, not unlike Mercy’s own composition. “I know you prefer to fight hand to hand, but there are times when it’s just as important to have a weapon. And I… I wanted you to have something that was more advanced than what you would find here… something that would give you some kind of connection with my culture, and my people. If anything, it’s actually more versatile than Mercy is. It’s the first weapon I’ve designed in a long time since I made mine…”

Presuming he planned on picking them up, Mercury would hold the box so he could lift the two blades out and inspect their make. He’d find them perfectly balanced, the edges sharper than any blacksmith, traditional or magical, could have accomplished on Earthland. They were lightweight, but still had enough heft to feel them in his hand. What’s more, if he inspected them closely he might find a number of hidden features about them that Mercury didn’t tell him right away, knowing that the prince would prefer the chance to examine them on his own first. The hilts were adjustable, able to be turned at a ninety degree angle to turn the blades into long tonfas. Additionally, there were mechanisms in the pommels that looked as though they were designed to fix themselves together, and the blades themselves had subtle hints of traces in them that hinted at the possibility of being able to conduct electricity or some other form of energy.

Biting her lower lip lightly, she held on to the box and took a step back to give him some room so he could fiddle freely.

It didn’t take him very long at all to figure out the major components of the weapons, which was unsurprising. Vandrad was already an observant man with a keen eye for detail on all things related to fighting, and that had only enhanced after he’d started delving into the engineering world. She knew that he was eying the craftsmanship as he took a practice swing with the swords, measuring up the alloy that was similar to gold and yet entirely different from it. The first thing he noticed was the mechanism that flipped the handles down, allowing the blades to be turned into tonfas. She couldn’t feel his emotions, but she didn’t need to, not with the eager and almost childlike innocence and excitement in his eyes, and the grin on his face as he adjusted the weapons properly to get a feel for them in the current form.

Once he’d gotten past the immediate novelty of that part of the gift, he switched them back to their original form and started searching some more. Soon enough, he noticed the mechanisms on the hilts and recognized that they were meant to be locked together. He aligned the grooves on the pommels and clicked them in place, and after a brief moment the weapon did its part, drawing the ethernano from his body and channeling it through the subsurface traces that ran along the flats of the blades until they reached the tips, shooting out a thin strand of his energy at either end until that connected perfectly in the center to form the bow. “It’s genetically linked to you, now,” she informed him as he stared at it in awe, informing her outright that he didn’t really know what to say about it. She was barely able to keep the smile off of her face at his comment about its beauty, a wave of overwhelming relief and joy flooding through her at his words. “Anyone can hold and use them in their base form, of course. There’s not really any way that I could prevent someone from being able to hold them and swing them around. But only you can change its setting, or fire the bow. It won’t respond to anyone else.” Just like Mercy did for her.

She watched as he carefully set the separated blades back into the box before taking it from her hands and setting it down on the ground. With both their hands free, he was able to pull her up against him and thank her with a deep kiss, one that she didn’t hesitate to return as she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and practically sank into him. They kissed for several long moments, neither of them making any attempt to make the gesture anything more than a physical show of their appreciation for the efforts and thoughtfulness of the other. When he eventually pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, she slid her hands down to rest against his chest, pinned lightly between their bodies. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.”

Not wanting to be left out, Bandit elected to do what he did best and ruin the moment, flapping over with an obnoxious cawing noise and landing on Vandrad’s shoulder, shuffling his way in to shove his beak into both of their face in an effort to not feel left out. Mercury snorted and laughed, despite herself, which promptly turned into a yawn. “We should probably go to bed. Knowing your family, you’re going to be waking my ass up at an awful hour, and I’m going to have to actually deal with it cause the Sinclairs are here.” She smirked at him. Once he was ready, she’d follow him back inside from the balcony to finally get some rest. Or well… eventually get some rest.

---

Sneaking through the flotilla was damn near impossible. After the Nazru had conquered their home and slaughtered their people, they had taken things a step further by defiling the collective mass of ships with the organic growths that clung to the surface of every wall, ceiling, and floor. It wasn’t that the Xocili despised the organic world. How could they? Xocili were as much organic as they were synthetic, and it was that reason alone that had been the tipping point for the remaining survivors to be turned into slaves rather than being completely wiped out. Still, a race that had once stood hundreds of thousands, if not millions, strong had been reduced to maybe one or two thousand at most. And the plant life that had overtaken the flotilla -- if one could even call it plant life -- was nothing more than a stark and bleak reminder of the defeat and subjugation of Xocil.

It had been more than enough to demoralise the people, the vast majority of whom had gazed upon the carnage and staggering loss of their loved ones, their homes, and their freedom, and simply lost the will to carry on. And to a point, he understood. He had faced that same challenge, and for a time had fallen prey to the hopelessness that felt as though it oozed from every corner. However, that had not lasted long. What had started as grief and sorrow quickly morphed into rage and passion. Argon refused to die a slave. He refused to stand idly by and watch what was left of his people spend the remainder of their otherwise long lives under the strain of tyranny and persecution.

And more importantly, he refused to give up on locating his daughter.

He had always known she was out there somewhere. It was the one thing he had never given up hope on, the one thing that continued to push him through to the next step, the one thing that kept him going even when he threatened to sink back down the vortex of despair that once consumed him. More than anything, Argon had faith that she was still alive. She had been young when the Nazru found her, and like many others around her age he knew that she had been separated from the rest of the older Xocili to be trained and conditioned into perfect, obedient servants and spies. With any luck, she had inherited his rebellious streak, and thus could be talked into the risk of running away. He just needed to get her in front of him.

Unfortunately, that was starting to become a more and more complicated mission to accomplish. A wrench had been thrown in his plans, one that both pleased and concerned him, and he found himself in the uncomfortable position of needing to speak with an old friend that he hadn’t seen since he and a small handful of like minded kin had managed to escape the flotilla, a friend that was heavily monitored at all time and was arguably the most directly used by the Nazru out of all the survivors. Thankfully, there were a few places Argon suspected that his friend would have at least a few minutes of privacy that he could steal from him.

He waited silently in the dim light of the man’s room, keeping perfectly silent and hidden behind a rather large root of fleshy mass that dropped down from the ceiling and snaked across the floor. For hours he had crouched in his hiding spot, sensing the vitals of each living creature that passed by the entrance and anticipating the arrival of his friend, only to be disappointed when no one entered. But eventually his patience would be rewarded, and in due time someone finally approached. Their pause outside the door told him that it was another Xocili, and that they could sense his own vitals from behind the door. The other man entered and shut the door quietly, standing there briefly before he spoke up in a soft voice. “Whoever you are, you should not be here. Return to your post.”

Slowly, Argon stood to his feet and stepped out into the low light enough that he could be seen. “I can’t return to a post I don’t have, Zemenar.”

His friend’s eyes went wide. “Argon…?”

Argon smiled, despite himself. “It’s good to see you, too.”

“How did you get here..?”

“I have my ways. I won’t say it was easy, though. I probably will never be able to pull this off again.”

Zemenar could only stare at him, his friend’s face rife with emotion. After a moment, he sighed. “I am glad to see that you are alive, but… you really should not be here.”

Argon nodded. “I know. I’m risking both of our lives, and I’m sorry for that. I promise I won’t linger. I just needed to--”

“It’s not that simple, Argon. I don’t think you understand the danger you pose here.” Anger brushed over Zemenar’s face briefly, though the emotion was heavily muted by both the relief of seeing his friend alive and the sorrow of having to recount a sore memory. “Please don’t misunderstand, I am beyond grateful that at least a few of you managed to escape and stay safe in hiding, but the day you guys pulled your stunt… things got a lot harder around here for the rest of us.”

“I kno-”

“No. You don’t.” He gently but firmly cut off Argon’s words, shaking his head. “A lot of people were punished for your crimes. Innocent people that were already doing everything they could just to survive were killed, and now if a single one of us put a single toe out of line… it’s game over. For all of us.” Zemenar let the weight of his words settle in, searching Argon’s eyes. “They almost killed us all right then and there. Slaves are too much work. Dead bodies don’t fight back. The only reason they didn’t was because they decided they could use it to twist the knives further into our backs.”

There was a long pause as Argon waited, letting the knowledge sink in. When he spoke up again, his words were quiet. “I’m sorry, Zem. We knew there would probably be a fallout, but I never imagined… I’m sorry.”

Wrestling his emotions down, Zemenar sighed. “What do you want? Why are you here?”

“I found her.”

There was a visible reaction on Zemenar’s face as shock overtook him. “Your daughter? She’s alive?”

“Yes. She was one of many children that were conditioned into scouts. I know exactly where she is but…”

“What?”

“...They’ve sent a collector.”

Zemenar went white as a ghost. “Which on-"

"I don't know."

The captive Xocili's shoulders drooped and he deflated heavily. “I’m so sorry, Argon.”

The rebel Xocili shook his head. “I don’t need you to be sorry. I’m going to find her, and I’m going to save her. I just need you to pass a message on to Boran for me: Please, if I can’t find her before she is extracted, and they manage to bring her back here, just… please ask him to go easy on her and draw things out as long as he can until I can find a way to get to her.”

“....You don’t know.” Zemenar sighed sadly as confusion scrunched his friend’s face. “Boran was the first to be killed after you left. I am the enforcer now.”

Argon could feel his blood run cold. He started several times to speak, only for words to fail him. What could he possibly say, knowing that because of his actions, Zemenar had been forced to assume the role of torturing and reconditioning his own people into submission? There was nothing he could say. Gritting his teeth, he steadied himself and looked the other Xocili in the eye. “Then I ask it of you. I just need her to be alive when I find her.”

“Do you hear what you’re asking me? If I don’t perform my duty, if I allow her to escape -- allow you to claim her and escape a second time -- they will finish what they started. They will kill everyone who is left.”

“Better dead than a slave..!” Argon snapped back, his frustration rising at the entire situation. He forced himself to relax. “I know I’m putting you in a position, and I promise we will find a way to deal with it if it comes to that. I just… need reassurance that if I can’t get to her in time, that she won’t be killed before I can make it back here.”

Zemenar shook his head. “I can’t promise you that. I wish I could, but I can’t. The only thing I can promise is that I will give you the chance to escape again now.”

Argon crossed the distance to take his friend’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but please. At least promise me that you will try.”

The two men stared at one another for a long time before the enforcer finally hung his head in resignation. “I will try. But I will not hold one life above that of our entire race. So please, Argon… please find her before she is brought to me. The last thing I want is to hurt a woman that was supposed to be like a niece to me.”

“I will. I promise. And when I am done, I will find the others, too. All of them.” He gave Zemenar a meaningful look, causing the other to nod his understanding. They exchanged a quick but firm hug, both men finding solace in the comfort of one another despite the tension, before Argon finally pulled back. With a quick nod, he slipped outside the room and left. As long as he could slip out of the flotilla as secretly as he had managed to slip into it, he would be in the clear and could finally go find his daughter.

He just hoped that he got to her before it was too late.