Once and Future (WormxFate)

A few days later saw me across the city, stepping onto the campus of Immaculata. I could not help but compare it to Arcadia in my mind. Arcadia was a building of clean steel and shining glass, built to modern tastes and sensibilities. Two large buildings dominated the property, with a third forming a corridor between the two.

In contrast, Immaculata seemed as though they ripped something out of the Old World and planted it here in Brockton Bay. Its campus lacked the straight lines that dominated Arcadia, appearing more like a park, with trees and flowers lining a winding path. A number of smaller buildings dotted the campus, branching off from the path, but a single main structure dominated the area. Built of pale brick, the sloped roofs and occasional jutting tower were shaped to be reminiscent of a castle, the entire thing curving around to form a natural courtyard within its center. Overhead, a large clock tower loomed, casting the area into shadow as it ticked away the minutes.

Part of my duties as Student Council President meant that I needed to help coordinate with other schools whenever there was an inter-school event. Most of the work involved would be handled by actual faculty members, of course, but there were a few things that each of our respective Student Councils took care of, particularly with regards to decorations and concessions. In this case, with the Football season kicking off, the first inter-city game would be between the Arcadian Knights and the Immaculata Virtues.

Waiting for me at the gates was my counterpart at Immaculata. Katelyn Finch was a blonde girl of middling height with a bright smile and brighter eyes. If one were to judge entirely based on her looks, I could see why the students of Immaculata would have elected her to her position. She exuded friendliness. She waved cheerily as I approached.

“Hey there! Elaine, right? I’m Katie. We spoke over the phone briefly, but it’s good to see you in person!”

“You as well,” I answered, taken aback by her exuberance. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”

“Hey, it’s no problem at all. I was a little surprised when I heard you wanted to meet – we’ve always just sent emails back and forth for the most part in the past.”

“I thought it would be good to meet in person at least the one time. We are going to be working together to some extent, after all.”

“Of course!” Katelyn exclaimed. “And we’re happy to have you. Since we’ll be hosting the game, I’ll go ahead and start going over our decorations. Does that sound alright to you?”

“By all means,” I replied simply.

We continued onward, passing the occasional unformed student as Katelyn chatted about the plans for the game and how Arcadia could contribute – very little, as it turned out. It would mostly be handled in-house. Still, it was a pleasant enough conversation, and the trip was worth it simply for the opportunity to see how the school’s culture differed from my own.

The uniforms were the most obvious aspect – Arcadia had certain guidelines to its dress code, but otherwise, students were free to wear what they liked. The same could not be said for Immaculata, where every student wore the same uniform. The boys in slacks, shirt, and tie; the girls in a skirt and blouse. According to Katelyn, that was their “summer” uniform and they would add on blazers come winter.

The other main difference I saw amongst the students were the cell phones. Almost every student had one at Arcadia, and seemed to obsessively use them whenever there was a break period, as if to make up for being blocked from texting by the school’s faraday cage while classes were in session. Here, I saw students lounging about the grounds, yet only the occasional cell phone in sight.

When I asked, Katelyn explained that she had a phone, but many of her friends did not. It wasn’t due to school policy it seemed, it was simply that strict parents who disapproved of the devices were more common here.

“I’ve got one last thing to show you before you leave today.”

“Hmm? What is that?” I asked.

“The clocktower! It’s a bit loud inside, but the view is really a must for someone visiting.”

I allowed myself a faint smile and nodded my assent. I doubted the view could compare to flying with Victoria, but Katelyn had no way of knowing that. We made our way inside and began our ascent up a long staircase that curved at right angles every twenty steps. Above us, the noise of grinding gears echoed down, growing louder with each flight we climbed.

As we emerged onto the top floor, my nose wrinkled, the acrid stench of cigarette smoke lingering in air.

“What the –” Katelyn stepped around the corner and growled. “Tammi! Are you seriously smoking up here again? How many times do I have to tell you not to do that here? A teacher is going to catch you one of these days and you’re seriously going to be in trouble.”

A bored, disinterested drawl answered her. “Fuck off, Katie. It’s not any of your business.”

“It is my business. You think your Uncle will–”

“I don’t give a shit what my Uncle wants. So fuck off already.”

Stepping around the corner, I took a moment to take in the scene. As expected, Tammi sat near the open window, lit cigarette in hand. She had made a token effort towards wearing Immaculata’s uniform, though she had obviously modified it. The shirt was half unbuttoned, a hint of her bra showing from beneath it, while the bottom was tied off to expose her stomach. Her skirt, as well, was hiked up, showing off more of her thigh than was appropriate. A few words flashed to mind, judgements that the original Elaine would have made. I pushed them down. They were unnecessary.

Tammi’s eyes flicked to me, a crooked grin forming on her lips. “What’s this? You finally decided to visit me, Short Stuff?”

I placed a hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes, shooting her an unimpressed glare. “I was in the area. Though again, I am not that short.”

“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

Katelyn glanced between the two of us. “You know each other?”

“We are acquainted,” I replied shortly.

Tammi smirked and took a long draw of her cigarette before blowing the smoke out towards the two of us. “So what can I do for the both of you?”

“Stop smoking up here, for one,” Katelyn muttered.

“Nah.”

“Ugh,” Katelyn frowned. “Why are you like this?”

“Why do you have such a stick up your ass?” Tammi glanced over at me and flicked a cigarette to stick out of its carton. “Want one?”

“Not particularly.”

“More for me then,” Tammi shrugged. “Anyways, the teachers never really come up here, so quit worrying.”

“It’s the principle of the thing! You’re supposed to be setting an example!”

Tammi laughed outright. “Hah! That’s a good one. Didn’t know you could tell jokes, Katie.”

Katelyn growled and opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted as a buzzing came from Tammi’s backpack.

“One sec.” Tammi reached down and fished out her phone, flipping it open to read the message she had received. She frowned and flipped it shut again. “Well, I guess you’re getting your wish. Gotta go deal with this shit.”

“Just… go.”

“Later.” Tammi walked past us, ruffling my hair as she went. I frowned at her retreating back, listening to her footsteps echo up the stairwell until they faded away.

“You two seemed… close,” I finally said.

Katelyn’s expression turned sour. “Not really. My family just knows her family, so they expect me to look after her.”

“I can see how that would be challenging.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Katelyn grumbled. “She’s such a pain in the ass. Sorry, we kind of got derailed there. I was supposed to be showing you the clocktower.”

“Do not worry. I was not perturbed by your conversation.” I gave Katelyn a smile to assure her and stepped up to the window where Tammi had been sitting. Below me, I could see the distant figures of Immaculata students going about their business. From there, the city of Brockton Bay stretched out, a few skyscrapers standing out in the distance. MedHall was written proudly across the tallest one in the city.

With a view like this, one might almost think that the city was at peace.

• ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

The punch came out faster than I was expecting. I twisted, letting it pass by my ear, and spun, bringing my sword around to crash into my opponent’s side. The edge failed to penetrate, bouncing off of her forcefield. A second fist followed and I hurriedly parried, letting the strength of solid steel protect me.

Victoria laughed. “Come on. You’re going to have to be more inventive than that if you want to take down any Brutes!”

I grunted. “Most Brutes do not have a forcefield, Victoria.”

“Sounds like the talk of someone who’s going to lose.”

I narrowed my eyes. Very well, if that is how she wanted to play it. I charged forward, my boots kicking up the mud that had been left in the Dallon’s backyard by the previous day’s rainfall. It made for poor fighting conditions, but we did not have many other options available at the moment. On a more positive note however, Victoria’s forcefield meant that I could attack without inhibition.

Parrying another blow, I stepped back, keeping my distance. This time when Victoria lunged, I sidestepped and brought around to slam against the back of her knees. My blade could not harm her, but kinetic force still transferred to her momentum. A sufficiently strong hit could still knock her around. She buckled, stumbling forward, before catching herself – she had been fighting with her feet on the ground, but she still instinctively called on her flight when she was falling.

A wide grin split Victoria’s face and she came at me with a series of jabs. She had clearly had training to not rely simply on brute strength alone. I would not allow that to save her however. I blocked, parried, ducked, and weaved – occasionally even trusting in my armor to weather the blows. She was relentless, but that was to my advantage. As she continued to keep the pressure on me, her blows began falling into a rhythm.

It was a mistake that most experienced warriors learned to correct, but for all that Glory Girl was an active cape, the fights between Parahumans were vastly different from the fights between two people relying on their skills at arms. I waited, timed her strikes, and when I knew her next strike was coming, I left my sword stuck point-first in the ground.

Her eyes widened, obviously realizing that I was up to something, but by then she had overcommitted. I grabbed hold of her wrist and used her own momentum against her, a mirror of the move I had taught Amy nearly a month ago. Victoria went flying past me. Her flight caught her before she could hit the ground, but I did not stand idle. Taking my sword up again, I slammed it into her back, and with a squawk, she fell face first into the mud.

I stood over her, a victorious smile on my face. Then, her hand darted out to grab my ankle, and a moment later I found myself joining her in the mud.

My weapon was forgotten as we grabbed at one another in a sudden mad scramble. I had started this brawl atop Victoria, with the advantages of leverage on my side, but her inexorable strength soon found our positions reversed, with her straddling me and my arms pinned behind my back. Twisting, I attempted to kick her off of me, but there was little I could do.

A cough interrupted the two of us.

Amy stood on the porch, her arms folded and looking distinctly unimpressed with the two of us. “Lunch is ready, if you two are done wrestling in the mud.”

“Ahaha,” Victoria laughed, a tinge of embarrassment in her voice. “I suppose things got a little out of hand there. We’ll get cleaned up and come in soon, Amy.”

Amy nodded slowly, her eyes strangely unblinking as she stared at the two of us. Was she expecting us to go back to fighting if she left? I waved at her. “Do not worry. We shall not allow your work in the kitchen to go to waste.”

“...Sure,” Amy answered. “You guys just… do what you need to do.” She slowly backed away, not taking her eyes off us until the door closed behind her.

Victoria burst out laughing again. “Did you see her face? We must look awful.” She pulled herself off of me, offering a hand to help me to my feet as well. “That was a good fight though. You’re surprisingly good at this already, even if you did get cocky at the end.”

“I admit, I did expect you to lose with dignity, not drag me into the mud with you.”

“You can’t bet on that in a fight, Ellie. People will do all sorts of crazy things when they’re desperate.”

She was right. The simple truth was that I had allowed myself to drop my guard. My memories told me that she was no threat to me, even if the current reality of my body said otherwise. I was not as strong as I once was. I had to be more skillful, not less. “I know. Thank you, Victoria. I’ll try to keep it in mind… What are you doing with that hose?”

“Hm?” Victoria looked at me with complete innocence, garden hose in hand, her other hand upon the spigot. “We need to clean off before we head inside, right?”

My eyes widened. “Victoria! Do not–!” Her hand turned and a blast of cold water hit me in the face.

In the end, I fought her for control of the hose and we both ended up soaking wet. Still, I could not deny that the day was a pleasant one, reflecting back on it.

• ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

The Student Council room was silent apart from the scratching of my pen and the slow ticking of the clock. Today was not a day we were scheduled to meet, but there were budgetary requests I wished to review, and so I had come on my own. Eventually, I set my pen down and rubbed at the bridge of my nose.

I did not have a head for finance. I had never particularly studied the art. In the past, I had entrusted my brother Kay with the purse strings of my kingdom. Grimacing at the paperwork spread across my desk, I realized I would likewise need to trust my Treasurer for these requests. I was not able to verify them myself.

Sighing, I put the papers away and gathered my bags. It was one more area in which I needed to train myself. Stepping outside the classroom, I stopped as I saw a boy with a mop of brown hair standing across from the door, nervously shifting as he waited.

“Hello?”

“Oh!” The boy jumped, startled as I exited the room. “H-Hey there, Elaine! Fancy seeing you here, right?”

Tilting my head, I slowly replied, “I don’t think it is that odd. Did you need something?”

“Um, well, I know we don’t know each other that well or anything, and it’s nothing major. Not a big deal or anything. Just uh. Wouldyougotothedancewithme?”

I blinked, trying to parse that. “What?”

The boy took a deep breath and tried again. “Would you go to the dance with me?”

What?

---

It is September 2010.

Time for Homecoming.

Do you accept the Boy’s invitation?
[ ] [Homecoming] Accept
>You’re not sure you recognize him. He hangs out with your brother sometimes, maybe? Still, he was brave enough to ask.
[ ] [Homecoming] Go Solo
>You’re going to be too busy handling running the actual event for a date
[ ] [Homecoming] (Write-In who you invite instead)
>You want a date, you just want it to be someone else.

While attending Homecoming, you discover someone spiked the drinks with alcohol.
[ ] [Alcohol] Leave it be
>Let the kids have their fun
[ ] [Alcohol] Report it
>It might spoil the mood a bit, but you should have any alcohol removed
[ ] [Alcohol] Have some yourself
>It wouldn’t hurt to cut loose a little.

While attending Homecoming, someone flirts with you (whether your date, or someone else if you went solo).
[ ] [Flirting] Flirt Back
[ ] [Flirting] Be Reserved

Choose someone to spend time with.
[ ] [Social] Dean Stansfield
[ ] [Social] Victoria Dallon
[ ] [Social] Amy Dallon
[ ] [Social] Chelsea and Morgan
[ ] [Social] Erin Archelot
[ ] [Social] Theo Anders
[ ] [Social] Tammi Herren
[ ] [Social] Vedika Dhawan
[ ] [Social] (Write-In)

 

Cross posting this Omake for TheManW/oAPlan on Sufficient Velocity.

Charismata Vincit

Elaine wondered how she ended up in this position. While she knew that as a King, knights always wanted to fornicate with somebody else's wife (*cough*, *cough* *Lancelot*), she very rarely had to deal with this situation...if she was reading it correctly.

"So to summarize, you are asking me to ask my brother to stay away from Victoria because you do not think they are good for one another?" Elaine asked the mousy girl.

"I mean, I would not put it quite like that. But look at how often the break up. I do not know why they tend to have this rapid break-up/make-up schedule but it cannot be good. I realize we are all teenagers and figuring out life, but they have "broken up" 5 times in the last twenty-five days. That is not good for Vicky. That's not good for your brother. I am sick of dealing with it, and we have had to buy more ice cream in the past month than we did during the summer. I would say something to Dean directly, but for some reason Dean thinks I am interested in him. I have no idea how he came to that conclusion, but it leaves me with fewer options. I assume you don't want your brother going through such an emotional roller coaster either," Amy replied.

It was at times like this the former and present king wished she had wine, mead, or ale. Certain topics were not meant to be discussed sober. And if Elaine was reading Amy properly, she was homosexuall, since she had not noticed the men's swim team walking by. Still, this Amy had a point.

"I see your point, but if they have been on this pattern for so long, why would they stop now? I don't think they mean to break up, I think they just like to make-up," Elaine replied.

"Maybe, but you cannot tell me they have a healthy relationship. I'm just not asking you to do this for me. I'm asking you to do this for Vicky and Dean as well," Amy pleaded.

Elaine sighed. She knew if Sir Kay was in a similar situation, she would have to act.

"Alright, let me confirm something first. Once that has been done, I will abide by your request," Elaine commented and then headed to lunch. She knew it was unlikely, but it would explain a lot.

"Victoria, I mean Vicky, we need to talk," Elaine said, not bothering for social graces.

"I mean, I'm kind of busy?" Vicky replied.

"It is important and it regards my brother. Are you sure you don't have the time?" Elaine politely asked.

"I mean, that sounds serious. I can make the time. Is he in trouble or something?" Vicky asked.

"Not that I am aware of, but maybe. You would know before him at any rate," Elaine commented.

"I'm kind of curious, what's up. This seems a bit mroe serious than the usual high-school shenanigans we get up to," Vicky added.

"Are you pregant with my future nice or nephew?" Elaine asked.

Suddenly, everyone was paying attention to the two of them. Over a thousand pairs of eyeballs paying attention to two girls in a school cafeteria.

"WAIT WHAT? NO?! WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?" Vicky shouted, utterly surprised. Elaine had enough of htis already though.

"Listen, you violent-barbie, you have broken up with my brother 5 times in the past month. I figured pregancy hormones were to blame. Since you are not pregant, stay away from him. It is not good for either of you. If you want to talk more about this, we can later but stay away from my brother. Your behavior towards him is unbecoming of a teenage girl, let alone a hero," Elaine said, and then promptly left.

There was an entire 3 minutes of silence. "Ok, so who had sisterly intervention in the betting pool?" Dennis asked, and then the crowd returned to its usual dull roar.

 

Cross posting this Omake for TheManW/oAPlan on Sufficient Velocity.

Dean did not know how to act. Elaine had been different since she woke up, but she was still his little sister. And Dennis had just broken a major bro-code. While he actually did not mind that much, his father asked him to "ensure the young man has an appropriate level of respect fur your sister, which I am unable to deal with since I am out of town". Dean also liked Elaine. And this was how Dean found himself butchering a deer. Not because he was a great hunter or particularly cared to, but he knew he would have blood all over himself.

"Ah, Dennis, I've been expecting you, please come in," Dean said.

Dennis walked in, sort-of resigned to the fact.

"Let me guess, treat my sister well or I will bury you?" Dennis asked.

Dean looked for him for a while.

"You do realize we are not living in a romantic comedy? Shovel talks very rarely happen outside of fiction," Dean commented.

"Alright, than why am I here talking to you when I would rather be talking to Elaine?" Dennis asked.

"I'm going to guess this is going to sound slightly insane, but we were actually worried about Elaine becoming a spinster. She has shown no interests in boys, girls, or anyting really. I was honestly surprised that she accepted your invitation. I honestly thought she was going to politely decline it," Dean commented.

"...?" The confusion was visible on Dennis's face.

"Ah, right. So Elaine just recovered from a coma not that long ago. Now, given that the two of you are both young, there are some things you need to be aware of," Dean started.

"Just spit it out. I'm not that much younger than you," Dennis asked, clearly confused as to where this conversation was heading.

"Alright. Look, we both know that men are the only reason reproduction goes anywhere. Despite what lifetime says, if we weren't hornier than a rhinoceros, the species would die out in two or three generations. While I am well aware of the fact that people are age have more sex than are parents would care to admit, there is a problem with Elaine doing that," Dean started.

"Um, ok?" Dennis asked, still uncertain as to where it was going. Dean closed his eyes, and sighed.

"Look, I know we both like sex. I've seen you look at the female swim team members. The problem is though that Elaine is still not physically well, and her having an extreme form of excitement like that might cause her to relapse. I'm politely asking you to hold off on too much hanky-panky until the doctor clears her fully," Dean explained.

"Shit, are you serious?" Dennis asked.

"Yes. Why else would I be taking time to talk to you now. Ordinarily this could wait, but given the fact that the two of you are at school all day. I seriously do not want her heart rate to elevate too much," Dean replied.

"I mean, I'll control it as much as I can, but if she uses her feminine wiles on me, I'll probably forget about whatever we talked about," Dennis replied.

"Very well, I'll trust you to do as much. That said, if my sister winds up back in the hospital because of you Brockton Bay is going to be short one or two wards, depending on how desperate Piggot is," Dean commented.

"I thought you said shovel speeches didn't happen outside of comedies?" Dennis asked.

"Most girls in comedies don't have a medical condition either, otherwise they would be less funny and more serious," Dean stated.

Inwardly, Dennis cursed. Though he had been planning to steal a few bases with Elaine, it sounded like Dean was serious about keeping her calm and unexcited. Dennis had no idea how to do what he wanted and keep Elaine's heart rate down. He honestly did not know how to do that and still be romantic, but he would figure it out.

 

“I am sorry,” I replied softly and placed my hands over the boy’s. “However, you were correct when you said we do not know each other that well. I do not feel comfortable with going on a date with someone who is essentially a stranger to me. Perhaps we can get to know each other as friends first.”

“Oh…” The boy looked down at his hands. “Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry to have bothered you.”

“It was no bother,” I said. Studying him, a name finally clicked into place in my memory. “You were brave to ask, Chris. There is no shame in that.”

“Thanks, I guess. I, um. I’m just going to go now.”

“Take care,” I said, watching him shuffle away despondently. Hopefully my refusal would not be too large a blow for him.

Making my way downstairs, I passed briefly by our gymnasium, peeking inside to look at the students putting up the decorations for the dance. Inside, Vedika was directing her aides to set up tables, banners, and strings of lights. I was curious to see what the result would be, but I could wait. I did not want to disturb their work, and Vedika seemed to have it well in hand.

Nearby, Austin and Kayla were setting up our ‘hedge maze’ on the football field. According to Kayla, it would be romantic. Of course, we could not set up actual hedges, so instead it was simple wooden partitions with green construction paper taped on. I am not sure I saw the attraction, but hopefully it would have the effect that Kayla intended.

Continuing on, I made my way out to the parking lot. Even here, decorations had been placed, welcoming students to the dance and directing them to where they would need to go. Making my way past rows of cars, I finally found my brother. Victoria was leaning into his side, smiling up at him, while Amy stood a few feet away, her arms crossed as she seemed to look anywhere but at the two of them. Of course, this meant she was the first to spot me.

“Finally. I was starting to wonder when we would get to leave.”

“I am sorry if I kept you waiting.”

“It’s fine!” Victoria cut in. “You’re still busy getting everything ready for this weekend, right?”

“Yes, though most of the work has been delegated to others at this point,” I answered. “There remains little left for me to do. Other than to find a dress for myself, I suppose.”

“Oh? So you already have a date as well?” Victoria asked. “I suppose with all the people that have been asking you out recently, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Wait,” Dean said. “Who’s been asking Ellie out?”

“No one of import,” I said, my tone final. Narrowing my eyes, I frowned at Victoria. She had dropped that bit of information on purpose. I was not sure how she even knew about that, but the question was why she had wanted to inform Dean. “It does not matter. I declined their advances. I have no desire to attend with a stranger.”

“Aw, that’s no fun. It’s your first school dance! You need someone to dance with.”

Dean looked between Victoria and me. “If Ellie doesn’t want to date, we shouldn’t pressure her, Vicky.”

“Indeed. I will likely be busy making sure everything is running smoothly in any case.”

“Pfah. You two are no fun,” Victoria mock-pouted, hiding a wicked gleam in her eye. What was she up to? “Oh! I know! I haven’t been able to get Amy to agree to go because of how things went last time, so why don’t you two just go together?”

“What?” Where did that idea come from?

“You don’t want to be attached to a stranger, and Amy needs someone she can feel safe with. This way, you both get to enjoy the dance. It’s perfect!”

I placed a hand to my chin, thinking it over. It… was not a terrible idea, though I could not help but feel there was some ulterior motive behind Victoria’s words. I studied her for a moment before shifting my gaze to catch Amy’s eye. I found her staring at me, though she hurriedly looked away once she realized I had noticed.

“It’s not a big deal, Vicky,” Amy groused. “It’s not like I particularly want to go or anything. I don’t look good in a dress and I don’t know how to dance. The whole thing is just a pain in the ass. Besides, I doubt Ellie really wants to go with me.”

“Come on. I saw how you were looking at the dresses I was trying on the other day. You can’t tell me you don’t want to dress up too.”

“That’s–”

“And of course Ellie wants to go with you–”

“Victoria,” I said sharply. “Please let me speak for myself.” She gave me an apologetic smile and made a motion as if she were pulling a zipper across her lips. I took a deep breath before meeting Amy’s eyes. “Amy. Do you want to attend the dance?”

“You don’t have to force yourself, Ellie.”

“That is not what I asked. Do you want to go?”

“I – Yes. Kind of. I mean, it’d be nice to see what all the fuss is about.”

Nodding, I knelt before her and took her hand in mine. “Then it would be my honor to act as your escort, if you would have me.”

Amy’s face slowly colored and she froze still, unmoving as a deer caught in the open. She finally seemed to return to herself, and realizing that our siblings were watching, yanked her hand away as though it had been scalded. She folded her arms and looked away. “Sure. That’s fine. You don’t have to make a big deal out of it.”

I smiled and rose to my feet once more. “It is no less than you deserve, Amy.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Victoria raising both her hands in a thumbs up, a wide grin on her face. My brother, on the other hand, mostly just seemed bemused by the entire situation. Amy followed my gaze and rolled her eyes, sharing an exasperated look with me. “Let’s just go home.”

• ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

That weekend found me dancing in Amy’s arms. Soft music played in the background as I led Amy through our steps, her dress swirling in time to the beat. Above us, faerie lights twinkled, an imitation of starlight cast down upon everyone here. It paled to the light in her eyes as she smiled at me, her joy in the moment plain to see.

I had come to the dance expecting to be an observer, largely uninvolved beyond ensuring its success. Instead, I found myself on the dance floor again and again, my own face long since flush from exertion. Hours later, we collapsed onto one of the many benches that had been set up along the room’s perimeter.

Stealing a glance at Amy, I took her in once again. She had chosen a long, white dress for the evening, a split along one side giving the barest hint of her leg as we had danced. It was held in place with thin straps, though a gauzy shawl helped hide her shoulders. Her hair had been combed out and smoothed down to frame her face. Combined with the makeup that she did not normally wear, I had no doubt of Victoria’s influence. It had been a stunning change from her usual self, enough that I was left speechless when I first saw her.

For myself, I had chosen a blue dress that tied around the neck, leaving my shoulders bare. The dress itself was somewhat scandalous; for while it hung down past my knee, it did so only on one side of the body, leaving the other leg almost entirely bare. I had mitigated this by wearing a set of tights beneath the skirt, but it still felt uncomfortably exposed at times.

Neither of us were particularly period appropriate for the Renaissance, but then neither were most of the students in attendance. It seemed that most had simply dressed for the occasion with little regard for theme. It did not matter, so long as they enjoyed themselves.

Amy leaned against me and I took her sweat-soaked hand in mine. Not that I was any better off. Smiling down at her, I asked, “Ready to take a break?”

“Yeah. I think I’m about ready to die from heat here. Let’s head outside.”

I nodded my assent. “You go ahead. I will requisition drinks for us and meet you there.”

Amy mouthed, ‘Requisition?’ before shaking her head. “Sounds good. I’ll see you out there.”

Wandering over to the drink table, I took a pair of plastic cups and filled them from the punch bowl. Turning, I sipped from one, only to grimace as the taste of alcohol hit my tongue. I frowned down at the cup and let out an aggrieved sigh. I did not have any personal stake against the consumption of alcohol. However, disguising it within another drink, where some might drink it unknowingly, was more than a little gauche.

Calling over one of the teachers that had volunteered to chaperone the dance, I asked for the punch to be removed and took a pair of sealed water bottles instead. Hopefully Amy did not mind overly much.

I found her outside, the moonlight lending her an unearthly glow. She smiled as I approached and took a bottle from my hand. “I was starting to wonder what happened to you,” she said, before twisting the bottle’s cap and downing half of it in a single go.

“Someone spiked the punch,” I replied simply, sipping from my own bottle.

“Ugh. There’s always someone that has to ruin things, huh?”

“Without fail.” Taking her hand, I tilted my head towards the entrance of our ‘hedge maze.’ “Care to walk for a bit?”

“Sure. That sounds… nice.”

I led the way inside, enjoying the sensation of the cool night air upon my skin. Austin and Kayla had not skimped on the size or intricacy of the maze. Despite the rushed, ad hoc nature, it was designed as a place you could truly lose yourself inside. The occasional sound of a couple’s whispers could be heard through the partitions as we wandered, not the only ones to have escaped out here.

After a few minutes, Amy spoke up again. “Thank you for inviting me. I didn’t really expect to, but I had a lot of fun.”

“It was my pleasure,” I said, squeezing her hand gently. “I could not have asked for a better partner.”

“Partner, huh?” Amy frowned, looking down at our joined hands. “What… am I to you, Ellie?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I mean… Am I just your friend? Did you bring me just for my company? Or your - your project? Poor Amy, she needs to be taken out of her room and taught to socialize? That’s how all this started, right?”

I frowned and turned my head to look at her. “You know that is not true, Amy. What brought this on?”

Amy folded her arms and looked away, muttering something under her breath. I tried not to feel disappointed in my suddenly empty hand.

“What–?” I reached out to touch her shoulder.

“You haven’t made a move! I thought I was here as your date, but you’ve barely touched me except to hold my hand all evening. You haven’t even tried to kiss me. You’ve… You’ve been friendly, but you haven’t flirted or told me I was pretty or anything!”

I swallowed, my ears burning at her tirade. “I thought you wanted someone to feel safe with,” I said weakly.

“Of course I do. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you to show at least a little interest in me if you’re going to be my date, Elaine.”

My mind blanked. What could I possibly say? I scrambled for anything at all. She wanted me to show desire? “I – As morning hues of sun swept fire caress your passioned face. Alone with thee in pure desire, to worship your untold grace. My –”

“Pfft – Hahaha! Stop!” Amy laughed. “Did you seriously just try to quote the Three Musketeers at me?”

Pursing my lips, I turned my face away. “I am sorry, Amy. I have never… courted before.” Even with Guinevere, we had been friends, but our marriage had been arranged and there had been little attempt at romance afterwards. “Truthfully, I do not know what I should be doing.”

“It’s hard to remember sometimes. I mean, you were so smooth asking me out and you always seem unruffled by everything these days. Maybe just start with telling me what you actually think of me? I… If you just want to be friends, that’s fine. Just be clear with me, okay?”

I closed my eyes. “I am fond of you, certainly. Is that love, however? I do not know. I do not know how to identify it.”

King Arthur does not understand human feelings.

“I wonder sometimes, if there is something broken inside of me.”

A pair of hands cup my cheeks, turning my face upwards. There is a moment of panic, the phantom sensation of cold fingers overlappings with hers. Amy’s fingers are warm, however; still hot and somewhat unpleasantly sweaty from our dance tonight. She presses her lips to mine and I melt into them, my fear forgotten in the moment. My fingers tangle in her hair, holding her to me as she takes the lead in our newest dance.

I find my back pressed against a partition, her hands wandering down to trace the curve of my hip. There is a burning tension deep within me. I feel as though I am simple clay, shaped by Amy’s hands.

And then I break the kiss, for the simple need to breathe. I stared vacantly up at her face, panting, desperately gulping down air. That had been… intense. So much more than I had been expecting. Amy’s face had gone entirely scarlet, the implications of what she had just done catching up with her.

Was this… even okay for me to enjoy? My body was a tool to be used in service of my mission. I had always believed this. I had no space to engage in personal dalliances. It was my duty to act as King until the very end. However, my country was gone. Nothing I was doing now would return it. More to the point, this was not my body.

My vision blurred. Did that not make it worse? That I was using someone else’s body for my own sake?

“Stupid,” Amy whispered.

What? I tried to shakily wipe the tears from my eyes, but succeeded only in smearing my makeup.

Amy grabbed at her hair. “God, I’m so stupid.” She suddenly turned and ran back down the path we had come. I took a few steps to try and chase after her, only to stumble, my legs shaky. I let myself sink to the ground.

I could not keep allowing myself to be torn like this. It would not be fair to Amy. I needed to decide. Was it alright for me to pursue that sort of happiness even though this was not my body nor my life?

• ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Unfortunately, it was not as simple as going home once I had recovered. We had carpooled to get here, with Dean driving the four of us. I did not want to ruin my brother’s date with Victoria, so I ended up just sitting out in the parking lot for over an hour, waiting until they sent a text message to my phone, asking where I had gone. I must have looked a mess, because they immediately came to a stop when they saw me.

“Ellie? What’s wrong? Where’s Amy?” Dean asked.

I frowned. “Is she not with you?”

“No,” Victoria said slowly. “What happened exactly?”

“I… um. Amy kissed me earlier. I became somewhat emotional. Teary eyed. I believe she took it the wrong way and ran off before I could say anything. I had expected she would go to you, Victoria.”

The two exchanged a long look.

“I’ll go look for Amy,” Victoria said. “She’s probably just hiding in the bathroom or something. You go ahead and get Ellie home. And have that talk with her already.”

“Are you sure? We can stick around, help look,” Dean asked.

“It’s fine.” She leaned in to kiss Dean on the cheek before floating upwards. “I’m going to fly around a bit looking anyway. I’m sure it won’t take me long to track her down. Go ahead and get going.”

“Alright. Call and let us know once you find her, okay?”

“Will do.” Victoria grinned with only a hint of false bravado and flew off back towards the school.

Dean’s shoulders slumped once Victoria had flown out of sight. “Well, let’s get going then.”

I nodded mutely and climbed into the passenger seat. Dean glanced over at me and sighed. “It’s not your fault. Sometimes these things just take communication. Just look at how many times Vicky and I have broken up.”

“I dearly hope that my relationships do not end up as rocky as yours has been,” I replied dryly.

“You mean you Deanly hope?” My brother winked at me.

“No.”

He clutched his chest in mock hurt. “Ow. You could at least pretend to like my puns.”

“No,” I repeated. “...Thank you for attempting to cheer me up, however. What was this talk that Victoria mentioned?”

“I… Yeah, it’s time I told you. I’ve been putting it off, telling myself you needed time to recover or that I didn’t want you to get involved. Excuses like that.”

I frowned. “Are you involved in something dangerous, Dean?”

“Yeah,” he said, letting out a slow breath. “I’m a Parahuman. Gallant.”

“Ah, yes. Gallant. My favorite Ward.” I said, not recognizing the name.

Dean rolled his eyes. “You can just admit it if you haven’t heard of me. I know you never really cared much about capes.”

“I have not heard of you. What is it that you… do?”

“Officially, I’m an Emotion-based Tinker. Unofficially… I’m an empath. I can see people’s emotions and shoot concussive blasts that alter their emotional state. No tinkertech needed.”

“Why the deception?” I asked.

“I don’t really have enough precision to actually master anyone, but it’s still a lot closer than most people feel comfortable with. It’s easier if people believe it’s just a fancy ray gun.”

“I shall take your word for it. Thank you for trusting me with this, Dean. I know it must not have been easy.”

“It should have been. You’re my sister. I should have told you sooner.”

“Dean, I –” I too, had not told him my identity. He had trusted me. Should I extend that same trust in return? “I am –”

“Shit!” The car jerked to a sudden stop, throwing me against my seatbelt as a large truck suddenly zoomed through the intersection ahead of us, ignoring the red light. The sound of police sirens soon followed as they poured through in pursuit. “Damn it. Idiots are going to get someone killed driving like that.”

The moment passed and we returned home without having told him anything.

---

Is Elaine even good enough to have imposter syndrome? Find out next time. As an aside, if I were to stat Amy out, she would absolutely have a Lustful of 16.

It is October of 2010.

We have arrived at a rest period.

First is to tally checkmarks.

Next is training and practice. You may select any one of the following improvements:

Please structure this vote as:
[ ] [Training] Skills 1, Skills 2, Skills 3, etc.
>As a reminder, Elaine does have midterms this month.

Next, you receive your monthly allowance. Given your status as a Wealthy Heiress, you earn $100.

Remember, if at any time you wish to buy something from the shop, please do a write in as below, and I will add it to the next vote.
[ ] [Shop] (Write-In)


You have the opportunity to generate a new passion, Amor (Amy). Amor passions are particularly powerful (Think Lancelot and Guinevere or Tristam and Isolde), as instead of the +5 a normal passion would give when invoked, they instead give a +10. Be warned however, that this will very obviously affect your relationship going forward if you choose to generate this.
[Amor] Yes
[Amor] No


You are currently following the Adventure of the Haunted Storage shed, but Erin has promised to take over and help. In the meantime, what do you do?
[ ] [Adventure] The Adventure of Aggressive Animals
>The animals in the forest are acting strangely aggressive. It might be worth investigating.
[ ] [Adventure] The Adventure of the Forbidden Woods
>There is a part of the woods where you fear to tread. Maybe you should find out why.
[ ] [Adventure] Raid the Azn Bad Boyz
>A local vigilante, Haze, has offered to lead you to an ABB stash to raid them. It would certainly deal damage to their operations, and there may be the opportunity for looting.
[ ] [Adventure] Focus on your duties
>Do not engage in adventure this month.


Choose an activity to participate in:
[ ] [Activity] Focus on the Student Council
>You will be doing work for the Student Council regardless, this is to spend extra time devoted to the task.
[ ] [Activity] Study Group
>Spend some extra time studying for your classes.
[ ] [Activity] Party
>You’ve been invited to a house party by Chelsea and Morgan.
[ ] [Activity] Modeling
>Victoria apparently has some sort of charity photo shoot she’s attending that she’s invited you to. It could earn you some money on the side if you do well.
[ ] [Activity] Charity
>You could do volunteer work at the local homeless shelter.
[ ] [Activity] Sparring
>You have people you can practice your fighting with now.
[ ] [Activity] Dating
>Victoria has invited you on a double-date (Only available if Amor is chosen, otherwise will default to next highest vote)
[ ] [Activity] Church
>Visit Father DiMaggio at his church.
[ ] [Activity] (Write-In)

Choose someone to spend time with.
[ ] [Social] Dean Stansfield
[ ] [Social] Victoria Dallon
[ ] [Social] Amy Dallon
[ ] [Social] Chelsea and Morgan
[ ] [Social] Erin Archelot
[ ] [Social] Theo Anders
[ ] [Social] Tammi Herren
[ ] [Social] Vedika Dhawan
[ ] [Social] (Write-In)

Tell Dean your Vigilante identiy:
[ ] [Identity] Yes
[ ] [Identity] No

 

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why was she so stupid?

“I wonder sometimes, if there is something broken inside of me,” Elaine had said.

And Amy had responded to that by kissing her? What had she been thinking? Of course Elaine would be upset. God, Elaine probably would never want to even see Amy again after that. Why couldn’t Amy have just been happy with what she had? Why had she reached for something that was beyond her? Why did she always want things that she couldn’t have?

Groaning, Amy scrubbed the tears from her eyes and sat down on the pavement. After she had run away from Elaine, she’d meant to go find Vicky. Instead, she spent a good ten minutes just trying to find her way out of the maze before finally managing to escape. By then she’d calmed down a little. Not a lot, but enough that she decided to leave Vicky alone. No need to ruin her sister’s date the way she’d ruined her own.

So Amy had begun walking home instead. Their house wasn’t that far away. It would probably only be thirty minutes or so on foot. She’d get home before Vicky even. Well, that was what she had thought. She might have overestimated herself. She was only halfway there and her feet were screaming bloody murder at her.

In a sudden fit of pique, Amy yanked her heels off and threw them down the street. She regretted it almost instantly. She’d have to go find them now, she couldn’t just leave them here. Fuck, she was such a screw up. Amy lowered her face into her hands, just blocking out the world.

She’d known for a long time that she wasn’t a good person. A good person wouldn’t have a crush on their own sister. A good person would be training to be a cop or an EMT or something, instead of hiding away in their room reading capefic all the time. A good person would have protected her sister when Chorus hurt her a year ago.

When Vicky had been hurt, Elaine had thrown herself at the attacker. It should have been Amy in her place. If Amy were a good person, she would have been the one in a coma, not Elaine. And now Elaine was awake again, but she was… broken. Everyone around her could see it. She talked differently. She acted differently. She sometimes got this vacant stare as if she were an outsider looking in on her own life.

And yet, at her core, she was that same girl who jumped in to save Vicky. The same girl who took the time to pull injured people from a bus while a gunfight was going on around her. The same girl who didn’t seem to care about the fact that she was shot, the urge to save people had been more important.

Elaine was a good person. Amy was not.

Perhaps that was why Amy had begun falling for her. She was everything Amy wanted to be and yet wasn’t. If anything, Elaine was a great deal like Vicky. She had that same brash need to help people. That same easy charm that made everyone around her love her. More than anything, she made Amy feel safe when she was around.

Wasn’t that just a twisted mess in and of itself. Amy knew some part of her was treating Elaine like a replacement Victoria. A Victoria who it was safe for her to love. It was fucked up. She knew that and did it anyway.

Elaine even looked like she could be Victoria’s little sister. More so than Amy ever had. She had the same blonde hair and blue eyes. Her eyes were slightly larger, her face slightly rounder; it just served to make her a smaller, cuter version. Victoria had started calling her ‘Little Sis’ as a joke when she started dating Dean, way back when. Amy had hated it at the time, had felt like she was being replaced. Now though… Now she was imaging Elaine was actually her sister and making out with her and fuck she was a fucking mess. What was wrong with her?

“Ugh.” Amy scrubbed a hand across her eyes, trying to get rid of the tears, though it felt like she only succeeded in smearing her makeup. Why couldn’t her brain just stop sometimes? She didn’t need that image when she was already feeling guilty.

Despite her internal protestations, her mind shot into overdrive. The memory of Elaine’s bare back, tightly corded with lean muscle. The taste of her lips. The sight of her big… aqua… eyes staring up at her?

Amy frowned. That couldn’t be right. She remembered Elaine having the same color of eyes as Vicky, and Vicky’s were a bright blue. She couldn’t just be misremembering right? People’s eyes didn’t just change color like that.

No, she was probably just overthinking it. She could check some of the old photos on Vicky’s phone when she got home later. Which… she had been sitting here throwing herself a pity party more than long enough. She got up, walking over to where she’d thrown her shoes.

The first had landed near the street and was retrieved easily enough. The second had landed near an alleyway. She made her way over, only to groan as the sudden sensation of stepping barefoot into a puddle hit her part way there. Goddamnit. Where had this even come from? It hadn’t rained for nearly two weeks now.

The place smelled too. Amy wrinkled her nose. Not that she was thinking earlier, but she really should have chosen somewhere better to throw her things. She picked the shoe up, sighing as she noticed it too was dripping. Ugh, it felt sticky too. What had it even fallen in? Amy raised her the shoe up towards a streetlight and froze as she saw that her hand was smeared red.

“Well, well. I was wondering how long it would take you to notice.”

Amy slowly turned her head to the alleyway. In it, a figure stood, shrouded by shadow. The only distinctive feature she could make out were the brilliant crimson eyes. She tried to move, to run away, to scream – and did nothing. She just stood there, caught by those eyes.

There was a flick, a spark, and a lighter drove away the darkness in the alleyway. At the figure’s feet lay a corpse with its ribcage torn open, its heart torn out. Blood pooled beneath it, draining out towards the street. The figure smiled, revealing a pair of wickedly sharp fangs behind its blood-stained lips.

“I think I recognize you. Dallon right? The leftover.”

Amy’s throat bobbed, trying to force words to escape.

“Heh. Seems they didn’t even care enough to keep an eye on you. Too bad. I guess that’s just luck for you, or perhaps fate. Either way, you’ll have to do for tonight’s dessert.”

The lighter flicked closed. The last thing Amy saw was a pair of red eyes.

• ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Amy woke to her phone ringing and a pounding headache.

“Ugh, what…?”

The phone stopped ringing as the call went to voicemail, only to start ringing again a second later. Blindly, she grabbed for the phone, missing it her first two tries before finally managing to hit answer.

“Hello…?”

“Amy?!” Victoria’s voice came through, frantic. “Where are you?! I’ve been calling for the last half hour!”

Amy ran a hand over her face. She was in her bedroom. Safe. Completely safe. “I’m fine. I’m home. Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.”

“Okay. Okay. That’s good. Sorry. I was really worried when I couldn’t find you and you weren’t answering.”

“Sorry. I was just… drained.”

And wasn’t that the truth. Amy must have been really tired to have fallen asleep in the state she had. She was lying on top of her sheets, still in her dress. Her makeup had smeared on her pillow, so she hadn’t washed that off either. She could barely even remember the walk home she’d been so out of it half way through.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. I’m coming home now, are you okay to talk when I get there?”

“I… Not tonight. I just need to be by myself for now.”

“Alright. I’m here for you if you need me.”

“I know,” Amy whispered. “Thanks Vicky. I love you.”

“Love you too, Ames.”

Amy closed the phone and let herself fall back into bed. Tired as she was, she couldn’t seem to fall back to sleep. Despite her exhaustion, she was wired, like that time she’d drunk three energy drinks back to back. Amy slowly pushed herself out of bed and yanked her door open. It came easier than it had been lately – maybe it was finally loosening up.

Victoria’s room was one door down from mine. Where mine was largely barren of decoration, she had posters hung up on her wall. Some of capes, but others were of women basketball players. Victoria had once dreamed of going Pro herself, or at least doing College basketball, but that dream had been crushed when she triggered. Capes weren’t allowed to play sports.

Walking over to her desk, Amy picked up a framed photo. Victoria, Amy, Dean, and Elaine all together. Amy was barely in the photo, standing off the side. Elaine was smiling brightly, pinned between Victoria and Dean. It was an expression I hadn’t seen her wear since the accident. Her eyes were a bright blue.

Amy set the photo down. She wasn’t sure what it meant. For now, she was going to go down to the kitchen and grab a glass of water. For some reason, she just felt really thirsty.