Midnight's Blossom

by Corinn Heathers

  “At least it should be easier to convince them to save one of their own, though spies do tend to be disavowed when no longer viable—”

  “We have to sell it to them,” I interrupted, unwilling to follow Rose's thoughts down that particular dark path. “All of it. Not just breaking Mother out of prison. We have to convince them, somehow, to begin operations immediately, before the conservatives on the Court get enough votes to declare war.”

  Rose's eyes went wide and round. “How the fuck are we supposed to do all of that?”

  “I don't know, but we have to do it. I know someone who might be willing to help.”

  “Is that why you asked me to drive you to the Cabal building?”

  I nodded.

  “You're going to talk to Master Shimizu?”

  “How'd you guess?”

  “You don't make it very challenging, Lily.” Rose's giggles were far more genuine this time. “Shion told me all about how aloof and distant you are with every other master. Then Yukari comes walking by and you follow her around like a lost puppy and can't tear your eyes off her.”

  I scarcely noticed the heat suffusing my cheeks. Rose was too good at making me blush. “That… I mean, it really doesn't bother you? I feel kind of… guilty. I, um, try to keep things between us from getting inappropriate, but—”

  “Gods, Lily, you're so adorably dense sometimes.” She shook her head slowly, apparently trying to keep from bursting into distracting gales of laughter. “I already told you it doesn't bother me. More than once.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. There's nothing to be guilty for.” She shot me a sidelong glance as she sent the car down the ramp that would take us to the surface streets near the Cabal building. Slowly, a sinister expression began to creep across her face and I was instantly on my guard.

  “What are you plotting?” I demanded, suddenly wary.

  “Oh, nothing, really. Just a fun little wager, is all.”

  I sank lower into my seat. “You're not going to—”

  “Oh, yes, I am.” Rose cackled like a forest witch who had just obtained a rare mushroom. “If you ask Yukari out on a date tonight, I'll cook anything you want for the rest of the week. Romantic dinners until Monday. How's that sound?”

  I had to admit, that did sound rather enticing…

  “What if I can't?”

  Rose's grin was excessively smug. “Then you have to help me and Dad with paperwork this weekend. It'll be the most boring thing you've ever done in your life, trust me.”

  “You're making this too easy on me,” I retorted, narrowing my eyes at her. “Suspiciously easy, I might add.”

  “Oh, but there's more.” The smirk became predatory. “You have to kiss her, too.”

  “W-what if she doesn't want to?”

  The way Rose rolled her eyes at my feeble objection spoke volumes.

  “I'm starting to think you're enjoying this,” I grumbled.

  “Oh no!” My partner covered her mouth in mock surprise. “Could it be that she's discovered my true motives? I've been found out! Whatever shall I do?” Rose's tone shifted, becoming less teasing and more earnest. “I don't want you to feel guilty for the leanings of your heart, my adorably awkward little red lily. I trust you implicitly. I know you won't forsake me.”

  Chapter 23

  Soft Engagement

  Later that afternoon, we arrived at the Cabal building. I found Yukari in her office. The lights were dim, as usual, and it seemed that more illumination was emanating from the flat-panel displays than the overhead panels. She stared into her screens with her peculiar absentminded intensity. Her knee bounced up and down underneath the desk, the heel of her shoe tapping out an unfamiliar rhythm.

  Rose and I approached the desk and Yukari glanced at me out of the corner of her eyes. Her lips twitched just faintly, as if she had stopped an involuntary smile before it could begin. The staccato clicking of the keys ceased immediately and she pushed the chair out.

  “Lily,” the master mage stated, not quite able to keep her tone from sounding pleased. Her lips pursed as she noticed Rose. “And Rose Merope. What are you two doing here?”

  “Your office is warded, right?”

  Yukari nodded. “Better than the rest of the building.”

  “I take it you've heard that my mother, Juno Alcyone, was arrested by IPSB and is being charged with espionage and treason.” I kept my voice under control as best I could, but the sympathy-filled look Yukari gave me made it clear I didn't do a very good job of it.

  “Yes. Ordinarily I would find this unusual, as the Empire's security force is notoriously tight-lipped.”

  “Not when it'll help them gain the popular support necessary to start a war,” I mumbled, almost under my breath. “I think… no, I'm almost positive that my great-uncle, Lord Cyrus Alcyone, is one of the driving forces behind all of this. It's my belief that he is attempting to use Mother's connection to the anti-government faction as a way to achieve his goals.”

  Yukari arched a dark eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “Normally he'd try to hide something like this, especially so soon after taking over the Alcyone headship. Another scandal involving his niece would only present rival families with a target of opportunity. The nascent House Alcyone under Lord Cyrus's leadership is in a terribly vulnerable position. Other highborn families will be watching closely for any misstep they can exploit.”

  “So why isn't he trying to hide it, then?”

  Like with Rose, I found it very easy to look into Yukari's eyes. I had a habit of avoiding the gaze of most people, even those I knew very well. I'd spent hours nearly every day training with Shion, and considered them a friend, but it was still uncomfortable to hold their gaze for longer than a few moments.

  “I don't think he has a choice. I think someone's already gotten to him. There has to be another House involved, an influential family with the resources to have uncovered Mother's clandestine activities. It's likely they approached Cyrus with this damning information and coerced him into striking a deal.”

  Yukari drummed her fingertips on the desk's surface. “Blackmail?”

  I nodded.

  “What else?”

  “The punishment for treason is death,” I said in a low voice just above a whisper. “Mother will be executed for her crimes against the Empire. She's the only family I have that cares for me, that loves me. I have to… I have to save her!”

  Putting it into words, saying it out loud—somehow the impact was just so much greater than merely thinking about it. And I had been thinking about it almost continuously after Cassius told us of the charges.

  “But… I can't do it alone,” I blurted. “I need help.”

  The master mage looked surprised. “My help?”

  “Y-yeah. I don't… I didn't know who else to ask. It's a lot to ask—far too much, in fact, especially since we've only known each other for a short time, but if Rose's idea works then we may be able to stop the war from happening, or at the very least delay it enough so that Fialla has more time to prepare—”

  “I'll help.”

  “—and though it's certainly a remote chance, I think we should…” I trailed off abruptly and regarded Yukari in disbelief. “W-what?”

  “I said I'll help.”

  Rose gawked at her. “Just like that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Not that I'm complaining or anything, but may I ask why?”

  I glared up at Rose and opened my mouth to object to her interrogation, but Yukari held a hand up to stop me.

  “It's a reasonable question.” The master mage shrugged and adjusted her glasses. “The safety of miinari refugees in Fialla would be severely compromised if the Empire's forces were successful in occupying the country. I, and every other master and adept of the Cabal, would have our lives forfeit under Solarian theocratic rule.”

  “I see,” Rose observed. “What will your order think of this decision? Will the other masters attempt to stop you?�
��

  “Doubtful, but even if they do, they do not control me. On the contrary, I suspect many of the Cabal will likewise attempt to defend the order in their own way, though I doubt the others will seek to treat directly with Solaria's anti-government faction.”

  “A pragmatic mindset.”

  “Yes. However…” Yukari's cool demeanor seemed to crack, just a little. “It would be dishonest not to admit that there are… other factors in my decision. It would not do to hide the leanings of my heart.” A faint blush appeared on her cheeks and this time she looked away. “I trust the both of you understand what I am saying.”

  I wiped the moisture from my eyes and stiffened as I heard Rose's smug snickering.

  “I'm starting to think your tears have magical mind-controlling powers,” she quipped. “First Dad and now Yukari. Can we bottle some of those, send them to the Solarian empress maybe? Would probably stop their crusade dead in its tracks.”

  I scowled at her. “Rose! This isn't the time for jokes.”

  “You've got to ease the tension a little,” Rose retorted, “or you're going to break down from the stress. You're already under a tremendous amount, what with the training and everything.” She put a finger against my lips to silence any potential arguments. “Speaking of easing the tension a little, don't you have something else to ask Yukari?”

  “I—I'm getting to that!” I waved my hands frantically before me. “I expected this discussion to take a lot longer!”

  “Hmm?” The half-fey master's head tilted in query. “There's something else?”

  “Y-yeah,” I mumbled. I met her eyes and did my best not to let my nervousness show. It was undoubtedly unsuccessful. “Do you want to… go out to dinner with me?”

  Yukari blinked. “Pardon?”

  I could almost feel Rose's suppressed laughter.

  “Tonight, I mean. Would you like to?”

  Those huge ruby eyes glimmered in the dim glow of the small office, but Yukari didn't respond right away. That momentary pause couldn't have taken more than a few seconds, but it felt as if time had stretched into infinity. Behind me, Rose snickered. I suppressed a sudden intense desire to swat at her.

  “Lily,” Yukari began, in a soft and dulcet voice that was quite different from any I'd ever heard her use, “are you asking me out on a date?”

  I knew I'd turned beet-red by this point, but it was far too late to stop now. “Yeah, a date.”

  “Truly?”

  I nodded several times.

  The joy that flooded Yukari's face was palpable, and it instantly dispelled the anxiety I'd felt up until this point. I'd never seen her look so happy in the entire time I'd known her. The half-fey woman's usual cool aloofness vanished without a trace.

  “I'd been hoping you'd ask me,” she said in that same soft, dreamy tone. “For a while. I just didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable since you're from the Empire and they have such an, um, restrictive outlook on such things…” She trailed off and favored me with a sweet smile. “I'm very happy you asked me, and even happier to accept!”

  *

  “See,” Rose gloated from the driver's seat, “I told you so.”

  For once, I was not sitting next to her. Instead, I shared the car's back seat with Yukari. Over the course of the past few minutes, she'd edged closer to me until we were comfortably nestled together, her head resting on my shoulder.

  “What did I do to deserve you, Rose?”

  “Hmm… well, let's see.” She started to count off with her fingers. “You're smart and tough, loyal and kind. You're also the cutest girl I've ever met in my life, and you're so much fun to tease.”

  I glared at her through the rear-view mirror. “It was a rhetorical question.”

  “I'm teasing you, of course.”

  “What, you weren't serious about all of that?”

  Yukari's muffled laughter reached my ear and I turned toward her. Behind the enormous round lenses of her glasses, her ruby-colored eyes sparkled. It was obvious she was still giddy with joy at the prospect of a date with me.

  “I can still scarcely believe it,” she gushed, her smile stretched from ear to ear. “It's been such a long time since I last went on a date!”

  “How long?” I asked.

  “Oh my, I should think about sixty years.”

  My mouth dropped open. “That long? B-but how…?”

  “I tend to get rather wrapped up in my work.” Yukari glanced away from me self-consciously for a moment. “It demands much of my focus and energy, and I often ignore my, um, other desires in favor of arcane research. My fellow masters of the Cabal have had to remind me to take my meals on many occasions.”

  “Yeah, but sixty years? You're not fucking with me, are you?” Rose demanded, and I bit off a chuckle at her incredulous expression in the mirror. “Just how old are you, anyway?”

  “Assuming I do not expire from unnatural means, I'll be nearing my second century upon this world in the next few years.”

  “You're seriously almost two hundred years old?”

  The half-fey woman chuckled. “Is it truly so hard to believe?”

  “I knew the fey races weren't exactly 'mortal' in the temporal sense,” Rose continued, slowing the car down as she pulled into a subterranean parking garage beneath our destination. “I just wasn't sure how much of that transferred when you're, uh, half human.”

  “Don't think of it as a dilution, or even a mixing, of bloodlines. The legacy of a union between fey and human is… different. More magic than science.”

  “Weird.”

  “It truly is.” Yukari drew back away from me as the car slowed and approached a free parking spot. The engine's rhythmic combustion ceased as we stopped. “Is this our destination?”

  Rose turned gave us a nod and a grin. “It is. You two have a good time together. I'll come pick you up whenever you're ready.”

  Yukari's head tilted. “You aren't coming with us?”

  “Nope, and you can't convince me to stay, either—so don't try, Lily. I know you're thinking it. I have my own plans tonight.” Rose's grin widened. “Shion and I are for the gym. You're not the only one who desperately needs to let off some steam—we're just going to do it by beating each other senseless.” She cracked her knuckles with a great deal of relish. “And I can't wait.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You two better not hurt each other.”

  “Oh, I'm sure we will, but don't worry. You won't have to clean up any blood, I promise.”

  “That's not what I'm worried about!” I groaned in exaggerated frustration. “I'm worried about you, silly girl.”

  “Like I said, you're so much fun to tease. Now get out of my car or you'll be going on your date in the locker room.”

  Spurred into action by Rose's threat, which was most certainly not an idle one, I opened the door and stepped out onto the concrete surface. Yukari followed suit, and Rose grinned at us through the windshield before peeling out of the garage with reckless abandon. The tires squealed as she took a turn faster than I felt prudent, and the car was gone.

  “She seems quite pleased with the course the evening has taken,” Yukari observed.

  “Yeah. It's a little overwhelming, to be honest.”

  My date for the evening reached out and took my hand. “I will endeavor to ensure you have a good time.”

  Our height was close enough that I did not have to lift my arm to hold her hand, a marked and, I must admit, welcome change from when I was with Rose. We were both dressed casually and so Rose picked a place for us that our attire wouldn't cause us to stand out.

  Yukari and I ascended via the elevator to street level. Through the large windows, I could see a lively, bustling public house filled with various people from all over the world. They were all human, however, but I'd been in Fialla long enough at this point to know that our obvious fey-touched nature wouldn't result in any sort of ill treatment.

  We were greeted by a short—at least by Fiallan standards, and thus s
he still towered over Yukari and me—young woman with a complexion far darker than Rose, indicating that her family hailed from the country's southernmost province, nearest to the western Coalition borderlands. Despite how busy the pub appeared, we were seated quickly in a secluded booth near the kitchen entrance, a fair distance from the noisy bar section.

  “Something smells delicious,” Yukari noted, and she sniffed at the air. A faint growling sound emanated from her midsection. “It seems I'm feeling much more peckish than I anticipated.”

  “Did you remember to eat today?”

  “N-no.” Yukari's cheeks reddened visibly and she adjusted her glasses again. It appeared to be a nervous tic of hers, and it was adorable. “I started working on an analysis this morning and the time just slipped away from me.”

  I winked at her. “Then we're in the right place.”

  We spent the next several minutes deciding on what to order and ultimately agreed upon sharing a large platter of marinated and grilled meats with a pickled chili salad. One of the waitstaff happened by a moment later and took our order.

  “Anything to drink with that, or is water fine?”

  Yukari raised a hand. “I would like a sparkling berry sour.”

  “Got it.” The man turned to gaze at me expectantly. “And for you?”

  “Is that the pink fizzy stuff?”

  “Well, it is sort of pink, and fizzy. Pretty tart, not too sweet.”

  “That sounds like the stuff Rose swiped from her father,” I commented with a smile. “I'll take one of those, also.”

  The waiter arched an eyebrow. “Rose sent you here, did she?”

  “You know her?”

  “Everybody knows Rose. Everybody loves Rose.” His expression became pensive as he scribbled on his notepad. “At least, everybody who works for Merope Consortium interests.”