Duplicitous: The Leordian Chronicles

by JC Dameron

  "Oh, yea, The early beginnings of courtship," Leaha agreed with Ethan, as they laughed together.

  Seles and Grimaldi immediately ceased bickering, and focused on their own plates, making sure not to make even the slightest bit of eye contact. After we had eaten, Grimaldi and Seles gathered our plates and took them to the dishwasher, still cautiously dodging any contact with each other that could be misconstrued.

  "They'll realize they have something, one day," Leaha said, placing her head on Ethan's shoulder.

  "Vel, how did your night with Lucas go after retrieving his clothes?" Ethan asked.

  My heart rose to my throat, as Leaha quickly sat up animated.

  "You retrieved his clothing!" Leaha barked out loudly.

  I heard dishes clank against a table, and felt Ether flow into me, as Seles flashed in beside me, having enhanced her speed so as not to miss my answer.

  "Seles, mind your business, and come help me clean these dishes!" Grimaldi yelled from the kitchen.

  She chuckled, waving her hand toward the kitchen, ignoring Grimaldi.

  "Why did he need you to get him clothes hmm?" Seles questioned.

  Ethan, clearly uncomfortable with how Leaha and Seles reacted to his question, stood to his feet.

  "I'm sorry, Vel, I didn't mean to be intrusive," he apologized and began to make his way to the door, eager for an excuse to quickly end this conversation. "You two come with me, I need help recalibrating the decompression chamber before we move Aaron to it," he said to Leaha and Seles, who sighed before standing.

  "Come to the rejuv room in an hour, Vel, I'm sure Aaron will be happy to see you," Leaha said, following Ethan as he walked to the regular elevator.

  "Okay, I'll be there," I replied, as they walked away.

  Realizing that I had time before the decompression was finished, I stood to my feet and prepared to go to the lab to speak to Lucas.

  "Grimaldi, would you like my help?" I asked.

  "No, majesty, I would never have you dirty your hands with a chore such as this."

  I had expected such a response from him. Normally, I would have insisted, but I was short on time.

  "Okay, well dinner dishes are mine then," I said.

  "As you wish, majesty," Grimaldi said from the kitchen.

  I walked out of the lounge, thankful for those that I held dear, even though I knew that he wouldn't truly allow me to sully my oh so royal hands with dishwater.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Happy Birthday

  When I arrived at the lab, I looked in through the window, and I saw Lucas pushing Vesta around in a wheeled chair.

  "Aunt Vel!" Vesta exclaimed, noticing me enter the lab.

  "Hey," I said with a smile, walking to her. 'What's with the chair?"

  Lucas smiled, as he pushed on a device near the wheels, which seemed to lock them in place.

  "Leaha brought her by this morning, and she asked Felix and I to show her around the lab and maybe teach her about some of the technology here," Lucas said, patting Vesta on the head. "She was struggling with the crutches, so I asked one of the agents to see if they had any wheelchairs, and it turns out they did."

  It was odd to see the Lucas that I knew, who pretended to think of only himself, going out of his way to spend time with Vesta. Of course she was obviously thrilled and quite captivated by his charms.

  "Uncle Lucas told me that you're taking care of him too, Aunt Vel," Vesta proclaimed.

  I looked to Lucas, who's smile had turned to an uncertain glance.

  "Uncle Lucas, huh?" I stated with a raised brow. "Well it’s true that I am responsible for him, but he's big enough to take care of himself."

  "Are you two going to be married soon?" She asked, in the innocent way that children do.

  "Married?" I choked out, turning every shade of red imaginable.

  "Yea, I really like Uncle Lucas; he's very nice you know, and he is very handsome!" Vesta said, beaming at Lucas.

  Lucas jumped in, clearly seeing my discomfort. "Well Vesta, if I were to marry your Aunt Vel, then I wouldn't be able to marry you once you're older." Lucas winked at me while he smiled at Vesta, and her face lit up at his words.

  "I guess you're right," she said. "You can be my husband when I'm old enough, it'll be like a wedding at the castle, simply magical." she finished, taking his hand.

  I laughed a little, surprised how sweet Lucas was able to be when he tried. Felix walked over from Mahnon, carrying what looked like a chocolate cake that had ten pink candles on it.

  "What's this?" I asked.

  Felix brushed his wiry gray mustache with his fingers, crinkling his hooked nose just slightly before he spoke.

  "Well, Lucas and I decided that since Vesta here is starting a new life in our world, she deserves to have a proper birthday," he said, placing the cake on the table nearest us.

  "I've been alive for ten years, so according to the customs of this world, I must have a cake with ten candles to celebrate those years," Vesta said, clearly proud of herself for having grasped the customs of this world so quickly.

  Lucas rolled her over to the table, and all of the researchers gathered around, and they began to sing a song about having a happy birthday. In Leordia, we didn't celebrate the day of our birth, we only celebrated a glorious death in battle. But I had to admit it looked like a fun tradition. And who didn’t like having cake? After they were done singing, Lucas told Vesta to blow out her candles, and I felt Ether build inside me.

  "Vesta, sweetie. I think he means with your breath," I chuckled, looking at the blank stares of those around us who were unaware that Vesta was about to manifest an invocation to blow out the candles.

  Vesta reached her head forward, and she blew out all of the candles in a single breath. As she sat back in her chair, Lucas placed his hand on her shoulder, and she looked back to him, smiling.

  "Happy birthday, Vesta," Lucas said to her.

  Felix cut the cake, handing out pieces to everyone.

  "Lucas, may I have a word?" I said, signaling him to follow me away from the crowd.

  As he approached, I noticed that Vesta's face was illuminated; she was thrilled to be sitting at the table with Felix and the researchers, and of course thrilled to be eating cake. Lucas and I walked to the other end of the room, far enough away that we couldn't be heard.

  "What's up?" Lucas asked.

  I was surprised by his nonchalant demeanor.

  "Well, don't you think we should talk about last night?" I asked, somewhat perturbed.

  "What about it?" He seemed completely oblivious to my discomfort.

  "You know what I mean, Lucas, don't make me actually say it." I was quickly turning red again and my hands started to fidget of their own accord.

  "Vel, listen, if you can't say it, we probably shouldn't talk about it," he started. "To be honest, I 'm just glad that you're feeling better; that must have been one heck of a dream." He puckered his lips.

  "Lucas, I swear," I said in a threatening tone.

  "Don't sweat it Vel, nothing happened, it was just a little kiss." he shrugged his shoulders, as if it were nothing. "I wouldn't want to ruin your chances with Captain prissy boy," he said, smirking.

  I was more than a bit displeased by his attitude, and his words, but rather than causing a scene, I simply turned and walked away. Of course there was a strong possibility that I was fantasizing about straightening out his freshly broken nose.

  "Vel," Lucas called out to me, but I kept walking. "I'm sorry, Vel, come back!" He called out to me again, but it was too late.

  I breezed through the door, and I made my way to the elevator to meet up with Leaha and Ethan, eager to be rid of any thought of one Lucas Wright.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The Truth

  Upon arriving at the third floor, I met up with Leaha outside of the rejuv room.

  "Good Timing, Vel," Leaha said, as I walked to her. "Ethan is finalizing Aaron's decompression now, they should be done any minute
."

  I was glad to hear things were going smoothly, but I couldn't stop thinking about how angry Lucas's words had made me.

  "I'm glad," I said, not really in the mood for conversation.

  "Everything okay, Vel?" Leaha asked.

  Leaha knew me too well for me to play off that I was okay, I knew that I was going to have to tell her everything.

  "Not really," I admitted. "Last night, I had a dream."

  "A dream? What kind of dream?" Leaha probed.

  "I don't really want to go into details, but it was a terrible dream. So bad in fact, that I woke up in tears," I said, remembering how I felt as I awoke. "Lucas was there, and he kissed me."

  "So, he kissed you, or did you kiss each other?" She asked, astutely.

  "Well he kissed me first, but I gave into him, and I kissed him back," I said, hiding my face behind my hair.

  "Listen, Vel, you've been through a lot the last few days. It's not unreasonable that you would need to blow off some steam, and having Lucas there and willing was a perfect opportunity to do just that," she said, brushing my hair to the side. "We all have nights we're not proud of, like the blacksmith's son for example.”

  I picked my head up, and I looked her in the eyes.

  "It wasn't like that, Leaha, we just kissed," I said, correcting her.

  "Doesn't matter, Vel. The premise is still the same," she said, defensively. "Have you spoken to Lucas about it yet?"

  "Yes, I just came from the lab," I said, as anger swelled up inside me once again, as I thought about Lucas's words.

  "And he didn't say what you wanted to hear?" She guessed, squinting her eyes as she analyzed my reactions.

  "It's not that, he really just blew it off as if it weren't a big deal at all," I replied.

  "But it was to you?" She asked, opening her eyes wide once again.

  "I don't know Leaha, I'm not sure how I feel," I sighed, turning my back to the wall and placing the back of my head against it.

  Leaha giggled as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

  "Well, the good news is that you don't have to be sure. You're the one holding the reins, Vel, and that goes for Aaron too," she stated, mimicking me by placing her head against the wall.

  I bounced forward, putting my hand to my forehead.

  "That's the other thing, Leaha. I like Aaron, and I trust him. I watched him shield Vesta with his own body yesterday; Lucas would never have done that, I don't think, but then today I walk into the lab to find him throwing a party for her," I said, pulling on my hair.

  "That's so sweet!" She smiled. "I knew Felix would take good care of her, but I'm happy that Lucas joined in," Popping up from the wall as well. "You could always go the Count Drakhen route!" She said, bursting into laughter as she laid her head on my shoulder, comparing me to her Uncle, who had taken sixteen wives.

  "Ummm thanks, but no thanks," I said, unable to prevent myself from laughing.

  We laughed for a moment before Leaha embraced me, whispering into my ear. "Listen, Vel. Aaron and Lucas are both good guys; however, you've known them both for less than a week, you don't need to choose one right away."

  "Well, I promised Aaron a date," I said, remembering my promise.

  "Good, dating is what you need so you can figure out how you really feel," she stated, pulling away from me. "Just be up front with both of them and tell them that you're attracted to them both, and that there won't be any funny business, but that you're interested in dating each of them to get to know them better. You're like the real life Bachelorette!" She chuckled, though I wasn't sure what she meant.

  I heard the door that led to the rejuv room open, and Ethan walked out first, followed by Aaron. I rushed past Ethan, and I embraced Aaron, placing my head on his chest while fighting back my tears.

  "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that," I said, remembering that my inaction allowed him to be injured in the first place.

  "It wasn't your fault, Vel," Aaron said, placing his head on mine.

  I released my hold on him, and I turned to find Ethan and Leaha smiling at me.

  "That's enough you two, we all know you're the perpetual teasers here," Aaron said to them, finding words more quickly than I.

  "You're no fun, Aaron," Leaha said, frowning.

  "Well, I bet you're hungry after a day in the rejuv tank," Ethan chimed in.

  "Yea, I'm starved," Aaron replied, rubbing his stomach.

  "I'll have the guys work something up for you," Ethan said, turning to walk to the elevator.

  "Actually Ethan, hold off for now," Aaron said, smiling meekly. "Vel, would you like to grab some pizza? I know I said it would be just you and me, but I won't be cleared to drive for a few days. So would it be okay if Ethan and Leaha drove and joined us?" He asked, awkwardly.

  I smiled, knowing he was more worried about how he would come across if we were alone than his driving ability, but I also liked that about him.

  "That would be great," I replied, taking his hand.

  "Pizza it is!" Leaha proclaimed as she rubbed her swollen belly.

  I felt a rush of excitement swell up inside me. Maybe Leaha was right, and I didn't need to choose between Aaron and Lucas. And based on Lucas's reaction to me earlier, I wasn't even sure there was a choice to be made. As we walked into the elevator, I remembered Leaha's driving, and I stopped to speak.

  "Leaha, I know you're excited to go, but please Ethan can you drive?" I begged as we all burst into laughter.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  President Popovich

  We arrived at Di Fara Pizza in one piece, no thanks to Leaha's constant badgering while Ethan was driving. Once we entered the building, both Ethan and Aaron were gracious enough to seat Leaha and me before sitting next to each of us respectively. I smiled at Leaha, feeling very much respected, not as his queen, but as someone whom he genuinely wanted to be with. We ordered two of the Di Fara Classic Pies, both including their famous sausage, peppers, mushrooms, and onion mix. While we ate, the conversation revolved around the events which Aaron had missed after being injured, protecting Vesta.

  "So, you're telling me that the little girl is the one who saved our skins?" Aaron asked, surprised.

  "Yes, she manifested an invocation unlike any I've ever seen," I answered.

  Ethan, sitting across from us, was very uncomfortable. He had asked that we keep the conversation away from caster related topics while in public, but Aaron kept the conversation rolling.

  "That's amazing, a larping adventure for the books!" He proclaimed, aloud, hoping to appease his brother's discomfort.

  Ethan pulled a device, which Leaha reminded me was a cell phone, from his jacket pocket.

  "This is Briggs," he stated professionally.

  I knew it had to be someone from the UTF for him to answer the way he did. Ethan was very serious about his job, and he was always on call.

  "Very good, text me the access code, there is a telepad near us," he said, standing to his feet. "Sorry to ruin your date, but we have to go, now," Ethan said, pulling some currency from his pocket, and placing it on the table.

  Aaron stood as well, pulling my chair out for me, and Ethan followed suit for Leaha.

  "What's up, E?" Aaron asked as we followed Ethan out of Di Fara.

  "We can't talk about it here, we have to go to the telepad at Touro College, which isn't very far from here," Ethan said, as his phone chimed with a different sound. "I have the access code to enter headquarters, I'll send an agent to pick up the car later. When we arrive, Vel, the team will already be assembled and ready to go. I've instructed Grimaldi to grab the spell blade for you Vel.”

  "What about me?" Aaron asked, noticing Ethan had spoken only to me.

  "You know the protocol, Aaron," Ethan said. "There is a minimum twenty-four hour waiting period after decompression before you can be cleared to see action."

  Aaron, who was clearly disappointed, sighed, but he didn't add further stress to the situation by fighting over Ethan' s
decision to follow protocol. When we arrived at the telepad inside Touro College, Ethan input the coordinates into the control panel and rushed to our side, setting the timer feature. Seconds later, we were standing on the telepad in the UTF headquarters. Leaha, Ethan, and Aaron stepped down. Seles, Grimaldi, and four UTF agents walked into the room and joined me on the telepad within seconds of our arrival.

  "I'm going to head to the control room, Ethan, you can update me on the situation when you get there," Leaha said, quickly exiting the room.

  Ethan walked over to the control panel, and input coordinates, before briefing us on the situation at hand.

  "As many of you know, a man named Alexander Popovich has recently been elected as the new President of Russia," Ethan stated. "Moments ago, while being transported in a motorcade, his car was attacked by a caster. Reports indicate the attacker is a person wearing a cloak with a dragon mask and seems to have manifested fire to rain down upon the motorcade. As of now, President Popovich seems to be okay, but he and a handful of his men are locked down inside of a building which seems to be holding for now; although, we all know that a building isn't going to be enough," Ethan stated, understanding all too well that The Dragon's abilities could easily destroy the building.

  There were far more questions than answers surrounding the caster known as, The Dragon. However, Seles and Grimaldi had explained that she had, at times in the past, fought alongside them to repel Astiel's forces.

  "You've all seen the after effects of The Dragons abilities, and you know this is the type of fight which we have been dreading; however, we cannot allow her to get away with attacking a Head of State," Ethan said, knowing that the result of a battle with someone using Forbidden Spells could easily result in mass casualties. "If you are able to capture her, it would be best, but if you get a shot, take it." He lowered his head in frustration.

  Ethan was a human of this world, yet he still showed compassion for a caster. His marriage to Leaha was proof that he didn't see a difference between us, other than our abilities.