March 13, 2000
Coralis was invited to attend a mating ball hosted by the Swamtons, a prominent fay family. They wanted to find a bride for Ollyo, the eldest son and heir of Syllyan Swanton. They invited dozens of single elemental women from prominent families or deemed powerful.
Coralis didn't want to go. She knew Ollyo very well: he was always surrounded by all kinds of women and never took anything seriously. She didn't think that there was any type of being he didn't sleep with. She dated his cousin Rowan for a short period, but his father was always in their business and they ultimately realized that it was better for them to remain friends instead of pushing for a relationship that would feel forced.
To convince her to come, they told her they were close to her parents, that it's what they would want her to do, and to bring a single friend with her. She was still angry at her parents: she thought they should never have gotten involved with Lord Meozo in the first place and stood up to him, but she didn't know what their deal was with the Swamtons.
Remembering her dad's warning in his letter, about not trusting anyone, she suspected that the fay family was connected to the rise of the movement against humans. She agreed to go with Princess Veronica, the youngest child of King Matthew, thinking they could possibly find out more about what they were up to.
Coralis had no interest in Ollyo Swamton and the feeling was mutual. She refused to be tied up to him. However, his father kept trying to push them together.
"I don't get the Syllyan obsession with me, I'm not even a fay. Even Ollyo is not interested," said Coralis, sitting at the bar with Princess Veronica. "The way I look at it, either it has to do with my parents, or they want me as their weapon. Either way, he's got an ulterior motive, I'm sure."
"I'd say all of the above. Your parents were involved in a lot of shady craps and we know they want you on their side in their campaign against humans. I can agree that it would be nice to not have to hide, but I can't stand behind the way they go about it. They don't want equality, they want superiority, to be above everyone else. I can't trust them," said Princess Veronica.
"They have a paw in just about every cookie jar and have a lot of influence in the investment sector. I want to know what they are up to, but there is no way I am going to bind myself to Ollyo to find out, can't do it. I'm just thankful that they don't know my civil name and seem to think that my parents named me Blue Thunder."
"Hmm, I think I have an idea. No, I got a great idea that could potentially get them to back off on you AND spice up this evening a little bit. Do you have any romantic interest in any male in here?"
"Nope, the single ladies in here can have them."
Coralis saw Rowan approaching the bar, but she wasn't worried about him overhearing them talking against his relatives: she knew he was close to his father, but not with the rest of them. Syllyan, Ollyo's father, was the brother of Rowan's father.
"Perfect! See the pillar over there by the VIP area?" said Princess Veronica, pointing to a large pillar by the shadows on the left side of the VIP area.
"Yeah, I see it."
"What about we pretend to hide behind it and get into a heated make-out session? Let them think we got the hots for each other."
"Hmm, that might turn on Ollyo," said Rowan Swamton from behind Coralis, "but I know his dad wants the bride to only have eyes for his eldest son… so your idea might work, Princess Veronica. If you need me to, I could spread the rumour to the family."
A grin appeared on the faces of both women.
"Okay, sure, let's do this!" said Coralis. She chugged the rest of her drink, took Veronica's hand and led her to the pillar. "Wanna go full groping or keep it family-friendly?"
"Depends on who's watching. I don't think we need to rip our clothes off, but let's give them a show with our dress on while pretending to believe that the pillar is hiding us. Tonight, honey, you're mine!"
The two women walked behind the pillar. Princess Veronica pinned Coralis against the pillar, grabbed both of her hands and kept them above her head against the surface of the pillar.
"Ready to play?" whispered Princess Veronica in her left ear.
"I was born ready, my love."
They could feel eyes on them, so Veronica started kissing her ear, trailing down to her neck and collarbone. Coralis pretended to moan while Veronica tried to hold her laughter in.
Meanwhile, Rowan walked into the VIP area and sat with some of his cousins. He told them that he saw Princess Veronica and Blue Thunder making out on his way in. It didn't take long for Syllyan to seek out Coralis to have a chat with her.
"You do know that your family was very close to ours, right?" said Syllyan.
His mate, Luian, sat to his right, and Rowan's parents sat on the couch to his left. Coralis sat on Veronica's lap on a single-seater sofa. Coralis saw more fays around the room, but she only knew a few of them.
"So you told me. I am not my parents, though."
"That's a shame, really. Your parents had so much hopes for you."
"You can't be saying that Blue failed her parents. I mean, she's quite the superstar among the mages. I know my dad would be proud of me if I had her track record at that age. Isn't it why you wanted her to come to a mating ball she had no interest in?" said Princess Veronica.
"If you must know, Princess Veronica, my mate and I had an arrangement with Blue Thunder's parents, that if neither of our eldest children had found a mate, they would mate each other."
"No offence, sir, but I will not be binding myself to Ollyo. My parents are dead, as you know all too well, so they can't confirm this. Whether or not you like it, Princess Veronica and I are very close and I will not let her go for someone who drops his pants for any female he sees," said Coralis, caressing Veronica's back with her left hand, her right hand loosely wrapped around her neck.
"I have much respect for the ruling vampire family of Chicago and I do not wish to offend King Matthew's family, so I will not be discussing this matter further tonight, but know that this is not over," said Syllyan.
Princess Veronica drank the rest of her wine and stood, wrapped her right arm around Coralis' waist and walked out of the VIP area, heading to the bar.
"That was fun," whispered Princess Veronica in Coralis' ear, "we should do that more often."
"Thank you for saving my soul on that one, I owe you."
"Are you kidding me? I think you are the only witch out there that my family trusts at the moment. You've been more effective in handling our mess than any of the so-called agents who supposedly came to help us. Trust me, you don't owe me anything on this. Besides, your scent is so intoxicating, I could play this all night with you."
"Still, thanks a lot for that."
"Don't you find it interesting that in the banking world, the goblins are known to be shady and untrustworthy while people would trust the fays with everything they own? The fays are just as bad as the goblins, if not worse. They could be selling your grandmother behind your back and you would never know. With the goblins at least, you know what to expect."