The Omega Queen

Three

Laverne closed the door before taking her seat behind the desk. The small room was untidy and littered with paperwork. The computer on the desk was old and outdated, not that it would work anyway. It was all cosmetic. With a sigh, she pulled open a drawer and grabbed a bottle of whiskey as well as a pair of glasses.

“Care for a drink, Gethin?”

“I’m on the clock,” he declined, sitting in a ragged and rather rickety chair. It had a metal frame and padding covered in pleather.

“Since when do we care about clocks?” Laverne asked, pouring herself a glass. It wasn’t as if alcohol had any effect on them anyway.

“And what about this room?” Gethin countered. “You can alter the environment to create whatever surroundings you like, and you make such a shambles?”

“Maybe I just don’t want you to be comfortable,” Laverne smirked. “Keeps your visits short.”

“You know, someone in your position would do well to curry a little favor now and again.”

Laverne grunted, “A bwca like you doesn’t have much power and certainly no influence. Only those looking to get out of their contracts would want your favor. I happen to like where I am.”[1]

“And maybe you’ll be forcefully removed from your post. Did you ever think about that?”

“You shouldn’t make idle threats,” Laverne sipped her drink. “Barring the fact that you would have to have my replacement lined up since this domain cannot be without an agent, you and I both know it would take an authority far exceeding yours to remove me. Why don’t you get to the point, Gethin? I may be Fae, but I hate the usual double-talk others are always so preoccupied with.”

“Fine. I’ll be direct. Why is that mutt still hanging around?”

“She has a name, and it’s a good one.”

“She doesn’t belong here.”

“This is a crossroads, Gethin. All those who set out upon a journey are welcome here.”

“Temporarily,” Gethin sneered. “They are not meant to remain, and she’s been here for years!”

“A few is hardly forever,” Laverne shrugged.

“Ten years. That mutt has been here ten years. I don’t even know how you stand the smell.”

“Well, that’s not really your concern, is it?”

“Send the mutt on her way.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Gethin looked aghast. He clearly hadn’t expected an outright refusal.

“I said no,” Laverne repeated, pouring herself another glass. “I like having her here. Besides, we have a contract.”

“A contract?”

Laverne opened a drawer and pulled out a single sheet of paper. She slid it towards him without a word. Disgruntled, Gethin grabbed it and quickly read through the contents. It wasn’t long.

“This is a contract for employment!” he exclaimed.

“It is indeed,” Laverne nodded. “Erin is under contract to work for me as my head chef. She gets paid for her service and has free room and board.”

“But that’s—You can’t do that. You can’t keep someone here indefinitely. This is a crossroads!”

“Read carefully,” Laverne corrected. “The terms are quite clear. It says she is a seasonal employee and her term ends when we both agree to it.”

“This is highly irregular,” Gethin protested. “She should be sent on her way.”

“That’s not how contracts work.”

“You can’t break the rules as you see fit.”

“I haven’t broken anything.”

“You are making a mockery of our rules! We do not interfere with the lives of mortals! You can’t just keep one as a pet!”

“Is that what you think is going on?” Laverne smirked.

“Once I give my report to the Seelie Council, you’ll be stripped of your position. You’re going to regret taking a mutt for a pet.”

Gethin stood and flung open the door, now open to a world under a moonless night sky. Laverne watched him go with a disappointed sigh. Did he really think she would be so easily intimidated? And he had the gall to claim she was abusing her power? Really?

“For someone so long-lived, he’s amazingly short-sighted,” Laverne mused. “Though, who can blame him, since he hardly ever steps out of the twilight world. I make a mockery of the rules? What a joke.”

Laverne poured herself a final drink. She leaned back in her chair as she looked over the contract before placing it back in the drawer from whence it came. To ensure Erin was protected within her realm, Laverne had no choice but to form a contract with her. It was what allowed her to stay and placed her under the umbrella of the exu’s protection.

Gethin was a fool. He bought too much stock in the so-called everlasting nature of the Fae. For all their power, the Fae did not live independent from the world. It was the forces of nature that created them, not the other way around. Ultimately, the fate of their kind mirrored the world. They couldn’t just hide in the sand, waiting for one crisis after another to pass.

She sensed it the moment Erin first entered her territory. A touch of greatness was imprinted on her soul. Erin was a light in the darkness that was coming, but it was a fragile light, one that could be easily snuffed out before it could shine. It was a light that needed to be protected, and Laverne was prepared to bend whatever rules she had to.

Fate was a fickle thing, and destiny could only be delayed for so long. Eventually, the bill came due. Laverne sensed the hourglass of their time together was running out. With a sigh, she glanced out the window to view the city shimmering in the heat.

“I’m sorry, honey. I bought you as much time as I could. I can only hope it was enough. But you won’t be facing the trials ahead alone. You’ll have someone beside you, assuming he passes my test. I’m not about to leave the fate of the world in the hands of a fool.”

* * *

Erin scrubbed the pans with a frown. It had been a long day. She was tired but satisfied. Cooking at the diner gave her a sense of purpose. She liked to think she made a difference, even if it was small.

“Good job today, honey,” Laverne said.

Erin smiled, but the expression fell almost immediately.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?”

She hesitated before signing her worry.

“Is that what you are worried about?” Laverne shook her head. “You are no trouble at all.”

Erin gestured again.

“Oh, pay no mind to Gethin. He has his stick so far up his ass, it’s tickling his brain.”

Erin snorted a laugh.

“I love having you here. You’re the best company I’ve ever had, and I’m seven hundred years old,” Laverne hugged her. “You pay no mind to Gethin. He just likes to run his mouth. He’s worse than my kids.”

Erin tilted her head, signing: kids?

“Oh, yes. I have five. Two I fathered and three I birthed.”

Erin blinked.

Laverne chuckled, “My kind is genderless until we decide it’s that time. At that point, one member of the pair will turn female and the other male. I personally prefer my feminine side, which is probably why I go around looking like this.”

Erin felt her face warm at how readily Laverne shared such details. She knew the Fae had a different biology than most other creatures, but Laverne had mentioned their queens. Now, Erin wondered if it was some sort of pseudonym rather than an actual title. Or maybe it was only true some of the time. Perhaps Queen Mab could also be King Mab.

“Have a good night,” Laverne said, sending her up the stairs. “See you in the morning.”

Erin waved before heading up.

Laverne’s gentle expression fell after she had gone. Yes, their time together was almost at the end. All that remained was how they would part.