RD 5 Ch 45

“Well, hello, Circe. I’m not opposed to you being here, but… might I ask why, exactly you’re sticking with me?” I asked as I turned to Circe.

We had all split up our tasks the next morning, going off in different directions after breakfast. Nyx had gone to work with Ricky, of the group she was really the best at managing him. If I left Circe or Merlin with him, I’m almost positive I’d come back to him gagged and stuffed in a corner.

Merlin had gone off to scout the area and assess the strength of the local monster population and formulate a plan to ‘endanger’ Kathy that Ricky could respond to.

But Circe was pretty squarely glued to my side.

The nymph shrugged. “Maybe I’d just like to be around you.” She flashed me a coy smile. If I didn’t already know her, I would have thought she was shy.

“Well, I guess you only get to act if we decide the other plans have failed,” I said.

Circe nodded. “And in the meantime, I can learn everything I need to make that a swift end, if you need it.”

I paused in the street, turning to her. “Speaking of swift ends and your current view on romance, how do you feel about… us?” Subtle wasn’t how people often described me, so I decided to just rip the bandaid off.

Circe smiled as if she’d been waiting her whole life for me to ask. “I’m not against romance, Bran, and I’m certainly interested in it for myself, but I’m pragmatic. Age gives perspective. With the years I have had in this world, it’s hard to say anything as fickle as human emotions can be eternal.”

Circe put her arms behind her back and stared wistfully at the people around us. There were more than a few couples or parties that certainly had lovebirds among them moving about this early in the morning as they got ready to leave the town.

I could understand the perspective that love was fleeting.

“Rather than falling in love once, being together with someone is about falling in love again and again. The person I was yesterday and the person I’ll be tomorrow will change a little, and the you of yesterday and the you of tomorrow will change too. We’ll see if we fall in love again or if eventually we drift apart, because people aren’t static, Bran.”

She looked off in the distance between continuing. “So to say that you and I cemented something in the trials is accurate,” she shrugged. “But to say it’s permanent, that we are now forever, is not how I view it.”

I smiled. “So maintaining a relationship with you is going to take a little more effort.”

Circe laughed. “Oh yes. I’m certainly not Simone. I won’t be smitten with you forever if you turn into a dullard one of these days,” she nudged me and then continued on more softly. “But I will be smitten for as long as I’m smitten.”

I hooked one of her arms that she’d tucked behind her back and linked it with mine so we could walk together, arm in arm. “You did fall in love with me in the trials,” I said, bobbing my eyebrows and dancing around the subject.

“You had more information than me, but the you of the trials was still an informed adult. I don’t mean to imply you did anything wrong, unless you feel that way, in which case tell me and I’ll mine it for ripe opportunities.” Circe smirked.

I rolled my eyes; that seemed the most appropriate response.

“Well I am glad to know you’re not upset about it,” she said. “That would be a horrible way to start something.”

“So now that something has started, how about today? Do today’s Circe and today’s Bran have the chemistry to last another day?” I asked.

She flashed a blindingly beautiful smile. Her ruby-red eyes twinkled; her petal-pink lips stretched into a grin I wanted to taste. “I think so. You’re certainly charming enough. I have a thing for men who know what they’re doing. Double points for being a warrior.”

“Do I have to duel you every day?” I asked, teasing.

“Not every day,” she said as a sly look overtook her features, “but we should spar from time to time. If I’m honest, it’s a wonderful way to get the blood pumping. We do need to stay sharp.”

The timing felt right, so I leaned in and kissed Circe full on.

Circe didn’t hold back, she leaned into me, pressed her chest to my arm, slid her tongue past my lips, and sucked gently before pulling away with a look of utter satisfaction. For a moment the world stopped and my view of the world narrowed down to just her.

“That was wonderful,” she breathed. “Practice makes perfect as they say. That was a damn-near-perfect kiss.” She lightly brushed her lips with her fingertips.

“I’m happy to please. Perhaps it’ll add an extra day.” I teased her.

She rolled her eyes and pulled us back into a stroll. The Canadian town was lovely, far more at peace than the more militarized fortresses that I’d been building around. Then again, I was preparing for war.

“Not every day, that’s an exaggeration. Maybe every two to three years, we’re a different person than we were before.” Circe stopped moving for a moment, looking over at me. “I mean, just look at yourself, for example. Three years ago your mother was in the hospital, you were racking up debts with a bunch of thugs, and you hadn’t even been initiated into the system. And that’s even with you losing a decent chunk of time inside the vault.”

“Well, those were some drastic two years,” I replied.

Circe waved a hand. “Alright. Then let’s say from now until two years from now: it’s not out of the question, Bran, for you to be some ruler lording over a large swath of land. Your concerns about personally diving into every instance become a thing of the past. Your thoughts will be about your people. In essence, you will be thinking very differently. You will be a different person.”

She tilted her head. “Even most humans, when they get a promotion, it changes how they view the business, the world, and the people around them. Something as simple as promotion has a profound impact on who that person is, and the choices they make.”

I nodded. I couldn’t entirely disagree. Perspective fundamentally informed decisions. But I wasn’t sold on the idea that we become wholly different people every two or three years. That concept was a bit too drastic in my opinion, but I could understand what Circe meant. People changed, and in a relationship two people could change together or drift in different directions. Circe treated relationships like renewals over time.

“What about marriage?” I asked, feeling strangely formal for bringing up that topic.

Circe waffled a hand. “Lovely celebration. The permanence of it can be ritualistic and helpful in that way. But ultimately both people have to try for it to work long-term.”

“Then the most important question, Circe. What does ‘trying’ look like to you?” I asked, focusing entirely on her.

Her expression grew serious, no flirting, no coy nymph behind those eyes. “Giving it your all. Not that you have to sprint every moment, and not that you can’t slip up, but you give what energy you can to the relationship when you can. The relationship is a priority, and respect never falters.” She cleared her throat, eyes briefly misting as she looked away.

“Well, it sounds like you know exactly what you want. So, Circe, at least for the next little bit, will you work with me and walk this journey of life together?”

“Are you sure you have time for it?” She had a sharp glint in her eyes. Not that of danger to me, but of someone who’d done enough deals to quickly find the problem.

“I’m a little busy,” I said with a chuckle. “Demons and all.”

“Demons and multiple women,” Circe corrected pointedly.

I grinned. “I think the demons are the bigger time sink. But perhaps we can use that as bonding time,” I added. “If you like warriors, you must like a good battle.”

Circe clicked her tongue. “I hate to say it, Bran, but I really only like the battles where I’m winning. I’m kind of a bitch in that regard.”

I laughed. “Is that why you want to be so brutal with Ricky’s love affair?”

Circe frowned and wrinkled her nose. “I knew this was going to circle back to that topic.”

“It’s an important point, especially as we talk about understanding each other.” I told her.

“You have a guy who’s a miracle worker with enchantments, and the girl he loves barely gives him the time of day. It’s sad. Personally, I think Ricky should get over her, do his own thing, become successful in his own right, then come back and shoot his shot if she is still who he would choose. First loves and unrequited crushes are rarely able to live up to the high expectations set; he’s put it on a pedestal.” Circe stated.

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re putting a lot of logic into what is otherwise a very illogical part of humanity.”

Circe stuck her tongue out. “Just because those in love are illogical doesn’t mean others can’t be logical. But fine, if he broke up with her and did his own thing, in five years he’d probably look back and see it as a silly crush or be able to win any woman over he wanted.”

“Or,” I interjected, “he could look back and always regret it. It could be a weight on his shoulder that never clears, and it could bother his crafting for the rest of his life.” I said not to put too fine a point on it.

Circe made a pained expression and then smoothed it over as a shopowner was flipping his sign and clearly reacted like he was about to step up and help. “Unfortunately, neither of us can predict the future. And your usual habit of already knowing what happens fails you here. Do you understand, trying to live life with no regrets?”

She walked away from me and I wondered how exactly her mentality played into her and Merlin’s issue. Asking her directly probably wouldn’t be fruitful.

“Since you’re with me, what are we doing today? I thought you had a plan,” she said, doing a double-take at having moved ahead of me.

“I figured I’d kill some time. Then after Nyx finishes Ricky’s glow-up and tries to boost his confidence for another shot at talking to her, I’ll take my efforts to recruit her a little more seriously. Honestly, it seems like snagging her for Vein City or any of our outposts wouldn’t be too hard. While Ricky has some eccentric hobbies and desires, I’m pretty sure giving her a safe place to call home and enough money for stability would make her happy. That is often enough for most.”

Circe hummed.

I looked at her out of the side of my eye. “What, do you disagree?”

“I do think most people would be happy with simplicity, but usually they also want a purpose. Many find it in children, but those two aren’t there yet. And we want Ricky to focus on creating for you. So she needs a purpose too, and we simply don’t have enough time for her purpose to be Ricky,” she said.

I groaned. “I need to go back and talk to her, don’t I?”

“You do.” Circe agreed a touch too quickly. “If you want to bring her back easily, you probably need to figure her out as well.”

I made a face and turned around from where I was heading. “Alright, back to the inn. Do me a favor and hold tight to me so she doesn’t get any silly ideas. The way she looked at me when I walked in the other day makes me think that if I show too much interest and confuse her, I might ruin Ricky’s chances,” I said.

“Oh, you absolutely could.” Circe smirked. “Do you know the easiest way I figured you could break his heart? Woo her while I bring some hot little nymph to get his attention.”

I glared at Circe, not because it was a bad idea, but because in all honesty she could probably hook most men with that scheme. My concern was always the long term. Schemes worked, but once revealed, people rarely saw it in a positive light. It broke trust that was hard to repair. Circe and Merlin’s dynamic proved that point.

AN - I was distracted playing Megabonk last night and forgot to post this :p