RD 5 Ch 44

Once Circe, Nyx, and Merlin all agreed we had done all we could do for Ricky’s love life, we returned back to Ricky's shop, where the man proceeded to produce a rubber ducky that had an endless tequila fountain.

While it would be priceless to so many people, Ricky continued to drink from it until he passed out on the workbench. Apparently he thought the move would rid him of any of the embarrassment from the earlier encounters.

“So,” Circe said while Nyx put a blanket over the man, “we may have bitten off more than we can chew.”

“He just needs a little help,” Nyx said defiantly, earning a slow look from Circe.

I used Soul Gaze on the man to make sure he was well and truly asleep before we got too far into the conversation. “Well, it’s definitely going to be a challenge,” I said, “but there are options. It’s not as if the man is completely hopeless, he’s just… not got a lot of confidence.”

“Understatement of the year,” Circe muttered as she sat down in a chair. “Well, I suppose we should at least talk about it.” She looked around the room at everyone else.

“I think he’s sweet,” Nyx said. “Though he loves all of these rubber duckies, I’m certain he could make something nice for the girl he likes. Maybe she’d be moved by a sincere gift.”

“Not the worst option,” I said, turning to see if anyone had better ideas.

“We could create a situation in which he becomes her hero,” Merlin shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time: man saves woman, man gets woman. All we have to do is get him to make some rubber ducky with enough firepower that I can defeat whatever we unleash on the city. I’m certain there has to be some pack of monsters nearby.” The two of them had plans, so my gaze settled on Circe. “You have anything to add?”

“Well, if we look at the problem as his attachment to her preventing him from moving on, who’s to say we don’t just break the attachment?” Circe said. “That’ll solve the issue just as well as actually getting the two of them together. Besides, getting them together might be a longer commitment than we’re willing to make. Not only do we have to get them to date, we have to get her interested enough that she’ll leave here for somewhere else.”

When Circe put it that way, it did make a little more sense to simply remove the problem.

“Of course you’d phrase it like that,” Merlin scoffed. “I will not be party to you destroying someone else’s love just so you get what you want.” There was venom in her voice; I could tell Merlin was making this decision more than just Ricky’s love life.

“Now hold on,” Nyx said, before the two of them could start fighting. “You both have very reasonable approaches, and I thank you both for participating and planning. Bran’s right though. It might be a little harsh to just break his heart.”

“Harsh but effective,” Circe shrugged. “You can’t deny that a heartbroken man is more likely to change up his life like leaving his home for another location.”

“Of course you’re taking such a stance, ” Merlin nearly shouted.

I glanced at the table where Ricky lay passed out cold. Even them shouting in the same room as him didn’t cause the slightest stir. The man was so embarrassed by several brief minutes with the woman he had a crush on that he’d put himself in this state; it was hard to look at him and imagine the entire situation changing very quickly.

“Well, what do you think, Bran?” Merlin and Circe turned to me to play referee, though I had to admit I’d missed the question.

“Is it fair to make him go through heartbreak even if we’re doing something for his own good?” Circe asked pointedly. “After all, getting involved with the Mul Branova and your organization as a whole would probably set him up far better for the future.”

I waited to respond, staring at the passed-out man and wanting to blame him at least somewhat for my current circumstances. “It’s less than ideal that it’s going to be as hard as it appears, but I think breaking his heart to get what we want is not the right option long-term. If he figured out our deception later, there’s a fifty-fifty chance he’d leave and burn bridges on his way out.”

Merlin crossed her arms and shot Circe a victorious glare.

“But what if there’s no other option? We don’t have years to spend here trying to woo the woman.” Circe wasn’t giving up.

“You can both be right,” I said. “This is far more complicated than picking which weapon to use in a fight. People are complicated, so answers around them can be just as complex. If you ask me, the simplest solution is to recruit Kathy and see if we can get Ricky to follow after her,” I added.

The three of them ignored me and began talking amongst themselves again. “If we give Ricky a glow-up, that would probably help, both with his confidence and her interest,” Nyx said, practically bouncing on her tail at the idea. The two older women exchanged complex expressions.

“It’s not a bad first step,” I pitched in for Nyx’s idea, which seemed to be breaking the tie between Circe and Merlin.

“It’s not the worst idea, that’s for certain,” Circe conceded.

“See? That’s a glowing recommendation.” I said with everything I could do not to roll my eyes at Circe. There was no reason this needed to be so hard. “I still think there are things we could do to spark a relationship, or at least feelings of one, between the two.”

Merlin crossed her arms. “I think you’re right, so why don’t we try all of these approaches at once.”

I nodded, seeing the rivalry between the two and deciding to utilize it to the fullest extent. “Merlin, you’re welcome to cause a dungeon to break out or draw monsters to the city. At the same time, we can get Ricky to either make a protective charm or some other enchantment that will keep his crush safe.” I smiled at the group, deciding to let them all get their way and keep the fighting to a minimum.

Circe hummed. “That’s not a bad solution. Though my idea of breaking the two of them up does come into conflict with the others. If I get them to break up then there’s simply no need for any other plan.”

“How about you leave that one in your back pocket for now? If everything else fails, we’ll pull it out.” I offered.

The sharpness in Circe’s eyes worried me a little. I got the sense that I had made solving this problem into a competition between her and Merlin, and now she was losing her chance to play. Somehow, I seemed to attract horribly competitive women.

“This works,” Merlin said after a moment. “After all, we can show Circe that love does prevail.”

“If love prevailed so easily, Merlin, you wouldn’t have broken up with him so long ago.” Circe put such a fine point on what I knew was a powder keg between the two of them.

I braced myself for Merlin to explode, but she didn’t.

“I loved him even if he didn’t love me,” Merlin said quietly. “You knew how bad it would hurt me when you lured him with the nymphs. Regardless of what you did or why, Circe, it was the same outcome. You took something sharp and stabbed it into the soft gaps of my armor.”

Rather than explode, Merlin seemed to implode, becoming cold and icy as the element she wielded.

Circe set her jaw and glared back just as hard. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Circe snapped. “That man would have done nothing but tear you down and use you for your fame and power.”

“That was not for you to decide.” With those words, Merlin spun, her black bob splaying as she stormed out of Ricky’s shop.

Nyx’s head whipped back and forth; her serpents always looked the opposite direction of her. “I’m gonna go check on her and make sure she’s, uh, okay,” Nyx said and darted out of the room, leaving Circe and me in awkward silence.

“You hate me?” Circe asked.

“Nope. Not at all.” I kept my face purposely blank. “The conflict between the two of you is between the two of you. I really don’t think me getting involved is going to resolve any feelings. If anything, I think it’s going to make it worse.”

“You do realize you are at the heart of the current disagreement in more ways than one, right?” she pressed.

“All the more reason for me to stay out of it.” I kept my voice steady.

“Whatever you say. ” Circe huffed and I felt that I had to say something or she was going to make this my problem.

“If you want my honest opinion, what she has described thus far doesn’t sound like the actions of a well-meaning friend. And again, I don’t have the full picture, and I don’t think I ever will. This is something that happened long, long ago.” I stated trying to be honest, but stay neutral.

“Not long enough, it seems,” Circe hissed half at me and half at the doorway behind me.

“Do you really think she’s going to thank you for it?” I pressed.

“Heavens, no.” Circe said. “But I did expect her to get over it far faster. After all, he really was just an asshole after her for her prestige. Arthur was nothing less than a glory hound.”

“Arthur as in King Arthur?” I asked.

“Yeah, one and the same,” Circe nodded. “He’s still alive, too. Still an asshole, I should note. After his time with my nymphs, he never once gave Merlin a second glance for the record. Wasn’t even sorry about it in the slightest.”

“You could have tried to explain all of this to her,” I said.

“I did.” Circe snapped. “Like here. Those in love often refuse to take hands reaching out to them. In some ways, love is one of the most isolating experiences humans go through. It blinds far too many and prevents them from listening to other perspectives. So no, I don’t think I did anything wrong. I think I saved Merlin from wasting away her life pinning after a man who’d at best ignore her, at worst use her. And though I don’t expect her to be grateful, I do expect her to eventually get over her issues.”

I gave Circe a long stare. “You still hurt her. And I’ll be honest, Circe. If you’re going to stick around, I don’t exactly want someone in my closest circle hurting others, even if it’s for their own good.” I held my look, hoping she understood just how serious I was.

“Fine,” Circe grumbled.  “Just don’t go around telling others that I apologized. It’s not good for my look.”

I smirked but held my tongue. It only confirmed my feeling that, between the two of them, pride stood firmly in the way of any real resolution. After all, neither of them was wrong from their own perspective.

Now I just needed to figure out how we solved Ricky’s problem without them needing to swallow their pride, because I didn’t think either of them would do that willingly.