Heather
“Here I thought I had been keeping a princess in the tower…”
“Oh!” With all the dissociation I hadn’t heard Magnus come in. When I fully come to my senses, I realize I’m half-shifted again. In the mirror, I catch a glimpse of my milky green eyes and claws that have torn the fine silk sheets strewn around the bed.
Great.
“Get you a girl who can do both,” I groan, wrapping the blush pink dressing gown tightly around my body. Earlier, I stumbled back up to the tower after realizing it was too weird to remain in the vampire king’s bed. I know it’s only been a few hours since, but after the haze of sleep, my body craves a cup of morning coffee. “Did you want something?”
“I believe you requested a date in the mortal realm.” He crosses the room and pulls the chair from the vanity, so that he can sit across from me where I’m reclined on the bed. “Forgive me for saying so, but you seem to need a little more time to get ready.”
“Right.” I roll my eyes. I’m not nearly as shifted as before—just a few feathers and the opalescent eyes—but for the mortal realm, yeah, it’s probably a little much.
I close my eyes, breathing in.
“Holding my hand seemed to help last time,” he says, trying to put his hand in mine. “If you’d like, I could—”
“It’s because I was thinking abouthim,” I interrupt, clasping my hands together. I fight the urge to apologize but can’t bring myself to do it. Moth would help me make sense of all of this. He’d call me beautiful, he’d—
“Ah, it makes sense, thinking of the prince would help you change back to the form he knows and loves,” he says. “You really are remarkably beautiful.”
“If this is the part where you do an evil monologue telling me that Moth doesn’t love me anymore or something, save it,” I snap, stepping behind the dressing screen and slipping out of my dressing gown. Considering the wardrobe for a moment, I select a more modern baby blue shift dress with dramatic puffed sleeves that hits above my knees. “He does. You suck. The end.”
“A lovely start to the evening,” he says, offering his arm. “Shall we finish this?”
“Absolutely.”
My plan was to get Magnus to take me to the diner near the cabin. Unfortunately, even with how out of touch he is, he does in fact know what a low-budget diner is and insists that, if the date in the fae realm was too much, this would be too little. I hate to admit that he might be right. Sheer desperation may be clouding his judgment, but he knows I’m plotting something by wanting to come back home. Which is why we’ve been seated silently since our server brought water and a menu.
“Squirrels.” He says the word so softly I’m sure I must have heard him incorrectly. I mean, yeah, we’re on a balcony but I don’t see any trees—much less squirrels.
“What?”
“You asked what kinds of things I like.”
“When I was setting up your dating profile?” I ask, and he only nods in response. “And, sorry, your answer is …squirrels?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t hate that.” I shrug, making a mental note to add ‘fan of squirrels’ to his bio as a conversation starter. That is, if I can ever get my phone in working order again. A little bit of quirkiness never hurt anyone. Who knows, maybe a hipster with a pet squirrel and a heart of gold will come up on his feed. I swear there was a cute bookstore girl that came across my socials ages ago that had the exact same—
“Heather?”
“Yup, sorry, just mentally matchmaking.”
“I wish you wouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s something I should have never agreed to.” He looks off, his mouth slightly open as if he’s debating on saying something. He clamps it shut with a shake of his head. Finally, he takes a piece of paper out of his pocket; it’s creased and messy with splotches of ink.
Magnus – 25 – Male – Leo
A Vampire King looking for a queen.
Has a fondness for the Hurdy Gurdy, a strong cup of almond tea, and squirrels.
“A start, as you said—something honest.” He looks bashful. “If I manage to get another cellular device, I will continue to workshop it. Though, I still do not know what to look for.”
