+1+
Cillian
She had on something that looked like a tutu that moved and a black shirt that showed off her flat stomach and a pair of spiky heels. Lowlow whistled at April when he came out of the kitchen holding a bowl full of cereal. April spun for him and put her hands on her hips.
“Fuck, girl”, Lowlow said impressed.
“Hey—“, I said as a warning to Lowlow, but April carefully stepped over the clothes and jockstraps lying on the floor and jumped on me, wrapping her legs around my waist. I kissed her and carried her like that back to the door and set her down. Lowlow started whistling again.
April had been in Vegas for a week. I didn’t know where she was staying or what she was doing, but she showed up at my job or my apartment at random times just to hang out.
Yesterday she said she was getting a place . . . she was staying in Vegas for real this time. So, we were going out to celebrate. It was my first night not training at the gym or working at the casino.
“Is roomie coming with us?” she asked smiling at Lowlow.
“Maybe next time”, Lowlow said from the couch waiving his dealer vest. I was glad our other roommate wasn’t here because I just wanted to be with her.
I grabbed her hand and we raced down the stairs. It was hot as hell outside and I’d downed a few Red Bulls so I could keep up with her tonight.
“You okay taking the bus.” I asked.
“Looking like this?” she twirled, “I don’t think so.”
She pulled a car key out of her bra, a red rental car’s lights went off.
“I drive”, she said, “... Since it’s just the two of us I thought I’d take you somewhere special.”
“Cool”, I say.
She drives 80 miles an hour out of the Vegas suburb I live in and gets road rage when we reach the strip. She parks and pays for a garage with money she pulled out the other side of her bra.
She grabs my hand and we walk up the strip like tourist. Its peak season and the streets are thick with people. April fits right in with her party outfit, we just walk for like an hour just talking and kissing. Finally she goes into a non-descript building and smiles.
“You have your Fake I.D?”
“Yeah”
“Look, big guy… this place is kind of special so . . . be cool. “
“Okay.”
I grab her hand and follow her in. The place is dark with fog with purple and blue strobe lights. The dance floor isn’t packed, the main attraction seems to be the blackjack and roulette tables. Must be some kind of underground casino.
“You wanna dance?” April pulls me onto the dance floor and I press her as close to me as I can, the glitter on her stomach and arms rubs off on my shirt. She’s light on her feet and I give any guy who tries to cut in a threatening look.
After the second song we head to the bar to cool down. I let April order cause I’m still on probation. She brings me a Coke and I help her onto the only empty bar stool and stand by her. I notice something odd out the corner of my eye. I look at the hand of the guy next to me and I notice his hand has long nails but upon closer look I notice they are claws.
“The fuck”, I mouth to April.
A round of applause goes up and I notice some of the women on the dance floor have
that sheen to them. These women are Fae.
“Be cool”, April mouths back to me.
Another round of applause goes up and the crowd around the blackjack table stands. Just being near the tables reminds me to much of my own job on the strip. A barmaid comes by and puts down two shots.
“I didn’t order these”, I say but the barmaid moves on to the next group
“Free drinks”, April says and picks one up.
“I don’t think we shou—“
“Go ahead . . . it’s on me”, says a short man who had sidled up next to me. He hands the bartender a thick wad of bills. He pushes back his black hair to reveal a thick scar across his mouth.
“Uh, thanks”, I say.
“I’m taken”, April says to him, “Just so you know.”
He smiles.
“That’s cute, but actually”, he says, “I bought a round for the bar. I’m on a mean streak of luck and you’re way way too young for me.”
“Well, I’m just letting you know”, April says and I protectively but a hand around her.
“Want to know a secret?” He asks.
“Do tell”, April said leaning in toward him.
“I’m about to make the bet of my life. You should come watch. You see her.”
He points to a woman standing at the table watching the game. She’s wearing form fitting black pants, a black button up with the sleeves rolled up and a vest. Her short hair is parted to the side and there is glitter around her eyes. She’s so tall she’s hard to miss. She saunters over to the man very clearly unamused.
“You’re up, Paris”, she says.
“I’ll be there in a minute”, the man says.
She turns to me with an uninterested look and then looks at April.
“Hi”, the woman smiles at her.
“Hello”, April responds like it’s a question.
“These are my new friends, cupcake“, the man nods to me asking for my name.
“Uh, Cillian”, I say without thinking. Should I be giving out my name?
“March”, Aprils gives a fake name. Well another fake name.
“I’m Paris”, the man says, “This Angelically gorgeous woman is Miss Seraphina Grigori.”
Seraphina slides her eyes over us suspiciously, then heads back to the card tables. Paris is smiling so hard I think his face is going to split open. He leans in really close and smells like a vodka truck
“I’m about to gamble for her hand in marriage”, Paris tell us . . . for some reason.
April smiles at this but her eyes have that ‘why is this crazy guy still talking to us’ glint.
“Uh, good luck”, I say trying to sound . . . normal.
“I fucking need it.”
He pushes off the table and heads back to the blackjack tables.
“Wow”, April says.
“Drunks”
“No, I mean. You don’t usual run into them is all. There a little high and mighty”
“You know those people?”
“Of them”, she said.
“Are they Fae?”
“Not even close. There is like less than 200 of them. They are as old as fuck, old Fae in Wales wrote about meeting them where time crossed. No one’s really heard from them in centuries. Uppity like that…you know”
“Uh . . . time crossed.”
“That scar. . . I can’t believe it’s him. I’ve heard rumors they were branching out but geez . . .”
“Cillian. . . MAY !”
Paris gestures for us to follow him to the table. I give the dealer that ‘I see you man’ nod all dealers give one another. Paris kisses his girlfriend before settling down to make the bet of his life.
“One out of three, is that the deal Seraphina?” Paris says to his girlfriend.
She nods and the dealer throws out the cards.
He loses the first hand.
“Fucking queen”, he says kissing the queen of hearts card, “Screws me every fucking time”
He goes bust the second time
The whole time I’m watching his girl. Her expression never changes.
“Shit.”
He went over.
He lost
“Maybe next time”, Seraphina says.
Paris looks hurt but he shakes it off.
“Wasn’t meant to be, cupcake.”
April and I take it we can leave the table and we spend the rest of the night dancing. Just before 10 pm I’m starting to come down from my Red Bull high. While April is talking to some other Fae chicks I go outside for some air.
It’s smells like cigarettes and I stumble to find an empty place and throw up. I settle for the alley.
“Fuck kid” I frown and see Paris’ girlfriend sitting on the ground just inches from where I’d almost thrown up on her. She stands up and tosses away the joint she is smoking. She really is tall, her pants fit tight around her thighs and the rolled up sleeves on her shirt show off thick muscles. She looked like the kind of girl Chap might recruit.
“.. . You uh . . . ever think of fighting.” I ask her.
She laughs.
“No.”
“You look like you could hold your own, “I say.
“You trying to recruit me, kid?”
“Would you consider if I promise to keep my silence?”
She raises an eyebrow.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m a blackjack dealer so I know the game... You cheated. You slipped an extra card in. You made him lose.”
She smiles at me, clearly impressed.
“I don’t want to break his heart, it’s just not time yet.”
“None of my business.” I start, “I wasn’t really trying to recruit. I don’t care that much.”
“You’re human”
“You’re a Fae”
She laughs
“No. We’ve got a bit more class than that.”
“What are you then?”
“A nobody”
“How about your boyfriend?”
“He’s The Prince of Darkness.”, she’s half serious. . . I think.
“Also . . . cupcake?” I said remembering what he called her.
“He calls me that when he’s drunk. So fucking pathetic. It’s cute.”
The back door burst open and Paris appears as if by magic. He stumbles a little but she catches him.
“I got a cab out front”, he says regaining his stance and putting an arm around her waist, “600 dollars left and 30 hours before I need to get back to Manhattan. I’ll buy you an expensive whiskey and upgrade our room. We can get black out drunk and watch expensive por—Hi, Cillian is it?”
“Uh, yeah”, I say.
“Care to join us? For the getting drunk part.”
“He’s fine.” Seraphina says, “I want you all to myself.”
“We are in fucking Vegas, cupcake. You can do whatever you want with me.”
She laughed and helped him into the cab. When I turned around April was behind me.
“You okay, big guy?” she asks.
“Yeah. To be honest I’m actually kind of tired. Maybe we can just hang out at your new place. I haven’t seen it.”
“Well actually my new place is actually your place. My bags are in the car, roomie. I don’t cook or clean but I’ll use my tips to hire someone to.”
“Wait . . . what? I have two roommates you know.”
“Don’t worry everyone loves me . . . also, I don’t take up to much space.” She says with a wink.
+2+
Tomas
I feel bad leaving Sofia at the hotel. This year’s International Ink 4 Life Convention was turning into more like work than the vacation I had hoped. My new drug cocktail had left me exhausted and I missed most of the networking sessions and technique classes on Friday. Sofia hadn’t wanted to go out and spent the whole day in the hotel with her son.
My only saving grace was that I’d gotten a temporary Nevada license so I could freelance at the Grand Magnolia Hotel’s tattoo row, an indoor corridor of pop-up tattoo shops. A ton of artist had the same idea and the celebrity ones had lines out the door. It was work but I figured doing a few good tats could help me pay for the trip.
The drunk guy in my chair right now looks prime.
“Shit”, he said, “I think I’m sobering up. This was a fucking bad idea.”
“Too fucking bad”, his girlfriend said taking another sip of the complimentary beer the guy I was sharing the booth with used as a gimmick.
The man has his shirt raised. He’s getting some weird hand drawn symbol tattooed on his hip. I notice his girlfriend has a similar tattoo on her shoulder.
“Nice ink”, I tell her
Then I get closer and realize they aren’t tattoos and that the mark is burned into her skin. The other two symbols are tattoos. They don’t look like gang signs but she had a very slight Easter European accent maybe they were from a syndicate or something. When Sofia was laid off I made some quick money doing work for gangsters trying to look more legit. I could do a teardrop below the eye with my eyes closed. The man in the chair getting the tattoo didn’t seem to mind the pain. His girlfriend stayed by his side, they wouldn’t stop kissing and talking drunk nonsense to each other. When I’m finished he actually pays me in cash.
“It fucking hurts”, he says touching the raw skin, “Shit. What the hell did I do? “
She helps him up.
“You’re fine. You just need to lie down.” She says.
“Sera . . . we only have a few hours together, I don’t want to spend them lying down in pain.”
“Fine how about a strip show?” she asks.
“Are you serious?”
“A private one”, she whispers, “Upstairs . . . no touching.”
Because he’s not really paying attention anymore, he accidentally tips me 100 dollars. I’d just earned myself a nice dinner. I send Sofia a quick text letting her know I want to take her to the Grand Magnolia Hotel’s Famous Super Buffet. She text back that she’ll meet me in the lobby.
I clean up and wheel my way into the lobby and find her waiting for me. The fancy carpet is murder on my wheelchair. She looks out of place in her knee length sundress and flip flops. I’m still not used to seeing a giant stroller with her, it seems so out of place.
I’m also surprised to see a woman in a short glittery mini skirt and loose black camisole hovering over the stroller.
“. .. So cute”, he woman says, “Can I hold him?”
“. . . Sure”, Sofia agrees.
I clear my throat and the woman turns. She seems confused and then she looks down. She’s young maybe my age. I hate to admit it but she’s pretty and curvy. She’s perfectly made up and way to confident, so much so that I wonder if she’s a celebrity. She has this unreal glow to her skin and dark thick hair.
“We should get in line for dinner”, I told Sofia, giving the woman a hint. The tip I got would cover the buffet but I’d still have to cough up for the tip.
“Get out! I’m headed there too for drinks--- the restaurant not the buffet.”
“Oh, you’re so dressed up”, Sofia says checking on the baby again.
“Don’t worry you’re not under dressed. I just had a long night. No one cares about dress codes in Vegas anyways. I love that dress by the way.”
“Are you with a bachelorette party?” Sofia asked. She noticed the big ass diamond on her hand. Sofia had grown up around enough rich people to not be intimidated by money.
“Kind of . . . an old friend is getting married and we are in Vegas celebrating. We found some amazing bars on the strip and we just got back from a . . . um… let’s just say a musical. I’m Clara by the way.”
“I’m Sofia”, Sofia said, “This is my husband Tomas, he’s here for the tattoo convention.”
“That’s so cool”, Clara said, “I think I’ve seen you around the hotel. “
“There aren’t many guys here in a wheelchair”, I said. I didn’t like how self-conscious this woman was making Sofia.
“You know there aren’t, but the tattoo crowd seems really interesting”, She said. Okay, she was hard to rattle. But she was rich so I might as well try to make a sell.
“I’m working a booth, you should stop by”, I hand her my booth number.
Clara waves to someone coming out of the elevator and a man slowly makes his way over to her. His skin, eyes and hair are completely lacking any color. There is a hint of something like blue to his eyes. The artist in me wanders what it would be like to ink him.
He doesn’t look like the tattoo typed. He was wearing dark gray pants and blue shirt. Next to him is a little girl in a matching blue dress. Why was this kid even still up? Only in Vegas
“Oh, sweetie . . . I thought you’d be sound asleep by now.” Clara said to the little girl.
“Well, I’m not.” The girl said folding her hands very neatly in front of her.
“Well, this is Sofia and. . . Tomas right? This is my daughter and um . . . my . . . fiancé, Addison Fierro.”
He nodded in greeting and offered his right hand, in the other was a glass with whiskey over ice. It didn’t look like his first
“Are you ready, Ms. Delune”, the man said.
“Uh, yes. I guess since it’s the three of us we can just get a table and maybe get dessert.”
“And where is Emile?” Fierro asked.
“Well . . . he’s not as young as he used to be. I sent him to bed---”
“My name is Rose, too”, the little girl said sadly. The two adults with her kind of froze. The little girl’s eyes were huge and she didn’t look at anyone in particular when she said it. The man—her father I guess—shushed her.
I wheeled a little closer to the girl but Sofia but a hand on the wheel to stop me.
“My—my Mom’s name was Rose.” I said looking at the strange couple, “She just died. What the—is this some kind of fucking side show trick?”
“Your arm, sir”, the man said. His voice was so even. To even, “And please don’t speak that way in front of my daughter.”
Sofia and I both looked down to where I had my mom’s name tatted on my arm. I’d gotten it done just before we left for the convention.
“Um, Rose is just very perceptive of her surroundings.” Clara said, “It can be charming in very small doses. Look when we booked our rooms they gave us 1000 dollars credit to the restaurant. There is no way we are going to use it. You should take it. Buffets are no fun with babies and honestly they are kind of unsanitary… we can share a table”
God, could she talk.
“I actually have to go upstairs and change. I’m covered in ink”, I lie wondering why this woman would want strangers to talk to instead of her family.
She smiles nervously and produces a gold gift certificate to the Grand Magnolia Restaurant.
“Here, take it. We are never going to use it”, she gives it to Sofia who is too nice to say no.
“Thanks”, Sofia says, “It was nice to meet you.”
They take off and I’m ready to tell Sofia that we don’t need their charity, when the little girl turns and runs back to us.
“She’s very sorry”, the little girls says, “She’s very sorry, Mr. Alexander”
Before I can say anything she turns and runs back to her parents who haven’t noticed that she’s wandered off.
“Tomas.”, Sofia says and I realize she’d been talking to me for a long time, “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“. . . Did we tell them our last name?”
“I guess. . . I guess . . . . It’s just . . . fucking Vegas.”
+++
A/N
- Yes, this takes place after each stories respective endings . . . as far as we know them. Which means the years are all off !
So this has been around in the vault for about 4 years. I wrote the first few paragraphs as the start to my American Fairytale novella that went nowhere, then I wrote in Seraphina and Paris immediately after I finished Bellum and then sort of added as I went for fun. As you can see I pulled some things from this to use in New Aeterna
For example Cillian/Sera’s conversation is similar to one Sera/Theo would have in New Aeterna.
This was the first time I’d ever written Paris calling Seraphina ‘cupcake’ and that’s why it’s in New Aeterna and QC. Also writing this really really really made me want to marry Paris and Seraphina which is why I also wrote New Aeterna.
When I originally wrote Clara and Fierro this was way way way before I ever thought I’d post PLT so I had to make some tweaks. In my head Rose was much younger but since PLT is a thing now, she’s supposed to be eleven in this. I know Clara comes off as chatty and basic (especially next to Sofia) but that’s who she is on the surface. Note, she’s also very very nice.
But I made very little tweaks to sections with characters I hadn’t visited in a while. I’m not in the mindset to really write Sofia/Tomas and April/Cillian from scratch accurately.
I feel like I could extend this a little bit and write Clara getting a tattoo and I also imagine that Sera and Fierro met at some point at the bar. And OMG, Paris and Tomas live in the same city and have the same description. They need to talk more. This was a fun writing exercise way to many years in the making.