londoncallingrpg

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OTA

And so she had become the Forgotten Queen of the Trooping Fae. Her grandfather's passing had come at a price and now she was some sort of royalty she didn't quite understand and Fin had gone blind again. It was nearly too much to take but Pippa was carrying on. What else could she do? The facts were the facts and no amount of fuss would change it. And she'd tried. She had power coursing through her now, all the time she felt it, and she'd tried to restore Fin's sight. It didn't work. Of course not. Why would it?

And then the dumb twit had gone back to stay with his stupid boyfriend. Pippa was outraged about that and she'd told Fin so. And that didn't work, either. Of course not. And so on that front she bit her tongue. Fin knew how she felt. It had little to do with keeping him close and everything to do with keeping him out of the treacherous prince's arms.

Pippa sighed softly and looked at her mobile that had just chirped. He newest client wanting a progress report. She needed something more concrete and so she sat down at the cafe on one of the dwindling nice days of the London summer, and she texted her client back.

It was striking, just how much she looked like Fin. And, of course, she'd been all over the papers thanks to the paps hounding Fin about his drug use and his blindness. The gentleman at the next table actually had a copy of the daily rag and she smiled at the photo on the cover.

If only life could be as dramatic as the paper made it seem. If only being queen meant something...

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"I haven't seen you around much. You should come over. He needs friends right now," she said, gentle but with direct pressure to hear a yes to her suggestion.

"I was thinking, even before you told me, that I ought to stop by and see if he was home," Anael told her with a small smile.

"You don't just want to sleep with him," she asked, but it wasn't a question, it sounded more like a command. "Because he doesn't need any more of that right now."

Something in her gut told her that wasn't it at all, but she was protective of Fin and couldn't help herself.

Anael frowned at the question that wasn't one. "No, I don't." He was so taken aback that he couldn't think of anything else to say to that. He never just wanted to sleep with people.

"Okay, good," she said with such finality that it was put to bed.

"So tell me about yourself, Anael," she said then, setting into a proper vetting.

Anael could serve her the usual lies, but he did not want to. She was Fin's sister. He simply gave her an apologetic smile. "That's not something best discussed at a crowded café, I'm afraid."

"You know that's too tempting to pass up. Let's find somewhere more private then, shall we?" She took one more sip of coffee then gathered her things. The answer would, of course, be yes.

Anael had never got a drink here, but even if he had, he would not have minded abandoning it to go somewhere else. "Where are we going?" he asked curiously as he stood, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"Actually we aren't far from my flat. Why don't we go have a chat. It'll be quite private," she said. And, honestly, she'd be a bit more comfortable in familiar surroundings...just in case.

"Lead the way," Anael told her with an easy smile. She might be some sort of Fae, like Fin (although she felt somewhat different), but he saw no reason to distrust. She had been raised human, presumably, and not to hate angels as most Fae.

She gathered up her purse and her bag and escorted him out. The day was chilly but bright, lovely autumn weather, and on the street it was less crowded, though still too many people for a deep conversation.

So she made light small talk that meant nothing and didn't probe into anything. What he thought of the day, had he had trouble with the tube ever, how did he take his tea- and she easily talked about herself as well.

And then they were at her flat and inside with the door shut tight. In here magic was strong and she relaxed at home and her power seeped out of her, shrouding her like a veil.

"And now we've got some privacy," she said. "So let's have a real conversation."

"I don't know about you, but I've been having one," Anael replied with faint amusement. Yes, even about the tube, the weather, and tea. He hadn't said a fake thing since meeting her, in fact.

He was also slightly wary, now, of the way she coiled her power about herself. He did nothing of the sort, of course, trusting his reflexes should he need to deflect anything.

"What do you want to know about me?" he asked, walking into the lounge after her.

"Let's start with what you are, because you don't feel human," she said, seeing no reason to not be blunt.

"I'm an angel," Anael replied with a small, serene smile. "What are you?" It wasn't that he really cared; she was nothing evil, or he would have felt it. No, he was just using her same phrasing, and making a point about it, but without any hostility, quite on the contrary.

"I'm a fae queen now," she said, but it was just a fact, not a boast. "You're really an angel?"

That was a very amusing question, too, although Anael's amusement was somewhat dimmed by his focus on her own words. "Yes. A queen? What does that make Fin?"

"He's my brother. He's the prince," she replied. "The Forgotten Queen and the Blind Prince, as was foretold. Doesn't that sound so much more impressive than it actually is?"

"I'm not sure how impressive it's supposed to sound to sound, or is," Anael replied honestly, standing by the window in her lounge. If she wanted him to weigh on the subject, she would have to tell him more.

"I don't know," she replied with a roll of her shoulder. "My Grandfather passed and I am his eldest heir, making me queen. Queen of the Trooping fae. But the Trooping fae are spread far and wide and I don't have any idea how to rule them, or how to rule at all. I feel it in my blood, though. I feel something. And Fin...if I die he becomes King."

For all that she had been thrust into this and for all that she'd lived a rich and full life so far, Pippa was young. She was loathe to let vulnerability show and she kept her chin high, but doubt was in her eyes, and fear, and uncertainty.

It might have been in her eyes, but it was, mostly, in her heart, laced into her other emotions, and Anael gave her a small, warm smile. "They say power is never easy. Do you know how your grandfather ruled?"

"I don't," she said with a shake of her head, making her hair brush across her shoulders. "I think if I did, if I'd known him much at all, this might be a bit easier. And Fin's paying such a high price that I've got to do it right. Or else his sacrifice is for nothing."

Odd that she'd brought him here to talk about him and yet seemed to be so comfortable pouring all this out.

"The Prince has to be blind?" Anael guessed with raised eyebrows. He was not surprised that Fin would be willing to pay such a price. His friend's heart was wonderful.

"Apparently so. That's another mystery. I want to know why. I want to know everything about our kind and there's so little. Hardly any lore at all. I can find out all I like about that twat prince's kind, and the Unseelie, too. Though I know it's all filtered through mortal legends and probably has little basis in reality...Oh, God, I'm just going on. Listen to me ramble..." she said, finally catching herself.

Anael frowned slightly at the mention of the 'twat' prince, and wondered what Willy might have done to earn himself such contempt. "Your grandfather must have had people close to him?" he offered, trying to be helpful.

"If he did, I can't find them. It's not like fae have post codes," she pointed out.

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