Fix | The Dresden Files (thesummerknight) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2018-07-03 00:59:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !log, ~2018 july, ~25 points, ~~~sarissa (ladyofsummer), ~~~~fix (thesummerknight) |
WHO: Fix and Sarissa
WHAT: Awkwardness
WHEN: Backdated to Fix's arrival
WHERE: Sarissa's
WARNINGS: Nah, not really
STATUS: Closed/Completed Gdoc
Fix was back. That was unfortunate. And even more unfortunate was the fact that he’d come earlier in their shared timeline this time: right after Demonreach. Right after the love of his life, Lily, had been murdered by Sarissa’s sister, to pass on the Mantle of the Summer Lady to Sarissa.
To say that this was awkward would be a massive understatement.
But they were going to just have to work through that awkwardness. They both had duties to fulfill: to each other and to Summer, and they couldn’t let awkwardness get in the way. So if it meant letting Fix serve her, and tending to his needs in turn, Sarissa was just going to have to do it.
Theoretically, it was easy enough. It just meant adding a room to the pavilion she’d built for herself on the Solstice for him to stay in, and recognizing that maybe she wouldn’t get as much privacy for the first while, until Fix settled in. She just had to make sure it didn’t interfere with her plans with Eretria and Kaleb.
***
Fix had no intention of interfering with anything. It wasn’t his place to interfere with the Lady’s plans or desires. It was his place to protect her, to make sure that her needs and wants were satisfied, and to communicate outside of Summer. He knew his place, and he knew his duty, and whatever plans she had with others were hers.
For the time being, he was trying not to think about LIly. He knew that wasn’t healthy, and that he probably wouldn’t be able to do it for long, but right now he needed not to concentrate on that. He needed to concentrate on his duty.
So when Sarissa had set a place for them to meet, he was there, standing awkwardly and waiting for her to arrive.
***
Sarissa appeared in a flurry of rose petals. She usually didn’t use her powers gratuitously - preferring to walk rather than teleport - but in this case, she felt it necessary to show that she’d embraced the powers of the Summer Court.
She hadn’t, but that didn’t matter for this meeting. She just needed to show Fix they were on the same side, even if she was the daughter of the Winter Queen.
Upon seeing him already there, waiting, she smiled and held out her hands in welcome. They both knew their duty. They could get through this.
“Sir Fix. Welcome.”
***
It was a good visual, although Fix wasn’t entirely sure how sincere the thought behind it was. Nonetheless, it was not for him to question, so he didn’t.
Instead, he fell to one knee and took her hand, kissing properly.
“My lady. I am at your service.”
***
“Rise, Sir Knight.”
Sarissa still smiled benevolently, although inwardly she was cringing at the ceremony of it all. All she’d ever wanted from life was…
Well, she still didn’t know what she wanted from life, but she knew it wasn’t this: having people bow and scrape to her. She wanted to tell Fix he could skip the formalities, but they weren’t at that stage in their relationship. The only thing binding them together at the moment was their mutual duty to Summer. Without that, she was just the sister of a murderer and the daughter of the enemy.
Once he had gotten to his feet, she gestured to the pavilion she had created from the trees and flowers in the area. It was a fairy wonderland, where birds and dragonflies danced, and petals rustled in a warm breeze. It still being day, it was lit from the rays of sun shining through the boughs.
“Please, come and rest. You have travelled a long way.”
***
Fix was doing everything in his power not to see Maeve in the Lady. He knew that they were different people, and logically he could almost convince himself of this, but emotionally, well, it was harder. His heart was still broken over Lily’s death, and everything he was doing now felt like a betrayal of her on a personal level.
But it was loyalty to Summer, and that was almost as important. It was a strange battle inside of him, between his heart and his mantle.
He followed her to the pavillion, but didn’t bother to rest. Not yet. With Lily things had become less formal - of course they had - but he wasn’t sure that it would become that way with Sarissa. At least, not yet.
“I am fine,” he said, bowing his head to her. “How may I serve you?”
***
“You may serve me,” Sarissa said, her voice growing firmer, “by resting and refueling. When was the last time you ate?”
It had to have been at least half a day, if not more. He’d been here for a few hours, and beyond that...he’d been at Demonreach. No one had eaten much that day. And she doubted he’d have appetite to eat afterwards.
***
The last time he’d eaten? He honestly couldn’t remember. It had been a while, but he wasn’t really hungry. He felt sick, if anything. The last thing he wanted to do was eat.
“I’m fine, Lady,” he said, ducking the question as best he could. “I wouldn’t allow myself to become weak enough that I couldn’t do my duty.”
And in the end, that was what mattered, right?
***
Not to Sarissa. She shook her head with a sigh. “Fix - may I call you Fix?- I’m worried about you. Not the Summer Knight; I know he’ll do his duty to me, and I to him. But I am not just my Mantle, nor you yours. Please take this time to recover. Don’t make me give you an order.”
***
Fix nodded absently. Of course she could call him by his name. The mantle shouted in him, saying that she was free to call him anything she wished. He didn’t mind at all.
But as Fix, he didn’t want spare time. He didn’t want down time. He didn’t want time to sit around and think about what had happened. It made him unhappy, and he hadn’t even begun to grieve yet. He’d rather stay busy and possibly avoid it entirely. If that was even possible. Lily had deserved better, and she’d deserved better from him. Did he even have the right to mourn her?
“With all due respect, Lady, I would rather stay busy.”
***
Sarissa understood that. Sometimes, in order to grieve, you needed distractions. But Sarissa also knew that distractions that lasted too long became avoidance, and that was when it became unhealthy. For now, however, she was willing to let him keep busy.
“Very well,” she said quietly. “On Solstice, a group of youth came to hold revelries in the woods. Please ensure there is no lingering damage.”
***
It was a simple request, and far beneath his skillset, but it was something, and he was glad to do it.
“Yes, my lady,” he said. “And if I see anything out of place, I will do my best to fix it.”
If it was too much for him, he would have to ask her assistance, but hopefully there would be no damage that extreme.
***
Sarissa didn’t think there should be. She’d been caught up in the Mantle on Solstice, but Eretria had come out to help her keep things in order. And knowing Ere, she would’ve put the fear of the gods in anyone who’d gone over the line. Still going over the woods would keep Fix busy for a while and let him familiarize himself with it.
“Take your time,” she told him. “We’re in the height of summer. I’d like to see them at the peak of health.”
***
Fix nodded, and there was definite gratitude in it. He was glad that she’d given him a task, no matter how small a task it might have been, because it was something to take his mind off of Lily, and exactly what he’d lost. It was something to give him purpose, and he really, really needed that right now.
“Yes, of course, my lady. And you will let me know if you need anything else?”
***
Sarissa inclined her head. “Go forth, Sir Knight. I’ll see you soon.”