Cleo had slept in, but it was still in the late morning that she didn’t feel too bad for going to Footstep Bakery for a morning cinnaroll. It wasn’t a trip she made every morning, but one that she made often enough. It was hard to resist their cinnamon rolls and their bagels. The walk there was pleasant enough and she smiled and made uncomfortable small talk with the clerk then walked outside with a nice hot cinnaroll. It was a nice day outside, it may even get a little warm. Definitely a day for swimming. She thought to herself. As she walked she heard a shout and a dog soaked in bath bubbles running past her.
“Oh no no.” Cleo groaned. Not having any time to move, the dog brushed up against Cleo and kept on running as the owner chased after. “Dang it.” It didn’t even take seconds for Cleo to fall to the concrete now in full mermaid form. “Great. Just great.” She said. “And I dropped my cinnamon roll.” Cleo let out an agitated grunt as she maneuvered her body, rolling onto her back then using her arms to prop herself up against the wall. “Guess I’ll just wait to dry off.” She muttered.
Mordecai had been enjoying his morning walk when the dog bolted past, shouldering aside pedestrians on the sidewalk, and followed by its owner. He grimaced for the state of his suit. Bubbles and dog hair were not particularly good for anything, but his clothing was forgotten when he saw a woman collapse to the ground not far away. He couldn’t help think that the least the dog owner could have done was stop to help.
“Are you all right?” he asked, approaching as she rolled around and propped herself against the wall of the bakery. It was then that he recognized Cleo Sertori, clearly in mermaid form. Mordecai wasn’t entirely sure how the magic of that change worked. He’d known that she was a mermaid, but could function in human form, but not the details. In all honesty, it wasn’t a subject into which he’d wanted to inquire too deeply. She seemed like a lovely young woman in their interactions, and Mordecai had a soft spot for her due to the relationship she had with Christopher while his young friend was still in Atlantis, but Mordecai had intentionally limited those interactions. Atlantis was a second chance for him, as for many others, and he preferred not to think too much about what he’d done to require that chance. Rosalie (and Christopher when he’d been there) were reminders, of course, but they were also closely valued parts of home. Miss Sertori, as far as Mordecai could judge, belonged to a far different corner of the Related Worlds, but both she and her friend Miss Hartley tended to inspire memories of some of the ugliest of the Wraith’s dealings. Mordecai was far better at avoiding guilt than facing it.
He could not, however, ignore a damsel in distress practically at his feet. “Miss Sertori?” he asked. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Cleo looked up and recognized Mordecai immediately. “Oh!” She said, pleased to see a familiar face. “Hey, Mordecai.” Thank goodness someone had stopped to help and someone that knew her. There were still times when Cleo was in mermaid form at the zoo that she would get looks. Even if this was a strange place to transform, at least Mordecai wouldn’t be so shocked to see her in this state.
“I just need something to help me dry off.” She said. “I probably should start bringing an emergency towel with me.” Cleo did her best to laugh it off, even though it felt like an awkward state to be in. “Wish Rikki were here. Her powers are really useful when you need to dry off in a hurry.”
At her apparent pleasure at seeing him, Mordecai shifted, smiled slightly and squatted down next to her. It didn’t feel right to be standing over her.
“I’m afraid all I have is a handkerchief,” he said apologetically. “And a charm for drying clothes. It’s not so effective on people. But it’s yours while I try to find something better.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a carefully folded silk handkerchief while muttering the words of the spell. It was, as he’d said, only marginally effective, although it did seem to evaporate a bit of the water.
He looked up at the bakery. “I can see what they have inside.”
“Thank you, that’s kind of you.” It was amazing to see Mordecai use the charm, wasn’t quite the same as Rikki’s powers but it was still quite incredible to witness.
“It’s doing the trick, so might not need to bother.” Sure enough it only took another minute or two for Cleo to become dry enough. The transformation was quick. Nothing shown but a magical swirl around her. Suddenly she was back into her normal clothes as if nothing had happened. Picking herself up from the ground, she smiled at Mordecai.
“Thank you so much for your help,” she said as she held up his handkerchief. “I can get this properly cleaned for you, if you want. Or you should let me pay you back somehow for stopping by to help me.”
She seemed to be right that the charm was enough. Mordecai shrugged off the thanks, torn between fascination at the transformation and discomfort. “I can’t accept credit for happening by at the right time,” he said, smiling. “You certainly needn’t worry about the handkerchief. I can take care of it.” Spying a cinnamon roll lying in the street, he changed the subject quickly. “I think you lost your breakfast, however. Allow me to assist.”
Cleo nodded. “True, but still, thank you for your help.” Mordecai was certainly a nice man, a gentleman, like Christopher. She was glad at least that things didn’t seem too awkward between them. It wasn’t as if she and Christopher were dating a long time before she had disappeared, and who knows he could have moved on while she was away. Cleo wasn’t expecting that she and Mordecai would become friends, but it was nice to know that they could still be friendly.
“Oh!” Cleo had nearly forgotten about her cinnamon roll. “That’s really kind of you,” she said. “Thank you!”
“It’s the least I can do,” said Mordecai, and then added a bit hastily. “Really, it’s entirely selfish. I’m taking advantage of the excuse to pick up a treat for myself, as well.” Smiling brightly, he gestured in the direction of the bakery and then followed his own motion to open the door for her. “What would you recommend?”
Cleo smiled in return and laughed softly. “Well their cinnamon rolls are delicious. I’d also recommend their scones, the blueberry lemon is one of my favorites.” She moved into the bakery first then paused for him to join her inside.
Mordecai’s smile widened. He always liked being able to make someone laugh. “Blueberry lemon sounds like a must try,” he said, following her inside. “I’ll take that recommendation.” He paid for that and for a replacement for her cinnamon roll (No gentleman would do less.), and then asked. “Where were you heading before such a rude interruption?”
“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.” Cleo added. “I’m off work today, so I wasn’t going anywhere important. Thought about going for a walk or maybe going for a swim later.” Having a swim was always fun and it’s still strange to think about how Cleo was once scared of the ocean. Or as she liked to say a reasonable caution. The only downside to this place still was the fact that they didn’t have Mako Island. She missed going to the secret place with her friends, it was a great place to relax and think. “What about you? Have any big plans for the day?”
“This is a good day for swimming,” Mordecai agreed. “And certainly the place for it.” He didn’t often go himself. “I ought to go more, but there always seems to be something. Today, I planned to do a little shopping. A friend’s birthday is coming up soon.” Not in the immediate future, exactly, but September wasn’t that far away. It was only a little more than a month, and Mordecai wanted time to choose the perfect gift.
“That’s exciting.” Cleo smiled. “This place does seem like a nice one to celebrate birthdays, lots to do and great gift options.” It didn’t take long for the order to go through and already Cleo was holding another cinnamon roll. “Is this the friend you wanted to introduce me to? The one from your world?”
This time, Mordecai’s smile was unmistakably fond. “Rosalie, yes. In Twelve-A, she’s the chief assistant to the Chrestomanci. Er, the current one, that is. Or previous, depending on your point of view. Gabriel is Christopher’s predecessor.” He laughed slightly. “The time difference doesn’t seem that important until I start trying to explain home.” He did still think of the Castle as home - not the first he’d had, but the only one remaining, and certainly the most significant - even if he had no inclination to leave Atlantis any time soon.
“Oh! I actually don’t know much about the Chrestomanci.” Cleo admitted. “We-” She paused. “I mean Christopher and I were getting to know each other better and we only had the one date.” She smiled sheepishly and shifted uncomfortably. In a way she did miss Christopher. He was kind to her, very sweet and never looked at her oddly when she was in her mermaid form. At the same time she didn’t know him extremely well, they were still in that beginning stage when Cleo had disappeared. Altogether it was just an odd feeling. “Well you be sure to make it a nice birthday for her!” She quickly added.
“Ah.” Mordecai had blundered. “Nothing was meant,” he said hastily. “A frame of reference. It’s a government position with a great deal of responsibility that only a particular kind of enchanter can hold. There are only two in the worlds that I know of. They oversee magic and police its misuse. I was - am-” He corrected himself. Both Christopher and Rosalie had implied that he’d been - or would be - reinstated. “-an aide to Gabriel back home. But the title becomes a name, as often as not. There are charms in place to hold it.” He was rambling, Mordecai was aware. “But if I start going off into all the technicalities, I’ll start to sound like Dr. Simonson - another friend back home - and I’ll spare you that.” (That could have been a lie, as Mordecai was not much more certain of where he stood with Paul at the moment than he was of where he stood with Rosalie, but they had been friends.)
“Oh, I see.” It made sense though she still wasn’t quite sure what his world was like. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Cleo turned into a mermaid, she wouldn’t have believed in magic at all. They were just whimsical thoughts, something you held onto as a child but normally grew out of as an adult. It made her wonder what else existed in her world that she didn’t know about. “It’s okay.” Cleo said with a smile. “I don’t mind and perhaps you’ll tell me more one day.” Once she was finished with most of her cinnamon roll, she wrapped up what was left. “I should let you get back to what you were doing. You have a birthday present to find after all.” She stood up from her seat before adding, “And thanks again for your help and the cinnamon roll.”
Mordecai rose when she stood (one didn’t remain seated when a lady was standing). “I’d be happy to,” he said. The polite thing to do would be to follow up with an inquiry about her own world. The characteristic thing to do would be to ask, but he wasn’t quite willing to know. It was still difficult to believe that no one Atlantis hailed from even one of the known Related Worlds. How many people would even know if they did? Not every average citizen was aware of the multiplicity of worlds. Sometimes it was better not to ask the question than to learn the answer. But he smiled as he saw her off. She was a lovely young woman and certainly not responsible for Mordecai’s guilty conscience. “I hope you enjoy your day off,” he added. “And thank you for the recommendation. You were quite right.”