Molly Carpenter (wintersoul) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2014-05-04 16:54:00 |
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This was probably a bad idea. There was a reason why Summer and Winter occupied opposite ends of the year and lives in different domains. Bad things happened when they got together. Bad things, like the event that had made Sarissa and Molly what they were now. At the same time, Molly was the only person who knew what Sarissa was going through. Even Sam, with his demon blood, didn't know what it was like to be wearing the mantle of a faerie Queen. Molly did. And Molly was the only tie Sarissa had to her old home, to the icy realm ruled by her mother. For all that Sarissa was conflicted by her feelings for her mother, she did miss her. Her mother had been the one constant in her life for seven hundred years. Her, and Maeve. And now Maeve was dead. So while meeting her cosmic opposite was probably not a good ideas, Sarissa did it anyway. She arrived at the restaurant first, knowing the area better than Molly, and found them a table. *** Molly had second thoughts and almost didn’t go at all. But she went, and she held her head high as she went into the restaurant. She didn’t have a bad feeling, exactly, but she felt apprehensive. It wasn’t Sarissa’s fault Molly was uncertain about meeting her, it was the fault of their respective mantles. But Sarissa was at least somewhat familiar. Molly didn’t know her well, she barely knew her at all. But they had both been forced into a role they never wanted, never asked for, and never would have accepted if they’d had a choice. It was an awkward situation, to be sure. “Hey,” Molly greeted the other woman. She found a small smile, and hoped she wasn’t making a huge mistake here. *** Sarissa smiled back, glad that the other faerie Queen had shown up. She hadn't been sure if she would. "You look better than I saw you last," she said wryly, gesturing to the seat across from her in silent invitation. *** “I’m feeling okay,” Molly answered. She hated being here, in this place, without Harry. She hated being anywhere without her Knight now, but Harry was so much more than that. He was her teacher and her mentor. He was her friend. She missed him terribly, and she really could use his guidance right about now. “I’m feeling a lot better than when you saw me last, anyway,” Molly clarified. That much was true. Well, it had to be true, she was a Faerie Queen now, and she couldn’t outright lie anymore. *** “I’m glad.” It was a simple statement, but one made more powerful by the fact that she couldn’t lie either, and that they were supposed to be enemies. Not by their own choice, but by their respective roles and mantles now. But Sarissa was glad Molly was doing better. She had nothing against the woman personally, and she knew that Molly probably had a hard time in the Winter Court. Sarissa had spent enough time there to know how ruthless and cruel it could be. “And how’s Harry?” she asked, as she handed over one of the menus. *** Molly took the menu with a little smile. She opened it but didn’t focus on the words. “He’s...Harry.” She couldn’t lie and say he was all right. He was far from all right. He was not at all pleased by the turn of events at Demonreach. He was not pleased Molly was his Lady. It wasn’t against Molly, and Molly knew that. But it never should have happened, and Molly knew that too. She glanced at the menu. She had no idea what she even wanted to eat. Food didn’t really appeal to her. She longed for her mother’s cooking, even though she and her mother had a difficult relationship at best. “Have you been here before? What’s good?” *** Sarissa, who had spent several months with him while he’d recovered from his death, understood exactly what Molly meant. She just nodded, a small smile quirking at her lips. She opened her own menu and glanced over it. “You can’t go wrong with pad thai,” she said. “And their peanut sauce is delicious, so anything you can order that goes with it is what I’d recommend.” *** Molly nodded. She was quiet for a moment as she looked over the menu and finally decided what she’d order. She set the menu down and looked across the table at Sarissa. Who would have ever thought the Winter Lady and the Summer Lady would sit at the same table and have a meal together? It seemed so out of the realm of possibility Molly almost laughed out loud. “He’s a good man,” she said, referring back to Harry. She had nothing but respect for her Knight. She might even have a bit of a crush on him, but she knew that could never work out. *** “Yes, he is,” Sarissa agreed. She’d spent enough time around him to know that he was good to the core, and while he made mistakes - lots of them - he always had the best interests of other people at heart. But she’d also spent enough time around the Winter Knights to know that however good they may start out, they were never that in the end. A shadow crossed her face. “For now.” *** “He’s going to stay that way.” Molly knew Harry as well as anyone. Better than most. She’d worked with him, in close proximity, for years. She knew how important being a good man was to him. He wouldn’t let something like the Winter Mantle take that away from him. “Not even Mab has that kind of pull.” Despite the fate of the Knights who came before Harry, Molly refused to believe he would succumb to Mab’s madness. He was better than that. He was the best man she’d ever known, and that was saying something considering her father was a Knight of the Cross. *** “Not Mab,” Sarissa said quietly. “His Mantle.” Because while Mab was an external force, and one Harry might think he could neutralize, his Mantle was something completely different. It was in him; it was him. And Sarissa had already seen it affect him in the short time he’d had it. He’d been able to pull back from its influence so far, but how long before it got too strong for him? “You’ve seen it affect him, haven’t you? The same way yours affects you, the same way mine affects me.” *** Molly scowled. She’d seen...too much. She’d seen things cross Harry’s face that she hadn’t wanted to see. She couldn’t read his thoughts, but she didn’t have to She sighed. “He’s stronger than you realise. He’ll fight it.” Molly wouldn’t accept anything less. Harry would fight, and he would win. There was no other option. “You don’t know him like I do.” *** Sarissa could see by Molly’s expression that her words were making it through, even if Molly didn’t want them to. And she normally would have dropped the matter, given that Harry wasn’t here, but Molly didn’t quite understand how powerful the Mantles could be yet. Given that she was wearing one, this could be dangerous to everyone involved. “Did Queen Mab tell you much about the Mantles?” she asked. *** “Does Queen Mab tell anyone much of anything?” No, she tended to use other tricks to get her message across, Molly thought. She had no love for the Winter Queen, and she would never have chosen to be her Lady. Oh how she hated this! “Besides, she wanted you, she didn’t want me. And she acts like it’s my fault I’m there instead of you.” There was no real bitterness in Molly’s voice. It was simply the truth as she saw it. *** Sarissa had no doubt that Mab would have preferred to have her as the Winter Lady. She was Mab’s daughter, and much more stable than Maeve was. She’d lived most of her life in the Winter Court, and knew how to navigate it. Now Mab had a wizard, and one allied with Harry Dresden. But Mab was never not twenty steps ahead of anyone at any given time. She’d find a way to use Molly. “Mab...isn’t the warmest of people, ever,” she said carefully. “But she’ll come around.” *** “I don’t think ‘warm up’ is in the vocabulary of the winter court,” Molly said. She frowned. She didn’t want to fight with Sarissa, and she felt like they were quickly headed that direction. She took a breath, to steady herself. She had always been somewhat irratic, her magic had that effect on her. Add to it the Mantle she now carried...She really needed to take a step back and calm herself. Not for the first time, she realised meeting Sarissa face to face probably wasn’t the greatest idea she’d ever had. But they were here, and while she could up and leave, she didn’t want to make that scene. So she’d make the best of the situation. “We should talk about something else. This place, for instance. I’ve never been to New York. It’s not quite what I expected.” *** "No? What did you expect? Sarissa asked, going along with the change in topic. She didn't want to fight, either. She'd always been more the type to avoid than confront. *** “I don’t know.” Molly rubbed her chin. “I expected it to be dirtier, for one thing. And louder.” She shrugged. “I guess it’s not so bad.” Except that she hated it. She wanted to go home. She hated that everything in her life seemed to be out of and beyond her control. *** "There are fewer people actively seeking to backstab you, which is more than what you can say for the Winter Court," Sarissa acknowledged. She really didn't envy Molly for being thrown into that particular pit of vipers. *** “I can’t argue with that, can I?” Molly shrugged. She glance at the menu again, to make sure she knew what she was going to order as the waitress came toward the table. She was just going to relax and enjoy this lunch. Sarissa was the only person she knew here, and Molly really didn’t want to fight with her. She might need her help one day. Better to not burn the bridge right away. *** |