43: Reunion
Everyone sat in relative silence around the dining table, which was unusual given the number of people. It didn’t bother Nima- not in the slightest- she just found it intriguing. People usually obsessed over conversation during a meal. Instead, Jasmine’s handicapped father, the Lieutenant Major’s pregnant wife, and all five of the party members were accompanied only by the sounds of cutlery on their plates as they swallowed down bites of potato casserole. Nima of course noticed the occasional glance being shared between her party members, but still nobody spoke. Nima set down her fork and fixed her eyes on the man in the wheelchair.
“Mr. Kerrot, it is my understanding that Jasmine and Eris were dating prior to Eris’s Gifting, but the information that they were legally considered sisters was withheld until the meeting. Did you know about their incestuous relationship given that you’re their father, or were they hiding it from you because of the general public disapproval of such acts?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Nima watched Jasmine bury her face in her hands with a tiny groan. Claire even choked on her potatoes a little bit- obviously she took too big a bite. Meanwhile, the older man blinked several times.
“Pardon?”
“Excuse her-” Alexandra said quickly from the seat directly beside the rainbow-haired girl. “Nima has some trouble when interacting with people.”
“I’m sorry, was that an inappropriate question?” Nima asked. Meghan coughed.
“Oh yeah.”
Nima turned her gaze back to the father. “I apologize for any insensitivity- I meant no disrespect or insult with my question. I was merely curious about the situation.”
Mrs. Elmas let out an amused sigh. “The first question she ever asked me was whether I had started lactating yet, and how dilated my cervix was. You get used to her after a few conversations.”
Mr. Kerrot placed his fork back onto his plate. He then cleared his throat and slightly pivoted his wheelchair towards Nima.
“Eris and Jasmine had been extremely close beforehand. Even if they themselves didn’t know back then, I could tell their feelings towards each other weren’t exactly that of normal friends. When Lizzie and I later took Eris under our wing, we knew there was a non-zero chance that her and Jasmine’s new proximity could cause their relationship to develop in a romantic way instead of a sisterly one. We could do little more than hope that it didn’t. When Jasmine’s mother passed…”
Jasmine kept her eyes buried in her food. Mr. Kerrot gave a sigh.
“Jasmine was the one Eris was relying on to get her life back together. Lizzie’s death flipped that right around. I wasn’t there when they needed me, so the only people the girls had were each other. In retrospect, I’m only surprised that it took as long as it did for the two of them to become involved in the way they are.”
Nima raised an eyebrow. “So you were aware of their incestuous relationship and had no objection to it?” She watched the man shift in his seat with an odd look. She assumed it was discomfort given the context of the conversation, but there really was no way to be sure. Mr. Kerrot remained quiet for several moments before giving a sad smile.
“On Jasmine’s fifteenth birthday-”
“Please don’t say it…” Jasmine suddenly turned her gaze to the far wall. Everyone at the table shifted their attentions over with varying levels of intrigue. The pregnant Mrs. Elmas even laughed.
“Oh, well now you have to tell us. I do love a good story.”
Mr. Kerrot chuckled. “Eris had been saving up money from her crafting for a while-”
“And you’re saying it…” Jasmine whined and buried her face in her hands. Mr. Kerrot smiled.
“Kelshiir is a really small town- so much that we don’t really get access to a number of particular goods that aren’t directly farmed by the town. Things like sugar tend to be quite expensive. Anyway, Eris spent every moon she had on getting all kinds of ingredients we generally couldn’t afford. Then, while Jasmine was out training, Eris spent all day baking her a birthday cake. It was perfect. Five layers of vanilla cake with more chocolate icing than I’ve seen in years. It even had strawberries.”
“Aww, that’s sweet,” Claire said. Mr. Kerrot smiled.
“The cake hadn’t even been cut before Jasmine accidentally knocked it off the counter. Oh, let me tell you- I’ve never seen Jasmine more upset in her life.”
“We really don’t have to talk about this!” Jasmine pleaded through her fingers. Between her and Nima, Alexandra gently patted the Berserker’s shoulder as the girl’s father continued.
“Jasmine’s always been so strong- she barely even shed a tear at Lizzie’s funeral. But in that moment, kneeling over that cake on the floor, Jasmine was crying so hard she got a nosebleed.”
“You’re kidding,” Meghan said through a mouthful of potato. Mr. Kerrot shook his head.
“Not at all. It took everything Eris had to calm Jasmine down, telling her it was okay and that she really didn’t mind. Then, they ate that entire damned cake right off the floor with their bare hands. After giving me some, of course.”
Mrs. Elmas nodded with a smile. “That’s when you knew.” Mr. Kerrot agreed with a nod of his own.
“When I saw the way they were looking at each other in that moment, I saw myself and Lizzie in their eyes. Of course, the fact that they aren’t biologically related certainly helps. Even if they didn’t know it then, they were in love well before they became sisters. There’s no reason any sort of tragedy or legal technicality should get in the way of something like that.”
Nima nodded in approval. She had no place in judging others, nor did she feel the need to. The particulars of the relationship between Jasmine and Eris didn’t affect her in the slightest, and she genuinely didn’t care about the technicalities of whether or not their being together was incest. Even if the laws against it had been revoked over a hundred years ago due to rapid population decline and the remainder of mankind being confined to a single continent, the concept of romantic or sexual relationships between family members had still been a controversial topic. Much like polyamory, in fact. Not illegal in any way, but publicly disapproved by many.
It did raise another point in Nima’s mind though- one that had been gnawing away for the last while. Alexandra’s comment in the Obelisk about Eris and Jasmine’s ‘favourite’. Of course, the following circumstances in the Obelisk had made it illogical to inquire, and the topic seemed inappropriate to pursue in the two week absence of the Artificer. Though, this conversation certainly seemed like an impromptu answer to that question. Now, the only problem was the question it raised in its own absence.
Not the question that Nima asked next, however.
“What are your feelings towards being moved into an on–campus house where you’ll be living with the wife of the woman that had been spying on your daughter?”
Mrs. Elmas laughed- a hearty sound in the quiet room.
“Probably the same feelings as myself. A heavily pregnant woman due anytime in the next few days and a handicapped man get to move into a place where all our basic necessities are provided free of charge, and we’re under careful supervision at all times to ensure our well-being?” The woman leaned heavily on the table as she hefted herself to her feet, then smiled.
“Part of me wishes this all happened sooner. I mean, one little yell and a soldier standing outside the front door comes in and grabs the peanut butter off the top shelf when I can’t reach it.”
Several of the girls chuckled, but Mr. Kerrot’s eyes widened. “Wait, you have peanut butter?”
Mrs. Elmas smiled and rested a hand on her stomach. “Not anymore. I may or may not have cleaned out the entire jar yesterday after I ran out of pickles.”
The older man gave a soft laugh- the first one Nima had observed all day.
“When Lizzie was in her third trimester, she craved nothing but oranges and bell peppers. She ate the damned things like apples.”
The pregnant woman tilted her head curiously. “Hmm. I guess I’ll be requesting something extra when the pantry gets restocked tomorrow. I do think there’s still some sponge toffee left if you’d like to have a little treat.”
Mr. Kerrot’s face went soft. “I… I don’t think I’ve had sponge toffee in over thirty years.”
“Being the civilian family of an Artificer and her personal bodyguard trapped in a highly classified situation determining the fate of the world turns out to have some pretty good benefits. Welcome to the Syndicate, Mr. Kerrot.”
Alexandra and Jasmine had offered to do the dishes while Mr. Kerrot and Mrs. Elmas had a conversation in a living room that Nima could only describe as ‘militaristic efficiency, yet cozy’. Both Claire and Meghan had departed respectfully. Nima opted to stay behind and aid in the cleanup of their dinner- Alexandra washing, Nima rinsing, and Jasmine drying before putting everything away.
Aside from the sounds of water and clinking dishes, there wasn’t a sound in the kitchen between the three girls. Both Alexandra and Jasmine’s faces were completely flat and they almost seemed to avoid looking at each other. While Nima rinsed off a plate before putting it back in Alexandra’s side of the sink because of a dirty spot, she let out a small breath.
“Alexandra, what are your feelings on being the quote-unquote ‘odd-woman-out’ in your polyamorous relationship with Jasmine and Eris?”
Both girls stiffened. Nima sighed.
“I’m not good with people- that much is fact. However, even I’m able to safely determine that there is tension between you two. I haven’t seen you two talk since the event about anything other than informing the Syndicate of everything that’s transpired.”
Alexandra spoke quietly. “Our relationship is hardly any of your business…”
“And you would be correct in that fact,” Nima said. “It isn’t my business, but it is the business of our party. Discomfort with the people you rely on to keep you alive can only lead to poor results. You have no reason to discuss the state of your relationship to me, but you have an obligation to Claire, Meghan and myself to fix the problems you two are having with each other.”
There was a long moment of silence as nobody moved. Nima let out a breath.
“I don’t know if this would apply to relationship issues, but the first rule in solving any other problem is understanding all the details. I don’t have any bearing on how you choose to solve this situation. I only request that you find a solution that allows you two to work together without jeopardising the functionality of our party going forward; whether that be as romantic partners, friends, or simply allies.”
“Is this your weird, emotionless way of saying ‘get your shit together’?” Jasmine gave a tiny smirk. Nima shrugged.
“I suppose that is an alternative way of summing it up.”
Jasmine placed both hands on the counter and waited several long moments. Eventually, she muttered out a low; “Fuck it,” before turning towards Alexandra.
“Look, Alex. I don’t want to just be friends. I love you. I want to be with you. But because I love you, I’m not gonna lie to you. You’re one of the most important people in the world to me, but Eris is my world. Nothing and nobody can or will ever get in the way of that- no matter how much I want to be their girlfriend.”
“I know. It’s just…” Alexandra nodded and rested soapy hands on the edge of the sink. She glanced to Jasmine, then Nima between them, then back to Jasmine, and then down towards the water with a heavy sigh.
“I’d had crushes on you and Eris ever since I met you two. Then when you two became a thing, I dealt with it. I pushed those feelings aside because they didn’t matter anymore. It was done. Over. I’d already accepted it and was fine with it. It was just a stupid crush anyway.”
Nima watched Alexandra’s fingers clench tighter. “Then Eris goes and becomes an Artificer of sex and you two invite me to do the things I’d forced myself to stop thinking about.”
“We gave you exactly what you wanted…” Jasmine began. Alexandra sighed.
“-After I’d convinced myself that I didn’t want it.” The Knight returned her hands into the water and started scrubbing- with a noticeable amount more force than before. Soapy water was splashing up her arms and her voice took a hardened edge. “Then, just to add insult to injury, you two continue to fawn all over each other while dangling the carrot on a stick in front of me like I’m a damned circus animal, and I can’t even bring myself to argue that it still isn’t everything I want!”
A sound of cracking porcelain sounded through the kitchen as the plate Alexandra was viciously scrubbing shattered in her hands.
“Dammit!” The blonde swore and pulled her limbs away from the sink with a scattering of water over the floor. Drips of red followed and Alexandra clutched one hand tightly around the base of her left thumb where the injury seemed to be. Nima immediately furrowed her brow and moved to grab a towel, but Jasmine had hers held outwards. Alexandra simply looked at it, one bleeding hand held in the other. Her gaze remained for many moments before it slowly drifted upwards to Jasmine’s face.
“It’s harder to pretend that it doesn’t hurt to be the third wheel when you two keep lying and saying that we’re riding a tricycle.”
The Knight took the towel from Nima’s hand and held it against her injury. Jasmine frowned and dropped her arms to her side. “Alex…”
Alexandra’s eyes seemed wet, and Nima realized the girl was on the verge of crying. The Spellblade shuffled awkwardly in place as the silence resounded through the room. Eventually, Alexandra looked down at the floor and spoke in a shaky voice. “I think all of this would be easier if we stopped pretending that we’re all standing on even ground.”
The Berserker took a silent half-step forward into the space that Nima had vacated to find a towel. Alexandra shook her head, then seemed to take a moment to gather her words.
“I like gathering Desire with you two, and I’d like to keep doing it once Eris comes back. I just can’t handle trying to act like I’m in the same relationship as you two. I’m done pretending, and I think we’d be better off telling our relationship as what it is instead of what I want it to be. You and Eris are an open couple. I’m the friend with benefits.”
“Alex, please…” Jasmine pleaded, her own voice quivering slightly. One hand reached out to rest on the Knight’s shoulder. Alexandra backed away entirely, forcing Jasmine’s hand to drop before the blonde spoke.
“Jaxie, I-” Alexandra cleared her throat. “I would like to break up with both you and Eris.”
The silence was heavy in the room. Nima bit her tongue. Of course, she was aware that something like this could be a potential resolution in the tension of the relationship between the three girls, but there had been the hope that the result would be more… positive.
“Alex, why don’t you think about this? We can talk later-” Jasmine tried. Alexandra abruptly cut her off.
“I have thought about it, Jaxie- for two weeks. We can still do all the… stuff... but I don’t want to try and pretend like I’m your girlfriend anymore. I’m just the friend you two have sex with, and you have no idea how much it hurts to convince myself otherwise.”
Alexandra clutched her hands together around the reddening towel a little bit tighter and sniffled. “I’m… I should go.”
“Alex!” Jasmine reached a hand out, but the Knight was already halfway across the kitchen. Blonde curls vanished past the doorframe before Nima could even properly register that the Knight was leaving. It was barely a few seconds later before Nima heard the front door to the small, Syndicate-provided, single-story house open and shut. Nima looked over towards Jasmine. The tall girl simply stood there, shoulders as limp as her expression. She was breathing heavily.
“Jasmine, are you alrigh-”
Nima was cut off by the Berserker turning around and grabbing the bottom of the shelving fixture. Wood splintered, dishes shattered, and Nima was forced to back away several steps as Jasmine tore the entire cupboard off the wall to send debris scattering over the floor with a tremendous crash. A uniformed soldier quickly sprinted in from outside, a heavily pregnant woman waddled up to the doorframe, and a wheelchair-bound man rolled up beside that woman. Meanwhile, Nima could only look down at Jasmine who was sitting on the ground with her knees hugged to her chest and her face buried in her forearms amidst a pile that used to be an entire cabinet’s worth of dishes.
Nima wasn’t completely positive, but it seemed like Jasmine was pretty upset.