Evelyn checked her appearance on her pocket mirror for the third time. The hubbub around her didn't distract her from ensuring her hair was spotless. She didn't know why it mattered so much since Jered had seen her at her worst. But she wanted to meet up with him under proper circumstances. Of course, part of that decision was because Ashy Petals wanted to take a better look at that incredibly talented young man. News of him was already spreading through many other organizations. And the Arcane Underground Combat was to blame for that.
His name was blazoned on a very eye-catching article on their main website. She had read it, and seen the highlights of Jered's fights enclosed in it. Del was good at video editing, and his flair for the dramatic was as amusing as it was excessive.
Now many powerful Magicians were paying attention to Jered, and at what he'd do next. It was a highly volatile situation. More influential organizations might reach out and try to recruit him. And considering the wealth and resources they could provide, a tiny side of her was rather restless that he'd slip away unnoticed and leave her to fend off the wolves by herself.
What Evelyn truly feared, however, was the likelihood of hitmen going after Jered. She was not worried about Elder Magicians, and Royal Magicians were disgustingly expensive to hire for this kind of dirty job. For now, he was safe. But all it would take was a wrong action, a wrong choice of words, and Jered would become a top-priority target. At that point, Evelyn doubted Ashy Petals could protect him.
She saw her face twisted in concern, and with a click, she folded her pocket mirror shut.
No use thinking about that now.
The cafe's door was opened, and the familiar, potent mana wavelengths jolted Evelyn into looking back.
Jered was dressed in a black turtleneck shirt, a beige, unbuttoned overcoat, jeans, and leather shoes. He was only 16, but an aura of power loomed around him. It was not something normal people could explain, and nor did they try to. Wherever he walked, people would unconsciously step back and let him pass. And when they noticed, they would stare at him. Naturally, Jered ignored that and walked up to Evelyn.
She smiled, "Thank you for coming."
He sat down across from her, and rolled his eyes, "You make it sound as if I'm unreachable."
"Well, I contacted you all of a sudden, you might have been busy."
"Not so early in the morning. And even if I was, I would have still made time for you."
"Well, aren't you sweet?" Evelyn rested her chin on her hand as she stared at him, "How is the situation at home? You left in a hurry the other day."
"Eh, it's stable... I think," Jered admitted, "What, you wanna come over to see how bad it is?"
She waved her hands in a fluster, "It's a bit too early to introduce me to your parents."
He smirked, "I thought you had experience with this. Getting cold feet already?"
A waitress chose that moment to waltz in, "Hello! What can I get for you?"
"Sparkling water," Jered said, not taking his eyes off Evelyn.
Evelyn crossed one knee over the other, "A caffe latte."
The waitress nodded at them and promptly left, not before taking one last longing look at Jered.
"Next time we should go somewhere more private," Evelyn mumbled under her breath.
"Soo..." he ran a hand over his mouth, "How's the... baby?"
She tilted her head, "The baby is fine so far. In fact, it's absorbing a lot of mana. You're going to grow strong and healthy, aren't you?" she muttered that last part to her belly, her face stretched into a fond smile.
"And... is that normal?"
"Yes! Babies born from Magicians usually absorb mana from their germinal stage up until their fetal. This helps them build a powerful mana circuit."
Jered nodded thoughtfully, "Should you ever need anything, let me know. I barely know something about normal babies... let alone magical ones."
She laughed at that, "Well, that's the only difference, to be honest. They're still humans, but with an additional organ."
"Yeah, I don't know what I was expecting."
"Most fathers don't."
"Father..." he let that word roll off his tongue with ambivalence.
Evelyn could see that he was not used to the idea, but wouldn't back out. She extended a hand and placed it upon his, "Thank you."
He stared at her hand, and then looked up at her, "You're so silly."
She rolled her eyes.
The waitress came back with their orders. A cold bottle of sparkling water for Jered, and a steaming cup of caffe latte for Evelyn. After making sure they didn't need anything else, the waitress walked away. Jered uncapped the bottle and took a sip, "You didn't ask me out only because you wanted to see my handsome face, right?" not that he'd have a problem with that if that were the case.
Evelyn straightened her back, clasped her hands together in a professional stance, and cast a concealment spell, "You remember what I said the other day? That the higher-ups of Ashy Petals would want to see you soon? Well, turns out they can't wait anymore. You've made big waves, between that episode in Mistwood Town and the recent... matches. Not to mention the fact that you did raze Little Spirit Forest to the ground, along with the Wolfkins. While the collateral damage was a pain in the ass to sweep under the rug, the mission was successful. Cheers to that," she brought the steaming cup up for a celebratory sip.
He tipped his bottle in response, a chuckle following right after, "Looks like I'm making a name to myself, a shitload of money, and have impregnated a hot, older woman. Is this the peak of life?"
She opened her mouth to stutter out a reply, but then stopped and narrowed her eyes, "Considering your age, yes... but everything comes with a price. Also, that last part shouldn't be something to be proud of."
"I know, I know. Let me gloat over what I've accomplished so far. The good parts, of course," Jered said with a placating smile, "You don't seem too happy about it, though."
It wasn't hard to notice how her eyes drooped down, her hands cupping her mug for warmth, "It's just that... it's dangerous," she said vaguely, "It wouldn't have been an issue if you were older, but people are wondering, Jered. Wondering how far you can go. You've set an unprecedented achievement, and people will be speaking about it. Speaking about you. You've leaped out of the pond straight into the ocean, and now you're swimming with sharks. If you grow too fast, they'll do whatever it takes to bring you down."
It was a good thing Rainey treasured him—a little too much, maybe.
Jered nodded dismissively, "And you're worried," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Yes... I'm worried..." Evelyn looked deep into his eyes, "... don't forget that if they can't get you, they might come for the baby."
"I don't know what lies ahead of us," he chewed over his words carefully, "I don't know if one of my reckless stunts will get me killed. I'm not thorough when it comes to planning—might be because I'm young and hot-blooded; a bad trait of mine. But I'm always, always working hard to make sure I catch up to those... monsters... on the Other Side. Come on, you've seen me. I can accomplish a lot, in a short time too. I promise you that nothing will ever threaten your safety, or that of our baby. And whoever tries, we'll hunt them down with a vengeful heart."
Evelyn allowed herself a small smile, "You're right," she nursed her drink quietly, then snorted, "Even though you make it sound easy."
"I guess I'm more confident," he shrugged.
"Or foolish," she corrected with an upturn of her eyebrows.
"Yes, or foolish."
They lapsed into a peaceful silence. Jered wasn't thirsty anymore, so he entertained himself by watching Evelyn take elegant sips of her beverage.
She wiped the foam off her lips with a napkin, "As much as I'd like to spend more time with you, it would be better if we didn't make them wait. They tasked me with fetching you due to our relationship. Of course, I wasn't about to let them choose anyone else for this job."
"I like the fact that you're so possessive of me."
Evelyn cleared her throat, stood up, and smoothed out the creases on her clothes, "Whatever happens, don't let them undervalue you. You're a bona fide Elder Magician," she reached into her purse and tossed a few bills on the table.
"I could have paid for that, you know."
"Oh, spare me your machismo."
"..."
----
Ashy Petals' headquarters was not quite how Jered expected it to be. It was probably not a good idea to use Akashka's asylum as a standard to base other organizations' headquarters off of. The 10-story building in front of him stood like a towering, white pillar in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the town. It was clean, elegant, and eerily quiet. The parking lot around the building was huge, and empty.
People passed by without so ever sparing it a glance.
Jered was briefly reminded of the place his first AUC match took place.
"They can see it, but they're compulsed not to approach it. The only exception to that is if they're Magicians," Evelyn explained as she strode forward, Jered behind her, "This is the main base of our organization. There are many more branches spread throughout the state, but they're all under Artemis' direct jurisdiction."
"Artemis?"
"The most powerful magical organization in Alabama, of course," she flashed him a smile, "They're our superiors, so to speak. Every other minor organization in the state has to defer to them. We have to abide by their bylaw, which means providing funds and manpower in case of any major wars. But besides that, we're free to do whatever we want. As long as we don't screw up big time, they'll leave us alone."
Jered grunted out his understanding, "Do you have any book that explains in detail the layout of all the most powerful arcane organizations and whatnot in our country?"
She took a moment to dig through her thoughts before nodding, "Yes, I believe I do have something like that. I'll lead you to the library later."
"Thank you."
Evelyn hovered her hand above a red, magical pattern by the main entrance. The glyphs in the circle spun around with a whirring sound, then, once it confirmed Evelyn's identity, it turned green. A click rang out as the door swung open by itself. She walked in with confident familiarity. Jered followed her, his eyes drinking in the sight of... a very normal decor. The inside of the building was just like any others, albeit considerably more fancy and expensive.
"Disappointed?" Evelyn smirked as she saw the anticipation in his eyes taper off.
"A bit. I was not expecting flying chairs and talking furniture, but this feels rather bland."
"That's because Ashy Petals is also a company, though under a different name. And from time to time, the executives of other companies come to adjourn here. That's how we afford all of our activities."
Yes, that made sense. It was not like he thought Magicians simply shat out money, or had them grow on trees. Not at all.
Their footsteps echoed through the narrow hallway as they walked forth.
There was an employee behind the reception desk, typing away on a computer. Jered and Evelyn's presence was ignored as they took the elevator to the last floor.
"Where are you taking me exactly?"
"To meet my grandfather, Ambrose Adler."
"Should I call him grandfather too, then? Hmm… maybe grandaddy."
"Don't you fucking dare."