My phone ringing woke me up. I checked the time. 3am. I hoped the girls were okay. I picked up without checking the number. "Yes?"
"Miss Tina. I apologize for waking you up, but there have been developments and I would like to speak to you as soon as possible." Cecile? At this hour? "Couldn't it wait 5 more hours?" "No."
"My place. Give me 10 minutes to wake up." They agreed and cut the call.
I got up and dressed as fast as I could, knowing they would be exactly on time. I made coffee for us both. I may dislike them, it wasn't a reason to be impolite. The coffee was just done when the bell rang. I opened and took a seat at the kitchen table.
Cecile looked like they hadn't slept in two days. Their clothes were all askew. Their usually delicate features were stuck in a frown. Even their hair was a mess.
"Damn, it must be bad. Have a coffee." They gratefully sat across from me and accepted the full mug. "Cream? Sugar?" "Sugar. Too much. Please and thank you." I liked them just a tiny bit more at that moment. "So, what's up?"
Cecile took a deep gulp of coffee and a deeper breath. "Gianni's brother is attempting a coup."
I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it. "A coup? But-"
"Yes, a coup. He wants to take the throne, and states that since he is married and with an heir on the way, he would bring more stability to the kingdom than Gianni."
I was in shock.
"Okay. That ain't good. What do we do?" I asked, afraid I wouldn't like the answer. "We have to announce the marriage and make it fast. This kingdom's well being hangs on it. Gianni's brother is not a considerate man. He'll use all the resources at his disposal for his own gain."
It was my turn to take a deep breath. "Okay hang on. Gianni's brother wants the kingdom. Gianni wants to announce an engagement that doesn't yet exist. Our princess currently has a teenager sleeping over at her place. I need a drink."
"A drink? I hardly think now is a good time for that, Miss Tina."
I sighed. "You don't understand, Cecile. I know you dislike that habit of mine, you've made it very clear from the start. But this case? I've been working at the Agency for 12 years and I've never had a case so complex as this one. It took all I had to keep going. I didn't have a choice. I fell right into it. I'm an alcoholic."
They looked at me. Really looked at me, for once. They seemed to see something new in my face, because instead of a snarky comment, I got an "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I will fix this. But right now? I need a glass of vodka, or whiskey, to be able to think."
Cecile nodded and a bottle appeared in their hand. "Then let's make this coffee a little spicy. I'll accompany you. With the 2 days I've had, I can't say I'd refuse a drink either, to be completely honest."
They spilled some of the whiskey into our mugs, and took a sip. "I'll admit it does feel nice. I can see why you'd want more of that. I rarely drink myself if I can help it. But sometimes needs must. Now, what do we do, miss Tina?"
I sipped my coffee and lit a smoke. "I hope you don't mind", I said. They shook their head. I opened the window a crack, just to be polite.
"What we do now will depend on both Gianni and Eileen. Right now, we need to find a safe place for August, the girl Josephine told you about. I need you guys to take her in and help her get into her studies. She's had a tough life already. She deserves a bit of good. That's one thing. The other is that we need Eileen's approval, and this is going very fast. She does not want to get married, Cecile. The only reason she's considering it is because she needs help paying for her studies, too."
Cecile nodded, and took another sip. "We'll have to talk to them both then. I'm sure Gianni will agree to take your girl under his wing once he realizes how precarious the situation is."
That was something, at least. "I'll talk to Eileen in the morning. Or maybe we should talk to her together."
"We should." They seemed a bit more relaxed, as if sharing this load made it lighter. I smiled. Helping people was still what brought me the most joy in life. Even people like Cecile.
"In the meantime we should get some sleep. Nothing can be done before Eileen wakes up, and I'm not calling her at this time of night." Cecile looked surprised. "Sleep? When the kingdom is in jeopardy?" I sighed. "Yes Cecile, sleep. You can't help your beloved prince if you don't have your wits about you, and based on the looks of you, you don't. So, sleep. You can stay the night if you want."
They sipped more coffee, obviously thinking. "You have a point, Miss Tina. I think I'll do as you suggest and stay here tonight, so that we can call our princess in the morning together."
I nodded, and finished my coffee in a gulp. Then my smoke. "I'll take the couch, it's gonna be too small for you. I don't have pajamas to lend you, sorry. Go sleep. See you in the morning." I went to the bedroom to retrieve the extra pillow and blanket, then laid on the couch. Cecile would do as they pleased.