Marisa hugged her and watched her leave.
When she was alone she looked to the mirror at the new person she was to become. "Marisa." She liked the name. She'd even wondered what it might be like being a blond. She frowned. She hadn't expected it to be permanent.
She reached inside and disabled the glamor. There was no transition. No glittering curtain of sparkles. The glamor just stopped and she was looking at the new coloring of her Succubus form. Frightened, she reached for the glamor again and it snapped back into place. It was so easy! Before there had been a momentary effort to switch and there was always a delay in the removal as the glamor dissipated. Now the change was instant and effortless! She looked inside again at the spell and discovered it wasn't alone. There was another dormant spell waiting for activation. She touched it with her mind and suddenly recognized it! It was the shield spell that Heriahn had tried to protect herself with. The Fae's shield had been useless against her wild magic but this shield... it was reworked to use the wild magic as its power source! She called it to activate it and felt the smooth surface of it snap into place around her. It was much stronger than the one she'd felt around Heriahn!
So now she had her very own shield and it was a good one! She had no idea why Heriahn had implanted it with the glamor but she was keeping it!
She smiled at her new blond reflection. Whoa. She was really going to have to do something to minimize the impact of that smile. Fake retainer? She sighed.
Her thoughts turned to the old Fae and the grief she was going to cause Stanley.
Heriahn shuffled down the stairs into the subway. She passed her illusionary pass over the turnstile as she 'pushed' the machinery, wincing at the pain of using even this small amount of magic but the gate let her pass.
She painfully made her way down the steps to the platform and saw the train pulling away. Damn it! She'd have to wait for the next one. She shuffled over to the seats and eased herself down onto one and spoke the words to a simple 'do not disturb' spell to make others avoid her. She leaned back and closed her eyes feeling the damage tonight's session had done to her.
She was so weary. She hadn't expected to deal with wild magic! And so strong! Magic was disappearing from the world as the membrane between this plane and the realm of Magic slowly closed.
It was the Human's fault for corrupting the world. Their disease sickened this plane and to protect the others, the membranes were sealing up. This fact was only known by the Fae and they were keeping it to themselves.
To encounter this tonight... she had to inform the Fae Council. Let them know there might be a source of magic powerful enough to expedite the purging of the disease and its source, the Humans. Whoever the Succubus fed from was someone the Fae needed to know about. They would get the information from the girl.
A foul odor wafted over to her and she opened her eyes to look in the direction it was coming. A homeless woman was easing herself down two seats over. Heriahn scowled. Her spell should have kept everyone away but in her weakened state the spell's potency was obviously not as powerful as it should have been. It certainly wasn't as powerful as the smell of unwashed flesh this old woman was giving off. The few other people on the platform were giving them both a wide berth. She realized they probably thought they both smelled this bad. She scowled, closed her eyes and reached for a stronger avoidance spell. She moaned a little as the strength it took to invoke the spell sapped her and sent pain shooting through her body.
She was startled to hear a chuckle from the old woman who should have been rushing away at this point. Heriahn painfully turned her head towards the woman and saw a wide smile was on her face.
"That was a waste of your remaining strength, now wasn't it," the woman cackled quietly.
Heriahn blinked in confusion, her head spun with the pain she was in and she felt the disease digging in deeper.
"Ah, you're not well are you? How unfortunate for you... but fortunate for me," the homeless woman whispered behind her grin. Then as Heriahn watched in dismay the homeless woman began to cough loudly, deep, wet hacking barks causing the few remaining people on the platform to look away.
The Fae heard it then. The almost silent words of power beneath the coughs. But it was too late to respond as the disease in her core awoke with new energy and stole her last remaining years in a blink of an eye. As she sank into that most final darkness she looked one more time at the old woman who was shambling away. When the old crone turned the corner to exit the platform, Baba Yaga smiled back at her and Heriahn saw nothing more.
Sigrid sat in her favorite chair, under her softest blanket, in front of her small fireplace sipping her comforting tea after having dinner with Stanley. She contemplated the young man sitting in the chair across from her. He was having a rough week.
"So VRL now owns the unit?" he asked.
"As of tomorrow afternoon. You'll get the keys at the office. You can move in any time after that," she nodded.
He thought for a moment. "I need to get furniture. Dishes. Towels. Groceries? I don't know how to use the stove or cook for myself. I've never used a washer or dryer. Baba's cottage had no electricity and she took care of those things and never asked me to learn. I see now I should have prepared myself much better."
Sigrid tilted her head with a smile. "You need a housekeeper for a one bedroom condo?"
He looked at her sharply but saw she was just teasing. "Ha ha, I'm such a helpless male."
"I'm sorry. You're right, until now you've led a sheltered life but you have to learn some time," Sigrid suggested.
Stanley looked at her bleakly. "I have less than a month to replace all of VRL's network hardware and software. I got a good start on it today. We'll have the delivery of the new air conditioner and diesel generator next week. The electricians will install the new lines from the roof to a new panel in the new server room this week. I finished the design of the new network topography and will begin ordering the servers tomorrow. Based on the volume of the order and how little set up I've asked them to do, I've managed to negotiate some excellent prices too. I'll begin configuring the servers as soon as they begin arriving. There is so much to do. I can't fit all that in and learn how to be self-sufficient at home at the same time. Plus, there's the fact that my current savings won't cover the cost of the stuff I need to get for the apartment."
Sigrid realized he was a little over-burdened. "Tell you what, I'll find someone to temporarily deal with the household issues. VRL will furnish the place with the basics as we have some furniture in storage like couches, tables, and chairs. Not a bed naturally so we'll have to buy that. We'll hire a housekeeper to keep the place tidy, take care of the laundry, and make you meals. Once you have VRL's situation in hand you'll need to learn how to deal with your own household issues. I'll get you training in that." She watched Stanley slump in relief.
"That would be great! Thanks! I want to learn how to be independent and self-sufficient but there's just too much to do at the moment!"
"Now, as to the other issue." Sigrid looked at Stanley with compassion. "As someone who isn't Human having a relationship with a Human is not a good idea. Relationships only survive if you can be completely honest with your partner and let's face it, this is as big of a secret as they come. You cannot share this with a Human. To do so puts all of us at risk and that won't be allowed. Steps will be taken to discredit or silence the Human and the one who couldn't keep the secret. You will never know whose been asked to do it. You might one day be told you have to destroy someone's credibility or even kill to protect us all. It's never done lightly and it's only done to ensure our survival. The sooner you accept that the easier life will be."
"So, I can't even be friends with a human?" Stanley blurted.
"No, of course you can. You just can't ever have the kind of relationship with one that requires complete honesty. Think about it! You have to switch to your true form every night. That means no overnight Human guests," Sigrid explained. "Speaking of changing, shouldn't you be in your true form now?"
Stanley shrugged with a sullen look.
Sigrid looked him in the eye sympathetically. "It's not a bad thing. It's just the truth. Learn to not only accept it but embrace it. It's who you really are and that's wonderful. You have a lot to learn about yourself. Granted you're learning it later than most but it's still good!"
He smiled at her effort to make him feel better. She really was a good person and she was a Valkyrie! Then he winced. "I forgot. I ruined the robe I had last night when I switched back to my... human disguise while I was wearing it. That folding reality thing really wreaks havoc on clothes. I'll need to pick up some clothes for my true self."
She smiled at his initial efforts to accept his new state of being. "I'll loan you one of mine until you get one for yourself." She frowned. "You should take some measurements once you've changed so you can get something that fits. I'll get you a tape measure." She stood up and made her way upstairs to her bedroom.
Stanley sat and stared into the flames. He suddenly thought of Paloma and wondered how she was. Maybe he could go see her tomorrow at lunch. He'd ask Sigrid- "What is that?" he asked in dismay as he saw the short, white, gauzy nightgown Sigrid was carrying in her hands.
"What? Hey! Beggars can't be choosers. You can buy your own robe tomorrow. For tonight, all you have is this and I want it back in one piece so change before you put it on and take it off before you change back!" Sigrid griped.
"Sorry! It's just so... girly."
"You don't think I'd like girly things or look good in them?" she asked with raised eyebrows.
Stanley froze. "No of course you would! You're beautiful!" He caught her pleased smile and frowned. "Hey! You said you'd stop teasing me!"