Chapter 3 - My Own Devices

Leviathan

I was sitting at one of the many round tables with Sol, Celeste, and a few of the other deities that I somehow manage to get along with these days. I was trying to enjoy myself as much as my children were, but it wasn't exactly happening.

"Levi, would it kill you to actually have a good time? You look positively miserable," Selene said before taking a sip of her wine.

I quickly glanced around at everyone as they continued eating, drinking, and carrying on with needless conversations. I was honestly enjoying the break in the night's theatrics while we all waited for the future princesses to be announced.

Selene had her midnight hair pulled back so tight it looked like it gave her a facelift, giving her an extremely youthful look. Why women do that to themselves is beyond me. Crazy. They're all crazy. Every one of them.

I tilted my head as I raised an eyebrow. "Really? Are you going to judge me for not acting like a drunken fool? What about your partner in crime? Where's he at? Why aren't you judging him for not being here?"

Sol and Celeste continued to help themselves to the free food and alcohol as they enjoyed what has probably become the best entertainment at this damned party.

Selene glared at me, her diamond eyes barely seen through the narrow slits. "You leave Fenrir out of this, Leviathan. He has his own personal things he's dealing with right now."

I hid my smile, knowing that I had struck a nerve, and feeling determined to keep pushing my luck. "He's had personal issues going on ever since he started banging that witch. He should have known better."

Selene slammed her hand on the table. "Levi! Keep your mouth shut in regards to things you know NOTHING about!"

I sighed, already bored with poking the bear. "I'm not wrong. He should have known better than to get tangled up with that crazy old bitch."

"First," Eris said, "she wasn't old when they started seeing each other. I would even have taken her to bed if they had let me. Second, maybe if you got banged now and then you wouldn't be nearly so fucking miserable in life." She then winked at me before she took a bite of whatever it was the fairies served us.

Eris enjoyed being the Goddess of chaos. She didn't look nearly as uptight as Selene. True to her nature, her dark purple hair that matched her eyes looked slightly disheveled, though comfortable, in some sloppy hairdo that she had on top of her head.

I let out an amused, airy chuckle. "No one asked you, Eris."

"Yeah, could you maybe not talk about my dad getting laid? It's one of those things we just don't want to hear about," Celeste said as she tried not to laugh. She was clearly enjoying what was going on and wanted to join in on the opportunity to tease me.

When I looked at my children, I could see why the council picked Samara. We were a surefire combination to produce children that looked as close to their cherished water deity as possible.

"You know, no one ever does ask me," Eris said with a shrug. "But that's never stopped my mouth from running before. I don't think it'll change any time soon."

"Eris, my dear. None of us expect you to ever change, especially after all of these years. Think of how dull life would be with all that peace and quiet!" Pan said nonchalantly, and Sol almost choked on his drink as Eris' face fell, but she quickly collected herself and returned fire.

"I'm surprised you took a moment from your food to talk. Don't you have some weeds or something you need to go eat? That's what half goats do, right, Panny?" Eris replied sweetly.

"Alright, you guys, zip it! Seraphina and Conláed are about to announce their daughters," Selene hissed at us.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't even know why I bothered coming to this; this is the most mundane thing I have ever sat through," I quietly grumbled as I watched a young woman with orange hair being shown off in some ridiculously flamboyant dress that was colored like fire.

"THIS is the most mundane thing? Coming from a lawyer, that's fucking rich," Eris replied with a wink, and Selene flicked her hand at us, trying to get us to shut up.

Next, a white-haired young woman in an extremely flowy, light blue dress walked on the stage. She carried herself with pride, almost to the point I wanted to ask who shoved the stick up her ass.

"Free food and alcohol, Dad, that's the reason why you came and the reason you brought us along. Three free meals!" Sol said before he happily took a mouthful of the mystery meat.

I shook my head. That kid could eat anything.

"It is pretty good food, isn't it?" Pan asked as he took a break to compliment the wonder-food that he consumed.

The next woman wore a simple dirt-colored evening gown that matched her hair. Other than the dark green swirls that could be seen when the light hit it just right, everything was dirt brown. True to the fairy way of these pompous events, they all had a visual theme for the kingdom they were going to oversee.

"Pan, you do know that the plate and silverware aren't meant to be eaten afterwards, right?" I asked sarcastically as I got my little jab in, and he simply shrugged, putting another forkful of food into his mouth and began chewing quickly.

"Has anyone talked to Dis lately?" Eris asked as she looked around at all of us.

Selene finally took her eyes off of the stage. "No one has seen or talked to him in, I don't know how long. He sends his help to do all of his work and bidding for him. Hecate is worried that he's going to do something ignorant again, like try to find another Persephone or something."

"Where is that witch anyway?" I asked as I quickly looked around, realizing that I hadn't seen her in at least an hour.

"Probably three sheets to the wind and passed out somewhere," Eris answered before she finished her own drink.

It was at that moment my heart felt like it had stopped. I don't even think I was breathing as I watched the beautiful petite woman with dark green hair and fair skin start to walk across the stage. Her dark blue-green dress had a long train, and I tilted my head in confusion as she stopped midway to her parents and started fighting with it as if it were stuck on something behind the stage.

"Don't do it, Fiona," Selene whispered from her seat, her eyes not leaving the stage.

Fiona. Hearing her name made my heart beat faster.

Eris let out an amused snort. "Na, do it, girl. Do it for all of us!"

Sol, Celeste, Pan, and I shared confused glances. It's like the two Goddesses knew what was going on, while the rest of us were clueless. I turned my eyes back towards the stage just in time to see the entire dress get torn off of Fiona's body, and I knew my eyes were as wide as the plates on the table we were sitting at.

Gasps and hushed whispers could be heard among all of the fairies, while Eris tried to contain her laughter.

Fiona didn't miss a beat as she turned back towards her parents and continued walking in their direction.

Seraphina had a hand placed over her mouth, but it didn't hide the look of horror in her eyes, while Conláed simply lowered his head and shook it slowly.

"What on Earth is she wearing?" Sol asked, breaking my mental focus ..... but my eyes never strayed from the bold fairy who was clearly making a statement.

"Why does everyone always ask Gaia?" Pan asked, trying to be funny, but we all ignored him due to the show going on in front of us.

Selene cleared her throat. "She's wearing a water fairy's warrior suit; clearly it's been tailored to fit her properly. They shift colors depending on the water they're in."

"And let me tell you what, this moment will go down in history. She basically just threw tradition in their faces without saying a single fucking word and a smile on her face the entire time. I LOVE her!" Eris said with a grin.

"You would, Eris!" Selene hissed irritably.

"You're being unusually quiet, Dad," Celeste said.

Thanks to my daughter, everyone at the table turned to look at me with curious expressions on their faces. But instead of answering them, my attention was focused on the young man who quickly ran up to Fiona with a robe, covering her and walking her off of the stage.

Selene's head quickly followed my eyes, turning her head towards Fiona before returning her gaze to me with a smug smile on her face. "That's just their older brother, Cerulean."

My eyes went wide as I realized that Selene had figured out what my problem was. Of course, the Goddess who forms mate bonds would be used to the expression on my face and what it meant. I quickly shrugged and took a large gulp of alcohol for the first time all night. "These aren't my people, so it's not my problem. There's no reason for me to express an opinion."

"But boy, is this entertaining! I only wish my hands were dirty with this mess! I love this little fairy!" Eris chuckled while Selene simply glared at me.

That's exactly my problem, too. I loved this little fairy that I didn't even know, all because the animal part of me was screaming that she was my mate. But this shouldn't be, as not only am I a dragon, but a deity as well. And she .... was a fairy.

Fiona

Cerulean quickly hurried me off stage and into my bedroom, making sure no one followed us before he started questioning me.

"What on Earth were you thinking by doing that, Fiona?!" he asked as he waved his hands in the direction of the stage that he had just dragged me off of.

I plopped down on my bed, folding my hands under my head as I stared at the ceiling. "Relax, Ceru. I completely plan on playing this off like it was an accident that I didn't see coming."

"Everyone knows better than that!" he snapped back.

The irritation in his voice was obvious, and I chose not to look at the judgmental expression I knew he had on his face.

"But no one can prove it, can they?" I asked as I stared up at the ceiling.

"And the warrior suit you just happened to be wearing underneath?!" he asked.

I jumped off the bed and ran my hands up and down the suit I made. "Oh, you mean this pretty color-changing swimsuit? I made it all by myself! Aren't you impressed with my housewife skills?" I playfully batted my eyes, giving Cerulean a glimpse of my acting skills and how I'll play this off. "The elders wouldn't dare criticize me over a home-making skill. They try to encourage any little thing that keeps us females where they think we belong."

Ceru groaned in frustration as he looked up at the tall ceiling. "What in the absolute fuck am I going to do with you?"

"Love me and support me as a big brother should, and like the big brother you are?" I asked smugly.

Cerulean let out a sigh. "I always will, Fiona. You know that."

I smiled at him, knowing I won. "Why don't you go check in on the other three and Mom? I'm sure that they're all about ready to have a heart attack right about now."

Ceru raised an eyebrow. "And just what do you think you're going to go do?"

I looked down at my homemade swimsuit. "I'm going to go find somewhere to test this bad boy out! I didn't spend hours cussing and sewing just for show, you know. I made it to be functional, too."

Cerulean glared at me with untrusting eyes, but nodded his head before he left for damage control.

I smiled as I was finally left alone to do as I wished for the night. "Lake Powell, here I come!"