The Stargazer's War - Chapter 3.14

Chapter 3.14: Celebration

“Sooooooo?  What did he say?”  I pressed a gin and tonic into Xavier’s hand the moment he set foot on the gangway.  I’d wanted to open with champagne, but Lucy had vetoed that option as being in ill taste should Jean Jack have rejected his petition.  A G and T made for a far more neutral beverage.

Xavier took two large gulps of the drink before answering.  “He said he’d think about it.”

“That’s not a no,” I offered.  

“There’s probably all sorts of politics he has to consider.”  Micaiah joined in.  “Remember, Charlotte’s last suitor almost got her killed and did force her to hide away on Fyrion.”

I greeted her with a quick kiss.  She eyed Xavier’s drink.  “Where’s mine?”

“Next time you advance your cultivation and propose on the same day, I’ll have a drink ready for you,” I countered.  My gaze flitted to the third member of their group.  “Hello, Nolan.  I’d like you to meet Lucy.”

The former Urlitch courtier, who looked, to put it generously, a bit skittish, snapped into a salute.  “Greetings, venerable ancient!”

I sighed.

“Lucy is fine,” the ancient in question replied.  “It’s nice to meet you, Nolan.  Please, come on in.  Dinner is almost ready.”

Inviting Nolan had been Micaiah’s idea.  I’d fought it, but she’d insisted he be here, arguing he needed to see there was more to life than groveling for scraps from the powerful.  Lucy definitely made a great counterexample to the power-hungry locals.

I put a hand on Xavier’s shoulder as we navigated Lucy’s hallways towards the kitchen.  “When do you think he’ll get back to you?  Charlotte must’ve had some kind of idea.”

He shrugged.  “She’s yet to contact me about it.  It worries me.  I’d thought I’d at least have her answer by now.”

“Her answer?”  I stopped short, realizing what Xavier meant.  “Xavier!”  I smacked him on the arm.  “You didn’t ask her first?  What is wrong with you?”

“Her communications are being monitored,” Xavier defended.  “Her father would’ve found out, and if Jean Jack fell under the impression I was going behind his back, he’d never accept my proposal.  He must see me as offering my loyalty to him first and foremost.”

I blinked.  That was… awfully well thought out for Xavier.  I’d grown so accustomed to him speaking his mind and always dealing with people as openly and directly as possible.  He’d really stepped out of his comfort zone planning for this.  I was proud of him.

“I told him that would blow up in his face,” Micaiah said.  “You’ve seen how much they fight.  There’s a very real chance Charlotte doesn’t want to marry him.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Lucy chimed in.  “He approached the problem how Charlotte would have.  It’s like a declaration that he appreciates her way of seeing the world.”

“Aww.  That is sweet.” I agreed.

“Still insane,” Micaiah argued.  “A proposal should never be a surprise.  That’s a great way to accidentally end a perfectly good relationship.”

I glanced sideways at Micaiah, quietly taking note of that opinion even though we were at least a few good years from reaching that point.

“Okay, enough about all that,” I said as we stepped into the dining room.  “There’s a far, far more important lingering question in need of answering.”  I stepped past the dining table, around the counter, and into the kitchen proper before turning back to the others.  “What would everybody like to drink?”

Xavier stepped up to the counter and set down his already-finished gin and tonic.  “Whiskey,” he declared.  “I think my iron body is resisting the alcohol.”

“I’m sure we can find a way around that,” I said.  “Lucy, you wouldn’t happen to have any spirit liquor back there, would you?”

From what I understood, there were two ways to make alcohol strong enough to intoxicate a cultivator: distilling spiritual herbs, and injecting qi into the finished product.  The former created all sorts of wild flavors and secondary effects, while the latter consistently tasted like all the liquors we knew and loved.  Both would probably kill a mortal outright.

That last was probably why Nolan gave me a look of absolute mortification as Xavier and I clinked glasses and each took a swig of qi-infused whiskey.  I realized then that I hadn’t reset my prosthetic core since getting back from work, and I very much appeared to his spiritual sense as a mortal who’d just taken a lethal dose.

I flashed him a grin.  “So, what’ll it be?”

It seemed to take him a moment to remember I was ‘bronze’ despite appearances to the contrary.  “I’ll… just a beer, please.”

It was in his hand within a minute, as was some sort of fruity concoction Lucy had whipped up in Micaiah’s.  After my initial swig, I opted against the spirit liquor.  My iron body didn’t handle toxins nearly as well as Xavier’s doubtless a result of our crucibles of choice.  I ended up taking Nolan’s cue and starting with a refreshing lager as we sat down for dinner.

We did our best to distract Xavier from his proposal as the food arrived and the drink flowed.  Ostensibly we were here to celebrate Xavier’s advancement to iron, and uncertainty looming over our heads or otherwise, I was determined to do just that.  Lucy had prepared an absolute knockout of a meal—some kind of curry that I couldn’t pronounce—and apparently she’d snuck a few genetically modified chilies into Xavier’s portion.

His face was bright red as he demanded seconds, though whether the alcohol or the spicy food had done it, none of us could say.

By the time dessert—dawfruit ice cream to neutralize any lingering spice—made it to the table, we’d well and truly put Xavier’s new iron body through its paces, and he was still going strong.  It was around then that I switched from lager to drinking martinis.  As the saying goes: liquor before beer, you’re in the clear.  Beer before liquor, remember to cycle your kidney and blood meridians before bed.

I’d made it about halfway through the bowl in front of me when Lucy announced, “A sect transport just pulled into one of the docks.”

“Tell ‘em to fuck off,” Micaiah jeered before taking a sip of what I’m pretty sure was her fifth fruity cocktail of the evening.

“Language,” Lucy chided hopelessly, knowing full well nobody would be meaningfully changing their behavior five drinks in.

“Yeah,” I backed my girl up.  “We’re busy.  Got more important matters than whatever the secties want.”

Nolan raised an eyebrow at me.  “Secties?”

I opened my mouth to say something scathingly witty in reply, but three words from Lucy derailed any possibility of banter.

“Charlotte’s with them.”

Xavier shot to his feet.

I was the next up and out, due more to my more advanced cultivation than any greater sense of urgency as Micaiah and Nolan lagged behind.  I made it to the gangway just behind Xavier, where I watched Charlotte step into the hangar flanked by her cousin Pierre and a second titanium I didn’t recognize.

She gestured her escort to stop and continued towards Lucy.  She didn’t get far.

“Charlotte…” Xavier breathed, and he was off like a rocket.  Within seconds she’d disappeared entirely, wrapped in a great bear hug by Xavier’s massive form.

“Is… is she okay?” Nolan muttered behind me.

I blinked, noting with my spiritual sense that I could feel him cycle his sense meridian.  A part of me felt offended that he’d violate their privacy like that, but his question sparked enough concern in me that I wound up doing the same.  The first thing I heard was Charlotte sobbing.

“You idiot.  You idiot!”  I heard a thumping noise, and took a moment to place it as her pounding on his chest with her fist.  “You’re his now.  I worked so hard.  I gave up so much to keep you from him, to keep you free, and you just… you gave yourself to him.  He’s never going to let you go now.  You’re just as trapped as—”

“Charlotte,” Xavier cut her off, his voice gentler and quieter than I’d ever heard it.  “I didn’t give myself to him.  I gave myself to you.  I love you.”

The thumping stopped.  “You don’t understand.  I can’t protect you now.  You’re a game piece, and he’s going to move you around the board until the situation calls for him to sacrifice you.  You’re not cut out for politics, Xavier.  They’ll eat you up.”

“I’ll have you with me.  We’ll get through it.  Together we can get through anything.”

“It’s not that—”

“I knew what I was getting into.”  Xavier’s voice dropped to a whisper.  “It’s worth it.  You’re worth it.  I know I’m not… good with people the way you are.  I’m loud and I’m talkative and I put my foot in my mouth more often than not, but with you I can just… be.  I love you, Charlotte, and there wasn’t a chance in all the galaxy I was going to let you suffer alone.”

“I love you too, you oaf.”  She pulled away, and I saw her face again.  Her eyes were bright red as tears streamed down her cheeks.  “Things are going to change.  He’s going to test you, see how far you’ll go, what you’re willing to give up.”

“I understand.  You’ll be there to help me navigate it?”

She nodded.

A moment passed.  Nobody spoke.  Nobody moved.  I couldn’t speak for the titaniums across the room, but the three of us on the gangway didn’t so much as breathe.

“Charlotte,” Xavier eventually spoke, a quiet desperation in his voice.  “I need an answer.”

She sniffled.  “Yes.  Yes, you big dumb amazing idiot.  I’ll marry you.”

It looked like Xavier was about to say something, but I promptly discovered Micaiah hadn’t had the wherewithal to cleanse the alcohol from her blood as she shouted into the hangar, “Kiss her, you dolt!”

Xavier obeyed.

Micaiah and I hadn’t made it to the L word yet, but something about watching Xavier grab Charlotte and dip her into a passionate kiss made me reach my arm around Micaiah and pull her closer.

I cleared my throat and spoke loudly enough for the titaniums across the hangar to hear.  “Let’s give them some privacy, yeah?”

Micaiah nodded, tears of her own welling in her eyes.  Nolan just followed mutely as I turned and led the way back to Lucy’s lower deck.  A word from Lucy confirmed that CHarlotte’s escorts had had the decency to step out and guard the hangar’s entrance rather than lingering inside.

The ice cream had melted.  I couldn’t care less.  I helped Lucy clear up the table and load the dishwasher before moving to the ingredient terminal to request the bottle of champagne the circumstances so clearly demanded.  I held off on opening it for the time being, instead running to my bedroom to grab my sword.

Some twenty minutes later, Xavier returned alone.

“Charlotte couldn’t stay?” Micaiah asked.

“She used valuable favors to be here at all tonight,” Xavier replied with resignation.  “I’ll see her tomorrow at the estate.”

I walked up and slapped him on the back.  “Congratulations.  You’re a good person and a great friend, and I’m sure you’re going to be an amazing husband.  You deserve every bit of happiness this messed up world has to offer.”

“I’m so happy for you!”  Micaiah added.

Nolan offered his own congratulations as I walked over to the counter to grab the bottle and Shiver.  I presented both to Xavier.  “Would you do the honor?”

Xavier’s attempt to saber the bottle ended with shattered glass and champagne all over the floor, but no amount of mess could dampen our mood.  Within minutes we’d cleaned it up, produced another bottle, and opened it the boring way.  Micaiah gave a somewhat rambling toast, and I made a mental note to be sure she cycled her blood and kidneys before the night was through.

The night, however, was certainly not through.  Xavier, the first human friend I’d made in my new life as a cultivator, had just advanced to iron and gotten engaged in the same day.

We had some godsdamned karaoke to sing.

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