Chapter 6

     Toasts

      

       "I didn't realize you didn't know until now, you must be careful about what you say around her."  I jumped up, clasping my hand over my mouth and shaking my head from side to side.

       "He wanted to lock me up," I whispered out to him.

       "What are you talking about?" he asked looking concerned.  I'm sure I was as white as a sheet, and he grabbed my hand to pull me down next to him on the couch.

       "Shortly after my...release from my father's camp some governance members came to question me."  I shivered remembering what they did.  I felt his arm tighten around me as I continued, "They were right to do it, no one had a real clue where my head was at or how much of my father's teachings were ingrained in me.  After the interrogation they put it to a vote, right in front of me, I wasn't even out of the hospital bed yet.  Everyone but Nicolai voted me released to a guardian, he made a formal petition to have me incarcerated for treason but it was denied.  JP went to bat for me I think."  I put my head in my hands and took a deep breath to control myself.  I needed to get it together.  West was rubbing circles into back and then moved to play with my braid.

       "JP?  You mean Professor White?" he asked in a soothing voice.

       "Yes, I asked him to be my guardian but he denied my request and they released me to the group home."  I felt his body stiffen for a moment next to me.  I heard the door to his room open and I snapped my head up to find what must be West's brother standing there.  He looked almost identical to one another, except his brother was a bit shorter than West, with more of the Scottish coloring.  His hair was a more vibrant red and his posture and muscle indicated the strength of a man versus a teenager.  He was openly staring at me, wrapped securely in his brother’s arms and probably looking like I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

       "I bet the girls just eat him up," I joked with West to clear the silence.  I could feel his sarcastic looking smirk forming beside me, and to my delight it lit up the face of his brother as well.  West made a motion for him to enter and he made his way over to us.  I tried to shrug out of his embrace but he held me tight.

       "Brienne this is my brother, Dante."  His brother reached his hand out to shake my own, and I took it firmly trying to gather myself enough to look less like a quivering flower.

       "Brienne Moreau," I told him back, waiting for the recognition in his eyes, but he just kept smiling back to me.

       "Just to warn you West, the gaggle of geese are all pacing around downstairs waiting for you.  Raquel wanted me to specifically tell you that she is waiting for you before tapping the kegs."  West laughed a little and then nodded to his brother who smiled once more at me and then left the room.  He looked at me and made a move to stand but I stayed where I was.

       "I'm just going to head out, go take a nap somewhere before my game.  Thanks for letting me change."  I snapped my fingers and my motorcycle boots appeared in front of me.  I was pulled them on and then slung my bags over my shoulders.

       "What do you mean somewhere?" he asked me.  I sighed, wishing I had been more careful with my words.

       "I was crashing at JP's but it turns out I'm not now, so I'll just get a hotel room for the night.  Hopefully I can go apartment hunting after tonight."  I touched my bag and my keys flew up into my hand.  I thought I heard him cursing next to me but I just gathered my stuff up and headed for the door.  He grabbed my arm after a few steps and turned me around to face him.

       "You can stay here, we have more bedrooms than we need."  I didn't like being in this position but it would be wrong to turn down this opportunity because my pride was hurt.  He wasn't looking at me with pity and it changed how I felt about his offer of helping me.  I nodded my head and he led me out of his room and down the hall.  I didn't have to go far, only two doors down and he brought me into what looked to be a spare bedroom. 

       It was the opposite of West's masculine room, with light blue colored walls and pretty white accents.  The bed was almost comically big, and I had the sudden urge to jump up and down on it like a child.  "There is a bathroom around the corner, we passed it on the way.  Why don't you come down with me for a while, if it isn't your thing then just come back up here."  He brought be out of my perusal of the room and I nodded again, afraid that if I spoke I might betray the emotions I was trying to keep so close to my chest.

       He walked out of the room, with me following closely behind him.  We got into the hallway and I tried to remember the way we were coming, in case I needed to attempt a hasty retreat.  I was getting uncharacteristically nervous descending the stairs, West and I had been upstairs for a while now and I wondered how everyone was going to react.  I looked down and noticed I still had on my bike boots.

       "I didn't know you owned a bike, thought the look on Mave's face was enough for me to excuse your keeping it to yourself."  West gave me a quick wink.

       "I just got it today, it's an early birthday present."  I had a flash of the look JP gave me when I was leaving his apartment and snapped my mental shutters down to push it back.

       "When is it?" he asked me.

       "What?" I countered, having lost the trail of conversation in my musings.  "Oh right, well it should be coming up next month I celebrate it on the sixteenth."  I felt the familiar pang of loss and grief hit my stomach when I talked about it.

       "You celebrate it on the sixteenth?" he asked.

       "They don't know what day, my father wasn't fond of calendars."  There was more to it, but I left it at that.

       "Penny for your thoughts?"  I had just opened my mouth to respond when I heard Logan and Mave shouted out our names, even mine I noticed, waving their hands for us to come their way.  Thankful to dodge the bullet I stayed firmly behind West, following just at his bank and noticing how much taller than me he really was.  I barely came to the middle of his back, and when I got jostled from behind I had to brace my hands on his hips to steady myself.  West reached down and covered my small hand with his own, whether to comfort me or to steady me I was unsure.  I didn't dare move an inch but I did move a step closer to him, so close in face that my face was almost whisper light touching his shirt.  I let go when we got closer to them, he gave my hand a final squeeze and then I slipped out from behind him to stand at his side. 

       "Hey," I said as we all stood around, waiting for someone to start talking.  "You guys tap that keg yet?  The day I've had I could use something."  I didn't care much what I drank, I needed something to numb down my insides and keep my hands busy.

       "Yeah, Raquel threw a good fit but I ignored her."  Mave rolled his eyes as he said it.

       "Where is it?" I asked looking and noticing neither of them had a cup in their hands.

       "It's right on the back patio next to the bar, behind the grill."  Logan said, and in the next second I had a cup in everyone's hands.  Logan was so surprised he almost dropped the cup.

       "Okay..." West said looking around as we had drawn a crowd.

       "I think a simple thank you would suffice, or did your mama not teach you manners?"  I raised one eyebrow and it cut the tension enough everyone gave a reluctant chuckle. 

       "Do you do the toasts?" I asked West.  He laughed and shook his head at me.  "Don't give me that look Weston Mackinnon, your Scottish descendants are turning in the earth, not to toast at a party is very bad luck." 

       "Be my guest," he said gesturing and bowing like a gentleman.  I held up my glass, freezing the fifty or so students that were going about their lives in the living room area.  Toasts were meant among friends and I didn't feel anyone outside of them were.  I was too composed in my thoughts of getting the words right I didn't notice the breaths they sucked in at the scene around them.  I held JP's picture in my mind, the young vagabond, the angry zealot, the undercover boy, and tried to remember a time when I held him in my arms and felt his strength seep into my bones.

      

       "I have known many,

       and liked not a few,

       but loved only one,

       and this toast is to you."

      

       I threw my cup back and finished it in one go.  I looked up at everyone who were eyeing me with an expression I couldn't quite recognize.  "I know, it was Irish not Scottish, but it's been a while.  My father usually did the most spectacular toasts that came from one of his wives though.  She sure did know how to do it."  I mentally replaced my cup and then exclaimed, "Oh I forgot!"  I closed my eyes, giving most everyone a sufficient enough memory of the last minute and then unfroze them.  They continued on without nary a twitch or confused expression, and I realized all of my counterparts were stark white and dead silent.

       "Did that happen to everyone?" West asked as he leaned over to whisper in my ear.

       "Of course."

       "Even the staff, and whoever might be roaming around outside?"  Mave and Logan looked like they had shaken themselves of their earlier stupor to stare in interest at my answer.

       "Yes, otherwise what's the point?  Your brother isn't here anymore, I couldn't feel his power signature but I think I would have let him be.  He's too strong for me to control along with the rest of the sheep."  I meant it as a compliment.

       "I wouldn't tell Dante that if I were you," Logan said laughing.  "He has a big enough head as it is.  Pretty little thing like you saying that to him would send him over the edge," he told me smiling.  I was about to thank him for the tip when West pulled me against his side and bent down to talk to me again.

       "Tone it down a bit Brienne, not a good idea with this crowd."  He stood up straighter changing the subject to avoid anyone overhearing what we were talking about.  He was right though, I shouldn't have done it.  I tugged on his sleeve to talk back to him, somehow eager for him not to think ill of me.

       "It's instinct, as long as you've been taught not to use magic I was reprimanded for not.  I apologize."  He pulled back from me and tucked a wayward curl from the braid to tuck it behind my ear. 

       'It's okay, as long as you keep those drinks coming no one will notice.'  At this I burst out laughing, along with West and it had most within hearing distance turning to look at us.  I clapped my approval at how good he was getting at speaking in my mind.

       "What the hell was that?" Mave asked us, obviously noticing we were sharing something that must have looked very confusing.  I closed my eyes for a second and his drink refilled itself, watching his eyes round and almost pop out of his face was worth it.  He took a long drag of his new drink and it seemed forgot what was happening just seconds before.  I looked to West and we burst out laughing again, up until Raquel came up and bumped me from behind. 

       "West honey, there you are.  The girls and I are going to get in the pool."  She said it like it was an invitation but her tone said otherwise.

       "I'm okay here Raquel, you go on ahead it's too cold out for me."  She pursed her lips and gave him a pout, playing with the strap of her bikini top.

       "We can get in the hot tub," she said running a hand up his shirt. 

       "Later, I'm going to sit in the lawn chairs with these guys for a while," he said as he leaned over and kissed the top of her head.  He gave no other word to her, just grabbed my elbow and escorted me towards the back glass doors.  I could hear the other two following close behind me, and we made our way silently around the pool and patio attractions to continue on our path towards a group of lawn couches and chairs that were circling a fire pit.  I looked behind me to find it really was just us out here, the sounds of the party were mere faint echoes of noise.  I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and settled into a big chaise lounge, kicking off my boots and resting my feet on the soft fabric.

       "We should do this more often, everyone can be so annoying until they get drunk enough to be entertaining," Logan said as he settled himself into a chair.

       "If you are doing this to make me feel better..." I said acting angry.  "It's working."  I gave them a broad smile, enjoying them earnestly.  "Your magic’s are complimentary, has anyone told you that?" I asked curious if they could feel it too.

       "No, but we gravitated towards each other when we were younger for a reason and I imagine that was part of it.  What do you see with us?" West asked an intrigued gleam in his eye.  

       "Strong but kind, good internal compass, insightful with one another, intuitive and more instinctive with your magic than most.  I think that's the mark of successful mage, in my opinion, the ability to weight what would naturally come with what is right.  I would have a hard time taking all of you on together, you guard the weak sides well."  They all smiled at me proudly, liking what I saw.

       "I've never thought about it in those terms but I have to agree," Logan said, a slight blush entering his cheeks.

       "My father would call you a unit, and units were to be avoided at all costs.  Taking on one would require too much control, too many elements in the mix to neutralize.  I would use that if I were you, but I doubt the governance board would allow that." 

       "Why not, you just made a strong case for keeping us together."  Mave looked slightly affronted and I shrugged, at once unsure how to answer.  I took a deep breath to try and get them to understand.

       "That kind of bond is just as much of a weakness as it is an asset to them.  It could compromise a mission as readily as it would galvanize your actions.  They don't like taking chances like that so if I were you I would downplay how much you all care for each other.  Love is a weakness, afforded only to the ones that hold complete control.  Anyone else seeking it is a threat to their own and they don't tolerate that well."  I realized I may have killed the good vibe we had out here, but I was in the business of honesty.  Especially with those I felt worthy of it.

       "Who taught you that?" West asked, turning from his chair to look at me.

       "I learned it the hard way, from my father," I said somewhat cryptically knowing the true answer would have them running for the hills.  I stared at the fire pit, noticing that night was coming on fast, and lit the pit with my magic.

       "God that's depressing, but your magic is useful," Mave said shaking his shoulders like he could shake off the feeling.

       "That could be the tag line for my life," I told him, mentally refilling his cup once again.  He took a deep drink and then looked to West.

       "You don't make a move soon brother, and I'll marry her tomorrow."  He tipped his head back to finish his beer and we all erupted in laughter.