CHAPTER FOUR: A HELPING HAND
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Snippet Twelve (2): Stacking the Deck
After they close the door to their new chosen bedroom, Adrian and Caspian lay down on the bed, but Anemone goes and looks in the bathroom. "The bathroom isn't half bad." She says before laying between the other two Merrow. After a few minutes of silence, she murmurs, "I guess I'll start. I don't know about the two of you, but ever since the five years we've been bonded, I've trusted both of you. I trust your judgment, Adrian. Yours too, Caspian. I can be the tie-breaker if the two of you cannot choose the same Ace." She says before getting up. "I'll be in the upstairs bathroom. Join me once you have decided." She leaves and shuts the door behind her.
"Well, this isn't the circle I saw us in. I had foreseen us in a circle with Clove as our Ace and Tobias as our King with Loke and Pike as our two Jokers." Says Adrian before sitting up and sighing loudly. "But with Alexia's soul cry, this is our new circle. If we are lucky, we'll get a new Merrow Gheyo as our Ace and King." He stops here before shaking his head of his longing. "It doesn't matter now. If the Gheyos settled their ranks yesterday and the highest Gheyo is Faidon, I vote we go with him. He looks to be the oldest of the Gheyos and while he doesn't have a blood title, I never foresaw us having one in our future circle. Alexia seems nice though, I wonder why she isn't a Merrow though, with a Merrow mother and uncle. I suppose we'll find out later." He turns over and looks at Caspian. "What are you thinking about?"
Caspian sighs before turning over to look at Adrian. "I honestly was going to choose the other Ace. Since both of them have Fire tendencies, I don't know if I'll be able to really be able to emotionally bond with either of them." He glances away from Adrian before muttering "Not to mention physically bonding with them..." After Adrian snarls at Capsian, he continues. "After what happened to Nico and the rest, I don't know if I'll really ever be able to deeply trust another Ace. Except perhaps if it was Clove." He rolls onto his stomach and screams loudly into the pillow.
Adrian rolls onto Caspian's back and kisses his neck. "Think of it this way, I know that Faidon will require us to swear to one of them. And while Armin seems to be Fire with Air tendencies, Faidon is nameless with Water tendencies. AND, Marian is planning on doing some suppression on anyone who has Fire tendencies in the circle. So Faidon will mostly seem like Water and Air." He starts giving Caspian neck massages as he continues. "We're both well aware that you are fine with Water and Air, given both I and your Carrier are Storm."
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Caspian nods before murmuring, "I never saw myself with another circle after the death of my last one..." He warbles a short cry before continuing, "But, if I have to choose one over the other, I suppose I'll have to choose Faidon. As you said, I'm used to Storms. I just don't want another Ace..." Capsian looks pathetically at the wall. "And I just got used to Clove too..."
Adrian rolls off Caspian and pulls him off the bed. "Why don't we go join our Princess for a soak and then you can fight Faidon in the morning to see how he fights. Could always ask if he'd also be willing to give you a scar instead of a bite. He might go for that, have you bonded to just us, our Submissive and our Alpha instead of him or anyone else." Caspian nods and the two of them go up to the unflooded bedrooms.
"Have a Prince!" Adrian says before forcing Caspian to get into the water. "I'm going to go to sleep downstairs, but we've come to the conclusion that Faidon will be our Ace. Come join me when you two are done soaking" Adrian goes back downstairs and falls asleep. After Caspian and Anemone come back, he entwines himself with them.
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In the early morning, Adrian sends a message to Faidon to meet them in the Gheyo section of the house as they are wanting to talk with him in five minutes. After they all converge in the Gheyo section, Adrian starts the conversation. "While Anemone and I are willing to fully bond with you without a fight, Caspian wants to fight you so you can prove yourself; but only if you're willing to give him a scar and not a mark." He looks toward Capsian. "...And to not physically bond with you."
Faidon darkly grins before spitting out, "Well then. This will be an interesting way to start the morning. Are you ready to start the fight?" After Caspian nods while pulling out his rapier, he draws his two gladius shortswords and goes for the attack. After several minutes, Caspian gets beaten and groans as Faidon scars him.
Adrian laughs before telling the two on the floor, "Why don't the three take this to the Merrow Building before Alexia wakes up and notices us gone. Caspian, go run laps to cool your battle lust."