Chapter 169
The barely present drizzle splashed along the cement pathway leading them along the river’s edge. A metal railing separated them from a small drop off into the water below, and numerous restaurants that’d re-opened along the riverwalk were now in full bloom with people sitting underneath umbrellas while eating or drinking. Flowers even lined the roadside, and there was a guard patrol in case any monsters managed to make it this far into the city.
It was a rarity now that the city was under complete control, but the city was big and a lot of the population had been culled upon integration - so there were still a few spots here or there that just simply hadn’t been swept yet.
That being said, Brightsville was pretty safe since the Thane siblings had taken over. There were even human kids running around and playing on a nearby playground with their parents… and this in turn made Riven think of the little elf girl Len.
Fay’s hand tightened around his own, and she pulled him closer while they walked - catching a lot of attention from other couples taking a stroll or people dining nearby along the riverwalk. “Are you ok? We’ve been having such a good time! Why so down!?”
Taking a large bite out of the chocolate ice cream cone and tugging on Riven’s hand to get his attention, she leaned over and kissed him with a wide smile. “And the restaurant was really nice. Thanks for the date Riven, this has been a great experience. I hope to repeat it again. Also - the suit really fits you well!”
Yeah. Now was not the time to think about the elves. He’d just need to introduce those programs and get it rolling so it was out of his hands.
Turning to face the beauty beside him, he let go of her hand while they walked and slung his arm around her shoulders to bring her in - passing by another couple who shot them wary smiles. Then, coming up to a bench where they could sit, Riven motioned for her to sit after wiping the bench off of rain as best he could. Holding an umbrella out so they wouldn’t get wet, he joined her shortly after and sat down to take in the view. “Thanks Fay. I’ve got to admit, I haven’t worn a suit like this in many years now.”
He grinned, gesturing to the red tie and black suit jacket he had one while crossing his legs. “Many years.”
“But why!? You look so good in it!”
Riven snorted and out of nowhere ripped the icecream cone out of her hand - causing her to gasp as he snarfed the last of it down.
“HEY!” Fay jabbed him in the rib while he began to cackle through mouthfuls of food, her jaw hanging down in fake disbelief before she too began to laugh. “You jerk! You owe me another!”
“Fay you’ve already had three! You’re going to get fat, I’m just saving you from that fate by eating all your calories for you.”
“AM NOT! Have you ever seen a fat succubus?!”
“No but I don’t usually meet many succubi, so you can’t hold me to that standard!”
“Well I’ll have you know that I won't get fat no matter WHAT I eat! MY METABOLISM IS GOD LEVEL RIVEN! GOD LEVEL!” She gave him a rather rude gesture with one middle finger and then licked some chocolate remnants off his face before shoving him off the bench and into the rain. Snatching the umbrella as he laughed, she humphed and crossed her legs while glaring down at him. “Oh get up! You’re going to make me look bad if you just sit there, all these people are going to think I’m committing treason or something by attacking you.”
He covered his face to subdue a belch, then stood up and brushed off his suit while enjoying the slight drizzle. “Maybe I should call the guards over and have you arrested. Oohhh… They could handcuff you and stuff you in my room so I could deal with you later.”
“I actually kind of like that idea.” She winked, then pat the bench and took on a more serious expression. “Hey, Riven… Can we talk?”
Riven’s eyebrows lifted, then he nodded and came to sat next to her. “Yes?”
Fay fidgeted for a bit, then huffed and turned her entire body to face him with one knee tucked under her body. “I’ve been thinking about… us. And about what happened - HEY! Stop that sad expression RIGHT NOW! That’s not what I mean!”
She pooched her lips and scowled until his frown departed, and she reached out to grip his hand tightly while leaning forward. “Don’t even think I’m trying to put you down easy. That’s not it at all and what we talked about earlier is true. But there is a topic surrounding this that we need to discuss, and it’s an important one. It’s Athela.”
“Athela?” Riven repeated, unsure of what to think. “What does Athela have to do with…”
His words trailed off as she stared at him, and he eventually shook his head. “I don’t think she likes me like that.”
“Riven, don’t be an idiot.” Fay cocked her head to the side and her lips thinned into a straight line. “You love her. I saw the video footage where you said you did.”
“Oh. Is that what this is about?” Riven shrugged helplessly. “Well I do love her. She’s my very best friend. I’d die for her without a thought if it came down to a choice. Is this a jealousy thing because I’m close with her?”
Fay leaned back, closing her eyes and gathered herself. “Yes, Riven, I know. And I don’t expect that to change. What I’m saying is that she’s got her sights set on you.”
“Doubtful.”
“I’m being serious.”
“Has she ever even once told you so?”
Fay hesitated, then shook her head. “No… but I can tell.”
Riven smirked, then leaned back to put his arms behind him over the rim of the bench. Looking out over the river, he stayed motionless for a time while pondering what to say next. “I don’t think you’re right. She probably has some actual spider lover in the nether realms.”
“And what if I am right?” Fay asked bluntly. “If Athela came to you tomorrow, if she told you that she wanted you to be with her instead of me… What would you do? Would you pick me - or her?”
Riven’s eyebrows furrowed, and he stared at Fay for a long moment. “Fay… Athela and I aren’t like that-”
She held up a hand to silence him, pushing her fingers up against his lips. Huffing again, it was her turn to shake her head - causing her long white hair to flow back and forth. “You asked me earlier if you could be blunt with me. Now let me be blunt with you. I like you a lot, Riven. I’m falling in love with who you are. But let’s be realistic, I’m a succubus and you’re a summoner-”
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“That has nothing to do with anything.” Riven said angrily, pushing her hand away and glaring at her. “How can you even say that?”
“I’m not saying that we can’t have a relationship of some kind.” Fay clarified, keeping eye contact. “But I am saying that putting a label on it so early would be bad. I know you joked about calling me your girlfriend, and honestly my heart just wanted to jump right out of my chest and hug you for it! But it’d be idiotic to do that. To make it exclusive would put a target on my back, and if I’m right about Athela she’d never forgive me for stealing you when we find a way to bring her back.”
Riven’s scowl deepened, but he didn’t get mad or raise his voice despite being irked by her words. He hesitated, then shook his head again as his eyes fell. “Was bringing you here a mistake?”
“NO!” Fay exclaimed, gripping his arm hard and tugging on him to get his attention. “Stop it! Fucking stop it, ok!? That’s not what I’m saying… God damn it. Please just listen and stop interrupting, ok?”
Riven looked up, still frowning, but remained silent and waited for her to finish.
She huffed once more, straightened her shoulders, and held her head high. “Here’s me being blunt. You are a prince of an intergalactic multidimensional empire run by some of the most powerful vampires in existence. You are a prince of an S-grade faction, and I’m not talking about S-grade like how you were S-grade here or how Allie is S-grade now. Those are planetary grades. I’m talking about S-grade by multiverse standards. Riven, I’d be assassinated within a year if you let it be known that I was your official girlfriend - let alone wife. And it’d be a permanent assassination, likely from some other woman who wanted to get your attention who comes from a rich and powerful family much farther up the foodchain than my own. A prince of the Blood Moon Requiem is a very steep prize to attain, and you’re going to have a lot of women try to draw your attention.”
Riven opened his mouth to protest, but she shut him up again with another finger to his lips.
“Nope, not finished.” She stated with a sad smile. “Let me give an example. You already have Kathrine here who is DEFINITELY trying to gain your favor, and by the way she skipped off this morning so full of energy after having laid with you; last night is no doubt in her mind a political success.”
“Kathrine wouldn’t have you assassinated, Fay.”
“Oh she wouldn’t!?” Fay drew her hands back and placed them on her hips, letting go of the umbrella only for Riven to catch it and hold it upright. “Let me ask you this Riven, why wouldn’t she? Until last night she’d utterly failed at establishing a connection with you, she’s a very minor princess of a branch family WITHOUT the gift of malignant prophecy, and if she doesn't succeed here by their high queen’s standards - she and her entire family will be executed. Killed. Murdered for lack of results. I have zero doubt in my mind that if she thinks I’m in her way, she’ll not even think twice about getting rid of me one way or the other. You may not THINK it’s her when I’m dead, but that wouldn’t change the reality of it. She is going to be doing everything in her power to get you hitched, engaged, whatever you want to call it - or at the very least she’s going to want to become your concubine.”
Riven snorted a laugh and rolled his eyes. “I think she has higher sights set than becoming someone’s concubine. As you said, she’s princess of-”
“A MINOR princess! She isn’t anyone of importance on the grand scale of things! At least not when compared to you! You just don’t see it now because you’re stuck on this little rock of a planet, you haven’t seen the scale and gravity of the empire your family rules over!” Fay stated loudly, holding her hands out to either side to emphasize her words. “Look, Riven, I’m not going to sit here and argue with you about this. All I’m saying is that putting an official label on it would be bad for multiple reasons. I absolutely adore you and I want to be with you, but making me the sole recipient of your affections would mean a very bad time for me.”
Riven blinked. “Fay, are you telling me that I should also be sleeping with other women?”
“That’s precisely what I’m saying.”
“You wouldn’t be jealous of that?”
“Did I seem jealous when you were making love with Kathrine and Genua last night?”
Riven raised an eyebrow, and Fay started to blush profusely before folding her arms and glaring at him.
“OK I might have been a little bit jealous from time to time last night, I admit it. But still - I’m not stupid enough to officially label myself and then get myself killed. All I want from you is your affection, your genuine affection, and…” Her voice trailed off, become faint while her blush grew stronger and her eyes darted to the ground.
“And what?” Riven asked, somewhat amused.
“And for you to love me. Eventually, I mean. I know you probably don’t love me NOW, not yet anyway…” Fay gave him a sheepish smile and clasped her hands in front of her chest. “But I want to get there, one day! Beyond anything else, I just want true emotion involved. Emotion between us, a real connection - and for you to not view me as just a thing to use. I want to be loved, and I want to love in turn. Eventually.”
He snorted, and reached out to pull her into a hug. Rubbing her back and feeling her sigh in contentment, he leaned back again and brushed the hair out of her face while continuing to maintain eye contact. “Fay… I’m not really sure about all that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that, although I’m certainly not entirely opposed to the idea of being with multiple women - what straight guy wouldn’t like that… I just don’t know if it’s what I really want in the end.” He gave her a shrug, then put his hands on his knees and sighed. “It’d be great for the bachelor’s life, and god knows my sex life has been lacking. Last night was amazing. But when it comes to truly dating someone, and starting a genuinely caring relationship with someone, I’ve always wanted to be with a person who knows me intimately. I’ve always had a vision of growing old with that person and having kids, and not needing to worry about being cheated on or lusting after other women. I want a soulmate, not just someone who I get to fuck. So to reiterate: although I did have a great time yesterday and wouldn’t mind repeating it here or there, I am looking for someone who I can give my all to as a lifelong partner.”
“But what if you could have that with more than one person?”
“I’m not sure I could. Maybe, but it feels dirty to think about it.”
“What if it did work though, theoretically? That you could feel that way about multiple people at once?”
Riven pondered this for a while and scratched his chin, waving to another passing family further on the path. “Theoretically it would be fine, except that I wouldn’t want those people becoming jealous of each other either. Realistically I don’t feel like it’d be an easy thing to find because one person or multiple people are always going to feel like they’re being neglected. I’ve had friends who were in committed ‘open relationships’ before, and they almost always fell through because one person would always get jealous. OR, even worse, one person would fall out of love and find someone else.”
Fay hesitated. “I see. I’m not entirely disagreeing with you either. Just… keep an open mind for now. I want you, and I want to be with you, just… let’s keep it out of the public eye for now until you, I and Athela have a chance to talk about it together. Bare minimum. Then after that, we can discuss things like Kathrine, the tens of thousands of other succubi currently asking to be your familiar right now, and intergalactic politics that will involve themselves in the form of hungry brides wanting a bite out of an S-tier faction prince.”
Riven shot her another wary look. “I like you a lot Fay, but I’m not entirely sure I want the same thing you do. I’ll do as you say and keep an open mind for now… and I’ll talk with Athela even knowing she doesn’t feel that way about me. But is this about something else? Like, are you into girls? Is that it?”
Fay rolled her eyes dramatically. “Somewhat, but that literally has nothing to do with what we’re talking about. Riven, Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Then trust that everything I’ve said is the absolute truth.” She squeezed his hands and pulled him into another kiss, getting an exclamation of ‘EWWWW’ from a little boy who’d been walking by - only to have his parents quickly usher him away while others on the sidelines chuckled.
Fay pulled back, gave Riven another peck on the forehead, and softly pinched his cheek. “I’m falling for you, hard. I have been for a while. Trust me, this is not me pushing you away. I want you more than you know, it’s just that… things are more complicated because of who you are. Now, are you ready to take me on that big wheel in the sky over there or not?”
Riven grinned, then gestured for her to stand. “It’s called a ferris wheel, and yes. I’m ready. Let’s grab another two ice cream cones though.”
She held up three fingers with gusto. “THREE ICE CREAM CONES!”
He laughed. “Three it is then. Now come on, there’s a lot more to show you about human Earth culture.”