1.14 - Stolen Spotlight

"Are you two ready for the party?" Illdrid asked, strolling into the boys' room. Dagon was sitting on the floor, finishing up some last minute homework. And Evandrus had just abdicated his throne. Temporarily.

"No," Evandrus responded, sulking. He didn't want to meet new people. They couldn't be better than the people he already knew, and he didn't even like them very much.

Dagon giggled. "Just ignore him, mom. You know he's always grumpy. We're ready!" He put on a smile, but secretly he was a bit concerned. With age came responsibility and Dagon wasn't sure he was ready for that yet.

"What are you wearing?!" Illdrid exclaimed as Evandrus came into the living room.

"My royal garb. Duh," he responded, wondering how she could possibly not realize the obvious.

Illdrid pointed toward his bedroom. "Go put your regular clothes on. I, uh...understand you are king. But it will be a fun little game. We'll fool all the peasants into thinking you're one of them. It will make it easier to gain their trust if they think you are their equal."

"Great idea, mom!" Evandrus ran off to get changed as Illdrid breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't have long to relax, though. The doorbell rang, signaling the first guest's arrival. Shae went to answer it.

She opened the door and Derek pushed past her before she could even react to his presence. It didn't take her long before the anger bubbled to the surface. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing here?" she whispered, her voice fraught with anger. She couldn't believe he'd just come waltzing up to her doorstep like this, as if nothing had happened.

"I want to meet my daughter," he responded.

 "You want to meet your daughter? YOU want to meet your daughter? You leave me alone to raise her, and now that the terrible twos are over and she's well on her way to becoming a young lady, you decided that you deserve to meet her? Well let me tell you something buddy, you do not deserve to breathe the same air that she does. I want you to leave. And never come back."

Derek recoiled, shocked at the vitriol in Shae's voice. But he recovered quickly, trying to keep his own emotions under control, "That sounds awfully familiar to what you said to me all those years ago. I always wanted to meet her. I wanted to be in your life, but you wouldn't let me. I tried to respect your space, to stay away. But I've thought about her every day since the day you made me leave. I understand. I betrayed you and I deserved your hatred. But it's been almost a decade. We've both moved on. Just please...let me meet her," Derek's voice broke on the last word. He couldn't control his emotions anymore.

Shae turned away at the sight of his tears. She didn't want to be betrayed, ashamed, humiliated again. But Aoife was getting older, and she would start seeking out answers about her father sooner or later. Might as well allow it to happen now, so she doesn't come off as the bad guy. "Fine," Shae responded. "She's in the kitchen. You won't be able to miss her. She looks just like you."

By that point, the other party guests had arrived, including one of the exiled fairies. He struck up a conversation with Evandrus. "Ah, little one. I sense you are one, like me. You have the ears. No wings, though. Shame, that. Flying is so much fun!"

Evandrus chuckled, "I'm not a fairy, you goof. But I AM a king. And you should bow down to me and obey my every wish!"

The fairy cocked his head to the side. "You don't look like a king. You should be careful. Kings end up dead. They are not well liked. I do not want to associate with a king. Can't be friends with them. Can't be friends with dead things." And then he fluttered away, leaving Evandrus confused and horrified. Maybe he shouldn't be a king, after all.

Meanwhile, Derek found himself in the kitchen, trying to figure out which one of the kids was his daughter, when a blonde girl with gleaming yellow eyes approached him.

"You must be my father," she said, sniffing. Even though she'd never met him before, he smelled like her, like they were connected somehow. "How come this is the first time I'm seeing you?"

Derek's eyes welled with tears again, thinking back on his previous life. "I was not always a good man. I am better now. But there was a point when I was cruel to your mother. And because of this, I did not deserve to meet you. I think I've reconciled that."

"Reconcile? What does that mean? I don't know what you're talking about. All I know is that I was born and I only had a mom. And you were never there. And now you're here. Why should I trust you?" Aoife's hand gestures gave away her agitation. But really? Who did this man think he was just waltzing in here during Dagon's party.

Derek smiled to himself. His daughter was a lot like her mom. "Okay, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was this little boy. He grew up a slave to a great and powerful witch. But the witch was evil and it made him a little bit evil too. He made a bad potion one day and got turned into a monster. So the monster had to help the witch find a replacement slave. He found a family with a bit of magic in them already. But he made a mistake and fell in love with one of the fair sisters. He couldn't protect either of them, but a different sort of monster came along and got rid of the evil witch. Then the fair sister banished him from her home. But the witch wasn't gone forever. So this monster used his heightened senses to hunt her down and destroy her while she was too weak to fight back. And that is why you should trust me."

"But that was just a story! It didn't answer any of my questions."

Derek leaned down and whispered into her ear. "It wasn't a story. I'm the monster. Your mother is the fair sister. Ask her about it one day. Maybe she'll give you her side of the story."

She had entered the kitchen in the middle of the story, ready to interfere if she sensed anything out of place occurring between Aoife and Derek. But instead, she was shocked by Derek's candid confession, the explanation she never allowed him to tell her. And what did he mean the witch wasn't gone forever and he had hunted her down? She walked over to the pair, prepared to put the past behind her when a fairy emerged in front of her.

"You must be the one," he said, as he grabbed Shae by the shoulders.

"The one?" She asked, feeling as if she might not be able to handle another bombshell.

The fairy grinned and nodded emphatically, "Oh yes. Drest told me all about you. I am Faris, recently exiled. Drest has managed to remain hidden. I think he will be there for quite some time."

Shae nodded. He was fighting an important battle, like an army general. And one day it would make the Realm a better place. But Shae couldn't help but feel bitter that he had left her to raise two babies on her own.

Illdrid called everyone to the cake, ensuring that Shae didn't have much time to dwell on her heavy thoughts. Between discovering Derek's past life as a slave and realizing she might never see Drest again, Shae felt that now was the perfect time to just forget everything and enjoy a piece of cake. She clapped just as loud as everyone else as Dagon became immersed in sparkles.

Dagon grew up with the irresistible urge to kiss other men. And maybe write jokes. He found humor in things he'd never thought funny before. Like the fact that his mother kept buying him chemical laden cakes, despite his desires to be organic. It had to be a joke. Otherwise, it was just downright mean!

While the other guests feasted on the birthday cake, Dagon snuck outside to make use of the dance floor his mother had rented. There was only one other person out there. His name was Percy Blessington and he loved to dance.

When the dancing stopped, the conversation began. "Hey, man. You're pretty good at this dancing thing. I'm actually much better at sports than dancing. In fact, I'm on the football team. I guess I've never seen you at a game on account of the fact that it's your birthday today. Speaking of, did you get a lot of money? Maybe you can lend me some? Hehe just kidding!"

Dagon could barely keep up with the stream of words coming out of Percy's mouth. He was such a quick talker; it wasn't the sort of cadence Dagon was used to. "Uh, yes it is my birthday! Are you at Crestview?"

Percy rolled his eyes and punched Dagon's shoulder. "'Course I'm at Crestview. It's the only school in town! Watch out for Mr. Bellafonte. He's a menace. But the other teachers are cool. For the most part. Then again, I AM the quarterback. People say I get special privilege."

"Do you?" Dagon asked shyly, still not sure what to make of his new friend.

Percy chuckled. "Nah, they're just jealous because I'm smart and athletic. But my momma raised me right!"

They continued talking for hours, just standing out there beneath the moonlight. Dagon was thankful. His new wardrobe choice did not attempt to hide his new-found sexuality and he was happy to start his teenage years off with a friend, let alone a friend who seemed quite popular at school. When the night wrapped up and Dagon found himself alone in his bed, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about how Percy's lips would feel against his.

- - - - -

Poor Dagon. He gets a whole chapter dedicated to his birthday party, and most of the chapter centers around his family members. I couldn't help it, though. Derek really did just show up uninvited. In game, he and Shae weren't enemies, so the first thing they tried to do was make more babies! Luckily I interfered before I could end up with some oopsie spawn. But geez! He's a married man now and everything.

And Dagon actually aged up exactly like that. I didn't edit his wardrobe at all. I figured if he was aging up in LGBT attire, I might as well make him gay. If anyone is offended by anything Queer, now would, unfortunately, probably be the time to stop reading.