What are your Intentions? (S,T)

Stella had been having trouble sleeping the night before her date. She knew she had less reason to be scared than previous dates. Richard was her friend. She didn’t spend as much time with him as she did most of the others, but she still knew there was less to worry about. He only really got bad around Felicia, and even then he could realize when things were going too far most of the time.

But it was still a date. Even if it was a date with Richard, she wished that she still had the panic button her mom had gotten for her when she moved out. She didn’t have her mom to talk to about it, so she did the next best thing. She decided to go to the kitchen.

The cottage doors unlocked each morning at five, and so she wanted to head out as close to then as possible. That had left a long restless night to occupy herself first.

A tradeoff about having Ava as her roommate was that the athlete took up most of the bed, but she slept like a rock. Stella had been able to spend most of the night talking to and singing to herself in the shower, and Ava had slept through it all.

She’d always liked long showers. She could stay in there and just think in privacy. When she’d bought her condo she’d upgraded the water heater twice so that she could stay in there for an hour or more. The magic that powered the Trident Cottage’s bathroom was even better, allowing her to go in and out all night while she thought about all the reasons she did or didn’t need to be scared.

It was easier than usual that night. Usually it was kind of just a way to prevent her stress from getting any worse, but she’d managed to come up with decent reasoning with the assistance of her transformation helping her focus. Going on a date was still scary, but maybe it was something she could prepare for.

So as she’d decided to, she left just past five. After getting dressed in more clothes Ava had loaned her, she crossed the plaza in a short, dark walk past the swan fountain and went into the dining hall. The lights were already on in the main room, and she could see that the lights were on in the kitchen as well through the serving window. I could’ve sworn I turned them off last night after dinner. She walked through the main room and opened the door to the kitchen.

She nearly jumped, caught off guard by Helena’s presence. The businesswoman was sitting on the kitchen counter, wearing a set of black pajamas and a choker that Stella hadn’t seen her wear before. She was fiddling at the choker with her index finger and thumb before she noticed Stella. “He-” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “Helena? What are you doing here?”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d been hoping to have a chance to speak with you before Richard woke up. We’ve never really had a chance to meet, just the two of us, and so I wanted to fix that before your date with him.”

“Ok?” This was supposed to be her safe space. Hopefully she could get it back soon.

“I’ll get my point out of the way first. How far do you plan to go with my stepbrother today?”

That was exactly what had been keeping her up all night. “I don’t know.”

“How far do you think you’re comfortable going?”

“I… if things went well, then maybe I might offer him a hug.”

“A hug?” Helena was staring at Stella, and she felt like she was being studied.

“Yeah?”

“It’s good to take things slow. You should only do what you’re comfortable with.” The interrogation continued after that brief respite. “I hope you’d be considerate towards him and I’s past?”

“Of course. I don’t know everything, but from what Luna’s mentioned… I understand.”

Helena visibly softened, trying to offer a reassuring smile as her fingers went back up to the choker.

“Of course you do, I’m sorry for questioning that. I assume you have plans to cook for him?”

“How did you know?” Stella felt like Helena knew everything about her.

“When I was trying to rope you into my escape plan, Genet figured out that giving you access to her kitchen would make you happy.”

Oh. “T-that makes sense.”

Helena sighed. “You don’t need to be so nervous around me. I like you, more than most people I usually have to work with.”

“I’m sorry.” Stella apologized. “You and Hazel are so intimidating. You’re both so powerful and confident all the time. I feel like you’re from a different world from the rest of us.”

“I’m not confident all the time. I’m doing my best, just like you. If you pretend to be confident and strong, that can ward off some of the weaker threats on its own.”

Weaker threats? What kind of life does Richard’s sister live, where she’s talking like one of Ava’s fantasy characters?

The elder Turner watched as Stella looked at her with alarm. “I’m saying that you don’t need to be intimidated by us. We’ve only ever hurt bad people.” That didn’t help. Maybe I should change the subject. “How’ve things been going for you with your upgrade? I see that you’re still borrowing Luna’s clothes.”

The chef looked surprised at the pivot, but she answered. “It’s been easier to manage so far. I know I could go back to my own clothes, but this stuff makes it easier to not overreact as much.”

“Do you feel confident in it?”

“I…don’t feel as scared in it.”

“That’s not the same thing. Do you like how you look in it?”

Stella wanted to lie, to assure Helena that she was fine so she could shrug off the attention. But his sister was trying to be nice. “No, I don’t. My stomach is showing, and I can feel my thighs touching in these shorts.”

“You’re comfortable with your arms?” Helena had noticed that Stella had skipped over them in her self-conscious description.

“Not entirely, but Ava’s working with me on them and I need to show something to use Overstimulation.”

“Would you like to look through my closet? At least at the waist and legs, I think I might be closer to your size than some of your friends are.”

“I… I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t think your suits are right for me or my transformation.”

“I wasn’t talking about the suits. You know that I run an investment firm?”

Stella nodded.

“Back when I was younger and starting out, I bought a string of clothing brands and fashion houses. At my peak I owned about a third of the women’s clothing market in America. I’ve diversified into other industries since then, though I’ve wished I could acquire this new upstart that I keep hearing about, some Carrington girl from the UK who’s refused a few of my offers.

The brands I still own send me pieces on occasion. Sometimes I make requests, like I do for Luna’s Christmas and birthday gifts, but usually it’s just random clothes that the designer is proud of. They look great, but I’m not the same person that used to wear that stuff. It’d be good for someone to get use out of them, they honestly might fit you better than me. ”

“I…I guess I could take a look.”

“Good. Before your date, go ahead and meet me at the Arrow.” Helena said, satisfied. Stella watched her take a silk cord out of her pocket. As she unraveled the tangled fabric, Stella realized from the handle that it wasn’t just a cord. It was a leash. She clipped one end into her choker and offered the handle to Stella. “Can you walk with me back to Richard’s house? I don’t want to crawl back.”

She’s acting like this is normal. How is she able to do that? Stella gingerly took the leash and went back out with her across the plaza to the Master’s Cottage.

Before entering, Helena had one last thing to stay as she braced herself against the door. “By the way, if you see Luna before I do, can you ask her to find me?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.”

Stella left to go back to the kitchen, and Helena crawled back to the bedroom. She found that Hazel was awake waiting for her, with her stepbrother asleep holding onto her girlfriend. Our girlfriend? After she climbed back into bed, Hazel wrapped her arm around her and she drifted back to sleep.

***

About an hour later, Richard woke up. He was trying to take his arms out from around Hazel when she turned her head, already awake. “Good morning, Sir.” She whispered, before kissing him. Her voice was steady as it almost always was, but it seemed slightly calmer than usual with both the Turners in bed with her.

“Morning.” He replied, after their kiss broke. She never moved her arms from Hazel through his own untangling from the two of them. And I thought things were complicated before Hel was in my bed.

“I’m going to stay with her for a bit longer, she had a long night. You can go ahead and get breakfast without us.”

So he got ready for another day. After a shower, and a change of clothes he left for the dining hall. Unlike the day before, there was almost no one there. Maeve was at one corner reading, and Genet was at another corner blushing and laughing as she texted someone. He could hear noises coming from the kitchen, and with Genet out here that meant that Stella was making breakfast. At the buffet table apple juice, grape juice, syrup, ketchup, and hot sauce were available. As he was deciding where to sit, he heard a ding of one of the hotel brand phones coming from the kitchen.

After a pause, Stella softly said: “Richard?”

He met her at the window. She had it partially closed and she was standing at an angle, preventing him from seeing much of her or the kitchen. “Genet let me know you were on your way, and then again when you arrived. Genet put my mom’s corned beef hash up for breakfast today. It’s not on the menu at the Fence&Post because of how long it takes, so hopefully you like it.”

Through the window, she handed him a large plate. Half of it was the hash, a steaming dish of corned beef, potatoes, onions, and bell peppers thickened by the roux. The rest of the plate had a pair of over-easy eggs and a single pancake about the size of his fist.

“This looks great, Stell. I can tell how much work you put into this!”

“T-thanks.” Her voice was strained at the compliment. “Would you mind helping me prep for our plans later?”

“What do you need?”

“Luna told me last night at dinner about a library that she had Ata make. Would you be able to visit it and look for a few books for us to read back at your place?”

“Sure.” He hadn’t really expected that Luna’s first purchase would be a library. She and Aubrey were more alike than he thought either were willing to admit, at least when it came to what they liked to do when alone, so he’d kind of expected something like a nightclub for her to bring people to.

“Thanks. I…I’m going to be busy this morning, so I appreciate the help.”