Surprise!, Part 2

In a pocket of calm near the dance floor, Dinah found herself surrounded by Marissa, Sam, and Myra. She was asking questions—blunt, medical, sometimes inappropriate but never mean.

“To be clear,” Dinah said, “you’ve made it this far without a single elimination. How did you pull it off?”

Andy, who’d been passing by with a tray of mini-quiches, shrugged. “I just… didn’t want to lose anyone.”

Dinah barked a laugh. “Every Master says that. Then they throw three girls under the bus before breakfast.”

“I’m not every Master,” Andy said, and immediately regretted the humblebrag. But Dinah didn’t call him on it; she just studied him, then gave a slow, approving nod.

“You’re not,” she agreed.

Marissa nodded toward Andy. “He listens. Sometimes.”

Dinah let that land. “He does, doesn’t he?” she said, a note of wonder in her voice. “Weird.”

They all laughed, even Myra, who was nursing a Diet Coke and pretending not to eavesdrop. “I’m still not convinced this isn’t some elaborate simulation,” Myra said. “But if it is, it’s the nicest one I’ve seen.”

Andy topped up her drink. “What would convince you it’s real?”

Myra thought about it. “If Arabella takes her shoes off. Or if we run out of ****.”

Andy grinned. “The first one’s possible but unlikely, the second is a hard no.”

Myra snorted. “Noted.”

Dinah, meanwhile, continued to speak with Marissa and Sam, and was deep in conversation about the best way to manage large groups of women under **** psychological stress. “It’s basically the same as running a med school residency,” Dinah said. “Everyone’s sleep-deprived, nobody trusts each other, and half the time someone’s crying in the bathroom.”

Marissa nodded. “The trick is, you have to make the bathroom a safe place. If it’s not, the stress leaks into the common areas and you get a mutiny.”

Sam added, “Or you just stock it with wine. That usually works.”

Andy watched the interplay, realizing that everyone here had found their place. Then Erin wormed her way through the hall and caught Andy’s wrist. She was grinning, her teeth perfect and a little feral in the half-light.

“You think this is the whole guest list?” she asked. “You have no idea.”

Before Andy could respond, she tugged him toward the double doors at the edge of the Dance Hall. There was a beat of hush behind them—then, with a conspiratorial wink, Erin flung the doors wide.

Standing on the threshold, backlit by the rising moon, were three figures. Andy recognized only the woman in the center—Laura. The two on either side were total strangers: one small and frenetic, the other ethereal in pastels.

The first and smallest stranger bounded in like she’d wired herself to an espresso IV. She stood barely five feet tall but moved so fast her teal hair—braided down one side, shaved on the other—whipped like a rally flag. A cat tail lashed behind her, teal catlike ears flicked atop her head, mesh top and black Doc Martens completing her hacker-gremlin look. Her right arm was pure chrome, clearly artificial. She spun once, shouted, “This is amazing!” and the glass doors rattled.

The second stranger drifted through the frame next. Her dress swirled in soft pinks and lavenders, delicate butterfly-like wings folded tight. She fluttered from guest to guest, hands uncertain—hug, high-five, applause?—and her warmth made the dim hall feel sunlit. She snagged two cookies from a tray in one smooth motion, handed the better half to a blushing attendee, then flitted on.

Laura Black came last. Six feet tall, dragon wings tucked behind a red-and-gold strapless dress with a vertiginous cleavage artfully displaying her breasts, twin slits for her legs, and gold accents on her waist, vaguely resembling a corset, her heeled shoes clicked with purpose. She paused just inside, eyes sweeping lanterns, buffet, dance-off on the floor. Finally her gaze landed on Andy. She raised an eyebrow in quiet greeting. “Happy birthday, Andy. I’m told you made it another year without setting something on fire.”

Andy grinned. “Not for lack of trying. And you look great, by the way.” She smiled back at him.

They fell into easy silence, two people content to watch the unknown chaos before them.

“I see Arabella survived another round without staging a coup,” Laura said. “She treating you like a friend or playing nice for show?”

"Friend," Andy said, giving the word the weight it deserved. "Definitely the former. Even if I didn't know she liked me, I’d have guessed—she brought, like, half the resort for this."

Laura nodded, wings rustling as she surveyed the crowd. "It's a good group," she said, her gaze flicking over the harem, then back to Andy. "You holding up?"

He shrugged, letting the moment breathe. "Better than expected," he admitted. "But you know how it is. You're never really off duty."

"Right," Laura said. "You start thinking you can manage the chaos, and the next day the chaos manages you."

"Sounds familiar," Andy said, raising his glass.

They both drank, a silent acknowledgment of mutual survival.

Tracy was already at the buffet, blue cat tail snapping with delight as she sampled every snack. She grabbed a handful of cheese cubes, tossed three in her mouth at once, then bounded over to Andy and Laura, leaving a trail of crumbs.

"Happy birthday!" Tracy said, bouncing on her heels. "Is it true you can actually eat all the food here? Like, no magic consequences?"

Laura sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “And this is my younger sister, Tracy.” The catgirl grinned while popping another cheese cube into her mouth.

Andy grinned in response. "Heard so much about you. And yes, unless you count the hangovers. Those are definitely real."

"Good," Tracy said, eyeing the drink line. "Because I know there are Hosts that bake weird desserts and now I’m never sure whether I should eat one when I’m on a different set." She paused. “I suppose this means no Sally’s cake. Ah well, you’ll enjoy it more with your girls anyway.”

Laura made a strangled sound, but Andy just laughed. "That seems on brand."

Tracy leaned in, dropping her voice to a stage whisper. "You know, your girlfriend over there—Erin?—she's got a great rack, not the biggest but one of the nicest I’ve seen. Same with the other naked girl, Emily, is it? And I'm including my own, and I'm legally enhanced."

"I'll tell them you said so," Andy said.

Tracy pointed at the green-skinned woman in question, who was currently engaged in a slow-dance battle with Marissa at the edge of the dance floor. "Actually," Tracy said, "I think Erin’s already heard me."

Laura groaned. "Tracy has no inside voice," she explained to Andy.

"And no brakes," Tracy replied, then slipped away, already planning her next mission.

Candy was less dramatic in her approach. She hovered on the fringe of the buffet, plucking at the food and talking quietly with Chloe, whose maternal energy seemed to draw her in like a magnet. Chloe was introducing Candy to the finer points of cookie etiquette—“You have to eat the ugly ones first, or they’ll feel bad,” she explained—and Candy nodded solemnly before tucking a lopsided snickerdoodle behind her ear.

“That’s Candy, my oldest friend. Also, the future mother of my children.” Laura smiled fondly. Andy hesitated for a moment, then he remembered the conversation they had had when Laura first came to the set, and nodded. He watched Candy and Chloe for a moment, then turned back to Laura.

"So how's your own harem?" he asked. "You look... happy. Or at least, not in mortal peril."

Laura snorted. "I've got a truce with most of them. The twins are uncontrollable, but that's genetic. Candy's a saint, Susan’s mellowed out, and the rest are mostly in it for the vacation. If we ever get out, I'm sending Shar a fruit basket and a five-star review."

Andy grinned, but saw the shadow behind the joke. "How much time left?"

Laura's face closed in, the way people do when they're not sure which version of the story to tell. "Not sure. We're in the 'challenges get harder' arc, if you know what I mean."

"Let me know if you need to bail," Andy said, and Laura smiled. "Seriously. I'm pretty sure Arabella could arrange a boat for a long weekend."

Laura looked at him, the way only another Master could. "You'd do that, wouldn't you?"

He didn't bother with false modesty. "I would."

She nodded. "Thanks," Laura said. "The visit helped, by the way. Made the whole thing less lonely."

He shrugged, but the compliment landed. "Same here. It’s good to know you’re out there."

"Yeah, well," Laura said, "Same here."

The party's current swept them apart—Candy fluttered off to dance with Dawn, Tracy to investigate the DJ booth, and Laura to mingle with Arabella, who greeted her with a nod of something close to respect. Andy stood in the middle, the echo of the moment still humming in his chest.

He let himself watch Laura for a while, and felt the kind of pride you get from seeing a friend not just survive, but thrive. Then he turned back to the buffet, found the least intimidating cookie, and ate it in one bite.

Laura, Tracy and Candy are from Wrynn's Haunted Castle season. If you haven't already, check it out!