And the voice I hear, falling on my ear

Nick’s little “date” with his stepmother and pseudo-daughter was just wrapping up when a bright yellow shimmer appeared in the corner of his eye.

“Huh?” He turned his head just in time to see a golden faerie with gossamer wings flutter down in front of him. She had tousled blonde hair and a sarcastic expression on her face, and regarded him with a sigh and an eye-roll that made him wonder if she really liked being helpful like the faeries were supposed to be.

It also made him question why she was here. After all, he never spoke to the faeries if he could help it, and they usually deigned not to speak to anyone unless spoken to first.

“Can we help you?” Amelia questioned, stepping forward to greet the shimmering yellow faerie, seeing that neither Nick nor Sylvia was planning to speak to her.

Sylvia tensed. She avoided looking at the faerie, and Nick could see pain in her eyes for a brief moment.

Of course she would be a little wary about them, he realized. It wasn’t too long ago that she was the ruler of this island, and the faeries were hers to command. Now they’re taking orders from Dakota again, like nobody’s business. Even if they weren’t designed to have their own will like Sylvia does, that still must feel like a betrayal.

His heart went out to her a little.

The golden faerie cleared her throat. “Pardon me if I’m interrupting anything,” she said, not even bothering to not sound patronizing in her tone of voice. “Normally we are instructed to be as accommodating to the master as possible on his dates with members of his harem, but this is a special exception.”

“I wouldn’t really consider this a date,” Nick said quickly. The last thing he needed was for the wrong idea to get around. “I’m just spending time with the two of them, it’s completely platonic.”

Sylvia sighed in exasperation, and a little disappointment, while Amelia’s expression was completely neutral.

The faerie looked like she really, really didn’t care in the slightest.

“Why… why did you come here?” Sylvia questioned. “If Dakota wanted to pass along a message, she could just appear in person, right? Or if she really didn’t want to see… us… then she could have had Nola do it?”

That was another valid question. Ever since Dakota had brought Nola onto the show, the leprechaun had been the “face” of the faeries that populated the island. If Dakota wanted something done and thought the task was beneath her, Nola was stuck with the job.

But a random faerie?

“I have not been sent on orders of the mistress,” the faerie replied, which came as another surprise to Nick. Even Amelia seemed curious.

“Oh? Then why?” Nick questioned, wondering what she could be after. “Who sent you?”

“I am here because another member of your harem wished for me to pass along a message, master.” The faerie actually sounded polite this time. She lowered her head, and held her arm over her stomach as she did so in a strange floating bow.

“Wait, you can do that? I mean, you’d just accept messages from other members of the harem?” Nick wondered aloud. Now that she’d told him, in hindsight, it made perfect sense- the faeries responded to all the other requests they were tasked with. Why would this one be any different?

It still blindsided him, though.

“Of course they can, Daddy,” Sylvia replied, rolling her eyes. “Dakota created them to meet all the needs of the master and his harem. They will do anything you ask of them, isn’t that right, my girl?” She turned to the faerie for confirmation, and received a nod.

“What is this message?” Amelia tried to get the topic of this conversation back on track. “Who is it for… and who is it from?”

The faerie cleared her throat. “The message is from Lady Vivian Carrington,” she answered, with a sarcastic tone that made it pretty clear that the “lady” part wasn’t an embellishment of her own design. “For the three of you.”

“So Miss Carrington is interfering with our date, then?” Amelia asked, raising her eyebrow. She wasn’t at all surprised- certainly not as surprised as Nick was that she’d referred to this strange little outing as a date. But then, that was kind of the purpose behind it, was it not? So maybe it wasn’t that far off to think about it in that context.

But he was more interested in directly addressing Amelia’s question.

“If she was interfering, wouldn’t it make more sense for her to come bother us in person?” Nick pointed out. He had a better view of Vivian than his stepmother did, at least. While she could be annoying and very presumptuous, and he couldn’t deny she had a massive ego, he also saw several of her admirable qualities, not the least of which was her willingness to get her own hands dirty.

If Vivian wanted to mess with them, she’d just do it. He knew that much. No, this was something else entirely.

Amelia didn’t say anything, but she understood the point Nick was getting at, so she closed her mouth and stared at the faerie, waiting to hear the message.

The impatient faerie was frustrated. She clearly just wanted to get her task done. Since it seemed like the humans were finally done stalling with their asinine questions, she went ahead and relayed the message Vivian had instructed her to pass on.

“Lady Carrington has invited all three of you to a cookout tomorrow afternoon on the beach,” the faerie informed the trio. “Bathing suits are the recommended attire.”

“Wait, a beach party?” Nick questioned, navigating through the wordage. “Vivian’s throwing a beach party?”

“Gina’s the one who should be throwing parties, though,” Sylvia pointed out.

“…Intriguing. So Miss Carrington intends to have a party on the beach… and is inviting the three of us?” Amelia quickly glanced at Nick. “Are you sure the invitation is not just for him?”

With what she knew of Vivian’s attitude, she could completely see the heiress inviting only Nick- but she could also imagine inviting the other women, just to make them watch as she flirted with him all day long.

That sounded right up her alley.

The faerie shook her head. “Lady Carrington was very explicit in her explanation. She stated that everyone is invited, whether they’re a member of the harem or not.”

“Yeah, but tomorrow is supposed to be my night with Carly. Shouldn’t she wait until it’s my night with her before springing this idea?” Even as he said that, he knew how dumb it sounded. It was almost-certainly because tomorrow was Carly’s day that Vivian had come up with this little scheme. He couldn’t imagine Carly having any qualms with a beach party, even on a day where she’d have every right to request some private time with Nick.

The faerie just stared at him with an exasperated expression that screamed “How exactly do you expect me to answer that when I’m just the messenger?”

Nick gave her a sheepish smile. “…Sorry, I guess that’s a stupid question,” he apologized. He felt even stupider being looked down on by a woman who he could hold in the palm of his hand.

Sylvia had a better way to ask. “Did Vivian say who else was coming to the party?” She asked, trying and failing to keep her excitement contained. Out of the three of them, it was obvious that she was looking forward to the party the most.

Getting to spend quality time having fun with the other women in Nick’s harem? She should be so lucky to get an invitation!

Memories of playing Cards Against Humanity with all the girls on the last night of the second round played back through her memory. What a great day that had been… she’d actually felt like she’d been accepted into something for once! And even Dakota had been there…

The faerie could tell that her former boss wasn’t in any condition to hear the answer to her question- she was too busy off in La-La Land. But she answered it regardless, because that was her responsibility and she had little right to make judgment calls when asked a direct question.

“Lady Carrington said that I should inform you that she, Mary, Holly, Rose, Dawn, Morgana, Ella, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, Carly, Dani, Marley, and Kim have all agreed to attend the festivities,” the faerie informed the others.

Yet another surprise.

“Wow, that… that’s pretty much everyone, huh?” Nick said, going over the names. “…Wait, not Gina? She’s not coming?”

“I am going to relay the message to her next,” the faerie replied snappishly, cluing the others in to why she was so impatient. Her whole purpose was to fulfill her tasks, and they were wasting her time. “Now, is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Is that the totality of your message?” Amelia asked.

“Yes,” the faerie said, with more than a little hint of irritation.

“I-I think we’re fine,” Nick said, giving the blonde pixie an awkward smile. “You can go now.”

“As you wish, Master Nick,” she said with a nod and another strange flying bow. Then she zipped off in a flash of golden sparkles before anyone could blink.

“…Well that was certainly a strange end to the date,” Nick said, turning to Amelia. “I’m guessing you’re not going to hold that against my grade for the day?”

“I have no intention of grading your performance,” Amelia assured him. “You need not worry. Your behavior has been exemplary. And while there are still rough aspects of your conduct, it’s clear your heart is in the right place.”

She actually smiled. And not only did she smile, she conveyed positive feelings about Nick almost flawlessly.

Nick was stunned. It was like his stepmother had used a year’s supply of consideration for his feelings in that exchange.

He couldn’t do anything other than nod. “Yeah, uh… yeah. Thanks, mom. …Amelia! Thank you, Amelia,” he said quickly.

Sylvia had just come out of her haze hearing that, and was certain it must have been a mistake. She must have just been dreaming or something, that was it. But she was quick to rejoin the conversation regardless.

“So what now?” She asked. “Are we gonna go? To the party, I mean. I think I heard all the names. It sounds like everyone’s coming, yeah? Oh, it’s gonna be so much fun!”

“I mean, yeah, you’re not wrong,” Nick agreed. “If everyone’s going to the party, I say we go, too. Even Kim’s coming! That must mean she’s found some way to get out of work. And if she’s gonna go that far, well…”

Gina was still up in the air, but Nick had no doubt that she’d be going to the party. It was Gina, after all!

He couldn’t imagine she’d ever turn down a party.

“You’re not going to go?” Serenity looked curiously at the punk girl. While the faerie hadn’t extended an invitation to her, she had been present when Gina had gotten the message- after all, her snug little cavern wasn’t exactly the most secret place on the island.

“Yeah, uh… sorry, I don’t know,” Gina admitted, glancing away. “I’m just not sure I’m up for it, you know?”

It had been some time since Serenity had been on earth. She’d more or less made peace with the fact that she’d never return to her home, but at the same time, that gave her a unique perspective on the matter as well-

Particularly, in how it informed her perception of the current cast.

It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure the punk scene hasn’t changed that much, she thought, studying Gina carefully. Since the other woman was wearing a swimsuit, Serenity could clearly see the tattoos, the piercings, and the bad dye job. So unless Gina was really a good girl who’d received a bunch of transformations to turn her into some alt-punk biker chick, this behavior seemed a little unusual to the siren.

But Serenity didn’t talk much, so all of that went unsaid.

Gina held her hand over her arm and sighed. She had to make a point of shielding her arm sleeve from the siren, as they’d unfortunately realized the first day of her swimming lessons. Serenity might have a lot of skill when it came to controlling her instincts as a siren, but Gina’s tattoo broadcasting all her sexual desires into her mind made a compelling case.

That was another reason why Serenity was pretty sure that Gina’s punk outlook wasn’t a transformation and was just the girl herself.

“…Look, it’s not that I don’t like the idea of a party, right?” Gina groaned, pacing back and forth and dripping all over the place. (They’d just come back from another swimming lesson when the golden faerie delivered her message.) “But like… it’s going to be a beach party.”

Serenity failed to see the issue there. She just stared at Gina and wondered what the big deal was with that.

“…A beach party,” Gina said again, with more emphasis this time.

Still, Serenity didn’t have a whole lot to say on the matter.

“…Okay, look,” Gina groaned, wiping her stringy bangs off her forehead. “I mean… if it’s going to be a beach party, then isn’t the assumption that I swim? But… you know as well as I do what’s going to happen then!”

Gina’s lessons had not exactly been yielding quality fruit. Whenever she tried to swim, it was more like drowning in slow motion.

She was getting better… but not by nearly enough to say she was a competent swimmer.

“It’s a gradual process,” Serenity replied evenly.

“Okay, but like… then I’m going to be the only one not swimming!” Gina exclaimed. “Do you know how embarrassing that’s gonna be!? Me- not being able to swim!”

Gina prided herself on being the “cool” girl. It was one of the few things she had going for her. Without her cool status, what was she? Just a loser who’d messed up time and time again, and hated herself for it.

No… this wasn’t something she could just let go.

Serenity continued to stare curiously at her.

“…There is no expectation that you swim,” she said simply.

Gina bit her lip. “But…”

“Do you want to go? Or not?” Serenity had no interest in serving as Gina’s therapist. While she liked the punk girl okay enough, she could be very frustrating. Serenity was helping Gina learn how to swim, and that was already taking up a lot of her time (not that she would be doing anything else with it of course) so that was an issue.

She felt bad for the girl, she really did. But she didn’t see what Gina really expected from her. Someone to groan and moan at?

That wasn’t her job.

Gina could see from the look on Serenity’s face that she’d used up all the good will the siren had for her. If she kept going off on this, she’d just be a nuisance, and while that normally wasn’t a problem for her, Serenity had done a lot to help her this round, and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful.

So when posed with the question, the answer was a simple one: Did Gina want to go? Or not?

“…You’re right,” she admitted, feeling her face heat up with shame. “I want to go to the party… so I’m going to.”

She’d pass along the message to Vivian or whoever later, when she got back to the hotel. It was the best course of action.

And from what it sounded like… the party could actually be pretty fun, if everyone was coming. Gina felt herself smile now that the tension was off her. She was actually looking forward to it now!

“…Nicholas, I did not expect clothing shopping to be how you intended to continue our date,” Amelia said, looking over to Nick with a curious expression on her face. Curious… and a little judgmental.

Nick blushed. “Well, it’s not really part of the date,” he tried to explain. “I just thought, well… you know, maybe you guys needed some swimsuits?”

“I do! I definitely do!” Sylvia said, nodding rapidly. She could just imagine the sexy swimsuit she was going to pick out! And he was even going to buy it for her?

The three of them entered the boutique just in time to see Kim starting to pack up.

“…Geh,” the clerk gasped when she saw the three of them. Then she quickly smiled. “Oh, um, welcome! Sorry, I was just about to head out, my shift’s over.”

“No, that’s fine,” Nick said. “We were just here to buy some swimsuits. You know, for Vivian’s beach party tomorrow?”

Kim sighed. “Oh, so you did hear about that… well, alright, then. It’s not like I need to be here for you to buy stuff.”

She seemed a little disappointed, and it took Nick a second to realize why. “Oh, wait, let me guess,” he murmured, shaking his head. “You don’t want me to treat them?”

“Treat them or don’t treat them, it doesn’t matter,” Kim sighed, waving her hand. “My shift’s over, remember? I won’t get the money anyway.”

“I have no qualms about paying,” Amelia said.

“Eh? Really?” Sylvia looked surprised to hear that. “But Daddy can just get whatever he wants for free, so long as he’s buying it for us!”

“Sylvia’s right, I have limitless BP,” Nick reminded his stepmother.

Amelia looked at the exhausted expression on Kim’s face, and felt sympathy for the poor girl. And since Kim wasn’t sleeping with Nick, she knew that those feelings of sympathy weren’t as a result of a transformation affecting her. It was how she really felt.

She shook her head. “This is for the best,” she replied. “It isn’t as though I have any real use for my BP anyway, yes? And I wanted to do something nice for Sylvia.”

“Eh? Really?” Sylvia brightened in surprise. “Wh-why?”

Amelia gave the other woman an apologetic expression. “…Today… it seemed as though I used you and your time with Nicholas for the purpose of teaching my stepson a lesson,” she said. “That was not right. While this may not be enough to make amends…”

“No, no, it’s fine! It’s totally fine!” Sylvia shook her head quickly. “Whatever you say! Wow! I just… wow!”

Amelia was going to do something nice for her… she was going to buy her something! Sure, it was clothes, but even so… it was clothes!

Sylvia was too happy for words.

Nick turned to Kim. “…Does that work for you?” He asked. “I can’t imagine a couple of swimsuits will be worth much, but if you wanted to stay a little later, you’d get a bit of BP, right?”

Kim sighed and glanced at the clock. “…Okay,” she relented. “I could always use a little bit more. …But you’re making it up to me on our day, you got that?” Her energy briefly returned for the purpose of chastising him.

Nick couldn’t help but smile.

“Sure,” he agreed with a nod. “That sounds fair to me.”

Kim grinned back at him.

A half-hour later, Nick left the boutique with the three of them, and a couple of swimsuits purchased on Amelia’s dime.

Amelia: 2100 BP – 400 BP = 1700 BP

Kim: 7800 BP + 200 BP = 8000 BP