The Princess and the Bootlegger

Kade could have sworn the night before had been a dream, until he woke up and found himself tangled up with Celine again. This time, it wasn't an accident. She opened her eyes a few moments later, then smiled at him. She shifted to cuddle a bit closer with a soft yawn.

"Good morning."

Kade was still in disbelief. He didn't deserve to be with someone like her, even in his dreams. He had no idea what to make of the situation, but there was no way Celine would have done it out of pity. She must have really liked him.

He sort of relaxed back into bed and stroked her hair quietly. They stayed like that well past noon, drifting in and out of sleep. Finally, Celine stirred and turned to lay on her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows to look at Kade. She reached out and ruffled his shaggy hair.

"I have to be honest," she said. "I like this look on you."

"In that case, I'll never brush my hair again," Kade told her. "Makes things easier for me."

She laughed and sat up, holding the fluffy sheets around herself. Kade made a groan of protest, flopping face first back into the pillows.

"You're not a morning person, huh?" Celine teased.

"Nope," Kade said, voice muffled by the pillows. "Nothing out there could possibly be more comfortable than this bed right now."

"It's starting to get late in the day," she reminded him. "We're still in a bit of a mess here. Remember that? We're on the run?"

Kade turned and sat up as well to look at her in mock surprise. "Is that what we were doing? I guess I misunderstood, it felt a little more like a vacation for a minute there."

He poked her in the side a few times and she squealed, laughing when he pulled her back in and kissed her. They were losing track of time again, but eventually Celine convinced him that they had to get out of bed and get dressed. Her little bat friend made an appearance at the window as she was straightening out his shirt and jacket for him and she quickly went to open the window and let little Jinxie in. The bat perched on the vanity, making a small squeak of delight as Celine handed him a slice of strawberry from the breakfast she and Kade had called to their room.

"You seem in good spirits this morning," Jinxie remarked. "Tasty breakfast?"

"The tastiest," Kade said, grunting when Celine elbowed him in the ribs.

She turned her attention back to Jinxie, eager for news. The bat didn't have much to tell.

"Everyone is still looking for you," Jinxie told them. "Christophe is starting to lose it a little bit. Emile says he threw a fit and yelled at everyone on staff. They've got Korin singing in your place, but it seems like folks aren't quite as interested in seeing a Dryad. Plus she starts crying when she sings sometimes, and that makes everyone uncomfortable."

"What about the wolves?"

"They're back from their full moon rampage and they're recovering," Jinxie said. "Apparently they've been bothering Christophe too, and he's been pushing back. Emile said you should lay low a couple days. If they get in a spat with Christophe, maybe that will distract them from you enough that you can get out."

"So we're stuck," Celine sighed. "Alright. Well, thank you Jinxie."

"We can find some things to occupy ourselves with, I'm sure," Kade said.

Celine shot him an annoyed look and he just winked back at her. She gave Jinxie another strawberry for the road before letting him out and closing the curtains so no one could peek into the room. Looks like they were stuck. At least the room was nice.

Kade sighed and shrugged out of his jacket, draping it over a chair then moving to sit next to Celine on the bed. She looked troubled by the situation.

"I wish Christophe wasn't getting dragged into this," she sighed.

"Is it selfish that I'm kind of glad I don't have to deal with him for a bit?" Kade chuckled.

"In your case, I guess not," she admitted. "He's always made sure I'm taken care of. And I really do love singing in the club."

"He takes care of his people," Kade agreed. "I just wish he wasn't giving them some of the more rough substances. The Argonian Mushrooms, for instance. He put in an order for ten cases of them last week. I can understand that maybe his patrons are asking for them, but... I don't know. I don't think he should give it to them. I don't like supplying it, but I have to if I want to survive out here."

"What do they do?" Celine asked. "The mushrooms."

"Well, I've only heard," Kade shrugged. "Never tried them myself. They're highly addictive, even after only one small dose. The way I've heard, it makes you feel twice as strong and gives you a sort of boost in energy that it would scare a minotaur. It also makes you hallucinate. Either in a good way, or in a nightmare sort of way."

"When you say you've never tried them, does that mean you've tried others?" she asked.

"Sure," he shrugged. "Nothing addictive, but the lightweight ones can make for a fun night sometimes."

"Like... Love Bite?"

"I gotta say, it's nothing compared to the real deal."

She turned bright red, shyly looking away. She was quiet for a moment, then turned to look at him again.

"I've never tried any of those potions," she said.

He raised a brow. "Really? Never? I thought you would have with the club so full of them."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know. I'm unsure of how it'll feel, I guess."

"Well, if you're unsure, you'll have a bad time," Kade said. "But, if you're in a place you feel safe with someone you trust... Do you trust me?"

She seemed hesitant, but nodded. Kade figured they had nothing else to do in the room anyways. He moved to where his bag was sitting and dug through until he found a small bottle of a glittering yellow powder. He went back to Celine and put a small pinch on the back of his hand, then held his hand towards her.

"Only if you want to," he said. "No pressure."

"What is it?"

"Pixie dust," he said. "Nothing addictive, nothing harmful to your health. All it takes is a sniff, and it completely clears your mind of all cares or worries. Not to mention the best nap of your life."

She didn't seem sure at first, then leaned in and sniffed it like he showed her. Only a couple minutes later, both of them were on the floor, staring up at the intricate gold moulding on the ceiling while surrounded by the excessive room service that had ordered.

"The fairies built this whole place?" Kade said breathlessly.

"Definitely not," Celine said, blinking a few times. "Probably dwarf laborers."

"They did good."

"Do you ever think about how we can't actually feel our feelings?" Celine asked him. "We think our feelings. But we also can't feel our thinking."

"I can feel my thinking."

Kade sat up and looked at Celine lying there on the ground, still staring at the ceiling.

"I'm really glad we talked more," she told him. "I wish it was wasn't murder that made us talk, but I'm glad we did. I always thought you were kind of rude and sleazy."

"I am rude and sleazy."

"Well you're a lot of other things too," she said. "I like those things."

"Well, I always thought you were a little snobby and egocentric," Kade admitted. "You're not. You're actually a very kind and shy person. And I like that. You must take after your mother."

She looked over at him, eyes watering a bit.

"Thank you for saying that."

Kade cracked a smile.

"Alright, I think you're starting to hit the crash," he said. "Time for that nap."

"Not sleepy."

She protested, but her droopy eyes gave her away. Kade was so used to these small doses that he didn't usually get hit by the sleepy stage, but after waking up it really was one of the most mind refreshing feelings. Celine was already asleep when he picked her up and carried her back to the bed. He tucked her in and brushed her hair out of her face. While it was a nice moment they were having together, he wasn't sure it would last when things went back to normal. Still, he hoped it did. She deserved better.