Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Thank you again for getting this done on such a short notice.” Phedre glanced back over her shoulder and, with a genuine smile, waved goodbye to Arias, the owner of the A&H Bakery and the one who had made the most perfect cake, which she now carried out to her car.

Just three days ago, she had stepped into his shop with nothing more than a few images on her phone to show what she had in mind for a design, hoping they would be enough to convey the vision she had for it. Visually speaking, Arias had far exceeded her expectations; the marbelized blue and white buttercream frosting elegantly resembled wisps of smoke, and the flowers were precisely as she had requested.

Although Phedre could not attest to the taste of it, she felt fairly certain that Zac would appreciate the thoughtfulness behind it, or at least the yellow rose as it gave a nod back to the first gift she’d given him all those years ago. However, if spice cake wasn’t to his liking as much as the cinnamon rolls he got at the other cafe, she at least had an additional gift as a backup.

It was a quarter past two when Phedre pulled into a small parking lot at a local park. It was a cozy little area with a playset, two sets of swings, a few picnic tables, and a short gravel path for walking that stretched for roughly one mile. More importantly, however, was that there were no kids at this time of day; schools had not been let out yet and most adults were still at work.

Powering up mid-day held its own risks, but ducking into an alleyway behind a store with business dress suit on would likely get the cops called to her location if she suddenly disappeared. But a park, on a beautiful day as this one, with the sun still high on the horizon and sky dappled with wispy clouds accompanied by a cool breeze; her being here should not seem as out of place.

She wandered along the gravel path that wound through thick greenery until her car, parked in the small lot, could no longer be seen. The path was well-maintained, with blackberry bushes trimmed to prevent their thorns from snagging on passersby and fallen branches removed to keep the path clear.

It was here, once she’d been certain nobody had followed her, that she powered up and scanned the area for any auras, just in case, before stowing the cake in her subspace pocket.

Even though she knew where Zinkenite’s office was in the Dark Kingdom, and could teleport there easily- probably… It was not worth the risk of interrupting him if he was otherwise engaged in an important task for Laurelite or tied up in a private conversation with another officer.

A Sovereign’s duty was never-ending, this much she was acutely aware, and her visit was not a scheduled meeting. In an egregious lack of judgment, she’d acted before thinking and although he’d been gracious enough to have forgiven her for her intrusion, Meridiana could not help but worry if she was about to make a similar mistake.

The line felt blurred.

Even now, weeks later, as she stood beneath the canopy of trees where the sunlight flickering through the leaves played across her uniform, Meridiana could still feel the tentative press of his lips against her own and the way he held her close. When she closed her eyes, she could still hear the sound of Zac’s joyous laughter as he spun her around her room and the reverent tone of his private admission.

Her heart fluttered at the mere memory of these precious moments and yet she wavered in her decision to deliver the gifts.

Was this truly ok?

As Meridiana she’d promised him patience, where as Phedre she’d swore not to be demanding of his time.

Would this be seen as her going back on her word? Honestly she didn’t know, and that bothered her greatly

In the privacy of the warehouse or her own home, she felt like she was free to be herself where only his eyes could judge her words and actions. But she was under no illusion what attention from the Senshi of the Succubus could imply to those who were jealously pining for his attention.

Was this truly ok?

This was not an emergency by any definition of the word. She could be professional about it, follow the rules and decorum that his position as a General King would demand of anyone, be it a Lieutenant or Eternal.

“I’ll only be a moment,” she tried reasoning with herself as a thread of worry wound itself around her heart. “If he’s unavailable, I’ll just either leave it on his desk, or come back later.” Before she could convince herself otherwise, Meridiana teleported herself to the Castle.