Chapter Text
The bell on the door signaled the arrival of a new customer. No one really paid any attention and Raelle wasn't an exception. She was sitting at the bar drinking her beer. The other guests avoided looking at her. Maybe because she was a witch, or maybe they were scared off by her grumpy face, which she didn't even try to hide. That's why she was surprised when someone sat next to her, leaving only one empty stool between them.
Raelle looked at the woman out of the corner of her eye. She was a stranger. Her clothes were too fancy by Cession's standards. Raelle doubted that the red coat was good protection against the winter weather, nor the boots she wore were suitable for the roads here. She couldn't see her face because of a wave of brown hair falling on her shoulder.
The woman ordered. Her accent sounded foreign. Raelle couldn't tell where it might have come from. She thought that she wasn't from the States.
"Can I ask you some questions?" the mysterious woman asked the bartender. The man gave her an unfavorable look, but it didn't put her off. "I'm doing research for my thesis about..."
The bartender tensed up, which wasn't a surprise for Raelle. People from Cession didn't open up easily to strangers. Especially about anything related to witches that the woman asked. Cession might have been the friendliest witch place in the States, but it felt like being the best of the worst. Raelle felt it the hard way, always being treated with disdain by the general population.
The woman was clearly unfamiliar with the situation here. She kept asking and the bartender was starting to lose patience as Raelle could say based on his taut jaw. The catastrophe was approaching, so Raelle decided to do something. She motioned to the man behind the bar to leave them alone. Before leaving, he gave them both a distrustful look. Obviously, he would listen to their conversation anyway, even if he was busy with other customers.
"Hi," she began the conversation, leaning her elbows on the counter next to the stranger. "I don't think anyone here can answer that question for you."
"Oh really? The woman turned to Raelle, smiling politely. "I thought the people here were friendlier."
The look of bright blue eyes held the breath in Raelle's chest. The face was oddly familiar, but at the same time completely stranger. However, her heart beat faster, and it only reacted that way for one person.
Damn you Scylla!
She knew Scylla would really come to Cession but at the same time, she hoped she would listen to reason for once and let it go. Instead, she decided to show up here, looking familiar to her natural appearance and making a fuss about herself.
Raelle wanted to punch Scylla for completely lacking any responsibility!
"Then you don't know much about us," she replied, trying to keep her tone calm. It couldn't seem that she somehow knew this woman. The army's ears were everywhere. Even in Cession.
"Maybe you could help me so I don't make that mistake again." Scylla extended her hand towards her. "I'm Amalia Holm. I admit I don't know much about the customs here"
"Raelle Collar" She shook the offered hand, holding back a grimace at the lie she had heard. "Your accent sounds interesting. Where are you from?"
"Sweden. I'm studying PoliSci. I'm here to research for my thesis"
"In Cession?"
"Yeah." Scylla aka Amalia shrugged. "This is where the history of systematically using witches in the military started, and now people here are the most against it. Not to mention the Sp…"
"You shouldn't say it out loud," Raelle interrupted her, trying to keep her voice down to a whisper.
"Why not?" Scylla continued to play the carefree foreign student.
Scylla was walking a tightrope. Raelle had to count to ten in her head before she would grab at the woman and knock some sense into her head. And then drag her to her house, to her bedroom, and kiss her until she was breathless.
That was a great plan! At least Scylla wouldn't foolishly risk her life by 'doing research.'
"If you want, I can answer your questions." Raelle glanced at the bartender, who pretended not to overhear them. "But not here."
"I would love that."
Scylla paid for her order and insisted to cover Raelle's beer as well. The unfriendly eyes followed their every move until they get to the blonde's car. Even then they kept up their disguise.
Having Scylla next to her still was surreal and her fake face didn't help. Every glance at her only distracted Raelle more. She stopped the car in the middle of nowhere.
"I wanna see you," Raelle said in response to Scylla's surprised look.
A familiar lighter appeared in Scylla's hand, and a few seconds later her fake face disappeared in flames. Raelle was still uncomfortable with the process despite years. But just one glance at the real Scylla was enough to push aside the uneasiness.
She leaned over the console to cup the brunette's face between her hands. She brushed her thumb over her bottom lip before finally connecting their lips. It was like a sip of water after many days in the desert. For months she tried not to think about Scylla, and she considered not hearing from her as the best news she could get. But now that she finally had her, she was all Raelle had on her mind.
"I'd like to take you with me, but my dad knows who you are," she said, scratching the back of Scylla's head.
"I have a room in a hotel." The brunette squeezed Raelle's thigh. "We can go there if you want."
"People will talk"
"They'll be talking about a European student who spent the night with local witch" A smug smirk appeared on Scylla's face. "Sounds like a great cover to me"
The idea excited Raelle. She couldn't think of anything else than just getting into that damn hotel. Beside her, Scylla couldn't help but laugh as she explained the way. The worst moment was when the brunette had to change her appearance again to go through reception to her room.
After closing the door, Raelle didn't wait any longer and pushed the other girl against the wall as soon as her original face emerged from the flames. She didn't even wait for the transformation to be over. Scylla's hair was still smoldering as Raelle kissed her passionately, pressing her thigh between the other woman's legs.
***
Having Scylla for more than a few hours was the best Christmas gift she could get. The hotel room provided them with a little privacy so they could just be themself. Among other people, Scylla was Amalia. And that was nice too. A bit odd, but nice.
It turned out that Raelle was unnecessarily worried about Scylla's exposure. Her girlfriend was right about people's reactions. Of course, they stared at them whenever they were in public. A civilian European student with a military witch on leave was something unexpected here. But no one suspected that the Swedish woman was actually a Spree terrorist.
Besides, Raelle had to admit Scylla was perfect at pretending to be human. The brunette kept surprising her with unusual things that in the eyes of civilians turned out to be completely normal. The most annoying thing was the … mobile phone.
Raelle really understood the concept. She knew how normal telephones worked. More or less. It was something with cables, and Scylla's phone had none. She would say it was more like their farspeech.
Anyway, her lack of understanding of technology wasn't a problem. Several times a day, the phone rang, disturbing their peace. Raelle was tempted to ask who Scylla had been talking to. But then she would have to open a can of worms. They were enemies. She belonged to the Army, Scylla to the Spree. Whatever they did when they weren't together probably was harming the organizations they were fighting for.
So yeah, Raelle wasn't going to ruin the one happy moment she had in her miserable life. When Scylla went to answer the phone, she preferred to focus on her bottle of beer.
"Sorry, college called," Scylla explained a few minutes later when she returned.
Raelle couldn't help but wonder what "college" actually meant. Was Scylla coordinating any Spree activities? Should they expect another attack? Though she had to admit it was quiet lately. Like they disappeared from the face of the earth.
She felt on her hand Scylla's touch, who must have seen her worried face. In blue eyes was a question if everything is ok.
There wasn't. But Raelle, of course, said nothing. Instead, she leaned to peck Scylla on the lips, which eased the other woman. An old but effective trick. She had learned it from the best, Raelle thought bitterly.
Aside from the fact they should be sworn enemies, everything else was good. It was nice to finally go out on a date, even if it meant looking at Amalia's face instead of Scylla's. The most important thing was hidden inside anyway. They went out for drinks together and hung out at the local archives where Scylla pretended to do her research (they mostly kissed between the shelves). Raelle even took her to her home where she introduced her to Edwin.
Her dad immediately liked Amalie, which warmed Raelle's heart. She imagined her father welcoming Scylla with the same enthusiasm. Then came the unpleasant reminder that Scylla had civilian blood on her hands. But she had learned to ignore that feeling, enjoying the sight of two beloved people getting along well.
Scylla talked passionately about Sweden as if she really lived there. Edwin, for his part, praised Cession and eagerly answered her questions for her thesis. They even agreed to cook together; he showed her the Collars' family recipe, and she demonstrated to him some Swedish dishes.
Raelle was impressed with Scylla's knowledge.
"Have you really been to Sweden or are you just well prepared?" Raelle asked when they went into her childhood room.
"I was there for a while," Scylla replied, taking her eyes off the letters pinned to the wall.
Raelle's eyes went to the letters. It was her only souvenir of her mother. After she found out her mother didn't die on the battlefield, she was considering getting rid of them. In the end, she didn't, but she still hadn't gotten over the betrayal.
Raelle couldn't forgive her mother. She was even angrier at her than at Scylla. How could her mom think the best way to protect her was to walk out of her life without saying a word?! Her leaving was the very reason why Raelle had lost her will to live. And then she sent Scylla to lure her to the Spree, which broke her again.
They never got a chance to talk about it. Willa was killed before they could reconcile. Now those letters really were the only physical thing left of her.
Sometimes she wished never to know the truth. Never found out that the two women she loved were lying to her.
Her low mood was noticed by Scylla. The brunette sat next to her on the bed and cuddled her. Raelle snuggled into offered arms, listening to the story of Scylla's trip to Sweden.
"Maybe someday we'll go there together." Scylla offered her a warm smile.
"Yeah, someday," Raelle agreed to the surreal idea. If only it were possible, she would like to go with Scylla anywhere. Without fucking army or fucking spree ruining their lives.
Raelle was listening to the calm Scylla's tone. The words weren't important. It was something about sweets that Scylla fell in love with while traveling around Sweden. It didn't make much sense but helped Raelle push her gloomy thoughts away.
Kissing was helpful too.
They stayed like that until the evening when Scylla decided she should go back to the hotel. Raelle, of course, offered to drive her. As they were about to leave, Edwin tried to convince Scylla aka Amalie to stay over.
"I don't want to impose," Scylla said, ready to leave.
"You don't!" Edwin waved his hand. "This house is always open to Rae's friends."
The quick glance between the girls and Raelle's blush told Edwin all he needed to know.
"Dad, stop bothering her," Raelle said. She liked that her dad was so open to Scylla but because of the big lie about Scylla's identity, they couldn't risk more.
"You're always welcome here, Amalia," Edwin said before they left.
***
That same evening, she returned home to spend time with her dad. The truth was that Scylla had taken her so much attention that she had forgotten about her dad. Remorse for not giving him the time he deserved crept into her mind. They haven't seen each other for months, with only brief phone calls. He must have been worried about her, and she kind of abandoned him for her girlfriend. But after meeting Scylla aka Amalia, Edwin didn't mind.
"I like her," he said, sitting in the old armchair as Raelle brought them both beers.
"Me too" Raelle took a seat in the other chair.
"How long have you known each other?"
Very long
"We met a few days ago in a coffee shop," she said, the taste of the lie burning on her tongue.
"Oh, I thought-" Edwin scratched his head. "You two just look like you've known each other forever."
Raelle knew what he meant and had to stop the grimace on her face. It was no secret that her love life didn't exist before and after Scylla. The mandatory duty made her reluctant to get involved since she planned to die at the front soon. Even so, Edwin encouraged her to make friends and tried to hide his sadness when she didn't. Then there was Scylla, a pleasant break in her miserable life until she was gone too. She hasn't had any other relationship since then apart from a few random one-night stands shortly after their breakup.
Edwin had started to worry again, but this time at least she wasn't alone. She had her sisters, who also found a warm place in her dad's heart.
"Dad, it's not-," she said, avoiding his gaze.
"You deserve to be happy, Rae."
"It doesn't matter anyway," she muttered, turning the beer bottle over in her hands. "She's going back to Sweden soon, and I'm going back to service." There was regret in her voice.
"Look, Rae." Edwin leaned forward in his chair. "Distance doesn't matter if you love someone. Look at me and your mom. The army tried to separate us, but we were too stubborn."
Raelle blinked away the tears from her eyes. She didn't want to remind her dad that her mother was gone because of the army. The military specifically made it difficult for her to return to her family, simply because Edwin was a civilian. Now the same force stood between her and Scylla, and there was no way out of this.
"Like I said, Amalia and I barely know each other," she repeated her excuse without conviction.
"Maybe, but sometimes it only takes a moment to find that only one."
Raelle remembered her first encounter with Scylla. The older girl appeared out of nowhere and immediately turned her world upside down. Since then, she had wanted to be near her.
"From what she said, she stays for a while, and so are you," Edwin continued. "Invite her to spend Christmas with us. She shouldn't be alone during this time in a foreign country."
An involuntary smile appeared on Raelle's face, hearing the simplicity and sincerity in her father's voice.
"You like her more than me," she joked.
"She can cook." Edwin spread his arms playfully. "I'm beginning to worry that the Collar family recipe will die with me."
Raelle made a grumpy face, making her father laugh even more. To be honest, she missed bantering with her father. She wished they could do it more often.
***
She hadn't planned it, but she took Dad's advice and invited Scylla to spend the Yule with them. The brunette wasn't sure before eventually agreeing.
"It's nothing special," Raelle said as they got out of the car in front of her family's house. "We will burn log, then we eat dinner. Maybe watch a movie later."
"I still feel bad I don't have a gift for your dad."
"Don't worry." Raelle squeezed Scylla's hand. "We don't do gifts anyway."
She opened the door, letting Scylla go first. As soon as she walked in, she immediately smelled delicious food from the kitchen. In the air was felt the family atmosphere, and she hoped it wouldn't be too much for Scylla. The brunette didn't look overwhelmed so far, but one glance at her made Raelle laugh.
"I never thought I'd ever see you dressed like that," she joked, and Scylla winced.
Scylla as Amalia always wore fancy clothes that the real Scylla would never wear. Or at least Raelle had never seen her dressing like that. This time she had on her a large green sweater with a reindeer on the front with a red nose sticking out. Raelle playfully reached out to it and squeezed.
"Very funny," Scylla muttered, pushing away the blonde's hands.
"Look who finally showed up." In the small hall appeared an elderly woman whom Raelle immediately recognized as Quinn. She smiled widely at the sight of a family friend and hugged her in greeting.
"Good to see you, Quinn. Meet Amalia. Amalia, this is Quinn, family friend." Raelle was surprised at how easy now it was for her to lie about Scylla's identity.
The brunette smiled politely, extending her hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you."
"You too." Quinn shook the offered hand. "So you're the one who kept this girl from visiting an old friend."
Scylla laughed gracefully, especially when she noticed Raelle's blush. Edwin joined them soon after, greeting them cheerfully and not even trying to hide his enthusiasm at the sight of Amalia. When the brunette wasn't looking, he gave Raelle his fatherly, approving look, flustering her even more.
They crowded into the small kitchen. Raelle watched with mild amusement and concern as Quinn questioned Scylla aka Amalia while Edwin told them his dad jokes. The view was worth the see. She focused on it so much that the frosting she used to decorate the gingerbread ended up everywhere but on them. "Shit."
"Language, Rae," Edwin chided her.
Scylla took a paper towel and brought it to Raelle.
"I thought your dad was exaggerating," Scylla said to her quietly, so only she could hear, "but apparently I underestimated you."
They cleaned together Raelle's mess, although the blonde wanted to rub the frosting on the face of Scylla, who was clearly mocking her. This didn't go unnoticed by Edwin, who suggested that she brought their guest along while he and Quinn finished preparing food. Raelle knew he was more interested in getting her out of the kitchen, but she wasn't going to argue. Instead, she dragged Scylla with her into the living room, where Yule's log was waiting for them.
Raelle began to carve in the wood, sticking out her tongue. There were already runes on the log that her dad and Quinn had made. Most of them were wishes for happiness and safety. When she had finished her part, she was about to hand Scylla's pocketknife, but she shook her head.
"You've never done it?"
"I do, but Amalia doesn't," Scylla whispered. "Can you show me?" she added in a normal tone.
Raelle rolled her eyes but grabbed Scylla's hand, giving the pocketknife to it. She didn't really have to do much as her girlfriend knew her stuff. But to keep up their cover they were very close, almost hugging each other, which actually wasn't so bad. At one point, they looked at each other at the same time, their lips inches apart. Raelle leaned forward.
"Have you finished?" They jumped apart when they heard Quinn's voice. Raelle felt her cheeks burn, but at least she wasn't alone. Scylla's face also turned red. "Oh, did I interrupt something?" Quinn didn't look sorry. She was rather amused.
"We're done with the log," Raelle cleared her throat, trying to sound normal.
Moments later, they were able to start a burning log. Edwin put it in the old fireplace. The wood burned brightly, and the four adults stared at it for a moment. Raelle wanted to hug Scylla. Unfortunately, this could send wrong signals to her dad and Quinn. But they stood close enough to brush each other's little fingers.
It was the best Yule she'd had in a very long time. Usually, it was just her and her dad, and sometimes Quinn joined them. Having Scylla this time was a breath of fresh air. She conveniently ignored the fact that it was all possible because they were lying about Scylla's identity.
That didn't matter. Raelle was happy, and she knew Scylla was too.