“Akra, I think you need to see this.”
“What is it, Nicodemus?”
“Bon Temps. Again.”
Letting out a slight sigh of indulgent laughter, the youngest Fate waved a tiny hand, swiveling in her padded leather chair to face the huge grid of gleaming wall screens. “Display, please. Anyone in particular or is this that whole Maenad thing again? That was a super giant mess. Gods, Dion was NOT pleased and rang a right storm over my head for weeks. He needs to leash his followers is what he needs to do. This isn’t ancient Greece when no one batted a lash at those bacchnals….”
As she spoke, flickering images began to appear along the conglomerate consoles, her swirling violet eyes dancing over each byplay. Handsome, clever and cold Eric and her dear Sookie. Noble Sam and stubborn Luna. Confused Jessica and enigmatic Quinn. Dominant Alcide and adventurous Rikki. Gallant William and vibrant Kiara. Sweet Amy and tender Hoyt. Independent Violet and dashing Daniel. Free thinking Holly and eager to please Andy. Knightly Terry and generous Arlene. She watched as each couple bickered and poked at each other, words exchanged that cut like the sharpest knives into each heart. Some were proud, some played indifferent. Each soul though keened in a dark wave of turmoil and pain, she felt every ounce of their individual pain. Wheeling back around, she pushed her chair back and paced a bit, bare feet making no noise whatsoever on the softly blue lit marbled floor, tiny fangs worrying her bottom lip as she thought.
“Akra?” Came the smooth, polished tone of Nicodemus, or what was once the illuminated ether of an old world. Hephaestus had programmed the central core system to sound exactly like Sean Connery. It was most soothing to her ears. “What are you going to do?”
Continuing her elegant, dainty pacing, she was trying to decide. “Love. It’s a burning thing, wouldn’t you say? It binds you with wild desire, makes royal kings of common clay. Turns the most silvered tongued poet into a babbling mess. It is fire and ice. It tastes sweet when true hearts meet…”She trailed off, glancing back up at the images of the residents in Bon Temps. “Valentine’s Day is coming soon. How funny. It started off as pagan celebration once upon a time and is now a commercial commodity that Hallmark and florists greedily use as consumption for their wares. It would seem our charges in Bon Temps have forgotten what the meaning of love truly is, they are too busy blaming each other for such trivial matters….”she paused, the violet in her eyes deepening to a burst of white and silver. “Nicodemus, please bring up each individual matrix strand for those couples.”
“Of course. Processing…”
She slid back into her chair, delicate fingers dancing over the glass topped keyboard before her, accessing each “thread” and entering new codex commands and orders, hitting enter after each one until it was done. The computer glowed brightly with beams of silver, crimson and light blue, a low, humming laugh issuing from the belly of the ether.
“Oh, my Goddess. This is going to be most humorous.”
She leaned back, templing her hands under her chin. “Oh, this is no joke, Nicodemus. People are so quick to their snap judgements, even in those they love. They never stop to consider the larger picture or that their partner’s needs, wants, worries and lives aren’t what is visibly seen. It must be felt. So..now…they will each feel it. I’ve switched them all around. Bill in Kiara’s body, Quinn in Jessica’s, Luna in Sam’s and so on. Soul mates…in the most literal term. Let’s see how well they each understand once they have looked through the other’s eyes, walked a mile in their shoes, as the mortal say.”
“As you say, Akra. Shall I proceed to execute the new programs then, once you save?”
“Yes. When all my lovelies wake tomorrow, whether it be day or night, they will find things have gotten a bit more….entertaining…”
And with that, she hit the glossy black button on the console that said “Enter” and gave a soft, exultant squee that echoed throughout the entire Thread Room. Life was a learning lesson. For all beings. Mortal, immortal. Witch, shifter, demonkyn. All eventually fell back under the guiding hand of Destiny. Sometimes, she just liked to give them a wee nudge.
“What is it, Nicodemus?”
“Bon Temps. Again.”
Letting out a slight sigh of indulgent laughter, the youngest Fate waved a tiny hand, swiveling in her padded leather chair to face the huge grid of gleaming wall screens. “Display, please. Anyone in particular or is this that whole Maenad thing again? That was a super giant mess. Gods, Dion was NOT pleased and rang a right storm over my head for weeks. He needs to leash his followers is what he needs to do. This isn’t ancient Greece when no one batted a lash at those bacchnals….”
As she spoke, flickering images began to appear along the conglomerate consoles, her swirling violet eyes dancing over each byplay. Handsome, clever and cold Eric and her dear Sookie. Noble Sam and stubborn Luna. Confused Jessica and enigmatic Quinn. Dominant Alcide and adventurous Rikki. Gallant William and vibrant Kiara. Sweet Amy and tender Hoyt. Independent Violet and dashing Daniel. Free thinking Holly and eager to please Andy. Knightly Terry and generous Arlene. She watched as each couple bickered and poked at each other, words exchanged that cut like the sharpest knives into each heart. Some were proud, some played indifferent. Each soul though keened in a dark wave of turmoil and pain, she felt every ounce of their individual pain. Wheeling back around, she pushed her chair back and paced a bit, bare feet making no noise whatsoever on the softly blue lit marbled floor, tiny fangs worrying her bottom lip as she thought.
“Akra?” Came the smooth, polished tone of Nicodemus, or what was once the illuminated ether of an old world. Hephaestus had programmed the central core system to sound exactly like Sean Connery. It was most soothing to her ears. “What are you going to do?”
Continuing her elegant, dainty pacing, she was trying to decide. “Love. It’s a burning thing, wouldn’t you say? It binds you with wild desire, makes royal kings of common clay. Turns the most silvered tongued poet into a babbling mess. It is fire and ice. It tastes sweet when true hearts meet…”She trailed off, glancing back up at the images of the residents in Bon Temps. “Valentine’s Day is coming soon. How funny. It started off as pagan celebration once upon a time and is now a commercial commodity that Hallmark and florists greedily use as consumption for their wares. It would seem our charges in Bon Temps have forgotten what the meaning of love truly is, they are too busy blaming each other for such trivial matters….”she paused, the violet in her eyes deepening to a burst of white and silver. “Nicodemus, please bring up each individual matrix strand for those couples.”
“Of course. Processing…”
She slid back into her chair, delicate fingers dancing over the glass topped keyboard before her, accessing each “thread” and entering new codex commands and orders, hitting enter after each one until it was done. The computer glowed brightly with beams of silver, crimson and light blue, a low, humming laugh issuing from the belly of the ether.
“Oh, my Goddess. This is going to be most humorous.”
She leaned back, templing her hands under her chin. “Oh, this is no joke, Nicodemus. People are so quick to their snap judgements, even in those they love. They never stop to consider the larger picture or that their partner’s needs, wants, worries and lives aren’t what is visibly seen. It must be felt. So..now…they will each feel it. I’ve switched them all around. Bill in Kiara’s body, Quinn in Jessica’s, Luna in Sam’s and so on. Soul mates…in the most literal term. Let’s see how well they each understand once they have looked through the other’s eyes, walked a mile in their shoes, as the mortal say.”
“As you say, Akra. Shall I proceed to execute the new programs then, once you save?”
“Yes. When all my lovelies wake tomorrow, whether it be day or night, they will find things have gotten a bit more….entertaining…”
And with that, she hit the glossy black button on the console that said “Enter” and gave a soft, exultant squee that echoed throughout the entire Thread Room. Life was a learning lesson. For all beings. Mortal, immortal. Witch, shifter, demonkyn. All eventually fell back under the guiding hand of Destiny. Sometimes, she just liked to give them a wee nudge.
