Seven or so months before I was born, the world changed. The reveal that magic was real was only the tip of the iceberg. We also learned that the Fair Folk exist, that the story of King Arthur was based on absolutely real events and that Merlin was still alive and attempting to take over the world. And then his ex-lover, a woman known as The Fairy Blacksmith, came back from the dead and stopped him in a glorious fight in the skies of New York caught on thousands of cell phone cameras.
I’ve watched that fight from every angle a thousand times and I’ve come to one conclusion: IT WAS SOOO COOL!
I’ve been enamored with magic since as far back as I can remember. It’s not an uncommon position, but with the rapid pace of technological change we saw in the years that followed the reveal of magic, there are far more people who are enthusiasts for technology than magic.
Of course, the whole technology thing is pretty blasé for me. My father is Kyle O’Halloran, the man behind the technological revolution. Our house is perpetually about three years ahead of the rest of the world technologically. So when everyone is gushing over something that’s so old to me, it can be hard to be too excited.
Not that it’s always sunshine and rainbows. Being the daughter of the man who created the machines that destroyed communist China can be a bit dangerous. Of course, anyone stupid enough to come after our family quickly learns that we have a large variety of death machines at our disposal to keep us safe. Because daddy loves us.
Well, we don’t all have death machines constantly protecting us. No one, and I mean NO ONE, messes with my mother. When she and my father met, she was part of a small private military company based in Czechoslovakia and had more than a hundred confirmed combat kills. I once watched her kill a bear with a boot knife.
No, seriously. She took me camping once while my father was out of the country on business. A bear wandered into our camp and saw me as an easy meal so it charged me. Mom came out of nowhere, kicked off the side of a tree onto the bear’s back and drove her knife clear through the bear’s skull. Then she checked me for injuries and calmly washed up. I was seven at the time.
You bet your ass that the next time she told me to eat my peas, I didn’t have to be told twice.
Anyway, back on topic. While the whole rest of the world was interested in daddy’s plans to take humanity to space or the fact that the half of the world now ran on small fusion generators, I was pretending to be a witch. My dream from the time I was five until I was eleven was to become the most powerful spellcaster that Earth had ever seen, more powerful even than the Fairy Blacksmith.
Since the rediscovery of magic, a number of laws and regulations had been put into place governing all aspects of it, from who could be trained to the penalties for its misuse. They were pretty strict. So, even with my parents being the world’s first multi-trillionaires, it’s not like they could just hire a tutor for me. I would have to wait until I was old enough to apply for proper licensing and training. So I spent most of childhood dressing up and playing at magic while striving to get the good grades that would help my application.
When the version of the Arthurian legend was released that featured the Fairy Blacksmith’s side of events, I begged my parents for a copy. I read it hundreds of times, no exaggeration. And when I came to the realization that her amazing entrance to that press conference to take out the wizard had been a reference to an anime, I begged my parents to let me watch it. That one cost nothing, since my father already had the full set.
We watched it together. I think mom enjoyed it more than daddy and I did. After that, they told me that there were other references made during the fight and we watched those, or at least the ones appropriate for my age. After that, I just watched every magic based anime I could find.
And then there were the video games. Daddy was a card-carrying member of the Gamer Party, so we always had video games. Also, I’m pretty sure we own a video game studio, so we could always get the kinds of games we wanted, just not necessarily for a year or more after we realized we wanted them. All I know is that when I turned twelve, there was an age-appropriate game about the life of the Fairy Blacksmith and her twin brother. It was really two games in one. One was more politics focused while the other was a bit more of an action-adventure.
Being twelve, I may have replayed the portion where Cedwin Silverdew kidnapped and married the young noblewoman more than is healthy. I know, but I was old enough that my mind was getting dirty but not quite old enough to figure out how to access pornography. You try getting past a net nanny installed by someone who programs VIs. I’m pretty sure our web protection software has a higher IQ than the congressional average.
Over the door to our arcade – most of our home is fairly moderate and tasteful by the standards of the wealthy, but a top of the line arcade was something deemed an absolutely necessary – is the motto “I went to do the impossible, because I thought it’d be fun! Because we’re gamers, dammit!” It came from the same anime that I mentioned above and you may find it familiar, as it has been quoted in a number of speeches by Gamer Party candidates.
During my eleventh year on Earth, puberty hit me like a lightning bolt to the ovaries. Or something. Look, my hormones went into ridiculous overdrive and I grew almost a foot that first year. Yes, that’s an insane amount. And yeah, the muscle cramps from the growth spurt were intense. When I was ten, statistical averages would have put me somewhere around my mother’s height of a bit over five feet tall by the end of adolescence. By the time I turned eighteen, I was just an inch or two shorter than my father at just over six feet tall. Thankfully, none of the following growth spurts were nearly as insane as that first one.
And, of course, there were the boys. And girls. I began noticing just how wonderful both were around then as well. I took a lot of cold showers just to get through the school week. I also joined the swim team, which let me shower with a bunch of fit girls my age. Sadly, life was not like an anime and I never had an excuse to grope the other girls in a “completely non-sexual” way. I’m not sure if anyone noticed my surreptitious glances. If they did, no one ever said anything.
So, while I’d found a way to get plenty of time around beautiful naked girls, boys, on the other hand, took some effort. I’ll talk about my school more in a moment, but suffice it to say that there were few opportunities to get in trouble with boys at school. Not that I’d get in trouble with just any boy. I grew up as a “good” Catholic girl. I can only go so far before I feel guilty. But that leaves a lot of wiggle room. Heh. Wiggle room.
I was fifteen the first time a good opportunity presented itself. I mean good in the sense that there was a guy I knew and liked who was willing, not in the sense that it was a good time to try it. I mean, everyone does stupid things when they’re a teenager, but I bet you’ve never broken into a locked diplomat’s office so you could get to third base with someone on the diplomat’s couch. And I really bet you never did so at a major diplomatic event crawling with the press who were there to talk to your family about the award your parents were being given.
Because I did. My partner in crime was the ambassador’s son, a boy a year older than me who I’d known since I was five. We had been occasional playmates, hanging out whenever our parents would get together. He was there when I broke my arm trying to get his cat out of a tree. I was there when he whacked that hornet’s nest with a stick and ended up in the hospital. What I’m saying is that we were childhood friends and neither of us was burdened with an overabundance of caution.
So, when my parents told me that his father was holding a banquet and ball at which my parents would receive recognition for their financial contributions to the rebuilding of Japan after the Chinese occupation and that I was invited, I was looking forward to seeing my old friend Daisuke. Father took me dress shopping and I got a beautiful lavender dress that was more conservative than I wanted but definitely flattering. He even let me dye a lock of my hair to match the dress, though he insisted that the matching shoes be something practical since the dancing was supposed to last three hours.
When the night of the dance arrived, we traveled to Washington DC. I’m not sure how many people were in attendance, but a few hundred, if I had to guess. Most of the guests were politicians, captains of industry or other celebrities as well as the families of the aforementioned. Even the President was there, along with her husband and son, the latter of which was a couple years older than me. And, of course, the press was there.
After the banquet, I spent most of my evening dancing with various sons – and a few daughters – of famous people, with my first dance with the president’s son as a favor to my parents. Turns out he’s shy and needed someone to help get him into the socializing mood. He did fine after our first dance once I introduced him to some of the girls from my school who were also in attendance.
The music for the night was being performed by an orchestra that counted my parents as their major patrons, so I suspected that we were covering a lot of the costs for the event. It was mostly classical music, but they occasionally had different performers take the stage and change it up a bit. Even one of my favorite metal bands played a few songs. I was a bit mortified to catch my father headbanging to one of their songs. A clip of that made CNN.
With about an hour or so remaining in the evening, I found Daisuke and we danced a couple songs then decided to sneak off. We had maybe twenty minutes of time, just enough time to end up on the couch in a state of semi-undress with our faces in each other’s crotches. If we had had more time, I’m pretty sure I’d have let him go all the way, but that’s as far as we got.
The person who caught us was a member of the hired event staff, which was thankfully on our payroll. He immediately and discreetly ran off to get my father. We had barely managed to get our clothes back in some semblance of order before my parents were at the door. Opening the door, I could see my father shaking his head.
“An ambassador’s youngest kid,” he said. “At a party.” He sighed. “I guess, at least we can be thankful that you didn’t get injured.”
My mother, on the other hand, looked less bemused. Her eyes narrowed in displeasure and then she exchanged a look with father. It almost seemed like they were having a conversation with just their eyes. After a moment she threw up her hands. “Fine,” she said. “You handle it.”
He nodded. “I will. Please tell Daisuke’s parents to come meet us in his office. We’ll probably need a bit of privacy for this discussion.”
It’s a bit of a blur from there. When the ambassador arrived, he struck his son across the face with a backhanded blow. Father interceded and prevented it from going further. Daisuke’s father declared that he was sending him back to Japan for his foolishness. Beyond that, father managed to get his old friend to spare Daisuke any further punishment. The ambassador returned to the party, trusting father to handle it.
It was apparent that Daisuke would have a bruise from the blow. “This complicates things,” father said. “I’m sure that there are already rumors going around that something has happened. Without the bruise, we could have laughed it off. But now, we’ll have to give them something. Lyr, I’m going to need your phone.” I was confused, but I handed it to him. “Okay, Daisuke, go to see the event medic. Tell them that you fell outside. If they ask for further details, look ashamed and refuse to tell them anything else. Lyr, go back to the dance floor. Do not speak of any of this. You are welcome to look ashamed as well. I want their imaginations running wild, but I don’t want any confirmation of anything. That way, it’ll be more fun to pull the rug out from under them.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it. Just get going, both of you. Return to the party together, but separate immediately once getting there. I’m going to go speak with Juiz and make some arrangements.” Juiz was the “virtual intelligence” who ran most of our household’s necessary tasks. The difference between a VI and an AI is that the former lacks the latter’s self-awareness and personal wants and needs. I’m fairly certain that her being a VI is a lie and that she loves us like a member of the family.
Rumors spread like wildfire. I’ve never felt so embarrassed. I didn’t even go to school on Monday. Tuesday morning, however, I discovered what my father had planned. Mother was watching CNN and called me in from the dining room. Father was talking with the anchor.
“…you know how it is. Kids these days can’t seem to stay away from their phones. They record all of their dumb stunts. Which is good for us parents, since that means that we have nice solid proof when it comes time to punish them later.”
“Okay, before we show the video, can you help us understand what’s going on?”
“Certainly. You see, one of them found out that there were these serving carts back in the kitchen. I’m not sure who knew that part, but I do know that my daughter was the one who had spotted the loading ramp out back when we had come in on the helicopter. So they snuck back into the kitchen, borrowed a cart and that’s more or less where the video cuts in.”
The quality of the fake video was so good that even I was almost fooled, and I knew it was a fake. It showed each of us taking turns trying to surf down a steep loading ramp on these things. I heard my own voice challenge Daisuke to a race. We wrecked and went flying. I landed in a bush while Daisuke hit the hard ground.
“And there you have it. They took a few moments to try to clean up as best they could and returned to the party.”
“What of rumors that they broke into the ambassador’s office?”
“Breaking in isn’t exactly the way I’d describe it. Young Daisuke had a key and they figured that the sink in the ambassador’s office would be perfect for cleaning up. However, my wife and I went looking for them when one of the staff rushed over and told us that they had been in an accident. I used the locator function on Lyriana’s phone and found them in a short few moments. Building security has it on camera. They were in there no more than a minute or two before I arrived and I certainly didn’t find anything other than two kids cleaning up after a fall.”
“Thank you for your time, Mr. O’Halloran. One final question, you said that you were punishing your daughter. I’m sure everyone’s curious to know what kind of punishment you’re planning to go with.”
“I’m not sure punishment is the exact right word. Aurora and I just realized that our daughter obviously needs an outlet for all this extra energy. From now on, she’ll be joining her mother on her daily five kilometer morning runs. And if that isn’t enough, there’s always the evening calisthenics.”
I didn’t hear what the reporter said as I turned to mother, who handed me a set of sweats and some running shoes. “We leave in five minutes,” she said with an evil grin as she put on the hundred pound weight vest she wears while running.
That afternoon there was a knock on my bedroom door. I asked Juiz to let them in since I was too sore to want to move. My father came in. “I’ve got a pot of tea and some cookies on the table in your sitting room. Can you walk to join me, or shall I carry you?” His voice was somewhat serious, so I knew it was finally time for my talking to.
My legs still a bit wobbly from all the running, I managed to make it to my parlor. For several minutes, we sat in silence sipping at tea and nibbling on cookies.. I was too embarrassed to look at him. The silence felt so overwhelming that I thought I might explode.
And then he laughed.
It was surreal. I didn’t expect it. I still half expected him to suddenly stop laughing and begin yelling, but he never did. “Tell me, Lyriana, now that you have some insight into the family curse. Why is it that we can’t seem to make just simple bad decisions? Why must all our bad decisions be spectacularly so?”
I didn’t understand. “W-What do you mean?” I asked, my voice quavering.
“An ambassador’s kid? Really? It couldn’t have been just one of your random classmates? It couldn’t be someone whose parents wouldn’t lose their jobs if the scandal broke?”
It took me a minute to process that. “Lose their jobs?”
He shook his head. “It’s a bit messed up. They’re not the most popular people with the current government. They’re just waiting for a reason to replace them. The only reason they haven’t is because they don’t want to upset the people back home who like your mother and me and know that I’m friends with the ambassador.”
“Wait, why would your opinion matter?”
“Just about every company in Japan owes us for helping to get them back on their feet after the brutal occupation. Not to mention that it was my planes that brought the occupying army to its knees and forced them to retreat. Anyway, if they were removed without cause, some very powerful people would not react well.” He shook his head. “But if there were a sex scandal between his son and my daughter? That changes everything. Not only would his family be shamed because he couldn’t control his son, but some morons would feel like they were acting to protect my daughter from the predations of this horrible, uncontrolled young monster.”
“What? That’s not what happened at all!” I said, alarmed. “Everything that happened was just as much my choice as his.”
“I know, right? But there are people in this world who seem to feel that women can’t make their own choices and be held responsible for the consequences of their actions.”
“Who would think that?”
“Jerks, mostly. Traditionalists and a certain subset of feminists are the ones who usually do it, but it’s not really limited to any particular group.”
“I see.” I bowed my head. “So, how much trouble am I in?”
“Well, that’s an interesting question. On the one hand, regarding your actions, it’s not like I can really fault you for making choices I also made.”
Choices he made? “What?”
“Alright, this goes under the heading ‘Daddy’s Spy Business’ and is not to be repeated, okay?” His expression was serious.
I nodded. ‘Daddy’s Spy Business’ referred to anything that had happened while he was being kept safe by the US Government after that time he’d been kidnapped by a group of extremists. He didn’t talk about it much, aside from a few stories about him and mother from that time.
“Okay, so there’s this one time I was out in the field as part of a support crew. We were field testing some new tech I had invented, so they wanted me there in case something went wrong. Our field agents were infiltrating an embassy. I won’t tell you which one or in which country it was located. The ambassador was having a party and we were watching events with some micro-drones. Everything was going well, though our agent was having trouble getting into where he needed to go to get the intel we needed.
“Then I spotted the ambassador’s daughter. Let’s just say she was stunning. And I had been locked up on a base, unable to go meet women. The others in our command center didn’t even realize I was gone until they spotted me at the party. By then, it was too late. Trying to stop me would have blown our cover.
“I chatted the girl up and within fifteen minutes, we snuck off to find somewhere more private to ‘talk’. Unfortunately, the ambassador saw us and sent guards after us. I ended up having to jump out of her window while being shot at. I even took a bullet to the shoulder. I ran like hell and didn’t even realize I was still clutching her bra until I was sure I had evaded pursuit and made my way back to the command center.”
“Did you get in trouble?”
“Almost. Turns out it was a great distraction. Without me, our field agent said he wouldn’t have gotten the intel. I got a lecture and they said I would have to be watched more closely on future missions.”
I laughed. “So, you didn’t get the girl?”
“I never said that. Two days later, a few hours before we had to get on the plane, I bribed a guy who was dropping a delivery off at the embassy to let me take his place. Once I was in, I snuck off to her room and asked if she wanted to finish what we had started. I barely made my flight, but it was worth it.”
“I can see why I’m not in trouble, then.”
He laughed. “I didn’t say that. If I’m being honest, your actions don’t bother me all that much. I expect things like that from a teenager. Nonetheless you’re younger than you should be to be doing stuff like this, so I have to discourage it. It is, after all, a parent’s job to punish youthful indiscretions so they don’t continue when you’re older and more likely to get into real trouble. It’s an important part of growing up. You have to have boundaries and punishments so you can decide for yourself what matters enough to you to push past them. Just because I think that’s normal and important doesn’t mean I can ignore my role in it as the enforcer of said boundaries.”
“Oh,” I said, my hopes dashed. “What’s going to happen to me?”
“I believe I already told you what your punishment would be.”
“You did? When?”
“Let’s just say that you shouldn’t make any evening plans for a while.”
It took several moments but suddenly I heard the word “Calisthenics” repeat in my head in slow motion. “Oh no!” I whispered. Father grinned. “I must say that I have no idea what a ‘burpee’ is, but based on your mother’s description of it, I’m really glad I’m not you. In addition, I’m having Juiz lock your phone and computer for the next two months. Family contacts only.” It stung, but I understood and nodded. He hugged me. “Also, your mother made you a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow. If you’re going to make bad decisions, you’re going to make bad decisions and be on birth control. I told your school you missed the last couple days because you managed to get food poisoning, so telling them you’ll be at the doctor tomorrow won’t seem strange.”
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