Chapter 15 #2
"Yes. We like to see imaginative ways to handle things.
Our guidelines were to befriend a human, which you did, but what made it more extraordinary was that she was a fae seer.
By doing that, she helped you to free Fang.
Then you thwarted Vesper in his conquest and ruined his chance to win the competition. "
Rune smiled at Lolita and Stone.
Stone hadn't expected that to ruin Vesper's chances. But he was glad it did.
"And though Lolita didn't want to play the game, she also befriended the fae seer and helped you free Fang."
Lolita sat up a little taller in her seat.
"Since Fang got himself into a bad situation, and the fae seers planned to use him as bait, he could have gotten more of our kind in trouble. Not only that, he wasn’t even thankful to any of you for saving his life.
For the issue of being used as bait to capture more of the fae competitors, he's going home.
He should have pressed his button and we would have fae transported him out of there. "
Stone was surprised, and he could tell that Lolita and Rune were too. They hadn't wanted him to be hurt, but they hadn't expected him to be kicked out of the game anyway. He hid a smile. He was glad. Fang was so arrogant.
"So since the three of you won, you'll have a special feast, only instead of it being in a private dining area, you'll be seated in the main dining area in the center for all the other fae competitors to see."
They all smiled.
"All right. Go. Enjoy your dinner."
Then they hurried out of their seats and into the hall.
Xena saw them first. "I guess you got into trouble for messing with a fae seer, eh?"
"Yeah. It didn't work out well for everyone concerned," Stone said. At least not for everyone concerned.
Vesper frowned at them as they headed for the center table where they would be served their meals.
"What do you want to eat?" a waiter asked, giving them special menus.
"Oh, the prime rib and all the sides," Stone said before Rune or Lolita could order. He looked a little sheepish at them because he didn’t let them order first.
Rune and Lolita smiled at him, and then Lolita placed her order. "I'll get the crab, shrimp, and scallop platter and a salad."
Rune said, "I'll get the hot sausage spaghetti, garlic bread, and a salad."
Then the waiter left to turn in their orders.
"Why do you three get a special dinner?" Vesper asked. "I'll get you back for screwing up my mission."
Stone shrugged. "We just played the game right." Though he'd had no idea that they were playing the game right at the time.
Xena and the others came around to see what they were going to eat.
"How did you manage to win?" Xena asked. "I heard you befriended a fae seer and you sent Fang home."
"Fang sent himself home because fae seers came for him and locked him in a basement in iron manacles," Stone said.
Salads were brought to the table, along with a loaf of bread and butter.
Stone took in a deep breath. "What are you eating?" he asked the other fae.
"They're only serving peanut butter and jelly," Xena said. "If we don't like it, we can skip dinner."
"Oh, I'm glad we won then," Stone said, rubbing it in. He didn't care. He was in competition with everyone and didn't need to buddy up to them.
When their meals arrived, Stone swore the other fae were drooling. He smiled at Rune and Lolita, and they smiled back at him as they enjoyed their meals.
"I'm surprised that your plan to make friends with Tasha worked," Stone said to Rune.
"When I saw her looking at me, and she wasn't scared or texting anyone, I was just moved to make friends with her. I don't know. It just seemed like the right thing to do."
"Gut instinct," Stone said, cutting into his prime rib.
"Yep."
"And you, Lolita? What were you doing? Tasha said she found you just roaming the halls," Stone said.
"I was. I mean, the other fae found their targets, and then I didn't see anyone to talk to.
Then I saw her. I was fully visible, so I didn't realize she was a fae seer at first. She asked me if I was friends with Rune and Stone, and I said I was.
Then she smiled and invited me to her home because you were going there. "
"You weren't afraid she was going to take you there and manacle you?" Rune asked.
Lolita lifted a shrimp off her plate. "Nope. She said you were both going to be there. She gave me a lift, and when we got there, I met her three cats. They loved me, and she said they usually shy away from visitors."
Rune smiled and took another bite of her spaghetti.
"What I want to know is who you were going after?" Lolita asked Stone. Then, when he glanced at Rune, Lolita laughed. "Okay, you were protecting Rune because she was making friends with a fae seer. I sure hope when I meet a wolf I like, he's just like you."
"I didn't think we could have annoyed the other fae any more than we have already, but you notice how the two wolf groups are now together and plotting against us?" Rune said.
Stone observed them for a moment. "Yeah, that's a new development. They never would work together on anything. The two packs were competing with each other."
"We should get credit for bringing them together," Rune said. She cut into another hot sausage, speared it, and ate it.
"Agreed," Lolita said.
"Yeah, I agree." Stone scooped up some buttered mashed potatoes.
"I wonder what the next challenge will be," Lolita said.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. But no matter what, watch your backs. We don't want anyone to take us out while we least expect it." Stone tore off a piece of bread and buttered it.
"I don't know if they'll allow me back in the now consolidated pack," Lolita said. "Not that I wanted to be with them, but I did get some intel before."
"They'll think you're doing that for sure," Rune warned.
"Yeah, I agree," Stone said. "You've been with us on a couple of missions and won another on your own. They haven't been winning at anything."
"Maybe we should let them win at something," Rune said.
Stone wasn't for it at all, but he did wonder what Rune had in mind. She was always thinking out of the box. But sometimes, she seemed to do something that was so surprising, and it worked, that he wondered if maybe she was right about this.
"Why?" Lolita ate a scallop.
"I don't know. To throw them off, maybe? To empower one of them for a change? To get them off our backs so they tear into each other instead? Though I guess that kind of negates the effect of us getting them all together."
Stone thought about it as he continued to enjoy his meal. "Let's see what the next challenge is, and then we can decide."
"That sounds good to me." Rune finished the last of her spaghetti.
They glanced at Lolita. She shrugged. "Yeah, count me in. They're playing games this evening. They have a featured movie on. Are you going to do anything like that?"
"Not me," Rune said. "I might go on a hike in the woods."
Lolita sighed. "Okay, I'm going to the movie."
"I'm going to clean my sword and get some practice in." Stone glanced at Rune. "Be careful. Watch your surroundings."
"I will."
They practically scraped their plates clean.
"I wish we could win another challenge and eat like this again," Rune said.