Episode 12: Cascade of Adulthood (Spence)

Spence worked alongside his dad diligently, applying creams and pastes to the different areas of the girl’s body and soothing her with cooling water.

The entire morning slipped away, claimed by his desire to protect the girl and see the boy again. He wanted them; he wanted to see them heal and grow. He wanted to be there for them as they lived their lives.

His dad tapped his watch, as they sat beside the table and watched steady breaths in her chest.

“Spence, you graduate in forty minutes. It’s time to go.”

Spence kept watching her. He still had to warn his uncle Xander about his graduation speech. He had fifteen minutes to warn his uncle, five to fifteen for changing, and five to ten to get to school. It was doable.

“I’ll meet you at home?” Spence said.

“Don’t be late,” his dad replied.

Spence nodded then left the room..the conference room was only up a staircase and around a corner. He made it within a minute and used the pack to get to Xander office.

It was empty; Xander must have been arriving late. No, Xander was there. He could hear voices outside the door.

He debated his options, then chose to stand against the wall behind the door.

Shortly after, the door opened and his uncle walked in.

Spence waited until the door was shut. His uncle took two more steps toward his desk, and Spence followed with one of his own.

“Uncle Xander,” Spence stated, his voice deep and you’re-in-trouble like.

His uncle turned and looked at him, without an ounce of surprise on his face, “You set off the sentry alarm. What do you want?”

Of course he set of the sentry alarm; he was looking to make this quick not plant a trap. In a perfect world, he would have already finished talking to Xander and been on his way to his next task, or he would have used the rotation of staff as a cover and slipped in when the sentry was blind, at the conclusion of the switch. There were extra eyes when the rotation began but once the old team left, the new team had a moment when most didn’t pay close attention as they settled in for the shift.

He just wanted to get this over with.

Instead of taking the large burgundy chair, with a high back and golden stitching, Xander stayed in the middle of the room. It was harder to get it out; Xander could attack him or detain him more easily with the proximity and lack of deal between them.

Spence let his fingers graze a travel pack in his pocket. If Xander reacted in any way that set him off, he could transport out. His pack was capable of going around the wards on the office, mostly because he knew his uncle and he knew the word to associate a spell, a lock of sorts, was Coaster. Spence wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be a tribute to his previous identity, before he had become president, or if it was was a reference to something he enjoyed – roller coasters. He had unknowingly chaperoned a date with Ach, a few years ago, to the amusement park in Sylem.

“I want to inform you of my intent to ruin your week,” Spence started.

“You have a third of my right ear,” his uncle replied.

He hoped he had the third in the middle, with the ear canal, drum, and other important parts. Although, the lines toward the brain were more in the lower third so no matter what he was screwed.

Not that his uncle meant it literally.

His uncle looked amused, like Spence was going to announce he had built a ski resort outside his office and if he just opened the window they could ski down the twelve floors.

Unfortunately, he meant literally ruin. It would be a political nightmare for his uncle.

“I am going to announce I’m gay in front of the school on graduation day.”

Spence had planned this out thoughtfully. He would wait until he had his diploma in hand, so it couldn’t be rescinded. Then he would step forward and make the announcement and disappear  with the line he had been mulling over for weeks, You wouldn’t accept my work just like you wouldn’t accept me. So, until you open your minds… at the end he would vanish from the stage and maybe never come back to Sylem.

He would go live with Ach and their kids and work for Konrad. He would be very happy, even if Sylem would still be stuck in the same place it had always been stuck in.

“Spence…” his uncle said, his head tilted just a little and his shoulders dropped. He even lifted his hands, to complete the look of handling a delicate matter that he was against.

It pissed Spence off.

“You think you’re an amazing president but you suck,” he stated. It may have been a bit harsh, but he couldn’t stop the verbal spewing of pent up reaction, “No one’s life has improved except yours.”

His uncle straightened, his expression flat and closed, “Thank you for the warning. Good luck?”

“Thanks. Have fun with the backlash.”

Spence didn’t even care anymore. His uncle deserved whatever backlash came from his years of supporting the ban on gay anything. Even his dad had come around on the topic. He was friends with Nell and Konrad, he liked Ach, he even let Ach sleep over after finding out they were dating.

But it was still a secret kept within the walls of their home. It was supposed to protect Spence but really it was just about protecting their precious reputation.

“We’re fighting a war, Spence.”

His uncle’s thought mirrored the speech he had been given by his own parents. His grandpa. His everyone.

“Maybe when you hit the real world you’ll realize that catering to mental illness isn’t in our time budget right now.”

Spence choked on nothing.

“It’s not a mental illness,” he demanded.

His uncle looked at him, like an impenetrable wall to the fact that Spence loved Ach more than he could ever love a girl. He would have to come back to that topic, because as he thought about Ach he realized he was talking.

“And maybe someday you’ll realize all you’re doing right now is fighting a war outside of your borders so you can lose the one inside of them. At least they’ll be thankful they didn’t have to fight both.

“I’ll make sure you’re not arrested,” his uncle stated. It wasn’t really a promise. It should have sounded like a promise, and his uncle somewhere underneath the rejected cared for him, but it felt like a statement. Like he couldn’t see Spence go to jail and go through the treatment to cure him, but he also couldn’t just accept that Spence could love Ach and be healthy.

“I’m leaving right after,” Spence assured him.

“You can’t unsay this. Is it really that important to you?”

No, being true to himself and admitting that his entire failure at school was because he was protesting the arrest of his art teacher, Ms. Makuri, wasn’t important at all. Being able to open up to Sylem and say love is love wasn’t important. Being able to hold Ach’s hand and not worry that someone will find out who he is, which wasn’t even a problem to begin with except for the close mindedness of Sylem, wasn’t important.

It came back to the girl topic, to have a chance to get through to Xander. To the few months he spent sleeping with Talise to hopefully become interested in girls.

“I slept with a girl to try and unfeel it. I married a girl to try to unfeel it. I have kids,” Spence admitted. He wasn’t sure his uncle knew. “I love Ach, and that will never change. I will never feel the same way about a girl. And I’m happy, well educated, had a great life, here aside. It’s not a me problem it’s a you problem.”

“The fairy prince? Is that where you’re going?” his uncle asked.

It was an innocent question, but Spence was still worked up over the mental illness comment.

“I’ll spare you the struggle of explaining why the second in line to the throne of your closest ally is gay and how he isn’t reflective of the mental health of that kingdom,” Spence said.

One side of his uncle’s mouth formed a smile, “I appreciate the thought you’ve put into this.”

Xander’s body had become more rigid since Spence had started his week-ruining spiel. He doubted his uncle felt any hint of appreciation.

Spence didn’t have time to keep talking.

He couldn’t help it.

“What’s so wrong with being in love?” Spence asked. “Why are you so against it?”

“What good, except selfish good, comes out of it? There’s no children, there’s no improvement of magic, there’s just lust.”

Xander, king of not seeking out lust.

Oh wait, he had spent most of his life chasing lustful impulses.

Then he had a dull marriage with his aunt Fiona, until she was killed. He had hardly mourned her death.

Now he was married to Gwen, and while he seemed more in love with her it was impossible to tell because ultimately Xander didn’t need love, or so he said.

That wasn’t the point. Spence couldn’t have kids easily with Ach. There were options – donors. He had his four, plus the twins he was adopting.

There are kids that need to be adopted. The world doesn’t revolve around making sure your kids are capable of killing you with their precious magic.”

That was the ultimate bittersweet possibility of breeding magic so you had stronger offspring. If your kids were stronger, they could act out against you.

His home kingdom had two cults – his dad, three uncles, and grandpa were on one side and his grandma was on the other.

Maybe if people loved each other, they wouldn’t disown their own families and wage war against them.

Maybe if they didn’t have crappy world views and closed minds they would be able to move forward instead of fight each other.

Not that Spence had an open mind, he was very closed minded in believing loving a man was accepting for him.

Still, he had an uncle to deal with.

“Maybe if you ever experienced a deep true love you would understand. Ach doesn’t want me for anything but myself; he’s never wanted me for anything else.”

Xander grinned, a fraction of a grin, but Spence could tell that whatever he was thinking amused him.

It took him a moment to get it out, but Spence waited. It wasn’t like he had minutes left before his parents would leave for his graduation ceremony.

“If you’re so sure you’re right, why don’t you stay here and run for office?” His uncle mused.

Spence tensed.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to you,” he insisted.

“In what reality are you giving up your office?” Spence retorted.

Running for an office was a big thought to have. He knew his uncle didn’t mean for Spence to replace him as president, but that he was thinking Spence could become more of a governor or mayor. A smaller role to get started.

He wouldn’t without his announcement for votes. He would run as himself.

He wasn’t running – he was moving to The Dells to marry Ach, raise his kids, and become the head of the military and security for the king and queen (someday).

“Not my office. Something. A platform, see if you can get a network of support.”

A platform wouldn’t be too much. He could make a small committee or something under his uncle, something small, and work his ideas into some legislature.

“And if I do?” Spence asked. “Will you change your stance?”

None of it mattered if his uncle was unwilling to change his policies. He was the president. Whatever Spence did could be blocked by his uncle, and he would never get the support of the majority of citizens if his uncle didn’t back him.

“Yes,” his uncle stated. “But you won’t.”

It was far fetched, but.

There was no but. He would be facing an entire realm that was against him. There would be some followers, somewhere, but he wouldn’t be able to make a big different.

Everyone that felt the same as him was against him. He had worked hard to make sure that the community did well.

A chance, even if it felt impossible, was a chance.

“I’ll do it,” Spence stated.

It would be dangerous, but it would be a good way to acquire skill fast. If he survived he would

“Good,” Xander replied. Maybe he hoped Spence would back of the announcement in favor of making progress first. “I’ll give you a budget and I’ll get your signatures. The rest is up to you.”

The dumb signatures. As leader of the cult, Xander could make anyone sign to endorse him. It was one of the greatest issues with the current structure; if you didn’t lead a big cult or the cult leader that had the most power in the region didn’t want you to win – you wouldn’t.

If you were the leader or had the leader’s support, you won.

Even if Xander gave Spence His full backing, he would struggle. He had no idea how many people would be open to him being gay.

He wasn’t going to push the gay thing. He would announce it and he would be with Ach in public. They wouldn’t be crazy about touching or anything, just together. No hiding. It wasn’t much to ask for, as far as rights went.

Spence stood taller, probably only a quarter of an inch but it was the statement – he was doing this.

“I’ll announce it at graduation too, then,” Spence stated. He turned toward the door then looked back at his uncle. “You’re really not going  to screw me over?”

It would be easy to.

His uncle stepped closer and offered his hand. When Spence went to shake it, he was pulled into a hug.

“Just be careful,” his uncle said as he let Spence go.

“I’m always careful,” Spence said.

He would have to learn self-defense fast. He had to talk to Konrad.

He had to talk to Ach.

He had to tell his parents.

He had to get to graduation.

“You set off my sentry alarm,” his uncle reminded him.

If he had been sneaking in he wouldn’t have.

Actually, he may have that time but he wouldn’t in a future scenario.

“If I didn’t, and I snuck up on you, would you have hesitated to attack?” Spence asked.

“No,” his uncle replied.

“It was to my advantage,” he bluffed. “See? I’m careful.”

Careful at wording and applying logic after the fact.

His uncle laughed, “Get out of here. Good luck.”

That one felt genuine. As he walked into the hall, he couldn’t help but hope that this would work out. There were a thousand details to plan and he had to revise his entire speech. He would have to get rid of his ending, because running away while starting a campaign didn’t seem like a smart start.

He had to talk to Ach. He still had fifteen minutes. Ten for Ach, five to magic himself decent and to the ceremony.

He transported to the barn, where Ach was supposed to be shoveling stalls. He heard Ach first, tucked inside a stall. He approached slowly, so Ach wouldn’t notice him right away. Once around the corner of the stall door, Spence’s vision focused on the slender build of Ach, wrapped in a long white linen shirt and a tan hide vest. His bare chest would be peaking out from the loosened weave of lace at his neck. Spence could feel the warm skin beneath his fingers.

He leaned his back against the stall and watched Ach scoop another shovel of manure into a wheelbarrow. Nell was keeping him away from his room and sufficiently busy.

Ach was coated in some sort of animal. He must have been eaten by some barn animal. That would have been sufficiently distracting and survivable

A scrog was the best candidate. It could swallow him whole.

Ach hated being dirty; Nell must have insisted he would get more dirty and changing was worthless. Knowing Ach, he would never wear those clothes again.

Ach hadn’t noticed him yet. Ach didn’t notice much about the world, unless he was trying to. It was one of Spence’s favorite things about him. When he did notice something, he noticed everything about it. Ach was someone that could devour Spence in a look.

“Hey,” Spence said. “You look dirty. Are you sure you aren’t sick?”

The shovel fell from Ach’s hands as he turned. His hair stood on end, like it had been exposed to a static field, as it always did. The few pictures they had of his dad all showed the same hair. It was one of the least impressive things Spence loved about Ach, below his mind and his love for books and his ability to just be himself despite what anyone thought (probably because he just didn’t acknowledge what others thought of him).

“Spence!” Ach exclaimed. He hugged Spence, even though he was coated in gross. He had to hurry up – he had to shower too.

It was impressive, that Ach could make five minutes slip away as easily as he could make the two years they had been dating feel like it wasn’t enough. Their bedroom was set up to make sure he got more than just the two years. Red candles he had made himself – with pieces of text from books Ach had read since they started dating around the outside, covered every freespace of his room. Canisters of piroulines that Spence had saved for this moment (from the past few months, since he didn’t consider it years ago) were filled with little magnets he had made with pictures they had taken over their lives – they had been best friends their entire lives.

He hoped they would cover their fridge in a little chaos, to remember their lives. They could use tape and use the magnets to play games too. He had made sure they all were backed in one of two colors – red for Ach’s fire and almost black for Spence’s wicca.

Ach pulled on Spence’s hand, “Hurry you have to see this.”

Ach’s skin sparked like crackling currents of electricity.

“Okay…” Spence said. He had no idea how he was going to make it on time – he was cutting it close.

But Ach was excited.

As excited as Spence was about the proposal, as energized and anxious as he was about running for some public chair.

Ach stopped in front of Vermillion’s stall just as a a dark blue, like twilight, dragon moved into the light. She was smaller than Vermillion and her mind brushed Spence’s with images of her journey.

Spence put his hand against her. Two years, the bond, four kids…. Finally he had a dragon with Vermillion. They would be a family.

He had two matching dragons: Loew, his twilight mate for Paillette, and this girl, his twilight mate for Vermillion.

He wanted to go show Ach the twins, to propose in the instant, to get his own bond. That would have to come up. He knew Aadya could give him one to Ach and he wanted it.

Everyone talked about the bond like the biggest thing was for the one with it – in this case Ach – but for Spence… if Ach had ever asked to break it he was certain it would hurt him more. It would show that not only did Ach not trust him but he didn’t want that with him.

Spence wanted everything with Ach. He stepped closer and let his hand glide across the rough armored skin.

“I have a girl dragon,” he stated and questioned. He knew it, but it felt unbelievable. He couldn’t imagine anything showing Ach more clearly how he felt than his own mated pair for Vermillion.

Ach grinned, the kind of grin that ignited him and made him want to forget that he was running out of time to go make his announcement.

If he was going to. He knew he needed to do it for Sylem; now that Xander had offered he couldn’t un-want it, but he had to include Ach. If Ach said no, he would keep helping people who were hurt and being bullied by cult members. He would never give that part of himself up; he knew Ach liked his heroic streak too. Ach loved all of hi, and that made Spence the luckiest guy alive.

How could to be wrong to feel so much love and to want to return it.

“You have a dragon,” Ach said through his grin.

“I have a dragon,” he restated as he let it sink in.

Spence broke his contact with Luna, the name he settled on for her deep blue beauty. “I needed to talk to you.”

“You don’t like mucking?” Ach teased as Spence pulled off a piece of scrog from Ach’s chest.

“I…” Spence tried to think of a way to tell Ach without pushing him into it. “…it’s a big something. When I graduate I’m not just announcing I’m gay. I’m also going to, if you are on board with it because you matter the most, announce I’m running for governor.”

“Really?” Ach asked.

Spence almost said I don’t know, because he was looking for a spot on a committee until the word came out. Once he had said it, the idea settled.

Governor Lavesque. Governor Spence Lavesque. He liked the sound of it, but part of him knew his settled decision process may cause trouble in the future.

“Is it safe?” Ach asked.

Governor was a bigger deal. He would need a plan. He could plan while he talked.

“There are spells I can do to make it more safe, but it is risky. I think it’ worth trying.”

He grasped for more to offer Ach.

“Xander said he would change his stance if I get elected. I could make other changes… like… how it is here. Good for everyone.”

Okay, he was explaining benefits not a way to ensure he was safe – that Ach was safe.

Spence laughed, inside, because Ach would only need a few wards to keep him safe. something to prevent others from accessing his body like they had done to his mom.

“Okay, I’ll help,” Ach replied. Spence could see a river of glow underneath his skin and Ach’s hands tried to come together, probably to knead in anxiety.

“I want to talk to you about something later?” Ach asked.

Spence really didn’t have time to be in love with Ach. He needed to go graduate and make his announcement. Then he could be with Ach.

“I’ll be back later? I just have to go graduate now.”

Ach kissed Spence.

It was home. No matter how his plans changed – taking him to the Dells or keeping him in Sylem or a mix of both – Ach was his home. Ach and their dragons and their kids.

“I’ll be here,” Ach said.

Spence rocked on his feet for a moment, then let his lips melt into Ach’s and let his water send its soothing wave across every piece of skin that touched. “See you later Ach.”

He let go of Ach and vanished again, back home to his dad’s office. He ran up the stairs and hopped in the shower. He pulled his shirt off, then covered his head with soap, then finished stripping. He didn’t have time for any other order – this was the most practical. The soap ran down his body.

He shoved the clothes into a corner.

As soon as he was done, he placed his clothes over the showerhead and used water magic to dry off fast. He threw on clothes as fast as he could – some tan shorts and a sage green shirt. What he wore beneath his robe wouldn’t matter. He threw that on last. He sorted his hair out.

As he pushed the spare belt through the loop against his hip, his dad opened the door.

He didn’t have time to shave.

“You ready to go?” his dad asked.

Ready as he had time for.

“Yup,” he replied.

Together, they descended the stairs. At the base he looker back one more time. Coming back to his room would never feel the same after this.

His mom hugged him, “You look great.”

He tried to keep his body still, but his nerves were building and he felt like his whole body wasn’t only buzzing but might be near shaking. It wasn’t his normal reaction to stress. Focus eluded him as he thought through the speech he had to rewrite on the spot. No more vanishing line – no escape from the fear of reaction.

“Thanks, Mom. Today.. it’s a big day.”

His mom glanced at the fridge as they passed through the kitchen toward the garage.

Unfortunately, there was no time for soup. Even if it would help.

He hugged her at the car, “I love you.”

He couldn’t help it. He felt like the world wanted to collapse around him, and it had to if he wanted to be successful.

They transported. He must have led them to the car in his anxiety; of course they weren’t driving. There wasn’t enough time.

The school auditorium was full of the expected crowd – parents and other students. It was also lined with security. Every wall.

Xander must have expected him to die, or at least his life to be threatened.

“Isn’t Xander thoughtful,” his mom observed.

Spence’s body went flush. “He told you?”

His mom glanced at his dad, “Everything.”

Spence relaxed, “Really?”

Then he realized she had paused. He avoided tension and asked, “What is everything?”

“All about you and what you’re doing today,” she replied. “Big day, right?”

“Yeah,” he said, mulling over whether she was bluffing or not.  “So, you’re okay with it?”

His mom held her voice tight and straightened his clothes, “You have to pick a path that feels right to you, whatever that may be.”

Spence took a deep breath and looked out to the crowd. Everyone was looking around, at him and at the guards.

“Thanks, Mom.” he stated. Even if she didn’t know exactly, she had supported him in every way through life. She may have been nervous about his art project protest over the years, but she always had a smile behind the nerves. Pride.

He would make her proud of this too.

He left her side and joined his class.

All he had to do was listen to the various speeches by valedictorians and get through some music and videos to reminisce on the past years of school.

He thought of his speech the whole time he waited, and finally he stood feet from the stage. His body had the waves of jitters beneath the surface but he knew he could do this. His family sat together.

As his name was announced, and the diploma handed to him rolled into a cylinder and wrapped with a simple urethral blue ribbon, like life energy for blood magic. The scroll was light in his hand, like a feather.

He took a step away from the principal, then another step toward the podium.

He cleared his throat and the entire audience – the guards and the families – had their eyes locked on him. In the back of the room a news crew had their camera on the ceremony.

“Today,” Spence stated.

Because today, as it turned out, was a very big and very important day.

“Is the first day of our adulthood.”

The audience seemed to drop its tension slightly; maybe they thought this could be part of the program.

A few looked through the brochures that had been handed out.

“Today is the day we enter the real world, as fully trained members of our society. Through my experiences here, from the teachings of Ms. Makuri, my favorite teacher at this school who showed me how to transform anything into art, to the lessons we can take from notable figures such as Edvis and Johges. I stand here ready to not only accept my lowest GPA in the class, because teachers weren’t able to find the essay inside my pottery or the physical strain behind choreographing a robots movements, but I stand here ready to enter the real world and be someone who makes a difference in our community.”

That was probably too much information for an opening paragraph, so he let it sink in while he formulated the next portion.

He was a Lavesque – that was a good point to touch on.

“My father has stationed himself to heal wounds, my uncle Xander leads us against external threats, my uncle Caz carries out laws, and my uncle Dax defends those that need help within the legal system. Most of their jobs have focused on being defensive, in the war against the Caelum Cult.”

The crowd had shifted with that next piece, and Spence even found himself on edge. He hadn’t even gotten to the gay part.

“As the next generation, I want to take on moving us forward. The war still wages against us but we’ve suffered while it is waged for too long. This is our home, where every citizen deserves a voice. Some of you,” he said as he looked into the camera at the back of the room, “may not believe I can be that voice. But I’m gay and I have struggled for years here, in Sylem. Not only that, but I know what true prosperity looks like not just for the wealthy and the cult driven members, but for the poor and underprivileged, for the ones who don’t have words – the unrepresented. I want to represent all of you.”

Spence paused, for one last moment, before he completed the speech that had clearly shocked his audience – his mom included.

He smiled, because she was bluffing. But he still felt support.

“I’m Spence Lavesque. I’m madly in love with my boyfriend. I’m running for governor. If you’re poor, gay, straight, wealthy… I will hear you and I will care.”

He stood there for a moment, then backed away and left the stage. Guards flanked him as he made his way toward his mom who was standing on the edge of her room, his dad too. His whole family: His mom, dad, sisters Mara, Camilla, and Mallory, and his brothers Spaden, Sawyer, and Silas.

He answered questions for some cameras, then he took off in the car. He transported home. He couldn’t wait a minute longer.

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