Slumbering Stone

A Strip Mall in Erenvale

Few could tell you who or what occupied the third unit from the left. The hand weights piled in a corner suggested to most that a gym leased the unit, albeit one keeping very odd unlisted hours. Scarce activity led the most curious passersby to speculate on money laundering before shrugging their shoulders and moving on with their day. Frankly, few cared enough to wonder, passing it by without a second thought while on their way into the nail salon or dry cleaner.

 

Crammed into an older strip mall beginning to show its age, the SAI Center (as the sign in the window read) was an altogether inconspicuous place.

 

That suited her clientele just fine. Most of her prospective clients drew from the same playbook. Invariably, a van with tinted windows would park in the front of the lot, they'd hop out in some casual-but-concealing fit with a pair of sunglasses, and they'd make a quick jaunt in.

 

Most.

 

This one had chosen a different approach.

 

Settling into a seat behind her desk, Veronica Karras sizes up her newest prospective client. "Chair's there to be used. Take a seat," she offers, gesturing across the desk.

 

 

She hadn't intended to show off through the gesture, but it doesn't escape her notice that her client's eyes linger on her extended arm, gliding over the ridges of her forearms to settle upon the fabric snugly clinging to her bicep.

 

The woman ignores the instruction, her shimmering eyes transfixed by Veronica's Herculean build. Her mouth hangs slightly agape, the corners of her lips turned up in admiration. "Unfaltering granite fashioned into flesh, how utterly captivating. May I feel?" Valerie finally asks.

 

 

"Go ahead," Veronica replies with a hint of amusement, further unfurling her arm. She watches with some curiosity, silently wondering just how Valerie intends to feel much of anything through those oversized sleeves.

 

"Your permission is greatly appreciated." Serenity etched into her smile, Valerie steps towards the desk, pushing her unneeded chair aside as she approaches. Pulling back her arms and bending forward, she dips her head towards Veronica's forearm with the grace and speed of a dabbling swan. Her cheek squishes against Veronica's muscle, softly grazing against the beefier woman's skin. Her eyes fall closed as she nuzzles Veronica's arm, a single purr away from being confusable for a cat in a woman's body.

 

Veronica raises no objection, only silently glancing towards the clock on the wall. She had dealt with this before. Not nuzzling, exactly, but in taking on wealthy clients, she had learned that the rich tended to have… quirks. After she had received the call from Valerie's agent, she took the time to research the woman. Apparently, those in the know had long called her an eccentric among eccentrics. Once considered an expert on a certain class of those Pokémon critters, Valerie Kawaguchi had stepped back from that role years ago, devoting herself full-time to her eponymous fashion line. She dazzled the fashion world with unconventional designs taking inspiration from fairies; about a year ago, however, she suddenly announced a sabbatical.

 

"Mmmm… Mmm… Exquisiiiite," Valerie whispers, withdrawing her head and standing up straight once again. "You grace me with your presence, Ms. Karras. To imagine a mountain would divert its attention for a mere wisp carried on the breeze is preposterous, and yet you welcome me without reservation. It truly is an honor."

 

"Don't speak prematurely," Veronica warns. "We've only just made one another's acquaintances. There's still time enough for this meeting to unravel." She had seen it before. There were reasons she insisted on face-to-face meetings before inking any contracts. Plenty of crooks dwelt among mansions, and even those without ill intentions occasionally made demands she couldn't abide. Her reputation – and the considerable sums she had already earned from these jobs – gave her leverage of her own. She'd be nobody's groveling servant, even if they had all the money in the world.

 

"To start, we'll exchange conditions." Every celebrity had personal conditions to add to the terms their agent negotiated. She didn't take issue with that, per se. Everyone had their idiosyncrasies. She needed to know them before striking any agreements, however, and she needed to set down rules of her own. "I ask that my clients follow two simple rules at all times. One, don't wander out of my sight. Two, don't sneak off somewhere without informing me. You violate the rules, and I reserve the right to terminate the contract. Beyond that, you're free to do as you wish, and I guarantee your safety."

 

"Splendid. Your terms are most agreeable. I accept each." The fashion designer's eyes light at the simplicity of Veronica's terms – and not figuratively. Her eyes, devoid of all but a thin slice of sclera, emit a pale light with the softness of the moon's glow. Her arms sway subtly under her sleeves, careful movement causing the wings of her furisode to rise and fall as if truly an extension of her body. "May I now present my terms?"

 

"Please do."

 

Valerie's serene smile twitches at its edge. "A tenet of fashion is the pursuit of novelty. Techniques endure, materials endure, but a designer must renew their essence ceaselessly. We are not to immerse ourselves in stagnant waters. It would not do for one in my company to be seen in an unchanging outfit. I shall have a wardrobe tailored for you, and you shall each week wear a new outfit in my presence. Of course, I shall ensure your range of movement is unhindered so as not to impede your duties. Do you find this acceptable?"

 

"I do not." Veronica replies swiftly and decisively. Firmly, but without annoyance, she elaborates. "If you'll be attending an event requiring formal attire, I'll wear whatever you require of me. Day-to-day, however, I wear what I like."

 

"Oh my, is that so? I greatly desire you accompany me as a bodyguard… What am I to do…?" Valerie doesn't allow the refusal to pierce her serenity, her voice still soft as she muses on the situation. "Were I to double the payment, would you then agree to the term?"

 

Veronica shakes her head, a sympathetic edge to her voice. "It's not up for negotiation. I understand the industry may place certain expectations upon you. If you need a bodyguard who can comply, I'll provide a list of names. As for me, it's a matter of principle. I don't dictate what you wear, and you don't dictate what I wear."

 

"A matter of principle…" Valerie repeats the words, letting them hang in the air. She tilts her head slightly as she probes Veronica. "You would never request a client conceal their body beneath a jacket? Or enshroud their hair in a hood?"

 

"No, I wouldn't. I'm there to ensure their safety whether they choose to go incognito or choose to strap on a neon sign with their name and net worth."

 

"To forego a request which would ease your work, a belief as powerful as your body must underpin this principle of yours. I wish to understand. On what belief does this principle rest?"

 

Is this a quiz? She's clearly angling for something, but just what it is, Veronica can't put her finger on. She glances at the clock again. Beating around the bush is just going to waste time. It's time to get blunt. "Everyone should be comfortable in their own skin. That's it."

 

Valerie remains silent for a moment, contemplating the answer. The smile on her face widens into a grin, catching Veronica off-guard. She had expected disappointment or frustration, not to see Valerie so pleased. "Then you are the one I sought. Your steadfast refusal assures me you are the correct choice. I waive the condition and reserve no others. You will accompany me to Argo, and I will hear no suggestion otherwise."

 

"Wait, Wha-?" Did she hear that correctly? Valerie was hiring her… because she refused the condition? "Let me confirm, you do want to proceed?"

 

"Yes, assuredly yes! Slumbering in the shadow of a magnificent mountain, I shall dream forevermore, and dream no more. With your aid, yes, I will metamorphose!"

 

Still unseated, an exuberant Valerie lifts her arms high, her rising wings giving her the silhouette of a fairy in flight. Whatever she's going on about, she's reaching deep into herself. A pure, unabashed joy buoys her words, as if some long-burdensome ballast has been ejected from her very soul. Her energy infectious, even the stoic Veronica watches with rapt attention as Valerie flutters about the office, elaborating on her meaning.

 

"Years ago, I dreamt of awakening and shedding this body. Emerging from my skin in a new form, I cast aside all to which I had been bound and broke into a sprint. Over rolling hills, I dashed with the ease of water streaming from a peak to the sea. My legs untiring, my running continued until I arrived at a burrow. I descended, slinking through the earth to come upon a cavernous lake. There, I metamorphosed once again. My body dissolved, and I joined the gentle mixing of the submerged waters. One and many all at once, I gathered myself and emerged from the parting waters, returning to unity."

 

"The night passed, and I awoke from my dream, but truthfully I have slumbered ever since," she continues. Her energy dissipates rapidly, her movements slowing as some unseen weight returns. "The dream utterly captivated me, illuminating truth with its radiance. This body confines me; the human form strangles me. That beautiful dream convinced me – I am overdue to emerge from this chrysalis of flesh. Yet, I am only able to metamorphose in dreams… A rebuttal to Zhuangzi torments me as I slumber, for no matter the joy which overflows my dozing heart, I know it to be only an illusion made from fleeting dreamstuff."

 

"You're enveloped in skin that doesn't fit you, and you feel ready to burst at the seams." Keeping up with the particulars of Valerie's flowery monologue may be beyond Veronica, but the bodyguard does manage to snatch that much out of it. The poor woman. It was bad enough she felt trapped in a body that didn't suit her, but to endure such an intense yearning for a body she could glimpse but could not have… She clicks her tongue at the thought. "I take it from all that that this trip to Argo is something more than a vacation." After the conditionals, she usually requested the broad strokes of a client's plans. Getting Valerie to spell out her intentions, well, it's not looking like a difficult task at all.

 

Sensing that she has an earnest ally, Valerie sticks an arm over the desk, shaking it until finally something falls loose from her furisode. The shimmering stone clatters against the wood until Veronica grabs it for a closer inspection. Green and pink hues swirl over the unfamiliar mineral's surface.

 

"Are you perhaps familiar with the work of one Dr. Snoozemore?"

 

"Never heard of him."

 

"No matter. I understand he proved to be a pitiful danger to an audience in a distant land, but it is the research, not the man, which entrances me. This captivatingly beautiful ore glistens like a freshly-made key, wouldn't you agree? The stuff of dreams gathers in Dozing Ore, and emerges on the other side coalesced. With it, I will manifest my slumbering visions and subdue my torment." She pauses, bringing a hand to her chest and resting her palm flat against her beating heart through her furisode. "With it, and with the shade of a mountain under the earth, I shall take a step towards my dream. If," she adds pleadingly, her shining eyes locking on Veronica's own, "you will escort me."

 

Veronica shifts in her seat as she considers the plea, her chair creaking from the effort of bearing her weight. Already, Valerie strikes her as a handful, but what's life without a challenge? Word had it that Argo was hopping with unusual activity lately, too. She'd been meaning to check it out. Besides all that, how could she even think to say no to someone striving to be true to herself? From the sound of it, this job would entail more than merely guarding Valerie; she'd be assisting in liberating her.

 

She had broken plenty of chains in her lifetime, metaphorical and literal alike. Why not break a few more?

 

"I'll be by your side, Ms. Kawaguchi," Veronica replies, rising and offering a hand. Valerie reaches out in return, the pair shaking on it through the fabric of a furisode.

 

All the while, Valerie beams, unable to still her pounding heart as she stands on the cusp of making her dream a reality. Yes, this year, she's finally going to make her dream come true…

 

2026: The Fairy's Dream

 

xxx