Chapter 4: This is Not a Fairy Tale"Having any luck finding a match?" Luther asked after he returned home from work one night.
"Well, this guy from work, Johan, has seemed kind of interested. But I don't know. And this bartender chatted me up on my way home from Johan's house."
"But it all feels strange to me. Like I'm not following my heart."
"Oh, Watcher. How many fairy tales did you wind up reading in that place? This is real life, Oz. This isn't fun, this isn't romantic. This is a girl having a pretty screwed up past and martyring herself to fix it for everyone else. It's sad and it's hard, and I'm sorry. But just pick one of those guys and learn to like him, all right?"
"Geez. You should work for a suicide hotline," she muttered, picking up a book and climbing into bed.
"Good night, Luther," she said, her voice more stern than he had ever heard it.
"Yeah," he said, scratching his brow and picking up a book himself. "Good night."
Although he had been magically inclined for most of his life, Luther had never much dabbled in the arts of Alchemy. Here, with very little scheduled, Luther found himself more and more curious of the powers that could come from outside himself and how he could hone them. He didn't imagine it would take a brilliant man like him very long.
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The next day, the two woke to the sound of thick raindrops tapping on the roof. Oswin gasped, sitting bolt upright in bed. "Luther! Wake up! It's raining!"
Luther muttered something and pulled the blankets back up over his head.
"No, Luth! Come on!" She dressed in a hurry and flew out the front door. "It's just as beautiful as I ever imagined!"
"What is going on?" Luther asked from the doorway only a few minutes later.
"I've never seen rain before!" She gasped as she stomped in the puddles beneath her feet. "I've only ever read about it. It's so amazing!"
"You are an odd duck, kid," he muttered as he watched cross-armed from the door. That was when something else entirely caught his eye. "Mm, you enjoy that. I'll just be right over... here." He walked casually over to the lawn of his neighbors who were standing under their awning and chatting.
"Pleasure to meet you, kid," Luther said, greeting the teenage daughter of Oswin's potential suiter. (She would be confused to learn that he was married, as he had told her he was single.) "We just moved in a few days ago. I'd be great to get a tour."
"I'll see you later, Luther," Oswin called from across the lawns. "My partner just called and he wants to show me the community gardens. He says I'll like them in the rain."
"Have fun," he said dismissively as he listened seemingly intently to the young girl before him.
And Oswin's partner was right. The park was beautiful. It was embarrassing, she though, how much of the world she had only ever read about. Flowers, for example, were much more beautiful than words could ever describe. The feel of the rain hitting her skin. Why would anyone use an umbrella instead of soaking in that tingling, blissful sensation.
Chin Han was of the same mind. He loved her sweet appreciation of the nature around them, and he even forwent the umbrella he was carrying when she asked him to stand with her in the rain. He was incredibly warm and almost as charming as Luther. He made her smile.
"This has been so great, Chin."
"You've definitely made it an adventure," he said with a laugh. "I'd love to see you again. Outside of work, that is."
"Yeah. You can count on it," she said and kissed his cheek before heading home. The rain got her much wetter than she had anticipated.
"My dear, I've missed you," Luther drawled to the slim blonde thing from a few nights before, blowing her a kiss upon entering.
"A home visit? Luther, you shouldn't have," she said with a sharp little smile before she fit herself snugly in his arms.
"The night is still young, Mrs. Elliot."
