The Fabled by S. L. Gavyn Page B

Don’t you think it’s funny that he
looks like he could be the older brother of the guy from the club
last night and his name is Roman too?”
    K shrugged. “I never thought about it before.
I usually just call him doc.”
    “Well, you call him that. I’ll just call him
three shades of fine.”
    “That’s kind of long don’t you think. Maybe
you could shorten it to TSF.”
    “How about Dr. Fine.”
    “Now that just sounds funny.”
    “At least it doesn’t sound like a venereal
disease.”
    “Maybe you should just stick with Roman. Come
on. I want to celebrate our success.”
    “I thought we did that last night.”
    “Come on, Sam. We need an inaugural drink in
our official office.”
    “Okay, just nothing too strong. I’m still
hung over from last night.”
    “Light weight.”
    I laughed and had a seat at one of the chairs
opposite her desk. She walked over to her side table and pulled out
a bottle that looked older than me and held an amber liquid. So
much for it not being too strong. It looked like she was pulling
out the good stuff. I looked around the office. It spoke of
success. Everything was strategically placed to draw the eyes and
make you feel like the person who owned it knew what they were
doing and was very good at it. Whatever it was.
    K brought our drinks over and motioned for me
to stand up with her. Once standing she handed me my drink then
held hers out for a toast.
    “To us. May we be friends forever and succeed
in all our endeavors.”
    I clinked my glass to hers and noticed mine
was a slightly pinker tint than hers. I figured it was a trick of
the light and drank the entire contents in one gulp just as K had
done. I managed to sit the glass on the desk as my head instantly
began to swim. I obviously missed because I heard the sound of
breaking glass before I too fell.
    I don’t remember hitting the floor. As a
matter of fact I don’t remember much other than intense pain until
I finally woke lying on K’s couch in the office. I do remember some
voices. K’s and Roman’s. Hers sounded worried while his sounded
reassuring. I thought he was assuring her that I wasn’t seriously
injured but now I know he was assuring her the potion was working
and the extreme pain and convulsions were part of the changing
process. When I finally could open my eyes. Roman was the first
person I saw. He smiled at me soothingly.
    “Hello Sunshine. Do you feel better?”
    I tried to nod but my head felt like it might
explode.
    “Try not to move too quickly. Karen tells me
you hit your head when you passed out.”
    “I’m so sorry, Sam. I didn’t know you would
get hurt. I just wanted us to celebrate,” K still sounded
worried.
    “S’kay,” I managed to get out.
    “When you feel up to it, I will take you back
to your hotel room. You need to rest but I would prefer to keep an
eye on you. You had quite a nasty bump.”
    I reached up to my head but Roman took my
hand.
    “Don’t worry. We put some ice on it and the
swelling has went down now.”
    “How…how long…”
    “How long were you out?”
    I nodded barely.
    “Oh about ten minutes or so.”
    And the swelling had already went down?
    “Do you feel able to stand? I will take you
to the hotel so you can lie down.”
    I slowly managed to sit up. K was hovering
nearby looking nervous. I tried to give her a reassuring smile.
    “It’s alright, K. I’m feeling better
now.”
    “Oh thank Gods. I was so worried,” she said
as she started to descend but Roman intervened.
    “It’s alright Karen. I’ll take her back to
her place and stay with her.”
    He turned back to me and held out his hand. I
took it and slowly rose.
    He gave me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry,
Sunshine. You’ll be safe with me.”
    If only I had known then that he was the
reason for my condition. The elixir he made K give me changed me
that day. It’s weird when I think back to the days afterward. I
felt better than I had in years but I contributed that to my