December 4th, 2029, 5:45 PM
Fey-Wright Residence
"Are you ready, Mystic Maya?"
Maya looked up at Pearl's gentle voice and took a deep breath. She smoothed out the skirt of her Master's robes and nodded. "I'm ready, Pearly."
Pearl smiled. "Tell her I said hello."
Maya nodded quickly. "I will."
Pearl said no more as she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. In front of Maya's eyes, her body changed. Her legs got longer, her bosom bigger (thankfully it was covered better by her robes now due to her growth over the years), and her face took on an older, full lipped look.
Maya had to stop herself from tearing up as Mia Fey opened her eyes to look around. It had been so long since she'd seen her sister.
Mia looked around. It was always disorienting when she was channeled, and though she didn't know exactly how long it had been, she could tell it had been a while since the last time. Her last memories were fuzzy, but she remembered speaking to Phoenix at the time. She couldn't remember much more than that.
Her eyes landed on Maya, sitting on a couch across from her. She looked the same and yet… different in a way Mia couldn't put her finger on. Not to mention the fact that she had no idea where she was. This room didn't look familiar at all.
Maya smiled at her, and Mia finally snapped out of her confusion. It didn't matter how long it had been or where she was, all that mattered was that her sister was sitting in front of her.
"Maya," she breathed.
Maya's smile turned into a full on grin, and she got up to hug her sister, squeezing her tightly. "Hey Sis… It's been a while."
Mia sat back. "I'm almost afraid to ask but… how long has it been? You look a little older."
Maya wiped at her eyes, whisking away the tears that had escaped, and laughed lightly. "It's been almost ten years since the last time you were channeled, Mia."
Mia's eyes widened. "Really? So you're how old? 28?"
"I'm 29 now, Sis. Almost 30. Officially older than you," Maya said sadly.
Mia shook her head in disbelief. "You look amazing, Maya," she said. "Honestly. Not a day over 25. And you'll always be my little sister, you know."
Maya smiled. "I know."
Mia looked around, taking in her surroundings again. "Where are we? I'm sure so much has happened in your life… Is this your home?"
Maya nodded. "Yeah, it's my house. We bought it just over a year ago now. Of course the office is still the same, we could never move that, but we thought it was about time to move to a bigger home, since the apartment was getting kind of cramped."
Mia raised an eyebrow. "Slow down. We? Our?" She felt a little jolt of excitement go through her. "Wait a minute, you're not talking about—"
"Maya?"
Mia looked up at the sound of a man's voice calling down the hallway. Maya just sat there with a silly smile on her face as she listened to his footsteps approaching.
Phoenix turned the corner into the living room, calling out in a sing-song voice. "Honey I'm hooome—" His playful words seemed to dry up as his eyes landed on the other person in the room. "Oh, you have company. Wait…" He sucked in a breath. "M—Mia?"
Mia smiled. "Phoenix. It's been so long."
He stepped into the room slowly. "Wow. I can't believe… Maya didn't tell me she was planning on channeling you… I'm so happy to see you!"
She stood up just in time for him to wrap her in a hug, his strong arms crushing her against his chest. She patted him on the back. He was clearly older now. If her math was right, he was around 35 or 36 now. It seemed strange to think the young rookie lawyer she had once mentored was now older and more experienced than her.
The baby face he still had back when she was alive had changed into a strong jawline, and she didn't miss the very fine lines around his eyes as he smiled at her, but aside from that he was much like Maya. In ten years, the two of them hadn't aged very much at all. Still, there was an air of maturity to them that hadn't been there the last time she remembered seeing them. Even Maya seemed more subdued now than she had been as a teenager, and Phoenix had always been a more serious type. They'd both grown up.
Maya got up and came to stand beside Phoenix as he released Mia. He wrapped an arm around her, and Mia watched Maya lean into him, wrapping her own arm around his waist and letting her other hand rest against his chest in a sort of half embrace. Mia smiled. She should have known. Somehow it made perfect sense that the two of them had wound up together.
"So… mind telling me the story behind this?" Mia said, gesturing at them.
Phoenix smiled down at Maya, not shy at all about placing a kiss on her forehead. Maya shooed him away and pulled out of his embrace to sit back down. He sat beside her, resting an arm on the sofa behind her.
Maya sighed and looked to Phoenix. "There isn't much to tell, really, Sis. It just sort of…happened."
Mia raised an eyebrow. "Please. There had to have been something. How long have you been together?"
"A little over nine years," Maya said.
"Wow. It can't have been long after the last time I was channeled then," Mia observed.
They smiled at each other, and Mia could see that even after nine years there was still so much love between them. They reminded her of herself and a certain other lawyer when she was alive.
Phoenix sat forward to look across at Mia. "The last time we channeled you, I told you I was disbarred. That was really the beginning of it, I think. I don't know what I would have done without Maya to help me through those years. They were hard, but we got through it. At some point I guess we just realized."
Maya nodded her agreement. She smiled shyly, a light blush staining her cheeks. "It's kind of embarrassing to talk about, actually."
Mia grinned. "Do I even want to know?"
Phoenix chuckled. "Let's just say there was one particular night where things just… well, like Maya said, 'sort of happened'. We couldn't keep pretending there wasn't something between us, and it snowballed from there."
Maya smiled fondly at the memory. "We had a long distance relationship for a while, because of Nick being disbarred and everything. Then he managed to prove himself innocent of forging that evidence, and took the Bar Exam again, but just when he finally regained his badge, I had to go to Khura'in to finally finish my training. It was hard being apart for two years, but we made it through that too. I'm officially the Master now, Mia, can you believe that?"
"I can. I bet you're an amazing leader, Maya. And congratulations on becoming a lawyer again, Phoenix."
He nodded his thanks. "But that's nothing compared to Maya," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "She's amazing, Mia. I don't know half of what she does but I'm proud of her regardless, because I know she does so much more than she ever lets on."
"Stop it, Nick," Maya said, hiding her face against his shoulder in embarrassment.
Mia smiled at them. "And now you're here. I couldn't help noticing, Maya… Your finger."
Maya sat up excitedly. "That's actually why I wanted to channel you today, Sis! Nick and I… we're getting married next year. He asked me back in April."
Mia held out her hand to take Maya's in order to look at her ring. "It's beautiful. Good choice, Phoenix."
"I wanted to invite you to the wedding," Maya said. "I know it's not normally something we do, channeling spirits for special occasions, but it just wouldn't feel right not having you there."
"Of course I'll come, Maya. I would love to."
Maya clapped her hands together excitedly. "I'll have an acolyte channel you again soon so we can take your measurements for a dress. Pearly is my maid of honour so she won't be able to channel you, but I'm sure another of the girls can do it."
Mia nodded. "That sounds good to me. Tell me what else has happened. You don't have any kids yet, do you?"
She couldn't help noticing the strange look that passed over Phoenix's face at the question, or how Maya looked down at the floor before regaining her composure and smiling again. "Not yet," Maya said. "Nick has a daughter though. She's 18 this year. She went to Khura'in to visit her brother and her mom."
Mia raised an eyebrow. "Uh, she's 18, and she's not yours?" She looked at Phoenix. "How does that make sense?"
Phoenix laughed. "I adopted her. Maya's a bit too young to have a biological eighteen year old daughter, heck even I'm too young for that, but Maya was Trucy's only mother figure growing up. She only just recently met her biological mom and her half-brother, which is why she isn't here." He got up to go to a wall that Mia just now noticed was hung with multiple pictures. He took one down and brought it to her.
"This is Trucy's graduation photo. She's a performer. A magician to be exact. Have you ever heard of the Gramaryes?"
Mia nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I believe they were famous quite a few years back, when I was still alive."
Phoenix tapped the photo. "She's the granddaughter of the founder of Troupe Gramarye, and she inherited all of his secrets after her father died. She's done really well for herself. I think she makes more money than I do now."
Mia laughed. "She's beautiful, Phoenix." She smiled up at him. "And I'm sure you're a great dad. You sound so proud of her. You always did do well with Pearl, so it doesn't surprise me to hear you adopted. How is Pearl, by the way? I'm assuming she's the one channeling me right now."
Maya nodded. "Pearly is great. Still training, still taking care of Kurain Village and Fey Manor while I'm here. It's funny you mentioned about Nick always being good with her because we just recently adopted her! It was a pretty quick process since Pearly's an adult now."
"After asking Maya to marry me, it only felt right that we adopt Pearl. She's always been a part of our family, but now it's official," Phoenix said.
"You've made quite a nice family together, you two," Mia said.
"Yeah, I guess we have," Maya said, smiling as Phoenix replaced the photo on the wall. There were other pictures hanging, Mia noted. Some family pictures possibly taken by a professional photographer, and a few more candid ones most likely printed out from a camera or a phone. Maya was incredibly lucky.
"Hey, Nick?" Maya said after a pause. "Would you mind getting us some tea? I kind of want to talk to my sister alone for a minute…"
"Sure, Maya." He squeezed her shoulder as he walked past her. "I'll be back in a few."
Mia watched him leave, then turned to her sister. "What did you want to talk about?"
Maya wrung her hands together. "You asked us if we had any kids yet…"
"Yes? Did something… did something happen?" She really hoped she wasn't asking a question that was bringing up painful memories for the two of them. Maya shook her head, and Mia breathed a sigh of relief. "What is it then?"
"We've been trying to have a baby," Maya said. "And I mean trying a lot, for almost a year now, but so far no luck." She looked up at Mia. "Do you know if there's any sort of history of fertility problems in our family?"
Mia was a little surprised at the question. "I'm sorry, Maya, but no, not that I know of. Mom had you and I without any problems as far as I know, and Morgan managed to pop out three kids too, even when she was older. I never got around to being able to try, so I can't say when it comes to myself."
Maya smiled sadly. "I didn't think so."
"Have you or Phoenix been to the doctor yet?"
She shook her head. "He keeps saying to give it a year, to stop stressing about it, and after a year we can go. But I just know something is wrong. I track everything, we have sex all the time, and nothing. There has to be something wrong."
Mia got up and walked around the coffee table to sit down beside her sister, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Phoenix is probably right about the stress, you know. Bodies are strange that way. But if you're coming up on a year, it would be a good idea for you both to go to a doctor to talk about it."
Maya nodded. "I'm scared of what we'll find out, though. What if it's me? What if I can't get pregnant for some reason? Then what good am I as a wife? Nick would deserve someone better."
Mia sat back, putting a hand on her hip and giving Maya a stern look. "Maya, since when have you thought that all women are good for are being housewives and mothers? I may have just found out about you two a few minutes ago but I know for a fact that Phoenix will love you no matter what. He's already adopted two daughters, so I don't think he'll care if you can't have children. He'll care, because he cares about you and your health, but he would never think less of you or leave you for a reason like that."
Maya hugged her. "You're right. I know you're right. It's not that I think he'd leave me but… that I don't think I'd be good enough for him if I can't give him a child."
"Maya, he's not marrying you so you can pop out his kids. He's marrying you because he loves you and he loves Pearl, and the life you've already made together, and that's it. If you can't have kids, you'll both have to deal with that, but maybe you can adopt a baby. You have experience with adoption now, and there are plenty of kids out there who'd be incredibly lucky to have you and Phoenix as parents."
Maya nodded against her sister's shoulder. She didn't cry, she was all cried out when it came to this topic, and besides, Mia made sense. It wouldn't be the end of the world if she couldn't get pregnant, and she knew she could get through anything with Phoenix beside her.
Mia stroked her hair. Maya might have been older than her now, but she still felt like the little sister she'd always loved. "Focus on your wedding first, Maya. Wedding stress cannot be helping."
"Nick said almost the exact same thing last time we talked about it."
"Then get married first. Keep having sex, but don't think about getting pregnant. Once the wedding is over and you've had a nice relaxing honeymoon together, then worry about baby stuff. You can only handle so much at once, you know, especially with you being Master of Kurain now too." She thought for a second. "That reminds me, Maya. I remember when mom decided to try getting pregnant with you, she quit channeling for a while. Maybe it affects your body somehow, but you may want to give yourself a break for a bit. Let Pearl deal with things in Kurain for a few months."
"Really? I never knew that." Maya sighed. "I still feel like there's so much I don't know because you and mom are both gone…"
"I know. I'm sorry."
Maya shook her head. "It's obviously not your fault. But thank you, Sis. I knew talking to you would help."
Mia was quiet for a few seconds, then decided to tease her sister a bit while Phoenix was out of the room. Perhaps it would cheer her up. "So… you say you try a lot huh? It's that good? I mean, Phoenix definitely grew up into a really handsome man, I have to say."
Maya sat up quickly. "Don't talk about that!"
Mia giggled. "Why? We were just talking about you getting pregnant. Isn't that what making a baby entails?"
"But it's different when you talk about it like that," Maya protested, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Your face is so red, Maya. Damn, it really must be good."
"Aaah, Mia! Stop it!"
Mia laughed as Maya playfully swatted at her. Phoenix came back into the room then, with a tray of tea cups. "Whoa, do I need to break up a sibling fight?" he said as he caught Maya practically pouncing on her sister.
Maya sat back as Mia caught her breath. "No, no, we're okay. We were just talking about how good you—"
Maya flattened her hand over Mia's mouth. "We weren't talking about anything important. Just girl stuff, you know."
Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Right." He set the tea on the table, one for each of them. Mia got up, offering her seat back to him so he could sit beside Maya.
"I don't want to get between you two. You look so sweet together. I like looking at you."
"That sounds sort of creepy, Sis," Maya said, taking a sip of her tea.
Mia waved a hand. "I just mean that I'm really happy for you guys. I can't get over everything that's happened." She squeezed out her teabag and went about putting some sugar and cream into her cup. "Tell me what else has been going on. I want to know everything. Phoenix, how did you get your badge back? Do you run the office alone now that Maya is working in Kurain? Is Charley still alive?"
Phoenix smiled as he prepared his own drink. "Where to even start?"
Mia sat back with her warm teacup between her hands. "Start at the beginning."
He thought for a moment, and then finally began to speak. Maya seemed content to listen to him tell the story of the past nine years of their lives. His disbarment and adoption of Trucy, how he had found out about Kristoph Gavin's involvement and how after seven years of investigating, he had managed to prove himself innocent and regain his attorney's badge, and how he had met and hired Apollo.
He told her about the office, about hiring Athena a year after Apollo and how strange it was to finally be the mentor instead of the mentee. He explained about Apollo's relation to Trucy and about their adventure in Khura'in the previous year too. Mia wished she had the opportunity to meet all the new faces, but Phoenix assured her that everyone would be in attendance at the wedding and she could meet them then.
Maya interjected whenever Phoenix looked to her for help remembering milestones or little details. It was obvious that they had a hard few years, but their love had persisted. Mia even found herself tearing up as Maya went over the night Phoenix proposed. She couldn't have been happier for her sister.
It really did feel right, and Mia realized as she watched Maya playfully swat at Phoenix as he described something silly she'd done, that somehow she'd always known. Maybe not that they would end up together, but that there'd never be anyone in their lives as important as the other. They both deserved this wonderful life they'd put together, and so much more happiness in the future. Mia's only wish was that they would both continue to live it to the fullest, as Mia herself hadn't been able to.
Just a short sort of in between chapter before we get into the real wedding stuff. I'm still on the fence about whether or not to write out bachelor/bachelorette parties or if I should jump right to the wedding stuff. If anyone has any opinion on that, let me know!
