Who: Ganymede Orion and Hamlin Graves
Where: His house
Where: Thursday before the coronation
What: She drops by to catch up with her old friend


Ganymede smiled over at him. It'd been quite awhile since they'd last seen each other, something that had slipped Ganymede's mind until she was standing face to face with her former husband, who looked only a bit older than the day they married, which was well over 300 years ago. She had heard of his disappearance and knew he had faked retirement and reverse aged himself. To what purpose she didn't really care, but she never was concerned with his intrigues. It was the way of the earthbound star.

"It's been awhile," he said quietly, taking in her form. It was as if she had never aged from the very first day he'd met her, but he did not know all of the secrets of stars and how she could appear ever youthful despite her many years over his own. She was particularly striking at dusk, his favorite time of day. The sun was setting behind her and the brilliance outlining her body would not fade as the darkness began to take hold on the day.

"Too long Ham," she replied, a pretty smile on her face. Even after the end of their marriage they'd been very good friends. They had no reason to stop being so. "You look good," she commented, taking no notice of the pretty sunset behind her.

He laughed. "I feel good," he answered, though the word that really stuck in his mind was tired. "I was going to say the same of you."

"I look no different," she answered indifferently, but they both understood that the compliment had been registered and accepted.

"What brings you out this way?" he asked, as if it made a difference why she decided to drop by unannounced.

"New king," she said, though she smirked. Her former husband was well aware that she had no interest in politics and how deeply Hamlin was involved with them. "I hear rumor that he's already a member of your hall."

Hamlin looked at her sidelong. Ganymede, more than anyone else on Aylasia, knew the whole truth regarding Hamlin Graves (the myth, the lies, and the necessity of it all). In all of the years since the dissolution of their marriage thread Ganymede had been nothing but discreet in regard to all of his secrets and she was oddly his only confidante that he trusted more than himself. "You hear correctly," he added. "I wonder who can't keep a secret."

She giggled, a delightful sound. She'd been around faeries recently and one episode of drunken revelry usually led to a merry disposition that lasted for weeks. "Going to invite me in?" she asked, still standing at the threshold of his little house in Hamlin.

"Oh. Yeah," he said, blushing a little. "Sorry Ganymede, I seem to have forgotten my manners."

"No such thing," she replied easily, gliding past him into the house and finding a comfortable seat in his living room. "I believe the rumor spread from Parliament. Someone who filed paperwork early seems to have broken the seal. Though most people are disbelieving the rumors, I know for a fact they're correct."

Hamlin eyed her carefully. For some reason Ganymede always seemed to know what he was up to. It might have been some facet of star magic he never understood, or maybe even the deeper connection of their marriage thread that wasn't lost even though it dissolved. "You do now?"

"They didn't reveal the name," she added with a big smile, "but they knew it was someone in the hall. I was thinking over the newer members, since all of us old birds have stopped going. I used to be one," she said, as if he needed reminding.

"You still are," he said in the same sort of tone. He'd invited everyone to his hall and Ganymede had been on of its charter members.

"Alumni," she said. "Your hall is for the young people now. I have no real place there."

"You always have a place there," he intoned, but he knew the argument was already lost on her. If she saw no need for herself in the hall she wouldn't go back.

"It's Thongchai Saenamuang , isn't it?"

He smirked and offered her a glass of wine in return. It wouldn't have any effect on her, but they'd often share a glass of wine during their visits. She liked the flavor and he liked the sophistication in their relationship. "You think no one else in the hall capable?" he asked lightly.

She laughed again and took the poured wine, sipping lightly. It was a dark wine and not one she'd tasted before. "I thought him the most capable," she answered diplomatically.

Hamlin wondered why they'd ever fallen apart, because Ganymede was clearly a woman who could keep up with him. "I don't suppose a weekend is very long to keep a secret," he offered, though he knew her well enough to understand that she'd figured out the truth on her own and maybe through some kind of magic.

"Not long at all. He'll be a good king. I've a feeling," she said confidently. "You think so too," she added; it was not a question.

He nodded, took a thoughtful sip of the peculiar vintage he'd bartered for with a wealth of knowledge. "It's not the only reason you're here," he said, with the same kind of certainty.

She smiled brightly and looked at him a moment before answering. "The truth Hamlin, is that I miss you. But yes, I'm not here to talk about politics," she continued, as if the sentiment didn't matter. "I've been thinking of you a lot lately. I've been dreaming."

This statement, more than the feeling behind it set Hamlin very quickly on guard. Ganymede spoke rarely of her dreams and when she did he never knew what to think of them. "From this point forward I proceed with caution," he said honestly.

Ganymede got up from her comfortable chair and joined him on his cozy couch. She leaned over closer to him and seemed to glow brighter in the gathering darkness of his house. He hadn't yet lit the lamps and she was the only bright thing in the room they shared. "You're in love."

He coughed, got up quickly and tossed some quickly conjured light into the waiting fixtures he'd built himself. "You're crazy," he replied, though he was clearly dodging the subject.

"I realize there are obstacles Hamlin Graves, but it is never like you to run away from a problem."

The man turned to face the woman he loved once. "No," he said carefully, "but this is very different. My love can wait."

"She doesn't know," Ganymede surmised wisely. She looked at her very pale friend and wondered if that burden alone was enough to make all of his others feel twice as heavy.

"She won't know until she is ready."

"She's married," the star added, her eyes wide and her glow considerably less now that she was thinking and concentrating on other things.

"How do you do that?" he asked, almost annoyed. He'd asked before and Ganymede was never very forthcoming about her abilities.

She shook her head. "This isn't about how well I know you," she said pointedly. The truth was she wasn't really sure how she could read him so clearly either. It only seemed to work with Hamlin, not that she'd tried very hard with others. And since she could do it she didn't really care how. "This is about your faerie," she finally said. There was the tiniest pang of jealously, perhaps regret and it was gone as quickly as it arrived. What had passed between them was so long ago that there was hardly any reason for regret.

He sighed. "I…" he began and stalled immediately, looking quite lost. It was an unfamiliar feeling for Hamlin, who had always had such sure footing and clear direction. This was a treacherous slope, the only part of his life that he feared, even given the high degree of uncertainty in all things he faced.

His star rose from her spot on the couch to join him at the mantle of the fire place. "It's not as if you need to act now," she said gently. "I only wanted you to know that I'm aware and I'm happy for you, even if you can't be happy about it yet."

Of all the things Hamlin expected, this was not one of them. He didn't know what to say in response, only found his arms wrapping around that familiar body. His head resting on her shoulder and his sighs filling her ears, he relaxed against her.

She rubbed his back, her skillful hands moving in familiar patterns against his shirt. "You don't always have to know exactly what to do Ham," she offered lightly, humming a soft refrain from a one of the folksy lullabies she knew. "It's ok to be unsure."

He laughed very lightly, his own hands moving on her back the way they might have done when they were still married. "Is it now?" he asked quietly, pulling back just enough to look at the pretty girl filling his room with soft light.

"Yes," she affirmed confidently. "And in the meantime, I can keep your distracted."

He rolled his eyes at her. "What kind of an offer is that Ganymede Orion?"

"I'm lonely," she replied succinctly. "And I am certain you remember the feeling of being married. It could be a very suitable arrangement until such a time as your love comes to realize her own feelings for you."

"And how are you so certain she will?" he asked, ignoring the fact that Ganymede could easily get confused and hurt in the process of starting up some kind of physical relationship. He was in no doubt about what was being offered here.

Ganymede moved her hands just long enough to tap her nose and giggle. Because I know. "How could anyone not love you?" she said after a moment and leaned in to place a very light kiss on the side of his mouth.

"Ganymede," he said weakly, his resolve quickly crumbling.

"Hamlin," she replied, sweet and tempting as ever. "It is what it is," she said knowingly.

He closed his eyes and sighed. It is what it is. His fingers were clinging to the fabric of her dress and his mind was working much harder than it had been a moment ago. It is what it is, his mind repeated.

When she kissed him a second time, there was no protest.