Olive Branch

Chapter 4 - Maisie

 There was definitely more going on than Cecilia was waiting on but considering her reactions every time one of her friends mentioned the name Ezekiel, Maisie was willing to bet that this wasn't a conversation they could be having right now. After all, Cecilia was dragging her around the whole city to try to find a way out of the locks without interacting with him. That had to count for something. Plus the fact that her friends had the same reaction every time Cecilia confirmed it'd been Ezekiel who'd chained them up. Shock, anxiety, fear. And then a whole conversation about Cecilia's poor choices.

Yes, something was definitely going on. And instead of making Maisie madder like she would have expected, the only thing she felt was pity.

It was hard not to when she heard the Demon whine and cry to herself all night, muffled in an attempt to keep Evelyn and Maisie asleep. Whoever Ezekiel was had truly hurt her and here Cecilia was, doing everything she could to avoid him while all her friends seemed to scold her choice on that. Maisie wasn't stupid. She could see how traumatized Cecilia was, once she had gotten past her initial hatred for Demons. Cecilia acted just like a young girl Maisie had once known, who held the weight of the world and trauma on her shoulders. In all honesty, she felt a connection to Cecilia in a way she never thought she could relate to a Demon. It was on every level, an intimate sort of relationship that one could only have if one knew where to look.

So, instead of calling Cecilia out and telling her that she knew Ezekiel was a bad man, Maisie let Cecilia run around the city with the delusion that she was hiding Maisie from some awful secret.

"It's a pity you didn't get to meet Mateus," Cecilia said, flipping a small, purple gem around in her fingers. The rune carved into it pulsed slightly under her touch. "I feel like you would really like him. He's one of my oldest friends."

"Tell me about them," Maisie asked, leaning back against the car seat. "Tell me how you met Theo and Mateus. You've already told me about how you met Evelyn and Isadora." Cecilia didn't seem too keen on answering at first. She shrugged her shoulders and let the gem fall into her lap before staring out the window, twisting her elaborate ring around her finger once more.

"There isn't much to tell if I'm honest." Cecilia avoided her gaze as she spoke. Maisie got the feeling she was hardly even here. "Mateus is old. Really old. He was born around the time of the Egyptian empire. Been around for centuries but I met him around 1472. It was around the time that I was still with Ezekiel."

"Before he 'went sour'?"

"Precisely. Mateus is actually well known in the Unnatural community, much like how Darius is... So Mateus gets brought into a bunch of meetings and things like that. He gets to participate in a lot of decision-making conventions and meets up with all of the major Unnaturals around the world. You wouldn't know that from looking at him though. He lives with a cocky Genie and owns a small-time antique shop. He spends all of his time around our little outcast group, although he's not open about that. It's what gives him his credibility."

"Why is not associating with you guys or the twins a bad thing?" Maisie questioned, twisting in the seat to look over at her. Cecilia was still staring out the window, twisting her rings with her thumb. If Maisie squinted, she could have sworn there was a black ring hidden under the large, elaborate ring but when she blinked, it was gone and there was no evidence of it ever being there.

"I'll be the first to say we're not the most popular people out there." Cecilia chuckled, leaning her head against the window and shifting her hand to wrap around the chain connecting Maisie to her. "You see, we're the minority here. If you were to ask most people about interacting with other species, they'd be very clear about who they can and can't interact with. Demons can interact with Vampires, Mages, and Werewolves. God forbid they interact with Pixies, Angels, or Nymphs. A load of bullshit, honestly. I don't understand that whole thing but it's not like only we can change everyone's minds. So if word got out that Mateus interacted with us, he'd be a laughing stock. He'd be tossed out by every group and wouldn't be allowed to participate in any major meetings. Which is definitely biased. We just don't talk about it. There's only ever been one person to get away with interacting with every sort of Unnatural and not be completely disowned by the community and that's Darius."