On New Year's Day of 2020, P.T. Wyant offered at
ptwyant.com two prompts. One of them involved peanuts, a coin, and a pledge.
This
The Players Are the Thing freebie story was the result. (
The Players Are the Thing is a work in progress about the characters in a roleplaying game and how they try to help their unhappy players, who are losing their love of the game and no longer having fun in their everyday lives.)
Isolde turned the coin in her hand, studied the woman’s profile upon it. “This seems familar…”
“…do I recognize it?” Mona asked, distracted from her character’s contemplation while she chewed a bunch of peanuts. “I mean, does Isolde recognize it?”
“Make a recognition roll.” Beatrix, the Game Master glanced down at Isolde’s character sheet in front of Mona with heavily lidded eyes. The avid gleam beneath her eyelashes showed how little mercy there would be if Mona rolled badly for Isolde.
Mona swallowed, blew on the dice, and cast them across the hard table between herself and the Game Master.
“Oh, yes, you do,” Beatrix offered Mona a sweetly wicked grin as she spoke.
Oh, Isolde recognized this lovely face, even if the tips of her ears were now rounded, as were her cheeks with a more human flesh. She glowered at Fidessa’s serene complexion, who’d somehow substituted her own face for the local lady’s.
“Amber,” she muttered in an undertone.
Amberwyne glanced up and over at the coin…
“…do I need to roll?” Rhane asked, ready to scoop up a handful of dice.
“No, considering your character’s past relationship with Fidessa, you don’t.” Beatrix shut her eyes and allowed her smile to widen.
Mona felt herself stiffen at the same moment Rhane did. The Game Master was never this nice. Not unless she was planning something especially wicked.
“I do, however, need Amberwyne to roll her willpower.” Beatrix opened her dark eyes and locked them with Rhane’s blue ones.
Rhane swallowed, looked away, and picked up the dice, taking a deep breath as she did.
Mona fidgeted and played with her lucky green die. She’d offer it to Rhane, only no one rolled quite as well with it as Mona herself did.
Rhane shook the handful of dice and dropped them on the table, only to blanch at the numbers revealed on them.
Beatrix leaned back, looking entirely too pleased. “Is that all you’ve got?”
****
Amberwyne stared at the profile. The lady’s eye moved to lock with her own, even as her neck swiveled. Color bled into it, a deep violet which drew Amber’s own. She felt herself leaning forward, unable to look away, unable to move, mesmerized by that metal gaze.
“Amber?” Isolde saw the blank expression on her companion’s face and reached out for her arm, to try to shake her out of whatever trance she was. Whenever Amber parted her lips with such a dreamy expression, it made her innards knot with conflicting emotions-
***
“Don’t let your character get distracted right now.” Beatrix scowled, interrupting Mona’s description of Isolde’s reaction. “Not unless you want to lose Amberwyne for good. Roll persuasion, see if you can snap Amber out of it.”
Mona picked up her dice again.
***
“Amber!” Isolde shook the other girl, trying to bring her back to the present, out of whatever trance she was in. “Amberwyne!”
Amber gazed at her, not truly seeing her, even though she was right there.
****
“Rhane, roll for willpower again, only this time, Amberwyne is at a disadvantage.” Beatrix gazed at a screen between herself and her players, statistics for an enemy only she could view.
Possibly Fidessa’s, who was probably much more powerful than Amberwyne or Isolde. Mona scowled, wondering what she could do.
Wait a moment, maybe there was something.
“I could try and distract Amberwyne further.” Mona leaned a little closer to Rhane when she spoke. “It might help her, especially considering the way Fidessa can effect Amber’s heart and mind.”
“What did you have in mind?” Rhane cocked her head, a slight flush coloring her cheeks. Perhaps she guessed exactly what Mona…and Isolde…had in mind.
Mona allowed a smile of her own to play across her face.
***
Fidessa had been Amberwyne’s mentor, mistress, and much more, if Isolde guessed correctly, even if Amber herself didn’t wish to talk about it. Her enchantments had a particular scent, triggering the weakness in Amberwyne, just as her likeness seemed to hypnotize Isolde’s precious companion whenever it appeared. The way Amber sometimes called her “‘Dessa” in more unguarded moments hinted at the nature of this weakness.
Perhaps it was time to give Amber a little strength in an intimate way.
Isolde leaned forward and took Amberwyne’s face in her large, chapped hands. She brought her mouth close to those parted lips and kissed them.
***
“What?” Beatrix and Rhane said at the exact same time, both staring at Mona.
“Well?” Mona smirked, feeling very pleased with herself. “Did this work? Did I distract Amberwyne from ‘Dessa and whatever magic her likeness possessed?”
Beatrix stopped smiling and considered the dice. “All right, Rhane, take two extra dice.”
Not looking at Mona, Rhane picked up the dice in question. Her hands trembled a bit when she cast them.
***
Cool hands reached up to cover her own.
“Isolde?” Amber breathed the words in shaky surprise into her mouth.
“Thank the spirits.” Isolde wrapped her arms around her precious princess and hugged her to her breast. “You’re back. I was afraid she’d taken you away from me. Again.”
“Taken me away? Who?” Amber whispered into her hair, but she was no longer able to see who.
Isolde dropped a hand to cover the coin with her palm, concealing Fidessa’s likeness. “I swear to you, I shall never let her have you again. Never.”
***
“The spell is broken, isn’t it?” Mona gave Beatrix a sharp look. “I’ve broken Amber’s eye contact with the image, so it no longer has any power over her.”
“For now.” Beatrix scowled, yet she was willing to let it go. This time. Mona let out a tiny sigh of relief. “I’d keep that coin covered.”
“Isolde will.” Mona gave Rhane a sideways glance. The other girl parted her lips, wearing a dreamy expression very like the one Amber must have worn.
A pity she couldn’t kiss them the way Isolde had Amberwyne’s. Only Rhane was Beatrix’s, or she gave every indication of being so. She’d certainly never shown any romantic interest in Mona, for all Mona found herself hypnotized by Rhane’s lips, the way the light reflected on her ashen hair, the soft huskiness of her voice.
It wasn’t the first time she’d wanted something that was Beatrix. Beatrix always had the prettiest, most interesting things. It seemed she also collected the prettiest, the most interesting people.
Mona was lucky to be one of those people. This was an interesting game and an interesting opportunity to roleplay with Rhane. The problem was Beatrix’s scowl. It promised a cranky mood, which would hang over the rest of the session like a thundercloud, putting a damper on the fun. She’d almost suspect Beatrix was annoyed at her interest in Rhane, something Mona had never been able to hide. “Her pathetic little crush” was generally regarded with contemptuous amusement, unless something had changed.
The game itself was changing. Mona was no longer sure if Beatrix herself enjoyed it. It made Mona enjoy it less, which was a shame. Perhaps this was one of the reasons she and Isolde had tried to spice things up.
She hoped Amberwyne enjoyed it, even if she wasn’t sure if Rhane had.
Such a shame.
Mona ducked her head and pretended not to look at the fair-haired girl, unsure if she was fooling anybody.
Beatrix rolled her eyes. Rhane reddened and studied her hands.
She wasn’t.
This poem was the result...
