The Fox and The Hunter

Viktorya stretched and prepared for the day, somehow off-rhythm despite doing this routine for years. Instead of the usual wall-staring, she found herself watching the emptier than usual sink.

It didn’t matter. To Jonathan Hunter, she was just a thief.

She made sure her curtains were closed and changed for work, silently begging for someone to knock on the door, but the knock never came. She’d have to walk to work alone.

Work was normal. No surprises, just books. She was grateful for the children asking for advice to take her mind off of her week.

“Midnight kiss run off?” Evie asked.

“Can’t hide anything from you.” she busied herself pretending to clean.

Evie put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, baby, he’ll realize you’re perfect soon enough.”

Viktorya scoffed.

“He knew I wasn’t from our first meeting.”

Evie groaned.

“Darling, you are gorgeous, and yet you’ve been moping all day because a guy left you? What did he do?”

“He kissed me.”

Evie gasped.

“A real kiss?”

Viktorya gave a noncommittal gesture.

“That bad?”

“No, not that bad, just weird. I think we were moving too fast, and it’s on me.”

“How is it on you?”

“Can we not, Evie? I get that my love life is a rare subject, but it’s not something I want to talk about right now.”

Evie looked like a child who’d just been told they were too loud.

“Have you found anyone since breaking things off with Nick?” Viktorya asked.

Evie snorted.

“Not in the last two weeks, no. I’m hoping some handsome guy is going to come in off the street and ask for books on snail reproduction.”

“Snail reproduction?”

“You have known me long enough to know I like nerdy men.” Evie raised her chin in pride, “You can keep your tall blond for all I care.”

“You were the one to call him gorgeous.”

“And I wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t even realize your book was historical nonfiction until I led him to it. He’s hopeless.”

The book reminded her it wasn’t completely over. He’d come back with a book review, and then it would be over.

“Yep, definitely hopeless.”

She saw a tall blond figure out the door as her shift ended. Before letting her heart flutter, she closed her eyes to see what would happen if she greeted him.

Though it looked like Jon, it wasn’t. Something would go wrong if she just trusted him.

Carefully watching the door behind her, she strode up to him, summoned one of her swords, and aimed it at his neck.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“Calm down, Foxy.” a French accent said, violet eyes glinting.

Viktorya lowered her sword.

“Camille?”

Jonathan Hunter shrank down, replaced by a blond woman just a hair taller than Viktorya.

“Camille!”

She dismissed her sword and grabbed her old friend for a hug. They’d lost contact after Viktorya had retired from the court. She’d never expected to see her again.

“How did you find me?” she asked upon release.

“Jonathan asked me to keep an eye on you.”

Right, Jonathan, Camille, special relationship.

And Viktorya had kissed him.

Well there was only one way past this.

“He mentioned he knew you, but was dodgy about the details. What exactly is your ‘special relationship’.”

“Why wouldn’t he tell you we were lovers?”

Viktorya’s heart dropped. She felt herself start to stutter.

Camille doubled over with laughter.

“That look on your face was too good.” she took Viktorya’s hand. “He is like a cousin to me. My granmere and his mother are blood brothers.”

“You’re related?”

“No,” Camille finally stood up, “Blood brother as in by vow. Uncle Gareth as well.”

“Uncle Gareth?”

“Uncle Gareth, Aunt Diana. They are family, just not related, and none of us could ever be lovers, not for several more generations at least.”

Viktorya washed her hands of whatever mess this was.

“So there’s no petty jealousy thing that could happen here?” Viktorya asked, “About the fact he stayed at my apartment two nights ago?”

Camille’s jaw dropped delightedly.

“I knew he was in your apartment when he called. I could smell you on him. Was he good to you?”

Oh, Camille had the wrong idea.

“He slept on the couch,” Viktorya said. Camille’s face turned disappointed.

“You would have been better off with me.”

Viktorya laughed.

“I am serious,” Camille said, “I knew from the moment we met that I would fall madly in love with you. I would have said so many years ago if it weren’t for that wall.”

Camille had seen the Wall of Destiny. She had to have recognized…

“You piece of shit! You knew this whole time!” Viktorya’s tone implied the beating she was ready to give.

“Please, I am an innocent maiden,” Camille insisted.

“You are certainly not a maiden. You told me once you kept track of your conquests by turning into their ideal partner in a mirror.”

Camille looked past Viktorya.

“There have been a few more since last we spoke.”

Viktorya rolled her eyes.

“You can tell me all about them over coffee.”

“Are you paying?”

“Hell no, I know for a fact your wallet is larger than mine.”

Viktorya worked hard to keep herself from groaning. Camille had been talking about one man from the time they got their coffee to the time they made it back to Viktorya’s apartment.

“Do you even know if you’ll see him again?” Viktorya asked.

“You of all people should believe in destiny, Oracle.”

“Yeah, well destiny’s a crapshoot. I don’t trust it.”

“You met Jonathan, no?”

That was the other subject Camille insisted on talking about.

“Yes, and I stabbed him, and he suspects I’m hiding something, which is why he sent you.”

“If he wanted someone to find your secrets, he would have sent his sister. Instead he chose me. Do you know why?”

“Why?” Viktorya asked, arms crossed.

“Because I like you, and he didn’t want someone who disliked you because he likes you.”

“Sure.”

Camille’s expression continued to be disappointed.

“Can we not talk about our feelings for five minutes?” Viktorya asked.

“What else is there to talk about?” Camille asked.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

She needed to clear her head, and as nice as it was to have Camille around, she wasn’t helping.

She’d scrubbed herself raw and left her conditioner in long enough to make her curls soft as silk, but that wasn’t enough. Why had she remembered the name after he kissed her?

She shook her head.

That wasn’t why she’d remembered it. It was her father’s doing. He’d removed whatever blocks were on her mind, which meant someone else put them there, and there were probably more.

Jonathan must have realized it too. Camille was around in case any other details slipped out, because Viktorya would trust her enough to say what was on her mind.

But did she trust Camille? Did she trust Jonathan for that matter? Did she even trust herself?

That was the real thing swirling through her brain. Jonathan Hunter was attractive, but had she been throwing herself at him because he was attractive, or because he was the face she dreamed about most often? What about the prophecy of him with the gun?

Did she keep thinking about the kiss because it was from Jon Hunter? Or did she keep thinking about it because it aligned to when she remembered a name?

Was she mad about him leaving because she wanted him around, or because she didn’t want to be left out of the loop?

She finally rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and dried herself off, wrapping a towel around as she walked out to Camille using her face and voice on the phone.

“Next time you can skip the hotel, spend the night in my bed,” Camille-as-Viktorya said.

Viktorya grabbed the phone.

“Whatever the hell I’ve said this whole call, just ignore it.”

There was a hearty laugh on the other end.

“Yeah, I figured,” Jonathan Hunter said from the other end. Viktorya could feel herself blushing.

“What did you call for?” Viktorya asked.

“Camille called me, and when I asked for you, she made a rather poor imitation of handing the phone over.”

She was weirdly disappointed Jon hadn’t called her.

“Sounds like her. Did she tell you anything I should know?”

“No, not really.”

“She’s wearing only a towel!” Camille yelled into the speaker.

“What are you, a teenager?” Viktorya asked.

Jon was silent for a few minutes.

“I think you spooked him off.”

“I’m still here. I just wasn’t sure there was a response for that.”

“Well I think most men would ask how likely the towel is to come off, but we both know you’re above that.”

“Thanks,” Jon said.

“It’s pretty secure anyways, assuming Camille doesn’t make another teenage move and tear it off.”

Jon actually started laughing at that.

“Is the idea of me naked funny to you?”

“No, it’s how much that sounds like something Camille would do if you hadn’t said she would.”

She let herself laugh slightly.

“How goes the Chamberlain search?”

She heard a click and a dial tone.

“You can’t be serious.”

She redialed.

“Hunter residence, this is Val speaking,” a woman’s voice said.

Viktorya immediately hung up.

“Does Jonathan live with anyone?” she asked.

“How would I know?” Camille said, “I mostly see him at the reunions, and those are only every ten years. He should invite you.”

“I’ve known him for maybe a week,” Viktorya said. She grabbed clothes and started changing into what she’d worn the night before.

“And he said he doesn’t kiss and tell, which means something happened between you two, not to mention Jon trusted you alone for a whole night.”

Viktorya leaned in critically.

“Jon needs to protect everyone,” Camille explained, “He only trusts someone alone if there’s something more pressing.”

It didn’t seem wrong, but it didn’t seem worth trusting either.

“Fine,” Camille said, “If you do not believe me, then ask him for yourself.”

Viktorya put her hands up defensively.

“No. That’s only ended in disaster.”

“You’ve asked him.”

Viktorya shook her head. How did Camille do this?

“I’ve made a few comments to that extent,” Viktorya admitted, “He didn’t respond well. Consider the subject dropped for the rest of eternity.”

Camille hugged her from the side.

“Don’t say that. He has been solitary for a long time, not prepared in the ways of romance.”

“We’re bumped all the way to romance now?”

Camille groaned.

“Why don’t you actually talk about your new friend some more?” Viktorya asked. At least if Camille was talking about her relationships she was staying out of Viktorya’s.

Camille pulled the two of them onto the bed so they sat on the edge.

“He is wonderful,” Camille said, “And once I finally got him to stop saying your highness, he was perfect.”

“Did you get him to stop by kissing him?”

“Yes.”

Viktorya smiled.

“Do you even know his name?”

“Tangle.”

“That’s a no.”

“He doesn’t know my name either.”

She finally pushed Camille off of her.

“I’m happy for you, really. It sounds like you had fun, but I think we established why I’m not in a romantic mood at this time.”

“Have we? All I know is it has to do with Jonathan’s inexperience.”

This subject was back on the table. She wasn’t going to remove it easily.

“Fine,” Viktorya said. “In the same fight where I stabbed him, I had to stop him in time, and to do that, I had to get close, so I kissed him. He let me go after catching me for some reason. I get sent the item I stole, so I called him like he asked. He came down for a few days, said the kiss was the only thing weird between us, which I still disagree with—”

“The Hunters do not care much about bodily injury, he was likely genuine.”

“So there’s a whole family of people who don’t mind being stabbed?” Viktorya asked

“Or shot, or poisoned.”

“Down for being murdered, okay.”

Viktorya returned to her story to ignore that piece of information.

“He says the kiss is the only problem between us. I give him permission to kiss me without permission at any time—”

“Oooh.”

“Can it—He grabs my book while watching me at work. My coworker thinks we’re flirting so that’s still an issue. I offer him a copy of the book because he’s so engrossed with it—”

“What book?” Camille asked.

“My book. The one I wrote about Project Argo and Signis, and the American one too I guess. The one my parents met through.”

“Jon’s parents met through that too.”

“What?” Viktorya asked.

“I think he was involved in it as well.”

“There was no Jonathan Hunter involved in any of the superhuman projects, not from the time I researched. The only Hunter was a codename for the field-leader.”

Jon had mentioned project Kurtzberg. Did he know about it because he’d been involved?

“Different name,” Camille said, “His mother changed her name completely after his father died. Jon joined in, so did Val.”

“Wait, Val? Woman who answered the phone, Val? Who’s Val?”

“Val is Jon’s sister, and she is almost worth ignoring our parent’s relation for.”

Considering she was related to Jonathan…

“Yeah, I’m sure she’s stunning.”

With newfound knowledge, Viktorya braved the phone again.

“You didn’t finish the story.”

“This is more important.”

She redialed yet again, and the phone was answered.

“If this is another prank call…” Val started.

“Hi, your brother hung up on me. Think you can get him to answer the phone?”

“You must be Viktorya, I’ve learned so much about you—Jon pick up the damn phone!—Sorry my brother’s an idiot.”

“He’s really—”

“Who is this?” Jon asked.

“Chamberlain. Talk.”

Silence.

“If you’re going to hang up,” Val said, “I’m going to stay on the line until you talk to her.”

“Get off the line!” she heard Jon’s muffled voice say.

“Only if you promise—”

“I’ll talk to her, alright?”

“Alright!”

She heard a click, then patiently waited.

“I have no leads on Chamberlain aside from what I already know,” Jon explained, “And as I want to keep accusations to a minimum—”

“You want to minimize the access of knowledge. Fine, but you are pursuing it?”

“Yes, why would I leave if it wasn’t to pursue a lead?”

“Work, boredom, avoidance tactic.”

“Boredom doesn’t seem to be the problem between us, does it?”

Viktorya smiled. Camille raised an eyebrow.

“Anything else?” Viktorya asked.

“The pendant,” Jon said, “Was the person you gave it to wearing a gold suit?”

“Yes, like the senator said, why?”

“Just making sure he wasn’t giving false information.”

“Why would he give false information?” Viktorya asked, “I thought you said he was family.”

Silence.

“Don’t hang up!”

More silence, but no click.

“That’s private,” Jon finally said.

“Is it because he’s a politician?”

“Yeah,” Jon sighed.

“See, that wasn’t so hard.”

She felt the glare through the phone. Now she wished he would hang up.

“So what did Camille say when she was pretending to be me?” Viktorya asked.

“Asked about my day, offered for me to stay with you if I ever came back in town, specifically in your bed…” he sounded interested.

Viktorya shook her head. This was stupid.

“Fuck it, why not. Offer’s open, just buy me dinner first.”

Camille’s jaw dropped.

“Seems like a good deal,” Jon said before hanging up.

“What the hell was that?” Camille asked.

“Destiny?”