Our Life In A New World

In Which we Attempt to get Help with our Problems

(Keefes pov) March 20th, 2018

I woke up because the warm presence, which I assumed was Tam, disappeared, so I felt alone. I took a blanket and cocooned into it, making myself warm. We were at Candleshade, which I hated, but was able to tolerate while my boyfriend was with me. I slowly moved to the kitchen where I saw Tam making food.

"Morning," I hugged Tam from behind, causing him to tense up until he realized it was just me. I scrunched up my face in confusion at the gloopy pink round things on the plate.

"They're sweet berry swirls. I got the recipe from Edaline," He explained, "I asked her to give it to me after I tasted hers. I do believe I made them right." Tam informed me as he added powdered sugar and icing on top. He smiled as they looked more and more like a pastry. He took a bite out of one and "mhmm!"-ed, which I took as a good sign and took a bite out of the he was holding.

Tam flicked me playfully and I laughed, nodding as I chewed the sweet, fruity food.

"This is amazing! I think it might beat mallowmelt! Call be bias, but I'd say you're baking skills are on Edaline's level, and she's awesome!" Tam's eyes shone with pride as I compared him to Edaline, whose recipe he just tried to replicate. I booped him on the nose, and he swatted at my hand with his.

As we continued to eat breakfast, I remembered that the Council visited last night. Them and their stupid laws were the reason our movie was disturbed last night! I made a mental note to talk to Tam about it soon.

**Timeskip two hours later**

"So... Tam. I'm sure you remember the Council's visit, and should we tell other people about it? Or should we try to plan a 'defense', because apparently, being gay is a crime, or whatever. I don't know how this'll work, so like... any ideas?" I started rambling halfway through, not sure how to do this, after all, I've never had a Tribunal.

But Sophie has, at least three times in just her first year! I know she probably won't care that Tam and I are in a relationship, but what if she does? My head starts thinking about all the possibilities and I start breathing quicker. She won't care, she won't care, right? But what if she does?..

"Keefe! Relax. We can ask one of our friends, they won't judge us. Just breathe." Tam wraps his arms around me and I sink into the hug, my breathing slowing to a normal rate. I let go after a few minutes.

"I'm ready. Let's go to Havenfield, we can ask Sophie since she's had the most Tribunals." I suggest it quickly and Tam nods. I grab his hand and drag him over to the Leapmaster and I call out "Havenfield!".

We glitter into the field and see Sophie sitting under the Panakes tree. She sees us and walks over to where we are. I suck in a quick breath and explain quickly. "Sophie, I wanted to tell you that Tam and I gay, and we're dating. We're living more or less together at Candleshade since Daddy Dearest is at the Sad Sea Shores. Now we're facing a Tribunal cause the Councillors suck, and we need your help to try not to get accused of breaking the law, even though we didn't do anything wrong." I take a deep breath and look at Tam, who nods and hugs me a bit.

Sophie blinks twice and nods, "Okay, I was not expecting the Tribunal, but Linh already told me that you too got pretty close, so I'm too surprised with the dating part. And yeah, of course I'll help you!" She smiles softly, and we brainstorm a few ideas quickly. None of them are reasonable, so we move on to how we think the Tribunal might go.

Tam tilts his head to the side cutely, his silvery eyes catching the light. "I think the Council is more likely to find us 'guilty' because the law is, technically, in their favor. After all, there is a law under the matchmaking section that same-sex relationships aren't tolerated because they defeat the purpose of matchmaking." He talks about the law for a little bit and then sighs, tugging on his bangs.

"Alright," Sophie claps her hands together for dramatic effect, "I think we've made some progress. Same time tomorrow to make a few more ideas and share some thoughts?" I nodded, grateful to have Sophie as a friend. Tam twined our fingers together and held a Candleshade crystal to the light, and we glittered away to our home together.

I'll most likely update around 7 or 8 P.M EST two to three times a week, and the chapters will be a bit short. I probably won't go above 1500 words a chapter, unless I make an extra long one in the near future.