Markom

14: Fire |C

"Litigation, they want me to be a litigator." Cadmus paced through their private quarters. His fair features were boiling and his usually porcelain face erupted into patches of red. Even Casida kept a wide berth as she attempted to comfort him.

"A Litigator is a respectable position. Any One would be lucky to--"

"I'm not any One!" Cadmus shouted, the tiny cat on Casida's lap darted under the bed. He tore the tiny paper of instructions onto the parquet floors. Casida reached down to grab the fragments.

"Of course not, C. I only mean, They must have their reasons!" She said between picking up the crumpled pieces. She approached him and placed an uncertain hand on his shoulder.

Cadmus pushed her away, snarling. "Easy for you to say, they have you on the Executive track!"

"You can't have Order without Laws."

"I don't give a fuck about the laws."

"I know that C. But that doesn't mean you won't be grand at it. They need people like you to help iterate, to take the theories from the Scientists and put them into action."

"I don't give a bleeding fuck about Scientists." Casida shuttered.

"You don't mean that," she said harshly.

"They're annoying and self-righteous. I want to tell people what to do, I want to lead!"

Casida stood for a moment, choosing her words. "And you will, through the laws, Cadmus. Someone has to write them, to summarize the heaviness and write them into something actionable for the rest of us."

"But you will get to take action. You will lead."

"Together," She emphasized, "We will lead, C. Like we were born." With that, Cadmus retreated into the bathroom. A cold shower did nothing to manage his nerves as he sulked.

By midnight, the party below them was impossible to ignore - it practically shook the walls of their own private quarters. Casida lay on the bed, her pink slippers bopping to the beat of the music.

"If you're so bored, why don't you go?" Cadmus said in aggravation, he was strewn on the small armchair in the corner of the large room. He swiped at his tablet, unsatisfied.

"We will look stupid if I go alone," Casida said softly. Cadmus peered up at her, he fought back the urge to roll his eyes. Appearances. Casida gathered her courage. "Look C, I know this is not how you planned it." She took a deep breath, these were dangerous waters. "But this is our life, together. It's up to you what you make of it."

Cadmus shifted uncomfortably in his chair. His brooding eyes tore into her. None of this was going his way. From his tests at Placement to their cramped quarters, he hadn't a moment to truly be alone with his thoughts, to truly wade through the madness around him. His whole life he was told that he was number One. Now he was faced with the reality of being second best.

"I don't want to be your Lady," Cadmus said in earnest, perhaps the first inkling of vulnerability he had ever shown.

"That's what all of this is about?" Casida asked dryly. She closed the magazine on her lap and climbed onto the foot cushion beside him.

"Yes," Cadmus hissed, he refused to look at her, already regretting his words before the consequence had formed. Casida tucked her legs beneath her and placed her arms on his shoulders.

"You are not my second," She said simply, grinning from the simplicity of it all. "C - you are remarkable. Since we were kids, I've always been mesmerized by you." She stroked at his ego. "You're honest and strong and smart... I am honored to be your partner in this life." There was a stillness between them as she continued, "The things we can do together, it's the stuff of legends, Cadmus." There was fire in her eyes now. "I don't know you to sulk into the shadows when threatened. Cadmus 01, you are a beast. Show them what you are made of or at least pretend."