[The woman shuts the door behind her and leads Herman a few steps away. With one hand she withdraws what looks like a deck of ten cards about a half- foot long. With her other, she feels about herself, then grumbles as she pulls a small pouch from her cleavage. "Figures. Just a sec, okay?"] * Herman makes sure the door's shut behind him, then he nods to her. Yeah, no problem. * Herman leans against the wall, watching her. [She sprinkles the sand around them in a circle, then chants in Latin ""] * Herman smiles a little. [The sand sparkles! She sighs. "There. Now we can talk."] [She smiles and holds out a hand. "Hi. I'm Sarah Fallsworth."] * Herman takes it and gives it a healthy shake, the smile staying. "Herman Jensen. Nice to meet you." [She nods. "I know who you are. I..." She runs a hand through her hair. "It's a bit of a story to tell, but... Well, first of all, I hope you don't think any less of me for what happened in there. I'm really not so forward."] I believe it. If I thought you were, I don't think I'd have noticed that spell. * Herman frowns. "It was nice work, too." [She nods. "It was my mother. She knew I was coming to England." She sighs. "I'm so stupid! I should've caught such a simple spell like that. But I fell for it, hook, line and sinker."] Why'd she do something like that to you? [For the record, Sarah talks with a slight, but noticeable, Romanian accent.] ["Oh, she's always testing me. If I'm going to be a good magician, I have to be able to catch things like that."] ["And... um..."] And... a union between the Jensens and the Fallsworths wouldn't be such a bad thing in the first place? [She blushes quite a bit. "She, um.... doesn't like my bust enhancement spell much."] * Herman snickers. I dunno. It works. Really got the fae's attention. [She frowns. "It's not funny! I'm flatter than... well, than you. I need this spell!"] * Herman holds up his free hand. "Hey, I'm not knocking it. It's fine with me." [She nods. "Tends to be. But, umm...." She feels around herself, then grumbles some more as she pulls an envelope out of her cleavage. "You're probably going to get mad about this... but it wasn't a complete lie. We are engaged." She holds it out.] * Herman takes the thing. "Would it help if I disowned my family?" * Herman sets his pipe against the wall and looks the envelope over, turning it in his hands. [She actually starts feeling down the front of her robe with one hand. "I don't believe it. She put all my things in there." She pulls out a snow- white owl this time, then looks up at Herman. "You can't disown your family."] I fucking *wish* I could. * Herman opens the envelope and pulls out whatever it is that's inside. [The envelope has a letter inside. It's written in old Anglo-Saxon, but isn't enchanted.] * Herman unfolds it and reads. [Sarah removes a frog this time, and drops it instantly. "Eww! Moooom!" She looks at Herman. "I'd be happy to just exchange my mother."] * Herman says, distractedly, "My dad for your mom? We might have a deal. Think the magic contaminates their brains." [The letter is rather short: "Herman. This letter is to inform you of your engagement to Sarah Fallsworth of the Fallsworth family. As you know, they are quite a reknowned family of wizards in recent times, and a marriage between the two would only bring further glory to our heritage. ] [There's some space, then the letter continues: "I already can imagine your reaction to this letter. But I am your father, and it is as much my duty to ensure our family's success as it is yours. If your mother and I have ever meant anything to you, ever, you will marry this girl. You will produce a male heir. Afterwards, you are free to do whatever you like with whomever you like."] [Signed: Your father, Thomas Jensen] * Herman reads. Then he reads it over again, quickly, before crumpling it with the one hand he's holding the letter with. "" he spits out in Anglo-Saxon. I can't believe he fucking tried to arrange a god damned marriage. [Sarah blinks. "Why? It's traditional."] * Herman looks up at Sarah, and he opens his mouth, then stops and just takes a few deep breaths. He steps back, leaning against the wall. "Yeah," he says after a moment. "It is." [She nods.] Look, Sarah... no offense, but I'm not interested. And it's not how pretty you are, or even that you used magic to make yourself prettier. I like you already, and I think that... I don't know, maybe we would get along all right. But I'm *gay*. ["I know."] Yeah. 'Course you know. And you'd be all right with that, if I just said, 'Oh, let's get married to make our families happy'? [She sighs. "Of course I'm not happy about it. I barely know you and-" *bop!* Herman is beaned by a Kirby.] * Herman twitches as he gets hit by Kirby. He looks down at it, then stoops and picks it up before looking to Sarah. "You were saying?" [She blinks at the Kirby, but then looks back at Herman. "There comes a time when we've got to put our own desires aside for the greater good. We should get married, for the sake of our families."] * Herman nods. "You really believe that." [She nods.] [Togo's standing outside talking, but Herman doesn't hear him!] * Herman lets out a long sigh. "I don't. My family never did much for me but tell me I'm another Merlin made flesh, only Merlin wasn't supposed to be fucking *gay*." He looks at the Kirby. "And I'm not Merlin, anyway. I'm Herman. A lot less famous and a lot less powerful, and I want a life that's mine, not the Jensen's." * Herman glances, but he doesn't hear Togo, and he doesn't seem to care. He hands Sarah the Kirby. "Here, you want it?" [She takes the Kirby, mostly by reaction. "But you are of his lineage. Merlin was the most powerful magician ever. More powerful than Allister Crowley. More powerful than Seimei the Onmyouji. Are you going to let his lineage die out because of your own desires?"] It won't die. There's been other sons and other daughters. For all I know, maybe the Fallsworths were also ultimately descended from Merlin's bloodline. ["That's not the point. You're of his direct bloodline."] ["If you put the responsibility on another relative, it's not the same. And it's not fair."] How the hell is it fair to me? So I'm Merlin's son. What if I don't want to be a bloody magician - what if all I want to do is play in punk concerts and die from a drug overdose? Why can't I do that? ["Then you're sacrificing everything your ancestors worked for. Everything the name of Merlin means." She smiles and takes his hand. "Don't do that."] * Herman twitches. "Pretty sure my ancestors wouldn't have bloody well wanted someone like me around," he snaps. [She sighs. "But that doesn't change who you are." She glances at the door. "I think they want you for something. I'll be in London for a while, so I'll stop by and visit you again. Don't worry, I know where you live."] [She grins. "Or worry, if you rather."] Oh. That mean I have to clean up? Look, make sure you at least knock first. Or at least come in before the door with a loud teleport spell like that. * Herman pauses a moment, then adds, "Do you have a phone number?" [She nods. "I'm staying in the Hilltown Hotel. Room 1042. You might get my roommate, though."] Yeah? Who's that? ["Just a co-worker. You wouldn't know her." She waves her hand, and the sand explodes in tiny snaps and is gone. "It really was nice to meet you."] Nice meeting you, too. And with the way things've been going, I wouldn't count on me not knowing her.