Jonah ended up going to the bar with Simon, and as much as he hated to admit it, he enjoyed himself. Maybe it was because they were both drunk, but Simon had Jonah laughing almost the entire time. And when they left the bar and headed their own ways, one to the vampires and the other to the Circle, Jonah was sad to go.
So he went home and, feeling lonely, decided to call Noah. Jonah didn't know what time it was, but he assumed it was pretty late, so he was surprised that he answered.
"Hello?" Noah answered.
"Heyyy." Jonah said, stretching out the y.
Noah chuckled at this, and said, "What are you doing, calling me this late?"
"Umm, I was out."
"With?"
Jonah was going to tell him he was with Simon, then remembered he probably shouldn't. "A friend."
"Like, one of your old friends?"
Jonah didn't want to lie to Noah. "No, a new friend."
"Do I know him?"
"I don't think so."
"So he's a guy?"
Jonah giggled at this for what felt like no reason. "You're so nosy." Then Jonah gasped. "Or maybe you're jealousss."
Noah laughed. "You're drunk."
"No, I'm...I'm perceptive." Noah didn't say anything, but Jonah could almost see him shaking his head. "I, uh..I don't know why I called you. I guess I just wanted to hear your voice."
"How sweet of you." It sounded like a tease, but Jonah took it with sincerity.
"It's no problem, really." Jonah answered.
They were both quiet on the phone for a moment. "You should get some rest." Noah said.
"Okay. Goodnight."
He waited for Noah to hang up, but he didn't. And he didn't want to hang up.
"Hang up the phone, Jonah."
Jonah giggled again. "I don't want to, you do it."
It was quiet again as he waited for Noah to hang up.
"Hang up the phone, Noah." Jonah said, mockingly.
"I don't wanna hang up either." Noah said softly.
Jonah searched through his drunken mind for a solution to this problem. "How about we stay on the phone until we fall asleep?"
"I'd like that." Noah said.
So that's what they did. Jonah laid down and put the phone close to his ear with the speaker on, and they talked on the phone until they both drifted off to sleep.
Jonah woke up to his alarm, and searched around in his bed for his phone, and ended up finding it after it fell to the ground. He picked it up and turned off the alarm. Then he went about his daily routine before heading to the Circle agency. Once he got there, he would normally stay for a while and listen for any missions he might have. Then, when he found out there were none, he would go to the Institute, and hang out there for the rest of the day.
Today, however, after staying at the Circle for a while, while he was thinking of leaving, he saw an agent he'd never talked to before come his way. The girl walked up to him, and said, "You're Jonah Redmon?"
"Yeah."
"Valentine wants ya. He's in his office. And if you don't know where it is, ask someone who cares." She then walked away.
At least she thought to say something about him not knowing where the office was. He knew where it was, of course, so he walked the short distance there. He wondered if he would finally get another mission. He hadn't gotten one since his failure at the underground. He knocked on the door, and opened the door once he heard Valentine tell him to come in.
"Ah yes, Jonah, so happy to see you." He said, all smiles. " I have a rather peculiar quest for you. You've been invited to the Seelie courts."
Seelies and their weird terminology.
"Why have I been asked there?"
" I was just going to ask you that same question. The Queen doesn't just invite anyone to her courts. Have you met her
before?"
"No, I haven't."
"Well, you've been taught the ways of the Seelies. You should be fine. Let me know what you discussed once you return."
Jonah left Valentine's office, feeling confused. What did the Head Agent of the Seelies, or the Seelie Queen, want with him?
Jonah looked for Noah, who he hadn't talked to since arriving to the Circle this morning. He found him, and walked up to him to tell him the news.
"Hey, Noah."
"Hey, Jonah." Noah said, with a smile playing at his lips.
"What?"
"What?" Noah said, with a grin on his face now.
Jonah huffed, then said, "Look, I gotta go to the Seelie agency."
"What? Why? You on mission?"
"Kinda? Apparently the Queen invited me there."
Noah widened his eyes. "I've heard some things about her, none of them good. Be careful, okay?"
"I've met the Head Agent of the Clave. Pretty sure I can handle the Seelie Queen."
"When did you meet the Head Agent of the Clave?"
Jonah's mind raced to come up with an answer."When I got kidnapped by them. He went in the room to question me before I escaped."
"Oh, yeah. Can't believe I almost forgot about that."
"Yeah, it was my last mission. I guess Valentine didn't think he can trust me after that."
"You escaped, didn't you? That's more than a lot of agents here could say. Besides, aren't you going on a mission now?"
"No, not really. It's not like I could just turn down her invitation."
"I suppose not. You should get going then."
"Yeah, I'll see you." Jonah left the Circle and made his way to the Seelie agency, or the Seelie courts, as it was called. The agency sat in the middle of a dense forest, and the agency itself was like a huge castle. Jonah walked up to the entrance where two guards stood. Jonah opened his mouth to say why he was here, but the guards opened the doors before he could say anything.
Jonah looked around the agency in awe. It was so much different than the Clave or the Circle. It all felt more regal, fit for a queen. Jonah got to the main part of the agency where the Quuen was sitting on a throne. No joke, the whole place looked like a throne room, with guards on either side of the entrance. She was dressed in a long, flowing dress, with a crown of flowers on her head. Jonah hadn't realized how seriously the Seelies took the whole queen thing.
Jonah bowed down to the Head Agent, feeling a bit foolish. But, the Queen seemed impressed.
"Mr.Redmon," she said, bowing her head. "Thank you for joining us. Would you like something to drink?"
"No, thank you." Jonah had heard enough rumors to know not to eat or drink anything a Seelie gave you, especially the Queen herself.
The Head Agent of the Seelies was quiet for a moment. "Did you enjoy yourself last night?"
Jonah froze. " What do you mean? "
"I saw you at the Bone Chandelier."
"You did?"
"Yes, it's one of my favorite spots, you know? Mhm hmm, you were there with a lover, perhaps?"
"No, we're only friends."
"Ah, I thought so. But, that doesn't really stop me from telling someone else that, does it? And you know Mr.Santiago has a short temper."
Jonah frowned. What was her game?
"Something else went on last night. A Seelie, arrested for selling what the Clave deems illegal drugs. They say he was last seen with a mundane, but I seem to remember you walking out with Rufus? Yet, he was arrested by the Clave, not the Circle..."
"Look, all you have are accusations than can easily be disputed. Raphael knows me and Simon went out last night, he knows he isn't cheating. And just because you saw me leave with Rufus doesn't mean I was in any way involved with his arrest. It could've been pure coincidence."
"See, you're forgetting one small detail. We Seelies have one strong value: honesty. That puts my truth against your possible lies, and who would you listen to if you were in that situation?"
Jonah's frown deepened, and he looked at the Queen with a mixture of anger and shock. He couldn't believe he was being blackmailed by one of the most powerful leaders in the Downworld.
"What do you want, then?" Jonah asked.
"Who said I was asking for anything?"
"Why else would you have asked me here?"
"I was simply letting you know that I have obtained this information. I thought it was a rather nice gesture."
She smiled at him, with a quite beautiful smile, then said, "Good day, Mr.Redmon."