Two Weeks Later
College student Brad Regis had good news and bad news. The good news? He was dating Reka Fekete, the top beauty in his academic department. The bad news? She was an ultra-possessive psycho that considered jacking off to be cheating. Creampies were not just an option, they were mandatory. Reka never said no to anything but condoms or pulling out. Maybe it was a European thing. She also helped him with his homework.
"Explain it to me like I'm the apprentice and you're the master," Reka told him while they ate lunch together.
"Well, there are three ways for photons to interact with electrons in matter..."
Reka had a unique way of teaching that just clicked with him. First, she had him recite everything he knew about the subject, then they'd explore everything he didn't know item by item, almost as if she was learning along with him. Reka stressed the fundamentals, often having him return to his introductory calculus and physics books for remedial review, filling gaps in his knowledge that he didn't know were there. Just one study session with her and it was clear she wasn't just a pretty face, but a grad student in a highly-ranked PhD program. She was better than his professors, honestly. Maybe he would pass this class after all.
"I think you are making good progress, Brad," Reka told him with a pen in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich in the other. Brad loved watching her eat; it was at once dainty and chaotic. "This is your second year, yes?"
"Right," Brad confirmed. "If I can pass my classes, all the engineering common core and introductory stuff will be behind me. Next year I'll be taking the mech classes thermo-fluids and heat transfer, and finish up with nuclear reactor physics, the big weeder course."
Brad really didn't understand why the weeder course was in their junior year. It seemed cruel somehow to destroy the hopes of students so close to graduation.
"Perhaps you should study ahead," Reka suggested. "This 'Uncle Sam' of yours provides a stipend to buy books, so why not buy them now? I will be happy to instruct you when you move into my chambers this summer."
Brad choked on his drink. "Move in together?" he asked roughly between coughs.
"Naturally," Reka replied, as if no counter argument would be heard or considered. "We are 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' no? That's for life. It's inconvenient to visit your chambers when I desire to make love, and your commitment to the room ends with the half year. I've already made preparations."
She looked at him as if she was daring him to disagree. Challenge not accepted.
"Aye aye ma'am," he replied reflexively, like he was back on the boat.
Reka raised an eyebrow. "What is 'aye aye'?"
"Sailor talk," Brad explained. "Sailors don't say yes to a superior officer because saying 'yes' implies the option to say no, which sailors don't have."
Reka's eyes lit up with interest. She leaned in. "Tell me more."
Brad didn't like talking about the Navy. It made him feel different, older, like he didn't belong here, but he couldn't say no to Reka.
"The first 'aye' means 'I understand' and the second means 'I will obey'. It's the standard reply to an order from a superior officer."
An invisible force compelled his eyes to meet Reka's gaze. Her eyes were a smouldering, roiling sea, portals to he knew not where.
"Excellent, excellent," Reka whispered breathily. "This 'aye aye' is what I wish from you, my dear boyfriend. I trust this is agreeable?" She tilted her head, and silent pressure flowed from her across the lunch table.
"Aye aye," he acknowledged. It wasn't like he had a choice. Brad was whipped and he knew it.
Reka nodded firmly, his submission taken for granted. "You told me when you were a sailor your ship was powered by a nuclear reactor." She moved the conversation forward casually as if she hadn't just accepted his balls to place securely in her purse. "And your ship could sail under the water in any direction against the wind and tides?"
Did Reka not know what submarines were? Well, Hungary was landlocked, and there were a lot of everyday things she was unfamiliar with.
"That's right," Brad said. "With nuclear power we could theoretically stay at sea for years. The only limitation was food. Every few months we'd have to return to port to resupply."
His girlfriend laughed musically. "What a wonderful, magical world this is. Unlimited power..." she trailed off.
"Can you believe it?" came gossiping voices from across the hall, loud enough for them to overhear. "That ice queen foreign grad student is dating the old man from the sea."
"What the hell does that Russian girl see in him?" asked another guy. "He's old enough to be her father."
That's a lie! He and Reka were the same age! Maybe he was unnaturally pale and his hairline wasn't what it once was but he was twenty five. Twenty five was still young! Right?
"He must be paying her, it's the only explanation," said the first guy. "I heard she had, you know, debts. Probably needed the money."
Brad hoped that wasn't true. He never asked about her drug habit and it never came up. They spent more time together than apart these days and she didn't seem high once. He didn't know what to believe.
Reka looked at the gossipers and made a cruel face, like she was looking at vermin, like they were walking garbage. They shut up fast, and took their food to the other side of the dining hall. Then she turned back and smiled at him kindly.
"Never mind the chattering of the rabble, dearest." She waved a hand dismissively. "You're more than worthy to be my consort, er, companion."
That was another thing. Reka had an oddly formal and old-fashioned manner of speaking, but she was getting better. Not too fast, he hoped. Brad found the way she spoke oddly endearing. Maybe that was why she was hesitant to talk to people before? He could see how her word choice would confuse someone who didn't know her, but by now he was used to it. It was just so Reka.
All too soon lunch wound down and Reka approached to kiss him goodbye. Since becoming "facebook official" they never parted without a kiss and he found himself looking forward to it every time.
"Farewell, Brad, I must attend to my duties," she said with resignation after their lips parted. "Mark you, acquire the advanced reading material as soon as possible. It's important to my plans." And with that, she turned and went to meet her professor.
Brad could tell people were staring, but couldn't bring himself to care.
***************************************************
Reka's Point of View
As vexing as it was to part with her boyfriend, she really couldn't put off this meeting any longer. The original Reka had duties, classes of her own, both to attend and to assist in teaching. She'd managed to muddle through so far by playing mute, mind acceleration when she was put on the spot, and a distraction spell here and there when it looked like a colleague caught her in incongruous behavior.
Her study sessions with Brad had allowed her to catch up to the level of senior apprentice, or "advanced undergraduate" but some of the grad material was still beyond her and she had to make up the difference with magic.
And it was such interesting material, too. Unlocking the secrets of the atom would provide her unlimited power, power only accessible to S-class mages in her old world. Why, she could conceive half a dozen schemes to make herself queen by her own hand once she made nuclear energy her ally, but that was a dream for another day.
Reka had to admit that her current existence was more pleasant than it ever was when she ruled the Twelve Realms with an iron hand from a throne of giant bones. All she ever did was study and play with her boyfriend. It was almost absurd that a few weeks ago she was a mean and lonely spirit fighting to maintain her sanity in the deep black, and she had Brad to thank for it.
Brad would be a worthy consort when the time came, she decided firmly, though he had told her it was a rare and unusual word here. No matter, she meant what she said. When she became queen of this world he would sit beside her on a golden throne, only slightly less grand than her own. Perhaps the men of the land would look favorably on her with one of their own by her side?
His devotion was gratifying. By the void, the way Brad looked at her when she agreed to be "boyfriend and girlfriend", it was a pleasure to think on even now. There was no doubt agreeing to be a formal girlfriend was as culturally significant to him as a joint declaration to be life mates in her old world. And after she had sternly corrected him about wasting his seed he was providing plenty, so no complaints there.
Not only that, his seed had a certain quality; the life force was pent up, like he had been merely existing rather than living for a period of years. Almost like...almost like...her. Did Brad spend his own time wandering the empty spaces between stars? It wasn't worth dwelling on. Never again, Reka vowed, they would be together forever.
She was disturbed by the way other men looked at her as she walked the halls of the engineering building. The rogues should lower their gaze respectfully when she passed! Thankfully, other than that incident the first night, all they did was look. The first Reka's reputation helped her there. Was mate poaching common in this world? Any woman that approached Brad would feel her wrath for true. Reka had used a light touch so far, but there were limits. Anyone that dared to touch what was hers would speedily learn that there were worse things than death.
Reka could feel the anger at imagined rivals leak into her expression, so she schooled her features. It wouldn't do to present herself to the great wizard Professor Rosen with a sneer on her face. In order to become a true master, an adept would have to present a masterpiece, or "dissertation" that was acceptable to the council. Professor Rosen was to advise her in this.
She made to knock on his door, but heard a cheerful voice say, "come in, come in!" before her fist connected with the wood, a powerful wizard indeed to sense her from this distance.
His office was about what she expected from the chambers of a senior wizard, disorganized, piles of parchment, a few tomes and grimoires scattered about and left open carelessly. Professor Rosen occupied himself with the higher mysteries of nuclear energy. He was too busy to clean. He needed servants, badly.
There were two men in the room, an old one and a young one. Professor Rosen she recognized easily as she helped with one of his classes, but the other was unfamiliar to her. He looked like an arrogant warlock, the type to summon demons and get ripped apart because he believed he was invincible.
"Reka, it's good to see you," the old man said kindly. "And this is Alex Kagan, a boy I believe you know," he added, gesturing to the young warlock.
She didn't know him. "Charmed," she said neutrally.
"Your English has improved!" Professor Rosen complimented. Reka inclined her head with grace at his praise.
"She's had reason to," added Alex brazenly. "Our Hungarian honey has finally found a boyfriend!"
Yes, an arrogant warlock, her ability to judge character at a glance never failed her.
"I don't see how that's relevant," Reka said carefully, trying to restrain her anger at his familiarity.
"Be nice, Alex," Professor Rosen chided him gently. "It's good that Reka is getting comfortable enough in America to have a social life." He turned to her. "For what it's worth Reka, congratulations. I'm happy you found someone."
The wizard at least had the sense to sound polite, though she could tell he was teasing her as well. Silence fell on the room as she refused to engage with their banter.
"Right," the professor broke the silence awkwardly. "I suppose I should tell you both why you're here."
He clapped his hands in enthusiasm and handed them both a packet of materials. "We've got a brand new government grant, huge budget, joint research project with the European Union." He gestured to Reka with his own packet. "That's why you're here Ms. Fekete. Typically, these kind of things are for the military and only American citizens can work on them, but this is different. Our project will be purely for peaceful, civilian purposes."
"And what project would that be, professor?" asked Alex unctuously.
Professor Rosen stared meaningfully into Alex's eyes, and then to hers, looking quite excited. "Novel containment methods for nuclear fusion," he said with gravity. "This is the big one, kids. With the AI revolution, we just can't generate enough electricity. Those damn government regulators are finally going to unleash us!"
He looked half mad, but Reka somehow found herself getting caught up in his enthusiasm.
"This could make our careers," Rosen continued his rant. "Money is no object. We can hire as many hands as necessary, requisition any lab or specialized equipment with barely any oversight. It's like the good old days of the Manhattan Project! All they want is results."
He paused and took a breath. "Getting involved in this research will be easily worth a PhD to both of you. So are you in or out?"
"In," Alex said instantly. Typical arrogant warlock, no sense of self-preservation. And yet...
"In," Reka echoed him. She wanted to learn more and this looked like it was the fastest path.
A thought struck her. "You said we can hire as many hands as necessary, right professor?" she asked.
"That's right," Rosen agreed. "Have somebody in mind, Ms. Fekete?" he asked knowingly.
Of course he knew, the man was a wizard. "Yes," she replied simply. "My boyfriend is an app-undergraduate, second about to be third year, and he was a Navy Nuke, with more experience working on real reactors than any of us. Perhaps not research, but he could certainly help with physical assembly and maintenance."
"Well, if you vouch for him, Reka, then consider him hired," Professor Rosen said agreeably.
She sighed with relief, not wanting to be separated from Brad for too long. "If that's all, professor..." she let her words hang.
"Of course, good luck to both of you," Rosen dismissed them.
On the way out Alex Kagan caught her eye. "I look forward to working with you, and meeting this boyfriend of yours," he said with faux familiarity.
Stay away from him, warlock!