The following Saturday arrived wrapped in a bizarre, fragile normalcy. The bruises on Kaelen's body had faded to a yellowish-green, easily concealed beneath a simple, expensive black athletic jacket and dark jeans. The -22% approval was a steady, low hum in the back of her mind, a constant, bewildering reality.
Iris was a bundle of barely contained energy, vibrating with excitement as they approached the towering, wrought-iron gates of "Celestial Gardens," the city's most famous theme park. The air itself seemed to buzz with the distant roar of rollercoasters, the tinny melody of calliopes, and the shrieks of delighted thrill-seekers. She held Sera's hand with one of hers and, after a moment's hesitation, reached out and grabbed Kaelen's with the other.
The contact was small, warm, and sent a jolt through Kaelen that had nothing to do with the System. Iris's approval, now a steady 35%, felt like sunshine.
Sera, dressed in comfortable trousers and a soft sweater, her hair in a simple ponytail, looked more like herself than Kaelen had ever seen her not the actress, not the victim, just a mother taking her child to the park. She offered Kaelen a small, tight smile that didn't reach her eyes but wasn't hostile. It was a performance, but a cooperative one.
The park was a sprawling carnival of sensory overload. The scent of fried dough and candied apples warred with the smell of diesel and overheated asphalt. It was overwhelming, and Kaelen instinctively fell into her role as a shield, her tall frame and imposing presence parting the crowds ahead of them, her sharp gaze scanning for any potential threat. Old habits, it seemed, died hard.
Their first stop was the "Whirling Wyvern," a classic spinning ride of brightly painted carriages that whipped around a central axis at a dizzying speed. Iris dragged them both into the line.
"You're coming too, right?" Iris asked, looking up at Kaelen with wide, hopeful eyes.
Kaelen's stomach lurched. The idea of losing control, of spinning helplessly, was her personal nightmare. "I… I'll watch your things," she said, her voice strained.
Sera gave her a curious look, seeing the genuine panic behind the refusal. "It's perfectly safe," she said, her tone neutral.
"I know," Kaelen lied. "I just… don't like spins."
Iris's face fell for a second, but then she brightened. "Okay! You can watch us get super dizzy!"
Kaelen waited on the sidelines, clutching Iris's glowing teddy bear backpack, as Sera and Iris were strapped into a green-and-gold carriage. The ride operator slammed the bar down, a bell rang, and with a lurch, the ride began to turn. Faster and faster, until the carriages became a blur of color and the screams of the riders blended into a single wave of exhilaration.
And Sera was laughing.
Kaelen watched, mesmerized. It wasn't her actress's laugh, polished and perfect. It was real, unrestrained, a sound of pure, startled joy as the wind whipped her ponytail. She had an arm wrapped around a shrieking Iris, their faces alight with the same wild glee.
It was the most beautiful thing Kaelen had ever seen. The -20% flickered, warmed.
The ride slowed, and they stumbled out, breathless and giggling, clutching each other for support on the solid ground. Iris was ecstatic. Sera's cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. She looked… free.
"Your turn!" Iris declared, pointing a determined finger toward the park's iconic landmark: "The Goliath," a monstrous wooden rollercoaster that towered over everything else, its track a rickety-looking lattice against the sky.
Kaelen balked. "I really don't think"
"Come on, Auntie Kae!" Iris pleaded, pulling on her hand. "Please? It's the biggest one! You have to!"
Sera was watching her, that same curious expression on her face. "It's the most popular ride," she said, a subtle challenge in her voice. "Are you afraid of heights too, Blackwood?"
The use of her last name, the gentle taunt, did something to Kaelen. It was the kind of teasing that existed between people who had a history, however fraught. It was… normal.
"No," Kaelen said, her pride both her own and the original's kicking in. "Of course not."
Twenty minutes later, after an eternity in line, she was strapped into a hard wooden bench, a simple lap bar the only thing holding her in. Sera was beside her, Iris safely tucked between them. Kaelen's knuckles were white where she gripped the bar.
"You know," Sera said, her voice low as the chain lift began its agonizingly slow click-clack up the first terrifying hill, "for a Dominant Alpha who faces down boardrooms and buys twenty-million-dollar necklaces, you're remarkably afraid of theme park rides."
Kaelen couldn't form a reply. The world fell away beneath them, nothing but air and a dizzying drop on the other side of the peak. Then they were over, plunging down with a force that stole her breath. The wind roared in her ears, the wooden structure rattled and screamed around them, and for a terrifying, exhilarating second, there was nothing but the sheer, violent physics of the fall.
And then, it was over. They were rattling into the brake run, hearts pounding, lungs gasping. The panic that had seized Kaelen evaporated, replaced by a shaky, electrifying buzz of adrenaline.
Iris was whooping, her arms in the air. "Again! Again!"
Kaelen turned her head. Sera was looking at her, not at the track. The actress's mask was completely gone. In its place was an open, unguarded exhilaration, her hair a glorious mess from the wind. In the golden afternoon light, she looked radiant.
Their shoulders, pressed together during the wild turns, remained connected for a moment longer than necessary. The touch was incidental, charged with shared adrenaline.
Weaving through the bustling midways afterwards, they passed a classic carnival shooting gallery. Rows of pellet guns were aimed at metal targets, with a garish array of massive, plush dragons and unicorns hanging as prizes. Iris skidded to a halt, her eyes wide with wonder.
"Ooooh, can we try? Please?" she begged, pulling them toward the counter.
A grizzled vendor with a kind smile leaned forward. "Well, hello there! See something you like, little miss?" He then looked between the three of them, his eyes crinkling. "Hey there, miss," he said to Kaelen. "You seem to be having fun with your family today." His gaze dropped to Iris. "Hey kiddo, you want one of these big guys? Better convince your mom to win it for you!"
Iris immediately turned the full force of her pleading gaze on Sera. "Momma, please? The purple dragon! I'll name him Sparkle!"
Sera laughed. "Oh, you will, will you? Alright, let's see what I can do." She paid the vendor and picked up a rifle. "I've done some action films, you know," she said with a playful wink. "How hard can it be?"
It was, apparently, very hard. The targets were small and the sights were off. Click. Pfft. Miss. Click. Pfft. A ping, but no fall. Sera tried five times, her confidence melting into comical frustration.
"This is rigged!" she declared, laughing at herself. "I'm sorry, sweetie. Sparkle is going to have to stay here."
Iris's face fell for just a second before she put on a brave smile. "That's okay, Momma. You tried really hard!"
It was the brave smile that did it.
Kaelen let out a soft chuckle. She stepped forward. "Here. Let me try."
Sera handed over the rifle, skeptical. "Be my guest. It's trickier than it looks."
Kaelen took the gun. Her posture changed instantly, settling into a professional, instinctual stance that looked absurd aimed at tin ducks. She fired five times in rapid succession. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Each shot was followed by the satisfying clang of a target falling.
The vendor's jaw dropped. Sera stared, utterly stunned.
Kaelen lowered the rifle, a ridiculously smug grin on her face. "Hahaha! Of course! I'm a professional FPS gamer!" It was a shred of her past life, thrown out as a joke.
Sera blinked. "I've acted in three movies with assault rifles and I couldn't hit one. You play video games and you're Annie Oakley. That's just not fair."
The vendor laughed and handed the giant purple dragon to a beaming Kaelen, who presented it to Iris.
Iris shrieked with joy, hugging the massive plush. "You did it, Auntie Kae! You won Sparkle! You're the best!" She then hugged Sera's legs. "Thank you for trying, Momma!"
Sera looked from her daughter's joyful face to Kaelen's playful, proud expression, and a real, unreserved laugh bubbled out of her. It was wholesome, silly, and perfect.
As the sun began to set, they found a quiet bench overlooking the park's tranquil carousel. Iris, exhausted and happy, leaned against Sera, half-asleep, her arms wrapped tightly around Sparkle the dragon.
Sera looked out at the prancing painted horses, her expression thoughtful. "She had a good day," she said softly.
"She did," Kaelen agreed, her voice just as quiet.
Sera turned to look at her, the dying light catching in her blue eyes. "Thank you," she said. The words were simple, but they held the weight of the entire day—the laughter, the shared fear on the rollercoaster, the goofy triumph at the shooting gallery, the unspoken truce.
Seraphina Vesper. Approximate Approval: -17%
The number glowed between them, a testament to a day without scripts, without Systems, without punishments. Just a theme park, a child, a giant purple dragon, and the slow, terrifying, beautiful process of two broken people finding a moment of peace on a sun-warmed bench.