Pulling Robin into the tight-knit circle she'd been so recently shunned by proved to be a little difficult. It wasn't so much that Chris' bandmates were unwilling to accept her. It was more that, while they'd been shunning Robin, she'd been looking down her nose at them.
"They're mortals, saiea," she sighed. "They're so... petty."
"You're not trying, Robin." Chris complained.
"You've been doing this for thirty years. I have to change an outlook of seventy."
"For somebody who's going to live to five hundred, that shouldn't be hard."
He considered it a sign of progress that she stuck her tongue out in reply.
"Y'know, if we need you to learn the beauty of the world, you should stick close to J.C. for a while." Chris spun a pencil between his fingers, thinking. "He thinks the weirdest things are gorgeous. And he's so fascinated with music, so hey, there's an in."
Robin made a sour face.
"What?"
"Mortal music."
"Music's one of the most beautiful things mortals produce, Robin."
"Electronic noise," she scoffed. "No life, no heart, no beauty."
"Oh that hurts. I'm wounded." Chris protested. "It's also not the only type of music we have. There are thousands of different... what now?" he asked, seeing her wince.
"I'm sorry saiea." He thought she did sound a little sorry. "It pains me when you say "we", as if you were a mortal."
"There are good things about being a mortal," Chris replied wryly. "That's the point of this whole exercise, isn't it? Hell, somedays I'd rather be a mortal."
"Name one thing that is better about being mortal."
"Freedom," he countered swiftly.
"Oh yes. Precious freedom. If elves were free you might already be dead, saiea." Her eyes narrowed. "You trust your life every day to bodyguards who are free. Do you honestly think even one of them would die for you?"
"They're not there to die for me."
"Neither would I be."
"What," he joked, "you wouldn't have volunteered for the honour of guarding me?"
To his surprise, she hesitated, actually considering the idea. Eventually, she shook her head. "Even if all other circumstances remained the same, I still would not have come here of my free will."
"Other circumstances?" Robin's face went blank, shuttering off her emotions. Chris' meager sixth sense went on full alert. "Robin?"
"I cannot speak of it. Not in the open with no magic to guard."
Chris sat up straight. This was why she had kept Dani from tipping him off earlier. His mind raced. "When can you tell me?" he demanded, keeping his voice low.
Something like pain flashed through Robin's violet eyes, but she bent her head in acquiesence. "The full moon. I would not risk this with a ward at any other time."
"The last full moon was two days ago!" Chris was frustrated enough that he didn't care much if his voice was a little loud. "You couldn't have told me then?"
"Saiea, I serve you. I do not yet trust you." Her mouth twisted into a bitter grin. "Call it an exercise in free will. I take my opportunities as they arise."
"Beautiful time to decide that," he grumbled. Something ocurred to him. "I could order you to tell me."
She shrank back instantly. "Highness, no!"
It might have been irritation at the title, but perhaps it was something more that made Chris press on. "Why not?" he asked. "Who'd hear? Or aren't you doing your job properly?"
"I cannot! I..." her mouth worked as she fought to say the words. Pale and strained she forced out a defiant cry, "I... will... not!"
Chris stood back staring as Robin gasped for breath, choking on the words she had just uttered. He barely noticed when Justin and J.C. came running, drawn by the raised voices and sounds of pain. She had defied the web of spells which tied her to him. Not broken the geas, barely even scratched it, but she was paying the price of her transgression. And for what?
J.C. brought water, holding Robin upright, rubbing her back soothingly, trying what he could to ease her distress. He couldn't miss the way her eyes followed Chris out of the room. Justin walked after him, looking for answers.