The series is what I like to call a Gender-Bending Arthurian Urban Fantasy. I leave it to you to guess which knight she is.
~*~
Virginia Gray stilled the hands of her girlfriend, clasping them between her much bigger ones. "Paulina," she began hesitantly.
The other girl froze, her smile turning uncertain. "Ginnie," she said back, uncertain. She tilted her head questioningly.
Ginnie brought Paulina's small, soft hands to her lips. She kissed them with a sigh. "I'm going to the recruiter on my eighteenth birthday," she confessed.
Paulina's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "But, you can't," she said. "The Army won't allow lesbians," she protested.
Ginnie closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Pauline’s hands. “The Marine Corps, and I can, under the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. As long as I don’t let anybody know. I’ll need to be completely celibate.”
Pauline jerked her hands away. “You’re breaking up with me?” she exclaimed in disbelief. “Over the Army?”
Ginnie lowered her hands to her sides. “To serve, to get out of Detroit. Yes.” She could never really vocalize her burning desire to go into the military, to serve her country and its ideals. She could only do, not say.
Pauline’s temper rose like a storm. “How can you be this selfish? You’re going to get out of Detroit? And leave all of us peons behind, right? Back to being Little Miss Perfect. Back in good grace with your parents, with the church, all works out for you, right?”
Ginnie hesitated, struggled not to cross her arms over her chest. “Pauline, you- you’re so much smarter than me. Than anybody in our class, if you wanted, you could be gone in a year,” she said quietly.
That only made her angrier. “So now you’re calling me lazy, unambitious.” She turned away in disgust. “You know, that’s fine. I’m glad this came out now. Better to know what you think of me sooner rather than after I got really involved.”
Ginnie’s eyes widened. “No, Pauline, that’s not-”
“Yes it is!” she shouted the other woman down. “You do mean it, don’t try to slither out of it now, you snakey bitch.”
“Pauli-” she tried one more time. She didn’t want it to end like this, in anger and feelings of betrayal.
“No, I’m done with you.” She’d turned from fire to ice. “You’ve made your opinion clear. Just don’t talk to me again. Ever.”
The world receded a little bit as shock coursed through Ginnie’s veins. It glued her body into place, wouldn’t let her reach out as Pauline stomped away. The door slam blew a soft breeze in its wake, brushing Ginnie’s face to make her blink.
That... really hadn’t gone as planned.
The other girl froze, her smile turning uncertain. "Ginnie," she said back, uncertain. She tilted her head questioningly.
Ginnie brought Paulina's small, soft hands to her lips. She kissed them with a sigh. "I'm going to the recruiter on my eighteenth birthday," she confessed.
Paulina's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "But, you can't," she said. "The Army won't allow lesbians," she protested.
Ginnie closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Pauline’s hands. “The Marine Corps, and I can, under the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. As long as I don’t let anybody know. I’ll need to be completely celibate.”
Pauline jerked her hands away. “You’re breaking up with me?” she exclaimed in disbelief. “Over the Army?”
Ginnie lowered her hands to her sides. “To serve, to get out of Detroit. Yes.” She could never really vocalize her burning desire to go into the military, to serve her country and its ideals. She could only do, not say.
Pauline’s temper rose like a storm. “How can you be this selfish? You’re going to get out of Detroit? And leave all of us peons behind, right? Back to being Little Miss Perfect. Back in good grace with your parents, with the church, all works out for you, right?”
Ginnie hesitated, struggled not to cross her arms over her chest. “Pauline, you- you’re so much smarter than me. Than anybody in our class, if you wanted, you could be gone in a year,” she said quietly.
That only made her angrier. “So now you’re calling me lazy, unambitious.” She turned away in disgust. “You know, that’s fine. I’m glad this came out now. Better to know what you think of me sooner rather than after I got really involved.”
Ginnie’s eyes widened. “No, Pauline, that’s not-”
“Yes it is!” she shouted the other woman down. “You do mean it, don’t try to slither out of it now, you snakey bitch.”
“Pauli-” she tried one more time. She didn’t want it to end like this, in anger and feelings of betrayal.
“No, I’m done with you.” She’d turned from fire to ice. “You’ve made your opinion clear. Just don’t talk to me again. Ever.”
The world receded a little bit as shock coursed through Ginnie’s veins. It glued her body into place, wouldn’t let her reach out as Pauline stomped away. The door slam blew a soft breeze in its wake, brushing Ginnie’s face to make her blink.
That... really hadn’t gone as planned.
