#exava

Magic: The Girlbossing Round 1, Matchup 2

A Rakdos club is about the last place Syx expected to find herself. Or, Syx Learns Jace Attracts Trouble.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Syx herself, Wizards of the Coast owns the rest. This fanfic is an AU of the Return to Ravnica series of books so if some scenes seem familiar...that’s because they are.

(This one references a bunch of relationships up front but I promise there is a confession waiting for all the good MtG fic lovers out there)

 “No. Absolutely not.”

“Lavinia-”

“Don’t even start with me. Do I really have to explain why this is unacceptable?”

Jace scratched his head under his hood, wishing he could pull it over the rest of his face and disappear from this conversation. He tried picking up his pace, but the metallic clank-ing of Lavinia’s boots on the stone hallway simply grew more rapid as she matched his stride.

“It’s one date, Lavinia. What’s the big deal?”

“Do you not see the ethical and legal issues of the living guildpact romancing a guild leader? Do you really not understand how that’s going to cause trouble?”

“Well, she’s on her way here now to pick me up, so it’s a little late to be bringing this up now.”

"Teysa, would you please back me up on this?" Lavinia looked to her side, and, finding no-one, turned back down the hallway. "Teysa?"

"Oh don't mind me, just a century-plus year-old woman with a limp!" Teysa was striding after them as quickly as her leg and cane would allow, though still looking immensely amused by their conversation. "Back you up on what? That inter-guild relationships are forbidden? You'd have to start arresting half the city." She caught up with them, and stamped the floor with her cane for emphasis. "Besides, you'd almost certainly be breaking a poor blood-witch's heart."

Jace wasn't sure if he'd ever seen a face turn red so fast, or if he'd ever seen Lavinia blush at all, actually.

"Th-that's different! Exava isn't in a position to use our...her access to an Azorius official for political gain-"

“No, but from a legal perspective it doesn’t look great.” Teysa sighed. “Look, we're all living, feeling creatures here. I'm sure it's 'unethical' that I'm dating my guildmaster-"

"You're what?"

"-or that I'm romantically involved with a Boros legionnaire who I committed a major felony with. But that's just life."

Lavinia but both hands on her temple. "It definitely isn't"

"Wait, Kaya?” Jace cocked his head, curious. “I thought I saw her with Samut after-"

"It's a happy, open relationship," Teysa shrugged. "Thus the legionnaire."

"This is all very much besides the point. We cannot allow one particular guild leader to have intimate access to the guildpact without incurring-" The rest of her sentence was cut off as Teysa failed to contain a laugh and bent over, clutching her staff and her stomach. "-oh grow up."

“See? It’s not just me.” Jace started off again, slower this time for Teysa’s sake. They were entering a more crowded set of hallways, so he kept his voice lower. “I’m a guildpact of the people, so I should live like one of them, right?”

“It’s not that simple. The law-”

Jace spun around. “Look, I’ll make a new law right now. ‘The living guildpact is hereby permitted to spend quality time with the woman he’s madly in love with.’ How about that? Any objections?”

He must have struck a nerve, because Lavinia fell silent immediately, her eyes wide. Teysa also looked taken aback.

“Jace,” Teysa started, an odd smile forming on her lips. “Do you absolutely, certainly mean that?”

“Obviously yes!” Jace threw his hands up. “She’s amazing! She’s brave and kind and just about one of the most intelligent people I’ve met on any plane! I’d have to be a fool not to be in love with her. I’m not about to let a few thousand years of legal nonsense scribbled up by some pompous sphinx keep me away from her!”

Lavinia looked up at the ceiling, her cheeks pink for some reason. Teysa coughed into her glove, and pointed behind Jace with the hand on her cane.

Jace spun around, and froze up immediately. Vraska was standing right behind him, a triumphant smile on her face, and an escort of kraul warriors. She looked every bit as fierce, powerful, and absolutely beautiful as she had on the first day they’d met. She’d promised back then that she could turn him to stone, and right then, it almost felt like that promise had come true.

"Hmmm, I bet that's the first good news anyone's heard in an Azorius building since the decamillenial." She strode forward and planted a kiss on Jace’s cheek. “Is that legally binding, then?”

“Uh…” Jace found that his voice had left him entirely. His cheeks were red-hot. He had to stop just staring, but…

…she was perfect.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She kissed him again, on his other cheek, and looked up at Lavinia and Teysa. “Aww, did you bring bodyguards as well?”

Lavinia threw her hands up. “Fine. Fine. Everyone just do as they please, but no-one is leaving here until we get some paperwork filled out with some ground rules.”

“Lavinia…” Teysa lay a hand on the arrester’s shoulder.

“We have to maintain some kind of accountability here.” Lavinia sighed and crossed here arms. “I get it, okay? You can’t help what your heart wants, but you can control your own actions. I’d spend every night out in the city having fun with Exava if I could; I love her. But the fact of the matter is-”

“Wait, you love me??”

This time everyone spun around. There, at the intersection of the last hallway Jace had passed, two arresters were escorting a tall, dark-skinned Rakdos bloodwitch to the courtrooms.

Lavinia let out a small spluttering squeak. “E-Exava? What are you doing here??”

“Getting fined!”  The blood-witch grinned broadly. “Private indecency!”

“Don’t you mean public indecency?”

“Nope!” Exava blew a kiss toward Lavinia as the arresters struggled to keep her moving down the hallway and out of sight. “I love you too, law-girl. I love youuuuu~!”

“Isperia’s wings…” Lavinia sprinted off after them, her blue cape billowing behind her.

There was a short silence between the rest of them, broken only by the inquisitive buzzing of the kraul guards. Teysa coughed into her hand. She looked and sounded as though she were trying very hard to contain a laugh.

“Well, I seem to have found my next client. Guildpact. Guildmaster.” She started off in the direction Lavinia had run, humming to herself.

Vraska laughed. “Interesting people you work with.”

“It’s a laugh a minute here, all right.” Jace smiled up at her, starting to feel a bit more at ease. “Thank you for coming to meet me. I should have told you I’d be late. I hope everything was alright coming in? No one gave you any trouble.”

“Just the minimum mandated amount of Azorius trouble.” They started walking toward the main entrance. They caught a few stares, but official hours were winding down for the day, and most people were more interested in getting home. “It’s fine. There’s finally something worth coming inside this place for. You’re sweet to ask, though.”

They emerged onto the front steps. The afternoon sun was low in the sky, lighting up the plaza and fountain in front of New Prahv. They stood together at the top of the stairs for a moment, taking in the many citizens of Ravnica going about their business.

Vraska offered Jace her arm. "Ready? I've found us the loveliest little bookshop and rented it out for the evening. Lots of forbidden tomes. I think you'll like it."

Jace looped his arm through hers and they started off down the steps.

(‘Twas a prompt so nice I had to do it twice~!)

 “I realize we’re about five minutes from showtime, but are you absolutely, positively certain you want to take your vows wearing that? As your lawyer, and maid of honor, I feel it’s my responsibility-”

“This is fine, Teysa.” Lavinia adjusted the sash around her breastplate. “It’s tradition for Arresters.”

“It’s also tradition for arresters to fill out paperwork to use the toilet. Besides, that thing makes you look like a walking thumb.”

Lavinia rolled her eyes. “Exava will think it’s funny.”

“She thinks leaving Krovod dung in Jace’s hood is funny.” Teysa pursed her lips and looked up from the catering contract she was reviewing. “Which I guess it is. Okay, point taken.”

“How do I look?” Lavinia did a quick turn. Her wedding gown was a semi-mismatched combination of armor, dress, and the cowl from her days as a street arrester. The latter she’d kept partly for Exava, partly because it gave her some badly-needed courage.

Teysa looked her over top to bottom with a critical eye.

“You look ready. Let’s get you married.”

** ** **

“Are you sure you want to get married here?” Judith looked around the gaudy church with a raised eyebrow. “As your friend and your Best Witch, I have to say-”

Exava shrugged. “Lavinia’s friend inherited it from a dead uncle or something like that. Besides, doesn’t every little girl dream of a wedding in a golden Orzhov cathedral?” She grinned and made a face. “Especially if your half of the wedding party trashes the place during the after-party.”

“Mmm, that will be fun. Reception is at the ex-guildpact’s home, isn’t it? I’d love to make a little mayhem there too.”

Behind them, Jace cleared his throat.

“I…I’m right here, you know.”

“I am happy for you,” Judith said with a smile, ignoring the mind-mage. “Promise me you’ll still come to the revue for a routine once in a while?”

“I’ll do a lot of things for love, but I’ll never give up on the stage.” Exava did a sharp pirouette onto the altar, and did a set of vaults and somersaults for the wedding guests. The knives sewn into her gown clattered together rhythmically. The right half of the audience, crammed with demons, ogres, goblins, and the wildest collection of humans on Ravnica, hooted appreciatively. The left side, full of mostly sober-faced humans and vedalken, gave a scattered applause, unsure of whether the stunt constituted some part of a Rakdos marriage ceremony.

“She’s coming!”

A small devil scurried through the cathedral doors, its high-pitched-voice cutting through the murmurs of the crowd.

“She’s coming! The bride has come to claim her bride!!” The devil rolled up onto the dais and attempted to light part of the carpet on fire Judith sent it sailing of the dais with a well-aimed kick, and it fell in a giggling arc into the assembled Rakdos crowd.

“Knock her dead, girl,” Judith winked and took her place along the Rakdos side of the cathedral.

The cathedral doors swung open again, and a swell of music sounded from the organs as Lavinia stepped through, escorted by Teysa, her advokist friend with the cane and the stylish face piercings.

Exava felt her heart skip a beat. It was like something out of some corny pulp-novel, but Lavinia really did take her breath away. Her round shoulders, that stern, strong way she walked. The way that stupid cowl framed her cute little face…

And her smile, like the little one she was giving Exava now, as she mounted the steps. That rare but wonderful smile.

“You know I’m not the guildpact anymore, right?” Jace was hissing at Teysa as she took her place on the Azorius side of the cathedral. “Shouldn’t like, Niv-Mizzet be here? Or at least an Orzhov priest?”

“Goodness no.” Teysa clucked her tongue softly. “You’ve been in meetings with Niv-Mizzet, do you think that’s appropriate for a wedding? Moreover, do you really want one of those fat pontiffs droning up here for an hour?”

“I guess not,” Jace muttered. Then he cleared his throat. “Um, right…we’re here to join-”

“Dear, we don’t need you to actually say anything,” Judith whispered. “Just stand there in your cloak and look important.”

Jace muttered something under his breath, but managed a smile. “The vows, then.”

“I’ve been fixated on this wonderful woman for years,” Exava sighed. “There’s nothing funner than bedeviling an arrester, especially when she’s so cu~ute. But somewhere along the way I found someone who’s also kind, strong, and more willing to do what she thinks is right than what she’s told to do.” She took Lavinia’s hand and lay a kiss on the back of it. “I can’t wait to spend whatever time we have left together, and find more rules for her to break. I promise to love you for all that time, and to never stop getting you to have a little more fun.” She kissed the hand again, nipping a knuckle with her canine for good measure.

Lavinia didn’t even flinch, though Exava could swear she turned a small shade pinker as she began her own vows.

“I never thought I’d marry at all.” Lavinia’s smile turned wry and wistful. “When I was younger, nothing seemed as important as the job. You say I’m kind, but…but you helped me want to be kinder still. To help and understand the difference between doing what the law demands and doing what’s right for everyone, regardless of guild. I vow to never forget that compassion, and I vow to protect you always, with all my strength, and with all my love, against any force of law or chaos that tries to harm you.”

She took Exava’s hand now, and kneeling down in front of her, lay a long, soft kiss on the back of Exava’s hand, and then on her fingers. Exava felt the breath leave her again. Lavinia stood, still holding the hand, and winked.

Exava’s heart was thudding against her ribs like a wild ragemutt. This woman…

This wife…

“That was…surprisingly touching,” Jace said. “You may now, um…do whatever, I guess. I don’t think I actually have any control here-”

“Hush,” Teysa whispered.

Exava put ran her fingers along the edge of Lavinia’s cowl.

“May I?”

Lavinia smiled demurely, and nodded.

Exava’s fingers slipped under the cowl and peeled it back from her wife’s face. The neat crop of brown hair underneath was adorably ruffled, and Exava had to refrain from nuzzling it right there and then. Instead, she left her fingers along the back of Lavinia’s head, and pulled her forward into a kiss. Lavinia’s own hands found their way up Exava’s back, and the cool caress gave her the shivers.

Both sides of the cathedral burst into thunderous applause. A rowdy song went up from the Rakdos, and a hearty cheer from the Azorius. Jace was clapping too, flanked by Teysa and a teary-eyed Judith.

And at the center of it all, the newlyweds held each other tighter, the rest of the plane forgotten, for the moment.

(Disclaimer – yes, a few liberties have been taken with Rauck-Chauv, which I tried to address in the narrative itself ;) )

Ruack-Chauv was hardly the worst holiday on Ravnica. The Rakdos festivals had much higher death tolls on average (mostly because of their unpredictability), and the parades that the various Simic Clades held every few months were much, much stranger.

It was, however, easily the most chaotic day of the year, and that alone should have made it Lavinia’s least favorite annual occasion.

And yet, she found something indescribably peaceful about walking among the (mostly Gruul and gateless) population as they went about their (at least for today, per ordinance 451.23.7) Guildpact-approved mayhem and mischief. Of course she had to intervene if any citizen took the holiday of destruction too far, endangering the lives or livelihood of their neighbors, but she was otherwise content to watch the city let off a little steam.

Rauck-chauv wasn’t so bad.