Chapter 31: Guys' Night Out

                                    

                                          
Amber, now up and about since it was nighttime, slowly opened the door to Mavis's bedroom and searched around. She wasn't looking for anything in particular; in fact, more than anything, she had merely come to reminisce and look back on old times. It was only a few months ago that a completely different person had called this place their bedroom. To her, it was as if Mavis was totally different from how she had been prior to her Visage Eve ceremony. But if this was how the vampire princess—formerly the prince—wished to be seen, then of course her mother would allow it. 
She chuckled to herself as she noted a rather amusing instance of irony; her love, Balfort, had also been extremely supportive of his daughter's transition, and yet he was on the fence about letting her act as a superhero, venture to Cluj-Napoca, or even hang out with Garson. The vampire lord's immense paranoia and overprotectiveness was inconvenient and irresponsible, yet hilarious and chuckle-worthy at the same time. Not to mention that it wasn't entirely unfounded; the Enclave had finally been exposed to the human world for the first time, and would need to adapt quickly. 
But to do that, they would need Mavis to help build bridges with the humans through both her career as the superhero Red Fang and as Garson's girlfriend.
Too bad Balfort didn't approve of either one. For now, at least. 
"Mother!" a voice called from the distance. Amber looked to Mavis's open bedroom window and beheld the princess herself flying closer and closer to Ladair Castle. Soon, she directly swooped in through the window and gently hovered down to the ground on her feet right in front of Amber. 
"Mavis!" Amber said as she hugged her daughter, grateful for her safe return after yet another day spent in the capital. "Is everything all right, dear?"
"Yes. Our attackers are on the ropes; sooner or later, we shall see whether or not I can convince them to back down."
"And if you're unable to?"
Mavis took a deep breath, knowing that her next suggestion would not be one she made lightly. ".....Then we fight. But we will try not to harm anyone."
"You know, your pacifist ways would really annoy a lot of other people," Amber remarked somewhat jokingly. "Then again, you were raised under our family.....to be a princess who favors the preservation of life rather than its taking." 
"I have you and Father to thank for that," Mavis commented warmly. "I would not be this way had it not been for you."
Amber smiled, then turned around, bent down a little, and picked up the same "Mason" nameplate that Garson had discovered the previous night, sighing wistfully. "You know.....you were my son once upon a time."
Though Mavis would never open up about such a sensitive topic so easily to most people, Amber was her mother, so she made an exception. "Indeed, I was. I have kept that as a part of my story, but it does not represent me anymore." 
"No matter what, we will always love you. You can start out as our son, then transition to become our daughter later.....at the end of the night, you are still our child, and we would not trade you for the world." 
"Thank you, dear Mother," Mavis replied with a smile. "I am your daughter, Mavis Ladair, the Crown Princess of the Vermillion Enclave.....and I am here to stay. I only wish that other families and associates of transgender kids out there held the same amount of love towards their children as you and Father do....."