Gods of Old, Part 3: Vesna

Chapter 2: Photo session

“We need an apartment in the city. This driving thing is not doable every day.” Ty mumbles as he drives to the photo session and he knows he’ll be late. ‘I did suggest flying.’ His dragon perks up. ‘And how would you explain a dragon landing in the park?’ Ty asks back. ‘Not my problem.’ The dragon smirks and puffs out some smoke. ‘I don’t want to start a dragon hunt.’ Ty answers his beast. ‘Weakling! What’s a few humans here and there?’ The dragon shouts at him. ‘Since we’re not supposed to kill humans or let them know we exist, we can’t do anything. And stop yelling. I can hear you just fine. You’re in my head.’

Well, at least some luck seems to be on his side, because he gets a parking spot right in front of the building where the studio is. He sprints up the stairs and smiles at Allegra who is waiting at the door of the studio.

“I know I’m late. The traffic is crazy in the morning. I should have taken the train instead of driving.” He tells her with a smile he practised and he knows she will melt on the spot.

“Emmm…” Allegra tries to say something, but then she just turns around and opens the door for him. 

Walking in, he sees Vesna looking at him with concern in her eyes. She is next to a make-up artist and a few other models that are being coached for their session. There is one blond girl in front of the camera right now and he thinks she has nothing on Vesna. He walks over to them with a smile ready and a warm hello.

“Good morning, everyone!” He sings a greeting. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Don’t tell me you drove here?” Vesna laughs as she sees the car keys in his hand. “You’ll learn fast that driving is the slowest way to get anywhere in Milano.”

“I know, I’ll take the train next time.” He shrugs, nonchalantly. “Or maybe an apartment in the city?”

“I’ll ask Ilona if she can rent out her apartment to you. It’s close by.” Vesna tells him. “You have to get ready and try to observe what’s going on. Learn on the go.”

“Where do you live?” The make-up artist asks him as he takes his turn on her chair.

“In Castelletto.” He answers politely.

“Oh.” She says. “That’s closer to Novara, then it is to Milano. Train is definitely a better option for you.”

“I wish mother would tell me that before.” He mumbles.

“You live with your mother?” She is surprised.

“Oh, not any more.” He clarifies. “I came here from Germany, because my mother signed over a small castle to me. My inheritance, so to speak.”

“Wow! You don’t have an accent.” She is impressed. “Did you say castle?”

“I studied hard not to have one.” He smiles at her when she’s done with him and he winks at her. “And, yes. I have a castle.”

“Ty!” Vesna shouts from across the studio. “Stop flirting and get your ass over here! We’re not gonna wait forever!”

“I’m here, no need to shout.” He retorts.

“It’s your turn to pose. I can give you only one piece of advice.” She is serious. “When you smile, don’t show your teeth. This is for a catalogue, not f*******: or Instagram.”

“Emm? Face what now?” He looks at her in wonder.

“We’ll cover that later. You’re not missing anything important in life.” She laughs, gleefully. “But the world is missing out if you don’t have a f*******: or i********: account.”

Hold your head up, wave like there is someone, hold your hand out, not like that, don’t smile, now you have to smile, look at the camera not me, turn around, no so fast, do it slower, don’t blink so much. Get some gloves, take the coat, get the jacket... And, oh my God, the damn lights! Why in hell is it so hot? ‘You’re a dragon! Stop complaining. This is so beneath you.’ His dragon reprimands him. 'Oh, not you, too? I’m starting to regret this thing.’ Ty says back. ‘It was your idea, live with it.’ The dragon states his mind and goes back to sleep. 

A painful and tedious time later, Ty got a whole new respect for models. And he thought this would be easy? Standing around, looking pretty, smiling every now and then. Posing is harder than yard work his mother made him do as punishment when he missbehaved as a child. He’s got aches and pains in the muscles he didn’t know he even had. A surprising feat for someone who graduated from general medicine. ‘It was in the time of World war two, but they did know about muscles back then.’ His dragon muses of his pain. ‘It was after the war, but you do have a point.’ He corrects the dragon. ‘Don’t you feel the pain?’ The dragon only smirks and coils up to go to sleep. ‘Sleep away my misery, why don’t you?’ Ty throws at the dragon and gets no other answer as a pillar of smoke.

“God, this is exhausting.” Ty grunts when he collapses on the sofa in the corner.

“Tell me about it.” His neighbour on the recliner inserts. “My sister said this is gonna be fun. She used up all her points for this one.”

“Allegra?” Ty asks the dark haired, extremely well built young man sitting there. And the resemblance to Vesna’s assistant is uncanny. They can’t deny being related.

“Yeah.” He smirks. “I’m Alessio. She blackmailed me into this. You really chose this for a profession?”

“No.” Ty laughs. “I just wanted to try it out. My father knows Vesna and I was sure she would say no when I showed up at the casting. This is torture and suffering.”

“I feel you. I just want to go home and sleep for a week.” Alessio grunts. “But I can’t, I have to go to work after this.”

“What do you do?” Ty inquires. 

“I’m a firefighter.” Alessio answers.

“That’s a demanding job.” Ty says with a nod of respect.

“Yeah, but I would never trade it for this. Torture is right.” He laughs.

Ty looks up as Vesna approaches them and he smiles at her. ‘God, she’s beautiful.’ His dragon echoes his thoughts back to him. ‘Oh, I wish she could be mine.’ Ty tells the dragon silently.

“For your first time, you both did great.” Vesna congratulates them. “Some of this will be shown on Fashion TV, but most of the pictures were for the winter catalogue.”

“We don’t need to repeat anything?” Alessio wonders.

“No. We’re done.” Vesna laughs. “I just love it. I don’t remember when was the last time we finished a session so fast. So, you’re free to go and the money will be wired through the agency.”

“I didn’t give them my information.” Ty tells her.

“I’ll get paid?” Alessio asks, surprised.

“Yes. You’ll get about 500 Euro after Grazia takes her cut.” Vesna tells Alessio and hands a stack of papers to Ty. “You have to fill out the paperwork.”

“Oh.” Ty drops the papers to the table. “And he doesn’t?”

“No, Allegra did it for him.” Vesna smirks and leaves him alone with a stack of papers.

Ty is still there half an hour later, filling out the information for the agency. Thinking if 500 Euro is worth the bother. It’s just a drop in the ocean, while the castle is gulping up his savings. The new roof alone will cost a fortune. ‘Vesna did mention something about a hotel?’ His dragon plants the idea. ‘I have to ask her about that. The stock market is not a fast return venue. I hate to take chances.’ Ty answers his dragon and looks around for Vesna. She is talking with the photographer at his desk. Everyone else seems to have left already. But no, there is Allegra typing away on her phone, looking bored. He decides to take the papers to her, she’ll know what to do with them.

“Hey, Allegra?” He taps her lightly on the shoulder. “Can you give this to Grazia or do I have to go there myself?”

“I can do it.” She says without breaking her typing. “I have to go there anyway. I’m just waiting for Vesna to sign the check.”

“Am I bothering you?” Ty asks carefully and is ready to be rebuffed.

“No.” She smirks but still doesn’t look at him. “I just found out I can talk to you if I don’t look at you. Your voice is not nearly as distracting as your looks. Is that hair for real?”

“Smart girl.” He laughs. “The red highlights are real. Mother used to color my hair completely black, but it’s fashionable now, so I just let it be.”

“You talk funny sometimes. So, I guess, you’re older than you look. What did you put in there?” Allegra inquires.

“Clever wolf.” He smirks. “Did you figure out what I am?”

“No. Not a wolf or a bear, but something different. I just don’t know what.” She answers quietly. “Careful, the photographer doesn’t know.”

“Thank you for the tip.” Ty inclines his head even if she’s not looking. “I’ll tell you sometime. My drivers licence says I’m twenty, but it’s fake.”

Vesna comes to them with her coat and a purse in hand. So Ty figures they are done here. Is he getting attached to her too fast? It’s like she is the sun and he is a comet in her gravitational orbit. He feels drawn to her and he likes the heat. He just needs to admire Vesna for a bit longer and blurts out the first thing on his mind. 

“Would you join me for a late lunch? I have questions about that hotel idea of yours.”

“I think I can.” Vesna smiles fondly. “Allegra, here is the check for Grazia. And you can take the rest of the day off.”

“Sure thing, boss. I’m off.” Allegra pulls her things together blindingly fast. “See ya, Ty.”

“She’s a whirlwind, that one.” Ty smiles fondly of the little wolf.

“She is. And talented too. We will launch a new line next year. My label, but we’ll make sure people know it’s her design.” Vesna tells him as they leave the building.

“Very generous of you.” He says as he opens the car door for her. ”Where do you want to go?”

“Oh. I’ll put my address in the GPS, you can park in our garage. We have a parking spot we never use. There is this fancy restaurant on the corner, I’m thinking we can go there.”

“Don’t you need a reservation?” Ty asks her.

“Me? No.” Vesna laughs. “I’m a regular. I’m there like four times a week. I practically have my own table.”

“Well, It’s good to be you, then.” Ty smirks a bit envious of the treatment she gets there. It will take time for him to get the same, since he is new around here.

And it’s just like she said. After parking in the underground garage of her apartment building, they walk to the restaurant on the corner. Even at the unusual time there is a waiting line when they enter. But the Maitre ‘d looks at Vesna, smiles widely and almost falls over himself to get her a table by the window without waiting.

“So good to see you again my lady.” The Maitre ‘d purrs. “The usual wine for you?”

“Oh, yes please. And we’ll decide what to eat.” Vesna smiles back.

“They love you here.” Ty observes quietly. “And nobody complained when we jumped the line?”

“Oh, the people know me. But this time you’re getting all the attention, because I usually come here alone.” She tells him.

“And she clears the table fast, as she usually gets her food to go.” The waitress adds with a smile for him. “Nice to see you again, Vesna. And so generous of you to beautify our restaurant with a new gorgeous face.”

“Thank you, Mirella. This is Ty and you’ll be seeing quite a lot of him.” Vesna smiles at the waitress. “I’ll have the polenta and grilled radicchio. Ty, what do you want?”

“Would it bother you if I order a steak?” Ty asks carefully.

“Go for it.” She laughs. “I’m a vegetarian, but I don’t force the people around me to conform to my ideals.”

“Well, a steak then, medium and a side of steamed vegetables. Please.” He smiles at the waitress and she doesn’t even blink as she stands there frozen.

Vesna snaps her fingers to get the waitress out of her trance and she glares daggers at Ty. She repeats their orders and lets Mirella go before she says anything to Ty.

“Do not smile at people. Your kind needs to tone it down a bit. You draw them in like moths to a flame. Didn’t your father teach you that?” She narrows her eyes at him.

“He did say that. But I’m just so happy to be out in the world I keep forgetting that.” Ty whispers sadly.

“I’ll keep reminding you. A lot, I guess.” Vesna shakes her head at him.