Galena Kohle

“Most people can’t begin to keep up with me.” Galena laughed. “How are you matching me drink for drink and line for line, then?”

Vaster faked a smile. “I’ve, you know, had a taste for it since…”

One of the twin maidservants set a fresh glass of whisky next to Vaster’s plate before he could finish his sentence. He took a long sip, letting the alcohol dissolve away whatever painful thought about her that had been forming in his brain.

“I suppose I have as well, then.”

Vaster laughed. “You never stop?”

“If you never stop, there’s no hangover, then!” Galena gulped down the rest of her glass of wine and motioned for one of the maidservants to refill it.

Vaster smiled and took another sip of whisky. “When did you start, you know, living like this? I can’t imagine you were getting trashed every arc as, you know, a little girl.”

“Maybe I was never a little girl at all, then.” Galena smirked. “Maybe I just popped into existence like this, a fully formed degenerate. No beginning, no ending. Just a single eternal binge.”

“Explains a lot.” Vaster took another sip. “Still doesn’t explain what you’re drinking so much to, you know, psych yourself up for.”

“It helps me perform better.”

“Perform what?”

“Anything. Everything. That’s all life is, Vaster. A performance.”

Vaster gulped down the rest of his whisky. “Am I your audience right now? Or, you know, your co-star?”

“Both.”

Vaster took a sip of his drink. “So, what do you think of the painting?”

Galena turned back towards the painting “I… I’m not sure what I think. What is someone supposed to think about a painting like this, then?”

Vaster smirked. “You don’t have any thoughts about it at all?”

“It looks like a house, and the sky is red…”

Galena leaned in closer, her nose nearly touching the canvas. “I’m not sure what I think about it, then. Nothing’s coming to mind.”

“You’re not getting anything from it?”

“It’s… beautiful? Maybe?”

“You’re not sure?”

Galena turned to look at Vaster. “I have trouble figuring out if something’s beautiful sometimes.”

“That would be fatal in my line of work.”

Galena grinned. “Maybe you can help me, then. Help me decide what is beautiful and what isn’t.”

Vaster raised his glass. “Whatever I can do to help, Lady Galena.”

Galena stood up and grabbed Vaster’s hand and pulled him into the back room of the gallery. “What about this one, this unfinished one, then? Is it beautiful?”

Still holding her hand, Vaster looked at the unfinished painting for a moment. “I think it’s the most beautiful painting in the exhibition.”

Galena turned and smiled at Vaster while staring into his eyes. “Why is that?”

Vaster stared back. “The artist froze to death out past the dark while painting it. He sacrificed his life so that we could see the stars as he saw them for the last time. That’s beautiful.”

Galena let go of Vaster’s hand and took a step backward. “What about my outfit, then? Is it beautiful?”

Vaster sipped his drink. “Your gown is obviously by Rasalhague. I’d recognize that embroidery anywhere. The cape looks like it’s by Asellus, although the feathers aren’t something they use very often. Your purse is Mesarthim sealeather. All custom-made, of course.”

Galena giggled. “You have a good eye, then!”

“Between the gown, the cape, the feathers, the shoes, the purse, your hair, your eyes, and your skin, every possible shade of white is represented somewhere on your body. It’s very beautiful.”

“And you haven’t even seen all of it yet.”

Vaster’s eyes widened as he swallowed the rest of his whisky in one gulp. Galena mimicked him, finishing her senniver tonic in a single drawn-out sip while staring into Vaster’s eyes the entire time.

“Love’s something that other people do. Not us.” Galena took a sip of her drink. “We have too much scar tissue.”

Vaster laughed. “You don’t have a single scar on your entire fucking body.”

Galena grinned. “Not on the outside.”

Vaster nuzzled his face into Galena’s shoulder. “You’re so fucked up.”

“We’re both fucked up.” Galena finished her drink and started pouring another from the senniver bottle. “That’s what I like about you. You’re not one of those guys who pretends that life is perfect.”

Vaster laughed. “That’s pretty much all I do. That’s why I dress like this, why I sell art, why I do anything.”

“Yeah, but there’s a difference.” Galena took a sip of her fresh drink. “You know that it’s all fake.”

“Everything’s fake.” Vaster kissed Galena’s neck. “I mean, the clothes are genuine. I bought them right from the fucking boutiques on level 10, full price. But that’s it.”

Galena chuckled. “What about your feelings for me? Are those fake?”

“My feelings for anyone are fake.” Vaster kissed her neck again. “Don’t think you’re that special.”

“What about your feelings for her?”

“Those were the last real feelings I ever had.”