Aka Amy

"It'll be ok," Tess said softly as I knocked at the front door of my parents' house.

I nodded and responded just as quietly, "I know. Worst case scenario, we just leave and I don't visit anymore."

The door was opened before either of us could say anything else, and I found myself face to face with my dad. He looked like he was about to say hello but the words escaped him as he looked down at me.

For a few awkward seconds the three of us just stood there, me and Tess looking at my dad while he stood in the doorway staring at me.

Finally he cleared his throat and apologized, motioning me and Tess inside. "Sorry Amy. I uh, forgot how short you got."

Dad was always taller than me, even before my magic-powered transition. I used to be about five-foot-eleven, and dad was six-foot-two. Now he was a full foot taller than me, but he'd only seen the new me for less than an hour last summer. I was used to my size nowadays, but last time I was here I was still adjusting and it was a very strange sensation.

"It's ok dad," I replied as me and Tess stepped inside. "I'm used to it, it's just one of a hundred things I'm happier about now than I ever was before."

Dad closed the door, then Tess and I took off our coats and our shoes. He finally greeted me and Theresa properly as he took our coats, and my girlfriend said hi to him as well. Dad hung up our coats, then he looked sort of awkward again.

"Your sister's helping your mom like usual..."

His voice trailed off and I could guess what he was wondering about now. Usually on visits like this he'd drag me into the den to watch some sports on the TV while Hailey stayed in the kitchen with mom. Dad was probably wondering if I'd want to do 'guy stuff' with him like in the past, or if I'd want to do 'girl stuff' with mom.

It was hard not to smile as I told him, "Sorry dad. Honestly I was never into the sports you always made me watch. Anyways, me and Tess should probably go say hi to mom, and Hailey and Alex."

"Ok Amy," he said as his shoulders slumped slightly. "You know where to find me if you want to come talk after you see your mom."

I led Tess to the kitchen while dad went into the den, where he already had something on the TV. The smell of dinner wasn't that strong yet, but as soon as me and Tess stepped into the kitchen it was a lot more noticeable. Mom had a ham in the oven, but for the moment she was sitting at the kitchen table with my sister and her partner.

"Hi mom," I said as I headed for the fridge to find something to drink. "Hi Hailey, hi Alex."

Hailey replied first, "Hey Amy! Hi Tess! Glad you two could make it."

"Hi Amy, Tess," Alex added.

Theresa greeted them as well, "Hi Hailey, Alex. And hello Mrs. Price."

I grabbed a can of cola from the fridge for myself and got a cooler out for Tess, then I turned around to face the others. Mom hadn't said anything yet, but she'd turned around in her chair to look at me and my girlfriend.

There was only one empty seat at the table, but mom kept a couple extra chairs against the wall on the right. I led Tess over there and we sat down beside each other against the wall. Mom continued watching us as we sat down.

"Mom?" I finally asked, "Everything ok?"

It felt like she might be about to cause a fuss or a scene or something. If she did I was prepared to just get up and walk straight back out again. I stayed calm though, and I wasn't even feeling that nervous anymore. Like the anticipation of seeing my folks was more stressful than actually seeing them.

At long last mom spoke up. She asked, "So should I call you Amethyst? Or Amy?"

There was definitely something in her tone, a little bit of bitterness or bitchiness.

I could guess what had her bent out of shape. She didn't like my name, and beyond that she didn't like that I had the audacity to name myself. She was going to take it as a personal affront, as if changing my name was my way of telling her that the name she picked for me wasn't good enough.

"You can call me Amy," I replied calmly. "That's what everyone calls me. But my real name is Amethyst."

Mom frowned and said quietly as if she was talking to herself but loud enough that we all heard her, "Your real name is...the name I gave you when you were born."

I got back up and motioned to Tess. That was under a minute, and I'd had enough. I walked out of the kitchen with Tess, and we headed into the den instead.

Beyond the whole name thing, mom never even said hello to either of us, and I wasn't happy with the way she was completely ignoring my girlfriend. It reminded me when we were here last summer, my folks both ignored Tess back then too. At least my dad was better today.

Dad had a football game on the TV and a can of beer in his hand. He seemed pleasantly surprised when the two of us joined him. We sat down together on the sofa as dad hit the mute button for the TV. I glanced around at all the pictures mom had up in here. There were no pictures of my old self, I made sure of that. The empty frames had been filled with photos of Hailey or dad or all the three of them.

"Everything ok in the kitchen?" dad asked. He sounded awkward again, like we all knew he was really asking how it went with mom.

I glanced at Tess then shook my head, "Not really. Mom's doing a very good job of making us feel unwelcome."

"I'm sorry," dad sighed. He was about to say something else when we all heard the raised voices from the kitchen.

Dad grimaced, "That didn't take long."

I rolled my eyes but stayed quiet. I had a sip of my cola and glanced at Tess to see how she was handling it.

She seemed to be ok, like obviously it was awkward but I figured most families were like this. Maybe not as bad, but shouting at family get-together's seemed like some sort of tradition. About the only thing that was odd was it sounded like Hailey was doing the shouting. Usually mom was the one who started it off.

A moment later Alex came into the den and joined us. They sat on the sofa next to Tess, and like dad they had a beer in hand.

"Things are getting a little heated in the kitchen," Alex commented.

Dad sighed and apologized, "Sorry Alex."

The tall slim enby shrugged, "It's ok Mr. Price. Hailey warns me every time we come. And this isn't my first visit, I'm getting used to it."

Despite their assurances I felt embarrassed, for both Alex and Tess. And I made myself a promise, if I ever had kids or had a family of my own, my family get-togethers would never involve arguments and shouting. If I had a family I wanted it to be happy, loving, and supportive.

The four of us tried to make some light conversation, like we were all trying not to listen in on what my sister and mom were arguing about. It wasn't easy to tune them out though, and I suddenly realized why dad always had the TV on. I was thinking about asking him to unmute it when Hailey stalked into the den. Mom was still shouting from the kitchen, about money and cutting my sister off.

"Hey sis?" Hailey asked from just inside the doorway. "Last summer you said money wasn't an issue anymore. I don't suppose you'd be able to help me out for a while? Mom's threatening to cut me off if I don't take her side. Apparently she's not happy that I'm so supportive of you."

Dad practically face-palmed, and I was positive he was going to get involved in the argument. Mom had finally stopped shouting from the kitchen but I could hear her coming towards the den as well, and it felt like round two was about to take place in here so mom could drag the rest of us into it.

And right at that point, it was like something inside me just clicked. Or maybe it snapped. And I decided I really didn't care anymore. My folks could accept me for who and what I was, or they could fuck off. I already felt kind of comfortable with my dad, but he had a track record of caving in and going along with mom. And hearing that mom was basically trying to control my sister through money was the last straw.

"You know what Hailey?" I said to my sister. "Yeah. I'll set you up, I've got you covered. Whatever you're getting from mom and dad, I can do that too. All you have to do in return is put out a box of sacrificial cookies for me every full moon, and a glass of ice wine. We can talk about the details later."

Hailey, Alex, and Tess all looked at me in surprise. Tess was surprised because she knew what I was getting at, while my sister and Alex were probably surprised that I'd agree to help with the money.

Mom was behind Hailey and she heard me. She demanded angrily, "Where are you going to come up with that kind of money?! You're not even working! Are you getting all this money from her?!"

She gestured at Tess, and I realized mom probably thought Tess was rich or something, that she was supporting me and paying for my college.

And yet again she managed to avoid saying my name or Tess's.

"No mom, Theresa isn't supporting me." I kept my voice calm, I was determined not to get into a shouting match. "I have my own ways of acquiring funds."

"Oh yeah?" mom demanded. "How?!"

Without waiting for an answer she started going on about dealing drugs and prostitution, because apparently those were the only things she thought I was capable of with my limited education. Which she made sure to mention, along with the low grades I got in high school and how lazy I was and that I never applied myself.

That got both Hailey and dad going. Dad started shouting at mom about how rude it was to say stuff like that, while Hailey was more blunt about it and shouted at mom for being such a bitch to me. And mom was shouting back at both of them about how they were ganging up on her and nobody ever supported her or listened to her about her side of things.

Tess and Alex and I were all silent, the three of us watched as my parents and sister all continued yelling at each other. It was like some kind of farce. I felt embarrassed for my girlfriend and my sister's partner, and ashamed of my family. I'd have just got up and left but both Hailey and mom were blocking the only exit out of the den.

After two or three minutes I decided I'd had enough. I was going to shut them all up and give them something else to think about.

I took a deep breath then sighed and whispered, "Ravenna? Please make an entrance."

My angel did not disappoint.

Half the den was suddenly engulfed in what looked like jet black flames, like an undulating curtain of darkness. There was no heat, the black fire seemed to radiate cold instead. Mom, dad, and Hailey all went silent as they stared, eyes wide and jaws hanging open. Alex was the same, they stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Even Tess looked shocked.

The black flames receded into nothing, and revealed my tall goth angel of death. Her feet hovered about six inches above the floor, her long black gown and black hair flowed in a non-existent breeze. There wasn't much room for her black wings, but she extended them as much as she could. She was holding her sword in her right hand, and it appeared to be ablaze with those cold black flames burning along the length of the blade. A halo of the same black fire burned in the air a few inches above her head.

Ravenna looked angry as her eyes swept around the room. She glared at the collection of mortals who were all stunned silent. She made eye contact with each of them, but avoided my own eyes which was pretty much like I expected.

And finally she settled to the floor. When her feet were on the carpet she retracted her wings then approached me.

Standing directly before me, she sank to her knees. The flames on her sword died out as she placed it on the floor by my feet, then she bowed forward and prostrated herself before me. When she spoke, it was loud enough and clear enough that nobody present could misunderstand what she said.

"You called, my Goddess?"