Cinderfella

Story: Cinderfella 2: A New Life

Chapter: 33 Can We Come To Your House?

Author: Eric McQueen (mcqueen.richarderic@gmail.com)

Mature Readers only due to sexual situations and graphic sexual content

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Seth and Erik adjust to house life was changing and ask Demetrius if they can come to his house.

Can We Come To Your House?

Seth knew what to do to divert my thoughts. We were really a married couple. Not just to sound poetic, but we knew each other so well that speaking wasn't always necessary. We were going through life together. Anyone that couldn't understand how there's a romance between two men works need to hang their heads in shame. Two Human males can be romantic. There are times we can be rough. We can be tender. No words needed to be said by either of us. Spontaneous sex was great. The novelty of someone new is exciting. Seth and I had passed that years ago. There was still the discovery when something new is added, but there was comfort and security in knowing that we both knew what the other wanted and needed. We had excitement and passion. We also had a comfortable familiarity I felt so comfortable in.

With our ceiling open to let what little reflected sunlight there was now, I was guessing it was dinner time soon. The sun was out, yes, but it was almost always overcast here. Learning to judge the time of day in the Northwest was a little challenging.

The Rain Shower Room we had wasn't big enough for both of us. The Rain Shower Room was what one of the Natives called it. I suppose it was if it was a heavy downpour. You got clean. That was the important thing.

"These Rain Shower Rooms are great," Seth said under the warm water. "It's great if you're in a hurry," then whined a bit, "but I miss our bath time."

I chuckled, "They have tubs here." I was putting a deerskin shirt on. It was warmer than anything I brought!

"That's not the same," Seth pouted sourly. "It's a whole floor down and we'd have to watch if people came in..."

"I know," I said as he came out. "It's an Our Time moment."

Seth nodded as he dried his hair with a drying cloth. "It is! We don't just get clean. It's a bonding time for you and me. There are times we can't share a bath."

I came up to him, "And we will bath together again, I promise. From ancient Roma and Athenian, baths were more than just to get clean. It was very social. I love our private time together. I think it's one of the reasons we get along so well." I kissed him gently, "Thank you, Seth. I was not handling the situation well and..."

Seth's eyes grew, "What are you talking about!?" He shook his head. "I think you handled it the best you can and you're taking it damned seriously. If anything, I'd say you were frightened of it. Why?"

"It's a scary ability to have," I said. "And so simple to use."

Seth nodded, "You've said that. What's wrong with it being easy to use?" He held a finger up about a point he was going to make, "That's something I'll address soon, but" he shrugged, "why would there be something hard to use? Whatever or whoever put it there to use wouldn't make it as easy as breathing? When I hear about the Garden, frankly, I can't imagine a life more...boring!" He saw the surprise on my face and his smile grew. "You would be bored to tears in a day! You know that! You love challenges. Mentally," he tapped my forehead and raised my right arm, "and physically." Seth let my arm drop. "Living a life where all you do is lounge around and eat whatever, whenever...you would be looking for a way out in LESS than a week!" He gave me a nod and look that told he didn't need me to confirm anything. He knew he was right. "You know how I feel about those three Children of Lilith now. Lukus took..." he thought a few moments, "...a little more time. I love them! Ceto, Martha, and Eabha are coming, but..." He shook his head. "If it had been anyone to suddenly be able to do it, I know I'd be practicing using it. Seeing what I could and couldn't do. Demetrius is..." he grinned, "special. Do you think he would be weaving spells and using ancient words? I sort of doubt he could do complicated things."

"Hey!" Demetrius' voice of objection came from nowhere.

Seth chuckled, saying as he looked at me, "You know I love you, Demetrius."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Demetrius' voice faded with each yeah.

"And while we're on the subject," Seth asked indignantly, "If it's so easy to do, why are you the only one that can? Hum? And another thing." Seth gave me an intensive look, "When you faced Wahkooha, how did you know what to do? You got rid of that Druid stuff that had the power. How'd you know what to do?"

I smiled and chuckled, "I did it with a lot of help from all of you."

Seth nodded, "Okay, but you did something specifically. How did you KNOW? What were you thinking?"

I had to think a few minutes. I shrugged, "I wasn't really thinking anything. I wasn't letting anyone touch Toby, you, or Thomas."

"That's when they got burned by touching," Seth nodded. "You did speak a word I didn't know. Bratha-something."

"Brathachadh," I grinned, "It's an old form of Irish telling Wahkooha he insulted his father and ancestors. I knew that one when I used it."

"Because you've used it before?" Seth asked but suspected differently.

"Not once," I said. "I knew, like I knew how to get rid of that ring and the other thing. It was a strong compulsion of what to do."

"You felt it?" Seth asked pointedly.

"Yeah," I said carefully. "I did feel it, just...more."

"You're smarter than this!" Seth said. "You know what Demetrius, Dara...all of them said about communicating with The Big Guy! This could be what they meant!"

Seth was certainly smart enough, but I hadn't seen that. Sometimes, I look so hard for a tree and overlook the forest. Until someone points me at the right tree that no one else ever had been there the whole time!

Oh, and I guess that never happened to anyone else.

"I know you," Seth stated. "This show-me thing is fine, but He's been with you then and won't abandon you. We need a sense of accomplishment and pride in what we do," Seth sneered. "An immortality of doing nothing? I'll pass on that. Even in Heaven! We need to do SOMETHING! An eternity sitting on a cloud and strumming a harp is NOT my idea of a good time. THAT would be absolute Hell. You can't even escape by suicide! You're already dead!"

"Thank you," I kissed him. "You often see things a lot clearer than I do."

"Nah," Seth shook his head. "You would have figured it out eventually." He kissed me again, "I just gave you a push in the right direction."

There were many things I needed to learn. I really overreacted. I will also say that if God said to do something or not to do something, that compulsion would be hard to not follow through with it. When Demetrius appeared to me about Deena Thorne, he explained that he couldn't come to help us. I now had empathy for that as I knew first hand just how strong the feeling and compulsion was. I had the feeling once THAT time. Lukus was right, I did need to practice it more. And I would.

The main...room, where Wahkooha met with others when he was alive was the preferred place to gather. It could be around a table or on the floor with the pillows. I realized every time I sat on the polished stone floor I was never cold! Everybody knew that heat rises.

I looked around. They couldn't have heated floors. Could they? I read about Baking Floors, but I just read it. Never had I seen one. I flattened my hand on the floor. It was warm!!

Seth was watching me warily, "Why did you do that?" It was a non-stressed, slightly amused look he gave me.

"It's warm!"

Seth looked at me and shook his head, "So?"

"It's warm!" I repeated. "It should NOT be warm!" I pointed toward the outside. It's freezing out there! The reason it's not covered with snow is because it's too wet." I shrugged, "Whatever that means. I grew up with cold stone floors, Even our home in Royal Valley has cold floors and they're wood! That's why we have those great rugs to cover those spots." I grabbed his arm and forced him to touch the floor like I did. "It's warm!"

Seth's almost flippant look on his face vanished and was replaced by surprise. "It is!"

"Hence the statement of surprise when I said, it's warm." I ground out. I waved and said, "So, how?"

"There are these long pipes under the floor," Ceto stated softly as she appeared. "Truly, if it had been anyone else but Wahkooha it would be cold." She chuckled, "He didn't want a cold floor. It's really a fusion of two cultures. Native and Japanese. The work would have taken longer, if Wahkooha hadn't been more cooperative in the beginning. The pipes were placed before the marble was put there."

"Hot water?" Seth smiled.

"Our friends in Creid," I chuckled. "They have these tubs they use for hot baths."

Ceto looked at me startled, "That water is probably scalding!"

"It is!" I nodded, "Even after that icy mountain water is added you take it slowly. You can't just dive in."

"And it smells," Seth chuckled. "A little like rotten eggs."

"Ah," Ceto nodded, "Sulphur. I think they did more than cool the water down. Too much Sulphur can burn skin, but if it's diluted enough to stand the heat, it dilutes the Sulphur." She stomped a foot. "There are plenty of vents in this part of the world, but those are Natural Gas."

"Yes, but a lot of them are Methane. Methane gas is dangerous! It's odorless and colorless." I said. "People die simply breathing it. You become dizzy and sick...eating it or touching it..."

Ceto touched my shoulder, "Yes, but these wonderful people have dealt with it for three thousand years. They know what to do. No one has died for hundreds of years. It's a sealed system and checked often."

Seth was grinning now, "I guess we should feel like the poor dumb cousin now."

"Bite your tongue!" I waved at the room. "We," I pointed at him and I, "didn't make this our homes up here. We would have come up with something if we needed to." I looked at Ceto and she wasn't hurrying to do anything. Then again, when she made dinner before...no, I couldn't say it wasn't labor intensive because I didn't know.

Ceto chuckled, "No, I won't be making dinner." She nodded quickly in a direction, "Eabha wanted to and don't ask, because she won't tell you what it will be."

"Okay," Seth smiled.

"Where's Beau?" I asked casually. I don't really need to tell you how I feel about Beau or Ceto. Who did I think I was!? Beau was an adult and Ceto...well. "I'm sorry." I almost never got that illness where you put your own foot in your mouth. I held my hands up to stop a probable irate tirade. "It's not my business, but you encourage Beau to spend time with you. You like that."

Ceto's face did change into one of a delighted smile and she nodded, "Very much. He's very refreshing!"

Was she not understanding where this was coming from? "He's got Common Sense and he can think..."

Ceto started laughing. She wasn't offended at all. "That has to be the nicest thing a person can say about another! It's coming from a real place of love for Beau. You are watching out for his feelings." She waved at the other Creid. "They do it, too! Well, he is A LOT younger than I am." Then she smiled at me and Seth. "I hear him speak and he talks about what fascinates him. How he became this walking contradiction is amazing! He does some pretty scary things as a job, yet he steps away from that job and becomes someone that's innocent. He loves art, flowers and sees things I haven't in..." she chuckled, "in a while."

"He's a grown man, but..."

"He's a Human Being," Ceto nodded. "I know he could get hurt and I will do my very best not to do that. You're protective. He's one of you."

Ceto was happy to see Beau come over to her. She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and they walked off together. Then I spotted Toby in an interesting conversation he was having with Kohona of the Samish Tribe. Kohona spoke something, Toby repeated what he thought Kohona said. Twice, Kohona nodded with a smile and signed something in the language Natives used, which Toby signed back in the language he used. Once, Kohona threw his head back and laughed, shaking his head. There really wasn't that many years difference between Kohona and Toby. Then again when they find out their birthday is a week away; that was just FOREVER!! It would NEVER get there.

"Our Native hosts have to love this," Seth said. "I assume none of the Children of Lilith use anything the Natives had stored."

I hadn't thought of it. "I don't think so, but I know Ceto used what she had in her garden to cure my muscle cramp."

"Either our hosts provide or not," Seth chuckled. "Our hosts aren't being bothered in prepping, preparing or cleaning up." He shrugged, "Of course, the Natives would allow the Children of Lilith to cook! No plates, bowls, napkins either!"

I looked for people and found one missing. Thomas. I looked all around for the young woman who he had grown attached to. She had gotten and held Thomas's attention. I know what it's like to have a world fixed in your mind suddenly ripped away. These tribes were not the first. No. Between Blethos and the Western Ocean is the Zuni. They were Japanese. That's right. And they had been here longer than the Europeans had been. The proof was they simply didn't go down the same road the Natives did for their people. Some of the words they used in their language are clearly the same words. To a lesser degree the further you go and find the Hopi Language, Pima, and Kesesan have similar words rooted in old Japanese, but they had mixed a lot more than the Zuni.

I don't know about anyone else, but I felt the Earth move when I understood the world wasn't what I thought. Just when you think you understand, sometimes something happens to prove you don't.

"Over there," Seth chuckled as he jutted his head in a direction.

Oh, yeah. This was becoming very serious. They were both "strolling." She was carrying or seemed to be doing nothing but walking with Thomas. I bring this one part up because it almost never EVER happens in Japanese Culture. Not the few I've known about. A woman that was outspoken and...(gasp!) had ideas! She was confident in her speaking voice and the expectation was Thomas would listen!! He did as he commented occasionally with a comment.

No, I'm sure no one knows about that. Christian was Thomas's father, but more importantly, his mother was Ella!! Don't forget that part. When she spoke it was as important as what anyone had to say and she expected to be listened to. Christian did listen and so would Thomas.

Thomas glanced up and his smile lit up his face at seeing us. He smiled at her and said something she commented back about.

You know I often give appearances a good comment. You won't be surprised when I say, she was stunning. I could tell by her manner of dress; she wasn't there to work as an employee. The dress were deerskins, but a light color. There were objects on the deerskins that were decorative only. She wore an eagle feather that hung from her right ear and a small coin-sized dreamcatcher on her left earlobe. She was the perfect age! Old enough to marry and still young enough to just be pretty because of that youth. Long dark and straight brown hair cascaded below her shoulders. Clear skin that wasn't as dark as other Natives. Personally, I'd feel better if all Humans blended into one ethnic group. We need to get busy.

I know, I'm not saying to set any date aside for a royal wedding in Spring for A'Dore. If it's waddling and I just needed one quack to confirm and call it a duck.

"Hana," Thomas touched me. "There are only these two men who are in any way as important to me as my father to me." He chuckled, "I say they were part of a team of fathers that guided me as I grew up. This is His Royal Highness Prince Erik of A'Dore and Blethos and His Royal Highness Prince Seth of Blethos and A'Dore. He was also king of Blethos. But still my uncle." He looked at Seth and me. "This is Hana of the Quinault tribe."

I took her hand and...there was again that odd mixture of cultures. Assertive and submissive. Meek and bold!? On the social portion, Hana had learned to curtsy. That wasn't either culture. That was from Europe! The confident and firm meeting of our eyes was Native. I LOVED HER!! (I am married to Seth and I wasn't converted...oh, you know what I mean.) I knew she was going to be queen! I raised her hand, palm down and kissed her hand. "It's my honor to meet you."

Now, the Japanese culture surfaced as she shied her light giggle behind her other hand. I remember some delegates from Japan and the bold, outspoken just wasn't done!

"I need speak you as...?"

"Hey, you," Seth chuckled, "is fine."

"Our names are fine," I said as my smile grew. "I've had a few, but I really don't care for all of the titles. What do we call you?"

"Hana," she said simply. "My mother chose it because it fits with languages including Native and Japanese."

Thomas was sort of impatient, but his eyes communicated a lot to me. I'll say it again. When you know the source, words aren't always needed. Not by Thomas and certainly not between Seth and me. Thomas's eyes widened a little in anticipation. I got the message, so I looked at Seth to help.

Seth smiled at Hana and he glanced around. "Has Thomas introduced everyone to you?"

"Not yet," Hana smiled.

Seth nodded, "We need to do that," he stuck his left elbow out to her, "right now!"

She again hid a giggle, but stuck her hand in place where Seth held her hand in place as they went to do that. "Excuse us."

"Well?" Thomas asked, his happy face almost splitting with excitement. "Isn't she great!?"

I know I smiled a bit too much. I didn't roll my eyes because it was important to him, "To be honest, our conversation wasn't long enough for me to say. What's more important is you think she's great. After nearly two or three days you've spoken with her, you still think so!"

"She's smart, she's funny..." Thomas grinned. "She has a unique concept on nobility!"

I pointed over my shoulder at Seth and Hana. "You know what I married!"

Thomas nodded, "Yes, Uncle Seth." He said in a tone that said Seth simply was. His face told me he knew what a struggle it had been. "I'm going to marry her."

"No!!" I said in a clear voice of extremely exaggerated denial, "Say, it isn't so."

Again, Thomas's face was nearly split as he smiled. He threw his arms around me. "I love you, Uncle Erik."

I laughed, "I know you do. What does she think about it?"

I swear. It was if the concept hadn't even crossed his mind as his eyes widened. It probably hadn't. He was the Crowned Prince of A'Dore. He was going to be king! And A'Dore was three thousand miles away!

I started nodding as I patted his chest, "She has to understand you can't stay here."

Thomas stood straighter, "I can, too!" He said a little angry.

"Stop!" I said sharply and held my hand up to stop him. I sighed and nodded, "First, take a breath." I was really telling myself to do the same thing. "Be calm. Yes, you can stay here if you choose. There are things to consider if you abdicate, like Edward being king instead." I waved at the sky, "I could NEVER have married Seth without higher powers to help me! It was against the Church and the law! But we did it! Have you even asked her?"

Thomas grinned a little embarrassed, "No."

I let out a sigh of relief, "I think that is kind of important. She needs to agree or disagree before you decide."

"You asked Uncle Seth?" Thomas asked. "Dad asked Mom?"

I grimaced, "Well, no." I chuckled. "We had those fancy ball dances to choose someone to marry. Everyone at you Dad's ball knew what was to happen and hoped he would pick them. Everyone knew in Blethos with that law on the books for joining for the purpose of a long-term alliance, I might pick a man." I cocked my head slightly. "He found out when I announced it to all the guests." I grinned at Thomas. "I think your Dad and I did just fine. We've got a couple of weeks. Talk to her!" I stated.

We joined Seth and Hana as they spoke to Reese, Val, and Max. I was again impressed. She spoke English well. It wasn't perfect. She did speak several languages! Some of the other languages for the many tribes, the hand language they all used, a little of the many in Asia and especially in Japanese! Languages diversified because of isolation and distance. As travel time decreased, meaning there weren't the seasonal migrations anymore for people. A common language was needed. Hana's ability to charm everyone, (okay, the guys were charmed quicker) and even worked on Seth and me. And she used her lack of knowledge to charm even more!

"Did you give Thomas the go ahead?" Seth asked me as we went toward the table.

I grinned, "He needs to ask her."

Seth's eyes widened, "Wait," then he narrowed his left eye and his head went back at least a foot. "What!?" He gaped loud enough for those around us to look puzzled at us. He had done a signature move with his head.

I had to laugh and pushed him away slightly as I gave a shushing sound. I had to ask this time. "That move you do," I pointed at his face. "Does that little change of perspective really help?" I shrugged, "It must, as often as you do it."

Seth never answered that question, so, I still don't know. Yes, we were often silly and joked with each other a lot! We are best friends so long we didn't need to talk to know what the other was thinking. Remember? And I would make a lousy Puritan. Humor wasn't even considered for them. One situation had three impressions. The Puritans and their people only saw the sin and evil. Others were just so...serious. They never smiled, even at a hilarious joke or story! Fortunately, my path with those kinds of people didn't often cross. Everybody prefers to be happy! All of the Children of Lilith seemed to love that. Demetrius was a prime example! There was very little he took seriously. Why would he? How can anyone survive acting depressed and sad all the time? It isn't possible for me or Seth. Be positive! It just feels better.

"He didn't think about it," I said in a chuckling whisper to Seth. "He never had to before. Everyone knew him, what he will become and probably wondering if he is dragging his feet to the altar like Christian did." I held up the finger to make a point again, "Considering where we are, I'll feel better if she verbally agrees."

Seth looked up as they all laughed at something and the smile on Seth's face relaxed. "She already agrees."

I looked surprised, "You're a man capable of many wonderful things. You read my mind, but can you read Hana's?"

"It's so...obvious!" Seth waved at them, "She's here as a guest of Thomas's, not to serve. She wouldn't just string Thomas along. It is more obvious than when I knew what you were going to do."

"When?" I asked, surprised. "You knew when I chose you."

"No!" Seth waved that away, "Before that! When they announced you and you came down those stairs! It was...you! That magic ring didn't work on me. When I saw you come down those stairs, the last thing you said to me as you ran out of that lake was that I was the next king of Blethos!" He saw disbelief in my eyes and began nodding right then. "Yes, you did." He argued at a challenge I hadn't spoken yet. "For a few hours afterward, I was thinking you were a mad man." He was nodding again. "I did, but it didn't make sense. I loved the time we spent together. You liked me!"

I chuckled, "And still do! I'm so totally in love with you now."

"I know," Seth grinned, "But Deena and Darius didn't recognize you at the ball," He shook his head. "Almost everyone there had been with us on the Hunt. They saw you as someone new! But I saw you."

"Yeah," I pulled him close and kissed him. "You did."

Eabha smiled, "If everyone will take a seat." She waved at what had been a clean, polished, and bare table. Anybody that knows anyone from Ireland knows the color of choice for them is green. You know shamrocks, clovers, and St. Patrick. Except for one thing. Gaelic, Fae, and Druids were there first. They predated the Church and Christianity! No, the Celts incorporated Christianity and the Saints. These Fae loved green, too. The color of the living world. I had seen some impressive things when magic is used. Even I was overwhelmed. All over the table, that was now set with metal plates and bowls. Steam came from the bowls and no matter how it's prepared, the chicken smelled like chicken. It was tempting me as I felt my mouth water. It did have a unique scent with the smell of onions and bacon! "This is a chicken dish with cabbage and pork." She pointed to metal plates with a single thing of bread. Smaller than a loaf, but bigger than a bisquette or roll. "That's a raisin soda bread." Most recipes changed and evolved with time. When it came to feeding an entire family, stews and soups made it easier for everyone to get a little of everything! Meat cooked on a spit or oven is great. If you have enough. Getting children to eat vegetables was challenging and a stew covered that problem! I did with Dennis and...I confess. I was the problem at the palace in A'Dore. What I considered "good" was very different from what some people were telling me was good. It was a judgement I questioned when anyone told me that.

There were arranged on the table and walls a lot of greenery in bundles and just there. They had to have taken hours to get, bundle and then place them about. But, it hadn't been but a few seconds ago when there was nothing! There were these green flowers! They were a light green. I would find out they were Bells of Ireland. Well, of course, they were!

I was smiling as Thomas helped Hana sit on her pillow. He was being polite!

"I hope she agrees to marry Thomas," Seth chuckled as he said to me. "He can say he HAD to come! To meet HER!"

"It was destiny." I nodded.

Could we be deceived? Anybody can be a victim of that. I tried not to watch too closely, but I watched Thomas and Hana together. And I was ashamed of myself when I thought how cute they were. Almost no one thought Seth and I were cute. I know there was a lot of revulsion. I'm thankful for the many communities that adjusted quickly. Native culture had no adjustment to make.

The dinner and conversation seemed to just flow.

"You worry too much," Demetrius said as he chuckled and sat by me. He patted my arm as he nodded. He and I didn't need words much anymore either. "That's not by itself a bad thing, but is it always necessary for you to take on so much?"

I nodded, "I do that, yes." I shrugged, "However, I feel justified. Thomas wanted to come with us." I began explaining as Seth leaned closer to hear me. "Right now," I touched Seth's arm. "Seth and I are the only PARENTS Thomas has on this trip. We ARE Toby's parents. Our job now is to protect both of them."

Demetrius smiled and nodded, "That is true." He said grudgingly. "Do I have to remind you that you were a year YOUNGER than Thomas is now when you married? He's a man."

I pushed slightly away from Demetrius as I shook my head and shook a finger in his face, "Don't you try to use logic on me! It makes sense in my head, but not in my heart."

Demetrius chuckled, "He'll make mistakes."

I narrowed an eye at him, "You know this isn't a very encouraging conversation, don't you?"

Demetrius laughed a little harder as he nodded, "I'm just telling you to keep you from being surprised. You don't believe Hana is a mistake."

"That wasn't even a question," I ground out. "Who am I to say it is or not?"

Demetrius pointed at Seth on my other side and then me, "Who you are, is family. Both of you. Just be there for victories or losses. If he asks, tell him the truth." He patted my shoulder, "Just be there for him."

"I don't want him hurt," I said, sounding pitiful even to myself.

"Of course, you don't!" Demetrius sighed with a sad smile, "Unfortunately, in order to grow up, that has to happen." He put some of the steaming, stewed chicken in a spoon and blew on it and cooled it down to eat. "He has to learn." He took a tentative attempt as this wonderful smelling stew. His fork went down as he threw his head back a little as he chewed and let out a strongly approving and lengthy, "EmmHumHUM!!" His comment and words had three emphasized syllables. He grinned at Seth and me as he pointed at us with his spoon and swallowed. "Four hundred years." He said in disbelief and now pointed his spoon at his stew. "I've been around for over four centuries!" He got some more stew in his spoon. "I think I've pretty much tasted everything once at least," he lifted the bowl and asked Eabha. "It's DAMNED good, but what..."

Eabha shook her head as he was asking, "Oh, no, I can never tell you what's in it." She waved at her bowl, "I will admit to chicken, cabbage, pork...two secret ingredients I will say you will have a hard time finding. One is an herb most assume now is extinct." She shook her head, "But it's in my garden. The other is a kind of Stout."

"Beer?" I asked.

She gave a grudging nod of consent, "Sort of, yes."

"Not you, too." Seth muttered, "Yes or no."

Eabha started to laugh, "How do I answer, it's both?" She pointed to a stein. "This is milk stout. It's also called a sweet or cream stout. It's made like beer, but milk doesn't ferment. It adds a firmness and sweet taste to the stout."

Seth nodded, "That's why it's both."

"Exactly!" Eabha said. Then she shrugged, "Oh, I'll tell you. The herb is called Eriuthismia." Everyone had blank faces, so no one understood what she was talking about. She smiled more, "It's a variety of the Thismia plant that grows in many places around the world." She shrugged a nod, "usually it has to be tropical, but I know that and one other that will grow in colder climates. You have those large lakes, like seas? A couple of thousand miles east of here. Thismia here and in Ireland grows in colder climates. The Eriuthismia adds a unique flavor."

"Oh!" Toby said as he understood now. "The plant is Thismia and Ireland used to be called Eriu!"

Eabha clapped her hands together once, "That is absolutely right!" Then she stopped quickly. "Only the Eriuthisimia can be used as a spice. The others are poisonous." she shrugged, "so is Eriuthismia, but the roots are not and very good!"

Toby smiled grandly with a nod. He was very satisfied he got that right.

Seth said in my ear in a whispered hiss, "I need to study before I come to eat?!"

I looked at Seth. He wasn't even really mad or bothered. "Isn't it against the law or something for a father to be jealous of a genius son? He knows many things we don't know."

Seth pointed at Toby, but looked at me, "You didn't know that one?"

"It might have taken a while longer, but the words used for plants and animals are base words now used to identify...everything! To identify species and origins," I was grinning at him. "All words have roots in other languages. To find a word's meaning, you often seek the root to know the source! You know this." I pulled him toward me and kissed him. "And you know a Hell of a lot about roots! Way more than any of us do!"

The man Seth was now was fun to be with. You know that. I've said it a lot. However, that horrible event and childhood he endured sometimes tried to resurface. Now, I could see and recognize that specter in his eyes quickly and I could make it retreat just as quickly.

"If it's a vine root..." Seth's eyes lowered.

"Bullshit!" I said in a loud whisper, but the smile on my face told him what I thought of that. "Forget those damned grapes! You know full well the winery doubled its output even before I ever got to Blethos! That was all you, not Arthur! Since then, you took a good vineyard of not even a couple of hundred acres and made it an excellent fifteen thousand acres! We only stopped because we need more land to grow vines! Hell, I STILL don't know all the different grapes you use for different wines, but I know there is more than just wine for dinner! Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlots, all the Blancs..." I held my hands up in surrender, "but no, we're taking the vines off the table. Fine. Let's talk about your irrigation system! Using wind to pump the water uphill and then letting gravity water the vineyard..." I pointed at him loosely. "That was genius. And those heaters you now have set up throughout the vineyard. THAT was pure genius and all from YOU! When you figured out how to see those little things were killing Christian a decade ago, that was SUPERgenius!!" I shrugged. "We might not even be friendly with Creid if you hadn't, but we're allies and good friends with almost every one of them now! That idea of yours introduced a whole new world to science and medicine that is being studied today..."

Seth was now turning bright red, but he was smiling at me. It wasn't false modesty! It was ME that saw this. He was truly humbled, "Thank you."

"There are many people that look up to you," I said. "I do, our sons do, Edward does from day one with you, Thomas, Christian, Ella..."

"Christian!?" Seth balked.

"Yes! Christian!" I held the finger up to show I had a point, "He listens to you. I mean, he pays attention to what you say because he values what you have to say. In fact, many people could never even dream of having the ear of a king, but you have the ear of THREE kings!! Christian, Sam, and Yannick! I can guarantee you there aren't many men who can walk into the palace of any of them, unannounced, ask to speak to ANY of them and they will drop whatever they're doing and listen to what you have to say!! You are very smart and they trust YOU."

"You could do that , too." Seth grinned.

"Yep. We both know," I said, placing my forehead against his. "We are always in each other's corner."

Dinner was great! The food was excellent. The company was familiar and at ease with each other. I was protective of all of them, but Seth, Toby, Thomas, and Chitto were at the very top. There was no number scale to give you about who was higher, just know I would KILL to protect anyone of them. You don't need to even ask me if I would sacrifice my life to save them, because you know I would. And why do we always put things together based on a ranking system? In government and militaries, you had to have it to know who to listen to. The higher rank earned the right to be listened to even if you have never heard of him before!! Yes, this would have been a rabbit If I went after him, but I'll let it go.

I smiled seeing Hana was NOT shy. While she didn't do any particular thing to attract attention, she didn't retreat from it either. Confidence is not just something you can simply put on or have to learn. She seemed to be fine with who she was. I hate to keep bringing up cultures and mannerisms that were taught, but not the person. I was born as the youngest child of a king and queen. That didn't make me confident, but I knew who I was. Hana knew who she was. A confident young lady. The Japanese portion of her upbringing was there, but strongly overshadowed by the Native upbringing which taught her the thoughts and opinions she had were just as important as anyone's. Teresa had that and Ella had it in spite of how her stepmother and stepsisters treated her. Seth had it! Really, he did!! Yes, those scars were a HUGE problem. It only took me a few minutes with him to see his true depth and see HIM! His soul was beaten down and bruised, but no one could destroy HIM! That was real confidence and strength! That was Seth. Many people would have given in to despair or turned to a life of crime or even committed suicide. We had some things to take care of before returning to our homes or planned a wedding. I'm just saying, if she agrees, I think she will make a fine queen for A'Dore. I should not have been eager to get them married, but I could see that any child they made together would be beautiful. She needed time and the Little Warriors to ensure she'd be there. Then, I wondered about the Little Warriors we were giving people now. We, I mean everyone from Blethos, A'Dore, and Creid, were told those Little Warriors would keep us from getting sick for ten or twenty years. What had started with Christian now covered the thousands in A'Dore, the thousands in Blethos, and even the thousands in Creid. There were other kingdoms and countries that were getting the Little Warriors, but people were profiting from it. Guests that had been in A'Dore during the attack from Len Na were given the Little Warriors, too. What the Warriors were was never a secret. We even showed them how we got them and how to insert them in people. The Seers, glass containers, those great splitters to pull the solids and liquids in blood apart were now taught by many Universities in the world now. They were also being used as commodities. Rich and well-connected families spent a lot of money to have that important person in their life saved first! That didn't set well with any of the three kingdoms. Certainly, not with me. Just like they had in A'Dore and Blethos, men were selling fake cures and making a lot of money! Opportunists didn't come from any one culture. A thief was a thief.

What Hana had would suit her well in A'Dore. One of the many words of wisdom to Christian and me was to never try to conform to anyone. Make them conform to you. I think she would do just fine.

"Demetrius," I began, "That juice of the Forbidden Fruit didn't make it up here, did it?"

Looking up, Demetrius looked at where I was looking and nodded with a small smile. "That would be accurate, but Hana's only recently turned seventeen and in good health."

I nodded, but still looked at Hana. "Almost the same age as Sarah." I mentioned Toby's and Dennis's mother. I looked at Demetrius. "If she had the Little Warriors..."

"You wouldn't have Toby or Dennis," Demetrius sighed. "I joked about seeing things clearly when looking back. This was supposed to happen."

I thought about what he said, "She was destined to die!?" I asked in horror.

Demetrius shook his head, "She was conceived! It's everybody's fate to die. Some don't even make it to birth, but she did." He held out his hand to stop me. "I told you from the beginning, many children are orphaned because of a tragedy. Do you have any idea how many people died that day? There are over half a billion people in the world! There were a few young mothers and many infants."

"I'm sorry," I nodded, realizing my error, "I'm so sorry. You didn't kill her. I know that. You gave two orphaned little boys a chance at life. A good life."

Demetrius smiled compassionately, "Death is always painful," he shrugged, "Even for us."

"But you live almost a thousand years!" I shook my head. "Do you ever catch a disease? Get killed accidentally?"

"No," Demetrius shook his head.

Seth leaned in, "Dropped something heavy your foot and broke it? Fallen off a cliff?"

Demetrius chuckled, "No. and we're never blinded or lose limbs or fingers." He wiggled his fingers in the air. "We never get disease or plagues." He gave a grudging nod. "That's why many think we aren't Human. Which is why the Scriptures don't include us and not meant for us."

I placed my hand on his chest, "Another argument for another time and I say, since I'm supposed to judge angels one day, it is for you as well. We love you!" I mentally shooed the rabbit away. "My question is about the Little Warriors. We have to put them in Hana to be assured she will survive illnesses and childbirth." I looked at the people at the table. "Everyone here should. That brings me back to the Little Warriors. All of them came from that vial. They all were taken from Christian. Without new Little Warriors they have kept him healthy for ten years without so much as the sniffles."

"Yes," Demetrius was smiling at the road my thoughts had taken.

"They don't die," I said.

Demetrius was now chuckling, "That's right."

"Giving Hana the Warriors is easy," I said, "but if we got an additional dose of the Warriors...is that an advantage?"

Demetrius smiled and nodded, "Yes." He raised a finger, "Understand this." He stressed seriously. "The Little Warriors Christian has," he waved at me and Seth, "Therefore you two got it from Christian. The juice was given a drop of your blood, Erik, to know what it was working for. It gave the Warriors a pattern to follow. You! It will probably work the next decade just as hard for you." He smiled at Seth. "You got the Little Warriors, too, but you have a different blood kind than Christian and Erik." He looked up as he thought for a moment. "Think of it as generations." I guess Seth and I had similar confused looks on our face. "Okay," he touched my shoulder. "You and Christian are the first recipients of the Little Warriors so that is the first generation. Then," he held up the finger for a point, "Ryan and the other Creid showed you how to separate the liquids from the solids. Those Little Warriors had dealt with a lifetime of illnesses from your brother and you, like measles, several pox, fevers, and even mumps. Those natural warriors you both had were reproduced and made stronger. The Little Warriors Seth got was second generation." He paused as he grinned looking at us. "You're still with me so far?"

Seth nodded, but answered in a slow, "Suuuure." He frowned. "Does that make a big difference?" He held a hand up for us to listen. "The warriors I got have experience! Isn't that better?"

Demetrius nodded with a chuckle, "No real difference. They get..." he looked for a word, "tired and lazy." He burst out laughing at us now. "They don't have to work as hard! You've had the measles and those other things, the warriors for those illnesses are right there! They work, so why make a new one? There will come a point reached where it will be many generations from the Forbidden Fruit to any Warriors added." He waved at the world beyond the walls. "The men that took these Warriors, we told them how to make more. Depending on who they use as a source, Warriors taken will work, but not as well or as long. Warriors taken from any of you should do well."

"Can they be frozen?" Seth asked and then he pressed on quickly. "They are living things, aren't they?"

Demetrius nodded, smiling again. "Yes, but you want to freeze them?"

I looked back at Seth, "There's another example of your smarts." I looked at Demetrius and pointed at Seth, "He knows we use ice to keep meats, milk, and eggs fresh longer." I shrugged. "Why wouldn't it work on blood?"

Demetrius chuckled, "Try it and see."

"In the beginning, with no immunities in the juice, the harder you make the warriors work," I began as I worked it out in my head, "the better it works?" Saying it as a question to be sure I got it.

"Yes!"

"You'd better get on the research about freezing the Warriors!" I muttered to Seth. My left eye narrowed at Demetrius. "And there is no more juice?"

Demetrius sat back a little and said in an indignant tone, "I KNOW you're not asking if I was lying!"

I said in a matching tone, "And you also know I wouldn't DO that!"

For those who may have had their attention drift off for a decade and forgot this, we weren't upset. That was just Demetrius coming to his odd and often outrageous conclusions and my replies to those conclusions.

Seth chuckled, but shook his head, "That's not what I was getting at. What I was asking about..." he thought for a moment, "If I came up to a vine and saw a single bundle of grapes, I don't have to be told there is something wrong with the vine. If I walk up to a fruit tree, I usually see a tree that has more than just a single pear, apple, or orange..."

"Be fair, Seth," I looked at Seth, "you're talking about fruits we know. Vine fruits like grapes are full of juice, so are oranges and that's squeezed out pretty easily. We don't know if the forbidden fruit was like oranges or more like apples." He and I were enjoying this. "That vial of the Forbidden Fruit Juice was about..." I guessed, "just about two liters?" I asked Demetrius to confirm and he nodded, "Okay, but we don't know how much the Forbidden Fruit gives when it's juiced. Did it need seeding first?"

"Seeding?" Seth asked me.

"Oh, yes," I nodded. "I love apples. I love apple juice..." then quickly added, "just after grape juice." Since grapes were our livelihood, I thought they just be first in the order of my preferences. Even Seth chuckled at that. Those seeds let off a smell," I thought, "a gas, I was told, and that gas makes the juice nasty to drink." I turned back to Demetrius who was smiling at the two of us. He enjoyed childish behaviors, too. Humor is an emotion. By using humor, we've raised it to an Art Form! Yes, it is! A person that can make you happy and laugh like Demetrius were artists. I was still learning, but I wanted to be more like Demetrius. I keep going back to this, but the night we met, before I'd even seen his face and gotten his agreement to help me, he had me amused for stubbing his shin on a stool in the dark. I didn't even know his name yet!

We had a man in A'Dore that was blessed with that ability and would have you laughing so hard, tears came from your eyes. It wasn't jokes only. It was how he said it. A walk down the street on a cloudy day took on a whole new perception with things he saw. I was a teenager when he died. He wasn't a wealthy noble, but worked hard for his family. When he died the church was packed for his funeral! One thing he had a lot of, was friends. Rich, poor, noble, commoner, the king and queen were there (Christian and Ella), me...death is always serious, but even THEN, he demanded his humor be included! His family honored it. On his gravestone was his name, date of birth, date of death, but written in letters bigger than anything else, "I told you I was sick!"

What was that? The fruit? What we were talking about? Oh, right, the fruit, Hana, and Little Warriors. Sorry.

"We don't know how big or juicy the Forbidden Fruit was," I looked at Demetrius. "How many fruits did it take to get those two liters?"

Demetrius was now laughing, "I have no idea." He said, shaking his head as he pounded the table lightly. "I don't even know what it looked like. Not one Child of Lilith remembers either. It was a long time ago. There were other vials, but we gave it to one person at that time. The ability to take the," he did finger air quote marks, "Little Warriors from a person and giving it to another wasn't here yet. I dare say, that last one has really gone a long way thanks to the Children of Eve."

"With a lot of guidance from people like you," I said seriously. "It was due to what you said to me I even considered going to Creid in the first place. If Dara had not helped Ella go to the ball to meet Christian..." I shuddered at the thought. "Think about it!" I motioned toward Thomas. "He wouldn't be here."

Demetrius nodded, "And before that, Arthur Thorne!" He grinned as Seth's eyes grew. "Yes, you owe it all to Arthur!"

"What!?" Seth balked.

Demetrius laughed harder, "I'm positive you both would be married, if you were alive now, but not to each other." He shook his head, "I'm sure they would both be lovely and well-connected women. I'm sure the heir and a spare rule would apply, so I have no doubt you both would be surrounded by children and..."

"STOP!" I said urgently, "That is disgusting!" I hadn't meant to, but what I said attracted the attention of the others at the table who looked at us puzzled. I smiled at the people at the table as I put an arm around Seth's shoulder and Demetrius's shoulder. "You know I love these two and it is a friendly discussion among friends, the subject was disgusting."

All the way across the table Toby shrugged, "What I don't understand is why Uncle Deme said your being here to you owed your being married and here to Arthur Thorne."

I waved toward Toby, "I forget, too," I muttered. "He reads lips. Volume is irrelevant."

Demetrius chuckled, "That includes you, Toby."

"Yep," Seth nodded as he chuckled, "That is true."

"I think after this much time," I said. "Do we have to be so secretive still?"

Demetrius's eyebrows rose, "What would you like to know?"

"Is there anything we can't know?" Seth began. Then he shook his head and laughed, "Scratch that. If you told me, then I'd know, wouldn't I?" He snapped when he thought of something. "You leave here and go home. You have a home somewhere."

Demetrius nodded, "Yes. It's not really local, so...we couldn't transport anyone to and from home..."

Seth brightened, "But he can!"

I was not ready for that! "That was in the same building!" I said to Seth. "I still don't know how I did it!"

"You'll find out!" Seth said simply. "You have a house?" He said for Demetrius's confirmation. Demetrius nodded. "With a front door, windows, rooms, kitchen, and all that." Demetrius nodded again and smiled more. Then in a voice that marveled over when he said, "Like regular people."

My eyes rolled when Seth said that "I get this impression about you guys. You've all lived in places all over the world. I know you lived in Florencia, Italia for thirty years! Eabha's father Soren lived in parts of Erui." I grinned at Seth. "That's Ireland. Remember?" Seth simply snorted, so I went on. "Where were those two mirrors and the vials kept? The Garden is gone, isn't it?"

"Yes," Demetrius nodded.

"Is there an attic or basement you guys keep things of value in?" I asked. "A giant storage with room for all things given for people to use but don't anymore?"

"Like what?" Seth asked.

I shrugged, "Lots of things," I did a quick search in my head, "Like the cup used for the last supper, the spear they tested to see if Jesus was dead, or staff carried by Moses that parted the Red Sea, or stopped the Earth's rotation so the sun would remain up to win a war..."

Demetrius nodded now just to stop us, "No, there is no cellar, attic, or storage room."

"Can we come over?" Seth asked smiling.

"If you can get there," Demetrius said. "Sure."

"We'll try tomorrow," I grinned at Demetrius. "I still need to train with that new armor. Is tomorrow afternoon okay?"

"We'll do that," Demetrius agreed.

"You said it was far away," Seth began. "Is it on this continent?"

Demetrius chuckled, "It's not even in this hemisphere."

Seth's eyes grew as his mouth dropped open and he gaped.