We were out shopping for the baby when we noticed everyone paying attention to something on their phones. Elena pulled out her phones and started checking the web out. Her jaw dropped and she motioned for me to pull out my own.
"Well that spread fast." I mumbled seeing all the headlines.
"We should get back to the house, right?" Elena asked looking a little terrified not sure of what to expect because of what was going on.
"Let's finish what we were doing. We still need some items for dinner. We'll just not take our time as we originally intended." I smile at her and show her it's fine, she doesn't have to be anxious right now.
We finish up our transactions, get the groceries and head back to the house. While driving I get a call from Grier and I ask Elena to put it on speaker for me.
"Hello? Grier?"
"Sin! Ciao darling, could I trouble you to come by the house?" Grier asks, her tone sounding overly cheerful...
"Sure, I'm out driving with El at the moment. Let me take her home and then I will come by. Everything alright?" I do my to sound nonchalant with her.
"Si, grazie. See you soon then." Grier hangs up and I look at Elena with an odd expression on my face.
"That doesn't sound like every thing is fine. I'm going to pull over and snap you and the stuff back to the house. Let John know what's going on." I pull over to the side and make sure she knows what to tell him and what to do.
As soon as she's gone, I snap a small blue bottle, my .40, Katana and Kodachi to me. I prefer to have my trusted weapons of choice on me when I don't know what's going on.
I turn down Grier's driveway and head down the quarter mile to her cottage nestled back off in the trees. It looked peaceful nestled back with the sun's afternoon rays filtering in through the trees. Flowers and herbs grew around it in pots and planters, like an English cottage would. My phone goes off and it's a text form John.
-Got your six-
I smile, 'of course you do my love.
I park the car off to the side that doesn't have any windows and swing my Katana on my back and kodachi at my side. My .40 is in it's holster in my jacket. I casually walk up and knock and Grier comes and opens it.
"My that was quick, you must have been right at the house then. Come in, come in. Per favore scusa casa mio. (please excuse my home.)" She motions me in and I see there's some stuff scattered over the room.
"What's going on here?" I ask as she shuts the door.
"Sin... I was cleaning and ...." Grier starts before she is cutoff by a firm and commanding male voice coming from the kitchen.
"She had an unexpected visitor." An auburn haired, well dressed, handsome, high Fae came walking into the room.
I looked at Grier questions in my eyes, but she merely dropped to her knees.
"Your majesty." She says and my eyes go wide and I drop to a knee as well.
"Greetings to your majesty." I quickly say.
His deep resonating voice was calm as he spoke, "You may rise."
"Thank you, majesty." Me and Grier stood up. I cautiously looked him over not knowing if this was a good or bad prince to have before me.
"Please excuse me your majesty." Grier bowed out and left me with him.
"Please take a seat, Sin. There's something I'd like to talk to you about." He motions for the sofa and armchair to his right and we both take a seat. I sit on the end of the sofa nearest the door, so it looks like I'd have to use it to escape. I could snap if I needed to leave quickly but I don't know if this prince knows that.
As I sit my Katana scabbard cushions and makes the hilt pop up under my jacket. I gently move it off the cushion and it falls back into place.
"My, my, my. A sword to go pay a friend a house visit. All those years working for the CIA have made you paranoid I do believe." He looks over me with a smile.
"I do not use that phrase. It's more cautiously prepared." I retort as polite as possible.
"Ha! Now that is a euphemism!" His deep short laugh made the knickknacks on Grier's mantle rattle.
"Thank you, sire. May I ask, with which prince I am permitted this rare honor of having an audience with?" I hope that this does not end up being one I'd rather not be around.
"After you answer my question first. Did you play a part in this recent defamatory debacle that has spread out around the world that has ignited my fathers fury?" He is straight and to the point.
"Play a part, Sire?" I hope I can stall for a few seconds to collect my thoughts.
"Do not deviate from my query, yes or no will be sufficient." He leans forward and rest his chin in his hand and stares at me intensely.
No point in not telling the truth to some extent.
"Yes sire, I played a small role."
He hums still staring at me, looking from top to bottom, sizing me up? Possibly?
A voice from the kitchen startling us both to look that way.
"Lierthe, I'd appreciate if you didn't look at Sin as if she was your next conquest. She is married and I am the one you wished to have an audience with any ways. Am I not?"
Thietian walked out and came to sit down on the couch next to me. He nodded as he sat to me and then focused on his brother Lierthe.
Lierthe gave me another glance over, "Pity. She's quite attractive.... So my little brother.... You are the mastermind behind all of the chaos going on in the Fairy court as our father froths and has smoke coming out of his ears. He is livid you know. It's delightful to watch." He smiles slightly wickedly at the thought of his fathers situation.
"I am brother. Why do wish to join me though? To openly defy him and his reign would cause even more chaos. Or are you wishing to play both sides for favor with our father?" Thietian asked calculatedly.
Lierthe scoffed at his brother, "Like I care about favor with that old wooden birch. He's rotten to the core like beetles have infested him the past couple centuries. He is too cruel even for some of our other brothers tastes. Our sisters are a mixed bunch of opinions and stances. Depends on which ones mother was able to spend time with it seems has made their opinions more agreeable to ours."
"Hmmm...." Thietian merely hummed in response letting his brothers words stew in his mind.
"I offer my two legions of men along with myself brother. Accept now, I will have time to sway two more of our brothers and our sisters families that would be on our side. Combine that with the number of men who still would want freedom or the people they govern freedom... I'd say we have pretty good odds at defeating our fathers legions. The numbers of loyal legions he has is ten thousand. That makes sixty million. Brother do you know how hard it is for humans to battle against Fae warriors? I mean he could have just out right waged war against the human race. I'm not sure why he didn't actually."
"Come now brother, if he waged all out war, Mother would tear his heart out through his back and burn his remains in the evermore fire so that he can never be reincarnated again. Would serve him right too, for his sins are many." Thietian added.
"We all are not with out sin, Thietian." I added thinking of my own.
Lierthe laughed, "HA! I like her!"
He pointed to me, "Sin herself, admitting to having sin. Tell me are you in love with your husband?"
He leaned closer to me a broad smile on his face.
"Care to add another sin, since who's really keeping count?" (◠‿◕)
...
ಠಿ_ಠ
'Did he really just ask me that?!'
"She sure does love her husband and her husband loves her just the same. We take care of each others sins." A hand settles itself on my shoulder and I know it's John and I smile up at him.
"Thank you dear. You were much more polite then I was going to be."
Thietian laughed at the look that came across his brothers face. He took it in good stride though.
"One has to check to make sure that the marriage is a happy one you know." Lierthe chuckles.
"So brother do you want me and the part of your family that actually have a heart like mother intended to help you or not?"
"Well any help at this point will be better than nothing." Thietian nods to his brother and adds, "To prove your loyalty to our cause though I'll need you to sign a blood oath along with my brothers and sisters who would join our cause. Just to be safe."
Lierthe looks at his brother hard before smiling, "You have gotten smarter brother. Good for you. Now, where do I sign?"