by Kylie Chan
‘Did we regain ownership?’
‘Yes. The basement was infested, so I’m clearing it out.’
I stopped for a moment. ‘I’m sorely tempted to join you there. I haven’t had breakfast yet.’
‘Plenty of rats for both of us,’ he said.
‘No, I have something else to do. You’ll like this.’ I turned on the kettle and found the teapot.
Frankie pointed at John. ‘He says he can give me rides on his shell, Emma.’
‘He’s too slow to be any fun,’ I said as I made the tea. ‘Your nanna will have ponies for you to ride with your cousins next week; we’ll go and spend a day on their farm.’
He ran to me to lean on my legs. ‘Yay!’
Leo, please come up and bring Ming Gui, I said. I have news.
Majesty, he said.
Leo, Martin and Buffy came up the stairs and entered the kitchen.
Buffy stopped and her eyes went wide when she saw John. She looked back at Martin, then at John. ‘Two of them?’
‘That’s your Yeh Yeh,’ I said as I poured water into the teapot. ‘He’s a turtle too.’
‘Oh, okay,’ she said, and went to the fridge. She pulled out a box of lemon tea and stuck the straw in.
‘Get one for me too,’ Frankie said.
‘Okay,’ Buffy said.
‘No,’ I said. ‘Frankie, you ask nicely and say please.’
‘Can I have one too, please?’ Frankie said.
Buffy didn’t reply, she just pulled another box out for him.
‘Yum,’ he said as he took it and stuck the straw in.
‘Thank you,’ I said sternly.
‘Thanks, Buffy,’ he said. ‘When’s lunch, Emma? I’m hungry.’
‘Nothing to do with me,’ the Turtle said, at the same time I said, ‘It’s something to do with your father, I swear.’
‘You wanted to see us, my Lady?’ Leo said.
‘Call me Majesty again and I will inform the Jade Emperor of your blatant disrespect for the Celestial Throne,’ I said as I poured tea for him.
‘I apologise most sincerely, Your Highness,’ he said, bowing to me as he took the teacup.
‘That’s more like it.’ I poured a cup for Martin, and took one myself. ‘The restriction on same-sex marriage is rescinded. Don’t rush off and do it right away; take your time.’
Leo and Martin both grinned, then embraced and shared a quick kiss.
‘Daddy and Ba Ba can get married now?’ Buffy said.
I nodded.
She put her little hands on her hips. ‘Can I be a flower girl this time?’ she said with exasperation. ‘I want to do it!’
‘It will have to be on the Earthly so Buffy can be the flower girl,’ Leo said.
‘Western-style,’ Martin said. ‘A celebrant and wedding vows. No tea ceremony.’
‘Okay, but on a beach, not in a stuffy hall,’ Leo said.
‘Pink. Because,’ Martin said.
‘Cliché,’ Leo said with scorn. ‘Black for the House.’
‘My livery’s green and brown.’
‘My livery’s black.’
‘Green and black?’
‘Hmm.’ Leo went thoughtful. ‘I think we can make that work. Jade will kill us if we don’t have a bouquet for her to catch.’
‘Buffy can carry one.’
‘Yeah, that works. But what colour?’
‘Go and talk to Jade the Wedding Planner,’ I said. ‘I’ll mind Buffy.’
They didn’t need prompting; they both disappeared.
‘I’d better be a flower girl or else,’ Buffy said sternly.
‘You shouldn’t have sent them off,’ John said. He finished the pilchards, changed to human form, and washed his bowl in the sink. ‘I wanted to hear the argument about who will be best man.’
‘Well, of course it has to be you,’ I said.
‘Leo will argue that you should be best man. He will want me to give Martin away like an old-fashioned father, and Martin will refuse very loudly.’
‘Damn, you’re right. That will be the argument of the century.’
‘Hey! You were supposed to give us rides,’ Frankie said.
‘Please,’ I said sternly.
‘Please, John?’ Frankie said.
John grinned at him. ‘In the living room.’
‘Yay!’ both children shouted and raced into the living room.
They’ll be fine with me, John said. Still plenty of rats if you’re hungry.
Deal, I said, and teleported down to Wellington Street.
38
I stepped out of the ensuite into the hotel bedroom and stopped. It was completely quiet; the room was empty. Our suitcases stood unopened where we’d dropped them next to the bed.
I sent my senses out and found John, Simone and Frankie on the beach.
The water here is clean and alive and it was calling him, John said.
I teleported onto the beach. Freddo had joined them, and was standing next to Simone on the sand.
Frankie watched the sea, mesmerised. ‘I can feel it.’
‘We can all feel it,’ Simone said. ‘Our daddy is the God of the Sea. That’s our element.’
‘John is?’ Frankie said.
‘Please don’t call me John,’ John said. ‘Call me Ba Ba. Or Daddy, like Simone does. Or Father. Or even my true name, Xuan Wu. I’d prefer any of them to John.’
‘Emma calls you John.’
‘It’s my name in her language,’ John said. ‘You are our son, and you should call her Mother and me Father.’
‘I don’t want to,’ Frankie said, and lowered his head. ‘Father was . . .’
The water hissed, and pulled away from the shore. I watched with alarm as it receded from us, building into a massive wave ten metres high half a kilometre away. The wave continued to grow and I had a moment of panic — it would destroy everything.
Don’t be concerned, I have it, John said.
‘Si Shu,’ he said to Frankie, ‘you are my son and I am the element of water. The beauty of the sea calls to us, but it also has immense destructive power. If you were to release that wave, it would engulf all the buildings behind us and drown everyone in them.’
‘Buffy and Mattie, and Nanna and Poppy, and Little Jade and Richie would all die,’ I said.
Freddo snorted loudly and shook his head.
Simone squealed. ‘All over me! Really? Did you have to? That is so gross!’
‘Sorry, Simone,’ Freddo said, full of remorse.
‘Simone’s been slimed,’ I said with amusement.
Frankie laughed, and the wave collapsed on itself. The water rushed towards the shore, but John controlled it and it didn’t touch us.
‘It calls to me, Daddy,’ Frankie said.
John stiffened beside me and I patted his back.
‘Would you like to go out and see?’ John said. ‘I can take you.’
Frankie hesitated.
‘It’s very beautiful,’ John said softly. ‘There are fish that glow in the deep water. Points of light like Simone’s stars.’
‘Will we be safe?’ Frankie said.
‘The water is me, and you will always be safe with me.’
‘I’ll come too,’ Simone said. ‘We can go together and see the things I described to you.’
‘The big fish?’
‘Better than that, there’s a pod of dolphins out there playing. Can you hear them?’ she said.
Frankie concentrated, then raised his head. ‘Let’s go.’
John turned to me, his eyes full of the sea. ‘Come with us, Emma.’
‘No, you three go,’ I said. ‘I have to help set up the wedding.’
‘You don’t need us?’ Simone said.
I gestured towards Frankie. ‘Don’t make him wait to connect with his element. Just be back by four.’
‘I don’t have a watch,’ John said. ‘You’ll have to call me.’
‘Leave me a scale or a piece of your shell then, so I can contact you.’
‘Use your sword,’ he said. ‘It is linked to me.’
‘Oh. Okay.’
He kissed me, then took Frankie’s hand and guided him into the water, with Simone beside them. They walked out until the water was waist deep, then dived into it and disappeared.
I sighed gently.
‘They are so awesome,’ Freddo said.
‘I know.’
* * *
A lusciously warm breeze, full of the scent of tropical flowers, lifted the pale green, tan and black silken swags over the bower. Leo and Martin had only invited twenty of their closest friends and family, and they sat on chairs on a raised wooden platform above the sand. Leo’s sister, Elise, and her husband, Max, were in the front row, obviously deeply uncomfortable.
The Jade Emperor wore a bright gold tuxedo and managed to look dignified in the intense colour, particularly since he’d left his hair long and in a topknot, and kept his short neat beard. He stood under the bower waiting for the grooms, holding the wedding program in front of him with a satisfied smile.
I stood next to him in a black tuxedo that Mr Li had cut to fit my shape, and John stood on the other side of the Emperor in his black and silver silk robes.
Smooth jazz started somewhere nearby and everybody hushed and turned.
Buffy came up the aisle, her face full of concentration as she held a small bouquet of green, brown and black flowers in front of her similarly coloured dress. Mr Li had done wonders with the livery and the dress looked innocently pretty despite the bold colours. Frankie came behind her, wearing a tiny black tux and holding the rings on a green and brown tortoise-shaped silk cushion. The children walked slowly up the aisle, their little faces serious, and Leo and Martin followed them arm in arm, their expressions full of quiet joy.
Martin wore traditional Tang-style multi-layered robes in green and brown, with a wide belt and a rope over-belt, and they drifted around him in the warm breeze. He had part of his long hair tied in a topknot encased in a gold filigree crown and the rest fell to his waist. Leo wore a Western tuxedo, all in black, with a green bow tie and a brown cummerbund.
Elise’s expression softened when she saw Leo and Martin together, and she opened her bag, pulled out tissues and wiped her eyes. Max patted her leg.
Frankie stood next to me, and Buffy stood next to John. She smiled up at him and he returned the grin.
Leo and Martin stood in front of the Jade Emperor and held hands. The warm breeze lifted the silk around us again.
The Jade Emperor opened the portfolio containing the service. ‘Never, in my long reign, have I been happier to rescind an Imperial Edict,’ he said.
* * *
John eyed the wedding cake suspiciously as the waiter placed it in front of him.
‘You don’t like fruit cake?’ I said.
‘I could never understand it; it’s very strange,’ he said. ‘I wonder if they have sliced orange or something a little more normal.’ He looked around. ‘Maybe one of the children want it.’
Frankie, Buffy, Little Jade and Richie ran up to us, and all four of them hit the table with a bump.
‘Yeh Yeh,’ Buffy said, ‘can I stay with Uncle Gold and Aunty Amy tonight, instead of with you and Aunty Emma?’
‘Me too!’ Frankie said. ‘We want to play with Jade and Richie.’
‘Did your fathers say it was okay?’ John said.
‘And did you ask Gold and Amy first?’ I added.
‘Yes!’ all four of them said in unison.
‘They said it’s okay,’ Buffy said.
‘Let me see,’ John said. He nodded. ‘Just for tonight. We’re heading back home tomorrow.’
‘Thank you, Yeh Yeh,’ Buffy said, serious.
‘Thank you, Daddy!’ Frankie said, and grinned at me.
‘Do you know,’ Buffy said conspiratorially to John, ‘when I’m grown up, I’ll have a big wedding with lots of flowers and cake, just like my daddies.’
Both Frankie and Richie went very still, listening to her.
‘Who will you marry?’ Richie said.
‘Me!’ Little Jade shouted, and kissed Buffy on the cheek.
‘Yes!’ Buffy yelled, and hugged Little Jade so hard she nearly lifted her off her feet. Little Jade hugged her back, and both girls held each other with huge grins.
‘Can we stay more than one day?’ Frankie said. ‘I want to play with my friends!’
‘Would you all like to spend a few days at the Peak with us?’ I said. ‘You can, if your parents say it’s okay. We have room.’
‘Yes!’ Little Jade and Richie said.
‘Go ask your parents then.’
‘Yay!’ Frankie said, and they ran off to find Gold and Amy.
Yi Hao, I said.
Ma’am?
Make up the spare rooms for tomorrow. Gold and Amy’s children are staying with us for a few days as well as Buffy.
She was silent.
Yi Hao?
No reply.
Er Hao.
Ma’am?
I just asked Yi Hao something and she went quiet. Is she all right?
Let me check. I’m going up the stairs, here she is . . . Ma’am, what did you say to her? She’s sitting on the kitchen floor crying her eyes out!
I said that Gold and Amy’s children are staying with us —
REALLY? She sounded breathless in my head. Buffy and Little Jade and Richie will be with us, as well as Frankie? All four children?
Yes.
For how long?
A few days, that’s all.
That is so wonderful! Oh, ma’am, I’m crying too now. Thank you! We cannot wait. Oh, oh . . . Her voice disappeared for a moment. Yi Hao is hugging me. We need to go shopping, and make up the rooms, and . . . so many things to be done!
I’ll see you tomorrow, dear ladies, I said.
‘All organised?’ John said.
I nodded. ‘My demons are thrilled to bits.’
‘They adore children.’
‘They may not be as enthusiastic after a few days,’ I said.
‘Even worse — they won’t want to say goodbye.’ John went thoughtful. ‘I wonder if Amy and Gold would like to live in the other downstairs flat while Amy’s doing her law degree.’
I smiled at him. ‘I am so glad you are back, Serpent. That is the best idea ever.’
When the speeches were done and the grooms had been sent on their way, we wandered out of the hotel’s ballroom and onto the beach. The chairs and bower were still there, the silk flapping in the evening breeze, and the stars were beginning to show in the violet sky.
We removed our shoes and left them on the platform, then held hands and stepped onto the sand together. We walked along the shoreline, enjoying the closeness, then stopped and held each other around the waist as we looked out over the water. I rubbed my hand over his back, enjoying the feeling of his silk robes sliding over his skin.
‘Frankie’s with Amy and Gold,’ he said. ‘We have the whole evening to ourselves. Would you like to go out with me?’
‘I would love to.’
Hoofbeats sounded on the beach — a galloping horse was approaching. We turned, alarmed, to see Simone and Frankie riding Freddo bareback, still in their wedding outfits.
‘Woohoo!’ Frankie yelled, his arms in the air, as they thundered past us.
‘You will fall off!’ I shouted at them as Freddo splashed through the shallow water, making Frankie squeal.
‘Hold on!’ Freddo shouted. He made a wide turn and cantered back, then stopped in front of us, his sides heaving. ‘I am so out of shape,’ he said ruefully. ‘Definitely need more cardio.’
‘Watch this, watch this!’ Frankie shouted. ‘Do it, Freddo, do it!’
‘You holding on tight, squirt?’ Simone said.
Frankie grabbed Freddo’s mane. ‘I got it!’
‘Okay, ready?’ Freddo said. ‘Go!’
He made a small half-rear and Frankie yelled with delight. ‘Higher! Higher!’
&nbs
p; ‘That is incredibly dangerous!’ I said. ‘What if you lose your balance and fall backwards? You’d land on them!’
‘Only on a non-sentient horse. Please give me some credit, Emma,’ Freddo said. He reared again.
‘Yay!’ Frankie yelled. ‘Now run!’
‘Will you be all right if your father and I go into the ocean together for a while?’ I asked them.
‘Go,’ Simone said. ‘Little Jade and Richie are waiting for us, they want a ride.’
‘Buffy too,’ Frankie said. ‘Everybody wants rides.’
‘Pony rides two dollars,’ Freddo said. ‘I wish I could change into a cranky Shetland.’
‘Be careful,’ I said.
‘It’s okay, I hold them,’ Simone said.
‘I always am, ma’am,’ Freddo said. He made another small rear, spun on his hindquarters and cantered back towards the hotel.
* * *
I was wrapped around the Serpent on top of the Turtle’s shell as we sped through the water. I rubbed my tail against his, then extended the stroking to the rest of him. My scent filled the water and the Turtle stopped.
‘You know how I said I’m always interested?’
‘Oh.’ I pulled myself upright on his shell. ‘You’re taking me to see the Dragon King to pay our respects. I should have realised.’
The Turtle started swimming again, thrusting through the water beneath me. ‘You ruined the surprise.’
‘I’ve been dying to see his Palace,’ I said. ‘Ever since you mentioned that it’s the finest underwater one in existence.’ I pulled myself tighter around him. ‘Cannot wait.’
‘He’s not as close as the Dragon is, so no private room for us when we get there,’ he said ruefully.
‘Frankie is safe with Gold and Amy, and Simone is with them,’ I said. ‘We have all night, all of the ocean, and a luxury hotel suite.’
The Turtle lowered its head and pushed harder through the water. ‘That is a fine idea.’
John shared his night vision with me and I saw the ocean bed become shallower in front of us. It lifted into a gentle slope covered in a mass of coral, teeming with fish. The Turtle stopped at the edge of the reef, then raised itself and floated above the surface. The sea bed inclined to a sand-covered coral atoll, circular with a central lagoon that was five kilometres across. The shallow lagoon water was almost invisible against the white sandy bottom.