Other Worlds: Vesta Mansion Trilogy - Book Two - Fantasy

by P. A. Priddey

  James grinned. ‘You reckon they hope they’ll fall just to catch them?’

  ‘Not really, and if the children thought that, they would be jumping off there just to make them happy.’

  They returned home so Ron could order the materials for the repairs, apart from Carrie who decided to join the children in the trees. Blaze and Luella were already at the mansion with a hot drink in front of them.

  Alex sat down. ‘What’s this, don’t you like the elf drinks?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Luella, ‘it’s very nice, but I gotta have my cup of tea.’

  Alex turned to Blaze. ‘What did you do with Mrs Stevens?’

  ‘She was having lunch with some elves.’

  ‘Grace will love that,’ said Ron.

  ‘And what have you been up to, Mother?’ said Alex.

  ‘Helping organize the celebration.’

  Alex gave his mother a confused look. ‘I thought it was a festival.’

  ‘Same thing, dear.’

  Blaze gave him a mischievous grin. ‘You’re so going to love it.’

  Alex slumped back. ‘Why, what’s happening?’

  Blaze chuckled. ‘Just that you’ll be sitting at the main table with the other leaders.’

  ‘I can’t sit there . . . I’m not one of the leaders.’

  ‘You’re our leader.’

  ‘No, you’re in charge here if you remember.’

  ‘No, I just run the mansion if you can call it that, you’re our leader.’

  ‘Why do I get the feeling you’re just saying it so you don’t have to sit there.’

  ‘There’s no way I could sit and greet all the other leaders, and you were the one who saved them. It’s you they will look to as a hero and leader.’

  Alex’s eyes grew big as an idea came to him. ‘What about Adair? He can do it, in fact, I’m sure my dear uncle would love to do it.’

  Luella took a sip of her tea. ‘He will be there with me and the other healers.’

  ‘Oh good, so I’m not needed.’

  ‘Yes, you are, we are there as special guests. You will be Lord Alex, and you need someone to sit with you.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  Blaze pursed her lips. ‘The other leaders will have their partners with them.’

  Alex smiled. ‘I don’t have one, so that rules me out.’

  ‘You don’t have to have one,’ said Luella. ‘Just pick someone to sit with you.’

  ‘Are all the leaders’ men?’ said Blaze.

  ‘No, they all rule jointly.’

  ‘Does Adair have someone sitting next to him?’ said Alex.

  ‘Yes, he will have three of us either side of him.’

  ‘That sounds like a cop-out to me.’

  ‘He doesn’t know about it yet.’

  ‘I meant by you and the other great ladies.’

  Luella smiled. ‘Yes, dear, I know.’

  ‘OK, Blaze can sit with me.’

  Blaze looked paled. ‘Oh no, if you care about me at all please pick someone else.’

  ‘Like who?’ said Alex, looking around the hall, he knew who of course, but wouldn’t say.

  ‘Don’t even think about me,’ said James. ‘Wrong sex.’

  Alex sighed. ‘I live in a house full of gay women, and expected to find a date.’

  Blaze smiled. ‘A few of them would sit with you, just ask.’

  ‘Couldn’t you ask for me, as I . . . erm never did it before,’ said Alex, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

  James laughed. ‘You’ve been single a while.’

  Alex looked chagrined. ‘Thanks for that.’

  Paige stepped out of the party room. ‘There you are . . . I need some measurements again.’

  Alex lifted up his arms. ‘What for now?’

  ‘Your new outfit for the festival, do we know who will be sitting with you, so we can get their outfit sorted?’

  Alex shook his head. ‘We’ve been discussing that, and you’ve been my friend for a long time.’

  Paige measured the length of his arm, and wrote it down on a pad. ‘I would love to, but I have a stall to run.’

  ‘That rules Summer out.’

  James grinned. ‘All your money and you can’t get a girl.’

  Alex shot him a look. ‘You’re enjoying this too much.’

  ‘Livvy would sit with you.’

  ‘She’s my daughter.’

  ‘No,’ said Luella, ‘she should be more his own age.’

  ‘Asima is way too shy,’ Blaze added.

  James scratched his head. ‘How about Kaeya? She’s a lot older.’

  Alex sighed as Paige continued to measure him. ‘You’re not really helping you know.’

  Luella stifled a laugh. ‘She’s too small, and it would look strange when they have to dance, and besides she’s already at a table.’

  ‘What did you say?’ said Alex.

  ‘Kaeya will be at the main table.’

  ‘No . . . the part about dancing.’

  ‘There’s also a formal dance.’

  Alex groaned. ‘I can’t bloody dance,’ he said, which was too much for James who burst into laughter. ‘I think we should bring everyone back, and not return until after the festival.’

  ‘And what would you tell them?’ said Luella.

  ‘I don’t know, tell them the vase was sick or something,’ he said, which made James laugh even louder.

  Luella shook her head. ‘No, dear, you’re going to do this.’

  Paige took his chest measurement. ‘Carrie will do it.’

  ‘Do you think so?’ said Alex, all innocently, and Luella put her head into her hands and groaned.

  Blaze rolled her eyes. ‘House, could you ask Carrie to come here please?’

  Of course, said House, sounding amused, and in less than a minute Carrie was standing there.

  ‘What’s up?’ she asked.

  ‘Alex has to sit at the main table with the other leaders at the festival,’ said Blaze, ‘and he needs someone to sit next to him.’

  ‘And you want me to do it?’

  ‘Yes, you would be perfect for it.’

  ‘OK, I will do it, but he can sit next to me.’

  Alex shook his head in disbelief. ‘I think that’s the whole idea.’

  Carrie glanced at James. ‘Why’s he laughing?’

  ‘Because we have to dance.’

  Carrie shrugged. ‘I like dancing.’

  ‘I’m useless at it, and it’s a formal dance.’

  ‘Are you trying to put me off?’

  ‘No, I just thought you should know everything.’

  ‘It could be fun,’ said Carrie.

  ‘Are you mad?’ said Alex. ‘You want to dance in front of all those elves?’

  ‘Yes, my lord, and I blame you, but don’t worry I will teach you how to dance.’

  ‘You do get a new outfit,’ said Paige.

  ‘Oh good, I had to come back early to wash this.’

  ‘You have another in your room.’

  ‘Of course,’ said James, ‘if you don’t want to sit with him, there are many at the Order who would love to.’

  ‘No, I’m happy to do it,’ said Carrie, as the children and pucas appeared.

  James looked up. ‘House, how do you do that?’

  You know how. I use the vase and have taken you many times, said the spirit.

  ‘I mean you were here with us one minute, and bringing the children back the next.’

  No, I was over there, as I swap between worlds as I want.

  ‘Is that not annoying for you?’ said Alex.

  Only if I am listening to a decent conversation, apart from that I enjoy it.

  ‘I’m surprised you were not over there longer, with the last conversation we had here.’

  I was enjoying that one, as you know I cannot dance either.

  ‘I’ll teach you one day,’ said Carrie.

  I somehow do not think that will happen.

  ‘Actually I think it will.’ />
  We will see.

  Talitha stood in front of Alex with hands on hips. ‘Is it dinner time yet? We’re starving.’

  Alex rubbed his chin. ‘Didn’t you have anything to eat over there?’

  ‘We didn’t like to ask,’ said Adhara, ‘as it might be rude.’

  Carrie frowned. ‘You should have said something to me.’

  Sarin’s eyes went big. ‘We were waiting for you to go for something to eat and was going to follow, but you vanished.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I forgot about food.’

  ‘I’ll take you when Paige has finished,’ said Alex.

  ‘You can go now,’ Paige told him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  More Shops and Strange Cops

  They appeared outside the Brightstone tavern, near the top of the town with the largest buildings, as it had more tables for them and the pucas. Alex watched the children’s faces as an elf placed food in front of them. They did not appear impressed as it looked like a pear soaked in gravy.

  Alex picked up Sarin’s spoon and cut a slice off and held it under her nose. ‘Close your eyes.’

  ‘It smells like chicken,’ she said.

  Alex put the fork to her mouth. ‘Now taste it.’

  ‘That’s delicious,’ said Sarin, and the others started eating theirs. The pucas also ate the meat smelling food, as it contained no meat.

  Carrie appeared wearing new clothes. ‘Have you noticed there are more taverns here than anything else?’

  Alex nodded. ‘Yeah, but it’s more to do with food than drink, I bet no one here eats in their own home.’

  Carrie sat next to him. ‘It seems idyllic you don’t have to cook, and have it all done for you by someone else.’

  Alex shrugged. ‘We call that Summer.’

  ‘Oh yeah, we have Vesta Tavern,’ she said, as Torgon approached them somewhat sheepishly.

  ‘Lord Torgon,’ said Alex.

  ‘Lord Alex, Lady Carrie, I hope you are both well.’

  Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘Very well, thank you, now about the festival and the main table.’

  Torgon sat. ‘Yes, I hope you don’t mind, but it wouldn’t be right if you weren’t there.’

  ‘It will be an honour. Lady Carrie will be sitting with me.’

  ‘I didn’t expect you to be sitting next to anyone else. I just hope it has not put either of you to any discomfort.’

  ‘Not really, it’s just the part about dancing.’

  ‘Don’t you like to dance?’

  ‘I’m hopeless at it, and will probably fall over,’ said Alex, and Carrie groaned.

  Torgon nodded. ‘It’s a tiresome dance, but I will get someone to teach you how to do it. Do not worry too much, as it is very simple and easy to learn.’

  ‘That would be helpful.’

  Carrie grabbed his arm and squeezed it. ‘You will be practicing it a lot.’

  Torgon didn’t have anything to eat, but accepted a drink. ‘There are a few here worried about their outfits for the festival as our dress makers have gone missing.’

  ‘They’re at the mansion with Paige.’

  ‘That is what I thought, will they be there long?’

  They are also making the clothes for your people, said House.

  ‘How do you know that?’ said Alex.

  I just asked Paige.

  ‘Of course, it was a silly question.’

  They thought it would be quicker to make them there with the machines.

  ‘That is a relief,’ said Torgon. ‘Are those machines that good?’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Alex, ‘look at this stitching.’

  ‘Back away guys,’ said Carrie, and they both stared at her.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ said Alex.

  ‘You’re a warrior who comes to a world to meet legendary elves, and you talk to their leader about stitching.’

  Torgon smiled. ‘My lady, you do have a point.’

  ‘I blame Paige,’ said Alex. ‘Talking of legends, in our stories you were great archers.’

  ‘It is our weapon of choice, but we are also good with swords.’

  ‘We have a couple of bows back home if you want to try your luck.’

  ‘I would like that very much. It has been a few years since I held one.’

  Alex scratched his chin. ‘Where were you able to do that?’

  ‘On the Dwarf World, they have all our weapons from when we moved.’

  Carrie set her drink down. ‘What are dwarves like?’

  ‘Similar to gnomes, a little taller and stouter. They also like a good battle, but are friendly.’

  Alex nodded. ‘I’ll get the targets set up for later.’

  ‘I might be a bit rusty, but are you good enough to beat an elf?’

  ‘Not me, but Jodie is something else.’

  ‘This is a much better conversation,’ said Carrie.

  ‘What we doing tonight, Papa?’ said Alhena.

  ‘We can show some of our new friends around the mansion, and some of them want to watch a film.’

  The children loved playing on the new world, but not as much as showing off the cinema.

  ‘We can do that,’ said Sarin.

  Alex turned back to Torgon. ‘Will that be OK?’

  ‘Yes, of course, and there are many who want to visit your home.’

  ‘Well now that’s sorted, are there any other customs at this festival I need to know about?’

  ‘We swap gifts, which reminds me is there any chance House could do me a favour.’

  You only have to ask, said House.

  ‘I need to tell the others there will be extra guests sitting at the table with us, so I have to see them before they get here.’

  I will take you now, said House, and the elf disappeared.

  Alex visited the village to fetch the elves who wanted to see a film. What he couldn’t understand was their appearance, some of them looked young and some looked old. Meldun looked like Torgon’s son, but he was at least two thousand years old so he should look as old as his father. He decided to ask the elf leader later.

  The children showed the curious elves around the arcade machines before taking them to watch a film. Jodie set up the targets outside, and the elves to their credit never missed the target even after years without firing one. None of them could match Jodie who hit the bull with every shot. As they only had two bows many elves stood waiting.

  Alex noticed. ‘Do we have any more targets?’

  James scratched his head. ‘Yeah, but no more bows.’

  Alex nodded. ‘We have the paintball guns.’

  ‘You want to fire them at a target?’

  ‘Yeah, it might be fun.’

  James pointed to an outhouse. ‘Everything’s in there.’ They got the guns and a couple of more targets.

  ‘I’ll get my crossbow,’ said Jodie.

  ‘What are those, my lord?’ said Ellinor.

  ‘They’re guns, my lady. Most guns are dangerous weapons, but these are just for fun.’

  ‘How do you have fun with those?’

  Alex smiled. ‘We shoot each other with them.’

  Ellinor raised both eyebrows. ‘You’re not going to shoot us are you?’

  ‘No, just the targets, you need to be kitted up to play as they can sting, and make a mess. Would you like to go first?’

  ‘What do I have to do?’

  Alex passed her a gun before picking up another, and showed her how to use it. The elf steadied herself, and fired it at the target which she hit splattering yellow paint all over it.

  ‘Good shot, my lady,’ said Alex, as did a few others behind them.

  Ellinor’s mouth gaped open. ‘That made such a mess, and you shoot each other with them.’

  ‘Yes,’ but you’ve got to wear the right clothes.’

  Jodie passed Torgon the crossbow. ‘Why don’t you have these on your world?’

  Torgon flicked the switch and a bolt popped up. ‘Weapons are not allowed on our world.’


  ‘A weapon is just an object you attack someone with, which could be a bow, sword, rock, or a wooden stick.’

  ‘But we enchanted the sticks.’

  ‘So why not enchant this bow? Tonight we have used it as an object of fun, not a weapon.’

  Torgon fired the bow at the target before turning to her. ‘You believe we could take these bows there just to aim at targets such as these?’

  Jody nodded. ‘I don’t see why not.’

  Alex listened with interest. ‘Of course, those knives in your taverns.’

  Torgon passed the bow to another elf. ‘I don’t understand what you mean.’

  ‘Your world has knives which can be just as fatal as any weapon, as are many of the tools I saw them using to rebuild the village.’ Alex understood the problem he had about weapons on the elf world. ‘All these items are allowed on your world as long as they’re not used against others.’

  Torgon sighed. ‘If you’re correct, I feel ashamed. We lived there all those years without trying.’

  ‘Why? You’ve had peace for so long,’ said Alex, as one of the bows disappeared, and returned a few seconds later.

  I took the bow to your world, and nothing happened, said House.

  ‘We were too worried to try it,’ said Ellinor.

  Torgon looked pained. ‘Two thousand years, and none of us realised what Jodie just said.’

  Alex pursed his lips. ‘Who told you weapons could not be used there?’

  ‘No one, I read it on a scroll we received for when we moved to our world, and I’ll be taking another look at it when we get back.’

  ‘I think you ruined their night,’ said James, trying not to smile.

  Alex did smile. ‘Oh I don’t know, I think Jodie has made it even better.’

  ‘If you have good news I would like to hear it,’ said Torgon. ‘I’m more worried about what I’m going to tell the elf nation.

  Alex watched another elf fire the crossbow. ‘The way you’ve been sorting out this festival is almost like a competition.’

  Ellinor fired the paintball gun once more. ‘It has always been the same with them, always trying to outdo each other.’

  ‘It is true,’ Torgon sighed again. ‘I was hoping this year would be so much better.’

  Alex patted the elf on the shoulder. ‘When you tell them there will be an archery tournament, won’t that make the festival all the more special?’