by S. E. Smith
"They are spending a great deal of time beneath one of the trees."
"One of the trees?"
"Yes, it is like the one you had us move into Luanda. The one you called a 'Christmas' tree, except this one has heavy, lower branches that touch the ground."
"So they crawled under it, and you couldn't see them?"
"Yes, Majesty."
"We used to have a tree just like it in our yard back on Earth. They would play underneath it for hours."
"It seems they do here too, but..."
"But what, Nairn?"
"Miki went under it wearing her fur cape. She came back out wearing her purple one."
"She left her fur one there?"
"Yes, and they seemed to be talking, but not to each other."
Lisa frowned at that. "There wasn't anyone else there?"
"No, Majesty."
"There's nothing in the garden that can harm them is there, Nairn? No wild animals?"
"No, Majesty. We would never let them out of our sight if that were the case."
"Of course you wouldn't, Nairn. I know how much you and your brother Warriors care about the girls."
"And you, Majesty," Nairn quickly said, his cheeks darkening slightly.
"Thank you, Nairn," Lisa gave him a small smile. It still surprised her how easily flustered these big, strong Warriors could get when speaking with a female. "I will talk to Grim about this and see what he wants to do. Until you hear from either of us, allow the girls to continue to play under the tree."
"Yes, Majesty."
Four
"Beneath a tree?" Grim frowned as Lisa told him what she had learned, later that night after the girls were asleep.
"Yes," she said pulling her feet up under her as she cuddled into his side.
Grim reached over and dragged the afghan off the back of the couch, making sure her bare feet were covered, before responding. "There shouldn't be anything in the garden that will harm them, but I will go tomorrow and make sure."
"Thank you," she said gazing up at him.
"You do not need to thank me for seeing to our girls’ protection," he told her gruffly.
"I know, but I also know there are a great many other things you need to be seeing to tomorrow. You could just have Ion or Nairn check and report back to you with what they find."
"That is truth, but this is something I must see to," Grim reached up touching the glass thumbprints on the necklace he wore. "After all, I am their manno."
"You are," she agreed, smiling up at him sleepily.
"And I am your male." Rising, he scooped her up into his arms. "And now I must see to you."
"Oh you must, must you?" Lisa asked as she pressed a kiss on the thick scar running down his neck.
"Yes," he told her gruffly, "You are tired. You need to rest."
"I am," she agreed, "but I'm never too tired to love my male, and I do, Grim. Love you, that is."
"And I love you, my Lisa."
"Then show me."
"I will," he vowed, and carefully lowering her into their bed, his mouth covered hers.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
A fully rested and fully satisfied Lisa smiled at Grim across the table the next morning as the girls ate. Finally, knowing she needed to pull her thoughts away from what they had done in bed together the night before, she looked to their daughters. "So, girls, there is someone I would like you to meet this morning."
"Who, Mommy?" Carly asked.
"Her name is Jennifer. She is Empress Kim's older sister."
"Older sister? You mean like I am to Miki?"
"Yes, Carly."
"But, Mommy, isn't Kim part of Manno's family?" She looked to Grim. "Part of our family?"
"Yes, baby," Lisa told her.
"So then isn't Jennifer part of our family too?"
Lisa looked at Grim and realized it was something neither of them had considered, at least not the full extent of it. Yes, Jennifer was now related to them through Kim, but it was more than that. General Rayner was now family too because he was Jennifer's True Mate, and General Rayner was blood-related to Liron, the Emperor of the Kaliszian Empire. The two Empires were now forever connected.
"Yes, Carly, she is. So we need to welcome her into the family."
"But..."
"But what, Miki?" Lisa asked, frowning at her youngest.
"But... we want to go play in the garden."
"Again?" Lisa looked to Grim and saw he was frowning too. While it wasn't uncommon for the girls to play in the garden, they usually didn't play there every day.
"Yes. Pleassse, Mommy." Her amber eyes pleaded with her mother's as she drew out the please, then looked at her manno and did the same thing. "Pleassse, Manno?"
Grim was the most powerful and feared Warrior in the Tornian Empire, but looking into his Miki's eyes, he found himself as defenseless as a first-cycle trainee against an Elite Warrior.
"Why do you wish this so badly, Miki?" Grim questioned quietly.
"Well... uh... because..." Miki stuttered, her panicked gaze going to Carly beseeching her for help.
"We just really like to play out there," Carly said.
"You mean under your tree?" Lisa asked.
"How did you know?" Carly's eyes widened in amazement as she looked back to her mother.
"A little birdie told me," Lisa said teasingly, not wanting the girls to know it had been Nairn that had told her. She didn't want them to think they had no freedom.
"Prince told you?" Miki whispered, her little eyes going even wider. "He talks to you???"
"Prince?" Lisa asked giving them a confused look. "Who is Prince?"
"The Great Raptor's son," Miki told her as if it were obvious. "He hurt his wing, so we're helping him get better."
"And how are you doing that, Miki?" Grim questioned carefully, finding it took all his Warrior control to keep the alarm out of his voice. Raptors were solitary creatures that rarely attacked without cause. They killed only when it was a matter of survival. They were the symbol of House Luanda because of this. But this Raptor was injured, and even the noblest of creatures could strike out without thought when crazed by pain. The idea of his sweet, innocent daughters being exposed to such a creature made his blood run cold.
"By doing what you do for us, Manno," Miki told him. "We're making sure he's safe, keeping him warm, and bringing him food to eat. And it's working. He seemed better yesterday. Didn't he, Carly?"
"Uh-huh," Carly agreed.
"You found him the day of the Festival?" Lisa looked at her daughters. "That is why you 'forgot' your cape?"
"Prince needed it more, Mommy. He was so cold and scared."
"I don't doubt that, Miki, but you should have come and told your manno or me."
"But we couldn't, Mommy," Miki told her.
"Why, baby?"
"Because... we needed to help him. I promised... vowed that we would, and if we don't keep our vows," Miki's little forehead scrunched up as she searched for the word, "then we aren't worthy. Isn't that right, Manno?" She looked to Grim. "It's what you tell your Warriors, isn't it? That 'if you don't keep your vow then you aren't worthy'; and 'you must always protect those that can't protect themselves.' Well, Prince can't defend himself right now, so we have to."
"This is truth," Grim slowly admitted looking from one daughter to the other. He hadn't realized they had been listening that closely to what he told his Warriors. "A vow is a very important thing. But in giving it, you can still ask for help in keeping it, and in this, you should have asked."
"I'm sorry, Manno." Miki's little lips trembled as she looked at him. "I just wanted to be worthy... like you are."
Grim was immediately out of his chair and on his knees between where his two girls sat.
"You are, Miki, you will always be worthy, much worthier than me. You also, Carly."
"Truth, Manno?" Carly asked.
"Truth." He hugged his girls for a moment then rose. "Now, finish your meal, and then we will all go
and see your Prince."
"Yes, Manno," they chorused together, and quickly returned to eating.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
It was gray and overcast as the girls led Lisa and Grim to 'their' tree. Grim went down on one knee, then bent even lower still to see under the low bough he had lifted. Behind him, Lisa and the girls waited along with Nairn and Ion. He could understand why the Raptor had chosen this spot. It was well-concealed, and his Warriors wouldn't think a threat could exist in such a compact area. No Tornian male over the age of five would fit inside, but his daughters were much smaller than Tornian youth.
Reaching underneath, Grim pulled out what he found.
"Careful, Manno, Prince doesn't know you." Carly's concern was easily heard. It was something else he was still getting used to. His daughters’ unconditional love and concern for him.
"There is nothing here to be concerned with, my Carly," Grim told her as he pulled out the now dirty, but empty, fur cape.
"He's gone," Miki whispered, her amber gaze going from her cape to Grim. "He didn't even say goodbye."
Suddenly, a loud screech filled the air above them, and every head looked up and found the Raptor sitting on one of the uppermost branches of the tree, staring down at them.
"My God," Lisa murmured quietly, taking in the size of the bird. She had pictured a much smaller creature in her mind, not one that seemed nearly as tall has her youngest. Its body was just as black and sleek looking as the one Gahan had created that now sat in Grim's Command Room. And while his wings rested against his body, there was no doubting he was as deadly as any Elite Warrior with his sharp, curved beak and long, lethal claws. Yet she could see the intelligence in the piercing purple of his eyes. No wonder he was the symbol for House Luanda.
Just the thought of her innocent daughters being near such a creature, let alone feeding it, sent a shiver of apprehension up Lisa's spine.
"Prince." Miki's little hands rested on her hips as she looked up and found him. There wasn't an ounce of fear in her voice. "What are you doing up there? You are supposed to be resting. We brought you first meal." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the piece of rashtar she'd saved from their first meal and held it up to him.
With a swiftness no one would expect from such a large, presumably injured creature, the Raptor swooped down to land directly in front of Miki.
Lisa gasped.
Ion and Nairn moved forward.
Grim drew his sword.
But the Raptor's intense, violet gaze remained fixed on Miki.
"Oh, you’re better," she exclaimed happily, unaware of the tension that filled the adults around her, and apparently unconcerned that a deadly bird nearly as tall as she was had just landed in front of her. "I'm so glad. Here." She held out the rashtar to him.
Lisa held her breath as the Raptor's sharp, deadly beak lowered toward the soft, unprotected skin of her youngest’s fingers. But it only bit at the rashtar, seeming to know it could harm Miki if he weren't careful.
"Prince, this is my mommy and my manno," Miki told the bird. She had watched her mommy and knew it was rude not to introduce people. "Mommy, Manno, this is Prince."
"I..." Lisa looked to Grim for a moment. She had never been introduced to a bird before, but this seemed to be important to her daughter, so she went along. "Hello, Prince," she said and bowed slightly to the bird just as she would for a real Prince. She was shocked when he returned the gesture, bowing deeper than she had, as a Prince would to a Queen. It then turned its intense gaze to Grim.
Grim was completely shocked by what was happening. While his bedtime stories about the Great Raptor had been filled with how the creature acted and responded just as an Elite Warrior would, they had been just stories handed down so a young male would know what was expected of him. No one actually thought them to be true, at least not once they grew older. But here his girls were, treating and talking to one, exactly as he had told them they should. And the Raptor was responding.
"Prince." Grim lowered his sword but didn't sheath it as he bowed his head to the creature.
The Raptor eyed the sword for a moment before it again seemed to bow to the King of Luda.
Suddenly, a deafening clap of thunder rolled across the land, and a curtain of rain began advancing toward them. With a great screech, Prince spread his wings and launched himself into the sky.
"Inside, now!" Sheathing his sword, Grim scooped Miki and Carly up, one in each arm. Then using his massive frame, he protected Lisa from the wind as he moved them toward Luanda. When tempests like this suddenly appeared, they were deadly.
Ion and Nairn held open the doors as Grim rushed his family inside, closing them just as a blinding flash of light lit up the garden. It had both girls screaming out in fright.
"Calm, little ones. You are safe."
"But Prince, Manno." Miki looked up at him, tears filling her eyes.
"He is safe," Grim reassured her. "This is what he does."
"Your vow?" she asked, her bottom lip trembling.
"My vow, my Miki."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Lisa found she was still somewhat shaken by what happened in the garden, and the rumble of the continuing storm wasn't helping to calm her nerves.
For her girls to have been so close to such a dangerous creature.
For her and Grim to not even be aware it was there.
For the tempest to appear so suddenly.
She had to fight against holding the little hands of her girls too tightly as they walked toward Grim's Command Room. She thought she'd been aware of all the dangers their new home contained, but every day she found herself learning something new. Like how a dangerous bird could be in their garden. Grim had understood that she needed to make sure her babies were okay and had gone ahead to meet the shuttle containing Ull, General Rayner, and Jennifer. Entering Grim's Command Room, she saw that everyone was there.
"I'm sorry we kept you waiting."
"It is fine, my Lisa," Grim reassured her, moving from behind his desk.
"Girls, this is Warrior Ull of House Rigel," Lisa began the introductions.
"I remember you," Carly piped in looking up at Ull. "You were at the Joining Ceremony."
Ull frowned as the taller of the young females spoke to him without permission.
"My daughter is speaking to you, Warrior Ull." Grim's deep growl expressed his displeasure at Ull's lack of response to Carly.
"I was," Ull stiltedly responded. He would never get used to these Earth females talking whenever they wished.
"You are Ynyr's brother," Carly continued, unfazed by the lack of warmth on Ull's face or in his tone.
"Yes, his older brother."
"Really? But he's already a Lord," she said giving him a confused look.
"And this is General Treyvon Rayner of the Kaliszian Empire," Lisa quickly went on, pulling Carly's gaze away from Ull. She knew from her conversations with Abby that Ull was still having trouble dealing with the fact that his younger brother had become a Lord before him. That, and that Abby chose Ynyr over him.
"Wow," Miki whispered, and letting go of her mother's hand, moved across the room coming to a stop in front of Treyvon. "You're almost as handsome as our manno."
"He is not!" Carly immediately defended Grim. "Manno is handsomer."
"I said almost," Miki spun around to argue with her sister. "Because Manno will always be much handsomer than any male in the Known Universes."
"It's more handsome," Lisa quietly corrected her daughters, while trying to keep the smile off her face. Especially when she saw the range of expressions crossing the males' faces.
Ull's was blank in shock. Treyvon's was obviously trying to hold back his amusement. But Grim's was the most expressive of all, at least to her. An unhappy frown had crossed his face at the thought that another male might rival him in Miki's eyes, but his chest had expanded with unadulterated pride at how both his daughters thought and spoke of him.
"That's enough, girls,"
Lisa said gently but firmly, knowing their argument would grow if she didn't stop it. "You both need to tell General Rayner you're sorry."
"Unnecessary," Treyvon began, but Lisa's piercing look silenced him.
"Yes, it is, General Rayner. Sometimes our girls forget their manners." Her gaze returned to her daughters. "Don't you, girls?"
"Yes, Mommy," they chorused together then turned to Treyvon. "Sorry."
Treyvon found himself trapped for a moment by their amber gazes before giving them a slight bow, letting them know he accepted their apology.
"And this," Lisa gestured to Jennifer, who had remained silent next to Treyvon, "is Jennifer, General Rayner's True Mate."
"Oh, you're Kim's sister!" Miki clapped her hands excitedly as she looked to Jennifer.
"I am," Jennifer agreed.
"Welcome to the family!"
"What?" Jennifer gave Lisa a confused look.
"Carly pointed out at first meal this morning that we are now family since your sister is married to Grim's brother." Lisa looked to Treyvon. "Which means you are now family too, General. Our families and Empires are now forever linked."
A sharp bolt of lightning, instantly followed by a window-rattling crack of thunder, prevented anyone from responding.
Five
"Manno!" the girls screamed as the room went dark for a moment after the brilliant flash of light. Grim was immediately there, wrapping them up in his protective arms.
"Calm, little ones," he murmured. "We are inside. Remember? You are safe."
"But Prince..." Miki looked up at him with wide, fear-filled eyes.
"Is with his manno, who is protecting him just like I am protecting you."
"You're sure?" she questioned, her little chin trembling.
"I'm sure, Miki."
"Hey, how would you like Ion and Nairn to take you to Cook?" Lisa asked as she gently rubbed each of the girls' backs. "I happen to know that he is planning on making more cookies today."
"Truth?" Carly asked, her eyes hopeful.