Amanda smiled at her father. She knew she would be able to count on his support. He was always telling her to go with her heart, and she would never be unhappy. Thankfully he was allowing her to do just that.
Dinner was a small and tense affair. Diane continued to act coldly toward both guests since she was still angry at being kept out of the loop. Chris did his best to keep the conversation as lively as he could. Riccan and Chris exchanged stories about things which had happened at their jobs. Chris was particularly intrigued by Riccan’s engineering occupation. Naturally, Riccan had to modify his working credentials since Chris would have no understanding about telepods.
Eventually, the dinner ended much to everyone’s relief. Amanda left the three of them to gather some items from her room. She got another suitcase out of her closet and packed the clothing she had received from Barla as well as a wide selection of the clothes from her closet and chest of drawers. Next, she went into the bathroom and took her favorite shampoo and conditioner from the shower. She stuffed everything into the large suitcase and had to sit on it in order to get it zipped shut.
She rolled the suitcase to the front door and left it there for when they were ready to leave. As she walked back into the dining room, she sensed she had interrupted something. The room was silent, and everyone just looked at one another. Right then, she decided it was time to leave and announced, “I’m ready to get going if you are.”
Riccan pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. “Thank you for the wonderful dinner. I hope we get to spend more time together soon.”
“When do you have to head back to work?” Chris asked.
“Not for another month,” Riccan replied and added, “It’ll give me enough time for a proper honeymoon with Amanda.” He smiled over at his wife.
“Where are you planning to take your honeymoon?” Chris asked politely.
“I thought we’d probably go to Jamaica,” he replied and had to resist winking at Amanda. If they ended up going to meet with Jehoban on Acaim, they would technically be on the island of Jamaica.
“We’ve never been there ourselves,” Chris commented as he also rose from his chair to walk the couple out. “I hear it’s really nice there.”
“I’ve been many times, and it’s been perfect every time,” Riccan said making small talk as they walked to the front door together.
Amanda led the way out, ready to escape her mother’s dark looks. The evening had essentially gone much as she had imagined, yet she wished her mother could just find a way to be happy for her. She stopped at the door, turning to hug her father.
When she put her arms around her dad’s neck, she whispered in his ear, “Thank you, Dad. I promise you I’m happy.” She held on to him for a few seconds longer, feeling him kiss the top of her head. This was the type of reception she would have preferred. “I’m not sure when I’ll be back to get the rest of my things,” she said to her father as they walked together out to Riccan’s truck.
“Feel free to leave some things here so your mom can still think you’re coming back. It might make the adjustment a little easier for her.”
As they drove home, Amanda was the first to speak and said, “I’m sorry about my mother.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for.” He glanced away from the road to look at his wife. “I don’t blame her for being upset at how quickly everything happened. It’s totally understandable. You don’t regret our decision, do you?”
“No, never, Riccan!” Then she had another thought and asked, “Do you regret it?”
“Nope! I just wanted to give you an out in case you were having second thoughts.” He stared straight ahead and grinned a little. He wondered what his mother was going to say. He was certain the announcement would be greeted much more warmly. “Do you want to head over to my parents’ house tonight?”
“I kind of had other ideas for our time tonight,” Amanda smirked at Riccan.
“Oh, I like the way you think! When do you think we’ll be able to find the time to let my parents know the good news?”
Amanda seriously considered the question and finally answered, “We should probably go over there tomorrow. Your dad said he might have some news about meeting with Jehoban in a few days. It’s already been that long. We can’t delay the inevitable for too long. Besides, if we need to go anywhere or do anything after meeting with Jehoban, you’ll still have plenty of time left on your leave from work.”
“Good point,” Riccan conceded. The meeting with Jehoban had managed to slip his mind given his other recent pursuits. He reasoned with himself that one more day could hardly make much difference. Besides, his father could reach him on his patil if he really needed them to come to Pantano sooner.
Their evening consisted mostly of them getting to know each other more intimately. They christened Riccan’s bedroom and explored each other some more in his enormous shower. Amanda had thought she would be more self-conscience with Riccan, but they felt so perfect for one another it was as easy as going home. She had to keep reminding herself that this huge house was now hers as well. She wondered how much longer she would keep referring to everything as his instead of ours.
Morning came all too soon. They managed to find the time to get together intimately one last time before breakfast. Luckily Riccan was pretty handy with using the elemy to produce their breakfast. He had it appear on the nightstand, so they never had to leave the room even to eat. Without any further reason to stall, except very selfish ones, they finally got dressed and packed a few things to stay in Tuala for a few days.
Now that Amanda’s parents were not expecting her to check in with them, she felt a sense of freedom overcome her. Not since she had taken the ill-fated trip with Nealand had she felt so independent. She glanced at her phone to see if her mother had called; she had not. Amanda felt slightly guilty for wanting to get away from her mother’s watchful eyes.
Amanda had some trepidation about telling Riccan’s parents about the marriage after the reception she had received from her own mother. She did not want to ask Riccan what he believed would happen because she did not want to imagine the scene before them.
The telepod ride to Pantano was uneventful, and they touched down on the grand lawn behind the house. They walked hand-in-hand across the grass and up the staircase to the terrace before anyone came out to acknowledge them. Amanda inwardly groaned when she saw Nena rushing across the terrace to greet them. Riccan squeezed her hand and smiled down at her with a reassuring smile.
“Hello, you two! I’m so glad you came back. We have a lot to discuss. Come on inside; we can meet in your father’s office.” She grabbed Riccan’s arm and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “How long are you two planning on staying this time? Please tell me you’ll stay longer than just dinner!”
“Actually, we were hoping to stay for a couple of days, at least. We’re curious to see if Father has had the opportunity to speak with Jehoban to arrange a meeting with Amanda,” Riccan replied.
“All in good time, Son. I’m thrilled you two are planning to stay for a while. I can’t wait to get to know Amanda better!” She had thought to get some type of a rise out of her son cautioning her to mind her own business. When nothing was forthcoming, she looked up at her son and narrowed her eyes as she inspected the look on her son’s face. He was definitely up to something. Once she got him alone, she’d pry it out of him if she had to go that far.
“Is Dad working right now?” Riccan tried to sound nonchalant.
“He finished up about twenty minutes ago. Why? What’s going on, Riccan?” Nena liked to be the first to know any news, and she could tell there was something brewing.
“We’d like to discuss something with the two of you. In private,” he added unnecessarily.
“We have time right now. Here we are, you go on into your father’s office while I ask someone to send in some drinks for us.” She ushered them into the room and practically danced down the hall on her errand.
His father looked up from his patil when he heard the commotion at his door. He was pleasantly surprised to see the two people and said, “I was just thinking about the two of you. Come in and have a seat. Is your mother coming back?”
“Yes, she went to get refreshments for us,” Riccan answered. He sat down at the same time Amanda did. He smiled at his father and kept his own counsel until his mother returned. This was definitely a story he only wanted to tell once. He hoped they would be happy for them, but he just did not know for certain.
Nena breezed back into the room and smiled at everyone as she went to sit beside her husband.
“Okay, now that you are both here, Amanda and I have some wonderful news to share,” Riccan began.
“You two are engaged!” Nena burst out.
“Nena, let Riccan talk,” Daven chided but wondered if his wife were right.
“Not exactly, Mom. Amanda and I got married yesterday in Reno. We eloped!” He held up Amanda’s hand as proof of his statement. He smiled broadly at first one parent and then the other.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
NENA WAS FIRST to recover from the unexpected news, “Oh, Riccan, that’s just wonderful!” She turned to her husband and said smugly, “I told you Amanda was perfect for Riccan. They have the most complimentary auras!” She jumped up from her chair and came to a stop in front of Amanda and said, “Welcome to the family! I always wanted a daughter, and now I have the best one I could ever imagine!”
Amanda felt tears threatening in her eyes. She had been so worried their reaction would be negative and now she was warmly welcomed into the family. She could not have asked for a better scenario. She stood up to hug Nena. Amanda was surprised when Nena kissed her soundly on the cheek and then patted her arm before turning to sit back down.
She had only just begun. “Tell us everything! Don’t leave anything out. Oh, this is so exciting, isn’t it, Daven?”
“Yes, this is very good news.”
“Dad, I have a favor to ask of you?” Riccan said seriously.
“Sure, Son. What can I do for you?”
“I’d like for you to marry us in Tuala. I want our marriage to be official no matter where we are.”
Daven was touched by his son’s request and did not hesitate to answer, “It would be my honor.”
“When would you like the ceremony to happen?” Nena asked. She was already planning an extensive guest list and thinking of all the details which would have to be taken care of. She would need several weeks at the very least.
“We’d like to have it official today, if possible,” Amanda interjected.
“Today? That won’t give me enough time to put it all together,” Nena objected.
“That’s actually the point, Mom. We don’t want a big affair. We only want the two of you and any house staff who would like to attend. Seriously, Mom, I can see the wheels turning in your head. No plans, no parties, nothing. We want it just as simple as we had it in Reno,” Riccan said adamantly. He knew his mother’s penchant for putting together lavish affairs, and he knew Amanda would be uncomfortable being put on display in such a manner.
Nena sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. She was not liking how this was turning out. She only had the one son, and she had imagined his wedding ceremony almost from the time he was born. She felt as though she were being left out of an important rite of passage. Moreover, she thought it was unfair to Amanda for her not to have an extravagant wedding.
Amanda could see how upset Nena had become and tried to reassure her. “This is what I want, too. We are so happy to have found one another; we don’t want to waste any time with parties or fancy services. We just want it to be official here on Tuala. I hope you can understand.”
It seemed as if Nena no longer had a choice in the matter. She gave in with good grace and decided she would have the entire household staff turn out for the event. “Ok, I promise nothing lavish. Can I have at least until tomorrow?”
“No, we’d like to have Dad do the ceremony before lunchtime. Preferably right now if that would work,” Riccan pushed.
Daven knew his wife was about to explode next to him, but he wanted to honor his son’s wishes. “Let’s have a compromise, shall we? Can it wait until after dinner tonight?”
Riccan looked over at Amanda and raised his eyebrows. Amanda nodded. Riccan turned back to his father and said, “Okay. We can wait until after dinner tonight.”
“Oh, this is perfect. Thank you for waiting a little bit!” Nena said brightly as she clapped her hands with glee.
Daven desperately wanted to change the subject and asked Riccan, “Were you able to take that trip to find Roderick?”
“Yes, and I took your advice and had Amanda come along with me. You were right, again, because we were very successful on the journey.”
“Tell us what happened,” Nena said with intense interest. She leaned forward to the edge of her chair in anticipation of a good story.
“On the first day there, we encountered a crystal skull at a vendor’s booth. The power of it literally stopped me in my tracks,” Riccan chuckled.
“And I ran right into him,” Amanda added with a grin.
“The vendor was reluctant to sell it to me, but he did in the end. However, he sent two henchmen to retrieve it once we were a couple of blocks away. I detected the potential problem, and we caught a cab and got out of there in a hurry.”
“Were you able to bring it home?” Daven rested his elbows on the desktop as he leaned forward expectantly.
“Yes. We avoided that area from then on, so we were able to get it home safely. I have it stored with the other one at my house.”
“Good! Very good! What else did you discover in New Orleans?” Daven prompted.
“We located Uncle Roderick. He was a veritable font of knowledge when it came to the family legend of the skull.” Riccan proceeded to tell them everything which they had learned from their ancient relative.
“That’s amazing!” Nena commented at the end of the story.
“Oh, just wait until you hear what happened once we got home,” Riccan teased.
“Was this before or after you got married?” Nena asked before Riccan could continue.
“Before; it was the day of our wedding, actually. We went to our house to put the crystal skull in a safe place right away because I felt spooked by the two guys who were after us. Anyway, we got it into the secret room. I was ahead of Amanda, and she had the new crystal in her purse. As soon as I touched the original skull, I felt as if I were being electrocuted; although, it wasn’t painful. I couldn’t move from the spot I was in until Amanda touched me and helped disburse the electrical charge.
“Then when we had both skulls on the table together we could feel an enormous amount of power being created. I don’t know why I did, but I put my hand on both of them at the same time. Amanda and I both had a vision of the woman who originally distributed the crystals to their caretakers. She had said they were ‘descendants of the Watchers.’
“It was the same phrase Uncle Roderick used. We can only assume then that Uncle Roderick’s rendition of the history of the stone is correct. Now we have a new mystery on our hands regarding the descendants of the Watchers. Do you have any knowledge of such a people?” Riccan sat back and watched as his mother and father both wracked their brains for any ideas.
Daven was the first to reply, “I seem to recall something of the sort during my training to become an Elder. It was a long time ago. I think I read about it somewhere when I was taking a stint working in the archives. I’ll keep thinking about it and let you know if I can come up with anything. How about you, Nena? Any thoughts?”
“I remember a story my parents used to tell me when I was little about some angels who were called the Watchers. Do you think they could be the same?” Nena shook her head as she could not think of anything more.
“It’s something. I’ll look into that angle as well,” Daven mused. He made a couple of notes
for himself on his patil and then turned back to his son and daughter-in-law.
“Riccan, you forgot to tell them what the crystal skulls are actually called,” Amanda reminded him in a whisper.
“Oh, yeah, Amanda just reminded me of another important detail: the crystal skulls are called samaras. Maybe you should do some research on that term while you’re at it, Dad,” Riccan suggested. He knew his father loved to do any type of research and he was more than happy to let him lead the charge.
“That’s really good, Riccan. I’ll write that down right now,” he said as he turned back to his patil and keyed in several thoughts to check up on at a later date. “Can you think of anything else which might make the search easier?”
“Would you be able to find out anything about the Scamp family from around 1800 from France? It would be a long-shot, but if we could find the family who gave the Scamp’s the crystal, we may be able to track down the original owner.”
Daven looked consideringly at his son and pursed his lips. “You’re right, that would be a long shot. I’ll see what, if anything, I can find.”
“Since you don’t seem to have anything else to share about that, why don’t you tell me every detail about your wedding?” Nena demanded.
Riccan laughed and knew they were in for a long spell while his mother grilled them to obtain every last detail. There really was not all that much to tell since it had all happened so fast and without much fanfare. He could tell his mother was disappointed in the lack of planning which had happened on Earth as well.
“I can understand why your mother was so upset, Amanda. I’m sure she had the same plans for your wedding as I had for my son. And to say she wasn’t even invited! That was really a low blow, Amanda.” She held up her hand to forestall her son’s objection to her last statement and continued with, “But I understand your dilemma. Your mother has been coddling you since you woke up, but I’m sure it’s only because she loves you dearly.”
Ascension Discovery Page 107