Not even the grogginess from the extreme jetlag diminished the awesome sight of the bald, grey-brown rock topped with brilliantly green trees that towered over the small city. Nellie found herself staring with her mouth open, not even the random tourist bumping her distracted her. This looked like a dragon’s paradise to her. It was amazing no one looked in China sooner.

“Brigitte! Beast!”

A middle-aged woman–possibly older–with grays streaking her bluntly cut, jaw-length hair approached through the crowd. Her eyes were sharp but weary, as if she had seen too much or pulled a few long shifts in a row.

“Ah, there you are,” Beast greeted with enthusiasm. Brigitte smiled stiffly and waved. “I was starting to worry one of your co-workers would find us first.” He jabbed  his thumb back towards Nellie and Morgan. “The Regere’s kid and the former Commander’s girl.”

“Morgan Agarwal,” Morgan said, glaring sideways at Beast as he held out his hand. He quickly dropped it and gave a small bow.

She inclined her head in response with a small smile. “Wang Lina. Though with you being Western, I suppose that’s Lina Wang.”

“Lina will pose as our escort,” Beast explained.

“Um… doesn’t the government keep track of things like that,” Nellie asked. “Surely not just any random person can impersonate one of those government escorts.”

“She’s not,” Brigitte said. “She’s a spy.”

“Yes, say that louder, Brigitte,” Lina said dryly. She gestured to the crowded street. “Shall we? I’ll take you to your lodgings to drop off your bags, and then perhaps something to eat?”

“What about a nap between that,” Nellie asked hopefully.

“Best not,” Lina said. “Part of my role is to keep you up until an appropriate time for bed. The jetlag goes by much quicker that way. Come along; this way.”

Nellie had been afraid of that; Nathalie did the same the few times they went to England. Luckily, there was so much to see that she was distracted from dwelling on how exhausted she was.

They drove south in Lina’s compact car, following the river down. She pointed things out that were either historic or could be of some interest to the two pre-teens, but Nellie knew she had no hope of remembering the harshly tonal names. She did understand that they just passed the palace when they started to slow, and committed that to memory if she needed a landmark on the chance she was separated from the others.

They turned into a neighborhood of combined houses and apartment buildings that all had the same tan facade and black roofs. Lina led them up the stairs of a unit tucked in the corner off the busy highway to the apartment on the second floor. She knocked once before trying the door. It was unlocked.

Lina scowled and muttered something in Chinese before smiling at them and motioning for them to enter.

The whole place smelled pleasantly of food. It was similar to Chinese places she’d eaten in with Nathalie back in Florida, but not exact. It smelled much, much better, and a little strange as if there were seasonings she had never smelled before.

A tiny, hunched old woman shuffled out from the kitchen. She spoke rapid-fire to Lina, turning a few times to address Beast and Brigitte–them nodding politely with large, vacant smiles–and gesturing wildly at Morgan and Nellie. Lina spoke to her in even tones, motioned to the front door, and began escorting her to an easychair.

“This is Wu Mansha,” Lina introduced, looking at Morgan and Nellie. “Mrs. Wu is suitable.”

“She frequently hosts us,” Brigitte added. “Can’t speak a lick of English. And Beast and me don’t speak any Chinese, but we all get on all right.” She cupped her hand to her mouth. “Good to see you well!”

“Going deaf,” Beast muttered to the kids. He glared at the door. “And… forgetful?”

“Such happens with age,” Lina said dismissively. “She did remember I told her you were visiting. She’s been cooking. We have no need to go anywhere tonight.” She stepped up to Morgan and gave a small bow of her head. “Is all this to your liking?”

Morgan reeled back slightly, but looked pleased. “Yes. Very. Thank you.”

Nellie’s stomach dropped. She was hoping Morgan would complain about staying up at the least so they could all go to bed. Her head was starting to swim from the exhaustion.

She was shown to a cramped room at the back of the apartment with sleeping pads laid on the floor and neatly made up with blankets. She stared wistfully back at the as she dropped off her bag and was escorted away. Lina and Mrs. Wu kept breaking into rapid conversation, only a few words of which were translated to Beast and Brigitte.

The food was excellent; what Nellie could comprehend at least. She was now too tired to have more than ‘yummy’ or ‘too spicy’ flit through her brain. Morgan seemed to cope better with the jetlag and tried to speak with the adults, but even he was slowing.

“Right,” Lina murmured, looking at a watch on her wrist. “I say give it another hour if you can mange. Seven o’clock is still rather early, but I any longer will be cruel to the children.”

“This was their idea,” Brigitte grumbled, her own eyes drooping with fatigue. She gave a yawn, climbing to her feet. “I’m going to bed. Reckon you’ll just have to put up with my sour temper tomorrow.”

Nellie glanced around the kitchen to keep her brain engaged. There were many small figures on shelves only for the purpose of housing them; common enough in elderly homes that it reminded her of Nana and Granddad’s house. Most of them appeared to be foxes.

Lina climbed to her feet once her plate was cleared. “I’ll head out. Beast, a word first.”

They stepped out of the kitchen but went no further with the apartment being small. Nellie caught Lina was asking something from her tone, but only caught the word ‘watch’. Beast gave a firm nod, and locked the front door after Lina before returning to the table.

It wasn’t long after that Nellie and Morgan were allowed to head off to bed. Nellie spotted Mrs. Wu unlocking the door as she went from the bathroom to the bedroom. She meant to say something to Beast, but fell asleep as soon as she laid on her bed mat.

She woke with a start some hours later. She blinked into the murky brown above her–the street lamps filtering in through a gap in the curtain. She guessed the sudden wakening was connected to the severe time change, and rolled over to find a more comfortable position.

There was a pair of eyes shining faintly from the weak light just inches from her nose.

Nellie screamed and scrambled backwards, flopping over Morgan who sat up with a confused yelp. There was further confusion with Beast and Brigitte shouting at each other, or the kids, and trying to get up without tossing anybody into anything. At this point, Mrs. Wu appeared shrieking angrily.

“What is wrong with you,” Morgan snapped, finally throwing Nellie off and disentangling himself from the blankets and limbs.

“Eyes! There were eyes!” Nellie pointed to the now empty space just as the light in the room was flicked on. “But….”

Beast rushed from the room, soon returning with a disgruntled look on his face.

“Call Lina,” Brigitte asked. He gave her a nod. “Right. Mrs. Wu, dear, come with me.” She gently ushered the elderly woman away. “There we are. This way.”

“Try to get back to sleep,” Beast said. “It’s gone now.”

“It,” Morgan accused. “She didn’t hallucinate it?”

Beast said nothing else. He packed up his sleeping mat and blankets, and left the room.

Nellie was sure she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep as she settled back onto her mat. She heard Morgan grumbling under his breath on her side, heard Lina arrive some time after, and then was asleep again.

---

The eyes were not brought up as they sat around eating breakfast. Lina spoke in low tones to Beast and Mrs. Wu, Brigitte having left some minutes before Nellie woke up. Where she went and why was not discussed, and Nellie couldn’t help wonder if it had something to do with what happened.

“We’ll go up to Tianyou Peak today,” Lina said. “Tourist find it popular, but it may lead to some signs of the former Commander.”

“Nellie’s mostly here just to be a tourist,” Morgan said bitterly.

“When will you drop that,” Nellie hissed. “I’m here. Leave me alone.”

Beast drained his tiny cup of tea. “Kids are so irritating.” He climbed to his feet, slightly stooped to keep his head from brushing the ceiling. “I’ll wait at the mountain.”

Lina didn’t allow them to leave until Brigitte returned. She apparently wanted either her or Beast to stay at the apartment, knowing that having the both of them would attract far too much attention. It was a difficult toss up on which one would draw the most attention with both being dark-skinned, Beast being over seven feet tall, and Brigitte’s hair bright shades of purple. As Lina articulated as they went to meet Beast, it would’ve been easier for her to travel with just the kids but also the most suspicious.

“People will look at our group two or three times, maybe just stare, and having either one or the other will make them think a family trip,” Lina explained as they climbed the steps to the start point of the hike.

“But… we don’t look anything like either of them,” Nellie said. “Especially me.”

“They’ll think you a fluke,” Lina said nonchalantly. “Ah, there he is. See him a mile away.”

Lina and Beast briefly discussed the plan for the hike, where to stop and what points could be of interest.

Nellie started to fall behind almost at once. She was in good shape after all the running around at Silas’s compound, but there was too much to see now that she wasn’t so sleep deprived. The views grew more and more breathtaking during the step climb up the stone steps. There was a low hanging cloud over the twist of river below. The surrounding mountains rose straight up into the sky.

She stopped at an overlook, pressed against the rail by the mass of onlookers all clamouring for the perfect selfie.

“Photo?”

It took Nellie a moment to realize the voice was directed at her, and another to find the speaker in the throng of people. A girl about her own age stood a few paces away, staring at her with eyes Nellie could only describe as clever—as strange a descriptor she found it. There was an odd, yellowish glint to them when the sunlight caught them as she moved nearer.

“Photo,” she repeated, her accent not nearly as thick as the first time.

“Oh, no, I'm okay,” Nellie said hastily. “I was just looking. I better go before I…” She looked around, popping up on her toes, but saw no hint of Beast in the crowd. “I better go. Sorry. Excuse me.”

She scrambled away from the lookout. She knew they were supposed to go up to the peak, so continued climbing without much worry. If she was quick enough, they wouldn’t realize she was gone.

Nellie balked as the girl stood on the path before her. She looked back over her shoulder at the overlook, unable to see it due to a curve in the pathway, and then at the girl. She got both feet on the same step to stabilize herself while her insides gave an uncomfortable squirm. There was no way that girl could’ve sneaked by her on such a narrow path.

“What are you,” Nellie asked carefully.

She nearly lost her balance as the girl jumped towards her, landing on the step just in front of her. She leaned back as the girl leaned closer to her face. A wide smile took over her face. Her canines were oddly pointed.

“This?” The girl poked Nellie’s nose.

“My nose? What about…?”

The girl’s face started to change. Tiny freckles appeared on either side of her petite nose, not crossing onto the bridge or extending beyond the tops of her cheeks.

“Cute?”

“Y-yeah,” Nellie said weakly. The girl spun around happily. “Um… I need to go catch up to everyone.” She inched by the girl. “Bye.”

She could feel the girl staring at her back as she climbed the steps. An odd rustling drew her attention back behind her.

The girl was gone.

“Hello?” 

Nellie craned her head towards the side of the mountain, thankfully seeing nothing that indicated she fell over the side. She crossed her arms tight, trying to convince herself it was because of the chilly air at that altitude and not because all the hair on her neck was raised. She took a step up, turning back to her climb, and yelped in surprise.

The girl was before her, inches from her face.

“Hello,” the girl said, her accent now completely American. She pointed to her freckles on her cheeks. “These?”

“Freckles? Yeah… I saw you get them. Or make them. Or whatever it was.” Nellie bit her lip. “So, I really do need to catch up with my cousin and them.”

“Me?” She skipped a few steps up. “Me too?”

“If you want to… You’re not, y’know, going to push us off the side or anything, right?”

The girl cocked her head like a dog. Her deep, brown eyes glinted with yellow as she smirked and scampered upwards. Nellie followed at a slower pace, trying to keep some distance and sticking firmly to the mountain side.

“What are you,” Nellie asked, not as warily as before. The girl looked back, cocking her head again. “Maybe it doesn’t translate… Actually, how much can you understand me? How do I test that?”

The girl smirked again and hurried off. She left the path to scramble over boulders and tug at exposed tree roots. It reminded Nellie a lot of Ash rushing around the woods.

“These mountains are incredible,” Nellie said after a long lapse of silence. “I wish I was here just to hike.” She frowned. “I wish Ash was here. He’s my smoke wolf. Or, I guess mine isn’t right, but he’s my friend who happens to be a smoke wolf. He was my only friend for a long time after I moved to Tennessee.”

“Tennessee?”

“It’s one of the states in the United States,” Nellie explained. “Do you know the United States? America? You’ve probably had a few people from there visit here. They have accents like mine. …Unless they’re from the Deep South or New England or the Midwest or…. Well, there’s a lot of American accents, but mine is generic.”

She stopped to catch her breath and to take in the view. The river was now so far below it was a shimmer of silver with the cloud having evaporated. The enormity of the scenery choked her. Somewhere out there was her father, but trying to find him looked impossible. And this was only one of the many mountain ranges.

Nellie swallowed the lump in her throat and batted at her eyes. She jerked when the girl stuck her face right in hers, studying her quizzically.

“It’s so pretty,” Nellie said lamely, gesturing to the view. “It makes one emotional.” She flinched as the girl touched a stray tear, and cringed as she tasted it. “Ew.”

“Nellie! Nellie!” Morgan’s voice echoed down the mountain. “Nellie! Answer me!”

“That’s my cousin,” Nellie explained to the girl. “Morgan! I’m almost to you!” She started climbing. “Come on; he sounds worried.”

They met on the path. Morgan’s face went from relief to fury in the blink of an eye. He stood his ground, arms folded, and waited for Nellie to close the gap.

“I should have guessed you were dragging your feet,” Morgan said airily. “Enjoying your sight seeing?” His hazel eyes darted to the girl. “Who is that?”

“More like what,” Nellie muttered.

“Are you ready to give finding your father a more serious attempt, or are you still just here to make friends and take selfies?”

Nellie bristled. “I am looking! I came all the way here when I didn’t want to!”

The girl gave an odd, startled yelp as Nellie raised her voice. She shrank with a faint pop, and there was now a small, reddish and silver fox where she had stood. It darted off the path into the rocks, leaving Morgan and Nellie staring with their mouths slightly open.

-----------------------------

When I took Mandarin forever ago, the name I was assigned at the end of the semester was Wang Mansha. Wang is really common, and so is Wu so I gave the old lady the Mansha and Lina the Wang. Lina is also written as Li Na and is supposedly a really common and traditional combination for women.

I used Google Earth to map the neighborhood and some of the mountain path that they're at, since I'm not going to China any time soon (looking at all the mountains makes me want to go right now, lol, I think it's been long enough between my degree and now to go soonish). I do recommend just doing an image search of Tianyou Peak and/or Wuyishan Mountians. It's so freaking pretty. I think the hike all the way to the peak takes a couple of days, so I figured Lina and Beast planned on just going as far as they could, maybe grabbing lunch at a tea house, and heading back down.

But I guess the more interesting development is that Nellie continues to attract cryptids on the other side of the globe.

June gave way to July. Silas threw a huge Fourth of July bonfire for them where Arden and Fin followed Arch around chanting, “USA,” over and over, until he grew so annoyed he sent a golem after them. Arden was in a much better mood the moment Brittney left and was being extra annoying to the older boys to make up for the days that she’d been there.

Nellie had small moments of loneliness with Ava and Amias both leaving. They never lasted long, not with her greenhouse duties with Lilac, sneaking into the woods with Fin and Brody (Calix having gone to Greece for two weeks to visit family), and discussing–or avoiding–Morgan’s dragon research. She was sure to write Ava a letter and make it vague enough that she could share it with Emma, Olivia, and Sophia. She also scratched out her note to text Penny asking if it was possible for someone like her to make friends.

Nellie propped her face on her hand as Mrs. Adams hobbled in front of them, a book held in her hand that she was reading snippets from. It had something to do with the religious order that the Order of Ferblanc acted as an arm of, and how it was once a part of the Roman Catholic church. Nellie was having a hard time focusing on the dry history when Mrs. Adams constantly would pause to reiterate that the two are separate but also the same.

“The Holy See has the Swiss Guard,” Mrs. Adams went on, “while the Holy Cor has the Order of Ferblanc. Yes, Mr. Jones?”

“Brody, why,” Arden hissed. “I want to get out of here.”

“The Holy See isn’t really part of Vatican City, right,” Broday asked. “It’s its own thing?”

“Correct, Mr. Jones,” Mrs. Adams said. “And to answer your next question before you ask it, the Holy Cor is also a separate entity although it is located alongside Vatican City just as the Holy See. The difference here being that the Holy See is an internationally recognized government while the Holy Cor stays to the Realm.”

“And it’s feminine,” Lilac said airily, lifting her hand after the fact.

“Yes, Miss Maebry; the Holy Cor takes on the feminine to balance out the masculine of the Holy See. A tribute of sorts to all the women and their role centuries back when the religious first came to be. There is crossover, of course, most particularly with the religious orders. The two will share monks and nuns with no qualms. It boils down to a single, specific line during vows to even know which brother or sister belongs where. And, really, who has time to sort any of that out.” She snapped her book shut. “We’ll continue this tomorrow. There will also be an extra lesson pertaining to the Auctorita’s founding. Now, I’m sure you want to get to your letters before I call you back for geography.”

Nellie had a letter from Nathalie that was not very long. It spoke of her teaching, how all her petunias died, and how she still had not replaced the laptop she dropped. Ash was doing well–Nathalie lamenting his leaving bits of dead things around. She also had a reply from Ava. This was also not very long, but it was clear from the lack of flow that the other girls had added their thoughts during the writing. They even all signed it, saying they missed her–Nellie doubted Olivia really did–and hoped she’d return before summer finished so that they could all go shopping.

Hey,” Fin said, glancing over. He held up his sheets of paper. “Welcome to the two letters club. It’s exclusive.”

“Ava says she misses you guys,” Nellie said, giving Ava’s letter a shake.

“Ava nice,” Itzel said. “Miss her.”

Morgan stared at his half page with boredom. He folded it and leaned back in his chair. “My mother sends her love.”

They were interrupted by Mrs. Adams appearing with an old shoebox. Arch jumped up to take it from her as she hobbled into the den.

“Thank you, Mr. Willoughby. Pass those out, would you? Mr. Javernick has requested geography be held an hour later, and to have your phone allotment moved to now. Dinner tonight will be formal practice, so will last longer.” She hobbled from the den. “I’ll have the box on my desk. You may drop them off on your way into geography.”

Arch looked from his battered, old flipphone to the smartphones around him wistfully before excusing himself to make a call. Brody also excused himself to call family while Lilac–having just seen her parents–settled into a chair and started coloring on a coloring app. Itzel had no phone so started on writing her reply.

“Wanna sword fight,” Arden asked Nellie and Morgan. “We can do it in pairs. Me and Morgan against Fin and Nellie.”

“Should I not be with Cabrera?” Morgan eyed Fin. “Oldest and youngest against the two in the middle?”

“Yeah, normally, but Nellie’s lousy so putting her with Fin will either better our chances or even out the teams,” Arden said.

“Gee thanks,” Nellie said dryly.

Morgan looked pleased someone ranked him over Nellie, and agreed to Arden’s terms.

Nellie did not do as badly as she feared; perhaps in some attempt to show up Arden and Morgan or because Fin was just a good partner. She and Morgan eventually held back to let Arden and Fin go at it. They plopped down beneath a nearby tree to allow the shade to cool them.

“Silas told me dinner is formal practice due to guests,” Morgan said in low tones. “More Auctorita founding members.”

“Your mom?”

“No; much better,” Morgan said with a smirk. “It’s our way into China.”

“What are you talking about,” Nellie asked carefully.

“I did not hit you hard enough for this,” Morgan said. He rolled his hazel eyes. “Your father. China. Does that ring the bell?”

Her stomach plummeted. Morgan had been so quiet about Rhys and China that Nellie thought he accepted the obvious wall before them. It didn't occur to her that his stubbornness had him looking for another solution. 

She laughed shakily. “You're crazy! You think I can just call Nathalie and get my passport? Even if you did find a way into China, no way is she letting me go.”

“No passport and no asking permission required,” Morgan said smugly. He shot a look at Arden and Fin to ensure they were still consumed hitting each other. “Beast and Brigitte are smugglers.”

“You know a smuggler named Beast?”

“Well… no, but he is a founding member of the Auctorita, so my parents do,” Morgan said hastily.

“Still… a smuggler….”

“Sometimes it's a noble pursuit,” Morgan said. He scratched his nose and looked away. “Whatever the case, it's our way in.”

Nellie was quickly coming to the point when she'd have to flat-out refuse to go with Morgan. He put so much work into the dragon research and on finding a way to get to Rhys, that she couldn't help but feel guilt squirming in her guts.

“Ow!”

Fin was clamping a hand to his head, eyes narrowed at Arden who was waving his wooden sword over his head in triumph over his instant kill hit.

---

Nellie stood between Itzel and Lilac at the back of the line; Mrs. Adams had insisted on inspecting each of them before allowing them into the dining room, and further insisted the girls be last.

“Miss Maebry, are those grass stains,” Mrs. Adams asked.

“From the garden,” Lilac clarified.

Mrs. Adams glared disapproval but waved Lilac into the dining room. Nellie hastily combed her auburn waves over one shoulder as she stepped forward. 

“Is that dirt beneath your nails, Miss Herle?”

“Oh… um….”

“Is that a bruise on your forearm?”

Nellie clamped a hand over the elongated bruise from Morgan’s wooden sword, but quickly let go to hide both hands behind her back. She gave Mrs. Adams a sheepish smile.

“I suppose it too warm to have the whole of your arms covered,” Mrs. Adams said stiffly. “Go on. Go find your seat. But the next time, Miss Herle, that we have practice, you scrub those nails.”

Nellie’s head bobbed as she shuffled by Mrs. Adams into the dining room. She understood immediately why the man was dubbed Beast.

He was sitting next to Silas at the head of the table, but she first thought he was standing. Even sitting, he dwarfed Silas and everyone else. He was easily over six feet tall, maybe even nearer to seven. She was strongly reminded of the basketball star from the 90s that did multitudes of commercials now; down to the ball head and dark skin, except that this man was not built like a basketballer. His naked arms were sculpted and his chest was much too broad in his shirt, more like the build of a rugby player.

Silas caught her eye from the head of the table and waved her over. “Come meet our guests, Nellie.”

She noticed the woman on the other side of Silas as she walked nearer. She was the opposite of Beast minus also having dark skin; petite in build with teased, pixie-cut hair that was colored a purple ombre.

“I was going to have you sit right there next to Brigitte,” Silas said, gesturing to the empty seat.

“Did you call her Nellie,” Brigitte asked, a slight accent. She looked her over. “This isn’t Perenelle, is it?”

“Amias’s little lamb,” Beast said. His voice was so deep it resonated in Nellie’s chest; his tone had mockery in it. He took his dark eyes off Nellie and put his attention back to Silas. “You said he was here?”

“At the end of June,” Silas said. “He’s long gone. Not to worry your pretty head.” He winked at Nellie. “Nor yours.”

“I can’t place which one she looks more like,” Brigitte said, leaning on her fist to stare more closely at Nellie. “She’s got those freckles like Brue did, but not as many. Which, innit funny that Regere’s name means ‘freckled’ but he was the clear skinned sibling?” She turned away. “Speaking of which, Evora’s sister made the papers the other day. Fell flat on her face at a fashion show.”

“A random fashion blogger’s page isn’t the papers,” Beast said dully, inspecting his cup. “Food is coming?”

The food was brought in before Silas could answer. Nellie was sure to sit up straight with her hands in her lap as her plate was set before her; she could feel Mrs. Adams watching her movements and didn’t exhale until the server moved onto Arch sitting at her side.

She spent the appetizer course and most of the main course being hyper-aware of keeping her elbows off the table as Silas, Beast, and Brigitte caught up with nothing of interest reaching her ears–-minus Brigitte's random topic switching every few sentences. She was content to say nothing to either Beast or Brigitte with Morgan’s plan looming in her mind. She cursed him under her breath for destroying an opportunity to be nosy with new people.

Arden–sat to Beast’s other side–set down his fork after side-eyeing the massive man all evening. “Since no one else is asking… How tall are you?”

Beast let out a thunderous clap of laughter. “Silas, where’d you get this one?”

“Britt’s kid.”

“Britt? Really? I do vaguely remember you saying she married. Was that really long enough ago for her kid to be this old? Ah, time is cruel.” Beast beamed at Arden. “Seven foot one.”

“Can’t forget that inch neither,” Brigitte said. “Goes completely apeshit.”

“Ms. Brigitte,” Mrs. Adams snapped, “language!”

“Like these kids don’t say worse,” Brigitte mumbled, keeping her voice too low for Mrs. Adams to hear.

The main course ended and dessert–triple berry tarts with thick, whipped cream–were set before them. Nellie tried enjoying hers but could feel Beast taking looks at her across the table. She accidentally met his eyes when she glanced over to confirm, smiling shakily as he gave her a forced smile.

“I think it's more Commander High Horse than Brue,” Beast said conversationally to Brigitte. “She’s got those same eyes.”

“She’s twelve, Beast,” Silas warned.

“Already?” Beast shook his head. “Time.” He gave Nellie a softer, more apologetic smile. “Your dad and I… tolerated each other. I apologize for the coldness.”

“Your mom was good for him,” Brigitte said. “Shame she died like that.”

Nellie dropped her fork with a clatter that drew the attentions of Morgan, Itzel and those at the farther end of the table. Her heart was pounding in her ears.

“Brigitte,” Morgan called from down the table, “your condolences aren’t necessary. It was ages ago.”

“Was that condolences,” Brigitte whispered across the table to Beast, looking perplexed. “Who’s the brat, anyway?”

“Morgan Agarwal,” Beast said quietly.

“What? For serious? Blimey, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”

“Oh,” Morgan called back down, “since I have your ear, there is something I want to discuss with the both of you after we’ve finished.”

Brigitte and Beast snickered to each other, murmuring over a child trying to use diplomatic language with them. Their dismissiveness was apparent when they tried to follow Silas to the small parlor after dinner only for Morgan–dragging Nellie–to cut them off.

“Did you think me joking,” Morgan asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Care to join us, Master Morgan,” Silas asked in mild amusement. He sighed heavily at Morgan’s icy stare. “Perhaps not.” He slapped Beast hard on the lower back (being where he could reach with their height difference). “I’ll get the whiskey ready. Neat?”

“On the rocks for me,” Brigitte said. “Like it extra cold these days.”

The four of them allowed a stretch of quiet as Silas headed into the small parlor. Nellie didn't want to be the one to break it even as it grew uncomfortable. She didn't want to talk to either of these people, let alone ask them for a favor. They kept studying her with mixtures of mild curiosity to mild dislike.

“The dining room should be cleared now,” Morgan said, gesturing over his shoulder. “I’m hoping this won’t be long enough for a sit down, but you did disrespect me already.”

Beast’s lip curled. “The tone on you, boy.” He loomed over Morgan. “You are not Regere. I don’t owe you any extra respect just for him being your father.”

“And I’m not intimidated just because you’re tall,” Morgan said, his fists clenched and shaking at his sides. “I’ve fought dragons too, and I have no magic.”

Beast and Brigitte exchanged a hard to read look. Nellie thought the nearest emotion was curiosity but wouldn’t bet on it. They gave a small nod, little shrug, and headed into the empty dining room. They both sat and stared expectantly.

Morgan grabbed Nellie’s shoulder as he stepped by her, gripping it like a walking stick before straightening his spin and going forward. She followed with her hands fiddling with the decorative bow tacked on her dress’s bodice.

“We require a discrete entry into China.”

The two adults let out a loud laugh that was just as quickly stifled by Morgan’s glare down his nose at them. They leaned back to allow Morgan to explain how they had been researching dragons in order to find Brue, and how Nellie wanted to speak with Rhys to cross reference things, as well as to ask if he knew a way of recognizing her in her dragon form.

“When Amias was here, he came with a message from my father saying that Rhys is in China,” Morgan finished. “I’m familiar with your work. I have full confidence–.”

“Can’t you talk normal at all,” Brigitte complained. “What’d Evora do to you, boy? I thought she’d be a better mom. Oh, speaking of–.”

“Don’t you talk about my mother like that,” Morgan said heatedly. His face was flushed.

“He’s over-educated, Brigitte, leave him alone,” Beast said, amused. “You must speak–what?--two languages? Three?”

“Three and a half,” Morgan fumed. “I’m conversational in German. Why is that a bad thing?”

“It’s not,” Beast said. “I’m not making fun. It’s impressive.” He twisted to look at Nellie. “You’ve said nothing during this, yet they’re your parents. Speak up, girl.”

“I don’t want to,” Nellie blurted out.

“Nellie doesn’t have to explain–.”

“Let her talk,” Beast said firmly. “Go on.”

She refused to meet Morgan’s eyes despite him dipping his head trying to catch hers. She kept her focus on her twisting hands, now jumbling together with the bow unmoveable. Her mind was just as jumbled as she tried to think of a way to avoid what she’d been avoiding telling her cousin for weeks, but there was too much static to think.

“I… don’t want to look for Rhys,” Nellie said quietly. Her head snapped up at Morgan’s sharp inhale. “No! That’s not…. I don’t want my life to be uprooted again. Moving is hard, Morgan, you have no idea. And you keep talking about–.”

“About the family being reunited! About us growing up together as we always should have!” He shook with fury. “Why let me waste hours of my time on this if you didn’t want any of it?” He scoffed. “You can’t tell me you like your little backwater town with its poor education and lackluster food?”

“I didn’t know about any of this, or any of you seven months ago!” Nellie was stiff-legged with her hands now fists. Her eyes flashed angrily. “You can’t expect to just drop my whole life for some fantasy life our parents dreamed up of us growing up together!”

“Why,” Morgan asked nastily. “Because of your aunt? She did lie to you, or is that too inconvenient a detail?”

“Ugh! Boy, you don’t shut up much, do you,” Brigitte whined. “Will you let the girl talk without jumping down her throat?” She looked at Beast. “Regere used to do that, you remember? Especially with Brue. Yap-yap-yap if he thought he could make himself look good.”

“Him and the Commander were always at odds in those first months,” Beast said, eyeing Nellie and Morgan. “Perenelle, you did have ample time to tell all this to Morgan. Why not?”

She stared at the floor as her anger ebbed away. Her mouth was dry and feeling all of them looking at her did not help.

“Because… because… I might not want to, but I think I have to.”

Beast’s lip curled. “Interesting.”

-------------------------

It just ends because I couldn't think of much else other than small back and forth that didn't really go anywhere except confirming 100% that Beast and Brigitte agreed to Morgan's plan. So, not something really needed. I think I was originally going to do more with the dinner/kids and that was why I had Calix go home for a visit, to lessen the amount of characters in the room, and I was going to have Arch leave too but I liked the idea of Arden and Fin harrassing him on the 4th too much. And I thought it was time to introduce the other part of the religious element with the Holy Cor since that touches on Penny's story (and Brecken's with his first serious love). The Order of Ferblanc was originally the Swiss Guard way, way, way, way, way back when this was just the vaguest idea of 'girl and cryptids' back in 2014ish. Something about teir clownish uniforms but knowing they're all highly trained amused me.

Beast is the same hieght as Shaq. I looked it up before having him declare his height to make sure it was something believable. But I guess that's all because I have to feed my overly tired, crying kid.

Nellie reluctantly put on the same tank top she’d been wearing the last couple of days before continuing her search for Amias. It was too late into the morning to stay in pajamas or else risk Mrs. Adams's disapproval. Then again, wearing the same shirt for three days was not much better.

She pulled open her door and straightened when finding Ava on the other side with her hand raised to knock. Nellie caught Ava’s eyes drop to the tank top before meeting hers again, a small, strained smile on her lips.

“Can we take a quick walk to the garden,” Ava asked.

Anger quickly replaced all Nellie’s hurt feelings from the previous night. She shut her door behind herself with a firm snap, stepping by Ava into the hall.

“I was about to go find Amias,” Nellie said coolly.

“Why don’t I walk with you until you find him?” She scurried to walk in step. “My mom is packing. I thought we should talk a bit while we had time.”

“Why? Are you leaving,” Nellie asked. She tossed her waves off her shoulder. “I heard you talking to your mom last night. You don’t have to explain yourself to me. If you want to leave, then go.”

Ava hurried to block her from continuing down the hall. She narrowed her eyes behind her glasses, crossing her arms.

“This is exactly what I was trying to tell her,” Ava said icily. “It’s not like you want to be friends, so why should I bother trying?”

“Me? You told her we weren’t friends!”

“Because you don’t want to be, Perenelle!” Ava threw up her hands. “I tried–we tried–including you in weekend plans all year, but you constantly ghosted us. We tried to get together during Spring Break, but again, you ghosted us.”

“Morgan—.”

“Yeah, I know, Morgan,” Ava growled. “That first week here, without Morgan, we hung out all the time and I thought ‘okay we’re getting somewhere’ and then along comes Morgan, and suddenly you’re off on these field trips—”

“That you said you didn’t want to do!”

“---I don’t, but you still go off, never mention much about them when you come back, and double down on using all your free time for Morgan.” Ava sighed heavily, her eyes shining. “My mom came to see me, and you just brushed off meeting her and run off with Morgan. Always babysitting your cousin. You even pushed off Lilac and her parents onto us instead of coming with us to dinner!”

“I thought you liked Lilac,” Nellie said lamely, feeling hot.

“That isn’t the point, Perenelle!” She stomped her foot in annoyance. “Mr. Javernick very clearly invited me here to be a familiar face for you, but you just keep running off on me! Secret meetings with this cousin. Secret meetings with that hot guy that turns out is actually a legit prince. You haven’t even sort of explained how any of that happened, do you realize that?”

There was a lot she avoided telling Ava. She was warned prior to coming to the compound not to let anyone know about Brue’s fate, and the result was that anything else she mentioned was disjointed. It also meant that she had been going off with Morgan a lot recently to talk over all his dragon notes.

There was a squirming, guilty feeling in Nellie’s gut as she watched Ava’s face fill with pink patches. The shine had started to collect in the corners of her eyes, and she was refusing to look directly at Nellie now. She felt a lump build in her own throat, and laughed shakily.

“I have been a rotten friend,” Nellie said. “Or, pre-friend, I guess. I just thought you’d get it with being a witch. The whole secrecy thing.”

“No, I get that part,” Ava said, her tone still cool. “Emma, Olivia, and Sophia are my best friends, but no way am I blabbing to them about Mammaw, or Mom, or myself. That’s been drilled in. And, no way I’d tell them about you and this whole thing with your uncle being leader of some secret, magical society thing.”

“Yeah… I know you wouldn’t… but there’s a lot more,” Nellie said.

“So I’ve gathered,” Ava said dryly. She shrugged. “You don’t have to tell me. That wasn’t the condition on being friends. You were just supposed to want to hang out with me, and not constantly blow me off.”

“Maybe I should tell you,” Nellie said, half to herself.

“Don’t,” Ava said firmly. “It’ll just make everything worse. It’ll make us feel obligated to be friends when, honestly, maybe we just aren’t.” She sheepishly looked at the polished floor. “I did hope… You seemed nice… We don’t get a lot of people moving to Lynchburg. I thought having some new blood would be a nice change for our circle.”

She had told Ava about her real relationship with Nathalie already, and that was as close as she felt she could get to the rest of it without saying. She didn’t understand the harm of Ava knowing her mother was turned into a dragon and that her father had ditched her to go find her, but she held her tongue still.

“I think… I do want to try to be friends,” Nellie said awkwardly. She pulled at a split end. “I’m not sure how, I guess. The whole thing with finding out my mom wasn’t my mom completely threw me out of whack more than I thought. Maybe I’m not even as over it as I thought I was….”

“It would be a lot,” Ava murmured. “And the stuff you can’t tell me… is about all of that, right?” Nellie nodded glumly. “Okay, so how about, if you’re going to blow me off or something because of that, you just say ‘Mom issues’ or something, so then I know it’s because you can’t say in front of me and not because you’re sick of hanging out?”

“‘Parent stuff’ might work better,” Nellie said, grinning. “There’s a bunch of stuff going on with my dad right now.”

“The one you thought was an estranged uncle your whole life?” Ava shuttered. “Yikes, Nellie, your life is complicated. No wonder you don’t want to talk about it.”

They giggled a bit and started walking down the hall. Ava insisted Nellie borrow one of her tank tops.They set off together after to find Amias with Ava not having met him yet and her mother still busy. She told Nellie she’d wanted to leave so badly that she begged her mom to book her a ticket home for next week.

“I should’ve confronted you sooner,” Ava moaned.

“It will be good to see the others,” Nellie said. “It isn’t fair to give up your whole summer for this.” She gazed at the grounds outside the windowed hallway. “I kind of want to go back too. I miss Ash.”

“You had that one uncle show up and threaten to take you home,” Ava said. “You could call him. I bet he’d do it.”

Uncle Winston certainly would be on the next plane if she said she wanted to go back to Nathalie that minute. He only hadn’t forced her to leave because he begrudgingly agreed that she needed to know how to handle herself when the Realm encroached into her life. It was a part of her, just like it was a part of Rhys, and Uncle Winston heavily hinted that how Rhys had been handled as a youth is what drove him off.

“You!”

Nellie and Ava jumped, spinning to see Arden storming towards them. His arms were stiff at his sides; his lanky frame hunched like his feet couldn’t be angry and keep the quick pace he wanted.

He stopped before then, narrowing his eyes. “You brought that man here!”

“Do you mean Amias,” Nellie asked carefully.

“She’s talking about staying longer,” Arden huffed, crossing his arms. “This was supposed to be a few nights, then gone, oh, but now she’s got a new buddy and all that is going out the window!”

“Are you… talking about your mom?”

“They feed off each other,” Arden went on. “They start on something as lame as buying groceries, and before you know it,” he leapt back, throwing his arms wide, “the world is burning! And they’re single handedly responsible for shutting down brothels! Too many broken hearts.” He gagged, and then fixed his gaze on Nellie again. “Make him leave. Or tell him to stop talking to her.”

“I can’t do that,” Nellie protested. “Amias is an adult. Go talk to Silas about them if it bothers you.”

Arden’s eyes widened as his jaw went slack. “Mrs. Adams… Mrs. Adams will save me.” He turned on his heel and bolted.

“You don’t think that brothel thing is true, do you,” Ava asked, wrinkling her nose.

“I never want to know which one said it. Come on, let’s head the way Arden did. Maybe he was with Brittney and Amias before coming to find us.”

There was no mystery where Amias and Brittney were after they passed through the formal dining room. Their roars of laughter rattled off the crystal chandelier from the small parlor on the other side. 

From what Nellie remembered, the small parlor was for Silas to host drinks with members of the Auctorita. She had stuck her head in before out of curiosity, but none of them ever had a reason to hang out in there with it being a bar counter, locked liquor cabinets, and a handful of plush, leather chairs.

Brittney was behind the bar while Amias sat at it, slapping it with his hand. His mouth was full of something, leaving him unable to laugh properly or interject on the story.

“--I says to her, no seriously now, I says, ‘I’ll run through the main square completely nude, completely, if I don’t get Herle’s hand up my—' Oh.” Brittney cleared her throat, jerking her head to get Amias to turn. “Exactly the child I don’t want standing there. Are you looking for Arden? He’s…” She looked around.

“Morgan sent me,” Nellie lied. She focused on Amias. “Somehing about his mom needing you back for something.”

“Apologies, Britt, I'm needed elsewhere,” Amias said. He finished his glass with a small shutter. “Ah, the bubbles. Everytime.”

“That’s why you wouldn’t catch me dead joining up,” Brittney said. “Keena too.” She sighed. “I better go find that boy of mine.”

Nellie forcefully smiled as Brittney sauntered by. She stood rooted to the spot fully aware that Ava was shooting her an uncomfortable look from the corner of her eye. She dropped the smile as Amias approached, crossing her arms.

“I thought you didn’t drink,” she said, eyeing the bar.

“Soda water and bitters, my lamb,” Amias assured. “With a hint of mint rather than lime, oddly enough. Britt has a knack for mixing non-alcoholic cocktails. But, you didn’t come here to babysit me, nor should you.” He raised a thin eyebrow. “Does Evora even want me?”

“Arden asked me to separate you and his mom,” Nellie said.

“You were looking for him before that,” Ava said. She smiled nervously as Amias looked to her. “Hi. I’m Ava. I go to school with Nellie.”

“And she’s a witch,” Nellie said.

“Or will be,” Ava said. She twisted her hands together. “I have to grow into it.”

“Is that how that works? Fascinating,” Amias said.

“Thanks… I’m going to see if my mom is done packing,” Ava said. “Let you talk. Catch you later?”

“Yeah,” Nellie said, grinning. “I’ll find you after. Swear it.”

They exchanged hopeful smiles as Ava left them to the small parlor.

“I take it your pre-teen girl speak has improved,” Amias said, smiling. He motioned at the armchairs. “Now,” he said as he settled in, “what are we to talk about?”

“Are Morgan’s parents in love?”

Amias sputtered, unable to form distinct sounds or words. He searched around for something to busy himself with but found nothing. He settled for smoothing out imaginary wrinkles on his knees.

“S-such an unusual question,” he said with a small laugh. “What on this earth would possess you to—?”

“Morgan said so.”

“Ah… Well, that’s troubling.” He took in a large breath, slowly releasing it and setting a steadier gaze on Nellie. “My lamb, there is nothing to be done for it.”

“It’s true,” Nellie whispered. She covered her mouth in horror. “But… but….”

“As I said, you cannot fix this,” Amias said sternly. “It is quite unfortunate that Master Morgan picked up on it, but it is what it is. The Regere and Evora might not have the love you’d hope to find in a married couple, particularly those with children, but they are fond of each other and have great respect for each other. There is no ill will.”

“But what about Morgan,” Nellie said.

“What of him?” Amias raised his eyebrows at her. “He is loved by his parents. Just as you are. How his parents feel for each other has no alteration on that.”

“He thinks it does.”

“He’s young,” Amias said sagely. “He’ll learn.” He smiled piteously at Nellie’s tense expression. “My dear, this is not the end of the world. Morgan’s parents have a strong marriage built through respect. There are many such marriages out there. And, there are those that have no respect. Regardless of love or not, if there is no respect for each other that is truly a terrible match. Quite the awful example to set as well.” He pat Nellie’s balled up hand. “Evora regrets not writing back to you, my lamb. Perhaps you knowing how their marriage works will make more sense of why she ignored your note asking after the Commander. She will never go behind the Regere’s back.”

It took a few minutes for Nellie to remember what Amias was talking about. She had slipped her note to Evora asking about Rhys prior to her field trip to Michigan. Being attacked by the Piasa Bird, having relatives show up for visits, almost falling out with Ava, being unable to speak to Ira or Penny, all that had completely driven it from her mind.

“That’s a lot for a week and a half….”

“What was that, my lamb?”

“Nothing… Actually, I do have something else I want to ask about.”

“I hesitate to encourage you…”

“That story I walked in on,” Nellie said, frowning, “that Herle was my father, wasn’t it?”

Amias cleared his throat. His cheeks had a slight pink tint. “Yes… well… Britt knew your father in his youth. In her youth.” He scratched at his nose just to have something to do with his hands. “Mrs. Faust is quite a flirt, I’m sure you’ve gathered by now. She found it comical to tease the Commander.” He laughed, quickly turning it into a throat clearing as Nelle narrowed her eyes at him. “Sorry, my dear. Completely unrelated thought just popped into my head.”

“I’m not going to find out Arden is my half-brother or something, right?”

“Good gracious, no,” Amias said, horrified. He laughed again, this time not trying to hide it. “Oh, no, no, no, Nellie. Your father was a right stick in the mud. I was terribly shocked when Brue and he started courting. Terribly! Ah, but, he did smile around her, so that only made sense.”

An odd sense of pride swelled in her chest. Her father was devoted to her mother long before her dragoning. It somehow helped cement the idea that they both loved her, despite Rhys vanishing from her life.

The pride was replaced with pity as she remembered she had been asking Amias about Morgan’s parents moments earlier, getting confirmation that Morgan was not being overly dramatic. It really would feel awful to know your parents didn’t have true feelings for each other, no matter how Amias tried to sugarcoat it.

“I may regret this… but anything else, my lamb? I don’t mind a chat, of course, but I should meet with Silas.” He rolled his eyes. “Auctorita business. Dreadfully boring matters.”

Nellie twisted her hands in her lap. She wanted to ask if she should reach out to Rhys. Originally, she wanted to ask him if there was a way for her to recognize Brue, or if there was a way to change her back, but Morgan’s giddiness over her parents returning and moving her to Lisbon caused her pause. She already moved once, and that had been bad enough. Moving again, to a different country–and with strangers–was too much to grasp.

“Something the matter, Nellie?”

“No,” Nellie said. “Just letting everything sink in.” She rocked up to her feet. “I’m going to go find Ava. When do you plan on leaving? Just in case Arden finds me.”

“Perhaps tomorrow morning. Or the afternoon. It’ll depend on what Silas and I cover.” He puffed himself up. “As founding members of the Auctorita, we will need to be on duty during this important transition.”

She wandered about, half looking for Ava and half too lost in thought to know which way she was going. Amias wouldn’t understand, not with him being best friends with Brue. Nellie wanted to find her. She wanted to meet Rhys. But, she wanted that to be the end of it. She didn’t think she could handle any more huge changes in her life at the moment. She was still navigating the move from Florida to Tennessee.

--------------------------

Kind of a clean up chapter. Partial courtesy to re-reading from when Nellie got to the compound to now. And since this is a short chapter tying up loose ends, I'm going to ramble about the stuff I wanted to put in but couldn't, and some backgrounds for these older people.

First being, Brecken and Evora's "love" story. With this series I want multiple protags, but I haven't thought of if I'm doing any outside of Ira, Penny, and Nellie. But, the Regere (Brecken) could be an insteresting enough one. But, no real plan yet. So, spoilers-not really, Brecken was young ~19 when the Auctorita formed. Young, cocky, goodlooking, and powerful, he was a flirt with nearly all the founding female members. To his, and others' surprise, his flirting with a significantly older woman turned more serious, and he ended up falling in love. She also ended up falling in love with him. But, as the months turned to years, the position of the Auctorita started turning from ragtags to something serious, and the founding members had their roles expanded out into the rest of the world/Realm. For this woman, hers was a more religous role (Order of Ferblanc connection) and there had to be a choice: Brecken or God. And for Brecken, with everyone now looking at him as this leader--similar to King Clayborne--there were swirlings about his family life, the future, ect. So, the woman choose God and chasity, being too old to safely have children anyway, and Brecken and Evora settled into a life together. She'd been one of his closest advisors, and the Auctorita's chief lawyer, and they both did like each other quite a lot. Evora had at one time been completely smitten with him and the thought of her and him had crossed Brecken's mind before. There is no saying if they're mutual fondness and respect grew into anything more over the decade+ of marriage. The founding members just strongly remember how he was with the other woman, and how they all knew it would end in tragedy.

So, of course, Amias couldn't say all that to his 12yo goddaughter he doesn't know very well, lol. He also couldn't tell her that he had an example of a marriage with love but no respect in Brittney. Brittney was indeed a horrible flirt (and a bit slutty, honestly) but she ended up falling hard for a Mr. Faust (I haven't given him a first name). Of course, if you're environment is dive bars, night clubs, and thieves, you're not going to find anyone honorable. So, Mr. Faust is a rotten thief, or was he is mostly reformed, and an alcholic (why Brittney is good at mixing non-alcholoic drinks/Arden's whispered comments at the wine lunch that shut up her teasing were related to this). The two had a whirlwind courting, a head over heels marriage, and then along came Arden. Well, Brittney being the woman, had to give up all vices. And she was able to. Mr. Faust didn't, and didn't try. Brittney keeps trying to help him and "save him" for their love, marriage, and Arden, but him not trying, or not able to, or whatever the case has greatly erroded all her respect for him. And he also doesn't respect her because she's "not fun" anymore. Of course, growing up with all this, Arden was starting to act out the older he got until he was suspended from school. Brittney begged Silas to take him in despite his age in the hopes that starting his training early would give him structure. She's even willing to have him join the Auctorita when he's of age.