Meeting In-Laws and Missing Parents
“Whew...I’m glad we were left out of all that,” Diya rubbed her face as Nayeli finished recounting the events of the last half hour for them, “My stomach is clenching just hearing about it.”
“So, does that mean we should call you ‘Your Highness’ now?” Tuli asked with her head tilted.
Oro, leaning against the frame of the front door, scoffed in annoyance.  “You can try being all formal and flattering when you want to fusking piss me off,” he warned, “I’ll show you what a king’s bite feels like.”
“Is Sarahi going to be okay?” Kylan asked gently, looking to Nayeli, “It sounds like she might have been put through a lot just now.”
The priestess nodded slowly.  “I think she will,” she said encouragingly, “She and her father are probably coming to terms right now, and maybe catching up just a little.  I’m sure she’ll come along soon...though honestly, I’d be glad to afford her as much time as she needs.  We are, for once, in a city we have no pressing need to leave with any urgency.  And while we might not be popular at this juncture, they won’t try to run us out of town even in the worst case.”
Oro snorted again.  “Only reason they ever could was because you won’t let me put them down,” he grumbled.
“Diya, Kylan, is there anyone you would like to visit while we’re here?” Nayeli asked the little halfbreeds, pointedly ignoring their husband’s complaint, “Any friends or some family you trust?”
Kylan shook his head with a slightly sad look.  “The only family I ever trusted was Mom.  All our friends were servants, and I couldn’t honestly say how much of that was real friendship and how much was deference to Mom.”
Diya agreed with a sigh.  “They probably didn’t hate us like some might, but we didn’t hear so much as a word from any of them after they followed orders to kick us out.  Sorry to say I was too quiet and new at the castle to make any friends before Oro claimed me.  So no, we’re practically strangers in this city.”
Nayeli gave them a look of genuine pity, and a tight hug to each.  “Alright,” she sighed in acceptance, “Tuli, would you like to visit your parents, then?”
The busty Lioness bounced excitedly.  “Oh, that would be wonderful!  I’d love for them to meet all of you!  And I’m sure they’ll be glad to see I’m doing well,” she smiled.  Oro peeked one eye open to glance at her dubiously, while Diya gave her a more sincerely concerned look, but neither said a word to counter her positivity.
“Excellent,” Nayeli nodded, moving toward the hall, “I’ll tell Sarahi where we’re going.  She can catch up with us when she’s ready.”
“No need,” the Sha'khari assured her softly as she came padding out of the hall and into the foyer, “I am ready now.  Where are we going?”
Nayeli gave her an uncertain look from behind her veil.  “To meet Tuli’s parents.  Are you sure you’re done?  You could spend a little more time with your father before we leave.”
But Sarahi shook her head slowly in answer to that offer.  “If I stayed for a week, it would not be enough to say all that I want to say to him now.  But I’ve said what most needed saying, and heard what I most needed to hear.  What remains can be shared in letters.  Oro,” she padded over to their husband with her eyes lowered demurely to his feet, “I need to say something to you, too.”
He frowned at her, never opening his eyes.  “I just guaranteed us soft beds and hot food in at least one place on the fusking continent,” he growled, “I’ve no interest in actually ruling anything, so whatever you’ve got to say, you can fusk off with it.”
Sarahi shook her head again.  “It’s just thank you.  I need to say thank you.”  Laying her back half down on the floor, Sarahi bent her front half down almost to the point of lying down on her face, and pressed a light but long kiss to the surprised Rabbit’s foot.  “From the bottom of my heart...thank you,” she repeated quietly from the floor before gathering herself back up and sitting upright.
Oro continued to frown at her, though a little less harshly.  “Shut it.  I’ve got a lot of fusking you up to do still before I eat him, that’s all.  Might as well let him keep doing what he’s good at until then,” he insisted, then pushed off from the wall and kicked open the door, “Now let’s get out of here.  The stink is starting to wear me out.”
Nayeli shook her head as he strode out into the sunlight, and laid a consoling hand on Sarahi’s shoulder.  “That was terribly humble of you.  I am grateful, even if it is wasted on him.”
She was a little surprised to find Sarahi still smiling as she shook her head.  “I know how he is.  I didn’t expect him to appreciate it.  But I needed to say it, because I know he went against his nature today.”  The Sha'khari blew a long, stress-relieving breath.  “From the moment uncle Gar found us, I knew father would not stop hunting Oro, trying to take me back.  And from the moment after that realization, I knew there would be a confrontation.  It couldn’t be avoided.  What I did not expect was for that one to show mercy,” she chuckled, turning to Nayeli with a sincere smile, “Althought, in truth, I owe your feet a kiss even more than his.  Not just for the miracle, either.  Today was, without doubt, the fruit of all your efforts over these many years.  Thank you.”
The priestess blushed, but headed off any attempt at that gesture by catching Sarahi in a tight hug.  “No one has ever been more welcome,” she assured the Sha'khari.
“Are we leaving, or am I going to take a lunch break out here?” Oro’s voice drifted back through the door, earning rolled eyes from all five of his spouses before they began quickly filing out the door.
But just as they started across the courtyard toward the gate, Sarahi started trotting off in a different direction.  “Wait there just one more minute,” she told them, promising Oro, “I know one perk of royalty even you will appreciate.”
It was a little more than a minute, but soon enough a coach came rolling into the courtyard.  A very long coach, pulled by four horses with a stoic driver sitting at the reins.  As it pulled to a stop, two attendants hopped down from the back and immediately moved to place a stepstool in front of the door and open it.  Sarahi was sitting inside, framed in the door, smiling in welcome.  “Your coach, Your Highness,” the former princess announced with a formal curtsy and smug grin, promptly earning a sneer from the Rabbit.
“Yeah...do you have any idea who I am?” he quirked a brow, addressing the driver as they approached, rather than Sarahi.
He was more than a little surprised to hear the quick answer: “Of course, Your Highness,” the driver said in a professionally neutral tone, “You are Oro, King of Nazeen, and this is your personal coach.  Were you not, it would not have arrived for you.”
The Rabbit frowned, but Nayeli patted his shoulder and reminded him of the blessing she had placed before the duel.  “Heaven acknowledges it.  By right of oath and trial by combat, you are the king...and it is known to the people.  That doesn’t mean any particular one will like it, or alter their loyalties...but you have the royal rights, for anyone who respects such things.”
“It is as she says, Your Highness,” the driver confirmed, allowing a hint of his own dissatisfaction to creep into his voice.
The Rabbit snorted.  “Fine.  You two,” he pointed to the attendants, then the castle doors, “Clear off.  I’ve got more company than I want already.  You,” he looked back up to the driver, “Can get lost as soon as we reach our destination.  Whether or not the coach goes with you will depend on how much I like the ride,” Oro declared before climbing up the side of the coach to seat himself cross-legged on top of the roof, in front of the packs the two attendants and the kobolds had already hoisted up to stow.
“Yes, Your Highness,” the man answered, regaining his professional tone.
Tuli stepped up beside him as the others began filing into the large vehicle.  “Um, do you know the way to the Hope summer estate?”
“Of course, Your Magesty,” the driver nodded, “Scenic or swift route?”
“Oo!” Tuli clapped...then reconsidered, biting her lip, “Uh, swift, actually.  He probably won’t be too happy at dragging it out more than can be helped.”
“Someone’s learning,” Oro grunted, sounding at once annoyed and approving.
“As you wish,” the driver nodded his acknowledgement, then Tuli climbed up into the coach, the kobolds joined Oro on the roof, and they were off.
“Wow, this thing is roomy,” Diya remarked from one of the bench seats, sharing it with her brother, Tuli, and Nayeli.
“Indeed,” the priestess agreed, running her hand appreciatively over the velvet coating the heavy padding on the seats, “Oro might even have been able to ride with us comfortably.”
Sarahi, occupying the matching seat across from them, chuckled and gestured toward her back half, stretched out across the entire seat like a couch.  “That would be my fault.  Father’s not really the gaudy sort, but he had the coach made extra large to give me plenty of room to be comfortable.  I used to play in the floor a lot on trips as a child,” she admitted.  “That’s why I don’t feel too bad about riding off with it.  Without me around, he won’t need anything so large, and this will give him a good excuse to have something more reasonable made.”
Diya added, “I’ll say!  We could stay in this thing instead of the tent at night.”
Sarahi nodded, thinking that would be a good idea, while Tuli opened the shade over one of the windows. Pushing the hinged glass outward, she put her nose to the open air and whispered with the sound of a half-dozen voices, “Tell Mom and Dad we’re coming.  Please be ready for guests.”  Closing the window again, she swallowed a couple of times to smooth out her throat, then smiled at the curious looks being given her.  “Well...I can’t say whether they’ll believe their ears, but at least I tried to warn them.”
“That’s handy,” Kylan remarked, “Will the wind bring an answer back?”
“Uh...maybe?” Tuli shrugged with a sheepish grin, “I don’t see why it couldn’t, but I didn’t think to ask.  And Mom and Dad aren’t likely to speak back to a voice in their head, anyway.  I was the silly one who talked to herself,” the Lioness winked, making a little gesture around her ear.
“It doesn’t seem so silly now that you know it wasn’t just in your head,” Sarahi reminded her, “And you’ll be able to show them that when we arrive.”
Tuli nodded, but didn’t seem much concerned with exhonerating herself.  “Oh, I was silly in a lot more ways than that, and almost no one even knew about that one.  That’s fine.  I’m just looking forward to showing them I’m actually doing something with my life,” she beamed, “That’ll be a pleasant surprise to them, no doubt.”
They spent the remainder of the ride chatting about their respective parents, and Tuli’s family’s businesses (as well as she understood them).  Oro sat, silent and seemingly bored, on the roof the entire time, staring down contemptuously at anyone who dared to stare back at him as the coach rolled by.  The driver remained attentive and silent in his work, never diverting his attention from the road.  It took the better part of the afternoon for them to arrive, having gone well out of the city, through at least two small villages, and through a large fruit orchard...which Oro shamelessly snacked from, plucking oranges from any tree that passed with branches in reach.  He tossed a few into the coach, for which Sarahi chastized him and Tuli quickly followed with assurance that it was fine, as her family owned all of these fields, and that they would have had apples if they’d come in by the “scenic route”.
The sun was low on the horizon when they finally pulled into the loop circling in front of the wide manor, and the driver drew the horses to a stop.  “Will that be all, Your Highness?”
“I said so, didn’t I?” the Rabbit growled in answer, “Leave the coach.  Seems like my wives have use for it, so we’ll be keeping it from here.”
“As you wish,” the driver repeated, quickly climbing down and marching off in the direction of the servant’s entrance.
Nayeli, leaning out the door to drop the step in front of it, sighed.  “You could have thanked him for his work, dear,” she pointed out gently, “He’s clearly unhappy about the change in rulership, and yet did his duty proudly, even for you.  That’s a mark of a good man.”
The Rabbit gave her a dubious look.  “Let me take a bite out of him, then I’ll tell you if he’s a good man.  I’ve been bypassing a lot of snacks lately, and my belly’s starting to feel it,” Oro growled, to more sighs from Nayeli.  But she nodded her understanding, and begged him for patience with a quiet gesture as the rest of the group got out of the coach and Tuli lead them through the front door.
“Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise,” chuckled the aging Zebra that opened the door at their knock, “And here I was, fearing your father had gone and lost his reason and that we would never see the sweetheart of the house again.”
“Hello, Balanteen!” Tuli answered, throwing a shameless hug around the butler’s neck, “I’m afraid it’s just a visit, but I’m glad to see you, too.  So Dad told you to expect us?  He got my message?”
The returned the hug warmly, but quirked an uncertain brow at her questions.  “I am not aware of any messengers arriving today, but your father did suggest that you might be visiting, and asked me to be sure your room is ready and the guest suites are clean.  So, I presume these are—”  He was just turning to politely address the rest of the group when his eyes lit on Oro.  He quickly bowed very low to the scarlet-furred Rabbit.  “Forgive me, Your Highness.  We are prepared for guests, but not for royalty.  Please allow me a moment to correct this.”
Oro snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.  “Oh?  You have a living, screaming sacrifice handy?”
That shook the butler’s demeanor for a moment.  “Uh...no, Your Highness,” he admitted hesitantly, unsure how sincere that question had been and what the consequence of his answer might be.
“Then you’ve got nothing I fusking care about.  Fetch your master,” the Rabbit grunted, “And stop calling me ‘Your Higness’ unless you’ve got a sore tooth you’d like to lose.”
The Zebra blinked at him several times, now completely unsure of his standing, and glanced at Tuli...who gave him a bright, reassuring smile, and simply nodded.  “Please,” she added, “And yes, he’s my husband.  I know you want to give proper greetings, but trust me, you can skip it this once.  Just take us to Mom and Dad.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the butler answered humbly, quickly turning and leading the group into the family room, which was the only room with enough seats for most of them.  With a bow, he hastily excused himself to go find the master and lady of the house.
“That blessing is going to become a serious pain in my tail, isn’t it?” the Rabbit frowned at Nayeli before the Zebra was even out of the room.  “People ought to be afraid for their lives when I walk into the room, but because I’m going to fusking eat them, not tax their family into starvation.”
The Lioness gave him a patient smile.  “Perhaps you should have made a few more decrees before leaving the throne-room, then,” she suggested, “Forbidding the use of honorifics, for instance.”  His lip curled at the mere thought of returning to that room for any reason other than feasting.
“It would take months, at a minimum, to break old habits anyway,” Sarahi suggested, “It would be easier to merely overlook the use of the title and its omission.  People like to feel familiar with those in power, and tacit permission to discard formality is usually a major indicator of that.  It will be spoken less, and more comfortably, if you simply don’t remark on it.”
The Rabbit muttered something none of them could quite make out after that, and began looking around the room as if seeking a viable target for some physical abuse.  Before he could quite settle on which of the several vases to make use of, though, Tuli’s parents arrived, walking swiftly around to face Oro and bow low before him.  “Welcome, Your Highness!  And Your Magest...ies?” the lean, sharply-dressed Lion hesitated for a moment as his daughter tried to warn him with a gesture to drop the titles.  Having been a little late in noticing, he had no choice but to move on.  “To what does our humble house owe the pleasure of this visit?”
Oro scowled, and stood up, laying his hand ominously on the hilt of his sword.  “That’s it,” he growled, looking the taller Lion hard in the eyes, “To start: it’s no pleasure.  To follow: fusk formalities and manners.  There’s a fusking demon in your house.  Act like it.  Last—!”
Nayeli’s hand covered his nose and mouth, muffling whatever followed, as the priestess gently halted the march he’d begun to make without fully realizing it, and pulled him back to the chair he had been sitting in.  “Apologies, milord Hope,” the priestess said gently, “We only came to meet you, and to let Tuli visit for a bit.  No formalities, please.  We are family now.  At worst, think of us as somewhat uncouth guests, and do treat us accordingly.”
The Lion and his wife glanced at each other uncertainly, then offered rather more subtle bows.  “If it is the king’s will, so be it,” Lord Hope acknowledged quietly...then was immediately made merrier by Tuli’s arms encircling his neck.  “Oh, daughter, it is good to see you!” he smiled even as she released him to give a similar hug to her mother.
“Goodness, we’ve been worried about you!” the Lioness admitted, “I fairly fainted when we heard you’d been chosen for...for...”  She bit her tongue on whatever else she was about to say, perhaps fearing it would be dangerous to speak too honestly with Oro in the same room.
“I thought you might,” Tuli giggled, prying herself from her mother’s possessive arms with a little effort.  “I’m fine, though, Mom.  Really.  Better than fine, I’m actually contributing to something pretty amazing...I think,” she smiled sheepishly, as if worried she might be over-estimating her own worth, though Nayeli gave an affirming nod behind her.  “Oo!  Before anything else, let me introduce you!”
Turning toward her family, she smiled brightly.  “Everyone, please meet the Lord Taran Hope, and Lady Ulania Hope.  Obviously, I just call them ‘Mom and Dad’,” she giggled, then strode around behind the chair Oro was sitting in, looking both groggy and grumpy after Nayeli had released him.  “This is Oro...uh, you know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard your last name,” she blinked.
“Fusk-Off,” he replied less-than-helpfully, to which Nayeli shook her head shamefully and everyone else merely rolled their eyes.
Tuli stepped over to pat Nayeli’s shoulder sympathetically.  “This is Nayeli, a priestess of the Order, and our first-wife,” the busty Lioness introduced as Nayeli stood and gave her parents a respectful bow.
“Please understand, commoners in Coras do not usually have last names,” she explained quickly, “It is a pleasure to meet you, all the same, and I assure you your daughter has a great deal of my gratitude.”  They returned her bow with sincere and relieved smiles, though questions were obviously mounting in their thoughts.
“This...well, you probably know who she is,” Tuli admitted, but continued, “Princess Sarahi Swordbright of Nazeen.  Huh...I guess that’s ‘Queen Swordbright’ now, isn’t it?”
“A pleasure to meet you again, milord and lady Hope,” Sarahi bowed politely, before answering the question, “And yes, I suppose it is, though I have no more desire to stand on ceremony than our husband does.  Please, be at your leisure with us.”
“Always a delight to be in your presence, our queen,” Lord Hope answered sincerely, echoed by his wife, “Perhaps especially in this uncertain time.”  Lady Hope flashed him a brief frown, eying the scarlet Rabbit sitting in the nearby chair.
Far from taking offense, Oro seemed to be having a hard time listening.  “Open a window,” he cut in just as Tuli was moving around behind the twins, “The smell is fusking smothering in here.”  The butler Balanteen, standing dutifully by the door from the moment the Hopes had entered the room, immediately moved to obey.  Oro took a slow, deep breath of clean air as the evening breeze swept into the room.
“These are Diya and Kylan...?” she hesitated a little, realizing that once again she had never caught a last name, but also remembering that their mother had been nobility.  They would definitely have one.
“Just ‘Diya’ and ‘Kylan’ will be fine,” the little female smiled sheepishly, surprising Tuli a touch, “Just humble servants brought to high station by the whim of fate.  You don’t have to bow to us.”
“If fate brings one so low to a station so high,” Lord Hope chuckled, bowing to them anyway, “To disrespect it would court disaster.”
Tuli smiled, glad to see her father’s generous nature returning as they became more acclimated to Oro’s presence.  “And finally, Grik and Gaki,” the Lioness patted the two kobolds on the head with a smile.  “...Not spouses!” she added hastily at the shocked look her mother didn’t quite manage to conceal, “More like...servants?  Hired hands?  Friends?” she looked to Nayeli for her opinion on the relationship.
“I’d say ‘friends’ describes them nicely,” the priestess smiled, giving another polite bow to their hosts before resting a hand on Oro’s shoulder.  “Now, please excuse me for a moment.  I think everyone will speak more easily once I put this one to bed.”
“‘M not some fusking child,” Oro growled, getting to his feet and popping his back and neck, “Just show me to somewhere soft without this fusking scent.”
Rolling her eyes, Nayeli started to take his hand, until Sarahi’s intercepted hers.  “Let me,” the Sha'khari requested gently, and Nayeli blinked at her in confusion.  “Please.  Let me take this duty tonight.  If anyone in this family deserves a night free of responsibility, it is you...and there is something I need to say to him in private.”
The priestess and the Rabbit both quirked dubious brows at that remark, but Nayeli acquiesced graciously, letting Sarahi take Oro’s hand in her stead.  Balanteen motioned for them to follow him as they moved toward the door.  “This way, Your...my...ahem,” he cleared his throat and resorted to simply, “This way, please.”
“Oh, Balanteen!” Tuli called quickly, stopping him just before he got through the door, “Show them to my room, instead of the guest rooms, okay?  ‘Husband’, remember.”  Giving a somewhat reluctant look to Oro’s back as the pair passed him, the butler nodded and left to show Sarahi and Oro to Tuli’s spacious room.
Nobody moved or spoke for several long breaths after they left.  “May I speak frankly?” Lord Hope broke the silence at last, though gently.
“Oh please do,” Nayeli nodded quickly, “I think we all prefer harsh honesty over honeyed adulation.”
“Thank you,” the Lion sighed as he and his wife took seats at last, “That man is an insult to the very idea of nobility.  I do not extend this slight to you, obviously,” he added quickly to the sympathetic priestess.
Nayeli nodded in whole-hearted agreement as Tuli sat down beside her in the chair Oro had been occupying.  “If you had said that to his face, he might have mysteriously remembered some of his manners,” she chuckled, adding, “You are right to fear him, but not, I think, for the reasons you think.  In any case, I swear to you by the Matriarch (may she live again), he will do you no harm in my presence...so please, do not hesitate to be honest anymore.”
“It still seems unwise to be disrespectful to a king,” Lady Hope sighed, “Much less a demon.  Tuli, dear, how have you endured it?”
“Well, to be fair, he hasn’t been a king for even a whole day yet,” Diya chuckled.
“And he’s not going to be like any king you’ve ever heard of,” her brother agreed, “Take that as you like.”
Tuli giggled at them...and the fact that Nayeli once again only nodded sagely at the remarks.  “Oh, he’s not so bad, Mom,” she said reassuringly...but cringed a little as the words seemed to strike her own ears.  “Well...no, that’s probably a lie, I guess.  He’s pretty horrible most of the time.  But it’s not like he singles me out, and if he genuinely hates anyone I think it’s probably Sarahi.  It’s actually been a really exciting thing, so far,” she insisted.
Nayeli gave her a careful, sympathetic look.  “Made all the more bearable by your daughter’s forgiving and optimistic nature,” she added softly without looking at the nobles.  Tuli spent the next hour or so recounting their adventures for her parents, from the moment Oro had chosen her up to what she knew of the duel that morning.  Sarahi rejoined them while she was still midway through the telling, and it did not go unnoticed by any of the family that she skipped over the part where Oro had used her to provoke the South Wind.  Nobody wanted to fill in that missing detail for her parents, though, so they let her continue to give the story as she liked.
“My goodness, what an adventure!” her father sounded genuinely astonished as she wrapped up with the ride in the royal coach, “I’m...well, frankly, I don’t know if I’m more proud, appalled, or envious,” he admitted, “You have done well, in enduring if nothing else.  I’m ashamed, as your father, to say I don’t feel like I equipped you for a journey like that at all.”
“It would need a retired hero to equip anyone for this kind of life,” Nayeli assured him, tilting her head curiously at the hard look his wife was giving her.  “Forgive me if this sounds rude, Lady Hope, but you look as though you have something very unpleasant to say to me.  I am notoriously difficult to insult, and twice as difficult to anger, so please do not be afraid to say whatever you wish.”
Lady Hope blinked, as though not quite realizing the expression she’d been making, and shook her head apologetically.  “Ah, no.  I have nothing disparaging at all to say about a priestess of the Order, nor a lady as lovely as yourself,” she promised with a sincere smile, “It is only that I can’t shake the feeling I’ve met you before, and I am trying very hard to remember where or when.  Please forgive me if it has slipped my mind, but have you ever visited us before?  Or been to Nazeen on other business?”
That did surprise the priestess, who shook her head.  “No, milady.  The day we arrived for Oro to choose a second wife was the first I have ever set foot in your country.  I was, to the best of my knowledge, born and raised in a small town called ‘Toradine’, along the southern border of Coras, about twenty three or four years ago.  I have wandered all over the empire with Oro for the last eight of those, but our travels never brought us to Nazeen.”
Despite her assurances, Lady Hope seemed to be harboring a growing suspicion of some kind.  “When you say ‘to the best of your knowledge’...?”
“Ah, well, I’m an orphan, you see,” Nayeli nodded, “I was raised by the Order from my first memory onward.  That much I can say with certainty.  As to exactly where I was born and when I was placed into their custody, however...those are a mystery to me.”
“About twenty three or four years ago?” Lady Hope pondered aloud, now earning curious looks from Nayeli in return...and, perhaps more surprisingly, an increasingly anxious look from Lord Hope.
Tuli looked back and forth between her parents.  “Mom...is it possible you know Nayeli’s parents?!” the busty Lioness asked excitedly.
Lady Hope took a long moment to answer, looking as resigned as her daughter was energetic when she did.  “Balanteen...I am thirsty.  Will you have Tiana bring some tea?”
The butler left them for a moment, but soon returned with another Lioness in tow.  She wore a servant’s dress and the calm, dispassionate stare of one who served with the hope of not being noticed.  Her eyes were narrow, her face a study in apathy, and she carried a small tray laden with a dozen small cups stacked atop one another, a large kettle of steaming water, and plenty of tea leaves.
Setting this down on one of the side-tables in the room, she promptly and silently went about making a cup for each of their guests, as well as their hosts.  “Thank you, Tiana,” Lady Hope said with a surprising coldness in her voice as she accepted the last cup.
“Of course,” the servant bowed humbly, “Will that be all, milady?”
“No,” the older Lioness answered quickly, gesturing toward Nayeli, “Sit down beside this woman, please.”  Tiana silently did as she was told, without a thought, looking expectantly at Lady Hope for her next instructions.
Nobody breathed.  The two Lionesses on the couch might have been the same person at different times in her life.  The resemblance was too striking to ignore, save perhaps for the luster in their eyes.  Even Nayeli was slack-jawed.  “About twenty four years ago,” Lady Hope repeated one more time, coldly, with a hard stare at her husband now, “That was when you made that trip to Coras, wasn’t it?  Looking for new markets in the neighboring country?  A very long trip.  Almost six months.  And you took Tiana as your traveling servant, didn’t you?”
While she was laying out the foundation of her suspicions, Tiana at last turned to Nayeli, looking the shocked priestess over dispassionately for a moment...before the shadow of a smile tilted up the corners of her mouth.  “You look like you’re doing well.”
“...Mother?!” Nayeli couldn’t keep the emotion out of her voice.  She couldn’t even decide whether or not to believe the story being suggested to her in tidbits and insinuations.  She had not often questioned who or where her parents were as a child, simply assuming her situation was the norm for many years until she discovered otherwise.  By then she was so used to a life without them that she hardly thought about it anymore.  But suddenly the desire to know the truth, with certainty, came into her like a roaring inferno, and she could not douse it quickly enough.
Tiana helped her to rein in her racing heart with a slow, calm shake of her head.  “I am not,” she declared softly, but clearly, “A mother has a place and a role in her child’s life...and that is something I have never had.  Even so, had I been your mother, I would be very proud to see you as you are today.”  Returning her dispassionate gaze to her employer, the Lioness asked again, “Will that be all, milady?”
“Yes,” Lady Hope answered softly, still glaring at Lord Hope as he seemed to be choosing his next words carefully, “That will be quite enough.”  Getting to her feet, Tiana made a respectful bow, then collected the tray and departed the room.  Nayeli very nearly went running after her, but had managed to regain enough of her reason to realize she was square in the middle of a very tense situation for everyone involved, so restrained herself.
“...It’s getting quite late,” Lord Hope noted solemnly after that, “You must all be tired.  Make yourselves welcome in our house.  Now, please excuse us,” he begged, getting to his own feet, followed swiftly by Lady Hope, “My wife and I have something important to discuss, I think.”  Said wife did not even bid them good night before marching out the door, reluctantly followed by her husband and dutifully by Balanteen.
Diya exhaled slowly.  “I thought that was about to get bad,” she whispered, wincing a little at the shock still plain on Nayeli’s face, “Are you okay?”
“I must talk to that woman again,” the priestess declared without a thought, then rubbed her face in her hand, “But...I don’t even know what I want to say...”
Tuli moved over to sit beside her, putting an arm around the priestess’ shoulders and giving her what she hoped was a reassuring hug.  “That was kind of a lot, huh?” the Lioness nuzzled her, “I’m sorry.  I didn’t expect anything like that.”
Nayeli shook her head quickly.  “Not your fault.  You wouldn’t have known, any more than I did.  I am...a little surprised you’re not more affected by it, though,” the priestess admitted, giving a brief, appraising look to her fellow Lioness, “If anything your mother suggested is true, then your father...and...I think...I might have just made a terrible rift between your parents.”
Tuli further surprised her by merely shrugging, and maintaining her smile.  “Eh, it won’t be the first time they’ve been on the rocks, to be honest.  And it’ll probably be okay.  Twenty four years is a long time to hold against someone.  I’m more worried about you,” she admitted, looking the priestess over in genuine concern.  “...Should I call her back?”
“Yes,” Nayeli answered quickly...a little too quickly, apparently, and she retracted it a second later, “No...oh, by the Authority...I don’t know what I’m thinking...”
Sarahi got up and padded around to her other side, laying her back half down to put her on roughly the same level as the priestess and taking Nayeli’s hands in her own.  “Take a deep breath,” she suggested, “Calm down.  I know this will be hard, but I think you should sleep on it.  Collect your thoughts.  You can speak them tomorrow, if you decide that’s what you want,” the Sha'khari pointed out, giving her hands a gentle squeeze.  Seeing the priestess so flustered and uncertain was...telling.  It was a shock to all of them, to be honest.  “Come on.  I’ll wind you down like I did Oro.”
“No,” Nayeli sighed, glancing around the room frantically, “Oh, Saints preserve me, where is he, anyway?”
“I’ll show you.  Come on,” Sarahi repeated, and she and Tuli helped the shaken Lioness to her feet.  Diya and Kylan walked close, and Grik and Gaki followed warily behind, unable to understand much of what had gone on but very clear on the fact that Nayeli was upset.
They hadn’t gone more than two steps, though, when Nayeli shook their hands off.  “Stop,” she declared firmly, though as much to herself as her companions, and forced herself to take five long, slow, deep breaths.  Exhaling the last one until she couldn’t squeeze her lungs anymore, Nayeli wiped her sleeve across her eyes and pushed the patient, familiar smile back onto her face.  “...Thank you,” she said softly, sincerely, “I was not ready for that.  At all.  I am sorry for the trouble...and thank you, for your patience.”  The panic had gone out of her eyes, and her breathing was steady again, if not quite as deep as it should be.  Giving them each a grateful smile, she offered her hands to Tuli and Sarahi once more.  “Now, take me to him, please.”
Sarahi likewise blew a relieved sigh, taking her hand gently, and let Tuli lead them back to her room.
Oro was splayed out like a throw-rug on the wide, round bed, dead asleep and snoring uncommonly loud.  Nayeli actually managed a giggle at the sight.  “Goodness, what did you do to him?”
“Submitted to him,” the Sha'khari answered softly, glad to hear Nayeli’s mood recovering, “As I have not since we met.”  Nayeli quirked a curious brow, so Sarahi elaborated, “I said what I wanted to say...then offered myself to him, to do his worst.  He threatened to take my teeth, so I opened my mouth.  He threatened to take my tail, so I raised it for him.  When he complained that I was becoming boring, I smothered his face between my breasts until he stopped moving.  It didn’t take very long, actually.”
Nayeli’s hand shook free of hers, traveling up her arm to her cheek, then under her chin to turn it toward her.  Then the priestess kissed the former princess warmly on the lips.  “You did wonderfully.  Thank you,” she said sincerely, then started to crawl onto the bed...until Tuli caught the hem of her dress.
“My room,” the younger Lioness smiled, “My rules.  No clothes.”  She gestured to her own naked body, making Nayeli wonder exactly when she had disrobed.  Behind her, the twins were doing the same, and Sarahi already had her blouse pulled over her head.
Too emotionally ragged to argue, Nayeli paused to undo her belt and pull her own dress over her head, leaving it in a pile beside the bed.  Then she finally crawled up to lay by Oro’s side, cheek pillowed on one of his arms...right up until Sarahi laid down behind her, wrapping both front paws around her and then rolling to the other side, dragging the smaller Ferruda over her long body and depositing her between the Sha'khari and Tuli.  “Don’t worry about him,” Sarahi insisted, scooting back until Oro’s cheek was pressed firmly between her own shoulders, “I’ll keep him under until you’re ready to deal with him in the morning.  Tonight, you need the arms of someone who actually knows how to show you that they care.”
Tuli pressed up against her back, sandwiching her snugly between the Lioness and the Sha'khari, and both put their arms over her.  Diya and Kylan dragged the blanket over them all, curling up on either side of the line: Diya against Tuli’s back and Kylan on Oro’s other side.
Nayeli forced her tense body to relax, burying her face between Sarahi’s breasts and breathing deeply of the Ferruda’s arousing scent, letting the effect warm her face and loosen her muscles.  “...Thank you,” she repeated one more time, letting both of the women wrap her in their warmth and affection.  They kissed her goodnight, laying their cheeks against her and blanketing her with their bodies as much as the linen pulled over them.