It had been just over three weeks or so since I left my parent’s home. But now I had five mates, three children, a large house, a place of importance in a village, and a substantial treasure. Of course, the burden of all of that was very light. The children weren’t depending on me for much, at least not yet. The five women loved me and made my life easier, not harder. All of it made my life amazingly wonderful. I had nothing to complain about. Nothing at all. I was happy. It was a good adventure. I didn’t know April and Tanya at all, so that would be an adventure to look forward to. Now that things were settled, Alice and Brenda would probably be different than ever before. And that would be an adventure. In truth, when I thought about it, I really didn’t know any of them, even Dawn, who had been with me the longest, that well. I had a kobold cave to explore, but I had even more exploration to do under my own roof.
When I did make my way back to the picnic, they were all waiting for me. Brenda and Alice leapt to their feet and rushed to hug me. I wasn’t sure if I should kiss yet them or not, not knowing how the young girls would take it. I smiled and sat down and leaned back, and took in the air.
I said, “I suppose you want to hear what happened.”
Jack said, “We can go have a council and you can tell me, if that would be best.”
I smiled and said, “Thank you, Jack, but I should tell everyone at once. Somebody ask me a question.”
Brenda asked, “Are they gone? Before you came back, I told everyone everything. The girls understand and feel the same way that we do. Ichabod was no friend to any of us.”
I said, “April, and Tanya, it all happened so suddenly before that I didn’t even get to say hello to you. Are you OK with me being your mothers’ husband? If you let me, I’ll try to make you happy that we are together. If you don’t like me, I’ll try to stay out of your way and still make you as happy as I can. I love your mothers very much already. Everything that I do will be to make all of us happy.”
April, the oldest moved across the blanket and knelt beside me.
I sat up and we looked into each other’s eyes and she said, “Father, if you will have me, I will try to be a good daughter for you. I’m fifteen and was like an orphan my whole life because I had no real father. But, I knew that someday, you would come and love me. I knew that you must be somewhere and that you loved me wherever you were and that someday you would come. I swore to myself every night that when you came, I would be a good daughter and make you proud of me and happy that you had me. I don’t mean that I knew that someday some man would come. I mean that I knew that you would come. I didn’t know who you would be, but I knew that I would recognize you when you came. I know that you are the man for us. For my mother. And for me. Today is the day that I have longed for. I love you. You are my father.”
I said, “April, I have tears in my eyes. You are so precious. And beautiful. Do you really feel that way? I want you to. And I know that I do love you. I don’t know what to say. Your love means more to me than I expected.”
April smiled and leaned forward and kissed me sweetly on the cheek and said, “Can I call you ‘Daddy’? I always call you that. I always have. Is that OK?”
I said, “Little princess, you can call me whatever you want. You’re breaking my heart. Tell me that you want a castle and a unicorn to ride and I’ll get them for you.”
Alice said, “No. Ronin, don’t. Please! A castle would be so much work, and I would end up having to clean up after the unicorn part of the time. Even unicorns have to poop somewhere.”
April and I laughed and April said, “I agree. No castle or unicorn. But …” and she winked at me.
I said, “What? What do you want? Tell me, and as long as it won’t make a mess in the house, I’ll try to get it for you.”
April grinned and said, “I’ve never had a really pretty dress.”
I exclaimed, “You know, I’ve been thinking about that. What do you think of this idea? We’re a family. I think that people will want to see us as a family. What if all of the girls have very nice dresses and the men, that’s me and Jack, have nice outfits. I don’t think that we want to be all fancy, but what if we have nice clothes, and maybe family colors so that when we are in the village people say, Oh look, there’s April, and Tanya. They are the sweetest girls in the village. And they have those nice blue and yellow, or whatever color, dresses like Ronin’s family wears. What do you think of that?”
Val said, “I think that’s a wonderful idea! Especially for April and Tanya. And for the rest of us as well. But no one will be forced to wear them. If Harmony doesn’t want to for instance.”
Harmony smiled and said, “I might like a nice dress part of the time,” and suddenly, she pounced across the blanket and landed on top of me, pinning me down on my back.
She knelt over me and held me down and said, “But, just because you have pretty daughters now doesn’t mean that you stop playing with me. Right girls?”
Tanya and April laughed. They exchanged a look between them and then they jumped to hold down my arms and started to giggle.
April said, “Lady Harmony, we are your faithful minions and do your bidding as always.”
Tanya, the eleven year old said, “Shall we take off his pants so that you can do wifely things with him?”
I gasped in horror, and Harmony laughed.
Brenda said, “Um, Tanya, there’s no shame in wifely things, of course, but dear, don’t be so bold. You aren’t in trouble, but leave that kind of joking to the wives, not the daughters. You are a scamp though.”
Tanya said, “I was teasing him. Harmony told us before that sometimes she gets crazy with love feelings and wants to do all kinds of wifely things with him and that he makes her feel really good. And now, you can do wifely things with him too. I don’t know what they are, but I think you have to take his pants off. And it must be lots of fun. Did you do those things with Ichabod, even though he didn’t love us?”
Brenda blushed a little bit and said, “No dear, not really. Not like I will now, with Ronin.”
Tanya said, “Is it going to be nice?”
Brenda blushed a bit more and said, “It’s going to be very nice. I can see that it’s time for you and I to have some talks about those things very soon.”
April said, “I need some talks too. Mama, you had some talks with me already, but I have some questions now.”
Tanya said, “So, Daddy-O, that’s what Harmony says sometimes, Daddy-O, I’ve been waiting for you too, like April said. And you aren’t just her Daddy, but mine too. And I want you to have lots of wifely fun with all five moms and daughterly fun with me and April. Her boobs are getting big now.” She paused and said, “Wait, no, I didn’t mean that her boobs were part of the fun part, I just meant that she has them.”
April smiled and said, “Well, they’re not that big. Do you want us to go away for a while?”
I said, “Why?”
April said, “Because you just got our mothers as new widow-wives and because you could be together, you know, for the first time. I know what that means, and I could take Jack and Tanya and go away and play for a while with Harmony and you could get some wifely time together and they would be happy for the first time. Wait, oh that’s right! I forgot. Harmony’s your wife too. That’s wonderful. Mama, do you want us to go play so that you can be together and see if it’s nice?”
Alice said, “Dear, that’s very sweet. It’s up to Ronin.”
April grinned and said, “You mean it’s up to Daddy.”
Alice smiled and said, “Yep. That’s what I mean. Hey, are we all settled then? Anybody have more questions for Ronin?”
I said, “I have a question. I’m not sure it matters to any of you, or that I get any say in it, but Harmony, can I get up now?”
Harmony said, “Well, I don’t know. Minions, what do you think? Should we let him up?”
April said, “I think that we should. I think that we should be nice to him, except when we aren’t, so we should be n
ice right now.”
Tanya said, “I think so too. Can I have a nice dress too? If we let you up?”
I said, “Everyone can have nice dresses. Tanya, I want you to know that you are very pretty, just like April.”
She grinned and said, “And like our moms! Can I have hunter clothes? Like Harmony? From kobold leather?”
I said, “If you want it. Do I get to get up now?”
The girls climbed off of me, but I noticed that Harmony gave a little bounce and grind on my lap first.
I sat up and said, “Do you want to hear the story?”
Brenda said, “I think we should. Alice and I have told them that it was Ichabod and that I told him that we didn’t know him anymore because he ran off and we thought that he was dead. And he had a new wife and he couldn’t come back.”
Tanya said, “And he stole our money and we didn’t have any.”
Jack said, “Did you kill him again?”
Brenda said, “What did happen?”
I said, “Well, you know there aren’t any rats or kobolds left now, right? And that we’re all safe? Well, Ichabod, and the woman wanted to stay and take the house again and make you and your moms live with him. I told him that he couldn’t, but he kept saying that he would anyway. I didn’t want to have to hurt him, but he kept insisting that he wouldn’t go away. So I made up a story. I told him that the rats and kobolds were still here and that they came to the village and ate people. I told him that if he wanted to stay that I thought that it would be a great idea, because they liked to eat old people best, and he was the oldest one I had ever seen. I said that it would be wonderful if they stayed, because that way, the kobolds would eat them and not us.”
Alice laughed and said, “What did you really do?”
I said, “Exactly that. Then I told them that I had to go into the trees and pee, and as soon as I was out of sight, they jumped into the front of the cart and rode off as fast as they could. They were so afraid that I don’t think that they will stop for weeks.”
Tanya and April were laughing, and so were the others. Except for Jack.
Jack said seriously, “Then it’s all done.” He stood up and said, “Sir Ronin, please stand.” Jack put his little hand on my chest and said, “By rights and privileges as man of our house for a month, I grant all authority to you, including all lands and persons, both as wives and children, as your right as our hero.” Then he leaned forward with a smile and whispered, “And because you are special like we are and because everybody was waiting for you.” Then, to the group again, he said, “Let us be joined as one family. And Ronin, if you have any trouble, except with Harmony, because she’s too big for me, let me know and I’ll try to sort things out for you.”
I put my hand on Jack’s shoulder and said, “Jack, you did a good job, and I’m very proud of you. I will take good care of all of you. And I know what you mean about Harmony, but I think that I can handle her. I can do anything I want with her, whenever she says she wants me to,” and I winked at all of them.
Brenda said, “Really? Oh, not about that. That’s all wonderful, about being one family. I mean, you said that you would feed them to the kobolds, and they ran away in terror.”
I smiled and said, “Exactly like that. I don’t think that I left anything out. It took longer than that to explain it in a way that made it sound really scary, but yeah, that’s exactly what I did.”
Harmony said, “Fighting without fighting. It’s our way.”
I said, “And, I’m sure that they’ll be hundreds of miles away before they find a tiny village far from anywhere to hide in. They won’t be back. But if they ever try, Jack will sound the alarm, like he did today, and I’ll take care of it again. All neat and tidy, as Gerald says.”
Val said, “Ronin, you are a wonderful husband. And April, Tanya, and Jack, I don’t know how to be a good mother, but I’ll try.”
Tanya said, “It’s not so hard. We’ll teach you.”
Chapter 24 - Family Meeting
Val said, “Good. So every day, we have a family meeting. This seems like a good time. Our first one together. We can talk about what we need to do or ask questions. Who wants to go first?”
I said, “I do. Do you all like the house where you were living? My idea is that if it has bad memories, we could trade it for a new house. Or be in one house, or something like that. But the question is, do you want to stay where you are, because it was your home, or move to a new house for our new life?”
Alice said, “Oh, that’s a very good question. I do want to think about that. Can we have a little talk? Just me and Brenda and the children? Since it impacts us most?”
I said, “Of course. Whatever you want.”
The five of them got up and walked a short distance away and huddled up for a private conference. A few minutes later, they came back happily and sat down again.
Alice said, “Ronin, Brenda and I are overwhelmed that you would think about us so tenderly. The house has no good memories, and we all agree that we would love to be somewhere fresh. Somewhere that we could make our own. It doesn’t have to be much. Even two rooms would be enough. But if it were near your house, that would be best.”
I said, “Near my house? We’re all one house. There’s not going to be a my house and a your house. We might have two or five or nine houses, but they will all be our houses.”
Tanya said, “Nine? Why would we have nine houses?”
I said, “For April’s unicorns. And I’m always afraid that Harmony is going to bring home a stray kitten that actually grows up to be a dragon by mistake. We’ll need extra houses for that.”
April grinned and said, “I like the way you think. We don’t need a fancy dress to be fancy, but we might want a fancy dress to look nice. We don’t need big houses so that we have big houses, but if we have unicorns and dragons, then we do. That makes sense. I like it.”
Alice said, “OK, our houses. And moving away from what we have had is a very nice idea for all of us.”
Jack said, “It doesn’t have any secret passages and no trap doors anyway.”
I said, “And those are spectacularly important. What if we do this? For now, everyone moves in at the big house we have. Let’s call that Lucy’s house, because it used to belong to Lucy, and…”
Jack interrupted and said, “We should call it Elf House, because, you know.”
I said, “OK, we can call it Lucy’s House when we are in public, and Elf House when it’s just us. You all move in tonight, and we will start to look for another house if we need to. Either next door, or across the street. But it can only be across the street if we can get a secret tunnel that goes back and forth. Jack won’t always want to walk out in the open if he has secret business.”
Tanya said, “Or if it’s raining.”
I said, “Right. And if it’s a house next door, then secret passages. Hidden behind a bookcase or something. The house we have is pretty big, but I think we need lots of room.”
April said, “You do have five wives. And I will be happy to make sure that we stay in our own rooms, some of the time. Because of your times together.”
I said, “April, that’s very kind of you. You won’t feel sad about that?”
She said, “I will be so happy. Happier than ever. A woman should be happy, and that means being loved, and our mothers need as much love as they can get. I think it’s wonderful. But, I’m glad we don’t have to stay where we are. I don’t like it at all. I did, because we had to, but I always knew that when you came, that you would take us away from there.”
I said excitedly, “But it’s really one big house. There has to be secret passages. If there’s no secret passages, then no deal. So, some of the bedrooms and other rooms would be in the other part of the house. But Lucy’s house is big enough for now. And we can get started on the other part later.”
Jack said, “The Secret house.”
I said, “Or the Squirrel House.”
Tanya laughed and said, �
��Because we are like little squirrels.” And she made a face and pretended to be a squirrel. She added, “But Harmony is like a squirrel too, so she can sleep there when she wants to.”
I said, “We have a lot of work to do, don’t we. First, we have to move everybody into Lucy’s House. Then we need new dresses and new clothes. Then we need to find a house with secret passages. But I don’t know how to do much of that. How do we get it all done?”
Alice said, “We can move our things to the new house.”
I said, “But only what you want to. If you want to get rid of everything that you had before, do it. All new clothes and everything if you want to.”
Brenda said, “That does sound nice. Is that really OK? If we leave everything behind?”
I said, “Of course it is. You know, Dawn and I both had nothing when we came here. It’s only fair if you start out completely fresh if you want to.”
Alice said, “Then, we will. We can leave everything. We don’t need dishes or clothes or furniture at all.”
Dawn said, “We can just go and pick out some new dresses for you, and an outfit for Jack for now, and you can move in right away.”
Harmony said, “There’s plenty of blankets. Not enough beds, but we have blankets.”
Jack said, “I can sleep on the floor. I can camp in the barracks. Give the women the beds. I can sleep by the front door and keep watch.”
I said, “I don’t think we need guards any more, Jack. But, making sure that April and Tanya have everything that they need would be good.”
Alice said, “We talked to the bed maker yesterday. But we will have to do it again. I’m sure that we can make it work.”
I said, “Like before, I want to leave it all up to you. Whatever you think is best. Val, do you have any concerns at all?”
Val smiled and said, “My only concern is that the new dresses be nice enough to make the girls feel really pretty. I want to go with you and help pick them out.”
We talked for a little bit longer, but soon the women and children were all headed back to the village to start getting everything ready. I stayed at the farm and went to find Gerald. I did get a wagon to take the others across the meadow though. I didn’t want Brenda and Alice to have to walk too far. They assured me that they would be fine with moving in, since there was nothing to do but choose rooms and make beds. And then to get dinner ready.
The Edge of Harmony: The Guardian Maidens Book 2 Page 22
