Noble Solutions

by Schinhofen, Daniel

  Sean chuckled, thinking about the series. “It’s a good one. The author hadn’t finished it by the time I… ended up here, so it might still be incomplete for her.”

  “Oh,” Prita sighed in disappointment. “Understood, sir.”

  Sean felt an odd mix of emotions. He didn’t want any of them to die, but some of them seemed at peace with the idea, even a little eager, in some cases.

  “Sean, did you want us to see about getting a carriage for you to work on?” Ida asked. “I was thinking you might want to make a… truck for us.”

  “It’d be a car, as it’d be for moving people and not goods,” Sean replied absently. “That would be good. Can the carriage house hold another vehicle?”

  “Yes,” Arliat answered, “but what about the horses?”

  “We wouldn’t need them when I finished,” Sean said. “I’m fine with letting them retire to a pampered life, though.”

  “Oh, good,” Arliat exhaled. “I worried for them.”

  “I would never condemn them,” Sean said after another bite of food. “They do good work for us. Besides, it ensures the twins still have plenty to do.”

  Quilla grinned. “I’m sure we can find more work either way. Caleb gets along with us fine. Are you going to get more cuons?”

  “I’m not sure,” Sean said. “We could ask Schin? Aria, do you want to take a trip out to see if he has more?”

  “How many?” Aria asked.

  “We made sure everyone has at least one, so they’d be for us at that point. This place is pretty big, though, and I like Caleb being in the shop if possible... so maybe two or three?”

  “I’ll go see him after breakfast,” Aria said. “Helga, do you want to go for a short flight?”

  Helga looked at Sean, who nodded to her. “Yes. I would like to fly with you and not be worried about your arrows.”

  “She’s fast,” Sean chuckled.

  “Helga can keep up,” Aria said, “though you’d shame us both. I saw your fights with her. You can go faster than you could before.”

  “Can we start on the wings soon?” Xenta asked. The other staff all looked at Aria eagerly.

  Aria laughed. “Fine. Myna wanted us to cross-train as it was. We’ll start on the basic steps this afternoon so you can all be there.”

  “And tonight?” Andrea asked.

  “And tonight,” Aria said.

  Felora smiled. “I’ll be in the shop with Andie. I’ll look forward to tonight. I’ve always wanted to fly like my mother does.”

  “Most of us will be at the shop today,” Fiona said, finishing her meal. “In the back working, anyway.”

  “We’ll have another game today,” Myna told the maids and cooks. “I will have a special prize for the winner.” All seven of the interior staff were focused on her. “Glad to see that you’re eager. We’ll discuss the prize later. After we’re done eating, you’ll have an hour to do your jobs, then I’ll ring the bell and it will begin.”

  Sean looked at Myna. “What game?”

  “Seek and sneak,” Myna smiled. “They hunt each other. I’m preparing them to defend the home if needed.”

  “Ah, that makes sense. You’ve done this before?”

  “We’ve had a few games,” Glorina said. “Besides honing our skills, it helps her judge our progress.”

  “I won the last one,” Tiska smirked. “I’ll win again today.”

  Lona shook her head. “No, one of us will win.” She nudged her sister when she said it.

  Quinna grumbled. “We don’t get to join them.”

  Aria looked at Quinna. “You want to play? Fine. After I get back, we’ll have a competition of our own.”

  Rumia sat forward, her eyes serious. “I’ll win.”

  Quilla snorted. “Not a chance.”

  Sean laughed. It was a clean pure laugh, and everyone looked at him. He wiped at his face when he finally stopped. “Sorry... I wasn’t laughing at any of you. It just felt natural, like a family should. The small rivalries, the fire to be the best... I always thought that’s how families should be. With all the craziness going on, seeing this just felt good.” He stood up, giving them all a smile. “Thank you for helping me. Myna, Aria, your prize is for them to face me two-on-one during evening sparring. If that means one of the cooks wins, they’ll just have to pause in the meal to do so.”

  Eager, focused eyes stared at him, and his wives smiled as they looked at the staff.

  “We should do one better, Sean,” Fiona said. “Ladies,” she addressed the staff with a wide smile, “the winners will also get to wash his back tonight, and be washed in turn. Now, get on with your duties. No slacking.”

  Everyone got up and left the room in short order, leaving Sean and Fiona alone. Sean felt a trickle of fear crawl along his spine. “Fiona, was that really—?”

  Fiona leaned in and kissed him, cutting him off. When she ended the kiss, she smiled. “Sean, my dear dense husband, let it be. Even you must see the looks they give you. This extra incentive will push them even harder. Isn’t that for the best?”

  Sean met her dual-colored eyes and sighed. “I just don’t want them thinking I’ll marry them, too.”

  A soft smile filled her face and she leaned in to kiss him gently. “Very well. I’ll speak with them. Does that help?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  Fiona stood, taking his hand and pulling him up. “Of course, Sean. Remember when you balked at the idea of just me and Myna?”

  Sean chuckled as he thought back. “Yeah...”

  “And now, you have more wives than fingers on one hand. How does it feel?”

  He paused as she hugged him and gave it real consideration. “Good. Wonderful, even.”

  “Good. Now go play in your workroom. We’ll see you for sparring.”

  Sean laughed as he kissed her, then let her go. “Why is it that I never feel like the one in charge with you?”

  “Because you let me guide you,” Fiona said as she followed after him. “You could always be in charge, if you wished. But our happiness is what you want most of all, and that makes us all smile.”

  He looked back as he turned for the back door. “It wasn’t a complaint. I’m thankful every day to my loving wife who helps guide me.”

  Beaming, she blew him a kiss and headed for the shop.

  Chapter Four

  Staring at the bows, Sean sat back in his chair. He couldn’t see a way to do what he wanted to. “Damned games had me thinking it was easy to transfer an enchantment from the bow to the arrow... I’m going to have to give up on that. I’ll aim for my secondary goal, I guess? That’ll be tough enough as it is...”

  Shaking his head, he picked up the small crossbow and tried to think of how to make it better for the Fairies. “I made it as powerful as I could with their strength in mind... Ven’s told me that it’s a strain to get it loaded, as it is. If I can get my other idea to work for the bows, I can probably transfer that over to these or just make them Fairy-sized bows... but they’d really have to put in time on training, then, and bows are harder to learn than a crossbow. We’ll stick with the crossbow.”

  The door opening behind Sean got him to turn, but no one was there. He turned on Mage sight out of reflex and saw one of the twins easing the door closed. When she turned, Sean grinned at her glowing outline.

  “Quinna, did you need something?”

  Quinna jerked, then shook her head, her horns just missing the door.

  “Ah, playing your seek and sneak game?”

  She gave a nod as she moved across the room and hunkered down behind his desk as best she could.

  “I’ll just take a break, then,” Sean chuckled as he got to his feet. “Good luck.”

  “Thank you,” Quinna whispered. “Are my horns visible?”

  “Not if you’re in the middle of the desk.”

  Sean left his workshop and went over to the barn where Aria and Helga were. “How’s Schin?”

  “Good. He said he’ll have two in a
couple of days, as he’s still working on them. He was very grateful you gave him what you did.”

  “He helps them, which is why I did it,” Sean shrugged uncomfortably. “I see you got your game underway. Did Myna finish hers?”

  “I didn’t check in with her,” Aria grinned. “Trying to find out who you’ll be facing?”

  “No, I was just curious. How was the flight?”

  Aria shivered. “Colder than I wanted, but still good.”

  “She flies as well as any of my sisters,” Helga said proudly. “When we go to get the cuons, will you fly with us?”

  “I’d like to,” Sean admitted. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens, though.”

  “Very well,” Helga said, clearly hopeful.

  “So, what’re the rules?” Sean asked Aria.

  “If you get touched, you’re out,” Aria said. “This isn’t combat, but stealth and finding those in stealth. If the person sneaking up gets seen by someone hidden, there will be small bouts of combat. They will use wooden weapons and normal sparring rules. Any disputes are to be brought to me and I’ll decide a victor after listening to them both. If I can’t find enough reason to pick one, they will spar right in front of me. As for where they can hide, I only forbade them from the house. Everything else is fair game.”

  “Huh... Guess that makes sense. I bet they don’t want that last bit, though.”

  “They know better than to lie to one of us,” Aria said. “That would lower them in everyone’s eyes.”

  “Good.”

  “What are you doing out here?” Aria asked. “You didn’t come out just to hear about the cuons.”

  “I’m going to check on Myna, then the shop,” Sean grinned.

  Aria smirked as she glanced at his workshop. “I see.”

  “You do, indeed,” Sean agreed.

  ~*~*~

  Sean found Myna in the front room, sipping some tea. “Relaxing?”

  “Waiting for the last two to finish,” Myna corrected him. “Did you come to find out who the winner is?”

  “No,” Sean chuckled. “Aria asked me the same thing. Hers is just starting.”

  “Then why?” Myna asked. “Getting you away from your research is difficult, normally.”

  “One of the twins is hiding in my workshop. Aria let them hide anywhere but in here. I think she didn’t want to interfere with your game.”

  “I appreciate that,” Myna smiled. “Would you like to sit and have some tea, Master?”

  Sean gave her a soft smile and sat beside her. “Pass on the tea. Instead, I’ll just snuggle you.”

  Myna purred when he eased her back to lean against him. “I approve, Master.”

  “Figured you would,” Sean chuckled. “How’s my kitty?”

  “Good. I’ve enjoyed teaching them. They’ll be the perfect guardians for our children. Anyone foolish enough to attack our home will be cut to ribbons before they know what hit them.”

  “Makes you happy?”

  “Yes.”

  Sean stroked her head, petting her ears. The weight of everything eased off his shoulders as Myna purred and rubbed against him.

  He tensed when a crash came from upstairs, making him wonder if he should go look.

  “Easy, Master,” Myna murmured. “It just means the last two found each other. I expect the winner to come down shortly.”

  Sean went back to petting her. “How did they all do?”

  “Well, they split into two sides— defenders and attackers. The maids are more inclined to go hunting, which is not surprising, while the cooks are more likely to hunker down and ambush the hunters. Both are skilled in their chosen roles. Prita is the exception, surprisingly. She will do either and is very effective at both, as her heritage gives her a better chance to hear the others.”

  As if her words were a magic charm, Prita came bounding down the stairs. The large smile on her face told them who the winner was before she did. “Myna, I won!”

  Myna purred, then eased away from Sean and stood up. “Thank you, Master.” She gave her attention to Prita. “I thought you might. How did the fight go? We heard a crash.”

  Prita looked away from Myna. “I was a little clumsy when I was found, but it worked out. Glorina didn’t expect the shelf to tumble the way it did.”

  Glorina came down the stairs with a disheartened expression. “She earned it. I failed to capitalize on the small opening she gave me. Well done, Prita.” She paused when she saw Sean sitting there, and her expression fell further. “Excuse me...” She hurried from the room.

  Myna sighed, then looked back at Sean. “They were all doing their best. I think you being here to see her fail was a detriment.”

  Getting to his feet, Sean nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to check on her.” He started to go, then paused and gave Prita a grin. “Good job. I’ll see you for evening sparring.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’ll do my best,” Prita beamed.

  “Why don’t we go see about a little extra training?” Myna purred as she took Prita’s arm.

  “Yes, please.”

  Sean held back his chuckle at Prita’s eagerness. He knew he was the prize they’d all been fighting for— that felt odd to him, but her happiness was infectious. Making it to the kitchen, he paused and listened from the hallway.

  “I was so close…!” Glorina sobbed. “So close...”

  “You did your best, right?” Lona asked.

  “That’s all we can do,” Mona added.

  “I did, but I failed, and then… he was there, having tea with Myna. He saw me fail.”

  “Oh...” the sisters said together in sympathy.

  “I would’ve been mortified, too,” Mona said softly.

  “My heart might have burst...” Lona added.

  “How can I face him when I’m a failure?” Glorina sniffled.

  Sean exhaled and wondered if he should just give her time, instead. He thought about all the others who’d been striving just as hard, but had failed earlier than Glorina had. Taking a slow, deep breath, Sean made up his mind.

  “Ladies? Excuse me,” Sean said, entering the kitchen.

  Lona and Mona were on either side of Glorina, who had her back to the door and was hunched in on herself. The sisters looked up surprised, and Glorina let out a soft whimper and hunched over farther.

  “I wanted to see if Glorina was okay. Since you’re both here, I’ll include you, too.” Sean went to stand on the other side of the counter so Glorina wouldn’t feel trapped. “I just wanted to check, but you all gave everything you had, right?”

  “Of course,” Lona said instantly.

  “Always, sir,” Mona nodded.

  Sniffling, Glorina’s reply was nearly inaudible, “It wasn’t enough...”

  “Losing can feel that way,” Sean said softly. “There are two ways to take a loss. You can let it eat at you and make you doubt yourself, which is terrible, or you can let it push you to do more next time.”

  Both sisters nodded and rubbed Glorina’s back.

  “As long as you give your all, you’ll never be a failure to me,” Sean said. “I’ll only ever ask that you try. If you try your hardest, you’re a winner to me because you’re striving. Maybe it sounds hollow to you right now, Glorina, but that’s my honest feelings on it. I’m going to speak with the maids, too. They lost, as well, didn’t they?”

  “I took out Xenta,” Lona said, “but then Mona got me.”

  Mona snickered. “You lost focus.”

  “So did you. Tiska gutted you right after that.”

  “True...” Mona sighed.

  “You survived longer than either of them, Glorina,” Sean said softly. “Do you think they’re failures?”

  “No,” Glorina whispered. “They did as well as they could.”

  “Then why are you so upset with yourself?”

  Glorina shuddered and turned to face him. Arms hugging herself tightly, she met his gaze with tear-filled eyes. “Because I want to be the one there with you.�
��

  Sean inhaled slowly, then nodded. “I see.” He walked around the counter. The cooks turned to face him as he came to a stop a couple of feet from Glorina. “You’re here with me now. I am listening, Glorina. I’m also telling you that you’re far from a failure. Did Fiona putting the extra on this make it too much?”