Astrid and Zarek agreed to meet them on the beach at sunset that night. Ash had contacted Athena again and asked her to relay a request to Astrid that they meet and Zarek had called Ash's phone a few minutes later with an agreement. "I don't know what's going on but whatever it is it's got the girls in a tizzy so I'm in," the former Dark Hunter joked to Ash.
"Z? Did you just say 'tizzy'?"
Zarek winced at that and sheepishly said, "Uh, yeah I guess I did. Damn man, you've got to get me some excitement around here please? Not that I don't love Astrid and her family but I'm bored!"
Ash chuckled low in his throat, "No problem, I've got excitement in buckets coming your way. Don't ask, just be here."
Ash had spent several hours after that reassuring Alicia that everything would work out and Apollymi wouldn't kill either her or their baby. He'd finally gotten her calmed down enough to go out to meet the couple she'd be staying with.
They were walking across the soft sand of a beach in what turned out to be New Zealand when Zarek and Astrid came across the dunes towards them. Astrid smiled and hugged Ash and Zarek clapped his old boss on the back as Alicia stood off to one side rubbing her arms nervously. Astrid turned her head in Alicia's direction and cocked it to one side as if she were listening to something. Ash took note of it and put a hand on Alicia's elbow to pull her closer to the other couple.
"Alicia I'd like you to meet Astrid and Zarek." Zarek was a typical Dark Hunter, tall, incredibly well muscled, the deepest raven black hair she'd ever seen and drop dead gorgeous. Astrid was the polar opposite of him, pale blonde hair, soft feminine curves and quite gentle looking.
Alicia studied the couple for a moment and Astrid held out a hand in the general direction she assumed Alicia was, "Please to meet you. I've heard nothing but good things about you." Alicia reached for the woman's hand and realized that Astrid couldn't see. "Don't worry, I'm fine at home," Astrid said answering Alicia's question as she shook her hand.
"Ah, justice nymph I forgot." Alicia said. "Thank you very much for this. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."
Astrid laughed softly, "Well my sisters have plans for you so who am I to say no?"
"Yeah, everyone's got plans for me. I feel like a giant chess piece some days."
Astrid patted Alicia's hand, "We've all got a part to play honey. Yours is just a little bit more important than some other people's is. Nothing to worry about. We'll see you through this."
"No offense Astrid but I'm not at all reassured."
Zarek laughed heartily and put a hand on his wife's shoulder, "Oh I think my sisters in law will beg to differ with that. They are after all your biggest fans." He grinned at her like a wolf and she couldn't help but like the man. Ash had told her all about how he'd used to be before he met Astrid and she just couldn't see the evil bastard that he once was. His wife had really changed his outlook on life for the better.
Zarek proceeded to tell Alicia about what would happen after she started eating Ambrosia. He'd had to do the same thing when he fell in love with Astrid so he could honestly tell her the effects of it. Ash had reassured her that as long as she didn't eat too much of it she'd be human enough to carry the baby with no negative effects. Astrid also reassured her by telling her that there was no way that her sisters would give her a fate that was impossible to attain. They had their moments of cruelty but since all of humanity was hinged on her pregnancy it was pretty certain that Atty's shears were nowhere near this baby's thread.
Alicia swallowed all of her fear and nodded at the couple, "Okay, let's do this then shall we?" Astrid produced a small box from her bag and opened the lid releasing a cloyingly sweet scent. "Oh why did it have to smell like that?" Her stomach lurched and she had to pinch her nose closed to take the box from Astrid.
"It's really not that bad," Zarek assured her.
She took a small bit of the sticky substance out of the box and stuck it on her tongue before she could wimp out of it. The ambrosia melted on her tongue like cotton candy and she was suddenly extremely light headed. Everything spun around her as she swayed in the sand. "Whoa, trippy," she said as she leaned heavily against Ash to steady herself. She closed her eyes to make some of the dizziness go away and when she opened them again everything was so vividly clear she was in awe of it. "Wow, it's been a while."
Ash chuckled at her amusement and stroked her hair as she adjusted to the new vision of everything. "How long has it been?"
She put a hand on his chest and leaned against him heavily as she looked up into his face, "Well since the last stay with brother dearest. I see like this there but in human form, I haven't seen this since home. I'd forgotten how lovely it is."
Astrid smiled at her and then took Zarek's hand and led him away from the other couple to give them a moment to say their temporary goodbyes. "C'mon dear, there seems to be a beautiful sunset over that way."
Alicia looked up at Ash with an expression of utter love for him and he melted at that. "I'll miss you Phae but we'll see each other soon enough."
"I know, I just…well I don't want to be alone."
He leaned over and kissed her forehead, "You won't be. I know that there's a sfora there so we can still at least see each other and you can come here occasionally without any harm. I promise you that you won't be alone either. I'll always be with you," he said as he placed his hand over her heart. Her chest warmed from it and she could feel his presence inside her, like the soul she'd carried for so long.
"I know, I know. Geez, can't a girl get a break these days? I just got used to my demon, I just got you back after eleven thousand years, ya know I think I deserve a little better."
He laughed and lifted her up spinning her around on the sand. "Oh Sati, if I could give you everything your heart desires I would but in this matter even I am powerless. But I'll have you by my side for the rest of eternity and believe me, I will make up for the time we've lost."
She cupped his face in her hands and lost herself in the swirling silver of his eyes, "You'd better or I'm gonna have to replace you."
&&&&&&&
Alicia said her goodbyes to Xiovar too who sadly hung his head as she hugged him, "I shall be waiting for your return my lady," he said with a little bow.
She smacked him on the shoulder and looked sternly up at his face, "Stop that. You'll be fine. You'll have the girls to spend time with and you won't even know that I'm gone. Yeesh. You men are all such whiney things." She was putting on a brave face but she didn't want to be separated from him any more than he did. "Besides, I can talk to you still."
He nodded and she waved good bye to him as he flashed himself off to Katoteros. Ash told her that Xirena was eagerly awaiting his arrival and demonstrated her eagerness with a wicked grin and waggling eyebrows. "Oh my poor baby's gonna be eaten alive," Alicia said with a grin.
Ash laughed at that and nodded in agreement, "Yes but look at I this way, perhaps if they get along well enough we'll have a new Charonte for our little one."
She thought about that for a moment and nodded, "That'd make things easy wouldn't it?"
Astrid and Zarek were making their way back across the beach so Ash looked sadly in their direction and pulled Alicia close for one more passionate kiss. "I'll miss you Sati," he whispered in Atlantean.
She couldn't bring herself to say anything because if she did she knew she'd cry so she nodded and looked over at the other couple with a brave face. "Okay, let's see what you've got in store for me shall we?"
Zarek walked over to Ash and said something to him under his voice which caused Ash to laugh and then he rejoined the women and they all flashed themselves off to Olympus.
