Azaria swallows nervously as she knocks on the door of a non-descript house in the winter court. She squeezes Tonk's hand for reassurance as they both wait for the door to be answered. After what seems like an eternity her uncle Garund answers the door.

"Can I help you?" He asks suspiciously.

"Is this the Yewglisten residence?"

"It is."

Bringing her off hand down to the pommel of her sword, she replies, "May we come in, we have a message for one of your residents."

She watches his eyes follow her hand down before tightening as he sees the crest on her pommel.

"Yes, you probably should." With that he steps to one side and gestures with one hand.

Once they're both inside he drops to one knee, one hand where his sword would be and the other flat on the floor, "Welcome back clan leader."

"Stand up old man, I'm not here officially. I'd be wearing my own face if I was."

Garund stands, "I understand. Tell me, how is it you got passed the gate without being noticed?"

"Let's just say it was a combination of very good directions and a bit of misdirection."

"Very well, I can feel the bond of our oath, so I know it's you. Come everyone is in the Heart Room."

"I'm surprised you're allowed one here!"

"Ha, we're not. We've just found a way around that."

Tonks looks at Azaria quizzically, to which Azaria responds, "I'll tell you once we're in there."

As they're lead through the house and into a room in the corner of the basement, the familiar touch of clan magic caresses her followed by the comfortable weight of her ancestors. Tonks swears at the unfamiliar magic, "Merlin, what was that?"

The empty room in front of them wavers and fades into a delicate chamber with winter tree boning reaching from floor to ceiling. Visible out of the corner of the eye delicate traceries of runes shimmer up and down each rib. In the centre of the room is the stump of an ancient fire tree, steeped in wild magic and constrained with more of those barely visible runes. Furs and cushions adorn the chamber and the rest of the household are sitting there, anxiety written across their faces.

The anxiety dissipates rapidly when Lyasa stands up and launches herself into Azaria sobbing, "You're back, you're back. I thought I'd lost you."

"It's ok little flitling, I'm alive though I can't stay."

Tonks grumps good naturedly, "Can someone please tell me what a heart room is?"

Petunia looks over at Garund for permission, and when he nods she speaks up, "It's a mini realm carved out of the boundary between this realm and the realm closer to the desert. I don't pretend to understand how to form it, but normally it takes a family of 20 Sidhe to create one together. It is part sanctuary, safe room, and meeting room for a clan. Only those who have taken or hold the oaths of fealty to the clan can enter the room, all others will just see the space that the room is part of in the main realm. In our society, the creation of a heart room is how a family elevates itself to a clan as it takes strength, knowledge, and loyalty to create a heart room. The room itself is tied to the oaths that we give to the clan leader."

Garund looks pleased at her explanation, "Well done, do you remember why it's so important?"

"It's what separates a clan from an independent family by acting as both a sanctuary and a place where the members can meet safely and securely. The entrance to most Heart rooms is ornately decorated with feats of the clan members as well as their history. In this case, as this is a secondary heart room we have chosen to use the bare minimum of the runes needed to anchor the entrance with the doorway to the room."

"Lyasa, why did we do this?"

"We are in the middle of the Winter court's stronghold, so if we weren't able to use the techniques that Titania Petunia brought with her from earth, and Titania Karen refined with her visits, we wouldn't have been able to hide the construction of the room. Even with those techniques, erm, I'm not sure uncle."

Azaria ruffles her hair, "It's ok flitling, you're still young so you haven't learnt about politics yet. I would guess that the reason for the lack of ornamentation is that we don't want visitors to know that the room exists. That would probably also be why it wasn't until all of us had passed the boundary that we were brought in."

Garund smiles, "You do your father proud, then entrance has indeed been charmed to only work when there isn't anyone in the basement that hasn't been accepted by the room."

Tonks leans her head to one side, "How did you set all of this up if it's a combination of strength and knowledge?"

"Ah, that's where we got tricky, see we sent out our 'null slave' to the clan lands with a rotation of some of the clan. As she's 'just a human' they didn't even look at her twice. She then used the stepping skill that Karen taught her to bring back an elder and rune master with the supplies we needed. The Huntmistress then led the ritual while Petunia hid the magic and provided much of the power along with Lyasa. Once the gateway was established, the rune master set up the central altar and the inside of the gate. After that it was just Petunia keeping the magic contained while the rest of the ribs were inscribed so that the magic didn't leak out."

"When you say 'Just', surely it's not that simple."

Petunia speaks up with a weary voice, "You're right, and it's not quite finished yet. I've got the room enclosed in my magic, which is then held at the level of the ambient magic in the area. It, has been a strain on my control and focus. It's why we're all in here, as I can't leave until the last of the ribs are finished. Anyway, welcome to our abode."

Tonks shows that she's been paying attention to Azaria when she bows with the traditional response, "May the fires of the light and the ice of the dark be kept far from your door."

With a start of surprise Garund, as the nominal head of the household, responds, "Join our table with aran and lionn, and find shelter from the fire and ice."

"My thanks úinéir tí, please accept this gift for the table." Tonks pulls from her pouch a 6 pack of Guinness.

"You have been teaching her well clan leader."

Azaria laughs, "Well, she is my companach bannaichte, and mother to my child, just as I am mother to hers."

This time Garund laughs and looks over to the females, women and boireannaich both, "With the formalities out of the way, I will see to preparing the traditional repast while your mother and the clan elders have their chance to converse with you."

It is a very uncomfortable evening for both of them as they are very politely and thoroughly interrogated about their relationship, pregnancy status, and reason for coming when they were expecting Karen. Not even asking about Lyasa and Petunia's progress deters the questioning, just delays it slightly. There was a brief respite when Garund and Ceeley brought in the traditional repast for guest rights. After a pleasant evening, and passing on the message that Karen would be unable to come for a while due to being under a healers care due to problems with her pregnancy, Tonks and Azaria reluctantly left for their own care.

───────── ೋღ :hpefd: ღೋ─────────

A nervous Karen stepped out of an alleyway in Aberdeen wiping her mouth with a conjured hanky after Selene's reaction to the portkey caused her to throw up. Alannah Gosling just behind her, rubbing her back comfortingly. Karen turns around as she feels the hand leave her back and the sound of Alannah's footsteps stop. Turning around she finds that Alannah has a nervous look on her face.

"Are you ok?"

"Uh."

Karen takes her hand and rubs the back of it, "Have you been in the mundane world before?"

"Uh huh. I mean, yes."

"How long ago?"

"Around two months, I stepped outside the hospital for a breath of fresh air."

"When was the last time you really wandered around?"

"Oh, it must be around 72 when I graduated from Hogwarts. We went to Covent Gardens with one of my year mates to celebrate."

"That explains it. Come on, we've got an hour to get to the hospital and there's a café across the road. Let's get something to drink, and you can get used to the amount of noise and traffic. St Mungo's is in a cul-de-sac, so I'm not surprised you're not that comfortable with modern levels of traffic."

Fortunately, the café also had a TV with daytime TV on, as it allowed Alannah to get used to the fact it existed while they were waiting. An hour later and a cab ride later, Alannah was leaning heavily on her Occlumency in order to keep her equilibrium as just how much the mundane world had changed since her brief visits in the 70's, and the mid-Victorian era that much of the magical world seems to have settled at kept hitting her left and right. From a few people talking on mobile phones to the computers that were used during the check-in at the hospital.

It took a bit of biting her tongue during the ultrasound and blood tests, but Alannah managed it by dint of reminding herself that they were doing all of this without any magic what so ever. With a few polite questions about what else the ultrasound could be used for she had some topics for Emma to start researching in St Mungo's. As, while there was nothing being done that they couldn't do with a couple of spells and a similar level of training, these devices could be useful on some of the cursed wounds they occasionally come across that react badly to any magic.

It was thoughts like that which allowed Alannah to make it through the day as Karen took her shopping for maternity wear as well as other bits and pieces for the baby. Partly because they'd be needed, but mainly as a discrete way of showing Alannah the things that modern mundane people used. On a whim Karen dragged Alannah into a Tandy's, in part to impress on her just how much was available in the mundane world that she'd be unfamiliar with. She also bought her a Casio FX-7700GE Graphing Calculator, and told her she needed to learn how to use it as part of her homework. She would later apologise for being petty about being confined to Earth, but Alannah still took it upon herself to learn how to use the infernal device.

───────── ೋღ :hpefd: ღೋ─────────

It was a whole great cycle since he'd seen his niece and finally his request to speak in the winter court had been granted. Garund certainly knew that he could have forced the issue, but they decided to wait on presenting the documents so that the Oberon and Titania would be less likely to shoot the messenger. He watched with concealed disgust as a captured Ushi-oni from the fae world closer to the desert fought against a few human slaves. The outcome was hardly in doubt, as the humans were only allowed to use wooden spears, and as native slaves didn't have the magic needed to even pierce the chitin. He swallowed as he realised just how much his views on humans had changed since Petunia joined their household. It was clear that it was something that was done to the humans that were native here that left them with no magic and not something inherent to the species.

He cheered with the crowd when there was only one human left standing, and the Ushi-oni started to play with it's food. First by disarming it, and then by slowly peeling it's skin and musculature off and eating it while keeping the poor thing alive with it's magic. It took nearly an hour before they finally died and the remains were shooed out of the courtroom with the oni. Now that the spectacle was over, the fact that they'd imported an oni was worrying, as it means that they were trading further away again. Probably because of the influx of fresh human slaves. He almost threw up when it occurred to him that they might all be suffering from iron sickness. Those thoughts kept him occupied until his name was called for his appointed time.

Stepping forward towards the dais, he kneels as a supplicant of the court rather than a member and holds out the sealed letter in front of him. It doesn't take long before the letter is taken from him. He maintains his position on the floor as he waits for them to respond, his lips drying as he dreads the response.

Eventually the voice of the Oberon spoke out, clearly audible across the entire court, "We understand the letter, however we don't understand why you brought it to us personally. Was there perhaps something else that you wished to speak of?"

Carefully moderating his tone, Garunds responds, "Yes Oberon of the Winter Court."

"You may speak."

"We wish to be able to rotate our people to our clan lands so that we may participate in our clan rituals."

The Oberon laughs, "Of course you do. As there is no need to keep the heir or family here, regardless of what happens you may rotate the hostages. However, I will offer you a choice. You may leave now and your hostages must stay at the court, or you can face one of the enforcers. If you last the length of time it takes this timer to run through, then they may stay at your residence."

Garund glances up as far as he can without moving his head, and sees a large hour glass with a lot less than an hours sand in it. Grimacing, he knew before he opened his mouth that there was only one answer to that, "I'll face your enforcer."

With all the dignity he could muster, he stood and walked to the centre of the court in order to be the next round of entertainment. Closing his eyes to centre himself while the enforcer that will have the pleasure of trying to beat the crap out of him is picked, he extends his magic in the earth way, just slightly away from his body so that is isn't just flattened by his opponents presence. He knows that he'll get out of this alive, as he didn't agree to a fight to the death. He just hopes that he won't be crippled by the fight. As the floor is cleared after his opponent has been chosen, he tries to spread the faintest hint of magic around him in an invisible fog two sword lengths away from him the way that Azaria described Karen's fighting style.

"I see your praying, it won't help, but it's good you understand.", a woman's voice rings out in front of him. He opens his eyes to see a woman with emerald hair and tricoloured eyes the colour of blood. She has a gymnasts build and holds a dagger in her off hand in addition to the traditional Sidhe sword.

A cruel smile crosses her face, "I hope you put up a good fight, as I haven't worked up a sweat in a while. Standard rules for the court, strength of arms and magic. No spells though, as we don't want to involve the audience. Walk out of the court at the end of the time and you've won, don't and you've lost. Do you understand?"

Garund draws his sword and nods, "I understand."

He doesn't take his eyes of her to look at the hourglass, as he can't afford the distraction. It doesn't matter though, as he knows the instant it happens because her presence floods the fighting circle, driving him to one knee, and flattening some members of the audience that were too close. A faint, barely understood, tickle from his magic sends him rolling to one side as she disappears from in front of him.

"Ooh you're a good one, this might be fun."

Silently forcing himself to his feet, he concentrates on reenforcing the bubble of magic that is protecting him from the shear overwhelming presence she's exuding. He knows that he's pushing it by using the technique, but it's the only chance he has to last the fight and still walk away.

The following 10 minutes were a trial of endurance as he had to sacrifice superficial wounds to avoid crippling strikes to his tendons and ligaments. He'd even managed to go onto the offensive a couple of times, though the fact he couldn't jump around while she could limited him in being able to do more than, as it was clear to him that she'd let her skills atrophy in favour of relying on being able to out magic everyone she faced. That's not to say she's bad, just not as honed as she could be.

Just as he's staggering out of the court the voice of their Titania calls out, "If you stay and teach us the technique you used to stand against our Enforcer we will release your clan."

Garund was tempted, very tempted by the offer. However, he knew that it wasn't a promise to not attack them again.

"I… thank you for your offer. However… my oaths to my clan would preclude being able to teach you."

The tinkling sadistic laugh of the Titania follows him from the court, as he knows that it was a poisoned offer anyway, and the only reason he's still alive is custom.