The New Phoenix
Chapter 6
Rocky Oberlin
Disclaimer: For Lent, I have given up telling tall tails. Thus I must say that I don't own the Ronin Warriors. (Like I had said it before.)
Breakfast was a somber affair the next morning. No one wanted to think about the threat that Tulpa had made the night before. Mia was pale and Ryo watched her with a worried look. Both almost ignored their breakfast and to show how preoccupied everyone was, Kento didn't even try to take their meals. Windy sighed and shoved her plate away; even she didn't eat much of her small breakfast.
"We either need to talk or we need to do something."
"Like what?" asked Dais.
"Train," said Anubis.
"We could train until the next blue moon, but against Tulpa, we won't stand a chance. Look what happened to Wildfire the last time they fought," said Seckmet.
Windy rolled her eyes as the Ronins protested over what Ryo had done. Mia looked whiter at the memory of Ryo almost dying with Tulpa. Ryo glanced at her and put his arms around her shoulders. "It won't happen again," he whispered to her. Mia just nodded and huddled closer to Ryo.
"If you all are done acting like frightened children, I would suggest that we take this outside," called Windy. No one paid attention except Ryo and Mia. Windy growled low in her throat and slammed her fist on the table. "Shut up and take it outside! NOW!" Silence reigned in the kitchen. "Did I stutter?" Windy growled. The kitchen cleared in two seconds. Windy looked at the tiger as White Blaze strolled in. "You would think that they would learn to listen the first time."
White Blaze just looked at the Windwalker and then padded to his dish. When he found it was empty, he sat down and turned his piercing gaze to the ghostly woman. Windy chuckled and pulled out White Blaze's breakfast along with a few sausage patties from breakfast. White Blaze purred his thanks and eagerly started on his breakfast.
Windy walked out the door to find three different groups facing off. In one part of the yard were the Ronins except for Ryo. Opposite of them were the Seasonals. In the middle were Mia, Ryo, and Anubis. It seemed like they were referees between two teams, but the yelling told Windy that the two from the Court of Magic was trying to calm down a fight that was brewing.
"If you guys don't stop this, we are going to lose to Tulpa," Mia was saying.
"There is no way that we are going to win anyway. We might as well hole up in a remote part of the Mortal Realm and let the three of you go wherever the other Guardians went," Seckmet was saying.
"And leave everything that we fought for?" yelled Sage.
"You're nothing but cowards," added Kento.
"We know what we're talking about!" answered Dais. "We know the power Tulpa has."
"Yet you forget that you have two Guardians with you now," said Anubis calmly.
"But look what happened the first time Tulpa came to the Mortal Realm," shot back Lady Kayura. "The Guardians left it all up to the Ancient."
"Now they have me to help," said Ryo.
"Do you plan to die with them, Wildfire?" asked Cale.
"No! We will help and protect him," answered Rowen.
Cye just looked uncomfortable with all the yelling and perked up only when Windy made her appearance. He walked over and asked, "Is there any way that you can stop this?"
Windy shook her head. "They have to deal with this themselves. I think that having it out here will help keep the cost of damage down." She smirked a little as Kento and Dais started to get physical with their fight. It took Sage, Ryo, and Anubis to separate the two combatants. "Either way, something will be figured out soon."
Cye looked at the fight and the people from the Court of Magic. "Ryo's not the only protector, is he?" Windy shook her head. "Who are the others?"
"You know who the Dragon's Protector is already." Cye looked up startled and glanced swiftly at Lady Kayura. "That's right. She is Anubis' Protector, only she doesn't know it yet. There are two more from the nine armors who are Protectors of the Unicorn and the Griffon."
"Who are they?" asked Mia as she came up to the bailiff of her Court and the bearer of Torrent.
"They must be discovered," smiled Windy mysteriously. "Only when the time comes will they be found."
"Hey, I remember the battle. Cye was always near me."
"Very good, my son. Now who was near Griffon?"
"Ahhhh."
"Grandma, does Uncle Bill have to tell Griffon who his Protector is now?"
"Soon, children, soon. Let your uncle get his color back. Bill do you want a shot of whiskey?"
"Mom, please. Grandma gave me plenty of Hot Toddies when I was sick."
"Taste terrible, don't they?"
"How did you drink them?"
"Quickly. And I told my Mom that I really didn't want any when I was sick."
"Grandma, did the others stop fighting soon?"
Sigh. "No, it went on for most of the day..."
Cye looked up from the lunch he was making to see Ryo and Anubis stalk through the door. He could almost see the storm clouds that were hanging over their heads. Mia came in and smiled weakly at them and motioned for them to sit down. Windy soon followed and sat down with the Guardians at the table. The sounds of the fight still raged outside.
"I give up," sighed Ryo. "How will we be able to get them to even help us if they are still fighting."
Windy looked out the window to see if someone else was going to come in soon. "We only need two more if we really came down to it. The others would be nice to have, but _I'm_ not going to force them."
"Who would we need?" asked Mia.
"Well, we have Cye and Ryo, you already know about Lady Kayura, and we would need the last Protector."
"Ha! I knew it!"
"Yes, you're very smart. Now shut up."
Giggles.
The last of the combatants came in for dinner, glaring at each other. Windy thought it looked like the American Civil War with the Ronins on one side of the table and the Seasonals on the other. Anubis noted the hurt looks Rowen kept throwing at Lady Kayura, but she didn't seem to notice. Windy intercepted one of his looks and nodded her head to Anubis; tonight they would be speaking to the Ronin of Strata.
Dinner was as uncomfortable as breakfast was and Mia was sick of it. "I don't care what the rest of you do, but I'm going into the study to eat. May be I can find something to help with fighting Tulpa."
"You can look all you want, but you won't find anything that will help," muttered Lady Kayura. Rowen threw another hurt look in her direction and sighed into his meal.
Ryo stood with the Phoenix Guardian and walked with her. Windy, Anubis, and Cye soon picked up their plates and joined the Phoenix couple. Rowen looked at his fellow Ronins and the scowling Seasonals and followed after the three. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I think that they have the right idea."
Cale had been silent for most of the day except for the beginning of the fight due to a strange pull tugging at his senses. He stood and said, "I think I agree with you, Strata, for some reason. May be the Lady Bailiff will know why." The two blue haired men left the table turned battlefield and joined the mystic group in the study around the computer.
"What brings you here?" asked Ryo.
"Some peace and quiet to enjoy my dinner," said Rowen.
"Questions that need to be answered," said Cale.
Anubis looked at Windy and seemed to question, "Is he one of the Protectors?" Windy nodded her head and shooed him to Rowen. Anubis got the message and went to talk with Rowen about the Lady Kayura, his Protector.
"What do you want to know, Cale?" asked Windy.
"Why do I feel like there is something that I should be with?" the Seasonal of Winter asked bluntly.
"Because you are a part of something just like Ryo, Cye, and Lady Kayura are."
"Lady Kayura and Torrent are like Ryo?" he asked, shocked.
Windy nodded her head. "Remember when I explained the situation with Mia and Ryo? How two of the Guardian's Protectors were turned away to work for Tulpa?"
"Yes."
"Well, Anubis was one. The Armor of Spring protected the Guardian Dragon, but when Tulpa took the bearer, he corrupted the armor. When the Ancient took back his Protector, he brought the armor back to its possible responsibility. When the Ancient died and Anubis took over, he became the new Dragon."
"I know, you told us on the night we fled the Nether Realm."
"So you know that Anubis gave up being the Protector of the Dragon to be the Dragon Guardian."
"Yes, he gave it up when he gave Lady Kayura his armor."
"So..."
"So, Lady Kayura is now the Dragon's Protector?"
Windy grinned. "Right."
Cale looked thoughtful for a moment. "Is that the reason why Anubis is acting like a brother to her?"
Windy nodded.
"What about Strata? He seems to like Lady Kayura."
"Why do you think that Anubis is talking to him?"
Cale looked over to see Anubis was having a heart to heart with Rowen. The subject must have been serious as both looked grim, but soon Rowen broke into a grin. Anubis patted him on the shoulder and nodded to Windy. Windy smiled back and looked at Cale.
"What do I have to do?"
"You must wait. When the battle, and if the one you protect, comes, you must stay near him. Cye will be the same if it happens to him. He is already feeling the same pull that Ryo and you felt. He will figure it out sooner or later."
"What about Lady Kayura?"
"I may have to hit her over the head before she realizes what she must do."
"That's a switch. Usually it's the woman who has to hit the man over the head to get his attention," said Ryo.
Windy grinned. "There are some who need more help than others. Just like there are some men who need more help to realize something." Windy tossed her head and the purple cord swung over her shoulder. "Now, I'm going to take my dishes back to the kitchen and see if there is even a dining room left. Is there anything that you want me to take with me?"
Everyone piled his or her dishes together and Rowen helped the spirit take everything to the sink. The dining room was empty and Sage was in the kitchen making a cup of tea. Dishes were piled in the sink and no one looked like they were going to do them. Windy started to draw up the water and Rowen grabbed some dishtowels to dry. Sage just glared at the woman in white and his roommate. "I'll see you when we go to bed," he ground out. Then the blonde stalked out of the room.
As he left, Dais came in. They glared daggers at each other and gave wide berth as they passed. Dais left his glass by the sink to be washed and left the room without a word. Lady Kayura came in next to drop off her cup and Windy nailed her with a look.
"Sit down and listen to Rowen. There is something that you need to hear."
Rowen put away the dish he was drying and sat down across from Lady Kayura. "Umm, there is something that you should probably know, two things in fact."
"Yes. What is it?"
Rowen gave Windy a helpless look and she gave him a silent urging. "Well, you know how Anubis looked guilty when Windy explained how every Guardian had a Protector?"
"Yes."
"Well, Anubis told me that he was the Ancient's Protector because of the armor. So..."
"So, that would make me..." Lady Kayura trailed off with a guilty look of her own.
Rowen looked at her and chuckled. "You know, may be the Armor of Cruelty should have the kanji of Guilt instead of Ryo. The way Anubis and Lady Kayura are going, they seem to be heaping more of the guilt on then Ryo did when we first got together." Windy chuckled at his sally, but Lady Kayura made a face at him.
"Be careful of what you say, Strata. You may regret it one day."
"But not today, right Rowen?" asked Windy. Rowen just grinned impudently at the two women.
Lady Kayura sighed. "So, I'm now Anubis' Protector. What was the second thing that you wanted to talk to me about?"
Rowen looked down to hide the blush that was forming on his cheeks. "That I like you a lot," he mumbled.
Lady Kayura looked puzzled. "What was that?"
"That I like you," said Rowen louder. "I like you a lot. I would like to go out with you sometime after this is all over." By the time he was done, the bearer of Strata was doing a good impression of Cye and was a match for Ryo's armor. He got up hurriedly and left the kitchen for his room.
Lady Kayura just stared after him with a bewildered look on her face. She turned and looked at Windy. "Did he just say what I thought he just said?"
Windy looked at the new Ancient and nodded. "Yes. He does like you and would like to get to know you better."
The bearer of the Spring armor smiled whimsically, which was a surprise to Windy seeing as she didn't think that Lady Kayura knew how to smile whimsically, and walked up to her and Mia's room. Windy sighed and looked at the dishes still in the sink. "Of course I will finish the dishes for you Rowen," she said sarcastically. Windy picked up the dishtowel and started to dry the remaining dishes before continuing on the next set to be washed.
Mia looked up as her door opened and Lady Kayura walked in. The whimsical smile was still on her face. Mia had an answering smile on her face and questions in her eyes. "So did he finally say something?" she asked.
Mia's question startled Kayura from her daze. She smiled at the Phoenix and nodded. "Yes, he did. Rowen said that he liked me."
"Finally. Ryo and I were beginning to wonder when Rowen was going to say something."
"I wonder what Anubis will say," said Kayura. "I mean, you and Ryo are together, doesn't that mean that Anubis and I should be together?"
Mia shook her head. "How does Anubis treat you? Is he treating you like a friend, sister, or lover?"
"Like a sister," said Kayura decisively.
"I'm glad you said that. Anubis said that he was going to have to talk to Rowen about dating you if he ever got the courage up to ask. I guess that was what they were talking about in the study while we were eating dinner."
Lady Kayura's face fell at the mention of dinner. "Yeah, about today. I want to say that I'm sorry. The Lady Windy is still here and then there is you and Anubis. May be we shouldn't have given up hope quite yet."
Her apology startled Mia. "Why do you say that? Is it because you finally found out about being Anubis' Protector?"
Kayura shook her head. "No, it was when I walked into the kitchen and saw a powerful being in her own right calmly washing dishes. She could do them quickly and have power to spare to force us to agree with her. But she doesn't. She just left us to fight in the backyard and only raised her voice to get us out of the house. Halo, Hardrock, Dais, and Seckmet are going around like a pack of wild dogs growling at anyone who doesn't agree with them and here you all are, calm and going about your business like Tulpa hasn't threatened everything that you worked for."
Mia smiled sadly at the other woman. "Tulpa hasn't just threatened everything that we worked for, he has threatened all of us. The only one who may not come under his power would be the Lady herself. She seems to hold her own power, like you said. At the Ceremony that made me the new Phoenix, I met her replacement for the Unicorn Guardian. He called her 'Mom' and she treated him like a son. The Griffon Guardian treated her with respect, too. I think that we should have faith in her and ourselves. She hasn't given up, so why should we?"
Lady Kayura went to bed with a full mind and a lifting heart. Rowen liked her, but what about the fight with Tulpa? She didn't know what to do about either, but hoped that an answer would come soon as she stared at the ceiling. Even that didn't hold answers as she waited for sleep to take her.
"So is Rowen still with the Dragon's Protector, Mom?"
"As far as I know."
"Grandma, do they look like a cute couple?"
"Why?"
"Because Mom said that if the couple is cute, they were meant to be together."
"She did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did-"
"Children!"
"-Not."
"Do you want me to continue?"
"Yes, Grandma."
"Then stop arguing. Sometimes a cute couple doesn't mean that they should be together. It's not the looks, it's how they treat each other."
"What do you mean, Grandma?"
"Every couple should treat the partner with respect. That is the foundation of a good relationship."
"Oh, so that's the secret with Grandma and Grandpa."
"Yes, and that is how I am with my partners when I work, Bill. May be you should take notes."
Sorry it took so long to get out, but the hospital was swamped. I'll try to get another chapter out soon, but I'm not making too many promises. Please read and review.
Rocky
Chapter 6
Rocky Oberlin
Disclaimer: For Lent, I have given up telling tall tails. Thus I must say that I don't own the Ronin Warriors. (Like I had said it before.)
Breakfast was a somber affair the next morning. No one wanted to think about the threat that Tulpa had made the night before. Mia was pale and Ryo watched her with a worried look. Both almost ignored their breakfast and to show how preoccupied everyone was, Kento didn't even try to take their meals. Windy sighed and shoved her plate away; even she didn't eat much of her small breakfast.
"We either need to talk or we need to do something."
"Like what?" asked Dais.
"Train," said Anubis.
"We could train until the next blue moon, but against Tulpa, we won't stand a chance. Look what happened to Wildfire the last time they fought," said Seckmet.
Windy rolled her eyes as the Ronins protested over what Ryo had done. Mia looked whiter at the memory of Ryo almost dying with Tulpa. Ryo glanced at her and put his arms around her shoulders. "It won't happen again," he whispered to her. Mia just nodded and huddled closer to Ryo.
"If you all are done acting like frightened children, I would suggest that we take this outside," called Windy. No one paid attention except Ryo and Mia. Windy growled low in her throat and slammed her fist on the table. "Shut up and take it outside! NOW!" Silence reigned in the kitchen. "Did I stutter?" Windy growled. The kitchen cleared in two seconds. Windy looked at the tiger as White Blaze strolled in. "You would think that they would learn to listen the first time."
White Blaze just looked at the Windwalker and then padded to his dish. When he found it was empty, he sat down and turned his piercing gaze to the ghostly woman. Windy chuckled and pulled out White Blaze's breakfast along with a few sausage patties from breakfast. White Blaze purred his thanks and eagerly started on his breakfast.
Windy walked out the door to find three different groups facing off. In one part of the yard were the Ronins except for Ryo. Opposite of them were the Seasonals. In the middle were Mia, Ryo, and Anubis. It seemed like they were referees between two teams, but the yelling told Windy that the two from the Court of Magic was trying to calm down a fight that was brewing.
"If you guys don't stop this, we are going to lose to Tulpa," Mia was saying.
"There is no way that we are going to win anyway. We might as well hole up in a remote part of the Mortal Realm and let the three of you go wherever the other Guardians went," Seckmet was saying.
"And leave everything that we fought for?" yelled Sage.
"You're nothing but cowards," added Kento.
"We know what we're talking about!" answered Dais. "We know the power Tulpa has."
"Yet you forget that you have two Guardians with you now," said Anubis calmly.
"But look what happened the first time Tulpa came to the Mortal Realm," shot back Lady Kayura. "The Guardians left it all up to the Ancient."
"Now they have me to help," said Ryo.
"Do you plan to die with them, Wildfire?" asked Cale.
"No! We will help and protect him," answered Rowen.
Cye just looked uncomfortable with all the yelling and perked up only when Windy made her appearance. He walked over and asked, "Is there any way that you can stop this?"
Windy shook her head. "They have to deal with this themselves. I think that having it out here will help keep the cost of damage down." She smirked a little as Kento and Dais started to get physical with their fight. It took Sage, Ryo, and Anubis to separate the two combatants. "Either way, something will be figured out soon."
Cye looked at the fight and the people from the Court of Magic. "Ryo's not the only protector, is he?" Windy shook her head. "Who are the others?"
"You know who the Dragon's Protector is already." Cye looked up startled and glanced swiftly at Lady Kayura. "That's right. She is Anubis' Protector, only she doesn't know it yet. There are two more from the nine armors who are Protectors of the Unicorn and the Griffon."
"Who are they?" asked Mia as she came up to the bailiff of her Court and the bearer of Torrent.
"They must be discovered," smiled Windy mysteriously. "Only when the time comes will they be found."
"Hey, I remember the battle. Cye was always near me."
"Very good, my son. Now who was near Griffon?"
"Ahhhh."
"Grandma, does Uncle Bill have to tell Griffon who his Protector is now?"
"Soon, children, soon. Let your uncle get his color back. Bill do you want a shot of whiskey?"
"Mom, please. Grandma gave me plenty of Hot Toddies when I was sick."
"Taste terrible, don't they?"
"How did you drink them?"
"Quickly. And I told my Mom that I really didn't want any when I was sick."
"Grandma, did the others stop fighting soon?"
Sigh. "No, it went on for most of the day..."
Cye looked up from the lunch he was making to see Ryo and Anubis stalk through the door. He could almost see the storm clouds that were hanging over their heads. Mia came in and smiled weakly at them and motioned for them to sit down. Windy soon followed and sat down with the Guardians at the table. The sounds of the fight still raged outside.
"I give up," sighed Ryo. "How will we be able to get them to even help us if they are still fighting."
Windy looked out the window to see if someone else was going to come in soon. "We only need two more if we really came down to it. The others would be nice to have, but _I'm_ not going to force them."
"Who would we need?" asked Mia.
"Well, we have Cye and Ryo, you already know about Lady Kayura, and we would need the last Protector."
"Ha! I knew it!"
"Yes, you're very smart. Now shut up."
Giggles.
The last of the combatants came in for dinner, glaring at each other. Windy thought it looked like the American Civil War with the Ronins on one side of the table and the Seasonals on the other. Anubis noted the hurt looks Rowen kept throwing at Lady Kayura, but she didn't seem to notice. Windy intercepted one of his looks and nodded her head to Anubis; tonight they would be speaking to the Ronin of Strata.
Dinner was as uncomfortable as breakfast was and Mia was sick of it. "I don't care what the rest of you do, but I'm going into the study to eat. May be I can find something to help with fighting Tulpa."
"You can look all you want, but you won't find anything that will help," muttered Lady Kayura. Rowen threw another hurt look in her direction and sighed into his meal.
Ryo stood with the Phoenix Guardian and walked with her. Windy, Anubis, and Cye soon picked up their plates and joined the Phoenix couple. Rowen looked at his fellow Ronins and the scowling Seasonals and followed after the three. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I think that they have the right idea."
Cale had been silent for most of the day except for the beginning of the fight due to a strange pull tugging at his senses. He stood and said, "I think I agree with you, Strata, for some reason. May be the Lady Bailiff will know why." The two blue haired men left the table turned battlefield and joined the mystic group in the study around the computer.
"What brings you here?" asked Ryo.
"Some peace and quiet to enjoy my dinner," said Rowen.
"Questions that need to be answered," said Cale.
Anubis looked at Windy and seemed to question, "Is he one of the Protectors?" Windy nodded her head and shooed him to Rowen. Anubis got the message and went to talk with Rowen about the Lady Kayura, his Protector.
"What do you want to know, Cale?" asked Windy.
"Why do I feel like there is something that I should be with?" the Seasonal of Winter asked bluntly.
"Because you are a part of something just like Ryo, Cye, and Lady Kayura are."
"Lady Kayura and Torrent are like Ryo?" he asked, shocked.
Windy nodded her head. "Remember when I explained the situation with Mia and Ryo? How two of the Guardian's Protectors were turned away to work for Tulpa?"
"Yes."
"Well, Anubis was one. The Armor of Spring protected the Guardian Dragon, but when Tulpa took the bearer, he corrupted the armor. When the Ancient took back his Protector, he brought the armor back to its possible responsibility. When the Ancient died and Anubis took over, he became the new Dragon."
"I know, you told us on the night we fled the Nether Realm."
"So you know that Anubis gave up being the Protector of the Dragon to be the Dragon Guardian."
"Yes, he gave it up when he gave Lady Kayura his armor."
"So..."
"So, Lady Kayura is now the Dragon's Protector?"
Windy grinned. "Right."
Cale looked thoughtful for a moment. "Is that the reason why Anubis is acting like a brother to her?"
Windy nodded.
"What about Strata? He seems to like Lady Kayura."
"Why do you think that Anubis is talking to him?"
Cale looked over to see Anubis was having a heart to heart with Rowen. The subject must have been serious as both looked grim, but soon Rowen broke into a grin. Anubis patted him on the shoulder and nodded to Windy. Windy smiled back and looked at Cale.
"What do I have to do?"
"You must wait. When the battle, and if the one you protect, comes, you must stay near him. Cye will be the same if it happens to him. He is already feeling the same pull that Ryo and you felt. He will figure it out sooner or later."
"What about Lady Kayura?"
"I may have to hit her over the head before she realizes what she must do."
"That's a switch. Usually it's the woman who has to hit the man over the head to get his attention," said Ryo.
Windy grinned. "There are some who need more help than others. Just like there are some men who need more help to realize something." Windy tossed her head and the purple cord swung over her shoulder. "Now, I'm going to take my dishes back to the kitchen and see if there is even a dining room left. Is there anything that you want me to take with me?"
Everyone piled his or her dishes together and Rowen helped the spirit take everything to the sink. The dining room was empty and Sage was in the kitchen making a cup of tea. Dishes were piled in the sink and no one looked like they were going to do them. Windy started to draw up the water and Rowen grabbed some dishtowels to dry. Sage just glared at the woman in white and his roommate. "I'll see you when we go to bed," he ground out. Then the blonde stalked out of the room.
As he left, Dais came in. They glared daggers at each other and gave wide berth as they passed. Dais left his glass by the sink to be washed and left the room without a word. Lady Kayura came in next to drop off her cup and Windy nailed her with a look.
"Sit down and listen to Rowen. There is something that you need to hear."
Rowen put away the dish he was drying and sat down across from Lady Kayura. "Umm, there is something that you should probably know, two things in fact."
"Yes. What is it?"
Rowen gave Windy a helpless look and she gave him a silent urging. "Well, you know how Anubis looked guilty when Windy explained how every Guardian had a Protector?"
"Yes."
"Well, Anubis told me that he was the Ancient's Protector because of the armor. So..."
"So, that would make me..." Lady Kayura trailed off with a guilty look of her own.
Rowen looked at her and chuckled. "You know, may be the Armor of Cruelty should have the kanji of Guilt instead of Ryo. The way Anubis and Lady Kayura are going, they seem to be heaping more of the guilt on then Ryo did when we first got together." Windy chuckled at his sally, but Lady Kayura made a face at him.
"Be careful of what you say, Strata. You may regret it one day."
"But not today, right Rowen?" asked Windy. Rowen just grinned impudently at the two women.
Lady Kayura sighed. "So, I'm now Anubis' Protector. What was the second thing that you wanted to talk to me about?"
Rowen looked down to hide the blush that was forming on his cheeks. "That I like you a lot," he mumbled.
Lady Kayura looked puzzled. "What was that?"
"That I like you," said Rowen louder. "I like you a lot. I would like to go out with you sometime after this is all over." By the time he was done, the bearer of Strata was doing a good impression of Cye and was a match for Ryo's armor. He got up hurriedly and left the kitchen for his room.
Lady Kayura just stared after him with a bewildered look on her face. She turned and looked at Windy. "Did he just say what I thought he just said?"
Windy looked at the new Ancient and nodded. "Yes. He does like you and would like to get to know you better."
The bearer of the Spring armor smiled whimsically, which was a surprise to Windy seeing as she didn't think that Lady Kayura knew how to smile whimsically, and walked up to her and Mia's room. Windy sighed and looked at the dishes still in the sink. "Of course I will finish the dishes for you Rowen," she said sarcastically. Windy picked up the dishtowel and started to dry the remaining dishes before continuing on the next set to be washed.
Mia looked up as her door opened and Lady Kayura walked in. The whimsical smile was still on her face. Mia had an answering smile on her face and questions in her eyes. "So did he finally say something?" she asked.
Mia's question startled Kayura from her daze. She smiled at the Phoenix and nodded. "Yes, he did. Rowen said that he liked me."
"Finally. Ryo and I were beginning to wonder when Rowen was going to say something."
"I wonder what Anubis will say," said Kayura. "I mean, you and Ryo are together, doesn't that mean that Anubis and I should be together?"
Mia shook her head. "How does Anubis treat you? Is he treating you like a friend, sister, or lover?"
"Like a sister," said Kayura decisively.
"I'm glad you said that. Anubis said that he was going to have to talk to Rowen about dating you if he ever got the courage up to ask. I guess that was what they were talking about in the study while we were eating dinner."
Lady Kayura's face fell at the mention of dinner. "Yeah, about today. I want to say that I'm sorry. The Lady Windy is still here and then there is you and Anubis. May be we shouldn't have given up hope quite yet."
Her apology startled Mia. "Why do you say that? Is it because you finally found out about being Anubis' Protector?"
Kayura shook her head. "No, it was when I walked into the kitchen and saw a powerful being in her own right calmly washing dishes. She could do them quickly and have power to spare to force us to agree with her. But she doesn't. She just left us to fight in the backyard and only raised her voice to get us out of the house. Halo, Hardrock, Dais, and Seckmet are going around like a pack of wild dogs growling at anyone who doesn't agree with them and here you all are, calm and going about your business like Tulpa hasn't threatened everything that you worked for."
Mia smiled sadly at the other woman. "Tulpa hasn't just threatened everything that we worked for, he has threatened all of us. The only one who may not come under his power would be the Lady herself. She seems to hold her own power, like you said. At the Ceremony that made me the new Phoenix, I met her replacement for the Unicorn Guardian. He called her 'Mom' and she treated him like a son. The Griffon Guardian treated her with respect, too. I think that we should have faith in her and ourselves. She hasn't given up, so why should we?"
Lady Kayura went to bed with a full mind and a lifting heart. Rowen liked her, but what about the fight with Tulpa? She didn't know what to do about either, but hoped that an answer would come soon as she stared at the ceiling. Even that didn't hold answers as she waited for sleep to take her.
"So is Rowen still with the Dragon's Protector, Mom?"
"As far as I know."
"Grandma, do they look like a cute couple?"
"Why?"
"Because Mom said that if the couple is cute, they were meant to be together."
"She did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did-"
"Children!"
"-Not."
"Do you want me to continue?"
"Yes, Grandma."
"Then stop arguing. Sometimes a cute couple doesn't mean that they should be together. It's not the looks, it's how they treat each other."
"What do you mean, Grandma?"
"Every couple should treat the partner with respect. That is the foundation of a good relationship."
"Oh, so that's the secret with Grandma and Grandpa."
"Yes, and that is how I am with my partners when I work, Bill. May be you should take notes."
Sorry it took so long to get out, but the hospital was swamped. I'll try to get another chapter out soon, but I'm not making too many promises. Please read and review.
Rocky