Dyson galloped down the stairs to the kitchen to find it in the state it greeted him each day since he and Tamsin had first moved in together soon after Bo, Lauren, Kenzi and Trick had moved to the Presidium: complete disarray. Dyson shook his head as he did every day in response, smiled, and then searched for the coffee pot amidst the chaos. He had known about Tamsin's famous living habits, especially the night eating, and occasionally, the night terrors, but then then again, he did not have exactly the best living habits either. But Tamsin raised it to a whole other level. That's why they hired Darby, a Brownie Fae, soon after they moved into together so they could at least come home to an organized house before they both tore through it again only for Darby to repeat the process the next day. A vicious cycle it was, but it saved him and Tamsin from many an argument.

Lauren, who had never lived with either of them seemed to understand their living needs perfectly, and so asked Real Estate Agent Cheryl Fields to help them find something simple, basic, with clean sight lines, and something that could be cleaned easily without the constant worry of contamination. Dyson could not help but chuckle at that last thought, but Cheryl came through with a 7,000 square foot, three-story industrial loft near Dyson's gym. Although they were surprised by the size of it, they were nevertheless, appreciative of the space. The rest of the gang had yet to see it in person before they left which made Tamsin super anxious to showcase it when Bo, Lauren, Kenzi and Trick returned to host the four amigo's birthday party at the Dal.

To Dyson's complete surprise, soon after they moved in Tamsin enrolled in cooking classes at a local cooking school. When she lived with Bo and Kenzi she had no patience for it, but now felt she a had a reason to give it an honest try. He asked he why and her response was simply "It's time. Plus, The Queen cooks and she's fantastic at it. So why not?" Tamsin had progressively improved to the point she wanted to conduct a test run by hosting a dinner party for Reed, Erik, Bruce, and Julia. Dyson almost didn't know who he lived with, and everyone feared for their lives. Reed even secretly brought food poisoning pills as a precaution. Dyson will never forget their faces at their first taste of one of Tamsin's dishes; they were in shock. By the time dinner had ended, literally nothing was left on the table, and everyone was sprawled across the living room in food comas. As Tamsin's culinary skills progressed, she also picked up a penchant for growing herbs in a small series of pots on a shelf in their kitchen. It was a rocky start though; not even close to the garden wall Lauren had in her old Loft, and Tamsin had killed a few at the start, but then Darby had a green thumb and helped her develop a thriving series of herbs.

After taking another sip of his coffee, Dyson looked at his watch. He was going to be late for his morning meetings if he didn't leave soon. They had Presidium technology installed in their home where he could have simply used a Transvortex, but he loved riding his bike and Tamsin loved driving her truck so the Transvortex was rarely used. He recalled the grumblings of the Presidium whenever Bo took the Beast out for a drive. Dyson was glad he didn't live at the Presidium otherwise there would be no more bike rides. Dyson missed everyone together. He missed the days when their lives were straightforward, governed by the Blood King's laws, and now even the Blood King's laws were a thing of the past. That made Dyson contemplative, sullen. And he knew why. This week was his last week as The Ash. The last whom will ever hold the title.

As with all things Fae, there were ceremonies to be had, and both the Light and the Dark Fae Elders as they were formally known, had descended into town almost as soon as Inclusion had passed to assert their stake in the new Fae political world order. It was announced that the entire immediate Ruling Family would visit the Human Plane to witness Evony's formal installation as a Grand Ducal of the Renaştere Delegation, followed by smaller, formal installation ceremonies for Stasio and Dyson as Viceroys, and Tamsin would become the Ducal Regent, as well as the retirement of the Ash and Morrigan titles. In course, the Ducal Council would also be formed, and it fell to Tamsin to form the Council and serve as its Chair. That process alone had Tamsin a wreck. Almost immediately after the passage of Inclusion, Evony ordered Tamsin to disband the Elder Fae Council and form the Ducal Council. Just because one was an Elder did not mean automatic membership; absolute, unequivocal loyalty did, and the Elders were quite surprised when Evony returned she returned with her sister Uma and partnered her with Tamsin in the membership selection for the Ducal Council. Tamsin was quite impressed with Uma's decison-making skills to the point she would not select a member of the Council unless it passed Uma's muster.

What also had proved controversial was Evony's insistence on Human representation on the Council. All of Faedom thought someone had doused Evony with a mind-altering spell. But Evony was being incisive; that to prepare for what may come one had to be prepared for anything to come, and they needed Human insights on the Council. The obvious choices were out: Lauren was over-stretched, and Evony had other plans for Crystal, so it fell to Dr. Concetta Dorset of the JFM, and Austin Hayes and Dalton Collins from the DRM. They also felt it important to include representation from the Under Fae Community led by Atticus, and Mank, the Ogre was selected to serve on the Council.

While Dyson planned to informally end his tenure at the Dal after everyone returned for the birthday celebration for the four amigos, Evony decided to informally end her tenure as The Morrigan at Crambs and had convened the Dark Fae Elders to attend. That meant some of the most powerful Fae on the Human Plane were in Crystal's backyard, and Crystal was extremely nervous about it, and bravely laid down a few ground rules, namely no preying on Humans. Evony also thought if she were going to give up the two jobs that sustained her, she might as well knock out two birds with one stone and not only signed over her share in Crambs to Crystal but also her music talent business. For all that Evony had put Crystal through, even though she was Human, Evony had developed a shine for Crystal over the years and considered her a friend. Dyson took a final sip of his coffee, put down his mug, grabbed his jacket and helmet and headed out the door.


When Dyson arrived at the palace that was the Ducal Compound he was met at the door by his newest Assistant, Dyak Yissa. He took off his helmet and jacket and passed it off to another underling who presented him with a fresh cup of coffee.

"What's on the agenda for today?" Dyson asked.

"You have your standing meetings this morning with the Presidium Agents, and the Transparency Commission. Then a call from the Grand Ducal. She's anxious about the preparations welcoming the Ruling Family." Dyak Yissa replied.

"I bet. Does she sound more relaxed?" Dyson asked.

"About as much as she can be with a house full of Dark Fae Elders." Dyak Yissa replied, and then proceeded to read off the rest of his schedule for the day as he made his way through the Ducal Compound. While it was indeed huge, having been at the Presidium and traversed the halls there made it seem small.

When he arrived at his offices his Principal Aide, Luna was there organizing the rest of his staff for the day.

"Good morning!" Dyson greeted.

"Good morning, Your Excellency!" Luna and the rest of his staff said in unison.

"Yissa just gave me the rundown for the day. Anything else on the horizon?" Dyson asked.

"Viceroy Alesandese called. He needs to speak with you as soon as you can." Luna replied.

"Still dealing with errant Fae?" Dyson asked.

"He wishes to discuss some next steps with you." Luna replied.

Shortly after they won Inclusion they returned home, and unfortunately, after a grand reception and celebration at the Ducal Compound Evony had to hit the ground running. They had received reports of an entire community of Fae on a remote island who decided to go on a hunting spree. Evony sent Stasio to make sure the message was heard: no hunting of Humans. When the International News Agencies reported that a small island in the Northern Atlantic Ocean had sunk in the wake of an ice shelf that had broken off, the world chalked it up to climate change. The Fae knew differently. It was Stasio delivering a message to the over 1,000 Fae living on that island who thought it was okay to start hunting humans after Inclusion. The rest of the Fae on the Human Plane got the message, and reports of Fae attacking humans quickly dissipated. But Dyson was skeptical. Just because obvious attacks were no longer happening did not mean they were not happening. Besides, Dyson did not want Stasio throwing another part of the Plane at the Fae to enforce the edict.

"Gotcha. How's Europa?" Dyson asked to resigned looks.

Europa, Stasio's wife of 500 years was having the classic status-climbing issues, and it fell to Dyson to keep an eye on her while Stasio was away. Almost immediately upon their return she peppered her husband with questions as to when they were packing up and moving to the Presidium. Dyson felt bad when Stasio had to break the bad news that they weren't moving, at least for awhile. The Presidium had offered that their grown children and families could move over, but both Stasio and his wife could not bear to be parted from them. For all of Dyson's issues with Stasio there was one thing he could never take from him: his love of his very close-knit family. So, with Stasio in the North Atlantic, and Evony visiting Crystal it fell to Dyson to maintain the fort.

"What about the birthday celebration for the little ones?" Dyson asked.

"Progressing along. Bruce, Janet and Zachary are putting everything together at the Dal. I am surprised they are having it at the Dal rather than the Clubhouse." Luna replied.

"I think Trick wants to show off his bottle-flipping skills to the children." Dyson said.

"I am astonished they are allowing the Rana to tend bar again." Yissa replied.

"Well, there's not much they can do about it." Dyson said.

"Those four children are living their best life, and they're only two." Yissa replied.

"Soon to be so." Dyson said.

After he finished his standing meetings and calls, the first special meeting on his dance card was with Ryan Lambert, Liam Kavanaugh, Bruce and Vex to discuss the future of the DRM. Bruce had long taken over responsibilities of both the Dal and the DRM and now they needed to discuss its direction now that the Light-Dark divide was over. The DRM was Bo and Kenzi's brainchild, but now with their new responsibilities the focus of the DRM needed to shift. Kenzi was off somewhere and Bo was expected to spend a week at Lauren's parents and then a week at the County before heading back to the Presidium for her Installation Ceremony. Bruce hoped to craft an outline to present to Bo and Kenzi after they arrived. That made Dyson sit back and smile. Bo will formally be installed as The Princess Royal in a couple months' time. That made Dyson suddenly recall the first time he had met Bo all those years ago. Who knew that any one of them would end up where they were today.

"Now that we know Bo's new job will be permanent soon, we need to start thinking about the future of the DRM." Ryan kicked off.

"With the Presidium oversight now, doesn't that make the DRM effectively moot?" Vex posed.

"Not by a long shot. The Transition process will be everything we can do not to spook the Humans about our existence to the brink of war." Bruce replied.

"I agree. In fact, we'll need to expand our resources to include even more Humans, Claimed as well as Unclaimed." Ryan added. The practice of owning Humans was immediately banned as part of the Inclusion proposal. The Queen thought it was barbaric, and Bo was right behind her on it.

"What's your ideas on expanding?" Dyson asked Ryan.

"Well, that the Light Dark divide is over we can openly seek out partners from the community formerly known as the Dark Fae." Ryan replied. Dyson shifted in his chair. The Light Dark divide might be over, but his consternation remained. He realized he needed to get over that if Inclusion was going to work. Dyson took in a deep breath.

"Fine. Let us know what you come up with." Dyson said.

"We also need to formally turn over responsibility." Bruce added. "This has been an assumption but now we Bo and Kenzi to formally hand over the DRM."

"I hear you. They will hear you, but the DRM means a lot to them. They may look to something along the lines like what Lauren has with the JFM." Dyson replied.

"That makes sense though Lauren is still a Doctor practicing in the field. Bo and Kenzi have whole new jobs. They can still be supportive? Yes, but involved? No. I don't see how they run the DRM and try to hold onto their new responsibilities." Bruce said.

"I think they'll understand your point of view." Dyson replied.

"I also want to expand the DRM's portfolio." Liam said.

"I thought the Presidium didn't believe in money?" Vex asked.

"They don't." Dyson confirmed.

"Yes, but until then we need to continue forward as if." Liam added.

"What are you thinking?" Dyson asked.

"There's a not-so-new energy initiative that involves harnessing Methane as a form of energy. It's spear-headed by a Christopher Ewing of Ewing Enterprises." Liam replied.

"I've heard of them. Aren't they mostly oil?" Ryan asked.

"When they first started out, yes, but have since expanded into energy ventures, and harnessing Methane has proved to be viable alternative source of energy. In fact, there are test plants out there which show great promise. They have partnered with Carrington Enterprises, and Colby Co, and are looking for more investors. Thought we could get in on the action." Liam replied.

"I return to my original statement: why waste the time?" Vex asked.

"And I return to mine: because until then we must act as if." Liam replied.

"Well, it sounds interesting. No harm in checking it out." Dyson said.

"Good. Then I will move forward." Liam replied.

"How's everyone?" Ryan asked.

"Excited to return." Dyson replied.

"I have some new toys for the children." Ryan said.

"You spoil them." Dyson replied.

"Gotta compete with life at the Presidium." Ryan said.

"That is ambitious." Dyson replied.

"Missing your time at the Presidium?" Vex asked.

Dyson had to admit his time at the Presidium did a lot to assuage his everyday jitters; there was just too much going on there to be concerned with jitters. Maybe that was the secret of the Presidium. No one had any time to dwell on jitters. While there were many things that Dyson missed about the Presidium the insane works days he did not. Soon after he returned to the County, he fell asleep and woke up almost 24 hours later. Tamsin said he snored the entire time. Dyson was surprised he was that exhausted. Inexplicably, that made him think of Antony, and the scowl he would have had on his face had he seen him. Antony seemed to scowl at everyone, except for his family and Kenzi. Tamsin, it seemed, reveled in constant movement. Dyson honestly, didn't know where she got her energy. His fears were allayed during the late evenings when she would grab a bottle of whiskey and then collapse on the couch and veg. She too, was susceptible to fatigue.

"Is there anything else?" Dyson asked the group. Ryan, Liam, Bruce and Vex all shook their heads. "Good. Then I need to get going to my next meeting. Thanks for coming. I'll see you all later."


Dyson arrived home that evening to find Tamsin in the throes of undoing Darby's cleaning magic. Smoke from the boiling pots rose into the air while she hovered over a piece of paper.

"Hello!" Dyson greeted then went and kissed her on the lips. "What's all this?"

"This is the recipe I want to try after everyone arrives." Tamsin replied.

"Smells good."

"I hope so. It's Ratatouille."

"French stew?"

"Yep. Thought I would welcome them with something from Lauren's home now that we know she's French aristocracy."

"And what's this over here?" Dyson asked.

"Hardfiskur. It's a dried fish from Iceland. Another Lauren thing. I thought it would pair well with the stew."

"What about Bo and Kenzi? Any traditional nods to them?"

"So long as we have wine, they'll eat anything." Tamsin replied. Dyson chuckled.

"Good call."

"How was your day?" Tamsin asked.

"Slow news day." Dyson replied as he grabbed a beer out of the transparent fridge, popped it open, took a sip, and then went and dropped over on a nearby couch. "Glad Bo and Kenzi are coming back home. We need to talk about the future of DRM."

"Why?" Tamsin asked perplexed then it suddenly dawned on her. "Oh! Because of Inclusion."

"Exactly. Vex thinks it's moot now, but Bruce still believes it's needed. Now more than ever."

"I agree with Bruce. We could see an increase in even unclaimed Humans trying to seek shelter away from the coming storm."

"Bruce thinks war could come if the transition isn't handled properly."

"He's right. We need to keep trigger-happy Fae from pulling the trigger. We have too many balls in the air right now to have something unexpected happen."

"This is us we're talking about. The unexpected always happens."

"Oh yeah. Right."

"How was your day?" Dyson asked.

"Trying to keep Uma from murdering Elder Fae on the spot. They must do that a lot at the Presidium."

"Willful?"

"She's Evony's sister alright."

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Go knock the dirt off. Dinner will be ready by the time you're finished. Oh, and turn on the TV will ya? The fight's coming on?"

"What fight?"

"The Welterweight Championship is on."

"That's tonight?"

"Yep."

"Boy, I really did forget." Dyson got up and turned on the TV. Dyson noticed Tamsin had set up dinner stands so they could watch while eating dinner. "I'll be right back."

About 45 minutes later, Dyson returned downstairs to find Tamsin had dinner on their trays and was in the midst of pouring the wine. The Announcers for the fight were on TV previewing the fight with a litany of stats and hype videos.

"It hasn't started yet?"

"Nope. Just the pre-game hype."

"What type of wine is this?" Dyson asked.

"Grenache. I had Janet grab me a bottle from Trick's stash at the Dal."

"Isn't fish supposed to be paired with White Wine?"

"Breaking the rules."

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't." Dyson kissed her again and they toasted and then settled in to eat and watch the pre-match interviews.

An hour later as they were on their feet air-boxing with the Welterweights on the TV they heard a chime in the air.

"That's a call from the Presidium." Dyson said then called into the air "Call on!" The air shimmered into view. It was Bo.

"Your Royal Highness!" Dyson and Tamsin said in unison.

"Seriously?" Bo countered.

"The forms must be observed. Besides, aren't you supposed to be in France?" Dyson asked.

"We are." Bo replied.

"Then how…?" Dyson started.

"Long story" Bo interrupted. "But that's not why I called. It's Lauren."

"What's up?" Tamsin prompted.

"What we thought might happen, happened. Interpol has Lauren in custody." Bo replied.

"Where in France are you at now?" Dyson asked.

"The Beattie Estate. Trick is here with Eva, and Kenzi is on her way." Bo replied.

"The children? Are they okay?" Tamsin asked.

"They're fine. They're in Grimley with Mama and Maddy until we sort this out." Bo replied.

"They couldn't stay where you were at?" Tamsin asked.

"Lauren's order." Bo replied.

"I'll call the Glaive." Tamsin stated.

"Good idea." Dyson said to Tamsin then looked at Bo. "Do you need us there?"

"I know you guys have responsibilities and all…" Bo began.

"We're on our way." Dyson and Tasmin said in unison.

"Thank you!" Bo replied and ended the call.

"Once more unto the breach." Tamsin said. Dyson nodded.