Chapter 10

Kuu sat behind the small, unusual, powerful, beautiful little female on the large beast. He quietly studied the markings she had placed on him. They were only slightly different than hers.

"Kuon will be happy to see you, Father." Her voice was calming. "Sora and Riku will be too." She turned slightly to look at him. "I think we should have a feast in honor of your return to Kuon. Don't you think?"

Kuu sighed a little. "I haven't cooked in so long." He murmured thinking that he would be the one cooking.

Kyoko shook her head. "Oh no... you shall not cook unless you choose to. I'll cook so that you and Kuon can spend time together. You've been separated for far too long. I wouldn't think of making the Father of my Dearest Heart do anything, but rest and heal."

"Why are you doing this, Mistress?" He asked cautiously.

She turned a little once again, smirked and gently flicked his forehead. She giggled. "Daughter... And I do this because you are Father. You are the man that gave me my Kuon and for that I can never thank you enough."

He looked at her a little shocked, she smiled and turned her attention back to the road. "Oh you will be very happy. Kuon added another room to our home this last Spring, you can have that one. The lake is full of fish this year, I'm sure Kuon would be more than happy to take you fishing. He is very good at it. He's an excellent hunter. The toys he creates and sells in the marketplace always sell quickly, too. He's an excellent healer. He's very good with everything he does and sets his mind to learning. He's friendly, he's kind, everyone loves him. Although, I haven't really been able to teach him to cook properly. Not that he doesn't try, it's just he's happier with providing the food than cooking it." She giggled and went on and on about how wonderful her man was. She was practically glowing with pride. She then continued on about the twins and told him a little secret. "Don't tell Kuon yet, but he's going to be a daddy again. This time a little girl." She smiled and Kuu nodded.

"Why don't you want to tell him?" He asked timidly, still not used to the situation.

"I want to wait until everything is quiet. I want to surprise him. The day we met is coming soon and I want it to be one of my gifts to him." She explained.

"Gift? You give him gifts?" He asked a little surprised.

She smiled and nodded. "Last time I made him a necklace with the tusk of the large boar he had hunted. It turned out quite nice and he liked it very much." She patted the armlet with a brilliant blue gemstone centered in it, on her upper arm. "He gave this to me." She said dreamily. "Isn't it beautiful? He found the stone in a small cave at the bottom of our lake, on our land."

"Um... May I ask a question?" He wasn't sure what to expect from this unusual female.

"Father, of course you can. Please, I will happily answer anything you ask. You have that right." She patted the arm around her waist and nodded.

"Do you love Kuon?" He asked quietly.

She smiled brilliantly. "Yes, I do. I love him very much and tell him at every opportunity. As he does me. Even when he is grumpy, when he disagrees with me, when we argue, when we're both childish... We will always remember that we love each other." She told him softly.

Kuu sat silently staring at her. He couldn't fathom the concept of a male being allowed to argue or being grumpy with a female, much less without him being punished for disagreeing with her. "He argues with you?" He asked incredulously.

She giggled and nodded. "Most of the time he's right, but he lets me win. After that I do admit that he was right in the first place and he rewards me with a sweet kiss and we make up." She blushed. "That usually happens when we haven't slept well and we're both grumpy."

Kuu looked at her a little surprised.

Several hours passed and he had conversed with her, Chiori, Reino, Sayou and Erika. Kyoko casually instructed him on the basic laws of the tribe and he noted how the land around them had gone from dark and dead to plush and green in almost an instant as they passed. At the end of the journey, they were met by a scolding and almost furiously worried Kuon. He had thought that she would be following them immediately and had been worried sick when he discovered she hadn't followed.

"I'm sorry My Love, but I did bring a special gift for you to make up." She cooed in his arms as he held her tightly.

He looked up at the shocked man still sitting on her horse after she had been quickly pulled from it into his arms. "F-Father?" He breathed out as he watched his father dismount.

Kuu nodded and quickly pulled his son into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Kuon. I tried so hard to stop it all."

Kuon hugged him tighter and shook his head. "I have Kyoko and now you. Thank you."

Kyoko smiled softly as she removed the tack from the horse, healed his sore muscles and told him to return for a special reward later, for he and his family's help. She finally ran into the house to find and shower her two sleeping angels with kisses, as they slept quietly in their little beds. She then began to cook the welcome home feast she had promised her new father.

The moment the tribe gathered to welcome their new member, they began devising a plan to protect their own and any other magic users and Shaman that would come to them. The Magistrate, along with many others, that were weary of slavers crossing into their lands and taking their children, asked for a solution. Kyoko and her tribe promised them help, only if they swore that they would no longer participate in the barbarity that had gone on for so long. At a large meeting, that involved all three of Magistrate Yamagutchi's three districts, it was decided by High Mistress Iizuka to end their participation.

For 14 days and 13 nights, Kanae, Yuki, Lory, Ten, Chiori and Reino traveled along their borders, burying relics, calling upon spirits, phantoms, demons, and the fae, while weaving a veil of shadow and magic that only the eyes of forest animals and others like them, seeking refuge, could penetrate. For many years to come, mothers that carried special children and other magical tribes could enter without restriction. Word of the powerful Lake Tribe protecting their own had spread far and wide. The punishment of High Mistress Juliena, Mistress Slaver Kimiko and Mistress Slaver Tina had become legend and a critical point in eventually abolishing the horrible laws that they blindly followed.

The legends of a hidden realm, fiercely protected by magic, spread far and wide. Stories were created, some true, others as fantastical as the mind can imagine. Stories that were told to children, written in plays and praised in music.