A/N: I wanted to update earlier, but ffnet was having problems, and I decided to wait until the site was fully operational again.

The first part of my article for the Orion Awards fan zine is up. It's going to be a five-part article series giving advice on how to write successful fanfics (especially novel-length ones). You can find the first part by clicking on the link in the Artemis Fowl related links part of my ffnet bio.

Review responses sent out as usual.

Also thanks to: Saldaen farmgirl, Pyshcodelic-Pixie, Lumos2000, Rebel Rose, uptowngirl48, Mewhoelse, Duck Goddess, HPLB, Queen Dragon, Apo, Fredryck, XxBlackChaosxX, Starfire Gracen, the Thirteenth Councilor, Hello, Aiko Moonchild

Chapter 15

The Yeti, the Butterfly and the Vampire

Nathaniel didn't remember when he'd last been this shocked. A woman, a complete stranger, had just called him by his birth name. How? Why? What kind of an evil joke was this?

After a few seconds of silence, the woman swallowed hard. "You… you are Nathaniel, aren't you?"

"Who are you to call me that?" He frowned, trying to look as calm as possible, while he felt as though his heart had jumped into his throat, beating so fervently that he could hardly breathe.

The woman's hands were still crumpling her shawl, and both of them were trembling with nervousness. "If… if you are Nathaniel, then… I'm your mother."

The young man took a step backwards, as though he'd been slapped with something big and hard. All the blood had drained from his face and he looked paler than Kitty had after she'd fainted. He shook his head. "You can't be. I have no parents."

"You just don't remember me," the woman said in a shaky voice. "You were too small when…"

"When you sold me?" Nathaniel said darkly.

Tears welled up in the woman's eyes. "So it's really you… Oh, Nathaniel…"

Before he could have done anything, she lunged at him and hugged him, burying her face into his flannel shirt, crying. Feeling petrified, Nathaniel stared down at the weeping woman - the woman whose face and name he didn't even remember. The woman who had been heartless enough to give him away at the tender age of five. The woman who'd sold him as though he were a slave or a dog or an object without feelings…

Pictures and feelings rushed back to him. A five-year-old little boy sitting silently at the back of a magician's car, staring out the window, not being able to comprehend what was happening to him… The same little boy hugging his legs by the kitchen fireplace, while a friendly, elderly woman was trying to coax a few words out of him… But he'd been too much in shock to speak. He'd been pushed away by his family and dumped into a new and scary world… He'd been sold.

Hate surged up in him, and he shoved the woman away with one quick move. She swayed, almost fell, but didn't turn and run away. Instead she only looked at him with teary eyes that beseeched him to… forgive her?

"Out," Nathaniel hissed.

"Son…"

"I said: OUT!"

The woman didn't budge. Seconds passed. Mother and son were eyeing each other – the former with a pained but hopeful expression, the latter with contempt.

Suddenly the door of one of the bedrooms creaked, and Kitty came out. Her face was still pale, but she seemed strong enough to walk without help. She looked at the woman, then at her husband. "John, what…?"

"No need to call me John before her," Nathaniel said through gritted teeth. "She knows my name, as apparently, she's my mother."

"Your… what?" Kitty blinked. Her gaze shifted back to the woman, and seeing her tear-filled eyes, her heart clenched. Could this be a cruel person who hated her own child enough to sell him? Kitty's heart replied 'no'. Whatever had happened to this woman, whatever the reason was why she'd given up on her son, it couldn't be evil. Kitty could see it in her eyes that were radiating guilt, hope and love. "I'm Kitty," she said. "Nathaniel's wife. What's your name?"

"Esther," the woman replied. "Esther Dawson."

"Dawson?" Nathaniel said coldly. "So that was my family name? I forgot. Not much of a loss, though, such a nasty, common name. And now, Mrs. Dawson, be so kind and leave."

"Son…"

"I'm no son of yours, woman!" the young magician snapped. "You lost the right to call me that when you gave me away!"

"At least give me a chance to explain…"

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say," Nathaniel hissed. "You weren't interested in me either. You left me and you never came looking for me again…"

"We couldn't… we had to sign those papers…" Esther was wringing her hands, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "You have no idea what we were feeling when we did it, but… we had to…"

Nathaniel turned his back on her, staring out the window, but not seeing the apple trees beyond. Anger had clouded his mind so much that he couldn't see anything but the hazy images of his childhood… the images that had popped up in his nightmares over the years, never giving him peace. He didn't even notice the moth that was hiding in a crack of the window-frame.

"Nathaniel… please, just listen to her," Kitty said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "And if you still want her to leave after that, she will go." She gave Esther a meaningful look. Esther nodded.

"All right," the young man said and turned around, drawing himself up to look as aloof as possible. "I'm all ears. Speak away, woman."

Esther took a deep breath. "You were two when I gave birth to your sister, Julie. You surely don't remember her, but… you loved looking at her so much, Nathaniel. You used to call her 'butiful baby'. You couldn't talk properly yet…" A small, sad smile appeared on her face. "Julie was very sick. She wasn't even two when it turned out that she had serious problems with her heart. She needed surgery, but… it was so expensive. We couldn't afford it, not on your father's wages… He was just an assistant in a grocery store, after all. Then… I read that advertisement in the newspaper, and… Oh, Nathaniel, I didn't want to give up on you… but your father, he said you'd have a wonderful life as a magician. He said you'd have a chance to be rich and famous, that you'd never be in need… and your sister would get a chance to live. It was the hardest decision of my life…"

"So, I have a sister?" Nathaniel asked. In some of his nightmares he remembered hearing a little child's cry, but he'd never known who had been crying… probably his sister.

The woman shook her head, stifling a sob. "The… the operation was done… but she died. And we could no longer get you back… I told… I told your father it was God's punishment for having sold you… I have never… never forgiven myself for that… but I kept hoping… hoping that your life was good. That you were happy. Were you, Nathaniel?"

Her eyes met her son's, and he didn't look away this time. "Yes. And no. I had everything… and nothing. I had a mother-substitute, but not a father. Is… is my father alive?"

Esther shook her head. "He died… shortly after Julie. His employer had somehow made one of his customers… a magician, mad at him… and one day, the magician sent demons that destroyed the shop. Your father died there. I have no family left, Nathaniel. No one… but you. You have no idea what I felt when I saw you in the village… you were… are a dream come true… A prayer that has been listened to… I don't expect you to forgive me… I just want you to know that I love you. If you want me to leave now, I will."

Nathaniel stared at her for a few seconds, then nodded.

The woman gave Kitty a grateful smile and exited.

Kitty watched as her husband dropped himself on a chair, burying his face in his hands. It was not the time to bother him, he had too much to think over.

She slipped out the door and ran after Mrs Dawson.

"Esther, wait!"

The older woman turned around. "Yes?"

Kitty caught up with her by the garden fence. "Nathaniel will soften. Just give him time. He looks cold and hard on the outside, but… he's not an evil person. The world of the magicians has infected him, yes, but there's still good in him. Be patient, and he'll forgive you."

"You're very kind, dear," Esther said, smiling through her tears. "I can see you love my son very much."

"I do. Though most of he time he doesn't deserve it." Kitty grinned. "He can be the greatest git, but sometimes he's the sweetest person."

"Takes after his father, then." Esther chuckled. "He looks like my late Jonathan too. That's how I recognised him in the village. He's the spitting image of his father at twenty… even his eyes are the same sapphire blue. The only thing he inherited from me are his lips."

"Now that I look at you, you're right. You have the same smile," Kitty observed. "Where can we find you in the village?"

"Do you think…?" Esther looked back at the house.

"Yes, I'm sure Nathaniel will want to talk to you later." Kitty nodded.

"I live in the orphanage. I'm one of the matrons. The orphanage is the grey house with the green fence. Nathaniel knows which one, I've already shown him when he asked for instructions to find the doctor's house. Really… why did he need the doctor?"

"He didn't," Kitty replied. "I did. I was feeling sick."

"I hope it's nothing serious…"

Kitty shook her head, smiling. "You're going to be a grandma, Esther."

o o o O O O o o o

As Kitty entered the house, Nathaniel looked up, a haunted but deliberate look in his eyes. "Nothing's lost yet," he said, rising to his feet. "I can throw a memory charm on her and we can leave this village and find another one. But we have to act quick."

"Nathaniel!" Kitty looked scandalised. "She's your… mother! You should give her a chance at least…"

"You're too warm-hearted, Kitty," he replied darkly. "You always think everyone deserves a second chance. Well, I don't. I don't want more complications in my life."

"Oh yes, family has always meant complications for you, hasn't it?" She stared into his eyes, her glance piercing. "First you didn't want a wife. Then you didn't want a child. Now you don't want a mother. But heck, it was all given to you, and you fail to notice that all are gifts from God? Gifts that you don't even deserve?"

Taken aback by her outburst, he stared at her for a few seconds, not sure what to reply. Then he spoke up: "Don't start yelling again. The doctor said you needed rest."

"I'm feeling perfectly well, thank you," she said icily. "It's you who needs to heal, John."

For the second time that day she'd called him John. He wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, let alone himself, but it hurt him. He looked away, sinking back onto the chair.

With a sigh, she flopped down on another chair next to him and took his hand. "I talked to Esther. She's the matron of the local orphanage. Don't you think that this is… some kind of a miracle? You're getting your mother back, and who else could take better care of our child if not her grandma? It can't be a coincidence, it's a work of Fate."

Nathaniel made a sarcastic grimace. "Do you believe in Fate? I don't. My Fate is determined by me and no one else." He slipped his hand out of hers. "But if it makes you happy, I won't go after her to memory-charm her. You should go back to bed, don't tire yourself."

"I'm not tired." She shook her head. "Why don't we take a walk around the house? I saw a creek nearby, I'd love to see it close-up. We don't need to talk if you don't want to. Just a peaceful walk, nothing else."

"All right. We might as well taste those apples. They look really delicious."

o o o O O O o o o

The Tramp got the idea of summoning me that afternoon. As it was a Saturday, I appeared in a pentacle in her pretty room (which was dominated by the colours white, pink, magenta and rose. Ewww… just to imagine the kid sleeping with her on pink pillows…). I appeared in the form of a Yeti. This made her drop the glass of orange juice she was holding. Tell you what, orange flecks on her snow white carpet didn't look good. I doubted that any kind of washing powder (or any kind of magic) would ever remove them. This made me very satisfied indeed.

Seeing her ruined carpet, her hands balled into fists, but I saw the effort she was making to keep herself from bursting. "Report," she hissed.

"Well, John took Kitty to this little village called Fenny Bridges. The house is tiny but clean and there are lots of apple trees around. Yum-yum, apples, they surely taste good... not that I've ever have tasted any; we, creatures of the Other Place never eat human food because it clogs up our essence... Well, never mind. At least Kitty won't suffer from vitamin C deficiency during her pregnancy, which is a good thing, isn't it? She needs lots of vitamins these days, that's what the doctor said after he examined her…"

"What doctor?" My mistress looked curious.

"The village doctor, called Smith or something. He examined Kitty after she fainted. You know, the kid and her were having a row…"

"Indeed?" A nasty smile appeared on the Tramp's face. For a second I got the impression that she was happy about Nat and Kitty's row because she still hoped that she'd somehow manage to get him back. True that she'd shouted at Nat in Parliament (as half Great Britain had heard) that in case Kitty left him, he shouldn't even think of going back to her, but… Women like this change their opinion too quick and too often. Was it possible she was getting soft about the kid? Was her anger diminishing? I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been so. Women like this can't go long without sex, and from what I've heard, she'd been very satisfied with the kid's talents in bed. From what I've seen in various parts of Mandrake estate, I wasn't surprised that she'd been satisfied with him. Why, the kid knew things that not even Suleiman the Magnificent knew, and that chap had had a harem of over a thousand. (I had been unfortunate enough to have to pose as a eunuch in his harem, on the orders of one of his enemies. This was the best disguise to have in Suleiman's court. No, I wasn't a real eunuch! Yuck.)

So, back to the Tramp. She was smiling hopefully at me. She struck me as someone who'd love to get Nat back for a few shags, but would still stab him in the back. What a viper. "Do tell me about that row," she said in a chit-chatty voice.

"Well, Kitty was accusing the kid about not wanting their child and only caring about his career, then… she just fainted. The kid was desperate, he thought she'd lost the baby and ran for the doc. But it turned out that the baby's healthy and so is Kitty."

"Anything else?"

"Not really… Oh, but yes! I saw the kid crying. Probably for the first time in my life. He was thoroughly embarrassed about it…" I gave her a toothy grin. I wish I could have seen my face at that moment, as I had never seen a Yeti grin before.

"Anything else?"

"Not necessarily," I replied calmly. I decided that I had told her just enough to ruin Nat's life, and she hadn't even set me free in exchange, so I was mad at her. Therefore, I wasn't really motivated to tell her more. She didn't need to know about Nat's mother, did she? As long as she didn't ask outright whether John's mother had popped up all of a sudden, I wouldn't tell her.

She kept eyeing me for a few seconds, as if unsure whether to believe me, then nodded. "Go back and keep your eyes open. Once John comes back to London, come back with him. I don't expect you to follow him to Parliamentary sessions, but I want you to come to Whitehall for the Halloween ball, just make sure no one sees you. Eavesdrop on any conversation he has with any minister there. Oh, and next time I summon you, choose a less scary form."

"Oh, so you were scared, Mistress," I said delightfully. "I don't really see why… a Yeti is cute and fluffy… most masters would want to cuddle me instead of spilling their orange juice…"

"I said go now!" She stamped her foot.

"Okay, okay, I was just trying to be friendly…" I sighed and vanished from the pentacle.

o o o O O O o o o

"Nathaniel… are you awake?"

"No."

Kitty put an arm around him, nestling her face into his neck. "I expected you wouldn't be able to fall asleep… in your place I wouldn't, either."

"I just can't fall asleep because of the crickets," he grunted, still facing away from her. The moon shone into the tiny room, painting whitish streaks on the walls and the bedcovers.

"The crickets?"

"They're making a racket," Nathaniel said in a tired voice.

Kitty chuckled. "You have no trouble sleeping in the London traffic noise, you don't even get awoken by the sirens of ambulance or Police cars, but you can't sleep because of a bunch of crickets?"

"Yeah. I'm not used to them. There are no crickets in London."

She rose just enough to kiss him on the cheek. "You don't need to make up stories, Nathaniel. I know what's bothering you."

"Then why are you asking?" he sighed.

"I just wanted to hear it from you. We've got to talk about this," Kitty said determinedly.

"It must be around three in the morning. Do you think this is the right time to talk about it… or about anything?"

"If we're both wide awake without a chance of falling asleep any time soon, then why not? Nathaniel… tell me what you think about her."

"I don't know what to think about her," he said heavily. "I never thought I'd ever see any member of my family again. I'm confused, and… so mad."

"Mad? At her?"

He rolled onto his back, staring up at her face that was partly illuminated by the moon. "At her. At my father. At the world of the magicians. At myself. I'm mad at everyone and everything, Kitty."

"Do you think… you could forgive her? She didn't do it out of evilness, after all. She didn't do it because she wanted to get rid of you. And she suffered just as much as you did, if not more. You forgot about her, but she never forgot about you. She loves you, Nathaniel. I saw it."

"It's a female thing, isn't it?" He made a grimace. "You women see and understand things that we men don't."

Kitty reached out to sweep a stray black lock out of his face. "She's a mother, Nathaniel. And I'm going to be one soon. I haven't yet seen our child, haven't held her, haven't even felt her move, and yet… I already love her so much that I couldn't express it with words. The mere idea of losing her stabs a dagger into my heart. Your mother… she must have felt the same way… and I don't even want to imagine what she felt when she lost both you and your sister. If her giving up on you was a sin, then she has already been punished for it. Don't punish her even more with turning away from her. She deserves a second chance. Everyone does."

"I'm not ready for this yet," he muttered. "Perhaps some day… but not yet."

"I'm sure she will understand and wait for you. Try to sleep now or you'll fall asleep in Parliament tomorrow."

"Sometimes I almost fall asleep there even without sleep-deprivation," he chuckled. "If Ffoukes didn't poke me once in a while, I'd start snoring during one of Weatherby's speeches… Once Carl Mortensen indeed fell asleep. Old Weatherby kept giving him nasty glances for weeks afterwards."

"Isn't that the old chap who's recently got a second heart attack?"

"Mmm… yeah."

"You always wear such a funny expression when Weatherby's mentioned," Kitty pointed out. "Why?"

"Don't count your chickens until they're hatched…" he replied vaguely.

"Nathaniel…"

"Okay, okay, but don't tell anyone. This is nothing more than just guessing, but… Ffoukes said he'd bet anything that I'd get Weatherby's place if he passed away…"

Kitty's eyes widened. "But… isn't Weatherby the Deputy Prime Minister?"

"He is." The young magician couldn't hide his hopeful smile.

"I don't like this."

"Why not?"

"Power," Kitty whispered. "You've already got too much of it for someone so young… I don't want to lose you to politics, Nathaniel."

"You won't." He reached out and caressed her face. "Let's not talk about it, shall we? Weatherby is alive and kicking. I heard he was diligently organising the Halloween ball with Jane… at the moment he doesn't strike me as someone who's going to kick the bucket."

"Halloween ball?" Kitty arched an eyebrow at him. "You haven't mentioned that yet."

"I forgot." He made a face. "It's next Friday. A masquerade. How I hate those… and I won't even have you there with me to take my mind off having to wear an idiotic costume."

"And what are you planning to go as?"

"Dunno. A vampire?"

"Make sure you have a photo taken of you." Kitty kissed him on the tip of his nose. "I'd love to see a dashing vampire."

"Hmm… so you find me dashing, Mrs Mandrake?"

"Very." She kissed him on the lips.

"If you continue like this, we won't get much sleep and I will surely fall asleep in Parliament," he murmured as she began nibbling on his right earlobe. "Not that I'm complaining…"

o o o O O O o o o

That night they were very loud again. Apparently they wanted to make up for weeks of not having done it. From my perch on the window frame (after I returned from the Tramp's home, I again turned into a moth) I watched Enid's suffering face. Well, as much as a parrot's 'face' could be called a face. You know what I mean.

While Ugli had had a chance in the huge Mandrake house to flee somewhere where he couldn't hear Nat and Kitty going at it, Enid couldn't flee anywhere here, this house was so tiny. And, as it was freezing outside, I doubted she preferred a walk or fly in any form. Well, perhaps as a polar bear, but then again, if anyone from the village spotted a polar bear roaming around, they would have been scared to death and Nat's being a magician would have been revealed in no time. So, all Enid could do was stay in the house and turn back into a human, stuffing plugs into her ears. Not that earplugs could close out all that racket… I was more than satisfied to see that I wasn't the only one who had to suffer from Nathaniel's enormous libido. Honestly, it was bigger than Suleiman the Magnificent's. And Nat didn't even have a thousand wives, only one.

It was near sunrise when the noises finally subsided. By that time Enid looked a little disturbed. If I hadn't had to stay hidden, I would have friendlily patted her on the back, telling her that she'd better get used to this.

In the morning the lovebirds slept in, it was almost midday when they woke up. Lots of kisses, cuddling and feeding each other with their own forks followed. I saw the horror on Enid's face when Nat and Kitty began eating two ends of one spaghetti and ended up in a kiss in the middle. Yeah, it was sickening. I had liked the cold Nat who'd been avoiding Kitty more.

Once Kitty tried to turn their conversation to Nat's mum, he told her politely but determinedly that he didn't want to talk about it. I saw the disappointment on her face but the kid had either not noticed it or deliberately pretended not to have noticed it. And Kitty, in order to keep their fragile peace, didn't want to push him.

Early in the afternoon Nat kissed his wife good-bye and sat into his Ford to drive back to London. I took a place under the back seat as a fly, thankful for not having to witness any naughty things for at least a week.

o o o O O O o o o

Friday evening came quicker than I had expected, but for the kid the five days he had had to spend away from Fenny Bridges seemed to be an endless suffering. And, as I suspected, not only because he was a sex-maniac, but because of his mother as well. He tried to hide the fact that he actually cared about her, but I saw through his pretence. He talked to Kitty every evening over the phone, and not once did he ask about his mum, but I saw that he needed huge self-control not to mention her. It was only his damn pride that held him back.

On Friday evening I turned from my spider form into a fly once again (mind you, I was getting really fed up with having to live in various insect forms for months, but those were the only ones small and inconspicuous enough) and took a place under the back seat of Nat's limo. The kid had summoned another foliot for the evening to be able to show off a demon hovering over his shoulder (he didn't want to take Ugli, as someone needed to keep an eye on his house. Tell you what, Ugli was completely useless: I could prance in and out of Mandrake estate without him ever noticing. Now imagine me rolling my eyes.)

We got to the Palace of Westminster in ten minutes. The building, of course, was already surrounded by hundreds of limousines. However, the people who got out of them didn't look nearly as dignified as their cars. Why, some of them were dressed up as dinosaurs, one was sporting a bunny costume (I suspected he had mistaken Halloween for Easter), another wore Jedi robes. (You might wonder how I knew about the Jedi at all. No, I hadn't seen Star Wars, but another demon in the Other Place had raved endlessly about his latest master, some George Lucas…)

Nathaniel, wearing a dark cloak with blood red bow tie and two sharp incisors, marched into the building with the pathetic little foliot over his shoulder. I sometimes wondered why a fourth-level magician like him didn't summon something better. Finally I put it down to his laziness and to the fact that he knew that having to deal with more sensible creatures (me, for example) means more trouble as well.

The ball itself was the usual pompous but useless get-together with lots of champagne, idiotic speeches and a horde of demons who tried to look even more important than their masters. I, however, had to avoid attention, therefore turned into a gnat. That was smaller than a fly. I chose to be a male gnat, just because I despised the females of this species for their blood-thirst. Why, don't you find drinking someone's blood disgusting? I certainly do. However, I wasn't sure about the kid. He'd chosen a vampire costume, after all…

I kept circling around Nat, as unnoticeably as possible (even this way one of the older ministers whom Nat chit-chatted with - and who was dressed up as a giraffe - tried to swat me. But missed. Hah). Soon I noticed my current mistress in the crowd – she wore a butterfly costume. A lurid pink one at that. Eh. That woman certainly didn't have any taste. I sometimes wondered what the kid had ever liked about her.

Hour passed after hour, and it was almost midnight when the kid was finally left alone by his old and boring chat partners. Whether it had been intentional or not (I suspected it was), my mistress had somehow ended up next to him, coquettishly sipping a glass of champagne.

"Oh, good evening, John," she said, pretending to be surprised to see him. "I hadn't even noticed you." What a liar.

"I hadn't noticed you either," the kid replied. "Which is most remarkable, given that you're wearing the most vivid colour around. It hurts my eyes."

I felt like patting the kid on the back. He'd put my thoughts into words.

"You're as charming as ever, John," the Tramp purred, looking around. "I see your little wife isn't around… I heard rumours about her lung problems, but didn't know whether they were true or not…"

Nat made a face. "I'm afraid they are. Kitty's going to spend a few months at the countryside."

"What a pity," my mistress sighed theatrically. "Poor John, you must be feeling really… lonely without her."

I told you. This tramp would love to sleep with him and still continue planning her revenge on him. Or just sleep with him. Without revenge. Or whatever. You may never know with women like this.

"I'm doing all right, thank you," Nat replied, and I saw he was beginning to feel uneasy. Mind you, I too would have felt uneasy if a woman had been eyeing me in such a predatory way, ready to jump on me and ravish me on the spot…

"Are you sure? You look so… pale…" Pretending that she was just making way for a giggling crocodile-monkey couple, my mistress stepped closer to the kid, rubbing her thigh to his. Yes, it did seem very accidental, but the kid knew it wasn't. I knew it too. I'm a smart djinni, you know.

The gentle rubbing motion seemed to have its effect on the Nat, as his pallor got replaced by a rosy tinge. "I'd appreciate it if you left me some space to breathe, Jane," he hissed through gritted teeth.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, playing with one of the straps of her butterfly dress. It was very suggestive. She ran her fingers along her collarbone, while sipping her champagne. This would have been enough to turn on any male in the hall, but it was addressed to Nathaniel only.

"Stop this, Jane," he grunted.

"What?" She fluttered her eyelashes and licked a drop of champagne that was just about to run down her lips. I glanced at the kid to see his face red with… anger or desire? I couldn't tell.

"Trying to seduce me!" Nat snapped. The song that the orchestra had been playing just ended, but the kid didn't seem to notice. "I'm no longer your puppet to play with, Jane! I won't be a second Duvall or Fry!"

"What do you mean by that?" my mistress hissed. Neither noticed that the whole hall was looking at them by now.

"Oh, don't pretend you forgot what you personally told me about having been more to Duvall than just his apprentice! And after his imprisonment, you just had to hop into Marmeduke Fry's bed to avoid losing your status as a magician! After he died, I was your next victim, and after I married Kitty, you got scared! Scared that you'd be left without an influential magician to support your career in exchange for your sexual services! Why don't you go and find another minister to shag and leave me the hell alone?"

Splash.

My mistress had tossed the leftovers of her champagne into Nat's face and marched out of Westminster Hall. The crowd opened slightly to give her way.

A middle-aged magician sidled to Nat who was wiping his face with a silk handkerchief. "Why do you two always insist on making scenes in front of everyone?" he said with a half-smile.

The kid shrugged. "She was provoking me, Ffoukes. Besides, it doesn't hurt that the rest of the magicians find out how Jane got to be an MP at all. She practically shagged her way into Parliament." He pocketed his handkerchief. "Besides, she doesn't even have style. In her place, Kitty would have punched me so hard I would have lost a few front teeth. Spilling champagne on me… well, that's all you can expect from Jane Farrar."

To tell you the truth, I doubted that. Even if she had had half a mind to not ruin Nat's life completely (e.g. just take his kid away, without any more harm to him), now I was a hundred percent sure that Jane Farrar's intentions of destroying Nathaniel were stronger than ever before. Yes, I felt sorry for him. Again. Not that I was going soft or anything… it's just my big heart. I think I've mentioned that before. But repetitio est mater studiorum. Yes, I'm not only warm-hearted and brave but cultured as well. Keep that in mind.

o o o O O O o o o

A/N: opinions?