Chapter 29: On the Horizon

"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." Biff inhaled the cool, yet salty air that blew through Bayport. He and Amy stood atop his apartment building in downtown Bayport, overlooking the city, reaching out with their uniquely sharp senses for any signs of undesirable creatures.

"It is good to be home. New Orleans was a bit too warm for my taste." Amy confessed. She did not protest as Biff wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her neck.

"Zeke's not joining us tonight?" Biff asked as his kisses moved down to her shoulder, his lips nudged at the shoulder strap of her silky tank top. His hands ran over her bare arms and he felt the vampire shiver.

"He is…ah… he is entertaining a friend at our apartment with video games. Some Were youth he met when he was keeping watch over Phillip at your grandfather's farm." Amy turned in Biff's arms and planted a hungry kiss on his lips.

"How are you going to endure the smell of eau de Teen Wolf when you get home later?" Biff asked when they broke apart.

"I made Ezekiel promise to give the apartment a thorough cleaning before I come home tomorrow night."

"Oh? And where do you plan to hang your hat until then?"

"Well, it is my understanding your roommate works the graveyard shift…"

"I like the way you think."

…..

"You're right Joe. He does look like a butterbean. They didn't have such high tech equipment when you and Frank were coming along." Fenton laughed as he handed the latest ultrasound photo across the picnic table and back to his son.

Labor Day weekend brought with it a relief from the oppressive August heat. And for the first time since June the Hardys were enjoying a night dining under the stars. They had invited Frank and Phil, but understood when they had declined the invitation. Frank still wasn't feeling up to par and preferred to spend the holiday at home with Phil.

"But they did have the Doppler, remember? The first time we heard each of your heart beats, Fenton and I couldn't wipe the silly grins off our faces. Your dad here actually had tears in his eyes." Fenton blushed slightly at his wife's tale, but there was no mistaking the look of pride as he thought back to those days.

"Earth to Fenton… Pass the potato salad." Aunt Gertrude snapped.

"Iz all zis technology safe for ze bébé?" Andrea asked while passing a bowl of pasta salad down to Vanessa.

"Yes Maman, the doctor said it was perfectly safe." Vanessa answered as she piled a couple of spoonfuls onto her plate. "You should have seen the look on Frank's face when he saw the picture this afternoon. He said he had a little something in his contacts, but his nose started getting a little red too." she giggled.

The young woman was looking much healthier than she had in weeks. The color had returned to her cheeks and as Joe would say, she seemed to have that maternal glow. Vanessa chalked her glow up to the slight return of her appetite and a craving for cheeseburgers, the cheesier and greasier the better. The Labor Day spread before them was mouth-watering and Vanessa had a little of everything on her paper plate.

"So, has he started to kick yet?" Fenton asked his daughter-in-law.

"Oh Fenton, it's too early for that." Laura scoffed.

"No Dad," Vanessa added. "but my clothes are getting tighter."

"Especially her shirts." Joe said and took a quick sip of his iced tea to cover his smile.

"Joseph! Vanessa has a lovely figure." Aunt Gertrude scolded her nephew.

"I didn't say I was complaining." Joe winked at his wife, which earned him an elbow to his ribs.

…..

"Babe, are you sure you want to go through with this? I mean, eight months… whew! That's a long time to go without…" Phil sat back in their bed and ran a hand through his loose, freshly shampooed curls. They had been back in Bayport for weeks now and Frank had been back in their home, in their comfortable bed for just over two and a half weeks. He had spent several days in Bayport Memorial under observation and continued with the wound vac therapy until the doctors there deemed him fit enough to go home. Now Frank's side consisted of dark pink, tender scars. The infection was gone and it was just a matter of healing and moving forward with life.

But moving forward for Frank had also meant going back to his psychologist, Dr. Berber, to help him come to terms with his kidnapping experience. The old saying, one step forward and two steps back, held certain meaning for Frank. Although some days he felt like he had moved back nearly to square one.

"Hon, I know it's going to be torture. But I think Dr. Berber has a point. The way I was abused and treated in New Orleans by … you know…" Frank didn't want to utter Eric's name, for fear the dead vampire's ethereal presence would make itself known, or the name of the Dark Elf who had molested him during his captivity. "But waiting until after the wedding before we have sex again, it will give me plenty of time to heal emotionally and mentally from what happened. Think of it this way, it'll give us something else to look forward to."

"Cock-blockin' doc." Phil muttered.

"Phillip."

"I'm kidding! Kidding. Really, I can understand and appreciate where you and the doc are coming from. We'll wait Baby, as long as you need."

"And…" Frank tried to continue, clearing his throat and taking a shaky breath. "It will give you time to digest something else I have to tell you. And if you decide you want to break off our engagement, I won't blame you"

"Frank, I've known you for over half our lives. I don't think you could tell me anything short of deciding you don't love me anymore that would make me want to break things off." Phil propped his pillow up against the headboard next to Frank's so he could be eye level with his fiancée. "So, spill."

"Remember me telling you that Mom and I had a long talk while I was at LSU? Well, she told me, oh G-d, she told me that Joe and I aren't entirely human."

"What?" Phil asked blankly.

"My mother… is an Elf. An elf of the Light. So that makes me and Joe half-Elf. And…" Frank drew in a sharp breath as he soldiered on, fearing if he hesitated he wouldn't have the courage to get it all out, "I have been having weird dreams, they've become more vivid as time has gone by. It turns out I share my mom's gift of foresight, because she has had the same visions. I can't control it like Mom can, but she said she would work with me on how to meditate and forecast. And… I can see the dead. When I was at LSU, I wasn't hallucinating that night, I was talking to Eric, I saw Mozelle Ledet, I saw an old man… Since we've been back in Bayport I've seen even more dead people. They come up to me and talk to me. Some of them I know, some I've never met before…"

"Your mom doesn't have pointy ears." Phil said dumbly, all the while staring at Frank with wide eyes and a dead serious look on his face.

"Mom said that when she and her father first escaped from… where ever, I can't pronounce it… they had them surgically altered while they were in Ireland. Then they moved here shortly after when she was six years old. She said my grandmother had the foresight and could channel spirits. That she had been captured by Dark Elves for her gifts…"

"What about you and Joe, were you born with…" Phil pointed to the tops of his own ears.

"I was, but Joe wasn't."

"How'd your mom get that past your dad?"

"She said she told him it was just a weird family trait, like when people are born with a sixth finger or toe. She had a doctor correct it when I was just a few days old, the same day they circumcised me. That's why I don't have a visible scar."

"Okay Babe, so let me see if I've got all of this… You're half Elf, half human. You can see the future in your dreams, and you can speak to dead people."

"This helps explain things, like why I reacted so badly to the iron shackles." Frank held up his wrists which were still scuffed and pink. "Elves are sensitive to iron."

"And why Dr. Schwartz was so insistent that your mother come down, to get her blood, elf blood?"

"Elf blood can only help heal another elf, or someone with elf blood for a blood infection. Like what I had. And the presence and touch from another elf is helpful too. So you see? I can understand why you would want to break things off. It all sounds so crazy and out in left-field…"

Frank looked down at his hands which were resting in his lap. Phil got out of bed and walked to their bathroom, closing the door behind his self. The house was totally silent. Frank could feel a pain in his chest and his throat began to get tight. So this was it, the best relationship he'd ever been a part of in his life and this is how it was going to end. But how could he blame Phil? The dangers of his job, the entanglements with the supernatural, and now he was partially supernatural too… It was all too much for him to accept in his own mind, much less to expect someone else to accept and endure.

He was too wrapped up in his self-pity to realize Phil and rejoined him on the bed. But then Frank saw Phil's hand take one of his. Phil brought it to his mouth and kissed the palm, turned it around and kissed the back of his hand, and his wrist.

"I don't care if you're part elf, leprechaun, or pixie. You're the love of my life. I didn't fall in love with your heritage. I fell in love with you."

"What about the extra baggage?" Frank asked, but Phil merely shrugged.

"I've always known I would never have a dull moment with you." He put an arm around Frank. "So, any dreams about lottery numbers, or which team will win the pennant?"

"Nothing like that. So far just flashes of our future, our family." Frank said.

"Family? You mean kids? So do we adopt or get a surrogate?" Phil asked excitedly.

"I'm not entirely sure. I just know that when I have those dreams, I'm happy, we're happy. They're some of the sweetest dreams I've ever had."

…

Lady Thiadel traced the locket with her fingers. Even with her cloudy eyes she knew the details of the engraving by heart. For years she had taken time to cherish the trinket in secret, spent many lonely hours staring at the hand painted images inside in the candlelight. The golden locket had been an anniversary gift from her husband, Elhael. Her only husband as far as her heart was concerned. She remembered that morning so well…

It was Lairelithoniel's fourth summer. Elhael had let Thiadel sleep in while he attended to their young daughter. Later he surprised her by announcing that he packed a picnic lunch, had readied the cart and horse and was taking them to the lake for a short holiday. The lake was their favorite retreat in the summer. Elhael's family owned a small lakefront cabin that they were welcome to use anytime they wanted.

Once they had arrived and dropped the picnic basket off in the summer kitchen, Lairelithoniel undressed down to her swimming shift and made a mad dash for the narrow dock. Her small bare feet made a slappy-tappity sound as she ran on the old wooden boards and she squealed with delight when she reached the end, jumping off and hitting the water with a loud splash.

"Nanae! Ada*! Did you see me?" Lairelithoniel hollered when her head popped up out of the water.

"I saw you Little Fish!" Thiadel called back, she clapped her hands in praise of her daughter's daring.

"A fish? I see no fish. But I do see a yellow haired mermaid in the lake. Please, fair mermaid, wrench me not from the arms of my goodly wife with your siren song!" Elhael made a dramatic show of fear and held on to Thiadel. Lairelithoniel laughed as she treaded in the water.

"Ada!"

"Hark, she beckons me yet with her sweet voice!" Elhael shuffled toward the end of the dock, pulling Thiadel with him. He gave Lairelithoniel a conspiratory wink and worked his way closer.

"Elhael, no! I haven't changed into my shift!" Thiadel warned playfully.

"La la laaaa, la la dee ta dah!" Their daughter sang out and she swam away from the dock, giving her parents room.

"Oh, woe is me! I have been ensnared by her spell. I shall cling to you, my love, until the bitter end!"

"No! Don't you do it! El…" Splash! Thiadel opened her eyes under the water. The lake was crystal clear and she could see Elhael smiling as they swam to the surface.

"*Gasp!* El… *Gasp* Elhael! That was…"

"Priceless!" He pressed a kiss to her lips. "Happy Anniversary, Thiadel."

Much later that day, their robes were nearly dry as they hung on the line that was strung from the cabin to a shady arbor. There Elhael and Thiadel relaxed in a woven hammock while Lairelithoniel chased tadpoles that were hiding among the reeds at the lake's edge. Thiadel's head was nestled in the crook of her husband's shoulder and neck, Elhael held her in a relaxed embrace, lazily stroking the tips of her ears with his calloused fingers.

They had been married ten years. Her friends and family had told her it was a mistake to marry below her station and that their marriage would not last. But Thiadel had married Elhael for love, not for prestige, and she had not regretted a single day. Besides, they had King Belegon II's blessing. A hopeless romantic himself, her uncle the king had even escorted her down the aisle on the day of their wedding. He considered it an honor to present his niece to Elhael, his son's favorite tutor.

Thiadel had always found court life too stuffy anyway. She felt like she was born for the quiet life of the deep woods. That was the life that Elhael, a highly acclaimed scholar, had enjoyed before he had been called to court to educate the prince, and she longed for it. Too many people at court knew about her abilities, and were constantly pulling her aside to ask about their future, who had taken a fancy to them, or if there would be war with the Svartal. When she wasn't being harassed by courtiers, the nonliving that wandered the palace grounds had messages for their loved ones that they would pester her about until she relayed them.

When her cousin the prince reached the end of his formal education, King Belegon II decreed that Elhael was officially retired and set him up with a pension that left him very, very comfortable. They built a quaint cottage that was miles away in the deep woods and a year later Lairelithoniel was born. Life was good now. No spirits begging favors, no anxious ladies-in-waiting asking about the affections of certain gentlemen. It was just her little family and the bright future ahead of them.

"Thank you Elhael. Today has been wonderful." Thiadel said.

"It's not over yet. I've got one more surprise for you, close your eyes." She did, and she could feel Elhael leaning out of the hammock. He had nearly tipped them over when he finally pulled back.

"Okay, open them."

In his hand he held an oval shaped golden locket strung on a delicate chain. An intricate engraving with their initials interwoven graced the front. He pushed on a little hinge and it popped open, revealing two very detailed and hand-painted miniature portraits. On one side was a miniature version of their wedding portrait, on the other was a picture of Lairelithoniel.

Thiadel gasped in surprise at the beauty of the delicate locket.

"Elhael it's beautiful! Who did you get to make such a clever likeness?"

"Camaenor, in the village. He does excellent work wouldn't you say?" They sat up in the hammock and Elhael placed the golden chain around her neck.

"Lairelithoniel, come see what Ada has given me!" The tiny girl abandoned the clutch of tadpoles and ran to her parents.

"Oh! Nanae, it's shiny! So pretty." Elhael picked his daughter up and wedged her between them so she could get a better look.

"Now I'll have Ada and little Lairelithoniel with me wherever I go." Thiadel kissed her husband and planted a kiss to the top of her daughter's head.

"I love it, thank you darling."

"And I love you Thiadel. Always."

The lady ran her withered fingers over the locket. There were dents and dings on the once smooth surface. The chain was long gone, but the last time she was able to see it clearly, the portraits inside were still as vividly colored as they were the day she received it.

Where her eyesight had failed her, Lady Thiadel's hearing had sharpened. She opened the small drawer to her dressing table and slipped the worn locket inside. A moment later there was a knock on her door.

"Enter." She said softly.

"Lady Thiadel, a herald has sent word that the Princes are returning." Her lady-in-waiting, Calareth announced. She closed the heavy door behind her and set a metal tray on a table. Cups and bowls jangled with a metallic clatter. "I brought breakfast milady."

"Thank you Calareth." She accepted the bowl of vegetable broth and the wedge of bread for dipping. "Any word if their venture was a success?"

"I think you already know the answer to that milady." Calareth laughed heartily but a lone finger to Thiadel's lips silenced her.

"Someone's coming." The lady whispered. But then she relaxed. "It's only Daerdir. Let him in please." She heard her lady-in-waiting walk to the door and greet Thiadel's son in a hushed tone. Calareth left them to visit in private. Then a second, heavier set of footsteps approached her, and soft lips kissed her cheek.

"Good Morrow Naneth. I hope you are well." He greeted his mother cheerfully.

"It is. How does it find you?"

"Well. You've heard about Delebon and Dolon's return?" Daerdir asked as he pulled a chair up to his mother's.

"Indeed."

"Too bad that Upper World craft could not have found a nice rock to collide with." He muttered darkly.

"Careful, Daerdir. You may mean those words in jest, but some at court may see them as treasonous, even if you are talking about your brothers." His mother warned.

"Half brothers. And there are a good many at court who would agree with me."

"Even so, you know how paranoid Delebon can be, especially when he is in one of his dark humors." She leant forward and beckoned her son closer.

"I had the dream again my son. It is a good sign. Elhael can even confirm it. The one who will help bring the change is coming. He will arrive as a prisoner, you will free him and he will ally with you, and see you rise to power." Daerdir heard something in his mother's voice that he thought he would never hear, hope.

"Dear Naneth. I would love to believe these visions to be true, even if they can be confirmed by the spirit your late husband. But…"

"You have grown up desensitized to the oppression of your people. You are the last of good King Belegon's line. The day will come when our people will need a leader again. They will look to you!" She took her son's hand, but he wrenched it away.

"Your people spit on me in the streets! They think that because of the color of my skin I am just like the Svartal!"

"You know the Svartal like you no better. You are a child of both worlds, just like the one who is coming. You belong to the Alfheim and the Svartal, and I have seen a day come where you show them all that peace and equality among the races are possible. Please do not lose faith. He is coming."

*Nanae, Naneth, Ada - Tolkeinesque elven words for Mommy, Mother, Daddy

The End of Part II

Author's Note:

I'm currently doing a bunch of research for the final story of this trilogy. I want you all to know that I have enjoyed writing these stories and look forward how the next one unfolds. After this trilogy is complete, I hope to write some one-shots or shorter stories within the K-T rating as well as in the M rating scale as well.

Thank you all for your readership and support. Special shout out to my UK friend, your encouragement has meant the world to me.

Hugs! Hollyboo2001