Months later
The two children Peter and Maya had taken under their wing had settled into household life and both Timmy and Lorena had grown up considerably, in just a few months. Timmy and Lorena had not only grown taller but with three steady meals a day they had also filled out to the point that their ribs were no longer poking against their skin.
Lorena still hadn't spoken a word however and Maya insisted to a worried Peter that she would speak in her own good time. You couldn't force a child to talk before she was ready Maya had said you can only encourage.
So each of the household from Maya too Gupta tried to get Lorena to talk in their own way. Lorena was seen often in the kitchen helping Gopal prepare a meal or with Maya watching everything she did to help a patient. But when Peter came home she attached herself to him and followed him around like a shadow. When Maya noticed she couldn't help but smile but didn't say anything for fear of ruining the relationship.
Peter noticed to and seemed too carry on a conversation as if, with himself. He told stories and funny jokes that made Lorena smile and giggle behind her hand. He took her everywhere he could with him, but when he had to go out alone she would hover in the entry hall awaiting his return.
Both children got along with Peter's and Maya's only son Rylie well.
Finally six months after they had made a home with the Scotts and their household Peter was talking about his years as captain of his ship when finally after months of silence Lorena asked, "Can we go on a boat sometime?" She said this so quietly that Peter had trouble hearing her.
Peter was so shocked that he didn't respond for a long moment then he turned and knelt on one knee so his eyes were level with hers. "Of course we can sweetie," said Peter.
Lorena ran forward and hugged him and Peter held her pressing her small form to him.
"Can we really stay with you forever?" asked Lorena almost pleadingly.
"Of course you can sweetie," said Peter. "You and your brother are a part of our family."
"I love you daddy," said Lorena giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Peter didn't respond because was to choked with emotion. He stood up after picking Lorena up into his arms. "Come on short stuff let's go home. Lorena giggled at being called short stuff.
Peter left Lorena with her brother and then went to find Maya. He found her in the observatory they had had to build on before they had moved into their new home. Maya was in her favorite chair with Sia and Singh in her lap and Charan sitting at her feet.
"Well you certainly look as if you've been run over by a horse," Maya observed obviously amused at the shell shocked expression on Peter's face.
"Yeah well prepare to be just as stunned," Peter warned her with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
"Oh yeah?" asked Maya with a grin. "It takes a lot to shock me."
"Well how about not only is Lorena talking—"
"What? Lorena talked?" Maya exclaimed her expression going from complacent too shocked in an instant.
"Not only talked she called me daddy and kissed me on the cheek."
"Looks like you have another woman in your life," Maya teased him. "Should I be jealous?"
"Of course not," Peter teased back. "You know you're the only woman for me."
"You think it's time to mention adoption and see how they react?" Maya suggested after a minute.
"I don't know," said Peter. "I'm all for it but Timmy— I'm not sure how he'll react to the idea."
"All we can do is put the proposal to him. But you know one thing that worries me is that if we do try to adopt them officially what if the adoption agency tries to place them with someone else or even tries to separate them and put them in different homes? After all we aren't rich and powerful and I am sure there are rich and powerful people who have never had a child of their own on the adoption list. You know as well as I do what could happen."
"Well as to that it's not as big a problem as you might think. Most middle class people don't have a Lord as his personal friend."
"That's true. Think he'd be willing to help?" asked Maya with a smile. She knew very well that not only would "he" be willing to help he would make sure the adoption went through.
"Of course he will," said Peter.
"All right then let's talk to them."
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
"You wanted to see us?" asked Timmy standing in the doorway of the observatory with Lorena behind him.
"Come in and sit down," said Peter. Lorena crawled into Peter's lap and Peter's stern expression softened as she settled her warm body against his chest.
"We wanted to ask you both something very important—" Maya began.
"Do you want to make the living arrangements more—permanent?" asked Peter.
"You mean adopt us?" asked Timmy after a minute of trying to understand what they were saying.
"Yes," said Maya.
Timmy was amazed that they would be willing to consider taking two kids off the streets and adopt them. It was true that both Maya and Peter had already done an enormous amount for both of them and he loved both of them for their kindness and compassion. Not many people would have done the same, because not many people bothered to look past the surface of things. Timmy even though he was still young knew this for a sad fact. If you lived on the streets you learned to observe human nature or you didn't last long.
"If you do make it official how do you know that the orphanage officials will not give us to some other couple? Or worse try to separate us?"
"Not to worry I've got a friend Lord Peter Almsley who owes me a few favors. He'll help us."
"If you're sure," Timmy said trying not to sound doubtful.
Peter smiled at the tone in Timmy's voice. "Trust me," Peter said. "Peter Almsley and I have known each other for a long time. Nearly fifteen years in fact."
"All right then," said Timmy.
Lorena squealed and threw herself off of Peter's lap and into her brother's arms where she hugged him tight.
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
"You wanted to see me twin?" asked Almsley.
He walked to where Peter was sitting and sat across from him.
"I did indeed," said Peter, taking a sip of whiskey. Both men were seated in a private booth at the Exeter club. "I need a favor."
"You know all you have to do is ask," said Almsley, immediately.
Peter smiled and told him what he wanted.
"No problem old chap they're as good as yours," Almsley promised.
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
Several weeks later the Scotts' were informed that there would be an inspection of their home to make sure it was the proper environment for a child. It didn't seem to matter that both children had already been living with them for months and had come to no harm.
Two men from the orphanage arrived right of Lord Almsley's heels. Almsley was determined to see things turn out his way. He had assured Maya and Peter that the visit was nothing more than a formality. Both Maya and Peter had made sure to be home on the day they were supposed to come.
Maya, Peter and Lord Almsley were all waiting for them in the entry hall as soon as Gupta informed them they were coming up the walk.
Peter answered the door as soon as the doorbell rang and greeted the men cordially. "Good morning gentlemen. Won't you come in?"
"Thank you Captain Scott. I'm assuming that's who I am addressing?"
"You would not be wrong," said Peter. "This is my wife Maya."
The two men had been warned that she was half-Hindu so all they said was, "It's a pleasure ma'am."
"The pleasure's mine gentlemen. If you will come this way Gupta will be around with tea."
Maya led the three visitors towards the observatory. It had been decided that the observatory would be the best place to talk and have tea.
"Welcome to our sanctuary gentlemen. This is the observatory where we go to relax after a hard day."
Lord Peter had of course seen it all before, but the other two could not control gasps of astonishment.
"Have a seat gentlemen tea will be here momentarily."
"This is truly beautiful. How'd you ever get tropical plants to grow to such luxuriousness?"
Maya smiled at the unintended compliment and said simply, "Trade secret gentlemen."
Both Peters' knew she had used magic to make them grow so well.
Tea arrived a minute later. Gupta served them then disappeared but Maya suspected he didn't go far for he was as anxious to find out about the children as she was.
"So Captain Scott, Lord Almsley tells us that you rescued the children," the first man consulted a sheet of paper "Timmy and Lorena on the streets of London."
"That's right my warehouse is near the area where they were being attacked.
"And that you and your wife took them in," said the second man sounding miffed and confused as if he couldn't understand why they had done so. "And now you want to make it permanent.
"That's right," said Maya speaking for the first time since tea had been served.
The questions continued for a few minutes then the Scotts' led them on a tour of the rest of the house finally ending up in the room where three children were playing. All three children looked up then went back to what they were doing.
"Well everything seems to be in order—" the first man began.
The second man was about to object that he didn't think everything was in order when four people glared at him and he shut his mouth with an audible snap.
The two men left a few minutes later after having both Peter and Maya sign the adoption papers. "Congratulations," said the first man shaking both their hands. "Personally I think you will be the perfect couple to raise those children and it's not often I can say that."
"I'm not sure your partner agrees with you," said Maya dryly.
"What him? Why do you think we call him Mr. Sourpuss at the office? Never within his hearing of course. He makes a fool of himself trying to please the rich, luckily for us he's not in charge."
Maya suppressed a giggle and Peter coughed to cover a laugh.
"Stay for dinner Lord Almsley?" Maya said after the two men had gone. "I'm sure Gopal is already in the kitchen cooking up a celebration dinner."
"It will be a pleasure," said Almsley, sincerely. He loved Gopal's cooking and stayed for dinner at least once a week, more often if he could manage it. Peter and Maya always welcomed him and had told him he was free to come for dinner every night if he wished to.
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
A few months later
Both Maya and Peter decided it was time to tell the children about their powers, before they erupted and caused damage. Peter was especially worried about Timmy's power of fire. For it could do a lot of damage if lost control of.
They sat both the children down in the observatory doe a talk.
"Tell me," Peter began. "Do you believe in magic?"
"Ma'ic—" Timmy began scoffing at the very notion. "'oesn't—" he trailed off as he looked and saw that neither adult was joking. "You'e n't s'rious!"
"We are," said Peter. "There are forces in the universe that most people cannot see, but that about 15% percentage can. The human body is made up of usually equal parts of four elements. "Earth, fire, air and water. It is when you have more of one element then of the others that you can work magic."
"Perhaps you should give them a demonstration?" Maya suggested at Timmy's disbelieving look.
"All right," said Peter. "Try closing your eyes and imagining energy all around, energy that most people can't see unless they have the sight to do so. "Concentrate now—" Peter voice droned on for a couple of more minutes but Timmy only half listened. He respected the Scotts' enough to go along with this and to at least give it a shot. He still had trouble believing in magic however.
"Now open your eyes," said Peter. Timmy did so and gasped at the whole world that one would never know about if one didn't have the sight. The observatory was crisscrossed in blue green and brown lines of what Timmy could only term as lines of power. There were creatures playing in the water and what looked like some sort of deer drinking from the pool. None of them looked solid however.
"They don't look solid because they aren't your element," Peter said as if reading his mind. "Your fire which means salamanders. That thing that looks like a deer is a faun. They can't abide iron and won't go near anywhere that has been 'tainted'. Lorena is air. So sylphs are air. Sylphs are mischievous and fun loving and just love to cause mischief."
Lorena hadn't said much of anything though this, but she too had followed Peter's instructions.
"Now that you know you have magic you must be trained in order not to be a danger to yourselves and others. But unfortunately we can only give you the basics.
"Neither one of us is Fire or Air," said Maya. "If you look closely you can tell just by the color what a person's power is and how strong they are."
Timmy and Lorena did so and Timmy noticed Peter seemed to be surrounded with a nimbus of green and Maya with brown, both of which matched the lines of power that ran through the whole of the observatory. Then he looked at Lorena and she was surrounded with an aura of blue.
"All right, that's enough for now," Peter finally said. "Now both of you close your eyes and concentrate on seeing everything normally."
Both children did as they were told and concentrated. When Timmy opened his eyes again the world of energy was gone to be replaced by the normal which seemed drab in comparison to the world they had just left.
"Now both of you must promise us to never mention you powers to anyone," said Maya.
"Most people wouldn't believe you and the few who would; would either be Elemental Masters themselves or some who has a friend that is one. Most people would just think you crazy. But there are a few who could be dangerous not only too you but too; other masters. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir, ma'am," said both children perfectly serious.
"But Gupta? And Gopal?" asked Timmy.
"It's okay to talk magic around the household. They all know," said Maya, "After all their family."
"The same goes for Norrey and Peter Almsley. Peter Almsley is a Water Master like; myself. It's one of the reasons we're such good friends."
So that was the aura of power around Peter. Green was water and that meant Maya was earth.
"That's enough for one day, but from now on you'll have an extra set of lessons outside of school," said Maya,
Timmy and Lorena nodded. No matter how young they were they understood the importance of learning to control their power so they wouldn't hurt themselves or others.
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~