Chapter Twelve

After a while, Nero, back to normal, apologized to the old man for throwing him out the window. "Oh, you mustn't be so hard on yourself." said the old man. "You just got disappointed back then. All is forgiven."

"You sure?"

"Ah, it's not the first time I was tossed out a window, and it won't be the last! What can I say? I'm a rebel!" The old man began to play-fight.

"Easy, tiger." Then the old man accidentally hit him. "Hey, I gotta use that arm later. Tell you what? Come back tomorrow and we can discuss your family's farm." The old man left, chuckling while Nero began smiling. "Ah, he's a sweet guy."

Nero turned to his throne room, seeing Pyrrha and the entire family gathered together near the model of their village. Nero began to have some thought about what he's going to do there, and he came up with an idea.

"Scuma," said Helius, "I think it's time we-"

"So, you lied to me." said Nero, coming over.

Puzzled, Helius asked "I did?"

"Yeah. You said when the sun hits the cliff just right the birds sing. Well, pal, I was dragged all over that house, and I've seen a lot of birds there but I did not hear any singing. So… I'll be building my summer home on a more magical cliff. Thank you."

Then Pyrrha smiled "Hmm. Couldn't pull the wool over your eyes, huh?"

"No, no, I'm sharp, I'm on it. Looks like you guys are stuck up on that tuneless cliff forever."

Surprised and pleased, Helius looked at Pyrrha with a proud smile. The family decided to take off and leave the throne room, but Pyrrha stayed behind with Nero.

"So," she asked, "what will you do now?"

"Well… what I said about building my summer home somewhere else was… only a hoax. The truth is… all I want… is you." Saying that out loud made Pyrrha blush. He extended his hand to her and asked "So… whaddya say?"

She took a few seconds to think then she offered her own hand "Yes." she replied Nero pulled her to him and swept her away. "Oh!"

After a while, Nero was having a pool party with Pyrrha and her family invited. He came out of his changing hut and said "Ba-da-bing, baby!"

Then Pyrrha came out of from another changing hut and repeated Nero's line. "Ba-da-bing, baby!"

They both ran and slid down a waterslide into a pool. Nero got out and Scuma handed him a poncho with a lion crocheted on it. He smiled and put it on. Pyrrha came over and kissed Nero on the lips.

The End