Chapter 79
When she rose that morning, Silky noted the date on her calendar, Roger and everyone were returning today.
After dressing, Silky went into the kitchen and got the smaller of the two ovens going before she retrieved the pot roast she had prepared the night before from the refrigerator.
Silky set the cast iron Dutch oven inside the now warm oven and set the kitchen timer for four hours, at that time it would shut off the oven and the roast would be ready to serve.
Silky put Dena to work setting the table in the formal dining room.
The tiny wood elf had moped around the house for most of the fortnight they had been gone.
Her own family had gone back under the hills and the others had been up in Canada, leaving only the ever silent Silky for company.
The great grandfather clock in the hallway began tolling the four o'clock hour.
At the same time, the kitchen timer buzzed and the smaller oven shut itself off. Dinner was ready.
Silky and Dena filled the food dish for Sasha and after a moment's reflection, added a second one.
She would bringing home her mate and adjustments would have to be made.
They both knew that in time, Sasha would be having her first litter and she would need a den to have them in, where the den would be was up to Sasha.
At the half hour chime, Silky took the heavy cast iron Dutch oven out of the oven and began filling the serving dishes to be placed on the dining room table.
Ten minutes later, Silky heard the sounds of car doors opening and voices speaking. Her heart felt warm, her family was home.
Roger pulled into Ildico's driveway and dropped her off.
As he thanked her for coming to get them at the airport, she grinned at him and said gaily,"You've had a nice little vacation...I'll see you tomorrow at six!"
When Roger rolled his eyes, she smiled and said, "I know you didn't do any sort of exercise while you were up there, except for maybe bending your elbow while hoisting a heavy tankard of ale!"
Roger laughed and replied, "Guilty as charged, Madame torturer!"
Ildico laughed as she closed her door and waved goodbye.
Moments later, they pulled into their own driveway and parked.
The huge house stood looming over them.
"Well kiddies, we're home. Let's see what Silky's been up to!"
As they exited the van, tiny sprites began emerging from their hidey holes.
They flitted about gaily welcoming Roger and Freya home, they playfully teased Anita's hair and happily perched on Sasha's back, clinging to her deep fur.
They flitted about eyeing Golden Eyes until they decided he was safe and soon, his dark furred back had its own coterie of sprites, all tittering happily.
Roger opened the big front door and was surprised when a teary eyed Silky glomped onto him.
Right behind her was Dena wearing a tiny maid's costume.
She cried happily, "Weel, it's abit time ye cam back frae where'er yoo've bin aff tae!" and launched herself at him.
Roger deftly shifted Silky to one side and caught the hurtling Dena in the crook of his left arm.
Happily squeezing both of them, he said cheerfully, "Gawd I've missed you two, it's great to be home again!"
Silky slipped out of his embrace and stood demurely, her lavender eyes properly downcast as befitting a proper servant of the household.
Meanwhile Dena, who was not under any such self imposed discipline, happily sprinkled kisses on Roger's face and lips.
Still holding the 60 centimeter doll sized wood elf, Roger said brightly, "Ladies, I want you to meet our newest family member...Silky, Dena this is Golden Eyes, he is Sasha's mate."
He glanced at the massive dark furred wolf and said, "This is Silky and Dena, they pretty much run this household...Pissing them off is not in your best interests!"
Dena asked to be put down and Roger gently set her on the floor, she stood straight and tall, straightened her maid costume that Roger didn't recall seeing before and marched right up to Golden Eyes.
She reached out a tiny hand and said, "Ah ken yer bluidline, Ah ken yer sire an' yer mam gang back mony generations. Yoo'll make a fine sire fer Sasha's pups."
She gently caressed his massive face and he nuzzled her in reply.
Silky as always, remained silent although her wonderful eyes betrayed her emotions...She would find her own way to show her approval of him.
It was Anita who remarked, "Something sure smells good!"
Silky blushed and Dena stoutly declared, "Yer scran is oan th' table in th' dinin' room. Silky an' Ah made it tae welcome ye haem!"
Roger smiled and remarked drily, "It's a good thing we didn't stop for burgers on the way home...These two would've clobbered us!"
Freya snorted and retorted, "Dornt let heem kid ye...He ken ye twa woods cook somethin' up fer us an' coodnae get haur fast enaw!"
Roger just grinned and said cheerfully, "Guilty as charged! I know when I got a good thing going and all of you guys are the best thing that's ever happened to me!"
Silky blushed again, then began gently tugging on his shirt sleeve to encourage him to go into the dining room.
Once inside the dining room, the three of them admired the layout and while Silky would ordinarily brush off any attempts at showing thanks or gratitude.
Roger still smiled at her and said, "Thank you Silky for your patience with me."
The food while simple, was good and plentiful.
They ate heartily and even Anita who barely weighed 100 pounds, tucked away a surprising amount of Silky and Dena's culinary efforts.
After dinner, tea was served and Roger enjoyed a cup of chamomile tea as he was planning on an early start the next day.
He had to go down the airport and arrange a maintenance check on the Martin Mariner and retrieve the now empty ale barrels to get his deposit back.
That night as he sat up in bed catching up on some reading.
Roger saw out of the corner of his eye, the bedroom door open slightly and close again.
Dena, wearing little more than a smile, came into his room and climbed up onto his bed.
The curvaceous wood elf pulled down on the covers, slipped under them and snuggled up against him.
When he glanced down at her, she smiled prettily and said brightly," Ah huvnae had th' pleasure ay sleepin' wi' ye fer a fortnight. Ah ken ye waur sleepin' wi' Freya aw tha' time an' noo Ah want me own sleepin' wi' ye priv'leges!"
Roger could only smile, contrary to Dena's assertion, he had not slept with Freya the last two weeks.
Not that any of it mattered to the incredibly adorable wood wife snuggled against him.
She had him all to herself now and was content.
In the middle of the night Silky woke up and still in her nightgown, went all through the house to check all the doors and windows to ascertain they were secured.
Gliding silently through the house, she peeked into the front parlour and saw the sleeping forms of Sasha and Golden Eyes, even the salamander was curled up amidst the dying embers of the evening's fire.
Nearby was a small pile of firewood in case he wanted a midnite snack.
Anita was sleeping soundly with a couple of sprites snuggled against her.
From Freya's room came her soft snores as she too, slept with her own coterie of sprites.
Silky paused outside Roger's room.
Almost hidden beneath his snores were the tiny snores of Dena snuggled against her Roger.
Silky smiled to herself, Dena had clearly missed Roger during his absence and now she was grimly determined to catch up on her snuggling time with him.
While no woodwife could ever truly be with a human male, it did not mean a wood wife could not love a human male.
Smiling to herself, Silky returned to her own room in the basement.
Getting out her writing implements, she penned a note to her friend, the spriggan.
"To my dearest friend,
They have returned with a mate for Sasha.
His name is Golden Eyes and he is a most handsome young male.
His coat is nearly the colour of midnight and his eyes are like golden amber.
Whence his name.
The house is full once again and I have my family back.
All is good with me, and you?"
She sealed the letter and set it in the special mailbox Roger had made and installed for her.
After rapping her hazel wand against the mailbox twelve times, Silky turned out the light and slipped under her covers knowing that Hazel, the centaurian postal carrier would have picked it up and delivered it before dawn.
Silky smiled to herself, her family was home again.
Roger's original intent had been to rise early and retrieve the empty beer barrels from the Martin Mariner.
Then a tiny form climbed into his bed.
Sleeping with the tiny wood wife had the effect of making him sleep quite soundly and so it was nearly mid morning by the time he rose from his slightly crowded bed. He had found himself with the nearly naked Dena snuggled up against his chest and lying between his arms, on her pretty face a look of utter contentment.
He smiled at the sleeping wood elf and carefully extricated himself from his bed without waking her.
He thoughtfully covered her nakedness before dressing and heading downstairs.
In the kitchen he found the note from Ildico that Freya had laid on the table, it read: "Missed you this morning, but not to worry dear neighbor. I'll be coming by this evening."
Roger contented himself with a toasted bagel slathered with peanut butter, and washed down with coffee.
Quickly jotting down a brief note stating his intentions for the day, he left it next to Ildico's note and exited the house.
Seeing Freya over by the garden watering the pumpkin vines, he waved at her and she grinned and said, "Guid morrow sleepyhead, Ah see uir wee Dena finally turned ye loose!"
He could only shrug and reply, "For some reason I slept very soundly last night, fortunately the only thing I need to do is return the beer barrels."
He went over to her and they hugged briefly before her velvety soft lips brushed against his.
Straightening up again, Freya resumed her watering chores and Roger hopped into their van then drove off.
Roger drove away smiling to himself, like all Jotuns Freya had a way with growing things and tending the land.
Their house had become a garden spot and her influence was evident at the research library grounds next door.
The original 25 acre property had recently expanded to include an additional 10 acres of vacant land once held by the same family over several generations.
The last remaining family member, a now deceased elderly widow, had been driving past the house when she saw the towering Freya carefully trimming one of the many fruit trees.
She simply had to stop and talk to the tallest person she had ever seen.
Freya was only too happy to show her around the gardens and share some of her fresh fruit with the tiny widow.
The elderly woman learned that Freya was responsible for transformation of the once weed choked house and yard into the prize winning envy of the neighborhood.
The widow having no living descendants, then donated the land to the library unbeknownst to Roger and Freya.
After she had peacefully passed away in her sleep, her will was read and the two found themselves the bemused possessor of ten additional acres. Much to the annoyance of a developer who had been carefully grooming the old woman for years to acquire her land.
The fence separating the properties was removed and the remaining fence repaired to close any gaps in the barrier.
Several of the more 'lively' trees moved themselves into the now accessible land and put down their roots.
Even more 'neighbors' were now living in the area now and the guardian wolf pair would be busy keeping an eye on their activities.
Roger had commented drily, "How much longer before some of your kin folk come down here to live?"
Freya merely shrugged and replied with a grin," 'Tis sae hot doon haur durin' th' summer. Ah dornt think onie ay me fowk wull be camin' doon haur."
Roger's musings ended when he pulled up next to the gleaming white bulk of the Martin Mariner parked outside the maintenance shop where it was getting serviced. Eugene, the senior mechanic was perched up on the left engine nacelle, his arms reaching into the workings of the engine and twirling a wrench.
He grinned down at Roger and called out, "So far, everything's lookin' good. We've already changed the oil, all 75 gallons of it and the sparkplugs, all 36 of them. All of the old ones looked good, no signs of excessive leaness or richness on any of them. The fuel filters and sediment traps have all been changed and cleaned."
He patted the sheet metal of the nacelle and declared, "This bird is ready to fly around the world!"
Roger laughed, he and Freya had recently taken a trip to Arizona in the big amphibious plane to go see George and Mia Bryce and their four children.
They went to the Labor Day week end airshow and Freya went hiking with Natalie, Mia's youngest sister and Zenobia, a young arachne who happened to be living nearby.
Still smiling Roger climbed into the cavernous interior and saw Jorge, the airframe mechanic carefully inspecting and the control cables and wiring bundles.
"Hey Jorge! How's everything going?" he asked.
Jorge grinned at him and said, "It's all good, no frayed cables or loose wire bundles or leaky hydraulic lines. Those guys in Texas really know their shit when it comes to these old birds!"
Chuckling, Roger replied," So I've heard, anyone that can manage a B-36 deserves my respect."
Leaving Jorge to his devices, Roger carried the empty beer barrels out to his van and strapped them into the seats.
Eugene cheerfully called out, "If there's anything left in those, we'll gladly take care of it!"
Roger laughed and retorted, "Trust me, Freya's relatives made damn sure not a drop of this went to waste!"
Eugene shrugged and replied,"Can't blame a fellah for trying!
Roger grinned and remarked, "When I come back to settle up, I'll bring a little something for your troubles. And it won't be any of that 'sex in a canoe' crap either!"
Eugene laughed and flashed a thumb's up sign as Roger drove away.
When he arrived at the beer warehouse where he'd gotten the barrels, the proprietor grinned and said, "Didn't you just get these?
Roger smiled and replied, "Yes, and they were happily drained to the last drop!"
He grinned and remarked, "I'll have to see if this comes in a larger size barrel then!" Roger shrugged and replied," While I have no doubts a larger size wouldn't last much longer, it's the getting the barrels up to the settlement from the lake part. The barrels now weigh around 400 pounds when full and they have to be carried about five miles, mostly uphill. Freya's people are quite strong and think nothing of carrying a heavy load, but until they ask for a bigger barrel, I'll stick with the sizes I've been getting."
The proprietor looked puzzled and asked, "Don't they have any carts or wagons?"
"Oh yes, they do it's just that the Canadian government frowns on the use of wheeled vehicles within their national parks. The Jotuns have lived there for centuries and allowances are being made for them. I just don't see them wrestling with a full vat of beer, though I wouldn't be too surprised if they did."
Roger grinned and said,"Old Harald the brewmaster, has several large brewing vats that are quite old and in continual use. He gets Jotuns traveling quite the distance for some of his braggott and I don't blame them, it's almost worth killing for!"
Having accepted the empty barrels and returned his deposit, the proprietor grinned and remarked, "I'd like to try a taste of his brews, next time you go up there I should give you a couple of empty firkins he can fill for me."
Roger chuckled and remarked,"Better add one more firkin, Old Harald'll like as not, try to keep one to use as a tankard!"
The two men shared a laugh at the joke and Roger took a case of brown ale with him to give to the mechanics working on the Martin Mariner.
Returning home, Roger saw Freya talking to Warren Johnson, the newly arrived head librarian at the research library next door.
He had moved to Portland fairly recently and came highly recommended from his old position as head librarian at a well established science fantasy society in Los Angeles, California.
Warren had moved into one of the cottages provided for the meager staff and had thrown himself into his work and was often seen keeping late hours at the library.
Partly because of his interests, a couple of the local fan clubs were now holding meetings at the library's lecture hall and staging events on the expansive grounds.
He had nearly wept with joy when he first met Freya, a genuine Jotun girl now standing nearly eight feet tall.
And Sasha, who quickly accepted him after he had given her a large beef bone and lots of ear rubs.
Silky and Dena were still hesitant about meeting him, although Roger felt it was only a matter of time before Warren saw them, either by accident or by them intentionally letting him see them.
At the moment, Warren had no idea he had quite a few 'neighbors' living in the area or that he was being shadowed by quite the little flock of sprites, flitting about over his head as he walked about the grounds.
Warren grinned at him and said cheerfully, "Good day! Dare I hope that there is any of that fine ale left?"
Roger chuckled and replied,"Nope! The barrels were drained dry, even I barely got any of it. I had to content myself with one of Old Harald's brews, his braggott goes down very nicely I might add!"
Warren grimaced briefly, then grinned through his luxurious beard and said,"I would like to meet this 'Old Harald' he sounds like quite the fellow!"
Roger grinned back at him and remarked, "He always appreciates meeting someone who knows good beer when he tastes it. Mind you, a Jotun sized tankard is more like a pottle, or two quarts to us 'wee fowk'.
"He does have smaller drinking vessels for the smaller or younger visitors. He's quite happy to serve up a couple of gills or two for a taste test before you decide which one you want a tankard of."
Warren sighed with a faraway look on his face and was about to speak when Sasha and her mate Golden Eyes trotted up to them after having completed a circuit of the library grounds, they were coming home for a mid morning nap, after a good scratching of course.
Warren stood transfixed at the sight of the huge young male with his nearly black coat and golden eyes.
As big as Sasha was, her mate Golden Eyes was even larger.
He trotted up to Roger who began to give the gigantic wolf a gentle ear rub. Meanwhile, poor Warren had a dumbfounded look on his face until he finally blurted out, "Where...Did he come from?"
Freya grinned at him and replied,"He cam doon frae Canada wi' us, he's Sasha's mate an' his name is Golden Eyes, Ah thooght ye'd seen heem by noo."
Warren shook his shaggy head and said, "Nooo! Nooo, I have not...I must touch..." He stepped over to Golden Eyes and after letting him get his scent, he began gently playing with Golden Eye's great velvety ears while he said softly," My name is Warren or Whisky, whichever you prefer and I am very pleased to meet you!"
Golden Eyes gave him a shlurp on his face and Warren laughed.
Roger detached himself from Golden Eyes and began giving Sasha a greatly appreciated rump scratching.
Freya chuckled and commented, "Thaur ye gae a'spoilin' these wolvies, as if they warn't spoiled enaw awreddy!"
Warren just laughed and retorted cheerfully,"Wait'll I can get these two to a ren faire, if you think they're getting spoiled now, they'll be positively rotten by faire's end!"
Freya smiled and remarked,"Ah hae nae been tae onie ren faire, Ah've heard ay them but hae yet tae see one as Ah'm usually up in Canada during the big one doon sooth."
Warren's roundish face took on a look of stunned disbelief and he spluttered, "Whaaaat? You've never been to a faire? How could this be? You, a mythical being, you would bring tears to their eyes upon their seeing you!"
He looked at Roger and declared, "Fie on thee! Depriving this young lass of a visit to the faire...You must make amends!"
Roger could only shrug and reply, "Guilty...With an explanation, your honor."
Warren grinned and said cheerfully, "If it involves hanging out with frost giants and lamias and rescuing a world war two seaplane and bringing a library out of Canada, I'll let it slide...For now!"
Roger shrugged helplessly and replied,"I'm afraid it does involve all of those things and more, but we'll talk about that later."
Warren grinned, which made him look somewhat like an over grown leprechaun and he said, "Fair enough!"
"So, what now?" Asked Warren.
"Well, we'll need to arrange some sort of a den for our wolf couple to raise their pups in and find a veterinarian to take care of them. The one that took care of Sasha after she got hit by a car is retired now but can probably recommend one for us."
Warren smiled and said, "I did hear you say 'pups' didn't I?"
"Yes, pups...You heard me aright. They have mated and Sasha will be having her first litter in a few months and before you ask, they are likely already accounted for!" replied Roger with his trademark grin.
Warren grinned back and said cheerfully,"I know people who would gladly help out with pup sitting duties. Shoot, half the faire folk in Oregon would love to interact with these two. Especially the fans of that fantasy TV series, you know the one I mean!"
"Yes, the one with that throne made of swords."
Warren smiled as he played with Golden Eyes' velvety ears and said cheerfully, "With these two, they wouldn't need to use a CGI 'dire wolf', not when they could have the real thing!"
Roger smiled and replied, "Personally, I'm happy that Hollywood hasn't 'discovered' Freya and Sasha yet."
Warren chuckled and remarked, "Yes, that is a good thing. Living here is like living in a fantasy tale, one populated by beautiful giantesses and gigantic wolves with velvety ears to play with!"