Alec the Wanderer: Generations of Eredwynn #4 (22 page)

Carol hugged her. “Thank you, Mother. I can’t think of a better present to come back to. Now we really have come home.”

We went inside and the layout on the bottom floor was like Valeview. It had offices but no courtroom. I was told that I was the Lord of the province, but most things were handled on a local level. The keep was located exactly in the center of Eredwynn, so I could wander anywhere in the country and be the same distance from home.

We had some staff, a few maids, kitchen help, and the like, but not many had been hired, because of the situation. We were shown the vault and found bags containing one half million in gold and one and a half million in platinum, the same gift that had been given to my brothers on their wedding days. Carol was beside herself with the home, the staff, and the money and repeated ‘thank you’ over and over.

On the second floor there were ten empty rooms, for whatever we found to do with them. But the third floor was where Mother and some of the other ladies of the family had put in their time.

The master apartment looked exactly like the one in Wizard’s Castle. It opened into a huge living area, with the bedroom doors off to the right side. Mother took Carol’s arm and led her to the left side and opened the door.

Mother smiled and stated, “I didn’t know when you’d need this, but I hoped you’d talk that son of mine into having children someday.” She showed her that she’d put in a nursery, complete with several cribs and beds that would work for children until they needed their own rooms. Our Consorts and Wards were taken back out to the stairs, and then led past the stairwell to rooms that were built on the front wall of the keep. Each room was outfitted with the double king sized beds that we all loved so much. The rooms had windows that overlooked the courtyard.

Mary and Martha were ecstatic. They’d never had their own rooms before and couldn’t wait to get moved in. We left them with Barbara and Amanda to move their pitiful belongings in and get settled.

We went back to the apartment. I just shook my head. “Mother, Father, everyone… I don’t know what to say! Thank you just doesn’t seem to do it justice.”

My mother smiled, while blinking rapidly to hold back tears. “Son, that’s all we wanted to hear. We’re all so glad that you’re home, safe and sound, and have found what you needed to find. We love you and now we’ll prove it, by leaving you to get settled in. I’ll be back to help the girls all get the things I know you wouldn’t have even thought to get for them. Perhaps I’ll bring Aunt Alba, if she’s not still scared of you.”

There were hugs all around again and then the flash of the Mage
porting
everyone away.

Chapter Twenty

O
ver the next year we settled into our new home. Carol built a huge one hundred sixty acre farm near the keep, complete with housing for farmhands. Amanda and Barbra, even though they said that they hadn’t had an extensive education in their world, knew more than most of us. The science that they considered basic was often new to our world, so they started a school. Education was offered to anyone that was interested, males and females alike.

Mary and Martha were educated there and by Isabel. Aunt Isa was thrilled to have girls their age to train in manners and etiquette. Father taught the girls mechanics and plumbing, much to the dismay of Isa, Chloe and Alba. Fathers reasoning was, women in our culture had been held to certain roles for long enough.

I spent a lot of time laying on the roof of the keep at night. I’d stare at the stars and wonder if there was something out there. After having seen what I had in the other realm, I didn’t doubt that ours and that one could be the only possibilities. Maybe someday I’d figure out a way to wander to the stars and find out, but I wouldn’t mention thoughts like that to Carol!

Carol gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. We named him Michael after the mayor of the town that had treated us so kindly. I could tell by the number of people that were in and out of the castle on the day he was born, he’d be quite spoiled. I did my fair share of spoiling too, I’ll admit.

In their roles as Sorceresses, Carol, Amanda and Barbra practiced their new skills in the open country around the keep. It wasn’t uncommon to see a controlled tornado, or a giant wall of fire out the windows of the keep. As people started requesting to build farms close to our keep, that practice had to stop. They got permission to train in the swamps north of Eredwynn, from Seth’s Grandfather. Their powers were too extreme for the range at Wizard’s Castle.

Life, even with limited travel, was good. Everyone was happy and healthy and I had plenty of time to dedicate to the people of Eredwynn. We felt that nothing could go wrong, until one morning at sunrise we were awakened abruptly. A panicked, unfocused
telepathic
cry jolted us from our dreams…