“Father!” The girl cried in defiance, covering Rio’s own bewildered, “’Ladies’?!”
“This is my business.” Though the man had seemed bumbling and absent-minded, the strict stare he gave his daughter made me wonder if it had all been an act.
“But… father. This kin–“ She protested, but her father gripped her by the shoulders.
Something passed between father in daughter in that silent moment. She lowered her weapon reluctantly.
“This is for me to deal with. I’ll meet you upstairs in a few minutes,” Aenlilea said.
Gently, he prodded the young soldier out the door, and then turned to us.
“You’ll have to excuse her. It hasn’t been easy since the skycar’s… malfunction. Plus it seems that the three of you are responsible for her recent demotion.”
A ripple of guilt went through my body. I would hate us, too, if I were her. The kin and Rio simply nodded in acknowledgment, making somewhat sympathetic noises.
“I’d invite you to stay for supper, but I’m afraid she might try to kill you with the cutlery. As is, I may have to settle for letting you all join me for tea as it’s much harder to kill someone with a spoon,” Aenlilea smiled toothily.
“That would be most kind,” the half-blood grinned, and I nodded in agreement. The kin shuddered quietly.
Aenlilea led us through the greenhouse to another part of the house, all the while chatting animatedly about the different ways you could actually kill someone with a teaspoon, and finally let us inside.
The man looked around the room a bit, cleaning parchment off the furniture before barking, “Sit down.”
We all did as we were instructed. The man then skulked away, presumably to make some tea or convince his jilted daughter to do so for him.
Thankful to be off my hooves nonetheless, I settled on the end of a loveseat that had seen better days. Rio sank into the cushion next to me, and the kin was left to brave the rickety-looking rocking chair that creaked under his weight. After a few moments of silence that I spent staring at the cluttered walls, Aenlilea reappeared with