Annabeth made her way toward Mataya's office with two young girls in tow.

One looked enough like Annabeth that she almost had to be related somehow — bright red hair, similar nose and smile. Her eyes were shaped different, and were dark brown, and her skin was dusky brown where Annabeth's only got lightly tanned if she spent enough time in the sun and with enough sunscreen. They did share the freckles though.

The other little girl was almost a film negative image of the first — blue-black hair, pale skin, aristocratic features. Where the first child was smiling and bubbly, this young girl was seriousness personified. They did share one thing, dark eyes, her own were almost black.

Annabeth glanced down to the girls, and smiled. "Girls, we're going to talk to my employer for a bit, and then I'll show you around the theater. Won't that be nice?"

Both little girls nodded in response. "Should we color in our special books, Ma?" the redhead tried to make it sound like a question and not a beg.

"That sounds like a great idea, Lizzie. You and Lottie color in your coloring books while Mataya and I talk."

Annabeth wasn't as sure as she sounded though. She had forgotten to call first and make sure Mataya was in. She usually was on a Monday morning, but that wasn't a guarantee. Not to mention there might be five other people waiting to talk to her first.

As she approached the office, there at least wasn't a line. So she went to the door and knocked. "Mataya?"

Lizzie looked up to Mataya. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Mataya. My name is Elizabeth Marie Caldwell Cox, but you can call me Lizzie. This is my sister, Carolottoina Caldwell, but you can call her Lottie. Thank you for letting us in your office, and play with your things. Come on, Lottie!" And with that she moves over to the cabinet, and sits down next to it, getting out her crayons and coloring book. Lottie nods solemnly to Mataya, and then follows Lizzie's lead.

Annabeth takes a deep breath, then smiles to Mataya. "I'd love one." She takes a seat, and glances to the girls. "Things have been busy on my end."

She took the coffee, and added both the cream and the sugar. She glanced at the girls to make sure they were occupied, then smiled again to Mataya.

"I mostly wanted to keep you in the loop. My work load is light enough - especially since my volunteer work at the Red Dragon is coming to an end - and I have reliable baby-sitters, so this shouldn't cause any issues with the schedule.

"I also thought I might show the girls around where I work. Lizzie especially was fascinated."

She sipped the coffee letting the liquid linger for a bit before she went on.

"Now, why don't you go ahead and ask?" her eyes twinkled as the words slipped over the top of the coffee cup.

She chuckled softly. "Because I didn't until a couple o' weeks ago. This is such a Rhy'din story." She took a drink of the coffee and then glanced over at the girls who seem engrossed in their coloring.

"They'd both been kidnapped by slavers who were using Rhy'din as almost a warehouse and distribution center. They'd use portals to go wherever they wanted and grab their victims. They' keep the slaves here until they had a customer ready and then used the portals again to get them where they wanted to sell them."

She took a breath and lowered her voice just a bit, Mataya should still be able to hear her.

"They came to Lizzie's house while her father was away. There was a struggle. The slavers used chloroform or something like it on Lizzie, but her mother was still struggling when Lizzie lost consciousness. When she woke up they were in Rhy'din already, and her mother was no where to be found.

"Lottie's story is similar, but she saw all her family killed before the slavers managed to drug her and one of the family servants. Her family managed to kill five of the slavers in the process though.

"One night a week or two ago Lizzie managed to escape, and make it to the city. She saw lights on at the inn, and looked inside. She looked at me, and thought I looked similar enough to her mother that I must be her. She ran in, hugged me, and called me ma. When she calmed down enough to get her story out of her, she insisted that we go save her new friend Lottie."

At this point she took a deep breath and another drink of coffee.

"From what DNA is telling us, Lizzie's mother is a....well she's an ancestor of mine from another reality. My Anna Elizabeth Cox was born earlier, married someone other than Lizzie's father, and died of old age.

"Anyway, I took her home, cause it was late and there was nothing that could be done until Lizzie had a chance to sleep and could tell us where she'd been held.

"Andu Kirost, Rachael Blackthorn, Johnny Matsumae, and a few other friends helped us take out the slavers after Lizzie managed to show us where they were. Most of the victims camped at Johnny's place, but I took both girls home with me."

"I adopted Lottie a couple days later. I'm holding off on Lizzie because her father might still be alive. If he hasn't made it here looking for her, I'll head out after the "Men at Arms" run, and see if I can find him."

"Whew, I told you it was a long complicated story, and that was the short version!"

She nodded. Taking on a child was huge, taking on a child alone, even more so. But she had faith that what she was doing was right, and lots and lots of friends to back her up.

"I'm good. And considering how well that movie I made this winter does on the film festival circuit, I might easily have some extra income as well."

"My biggest concern at the moment is finding a child counselor. They've both been through a lot. And Lottie especially is in a bit of a culture clash. Her people are very misandrist from what I've heard. She'd never even seen a male until her family was attacked."

"Thanks, Mataya, for everything. Between the break-up, and now this my life has been upside down more than right side up lately. But, I thought I'd tell you, I'm already looking for my audition piece for this fall."

"I will, Mataya," she answered as she took the paper and put it in her purse.

"As for Stars or the dance school, we'll see. Right now Lottie's asking me how she can get a fishing boat of her own."

"I'd say that about wraps things up here, unless there's something else you wanted to add. I'll show the kids around and see if Hortense wants to say hello."

She stood at that point and offered a friendly hug to her boss.

Lottie looked up at Mataya, "It is good to meet you, Mataya Shanachie Owner."

Lizzie smiled at that and added, "Likewise, Mrs. DeLuca."

Annabeth chuckled, "Ms. DeLuca, Lizzie. Mataya's married but she chooses to go by her maiden name."

Lizzie looked more than a little shocked by that. Finally, though, she just nodded but if the expression on her face was any indication, Annabeth would be getting lots of questions when they returned home.

"All right, girls, let's get out of here and let Mataya get back to work. We'll have a tour, and then some lunch."

"And ice cream?" two little girls asked in chorus.

"We'll see," Annabeth answered with twinkling eyes.