There was something soothing in the working of even this small patch of earth. It was like life urged, encouraged, and shared its desires for creation with any who would give it aid. Ewan did not want to talk of chaos and death when working the land, but in some way, the one balanced out the other. ?Things continue to rumble like tremors in the West End. Either the great blow will crack open or the events will brew more. It is hard to say when time drifts up and down like a bellows here.?

?Too true,? Sylvia nodded. The length of her black hair braided back, still small unbridled locks of hair would drift onto her face and tickle. With the back of her hand, she would push them away leaving only traces of light dirt in the track. ?Yransea is quiet now, and I can understand your restlessness here. You, perhaps, have stayed too long in his land. Kieran always worried about the length of time you spent here and the impact it would have on you.?

?I live here now.? Ewan spoke as much to convince her as himself. Not wanting to dwell or give her the opportunity to analyze this, he turned to matters at hand once more. ?Do you think the arrangement with the Sedlaral will work??

Sylvia laughed and turned to check on Beata who had crawled over to a patch of wild flowers and was contentedly ending their lives by plucking them one by one. A slow shake of her head and a sigh, she turned back to answer Ewan. ?It is a better question for you, I think. But as you asked me first, I can hope that Maelgwn convinces his father of it.?

?I have concerns on the matter of the noble family.? Ewan voiced in half tones, deep against the laughter of the moment. ?Concerns that I will not speak here.?

Sylvia knew that voice. ?Then we will speak on it another time. As to other matters of Yransea, Keefe has them well in hand, and I think for a moment, we have a reprieve. Which would be fine for the summer months.?

?It would be good for High Summer indeed, if the court of Yransea could be settled.? Ewan nodded. ?But after? The year comes up to us.? Ewan ventured into dark areas again.

It was something Sylvia was all too keenly aware. She had that awareness crawling around behind her, learning and growing. ?It was a year ago soon for you, was it not, that you took that journey to the monastery??

?A few weeks time, yes, I started that road.? He felt his stomach tighten, the memories just as fresh as the budding plant near his hands. He remembered it all. The images swarmed up like bees disturbed from their home.

Sylvia reached and set a hand on Ewan?s arm, sympathy shared for what a year ago had brought upon them both. Beata crawled over to investigate the sharing touch, and put her hands there, too, smiling at this new game.

Hudson stood on the dock where the L?ir Mothan was moored and looked at the sky. Heavy overcast and the blood-red taint of the rising sun spoke clearly of a hazardous day for the sea. There was a sharp scent of ozone and the air felt thick with the promise of rain and lightning. After several minutes he shook his head and walked back to his dory where she was tied. His voice was quiet in the stillness before the docks came to life. ?I think we?ll nae venture out taeday, aye??

Crouching, he patted the hull affectionately as he looked back up at the sky. ?Th? question be what tae dae with th? rest o? th? day, then.? It came out more as statement than question. The arrival of Sylvia?s letter in response to his own, marked from Yearling Brook rather than Yransea, had been a welcome surprise. Rhys and Kayle weren?t expecting him at the warehouse today at all ? Rhys had almost pushed him out the doors yesterday with the order not to return until Friday. Apparently the man thought Hudson had been overworking again.

Time could have lain heavily with nothing to do to fill the long hours. Instead, the postmark on a letter turned Hudson?s thoughts north. He rose from his crouch with the sound of popping knee-joints and a faint wince. He had come out to the docks dressed for fishing, in loose trews and a heavy sweater layered over his shirt. Appropriate for the work, but not very comfortable to his mind. With a last glance at the sky he nodded and walked away from the docks and back toward his house.

By the time Hudson had changed and covered the distance north to Yearling Brook, it was close to mid-morning and the threatening storm had begun with a light drizzle. A friendly nod was given to the guards at the gates as he passed, and they let him through with greetings both professional and equally friendly - he was recognized here, now. Knocking at the main entrance brought Miriam to the door with a struggling and squirming Beata in her grip. Hudson smiled, the expression accenting the lines carved by wind and weather around his eyes. ?Miriam, ?tis well tae see ye. Would ye happen tae ken if th? Lady Sylvia has th? time tae receive visitors??

As he asked the question, Beata gave a particularly violent lunge backwards, arching her back and slipping her precarious balance in Miriam?s arms. Miriam gasped and Hudson stepped forward into the residence to catch the child without hesitation. As he gathered up the still-squirming Beata, a quiet laugh lay underneath his voice. ?If ye?ll trust me with Beata for th? time tae inquire o? th? Baroness, I?ll promise nae harm will come tae her.?

Miriam, looking distressed and somewhat torn, finally smiled. ?Of course ? if you?ll wait in here?? She ushered him, still holding Beata, into the parlor. Beata had given up her struggles to get away to grab at Hudson?s hair, nose, and the brooch on his shoulder. Finally she settled to investigating the brooch as Hudson took a seat on a low and backless stool. Letting her stand on his lap, he had to smile as she clutched onto his shoulder with one hand and persisted in examining the brooch with the other.

A minute or two passed before Hudson heard a very faint boyish giggle from behind, and then the clatter of a puppy?s nails against the floor. He chuckled quietly, causing Beata to give him a very hard look, and spoke without turning around. ?If ye think tae sneak up on me ye dae verra well, but ?twould be best next time if ye left th? pup outside th? room, aye?? Carefully setting Beata on the floor, she grabbed his knee and used the leverage to stand.

Behind him a furious whispering could be heard. ?I told you not to let Lucky in until we surprised them!? Cian?s voice carried with it all the indignant exasperation that only an almost-five year old boy could muster. Hudson turned half-way on the stool with a scarred hand steadying Beata?s shoulder as she wavered and tottered a few steps around the stool towards her brothers. Cian and Aidan weren?t clad in their sheet-kilts this time, but they had managed to fasten the brooches he had given them, somewhat crookedly, to their shirts.

Cian looked boldly at Hudson while Aidan held out his hand toward Beata. ?Are you come to tell us more stories like the one about the giants, Master Fraiser?? Beata took another few unsteady steps toward Aidan before she fell backwards onto her padded bottom with a thump and a very surprised look. Aidan giggled ? revealing the originator of the faint sound from earlier ? and then went to sit next to his sister while Cian put his hands on his hips. The half-grown puppy bounded clumsily over to lick the faces of Aidan and Beata.

?Nae th? only purpose I had in mind, lad, but if yer mother gi?es me th? permission tae stay and visit long enow then I?ll be happy tae tell ye all another story. If ye ask for th? telling, ?tis tae say.? Hudson grinned at the lad and then bent to take Beata?s hand as she used his leg for an aid to standing once again. Aidan clambered upright, studied Cian, and then went to stand next to his brother. The sight of Aidan mimicking Cian?s stance, with the wide-spread legs and hands on his hips, was enough that Hudson had to chuckle.

It turned to full blown laughter as Lucky became Beata?s next prop to standing. The puppy looked at Beata with what appeared to be bewilderment. Hudson took advantage of the boy?s distraction as they watched Beata grip the dog?s fur. Stepping forward, he caught up each of them around the waist and underneath his arms. The boys shrieked with laughter when Hudson turned them fully upside down. Cian was tall enough and heavy enough that Hudson couldn?t keep him that way for long, so he put Cian down and swung Aidan up over his shoulders.

?Mayhaps we should act out th? story instead o? telling it, aye? Th? brave prince caught by th? giant, who had tae be saved by his br?thair and th? innocence o? his sister and his faithful hound.? Hudson was taking bits and pieces of other tales to suit the situation. Aidan was giggling in a paroxysm of laughter, and Cian?s eyes were shining at the idea of acting out such a heroic role. Lucky finally managed to squirm out from Beata?s grip, and the girl tottered the two steps to grab Hudson?s leg for support again. Lucky set up an excited baying to accompany the rest of the chaotic noise ? with perfect timing as Miriam returned accompanied by Sylvia.

A warm, cozy he would call it, home welcomed him, though it seemed to be bare of much in the way of adornments and the things that make a home feel lived in. Escorted into the parlor and introduced, he bent over Sylvia?s hand instead of shaking it. ?I admit to finding your home but lucky happenstance, stopping for directions to your home here.? A smile to the boys in their chair, ?Just call me Jolyon, or if your mother requires it, Mister Jolyon.?

Her laughter was light listening to his tale of arrival, and she motioned to one of the chairs around a small table. The arrangement before a low banked fire in the hearth meant to chase the gloomy drizzly day away. At his correction, she nodded to the boys. ?Mister Jolyon, then boys.? Tender care was taken removing Beata?s hand from her hair, it had become a tugging sort of feeling, hurting her head. ?So, have you come to investigate my children for your theory after all??

Jolyon took the seat indicated. It was a strange feeling, that though he had come to observe and learn more of them and their life here, it felt as if he was being assessed in equal measure and most from the eldest boy. Blinking up to Sylvia?s question, ?Oh, well, I had thought to come and speak with you about your family and learn something. I fear your offhand remark stuck with me.?

?I do hope that is not always the case. Some remarks are best forgotten,? she laughed again and sat in the remaining chair, though it was not her favorite, but it served. She shifted Beata to her lap, who was not inclined to stay there and twisted around to slide off the lap to the ground. Using people and furniture as props, she wobbled her way from person to person. The boys giggled watching their sister, Aidan more than Cian, who was still wary of this stranger in their home. Sylvia kept an eye on Beata while she spoke with Jolyon. ?Well, if you have come to observe, I am afraid you have caught us at the end of a game of hide and seek and into the midday meal. Will you stay and dine with us? We can talk over the meal. I am interested in your work and what brought you here.?

?Hide and seek?? Jolyon smiled to the children and then to Sylvia. ?Some games stretch across many cultures.? At the mention of the meal, he hesitated. ?I do not mean to intrude upon your luncheon.? He looked over the bare room, shelves that should have held books. ?Are you in the process of moving??

Sylvia rose from her seat again and took up Beata, ?Nonsense. It will give us a chance to talk, and the children are typically quiet when eating.? The way she said ?typically? left room for the atypical to occur. ?And, yes, we have recently vacated this residence as a second home, though events have been bringing us back for one reason or another.? She motioned for the boys to join her as she walked from the room. ?What is that line? Oft the plans of mice and men??

With the boys scrambling from the chair, Cian danced around his mother?s lead to take the head position as they made their way through the house to the kitchen, and Aidan reached for Jolyon?s hand with a big grin up at the man. ?Do you play hide n? theek, Misther Jolyon??

It surprised him, and he did not know why, that she was literary, or at least literary enough to know Burns?s poem. The hand taking his, with so open a nature, Jolyon smiled to the boy. ?I did when I was younger with my brother and sister, but not so much more now.?

?Are you brother and sister also in the realm?? Sylvia looked to him while she put Beata in the highchair. Once the little girl was secure, she started to work with the food the cook had left out for them, portioning it for the extra guest. Hearthland soup and sour bread were the fare for the day, and she started to serve out bowls. Beata?s meal more of finger foods the little girl could manage on her own.

Cian was clambering up on a kitchen chair and indicating the appropriate setting arrangements. ?Mum sits there. Mister Jolyon sits there. Aidan, you sit there.?

The tackle caught Hudson off-guard, though fortunately not enough to lose his balance. He laughed at Sylvia?s threat to leave him with the children and answered her before replying to Cian. ?Ye be welcome tae leave th? children in my care, but then ye?d miss th? grand tale yerself, caraid.? He swung Aidan down next to his brother ? and was promptly tackled by the younger boy as well. The combined efforts of the pair were enough to knock him back to sitting, and he laughed again.

?And I dinnae think ye need yer sword tae slay me, Cian ? seems ye and yer br?thair ha?e managed it wi? yer bare hands!? Hudson teased the boys and smiled over their heads to Sylvia before he looked back at the lads. ?But aye, I?ll be th? giant for th? tale. Now th? question be how th? young prince comes tae be captured?? He looped an arm around Aidan?s stomach and stood again, holding the boy under his arm.

Cian pondered the question for a moment before he looked up and scrambled back to his feet. ?He was hunting! In the giant?s forest! So then you got mad at him for taking your deer. I?m going to get my sword!? With that pronouncement, Cian pelted out of the room and Hudson looked down at the flailing, laughing Aidan, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. After a moment he set the boy back down.

?Be that it, lad? Were ye poaching th? giant?s deer?? Aidan smiled and nodded, and then looked back at his mother. ?Yeth. To get a deer for Mommy and Bea!? Hearing the sound of her name, Beata looked over at her brother and beamed, relinquishing the grip on Sylvia?s hair for the moment. Hudson winked at Sylvia and ushered Aidan into the hallway to wait for Cian. Sounds of whispering could be heard for several minutes before Hudson and Aidan returned.

Cian?s re-entrance to the room was accompanied by the waving of a short, blunted wooden sword. Hudson looked from one boy to the other and then to Sylvia and Beata in the chair. He stepped out to one side and ushered the lads into the center of the open space. ?Well, then here be th? tale o? the two princes and th? wicked giant. One grand day, th? young prince Aidan decided tae gae hunting in th? wild forest. He promised his m?thair he would return wi? a verra special deer. Th? older prince Cian stayed behind tae practice wi? his guards.?

Aidan ran over to Sylvia and tugged on one of her hands. ?Mommy! I?m going to bring you the best deer ever!? Then Aidan released her hand and ran back and around the room. When he neared the chairs across from where Sylvia and Beata were sitting, he began to walk using the quiet stalk Hudson had shown both boys. Cian bounced impatiently to one side, still waving his sword around as he ?practiced?.

Hiding a smile, Hudson continued the story. ?Well, th? young prince found a deer grander than any that had e?er been seen, all white wi? red ears. He hunted th? deer for some time, and finally managed tae catch up tae it, wi? his faithful hound by his side. He was about tae shoot it using his bow and arrows, when he heard a great booming voice asking him a question.? Hudson lowered his tenor voice to the best approximation of a giant?s tones that he could manage. ?Why dae ye hunt in my forest, young prince??

Lowering his arms from where he had been holding them as if he were shooting a bow and arrow, Aidan answered in a clear and piping voice. ?To bring my Mommy the best deer in the whole forest!? Hudson stepped out and picked up Aidan, swinging the lad back up to his shoulders where he had been earlier. Lucky-puppy began to yip excitedly again. Shaking his head, he still used the giant?s voice.

?Yer m?thair will ha?e tae dae without a deer, young prince, because I ha?e ye now!? Hudson grinned as Lucky pelted from Hudson and Aidan over to Sylvia and Beata, and then on to Cian. ?And th? young prince?s faithful hound returned tae th? prince Cian, who instantly knew that his br?thair had been captured.? Cian was almost knocked over by the enthusiastic half-grown puppy before he managed to wave his sword in the air again.

?Don?t worry, mother! I?ll bring back Prince Aidan!? Cian?s voice rang as he ran around Sylvia and Beata?s chair, and then he reached the same point that Aidan had begun stalking at and shifted to the silent walk that signaled ?hunting in the forest?. Meanwhile, Hudson was tramping around the room swinging Aidan back and forth and side to side. Aidan was trying to yell for help, but it kept breaking up in laughter.

Finally Cian caught up with Hudson and held out his sword at arm?s length. ?Halt, foul monster! Release my brother!? With no further ado, he began to swing the wooden blade at Hudson, connecting with a couple of blows that weren?t too hard. Hudson pretended to stagger backwards and drop Aidan, although the ?drop? was carefully controlled. Then he roared and lunged for the lads.

Aidan tackled Hudson around the knees, and when Hudson fell, Cian stepped forward and thrust forward with the wooden sword. Hudson caught the blow between his arm and his chest to make it appear as if he had been struck right through. He spoke again in the giant?s voice. ?Ach! Ye?ve slain me! Stabbed me right through th? heart!? Gripping at his chest, he sprawled backwards and let the boys dance triumphantly around his ?corpse?.

?We killed the monthter! Mommy, mommy! We killed the giant!? Aidan ran back over to Sylvia while Cian reclaimed his sword. Hudson half-way sat up, propping himself up on his elbows, and laughed as he looked over at Sylvia.

?And that be th? story o? th? two princes and th? wicked giant. Now ye see what ye would ha?e missed if ye?d left, leannan??

Hudson had been able to maintain a straight face through the boy?s fumbling attempts at tickling. It had been a challenge ? not because they were actually able to tickle him, but because Cian in particular was trying so very hard to do so. However, the faint scent of rosewater that drifted by when Sylvia knelt very nearly sent his eyes flying open with surprise.

When her fingers drifted so delicately over the sensitive skin beneath and behind his ear, he couldn?t suppress his reaction. Black eyes popped open and he jerked upright, hands going up to cover the area. Cian and Aidan flung themselves onto him, Cian over Hudson?s lap holding down his legs, and Aidan hung around Hudson?s shoulders. Aidan?s voice was high-pitched with excitement, and Hudson winced when the lad shrieked directly in his ear, ?Mommy! Mommy! He?th not dead! How do we really kill the giant??

Sudden and infectious laughter broke out when Hudson struggled to his feet, the boys still clinging to him like a pair of monkeys. He looked at Sylvia and offered her a hand up, speaking in his own voice and not the ?giant?s?, ?Aye, caraid, how dae ye really slay th? monster?? Humor laced through his voice as he absently shifted Cian up to a more comfortable position and Aidan hung onto him piggy-back fashion.

A glance out the window, however, forestalled the answers as it revealed dusk rapidly oncoming and the rain that had been holding to a drizzle all day just starting to fall with more force. With some reluctance, Hudson lowered the boys to the ground. ?Ye?ll ha?e th? time tae think o?er th? answer tae that. I think it be near tae supper time, and I?d best nae take up any more o? yer day.? A ruffle to the hair of the lads and a smile to Beata where she tried to stuff Lucky?s tail into her mouth before he turned that smile to Sylvia.

?Ye enjoy th? rest o? yer day, leannan, and I hope I didnae intrude tae much wi? th? unannounced visit.? Another glance at the sky had him freeing the brooch from the plaid over his shoulder while he spoke so that he could adjust the length of wool. Easily enough it was drawn up and around his shoulders and over his head as a guard against the weather. Once it was settled to his satisfaction, he refastened the brooch and smiled. ?Take ye all care.?