"Dad, can I have a fish pond?" Nile asked.

Britain turned to look at his eldest daughter, arching a brow. "Sure, honey, but what brought this on?" Considering she had never evinced an interest in owning pets of any kind, before this. Or gardening, either.

"There's a koi auction going on this weekend!" she exclaimed, wings twitching in her excitement. Her face fell a moment, and she frowned. "Not that I'm sure I'll manage to have everything ready in time, but I can at least go look, and think about what I want. And maybe get one or two from somewhere else when the pond is ready, and by next year..."

He laughed, then, reaching out to tousle Nile's hair, something she endured with grace. "Well, you'll have to take care of it, you know. Take it for walks. That sort of thing."

Nile paused, eyes widening. "Dad, it's a pond."

"You're a faerie, you'll figure it out," was his ominous response.



Nile spent the next few hours holed up in her room, looking up ponds online and trying to design her own. Trying to figure out exactly what she wanted. This might, she realized, take an outing or two, too. So she could pelt people with questions.

Poor, unsuspecting people.

A knock at the door had her scrambling amidst her papers for a moment. She hadn't expected to be disturbed, but it didn't surprise her to hear her brother Mourne calling from beyond the door. "Everything all right in there?"

"Did Ilhar send you to check up on me?" she asked, as her brother poked his head in.

"No, no." Mourne waved a hand, doing his best not to tower over her. Three years younger, and he'd gotten a growth spurt that absolutely no one knew the source of. Six foot nothing was what he'd shot up to. Secretly, Nile was more than a little jealous. But she could always ask him to reach stuff on the top shelf for her...

And other things, she realized. Like this project!

"So what are you up to?" he asked. "Two weeks and I have to head back to college, you know."

Nile laughed a little at that, and let him look at her scribbles and the website displayed on her laptop screen. "Fish ponds," she replied.

"Where did that come from?" For a moment, Mourne looked like he'd been hit in the back of the head by a two by four. Nile tried not to laugh, but failed, shoulders shaking until her laughter subsided.

"You haven't been home, or I'd tease you. There was a paper about a koi auction on the market boards," she explained, and the mystified look on her brother's face dissipated. "So you're going for it? Not something I expected out of you."

The girl snorted and rolled her eyes, and Mourne held up his hands. "Have I truly been gone so long that you lost the knack of figuring out when I'm teasing you?" he asked, brows arched. "Should I assume you'd like some help?"

Nile's eyes widened, and she sat up straighter, grinning. "Would I?! Would you??" Her voice had taken on a pleading tone, but Mourne just laughed. "Of course. The only other thing on my schedule is that end-of-the-summer party Ryan's dad is throwing." Which only had Nile nodding her head. "You might want to ask Grandpa and Grandma if they'll let you put in a pond, too..." her brother mused.

"Ahead of you," Nile said. "I asked Grandmama, she said it was fine, so long as I put it in the garden." Probably so she could keep an eye on the plants, she figured.

Mourne arched his brows at that, but then shrugged. Maybe that meant their grandparents and the rest of the court wanted to enjoy it, too. He couldn't blame them. Neither could Nile, really, which was why she hadn't argued. Maybe that meant that they'd take a hand in helping, too--though she knew darn well it would probably mean delegating. That was okay! She didn't mind getting dirty, that was the truth.

She suspected that they were both past the age where a mud fight would be fun, though. That and Mourne had grown into some airy dignity, even if he was still so laid back, sometimes she needed to check his pulse...



Hours later found them covered in dirt from the knees down. Wisely, they'd both worn shorts, and there was a nearby fountain to help return the dirt to where it belonged.

"Do you think we need to dig deeper?" Mourne asked. "I wasn't quite as in depth looking at your design as I probably should have been," he admitted, but his sister shook her head.

"Nah. I want to build up the sides and do a couple of features, like benches around the outside and a fountain inside. It should help protect the fish, the fountain should, at least." Both as a deterrent, and for the health of any future fish. If hungry critters couldn't see the fish, they couldn't have a fresh koi meal, which was the point. Though she figured she'd probably invest in a net to cover at least portions of the pond...

There was a stir at the arch that led to the garden. Nile stood up straighter, not that it meant anything. She was short, so she couldn't see anything, anyway.

"Huh," her brother said. "Grandparents. Guess they were curious about what we were doing. Or they're checking up on us." Though considering their grandmother was actually in overalls and chambray shirt and sun hat, maybe she was going to help? His platinum brows twitched, and beside him, Nile made a gulping noise. Sure, they were Grandmama and Granddad, but it wasn't every day the King and Queen showed up.

And her grandmother had what looked like a sack of onions in one hand, to boot.

"Grandmama, we're not ready to plant yet! I have to pour concrete!" Nile protested weakly. "I don't want too much magickal help." Because if she took too much, and Britain showed up before the spells were all set, that meant her dad could mess it up with his talent. She didn't say that out loud, though.

"Really?" the older fae responded. Her husband just strode around the outside of the pond's edges, looking at the liner and the edges. "Looks like you did a good job so far, sprout," he said, moustaches twitching. "You can always come back when they've got it set and filled, my dear."

Meanwhile, Nile's cheeks just colored a dark gray. She really hadn't expected so many of her family members to show up...it might not be a cluster bomb of epic proportions, but it was definitely turning into an unexpected fiasco. Ginny showing up to make fun of her and claim she made her own smooching spot would be worse. And wrong, but Nile wasn't going to give voice to any of that!!

"Okay, you can all look at it more when it's done--except you, Grandmama, I'll take your help with water plants any day." Since she knew her grandmother was actually pretty good with plants, even if it wasn't her proper fae talent. "And you, Mourne, the fountain's going to be taller than I can reach." Her brother nodded, chuckling at that. And then Nile's eyes practically bugged out of her head at what Grandmama said next.

As she drifted out, propelled by her husband, the Queen murmured airily. "Maybe we can get your uncle Edmont to help and speed up the process..."

Well, that might work. She hadn't wanted to bother Desdenova--or stress him out. And she wanted to surprise him, too. This worked out just right.