~~
Trinity
~~
That meeting with my family had been very emotional. I knew it would be though. After the meeting we all basically went to bed, our eyes too tired to do anything else. That night when I slept, all I wanted was for Reece to hold me close. I needed to feel his comforting warmth as I fell asleep. His arms anchoring me in place was all that would make me feel better.
The next day I decided to spend time with my family. I didn't want to miss things with them right now, I wanted to be part of it all. We went to the festivals, which this time included magical gardens that were growing all over the courtyards.
Most of the Fae that didn't live in the castle didn't have access to the crops that were grown in the castle. They needed to grow them on their own and those without nature magic tended to have a harder time with that.
The point of the nature days of the festival was to spread that bounty with everyone while celebrating the natural parts of the Fae magic. Noah, with his affinity for earth magic, was actually close to the nature side of magic. He even engaged in a building contest with someone else who was making things out of rocks. All the Fae were quite impressed by him since he was a wolf with little Fae blood. I had to wonder if Danu was going to bless the rest of my family with Fae magic, or if they already had it, and we just needed to learn how to use it.
On the third day of the Nature festival, I went to see Athair mór. I wanted to tell him about the meeting that I had and to tell him what his son said. I didn't want to take too long before I went to see him, but I had needed a day with the family. Not to mention that Reagan and Rika had loved the gardens and groves of trees so much.
I arrived at Athair mór's place for lunch. It was going to be just the two of us, I thought that would be best. When I went inside, he ran over to me and hugged me tight. He was so happy to have a family now that he couldn't get enough of all of us. I just hoped this didn't break his heart too much.
"Trinity, my gariníon, I am so happy to see you."
"I am happy to see you too, Athair mór." I smiled at him as he led me to the dining room.
"Come, come, let's have a wonderful meal with each other. We can talk and share what's new." He was acting like it had been more than just two days since we were last together.
"Thank you, Athair mór. There is something that I wish to tell you as well, so this will be a great opportunity."
"Yes, yes, the perfect time. Come now, let's sit." He pulled my chair out for me and then sat across from me excitedly.
We ate for a little bit, telling each other how we were enjoying the festivities. The food was great as always, and Athair mór was great company. I was happy, though I knew that I would soon be bringing the mood down.
"Athair mór, I need to tell you about something that happened to me the other night."
"Is something wrong? Did someone do something?"
"No, Athair mór, no one did anything. It was something magical and special that happened."
I proceeded to tell him about how I made it to the celestial plane for a meeting with Danu. I told him about my blessing and Reece's as well. I told him everything that Danu said about the upcoming threat. I was setting the stage for when I started to tell him about the other meeting.
"That is very distressing indeed. But why do I feel like that is not all? What more do you have to tell me, Trinity?"
"You're right, Athair mór, there is more. The two men that were behind Danu came forward after the blessings, and when they lowered their hoods I knew who they were immediately." He looked curious, but it was clear that he wasn't going to say anything else until after I continued. "The men who were there were Antirrhinum and Fynn."
I watched his eyes go wide and the shock wash over him. He had known something was coming, but he hadn't been expecting that.
"Antirrhinum? My son? You spoke to my boy?" Athair mór seemed to be at a loss for words. "What did my boy say?"
I smiled at him, knowing that this was going to make him happy and sad at the same time. I had known that this was something that was going to be difficult for us both.
"He told me to tell you that you were the best father that he could have asked for. He didn't blame you for sending him to war."
"I always knew that he was too forgiving of me." Athair mór spoke silently as the tears washed down his cheeks. "I loved him so much, even if his mother and I were not meant to be; I loved that my son had come out of that union."
"He wanted me to give you something too." I smiled at him, rising to my feet.
"What?" He looked at me with hope filled eyes.
"This."
I wrapped my arms around him then, holding him tight. He was startled at first, but then wrapped his arms around me in return.
"I should have known that my son would do this. He was a very loving man deep down, even if he hid it from most people. He was such a warm and affectionate child."
"He seemed like a wonderful man to me, Athair mór. I think you did a wonderful job raising him."
"I didn't do much, that was just how he naturally was. He was just born that way."
When I finally pulled back, I remembered the other thing that Rhinum wanted me to tell him, well to show him really.
"Oh, one more thing, Athair mór. He asked me to show you this."
I pulled the pendant over my head and handed it to him. He covered his face and the tears renewed. He began to sob into his left hand as he held the necklace and pendant in his right.
"This! Trinity, do you know what this is?"
"No, I'm sorry, but I don't."
"This was my son's ring. I can feel the power in it. This is the symbol of his status. I had it made for him when he was born. It was to show everyone that he was my son no matter where he went and who he saw."
"I never knew. My mother left it for me when she died. I guess it had been passed down to her through the generations. I am going to guess this is what he gave to Ellyria when he asked her to marry him. If the journals are to be believed, she never took it off. She wore it until the day she died."
"And it has been with you ever since." Athair mór smiled at me. "I am glad that it has stayed in the family. I was heartbroken when it didn't come back with his body. It destroyed me to think that someone had stolen it. Now, I know the truth."
We talked a little more, some more stories about Rhinum's past and some stories about my family. I also talked to Athair mór about the issue with the unknown Fae. He seemed to think it best that we investigate without telling Aunt Glory. If she were to find out, she might start to suspect too many people. In this situation, since we didn't yet know where the threat was coming from, it was best to gather more information first. I think he was right. It wasn't necessary to burden her with this just yet. Though, if the situations were reversed, I would want to know.
That was a hard situation. I know I would want to know, but also there was no information for me to give her so it would only make her worry constantly. How was I going to manage this?
