Time for Change

36

"I'm going to have it set so you can wear it as a brooch or a necklace." Tyler hands the deep purple gem to Shelby." Shelby smiles, she's always been partial to amethysts.

"It's beautiful Tyler," she smiles as she holds the gem. To her it feels like it has a low level buzz.

"Does it have magic in it?" Her innocent question has Tyler looking at her.

"It does, but why did you ask?" Tyler asks his fascinating wife.

"I feel something, a slight buzzing." Shelby shrugs she thinks that she is imagining things.

"That is how magic feels, but you shouldn't be able to feel it." Tyler takes the gem back and slips it into a velvet bag. "Humans don't have magical abilities and I hid the magic aura. You, love are one amazing woman."

"What does it do? The magic I mean?" She gestures to the bag that holds the gem.

"I placed a permanent spell of transportation on the stone. You'll be able to transport immediately from wherever you are to here or the unicorn pool if it isn't safe to come here for some reason, or if you just want to go there." Tyler says smiling gently at his wife.

Shelby stares at him but this time it isn't in fear, it's in awe. "You can do that?"

"Only because I stole the combined magic of the high houses."

Tyler takes her back out and sits down with her. "Elves are blessed with one of two abilities. Either they are incredibly good business people or they are good magic users. But, even then there are gradations. The houses that have exceptional business abilities have become the high houses. Most houses are losing their abilities for magic. My house is the exception and that has to do with the legend of the unicorn pool that I told you about. The part that isn't known to most anyways.

"The young man when he woke found a beautiful woman tending him. It is told that her beauty is beyond that of description. She tended to him and helped him regain his health. By the time he left there he was desperately in love with her, but she couldn't leave the forest, more especially the pool.

"She gifted him with magic greater than any he'd ever had before. With this he was able to conquer all his enemies and thus my family came into power. In time she bore him twins. The male became king in his father's stead and the girl married well, cementing an alliance that made my forefather even more secure on his throne.

"But his love couldn't be by his side.

"They say that he was never happy. He took whatever chance he had to visit the pool. Only there was he happy, only there was his laughter heard.

"But time wears on and even elves grow old. He gave up his throne and returned to his eternally beautiful love, he died in her arms after giving up the throne to his son."

Shelby has to wipe her eyes. She didn't use to be so emotional, but after she had her children she gets emotional over little things and this isn't little.

"She became so sad that she gave up her mortal looking body. Now it is just the spirit that infuses the pool. Her children swear that she took the form of an unicorn before she disappeared."

"So that's why it's called the unicorn pool?"

"In our family, we are said to be descendants of the unicorns and elves. We too are half elven, but of a different sort.

"It is said that if we were to fail to have a descendant on the throne the magic of Elvenhome would die, just as the unicorns did."

"So is that the reason you can still do the greater magics that the ancient elves could do?" Shelby asks in wonder.

Tyler shrugs uncomfortable. "It is a legend merely. But if it's true then, that would be a fairly good guess as to why the magic ability in my line hasn't decreased even though it has overall. There is something that does respond to me being at the pool though. It feels like I'm coming home every time I go there. There are times I think I hear laughter," Tyler shrugs no one else has heard the laughter.

"Business ability has grown as magical ability decreased. Always a person has either one or the other."

"Wait, you own several of the most prominent companies on earth. It is said that it was through your decision abilities that they became what they have." Shelby says her head starting to ache with all the information that's been given to her.

"I have been gifted with both, at a very strong level. My house is the highest of the high houses and not because I am king. We would be the highest house even if we weren't ruling." Tyler says without modesty, but neither is he bragging, he's just stating a fact.

Tyler notices the tightening of the eyes from pain. He kisses her and then things go from there. He manages to get them into their room before it goes to far, but not by much.

"I have to start the interviews, do you want to come with me?"

"Are you sure you want me at the interrogations?" Shelby asks worriedly.

"Yes, there will be no need to be worried. Their magic is stripped from them. The interrogation room is magicked so that they have to tell the truth. It should prove to be enlightening."

"If you don't think that I'll be in the way, I'd like to be there for at least some of them." Shelby says smiling uncertainly at Tyler.

"You won't be in the way, like I said I'd like you to choose a lady in waiting from among the high houses. I'll be interrogating the House Venture first. They are the ones most closely aligned with humans, more especially with those from the States. You heard some of them last night giving a report as to why they were late."

"Yes, should I be worried about that?" Shelby asks worriedly. The senator in question wasn't one that she voted for, nor does she think much of him. He's dirty and she doesn't like the fact that he's still in office.

"No, he has no right to be detaining my people for his demands. If he wishes to speak to you he should have gone through the correct channels, meaning the State department. I'll need to call our liaison and have a talk with her about him."

Shelby sits up onto her elbow and looks at him, "We have a liaison at the State department?"

Tyler chuckles, "Oh yeah, right now it's a Mrs. Wheaton. She's just the latest in a long line of employees that have had to deal with me."

"You will stop tormenting her Tyler."

"I promise to try to be nicer to her, but I can't do more than that."

Shelby sighs, she has her work cut out for her in changing the elves. "I'll call her later. It always gives her indigestion dealing with me. Let's not ruin her breakfast." Tyler says kissing Shelby.