Embers in the Dark

The Wolf and the Jackal: Part 1

Lilly gawked at Brian, stunned over the fact that he could now talk.  "How the...what the...when did ya start talkin'?" she asked.

"No no no, we are not getting intah that right now, Lillian Rose!" Brian shouted, drawing everyone else's attention.  "First things first.  Where the feck do ya get off on leavin' home and makin' James and me stay behind like that?!"

"Brian," Arthur said, getting in front of Lilly.  "She was gonna come home, but somethin' happened and she had to stay away."

"What the hell do ya mean she had tah stay away, Arthur?!" Brian snapped.  "She had a fucking duty and she abandoned us all!"

"Shut your mouth!" Arthur bellowed.  "She may be your sister but she is my wife and I'll be god damned if I'm gonna let anyone talk about her that way!"

"I'll talk tah her how I damn well please!  She can take the..." Brian looked past Arthur at Lilly who was now fleeing the building.  "...heat."

Arthur looked behind him and sighed.  "Great.  Nice going, Brian," he groaned before chasing after Lilly.

James came wandering up and shook his head.  "Yeah, nice going, Brian," he said with a shake of his head before heading out the door.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Arthur looked around for Lilly but all he saw was her ripped up shoes and dress on the ground.  "Shit," he said.

James and Brian came up to Arthur's side, followed by everyone else.  "Where'd she go?" Dutch asked.

Everyone in the streets were cheering for The Red Wolf and the gang ran down the street to where most of the commotion was coming from.  Brigid picked up Lilly's belongings and quickly repaired them with her magic before chasing after everyone.  Arthur turned the corner to see people standing in front of Lilly in her wolf form to worship her.  She looked absolutely frightened, but she was a lot bigger than he remembered, too.

"Please, I must get through," Lilly pleaded.

"Red Wolf!  Red Wolf!  Red Wolf!" people cheered.

Arthur got in front of her and yelled at everyone to back off.  Surprisingly they did and he turned to Lilly, reaching up to stroke her fur.

"Baby girl, it's alright," he cooed affectionately.

Aoífe and Junior ran up to Lilly.  "Mummy?" they both said.

Lilly looked at them with tears in her eyes.  "I..."

The kids both hugged their mother's legs.  "We missed ya, Mummy," Junior said.

Lilly sniffled before nuzzling both their heads.  "I missed ya too, me little chiselers."

The kids giggled as Lilly licked both their faces.  "Come back to the Dragon Palace, Mummy.  We got quite the show fer ya," Junior commented.

"I'll haftah go back tah the hotel and change," their mother remarked.

"No you don't," Brigid said as she came up.  "I repaired your attire for the evening, Princess."

"Princess?" Aoífe asked.

Brigid blinked.  "Oh.  Um..." she cleared her throat.  "Yes.  Did...did no one tell you about your lineage?"

"Uh, no?" Junior replied.

"Oh dear," Brigid tsked.  "Well, your Aunt Adair is...actually your Aunt Adair.  And your Great Aunt Morrigan is actually your grandmother.  So you two are a prince and princess of Tír na nÓg."