Fated To The Dragon King

66. Granpa's Time

My dad was already waiting for us when we opened the portal in his studio. He looked pale so I figured that he still hadn't processed the new information and didn't completely believe my truth.  

Well, he was in for a ride.

"Ready?" I asked him, offering my hand, which he took. His hand was sweaty and ignored the instinct to pull away.

I guided him through the portal, but he jumped in as if he was going to burn, making me stumble and almost fall but Phoenix watched me, holding in a laugh.

"Dad!" I yelped, surprised.

"Sorry, Lilly. I... Uh, never thought I would be crossing a portal in my life. Didn't know what to expect, really," he explained, which was fair.

"It's okay, dad. Why don't we start with the tour of our home?"

We turned around to enter the palace and I heard my dad gasp. I turned and smiled at the expression on his face.

"Wait. Is this your home?" he asked incredulously. "It's huge! Like a castle or a palace!"

"Well, Phoenix is the King," I explained with humor.

"And Lilly the Queen," added Phoenix and I nodded. I often forgot that part.

I guess I wouldn't feel much as a Queen until I was wearing a real crown and a gown.

Suddenly, my dad looked uncomfortable.

"Then should I bow or-"

"No! Dad, don't be ridiculous. You are family. Now come!"

I pull him inside and with Phoenix we show him the main parts of the palace or else the tour would be waaaay too long. We showed him our wing where we lived. The living room, the area I liked to relax and read, and we finished the tour showing him Brax's room.

My dad had tears shining in his eyes when he looked around Brax's room, which had me confused. He grabbed a teddy bear, smiling down to it.

"This makes this so much more real... When will I be able to meet the little guy?"

I smiled at him, he already seemed so accepting of my son.

"I thought we could eat together so you and Phoenix could get to know each other, and then Brax would return from his classes and you could meet him.

"Of course, I'll follow your lead," he said and the three of us went down to the garden where lunch would be served.

We sat down, my dad and Phoenix facing each other and I in the middle of them. The maids came with the food, putting everything in front of us. Phoenix and I started filling our plates, with Phoenix adding a thing or two to my plate he knew I liked. There was one thing I didn't like, that was some kind of eel, but Phoenix insisted that it was very good for the baby, so I would pretty much swallow it with a lot of water.

Dad looked at everything wide-eyed and started asking about the food that looked so different from what he was used to. Phoenix explained every food to him with patience and I admired him while he would point to a kind of crab and advise him to try it.

My dad somehow forgot about manners and while eating, he couldn't stop saying how good it was, or gasping when he tried a sauce that made the food's taste pop up.

I took delight in seeing my dad enjoying the food of my realm, and Phoenix also liked someone liking so much what our kind provided.

This made me want to bring Phoenix to the human realm and show him the things I liked, and witness his reaction. It sounded great! Oh! And now I could go anywhere in the world with the talisman. I could go to Tokyo! And England! And Australia! Damn, how didn't I think of this earlier?