Guo's private study was magically illuminated, though now she approached an ominous gloom, with the dim globes drawing deep shadows across the room, accentuating her grandfather's passionless expression.
With a sinking feeling, Klavidya took her place beside her husband. When the stubborn man made a conciliatory gesture by moving a hand toward her, she stared at him starkly and placed her hands across her lap. Sighing, her husband retreated his hand and focused on the two grandchildren standing before them.
Gwen and Percy presented themselves—the boy nervously so, and the girl a little drunk from her new placement at Fudan.
A servant ventured carefully into the room and presented two jars of tea served in white-blue porcelain. Her husband took a sip, cupping one hand over the saucer while the other worked the loose leaves with the lid. Klavdiya performed likewise, awaiting Guo's verdict.
"Allow me to congratulate you on your acceptance into Fudan." Guo began, still not looking Gwen in the face. "Well done."
"Thank you, grandfather," Hai's estranged daughter replied stiffly. Klavdiya felt a slim hope that perhaps, Guo wanted to make up with Gwen, but there was no way her husband had separated her from the family just so that he could congratulate Gwen in private.
"I want to ask you a question, and I want you to respond earnestly," Guo continued.
"I shall, grandfather."
"Gwen Song, daughter of Hai." Her husband's voice dropped an octave lower. Klavdiya recognised it as the tone he used for interrogations. "What do you think of Percy inheriting the House of Song?"
"Guo!" Klavdiya felt her worst suspicions confirmed by the obtuse question from her husband. She had suspected the moment she had handed the letter of acceptance to Gwen during the celebratory banquet.
As an old married couple for almost four decades now, Klavdiya knew that her husband was a brooder and one whose fierce loyalty did not manifest in kindness. Always the laconic, Guo never complained of hardship, and when he felt the need to act, he did so without regard for his wellbeing. It was a trait that served him well the previous hound masters of the CCP, more so now as the Chairman of the Confidential Communications Committee.
By that same virtue, Guo had always respected his wife's decisions, allowing her the freedom to act as she saw fit. He loved her dearly, though he rarely made his love known for his rough and austere upbringing. Unlike herself, Guo had been a Frontierman, a first-son who chose to leave the sanctuary of his isolated village in Hebei. Klavdiya's erstwhile Clan of estranged White Russians had been dead set against her marriage to a Mage of no import, much who professed to be a farmer. Thankfully, Klavdiya had been no less hardheaded and determined than Guo. Then, during the bloody Sino War, the PLA won sweeping victories across China, allowing the couple to catch the crest of that rising power. In the aftermath, they had built something from nothing, creating a "House of Song" despite the humble origins of Guo's lost, ancient Clan in the wilderness.
However, just when the couple were happiest, the troubles began.
When Hai disappeared, Guo grew wracked with grief. Later, when they realised the corpse was not their firstborn son, but some doppelgänger he had used to escape, her husband became tyrannical and uncontrollable. It was as though something had broken inside the uncomplicated man she once knew, and the kind soldier slowly grew to his present, twisted self.
Then, some decade and a failed marriage later, they received the news that Jun was sterile. As talented as her son was, his rare Affinity exacted a terrible cost from his body, one that could not be healed by spells, items, nor Demi-human rituals. They had even consulted the Magi of the PLA, Grand Marshall Sun, at which point the God-like man had informed them that a Greater Wish might suffice. It was an answer, Guo and Klavdiya conceded, but a wishful one. No Mage would dream of begging a Magi to make a crooked deal with the supernatural Djinn, not to mention they had to request a foreign Magi from the central continent to intervene.
Her tortured husband somehow grew more bitter and removed, distracted even in the years since, placing his entire being into his work. She had tried to reason with Guo, perhaps accepting their daughter's son, Tao, as an heir, but Guo lamented that he could never return to his Hebei village and speak with the ancestors again.
With a near-madness in his eyes, Guo had professed that, under the direction of Song Guo, the lineage of Song Ying Xing, a family with four hundred years of history, now come to an end. HE was the one who had left the village to join the PLA against all advice; he was the one who told his parents that the House would thrive. Now he must return to visit those ghostly halls and tell them that the family line would end with Jun and that if Jun died, there would be no more Songs left in the world.
Klavdiya felt his pain, but she could not share Guo burden. She had given him children already, three to be exact—now, she was too old, and he was too exhausted.
Yet, fate was a funny thing.
When Guo inadvertently found Hai and Gwen and thus discovered he had a grandson, her husband was positively over the moon.
And when he found that Percy had the rarified Affinity for Salt, Guo had felt as though the ancestors' spirits had forgiven his trespass, resigning himself to repetitive utterances of, "Thank Mao… thank Mao… I can now face my father's grave."
Now, her husband had to ensure that Percy's legacy—thereby the Song's legacy, would be without blemish. On the matter of Gwen's stay in Shanghai, she was confident even an old hound of the MSS wouldn't dare violate their spoken pact with Sydney's Morning Star.
It meant that the meeting tonight had to be about that other issue that Guo had raised, one that Klavdiya had earlier persuaded her husband to leave until a future date.
The matter was in regards to an inheritance of the Song Clan.
A relic called "The Kirin Amulet".
Initially a single item, Guo had separated it to give to his two sons. According to his village's legend, the Kirin Amulet was crafted from the core of a Celestial Kirin, one of the four Heavenly-Beast archetypes of the old Dynasties, worshipped as Land Gods before the PLA forbade such nonsense. For the Songs, the amulet was an inheritance from father to son.
Jun had the Yang half.
Hai had the Yin half.
Gwen had inherited her amulet from Hai, given to her out of kindness, passed from father to daughter.
When Guo suggested Gwen give up the amulet for Percy, Klavdiya had asked Jun to intervene, for if her mulish husband listened to anyone, it was his younger son, the pride and joy of the House of Song. As anticipated, Guo couldn't embarrass his son in front of the granddaughter, leaving the matter unresolved.
In Klavdiya's eyes, the pendant belonged to Gwen. Already, the girl had been tortured, abandoned, and left distressed and afraid by her father and then her grandfather. Not only that, the girl had lost her teacher, home, and friends to Sydneys' Beast Tide. To take from her the only possession from her father would to too cruel even for Guo.
As for tradition—Klavdiya could only scoff at her husband's onset of sentimentalism. Hadn't she married him? Hadn't Klavdiya abandoned her family to join the People's Army with Guo during the Sino Wars?
Of course, the amulet wasn't just a symbol. Knowing Guo's bloodline, the boy would not need its blessings until he had children of his own, but that would be many years yet. By then, with the girl mellowing into the Song's legacy, the amulet's passing from sister to brother could be a kind and pragmatic act.
What was unexpected, Klavdiya supposed—was the sudden manner in which Gwen distinguished herself by besting Shanghai's youths at the Bund, then winning the Hengsha tournament.
Ecstatic at Gwen's burgeoning Affinity with Lightning and the impossible element of Void, Klavdiya called in a few more favours from Dean Luo and Magister Wen.
The whole process, she supposed, should have been one for celebration.
But it wasn't so for her husband.
Gwen's affirming flame was so bright, so brilliant, that Percy's talent was a shivering candle beside the furious discharge of her blinding lightning.
As for Guo's unquenchable antagonism, Klavdiya could only chalk it down to ingrained insecurity left by Hai's deceit. Another son's kind words might have swayed a better man, but Hai was not a good child, and Guo had long since given up on being a good father.
Watching her husband's eyes boring into the girl, Klavdiya made up her mind to help the girl herself, even if Guo dared to admonish her.
She did not wish to fight her husband, and they still loved one another too much to threaten a separation.
In giving Gwen every aid she could muster, Klavdiya could only hope that one day, the girl standing on the top of the world would remember them as her family, one that chose poorly—and not her adversaries.
[https://i.imgur.com/WZkxC3a.png]
After the first glance, Guo felt it best not to meet his wife's eyes.
Barely three weeks ago, under the hard light of a Cognisance Chamber, the foreign girl had professed to be his granddaughter, the progeny of Hai, and the single most talented youth Guo had ever seen. Within hours, Klavdiya had caught wind of the girl's existence and brought her home like a stray animal.
Then, not more than forty-eight hours later, the girl returned from some Mao-forsaken nightclub, having trounced the Lins and shamed the Fung family, flaunting her forbidden skills in an underground fighting ring, for money!
Yet, somehow, before Guo could give her a sound thrashing to remind her of the discipline her father had utterly neglected, he received a Vid-Cast routed from the Central Committee. After apologising to his superior, he was forced to confront a Radiant gweilo accompanied by a livid sorceress wearing too much red.
Klavdiya had to take his hand and calm his infernal temper. That damned scarlet woman's first words were to threaten him! Him—Guo Song! A Committee Secretary!
"Imprison Gwen again, and I'll burn Shanghai to the ground!"
Hers was a "threat" to the state's dignity, but the Central Committee had chosen to dismiss the matter out of respect for the man beside her, the new Tower Master of Sydney, Gunther Shultz.
Guo had almost called the woman's bluff—but for Klavdiya, he would have thrown Gwen Song back into the Sky Prison.
But that option was beyond him now. The girl, against all expectation, was a direct disciple of not just any Magister but the Mage who had founded the Tower system used by the West. Even in China, only the Marshall of the People's Liberation Army, or one of the twenty-four Secretariats of the State serving under the Supreme Leader of the Party, could have compared to the influence wielded once wielded by Henry Kilroy.
It was just as well then that the man had perished, though Guo suspected the girl had something to do with it.
Perhaps as a mutual gesture of respect, Gunther Shultz removed the offending woman in red, apparently the heroic "Scarlet Sorceress", followed by an apology on her behalf.
Guo then sat down with the "Morning Star" to discuss his wayward granddaughter.
"I do not wish to make things difficult for either of us, Secretary Song," the man had said. The implication was obvious. The gweilo Magus had indicated he 'chose' to smooth things over, meaning he could elect other choices as well.
So they negotiated, conversed in charades and bargaining with enigmatic implications until, against all odds, Guo found that he liked the man. They were military men put into enviable positions by deed and not by connections—men of competence who could find a compromise.
Soon, they reached an agreement.
Gunther would convince the mother to release Percy Song into Guo's care.
In return, Guo promised to see Gwen through university, one of the top two that could access the International University Competition, and supply her with shelter, aid and care so long as she remained in Shanghai. Finally, at her education's end, she would be free to venture out of the city, unmolested by the CCP's Party politics.
Personally, Guo couldn't guarantee their final detail but agreed to perform what was within his power because he seriously doubted anyone who wished to personally antagonise Gunther Shultz and sour the webwork of relations established by the late Henry Kilroy. Likewise, it was far easier to trade the girl to the West when the time came rather than war with the West to hold on to her unwilling talent.
However, a final fishbone in Guo's throat had to be addressed.
The girl still had Hai's ancestral amulet.
Klavdiya had convinced him to wait—until the girl unexpectedly returned from Hengsha Island as the victor. Somehow, together with the Water Mage from the mother's bastardised Clan, two nincompoops from the Wangs, and Klavdiya's competent niece, they broke the record for CCs gathered during a Dungeon manifestation.
Guo, of course, knew why the girl had won. Knowingly or otherwise, Gwen was using the Kirin amulet to soothe the life energies of the Creature Cores as they expired.
In all likelihood, the girl probably thought that was the function of the Kirin Amulet! Little did Gwen know that the pendant was far beyond a simple fetish that made currency. Instead, the Kirin Amulet was an heirloom device responsible for the survival of the Song's bloodline.
After Hengsha, all of his colleagues became suddenly interested in the girl.
"Guo! You've been hiding a gem from us!" His Politburo colleagues had joked with him. "You should let her out into society, old hound. We no longer live in the old society, you know."
Even his superior, the Secretary of the Internal Affairs Committee, had mentioned her.
"What is this I hear about a Void Mage in your family?" From his communication device had come the voice of a woman Guo respected and admired as a colleague and a patriot, and it grated his ears to hear her speak of his estranged granddaughter. "Mind bringing her in for a tour? We can maybe help her out."
He declined their offers.
Then, at the banquet, Klavdiya had surprised them all by announcing not only that she had applied Gwen to Fudan but that Dean Luo had personally accepted Gwen into a full-time scholarship.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Three weeks.
THREE WEEKS! Guo felt his world reel and turn.
In less time it took for a junior Mage to master Magic Missile, the girl had fought into the inner circle of the progenies of politics and prosperity. She impressed the scions of the Clans. She made herself known in the Pudong Tower. She acquired the lauded full-scholarship prize awarded to only six students per annum in Fudan.
And that wasn't the worst of it.
They loved her.
His family loved her.
Jun adored her for reasons he could not begin to understand.
His wife pulled in favours she had held for decades to help the girl.
The Wangs, the damned Wangs who could never see eye to eye with him, whom Guo had counted on to become a staunch ally to Percy, fawned over the girl as though she was one of their own.
Even his wife's niece, who fled from trouble in Moscow, stuck by the girl.
How was such a thing possible? The very prospect of what the girl could achieve frightened Guo.
He couldn't understand it.
Her achievements were inconceivable to him, but to watching eyes, Gwen's actions had the makings of an heir. If so, was it a mistake to make her brother the heir?
No! Guo told himself.
He rarely dared to displease Klavdiya in their four decades of marriage, but this was something he had to do. The girl was a menace; she felt nothing for the House of Song. She was too steeped in the ways of the West.
Watching the girl standing starkly in the ambient light, Guo steeled his resolve.
It was time to return Percy's birthright to the boy, else the line of Song would truly end.
[https://i.imgur.com/WZkxC3a.png]
"As I was saying… what do you think, Gwen?" Gwen's grandfather persisted. "About our designs for Percy?"
The ominous tension caused Gwen to stiffen further, so much that she could feel cramps developing throughout her diaphragm and abdomen. Gwen looked towards her brother, who dared not meet her eyes.
"I am overjoyed that he could inherit your austere position in time," she stated loudly, feeling the constrained emotion in Guo's voice. As polite and pleasant as she had been to her grandfather, they had remained estranged for reasons she could not discern.
"Am I to understand you support Percy's bid?" Guo reclined in his chair, touching a finger to his temple. "I wonder then..."
The patriarch's following words caught her off guard like a vicious Salt Strike.
"What would you say if I wanted you to become the Matriarch of the House of Song? Would you like to become the inheritor? Replace your brother?"
Besides her, Percy stiffened, appearing as though struck by one of Gwen's Lighting Bolts. Mirroring her brother, Gwen felt her movements petrify.
Her grandfather wasn't serious, and this was a test—that much was self-evident to Gwen, but the offer still made her dizzy with unbidden projections of the future. She did not possess the ambition to take what was Percy's, but it didn't mean that her blood wasn't boiling and her face had not taken on a glowering, presumptuous pink shade.
Guo's question hung in the air until Gwen could force her lips to move.
"You jest, Grandfather," she replied carefully. "At any rate, I have no desire to inherit. It is not my place nor my inclination."
"Good. A fine declaration," Guo replied, allowing each syllable of Mandarin to ring across the vaulted ceiling of the Meeting Room.
Percy looked as though he was already rocking back and forth from the rollercoaster of emotions and expectations. When he looked up again at his sister, Gwen could see the germination of a seed planted the day her Aussie Opa gave her the keys to the estate.
When Percy looked downcast, Gwen felt constricting guilt plugging her chest.
She had lived two lifetimes—yet, she had been an absent presence in Percy's life both times. Should she have paid more attention to her brother? Gwen wondered how differently she could have chosen until she realised her grandfather was still speaking.
"The House of Song… originated from the late Yuan Dynasty, when the people of Hebei rebelled against Mongol rule… there had been many branching sects since, but our House remained as guardians of the home front…"
She wasn't sure how to feel about Guo. Her bond with Opa had been so easy, so effortless, just like her love of her babulya. If Guo wanted to kick her out, what should she do? They said that one couldn't choose kin, but wasn't covenant of the womb a scared union, especially in the East?
Her babulya had said that she would walk the Path of Asura—if so, wasn't this just another thing she had to fight?
In front of Gwen, her grandfather continued unabated.
"When the Manchurians finally broke the Ming's back, the House chose to go underground, fighting the oppressors in another form… the village was rebuilt not once, but fourteen times! It was the darkest period of the Song's history. Song Kai volunteered for the dangerous mission—"
No, Gwen decided. Her grandfather shall have his way, but she would never give up her babulya, Uncle Jun, and the family she had found. One lifetime of loneliness had been enough.
In this stranger's land where she was a stranger, Gwen Song would carve out her piece and make it her own. Here, she would prosper, and her Master's plans would come to fruition, and then Gunther and Alesia would be proud when they came to visit.
In front of her, Guo's story was reaching a climax.
"I left the village! It was a decision that shocked them all... I met your grandmother during those dark days... The Communist party finally united China in 1949, sweeping aside the Magical Creatures, the Demi-humans, and most importantly, the foreign devils who thought themselves… which is why I hope you could come to understand why Percy is such an important part of the Song's legacy."
Gwen blinked, attempting to recollect Guo's story.
Ming dynasty?
Manchurians?
The Japanese?
An old village, rotting away in Hebei.
She could intellectually understand her grandfather's position, but how was she supposed to find inspiration or rapport? Did he expect her to swell with filial piety? Break out with patriotism when finally, Maozhidong's army pushed into Shanghai and razed the Japanese encampments to the ground?
Guo had good cause, but the man's rationales were of such pith and moment that they trumped her wants, dispelled her desires, negated her needs with the power of the sun.
"Gwen?" her babulya beckoned.
Gwen met her grandmother's soft eyes apologetically, determined to give her grandmother no trouble.
She bowed her head. "What would you like me to do, Grandfather?"
Klavidya made her unhappiness known and a long sigh.
"I shall be plain then." Guo no longer minced words. "I request the return of the Kirin Amulet. I also wish for you to renounce your candidacy as heir to the House of Hebei Song, the descendants of Song Ying Xing."
Gwen allowed the words to filter through her mind.
Surprisingly, she felt nothing.
She undid her ribbon tie with slow ceremony and retrieved the amulet, still warm with her body heat from its home just above her chest. The half-amulet glinted in the low light, its jade glowing faintly, its marbled patterns appearing as though vessels of blood.
Guo continued to speak.
"There are uses for the amulet which are only known to the inheriting member of the family. Hai had never learned it; he was too young when he left. Jun has learnt it, but he has no children. Percy, however, is a perfect beneficiary of the amulet's boon. Gwen—it's useless for you because you will not learn its secrets. You will not access its greatest gift."
"Guo!" Her grandmother snapped at her husband. "Get on with it."
Holding the pendant in the palm of her hand, Gwen carefully caressed the thing that had aided her since her Awakening.
The Kirin Amulet was the reason why they won the competition. It was her ticket to Creature Cores, currency and thereby her success. Likewise, it had received Almudj's blessing, though she was thankful that Almudj's mana was spirit-bonded to her Astra Body and not stuck in this trinket.
"Alright." She spoke with trembling tenderness. There was no need for hysterics, no call for drama. What good would that do her now? She was letting go of something, but then Guo was letting go of something too. With the amulet given, she would be free of the Songs, more so than Hai.
"I, Gwen Song, daughter of Hai Song and Helena Huang, renounce my entitlement to inherit the House of Song. Likewise, I will therefore remove myself from this House, and as ask that you do not interfere with my future in any way, shape or form."
She felt her breath quicken as she starkly felt the space between her breasts, feeling as though she had removed a piece of her flesh.
"Percy, come here," she said to her brother.
"Sis, I…" Percy looked as though he wanted to refuse, but Gwen knew her brother better than that. He was an ambitious pup. Percy had always thought himself destined for greatness. Against Guo, it was delusional even to imagine her brother possessing the gall to say no.
Like in a dream, Percy moved his hand mechanically toward her as though the offending appendage did not belong to him but someone else. Gwen allowed the red strings to loosen before hanging them over her brother's neck.
Her brother's eyes reddened.
"Thank you," he muttered softly, wetting his parched lips.
Gwen forced her hand to move away from his chest and rest beside her thighs. She breathed deeply until her breath to its usual cadence before her gaze returned to the foot of the chair where Guo sat, still wearing an old, worn pair of cotton-flats, the kind that farmers wore in Hubei.
"I am glad you and I could see eye to eye." Her grandfather said. "If you wish to move away, I am more than happy to provide-"
"Guo, I'll take it from here." It was her babulya who intervened, cutting off her husband mid-sentence. She left the seat and walked towards Gwen to take her hand. "Take your grandson and go, Guo. I need to speak to Gwen."
Guo's face visibly twitched, though he said nothing as he led her brother into the private antechamber.
"Goodnight, Grandfather," Gwen coaxed her voice to retain its usual timbre. She then turned to her brother. "Congrats, Percy."
Percy said something as well, but Gwen was already being hugged by her grandmother, who led her out back to the side garden, where Jun and her father, Morye, was waiting for them.
"We heard a few words from here..." Her father began. "Well, it doesn't take a Diviner to guess what that old dog—"
"Jun, Hai, the training room." Their babulya silenced him before motioning toward Gwen's now-defunct bedroom.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Alright, Mama."
Within, Richard had already packed her belongings.
"So." He looked up expectantly. "When do we move out?"
"Richard…" Gwen felt such gladness for her cousin that she wanted to cry.
"Richard!" Morye broke the sentimental moment. "Good to see you. How are your parents?"
"In a Refugee Camp, Sir," Richard replied drily. "They lost everything during the attack. You were there."
Morye retracted his hand. "Right, of course."
"BUT—they're doing better now, waiting on some CCs for their immigration grants."
"Ah? That's good to hear," her father replied awkwardly before turning to Gwen and the topic of Guo. "Look, don't worry about the old hound, alright? Fuck him. Why do you think I left? You got me still, right?"
Gwen looked at her father's boisterous face. Was the man trying to cheer her up? Rely on him? She felt too exhausted to fight him and too sorry for babulya for having a son like Hai.
"Hai! Don't speak about your father like that!" Klavdiya chided him.
Her father scoffed. "Alright, mama. Look, I am sorry about Percy. I didn't teach that boy well. He takes after his mother, I'd say. Well, Gwen? You want a hug?"
Somehow, her father's come-what-may attitude made her feel better about the whole ordeal. "I'll be fine. I am just a little… upset."
"Don't be shy! Come on!" Morye urged, glancing at his mother as though seeking approval. "Right in here! Both arms!"
With her babulya watching expectantly, Gwen resigned herself to the unexpected filial indulgence.
She allowed her father's arms to envelop her as she walked into his embrace, feeling his hands stretch across her shoulder and waist. Morye brushed her cheeks, his stubble stabbing into her skin. She became enveloped by his cologne and odour, reminding her of Forrestville, of the daily struggle to get her out of bed. She recalled when her father gave her a birthday gift, a six-pack of Bonds underwear, only to find out later it was initially intended for one of his girlfriends.
"Thanks, Dad." Gwen pulled herself away, feeling a little dubious about the nostalgia she had just undergone.
"Red Stars, I wish I had a daughter," Jun said beside them, his eyes green with envy. "That was beautiful."
"You don't know the half of it." Morye punched his brother in the arm. "That was a highlight for sure. Most of the time, Gwen screams like her mother."
"So—" Richard stashed his backpack against the wall and faced the family expectantly. "What's the go now, Gwen? I'll go where ever you go."
"Gwen, how are you feeling?" her babulya finally had a moment to squeeze in a word.
"I am fine." Gwen allowed her grandmother to caress her tender cheeks. "I am good. I can deal with it. I AM dealing with it."
"Please don't feel too strongly towards your grandfather. He's a stubborn old man, acting out of fear and stubbornness and not malice."
Her grandmother gave her father a look that spoke volumes.
"I know that." Gwen squeezed her grandmother's hands. "I'd be lying if I said I don't feel any resentment, but I understand how and why it happened. I don't fault Grandfather for being who he is."
Her babulya sighed deeply.
"I hope you mean that, Gwen." She patted her shoulder. "It would make me very happy if you do."
"I do mean it." Gwen was beyond glad that she had the wisdom of age to face the crisis; had she been her sixteen-year-old self, an actual adolescent, she would have bawled out her eyes and accused the world of being cruel and uncaring.
"Gwen? Babulya? Can we come in?" There came a knock on the door.
The new guests were Petra, Mina and Tao.
"Sorry for intruding," Petra spoke first. "We were—"
"Shit! So it's going DOWN? Are you getting kicked out? That's fucked, dawg! G-dawg is NOT cool! NOT COOL!"
Petra pushed past her indignant cousin and gave Gwen a big hug.
"Don't worry, Gwen," Petra said seriously. "Your scholarship, your position at the school, your future. Nothing can take them away from you. Look at me! I was also away from my parents, and I survived just fine. Whatever you need, I'll help."
"Thanks, Pats." Gwen felt her depression dispel.
"Gwen!"
Lea burst from Richard and joined the huddle, careful not to wet the two girls.
"Do we have to—?" Mina rolled her eyes but relented in the end, joining the triplet array to form a foursome of bodies rocking back and forth. "Say, you want to stay with me for a while? I got a spare apartment close to Fudan, and a couch for Richard, that or you can stay with us at the estate."
Tao wanted to join in, but Richard arrested the man before he could ruin the mood.
"Give them some space," he said to his distant cousin. "This is something that girls can do that we can't because we are stoic men who check our emotions at the door. Also, spoil this moment, and Petra will kick your ass."
"Right, thanks, dawg." Tao surprised them all by staying put.
While Gwen immersed itself in the company of her cousins, her uncle Jun took the opportunity to speak to her babulya. "Well, Mum? Regretting your decision not to fight Dad?"
"Not any more." Klavdiya hooked her son's arm inside her elbows. "Do you think young Percy can ever attain this? Gwen's with us for what, two, three weeks? The girl has a talent that's far beyond magic. The House of Song would have flourished under her."
"AND she's not one to forget her brother." Jun pointed out, then hugged his mother. He lowered his voice. "Mother, perhaps I could—"
His eyes met Gwen's.
"No, you mustn't." Klavdiya shook her head and squeezed her son's hand. "You need it; it's too dangerous otherwise. Wait until Gwen's older—assuming she wants children of her own."
"I'll have it ready for her." Jun touched his mother's hair thoughtfully.
Unable to guess what the two were speaking about, she looked to her father, who appeared absentmindedly in search of a cigarette.
The girls separated.
"Feeling better?" Petra was dazzling as always.
"Never better." Gwen exhaled, honestly confessing that she felt completely restored.
"Yeah, dawg. Don't be a stranger!" Tao quipped with his usual elegance.
A stranger, she mused. Only a moment ago, she had fancied herself a stranger. Yet, no less than half an hour later, she had family again. Taking a step back, Gwen surveyed the friends and family that she had gained by coming here to Shanghai.
Babulya, Petra, Mina, Tao, Uncle Jun and Richard.
Gwen bowed deeply toward her "family", sincerely expressing her gratitude. As they say, the home was where the heart was. If the Songs did not want her, then she would carve out a place of her own—a home, a House, a demesne, a Tower!