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As Irene’s mother advanced toward her, with the baby in her arms, the young woman gasped: “M-my b-brother?”

Elina smiled. “Milo. He’s three weeks old.”

“Why don’t you sit down, and we talk about everything calmly?” Vincent’s mother said.

“Let’s take care of Bella first… another Bella,” Vincent said toward his sister. “Can you see something from there?” he knocked in the pod.

“Yes.”

“Good… Put her in the next room, raise the pod a bit so she sees Prague… It’s night. It should be beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Brindabella said. “The pod can sit vertically.”

“Stay with your girls, Raya, I’ll take care of it,” Barbara said, raising the item alone. “It’s… uh… not so heavy,” she said, panting a little.

The twin girls, curious like kids are, were stretching up to see the baby, now in Irene’s hands. She went to the couch, sitting to offer them a better view. Cupcakes approached, too, sniffing the baby, but Irene kicked her butt. “Go away, you filthy rat! You’ll give him allergies or something!” she yelled, protecting the little one with her arms.

How the might have fallen… Vincent nodded. Minutes ago, the tiger was your baaaaby… he mimicked her voice in thought. I had so much trouble keeping that beast out of our bed at night… “So… you sold the castle?” Vincent asked.

“It was put under lock by a judge’s order,” Karl said. “My ex… I was married before, a long time ago—”

“His ex and their son turned the company’s board against him,” Elina said. “We… spent a lot of money to…”

“Help us,” Irene said with a sad voice. “It’s because of me… If I hadn’t started the foundation…”

“All the money in the world is nothing compared to you being happy,” Karl said.

“It’s because of the foundation we met,” Vincent said. “I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

“Me neither,” Irene said slowly. “I know in my heart… foundation or not… here or there, we were destined to meet…”

“But Milo would not have existed without your trip and everything it entailed,” Elina said. “I didn’t notice the pregnancy until September… and there were problems… I had to have a C-section at seven months… and…”

“Ludwing performed a Healing daily, before and after the birth,” Vincent’s mother said. The king shrugged, waving his hand like he had done nothing exceptional. “He’s a truly nice and good-hearted guy!” The emphasized words made the king shrink on the couch, a grimace of disgust on his face, protecting his face behind his arms like a vampire avoiding the sun.

“The baby doesn’t look premature at all,” Barbara said matter-of-factly, returning to the room. “I’m Barbara, an Amazon, and he’s my husband, Bee.”

“We know Bee,” Karl nodded while the youngster waved. “Well, at least we knew the version without muscles… You look very fit now, young man.”

“T-thanks,” Bee blushed.

“This is Lila, also my wife,” Vincent pulled the woman by the hand because she was hiding behind the group.

“We’re good friends,” Irene said, slightly blushing, looking at her parents, who looked slightly surprised.

“Come here!” Vincent’s mother opened her arms to hug the dance, who stepped briskly to meet the embrace, tears in her eyes.

“Raya, also an Amazon, and her daughters… and… where’s Sven?”

“I’m in the vestibule, boss!” the spider yelled. “People get scared when they see me for the first time. I’ll stay here for now, I’m OK.”

“Sven’s a sentient spider, about this big,” Vincent stretched his hands. “Totally peaceful… and with a computer in his head. Are the guys OK?”

“The AIs? Yeah, boss, no worries. They wonder why you need them for here.”

“A lot of stuff… They’ll find out in due time,” Vincent’s mouth twitched. The truth was he needed the spider, not the AIs, to show him around in case he had to convince the authorities that aliens are a thing and ask for more weapons and soldiers. Which, considering the Altenschloss financial situation, was now a realistic plan. “And you didn't tell us what happened because?” Vincent looked at Karl. In the last conversation through the ring, he had pretended he was visiting Prague and accidentally was near Ludwing.

“We didn’t want you worried, son,” Karl said. “How are things up there?”

“Perfectly fine,” Vincent hissed. “We’re here on a tourist tour. There was no war or problem, and we didn’t have to use the thermonuclear nuke.”

“I guess I deserve that…” Karl furrowed his brow.

“We better be going,” Vincent’s sister said, getting up from the couch. “You need... err… some accommodation? We could take two people…”

“We’ll sort it out tomorrow,” Vincent said. “It’s still morning for us, and we have many things to discuss. I’ll pay them a hotel if I must.”

“We’ll come, dear,” Vincent’s mother said. “Come, Martin, help me pack.” The two hurried to the main bedroom.

“Noo…” Bella wailed.

“How are things for you?” Vincent asked his sister.

“We bought a new apartment in Radlice—”

“Residential area, not far from here. Parks and hills,” Vincent explained.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Peter sold his studio. He quit his job to open a private counseling practice. We’ll get married.”

“What your sister doesn’t say is that both of them borrowed us a quarter of a million euros to cover the lawyer fees,” Karl said. “And Ludwing pours all his money into it too… He’s a celebrity now and gets invited on many talk shows making magic demonstrations.”

“Really?” Vincent widened his eyes. “Man, I’m glad I gave you a second chance. Thanks.”

“If I recall well, I gave you a second chance. You were on the point of being beaten and arrested by the police,” Ludwing said matter-of-factly.

“And who gave you your magic back?”

“Potato, tomato, who cares?” Bella raised her voice. “We’re still renovating the apartment, so we can’t take more than two peo— Oh, hell!”

Jana and Martin were back, carrying two giant pieces of luggage. If anything, that signaled an intention to stay for more than a few days.

“Mom, unpack!” Vincent said in a commanding voice. “The last thing a new couple needs is parents looking over their shoulder.”

“Bye,” Bella said, and she and Peter left quickly before her parents had the time to react.

“I’ll put Milo to bed,” Elina said, aiming for Vincent's parents’ bedroom.

“I booked three rooms in a hotel nearby for a week,” Irene said, working on her phone. “My card is still active, and I have fifty thousand euros left.”

“Great. Sven, you can come out,” Vincent called. The spider stepped into the room timidly, keeping his distance from the new people. “Question: if two AIs betrayed us, could the others be involved too? Maybe spying on us?”

“I dunno, man,” Sven said. “but I have control of the interface and had closed the external communication system. They interact with the exterior only when I allow it.”

“Bee, here’s a ring that will allow you to perform magic,” Vincent forwarded the item. “Dad, I’ll need you to cut more of these… And if you could let Bee use your workshop, that would be great.”

“And what do you want me to do there?” Bee asked.

“Experiment? Use your brain, you’re the smart guy. From where I sit, you have plateaued. Not to bitch, I mean… well, I’m alive because of you, but none of your enchantments is permanent… Learn to stack them or something, eliminate the cool-down stuff… you figure it out.

Karl raised his hand. “About those AIs—”

“Just a sec,” Vincent said. “In that pod is a sick child, trapped in an induced sleep for centuries. The first thing we should do is try to help her. Do you know a clinic who could—”

“One of my best friends is a doctor with his own private clinic in Prague,” Karl said. “Elina gave birth there for free.”

“Can you call him and set an appointment? I have some gold and gems left. I could pay.”

“I’ll call him,” Karl said, taking his phone and dialing a number. When his friend answered, they started talking in a low voice.

“All OK?” Vincent asked Bee, who whispered with Barbara and Raya.

“I’m translating what you speak,” the younger man said. “When you speak among yourself, we hear Czech. When you speak to us, the Common tongue.”

“Shit… I didn’t think about that…”

“We should let the baby sleep,” Irene said. “Let’s move to the hotel.”

“I’ll check if Bella is OK with staying here,” Vincent said. “She can stay here, right?”

“I’ll leave her the room for the night,” Ludwing said. “Even if she’s in a pod, it’s not proper etiquette for me to sleep in the same room; it would ruin her reputation. I’ll sleep in the attic, in my raven form.”

“You live here too?” Vincent gasped.

“I rent here… Jana’s food is out of this world.”

“We like having someone around to talk with,” Vincent’s mother said. “Since you and your sister don’t visit so often…”

Vincent growled and went into his former room. The moon was full and shone over the layer of snow outside.

“It’s a beautiful view,” Brindabella said, hearing his steps.

“How are you? Is the pod stable?”

“It’s not the pod the problem; it’s my body… it fails fast… At least I saw the stars one more time… This city is beautiful.”

“My friend will receive you first thing in the morning,” Karl pushed his head into the room. “We have to be there at six o’clock sharp. He has a tight schedule.”

“Send me the address, and I’ll take a walk and attune to the location so we can jump there directly with the pod.”

Karl nodded and returned to the living room. Vincent put his hand on the pod’s window, mimicked by the little white hand from the other hand. “See you tomorrow,” he said softly.

After ten more minutes of hugs and goodbyes, the group left the apartment, walking north toward Mala Strana. There were many people out, it was only nine o’clock. Ludwing joined them for a breath of fresh air. In his own words, he adored snow.

“So many lights!” one of Raya’s daughters said.

“It’s pretty,” the other added.

“Say, Ludwing, what have you been up to lately?” Vincent asked.

“I’ve been on TV shows to perform magic.”

“Yeah, Karl mentioned that.”

“And I am happy to report that by complimenting your mother’s beauty daily, I pressured Martin to show his affection again. He’s performing his romantic duties regularly.”

“Why did I have to ask?” Vincent facepalmed, burrowing his fingers into his scalp. “I sure didn’t want to know that!”

“Raya and her girls will have one room, we three another, and Bee and Barbara the third,” Irene said, most likely to break the argument. “I would have paid for another room for my folks, but keeping the baby in a familiar environment is better.”

“Sven is smart enough to stay hidden, but what about Cupcakes?” Vincent asked. The spider hid in a backpack he borrowed, but the tiger strolled alongside her master, attracting many passersby's eyes.

“I can take her back to the apartment,” Ludwig offered.

“No way,” Irene protested. “She sheds a lot of hair. It will make the baby sick! I’ll pay an extra fee or something.”

“Hm…” Vincent sighed. The animal was now as large as a normal dog. “What if Cupcakes waits outside, and I go back for her and bring her in by Striding?”

“Do you have enough charges?”

“I think so… I Can’t bring my Menu up yet, but I should be over a hundred…”

“Yes, but we have to use them sparingly… We’ll try my way first.”

“Fine,” Vincent surrendered, raising his hands in the air.

Once in the hotel lobby, the personnel and the customers stopped abruptly from whatever they were doing and stared at their group. I knew it was a bad idea, Vincent thought. A tiger, two women with swords and armor… a thing he had totally forgotten about as it had become natural.

“Can I… have your autograph?” the receptionist, a woman in her early thirties, blurted. She pushed a notebook and a pen on the desk toward Vincent without taking her eyes off him.

“My autograph?” he asked.

“Y-Yes… if you’d be kind… to say for… Yvonne… with l— sympathy…”

“Are you fainting?” Lila asked because the woman wobbled on her feet.

“I think she saw you on the talent show,” Ludwing said.

“Oh, goodness, yes, I forgot…” Vincent facepalmed. “Sure, here you are,” he signed on the first page. “I said with deep admiration,” he winked to gain the woman’s goodwill, anticipating problems in lodging the tiger pet.

“You’re here for the Grand Finale, right?” the receptionist asked, looking at the tiger.

“Err… the Grand Finale?”

“I forgot to tell you,” Ludwing interjected. “There’s a big talent show in town, with the best winners of all talent shows worldwide. You can bring a team of up to ten people. We were invited, but I didn’t answer yet… Do you want me to book us for that? The first round is in a week.”

“I dunno,” Vincent sighed. “We have a lot on our hands.”

“The prize is ten million dollars.”

“We’re in,” Vincent said.

“I knew it!” the receptionist woman clapped. “I can’t wait to see you perform again… I’m so happy!” she squeezed the notebook at her sizable bosom. Irene discreetly threw a kick in Vincent’s shin, frowning at him.

Hey, it’s not my fault I’m a celebrity! “It’s OK to take the tiger in the room?” Vincent asked. “We can pay extra.”

“For you, it’s free. Is that a girl?” the woman looked at Cupcake's pink ribbon. “What will she do for the show?”

“It’s a secret for now,” Vincent winked again.

“Of course, of course… Here are the keys… no, sorry… not these… the royal suite is free for the week… why don’t you take it instead of the single rooms? For the same price, of course. It has five separate bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.”

“Won’t your boss be upset about that?” Lila asked. Her normally calm voice showed signs of annoyance.

“My husband?” the woman snorted. “Jakub!” she screamed toward a door in her back. “I’m giving some friends a discount on the Royal Suite. OK?” If the coldest tempest from the poles had entered the room, it would have felt warm compared to her last word.

“S-Sure, darling,” a voice stuttered back.

“See, all’s all right,” the woman smiled.

“Thank you,” Irene frowned, snatching the keys and hurrying to the elevator.

“See you tomorrow,” Ludwing said.

“Tell my folks I’ll come at five to pick the pod,” Vincent said.