Zero watched the water tumble downstream, the creek running heavy in the spot he had chosen to observe. “She wants plumbing.”

Ren looked in surprise at the devil and whistled. “Damn, boy. You sure know how to pick ‘em. Went and got yourself a real high class broad, didn’t ya? So, how are you gonna manage that?”

“I can do it.” The boy visually measured the distance from the creek to where he was considering putting the cabin. “I’ll pipe it so the water runs down. Let gravity do the work. If I can find some kind of steel box or barrel, I can even set it up for hot water. It won’t be instant like in Lannistown, but I’ll set it up so a fire can be built underneath to heat it. We can have hot baths, and I’m sure Sakura would like not having to haul and boil water anymore.”

“I’m sure she would like that very much.” The man smirked. He enjoyed when the boy spoke more than a few words at a time, something he’d been doing more and more with little to no prompting. “You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”

“I have.”

“You put any thought into how much it’ll cost? Plumbing would be great, but it sounds mighty expensive. Especially up here.”

The devil nodded. “It is. I talked to Torg about the price of pipe from the nearest city that manufactures it. It’s… a lot.”

He hadn’t been expecting the boy to have gotten that far. “You already went? When? Did you go with Ivy?”

“No. She fell back asleep, so I went on my own this morning and was back before anyone was up.”

Ren really hadn’t been expecting that. “Huh.” His head bobbed in surprise. “Good for you. So how much is it?”

The boy looked at the man, slightly uncomfortable. “I think... it’s better you don’t know.”

“Oh!” His curiosity piqued. “Is that so? So, you’re telling me that you want my coin, but you won’t tell me how much you’re planning on mooching? That’s interesting.”

“If you know, then Sakura will know.”

“And?”

A small groan rumbled in Zero’s throat. “And she’ll argue over the price of beans for hours just to save a couple bronze, all while having a pocket full of gold. There’s no way she’ll allow it if she knows the price.”

Ren nodded slowly, realizing the boy had a very valid point. “You’re right. Let’s not do that. Keep it to yourself. Just tell me if I have enough for it?”

“You do.”

“Will I go broke over this fancy luxury?”

Zero shook his head. “Not even close, but we’ll have to get a box.”

“Can Torg order it in?”

“He can.”

“Alright then.” The man turned and headed towards the cottage. “Better to get it done sooner rather than later. Who knows how long it’s gonna take to get here.” The boy followed as Ren went to the shed and pulled out two shovels, handing one over. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the yard, concentrating. “Now where did I put it?” he mumbled as he chewed his tongue.

Zero walked a short ways off before piercing the grass with the blade of the shovel, pulling the dirt out, and dumping it to the side.

“That’s my boy. Good thing one of us was paying attention.” The angel joined the devil, the two of them working silently as the hole grew wider and deeper with every shovel full.

Ivy and Sakura watched them from in front of the cottage, the girl scrubbing sheets as the woman wrung them out and hung them on the clothesline.

“What are you two doing?” Sakura finally called to them when she tired of trying to figure it out herself.

“Getting coin!” Ren responded, his attention focused on the destruction of the yard.

The fox raised a brow as she made her way to them, her light gray dress swishing at her calves. “Why are you digging for coin?”

“Because gold doesn’t grow on trees.” He grinned at the dirt. “You have to unearth it.”

She stared down at the hole, considering the possibility that the man had finally lost it. “You’re not making any sense. That’s not how it works.”

Ren stopped and looked at her as though the answer was obvious. “It does when you’ve buried coin all throughout the yard. The only problem is, I don’t exactly remember where it’s all at. But the fun is in the search.”

Sakura was becoming more concerned with the state of the man’s mind. He had definitely lost it. “Why did you bury coin in the yard?”

“Cause I didn’t really know what to do with all of it, and it seemed like a bad idea to just leave it laying around the house. So, I decided to bury it to keep it safe. And it’s like digging up treasure. It’s exciting.” He held the shovel towards her, his eyes and smile bright. “You wanna try?”

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Her lips scrunched to the side as she considered it before taking the tool and digging.

Ren chuckled, “It’s fun, isn’t it?”

The woman failed in suppressing her own smile. “It kind of is.”

Ivy finished the wash and came to stand beside the man, her wings flitting freely behind her. “Ren, when are we going to go see Maggie?”

“Just give me a minute.” The man scowled, displeased with the girl’s nagging when there were more important and exciting matters to pursue.

She whimpered lightly, her lips pursed in disappointment. “You keep saying that. It’s already been over a fortnight.”

“I need another minute. Maybe three.”

“I’d like to be able to go into the village without the cloak on,” the girl complained softly.

Ren growled as he rolled his head along his shoulders, his grimace facing the sky. “That’s so easy to say when you’re not the one whose life is potentially being put at risk.” He glanced down at the girl whose head hung in shame, his exasperation turning to guilt, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing her close as she buried her face into his chest. “I’m sorry, Little One. I don’t mean it, I’m only joking. You’ve been very patient, and I won’t make you wait any longer. We’ll go tomorrow. I promise. You wanna open the box? That’ll make you feel better.”

Ivy peered up, her expression thrilled as her mood instantly improved. “The treasure?!”

“The treasure!”

“I do!”

“How deep did you bury it?” Sakura griped, the hole now up to her knees without an end in sight.

“It wouldn’t be treasure if it was easy to get to, now would it, Sakura?” The man informed with little sympathy. “Life isn’t just going to hand you everything you want on a silver platter. You gotta buckle down, quit your bitchin’, and work for it.” His eyes scanned over the rest of the yard. “Unless this is the wrong spot. That’s a very good possibility.”

Zero continued digging, unfazed. “It’s not. This is the easy one to get to.”

“This is only one?” Ivy asked. “How many are there?”

“There’s three more. It should only be a little deeper.”

Ren lightly kicked the boy in the back. “Why’d you pick the little one?”

“Because I don’t want to dig all day.”

“Sounds like laziness,” said the man who was standing around supervising.

The boy’s shovel hit against something solid, and he and Sakura dug around it, unearthing the wooden box. He grabbed it and handed it to Ivy.

“It’s heavy!” she exclaimed as she opened the top and gasped at the heap of gold coins inside. “There’s so many! However did you get so much coin?!”

“I told you, Little One.” Ren skimmed a fistful from the top and stuffed them into his pocket. “Gold in The Kingdom is like leaves in the fall.”

“It really is.” She ran her fingers over the bounty, having never seen close to the amount of coin that she now held in her hands. “And there’s more? Even bigger chests than this one?”

“Somewhere out there. Come on, boy. That’s enough screwing around for one day. Let’s get this done.”

Zero stepped out of the hole, helping Sakura out, before turning to Ivy. “It shouldn’t take long.” He leaned over, kissing the girl. “I’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll be here.” She beamed and waited for another kiss that never came.

“Enough of that!” Ren pushed the boy in the side of his hip with the bottom of his boot. “It never ends. You two are always all over each other. It’s disgusting. Knock it off.”

His eyes narrowed at the man before he went to claim the kiss that he had been denied. “You’re just jealous. Let’s go.”

The devil wasn’t wrong.

The angel followed after him, chuckling. “You’re really becoming a mouthy little shit. You’ve been around Sakura too much. She’s ruining you.” He threw his hand up lazily without looking back. “Fill in that hole while I’m gone, and be sure to be good while you wait for your alpha mate’s return, woman!”

The vixen examined the shovel in her hand, considering where the best place in the man’s back would be for the blade to pierce through before deciding to let his indiscretion go. She jammed it into the ground. Ren could deal with the mess later. He had created the problem, he could fix it.

“What are we going to do with this?” Ivy was still overtaken with amazement over the box.

“Take it inside,” Sakura offered with a small shrug. “Definitely don’t bury it again.”

“Where do you think the others are?” the girl asked as she turned to make her way back to the house.

“Only Zero knows.” She watched the fae for a moment as she walked away, her wings slowly opening and closing behind her. They really would need to go to Maggie’s tomorrow. No one wanted to, but putting off the inevitable was only making things more inconvenient for Ivy, and she had waited long enough.

But until then, there were other things to attend to.

The woman crossed the yard and went to the chicken coop. She had asked Okag to do something with their old chickens when she left, and the ogre had gathered them and given them to anyone who wanted them. By now, they were all long gone, lost to either age or becoming supper.

Sakura examined the old coop. She may have hated always being the one to clean it, but she loved the chickens and all their different personalities, and especially all the eggs they laid. She would get more, but they needed to rebuild the coop first. It would need new wire and posts, and the nesting boxes were beginning to rot and fall apart. Ren would have to be the one to build it, but she could tear it apart at least.

“Sakura?”

She turned, halfway through pulling the wire from the posts, and looked at Ivy and the jar she was holding. “What’s the jar for?”

The girl scuffed her toe against the ground, as she looked at the demon nervously. “I thought, maybe, if you want, we could put it at Raz’s grave. For flowers. But we don’t have to.”

The woman smiled at the girl and released the wire, her heart filling with a mixture of grief and pride. “That’s very sweet, Ivy. I think that’s a good idea.”

They went to the grave, and Sakura dug a small hole in front of the crosses for Ivy to put the jar into. They picked flowers and filled it with the vibrant blooms and some water. The two stood together, quiet, unsure of what to do next.

“I’ve seen you over here,” Sakura confessed gently, breaking the silence she knew she could no longer keep. “You’ve been talking to him, haven’t you? Praying for him.”

Ivy startled and turned her attention to the ground. “I’m sorry. I just wanted…”

The woman shook her head and sighed. “Don’t be sorry. You haven’t done anything wrong, but I have. It’s hard for me not to blame myself for his death, and it’s been easier to keep everything from you and expect you not to question anything. I convinced myself that I was protecting you, and protecting myself, but I wasn’t. I was just hurting both of us.” Her gaze settled on the girl. “I’m sorry. This is your home, and you should be able to go wherever and do whatever you like. And if you want to come to Raz’s grave, then you should. And if you want to know something, you should ask.”

The girl nodded and peered down at the bouquet, bright and beautiful atop of something that brought so much sadness. “What was he like?”

The demon hooked her arm through the fae’s and led her away. “How about I make you something to eat and tell you about him?”

It was time she did.