Arden pushed through the door of the inn, exhausted from the rest of his day.

“Hi, Arden!” Cough, one of the goblins who helped run the inn during the night, greeted him warmly, his large green ears flopping, “Miss ‘Nemone said you were back!”

“I am.” he smiled.

Cough, Snort, Bark, and Yip were a group of 4 goblin siblings that were invaluable at the inn. Hyacinth, Anemone, and Lily took care of most things during the morning hours, as well as anything truly important, but the four goblin siblings were trusted to run things the rest of the day. Despite their small statures, they did a good job, and were well-known fixtures at the inn.

“Just a quick visit? Or will you be staying for a little while?”

“I expect I’ll be here for a while. Work stuff.”

“Good, good.” Cough nodded.

“Are any of my aunts still awake?”

“Yes, of course!” Anemone said as she pushed through the swinging doors that lead into the employee-only part of the inn. The space housed the kitchen, the entrance to the tavern’s basement, the storerooms, and his aunts’ living quarters . “We were just about to have a second dinner.”

“A second dinner?” Arden snorted.

Anemone shrugged, “We got hungry again! Won’t you join us?”

“Alright.” he smiled, following her through the swinging doors. “Did Marrina manage to stay awake?”

“She did her best, but she eventually passed out on the couch. We haven’t had the heart to move her. Poor thing seemed exhausted!”

“I’ll get her to bed.” Arden nodded, but smiled, “Did you all keep her busy?”

“Yes! You should see the pretty shirts she got! We also talked her into some pretty necklaces she liked.”

“I hope you didn’t get her to spend all of her money!” the fey soldier snorted.

“No. Hyacinth didn’t let her pay for any of it. She was a little upset at first, but relented when Hyacinth said she considered her as good as her niece.” Anemone smiled as they walked into the living room area within their own living quarters.

“She’s a good girl.” Hyacinth murmured, looking up from her knitting and casting a fond glance at Marri, who was indeed sleeping soundly, slightly curled up on the couch.

“She is.” Arden smiled, but it faded. “A girl indeed…she seems so young and innocent, sometimes. She wants to get married, but…she’s just so young, and I’m squarely an adult, though not old.”

“Honey, what’s the age difference between Winna and Lear?” Lily arched an eyebrow at him.

Arden felt his face heat. “I mean, it’s larger, all things considered. Winna is only in her thirties and Lear is older than me, of course, but like…Winna is squarely an adult by human standards.”

He sat in one of the armchairs at the end of the low coffee table, and Anemone took the last open seat, which was in the armchair opposite to Arden, since Marri took up an entire couch by herself, thanks to her long, graceful tail.

“So is Marri, even by our standards, young though she is.” Anemone shrugged.

“I just…” he sighed, shaking his head, “I don’t like the idea of a power imbalance. It was bad enough when she still had that horrible restraint on…I couldn't let myself be with her in any official capacity until we got it off. I’m happy to date her and love her, but…marriage is too much, for now. I very much want that, someday, but…again, she’s young. She may lose the stars in her eyes, where I’m concerned, and realize I’m not what she wants.” he paused, looking down, “I don’t…really think I’m all that much of a catch, despite how she acts.”

“Yes you are, Arden.” Lily said sternly. “Especially for her. You saved her when no one else did.”

“It was the right thing to do.” he shook his head. “Anyone would have.”

“But no one had. You did. And you can understand her like no one else can, considering your mother.” Hyacinth said softly.

Despite Lily coming across as the leader of the group, she and Hyacinth shared the parts equally. Lily was commanding and strong-willed, but Hyacinth was gentle and full of common sense. Anemone was the bubbly, funny one, and was happy to let the other two take turns leading, preferring to provide the laughs instead.

“What if I…I…I’m more like him than I realize?” Arden looked down. His aunts would know he was speaking of Kirven, his father. “What if, once we’re married, I’m not…not who I thought I was and I crush her spark? If she’s older, she’ll know to leave me at once…”

“Oh, honey.” Hyacinth murmured, “You’re nothing like your father. And that you’re worried you are is proof of that.”

“She’s right.” Lily’s voice, and nod, were firm. “You’re your mother’s son, my dear.”

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“You’re as gentle and kind hearted as she was.” Anemone smiled at him, “And just as concerned about treating other people well, too!”

“I just…I don’t want to hurt her.” He whispered.

“Oh, you will. And she’ll hurt you. That’s how these things work.” Lily shrugged, “But you apologize and make up, and then grow. Although she’s young, Marri is strong-willed, fiery, and confident, despite her sad past. If that evil dwarf couldn't break her, I highly doubt anyone could.”

Arden blinked, “I…didn’t think of that.”

“Give her some credit. She knows herself, and is also willing to stand up for herself.”

“Even against someone she loves? She hated Bellows, it’s easy to push back against someone you hate.” he muttered.

“Yes, I think so. She knows what it is to be mistreated, and if she sees it, she’ll nip it in the bud. But she won’t need to, with you.” Lily told him.

Hyacinth smiled. “And she loves you very much.”

He turned his gaze to the mermaid he loved, “I love her very much.”

“We can tell!” Anemone giggled. “Boy, you blush so much when she’s around!”

“Cause she says some outrageous things!” he snorted.

“I imagine she thinks it’s cute when you get all flustered!” Lily chimed in, laughing a little. She stood, “How about some food?”

“That would be very nice, I heard you were having a second dinner.”

“Yes! That’s the wonderful thing about being our own women. We can have a second dinner whenever we want!” Anemone sang, flinging her hands into the air and falling back into the couch.

Soon, they were enjoying a late-night meal, laughing and chatting amicably, but made sure to keep it down, since they didn’t want to wake Marri, who continued to sleep peacefully.

After a while, Arden stood and stretched, “I should go get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be another long day, I’m afraid.”

“Alright.” Lily nodded.

“Are you still good to come with us tomorrow, Hyacinth?”

“Yes, of course. Marrina and I had a very nice time today, I expect we’ll have just as much fun tomorrow. She seemed pretty excited to try out the typewriter, once I’d explained it a little more to her.”

“Good. Maybe…maybe she could find some kind of writing job. She expressed interest in finding one, and she could certainly do a writing-intensive job, especially if she learns how to use the typewriter.”

“Maybe a transcriptionist.” Hyacinth murmured, then smiled, “Or a novelist, I think she definitely has some stories to tell.”

“Her own, at the very least.” Arden shrugged. “I think it’d make a good story.”

“Me too.” Anemone nodded, giggling, “A cute romance at the very least, anyways!”

The half-fey soldier took his dishes to the sink and washed them quickly, leaving them to dry on the dish rack. He walked over to where the mermaid was sleeping, and carefully scooped her up. “I should get her into bed, and then get myself to sleep. Goodnight. Thanks for sharing your second dinner with me.”

His aunts chorused their goodnights, and he left, carefully navigating the bar area, and wishing Cough goodnight as well.

Then he was pushing carefully into Marri’s room, and as he lay her gently in the bed, she stirred, azure eyes flickering open.

“Shh, I’m just tucking you into bed. Go back to sleep.” Arden murmured, gently smoothing her hair back.

“I tried to stay up.” She mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes with her fists. “But I was more tired than I thought.”

“That’s alright. I didn’t expect you to stay up, remember?”

“I wanted to, though…” Marri pouted.

“It’s alright. Don’t be upset with yourself. You needed rest. You had quite a day, if you think about it. You parted with some of your oldest friends and family, magically traveled hundreds of miles to a new country, breakfasted in a palace with a king, and met some of your significant other’s family. That’s quite a bit of excitement packed into one day.”

“I also went shopping with Hyacinth.” the mermaid smiled sleepily.

“Right, that too. Did you have fun?”

“Yeah. Your aunts are nice.”

“I’m glad you like them. They seem very taken with you.”Arden smiled, smoothing her hair back again.

“I’m very taken with them. They were so glad to see you. They love you very, very much.” She reached up and slipped her arms around his neck.

“I love them too.” he nodded. “They…don’t think you’re too young for me.”

“Good.” Marri smiled. “That makes me happy.”

“I…we can…move forward but…slowly. I do still need things to be slow, so I can…make sure I’m not…bad. Like..the man who fathered me.” he said softly, voice breaking at the admission.

Her cerulean eyes blinked once, and she gently put a hand against his face, her palm flat on his cheek. “You’re not like him, Arden. If you were, you wouldn't have saved me and Rowan, and done anything that you did.”

“I…don’t…want to hurt you. I mean…I know people hurt each other in relationships, I don’t mean like that, I mean…I don’t want to crush your spirit, like my father did to my mother.”

Marri smiled, “You won’t. You’re nothing like him.”

“I actually look a lot like him.” Arden grimaced.

“That’s okay. Doesn't mean you’re a bad person. You’re one of the best people I’ve ever met.”

“You’ve not met many good people though.” He reminded her.

“But I’ve met plenty of bad ones.” she shrugged, “I know when someone is bad. Even though you were being careful with your identity, I knew I could trust you right off the bat. I have a good instinct with those kinds of things. And I was right to trust you. Look how it turned out!” she motioned at the room around them, then put her hand back up over his neck with the other. “This is pretty damn good, Arden. If our life continues on this path, it’ll be a very good life.”

“And if it doesn't? What if there are only troubles ahead?”

“Love can make those troubles worth it. And I’m happy to weather the storms with you. I’m pretty strong.”

Arden leaned down and kissed her deeply, slipping his arms around her. When he broke away, he rested his head on the pillow beside hers, his body stretched over her. “I do want to be with you. Very much.”

Marri’s fingers trailed through his hair. “I know. I also understand and accept that you need to take it slow, and am not trying to push you, but…do you want to stay in here tonight? Just to sleep, I mean.”

“Yes.” The admission was barely a whisper.

“Then stay.” she murmured, turning her head and kissing his cheek lightly. “Go change into your pajamas and come back.”

Arden lay there a few moments longer, enjoying the feeling of her fingers in his hair. Finally, he hauled himself up. “I’ll be right back.”

Going into his own room, which was decorated very similarly to Marri’s only with blue and green instead of purple and green, he changed quickly into his sleep clothes, then hurried back over to her, wanting to be close to the woman he loved again.