Wei Caihong looked at the sleeping figure in his arms. He pulled his husband closer to himself and Nikola stirred in his arms.

“I have a shop to open and you have little children to teach.” Murmured Nikola. Well, maybe he wasn’t sleeping after all.

“First I’ll need to speak to the magistrate about the order for me to begin the classes.” Said Wei Caihong and Nikola turned so that he could look at his face.

“All the more reasons to get up now, while it is still dark.” Nikola got up and Wei Caihong raised a hand to touch the creamy skin that was on display.

“I’ll need to feed first.” He said and Nikola was back in his arms, offering up his neck. Wei Caihong drank his fill and then he let his husband up. They went to the bathing room and got into the empty barrel, filling it up from the moisture in the air and with Nikola heating the water. They cleaned themselves in silence with Wei Caihong stealing kisses every so often. Then they dressed and Nikola scooped up their wedding robes and showed them to Wei Caihong.

“They are too expensive to be worn just once. We can resell them.” Said Nikola and Wei Caihong shook his head.

“These are our wedding garments. We will clean them and keep them. We won’t have money problems anytime soon anyway.”

“But your charity work…” Begun Nikola only to be interrupted with a kiss.

“I won’t be giving handouts anymore. Well…I would still feed the needy. And I am dead set on supporting the orphanage. But these things don’t cost that much.” He reassured his lover who nodded.

“I can sell off some of my finer blades to collectors. I have nothing incrusted with gems or jade or gold but my blades are top quality all the same. I can also make damasks steel. Do your people know of it?” Asked Nikola and Wei Caihong frowned.

“They associate it with Atlantis. You better not make it. But if your fame as a craftsman spreads then maybe even people from faraway lands will begin to demand your wares. But for now, simply focus on dazzling the villagers.”

“Azazel will overshadow me.” Said Nikola. They had been woken up in an ungodly hour when the sounds of hammering metal had come from the smithy. Azazel was back with his mistress, it seemed.

“You are both supposed to be related. People would expect to know from where you gained your skills. What better source than your dear uncle Basil?”

Nikola fastened his robes and then placed the wedding ones to be washed later. Granny Nuo Nuying had indeed thought him how to wash his clothes and he found the repetitive task relaxing. He got to think on rituals as he washed. Then they went to the dining hall so Nikola could grab some breakfast from the leftovers from the wedding.

He was soon eating some milk rice with honey next to Bjorn and Azazel who were eating pork ribs.

“Something this heavy can’t be good for you both this early in the morning.” Said Nikola as he watched his two “uncles”.

“I am not eating rabbit food.” Complained Bjorn as grease dripped down his chin. He had heated his pork ribs before eating them and Azazel had done the same.

“All this food can’t be allowed to go to waste. Do you two have time to redistribute it?” Asked Wei Caihong. The magistrate had pulled no stops with the feast and many people had simply stopped by to grab a bite to eat and then they left the hall. The house not being big enough to accommodate the entire village.

“We’ll do it.” Said Azazel as he reached out and poured himself more sake. “You go babysit snotty brats the whole day. Once you come back only the food in the pantry will be left in the house.”

“Thank you.” Said Wei Caihong and he meant it. Then Azazel snorted.

“You would have ordered me to do this if I hadn’t agreed. I am merely sparing myself the humiliation.”

Wei Caihong wouldn’t have ordered Azazel. He kept his orders for when it was truly important. And for when Azazel annoyed him.

“Good then…” A small hand reached up from underneath the table and snatched up a pork rib. Then the hand quickly hid underneath the table again. The four men stilled. Bjorn and Azazel had both used magic and whoever was underneath the table now knew it. Wei Caihong lowered himself so that he could see who was there and he saw the child who had walked by his side yesterday happily munching on a pork rib. A warm looking pork rib.

“Hello, Gege.” Said the small boy as Wei Caihong pulled him from the underneath the table.

“What are you doing here? Your parents must be worried sick by your absence!” Scolded Wei Caihong but the boy was too busy eating to pay him any attention. He ate as if they would be taking his food away.

“I don’t have any. Never did.” Said the boy as he placed the now clean bone on a plate. He reached out towards the platter between Bjorn and Azazel and took another. “It was warm here and clean so I stayed. I’ll be going now.” The child was wearing cotton. Normally it would mean that he was from a well-off family but as of late Wei Caihong had been clothing the orphans of the village. He should have seen that the boy had no one last night. He looked at Nikola pleadingly and then he placed an arm around the boy.

“My Emerald…”

“Who is going to look after him during the day?” Asked Nikola and he regretted it when the boy winced. He didn’t mean to be heartless, he really didn’t. But a child was a great responsibility and they had been married for less than a day.

“He can come to the school with me. We have a free room in the house that would be perfect for him. Just next to ours. Please.” Nikola looked between the boy and his husband and he sighed. He didn’t want to break the child’s heart by showing him the door.

“He will need a bath. Where have you lived up until now?” Asked Nikola and the boy gave him a toothy smile. His new son had some dirt on his nose so Nikola put some water from a cup on a napkin and went to clean it for him.

“On the streets, mama.”

Nikola grumbled but then he was hit with a pair of trusting eyes and he agreed to be called that. What was with everyone giving him the female role? He was manly, darn it! Even thou his face was incapable of growing a beard and his hair now looked better than a woman’s. Ok, maybe he was a little feminine.

“I’ll need to get you cleaned from parasites. Wei Caihong, you can’t keep everyone waiting. Go to the school and I’ll drop…what is your name, son?”

“Chen Zhaohui, mama.”

“What a lovely name, kiddo. I’m your mama’s uncle, Basil. And this is my husband, Bjorn.”

Nikola glared at Azazel who was in the process of giving Chen Zhaohui a rice cake. The boy took it and quickly ate it, mistaking the glare as if to say that he wasn’t allowed to have one. Nikola’s eyes softened at that and he petted the boy’s hair. His hand came up with grime.

“Ok, you can finish eating later. It’s bath time.” He picked the boy up and Chen Zhaohui looked at the table pitifully.

“I heard you will give all the food away, mama. Can I get a rice cake before you do?”

“Of course, you can.” Answered Nikola patiently. He would need to go to the palace and get all the documents for Chen Zhaohui’s adoption in order. Then he would need to carry them to the school to have Wei Caihong sign them. It seems that he won’t be opening up his shop today after all.

“And rice with seaweed?” Asked the boy hopefully. The pork ribs he had eaten had been big.

“You can’t possibly still be hungry. You will get sick and barf it you eat too much.” Said Nikola and the boy’s eyes became big as saucers.

“People can really do that? I want to get sick and barf!” The boy begun to clap his hands happily and Nikola tugged his ear.

“You will eat only while you are hungry. And the rest of the time you will study hard. When you are not at the school you will be taking lessons from me. I expect that you ace the state exam next fall.”

“The state exam!” Said the small boy with wonder in his voice. “I’ll be able to take part in the state exam! But…I don’t know how to read or write. How do I think up an essay?” He asked and Nikola placed him down next to the bathing barrel. He would need to do all of this by hand. He ignited the fire in the heart and then pointed at the boy.

“You may not be able to write your thoughts yet but that will happen. Wei Caihong will be starting from that with his new students. You will soon be right next to the best of them. For now, think on topics for essays.”

Nikola went outside to the well and came back with two buckets full of water. He placed the water in the big pot over the fire and then subtly made it heat faster as the boy begun to list topics.

“What about Why not?” Asked the boy as Nikola came back with two new buckets of water which he dumped inside the barrel. Then he put on some mittens and took the boiling pot and dumped it inside as well. He then checked the water and nodded to the child.

“Undress and in you go. Afterwards I will make you some tea to get rid of any worms you might have in your stomach. And what do you mean by Why not?” He would also cast a spell on the, perfectly ordinary, green tea. But the boy didn’t need to know that. Chen Zhaohui was quick to do as told and he marveled at the pleasant feeling of the water around him. He began playing with it and then he felt hands rubbing soap in his hair. Remembering Nikola, he looked up.

“Why not? A hundred questions with no answers. Why not feed the poor? Why not use taxes for the good of everyone? Why not use magic?” Nikola stilled at the last part and he gave the soap to Chen Zhaohui.

“Because magic is dangerous. Your papa is good and so he used it to heal others but the other practitioners are not such kind men like him. Why are you even talking about magic, son?”

The boy begun to clean himself with the soap as Nikola gently massaged his scalp.

“I know all that, mama. But I saw the pork ribs. They were cool when I went to sleep and this morning they were heated and no fire was kindled in the entire house. Uncles Bjorn and Basil are magicians, aren’t they?”

Clever kid. Nikola tugged at the boy’s ear to get his attention.

“You can’t tell anyone, son.” Said Nikola, hands still on the ear. “Swear that you won’t!”

“I want to be a magician too. The greatest!” There was a fire in the boy’s eyes. Nikola recognized this look from more than one of his grandchildren. He sighed and then he levitated the water in front of the boy to rinse him.

“You too?” Asked the boy with awe in his voice. Nikola finished cleaning Chen Zhaohui and got him out of the now dirty barrel.

“Magic is not a toy. If you keep silent then I will teach you myself. But nothing too dangerous.”

“Really, mama? You’re the best!” Said the child as he was helped back into his robes, for lack of other ones. Nikola would need to take him to the seamstress. Maybe he would do so first before taking him to the magistrate?

“Mama, are you really from Troy?” There was suspicion in the child’s voice. Nikola didn’t want to tell him outright thou.

“No, I am from Atlantis. Don’t ask any more questions.” The boy clapped his hands together in excitement and then he placed them over his mouth to keep quiet. Nikola found it all adorable.

After he dressed the boy in his old robes, he made him some green tea and whispered the healing spell over it. The boy repeated the incantation, expecting something to happen, but when nothing did, he pouted. Nikola chuckled at his new son’s enthusiasm.

“You need to undergo a ritual to unlock your magic first. But before that you need to learn to read and write in several languages. Not to mention about various herbs that go in potions.”

“So, I can’t do magic yet, mama?” Said the boy and he sat down on a pillow; hands crossed over his chest. Nikola flicked a strand of brown hair behind his ear. It had been so nice keeping it in a braid. Perhaps he would swing by and have granny Nuo Nuying braid his hair again.

“No. But you want to be the greatest, right? Spells are just demands in various languages. I’ll make a scholar out of you before you become a mage. But I have a trick, let us say a shortcut. But…”

“I’ll be a good boy!” Said Chen Zhaohui and he waved his arms happily. “I’ll study hard and take baths and listen to you, mama!”

Nikola picked up Chen Zhaohui’s empty tea cup and filled it again, saying a different incantation. He had created it when he found out about the true nature of magic. There were so many languages to learn, each being with different magical properties. If he missed even one then he was missing out on an entire branch of magic. And while he had no illusions that he would ever be able to exhaust the possibilities of magic this spell still helped him learn and apply his knowledge faster.

Chen Zhaohui drank the new cup carefully so as to not burn his tongue and then he looked at Nikola.

“What is supposed to happen, mama?”

Nikola placed a hand on the boy’s hair and gave it a few pats. It didn’t have the right feel to it but with the right nutrition and more baths it soon would.

“Well, the first cup is going to kill all the parasites in your belly and you are going to poop them out.” Chen Zhaohui looked nervous at that and Nikola was quick to reassure him. “But you won’t get sick, don’t worry. The second cup is going to help you remember things faster for a week. Next week I will make you another cup. By this time next year, I’d expect you can make it yourself, so we will start with Babylonian when you get back from school.”

The boy nodded and then when Nikola moved to exit the bathing room, he followed him outside. They said their goodbyes to Azazel and Bjorn, who were hunched over sketches of materials for brewing, the food of the tables packed in neat boxes by their side. Chen Zhaohui regrated not being able to see how they had done it so fast. Had they floated the food in the boxes? Snapped their fingers? Said an incantation? He rushed to his new mama’s side and grabbed his hand. He had felt so good yesterday when he had held Wei Caihong’s. It was a rare treat for him for someone to hold his hand. And now he had a mama and a papa who would always let him clutch to them. He smiled at his luck and mentally made a note to go and hug grandpa Cao, for he hadn’t forgotten that it was his words that had led Wei Caihong to the idea of adoption.

Everyone was greeting his mama warmly and congratulating him on his marriage. Some of them had a box in their hand. Chen Zhaohui decided that they must have been to the house first. The boy smiled and waved at the passerby. They weren’t ignoring him anymore, commenting on how cute he was and asking his mama about him. It was so good to have a family. Chen Zhaohui begun to tear up and he begun to wipe his tears with his sleeve when a kind old lady petted his hair. The granny begun to apologize but his mama just chuckled.

“He is just shy, my Chen Zhaohui. How is your hip, granny Wang?” The old lady then begun to complain about her bad hip that she had hurt falling down the stairs and she extracted from his mama the promise that he would put in a word on granny Wang’s behalf with papa so he can examine her. Then she was on her way, limping slightly. Mama knelt down so he was on eye level with him and cupped his face.

“Why are you crying?” He asked concerned then he begun to check him all over. “Are you hurt?” No one had asked him that before. They just passed him by and sometimes gave him food out of pity. Or had a chore for him to do in exchange for a copper.

“No, mama. I am just happy.” He was hugged then and his ear was kissed. Chen Zhaohui giggled because his mama’s hair tickled him. What a nice hair his mama had. Brown but glistening in the sunlight and with a slight curl to it. He had the prettiest mother in the entire village. No, in the entire valley!

When Nikola was finally assured that there was nothing wrong with his son, he took his hand again and kept walking towards the seamstress. Upon reaching her Nikola saw many children with crisp cotton robes in their hands waiting in front of the shop. And the shop itself was full of children too. The seamstress still saw him just as he was leaving and called him over.

“Master Nikola! I’m sorry but I won’t be able to take an order from you for some time.” Then she winked at him. “I’m afraid you will just have to wear something of Wei Caihong’s before you do your washing.” Nikola blushed at that and pointed at Chen Zhaohui.

“Do you have time to make him something, at least? He just has this robe and I will need to wash it soon.”

The seamstress poked Chen Zhaohui on the nose and giggled when the boy smiled at her.

“Well, a child sized robe won’t take long. Bring him in, I’ll take his measurements and then you two can be on your way.”

The seamstress delivered on her promise and they were back outside and heading towards the magistrate’s palace. They hired a cart on the way to take them there and Chen Zhaohui climbed in his mama’s lap and snuggled into his warmth. Long brown hair gently tickled his nose every time the cart would hit a bump in the road and soon, he was reduced to a fit of giggles. Then the drive begun to sing to pass the time. Chen Zhaohui looked up to see his mother’s face. He had a gentle smile on as he was looking at the forest surrounding them.

The magistrate stopped whatever he was doing to come and greet them and invite them for tea. Chen Zhaohui looked at the palace with wonder. This was where his papa had lived, back when he was a mean man. The little boy found he liked his mother’s house better. Everyone was good in it and there weren’t any nasty rumors about it. And what was more, it didn’t have a dungeon.

“You wish to adopt? That is very noble of you.” Said the magistrate as he smiled down at them in a fatherly manner.

“I thank you.” Replied his mama as he sipped from his tea bowl.

“But you must understand that there are certain procedures that had to be followed before you are allowed to officially call the boy your own. Your house must be inspected. A background check must be done on your entire family. And there is the problem with you never taking your husband’s family name.”

Well, Nikola thought to himself as he sipped more tea to buy time, Wei Nikola just sounds silly. But what was he going to do about the background check? He didn’t have any papers with him and neither did Azazel or Bjorn. And while he could say that he had lost his documents in a shipwreck his uncles couldn’t say the same. Every official worth his salt would recognize that the paper on which potential forgeries were made came from China and not from Troy. Heck, they didn’t even have paper in Troy a hundred years ago!

“Surely we can skip all that.” Nikola said, placing his bowl down. “My husband deserves a reward for saving the village, does he not?”

The magistrate frowned at him as he strokes his beard.

“Is your past dark then? Surely you are not a criminal?” Nikola smiled. He could work with this.

“I’m an exile, actually. So are my uncles. You have heard of me telling people their future and past, have you not?”

The magistrate nodded; his interest having awakened.

“It’s no clever trick.” Said Nikola and the magistrate’s eyebrows rose up. “My family comes from a great Oracle. The king of Troy wanted me to tell him his future and so I told him the truth. That he would have a son who would kill him and marry his mother. So, he banished his son but not before exiling me and my family. My uncles and I separated and agreed to come back together when we find a land where my gifts won’t be judged harshly. When I stumbled on these shores on my way to India, I saw how kind the people here were. And so, I send word to Basil and Bjorn. So, you see, I can’t stand through a background check. No one will let a couple of exiles whose papers were burned by their King adopt a child. Even if the child had to be returned to the streets as a result.”

The magistrate hummed and Nikola knew that he believed the story. Chen Zhaohui stiffened next to him at the prospect of losing his new family and Nikola hugged him to himself to reassure him. They would move in the night, if they had to. And who would question them in the next village when Nikola claimed that the child was Wei Caihong’s from a former concubine?

“I suppose I can sign the documents for the background check. I am the one doing it anyway. It would be a shame if this child became homeless again. There are so many little souls on the streets already. Your Wei Caihong is doing good work clothing and feeding them. And now teaching them and even building them an orphanage. But there is something of a personal nature that Wei Caihong can do for me so I can move things along.”

This new magistrate liked to pretend he was saintly, leaving the old taxes which were high enough to support his lifestyle, but he was just as corrupt as everyone else. Nikola grinned. He could use this.

“My husband will be happy to help you, provided we can call Chen Zhaohui our son by the end of the month.”

The magistrate worried his lower lip then and he sighed.

“It would be dangerous. I know the rumors concerning your husband but maybe even he won’t be able to do anything about it. Still, he needs to try. If he does, regardless of the outcome, I will grand you the adoption.”

Dangerous? In this quiet village? There were no tombs around that could be raided by ghouls. There was a temple here so the ground of the village must have been cleansed before construction. That ruled out spirits. Demons, then? But what would a demon want with a fishing village?

“Have you heard of mermaids in Troy?” Asked the magistrate and Nikola groaned. Perfect, just what he needed. These man-eating fiends had been a constant source of worry for him back in Atlantis. Luring his supply ships into the rocks and then eating the crew and stealing everything after they sunk the ship. During his campaign for Japan the locals kept giving their old for the mermaids to eat in exchange for the half-fishes to sabotage his fleet. Even before he sunk his island, he hadn’t been able to fully subjugate all of the nation’s islands. This was one of the reason Pallas used to rebel so successfully.

“Not even Atlantis could bring the merfolk to heel, magistrate. How is Wei Caihong supposed to do so?”

The magistrate looked down and then at the child next to Nikola.

“I only ask that he tries to negotiate with them.” Said the magistrate. Nikola’s face twisted with a frown. Negotiate? Being pulled in the water and then having his skin and flesh stripped from his bones was more like it. He was about to say so when the magistrate begun to sob.

“They took my son when we arrived by ship. My dear boy. Only sixteen of age and yet eaten. I saw them drag him towards the direction of their caves but I was too craven to send someone to chase after them. And what were my soldiers going to do anyway? Mermaids are exceptional swimmers. I only ask for his ring back. It is made of silver and has a lotus on it. I need to place something in my shrine so his soul can be at rest. Please.”

The man fell into a kowtow and Nikola sighed. Ok, this he could do. After all he can use a spell to locate the ring and then another to heat up the water around him so much that the cold-blooded merfolk would not dare come near him. They liked to keep their stolen treasures in caves. There was no danger of one of the critters swimming off with the ring.

“I’ll tell Wei Caihong. He’ll do his best.” The magistrate looked sad as he sends them off. He gave Chen Zhaohui peaches to eat on his way home and promised that he would start working on the documents. The cart was still waiting for them, the driver being paid to do so. Chen Zhaohui gave the man one of his peaches as Nikola looked down with approval.

The cart stopped by the school and Nikola quickly ushered Chen Zhaohui inside. There was only one free sit at the front of the class and Nikola rolled his eyes at the already high expectations Wei Caihong had of their son. There were symbols on a big piece of paper that was hanging from the wall and the children, and a few adults, were copying them in sand. Nikola quickly exited, not wanting to disturb the lesson anymore, and he headed home.

“It’s good work that your husband is doing.” Said the cart driver, who had waited outside. Nikola paid him for this and allowed the man to earn himself another silver, even if the trip wasn’t all that big.

“He is a jade.” Said Nikola. He must have repeated this sentence a hundred times already. It was the truth thou.

“And I heard you would be teaching agriculture. I’ll come by to listen too. My rice paddy needs an improvement or two. When do the classes start?”

“At the seventh bell chime pass noon.” Said Nikola, happy that he would have at least one student. The cart stopped in front of his house and Nikola took out a silver coin and handed it over to the driver.

“You stay safe now.” Said the driver as farewell and then he urged the oxen to move. Nikola waved until he could no longer see the man and then he went inside. He could hear hammering in the forge so he went there. Bjorn was at the entrance holding up a sketch and looking giddy.

“We already made the barrels!” Said his grandson as soon as he saw him. “Now we are making the pipes.”

“I’ll have to start replanting my herbs then.” Said Nikola. Which meant he would need to make a trip to the pottery shop to get some clay pots.

“We will also need to hire builders.” Said Bjorn. “People will ask questions if we manage to build the brewery ourselves. Niki, you don’t mind footing the bill, do you?” Seeing Bjorn so giddy was bliss for Nikola. There was nothing he could deny him in this moment.

“I’ll ask around if people need jobs. You can count on me. Are you two hungry?” His grandson was a nightmare in the kitchen, which made his brewing and potion skills a true wonder. Azazel called from within the forge.

“No more rice, I beg you! Make some bread for a change. With chicken breasts with cream and mushrooms. Oh, and some lemon cakes.”

Azazel must have made an inventory of everything they had in the pantry to ask such foods of him. Nikola suspected that Azazel could cook. The lazy slob just didn’t want to. But he had been helping Bjorn of his own violation. So, Nikola supposed he could make him what he wants. Especially since lemon cakes were Bjorn’s favorites.

“I can do that. We also have berries that need to be made into something before they turn to mush. Do you two want jam or juice?”

“Juice.” Said Azazel who must have been slaving away in the hot forge the entire day.

“Jam.” Said Bjorn at the same time, his sweet tooth knowing no bounds.

“Both, then.” Said Nikola. He would need to use magic to get the food ready in time before his lessons. But magickly cooked food was tastier anyway.