The meal passed quickly after that. I did my best to make polite small talk, but my focus was mainly on the food. Thankfully Pepi and his wife were understanding, though his daughters nearly flipped when they learned that I could make starweave.

Amelia came to the rescue there and started showing them the drawings of women's fashion I made for her and Apricot. Though, I think she only did so after catching sight of the look Catrina was giving me.

After the table was cleared away, the baron had his servants bring the board games in from the sitting room, as even that over-sized room wasn't big enough to fit all of us. The girls and Roddy helped me explain how to play.

I noticed the three little girls just having fun moving the marbles around on the Chinese Checkers board, or 'star checkers' as I renamed it. So, I quickly made a Candyland game for them.

"Hi girls." The younger two get a bit shy, but Willow looks up at me with a big smile on her face. "I made a special game just for you, it was my sister's favorite when she was around your age." I set the game down, and show them how to play.

"Is that what your sister looks like?" Dulcette asks about my playing piece. I gave each girl one modeled after themselves.

"Lily is almost fully grown now." I nod. "But, yeah this is what she used to look like." I start getting choked up just from looking at the little figurine. "Here, could you take over, I think your husband and his father need a bit of help with their chess game."

"Of course." She sends me a sad smile as I retreat.

"You doing alright?" Apricot intercepts me.

"Just tired." I smile at the winged woman. "It's been a long day, and I never really was one for parties. Even a mild one like this."

"You should try a pixie party." She grins. "They're a lot more fun."

"I can imagine." I put my arm around her waist and steer us over to Amelia. "Hey, you having fun?" She's playing Catan with her parents and the baroness, and kicking their butts.

"She is." Her dad grumps. "But, I'm thinking I taught her the trade too well. I don't think I've gotten a good trade out of her yet."

"At least she hasn't been using the robber against you." Kaitlyn grouses as she has to hand over a card to her daughter.

"Oh, sorry mom, but that's the last card I needed for my city." Amelia smirks. "And, with my longest road card, that means I win."

"Sorrel." Baron Pepi comes up to us just then. "Care to show us how to play this poker game?"

"Let me join you." Turner gets up from the table. "Please." He adds after looking back at the wicked grin on his daughter's face.

"Sure thing baron."

"Call me Erick, please."

"Erick, then." I nod. "Let's start with five-card draw, it's probably the easiest to learn." Seeing me shuffle the cards Colonel Baca joins in, giving us five players. "Ace is high in this game, meaning the one card beats the king which beats the queen, which beats the jack, and so on." I draw up a cheat sheet for each of them with the winning hands.

"Oh, that's going to be difficult to keep straight." Reinholt says. "I'm so used to the queen being the highest card." A murmur of agreement meets his words.

"Okay..." I pick out the face cards and change the jacks and kings. "How about merchant, consort, queen?" One of the former jacks now bears a striking resemblance to Amelia's father.

"Hahaha." Turner chuckles. "I think I can remember that." The others nod along.

"Alright, we start by anteing up..." I walk them through a few games, pointing out the basic strategy.

Erick and Turner have the best poker-faces, but Reinholt is an open book, and Baca is surprisingly not much better. He likes to play with his chips, and I can just by how they clink together how good or bad his hand is.

I normally play a bit conservatively, but we're not playing for coin, so I go for a riskier approach and it's not long before Reinholt is out of the game.

"I feel this is probably a good point to mention the most important rule in poker. It's not so much about playing the cards as it is about playing the people." I say with a laugh and a pointed look at the colonel's hand that's still playing with his chips.

"Wait." He stares from his chips to me and back again. "Is that why you'd always fold when I had a good hand?"

"Hahahah." The baron cracks up. "I'm sorry old friend, but a blind man could tell what cards you had. Shall we try some of the other games now?"

We redistribute the chips and I act as dealer for a few games of blackjack before walking them through the other games I know. The players came and went and, sooner than I realized, it must have been nearly midnight.

"I'm sorry." A big yawn escapes from my mouth. "But, I don't think I can carry on any longer. I still need a full night's sleep if I'm to do any more healing tomorrow."

"Of course, of course." Erick signals a servant to looks like he wants to go to bed too. "Carl here will show you to your rooms. Feel free to sleep in, the kitchens will have food ready whenever you get up."

"Thank you." I give him a short bow before collecting my girls from where they're playing a slow game of chess against each other.

"Hey, Baby." Amelia puts her arm around my waist. "You look tired, I'm surprised you lasted this long."

"It's been a while since I had a good poker night, you tend to get caught up in it." Another yawn slips out as Carl guides us upstairs. "And, watching Reinholt try to hide all his tells was funny enough to keep me going."

"At least he didn't just change them randomly like you." Apricot grouses, still upset that she lost against me earlier.

"Says the pixie with the biggest tells in the room." I coat my hand in magic and trace a finger lightly across her wing. "These beautiful things would shiver every time you thought you had me."

"Eeee. Stop that tickles." She twists her wing away from me. "Wait, how'd you do that?"

"Just a thought I had." I shrug and let the magic go. "Glad it works though."

"Your rooms." The tired servant bows to us after opening the door to a suite of rooms on the second floor.

"Thanks." I nod back. "And, sorry for keeping you up." I have to bite back another yawn as I say that.

"That's quite alright, sir." He backs away as we enter the rooms.

...

A delightful smell draws me from sleep the next morning. Cracking my eyes presents me with a delectable vision. And, even better, she's got breakfast for me.

"Morning sleepy head." Amelia smiles down at me and hands me the plate she was just wafting under my nose.

"Hey." I smile back. "Sorry I passed out as soon as I touched the bed last night."

"Don't apologize." Her smile slips away. "You needed the rest... and it'd be weird with my parents under the same roof."

"Mhm." I mumble around a bite of breakfast. "If you say so."

"I do."

"Hehehe." Apricot giggles. "You're so cute when you get hung up about sex."

"..."

"Oh, be nice to her." I roll my eyes. "I don't think anyone else is as open about sex as pixies are. And, since we're speaking about your parents. Do you think we made a good impression? I was a little too out of it to be nervous, so I hope I didn't come across as cocky, or anything."

"You were fine." Amelia sighs. "Dad loves you. Mom grilled me about both of you for a bit, but she seems to be alright with us."

"I know she likes me." The pixie crows. "I helped her beat you at Settlers."

"That was mean." Amelia glares at her. "But, you're right. She does like you now."

"Well, if her sweet-tooth is even half as big as yours." I grin. "Then, I should be able to win her over without a problem."

"Nnh. I should have left you asleep." The blonde grumbles.

We chuckle at her and quickly work our way through the meal before getting dressed and heading out to face the day.

Elise is standing outside the door when I open it, her hand raised to knock. "Good, you're up. Are you recovered enough for another healing?"

"I am." I answer. "Though, I'll need a good deal of food afterward."

"Easily dealt with." She waves the matter away as inconsequential. "Come with me. Martin, the one who dealt with her before you, is here with his apprentice. We're very interested to see how your spell works."

I just nod silently and follow in her wake. Not that we go far, the farmers were set up just a couple doors down.

"You must be Sorrel." A lively older man hops up from the couch when we enter the room. "Since Elise isn't likely to introduce us; I'm Martin Harding, and this is my apprentice Jana Brissen."

"Hello." She rises from the couch in a slightly more dignified manner. The woman is maybe a few years older than us. She has a kind, caring face, and some nice curves.

"Nice to meet you." I nod to each of them. "How's Myra doing?"

"I feel okay mister Sorrel." A tiny voice speaks up from the bedroom doorway. "Are you really going to be able to fix my arm?"

"I am." I smile at her, and gesture to the couch. "I'm going to start with your hand this morning, and see how far up your arm I can go. Please lie down here and close your eyes." I'm going to have to remove her bindings and don't want her to see her hand like that.

"It's alright Myra." Willow cheers her on. "He's a really good healer."

"I'm going to start now." The warning is more for the healers than the little girl.

Myra's family are arranged by her head; her mother stroking the child's hair, likely to keep her from sitting up to look when I reveal the wound. William hugging onto his other daughter, and looking rather worried himself.

I kneel in front of her arm, Elise and Martin at either side and Jana looking over my shoulder. The bandages fall away from Myra's hand, and the salve evaporates away a second later.

Healing sap flows from my fingertips before soaking into her cracked flesh and restoring it from the inside out. I hear a few hushed words from the healers, but they just wash over me as I give the repairs my all.

Once her hand is restored, I start working my way up her arm. I don't even make it to the elbow before I feel myself reaching that line I set for myself yesterday. Knowing better than to push any farther, I disengage the spell and come back to myself.

"That's all I can do for now." Amelia and Apricot help me to my feet as I take a juicy apple from storage and bite into it. "Depending on how fast I recover, I may be able to finish tonight. Tomorrow at the latest. But, right now. I need to go empty the good baron's kitchens." The apple and two others are already gone, cores and all.

"Jana, show them the way." Martin orders distractedly as he and Elise continue to plumb the girl with their magical senses.

His apprentice rushes forward to open the door and guides us downstairs and into the kitchen. "Mister Granville." She bows to a jovial looking cook. "Mister Sorrel here needs a lot of food, badly." I've already gone through half of a small bushel of apples in just the time it took us to get here.

"I was warned you might." The chef starts pulling dish after dish from his storage, setting them on a large kitchen table. "Any preference?"

"Everything." I grab the first dish and start shoveling it into my mouth. Jana looks astonished, but all I see from the girls is worry. "I'm fine." I say between mouthfuls. "I swear I didn't push any harder than yesterday."

"..." Apricot purses her lips.

"We just don't like seeing you this way." Amelia sighs, and pulls over a chair for me to sit in before addressing the cook. "He's going to need a little bit more than this, if yesterday was anything to go by."