#fenixtj

For Ellie, it's another day of rulership without Jessica. That's fine, but Holger is gone too.

This is distressing.

Ariel sighs "What if Rivervale steals him forEVER One day? Salma will be so angry"

"I will NOT allow it." Huff! "Holger is our caballero."

"We should go to Rivervale and tell them they have PLENTY of Cabelleros, they shouldn't take ours" Ariel insists

Onyx ap Ailil, still a bit ..quiet for a sidhe of an unseelie house observes quietly "What would you offer them in trade for him? "

"But he's OURS."

"Until they sway him" The Ailil says "he is not sworn to anyone. Not even a pinky promise"

Ariel gasps "One does not make a pinky promise lightly, Onyx"

"Because he is a childling yet. It's not NICE to bind childlings with Fealty."

"Do we know that the Rivervalers are... nice?" A whisper, Ahpuch asks

"Well, Connor and Jack are..."

"And Dame Dagmar rescued Ramona."

"It's true.. " Ariel says "Those who rescue kittens are nice. It is known"

The boys have to nod at that

"But we should not have to trade to keep what belongs HERE. And Holger belongs HERE."

Salma wanders up, nose in a book. “What’s that about Holger? I didn’t see him at breakfast.” She misses things sometimes when reading

"Holger belongs to Rivervale now, Countess Jessica is trading him for twin troll boys..very good deal for her" Ahpuch snickers in a whisper

Siiigh. "He is at Rivervale."

"He does NOT! You take that back!"

"Ow" The sluagh grapbs at his left ear near the voice

"Serves you right" Ariel humphs at the sluagh

“Why is he there again?”

“Is he looking for books?” Hopeful

She gives Ahpuch a look. Sluaghs lie sometimes, it is known.

"He's getting troll lessons. But he is already good at being a troll AND Yessica is a troll. I do not understand."

“Are they saying that the Rivervale trolls are BETTER than our trolls? Why can he not learn here?”

“Is our Condesa, and Tito-Woden, and Constance and Coy not each the equal of any other two trolls?”

"They are!"

"Darn straight" Ariel says, feeling very grown up using darn

“Then he needs to come here. He does not need to learn how to troll in lands of rivers and lakes and cold winters. He is a troll of Fenix.”

"Si!"

“They can keep Ahpuch.” She gives the sluagh a glance, a bit irked by his earlier comment.

"can't, those rafters are claimed" the boy whispers back

“Maybe we will trade you for a paperback book and call it a ‘good deal’. One I've already read!”

Onyx the Ailil ponders "We do have TWO Sluagh, thanks to Adler. And he is nicer"

"Hiss" from Ahpuch

"Aphuch is ours, too. We are not giving away any of our people."

“That’s what I said.” She agrees.

A voice chimes from the hallway "No one is giving anyone away, the Comtessa loves her family in RIvervale, by sending Holger she has reason to see them, or hear news of them. So the ache does not hurt so much, and he also gets to stay at this place she loves" It's in Spanish

"So Holger is a SPY!"

Salma doesn't look placated.

“Holger is obviously a spy because he is sneaky and sly.”

frown!

"Aiee, they heard me" footsteps beating a hasty retreat

"Well, for a troll."

they and whoever that was, they didn't know the voice

"Wait!"

Ellie is up and heading after footsteps!

And they nearly slip on the wet spot in the hallway, there's a bucket and a mop therre that have been abandoned