Quiet Laughter

“So what else can you tell me about Fae culture.” Hunter asked once Meghann and Royal were gone. Tighe cocked his head to the side and smiled.

“What would you like to know?”

Hunter shrugged, “I’m curious about the Seelie and Unseelie Fae. Are the two Courts physically or biologically different from one another?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I was curious if it was possible for an Unseelie to have a Seelie child and if a Seelie could have a child with an Unseelie.”

“Oh.” Tighe smiled, “There really isn’t any difference between the two Courts, so yes, both ideas are possible. My maternal grandfather, Dysna, was an Unseelie. He’s well thought of and revered but… I really don’t like him.”

Hunter smiled, intrigued, “Oh and why is that?”

“Because he was a womanizer, a drunk, and extremely chaotic in behavior.” Tighe replied with a wry grin. “Ever hear of The Charge of the Light Brigade?”

“Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell Rode the six hundred.” Hunter quoted.

“Tennyson wrote such a lovely poem.” Tighe laughed, “That’s the wrong Brigade but same results.”

“Oh?” Hunter was becoming even more intrigued. The Fae Court had their own ill-fated Light Brigade?

“Like I said, Dysna had some extreme chaotic behavior.” The Fae replied with a shrug. With a leap of Fae logic he inquired, “What about your people, the vampires? Who made you? How old are you? Is Meggy really your cousin or some distant—”

Hunter burst into laughter. After a moment he ceased long enough to explain his sudden humor.

“No one ‘made’ me, I was born a vampire. As for my age, in the upcoming century I will mark my four hundredth birthday.”

“You and Royal are pretty close in age.” Tighe revealed. “Is Meghann also close to your age?”

Hunter nodded, “We grew up with one another. How old are you, Tighe?”

“Ever hear of the Babylonians?” The Fae asked with a smirk. Tighe was surprised to see Hunter nod.

“I was born around that time. In March, I do believe.”

“So that makes you a Seelie Fae.”

“Yup, Royal’s one too. When were you and Meggy born?” Tighe asked.

“I was born October eighteenth and Meghann was born April first.”

“Tell me more about born vampires!”

Hunter chuckled at Tighe’s exuberance. He found the older man much like a child in many ways. Tighe had a high energy level, a cheery outlook but the quick mind of an adult and the tastes of one in at least one respect. He hadn’t come across a Tennyson fan since leaving Europe.

“All right, where shall we begin?”
-------------------------------------------------

“And you ride it like you would a horse.” Royal confirmed eyeing the unusual silver machine Meghann had revealed and spoke about in great detail on the way.

Nearly a half hour later, the Fae assassin knew enough about the two motorcycles to repair any damage diluted Fae blood might bring about. Strangely enough, Royal didn’t mind talk of Meghann’s obsession. She found the vampire enjoyable to be around while she alternated between cooing and cursing at the engine. Once when Meghann began swearing after her wrench slipped one too many times, Royal noted her eyes bled silver.

“Yes, you ride it like a horse. Except you control the speed here.” The female vampire told her and pointed at something on one of the handle bars. Meghann pointed at the other handle bar and continued, “And that’s the break.”

“I think I’ll stay being a passenger.” Royal decided. “I’d at least like to be able to keep one hand free.”

“To kick butt with.” Meghann added with a grin. A small smirk quirked up one side of Royal’s lips.

“Of course.”

A moment of easy natural silence lapsed between the two filled with the sound of metal clicking on metal. Meghann would break it briefly with a quiet unladylike word or Royal with a faint hum of interest. They passed time this way until each female’s curiosity of one another roared for answers.

“Do those tattoos—”

“Why do you dye—”

Royal and Meghann looked at one another and burst into laughter.

“Let’s try this again,” Royal said somberly with amusement still twinkling in her eyes. “Your hair, why do you dye it?”

“All right.” Meghann replied with good humored snobbery. “I dye it because it makes my family angry.”

She snorted and said with an adventurous toss of her head, “Oh, at first it was an accident. As kids, Hunter and I were roughhousing in Uncle’s study where we somehow knocked over a vial of ink and gotten splotches in our hair. But now, there’s just something comical about their death glares and their disapproving huffs whenever I dye it.”

Meghann turned and pointed at the twin red slash tattoos on the Fae’s cheeks, “Nice tattoos. Do they have some special meaning?”

Royal smirked, “They’re called Exile Marks. It’s to show to Fae, elven and anyone in the know that I am a murderer.”

“So the tats are like a scarlet letter.”

“Yup and just like in the Scarlet Letter, I’m supposed to be shunned and reviled.” Royal replied and then shrugged. “However, those few I’ve been around treat me the same as always. Why? Because everyone knows I killed to protect Tighe and everybody loves Tighe.”

“ I don’t love your brother.”

Royal smirked, “Give’im time, he grows on people. He’s like a hyperactive lavender mold.”

“Fraella are you telling people I’m fungus again?”

Before an eye could blink, Tighe flung himself across the room and into Royal’s arms, sending them both down to the ground. Hunter strolled in a moment later.

“I learned there’s two kindsa vampires!” Tighe told his sister as he sat on top of her. He leaned down and murmured in her ear. “It’s a really good story. It was said that all natural born vampires are descended from the offspring of Lilith and the archangel Samael. And because he is-was an angel of death and didn’t want to see his children die, the natural vampires are immortal.”

“But that isn’t the real interesting part.” Tighe added in a mischievous sing song tone. “Hunter said they have necromancers.”

“Oh really.” Royal said in a cold flat voice. Her hand began inching toward her blade, an action that didn’t go unnoticed to Hunter.

“He also said that they have a council, the uh--h Xemege Vangordurim. I don’t know what it means but it sounds really nasty.” Tighe told his sister, who then snorted.

“Council or no, Fae and necromancers are sworn enemies.” Royal replied evenly. Already her mind was going over what around her could be used to kill her foe, her eyes almost dancing with glee.

“Something you neglected to mention, Mr Abracomas.” Hunter responded with a smirk. Tighe rolled up to his feet and shrugged.

“Well you got a bit of a fight coming if you start something with Alexys Le Strange.” Meghann told Royal. “She may be young but her teacher is a member of that weirdo named necromancer thing.”

“It is not weird. It comes from a long dead language and is translated as Host of the Supreme Grave.” Hunter argued.

“Ri-ght.” his cousin drawled. “And even if you kill everyone then there’s my uncle to contend with.”

“Yes, there is.” Hunter said. “Father and uncle. Both of them went through lengthy talks to create a treaty just to station Alexys Le Strange in our household.”

Meghann shuddered, “I swear she’s plotting something. Oooh, that woman gives me the creeps!”

“I do apologize.”

Alexys Le Strange sauntered into the garage with an elegant deathly grace. Her off the shoulder gown was widow black and softly hissed as she moved. The black lace cameo around her neck was made from two different human bones and carved in the image of a skull. Her prematurely white hair was simply pulled back and held by a black ribbon with two more white bones at the ends.

She looked at everyone in the room at least once, nodding to Meghann and Hunter as a sign of respect. Her gunmetal eyes brought a chill up Tighe’s spine as they passed over him.

Royal’s hand inched toward her sword and Alexys’s blood red lips curve up in a cold bemused smile. She knows something, her Fae senses screamed. Kill her, a small part of her that was loyal to the Court growled. Torn between two opposing forces, Royal paused. Patience was needed in situations such as this.

“You must be of the Fae Court.” the necromancer purred. “Only a Fae would have such a violent reaction to one with my abilities.”

“Your abilities are horrific and enslave those we should respect and honor.” Royal snapped. Alexys let out an ominous sounding titter.

“Everyone sees things differently.” she replied indifferently. “What is seen as proper. What is moral. How to worship God. Such a grand fare for strife and discord when such rules are supposed to help humanity.”

“Funny thing that.“ Alexys added with a cool smile that sent a shiver down Tighe’s spine. She then turned to Hunter and addressed him, “Oh yes, before I forget once again. Your father wishes to speak to you.”

“Did he tell you why?”

“No but I assume it has something to do with the meeting you are supposed to be attending at this moment.”

Hunter heaved a tired sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

“He decided to grace everyone with his presence after all.” He muttered. “I supposed I must take my leave. It was a pleasure, Mr Abracomas, Miss Kimura.”

“Tighe and Royal is fine.” She told him. With a final polite nod, Hunter left with Alexys Le Strange.

Immediately after the door closed, Tighe began to inspect the first of the motorcycles. His face hovered inches from each part and he darted from one to another in an instant by slipping between realms.

“How does it work? Do you ride it like a horse or a buggy? Does it go fast? How fast? Really fast?” Tighe asked in rapid fire succession. He slipped between realms and began examining the other bike, popping in and out as he did before.

“What do they eat to move? Grass like a horse? Coal and steam like a train?”

Meghann couldn’t control her burst of laughter at the outrageous question. Royal had heard from Meghann earlier what the two motorcycles ran on and she too found her brother’s question rather humorous.

“It runs on petrol, you ride it like a horse.” Meghann replied once she could form coherent words. “And yes, it goes fast.”

Tighe clapped his hands like a happy child and teleported behind the female vampire. He leaned close and murmured almost seductively in her ear.

“Can we go for a ride, Meggy?”

Meghann’s eyes cut toward him as she smirked. She glanced toward Royal, who shrugged and then back to Tighe who began grinning like the Cheshire cat.

“Let’s ride!”