Chapter Eighty Nine

One evening, while everyone else was sleeping (except Nik who was "out"), Mira woke up to see some strange lights outside the front of the house.   Going out to investigate, she found herself caught up by a strange force and as she flew up into the sky she passed out.

When she came to, she was lying on a bed in a strange room with two green-skinned aliens looking down at her.  She must have looked scared because one of them apologised for the way they had pulled her from her home and offered her a drink and some food.

It turned out that they were studying Sim Nation in order to decide what level of interstellar presence should be allowed and Mira spent much of the night explaining her culture to them.  After some time they got on to discussing her own life and the two aliens were shocked at what Mira revealed about what Nik had been able to get away with and what else she suspected he had done but had no proof of.

Before the night was over, they deposited Mira back in front of the house and promised to make some investigations of their own.

Over in her secret refuge, Elenie had fallen into a routine.  During the mornings she would read some of the many books which had been left here by previous occupants.

Reading however was quite lonely at times and Jewel's companionship helped while away the long hours and distracted her mind from wondering what was happening at home.  Jewel always seemed to know when she needed a break or was worrying too much and would interrupt to pester Elenie into playing chase with her.

In return, Elenie was careful to take as much care of Jewel as she could, brushing her coat until it shone every day and giving her lots and lots of affection.

Ieaun had made sure that the place was well stocked with both sim and cat food and Elenie had even found a plentiful supply of cat treats which she would feed to Jewel on a regular basis.And of course, if ever Elenie was feeling down or fretting about what was happening to her family, Jewel was there to be fussed, petted and cuddled, all of which she bore with remarkable equanimity for a cat!In the afternoons, when he could arrive without being spotted, Ieaun would come around and the two of them would work on their schoolwork together.  While they worked on that, Ieaun would do his best to update Elenie on what was happening outside, not that he was able to tell her much about what worried her the most - what Nik was doing to her family in the aftermath of her escape.

When Elenie got too worried about such things after they had done their school work together, Ieaun would distract her by challenging her to pillow fights or other such silly games.

Of course, being teenagers, such games usually ended with the two of them flirting together as their relationship grew closer and closer.

Whilst Elenie worried about her family and whether Nik would find her refuge, she always seemed to find that such worries receded whilst she was with Ieaun, especially as they explored their growing relationship.

Back at home, life hadn't changed much for the rest of her family, although both Coryn and Mira felt a continuing sense of tension whenever Nik was around.  While Mira did her best to stay out of everyone's way, Coryn concentrated on his schoolwork as much as possible.

He didn't feel happy bringing any of his classmates home with him, so when he had done all his homework he would pour all his energies into painting alone in the back yard.  

Soon enough, his birthday came around and Dory organised a party for him at the festival grounds, inviting various of his classmates to join them for the celebrations.  She, Nik and Coryn got there early and Coryn spent some time sampling the snow cones while they waited for the guests.  

Nik enjoyed himself in other ways, playing tricks on random strangers who had come to enjoy the festival treats.  His favourite trick was to magic away their clothes and leave them standing there in only their underwear!

When the other kids showed up, Coryn challenged them all to a water fight (which ended up going on for most of the afternoon) while Nik and Dory played horseshoes (and kept an eye on the water fight)

As the evening drew on, Dory produced a cake and the kids all gathered round and cheered as Coryn blew out the candles and the traditional birthday sparkles overtook him.

He grew up into a very handsome teenager who longed to start a family of his own - one where he would love his children as they deserved.

Coryn's first act as a teenager was to challenge his mother and some of his guests (Nik had disappeared off somewhere shortly after it started to become dark) to a hotdog eating contest.

Whether the rest held back because it was his birthday, or whether ageing up had left Coryn with a large appetite, he beat everyone else in the speed eating stakes that night!

A few days later, Nik was at home playing chess against himself and waiting for Coryn to get home from school when his phone rang.

"You think you've found her?  Well, where is she?  And why are you phoning to tell me instead of bringing her back?" 

"What?  A hidden room beneath the library?  And you can't find the way in?  Fine, I will sort out some back up and see if I can find a way in, I will be over there as soon as I can - don't let anyone in or out!"

Hanging up on Ug-Laruka, he placed another call; 

"I have a mission for you, round up as many minions as you can and meet me at the library with them.  An associate  of mine will be waiting there for you"

As he issued a stream of instructions, the doorbell rang repeatedly

"Damn, I have to deal with whatever idiot is at the door, just collect as many as you can and get over to the library but don't do anything until I get there!"