TEA AT THE COLORED MOUNTAINS

24 FEBRUARY, WEDNESDAY, NIGHT

Ben left my room really late, but he seemed confident about our new secret plan, and I finally felt like I had a real handle on the situation. Ben promised to run through the plan with Ki and Harvey and we'd meet again to discuss it when I was no longer grounded.

Ben was grounded too, actually. But while I was grounded from Alpha work, Ben was grounded to beta work, "So it's probably good that you're finally giving me something to do."

Okay, so that's settled. I took a quick shower and plopped myself straight to bed.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't try dream travelling to the Rogue King's House. I had reasoned it wouldn't hurt to try. I mean it would have been a real bummer if, after laying out my plan to kick his butt this weekend, I find I couldn't dream travel at will.

So I did try, but I must have missed because I found myself back at Heller's.

"Little blue alpha, wake up." A gentle voice like spring flowers called to me.

I opened my eyes and found myself looking directly at Heller's Mate. She smiled, like tulips opening in the sun.

I blinked and sat up on the sofa, "How did I get here?"

I was trying to go to the Rogue King's house, just for a little recon. I had half expected to find myself back at the Underground in Bell's bunker. But here I was, on the cream sofas of Heller's personal suite... Again. Why did I always end up here?

"I was just about to go to bed." Heller's mate told me. I tried to remember her name but realized I had nothing to recall, I was never told.

"I saw you sleeping here and was curious... How did you get past the guards?" Heller's mate sat down in the next armchair and picked up a tiny silver bell. It made a tiny tinkling sound and footsteps came to the door.

A warrior stepped in, he looked totally surprised to see me, but managed to regain his composure to ask, "You rang, princess?"

"Yes. Please may we have some tea?" Heller's mate looked to me, "You do drink tea, don't you?"

I nodded. I was sitting up on the sofa now. Ki had taken to setting my clothes again, so I was properly in my Little Miss Bossy pajamas set.

Heller's mate smiled at it, "Those pajamas are cute."

"Thanks." I mumbled. Heller's mate was also in her nightgown. It was very pale gold and it gleamed under the low lights of the room.

The blue fire lept about as if trying to break free from its bondage to the fireplace, but the glass barrier kept getting in his way. Come to think of it, I had wanted to be just like this glass barrier for Bell, but according to Ben, the fire would find a way out eventually.

"It's funny." Heller's mate smiled, "Heller was just remarking at dinnertime that it would be nice to see you again."

I nodded dumbly.

A servant came with a silver tray and set up a large tea set. Everything was in silver. I took pause. Did Heller's mate know I was a wolf? Silver would kinda burn when we touch it.

Silver and Wolfbane were a wolf's weakness... wasn't like like Wolf 101?

Was she testing me? But my wolf sensed no trap.

"How would you like your tea, my dear?" Her voice made me feel like I was in a large field of flowers.

I gulped, "Urm... With milk and sugar. As much as you dare to put in."

At this Heller's mate laughed, "You are such an interesting one."

I wriggled in my seat.

"Heller has a late meeting tonight, but he should be back up soon." She smiled at me again. I would have thought that being bedazzled by Ki's manifold smiles, I would have been used to this kind of thing by now, but Heller's mate's smile were both beautiful and genuine so it was hard to not be blinded by it.

"Urm... Is there anything I can do for you?" I managed.

If I ever grow up to be half as beautiful as this woman, I'm sure Bell would forget about revenge and world domination at once.

Actually, even though Fluffy looked like the exact replica of his dad, he also inherited the beauty of his mum some how.

"Is something the matter?" Heller's mate placed the tea cup in front of me. The very silver looking tea cup.

If I drank tea from a silver tea cup, would the tea be poisoned? I tried to remember if there was ever such a thing in the books I've read, but there had been no mention of silver in the lycan legends I knew.

"Little blue alpha?" Heller's mate asked again.

I shook my head, "I was just thinking how much Fluffy - I mean Alaric, looks like you."

Heller's mate laughed, her laughter like warm spring rains, and then she said, "Little Blue Wolf, you flatter me, but I know quite well my Fluffy is his father's son. Since I am not a wolf, my children both inherit wolves purely from their father."

Oh. Which explained why my cousins were pure black wolves like Uncle Louis. Or why Adelina also looked a lot like Heller.

I shook my head again, "I'm not flattering you. Even though Fluffy looks a lot like his Dad, he also looks like you."

"Oh!" Heller's mate breathed and then she smiled again, now suddenly like the sun.

What kind of spells was she weaving? I shook myself internally. Her magic was so much like River's, wild and unfettered, and rather impulsive. Only River's magic was bound by the stone, Heller's mate seemed to have no control whatsoever.

Did that mean, if River returned the stone, he would be like this? No wait, she wasn't like this before. I mean she was, but not to this extent.

I regarded Heller's mate carefully, trying to figure out if River would be more dangerous than be already was.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Heller's mate seemed to realize something amiss, "I..."

She stood up, "Please excuse me!"

And then she came back with a tiara perched on her head.

Hahaha, I was not expecting that. I blinked nonplussed.

"Is that better, Little Blue Alpha?" She asked me presently.

Well, it was kind of weird with her nightgown, but I nodded politely.

"I'm sorry, sometimes my powers can be quite overwhelming for others. This tiara restricts its effect somewhat... But it does give me a headache at the end of the day!" Heller's mate explained, so that I realized that she wasn't a crown obsessed princess afterall.

I shook my head, "It's no big deal."

She smiled at me, "It's just that I'm so very happy to see you. I realized I've never thanked you properly for taking care of my Fluffy."

And then she added thoughtfully, "Your wolf must be very strong. So far, only Heller has been able to keep a straight head when I take off my tiarra."

I wouldn't say I was completely unaffected, but I nodded again and wondered how I might drink some tea without actually touching the silver and burning my fingers...or lips.

Luckily, Heller arrived to save me from my plight. He stopped outside the door and knocked, "Darling, I'm with Haku. May we come in?"

My ears perked at that. I did hear more than one set of footsteps, but such quiet dignified steps! I had brushed it off as an echo.

Heller's mate quickly adjusted her tiara and then her robe before calling towards the door, "Of course, please come in."

The door opened, and Heller entered with another man. Like him, this man had an aura of agelessness so I could not quite place him. But I knew better, if a wolf looked anything between twenty and forty, that wolf was far, far, older.

But it wasn't the agelessness that fascinated me as much as his monocle. Who wore a monocle at this day and age, and how did he keep it from falling off his face?

"Oh! It's you!" I realized belatedly that we've met before! Heller's sensible healer friend! Was he wearing a monocle then? Why had I not noticed?

"It looks like the little blue alpha recognizes you, my friend." Heller said as he sat next to his mate, "Please have a seat, will you?"

"Yes!" I nodded, "You're just the guy I needed to see."

I mean, this was a true blue Colored Mountain healer right? If anyone could tell me how to heal Bell's arm, it had to be him!

Haku had paused to regard me, but nodded a polite bow and sat adjacent from me.

"Would you have some tea, Haku?" Heller's mate asked.

"Ah, yes. Yes, thank you Meredith." Haku accepted.

Meredith. So that was her name.

I waited feeling impatient for Meredith to finish pouring the tea, but she was unhurried, first pouring for Heller before Haku. The tea that Meredith poured smelled like flowers, and she did not ask them how they liked their tea. Both of them received it without anything else added. No milk or sugar.

"Thank you, darling." Heller said when Meredith set the tea cup in front of him.

"Thank you." Haku nodded quietly with a gentle smile.

Neither of them seemed particularly perturbed about the fact that everything was made of silver. And then it dawned on me, maybe it wasn't real silver. You know, like the way our knives and forks and spoons were silver in color, but not silver. Maybe the teapot and cups and saucers were made of stainless steel.

But that would be weird right? And the metal used here was far brighter than the kind used to make kettles. Each rounded piece looked almost like it was made of mirrors.

The tea had a pinkish hue too, so without milk, it was very pretty in the cup, a warm deep golden pink.

Everything in the Colored Mountain was strange and wonderful.

There was another silence as everyone took their time to partake their tea, inhaling the scent of flowers and tasting the liquid. Nobody seemed particularly hurt by the fact that it was so silver looking.

So I tentatively reached for my cup. The moment I touched it, I knew it wasn't silver. In fact, I was quite familiar with this metal - argon, like my mating bangle. I grasped the delicate handle gently and brought it to my lips to drink. It was sweet and milky and smelled like roses...what sorcery was this? So yummy!

"Do you like it, little blue alpha?" Meredith asked, her voice like tulips bobbing in the wind, "My Adelina also still drinks her tea this way."

And then Meredith turned to Haku, "Does your Miki still drink her tea with milk and sugar, Haku?"

Haku laughed, his laughter was masculine, but quiet, "No, I don't think so. But you know Miki's maternal grandparents are guardians of their family's tea heritage, so she has been training since young in the art of tea appreciation."

Who talked like this?

"Your Miki..." Meredith sighed wistfully, "She's growing up so gracefully."

"As is your Adelina." Haku was quick to return the compliment, "When I see the both girls together, they are like a matching pair of flowers about to bloom. The young male wolves cannot help but gaze from afar."

"They had better be quite far afar." Heller grumbled protectively.

Haku laughed, "Old friend, our children have grown. In a few years, our daughters would be of mating age. Even my son is now beginning to shoulder our family's practice."

"And you cannot help but boast of his capabilities at every opportunity!" But Heller was smiling in amusement.

"Perhaps I am only too relieved that Hayao's wolf is able to carry forward our family legacy." Haku confessed.

They were speaking in English. I felt quite sure, but the things they said sounded straight out of a Lycan tale.

It's like adult talk + Lycan legends rolled into one really weird conversation.

I waited patiently, because I've been trained from young to let the adults talk first. I can ask Haku about regrowing a missing arm in due time. I was quite sure Meredith had said Heller wanted to see me too.

Maybe he wanted to ask me about Fluffy. Maybe he had some trouble going to Fluffy. I hoped he wasn't going to ask me for directions. I honestly would have no idea how to get home from here.

But I didn't have to worry about that because what Heller and Haku discussed after that was far, far, crazier than... I tried to think of the most far-fetched drama I've ever watched, but nothing came close - not that I watched that many. I want to say it was Lorent-level crazy, but it was far worse. Even the story of the two royal vampire princesses and the Tyger didn't hold a candle to this story.

Basically, it was nothing about going back to the plains to fetch Fluffy. Heller thought that Fluffy should bring ME back to the Colored Mountains and then claim his right as the Alpha King. Okay, yes, I'll back track and explain, but its not going to make any of it easier to believe.