Wonderful hostess

Finn greeted the men kindly, introducing herself to Caspian, and welcomed them into her home. She urged quiet, for Jacqueline had taken the opportunity for a nap before the evening meal, along with all three babies. 

"If you wake any of those babies, you'll answer to me," Mrs. Sherman warned before heading into the kitchen to begin cooking. 

Finn chuckled, knowing it was the woman's way of giving her privacy with the men who had come to see her. Naomi seemed torn on whether to stay with her newly arrived husband or help Mrs. Sherman in the kitchen. 

Finn smiled at her kindly, and shifted her eyes to the kitchen door, freeing Naomi from the awkwardness of waiting for the General to tell her to stay or go. 

She could be filled in later on anything that concerned her, or retrieved if anything came up that required her input. 

"How can I help you, General?" She asked. He was the only one she did not expect to see today, for she knew Duncan would take the time to come by and see her and the babies once he finished with business. 

"I have a few questions on behalf of the Council, if you don't mind." He smiled gently. "Either for you, or your magical friend." 

"He's go– oh, you mean Gwen?" Finn asked. "What do you need?" 

She hadn't heard from the Fae since their moment together by the lake after she'd visited Jimmy. 

"There are moles under the city, stealing small items and attacking the workers who are attempting to clear the tunnels. We believe the Void is using them as it did the wolves." The General cut to the point, and Finn's eyebrows rose. 

"That's interesting. You think it's going after what it wanted, underneath the city?" Finn blinked. 

"We were wondering if you had come up with any thoughts about what that might be." The General lowered his head slightly to look at her more clearly. 

"I have had some thoughts." Finn had been pondering Jimmy's words for a long time. "I wonder if, among the ancient things in the tunnels, there are items from other worlds? When I was searching long ago, for the answer to the prophecy, I remember coming across a box of seemingly random small items; a greenish rock, a black stick, a few other things…

"I have since learned that world-portals are made by using herbs from one world and a simple item from another. If those ancient, random small objects are either portals themselves, or even objects that could be made into portals because they come from other places, they would be invaluable to the Void. 

"It wants power, and the power to escape its world and take over others is a strong desire." She stopped speaking here, half afraid it was utter nonsense coming from her mouth. 

The three men stared at her. 

"It makes sense," The General admitted. "I'm a bit ashamed I didn't come and ask you sooner. You always seem to know these things before the rest of us." 

"Mostly by coincidence," Finn deferred, "and normally you wouldn't have to… Roland usually asks whatever the Council needs, and then brings it back to you." 

Her voice dimmed a little bit as she thought about Roland, now so far away from her, and possibly in another world entirely. The mood in the room seemed to match her, so she consciously brightened instead of bringing everyone down. 

"How else can I help? I admit I've been somewhat busy of late, but I'm eager to do anything I can."

It was unexpectedly flattering to have the General here. Even though she knew Roland found her input useful, at the back of her mind a little voice said he was humoring her to make her feel good. The fact that the General came now that Roland was gone proved to her that she still had value outside of her home in addition to within it. 

"I hate to press on your generosity too firmly, as I know your duties here are exhausting," The General sighed. "But do you have an idea about how we might identify otherworldly objects?" 

"I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine on that," Finn shrugged. "The sticks that the Rhone used looked like normal sticks to me," She cast a look over at her father-in-law, who squinted. 

"If we place two Rhone portal-makers side by side, they glow. I do not know if that would apply to other worlds' portal-makers, let alone simple objects." King Duncan put in. 

"Anything that looks unusual might be a starting point," Finn added, "but that's no guarantee. If you can find those things I mentioned, that might be a start."

"I believe you were in the oldest parts in your journey, if I read those reports correctly. Those are still to be cleared, but I will make note of that." The General frowned.

"That odd little man said animal-parts are not good for making portals." Caspian added. 

"Odd little man?" The General asked. 

"He means Jimmy, I think." Finn's mouth flattened as she thought about the quarter-halfling. 

"That one," Caspian affirmed. "Very knowledgeable, but…" 

"Yes. But." Finn agreed before moving on. "Other than that I'm afraid I've no help to give. I'm looking after the little girl… I don't know if you've been apprised of that development, General." 

"Indeed, it was mentioned that a child was suffering from nightmares due to the Void. Will you be able to help?" The man's concern seemed to be equally for Finn as for the little girl. 

"I hope so. I've been assured the child no longer follows the Void and want to make sure no harm will come to her. I'm well aware that the options include turning away or… well, I don't even want anyone to consider the other option. She's a little girl." Finn felt protective of the exhausted child. 

"I trust that you will be able to tell that she has turned away from those ways. You have confirmed she's not a halfling?" The General asked. 

"Not unless she has refrained from breathing her entire time here," Finn chuckled. "The Fullest Lilies I planted are in bloom. I'm quite sure no halfling would stand being within miles." 

"Good." The General closed his eyes for a moment, and Mrs. Sherman bustled in with a tray of tea and baked goods. Finn and her guests sipped and ate gratefully. 

She tried not to be a glutton, but her appetite was absolutely ravenous at all times.

Providing nourishment for the babies apparently required her to eat the equivalent of four grown adults. She was silently grateful that she'd begun producing enough milk for all of them and did not need to rely on the wet nurse any longer. 

She hated to be an inconvenience to the kind neighbor, even though the woman had been all too happy to help. 

As if on cue, three cries resounded from the bedroom, and Finn sighed. 

"I am needed, gentlemen, if you'll excuse me." She turned to the General and King Duncan, "You both are welcome to stay for the evening meal, Mrs. Sherman and Naomi I'm sure are making plenty." 

"It would be a shame for the food to go to waste," King Duncan smiled by way of acceptance. 

Finn smiled back, neglecting to say it wasn't possible for any food to go to waste as long as she was in the household. It was a little embarrassing these days just how much she was able to eat, and yet was still steadily thinning to her pre-pregnancy figure. 

By all rights, she should be growing larger! 

Ducking into the bedroom, she faced the hardest decision of each feeding time: who would have to wait. 

"Lily, darling, I think it's your turn to be patient," She apologized to her daughter. 

By the time all the babies were fed and changed, Mrs. Sherman had finished cooking. Dr. Sherman arrived, as was becoming his custom when his wife was not at home to see him fed, and the men pulled up more chairs so that the people could eat a large meal together. 

"Naomi and Jacqueline were such a help in the kitchen," Mrs. Sherman was saying as Finn emerged to lay the babies on a blanket on the floor. "It was marvelous. Victoria and Quilina, wash up! I'm sure you're both filthy from the garden." 

The babies proved a distraction to conversation. Roen seemed absolutely determined to try to lift his head and roll over, and everyone watched his futile efforts intermittently in amusement. 

Finn observed with a quiet warmth how Naomi watched the babies, and how Caspian watched his wife watch the babies with a gentle glow in his eyes. He briefly squeezed Naomi's hand when he thought no one was looking, and it made her happy to see that their marriage was flourishing.

The atmosphere was full of familial camaraderie, despite Finn's quiet longing to know that Roland was doing all right, wherever he was. She let her thoughts linger on his safety, willing Gwen to hear and help him, if she was able. 

Swallowing the emotion that welled in her throat, she put on a smile and laughed at a funny story Victoria was relating about one of her classmates at school. 

Thoughts of Roland would have to wait, for now.