Chapter Twenty-one
Return

They were allowed to stay in the Temple as long as they needed to figure out what needed to be done.  Robert had a feeling this had less to do with the fact that Buttercup was her granddaughter, and more to do with the fact that they had not only successfully summoned their god, but also managed to convince him to join their quest.  They were just as holy as the priestesses themselves, it seemed, and they kept staring at them in awe no matter where they went.  The exception to this rule seemed to be Magnolia, who started treating them more like friends of her granddaughter – that is, with respect, but extremely casual.  Robert really had no problem with this, because the way the other priestesses were treating them like gods themselves was sort of grating on his nerves.  He found that a little funny, at least, due to the fact that he was supposed to be king someday, and most kings begged to be worshiped like that, to be treated like a superior rather than an equal.  But Robert never felt comfortable with people treating him any more than an equal.

Well, more or less.  He was a prince, after all, and he did expect some degree of being treated like a superior, merely because he had been dealing with it his whole life.  But he always realized during this journey that having people on his own level just made things more interesting and sort of fun.  He knew that was going to change the way he ruled someday, but he didn’t care.  There was only one person he expected to treat him like a prince, and that was Clover because she was his bodyguard.  And even before they started on this journey together, they treated each other more as friends than anything else.  It was just that Clover was paid to protect her friend and follow certain orders.  But the thing of it was that she didn’t really have to come on this journey – she was just paid to protect him while in the castle – but she chose to anyway.  Because she considered him a friend.

They were each their only friend, each for different reasons.  Robert could have friends if he tried harder, since he was the prince, after all.  But he found friends in books rather than people, finding them easier to deal with.  Most people weren’t very concerned with the ideas and the worries that he had, and once he reached puberty, he found that the only thing boys his age were worried about were girls.  They were out to find the prettiest girl they could imagine and parade her around, possibly get a little feel through her bodice.  And the girls wanted this as well, and sometimes were so bold enough to allow the boys to get even further than coping a feel.

Robert had no interest in any of this.  Well, he did, in the sense that he was searching for female companionship, as all boys do once they were sexually active, but the problem was that the pickings were rather scarce.  He knew he shouldn’t really be that picky, but as soon as he started to find any female to spend any amount of time with, he found them just silly and giggling, wanting to discuss the latest gossip and fashion.  Never anything of substance.  And thus, Robert stopped trying, and the boys he were friends with abandoned him for being a stick in the mud.  He had nothing to worry about; he had a wife all planned out for him!  Sure, she was annoying, but he could put up with her, which was more than he could say about any of the girl of the court.

It was rather hilarious based just on that how the friends he gained during this journey all turned out to be female.  Weren’t his friends going to be jealous then?  Sure, one of them was an elf, but Clover was an extremely shapely elf, and he knew for a fact that she had to bind her breasts just to keep them from moving about while she was fighting.  She was very well-endowed, closer to the size Selene was, and she had a very amble bosom.  Odessa, as far as he could tell, was a little above average, although she didn’t show anything off.  She didn’t need to, because she wasn’t the sort of girl making herself easy like that.  But he felt nothing for those two girls.  Sure, they were pretty, and he couldn’t argue with that.  But to him, they were just plain and they were his friends.

Buttercup, on the other hand, wasn’t going to attract any attention with her body, despite how slight it was.  She was average in breast size, and she was thin.  Her legs seemed a bit too long for her body, adding a little to her height, but considering how tall he was, it didn’t really make all that much difference.  It was her other features that would catch the attention of all the lords in the court, Robert mused.  Obviously her hair, brilliantly orange and styled in a fashion that was clearly Alterian despite the waviness, was pretty much the only thing a lot of people saw of her.  Her skin was paler than anyone else’s he’d ever seen, orange-red freckles discoloring it in places.  Her green eyes were so expressive that he knew that she’d always have trouble hiding her true feelings.  The kohl around her eyes and the piercing in her eyebrow seemed to destroy the cute and innocent look she had, but he had found that those made up who she was just as much as anything else.  She was gorgeous in his eyes, and it always made him excited to be standing next to her.

She also made him extremely nervous, because a relationship wasn’t exactly something that he really knew anything about.  It wasn’t something that could be read about, he knew, mostly because he tried once.  He just came to the conclusion that it was something that everyone experienced differently.  You had your romantic sweet love, your dutiful love like his own parents, and you have the people who’re together for gods knew what reason.  He always wanted romantic love, but he was ready to settle for dutiful love.  Now, he wasn’t all too sure.

But, of course, his feelings for Buttercup weren’t all that important at the moment.  They had a quest to continue, and details to plan.  “I wonder how much longer leaving her missing is going to cause a problem,” Robert mused their second night there.  They were taking the opportunity to actually rest within in Temple, since they had basically been on guard since the moment the quest was started. 

“I’d imagine this was a problem that would immediately need to be dealt with,” Clover stated.  “Why do you ask?”

He glanced at Buttercup.  “I’m just wondering if we have time to stop by her hometown.  We’re about to let our families know what happened to us, and Odessa was giving permission to come with us, so her people know what’s going on.  Are we just going to leave her family trying to figure out what happened her for several more months when we’re, what, a mere two weeks away?”

“It’s all right,” Buttercup insisted.  “We don’t have to go back.  I’m sure Grandmama will send them a message that she’s seen me, and possibly explain everything.  Clover’s right; its best that we go back now before anything terrible actually happens.  The longer we wait, the more likely something bad is going to happen.”

“Why are we going back, anyway?” Odessa asked, leaning against her pillows.  They all got beds in the Temple.  “Sure, we have the Diabolus Dei questing with us now, but aren’t we seeking more answers?”

“You were there with us when he told us that the best way for him to figure out what was going on with his sister was to call her, and that the Temple most connected with Aria happens to be in Acerbus.  And don’t call him the Diabolus Dei.  I don’t want him coming down on us in a rage again,” Buttercup said.  “His name is Ignatius.”

“Technically, he’s still the Diabolus Dei, just like your grandmother is the Grand Magister of the Order of the Younger God of Fire,” Odessa said stiffly.  “It’s a title.”

“It’s a title he doesn’t practically care for.  How would you like to be given a title against your will and it’s something you hate, but people insist on calling you it, anyway,” Buttercup snapped.  “It’s just polite.”

“That’s not the point.  The point is that we’ve got a god in our corner now.  Do you really think he can summon Aria from the Lumentian Temple?  I would think she’d be more connected to somewhere in Tara Nora.  We’re apparently her patron kingdom, at least according to the old texts.”

“Why is it called Tara Nora if it’s patron god is the Angelus Dei?” Clover asked.  “I would think, with a name like that, you’d worship the Matrem Dei.  It sounds like you were named after her, after all.”

Odessa shrugged.  “The story goes that the Angelus Dei, that is Aria, decided to name the kingdom after her mother after founding it.  We had assumed that meant the fact that her mother was the earth goddess, but apparently, it was literally named after her.  Who knew?”

“Lumentis is the central kingdom within the Five Kingdoms, and the most powerful,” Robert stated.  “It would make sense of her to adopt it as her new patron kingdom, don’t you think?”

“You’d think that Alter would be the most powerful, because it’s the most natural.  We don’t worship her as the bringer of light, but rather as the wind goddess she’s meant to be.”

Robert shrugged.  “That may be the case, but there’s a much greater following in Lumentis than there is in Alter.  In Alter, the worship is all divided, so there’s no actual power within the Temples, except in Ignatius’ case, because you’re the only kingdom that devotes any time to him.  Besides, no need to get defensive.  Ignatius himself suggested the idea.”

“Yes, but clearly he doesn’t think too highly of Alter.  He thinks the world of Lumentis, though.”

“I’m not the enemy, Buttercup,” he said dryly, hating the fact that she seemed to dislike him so much at times.  “Lumentis and Alter are two completely different kingdoms.  Each has their own merit, I’m sure.  Its harder to tell what Alter’s is, but I’m sure it’s there.”  She glared at him.

Clover put a hand on Buttercup’s shoulder to calm her down a little.  “Basically, I think it comes down to the number of people who worship her.  Sure, the Alter temples are more natural, but because the worship is split, there’s not as many people praying to the goddess as there is in Acerbus.  Acerbus also has the grandest temple.  Maybe Aria is a little bit vain.”

“Maybe,” she muttered, not quite buying it. 

“You should be excited,” Odessa said, perking up a little.  “You get to visit the capital of Lumentis.  I’ve heard it’s just, like, amazing.”

“I’ve heard opposite stories, that it’s dirty and full of people,” Buttercup said, making a face.  “It’s certainly not one place I ever wanted to visit before.”

“It’s not just that,” Clover said softly.  “You’re not just traveling to Acerbus.  You’re also going to get to meet Robert’s family, and possibly get to know them a little better.  I’m sure his little sister is going to absolutely adore you.”

She was silent for a moment.  Robert had to agree – Caroline was going to fawn over Buttercup the moment Clover decided to tell her that she was pretty sure that Robert had feelings for Buttercup.  It was sort of obvious that Clover suspected as much, even though it took Robert a bit to realize what he was feeling.  “I…I suppose,” she said softly, blushing a little.  “And I have heard a lot about the Temple from the priests.  They claim that it’s the only redeeming quality that Lumentis has.  I’ve always been curious about it.”

“And the royal family.  I mean, you gotta admit that they’ve got to be awesome to produce someone as adorable as this,” Odessa said, grabbing Robert’s cheeks and giving them a pinch.

Clover laughed.  “Hardly,” she said.  “His mother certainly, but his father is pretty much like every other king Lumentis has had.  You know, selfish and a little cruel.  Not much of a good king.  Not much of a good father, for that matter.”

Robert just sort of shrugged.  “They’re my family; I can’t really speak ill of them.  They’re not like normal families, after all.  They’re a royal family.  I have not met a royal family yet that’s not even a little normal.  We’re the closest ones because we tend to sit down for family dinners every now and again.”

“I can’t imagine that,” Buttercup admitted.  “My family’s large, and we still sit down for family meals.  I can’t imagine having a father who doesn’t care about you.  I don’t see mine much because he’s always working, and doesn’t really have time for his daughters anymore, but he’s still concerned about us.  Well, more about Lily than me, but I’m his favorite.”

“You’re, like, the youngest, right?” Odessa teased. 

“No,” she said, surprised.  “I’m the oldest.  Oldest of seven, actually.”

“Geeze,” Robert said without thinking, not expecting that number.  “And you’re only way, fifteen at most?  That’s crazy.”

She got defensive again.  “I’m seventeen,” she said as though he wasn’t the first one to get her age wrong.  “And my youngest brother is five.”

“Your parents were very busy,” Odessa said.  “I have no idea how they manage it.  Ma and Pa only had me, as far as I know, and they struggled.  Never regretted it, but we weren’t exactly wealthy or anything.”

“Neither are we, but we manage.  Then again most families in Gracia tend to be large, and our crops tend to be bountiful such that the families can thrive.  It might be different in Tara Nora.”

“Very different,” she muttered.

It took them several more days to feel rested enough to start their journey back, especially since it was going to take them another three months to get back.  They might be able to shave off some of the time by staying only one night in the villages they come across, but Robert hoped to continue their search for answers, just in case something new came up.  The truth was, however, that they were a little loath to start traveling again after being so comfortable in the Temple.

“I feel like we’re just wasting time here,” Clover said, clearly annoyed.  “Six months away is really just unacceptable, if you think about it.  Who knows what damage could be done in that time?  Not to mention Ignatius will be waiting for us.”

“Three months?  Why would it take three months to get to Acerbus?” Odessa asked.  “We’ll just use Metallica.”

They glanced at the dragon perched on her shoulder.  He had pretty much become a part of her being that he was easily ignored for the most part.  He snorted at them, smoke billowing from his nostrils.  “What, can he open a portal directly where we want to go or something?” Clover asked skeptically.

Odessa snorted.  “Um, no.  This is just Metallica’s traveling size.  Have you ever heard of a tiny dragon?  Hell no!  Ignatius created them to be huge, and Metallica is no exception.  It you please, Tal.”

Metallica leapt off her shoulder with ease, and flew up into the sky.  He circled around them a few times, appearing to stay in the same location, until he decided to come back down.  It took his longer, though, because he was actually much higher, and when he landed, he was the size of full grown dragon, completely capable of carrying four adults on his back, plus all their bags.

“Holy shit,” Robert cursed before he could stop himself.

“Impressive, no?” Metallica asked, his voice light yet deep, and very amused.  Robert raised an eyebrow at him.  “When I’m in my smaller size, my vocal cords are too small for me to speak, so I put my thoughts in Odessa’s mind.  Now I’m big enough to talk, and it feels great.”

Tiana let out a snort.  “Giant windbag,” she whinnied.  “I was hoping you’d stay that small.”

Metallica snorted smoke in her direction.  “Am I really supposed to carry such a delicate creature?  She may fall and break her horn, and no one will ever hear the end of it.”

“What are we going to do with Tiana?” Buttercup asked.  “She can’t ride on the back of a dragon, can she?”

“Most certainly not,” she said.  “But fear not, dear child.  I may not have the power to transport any of you to the capital myself, but I do have plenty of power to transport myself.  I shall be waiting for you when you arrive.  You won’t be leaving me behind.”

“Oh,” Buttercup said stupidly, although it wasn’t something she was really expected to know.  Unicorns were fairly mysterious, after all, and no one but the unicorns themselves knew of their abilities and their limitations.  All Robert knew was that they possessed some magic in their being.  He suspected they might be able to teleport, but he hadn’t been quite sure until she said something.

With their easy transportation discovered, they quickly packed their things and prepared to leave.  “At least we don’t have to worry about Dante anymore,” Clover said while she was strapping down everything to Metallica’s back.  “I’ll be able to relax now.”

Ignatius had taken care of that little problem before he even left.  He seemed to realize how much of a hassle the mortals had gone through already with the Dark Elf, and opted to transport him directly to the Warrior Elves rather than allow them another minute to have to deal with them.  This had been before they really decided what to do, since all Ignatius had said was that he figured he could summon his sister best from the Angelus Dei Temple in Acerbus.  Robert supposed that he figured they would all continue to search for other answers for a bit before coming back home or something.

“Buttercup!” Magnolia called just as they were about to leave.  The priestess did look remarkably like Buttercup, although she had more age lines and more grey streaked through her wavy orange hair.  But she was still quite beautiful, and Robert figured Buttercup would look almost exactly like her once she got older.  The older woman quickly embraced her granddaughter.  “Be careful.  No matter what happens, know that I am proud of you.”

“I miss you, Grandmama,” Buttercup muttered.  “Tell Papa I’m safe, and that I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Stay safe, my beautiful flower,” she said as she released her.  She climbed onto the Metallica’s back with Robert’s help, and gave one final wave before Metallica took off, and they were flying.

Flying was certainly an experience that Robert felt everyone should try at least once.  While terrifying at first, it soon became exhilarating, and he could sort of see why Odessa kept her flight goggles on her at all times.  He thought it was a fashion statement, a way to show everyone that she was a Dragon Tamer with ease.  But it was so she could hope on Metallica’s back any time she wanted, and experience this joy.  And she did certainly enjoy it as much as Robert did.

Buttercup took a little longer to acclimate to the sensation.  She remained curled against Robert’s chest for about half the day the first day before she allowed herself to relax and enjoy it.  Clover, on the other hand, didn’t take to flying at all.  She was extremely relieved to have her feet on the ground the first night they stopped.  “It must be because you’re a Nature Elf,” Buttercup remarked.  “You only truly feel comfortable when you’re around nature and being in the sky takes you away from that.”

“Maybe.  If I were a Nature Elf.  I just don’t think elves were meant to fly.  Leave that to the dragons and the fairies, I say.”

Still, she climbed back on the following day with trepidation, and sat in misery the entire week it took to return back to Acerbus, only because flying upon Metallica’s back was truly the fastest way for them to return home.  Robert doubted he could ever get Clover back on Metallica’s back, despite the fact that Odessa kept her dragon friend from any antics once learning that Clover got extremely airsick.

In what felt like next to no time, especially after spending months traveling, they were flying over Acerbus.  Robert couldn’t help but lean over and stare at his hometown as they soared about it, never having this view of it before.  He never had a true sense of its size before, but after passing over village after village, he could really appreciate it.  The streets were a confusing maze from the sky, making no sense whatsoever, but he could still tell what everything was.  As they flew lower, he could see the people in their bright clothing stopping and staring at the dragon flying overhead, and pretty soon, the castle loomed in front of them, and what seemed like an entire battalion stood armed and ready to take on the invading dragon.

Odessa directed Metallica to make a grand entrance by landing directly in front of the gate in the village square, which was in fact large enough for him to land and provide room for people to gather around him in wonder.  The soldiers started to stream out from the walls, weapons drawn…at least until Robert slide off his back to show that he was, in fact, a friendly dragon.  Or at least one delivering the crown prince back home.  “Your Highness!” the soldiers gawked.

“What is the meaning of this?” his father demanded to know, shoving past his guards and soldiers to meet whoever was bringing a dragon into his castle head-on.  “What do you think you’re….Robert?”

He had never heard his father use such a tone considering him before, like he was shocked and pleased to see him at the same time.  He expected anger from his old man, not delight at seeing him alive and well.  In fact, he was surprised that his father recognized him after three months.  He hadn’t taken the time to shave after leaving Alter, since they seemed so much in a rush, so his beard was starting to grow out, adding to a scruffy look his longish hair provided.  But then again, it wasn’t like he really changed that much over the past three months.

It was so weird to see pretty much everyone in the court staring at him in surprise, and not a single one of them seemed annoyed that he had the gall to show up after being gone for three months.  No one was even paying attention to the girls that slide off Metallica’s back after him, Odessa sort of acting like she owned the place, and Buttercup attempting to hide behind him because she knew the reaction she was going to receive based on her skin tone.  Once again, she was surrounded by the yellow skin and slanted eyes of Lumentians.

“Where…what…how?” the king demanded to know, staring up at his son.  “Where have to been, boy?”

“Doing something you didn’t think was necessary,” Robert said confidently.  “Trying to find out what happened to Ar…the Angelus Dei.”

“And?” one of his priests asked, seeming to appear out of nowhere.  Buttercup jumped slightly, staring at the man.  Robert was positive that none of the Angelus Dei priests she knew looked as slimy as they did.  “Did you discover anything?”

“About the Angelus Dei?  No, we’re currently still working on it.  But we did discover that I was right in the fact that the people are worried about her, and that they’re looking to the king for answers.  And clearly, he’s not doing anything.”

“There’s nothing to be done, boy,” the other priest said, appearing as suddenly as the other.  Buttercup let out a sort of whimper.  “See, we were right.”

“Actually, you were far from right, but that doesn’t even matter in the slightest.  My father is king; he should be looking out for his people, not what to ingrates tell him to do merely so they could get the people to hate his son even more.  And you know what?  Your little scheme isn’t even working.  Outside of Acerbus, I am, in fact, well respected.”

The first priest sneered.  “We’ll see how long that lasts once they learn the truth about her disappearance.”

“What, that she disappeared because I don’t believe in her?  If that were the case, she would have been back a week and a half ago,” he stated, staring down the man.  “And clearly, she has not returned.  So clearly, you’re completely wrong, and Father shouldn’t listen to you anymore.”

“Really now?  What in the world would happen to get the great and might Prince Robert to start believing in the gods, I wonder?” the second priest asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Robert hissed.

“Enough,” his father said sharply.  “Your prince has returned.  You shall show him more respect than that.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the priests said, bowing while clearly seething at Robert.

Anything else that was going to be said was interrupted by a high pitched, “Robert!” coming from within the gates, and Robert didn’t have any time to register who was yelling at him before something hard and rather solid barreled into him.  At first, he thought maybe it was Selene, but there was someone even more excited to have him back.  “Oh Gods, I didn’t think you’d ever come back!”

Robert wrapped his arms around his sister protectively.  “I’m sorry,” he muttered.  “I should have told you where I was going.  But even I didn’t know I was going until I was gone.  But I’m back now.  I’m okay.”

He spotted his mother shoving her way through the crowd that had gathered, and the look on her face was one of pure relief, the look any parent should wear after their child returned.  Unlike Caroline, though, she remained where she was, content to just look at him for the time being.

His father suddenly sucked in his breath.  “Thomas Robert Charles Defoe, why is there an Alterian hiding behind you?”

Buttercup let out a squeak, cowering a little more behind him.  Robert glanced back at her, a little amused and annoyed at the same time.  Amused at her, annoyed at his father.  “Because she joined my quest as well,” he told his father.  “There’s also a Ta’Norian standing beside me, and I don’t see you flipping your shit about her.”

“I brought the dragon,” Odessa said, patting Metallica’s forearm.  He rumbled a bit but Robert figured he was just making his purring sound. 

“I have no problem with a Ta’Norian on Lumentian ground, but an Alterian?  What were you thinking?  She needs to be arrested for putting a spell on the prince!”

“A spell?” Buttercup asked.  “I’m not a witch, Your Majesty.  I’m merely a farm girl.”

His father stared her down, and Robert could tell she regretted speaking up.  He put himself between the two of them.  “I know your type,” his father hissed.  “I heard the stories.  Alterians with orange hair are always witches.  What sort of spell did you put on my son?  You’ll hang for this, witch.”

“Father, stop it.  She’s not a witch.  In fact, she comes from a family that’s sworn to protect the Angelus Dei.  She doesn’t even worship the Diabolus Dei.”  He hoped Ignatius wasn’t about the come down and enact righteous justice for him calling him that. 

“Protect the Angelus Dei?  Well, they didn’t do a very good just of that, now did they?” one of the priests asked, sniffing slightly.

Robert resisted the urge to hit the guy, but Clover went ahead and did it for him.  “You’re a gods damned priest,” she hissed.  “You out of anyone should know that mortals can’t actually protect the Angelus Dei!  Her family protects her in name only, moron!”

The guards had a hold of Clover fairly quickly, especially since the penalty for striking a priest, even if he clearly deserved it, was death.  But the king just waved them off, and they released her, mostly because they knew she was quite capable of causing them harm, even in a restrained state.  “That may be the case, but she’s still an Alterian.  She is not allowed in the city, much less the castle.  She is to be removed from my presence, and kept in a cell until I can figure out what to do with her otherwise.”

His mother acted quickly, swiftly moving from her spot amongst the crowd, watching the scene, to standing right behind her husband, smacking him upside the head.  She was quite literally the only person who could get away with it.  As it was, the guards instantly went on guard…until they saw it was the queen who smacked the king.  “Thomas, you’re being a fool,” she stated.

“Yeah, Father!” Caroline insisted, glancing between Buttercup and her brother, and the way he seemed protective of her.  “Just look at her!  She hardly seems like the type to be a witch!”

“Those are the types that exactly like witches,” Selene said, stepping from the crowd.  She was eyeing Buttercup like the enemy, but Robert figured she was at this point.  Selene held an air of confidence that Buttercup was lacking at that point, acting far more superior than she should.

“She is no witch,” his mother stated.  “She is, rather, a guest, and I will not condone any guest to a cell.  You are to welcome her, Thomas.  She traveled very far to be with us today, and clearly, she’s of some use to Robert in his quest.  And she is a friend of our son’s.  I, for one, plan to get to know her before making any judgment calls.”

“I will not have an Alterian witch stay in the castle.  It’s dangerous.”

“That’s all fine and well,” the queen said, offering her hand to Buttercup.  “Because we won’t have an Alterian witch staying with us.  Come on, dear, we’ll get you cleaned up.  I’m sure it’s been awhile since you’ve had a hot bath.”

Buttercup was rightfully hesitant, since the only Alterian she really trusted up until that point had been Robert.  She slowly started to take the queen’s hand, except Caroline was far more impatient than their mother.  “Oh,” she declared, grabbing Buttercup’s arm and dragging her out from behind Robert.  Buttercup looked rightfully terrified now.  “We’re going to be the best of friends, I can just feel it.”

Odessa sort of smirked at her and Buttercup surprised him by relaxing.  “If that is your wish, Your Highness,” she said, grinning slightly.  Robert rolled his eyes as Caroline dragged her towards the castle, intent on proving just how much of friends they were going to be.

Selene remained where she was, her eyes narrowed and calculating in Buttercup’s direction.  Robert didn’t like the slight of that one bit.  Odessa elbowed Clover and gestured at Selene, but the elf just shook her head, not perceiving her as a threat.  But Robert knew otherwise.

His father sighed in defeat as he watched his wife and daughter take an Alterian into the castle.  Robert waited to see what his father was going to do about it, but he also knew that the king would never fight a decision made by the queen.  “I just hope you know what you’re doing, boy, allowing her to remain with us.”

“I hope so as well,” Robert said, trying to remain confident.  “Although not about Buttercup.  About that I can be very sure about what I’m doing.”

It was something of a lie, but not in the way he meant it.  She was, in fact, to be trusted, and he knew his father was going to see that fact in very short time.

Angelus Dei
Chapter Twenty-one