10
Willow
My human still needed an attitude adjustment, so I left him in the excellent hands of his current keepers for a few more days. I knew he was in good hands, they’d feed and water him and empty his shit bucket once a day, just as I’d ordered. They’d even toss some water over him in the mornings so he’d not stink. I did ask them to warm the water up a bit first. I didn’t want to have to deal with a sick human on top of a stubborn one. And while Ghost was hanging out at the dungeon figuring out which of us two was the one in charge, I would be busy doing other things.
Things like what I was doing right now, for example.
“While a compulsory purchase can indeed be completed, it needs to be made with your own funds,” the Buildings Regulator said.
“Oh, I have the funds in my account,” I replied.
“But is it all yours, earned or by inheritance? Not gifted or loaned.”
“Yes, yes,” I answered, my tone impatient. “I know the rules. I have sufficient that I earned myself; nevermind what I’ve inherited. As for being gifted funds, you do know who you’re talking to, don’t you?”
The regulator blanched. “Oh, my, yes. Your family difficulty saw a dwindling of your personal fortune, I heard.”
He and the entirety of both Courts, yep. You don’t get into the level of trouble I did and not see consequences. Given that it became family trouble, that included having financial support withdrawn as well. Luckily, I was well paid for the fairy dust I brokered to the shifters a few realms over. They used it as a party drug, but who was I to judge? They wanted it and I was happy to help fae living on the edge of poverty. They donated dust for a few silver coins, and I brokered it all for a profit. They got high, I got rich, the poor got money to live on. Everyone won.
“Both owners insist the payment be in gems we verify. No gold.”
I’d expected that. There was always some idiot who sought to try and trick his fellow fae with fairy gold. It was. A pointless scam, but there was always that one guy or gal who thought they’d manage to get away with it. I mentally rolled my eyes. I mean, come on, that is literally the oldest trick in the book.
“But of course,” I replied. “I expected nothing less.”
The man sighed. “Okay, sign here and place your seal here. Arrange for payment to be brought here before the close of today’s business, or the contracts are void.”
It was twelve minutes until closing, which was plenty of time, seeing as I’d booked a Wells-Faego to deliver it here already. The security coach was floating outside at the curb. All I had to do was go outside and tell them to bring it in, which is precisely what I did, once everything was signed and sealed.
I thought about how I wanted to rearrange the rooms on those two floors. The one immediately below me needed to accommodate my new armory. The one below that would become barracks for the ten unmarried men and women who would become my personal guard. Married members of the guard would have rooms on the armory level for the days and nights they were in charge of the watch. And speaking of the armory, I needed to see how the order for weapons was going. Glade and Ash had no doubt been busy enough turning in their resignations and getting started on the recruiting, but I knew that wouldn’t have stopped them from amassing a wishlist.
I was still thinking about renovations and purchases when I alighted from my Flyt home. My lips curled as I spotted a most unwelcome sight, my cousin Puzzle. He was a jack ass of the first order. So much so that one of my earliest memories as a child centered around the punishment my parents meted out after I glamored him to look like one, one day after magic and mayhem class. Yes, that’s a thing, but the mayhem is not to be used the way I did. One has to follow the rules as to when one can and when one can’t do certain things.
“Heard you went and got yourself a human,” he said, sauntering over.
“Really? He’s been here for several days now, and you’re only just now aware of him?” I prodded.
Puzzle narrowed his eyes at me. “I was away until this morning. Some of us are still held in high esteem by the Court. I was on a mission for the queen herself,” he preened.
“Well, I’m sure she appreciates you making sure she has enough linen to wipe her ass with,” I tell him.
He turns puce, his shaking telling me that he’s having trouble holding onto his temper already. “I’ll have you know that I was in Solaris, delivering a betrothal gift to the Crown Prince’s daughter.”
“The one who just became engaged to the goblin king’s grandson?”
“Yes. My mission was critical to helping maintain a peaceful, meaningful relationship with both realms.”
I had to give him that. It was the rules. While humans saw breaches of social etiquette as merely rude, with the fae, they were deadly insults. “I hope they enjoy the gift,” I offered.
His coloring returned to normal. “It’s a villa in Atlantis, so I’m sure they will. Now, what’s this about your human? And someone here said you bought the two floors below you.”
“I thought I should finally get a move on to establish myself properly. I’m close to my majority and
