I thought things would quiet down once Eric and I got back from Sweden, and they did, for a few days. Don't get me wrong, Sweden was amazing. Experiencing Eric's excitement over being back there, bonding with him, seeing the Northern Lights, playing in the snow, cruising the archipelago, spending time with all our friends... it was amazing, but so is coming home and sleeping in your nice warm bed. I'm a Southern girl. I wasn't made to sleep on a bed of ice for too long, no matter how exciting my Viking finds it.
Being home has been good so far though. They did quiet down a lot, with the exception of last night. I went to help Angie decorate hew new nursery, which was really fun. We listened to Katy Perry and danced while painting, then moved furniture around like professionals. It went really well, and it was wonderful to hear how excited she is to be a mom. I know she'll be great at it. Having twins sounds like a real challenge, but she seems really prepared.
I left her house after getting a text from Claude, saying there was an emergency and he needed to see me immediately. Now, with Claude, an emergency can mean he scuffed his shoes, so I wasn't too worried, but he really did sound panic, even just from the texts. I rushed home back to Eric, who was reluctant to let him inside, but once that was sorted, he left me and Claude to talk. He's really not such a fan of my cousin, which is unfortunate, but I get why.
Claude had some disturbing news. He said my real grandfather, the fairy who got Gran pregnant, is dead. He's not sure how Fintan died, no one is, but it didn't sound like murder was an unlikely possibility. It'd be so sad if he and Gran died the same way, but Claude didn't really seem to think of it like that. Actually, he made it sound like it's pretty common, especially in our family. I don't really know what that's supposed to mean, but I do know when someone's not telling me something. Eric says my fairy family is really dangerous, particularly dangerous, so maybe that has something to do with it. I don't really know.
He says Niall's looking into it, but also that he wants to meet me. That's not such a problem in itself, unless you ask Eric, but I'm not supposed to know I'm part fairy. Claude told me in secret, because he was looking out for me, and he put his neck on the line to tell me. I have to pretend like I don't know anything about any of this, and as Eric constantly tells me, I really am an awful liar. I'll have to do my best for my cousin, though. I don't want to get him in any trouble when he was just helping me, and he really did sound scared about what the consequences for him could be if it gets out that he told me about my ancestry.
Obviously, I don't want that. Claude's family. More than that, he's a friend. He's been there for me, even risking getting into trouble in order to be there for me, to show that he supported me and what I wanted by being with us in Sweden. He was at the bonding ceremony because he knew how important it was for me to have family there, despite how obviously uncomfortable it made him. That's family.
But, as I reminded Eric when he asked if I really planned on going through with the meeting, Niall's family too. He's my great grandfather, and when I've lost so much family already, in such awful ways, I don't know how I'd live with myself if I passed up the opportunity to meet more. Besides, it didn't really sound like Niall was giving us much choice. Eric describes him as real old and powerful, so I can't imagine he's a guy we really want to make mad. If he really does just want to get in touch with more of his family after just losing his son... I get that. He deserves a chance.
Eric keeps insisting that fairies are dangerous, but I don't know about that. I'm pretty much married to a vampire, and whether I like to think about it or acknowledge it or not, he's real dangerous himself. Not to me, of course, but there was a time I was darn sure he'd kill me if I made him too angry. It's not like humans aren't dangerous either. Gran was killed by a human, and I've nearly died at the hands of normal humans plenty of times. I've got plenty of two-natured friends too, and they're not exactly a calm, peaceful bunch. Maybe fairies are dangerous, but who isn't?
Niall's not coming right to me, though. He's sending Claudia to talk to Eric, and I'm sure that'll go real well. I like Claudia, don't get me wrong. She was so helpful in giving me cooking lessons, despite not seeming like she really approved of me. She's got a real tough exterior, which explains why Niall's sending her to negotiate with Eric, but inside, I think she's got a good heart. Gran always said it takes a good heart and lots of love to bake any food that tastes good, and Claudia's a wiz in the kitchen, even if she does wear so much leather.
I don't really know how that meeting will go, though. I know how vampires get around fairies, but somehow I don't think that'll be too much of an issue this time around. Eric's got his guard up, and when he's focused on business, there's really no distracting him. He seems worried about this whole thing, and I guess if what Claude was implying was that there's this murderous fairy running around trying to kill off my family, I guess I get why, but it's not like that's anything new anyway. When isn't there some serial killer, supernatural or otherwise, running around trying to kill us all? I don't think I'd know what to do with myself if there wasn't some murderer on the loose.
I hope the meeting goes well. I know it sounds strange, but Fintan's death makes me really sad. Here's a man Gran possibly loved, a man who made it possible for me to exist, and I never got to meet him. I loved my grandfathers while they were alive, and I still love them even now that I know that Gran's husband wasn't really related to me, but I would've really liked to have gotten to know Fintan, even a little bit. Now I'll never have the chance, and to me, that's just... sad. I guess that sadness is what makes me so sure that meeting Niall is the right thing to do. It doesn't sound like he's going anywhere any time soon, but I don't want to look back one day and wish I'd taken the chance to get to know him.
Fintan's death makes me sad, but hopefully with the loss of some family, I'll get the chance to connect with more.
