Elizabeth blinked. Meryn had already secured an invitation to Éire Danu and by the queen herself? She shook her head. She thought moving to Lycaonia would be boring, just a place to lay low until she could return to the human world without someone figuring out that she could survive a nose dive out of an office building window. She eyed the peculiar little human with renewed interest.
"Denka, your tea." The man that Meryn had called Ryuu carried a tray into the room. Immediately Elizabeth's nose picked up on the faint smell of jasmine.
"Thank you. Ryuu, have you met Elizabeth yet? She's the one that Gavriel has been dreaming about. She'll be moving in," Meryn said introducing them.
Elizabeth paused. "I'll be moving in?" She thought that Meryn was the exception to the rule about mates living in unit estates.
Meryn blinked. "Yeah, why wouldn't you?"
"It just isn't done, Meryn."
Ryuu chuckled. "You'll soon discover that Meryn often does things that 'just aren't done'." Ryuu poured their tea carefully before stepping back to stand against the wall.
"I do, don't I?" Meryn picked up a small plain cookie and popped it in her mouth before placing one on a napkin on the table. Elizabeth watched in fascination as the cookie lifted all on its own and tiny bite marks appeared.
Meryn caught her staring. "That's Felix. He's a sprite that decided to adopt me. He's super sweet, but not everyone can see him," she explained.
Feeling as if she had stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone, Elizabeth nibbled on a cookie. What had she gotten herself into now?
CHAPTER TWO
"So what do you do, you know, to support yourself?" Meryn asked.
"I'm a personal assistant. I help high level executives stay organized and keep their day running smoothly." Elizabeth was very proud of her work. While working in the background she had helped many men and women achieve wonderful things.
"Oh my gosh, Aiden needs you! This is so awesome. I have been trying to help, but organization isn't really my thing. I've gotten especially lazy now that I have Ryuu. I swear I don't know how I made it through a day without him. He remembers things like lunch and clean clothes."
Elizabeth laughed. "Those are important things, Meryn. What exactly does Aiden need help with?"
"Everything."
"Really?"
"Yup, really. I think he still hand writes his reports, it'd be a miracle if we found out he was using a ballpoint pen and not a quill and ink." Meryn shuddered.
"It can't be that bad?" Elizabeth scoffed.
The sound of a throat clearing had her turning to look at Ryuu. Elizabeth met his gaze and he nodded. He was a kindred spirit, serving others as she did, but he served on a personal level, where she served on a professional one.
"You mean to tell me that the man responsible for the defenses of the four pillar cities and the running of all our warrior units still hand writes his reports? How in the hell does he get anything done?" Elizabeth set her cup down.
"Hmmm. Remember what I said about tradition? Routine helps the men remember what to do. If everything is always the same it's easier to remember," Meryn explained.
Elizabeth stared at Meryn in horror. She stood. "Where is his office?"
Meryn's eyes widened before a grin appeared. "I'll show you."
"Meryn, remember what Aiden said about interrupting unit work?" Ryuu warned.
"It's not me this time," Meryn said happily and stood. She led the way out of the room and down the hall. Without even knocking, she turned the handle to a heavy looking wooden door and walked right in.
"Baby, what did I tell you about interrupting?" Aiden growled.
"It's not me. Elizabeth wanted to see your office." Meryn stepped aside and indicated for Elizabeth to walk in.
Not wasting any time, Elizabeth walked in and began to look around. One desk. No computer visible. No wires. No filing cabinets. Surely they had to be somewhere.
"Where are your files?" she asked.
With a confused look on his face, Aiden pointed to a stack of papers in the corner. Elizabeth walked over. Sure enough everything was handwritten, calligraphy style. The papers were tied together with twine in stacks covered in grime.
Aiden blushed as the finger she ran down the center of the papers came away with a layer of dust. "I don't get to clean much in here," he admitted.
"Computer. Where is your computer?" Elizabeth demanded, feeling a growing panic. She felt like the defense of her people danced precariously on the edge of a sword.
Aiden pointed to a huge laptop on the bottom shelf of his bookcase. Meryn started to snicker behind her. She powered it up and clutched at her chest when the Windows 95 logo greeted her. Meryn by now had collapsed into giggles. Sputtering, Elizabeth stepped back then spun to face Aiden and her now concerned looking mate. This could not be happening. Her people's safety now lay in her hands.
"Where are the personnel rosters? Training schedules?"
"I've memorized them," Aiden mumbled.
She stared. "I don't know whether you're a genius or an idiot."
"Hey!" Aiden protested.
"Out!" she screeched.
"What?" Aiden asked. He and Gavriel stared at her as if she had lost her mind.
"You two out, now! Ryuu, I'll need you to take down the list of supplies I'll need to make this office functional. Meryn, I'll need your help in establishing a secure network and databases for personnel management." Elizabeth rolled up her sleeves. The men just stared at her in shock.