The Clocks

As a precaution, the twins had slept with Genie one last time on Saturday, the 17th. Their condition wasn't all that bad, but it seemed a reasonable precaution. Miranda did note that they slept 12 hours.

Monday June 19 in The Year 724 After the Founding

After school the trio went home, changed into their "good enough to go out to dinner with the family without embarassing your parents" clothes, and headed for the Donetti's. It was the only place large enough, and private enough, that they could have at least a tiny celebration without drawing attention from the neighbors.

After some deliberation they'd decided to hold it in the conservatory. The late afternoon sunlight streaming in through the glass ceiling gave everything and everyone a somewhat etherial effect. The ceremony was simple. Paolo stood with the twins on his left and Jason on his right. A small table was brought forth whereupon he completed the marriage certificates and then signed them with a flourish. The only witnesses were their parents, Robert, Miranda, Eugenia and, surprisingly, Kaho.

Up to that point she'd evinced no interest in the preparations, but when they left for the Donetti's, she'd attached herself at the end of the small procession heading up the hill. When Jason had noticed her trailing along behind he had bluntly asked her why she was coming since she'd previously shown no interest in his, or for that matter anyone else's, relationships.

Her answer had been in her usual, taciturn manner, "You'll see."

Jason forbore from asking anything else. Kaho rarely talked all that much anyway, and when she was like this, nothing would make her say more.

After Paolo had signed the documents, he whispered to Jason, "Go ahead."

Jason carefully walked around the table then, briefly and chastely, kissed each of the girls. Next, as planned, the three of them stood in front of the table, facing the "audience" and held hands. As they were moving into position, the light in the conservatory intensified. Jason looked at the twins and shrugged his shoulders. Perhaps it was some sort of reflection off the clouds as the sun sank lower in the sky. Such things happened now and then.

What happened next couldn't be explained so easily. The color of the light changed from sunset orange to yellow, then green, then blue, and finally a swirling mix of every color imaginable, which then began to dance around the conservatory. If one looked closely, one could see birds of varying colors, sizes, and patterns swooping down from the roof and around the newlyweds. The display continued for several minutes then faded as the last rays of the sun retreated from the top of the building.

This was followed by a soft thud from the back of the room that caused everyone to turn around. What they beheld was Kaho slumped in a chair. She was being supported from behind by Mimi while Ailin vigorously fanned her face with a small, oriental-style fan. Kaho took several deep breaths then lifted her face and opened her mouth. No sounds came out. She tried again, no luck. She turned to Mimi and gestured limply with her right hand.

Mimi nodded, seemingly listening to something. Then she straightened and addressed the stunned group in front of her, "Miss Kaho says that this was her wedding gift to her beloved brother and his wives. She regrets, at least a little, having been so hard on him while they were growing up, but she felt that it was her duty as an older sister to make up for the way others tried to 'protect' him from the world outside. To some extent, the display we were just privledged to see was an apology as well as a gift. I believe that is the gist of what she wishes to communicate."

Kaho lifted her head and nodded weakly. Ailin had exchanged the fan for a large glass of sweetened tea, which Kaho gulped down, ignoring the usual constraints of propriety when one is in the presence of one's elders.

It was Akane who stammered, "But...but...how?"

Mimi responded with a "how could you not know" tone of voice, "Because she's a Lightweaver of course."

Everyone looked at those nearest them, hoping that one of them would have an inkiling of what a "Lightweaver" was. All of them saw looks just as blank as their own.

Ailin's velvety voice felt almost like a warm blanket being spread across the room. Later the members of the Macklin household compared notes, and were astonished to discover that the only time any of them had previously heard her speak more than four words was the morning after the girls had slept with Genie for the first time.

What she said was, "Lightweavers are very rare, highly prized, and are always in great danger once their abilities become known. Over the centuries many have been kidnapped and forced to put on displays such as you just saw. Every one of them has died young due to being forced to exhaust themselves over and over again for the amusement of their captors. You all can see what Kaho's efforts just now have done to her.

"Lightweavers have one other skill. It is much less known, fortunately, as it can be even more exhausting and would be in even higher demand. They are healers. Even serious wounds and near fatal illnesses can be cured, or at least helped substantially. The drain on their bodies however is extremely high if it is more than a trivial problem. Were it to be generally known, most Lightweavers would not live past the age of 20.

"That is why Kaho has not revealed this to anyone. Today she has given you all the greatest gift one person can give another. She has placed her life in your hands, trusting that none of you will ever betray her secret."

Stunned silence filled the room. It was interrupted by the faint sound of the twins slippers sliding on the stone pavers, accompanied by the somewhat louder sound of Jason's shoes. Yoko and Hibiki knelt on either side of Kaho and took her hands. Jason walked behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

All three closed their eyes. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then a faint glow could be seen outlining them. It gathered itself across their shoulders then flowed down their arms to, and then into Kaho. After about 20 seconds Jason murmured, "I think that's all we can safely spare." At that point the glowing stopped and the three stepped back from Kaho then embraced each other. It wasn't in an affectionate manner but was rather a position where they were supporting each other as a means of maintaining their balance.

Mimi, Sven, and Ailin appeared behind them with three more chairs, which they put to use immediately. Sven left. Mimi and Ailin looked at each other and appeared to be communicating in some fashion, after which they stepped back and resumed their positions on either side of and just inside the doorway to the house.

The trio looked a bit drained, but no more than that. Kaho, on the other hand, looked much improved. She was now sitting upright and appeared to have much of her energy back. "Well, how about that? I'm feeling much better. Thank you."

She stood, Mimi removed the chair, then Kaho was engulfed by her parents who were "hugging the stuffing out of her."

She was heard, by those closest to her, to mutter, "Not so tight. I need to breathe."

Jason in particular was surprised. He couldn't recall ever hearing Kaho say so much in a day as she had in the past five minutes. Regardless, once their parents had released her, Jason stepped up and hugged her as well, carefully not squeezing too hard. He was followed by the twins who said, "Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. We never expected to have any particular memories of our wedding day, what with it needing to be so secretive. You've given us a gift that will fill us for the rest of our lives."

They had just manifested one of the rarest of twin talents, seen only in those who were exceptionally close. Nobody around them knew which girl had said what part of what they'd just heard, or even if they had been speaking at the same time. It didn't really matter though. They'd just spoken for everyone in the room. Each, in their own way, stored what they had just seen in the deepest, most important part of their memories.

Mimi gave everyone a minute to absorb the events then announced, "Dinner is served."

They all obediently trooped into the dining room where they were again surprised. There was a buffet laid out, as they had expected, but, somehow, the dishes included the absolute favorite of every single person in the room, even Kaho.

They were all tired and, to tell the truth, emotionally exhausted as well. They'd all been involved in a complex, secretive plot that had spanned several weeks. Rather than wonder how some of the ingredients, which were definitely not in season, had been obtained, they fell to and devoured the offerings.

Afterwards, the guests thanked the staff profusely. Thet were surprised, and touched when Sven spoke for all of them, "We love them too."

Rather than the hurried, secretive ceremony, everyone had expected, they were instead absolutely certain that they had just attended one of the most wonderful weddings of their lives. Since the next day was a school day, things broke up fairly early. There was still homework and, for the adults, paperwork to be dealt with.

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When they got home, Blair turned to Hiroshi, "That was wonderful, wasn't it?"

Before Hiroshi could speak, she was answered by Yoko's voice, "It certainly was. We'll never forget it."

Blair spun around, "Wha...what are you two doing here. I thought...."

"Ya thought that we'd be spending the night with Jason. If ya stop and think about it, that would be foolish."

Hibiki continued, "We have homework due tomorrow. We are all tired. There would be hell to pay if anyone saw us leaving Jason's house in the morning. We also do not want to have to explain to our friends at school why we looked like we had not had any sleep and why our clothes were wrinkled."

Yoko added, "Besides, we need ta get in the habit of planning things properly. So... Mimi's told us that Rebecca will be invited to a sleepover at a friend's house for Friday night. Sometime during the week a change of our clothes will find itself in Mrs. Fukui's wardrobe.

"We'll have dinner there Friday, but we won't be coming home. When we leave after lunch on Saturday, anyone passing by will think that we've come by to pick up Jason and go on an outing, just like we've done almost every Saturday for the past year."

Hibiki purred, "Besides, we probably will not be waking up before 10 anyway."

Blair did a double take. Somehow she'd never noticed this side of Hibiki. She looked at Yoko, who looked like she'd also be purring, were she able. She decided that, along with the birth control information she'd already shared with her daughters, there were some other facets of intimate relations that she'd better discuss with them before Friday.

"All right then girls. I can't fault your reasoning. However, let's expand our, your, options somewhat. I'm sure we can arrange for a small wardrobe to be placed somewhere in Jason's home. We'll just make sure that you each have several outfits there that you can mix and match, as well as several pair of shoes.

"We'll do the same for Jason, but he can share with your father." She pouted at Hiroshi. "I know that he doesn't use half of his wardrobe, but he won't let me use the empty part."

"HAH! If I did that, before I knew it, I'd be dressing myself from a box on the floor after you'd taken over the entire wardrobe."

Blair stammered, "I would never..."

"Oh yes you would and we both know it. I'll happily share with Jason. He won't try to push me out of my own wardrobe like you would."

Hiroshi stroked his chin. "Yes, that will work. Guiseppi and Robert will probably notice, eventually. We'll just let it be know that since Jason will be coming over for classes more often, we decided that it would be advisable for him to have some extra clothes here to change into rather than having to go home while he's still sweaty and smelly."

"Dear, is Jason going to be taking more classes from you?"

"Of course he is. Didn't I just say so? No man who is married to my daughters is going to be unable to properly protect them."

He looked down at Hibiki. "You told me that, after those thugs attacked you, Jason said that his wrist was sore. Correct?"

"Yes Daddy. Why?"

"A palm strike, when properly delivered, even if you do break the opponents ribs, should NEVER leave you with a sore wrist. That's proof that he needs to improve his technique. He had to have either struck at the wrong angle, or he was holding his hand in an improper position.

"After another six months or so, he won't make that mistake again. So, yes, he's going to need to have extra clothes here."

Yoko drawled, "Daddy...you...are...one devious person."

She pretended to think for a while. "But then you are a spy, so I guess that's a given."

Then she stuck her tongue out at him, after which the girls ran, shrieking like little kids, up the stairs. They wanted to hurry up and finish their homework. That would give them plenty of time for their bath. They wanted to go over everything that had happened today, probably several times. A long soak followed by talking until they fell asleep should take care of that nicely.

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At Jason's home a similar situation played out, though it was much shorter. When Sebastian asked Jason why he wasn't with the twins, all he said was, "Ailin and Mimi have arranged things. The girls will be spending the night here Friday. Rebecca will be at a friends for a sleepover."

Then he went upstairs and did his homework. Though he'd never shown any signs of being a romantic, he too wanted a long soak before bed. Most of the time none of their parents remembered that he didn't have to be with the girls to talk to, and see them should they allow it. After he'd revealed that he could see them when they were concentrating intently on something, they'd worked at controlling it. Now it only happened when they wanted it to. When he finally drifted off, he was more than satisfied with how the day had gone.