The day finally came when we were expecting the arrival of Connor and Achilles, and I was over the moon. I rushed around the house all day, ensuring every room was spotless, making and remaking my bed until there was not a single crease in the sheets. I was sure I had poor Gabriel and Lydia driven mad all that day in the hours before their coming.

When Achilles had written back in acceptance, certainly, my mother was driven insane by my excitement. Finally, I might have the chance to take this weight off my chest! Carrying this secret, this training with Achilles, was a rock on my heart.

This day, I was helping Lydia and Nadia to prepare a meal and the kitchen was damp and humid with steam from the carrot slices boiling over the hearth. Connor and Achilles were only coming for lunch, but Nadia wanted to make sure they were well-fed (she slipped me a sly wink as she said this).

I had dressed nicely that morning, and tied my hair back from my face, but I just knew my face would be flushed and rosy by the time they arrived, and my hair would be frizzy and sticking out.

"Cassie," Lydia said. "Darling, the day won't run away on you. You can slow down."

Things needed to be perfect. I used my wrist to push stray hair from my face, stirring a pot of gravy with my other hand. "I know," I said. "I just. . . I want it to be nice for them. It's Connor's first time here."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind a little bit of wiggle room," said Lydia. "They've known you long enough. Nadia, could you pick some parsley? I want to put it on these potatoes."

"Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you can feed us what you're craving," I muttered. "Meredith won't stand for that."

She lightly whacked me upside the head. "Excuse me! I'll have you know parsley on mashed potatoes is very nice. Don't fight me on this one, you'll distract Gabriel from his work."

Gabriel, being a rather busy accountant, was trying to get as much work as was possible finished before the arrival of our guests, so even Meredith was barred from entering his office. On some days like this, wherein he was working in his office, I would climb through his window to talk to him. He was a pleasant conversation partner, though his quiet demeanour was often outshone by Lydia.

Out of playful spite, I was about to snap back some witty retort, only to jump near out of my skin at the sharp knock on the front door.

Lydia let out a stressed breath. "Cass, get the door."

I was already there, pulling the lock out of place to swing the door open with a wide smile. "Good morrow to you both!"

Connor stood closest to the door (Achilles had likely made him knock in order to further accustom him to actively communicating with people), and he was dressed differently. Gone were his furs and skins, replaced by a more simple outfit of breeches and a shirt - though he still wore his moccasins, as the winter had not yet struck, allowing him to wear lighter materials.

I hugged him first - and to my utter shock, he only tensed for a moment before, slowly, he hugged me back. Smiling to myself, I said nothing of it and instead let him go in order to embrace Achilles, who half-heartedly swatted me away.

"Do come in," I said, tucking stray hair behind my ears. I must have looked a right state, but I stepped aside and opened the door wider to allow them entrance.

On cue, Lydia untied her apron from her growing belly and left the kitchen to greet our guests. Gabriel followed her from his office to stand beside her (Meredith must have told him that they were here), and eyed our guests with interest - lingering on Connor.

Pretending I didn't notice his calculative stare, I introduced my friends. "This is Achilles Davenport."

My parents shook his hand. "Well," Gabriel said, "it's good to finally meet the two people who spend more time with Cassandra than I do."

I tried not to wince. Was that a jab directed at me? I jerked my head at Connor. "This is Connor."

"A rather colonial name for an Indian," Lydia commented.

Connor took no insult. "You cannot pronounce my true name," he said with a hint of amusement.

"Give it a go." Gabriel grinned. "How bad can it be?"

I caught Connor's eye and bit back a laugh. He shared a smile with me, and as he looked at my family I noted that while his face was near perfect, his teeth were not; his bottom row of teeth were slightly crooked and there was a small chip in the corner of one of his front teeth.

As he said his name, my family were stunned into silence for a few moments. "Yeah, no," Lydia said. "You win."

We all burst into laughter - even crotchety old Achilles. Meredith, bless her, had no idea what was going on, but laughed anyway. Lydia smiled again. "Can I offer you anything? Tea?"

"That would be nice," Achilles agreed.

We all promptly decided that we would care for tea, and Nadia hurried off to put the kettle on to boil. Gabriel once again turned an interested eye to Connor. "Do you like tea, my boy?"

"I cannot say I have drunk much of it," my friend said.

Gabriel laughed and shook his hand firmly. "Oh, a man after my own heart. I'm a coffee man, myself."

Lydia extended a friendly hand. "Come, Achilles, we shall leave these young folk and retire to the drawing room. I understand you knew my father?"

"Yes, yes." Achilles limped to the front room, which was lit bright by the sun coming through the wide and tall windows. "It was a long time ago. . ."

Once alone with Connor in the hall, my voice echoed off the vaulted ceiling as I said, "What would you like to do? I'll give you our options: we can tease my sister; we can play in the garden like the children that we are; we could go to my room, though I fear my mother would have a heart attack; we could otherwise join the adults and drink tea with them." As Nadia passed with a tray of tea, I scooped up a china cup and took a delicate sip.

Ever a free spirit, Connor said, "What is it like outside?"

"Oh, it's lovely," I said, already leading him to the back door through the kitchen. "We have these beautiful trees, and there are a few toadstools growing at their roots–" I lowered my voice to whisper in his ear– "which we have managed to convince Merry lead to faerie realms. Don't ruin her dreams."

As I opened the door for him, he grinned. "I would like to explore this faerie realm."

The sun was beating down outside, turning the grass such a vibrant shade of green I had to look away. It was littered with daisies and dandelions and buttercups; I picked one of these buttercups and held it up to the light.

"There's a silly game with buttercups," I said. "It's completely untrue, but kids always pick them and ask, Do you like butter? and if you hold it against your chin, the yellow reflection proves whether you like butter or not." I held the flower up to his chin, and then my own so he could see my yellow chin.

The sun lured out the freckles on his face. He took the flower from my fingers and tucked it into my hair like I was a unicorn. I averted my eyes - the sun was shining directly above him - and smoothed my hair down.

"Sorry my hair is awful," I said. "I was stress-cooking."

"Awful?" he said innocently. "I see no such thing. I only see you."

I cleared my throat. "Well, then, I. . . let's see this faerie ring."

The ring of toadstools sat at the roots of a towering willow tree, and in the heat of high summer the shade of the weeping tendrils was paradise. As we sat by the tree, Meredith opened the back door, evidently bored by the adult conversation, and skipped across the grass to meet us. Behind her, Nadia opened the kitchen window to release the steam.

"Good afternoon," I greeted my sister when she threw herself down on the grass just beyond the reach of the shade of the trees. "What brings you to this corner of the garden?"

"I wanted to see the faeries," she said. "And the adults are talking about boring things. Did you know that Achilles used to know Grandfather?"

"I did know." I nodded, ignoring the inquisitive look Connor gave me. "He says Grandfather was very nice."

"I never knew him," she said sadly.

"Nor did I," Connor said playfully, perhaps to lighten the mood before it darkened.

If that was his aim, it worked. "He was an old goat," I said. "I can see why he got on well with Achilles."

She giggled, then gave Connor a curious look. "Where do you live?"

His face took on a softness I had never seen before when addressing the child. "I live far from here."

"Are you Achilles's son?"

"No," he said. "But I do live with him. Once upon a time Achilles had a son named Connor, and when I came to live with him, he allowed me to take that name, as he cannot dream to pronounce mine."

"Say your name again," Meredith pleaded, her eyes wide.

Connor obliged her affectionately, and she burst into laughter again, clapping her hands with excitement. I frowned at Connor and murmured, "How do you know about Achilles?"

"I found the graves of his wife and son," he said, too quietly for Meredith to pick up.

Not one to be left out, she whispered loudly, "I like to whisper, too."

I laughed and reached out to ruffle her hair, but she ducked before I could touch her. "Who wants to play tag?" I said.

"Me," Meredith cried. She slammed her hand against Connor's leg, yelling, "You're it!" and scampered across the garden, her golden curls bouncing along her shoulders.

He growled playfully at her, already on his feet. "You did not," he said before launching himself across the grass, careful not to crush the toadstools as he went. I joined the game, noticing how Connor was more competitive when playing with me than with Meredith, letting her get away and pretending to be distraught about it. I laughed so much that my face hurt, and prayed that this day would not end.