Prince of Darkness vs Prom Queen 07

"Don't you ever get tired of my many imbalances?"

More sunbeams. "Certainly not. I think it's rather wonderful. Every time you lose your balance it's proof of how amazingly hard you're trying to make everything work."

"So, I get to be a lunatic and you get to be in control. What's wrong with that picture? Maybe the next time one of my clients call, you should be the one training the slaves. I can see it now. You could have the plane refueled while you train and be back in time for dinner. Everyone thinks I get amazing results in three or four weeks but they haven't met Mistress Laci. You'd scare the shit out of the slaves and have them trained in a few hours," he grumbled. "Probably terrorize the Masters, too. I can see it all. Mistress Laci: Prom Queen and Lightning Goddess with her wonder whip and unicorn dust. Put me right out of business. That's for sure. What about Trent?"

"What about him? Am I supposed to be training him too?"

"Damn it, Laci. That's not funny. Stay away from Victor. Please. He's warping your mind. No, you're not supposed to be training Trent unless maybe you can train him to go back to his place and leave you alone. He's not staying, is he?"

"He and Sara are getting married in two days, remember? They bought that lovely old house not far from ours and they'll be spending some of their time in Georgia but they'll also be living in California. Sara is going to travel with Trent when he's working and I think it's likely she'll be keeping him busy so I don't think we'll see that much of them."

"Good. It'll be nice when our oldest child finally leaves the nest. At least he never asked for an allowance. Are you still mad at me for believing Victor when he said you left?"

"No and I think you know me well enough to be aware that should the day ever come when you do something so horrible that I feel the need to leave you, I won't be sneaking away while you're out of town. If I should ever decide to leave, you will damn well know it. There will be no misunderstanding and you won't have to hear it from Victor. I'll be telling you myself."

"Fair enough," he grumbled. "Can you define 'something so horrible' just so I know my parameters."

Laci rolled her eyes. "No. You'll have to use the same scale your son uses: If you think for even one instant that it could be bad idea, it most likely is, so don't do it." She smiled at the sound of his frustrated huff. "I'm really not very worried. Any husband who buys as many sunflowers as you do isn't inclined to do horrible things."

"Are you going to make me relinquish my Prince of Darkness title and crown me Prince of Sunflowers? I don't really think that's the best choice for a Dominant."

She shook her head and sighed. "Note to self: when I contact the doctor to make arrangements for your oxygen tank, remember to ask if they can also add some tranquilizers."

"Not funny, Laci."

Chapter 7 Triple Triad Trial and Tribulation

On the day of Trent and Sara's wedding, the sun was shining almost as brightly as Laci.

After their visit to the ranch, Donovan was relieved to see his wife glowing again. Although the still missing Virgil was never far from her mind, she had managed to let go of the bother and bewilderment and regain her usual calm composure.

She had, in fact, been glowing so much Donovan was hardly able to walk straight. He certainly wasn't complaining and as long as he stuck near Matthew, Victor, Jeremy, Trent or the dog-moose no one would notice since none of them hardly ever walked in a straight line. He fit right in with the rest of the crowd.

Maybe balance was overrated. Laci did have a good point about his life balancing between two entirely different worlds. He enjoyed training and it gave him a sense of accomplishment and control. He loved Laci and she gave him everything else he needed to be happy and content. When transitioning between Dominant and Laci, he was unbalanced. When transitioning between Laci and Laci, he was even more unbalanced. He might as well accept that life was going to be a daily balancing act with his sanity hanging in the balance because she seemed to understand the balance of power better than he did. Prom Queens and Lightning Goddesses were very good balancers.

Sara looked lovely, beaming with happiness, both excited and relaxed at the same time, as John Grace walked her down the aisle. Trent was a blithering basket case who couldn't remember his lines. Could have predicted that. To Donovan's trained eye, it seemed obvious Sara would be the 'dominator' in their household which was probably just as well since Trent, who was used to taking direction, would undoubtedly be an excellent 'submarine'. Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!

Victor was on his best behavior after dutifully coaching Matthew and Jeremy in their role as growling 'ring bears'. Matthew, especially, took his responsibility quite seriously resulting in Laci's observation that he had clearly inherited his father's growling ability.

Marian spent most of the day directing her photographers as they photographed the wedding. Virtually no one outside of the small gathering knew Hollywood mega-star and heart-throb Trent Nichols was getting married and only her magazine had the rights to the complete story and all the photos, thanks to Laci and her on-going friendship with the actor-weasel and his new wife.

To Donovan's annoyance, Trent repeatedly and profusely thanked Laci for her help in getting him and Sara back together. The gratitude was so abundant, Donovan was surprised the weasel hadn't included it in his damned wedding vows and promise to have and hold and call his good friend Laci three times a day instead of the usual five times a day. He was, after all, married now so three seemed about right. GRRRR!

For Donovan, the biggest surprise was meeting Trent's mother. Mary Nichols was attractive, charming and intelligent with a lively sense of humor. Her only fault seemed to be her belief that her son was a genius. Right. Sure he was. Trent, the genius and professional actor who couldn't recall the few lines he had to say at his own wedding.

Mary and Sara had liked each other the first time they met and Mary was positive Sara was the best person in the world for her son. There was no doubt in her mind that Sara would be a perfect wife, mother to her grandchildren and weasel trainer.

Donovan had mixed feelings when it appeared that Laci's father also thought Mary Nichols was attractive, charming and intelligent. Trent's mother was just as taken with John Grace and while Donovan certainly could not fault Laci's father for his attraction to Mary, why did the man have to fall for Mother Weasel?

The two had already been overheard discussing future plans. John was going to be retiring in about a year and had stated his hope of relocating to Georgia to be closer to his daughter and her family. It would be nice to make some new friends, he told Donovan, all the while looking across the room at Mary Nichols.

For years, Mary had wanted to live closer to her only son but his work and travel schedule meant that she probably wouldn't see very much of him so she decided to stay in her Florida home. Now that Trent and Sara were married and planned to make Georgia their main and permanent residence, it was the perfect time for Mary to consider relocating. Not only would she be closer to her son but she'd be nearby to help with future grandchildren. It would also be nice to make some new friends, she told Donovan, all the while looking across the room at John Grace.

Donovan resolved to start buying aspirin in the mega-giant economy size if it seemed likely that a permanent relationship was on the horizon for John and Mary. Trent would be Laci's step-weasel and Donovan's step-weasel-in-law. Soon they would all be getting together for the weasel family holiday season. Great. Just great.

GRRRR!!! Maybe Matthew actually had inherited his father's ability to growl.

He remembered how beautiful Laci had looked on their wedding day and today she looked just as radiant and angelic with her long blonde hair and her ever-present sunbeams lighting up his world. There had been a time when sunbeams had no place in his life. Now they would be with him forever.

For Donovan, the best part of Sara and Trent's wedding was standing beside Laci, looking down into her blue eyes, holding her hand tightly, as Sara and Trent spoke their vows. Well, at least, Sara spoke. Trent, the professional actor and genius, stammered, stuttered and stumbled. Idiot probably should have had cue cards.

Nevertheless, Donovan couldn't help but recall his own wedding to Laci and how much that day meant to him. It also gave him considerable satisfaction to remember that, even though nervous, he had spoken his own vows clearly and meaningfully, without a single stammer or stumble. Hah! Take that, actor-weasel!!

He also recalled his own wedding night. He and Laci had been in agreement about spending their first night as husband and wife in their own bed. It was perfect for them, although Donovan would have gone anywhere as long as he was with Laci. He had a feeling she probably wouldn't mind re-creating their own wedding night this very night.

Maybe in a couple of weeks, after things settled down, he could also talk her into re-creating their honeymoon on Kalake. They could both use a break and he could prove why it was a lot better to be married to an out-of-control but quasi-controlling, slightly insane and semi-paranoid but very romantic Dominant than an actor-weasel.

He could even show her how romantic he could be by having a fire pit built on the beach. They could talk about that for hours. They had never talked about a fire pit before. With so much new information to discuss, it might even take days. A few days on Kalake debating the merits of a fire pit could be exactly what she needed to get her mind off Virgil and keep it on her wonderful, non-weasel and very romantic husband.

"Nice wedding." Donovan was suddenly aware of Victor standing next to him. "Hate big fancy weddings. This was good. Marian had some business contacts she had to invite to ours but it was still small. Yours was small. Laci invited some of her ranch family but it was still nice and small. Seems like it means more that way. Too bad Trent and Sara can't take much time for a long honeymoon"

"True," Donovan acknowledged, "but Laci said they're incorporating a honeymoon into Trent's shooting schedule in Canada. When he finishes they'll take a real honeymoon."

"Bet they'd like to go to Kalake," Victor stated. "A remote, tropical island. Perfect place for a honeymoon. Thinking maybe I'd surprise Marian and take her there for a few days after she's done with the wedding issue of the magazine."

"I was actually thinking I might take Laci for a few days. You can watch Matt while we go and we can look after Jeremy when you go."

"Sounds like a plan. Don't forget to pack lots of sunscreen for all that naked beach running. Not the time to be nursing a sunburn."

"Victor, I don't care to know what you might be planning to do with my cousin, on a beach, off a beach, naked or fully clothed, with or without sunburn."

"Should remind Sara and Trent about the sunscreen if they go to Kalake," Victor noted.

"Weasels don't get sunburn. They like to hide in the sand and pretend they're camels."

"Heard unicorns like that too. So did Laci forgive you for taking Virgil?"

"Victor, I didn't take Virgil. I have no idea where he is and I don't care. Laci knows I didn't have anything to do with it and that's all I care about. My wife happens to trust me, unlike some ungrateful and overpaid employees I choose not to name."

"Can't imagine who those would be." Victor somehow managed to sound perplexed. He nodded across the room. "Looks like Laci's father and Trent's mother are getting along very well. Who knows? In the not too distant future they might want to borrow Kalake for a little naked beach running of their own."

"Damn it! That is not an image I need in my head. Don't you have anything better to do than annoy me? The tradition for weddings has never been 'something old, something new, something borrowed, and a pain in the ass named Victor'. Go stand over there. Maybe Sara will throw her bouquet at you. If she doesn't, I'd be happy to beat you with it, myself."

"That's what I like to hear. Everything's back to normal. Guess Laci unhornied you at the ranch. Told you. Happy always leads to horny. Bet it was a lot better than the big pretzel. Actually, it's kinda like having a big pretzel. Might wanna pass on the extra salt though. Could get a little scratchy."

"Burying you in deep sand could get a little scratchy too. Want to try it? Maybe now?"

Finally the long day was over. Trent and Sara went off to start their honeymoon and new life together. Donovan sighed as he watched John and Mary leave by themselves for a quiet dinner and wondered how soon it would be necessary to add a mega-giant economy size barrel of sunscreen to his aspirin order.

Laci's father and Mother Weasel. Great. Just great.

Marian took Jeremy home and Matthew continued to practice his newly acquired growling skills on the dog-moose while Laci and Victor worked together re-organizing the house.

It really had been a very nice day. With her usual organization and efficiency, Laci handled all the details and the wedding had been quite pleasant. Perhaps not as perfect as his own wedding had been, Donovan thought as he climbed the stairs and headed toward the master bedroom, but quite pleasant. He opened the bedroom door thinking how amazing a re-creation of their wedding night was going to be. He might even have time to get a bouquet of sunflowers for his bride of several years. She'd like that.

"NO!!!!!"

Vaguely, Donovan was aware of the sound of footsteps and paws running from all directions.

Full of concern, Laci approached Donovan where he stood in the open doorway. "Donovan? Are you all right? What's wrong?"

Donovan was standing still and staring into the room as he snarlingly uttered two words, "He's back."

Her expression was puzzled as she looked in the same direction. "Who's...? Oh my!"

Standing behind her, Victor was also surprised. "Hey! Look at that! He is back."

The bane and scourge of Donovan's world. His rival and nemesis. His opponent and adversary. Carrier of torment, curses and plagues. His archenemy.

VIRGIL.

Was back. And he wasn't alone.

There he sat, on his chair of honor, with his pink satin horn and his usual menacing, black, beady-eyed sneer of disdain directed straight at Donovan.

Seated to his right was a slightly smaller unicorn. This one also had a pink satin horn, beady black eyes and a wreath of tiny sunflowers around its neck. Nestled in front of the pair were three tiny unicorns. Like their parents they had pink satin horns, black eyes and had inherited their father's beady-eyed ability to sneer.

He was back, all right. And with his whole family. Including triplets. No longer were there two eyes staring at Donovan. Now there were ten. Black. Beady. Staring. Eyes.

"Mama? What happened?" Matthew wanted to know as he pushed his way between the adults and into the room. "Virgil! Virgil's back!" Matthew ran over and swooped the unicorn up in a hug. Donovan was almost sure he could hear the beast purring with delight. "Mama? Who are these other unicorns? Are they Virgil's family? Is that his wife? Did Virgil have three babies? What are their names?"

"I don't know their names," Laci answered. "We've all just met. Would you like to name them?"

Matthew took a moment to consider. "Virgil's wife has a necklace of sunflowers and you like sunflowers, Mama, so her name should be Sunflower," he decided.

"That's a perfect name for her," Laci told him. "Hi, Sunflower. Matthew, what would you like to name the babies?"

This proved to be a harder task and Matthew pondered for a minute before he decided. Finally he pointed to the first tiny unicorn and said, "This one should be named Trent. And this one," Matthew pointed to the next unicorn, "should be Victor. And the one at the end is named Donovan. Little Trent, little Victor and little Donovan. Those are good names, right Mama?" Judging from the kid's smile, in addition to his father's growling skills, he had inherited his mother's sunbeams.

Laci smiled her own sunshine smile at her son. "Those are perfect names. Little Trent, little Victor and little Donovan. We're glad you all decided to come live here with us."

That wasn't big Donovan muttering something about her speaking for herself, was it? Must have been her imagination.

"Can we play with the babies, Mama? Me and Jeremy? We'll be very careful so they don't get hurt."

"I think it would be fine if you and Jeremy played with them tomorrow but right now it's time for you to get to bed. Will you please say good-night to everyone?"

Carefully replacing Virgil next to his family, Matthew hugged him again. "I'm happy you came back, Virgil and thank you for bringing your family. I'll see you tomorrow." He also hugged Sunflower then gave Little Trent, Little Victor and Little Donovan a kiss on the top of each of their tiny heads. Matthew turned to Victor and reached up for a hug. " 'Night, Uncle Victor. Don't tell Jeremy about Virgil's babies. Then tomorrow he'll get a good surprise too. Promise?"

"I promise, Noodle-bug," Victor assured him as he returned the hug. "You can show him when I bring him over in the morning."

"Daddy? Are you going to come in my room to say good-night?" Matthew wanted to know. After Donovan's promise that he would do exactly that, Matthew turned back to Virgil. " 'Night unicorn family. See you tomorrow." Never one to walk if he could run, Matthew took off at top speed with Laci following.

"That was real sweet," Victor observed, "how Noodle-bug wants Jeremy to be surprised. So Virgil's back. That's nice."

"Define nice," Donovan grumbled. "If nice means two-timing hypocrite, then sure, it's nice. All this time while he's been watching and condemning me with that hateful stare, he's been seeing someone behind Laci's back. Then Mr. Big-Shot has to come back with three kids. You have one. I have one. Even the fucking horse only has one but, no, the braggart has to show up with triplets. Real nice."

"Well, you know what they always say: lose a weasel, gain a whole unicorn family. It's the circle of life, Donovan."

Donovan glared menacingly. "Who the hell is 'they'? 'They' should mind their own damned businesses and that offer to bury you in deep sand is still open. Perhaps 'they' would like to help."

Chapter 8 Taking the Unicorn by the Horn

In the house next door, Victor was telling Marian about the unexpected return of Virgil.

"It was the cutest thing when Matthew told me not to tell Jeremy so he could be surprised, too. They really are great kids, but I'm telling you, Marian, you should have seen the look on Donovan's face when Matthew decided to name one of the babies little Donovan. He's probably going to be sleeping with one eye open in case Virgil decides to attack him."

"My cousin has really changed since Laci came into his life. Even as a kid, he was always so proper, so uptight, did everything by the book. Knowing Donny, he probably wrote the book. Now, with the possible exception of his strange and unreasonable fear of stuffed unicorns, he's almost human." Marian smiled happily at her husband. "So we've added little Trent, little Victor, little Donovan and Sunflower to the family. Donny might be neurotic but the two of you have really taught Jeremy and Matthew so much. Imagine a little boy Matthew's age actually looking at a wreath of flowers around the unicorn's neck and being able to recognize them as sunflowers. Even though Donovan makes sure there are always sunflowers around, it's astonishing that Matthew pays such close attention to detail."