Stranger Things have Happened...

James walked in. "Everyone you wanted is here. I still don't understand why I can't do this with you." I looked over and saw the love and pride in his eyes.

"You'll understand more after you read a book called "The Art of War." But for now, stay away from me until I call you, and only I. Also, make sure Kat and Carolyn take care of Grandma!"

Karl got close and whispered, "What's in that tormented bundle you call a mind nowadays?"

"Keep it to yourself until later, and I get the video for free!" sticking my hand out.

"Sorry, I bet with my life, never my money," came his reply.

Everything was in place, everyone was ready to go, then, every light turned off!

The child took me onto the field at a jog. "You're at midfield; they're directly in front of you." And with that, he was gone. I knew which one was the Delgado family and had been introduced to the head of that family.

A timer buzzed inside my harness, and a second later, I was covered in cyber-flames. I began walking over to the head of the Delgado family and shoved a sword point first into the dirt. I did the same when I walked over to the King. Then I walked back to mid-field and turned back to face them both. "Captain Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramirez has returned to claim what is his!" Then the lights went back out with the exception of the swords; they still seemed wrapped in an astral fire.

I stayed where I was because all I could see were the swords and flash spots.

Then, the fire ran down from the swords and into the ground. The lights erupted just as the fire hit the ground. Eight of us are now on the field, including Edmund on his wooden podium.

Edmund raised his open hand, and the sound of a crack of lightning split the sky. "Attention! All gather and be heard! The Delgado Family stands guilty of taking an active part in the killing of a monarch and also inducing and blackmailing the king to take part in the same!"

"We are innocent! besides, you have no proof of such an act!" Screamed Emiliano, head of the family, "We demand satisfaction!"

"I'm Mikel Robinson, and in the name of my great-grandfather, Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramirez, I'm going to enjoy giving it to you!" I smiled, "But first I would like to point a fact for history's sake. I'm wearing my Great-grandfather's uniform in his honor. But if you notice, all the wounds that killed him were inflicted from behind!"

"And for a witness, I offer the words of Queen Isabella." Edmund's voice cut through the tension. A very mature female voice started reading her writings on the event. The entire crowd of approximately a thousand people went deathly quiet. When the voice finished, I began slowly taking my coat off, lying it across a bench with my hat on top of it, then placing my shirt beside it all. "Emiliano, your family exploited the crown's weakness and tried to make my family extinct, pressing him to take his pregnant wife along under false pretenses. I shall enjoy taking your head first!

"I checked when I arrived. Your family was given all of my Great-Grandfather's holdings. There was never a chance for one of the other Captains to show their worth, but it matters not now. I am his descendant, and have come to reclaim what belongs to me!" The hours at the training field, working by myself or other assorted trainers, plus the hours of swimming, had its effect. I turned to Emiliano and flexed my new physic.

"I guess right now you're wishing you could go back and take the other choice.

I have spent so much time training, spending time learning hand-to-hand with the Koreans and weapons in Rio and Japan, so that I can stand here at this moment in time. You know, I'm having this videoed so later on when I feel down, I can replay your execution. I thought I'd have to have you sign a release or such for that, but it seems dead people give up their rights to just about everything."

I walked over to the area marked off as our fighting area and waited. Emiliano sent a messenger to the King asking how to proceed. 15 minutes later, a messenger from the King approached Edmund. "A question has been raised as to the authenticity of the claim," he then held up a stack of papers, "There has been three seperate DNA tests done, One against the blood found on the Captain's uniform, the second was tested against a living member of the Ramirez family, the third was tested against an item provided by the family that had the Captain's blood on it."

"All three tests and a doctor's report verify that he does indeed have the family birthmark. All of these show that Mikel Robinson is indeed a direct descendant of Captain Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramirez, and his claim has been verified and made a fact set in the records permanently. High Magistrate Garcia and the rest of his panel were served with a copy of the evidence three weeks ago, and he is here to read their findings."

A member of the panel stepped up, "Before we make our findings public, the Panel requests to view the birthmark." So we all piled into the portable dressing room, and I dropped my pants, again. They even brought in a professional tattoo artist to see if it was a tattoo, he laughed and told them no one is that good.

They huddled together and spoke as much with their hands as well as their mouths. It was one solid stream with the only way to know someone else was talking was the tone of voice. I pulled up my pants and arranged my clothing.

I stepped up to the exit as I turned to them, "If you don't mind, I sort of busy right now. So are we done here?"

"Mr. Robinson, my name is Garcia Alonzo Rodregez. I represent The group that makes up The High Magestrate. The others and I completely understand the shock of discovery and the need for revenge for such an attack. We can neither condone nor allow such to happen, as Captains are not allowed to draw the blood of another Captain. Sadly some seem less worthy of the honor they're supposed to up hold."

"Are you trying to tell me that I am now endowed with all my Great-Grandfather's lands and holdings?" I asked him warily.

"The moment our findings are filed first thing in the morning, I'll ensure that myself! Garcia said.

"Good, so then I can court the princess, right?" I asked.

"Sadly, no," he replied, "You are already betrothed to two different women. Now, if you had a son, that would be different.

"Don't anyone of you go anywhere, please!" Then I turned and stepped outside the changing station, grabbed my phone from Edmond, and called James to get to the clothing station. Two minutes later, James came in. "These fine, upstanding gentlemen need to see your scrawny chicken leg, son."

Twenty minutes later, after explaining how I knew he was mine, four of them were shaking their heads while the oldest one standing in the back gave me a thumbs-up when no one was looking. James slid beside me and asked, "What the hell are you doing now?"

"I'm making your childhood dream come true, you can thank me later," I whispered back.

We all walked out of the clothing station. I walked over to the fighting area with James in tow. "It doesn't matter anymore, everyone knows who you are now.

Before I caved, I had to ensure the 'son' option was on the table.

James looked at me, "Then what was all that crap about Korea, Rio, and Japan about?"

I winked, "All are beautiful places to visit, and the food is top-notch. Why do you ask?"

"So it was all bullshit!" James chuckled.

"You are now a gentleman with refinement. So what I pulled off would be called a bluff." I smiled. "I knew Emiliano had no eagerness to jump into the ring with me, so he would pass the choice of what would happen further to the King, so we involved working with the courts. Plus, having almost all the original Documentation cut down on a lot of misinterpretation. So you owe Edmond a thank you as well."

"So when are you going to tell me why I owe everybody? I'm beginning to feel like this is "The Godfather, and I'm Fredo." He said.

"Your mind must have been absent, so let me re-wind things a bit. All the time we were at the palace, Grandma, Tess, and damn near everyone there dropped the bomb. You had to have picked up on it!" I marveled.

"I thought they were bragging about what it took to date the princess. Not, hurry up and buy the house on the corner!" he had the perfect shocked look on his face.

"James, Do you love her?" I asked.

"From the first time I saw her, Dad!"

"Do you know what being a Captain in Spain covers?" He just shook his head.

"I am the head of our family. Our family right now is just you and me. That means we already own a lot of places as well as a lot of property. And what did they say about courting the princess?" I saw the beginnings of light begin to shine in my son's eyes. "Remember what I told you about your question as to why you owe everyone a 'Thank You?'" I looked him in the eyes.

"That I'd be thanking you later?" he said absently, as his mind finally saw he could be with his love.

I grinned, "It's later, James."

I put my clothes back on and swung the harness across my back. I standing there with my son and listening to our futures becoming that much brighter the longer The High Magistrate Garcia spoke. "Any and all holdings collected shall be returned to the Ramirez family by noon tomorrow, or legal proceedings shall begin against all those involved. Also, this court has decided to award half of the proceeds where the two parties have been combined to result in a profit to the Ramirez Family as well."

I jabbed James in the ribs and told him to prepare for his fifteen minutes of fame!

Garcia flipped to another page. "Furthermore, this court also recognizes his son, James, as representing the Ramirez Family."

Garcia gathered his papers together, and his face looked up at the crowd. "Does either party have anything they wish to add?"

A drone hovered over James, and a microphone was hanging down. James looked at me. "How much do you love her?" Then I stepped back and left him standing there.

"Ok, Tess! The last hurdle is gone, and I'm standing in front of you, having completed all the obstacles that were placed in our way. Would you want to spend time together and see where the stars take us?" His eyes scanned the crowd, and suddenly, she was walking towards him, so he began walking towards her. They stopped about 20 feet apart, so the drone got in close.

"Well, how about it, Tess? Shall we spend some time getting to know each other?" He asked.

She replied, "No, I wouldn't allow myself to be courted by someone like you!" I could see James's chest fall a bit. "Besides, it would be confusing to be courting while we plan our wedding!" They took off running at each other and collided into one mass of arms, lips, and legs.

I had one proud Mother on the right and a beaming Aunte on my left. I realized that I was more at peace than at any time I could remember in my life. I looked at my son, who was bringing his fiance over to introduce her. My heart and mind told me that this was the real treasure. "I raised him to be the best person he could be, but you made him the man he is tonight, Mikel!" She kissed my cheek, then walked over to James and co.

I asked Kat, "Are you sure you want to go through all of this again?"

She jumped into my arms, "Ask me that again, and they'll find you mixed in with the chum!" We shared our own passionate kiss, giving Mom her due of first 'oogle.' Then all the women gathered together and began laughing and crying giving my son and I a moment.

"You know Dad, I wondered why you pushed for this so much, was all this really what you were hoping for?"

"Son, there'll come a time in your life when you're too old to properly take care of yourself self at the end. Your going to have to rely on family, I'm just making sure you can take care of me when my time comes in the manner to which I've become accustomed to. Remember, you're working for three already!" I smiled. Then I looked him in the eye, "Seeing you with the one who loves you just as much as you do her tells me I didn't do half bad with you. My Dad always made growing up fun, I just wanted to do the same for you." A tear pulled at the corner of my eye.

He snatched me up in a bear hug, "You did, Pop! You were just what I needed when I needed it. Once he called me 'Pop,' I lost control for a bit and just let the tears go, and at that moment, it seemed that the both of us were also being embraced by my Father.

We heard a cough and, only then, noticed that the King was standing close by. We both stood straight and gave him a head bow. "Well gentlemen, it seems like we are to be closer than just patriots in the cause of Spain. I look forward on getting to know you better."

"We too are looking for our families to grow, and become stronger with this union, I hope you're not offended about not being told before hand I wasn't either. But I will not stand in the way of true love like they both openly show, I will gladly support it to the best of my ability, even more so because it involves both our families," James flashed me a WTF? look as we both bowed.

"That is good to hear, Captain Mikel Robertson Ramirez." The Queen glided beside the King. "I expect anyone who could walk the path you have and achieve what you have to show that much devotion in everything he does!"

"Your Majesty," I bowed from the hips this time, "Your wishes on it, command my obedience!"

She gave me the slightest of winks and turned to the King. "Are you going to talk man things all night? Or are you going to make good on your promise of a falafel? You know I have to have one every year!"

The King glanced at his watch, "Yes, yes! I'm sorry my love, I didn't realize the hour, Gentlemen if you would please excuse us."

"Enjoy the rest of your evening, your Magisties!" We both bowed, and they made their way to the falafel stand.

"What the hell was that? I'm not a snob, and I'm not primping like one either!"

James said.

"That is close to the way you have to talk when you're around the King & Queen, Talking with sailors means you learn a different language and you act totally differently. Watching you balance the two is going to be very entertaining!"

A year later, The girls and I decided to head back home and see the rest of the family. James and Tess have been getting along famously, and James had even begun to win the respect of those who worked for the family. I heard it went like this.

James was having a rough morning, and it wasn't getting any better any time soon. There was a large sailor he had an issue with and he picked that day to make a stand. It seems it was a very hot day, and James scheduled it as best he could until one group stopped working as they had nothing to work with. James followed it back to the sailor and a small group taking a break.

== James side of things ==

"Might I inquire as to why this group isn't doing its job?" James asked.

"The name is Alonzo, and I told them to take a couple of minutes because of the heat!" The big man stood up, about three inches taller than James, but only had about 25 pounds on him. Where Alonzo was tall, James was shorter and more solid from our workouts.

James told the other men to clear an area of any debris as he walked over to place his jacket on a crate close by. By the time the task was done, the area had been prepared and James had put his shirt on top of his jacket. The docks were filled with sailors who knew these two forces would collide, and they wanted to see the outcome.

45 minutes later, James yelled at some sailors to call an Ambulance as Alonzo was breathing, but he wasn't moving. James had his shirt on, but was holding his jacket when it arrived. James was heard telling the Ambulance driver to send the bill to him personally. He then sent word that Alonzo was hurt on the job so notify the insurance company. James told two sailors to fill the space and get things moving again and calmly left them to their job.

When lunch came, there were two food trucks at the assembly area. James told everyone the first time was on him as he was sorry for his moment of indicresion, but if they wanted it to continue they needed to see the four secreteries at the long table to cast their vote. That's how it came to be that James always ate lunch with them. One day on a bet with his men, James actually got the Princess to have lunch with everyone.

He never did tell her about the bet.

Three months later, a mystery 155 foot Schooner appeared wrapped up near the far end of the docks. Cradled above her slip in a hammock. For two months she hung there with her aft end tarped up. Tess's birthday was in two weeks, and I could guess what James' present was. Little did he know I paid technicians to swarm her every night after everyone was gone. They gave her every nautical gadget she could have to make it easier for two people to sail her, and quite a few she shouldn't for protection. What can I say, it's a Father thing.

I got into my car and drove back to the house. They were still working on rehabbing the mansion, hard to think of it as home. Good thing I told them floor, bedroom/bathroom, Kitchen. They found they could redo what they said was the 'House Domo's' living quarters pretty quickly, so I could live in it like an apartment until we could reclaim more of the mansion. I had them do it on a more open floor concept. The big screen in the great room could be seen from the entire kitchen and small study.

I was just about asleep when a light knocking got my attention. I opened the door, and there stood Alonzo, "Can I come in for a second? I need to talk to you a moment, boss." I stepped back and let him inside.

"You put me to work with the housing crew after I got cleared to come back to work, and I really appreciate it! My shoulder muscles are coming along nicely. I can't apologize enough for what an asshole I was, Thanks for not firing me."

I poured two shot glasses of some strong rum. I told Alonzo to let me know what he wanted. "I think I found something I shouldn't have. Call your security team to accompany us, it's just right inside the main house.

With four security people, I followed Alonzo into the main house. The entryway and leading into the great room never failed to amaze me. I always loved the older pictures painted right on to the stone, almost as much as I loved the old stonework itself. We walked on through into the large study Great-Grandfather had. The empty shelves ran twelve feet up any given wall, with places cut out for windows.

What I thought really set the room off was there was a large square Island to lay maps on in the middle of the room. There was a chart of Spain, and it's surrounding areas carved in the Island's top. Under the top were squares to hold rolled up maps and charts. Alonzo led us over to the left side of the fireplace. "I was in charge of chipping the old wall and scrub or burn away all debris from the fireplace trying to make it as beautiful as it once was.

"Sometimes I like a quiet moment or two to study how best to proceed in the morning, so I hide the tools I'll be using on site to give me the time." he pointed out his tools. "Now everyone was gone, and I caved in to a childhood impulse. I came to the fireplace to see if this emblem was like a 'snow-globe' because I enjoy checking them out, and that was when things got a bit scary. He looked at the island and told two of the men to move further away.

He spoke to me in a low tone. "Push it towards the wall, don't be afraid, it springs back into place." So, I pushed, and heard a click, and when it returned to its original position, I heard another click. He then walked us over to the island. Whispered, "Stand so the chart is upside-down; now fix the corner to your right.

He was right. a three-inch-square of the table was pushed out away from the table on a steel shaft, like the tip and the shaft of an arrow. I shoved it back into place, and suddenly, the 800 lbs. island started to pivot, revealing a stairway leading down.