Stranger Things have Happened...

"Sure," Edmond said.

I looked back and forth between Edmond and the boy. Was Edmond talking about my place, or his?

The boy straightened up, held out his hand to me, and said, "Hello there, I'm Den, your new standard bearer!" I looked at parca, and he threw his head up and down. I wondered if I was the only the only person in the world whose horse expected to have a vote on things.

"Come on Den, let's get you cleaned up, and find you something to wear!" Edmond took him up stairs. Two hours before my wedding and I still felt like a tumbleweed, still rolling along picking things up as I go. Anyhow, now you know my path that led me to the top of the rise where you could see the party below in the field surrounded by the Palace Gardens. (with twenty minutes to spare)

I nodded to Den, and he blew a blast on the small horn that Edmond had given him to announce our arrival. Everyone looked up to first see my family's standard flying in the breeze as Den started forward. Followed by a tall, broad chested, black stallion with a flowing mane that started prancing the closer he got to the crowd. On top of him, I was dressed in my great-grandfather's red dress coat trimmed in gold and silver, complete with his medals and a platinum disc with the royal blue cape attached. My light grey pants looked like the wake from a ship's bow, and the knee-high black boots fit so comfortably, the royal blue three quarter cape had the familys crest embroidered on it as well.

We got to the edge of the party, and I dismounted. I whispered to Den, "First you eat, then take Parca over to eat some of the King apples, then you can get seconds, got it?" He nodded as he grabbed the reigns. I walked over to my Father, along the way I grabbed a waiter and had someone take Den a large plate of food and something to drink.

"I thought it was the bride that made the 'big' entrance. the men he was with all laughed, of course.

I took the drink he offered and gave him a hug, then shook everyone's hands. "Always busting my balls, well, you can stop because I've got a wife to do that now!" Everyone erupted in laughter. After a few drinks with the men, I asked Dad if he brought any of the rum from the ship.

"I'm so sorry, son, but your mother and aunt made me promise not to bring any with us, the same as the brandy. He glanced at a quiet man in a brown shirt that paused as he walked by. "We were told there would be security walking around to keep everything nice. I wasn't stupid and had a keg of rum, two bottles of brandy, as well as a case of what looks like wine from the 'Ony-bell' I brought up. shipped to Edmonds two weeks before all this began," He smiled broadly, "Just look for one of four waiters that are wearing a red scarf around their necks."He stopped one and got us both a couple glasses of rum.

After the first one, I went in search of my Mother and Aunt

=============

I watched my son walk away, I was so proud of him and what he had achieved in his life so far. He had another surprize coming his way but it wasn't time for that just yet. My thoughts took me back to what Edmond had said about the box I had found, "It is said that the contents of this box has the ability to make a man the next King of Spain" I never really put any stock in the tales told of the ability of certain treasures, but in this case I was happy to be proven wrong.

As I went to grab a snack from the food table and saw the small boy tending my son's horse. He was staring at the food like he hadn't eaten in a week. I walked over to him and started talking. I got the whole story of how he met James. I told him to wait a moment, I went over to the drink table, and grabbed a handful of sugar cubes. I walked back to the horse and fed him one, now that I had his interest, I fed him two more. Then I explained to the boy who I was, and that those connected to my house shall be treated with respect.

The boy introduced himself, and explained what James had told him. Someone brought him a sandwhich and a drink, but when he went back after tending the horse, one of the attendants had chased him away. I asked him to point out which one yelled at him. I told him to go to him and tell him I would like a moment. Den walked over to man who just started yelling at him so he just pointed at me. The man looked at me holding the horse's reigns, motioning for him to come on over.

"It seems that there was a misunderstanding, this member of my house came to you for help in reaching the food in the middle of the table, and you refused to help him. Is this correct?" The man studdered and then apologized saying he didn't know of the boy's attachment to my house.

"Well, now that that's cleared up, I think it's best if he comes to you to fill his plate, that way there are no more misunderstandings, don't you?" I turned to Den, "Tell him what you want on your plate and I'll hold the horse," I fed him another sugar cube while I watched the boy have his fun filling his plate.

"I can see where your son gets his morals from," said a familiar voice.

"Not from me Grandma, I just dropped hints, he did all the heavy work," I turned to look at her, "And I couldn't be prouder of him than I am right now!"

"You, yourself have come a long way as well, Mi Captain, never forget that. You have matured into what many Spanish people strive to be, yet in the beginning, you hated Spain. But for the past six years, you've helped Spain with a lot of internal problems, enabling Spain to show a stronger front to the world, and as hard as it is to believe, you found out who you truly were in the process. That is something to be proud of as well."

"I've found out a few things on my own as well, like you are the youngest sister of the previous Queen, and Princess Tessa is your God-daughter." I said

"And in less than an hour, your son will release me of my final vow to my sister on her death bed. To always do my best with Tessa." she smiled

"So what are you going to do now that it's all over?" I asked her

"It's not over yet, Mi Captain" Then she walked over to a woman that was waving to her.

I wondered what she meant by that, as I went in search of my son. I found him in the study, I had a chance to tell him how proud I was of him. I knew my father would be proud of us both, and how far we've come. We shared a few drinks while we talked about our past. Then a man came to the door, telling us it was time for the wedding, what he found was James laughing while watching his Father and the King try to sing 'What do you do with a drunken sailor,' James told the man, "You grab yours, and I'll grab mine."

Most everyone was in their seats or at least close by, so their were plenty of photographers from the local papers as well as a handful of cameramen who were able to catch the King 'High-fiving' a few people as he walked over to his place at the entry into the chapel. My Father pulled himself together enough to limit himself to two 'double-thumbs-ups and a big grin' before I got him to the altar. The late night news and the morning paper reported both Fathers and their antics before the showed pictures of our wedding.

At the reception, the Queen mentioned how well her husband did at the wedding, it seems the last one had his nerves on edge so much, he had to use a close by planter to hide the mess. James came walking over to deliver two Fathers who still had a nice buzz on. "These two are now in your care, Ladies. Now you must excuse me, but my wife would like to dance."

When it got to opening gifts, Not one of them had Mikel's name on it. He put a check for $1 Million in the bridal purse, and in the memo space was wrote "ask me later." When all the gifts were unwrapped, Mikel stood up and tapped his glass with his knife, "Pardon me, I would like to give my gift to the glowing young couple in love that we have before us. He turned to Tessa and James, "Seeing you both like this is how I pictured heaven to look like. My life is too full, and if I don't loose some of it, I'm afraid I'm likely to burst!"

"James, you've always been like a son to me," Quite a few people laughed, "Let me be the first to call you by the name you have chosen for yourself. Captain James diablo 'SHado Ramirez! A name to be proud of, and the man that bears that name is worthy enough to lead the House of Ramirez into the future. I've reached my horizons, son, it's time you reached for yours!" I swallowed hard but the knot of pride I felt about choked me.

"Princess Tessa, I heard through the grapevine that you have a old factory by your fish hatcheries, and would possibly let me be of assistance, if you would?" Tessa smiled and nodded her head. "I represent a global corporation that furnishes legal help when needed to those who have small pockets. As a thank you for letting me open four offices in Spain, my company will pay for removal of the old factory, as well as foot the bill for the development of a school to help people respect the underwater environment, as well letting people swim on the outside of your hatchery, so they can see everything first hand. I'll even throw in the tanks, masks, fins, and snorkels for free. All you need to do is figure out what you're going to name it."

"Well, I've dragged it out long enough!" I raised my glass, "Salute!" Everyone raised their glasses and followed my lead.

"Let's get this party started!" Every head in the reception hall turned as one, and looked at the King and Queen. Then King was holding a fresh glass of rum, we had forgot to tell the waiters he was cut off. The Queen had her hand to her face trying to hide her smile. The reception was spot on! The food was perfect, and the drinks kept going down too smoothly. Tessa and James had left a while ago, and I had Carolyn wrapped up in my right arm, and Kat on my left arm. I remembered thinking that I was going to get lucky, and then the curtain fell.

I couldn't tell how long I slept, but I woke up to the familiar rocking motion of being on a ship at sea. My body was hard to move at first, but as I worked my arms and back, I could eventually sit up, and then begin to walk around. I had a chemical taste in my mouth that made me suspect I had been drugged. My normal mind was doing it's best to catch up with my tactical mind, when the door slowly opened.

Just like my Marine, and Special forces friends taught me. As the right leg steps forward, insert left leg. as soon as they begin to stumble forward, grab collar. using your body to contain left arm. launch right leg while my right arm shoots under his right arm to distract it away from their face meeting the floor with enough force to cause bone breakage. It was a good thing I was still a bit slow, and my opponent was able to recover.

"What the fuck Dad? I just came in to check on you! it's nice to see you're awake finally. I guess we can all relax now."

James? What the fuck is going on?" I asked.

"From what I was told, Mom, Aunt Kat, and you were leaving the reception, and a bridesmaid brought over a drink that she thought someone had spiked with something, apparently you weren't listening to what the women were talking about, so when Aunt Kat handed it to you to see if you could tell, you must of thought she was handing you another drink, and you downed it. Well guess what? it must have been tampered with because it's the day after my wedding now, and you missed breakfast," He looked like he didn't know how to tell me something.

"James, you know what they say, 'tell me now, because I'm going to find out anyway,' so just go ahead and say it."

"After Mom and Aunt Kat had you checked out by a doctor who said you were strong enough, that all you would have to do is sleep it off." He started to fidget.

"James, you're starting to piss me off, and you know how I am when I'm pushed too far!"

He rushed through it.

"Once it was declared you were Spanish, the Crown automatically claimed jurisdiction over the Orion, and had it flown to Spain as a national treasure. It appears that the Queen, Tessa, Mom, Aunt Kat, and Tammy from the states abducted you. We are now in international waters, and I'm supposed to get you cleaned up and topside."

"There's got to be more to this," I opened my mouth again, but my son cut me off!

"If you don't get your fucking ass moving right fucking now, I swear by all that is holy that I will kill everyone on this canoe, burn it, and send your ashes to the deep! MOVE! I don't get a Honeymoon until this shit gets sorted out!"

I threw up my hands, "lead the way, Captain!"

An hour and ten minutes later, I had bathed, and shaved. I even found one of my own black suits, socks and shoes hanging close by along with my dark pink shirt with a thin white tie, fancy that! I went to the left instead of the right and headed to the lower decks. I took him to the second smuggler's hold we found. I held up my hand so he would stop complaining, and then moved the lantern bracket and the door appeared again, he finally went silent.

I had removed all the treasure but left the personal items. I handed him the case that held all of the vanity items, then all the paperwork from the Queen to the Princess, along with a small case of ivory figures. I never felt right about those. I then went into the back of the hold and returned with a sack of bottles, I also had a small bottle of some honey mead I had found later, after everyone was gone.

I pulled the waxed cork out and cleaned off the excess. "James, I never got the chance to tell you how proud I am of you, the words always seemed so small to convey how much pride I feel," I took a drink and passed the bottle to my son.

"Dad, you never did things for me, but were always beside me, encouraging me to find my own way, not follow someone else's ideals, I can never tell you how much strength that gave me," He took a drink and passed the bottle back to me.

Since it was just the two of us, I finally felt comfortable enough to ask a question I had to know the answer to. "James, when did you stop thinking of me more as a Dad than a Father?

He didn't hesitate. "We were in the States, and you drove me into town to buy me my first diving suit. We walked out into the cove, sat down, and spent the afternoon feeding the fish. It was the first time anyone made a day just about me.

"Alright son, it's time you help your old man out," I got in position, "Take your Mom and Aunt Kat down the forward hatch, and then have someone at the top of the stairs let me know to come up while you take them both along with a few friends down to the chest and let them choose." I thought of what I was doing, and where we were going afterward and wasn't paying attention, until I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey sexy! they're already on their way, so, MOVE that sexy butt of your's up here!" I looked up to see Tammy from the States standing at the top of the stairs. As soon as I hit the topside, many people were congratulating me, half of whom I had no idea who they were, even Anton shook my hand. Suddenly I found myself facing The King and Queen, I bowed as I extended one of the bottles from the hold, "Your Majesties, please accept this bottle of fruit juice the natives make, it is healthy and rejuvenates you, quickly. it would be my pleasure to pour you both a glass."

As the King inspected the bottle, the Queen noticed I was tapping the ring finger of my left hand with my right forefinger. Her eyes grew larger and said, "I think that would hit the spot, thank you Captain!" I broke the seal and removed the cork, pouring two large glasses, I turned and presented them to the Royal Couple. The King sniffed it, and then took a sip, I noticed the Queen tapping her wrist. I held up one finger and made a circle. "Drink up dear, it's so refreshing! I bet it would help settle your stomach from the wedding yesterday" You have to take a drink, a sip doesn't do it justice!"

I stayed with them for a bit, making sure the King started 'relaxing' and then, everything went silent. I turned around, and was lost in the beauty of the sight before me. The two most beautiful women in the world were wrapped in their wedding dresses that were timeless in their beauty. I already had the rings and had them hidden in the hold on the Orion. I slowly walked towards the both of them.

"The dress you both are wearing were made for a Princess of Spain, though I doubt she looked more beautiful than you both do now. I wanted you to be clear about my intentions on the matter I should have taken care of so long ago." I stood in between them and went down on both knees. "Carolyn, Katrina, you both have stalked me to different countries, watched and waited while I had my fun. If you still believe that it can work, then I will as well! Will you two do me the honor of being my wives?" It was a good thing I was so close to the deck, so I didn't have far to fall when I was mobbed by two mountains of white lace and satin, both screaming "YES!"

I pulled out the rings, and the girls burst into tears. "So who's in charge of this canoe now? We need to get married!"

"I believe that would be me, as we are aboard a national treasure of Spain."

All heads turned as one to look at the King leaning against the rail before the ship's wheel, drinking his 'fruit punch.' even the Queen turned to look.

"Get yourselves situated, everybody else get lined up," Then he took another healthy drink of his punch. "My friends we have been gathered here to make sure once and for all, that Captain Mikel Robinson Villalobos Ramirez finds the happiness he seems to bring to others. As soon as he finishes one job he rushes off for someone else. There is nowhere to hide anymore my friend, and I pray to God that you find as much happiness with your wives as I have with mine. And anyone who doesn't agree with me can walk the fucking plank! Place those rings on your ladies fingers, because the love you three have already shown proves that you're already married, this just makes it official in everyone's eyes!"

He raised his glass, "SALUTE!" everyone followed suit.