"I agree, but we will say that you won because you really did get me good a few times. You are more than a formidable opponent, and I have grown a new respect for you. Make sure that you ask the girls what they want, and you can also decide what you want to do, but give me a few weeks till I get back from the Underworld and the festivals are over. I have way too much on my plate as it is," I said, and Senna smiled and hugged me back before pulling apart and leaving the room with just Tallia, Eliza, and me.

"You should get used to not having them. You are giving up the position, right?" I teased as I turned and talked over to Tallia.

"You are going to take my ability to make portals?!" Tallia asked and shook, but I kissed her.

"No, I am just teasing, but you did blast me with water when I was just coming to visit you this morning, and I smacked into a hole covered in horrible-smelling skunk spray. You had it coming," I said, and Tallia shook her head.

"If you would just listen to what I asked, that would have never happened. Just because I love you doesn't mean I want you just randomly popping into my bedroom!" Tallia complained, and I hugged her.

"You are right, and I am sorry. I will start knocking first. Now, will you and Eliza come for a walk with me? I actually have a bunch of other stuff to do, but I wanted to talk with you two about some things. It has also been a while since the three of us did anything together!" I laughed as I let Talli

"You are right, and I am sorry. I will start knocking first. Now, will you and Eliza come for a walk with me? I actually have a bunch of other stuff to do, but I wanted to talk with you two about some things. It has also been a while since the three of us did anything together!" I laughed and kissed the top of her head, and she leaned into me but then bit me, but I didn't make a sound.

"You should have been spending the entire morning with me!" Tallia growled as I stroked her hair, and then she pulled back from me and gently pushed me away. "Where are you wanting to go?"

"Just a walk. I am still trying to figure out what to do about the food or who I can get to take it over. I keep saying that I am going to help people with things, but now I have buried myself under a pile of tasks! Not like I can't deal with them, but that is literally all I do," I sighed as Tallia linked arms with Eliza.

"Problems of your own making," Tallia said, and I crossed my arms.

"Really? So Torrain was all of my makings? Bramma? The South Wall? Correct me if I am wrong here, but I have been doing your job this entire time. You may have complained about having to watch after Melrose while I was in Torrain, but if you had been paying attention, none of this would have gotten this bad," I said, and Tallia flinched, but I put up my hand. "I am not blaming you or any of the women for all the problems of the world, but I sure as hell not going to listen to you tell me these problems are my own."

Eliza stepped forward and put her hand on my shoulder. "And I think you have done more than enough. You have gone beyond the call of duty and have done more than what was expected of you. But now, it is time for you to take some time for yourself and just relax. Come on, let's go for that walk and talk about something else."

We made our way out of the Manor, and I couldn't help but feel a little relieved. It felt like I hadn't had a moment to myself in ages, and it was nice to finally be able to relax.

"Sorry to imply that," Tallia said, but I shook my head.

"God only knows I deserve whatever you throw my way, love. You aren't wrong, and I do create problems for myself and elect myself to help more than I should, but it is hard not to help when you know that you have the power to. Even harder when you know that you might not only be able to do it better and faster than everyone else, but half the time, I am the only one that can even accomplish those things," I said with a sigh as the three of us walked into the market with the women on either side of me. "Is it just me, or does this place seem busier today?"

"Yes! And it is going to keep on getting busier for the next two weeks! People are starting to come from all over the world for the festival! We are all going to be packed in the city like the flower petals in a closed dandelion!" Eliza giggled, and I nodded as we stopped to look around at all the different races.

It wasn't like I wasn't used to seeing all the different races in Northwall, but the previous times I had been out and about, the place still had mostly humans. This time, it was hard to spot a human that wasn't working at a food or merchandise stall.

"I am really impressed, but how is everyone getting here so fast?" I asked, but then I saw someone waving at me from a stall that looked like it was selling jewelry.

"Goldy has been organizing groups to come, but that was something else that I wanted to talk about. You said that you were going to be taking down the walls, but do you think that we could expand the city more? I thought that it might be better to move the market to the south and then run a single train on it like you did in Torrain. Then we can put all the shipping in the north but still be able to transfer things to the market," Eliza said as we walked over to the stand, and I nodded with a big smile.

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