Author's notes:

This is the continuation of A Long Time from Home and if you haven't read that, I advise you to do so. The series is self-edited, so any mistakes are mine, though I now have a proofreader, that can catch missing words ect. Thanks to Jessejames932006 for doing that.

Some of the chapters will take place in the ancient past and while I have done a lot of research for that, there might be small errors here and there. If you think you found such an error in the story, please double check to be sure that you're correct and then PM me about it, so I can fix it. :)

Normally, I prefer to use real locations, but for this and future chapters, I have invented a Island in the Caribbean called Oldenburg Island, so don't try to find it on a map :)

Due to its length, I placed ALTFH under the 'Novels and Novellas' section, but as you can see, ALTFH II is placed in the 'Sci-fi and Fantasy' section, which fits it better due to the elements of magic that's in it. At least in my opinion :)

Have fun and while you're at it, please rate the chapter and leave a comment :)

I have stated that I would upload chapters of 'Into the Chaos' (my Star Wars: The Old Republic story) every other time and that is still the case.

About the notation:

Mental communication is denoted by a < and ends with a >, so a mental communication will look like this: "< Who are you? >"

Some warnings:

This is erotic action adventure, meaning that there will be both sex and violence, but I don't mix the two.

This story is posted on the Literotica website and the author does not give permission for it to be reposted or reprinted anywhere else without consent.

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6 -- Oldenburg Island

September 2000, Vasa Estate, Oldenburg Island

For most, the Caribbean hurricane season was still going, but as Oldenburg Islands was situated south of what was normally called Hurricane Alley, the weather was beautiful.

So was the island. Roughly the same size as the island of Martinique, Oldenburg was one of the few volcanic islands in the southern Caribbean, and was largely covered by forest, offering a spectacular blend of mountains, forests, and beaches, only broken up a in few places in the otherwise rugged landscape, where the soil was suitable for cattle and farming.

Its history was just as special as the landscape. Most islands in the Caribbean had been settled by nations, but Oldenburg had been settled by and named after the European noble house of Oldenburg, and with that, the Island became a duchy under the protection of the powerful Oldenburg family.

One of the most successful noble houses in Europe, members of the House of Oldenburg had ruled all of Scandinavia, Greece, northern Germany and even the Russian Empire, and had married into most other European royal houses. They had especially close ties to both the British and Dutch royal families and while the first settlers had been Danes and Norwegians, many later settlers had been German, Dutch, and British natives fleeing religious persecution as religious wars and the Inquisition swept through Europe.

In the eighteen-hundreds, the control of Oldenburg Island had passed to Denmark as an autonomous territory, where it stayed for almost one hundred and fifty years and it was the Danes that had had the greatest influence on the food, culture, and architecture of the Island.

While all this mattered little in the modern age, these ties had kept the Island out of most wars that had plagued the area during the last three hundred years, while the actual control of the Island had changed with whoever was in control of the House of Oldenburg. Due to this, the people of Oldenburg Island had always had their citizenship tied to the Island instead of the nation controlling it and the noble house had kept the Island as tax free as possible, getting its income from taxing the trading companies and goods instead of the people.

Even after Oldenburg Island became a constituent state under the Netherlands in 1972, when the Danish king died and passed the Island to the King of Netherland by the old agreement, the practice had continued, gaining popularity and importance since the late 80s. Consequently, there were a lot of corporations, banks, and other financial services on the island and as a whole, the Island was as modern as any part of the world I had seen in person so far.

Known by the locals as Vasa Estate, the house we were living in was just as beautiful as the weather and was in a small bay fifteen minutes' drive to the north of Rastede, the capital of Oldenburg Island. A rebuilt plantation estate house, it had a main villa, and two guest houses with lots of bedrooms, as well as a fitness room, lounge area, living room, dining room, an office, multimedia room and one of the most beautiful gardens I've seen in my life.

However, it was the pool area that took the prize, with gazebos spaced in regular intervals around a giant pool made to look like a lagoon and with a perfect view over the actual bay beyond. The best part was that the pool ran all the way around the sides and backside of the house almost like a moat, making longer swims possible.

There was also a guardian's house with bedrooms for the staff who did all the manual work on the estate, as well as the security guards. Like the estates in Costa Rica, the Vasa Estate had a stable building with room for eight horses and everything needed for that, including a large smithy.

The last outbuilding was a large garage with room for the estate's many cars. A collection that was only going to get larger when they were done transporting Curtis' cars from Costa Rica to Oldenburg Island.

The rest of the old plantation spread some 7000 acres (30 km2) around the estate house and included all of the small bay, a few farms with horses, cattle and other livestock, and a lot of mountainous terrain covered with rainforest. Not exactly ideal for farming, it did offer a lot of privacy, which was why Parker had bought it twenty-five years ago along with two other estates of similar size.

The other estates had been used for resorts, hotels, and a hospital, but Parker had kept Vasa Estate for himself. Now it was mine and I was going to keep it. Not only was it beautiful and luxurious, but as Parker and Curtis had preferred to live in Costa Rica, where they were sure the police wouldn't come snooping, the Vasa estate was free from the influence of their actions.

I was sitting under a parasol outside the house, drinking my morning tea and eating breakfast, when Riya came onto the terrace, wearing a bikini and holding a newspaper in her hand. I admired her toned body and bouncing breasts as she walked over to me and gave me the newspaper.

"Good morning, Mr. Ivan... I think you need to read this."

I took the newspaper but didn't look at it as she walked on towards the pool, giving me an excellent view of her lovely ass, before she jumped into the water for her morning swim.

Smiling to myself, I turned my attention to the newspaper.

The main story was about Interpol's destruction of a child smuggling and prostitution ring. More than a hundred children had been rescued and seventy people had been arrested, most of them in Europe. There was an interview with a spokesperson for a human rights organization and an Interpol officer, though the spokesperson was a guy named Jonathan Smith and not Zavala, Rao or Honeycutt.

It was nice that the children had been rescued and people brought to justice, but I knew from Parker's information that there were many more out there.

On the bright side, the police in Costa Rica had reacted to the evidence we had sent them. Raids had happened and a lot of people had been arrested, several prominent figures among them.

"Good morning." said Petra as she took a piece of melon from the table. As usual in the morning, she was dressed in a long, thin silk bathrobe and had her long brown hair set in a ponytail. "Slept well?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Excellent..." She flashed a wide smile at me. "...because Estevez is here, and he looks kinda nervous, so I guess he wants to talk about something really important."

I closed the newspaper and looked at her. "Well, show him inside then."

"Yes, Master." She mocked with another smile and sashayed into the house again.

Chuckling, I returned to my tea and breakfast.

During my encounter with the Psychic criminal Leonard Parker in Malaga, I had read his mind, enabling me to hijack both his legal and illegal businesses when we arrived on Oldenburg Island in an effort to save some of the kids Curtis had been trafficking. While slightly less popular than Cayman Island as a corporate tax haven due to a 5% corporate income tax, Oldenburg Island had no personal taxes of any kind, including inheritance, which was how I had taken over the legal part of the business, called Starlight Merchant Group.

Using Parker's own emergency plan and some Ars Mentalis (Baylon: Art of the Mind aka. Mental Powers), I had Parker, or 'Giles Oldershaw' as he was known here, declared dead with me as the legal heir. A feat that was only possible due the mind-control Parker had used on the Board of Directors and other key personnel in the company, as well as a few chosen high-ranking government officials, though there was a certain satisfaction in using Parker's own plans to take over his company. One of the best aspects about it was that it was plausible enough that I could use it as an explanation to everyone, which is always the best kind of explanation.

As I became the heir, all the layers of thrusts and shell companies that owned Starlight Merchant Group were discretely transferred to me. However, nobody under the rank of CEO knew I owned more than the small percentage of the company I had officially inherited from Parker, along with the title of Chairman of Starlight Merchant Group. That made me leader of the Board of Directors and responsible for the overall vision for the company, without getting involved in day-to-day company matters. Handling those was the job of the Managing Director, which was Manuel Estevez. Taking over after the former Managing Director died of a stroke the year before, Manuel Estevez was responsible for running Starlight on a daily basis and he was brilliant at that, despite being only forty-one.

I was glad to have him, since it had turned out that both Parker's fortune and Starlight Merchant Group were a lot bigger than I had expected. Instead of just being a company that rented out yachts and houses, Starlight was a huge conglomerate with a wide area of interests, including hotels, resorts, banking and investment, medical care, schools, car manufacturing, electronic defence, and aerospace.

The sound of a door opening brought me out of my thoughts, and I stood up to greet Estevez, who for some reason looked very, very nervous, exactly like Petra had told me.

"Hello Manuel. I didn't think we had a meeting today." I said with a smile.

"We don't, Mr. Ivan." He said and corrected his glasses. "I'm here on a personal matter."

"Well, sit down and let me hear about it then." I gestured at the chair, expecting him to take a seat, but instead he very quickly said "sir, I'm very much in love with Miss Ayanna and would like your permission to date her!"

That took me by surprise and for a moment, I just looked at him, while my mind slowly started to speed up. Estevez had been here at least two times a week since we arrived and naturally knew all the women here as we always had our meals together, but I had been too caught up in learning things to discover any romantic development. On the other hand, it explained why the CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation was looking like a nervous youngster.

I was tempted to just say yes, but with all the formality it felt like Estevez expected more. Unfortunately, I had no idea what the correct response was in situations like this, so I just asked. "Will you treat her respectfully?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yes, sir."

"Then you have my permission."

We shook hands and his smile almost reached his ears.

A movement of the curtain by the door caught my eye. "You can come out now."

The door opened and Ayanna, Petra and Delina came walking out, giggling like young girls.

Ayanna smiled widely at Estevez, but walked past him and gave me a hug, whispering "Thank you!" in my ear before she walked over to Estevez and took his hand.

"Now go on your date," I said. "I assume you have one planned."

Estevez nodded. "Yes, Mr. Ivan."

"Have a good time then."

When they were gone, I sat down laughing. "Well, that was a surprise!"

"But a good one." Said Riya from the pool. "They're sweet."

Petra bowed down and gave me a hug. "Thanks for giving her permission."

I was about to say that Ayanna didn't need my permission, but then recalled the loyalty codex that had been imposed on them. They actually did need my permission, before going out with anybody.

Hugging Petra back, I said. "I totally missed their interest. How serious is it?"

"My guess is that he has bought an engagement ring." said Riya with a smile, causing a general laughter.

"Do you think he'll marry her?" I asked when the amusement had died out a bit.

Riya looked thoughtful. "He should, because they were made for each other. Manuel wants a loving hot wife, Ayanna wants a good husband and they're obviously in love, judging from the way they look at each other." She smiled a bit. "That they have talked for hours on end in the last month or so also helped."

"I must admit that I've totally missed it." I said with a sigh. "But it must have been quite a while, since he's asking for permission to marry her."

Delina nodded. "Since the lessons in manners."

"Well, at least somebody thought it was fun." Mumbled Petra sourly.

I chuckled at her expression. I had arranged for a teacher to give me some much-needed lessons in modern social life. The women had watched the first few times and then asked to be part of it. Apparently, there was a huge difference in what was considered 'good manners' from where they came from, to what was 'good manners' in the west.

Mr. Roberts, the elderly English gentleman who was my teacher, didn't want to teach so many people at once, so he had brought his associate in to help him.

The associate was a stern middle-aged English woman named Miss Axton-Hayes, who did not appreciate Petra's sense of humour and where the other women had liked the lessons, Petra had hated them. She still took them, but she didn't like it one bit.

When teaching manners and dance, having a member of the opposite sex to train on was essential and as Estevez and I were usually the only males in the house, we had practiced with all the five women many times. Apparently, that had resulted in Estevez and Ayanna falling in love.

It wasn't the only lesson I had arranged: We had all gotten the basic qualifications needed to crew a yacht, which took a surprisingly short amount of time. The basic safety training took 5 days and was mandatory for all. The same with a one-day course in Personal Watercrafts, but after that, Ayanna, Riya and Delina decided they wanted a 12-day intensive course, enabling them to fulfil the role of both yacht stewardess and deckhand, while Petra took the 7-day deckhand course, followed by a 5-day entry level course in yacht sailing. With all the other things I needed to do, I didn't have time for it, but the women did and made the best of the opportunity.

All of them took a day course in Relaxing Massage, followed by a powerboat qualification, enabling them to handle the tenders.

Then they split up, as Riya took a Superyacht medical training course, the technology interested Delina took courses in the communication equipment and Petra, who loved to swim and already knew how to scuba dive, took courses as a diving instructor, while Ayanna had enough of yachts and took a driver's license.

Since it wasn't their normal jobs, I had asked each of them what they wanted the most. Riya, who was already a combat medic, dreamed about becoming a doctor. Besides wanting to have a man and children, Ayanna wanted to have a small cafe, while the technical minded Delina wanted to learn more about the internet and become an IT specialist.

The only one that didn't know what she wanted to do in the future was Petra, since she had dreamed of a career in the army. However, she was very good at organizing things and loved to drive cars, so I hired her as my personal assistant and chauffeur. A job she jokingly referred to as 'phone holder', since I didn't like walking around with a phone that could be tracked and had handed her my company phone as the very first thing.

I had happily paid for all their courses and planned on hiring them as soon as they had graduated, since it meant that they weren't dependent on me for money as they earned their own salary.

The same had been arranged for Esther, who had remained in Costa Rica to take care of Vista Verde and the children there with the help of an administrator, who could take care of all the paperwork, while Esther worked with the kids.

I had also assigned some of the security guards to Vista Verde, while some of the others had followed us here and the rest guarded Villa Bonita and the rest of the villas.

We did promise to visit both her and the kids regularly, but so far we simply hadn't had the time.

While I had been thinking, Riya had crawled out of the pool and was now walking towards the house, chatting merrily with Delina as she walked.

Petra had stayed outside, and she sat down on my lap, took the newspaper from the table, and skimmed the article. "Oh, this is good news. I hope they catch a lot of those assholes."

"So do I." I said absently. Petra's shapely ass was situated right on my dick and it was starting to have an effect.

She felt it and looked at me with a smile. "Your thoughts are elsewhere."

Running a hand up her back, I nodded. "Yes."

She turned in my lap, causing her ass to grind against my now hard cock. Then she placed her feet on the ground and lifted her body from me, sliding the silk robe off in the same move. She was naked under it and I was admiring her beautiful body when she turned her head to look at me.

"Get those pants off."

"Yes, Mam." I replied with a grin and lifted my butt from the chair just enough to be able to do as she had asked, causing my erection to spring free.

With a smile, she sat down again and this time, I could feel her wet pussy on my dick. Pushing back a little further, she began to rub my dick with her ass and pussy. Her hips swivelled evocatively as she slowly moved back and forth, and I could feel her juices on my dick, making it slippery. Leaning back in the chair I caressed the soft skin of her back and enjoyed the treatment.

Petra continued her moves for a while, but then lifted off my lap, used a hand to guide the head of my stiff cock in between the lips of her pussy and lowered herself onto it, sliding slowly down to the hilt in one long slick move with a moan. I moaned as well as muscle contractions caused her tight pussy to massage my dick from head to root.

It just became better when she clenched those muscles and lifted slowly, using the armrests on the chair for support. The moment the head of my dick reached the lips, she unclenched and slammed all the way down with a grunt and a groan. Her ass moved in a circle a few times before she lifted off again.

I reached around her to fondle her big perky breasts, enjoying the feel of their softness and massaging them as Petra continued her slow up and down movements in a nice slow fuck. Feeling her hard nipples against the palm of my hand, I rolled them between my fingers, pinching them gently and causing her to moan.

This time she didn't rise after slamming down on me. Instead, she wriggled back and forth on my dick, causing the velvet walls of her pussy to massage my dick. A hand trying to get between my legs caused me to spread them and a moment later, gentle fingers caressed my balls teasingly. Combined with the feel of her pussy, it felt heavenly.

I slid a hand from her breasts down her flat stomach, over the trimmed patch of hair of her mound to her clitoris. She moaned as my fingers pressed down on it in a circular motion, causing the little hard knob to slip between my fingers.

Petra shivered, mumbling. "Fuck! That's good." And picked up the pace a bit.

Following her lead, I did the same.

Sweat started to form on her back as she fucked herself on my cock and I could feel her muscles starting to spasm all over her body as she neared an orgasm.

"So fucking good!" she almost hissed and made a few final humping motions, driving my dick as deep inside her as it could get each time, before she came with a cute little squeal.

Tremors ran through Petra's body as she sat still on top me, her pussy clenching and unclenching rhythmically, while my body absorbed some of the Vis Vitae or Life Energy her orgasm had released.

"That was good." Petra said as she pulled herself off my dick, turned around and straddled me, narrowly avoiding the armrests. "But now I want to kiss you..." She grabbed my glistering cock, placed it at the opening and sank down on it again. "... while you're inside me."

Wet as she was, it slipped right into the hot tightness of her pussy.

With a moan she leaned forward to kiss me with her full and soft lips. The move mashing her big tits against my chest. Her tongue sought out mine and we kissed deeply while she rode my cock, grinding her pelvis against mine with every move.

My hands slipped over the soft skin of her body, caressing her legs, side and back.

Gasping, she broke the kiss and moved her head down to lick my earlobe, whispering. "I love your cock. It feels so good inside me."

"Good," I whispered back. "because I love feeling your tight wet pussy around my dick."

She sat up and grunted as the move changed the angle of penetration, but it didn't stop her from grabbing the armrests again and using them as leverage, as she moved her hips back and forth in a steady rhythm. No longer mashed against me, the move she was making caused her big tits to dance and bounce temptingly right in front of my eyes.

Leaving her to do the work, I stated fondling them again, leaning closer to suck her nipples one by one, as her moves slid my dick in and out of her.

"OH fuck." She grunted and wrapped an arm around my head to press it against her tits, as if I needed any encouragement.

Catching a nipple between my lips, I gently bit down and licked it at the same time.

"Uhh." She moaned with a shiver, but leaned forward, pressing me back in the chair. "I did say that I wanted to kiss you, didn't I?"

We resumed our kissing, enjoying the feel of each other, while Petra rode me, using slow back and forth moves that took as little effort as possible, but sent ripples of pleasure through us both.

With one hand, I fondled her firm ass, while the other drew lazy lines on her back. In turn she moved one hand to my neck, caressing it gently, while we kissed passionately.

The first orgasm had clearly taken the top off Petra's need and she moaned in contented pleasure as my dick slid in and out of her and her clitoris was massaged by her movements.

For my part, I was in heaven again, with my dick buried in a tight wet pussy, with the feel of breasts mashed against my chest, while sharing wet kisses with a beautiful woman.

Just as I thought that it couldn't get much better, Petra's pussy started to spasm and contract as she neared another orgasm.

Moaning into my mouth, she continued at the same slow speed, her kisses and moaning becoming more and more intense, until she came again with a soft scream.

Not even that stopped her. Her juices ran down my balls as she continued moving, impaling herself again and again on my dick, while kissing me.

Petra shivered, and her hips started to move faster as she chased the next orgasm. As excited as she was, it didn't take long. Spasms ran through her body as she came, kissing me all the while.

Only then did she break the kiss, whispering. "Are you close?"

With a smile, I nodded. "Not too close, though."

"That can be changed." She lifted off me and took a step backwards, before she sank to her knees, taking my dick into her mouth.

With a moan I leaned my head back against the chair but kept looking at her as she closed her fingers around my dick and stroked it, while her tongue and lips played on the head.

I could feel her hot breath against my skin as she gently bobbed her head, taking a bit more of my dick into her mouth as her other hand started caressing my balls.

Her strokes became faster as she found a rhythm with her mouth, whirling her tongue around the head from time to time.

Groaning I could feel my orgasm coming nearer.

Petra also recognized the tell-tale signs and moaned around my cock, feeling it grow in her mouth.

Looking up at me, she discovered I was watching her and gave me a wink, before she went back to pleasuring me, holding her head still, while stroking me faster and using her mouth on the head.

That worked wonders. "I'm coming."

Petra nodded but didn't slow down her stroking. Instead, she started sucking and a few heartbeats later, I came in her mouth, filling it up and causing her to swallow as fast as she could.

She didn't stop stroking or sucking, until she could feel me squirm in the chair, as my dick became too sensitive for me to enjoy her treatment.

With a final swallow, she looked up at me. "Now, that's a good morning!"

With my heart beating and a ringing in my ears from the intensity of the orgasm, I had to agree.

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When Ayanna returned later that evening, she wore a beautiful new ring exactly as Riya had predicted. Estevez didn't waste any time and asked me for her hand in marriage a few days later and after adding a few conditions aimed at protecting Ayanna, I agreed.

What I didn't expect was how soon the wedding was to be, as Ayanna and Manuel wanted the wedding to happen at the start of October. It was only when I remembered that Ayanna had been given the same slight enhancement of her sex-drive as the rest of the women, that it started to make sense and I could only admire her self-control for waiting until after the marriage before sharing pleasure with Manuel.

That left only one thing for me to do and that was changing Ayanna's memory of the combat in the warehouse in Malaga and any other instances, where she had seen me use powers.

As I wasn't the only one in the world capable of reading other people's minds, changing the memory by removing any recollection of the use of powers would be safer for everybody.

Luckily, it was a fairly undramatic event and as former soldiers, they could see the need for secrecy and were remarkably relaxed about it.

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LA -- X marks the spot

September 2000, Los Angeles

Rita Meyers was drinking coffee in the kitchen, when Alice Baker came in, looking slightly worried.

"Hi, Alice. What's the matter?"

"Cyra and Zena." Said Alice with a slight shake of the head, causing the long blonde hair to move in waves. "I've just been to a meeting with their teachers and apparently the 'Geometric method' that Ivan taught them, is working wonders." She sat down at the table and took a cup. "According to Ms. Lang, their maths teacher, the twins are way ahead of the rest of the class."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Alice poured some coffee into the cup and then looked at her friend. "Waaaay ahead... Ms. Lang gave them some tests and according to her, they might as well skip middle school maths and start on high school maths instead."

Rita's dark eyes widened in surprise, before she laughed. "I wish I'd have had a teacher like that in middle school."

"It's not funny." Alice sounded slightly irritated. "Look... When we went on vacation, they were behind the rest of the class, which was why they were doing maths during the vacation... Then Ivan taught them for one afternoon and now they're ahead." She sighed. "It's downright impossible to teach someone two years of maths in one afternoon."

"Agreed... But as long as the groundwork has been done, it is possible to make people understand things in one afternoon. Especially if the students work hard afterwards." Replied Rita calmly. "Both Zena and Cyra have been hitting the books hard since we came back from Spain."

"I know," Alice sighed. "And it shows. Their grades have improved drastically. On one hand, I'm proud, but on the other hand I'm extremely worried."

Rita reached out and patted her hand. "I get it... but what did the rest of the teachers say?"

A little smile appeared on Alice's face. "That they had improved a lot since last year and that they are intelligent, well behaved and hardworking girls, if slightly stubborn from time to time."

Rita tilted her head, causing her long black hair to cascade down her shoulder as she grinned. "Geez, that sounds familiar... I wonder where they got that?"

"Yeah, yeah... Flattery will get you everywhere." Grinned Alice and drank some of the coffee before she continued. "Seriously... Ms. Lang wants to put them in a Pre-calculus maths class for gifted children and I don't know what to think about it. I mean... they're already taking Culinary Arts two years ahead of time and I don't want to put too much pressure on them." She sighed. "They grow up too fast!"

"Well, they're still kids and need something to do." Said Rita and turned serious. "Keeping them in a class when they have already mastered the subject is just going to bore the crap out of them... and don't take the Culinary Arts class into consideration. For them it's fun and games."

"I know, but it doesn't make it easier." Alice shrugged. "One moment they sound like adults and the next they're kids again."

"That's teenagers for you." Smiled Rita. "Oh, that reminds me... what do they wanna do for Halloween?"

Alice grimaced. "They don't know yet. Most of all, they want to dress up like an Atlantean Inquisitor from Ivan's story, but as none of their friends have heard about it, they're worried people will think they're weird... Right now, they're set on Jedi knights and have talked Karen into showing them some sword techniques they can use with their fake lightsabers."

"Sounds like fun." Rita chuckled. "...and I remember being that age, worrying about everything." She drank from the cup. "It'll pass."

Alice nodded. "I guess so... but I am slightly worried about their obsession with that story. Can't you talk with them about it?"

"And say what?"

"I don't know..." Said Alice with a slight shrug. "You're the one that studies ancient history. Point out the errors in it."

Rita slowly shook her head. "There aren't any."

"What?"

The brown-skinned girl chuckled at Alice's expression. "Ivan has studied Ancient History and has an impressive memory, remember? If you remove Atlantis and the supernatural elements from the story, it's a surprisingly accurate story from the late bronze-age." She leaned back in the seat, cradling her coffee cup with both hands. "To be more precise, the story takes place around 1493 BC, since Thutmose I died, and Thutmose II became Pharaoh in the story, which most scholars agree happened in 1493 BC." Rita with a smile. "At least according to the books."

Alice sighed and was silent for a moment. "What about the city of Waset? I never heard of it and yet it's supposed to be an important city in Egypt." She frowned. "See what I mean? We heard the story two months ago, and I still remember a name like Waset!"

Rita's smile grew wider. "It's the ancient Egyptian name for the city now known as Thebes, just like Ivan used Kumet instead of Egypt. Anyway... Thebes, or Waset, was perhaps the most important city in ancient Egypt." She drank from her coffee cup. "Kerma in Nubia also existed at that time and the same goes for Dilmun. Ivan even named Puzur-Ashur III as the king of Assyria and Burnaburiash as the king of Babylonia, both of which fit the timeline."

Alice Blinked a few times, as Rita rattled off the strange names. "You checked!"

"Guilty as charged." Answered Rita with a nod. "Mostly because the twins asked me about the dating of the story, but afterwards I looked at the world at that period." She shrugged. "There are parts of the story that I can't check for the simple reason that few sources date back that far, but otherwise the story is correct. Every single name, be it people, counties, places, or cities are historically accurate as far as I can tell, which is rather impressive considering Ivan told it from memory." She paused for a moment, but then continued. "Since Egyptian history is very well documented, the parts of the story related to Egypt are a lot easier to verify than the rest and I've pretty much confirmed all of it, except the tomb with the riddle, where they rescued Thutmose and the rest of the royal family."

Alice lifted her eyebrows. "And what's wrong with that one?"

Rita opened her mouth to answer, but then looked to her right as Karen Chai came walking into the kitchen, followed by Cyra and Zena, who were both dressed in light brown costumes, with a dark brown cloak over their shoulders. All three aimed for the refrigerator.

Rita looked at Alice again and continued. "Well, they haven't found Nubkheperre Intef's tomb yet, so I can't really confirm anything."

"Oh." said Karen as she took a bottle of water. "You're talking about The Story again."

Cyra signed something to Rita, who looked at Alice for a translation.

The blonde chuckled and looked at her friend. "Cyra asked, why you don't find the tomb yourself."

Rita smiled. "I'm just a lowly student, Cyra... Those who organize digs are big shots with all the right connections, money and permits... like my professor."

Cyra signed some more, with Zena adding something.

"Then tell your professor where to dig." Translated Alice. "Zena agrees that you should do that, because you know where the tomb is, and they don't."

That caused Rita to blink in surprise. "I do?!"

Zena nodded and signed something Alice translated. "Don't you have a map of the valley?"

Rita nodded. "Of course. One moment. It's in my room." She stood up. "I'll go get it now."

Zena smiled and ran out of the kitchen as well.

A few moments later, they both returned, carrying a large piece of paper each. Rita, with a map of the Luxor area of Egypt and Zena with a copy of a drawing, showing the twins helping an Inquisitor during a battle in the necropolis of Luxor. A scene Alice recognized as having been taken from the story Ivan had told.

As Alice, Rita and Karen watched, Zena marked some of the peaks in the drawing with numbers and then did the same with similar peaks on the map, before doing the same with other features in the landscape.

Then Cyra took over, measured angles and drew lines on the map, pausing from time to time to calculate something in her head, before drawing more lines. Each time connecting lines from various features or drawing to where the tomb was located, before duplicating them on the map, correcting the angles as she went.

It took some time, but finally, she placed a large X where some of the lines connected.

Looking at Rita, the twins signed something, a laughing Alice translated. "Dig there ... X marks the spot."

"And you're sure Ivan is correct?" Rita asked Zena, who nodded and signed again.

"He didn't lie about the places or people in the story, so why would he lie about a grave?" Translated Alice, causing Karen to chuckle. "Good point actually."

Rita looked at the map. "There's a huge difference from getting the details right in a story to make a drawing that pinpoints the location of a royal tomb." She paused as she thought it over and then shrugged. "I'll research it just to be sure."

Alice looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously? I mean... it's based on a story."

"Yes, but it's a story made by somebody who actually knows about ancient history. Look here." Rita traced the area on the map where the x was located. "This is not just any random area in Egypt, Alice. This is the entrance of the Valley of the Kings, where Ramesses the Great, Tutankhamun and a lot of other pharaohs were buried. Ivan did get the landmarks right in the drawing, so it's worth a shot." She looked up with a smile. "If I can find some sources for this... Either in translated ancient Egyptian texts from the library or in journals from other archaeologists... I can write a paper on it." She nodded to the Twins. "Thanks, girls... I'll let you know if I find anything!"

Both Cyra and Zena bowed slightly, smiled, and ran out of the kitchen.

Rita looked at Alice, who was shaking her head slightly, and chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, Alice. I know the chances of finding anything is close to zero, but for the chance of pinpointing the location of the Royal Tomb of Nubkheperre Intef, I'm willing to listen to fairies, the Easter Bunny, Santa or even a story told by a sexy guy in Spain." She took her cup from the table and drank from it. "Besides, it's really a win-win situation. I can use the research as the basis for the assignment we have to do before Christmas and if I actually find something interesting, I can write a paper on it as well. Not only will it increase the chance of people finding the tomb, but it will also be a very good thing to have on my resume."

Alice sighed. "For your sake, I hope you find something, but on the other hand, it'll make the girls even more obsessed with the story than they already are."

"Oh, stop being such a pessimist." Rita said and flashed a smile at her friend. "Relax and look at the bright side: Zena and Cyra are gonna ace the world history projects in school... at least those about the Bronze Age."

"Yeah... I know."

"And the practical use of maths." Added Karen, looking at the two pieces of paper on the table. "That was the most impressive use of geometry I've ever seen."

Rita nodded. "Yeah. Sorry, Alice, but Ms. Lang was right. They're way past middle school maths."

"Perhaps." Alice sighed. "If they're right, I will have to think about it again."

"Alice," said Rita with a sigh. "It doesn't matter if the tomb is there or not. Ivan could have made a hundred mistakes in that drawing. It's the manner in which they used geometry Karen was referring to."

"I know." Sighed Alice. "Just give me some time."

Karen sat down by the table. "While we're on the subject of time and Cyra and Zena: Have you talked with Ivan about fall break?"

Before Alice had a chance to answer the question, a puzzled Rita asked. "What is the problem with fall break and isn't it awfully early to talk about that?"

"Not when planning for kids." Said Alice with a sigh. "Alejandra finally got scheduled for surgery for her gallstones the 5th of October and needs at least a week to recover. Unfortunately, as you know, we're playing UCLA Friday the 6th, have training during the weekend before we go to Arizona on the 11th to play there the next two days and we won't return until Sunday the 14th." She shook her head, causing her blonde hair to wave. "I can't miss those two away games without risking losing my scholarship, but on the other hand, fall break starts the 9th and Cyra and Zena can't be home alone for almost a week."

"I would have asked my parents," added Karen. "But they're going to Hong Kong that week, so that is not an option."

Rita nodded slowly. "Everybody's gone that week. My parents and half the family are taking a trip to Mexico... but where does Ivan fit into all that? I doubt he's willing to fly up here to look after the twins."

Karen swiftly covered her mouth with a hand to hide a giggle and Alice sent her an irritated glance before she looked at Rita. "You're partly correct. I told Ivan about the problem, and he suggested that they could spend the week with him on Oldenburg Island, starting Thursday or Friday and then return Sunday the week after. He even offered to pay for the trip."

Rita looked from Alice to Karen and back again. "Well... isn't the problem solved then?"

The Asian pointed at Alice. "No, because the lion mom here won't let her children go."

Rita thought it over for a second and slowly nodded. "Well, after Malaga, I would be careful as well."

"Thank you! At least one of you gets it." Said Alice and shrugged. "Anyway, I expressed my concerns in an email and got an answer back this morning. In short, Ivan suggested that Alejandra travel with the twins to Oldenburg Island and get her surgery done there, since it's about a fourth of the price here. That way she would save some money and still be near the girls, which makes my nerves a lot better, and they can visit her every day, which will make them feel better as well."

"Hmm..." said Karen with a slight smile. "That's actually brilliant... provided that the quality of the surgery is the same as here."

"At a public hospital, it's better." Stated Alice. "I looked it up and in the latest list from the World Health Organization, Oldenburg Island comes in at rank 17... The same as the Netherlands and way above the US at rank 37."

Rita chuckled. "Let me get this right. Cyra and Zena are going to Oldenburg Island along with Alejandra and everything is fine?"

Alice nodded hesitantly. "Yes."

Karen shook her head in resignation. "Alice... I still don't get what your problem with Ivan is."

Alice was silent for a minute as she thought it over before she said. "When we met him in Malaga, he literally didn't have anything, but now... a few months later... he suddenly has a well-paying job and money to spend. It's just hard to wrap my head around... I feel like I was conned or something like that."

"Honey, it's not really his fault, that he inherited from his uncle." Reaching out, Karen caught a loose strand of Alice's golden hair and tugged it in behind the blonde's ear. "When we met Ivan, he suffered from amnesia and what I guess is one of the worst experiences of his life ... and one that isn't over yet. Look at it this way: Until he fully regains his memory, we're his oldest friends and people tend to do a lot for their oldest friends. I mean, Rita is one of my oldest friends and I'll do almost anything for her."

"Right back at you." Said Rita with a smile.

Alice blinked in surprise. "I haven't thought about it that way."

"Try it." Suggested Karen. "Imagine waking up one morning and everybody is a stranger, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you know you should remember who people are and their relation to you."

The blonde grimaced. "Horrible thought."

"Yes." Stated Karen drily. "That's why memory loss keeps getting used in horror and thriller movies.... I know you don't place a lot of trust in men, but if anyone has ever proven to be worthy of trust when it comes to Cyra and Zena, it's Ivan." Her slanted brown eyes drilled into Alice's blue eyes. "Trust him."

"I'll try." Said the blonde slowly.

"Lighten up." Grinned Rita. "It's not like we're asking you to date the guy."

The blonde smiled back. "Good, coz he's not really boyfriend material." She noticed Karen's facial expression. "Why don't you look like you agree?"

"Because I don't." the Asian said with a pearly smile. "Think about it for a moment. Ivan's tall, well-trained, good looking and hot as hell." She paused for a moment to think but then continued. "Now, as if that wasn't enough, he's also educated, charismatic, fun to be with and has a job that pays well enough for him to offer to pay for the girls' vacation." She smiled and lowered her voice as she continued. "If we look at the sexual part, it's even better. He has a dick that is large enough to feel like he fills you up without being so big that it hurts, and he's just as good at licking pussy as any woman I have ever been with. He's freaking good in bed, and I know you guys think the same, because you told me that."

Both Alice and Rita nodded, making Karen continue. She sent the two other women a smile. "The only thing about him that most women would object to, is that he's not monogamous and that's not a big deal for me. I'm bisexual, which kinda makes monogamous relationships impossible if I don't want to give up one of the genders. And if I can't be monogamous, why should he? Besides that, he needs more than one woman to provide him with Chi, if he's to continue healing people."

That statement made Rita widen her eyes. "You would become his girlfriend even if he had others on the side?"

"Yes." Said Karen with an emphatic nod. "In Malaga, the three of us shared him and even then, he was a much better boyfriend than my ex."

The dark-skinned beauty considered that for a moment and finally nodded. "You have a point, though I have been lucky this time... Rick is a total sweetheart and quite good in bed." She paused, but then asked. "How the hell did I miss this vacation problem?"

Karen laughed. "You were busy with Rick."

"Not that busy."

The Asian shook her head, still smiling. "Honey, I've known you for years and whenever you get a new boyfriend, your brain turns to mush as long as it doesn't concern school or volleyball."

"Sorry." Rita said with a shrug. "Oh, while we're on the subject... Did you guys get a mail from Ivan, asking if you were willing to work for Starlight Merchant Group? I said yes to proofread Spanish-English translations and the pay is okay."

Karen nodded. "Yes. He mailed and asked if I was willing to work as a part-time consultant for their IT department, regarding their User Interfaces. I checked with the university to see if it violates any of the rules for student-athletes and it doesn't, so I said yes and gave the university a copy of the contract just to be sure." She looked at Alice, making the blonde woman nod. "Part-time consultant as well, but with food. I haven't said yes yet, since I haven't had time to ask the university, but perhaps I should." She chuckled. "They also wanted to hire Cyra and Zena as junior consultants about sophisticated food for kids and teenagers, but I really don't know about that."

Rita rolled her eyes. "Just say yes. It's a real job, they will love it and it will give them some money to use, instead of an allowance."

Alice looked thoughtful. "My worry was that it was a fictitious job, which the League will not allow... How were the translations? Are they real?"

"Oh yeah... they're real." Stated Rita. "They want it in actual American English people our age in California use."

Karen nodded in agreement. "They sent me some Interface samples to evaluate, and the programming was fairly sophisticated. It's meant to be used and not just as a fake."

"Hmm... I think I'll do the same as you did and run it by the University just in case." Said Alice. "But in truth, I could use a little more income. Winter is a slow season." She looked at Rita. "Which reminds me... Are you home for dinner?"

Rita shook her head with a wide smile. "No, Ricky's coming over to get me later... We're going to watch Nurse Betty."

Alice looked disbelieving at her friend. "You got a jock to watch a comedy?"

"I'm just that good, baby!" answered Rita with a wink. "But to be honest, I think the presence of Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock in the movie has more to do with it." She stretched. "I better go change and get ready... See you girls later."

"Later." Said Alice with a wave as Rita walked towards her room and then stood up. "And I'll go tell Zena and Cyra that they get to spend fall break with Ivan and that they can get a job as junior food consultant."

"That," predicted Karen. "will get you the Mom of the Year award."

"No doubt." Answered Alice and walked away towards the twins' room, leaving Karen alone.

With a smile, she stood from the chair and walked to her room to relax, but spotted the screen of the open laptop computer before she reached her bed and walked over to it instead.

She had been searching for information about Starlight Merchant Group when the twins interrupted and hadn't had time to look at the results.

Yawning, she clicked on the first link. Like most other articles she had easy access to, it was from a University site. More specifically, the school newspaper of the University of Oldenburg.

Shrugging slightly to herself, she glanced over the short article. Then she blinked in surprise and read it again. More carefully this time.

"Starlight Merchant Group: A new era

As Starlight Merchant Group advances under Emilian's guidance, its commitment to excellence and innovation remains steadfast. The conglomerate is poised to maintain its status as a Caribbean powerhouse, driving progress and prosperity on Oldenburg Island and beyond.

"Holy shit!" mumbled Karen, staring at the screen. Judging from the article, it sounded like the Starlight Merchant group was a hundred times larger than she had imagined. Alice's earlier statement about Ivan having 'a well-paid job' popped into her mind and made her laugh softly before she shook her head. If Alice felt conned by Ivan having money and a job, chances were that she would freak out when she discovered how much Ivan had really inherited from his uncle.

With a sigh, Karen closed the window on the screen. Alice would discover it at some point, but hopefully by then, she would have adjusted to the fact that their vacation flirt had become a feature in not only their lives, but also the twins'.

------------------------------------------

Starlight Merchant Group

September 2000, Oldenburg Island

Having been founded in 1603, Rastede, the capital of Oldenburg, was surprisingly old for a large town in the Caribbean and it had a lot of charm to it. The same could be said of Starlight Merchant Group's HeadQuarters, which was located in a collection of old warehouses by the canal. Now they were modernized and held every modern convenience needed to efficiently run a corporation, including a secure communication system.

My huge office was a cross between an office and a living room, complete with a sofa group to relax in, which was exactly what I was doing, as the soft, yet firm sofa, was an excellent place to think or read reports, which was what I was doing most of the time. Fortunately, using an Ars Mentalis trick from the Scientiam field (Baylon: 'Knowledge'), I could not only read a page as fast as I could glance at it, but I also remembered it perfectly, which meant that a hundred-page overview took only three minutes to get through. Back in the old days, it was a trick that had been very helpful during my studies, but in the age I was in now, with so many written things to read through, its helpfulness was beyond measure.

Especially, since Manuel Estevez had seen that I knew little about running a company, and had, along with the Chief Financial officer, Sandra Rodriquez and the Chief Legal Officer, Angela Scott, arranged for some of the professors at Oldenburg University to give me a crash course in Global Leadership of Businesses.

It was an extremely useful course as it provided me with a basic knowledge of how corporations were run, the international finance market, and various other things a chairman of a large corporation was supposed to know. Especially an international company like Starlight Merchant Group, that spanned many different industries.

Fortunately, leadership by itself hasn't changed that much and many of the techniques and way to do things described in the books are more or less repetitions of lessons learned centuries ago with a new label and fancier words to go with it. The books also contained examples of what not to do when in a leadership position and some of the examples were so idiotic, that the people in them, who presumably were real people, would have been severely punished or even executed if they had tried to do what they did in the ancient world.

One thing the course made crystal clear to me, was that it barely touched the surface of a much larger subject, and that I was woefully under qualified to hold the position as an active Chairman of the Board. In that regard, I was like an ancient child-king who had to rely on his advisors in almost everything to keep everything in order.

Especially since Starlight Merchant Group was a lot bigger than I had thought when I took Parker's place. In fact, the sheer size of Starlight Merchant Group had been one of the biggest surprises I've had in my life, as it rivalled a small kingdom from ancient times.

The overall structure of the company was a pyramid organization with Starlight Merchant Group on the top and seven subdivisions under it. The beauty of this setup was that every division in essence was a company by itself, responsible for their own operating decisions and only relied on the central office for general guidelines and capital.

The biggest subdivision was Starlight Technologies, which itself had five subdivisions. Three of them dealing with military technology since that apparently was one of the most profitable businesses in this age. Another division was called Starlight Research, which, as the name suggested, conducted research in a lot of different areas, most of them related to the other companies. Starlight Defense made radars, motion detectors and other threat detecting systems, but they also handled security for the whole company, and it was an area where Parker personally had screened not only the board members, but also most of the high-ranking employees. The remaining subdivision, Starlight Motors, produced cars, trucks and motorcycles, aimed mostly at the emerging markets in Asia, especially India and China.

Titan Aerospace and its four subdivisions made planes, mostly business jets, but they did have a line of smaller commercial jets for regional airlines. They also produced military planes and both civilian and military helicopters, along with engines for such craft, but since I hadn't had time to look into that, I only had superficial knowledge about those divisions.

Working together, the aerospace, research and defence departments also made two series of military aircraft. One for fighter jets and another for airborne radar.

Starlight Hospitality was the division I originally had thought was the whole of the company and held the hotels, resorts, luxury vacation homes, yachts and sailing cruises. However, it was also the division that controlled Dream Care, with hospitals and other health service-related businesses, as well as Dream Estate, which had both commercial and residential buildings all over the world, focusing mostly on Asia and Central America.

Starlight Oldenburg covered almost all activities the company had on Oldenburg Island, like running the international airport in Rastede, the local airline called Air Oldenburg and the harbour in Christianshavn.

The next major division was Starlight Finance, which had two subdivisions. Dream Invest, a holding and investment company that invested in other company's stock and Bank of Oldenburg, which was a bank with offices all around the world.

Starlight Industries subdivisions handled construction along with mining and refining of raw materials, especially steel and aluminium, which was later sold to other divisions or external partners. They also operated the geothermal aluminium production plant on Oldenburg Island, which, like the ones in Iceland, was one of the few ecological sound aluminium smelters in the world. At least according to the material I had read.

Last, but certainly not least, of the major subdivision, was Starlight Global Education, which operated numerous for-profit higher education institutions around the world, including the University of Oldenburg, in a collaboration with several universities in Holland and Denmark.

At first, I had found it strange that a person like Parker would be interested in education, but according to the notes he had left behind, it not only gave a profit, but it also enabled Starlight Merchant Group to handpick some of the best and brightest students to come work for them.

Furthermore, the collaboration with Danish and Dutch universities meant the education met international standards and more than half the students came from these two countries. As an additional bonus for Parker, who kept his illegal activities away from the island, it was also a steady supply of young women and using his mental powers, he had seduced a few senior students each year, being reasonably sure that they would leave the Island once they graduated.

A mental image of a golden chair interrupted my thoughts, making me smile as it was Cyra and Zena's way of asking me to link with them. They didn't have the range to connect directly, but as I had told them in Malaga, sending thought-images had a much longer range than normal mind-talk, and this way they could ask me to make contact, since I did have the range. I didn't do it often, because the distance made it extremely draining, but I felt like talking and a moment later, we were in contact.

"< Hey Rascals >"

"< Hey Ivan >" They both sent at the same time. Then Cyra took over. "< We have a slight problem with fall break >"

"< Do tell >"

"< Alejandra is having second thoughts... She thinks travelling is too expensive... which is bullshit, because the operation is a lot cheaper on Oldenburg. She's just afraid of travelling >" sent Zena, sounding grumpy over the mind link. "< and we're not popular with mom at the moment >"

"< Hmm I can fix Alejandra's situation, but what's up with Alice? >"

There was a moment of silence, but then Cyra sent. "< We got into a fight at school >"

"< but it wasn't our fault >" added Zena. "< Chloe from our class * There was a mind-image of an olive-coloured young girl with red curly hair, lots of freckles and shining blue eyes that were somewhat slanted * was being bullied by four of the older girls, so we came to her rescue! >"

"< We even signalled them to go away several times, but they didn't listen and tried to beat us, so we defended ourselves >" There was a mental sign from Cyra. "< Mom had to come get us and she's kinda angry that we got into a fight... which is weird, because our teachers were proud that we had stood up for Chloe >"

I chuckled for myself. "< Girls... Alice is cross because she's your mother, loves you and is worried about you. Talk with her about the situation and as she most likely tells you to go get a teacher next time, just promise to do that... and then do it if it happens again >"

"< Yeah >" Sent Zena sadly. "< I just hope it's not too late for Chloe if it happens again >"

"< There are two of you... One can get help, while the other stops the bullies by saying that help is on the way ... hmm... Why're they picking on this Chloe by the way? >"

"< Her mother Jane is single and works two jobs to support them, but they don't have a lot of money and Chloe's clothes are not always the prettiest >" Cyra sent, followed by Zena. "< And she's a strange mix of Korean, Irish and Mexican. There are a lot of things they can tease her with... Totally unfair, 'coz she smart and sweet and always in a good mood, when we work together >"

There was a bit of silence again and then Cyra sent. "< Ivan... can we ask you a favour? >"

"< You can always ask, but there's no guarantee that I will agree >"

"< Can we invite Chloe along to Oldenburg Island? Then we can do both our geography and biology projects with her and she's never gone on a vacation anywhere! >"

Zena added. "< If you can afford it, that is... I don't think Chloe, or her mother have the money for it, but we have about a hundred dollars you can have, if that is any help >"

"< Thank you and I'll think about it, but why do you want Chloe to come along? She can't join the mental training >"

There was a slight hesitation, before Zena admitted. "< Chloe's better at biology and geography than we are, but we're better at writing and explaining, so we usually help each other >"

"< And >" added Cyra. "< we're allowed two to three days of fieldwork for each project... which means that if she comes along, perhaps we could stay a week longer >"

I sent some amusement at them. "< Good thinking. It's impossible to be good at everything, so helping each other makes sense... However, before I say anything about it, go ask your mom about the extra week >" I suddenly remembered something. "< By the way, Ayanna asked me if I could ask the two of you if you wanted to be her bridesmaids. She's marrying the Manuel Estevez I told you about... and the wedding happens to be while you're here >"

"< Wow! >" They sent in unison, before Cyra said. "&It That would be so cool >"

"< Why would she want us? >" asked Zena after a moment of silence.

"< Well, since Ayanna's still wanted by the military, she can't really ask her family, but she knows the two of you. Just be aware that there will be a lot of people at the wedding >"

There was silence and I figured that the two of them were talking about it. Then Cyra said. "< Tell Ayanna, that we would be delighted to be her bridesmaids >"

"< I'll tell her that >"

There was a knock on the door to the office. "One moment."

"< Sorry girls. I need to go now. >" I sent. "< Ask your mom about the extra week and send me an email or SMS >"

"< Will do... and thanks for just considering it >"

"< You're welcome. Take care >" I sent and cut off the connection, as I loudly said. "Come in!"

The door opened and Delina stepped inside, carrying a bag from one of the shopping centres in Rastede. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." I said and admired her short yellow dress that showed off her dark colours and long legs to good effect. "You're looking exceptionally good today. New outfit?"

"Yes." She did a little twirl, causing the dress to lift up a bit, showing off more legs and golden- brown skin. "You like it?"

"A lot. Both the colour and the design look good on you."

"Thank you." She smiled. "Are you too busy to have lunch with me?"

Shaking my head I stood. "Not at all. Let's get out of here."

------------------

"So, how's it going at the company?" She asked a little while later when we were seated at a nearby seafood restaurant, waiting for the food we had ordered.

"Oh, I'm busy learning new stuff." I said with a smile. "As Socrates once said: 'I know that I know nothing.' Fortunately, the board can run the company without any interference from me... I just need to point them in the right direction if need be."

She shook her head with a chuckle. "I'm so happy I don't have your learning schedule. I'm busy enough just trying to keep up with the latest in IT and the related technologies. I couldn't imagine trying to learn how to run a company."

"I'll learn it... it takes time and a lot of help, but fortunately I have that help, so I'm not that worried."

As much as I hated to admit it, the mind-control Parker had used on the board-members had been extremely helpful so far, and truth to be told, I doubted that I could have made it this far this fast without it. The modern world had simply become too complex to learn in the short time I had been awake for me to navigate in it with any kind of certainty. That was where the board members of Starlight Merchant Group had stepped in to help, though right now, they were just helping me understand the legacy I had 'inherited' from Parker.

"Good, though if I were you, I would most likely just have gotten as much money as I could and gotten away from all this as fast as I could." Delina said with a little chuckle.

"I don't care much about money." I said with a slight shrug and thought for a moment, before asking. "But I like to help people and having wealth will enable me to make a difference in life for a lot of people."

Delina nodded slowly. "I think I see what you mean. May I ask why you like to help other people so much that you're willing to put your life on the line?" She laughed softly. "Not that I'm not grateful that you rescued us, but I would actually like to know. I mean, most people would have left us to the police, but you didn't. I remember asking you on the boat and you said something in the line of 'because I could, and it was the right thing to do'."

I was about to say something but was interrupted by the server who arrived with the food and waited patiently until he had gone again, before I continued. "It still applies. All my life I have lived by an ethos defined by a single quote: 'Stare contra malum. Cur non mihi? or to put it in a language you can understand. 'Someone has to take a stand against evil. Why should it not be me?'. I like helping people and controlling Starlight Merchant Group will allow me to help a lot more people than I have ever been able to do before. Even if it requires me to learn an entirely new skillset." Picking up the utensils from the table, I forked a scrimp. "By the way, putting your life on the line to help others can't, or at least shouldn't be, a new concept for you. After all, you're a soldier."

Delina swallowed the food she had been chewing on while looking thoughtful and then nodded. "You have a point. Persuading my mothers to allow me to join the military took a long time and I have to admit that I did it to avoid getting married, but I grew to like it more than I had thought I would. Especially the peace-keeping missions we were on or when training with foreign officers."

That caught my interest. "Foreign officers?"

She nodded. "Gambia is a small country, so historically we have relied on foreign powers to train our military. In my case, I was trained by Taiwanese officers and even spent four months at a Military Academy in Taiwan, learning about the latest military communication systems."

Having no idea where Taiwan was located, I recalled the map in my head while chewing a mouthful of food and finally found it, as it was an island next to what is now known as China. Back on Baylon, China had been known as Lescare and Taiwan had been Jade Island. There had even been a small Baylon colony there that mainly existed due to the jade trade that had given the island its Baylon name.

Swallowing the food, I asked. "You liked it there?"

She nodded and there was a ghost of a smile on her face as she said, "Yes, it was both interesting and a lot of fun."

The smile reminded me so much of the smile she usually had when talking about good sexual experiences, that it made me chuckle. "Just out of curiosity... What was the name of your fling there?"

The smile widened a fraction. "Ya-Fang. A fellow student and an expert in communication equipment. As it turned out, she was also very good at other forms of communication." I ate the rest of my meal, while Delina told me about her short relationship. The two of them had hit it right off and after celebrating scoring the maximum result on a test, they had ended up in bed together. They had spent the rest of Delina's time there together, but eventually Delina had to go home to Gambia and Ya-Fang returned to her boyfriend. They had kept contact with each other since, but the distance between their respective countries had been too great to visit each other.

Hearing the genuine sadness in her voice, I reached out and touched her hand. "Cheer up. We can arrange for you to visit her at some point. I just need to figure out a way to do it."

"Not easy while being a wanted criminal." Said Delina, sounding somewhat gruff.

"I know, which is why it takes time... Hmm... Did she ever marry that boyfriend?"

"Not yet." She replied with a shake of her head. "He's a computer engineer and while he treats her like a princess, he's also racist and he did not like me the one time I met him."

"Is he blind by any chance?"

She looked confused. "Blind? No... why would he be blind?"

"Because you're sweet, sexy and gorgeous, and if he couldn't see that, there's something wrong with him." I said dryly. "And I mean, like seriously wrong."

That got me a laugh from her. "Thanks, but I think he only saw a dark-skinned woman from a less developed country."

"Yeah, I know the type."

That was exactly the same way many Baylons, at least those who never left the Island, had thought about humans, and it was an attitude I had run into numerous times even in people who were supposed to be highly intelligent. Not that humans were any better, though the attitude had changed a lot while I had been sleeping for two thousand years. Back in ancient times, many of the people in the greater empires like Egypt, Persia, China and Rome had been filled with slaves from countries they regarded as inferior. I hadn't had time to check up on when the attitude had changed, but as far as I knew, most slavery nowadays was more in the form of wage- or debt slavery and that too was frowned upon by most people.

Delina had swallowed the last of her food, while I had been thinking and leaned back in the seat with a satisfied look on her face. "That was very good." Then she looked at me. "So, what's next on your 'to do' list?"

"You mean aside from you?" I answered with a grin.

She winked at me. "Yes, aside from me... or Petra for that matter. Where is she now by the way? I thought she was with you."

"At the Gun Club, brushing up on her skills, before taking the entrance test for Starlight Security." I explained with a chuckle. "I had a meeting with Giles Cornell, the Chief Security Officer, and he told her that if she was a certified member of Starlight Security, she was also part of the Oldenburg Gendarmerie and was thus allowed to have a handgun."

It was a testament to the enormous power Starlight Merchant Group wielded on Oldenburg Island, that some of the Security Guards at Starlight Security were allowed to wear weapons, despite that wearing handguns was banned in both Denmark and the Kingdom of Netherland.

Mainly it was due to Oldenburg's laws that overruled those of the parent country. An age-old agreement, that, as far as I knew, was put in place to stop any attempts to raise taxes on the Island, and it had the consequences of retaining some very old and quirky laws, despite Oldenburg being one of the most modern countries in the Caribbean. As an example, it was still illegal to interfere with a homing pigeon or to have pigs and goats on ships moored in a harbour.

According to an old law dating back to the age of piracy in the late sixteen hundreds, civilians were allowed to have weapons as long as they were part of the Oldenburg Gendarmerie, which was a civilian defense force created to protect the Island against the pirates who plagued this part of the world at that time. It was for the same reason, that Vasa Estate had an old 'secret' cave system carved into the bedrock under it, where riches, food and people could hide it need be.

Parker had turned the cave system into his own private sex dungeon, but fortunately, he had rarely used it, preferring to spend time in Costa Rica instead.

When Starlight Security was formed a special deal was made, classifying the security guards as part of the Oldenburg Gendarmerie. Over the years the Oldenburg Gendarmerie had grown, as Starlight had expanded into the Defense Industry and now, they had top modern ocean patrol boats, search-and-rescue helicopters and even fighter jets. All either sponsored or on loan from Starlight Merchant Group.

Delina chuckled. "Leave it to Petra to find a legal way to have a gun, but you didn't answer my question."

With a slight smile, I wrestled my thoughts away from law and back to the present, "Hmm the next on my 'to-do list' is learning Danish or Dutch, so I can get citizenship here."

That made her smile disappear. "I had forgotten about that. Isn't there a way around that law?"

I shook my head. The people on Oldenburg Island were very protective about their status and cultural heritage, and becoming a citizen here was normally a time-consuming procedure that as a start required the applicant to be able to speak Danish or Dutch. Not perfect, but enough to not need a translator. "No but hold off learning it for now. Most people here speak English as a second or third language anyway and your visa is for half a year, so there's no rush."

"Good point." She looked like she suddenly remembered something and switched to the Gambian Mande language as she said. "Wait a minute, can't you teach us those languages the same way you taught us Spanish?"

I nodded with a grin. Using Ars Mentalis and someone to learn from, I could learn any language in a couple of days and since it was one of the few tricks that was reversible, I could use the same trick to teach other people a language I knew. I had already used it to teach the women Spanish, and as soon as I found someone I could learn Dutch or Danish from, I could do the same again.

The problem was finding the right person to learn it from, as it required that I physically touched the person for at least some hours while using the trick. Added to that was the limitation of the one I was learning from. I couldn't learn words or phrases the person didn't know, so I usually try to find someone well-educated to use as a source. The best way to get a good vocabulary was simply to use it on as many people as possible, getting new words each time.

In that regard, I had lucked out with Rita, Karen and Alice in Malaga, as their combined knowledge of English had given me a vast vocabulary to build on, but I still encountered a lot of financial terms that I didn't know, since none of them had been into finance. The exception to that was Gabriella Delgado, but I haven't used the trick on her. An oversight I would correct next time we were together.

Switching to the Mande language as well, I said. "That was why I told you to take it easy. I just need a little time to learn them and then you're golden."

"You really are a life-saver." She told me with a brilliant smile. "I really don't have the time and patience to learn yet another language right now. I'm too busy learning other stuff and preparing for Ayanna's wedding on top of it." She drank from the glass. "Why did you say yes to make it so big? It's kinda insane."

I silently agreed with her. Since Ayanna was still wanted by the Pakistani Military, Manuel Estevez had decided that she deserved no less than two wedding parties. One now and another, more family friendly, wedding later when members of her family could attend. Ayanna had been delighted by the idea and Manuel Estevez had asked if we could use the opportunity to show off and make it a corporate affair. I would have said no, if I hadn't felt that Manuel honestly thought he was about to marry the sweetest and most beautiful woman ever and wanted to show her to the world. At least the part of the world, where she wasn't a wanted criminal.

Instead, I agreed, and the PR section ran with it, inviting many of the CEO's from Starlight's business partners. Due to the short notice, not everybody could make it, but most accepted the invitation and those who couldn't make it, had agreed to send a representative for their company. In the end, more than two thousand people were invited, making it the event of the century on the Island.

All the CEOs of Starlight's five divisions and thirty subdivisions would arrive some days before the wedding in order to conduct business meetings and that made the wedding a perfect opportunity for me to meet the higher-ranking people in the company.

That suited me just fine, as it enabled me to transfer their loyalty to me at the meetings, instead of travelling all around the world to do that. The problem was a fail-safe Parker had built into his plan of disappearing; drink the potion of immortality he had been hunting and then return as a younger version of himself. I had taken his place and the fail-safe had the condition that the new owner was able to use the mental trick and codeword to transfer the loyalty from him, otherwise the mind-controlled people would be doomed, as the Loyalty Codex slowly disintegrated along with a large part of their mind. In other words, I needed to transfer their loyalty to me in order to save their lives. I really need to take the time to find a way to lessen Parker's Loyalty Codex, but unfortunately it took a lot of time to undo what Parker had years to build.

"Well, I only agreed to it because he's so obviously head over heels in love with her." I said with a chuckle and gestured for a waiter to bring the bill. "But let's avoid that subject here. Too many can hear us here... Mande or not."

She nodded at that.

-----------------------------------

"Oh, by the way," said Delina a little while later, when we were walking down the streets next to the grand canal, "Are Zena and Cyra going to come here on vacation as you talked about?"

I nodded. "Yes, along with their nanny Alejandra and perhaps a classmate. Oh, and they said yes to be bridesmaids, so Ayanna is going to be happy."

"Yes, she is." Said Delina with a nod. "Alejandra is the one that needs an operation?"

"Yes. She's worried about the cost, so I told the hospital that I would pay for the operation, if they could come up with an excuse for her why it was free. They agreed."

Delina chuckled. "She must have been over the moon."

"She doesn't know yet. She doesn't have email, so the hospital sent a letter instead." I said, as I walked around a small group of tourists that were admiring one of the yachts in the canal. "The only problem I have with this is a practical one: The earliest flight from LA to Oldenburg with room for more passengers is Monday the 9th. There're simply not that many flights and between fall break and the wedding, they're all booked. Petra suggested using one of the corporate jets, but I'm not sure about that."

As a global company, Starlight had a small fleet of private jets that was used for two different purposes. First of all, they transported the rich customers to their destinations, whether it was a luxury resort, house or one of the big sailing yachts. It was a part of a package deal, with the jet included in the price. Secondly, they were used for delivering CEO's and other vital personal or goods to the place where they were needed when it was needed.

As one could expect from planes designed to transport the rich customers, the interior was just as luxurious as the yachts and held at least two beds, making it ideal for very long flights. It also wasn't as big an investment as it sounded since the planes were produced by Pegasus, a subsidiary of Titan Aerospace.

"Listen to Petra." Said Delina with a chuckle. "She usually knows what she's talking about when it comes to organizing things."

"Yeah. Petra's a rather effective organizer." I said with a smile. "Making her my personal assistant was one of my brighter ideas."

She nodded in agreement. "Yes, it was. She's good at that."

"We all have our specialties. How's your IT courses coming along?"

She lighted up in a smile. "It's so much fun, but as I said, there's so much to learn!"

"You've got time." I reminded her with a smile. "Just tell me if you need a bigger computer or something."

That made her laugh. "Ivan, if I need anything like that, I can easily buy it myself, now that I've been hired as an IT specialist and have a salary." She gave me a short one-armed hug. "But thanks for the offer... It was very sweet of you." She paused for a moment. "Oh, by the way, I hope you or Starlight has stock in Microsoft, because the new Windows 2000 operating system is fantastic, and I think it'll do very well."

"Good, because I own about ten percent of the company's stock." I chuckled. "I'll take your word about the operating system. My computer skills are just enough to do the basics, like emailing and text edi..."

I stopped talking when I discovered Delina had stopped walking and was watching me open-mouthed. "What?"

"That can't be true!" She spluttered. "I've seen the list of major stockholders in Microsoft and neither you nor Starlight Merchant Group show up anywhere."

"It wouldn't. Like most other investments, it's spread out over a lot of holding companies and investors." I explained.

She got herself together and nodded slowly. "Just out of curiosity... Does the company have stock in any IT hardware companies?"

Running the list of stock through in my head, I nodded. "Intel, HP, IBM and Apple... Most of the software stock was sold, with the exception of Microsoft, for exactly the reason that they make operating systems."

"Good... Computers and cell phones are the future." She paused, thought for a moment, and then continued. "Hmm... can I send some of my salary to my family in Gambia?"

I chuckled at the sudden change of subject. "Sure, but can you wait a bit? I would like to set it up so that it's untraceable, since you're a wanted criminal."

"No worries... it can wait. My family is not poor compared to many others, but it would be nice if I could help my brothers and sisters enter the international school there." She sighed. "I do miss both them and the country from time to time... It's beautiful here, but it's not Africa."

I silently agreed. Oldenburg was one of the most European influenced islands in the Caribbean and had very little in common with Africa. Considering what I've heard about most of Africa, it was a comparison that Oldenburg won.

"If you really want to send them to school, it can be easily arranged." I said with a shrug. "We can set up a charity fund and funnel your donation money through there, making it untraceable. Then the charity can pay for your family's school." As she turned her head to look at me again, I added. "And since I know that you want to do this yourself, I promise to keep away as soon as everything is arranged... unless you ask me to do something."

Delina stopped us both by throwing her arms around me in a hug, whispering "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you understand."

Not really knowing what to say to that, I silently returned the hug.

------------------------------------------

A good evening

September 2000, Oldenburg Island

With an average temperature of around 27 degrees (86.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and a multitude of picturesque beaches on the eastern side of the island, Oldenburg was a popular vacation spot, attracting people from most of the western part of the world. In fact, it had been so popular, that in order to preserve the island's natural beauty the government had imposed restrictions on the number of tourists allowed on the island at any given time, while the cruise ships were restricted to the Christianshavn harbour on the island's northern end.

All in all, that meant that while Rastede and the area surrounding it were indeed well-visited by tourists, it rarely became too much. There were exceptions to this rule, and I was learning one of those, as I made my way through an extremely crowded city centre.

The university of Oldenburg had just started a week earlier and apparently many of the foreign students at the university had family who had travelled to Oldenburg to help their offspring settling in and get a vacation on the sunlit island at the same time.

Now that vacation was coming to an end and the streets were filled with families out for a last evening in town, before returning to their homes in Netherlands, Denmark or one of the many small Island nations in this part of the world.

The locals were aware of this, and a tradition had evolved where the city center had been turned into one big outdoor place of celebration, combined with an artisan market where local craftsmen and women displayed their handmade goods, including jewellery, to the passing tourists. The air was filled with the scent of tropical fruits and freshly cooked delicacies from food stalls offering a variety of traditional dishes.

Throughout the day, multiple stages set up around the city hosted a variety of performances, from modern music to traditional folk music, creating a lively and infectious rhythm. Dance troupes performed traditional dances, inviting spectators to join in and learn the steps. The atmosphere was one of joy and inclusiveness, with people of all ages participating.

I had been here most of the day, experiencing the traditions of what was going to be my new home, and had loved every minute of it. While I was sure that some of the locals were only here to make some extra money, most of them were in a good mood and readily danced or sang along when the opportunity was there.

In short, everybody had a good time and even as the setting sun painted the sky in shades of orange, pink, and purple, the celebration continued, uniting locals and visitors in festivity and the only reason I was trying to get through the crowds, was a pressing need to go to the toilet.

I had planned on using the toilet in Starlight Merchant Groups building, but seeing the futility in going against the crowd, I gave up and ducked into one of the many cafés to use their toilet instead.

When I left the toilet a little while later, I spotted an empty table and decided to take advantage of it. It was the first empty table I had seen in hours, and I could use some relaxation as well as a cup of tea.

The tea had barely arrived, before a female voice asked. "Excuse me, but is this seat taken?"

Wanting a little privacy, I was about to say that it was indeed taken, when I looked up. Tall, slim and with long reddish blonde hair, the woman had a pretty face adorned with freckles and a pair of blue eyes. She had spoken in English, but with a slight Dutch accent like so many from Oldenburg, but she might be one of the many family members that had travelled from Holland to the Island to help a child settling in at the University. As for her age, she seemed to be around thirty, but considering my experiences with Gabrilla Delgado, she was most likely around ten years older, which made her the right age for that.

Goodlooking, without being beautiful, there was something special about her and it took me a few heartbeats to figure out what it was. The woman was so filled with Vis energy, that she was practically emitting Vis.

A motion behind her caught my attention and by another table, I saw two other women, giggling while they tried not to be too obvious in looking in my direction.

Extending my leg, I pushed the other chair away from the small table. "No, you're welcome to sit down and join me."

"Thank you." She said and took a seat, before extending a hand towards me. "I'm Annika."

Taking the hand, I bowed slightly in my seat and gave it a kiss. "Ivan, and I'm pleased to meet you."

For some reason, she blushed. "Thank you."

Glancing over at the two giggling young women, I asked. "Do I want to know what it is that they find so funny?"

"Oh... nothing important." She said with a slight smile. " We just made a bet about if you're a tourist here or not."

I nodded with a smile. "That certainly explains the giggles."

"So?" She asked curiously. "Are you a local?"

"I'll tell you over dinner." I said with a grin. "I don't want to risk you just getting your answer and then disappearing into the crowds."

She blushed again as she thought it over and then said, "Will you give me your answer, if I promise to have dinner with you?"

"That seems fair." I answered and drank some of my tea. "I hope you wagered that I wasn't a tourist, because I live here."

"No offence, but you don't exactly sound like an Islander." She tilted her head a little. "Are you sure you're not just saying that?"

I chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure. I live and work here, so I'm not a tourist." Drinking some of my tea, I asked. "May I ask who won?"

"In a moment, I need to let the others know."

With a slight nod, I looked over at the other two women, waited a few heartbeats until I was sure I had their attention and then said. "I'm not a tourist. I live here."

They smiled and nodded, so I looked at Annika again. "Which reminds me... are you a tourist here or are you here for the start of the university?"

"The University. I live in Amsterdam, but my son Fabian is starting at the University here this semester." She looked proud as she continued. "He has been accepted into the Aerospace Engineering program."

"Impressive." I commented. "He must be really good."

The Aerospace Engineering program at the University was one of the best in the world, ranking just below the University of Tokyo, though there were at least five American universities above it. According to those I had talked with, it was also one of the hardest to get into, with Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering being the hardest. Mostly because the University of Oldenburg functioned as a department of Delft University of Technology in Holland, which was number four in the world in that field.

"He is." Annika nodded, still looking proud. "I know I'm not objective when it comes to my son, but he's a genius. So's his sister by the way. She started here at the university last year and is doing extremely well."

I didn't have to fake the surprise, as I protested. "You can't be old enough to have two children at the university. You look like you should be picking them up at the kindergarten."

"Oh, you're sweet." She laughed softly. "But I'm thirty-nine, not twenty-nine."

"Well, you could have fooled me." I stated truthfully. "What do you do that makes you look ten years younger?"

"Nothing really." She said, but the statement made me shake my head. "Can't be true. At least you have to do some fitness training to keep your body looking that good."

That made her tilt her head. "Are you always this direct?"

"Depends on the situation and the people I'm talking to." I admitted. "You seem like the type that would rather hear the truth than a flowery statement, but then again looking like you do, the truth will more often than not be a compliment rather than an insult. Your husband must be a very happy man."

She shook her head. "No, we parted ways years ago, when he discovered that he was homosexual, but we have remained friends and he has been great with the kids."

I shrugged lightly. "That's the way life goes, I suppose... Hmm... what would you like for dinner?"

Annika thought for a moment. "I don't really know. I've had a week with local dishes and seafood, so anything else than that would be fine."

"So, no seafood and no Caribbean, Dutch or Danish cooking."

"Yes, that's about it and sorry for being difficult."

"You're not." I assured her and stood from the chair. "Come, let's get out of here."

"One moment. I need to tell my friends where we're going."

"Ahh, we're going to Tango. It's an Argentine grill with some excellent meat."

She lit up in a smile. "Good. I'll be right back."

I watched her as she walked over to her friends, her backside moving temptingly in the light summer dress. It was interesting to talk with someone new and despite her being physically older than me, there was no denying that she was a good-looking woman. She also seemed well-educated, making her a prime candidate for the Ars Mentalis language trick, which just made it even better.

------------------

The dinner at Tango proved to be just as good as people had told me, with an excellent mixed grill platter and good side-dishes, to go with an equally good wine.

As usual, I didn't drink more than a glass, but Annika drank a lot more, and by the end of the meal she was somewhat drunk, though it couldn't hide the feeling of nervousness I got from her.

On the bright side, it got her talking, and before long I knew that she was working with asset management in a big company in Amsterdam, liked to ride her bike in the summer, her favourite colour was green and she loved her townhouse where her two kids had grown up. Currently, she had been here for a week and was travelling home tomorrow afternoon, but she had visited Oldenburg a lot as her ex-husband, Jan, lived here. She had spent many holidays here with the kids, so they could get to know their father, who, like so many others on Oldenburg Island, worked for Starlight Merchant Group. In his case it was Dream Voyages, a sailing ship cruise line under Starlight Hospitality.

Finally, I leaned forward and lowered my voice, as I asked. "Annika, we're sitting at a beautiful restaurant, looking out at a peaceful sea in the Caribbean, while listening to a live pianist playing lovely music in the background."

"Ja?"

"So why do you seem so nervous?"

She thought about that for a moment, and then said. "Because I normally don't go to dinners with young men like this, and I don't know what you expect in return."

Smiling lightly, I said. "A good evening with a lovely woman. Good company and interesting conversations, and since I've had all four of those so far, I'll call the evening a success."

She returned the smile. "Good to hear. Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment." She stood up, but suddenly widened her eyes and swayed as the alcohol hit her. Hard.

I just had time to get out of my chair to catch her, as she fell, knocking her glass over and spilling red wine down on us both.

Several waiters hurried over to us to help me get her into the chair again, while she looked at me with confused eyes and mumbled. "Too much sun and alcohol." In a slurred voice.

I quickly scanned her. Besides the surprisingly high amount of alcohol in her body, there was a pain killing substance that didn't react well to what she had been drinking. Fortunately, it wasn't at a level where it was life-threatening. "We need to get you home. Where're you staying?"

"The Phoenix." She muttered.

I nodded. The Phoenix Beach Resort was one of the many five-star hotels on the island and among the best hotels in the Rastede area. "No worries... I'll get you home."

Arranging it was a simple matter of paying for the meal, while a waiter called a cab and it didn't take long before I was knocking on the door of her hotel-room. It seemed like more alcohol had been absorbed in her blood during the trip to the hotel, because Annika was getting more and more drunk, and I had to hold her with one arm to keep her from falling.

"A moment!" A female voice shouted from the inside and then the door was opened just enough for the woman on the other side to look out. It was one of the two women, who had been seated at the other table in the restaurant where I had met Annika.

"Annika!" the woman exclaimed, and a pair of blue eyes stared at me. "What happened?"

"Too much sun and red wine mixed with pain-killers. Could you open the door, so I can get her to bed?"

"Bed sounds good." Declared Annika in her slurred voice. "Beds are the best!" She paused and added. "I would like to take you to bed, my young stud. You're gorgeous!"

The woman nodded and closed the door. There was a rattling of some chains and then the door opened completely to let me get Annika inside. It also gave me an unobstructed view of Annika's friend and she was just as good-looking as Annika. Dark, red hair framed a pretty face, while the oversized t-shirt she apparently slept in couldn't hide a well-shaped figure and ditto legs.

"Hi Emma!" said Annika happily and took a step forward, throwing her arms around the woman. She said something more in Dutch, but beside my name in the sentence, I didn't get what she was speaking about.

"Sorry, Annika." I said with a chuckle. "I don't go to bed with drunk women... At least not as drunk as you are right now."

"Oh my." Laughed the other woman, as she stepped into the room with Annika more or less hanging around her neck. "She sounds like she could use some sleep."

"My thoughts exactly." I said and took hold of Annika before she could fall. Then I simply lifted her up in my arms.

"Do you need a hand?" Emma offered, lifting an eyebrow.

I shook my head. "Naah, I'll manage. She's not that heavy."

The room only had one bed, but it was large enough to fit a small harem, so I walked to the nearest side of it. "Could you remove the blanket?"

"Well, it's really my side, but okay." Emma said as she pulled the thick blanket off the bed. The scent of an aroused woman and pussy juice hit my nostrils like a war hammer, went right to my dick and gave me an instant hard-on. I also got a glimpse of a pair of light blue panties and a small plastic sex toy of the same colour rolling on the bed sheet before Emma snatched them away.

With the odour from the bed, the panties and the sex toy, I was fairly sure that she had been pleasuring herself when I knocked on the door, and strangely the thought of her helping me without wearing pants was oddly arousing.

Saying nothing, I placed Annika on the bed and was about to pull the blanket over her, when she sat up and lifted her arms, slurring "I can't sleep with my dress on. Take it off me, Ivan."

Shrugging lightly, I located the zipper on the backside of the dress, zipped it down and pulled the dress off her in a swift move. Like so many other tourists she was dressed in a bikini underneath, giving me a pleasant view of her nicely sized and rounded breasts.

She looked up at me with a smile that I guessed was supposed to be alluring, but came off as a drunken smirk instead, and before she could say anything I projected a need to sleep into her as I pulled the blanket over her.

With a tired sigh, she lay down on her side and closed her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Annika." I said as I placed a hand on her head and used an Ars Mentalis trick that made her fall asleep immediately.

"That was fast." Commented Emma, looking at the sleeping Annika. "Normally she gets more energy as she drinks."

"I guess it's the pain-killers and the sun." I said with a smile, as I looked at her. I hadn't felt anything but worry from her as we had been getting Annika to bed, but now she was emitting lust and desire.

"You need to get that shirt soaked in cold water or it'll be ruined forever." Emma said, looking at the splash of red wine that stood out like blood on the white shirt.

Looking down on the red wine as well, I nodded, said "You have a point." and pulled the shirt over my head.

"Tjongejonge!" mumbled Emma and while I didn't know the Dutch expression, the spike of lust that followed was impossible to miss. That she wasn't wearing a bra became obvious, as her nipples hardened, clearly visible through the thin fabric of the t-shirt.

Walking into the bathroom, I dropped the shirt in the sink and poured cold water over it, letting it soak, as I turned to walk into the bedroom, but Emma's presence in the doorway stopped me.

Licking her lips nervously, she asked. "I know this is slightly weird and I know that we have just met, but is there any chance that I could take Annika's place in this vacation flirt?" Before I had the chance to answer, she continued. "No, wait... Sorry I asked... Annika is much prettier than I am and..."

"No, she's not." I interrupted her, making her eyes widen slightly in surprise. "You're both gorgeous looking women... hmm... are you married?"

She shook her head, making the short red hair wave. "Divorced, and I'm not seeing anyone."

I had written off the possibility of sex when Annika got too drunk, and the sudden change made me hesitate for a second. I wasn't starved for sex and normally I like to get to know the woman a little better before sharing pleasure with them, and in the past women had usually felt the same way, but apparently that wasn't always the case in this modern world. In the end the scent of aroused woman and my hard cock won out and I took a step forward, running my hands up her side until I encountered the delightful curves of her breasts.

Emma took in a sharp breath as my fingers passed over her nipples, and moaned when I caressed them softly. If it was even possible, the nipples hardened even more under my hands, which made me smile.

Almost ravenously, she reached behind my neck and pulled me into a kiss. It was slow yet passionate, her lips and tongue dancing against mine as we became accustomed to each other. She tasted good and as her body pressed against mine, she also felt good. Apparently, I had interrupted her pleasuring herself moments before a climax, because my senses told me that she was extremely turned on already. Her hands opening my pants as we kissed, her hands finding my hard cock, fingers running down the length of the shaft.

I let my hands travel down her back and grabbed her ass, squeezing it and finding it nice and firm. Emma moaned into my mouth as I squeezed and then yelped in surprise, when I used the grip on her buttocks to lift her onto the table.

With a groan she spread her legs and then wrapped them around my hips, pulling me closer. Her cloth covered breasts mashed against my chest, the hard nipples teasing my skin. The hands on my cock tugged a little, begging me closer and when I did so, the head encountered her naked pussy, slick with her juices. With another groan, she used her hands to rub the head against her lips and clitoris, shaking as she hit just the right spot.

Pressing down on my dick, she positioned the head between her wet lips and broke the kiss to whisper, "Give it to me... I need it so bad!"

Using my hands on her ass for leverage, I pressed forward and pulled her closer at the same time, making my cock slide into her, the slick sensation of her pussy spreading out to accept me, making me groan with pleasure.

Emma shook at the feeling, pressing me forward with her legs, but as I went deeper, her eyes went wide and she wrapped her arms around my chest, holding tight. "Wacht even. Jij bent groot."

Having no idea what she was saying, I stopped moving, making her smile. "Sorry, but please wait a moment. Your dick is bigger than I expected."

"No problem." I smiled and used the pause to pull her t-shirt up. She lifted her arms and a moment later, she was naked.

The slight movements of me undressing her sent shivers through her body and made her pussy contract around my dick.

"Oh my god!" she gasped. "This is incredible!"

As the muscles in her pussy massaged my dick, I could only agree. "Just say when you're ready."

That made her smile. "Do it."

With a nod, I pulled half-way out of her, enjoying the silky-smooth feeling of her pussy until I reversed and plunged back in. This time going all the way until I hit bottom.

Emma hissed and almost came at that, so I began to move, starting with small in-and-out motions, and gradually increasing the length of the strokes, while rotating my hips to move my cock all around inside her. The feel of the walls of her pussy against the head of my cock sending shivers of pleasure through both of us.

"Ohhh, ja!" She moaned and pulled me back in for another kiss, as her legs urged me forward. "Neuk mij... fuck me!"

That was a command I didn't mind following and instead of going slow, I pulled almost all the way out of her, before slamming into her as hard and fast as I dared. She groaned loudly at the feeling and her pussy contracted around me. Then I did it again and again. By the tenth time, Emma threw her head back and howled as she came, muscles clamping down sporadically as lubrication gushed from her pussy, while she kissed me desperately.

Instead of relaxing, I kept the speed as I fucked her hard through the orgasm and she screamed into my mouth, which only made me fuck her harder. A moment later she came again, shrieking into my mouth, her body bucking and shaking against mine, while her spasming pussy milked my cock.

This time I did slow down to let her breathe, pulling my cock out of her pussy and gave her a kiss that she barely reacted to. Her red hair was dark and damp from sweat and hung alongside her face, which had an expression of total satisfaction on it, the parted lips panting gently with pleasure.

I waited patiently, caressing her skin until she opened her eyes to look at me. "That was fantastic!"

"You make it sound like it's over." I said with a chuckle, that turned into a slight grin, when her eyes widened. Looking down, she spotted my still hard cock, glinting with her juices in the bathroom light. "You didn't come?!"

"No and I'm not done with you yet. Put your feet on the floor and turn around."

Speechless, she did as I asked, and guessing my intentions, spread her legs and bowed over the sink, presenting me with a delicious ass.

Wasting no time, I positioned myself behind her, took hold of her hips and slid my dick back into her pussy. In the mirror, I could see the expression of pure pleasure as my dick slowly penetrated her slick, hot pussy once more.

"Fuck, it's good." Emma groaned, as my pelvic bone hit her ass.

"Yes." I grunted in agreement. While Emma wasn't especially tight, her soaking wet pussy fitted snugly around my dick and the sight of her beautifully shaped ass, the swell of her hips followed by a slender waist and the smooth skin of her back, was a sight to behold.

Taking a firmer hold of her hips, I began to fuck her for real, drawing back until I was just barely inside her before slamming back into her, pleasure flowing through me with every stroke.

Emma clearly liked the treatment, pushing back against me as she wriggled her ass, moaning and groaning with every stroke as another orgasm rapidly approached. Her sounds of pleasure adding to the noise of my hips slapping into her ass, while the contractions of her pussy milked my dick, and I could feel my own orgasm rapidly approaching.

Suddenly, as a stream of incoherent Dutch words escaped her lips as she jammed her hips back against me, as her pussy trembled around my dick, her body bucking again as waves of pleasure washed through her repeatedly.

Her legs gave way under her, but as I was still holding on to her hips, I managed to prevent her from falling to the floor. There was no way I could continue moving though, so I stood still, holding her up while she shivered in ecstasy.

"God, that was good." She finally said as she looked at me over her shoulder, the movement causing her pussy to spasm around my cock. That made her raise her eyebrows in surprise. "You still haven't come yet."

I chuckled at her facial expression. "No, but it was really close... If you want to continue, I can't hold it much longer."

She raised her upper body and pulled her hips away from me, making my dick leave her pussy before she turned to give me a brief kiss. "I have an odd request."

"Yes?"

"Can we finish this in the bed?" A hand grabbed my cock, stroking it gently, as she said. "I would really like to be fucked in there and we can do it slowly, so we don't wake up Annika."

Since there wasn't any chance for the other woman to wake up for a glass or so, I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Due to its size, getting into the bed without disturbing Annika too much wasn't a problem and soon we were laying on the side next to each other, with one of her legs over mine and my dick buried inside her again. I had even managed to get my arm under her neck, so I could grope her breasts, as I slowly began to fuck her again.

One of the advantages of the position was that my right arm was free, and I used it shamelessly, letting it slide down her body and down between her legs to find the clitoris, massaging it as her pussy caressed my dick.

"This is SO hot." Emma declared in a whisper.

"Yes, but try not to scream so loudly this time." I whispered back. I knew that with so much alcohol in her, Annika wouldn't wake up, but Emma didn't and apparently, it turned her on.

Emma nodded eagerly and snatched a pillow, holding it ready to muffle her sounds, as I fucked her with long, slow strokes, that didn't move the mattress too much, luxuriating in the feeling of her squeezing slickness around my cock.

For some reason, this position was better than the others, with her hot and silky-smooth pussy squeezing me delightfully, like a stroking hand or a sucking mouth around my dick, I could feel my orgasm coming closer with each stroke.

Emma whispered something in Dutch I didn't understand, but the tone of voice was happy and a heartbeat later, she bucked and writhed, pressing the pillow into her mouth to muffle the sounds as another orgasm tore through her body.

The feeling of her coming on my dick was simply too good and I came with a grunt, filling her milking pussy with my semen as the orgasm ripped through my body.

I kept moving in her, until I was sure her orgasm was over and then we just lay there, breathing heavily. Removing the pillow from her face, Emma sighed in satisfaction. "Can we just lay here for a while. It feels so good."

"Sure." I said, making a private bet with myself and won a little while later, when Emma started to snore softly, having fallen asleep.

That gave me an opportunity to do what I had originally set out to do with Annika: Learning the Dutch language. However, with two people to learn from, I suddenly had options about who to learn from, so I did a quick scan of Emma to see what she was doing for a living. As it turned out she was a nurse at an animal hospital, making Annika the better choice for learning languages, as she had told me she worked with Asset Management. A word I had heard a lot during the course Estevez had put me on.

Placing a hand on Annika's head, I closed my eyes, used a mental trick to enter her mind and started to absorb knowledge, focussing on languages. As she had already shown, she spoke both English and Dutch, and I decided to start with Dutch, since that was the most urgent one. Words, meanings and concepts flowed into my mind at an incredible speed and as usual, I didn't try to understand them and left it to my subconscious mind to handle the load of information. Understanding would come later.

As many times before, I wished the same trick could be used to learn a craft or a specific skill, since that would have made my life a lot easier, but it can't since that type of learning is a personal experience, involving a lot more than just memory. Not to mention personal memories were usually extremely well protected by the mind's natural defense and required a totally different Ars Mentalis trick to enter.

The closest thing was the words connected to a skill, and while it didn't enable me to use the skill itself, it's nice to know what people are talking about. In that regard, it was like reading and remembering a book about advanced surgery: You knew what the words meant and what the different organs were doing, but if you tried to do the actual operation, the patient would most likely die.

Time passed as I absorbed knowledge, and eventually I was done, but the night was still young, so I did it again, this time focusing on the English language.

This time it went a lot faster, as I already knew that language. There was also a significant overlap between English and Dutch when it came to financial words (Either that or they simply used the English words a lot).

Normally, I would use an Ars Mentalis trick that connected the word in the languages I knew, with the corresponding words, objects, meanings and concepts in the new language, but I had used a lot of time absorbing languages, so instead I got out of the bed, picked up my clothes and walked into the bathroom to get my shirt. It was still wet and had a large red strain, but the cleaning trick not only cleaned it up nicely, but it also dried it.

Then I finished dressing and silently walked out of the room with a smile on my face. Not only had it been a fantastic evening with excellent company and good sex, but I even had a chance to learn Dutch and some of the words used in finance. All in all, a perfect evening.

-------------------- To be continued ----------------------

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