Finn rubbed the fingers of one hand to her temple while she continued stirring with the other. Jimmy was in a sour mood, surrounded by people. He'd softened only slightly when around the children, but then said the adults had serious things to discuss and the young people should be sent out to 'practice bossiness or whatever it is royal kids do'.
The triplets, to their credit, had refused to be offended by Jimmy's snide remark, instead fascinated by the casual, almost insulting way he spoke to their parents. It wasn't a common thing, Finn realized.
Though most of her life had been spent as a regular person, the children had no such experiences. Everyone outside their immediate family who spoke to their mother and father did so with extreme deference or immediate obedience.
Jimmy's irritable disposition and disrespectful words were a novelty to their young minds, and Finn didn't exactly want them to imitate his behavior.
She promised to call them back in for dinnertime, and sent them out to the garden, where their bodyguard would make sure they didn't get hurt or into trouble.
Roland and Jimmy were now arguing–discussing–the benefits and risks of trying to use the portals that were appearing to go to other worlds. It was giving Finn a headache.
"I'm just sayin, you got plenty o' men, and not enough food to go round. You send one through each portal that jumps up, one of em's bound to find and bring back useful herbs or good allies. I think you'll need all you can get. Worst case scenario, you got fewer mouths to feed." Jimmy's callous words were met a glare from the king.
"If you're so keen on seeing what's out there, why haven't you gone through one of the portals?" He asked with narrowed eyes.
"I just haven't found the right one for me," Jimmy defended himself as if he were looking for a lady friend instead of trying out portals to other, potentially dangerous worlds full of unknown plants and creatures.
"And what does that look like?" Roland asked with a sigh. "What does the 'right portal' look like for an upstanding quarter-halfling like yourself?"
Finn grinned as she heard the sarcasm in Roland's voice. No one could frustrate him quite like Jimmy. She wasn't sure why the small man was so easily able to get under her husband's skin, but it secretly amused her.
Perhaps it was that he was so endlessly calm with just about every other person they'd ever encountered, that Jimmy's unique talent for effortlessly provoking him let Finn see a rarely-known side of her husband.
Even with the children, he was so patient and good-natured. His ire was so rare that she almost had trouble taking it seriously. And yet, Jimmy could summon it with little more than a snide remark or a few light verbal jabs.
"I need one I can see into, and fit through, with plenty of plants on the other side. I haven't been able to get the herbs from here to cook up a portal maker, so it'd have to be a stick from our world and herbs from that one. I'd like both, you know, but a man can't have everything he wants, I guess." Jimmy sighed as if he were suffering the deficit of something far more dear and important than herbs.
A knock at the door interrupted the conversation, and Finn wiped her hands on her apron. Naomi and Cora had gone for a walk, perhaps they were back? They didn't usually knock, however.
She opened the door with a stern glance at the men to warn them to stop their arguing in front of others. She ignored the fact that as king, her husband could very well do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted to. Finn liked peace in her home when there were guests.
"Oh!" She cried when she opened it. "Welcome home!"
She threw her arms around Gabriel, and then Victoria. "I'm so glad you're both home safe!"
Looking past them, she froze for a moment in recognition as more people entered her home. "Roland, I don't believe you've met Bran and Tom? I helped them for a time when they posed as orphans. And… I'm sorry, I don't think I've had the pleasure…?"
"Harry," Victoria filled in with a mysterious grin, "This is Harry."
Roland rose from his seat and introduced himself, while Jimmy stayed and looked suddenly pouty. The newcomers remained unflappable, staring at him with no discernable emotion.
"This is… a half-breed?" Tom guessed. "Or a very strange looking young human."
"Quarter, thank you very much, and I'll have you know my pappy was every bit as short as my sweet Mama Millicent. I come by my height honestly, unlike some others." Jimmy snapped.
Finn stood up straighter, surprised and alarmed by his reaction. "This is Jimmy, since he didn't introduce himself before. I'm not quite sure what his comments mean, but I'm sure he means nothing negative by it."
She shot her short friend a warning look, which he completely ignored.
"No use apologizin' for me. They don't have feelins, the lot of them. Won't find anything I say offensive." He shrugged.
"How strange a person. I did not know there were hybrids." Bran looked at Tom. "Is it possible?"
"The anatomy is compatible, I believe," Tom replied, causing Finn to cover her mouth and Victoria to blush madly, while the men in the room shifted uncomfortably. Jimmy glared.
"That's enough of that topic!" Finn declared in a rush. "Won't you all stay for dinner? It will be ready quite soon."
"We are hungry from the journey," Tom nodded. No thanks were forthcoming, but he attempted the smile-grimace she'd tried to teach him so long ago. Finn almost burst out laughing at the memory, but found the self control to smile kindly in reply.
Jimmy was not so discreet.
"What in the all-fired blazes is that?" He pointed. "You gonna bite her? You cain't bite people!"
"Thank you for that, Jimmy, but Tom was simply smiling at me. It was very polite." She said approvingly.
"It was… who taught them to smile? It ain't right," Jimmy glared. "They got no joy."
"Your mother, did she smile correctly?" Tom was unoffended by Jimmy's words, but apparently intensely curious about Jimmy's lineage. "Was she shorter than you? Your height is abnormal for a human."
"I'm the same height as both sides of my family," Jimmy ground out through his teeth. "I'll thank you not to bring it up again."
"You find your lineage 'offensive', as you put it? Do you have excessive emotions, or the same amount as humans have?" Bran asked.
"You got lots of questions I don't feel like answerin'," Jimmy crossed his arms.
Finn's eyes darted between them, unsure how to proceed. "Did you come to talk to Jimmy?"
"No, Victoria promised we could speak to the king." Tom replied.
"That would be me," Roland took a deep breath, and Finn moved herself back towards the kitchen where she would be able to hear but not have to directly involve herself in the conversation that was sure to exasperate her husband further. Victoria followed her a little meekly.
"May I help in any way?" She asked, looking around.
"How sweet! You could slice the bread and set the table for…" Finn mentally added everyone together. "I suppose the children can have a picnic," She said with a grimace, realizing her table wasn't quite large enough for so many. "It is a lovely day."
"I can go eat out with them," Victoria volunteered. "I've missed all of you, and I don't mind a little extra time with them."
"Relegating us to the kids table?" Gabriel asked from the doorway. "I came to see if Victoria and I should stay or if it would be more convenient to have us out of the way now that we have delivered the foreign dignitaries, as it were."
"She was speaking for herself, I believe, and not you," Finn's sharp eyes took in the way Victoria avoided Gabriel's gaze, and the way he seemed slightly hurt by the action. "You are both welcome to stay for dinner if you would like."
"I'll join the picnic, if it's all the same to you. I've had enough of being a man for now and could stand to be a kid again for a while," Gabriel grinned at his sister on the way to snatch a sample of the meal out of the pan. She slapped his hand playfully, as she used to when he was a little boy.
"I'm very, very glad you're safe," She said sincerely, looking up at him. "And… did you grow more?"
"I'm nearly nineteen, I should be done growing," He shook his head at her. "Maybe you're getting shorter now."
"You–!" Finn smacked her brother for the second time in as many minutes. "I missed you a lot, but you're going to change my mind very quickly if you keep that up," She warned with a teasing sparkle in her eyes. It was beautiful for her family to feel more complete again.