The thoughts that were crossing Ro’s mind weren’t going unnoticed as his mother reached over and smacked the back of his head as they got to the market once Drae had stopped them. “I heard that.” She told Rohan. She let them both go and her green eyes met the mob with an air of protection. She would protect her children.

He took the step back and Angela was there to put her hands on his back since she had been so close. “Mother?” She tilted her head and looked at Adraejen with interest. She hadn’t ever asked if his mother had been alive when he left. She peeked around him as did the children to stare at the strange elven woman. “Oh well now you two have gone and really done it,” Angela said as Iva jumped back.

“It was all Rohan’s fault,” Angela cuffed the back of her head swift. “Fine, it was both of us.” Iva put her hands on the back of her head. “Daddy stop Mama from being so mean.” Iva was sniffling.

“Oh, the dramatics.” Angela rolled her eyes.

“Daddy?” The woman mouthed as she took the time to look at the children. She noted that Iva looked nothing like Adraejen but the boy. He very well could have been Drae twin if his eyes had been silver. “These are your children Adraejen?” The woman was almost in shock. The Adraejen she had known wouldn’t have been a family man at all.

Angela spoke up as she kept her eyes on the two troublesome ones. “Yes, they are his. Though Iva is adopted by him. Rohan is our first born together.” As soon as Ang knew the city wasn’t going to attack them she grabbed the two by their shoulders and pushed them forward. “What do you two have to say for yourselves. And… Rohan do not be smart with your mouth.” She gave the warning right away. She knew he spoke like she did.

“We’re really sorry, honest, Mama had warned us to stay home.”

The elvish woman had run forward and embraced Drae, who looked very much at a loss. The woman he remembered should have been relieved to get rid of him. This woman, who very much looked like the woman who had raised him, seemed to have been heartbroken at his disappearance. Drae didn't really know what to do, and awkwardly embraced her as she hugged him about the chest tightly. 

Drae looked back at Iva as she asked him to tell their mother to stop being rough. "Iva–" he began but his mother interjected. She immediately let go of Drae and pushed past him to look at Angela and the children. That seemed more like the woman he remembered, quickly putting him aside, but in this case it may have been justified. He watched as Angela pushed Rohan and Iva forward as soon as she deemed the citizens safe for their children. 

Iva and Rohan spoke in tandem, which was remarkable, both of them bowing slightly to show respect and humility to the villagers they had unwittingly wronged. 

"How beautifully polite!" Drae's mother said as she looked over the children. "And how positively beautiful," she added quickly. 
"They were just going to start helping clean up the mess they made," Drae said as he motioned to the messy bazaar that had all sorts of wares and merchandise strewn around. 

Angela’s eyes met Drae’s mother’s. She was curious of the elf as well. The goddess knew that Drae’s mother had to be curious about her. Angela was proud of her children for how they came off and she smiled at Drae’s mother as she complimented them. “Aye that they are. We have worked hard to make sure that they at least have manners better than animals.” Angela chuckled softly.

“I’m just shocked a bit,” his mother exclaimed as she got closer to the children.

“Oh believe me I was too. Your son wasn’t at all the family man when I got my hands on him.” Angela seemed to complete her thought. Though Ang was blushing that she hadn’t asked her mother in law if it was alright to read her mind. “It was he who asked me to marry him though and to court oddly enough.” Ang had been quite proud of Drae’s growth as a person. “He is very much still your Adraejen at heart I think.” The goddess teased her husband.

“How long have you both been married?” It was an odd question but Angela could understand.

“It’s been five years. We got married shortly after we had our Rohan.” She reached out and rubbed Rohan’s dark hair. “Doesn’t he look just like his father though? I think he looks very handsome.” She leaned over and kissed Rohan’s cheek. “Even if he can be a pain.” She patted both of her children on their backs. “Why don’t you start cleaning up the village. Mama and Papa have to talk with her alright? I’ll be watching.” She smiled at them but it was more of a warning not to do anything wrong.

Iva took her brother’s hand so they could go off not too far and start to help pick things up.

Drae rolled his eyes good-naturedly and shook his head as Angela told his mother all about how their relationship had begun. He went to answer his mother's question about how long they had been married but Angela beat him to it. 

"Yes, indeed, he is a dead ringer for his father, but I can see he benefits from his mother's striking eyes," the she-elf commented. She stepped aside as Iva and Rohan went to start cleaning up their messes. She then turned to Drae and addressed him. 

"Well, son, are you not going to introduce me to your lovely wife?" she demanded. "Not that you really need introducing, dear. Kaliden has spoken quite highly of you…"

"I would have, but I wasn't exactly expecting you two to get so friendly at first. Mother, this is Angela Rose of Sularia, The Master Artisan of Life and Keeper of the Cornucopia, Queen of the Red Court. Angela, this is my mother Ilisa Elindar," Drae said introducing the two women. "You said Kaliden told you?" he asked, quite surprised. 

"Oh yes," Ilisa answered. "He came back shortly after your ascension. He was the first one to see through the glamour curse for some reason… came back and told us all that had transpired," she explained. "I never would have thought that it was my son who would have brought us back into the world."

Angela was quite proud of Rohan. “He has very odd hair in the fall it turns red. You’ve only missed it by a few months. We quite like it. It’s very unique.” She motioned towards Rohan. Ang grinned at Drae and chuckled as his mother demanded him to introduce her. She hadn’t been expecting this when she arrived. “I wouldn’t have expected Kaliden to speak so highly of me for how he departed from my home.” Angela wasn’t a shy woman. Angela had chosen Drae over him and she thought that Kaliden would have been more… fickle.

The goddess gave the woman a smile as she leaned forward and took the woman’s hands. They were warm and Angela’s eyes were filled with much love to give. “It is very nice to meet you Ilisa, I never thought I would ever get to meet Drae’s family.”

Angela released her hands and frowned a bit. “I’m partial to the Voice wanting to mess with me for Drae’s ascension. We’ve been at odds for a little bit now though I’m sure that he is just playing games with me.” Angela tussled her red hair as if she were up for that game. “It’s made our marriage a little bit harder especially with raising the children. We’ve been managing for the little bit now. It’s not so hard once we get a routine going but the day we add another baby will be the day it gets harder I suppose.” It was a matter of when and not if.

“I have heard you have a lot of children. How many has Adraejen taken under his wing.”

The goddess was puzzled for a moment as she counted. “I’m sure Kaliden has told you I have many, many children but it’s only the youngest that he’s adopted. Sapphire and Iva… then we have our own son Rohan. Sapphire is out and about but if you would like we can bring her here quickly so you can meet her as well.”

"I would love to meet her for certain. Whether this visit or the next, I want to be able to meet my grandchildren, adopted or not," Ilisa insisted. 

Drae looked over his shoulder to where Iva and Rohan were busy trying to clean up the mess they had made and he shook his head. "We'd be happy to bring her," he told his mother. "Now, Angela, I think we should fix this mess," he said as he turned and waved his staff. Spilled fruits and vegetables picked themselves up off the ground and flew back into the baskets they had been sitting on, and the baskets floated back up onto the stalls that they had fallen from. Ilisa couldn't help but make a pleased sound. 

"How you have come into your true power, Adraejen," she said proudly before she went to help the children herself. 

Drae looked at Angela. "That's part of the reason I left. I had no magical talent, and here, magical blood was everything," he told her with a wry smile. "So in a way, I owe HER a great deal of thanks for igniting my blood…"

Angela smiled at Ilisa, “It would take me not long to go get her. Though I am sure she would be right angry with me if she was reading.” She chuckled a bit. Looking over to the children she made a face. “Wouldn’t it be better to make them do it all by themselves as punishment?” Angela was cruder in that fashion as she asked and watched him clean up. She shrugged and helped Adraejen.

Angela stared at Adraejen for a moment and nodded. “I can see that. I never knew why you left.” Thinking for a minute she laughed. “I am in part responsible for your magic since… she was my doing. Funny how that all works out.” She giggled.

It was mighty easy for Angela to clean up since they were of the earth. The objects had a slight humming noise as they got back in their proper location. “Originally I hired Adraejen to help me out at my temple. We’ll just call it hiring. He had good skills.” She was sure that was up to proper interpretation. She thought Ilisa would like to know how they met so she chuckled and continued. “Eventually the children won him over and before I knew it Adraejen was asking me to court him in a very subtle way. Adraejen broke before I did.” She teased her husband. “We eloped because it was prime wedding season and I couldn’t handle planning my own. If I have it my way Rohan is the first of many children we’ll have.”