Aliandra: nymph: Book 1 The Nymph chronicles (20 page)

Chapter 43

Ali and Gramma stepped through the cottage doors to be welcomed by Amirael, Riv, Donny and Rom. Rom was ecstatic to have Ali home and Ali was just as happy to see him.  Ali hugged Amirael and Riv, then turned to Donny and settled into the security of his arms.

"I refuse to move from you arms for at least a week, Donny" said Ali.

"I wouldn't have it any other way" grinned Donny as he hugged her close.

"I have completely lost track of time since I have been away. I don't even know how old I am now" said Ali.

"You are twenty years old now, Ali" offered Amirael.

"Gramma told me that you and Riv have decided to marry. Wonderful news, congratulations!" said Ali. "Where did you want your wedding? You could have it here if you preferred but you may want to be with your families."

"We have decided to go to my family home to wed" said Amirael. "We were waiting for you to get back and to make certain you were able to attend" replied Amirael.

"I have asked Brand to be my best man" said Riv hesitantly.

"Of course, he is your best friend. Donny and I will be there too" declared Ali. "This calls for a celebration." Ali gave small swirl of her hand and a bottle of champagne and glasses appeared on the table.

Riv poured and handed everyone a glass and they toasted the happy couple. Donny commented on how good the champagne was and asked where she got it.

"Donny, I swirl my hand, think champagne and it appeared. Hey presto!" said Ali as she sipped her bubbly drink.

"Even gods have to get things they conjure from somewhere, even if we have to do the manufacturing or something for the finished product" he said as Riv poured him another glass.

Ali looked at Gramma in confusion. "Aliandra is able to conjure anything she wishes. That is what we have been working on the past two years in the wilderness" inserted Gramma. "Ali has developed many skills during her time away."

Donny looked at Ali carefully and said "Very impressive, beautiful lady" as he raised his glass to her.

"I will keep the champagne coming then?" asked Ali.

A resounding "Yes!" came from everyone.

The party lasted through the night and into the next morning. After breakfast, Gramma left for her bedroom to sleep. Riv and Amirael returned to the attic house to give Donny and Ali some privacy.

"Do you know what you are supposed to do for training this year?" asked Donny.

"No, and I deliberately didn't ask. The past two years have been grueling. I need to recoup a little" said Ali. "What will happen with us?"

"I don't know. I was hoping you had a solution" he sighed.

"We need to stay out of the spotlight as a couple to avoid conflict. If I start going out to dinner parties and clubs, then the other gods may think they are in with a shot and leave you alone. It is only a delaying tactic though. I will work something out" assured Ali. "I keened while I was away and I transformed again."

"How so, asked Donny with interest.

"I transformed from a dragonfly to a big, scary green dragon" said Ali with a grin.

"Ali!" Donny turned her around and looked seriously into her eyes. "Do you know what that means?" asked Donny getting increasingly upset.

"No, not really" she replied.

"When a nymph takes her first lover then she is likely to accidentally transform to her spirit animal" explained Donny. "If you transformed to a dragonfly I would take care of you until you returned to nymph form. Now you will likely transform to a dragon. That presents a serious danger to your first lover, unless they are a dragon or its equivalent, because there are plenty of things that dragons find edible" explained Donny.

"I knew things were too good to be true!" said Ali in a huff. "Is it possible for you to make friends with my dragon?"

"If it can be done, I will find a way" said Donny with determination. "I will ask my father's advice."

They slept on the couch in each other's arms until night set in. When they woke Ali sent a note to chef for their dinner to be put on the table Gaia used to 'port from and she would 'port it to the cottage. Ali sensed when the food was ready on the table and she 'ported it in.

Donny and Ali began eating hungrily. "Did you 'hey presto' this?" asked Donny.

"No, this is 'ported in from a friend of mine who can really cook" she replied with a mouthful of food.

When they finished Ali 'ported in coffee from Hephaestus' forge office machine. As Ali sat back sipping her coffee she struck an idea.

"I have just decided what I will do this year" announced Ali.

"Do tell" said Donny.

"I have developed my own composite metal. I made Vidarr a suit of armor from it so it is now battle-tested. I will go to see Hephaestus and show him the metal. It is diamond hard, light and unbreakable. That will lead to more work for me and I will tell Hephaestus that I will join him in his, now busy, social rounds. Dinner parties, events and parties. I will become more sociable. The only problem is that I refuse to parade around naked. Any ideas?" asked Ali.

"You might have to ask Hephaestus' advice on that. I do not move in those elite social circles" smirked Donny. "Aw shucks, ma'am. I'm just a small town boy from a bitty outpost realm."

"I might need to get more clothes for that clique. Any ideas?" mused Ali.

"Ali, I am a guy. We know even less about fashion than you do. How about Gramma or Amirael?" suggested Donny.

"Brilliant! See, you did help. The Norse handmaidens knew a lot about fashion. They lived and breathed it. I will send them a note asking their advice. If I had pictures I could copy something. Pictures! Are there not fashion magazines somewhere?"

"That I can help you with. We have tribal sisters who love all that stuff. I will send a note to them now and ask them to send some recent magazines here" said Donny as her sent the note.

Within fifteen minutes a pile of fashion magazines appeared on the table. Ali browsed through while Donny kept pointing out the skimpiest outfits would suit her.

"Not helping, Donny" said Ali. "Most of these are not much better than naked. Look at this one!"

Donny looked and grinned "That one would really suit you. Maybe just keep it private between us?"

"Just drink your coffee, Donny" ordered Ali as she continued looking through the magazines.

"I suspect I may have to develop my own fashion line. That would be an excuse to wear clothes to all the dinner parties and events. I could say I was advertising my new line. Something that covers all my parts!" said Ali firmly.

"It seems you may keep falling into highly successful businesses. Did you want a backer?" he teased.

"I will let you know when the orders start coming in" she replied. Maybe if I develop a light armored material using my crafting skills that would be a good basis for the business. I could do custom designs for the fashion crowd" she mused.

"Make it expensive. Very expensive and exclusive for that sort of client. If they don't pay enough they don't appreciate the product or service. Play up its snob value. Especially the diamond-hard suits of armor" advised Donny.

"Ever the business dude. How much should I charge?" asked Ali.

"You are the only one who can make it, right?"

Ali nodded slowly.

Donny considered for a while "Consider what Aphrodite charges her clients in her salon for one day. How long does it take for you to make each suit?" asked Donny.

"Eight to nine months depending on the weaponry" she replied.

"Then charge this amount for each suit" he said as he wrote a figure down on a piece of paper.

Ali looked shocked when she saw the number he wrote "That is a lot of forfeits for a suit of armor" she gasped.

"They will be lining up for them. Trust me." he grinned "Only do full suits with weaponry, no small orders permitted. Show them the metal and then make them wait, that will make them greedier to get a suit when you make it exclusive. Get expert and scientific comments on the composite. Start a waiting list and see if they don't offer you astronomical amounts to be the first to get a suit in this realm. Perhaps you can invite Vidarr over to show them your prototype suit in action? When you do the fashion line work out the cost the same way I did. Don't underestimate or undervalue yourself, Ali. You suits are already sought after works of art with a common metal. The new composite that you invented takes it to another level. Hephaestus will be your biggest supporter when he sees your new metal. Do you have a name for the composite yet?"

"Composite 873" said Ali.

"How about something more exciting and sexy than that. Marketing is all about manipulating the emotions of the clients. How about dragon hide to make your dragon armor? Perhaps something to do with diamonds? Maybe something more scientific. Your client base will want to feel special, powerful and indestructible in your armor, so you play to those emotions" he suggested carefully.

"It is all about the packaging, isn't it?" she sighed.

"Yes, Ali. It is" said Donny. "I have a great marketing guy. His name is Bennet, but everyone calls him Fossy."

"Why Fossy?" asked Ali.

"He is one of them yuppies from the East and he can talk up any product and make it highly marketable. Yuppie is the acronym for Young Upwardly-mobile Professional Person. Fossy is an acronym for 'Full Of Shit Standard Yuppie'. He loves using acronyms and office-jargon, but I will ask him to tone it down for you so you can understand him. Like I said, he is one of the best at what he does. I will send him to you, so follow his advice and make the most of what you have. You have a great product so don't let them beat you down on price or undermine your confidence, Fossy will help you on that. What about the name?" asked Donny.

"Dragon hide sounds good. I guess we can run it by Fossy to get his feedback" she announced and lifted her coffee to toast it.

Donny was called back to work to handle a minor business crisis, so he sent Fossy that day to confer with Ali while their work was held up. When Fossy showed up he was wearing a blue pinstriped business suit, a white shirt with a blue silk tie and carrying a leather briefcase. His hair was cut short and he wore a gold watch. Ali showed him to the lounge and they discussed the product.

"You need a name that sounds stronger, something catchy and popular. First we need to better target who we are pitching at. Who are the ones we need to convince? That is, who are the dudes with the most to boast?" he asked

"That would be the Olympian gods. The Olympian counsel to be exact. Once they purchase, everyone else will be envious" said Ali.

"Olympium, perhaps, for local flavor? 'Better than titanium' as the slogan. The name alone will make it mandatory for Zeus and Hera to buy one for sheer patriotic value. The others will follow like sheep" said Fossy. "Did you have your heart set on another name?"

"No, not really. As long as it stirs interest and I make good sales. That is your expertise, not mine. I just design and manufacture the suits" said Ali.

Fossy's pocket began to ring. "Excuse me a minute" he said to Ali.

His telecommunication conversation sounded very odd to Ali "No, I'm AFK right now. Donny's in the cube farm. SNAFU as usual. Yes, I'll check the app. before it's FUBAR. I need it ASAP. Blame-storming? We'll blame the noob as usual. He's low hanging fruit. Ha! YOLO ciao BFF."