‘Good morning, Sir,’ he fawned, ‘you are expected, we have reserved a place for you in the front row.’ Hans did not reply, but followed the ob...equious servant, who gestured to a comfortable armchair in the middle of the first row of seats. Hans sat, and Emma nearly sat in the chair next to him. At the last second, she remembered, and instead knelt at Hans’ feet. ‘Good Girl!’ he muttered, stroking her head. ‘You remembered.’ ‘Yes, Master – just in time!’ she agreed. ‘I nearly forgot.’ ‘If you. The masses had clung to it like a life ring in the chaos of their lives. Creating chaos was his job. I had been his job since the Universe began. It was still his job. He lifted his hands and made a swirling jester above his head. The fabric of time and space rippled and stretched only to snap right back into shape. The Beast gave a great deep sigh and the winds of space twisted and scattered before his breath. Without man to show how things were in the long run, it was all empty gestures. To. That’s going to take time.”“Amber needs time to put everything in perspective. She was the first girl to ask me for a baby, and she probably feels left out.”“That might be true. I’ve been focused on the new life growing inside me, and I didn’t consider how it will affect other people. I can’t wait to have a big belly, and I want everyone to know who gave it to me. Do you mind if I shout your name from the rooftop?”“It doesn’t bother me. But Mom doesn’t want us to invite anyone over until she. “Now there’s the Markie I like to see. Hurry back.” I dropped her bag in the bedroom and returned a few seconds later. She was pouring us each a glass of dry red from the bottle I’d opened before she arrived.“I thought you were saving this for a special occasion,” she commented as she looked over her shoulder at me.“Well, I was and this is it. I guess I’m celebrating two things; my new freedom and your fine company.” I sat on the couch as she handed me my glass.“Flattery, hmm, I could get used.