Chapter 3

Characters introduced in this chapter:

Prince Charles Fredrick FitzGerald

Heir to the throne of Leinster, 5'-7" tall, 125 pounds, 24 years of age, brown hair, gray eyes

Lady Charelette Augusta Stanhope

Eldest Daughter of the Earl of Harrington, 5'-8" tall, 115 pounds, 32A-21-30, 23 years old, blond hair, blue eyes

Lady Irene Stanhope

Lady Charelette's younger sister, 5'-7" tall, 112 pounds, 32A-20-29, 19 years old, dark blond hair, blue eyes, somewhat cute

There was a 'thunk' as the dart hit the door, but no other sound indicating that it had pierced the door and not fallen to the floor. I turned to see where it had landed.

"County Limerick!!" Kell announced, as I turned toward the door. "What's there?"

"I have no idea, but will have to find out. Let me try it again and then you can try for a location," I told him, as I removed the dart from the door and returned to my previous position. I was ready to throw the dart again when there was a knock on the door. I quickly put the dart down as Kell answered the door. There was an older male servant there with his arms full of clothing.

"Good afternoon, Masters. I have brought the clothes that you are to wear to the evening meal," he told us, as Kell moved to made room for him to enter and place the clothing on one of the beds.

"Someone will come for you at meal time," he told us, as he prepared to leave.

"When is the evening meal served?" I asked before he could depart.

"The meal is held midway between the sixth and seventh hours past noon. You will hear the bell at Dublin Castle sound the hour," he informed us before leaving.

"Isn't that just peachy?" Kell asked, as he inspected the clothing that had been delivered. They appeared to be very similar to the formal clothing that we had seen at Great Grandfather O'Neill's court, just not quite as fancy or the same quality. Kell held some of them up to himself, and it was apparent that they were intended for someone much heavier than either of us. Kell returned the clothing to the bed.

"Where were we?" he asked.

"I was about to throw the dart for the second time," I answered, as I closed the door and retrieved the dart. I positioned myself again and tossed the dart over my shoulder. I was rewarded with another 'thunk'.

On inspecting the map the second time I could see that the point of dart was within one sixteenth of an inch of its previous location.

"That's twice in the same location," I remarked, as I pulled the dart from the door and the map.

"That's pretty definite, especially since that dart had to make a left turn to get where it hit the door. I was watching it, and have never seen a dart do that before," Kell told me.

"Your turn," I told him and handed him the dart. Kell took up his position and tossed the dart over his shoulder. After the 'thunk', he turned to see where it had landed. I wasn't sure what he expected, but I was quite surprised by its location.

"County Donegal!!" Kell shouted in shock on seeing where the dart had landed.

"Yes, it used to be called Tir Chonaill or the Land of Conal," I told him.

"But that's all the way up the north west coast of Ireland, and not anywhere near Limerick," he protested. "That has to be a mistake."

"Try it again!" I told him. Kell actually tried it twice more with exactly the same results.

"Looks like you're headed for County Donegal," I told a rather frustrated Kell.

"But our Fathers traveled together?" he protested.

"That was our Fathers," I told him. "Not us."

"Damn!" Kell exploded.

"Maybe that's why we are more powerful than our Fathers," I suggested. A thoughtful look appeared on Kell's face for a time.

"Yes ... maybe!" he finally admitted.

"Let's look at these clothes," I suggested after that.

It was immediately apparent that not only were the clothes nowhere near our size, but that they hadn't been cleaned since the last time they were worn, perhaps the last several times.

"Definitely in need of a cleaning spell," Kell said holding his nose. There was the definite smell of unwashed bodies that the perfume used on the clothes couldn't cover up.

"Not to mention a shrinkage spell after that so they fit us," I added.

We used the latest cleaning spell for clothing. It also got rid of most of the wrinkles in the clothing. Following that we used the shrinkage spell on the clothing and the shoes. We would look a lot more presentable in them now. We had also used a cleaning spell on ourselves.

We were somewhat taken by surprise shortly after that by the sounding of a bell somewhere in Dublin indicating the sixth hour past noon.

"We need to return the darts and map to Great Grandfather's study," I told Kell, as I pulled the darts from the door and grabbed the map before it could fall. We quickly used a spell to return everything to its place in the Palace in Frankfurt, and then began dressing for the evening meal. Shortly after we finished dressing, there was a knock on the door. I opened it, as I was closest. It was the young servant who had shown us to our room earlier in the day.

"I am to escort you to the evening meal, Masters," he told us, and appeared to be a little surprised when he saw us, perhaps expecting us to present a poor appearance in ill-fitting clothing.

"We're ready," I told him, as both Kell and I stepped out of the room, and Kell closed the door. With a word and a sign, we both reset our wards, which we had relaxed while we were in the room. Our young guide seemed startled by this also.

We followed him up to the floor above in the Keep and were shown to what appeared to be a small formal dining room. The Wizard and another young man were there already with a couple of young ladies.

"Here are our guests now," the Wizard said to the others already at the table. Kell and I marched up to the end the table before bowing to those present.

"Good evening," we both said with a bow that we had learned at Great Grandfather's court in Frankfurt. Surprise showed on both men's faces at this.

"This is Prince Charles Fredrick FitzGerald, the heir presumptive to the throne of Leinster," the Wizard told us in introduction to the other man, once he had recovered. The Prince appeared to be somewhere around his mid-twenties. He was shorter than the Wizard and appeared to be a little on the thin side to us.

"The Ladies are his fiancee, Lady Charelette Augusta Stanhope, eldest Daughter of the Earl of Harrington, and her younger sister, Lady Irene," the Wizard informed us before turning to the Prince.

"My Lord, these are the O'Connells, Kennard and Kellen," he said following that. "They appeared this morning as Apprentices seeking instruction," he finished.

"Apprentices!" the Prince asked, in shock that we had been invited to dine with him.

"That is what they initially appeared to be, my Lord. However since they have been here, they have displayed powers and abilities far beyond what any mere Apprentice could reasonably be expected to have," the Wizard told him with a smile.

"I see. You did say that their last name was O'Connell, didn't you?" the Prince asked, recovering quickly.

"Yes, my Lord. That is correct."

"Would the two of you, by any chance, be related to the O'Connells who defeated the Persians and prevented the Union from being taken over some twenty years ago?" the Prince asked next. Kell and I looked at each other, and he nodded for me to answer.

"That was our Parents and the other members of our clan," I answered.

"I see, and those are your what, your Aunts that are married to the present Grand Master and his Brother?" the Prince asked.

"Our Cousins." Kell's answer shocked all of those at the table.

"You are then related to the Grand Master?" the Prince asked to be sure.

"Former Grand Master Michael O'Neill is our Great Grandfather," I told him, which answer caused even more distress. "The current Grand Master, Seamus O'Neill, is our Uncle," I finished. If I had dropped a bomb in the room, it would have caused less shock than this last statement.

"Then why did you appear as Apprentices?" the Wizard asked in total confusion.

"Because traveling Apprentices can go anywhere with little trouble, and ask for instruction from any Wizard or his employer," Kell told him.

"But what are you really HERE for?" the Prince asked in a disturbed voice.

"We wanted to see the real Ireland. The Ireland in our time and in our Reality bears little resemblance to the Ireland of old," I told him.

"I see, and what parts of Ireland are you interested in seeing?" the Prince asked, much more calmly.

"I'll be going to County Limerick," I informed him.

"And I'll be going to County Donegal," Kell told him.

"And the reasons for going to those two somewhat out-of-the-way places are what?" he demanded.

"We are looking for something in addition to seeing the country," I answered, but didn't state what we were looking for. The Prince definitely noticed the omission.

"Looking for ... WHAT?" he asked, curious.

"Wives!!" Kell answered to smiles from the two ladies present.

"I would think that you should be able to find Wives here in Dublin without going off to the hinterlands," the Prince remarked.

"Perhaps Kell's answer wasn't specific enough, sir," I said after considering what to tell him.

"My Cousin and I are both Senior Master Earth Mages as well as Senior Master Sorcerers in our Reality. We are looking for Wives that possess those same Talents at levels comparable to ours," I told him.

"Earth Mages!?" the Prince asked in shock.

"Yes, my Lord. Remember the cherry tree in the garden that I showed you," the Wizard reminded his employer. He too had been seriously surprised to learn our Magic ranks.

"And you expect to find them here in Ireland?" the Prince asked.

"Oh yes. Our Mothers are from County Cork and County Wicklow," Kell told him.

"Mothers? As in more than one for each of you?" came the question.

"Yes! Both of our Fathers have three wives, although we will be more than happy to settle for two each," I told him.

"Two each?" Lady Charelette asked with a frown.

"Yes, twins. Our family has a tradition of marrying twins," Kell told her.

"Yes. Grand Master Seamus has twin Wives as does his Brother, Sean, my Dear," the Prince told her before turning back to us.

"I would think that you have your work cut out for you with those requirements. How will you ever locate women that fulfill them?" he asked.

"We'll be able to sense them when we are near them," Kell told him. The Master Wizard broke in then with a question that he had been dying to ask for some time.

"Just how powerful are you?"

"We have been told by the Eternal Flame that we are the most powerful Sorcerers in both Realities at present," I told him. It was obvious that he was seriously shocked by this statement, as all of the blood drained out of his face and hands leaving him very pale.

"The most... !!" he stammered.

"Yes. It's because of our dual Talents," Kell answered.

"And just what is it that you seek from us?" the Prince asked returning to business on recovering.

"We need to know the best routes to take to Counties Limerick and Donegal," I told him.