December 24, 2003 – 19:00
"Sally has been killed?" said Sebastian.
Samantha nodded and answered Linda's question. Frank looked at his sister. He knew she was also worried. The doorbell rang and he jumped. Louis went upstairs to answer, followed by Lizzy.
"Congratulations!" said Louis as he let Coralis and Audrey in. "We saw on the news. The UK is no longer hunting you down."
"And no longer stuck on house arrest in London," said Lizzy as she hugged her daughter.
"I told you so!" said Sebastian as Coralis walked down the stairs to meet with the others.
"Don't get too comfortable, we'll be moving to the kitchen to eat," said Linda as Coralis gave a confused look to Sebastian.
Sebastian told her the discussion they had before she and Audrey arrived as Frank led her to the kitchen, his hand on her lower back.
"By the way, Sebastian, Emery is now a wanted witch. He was 49th when I checked the lists after talking to MI6.
"Frank mentioned something about names when I started calling you Blue," said Linda, bringing trays of food over to the table. "It made me think of something that could help blur trails leading to you guys. As you know, I'm a legal aid. The office I work for specializes in criminal law, but we have an associate working civil cases."
Sebastian and Coralis looked at each other.
"I know very little about human legalities, to be honest," said Sebastian, turning his attention to Linda, his hand on Stephanie's thigh, who was sitting to his left. "I learned a lot these past few weeks when applying for a marriage licence, but with this political chaos keeping us busy left and right, there are probably details we're missing or not thinking about."
"I know more about human legalities from my years in group homes and my emancipation, but I won't pretend I know everything as far as human laws are concerned. Anything that can help us ensure the authorities won't mess with any of you because of Sebastian and me, I'm all ears."
"It is not a common practice in this province anymore, but some people still apply for it, for various reasons," said Linda as she sat between Molly and Louis. "Coralis, right now we're all crossing our fingers, hoping the authorities don't have your civil name and never get it. How about you take on Frank's surname after the wedding?"
"Not a bad idea," said Raymond as the family was passing around plates and bowls of food. "Gives a dead trail to your current civil name. Wouldn't it need to be sealed or something like that?"
Coralis considered the suggestion. The idea of getting married scared her and she didn't want to think about it. It also made her think of her cousin, but she knew it wasn't something she'd be able to avoid. She felt Frank's eyes on her and tried to give him a reassuring look.
"It might get tricky to get some details sealed, as we don't want to spell out the reason why to the courts. As I said earlier, the practice of taking on the husband's name isn't common here, but it is everywhere else in the world and you do travel a lot. It could help you pass for a human and using a different name could help you."
"I'm not particularly attached to my family name. The nickname Blue Thunder was supposed to protect me from my enemies, but now it does the opposite. Frank was right when he said that my civil name is now what's protecting me, especially when living among humans, I know that. If you think changing my name for his would help, I'm down for it. I can see your point and I do have enemies who could potentially know my civil name."
Frank admitted to himself that he liked the idea and felt proud when hearing that Coralis wasn't opposed to it.
"Even you Sebastian. You may not be as targeted as Blue is, and the practice is a lot less common for men to take on the wife's name, but a lot of people are searching for you too and your name is mentioned alongside hers when the press talks about her glowing zombies. People know you're close," said Linda while Louis and Raymond refilled their plates.
"I have no problem with it. In fact, Larameer is my mother's name. Among elemental families, name change isn't based on gender, but on family power and influence. My mother's family was more influential than my father's one was, so he took her name when they mated. Bloodlines that have no family names attached to them usually change their civil name often, once they get past a certain age."
"Bloodlines like Coralis'?" said Stephanie.
"Yes," said Sebastian, glancing at Coralis as he refilled his glass of wine before turning his attention to his fiancée. "If we're going to do this, I can easily justify it by saying I was raised by hippies and that my own father adopted his wife's name. Wouldn't be a lie and I don't think people would look further into it. If we need to have the details sealed, that's something the CMMA Department of Family Affairs can handle for us."
They finished eating and regrouped in the basement. Louis opened a new bottle of wine and refilled the empty glasses, glancing at Molly.
"With two weddings coming up soon, Linda and I have been wondering. We know your customs are different than ours, but are similar in some aspects and we also know weddings aren't usually cheap. When a couple gets married, or mated, is it the couple who covers the costs for it, or their families?"
"I haven't paid a dime on either of them, so I'm guessing it's similar to us and wealthy families cover the costs, but I'm not sure," said Molly.
"That doesn't mean that their parents are and we know Coralis is an orphan," said Louis.
"My parents paid for it, even if I earn more than them combined. They love Stephanie," said Sebastian.
"I've been using my inheritance money to cover the costs, so in a way, they're paying for ours," said Coralis.
"Wouldn't they be mad if they knew, considering you're not marrying an elemental?" said Raymond.
"My parents were involved with radicals, but they tried to walk away from them. I barely use my inheritance funds, the majority is invested, but I think this is exactly where they would want me to use it. If I was lied to and they were embracing the lunatics' cause, well, then, it's the perfect way to get back at them."
Coralis' hologram vibrated as soon as she finished her sentence. High Mage Finnas's holographic image came out of it.
"Blue Thunder," he said while looking at who appeared next to her. "Oh good, Sebastian is with you."
"What happened?" said Coralis.
"Elder Unimoto has been found dead in his residence. Sebastian, I will attend your wedding next week and personally oversee its security."