Chapter One Hundred And Sixty Six - Bringing Home My Husband

"Then you agree?" A very startled Master Technician asked, requiring confirmation. Not only had he, his fellow Machine creator and their technicians been summoned back to the Grand Central Library that afternoon, they found that the Grand Librarian now wholeheartedly agreed to give them the season they required to complete the Machine before moving it to the City.

"Of course," said the Grand Librarian, as he sat upright, in noble stance before them. "The completion of the Machine is of utmost importance. I would not wish to cause a set back at this late date." The Grand Librarian gave them a small, calm smile before sending them on their way. Once they were out of sight, the smile fell and the man's posture became lazy.

"Master," L'nan-win called out from where he was hiding in the shadows. "Is everything alright?"

The man sighed dramatically. "I never wanted to be a librarian. I thought the task was really very dull. I'd rather be out there researching things." He glanced over at the small boy. "Should you not be watching over O'vel-win? He was quite damaged in the attack you know. And don't forget to reinstate his memories now that our task is done here."

"Yes, Master," The boy grinned before racing out of the door. The Master watched his little backup system go feeling quite pleased with the child. He was growing up nicely.

*****

K'tai-tul waited impatiently by the wagon, wringing his fingers together. In order to put on a good show, his lover needed to have appeared to be 'found wandering the library' once the Master summoned back the Master Technicians. But O'vel-win was still hurt, not his body like they first assumed, but his soul. Slipping into the System's space was something that their bodies could not do as their bodies were formed of data within the file. What had crossed over was their souls.

Ch'mai-win patiently explained it to him as they waited. The Grand Librarian had lured him into his space to separate him from her, his small system. Once trapped, he would once again be at the System's mercy. Neither Yin nor Yang could enter without assistance, so they could only rely on O'vel-win to help them. Why his husband could freely enter, they did not explain.

"How did you come to be in the City in the first place?" he had asked curiously.

"Neither of us can be far from you," she had replied. "That is why we are normally trinkets worn or carried by you. However this time we had to keep your memories sealed so he wouldn't find you before we were ready to capture him, so that he would not find you. But it didn't work so well and the Master had to intervene." The two backup's were linked to the Master, once they were in the System's space, they could summon him in turn. In a way, things worked out for the best. The corruption already in the file had not worsened and they still had a chance to fix what would else be ruined.

K'tai-tul jumped up as he saw O'vel-win step out of the Library in the wake of his masters. A small boy darted passed first and ran down towards the wagon. As he climbed in beside Ch'mai-tul, O'vel-win glanced over, a clearly torn look upon his face. K'tai-tul's stomach sank. The man currently did not remember him and though he loved him, he also felt betrayed by what he felt had been hidden from him. K'tai-tul knew he would not feel that way once his own memories were returned, but at that moment, that look of distrust hurt.

O'vel-win spoke briefly to his masters, who looked startled, but eventually nodded in agreement. They saw no harm in his request and let him go. The clearly reluctant technician slowly approached his lover and the two children. "I need to collect my things from the inn," he stated.

"Alright," K'tai-tul swallowed his feelings down, waited until O'vel-win climbed beside him and guided the wagon towards the inn.

Although O'vel-win did not resist riding back to the farm with them once they had his things, there was much tension in the air and a heavy silence. L'nan-win had not yet returned his memories as O'vel-win's soul was still reeling from the shock of the attack upon him and releasing the memories could worsen things. And so the two men had to suffer during the long journey home.

There was much surprise that followed their return. Ch'mai-tul had ran off and sneaked onto the farm before they reached the house; she had been pretending to have been sick the past couple of days, using some trick or other to fool their family. She could not be seen returning from the City with them! As for O'vel-win's and L'nan-win's presence, they made the excuse that they had ran into the pair there and they had hitched a ride back. Of course, they were welcomed and given a guest room to rest in, especially considering how late it was.

K'tai-tul shared what news he had about the Gu family paper mills and hopefully they would meet them soon.  And when his Uncle and Aunt went off to rest, he sat his mother down and confessed that he had fallen in love with O'vel-win.

She was not as resistant as he might have thought.  "Ch'mai-win is not my blood and yet I love her as if I had birthed her.  Your father was a farmer, my father did not wish me to wed him and this is not an easy life, but I loved him with all my heart.  Who would I be to question your love, even if he happens to be a man."

"Thank you, mother," he hugged her warmly, thinking that she was one of his favourite parents from his numerous incarnations so far.

After several hours rest, O'vel-win woke with a start and buried his hands in his head.  What had he done?!  Racing down the stairs, he came to that K'tai-tul was eating a late breakfast, the rest of the family were out and about with daily chores.  His heart clenched.  Now that his mind was clear and his memories restored, all that remained was guilt about how he had treated his most beloved person due to his ignorance.  He wrapped his arms about K'tai-tul's shoulders.

"I'm so, so sorry," he murmured.

K'tai-tul placed his hand upon the warm arms and closed his eyes with a sigh of relief.  "I know."

*****

The completion of the Machine brought the necessary 'changes' to the file, ending the corruption, although the sudden demand in apprentices for small tree farms might also have helped.  Nine months after the Machine had been transported to the City and O'vel-win found himself switching careers and moving permanently onto the farm, there was a baby boom.  Many, many families were suddenly blessed with newborns, easing the declining birth rates that had plagued them for so long.

K'sen-tul & N'ing-jun were blessed with a son, the new heir to the Tul estate.  They named him K'ing-tul.

The Grand Librarian died within his sleep some five years later.  The Master had become bored, his curiosity regarding the first Machine now sated and he wished to leave the file to itself.  Now that the Machine had been accepted by the people, (who had realised that it would not damage their way of life, just helped ensure that the Library's contents could never be lost) there was no reason for him to stay.

The Tul family would take on four more apprentices over the years, who would wed and have families of their own, all would become an extension of the Tul family, ensuring the farm would continue to be successful.  One of their apprentices was L'nan-win, who was married to Ch'mai-tul... for appearances sake.

Their neighbour, T'chu-gon would have tougher times as the family fought for succession, but in the end he became the family head, however his reputation would never be quite the same.

*****

The spired mountains were ever present in the distance, as the small white sun crept above them and joined its two sisters in the heavens, but the small sun would make no real difference to the heat of the day.

K'tai-tul was glad to know this.  The sweat was already dripping down his back, but he daren't removed his shirt lest the yellow and orange suns above him blister red his ageing skin. Spreading the nutrients over the recently turned soil was an arduous task, especially when their spreading machine refused to work. He grabbed the flask of water and made his way to the machine, where a pair of legs stuck out from beneath it. He bent down to gently tap one.

O'vel-win rolled out from beneath the machine, his face covered in grease, causing the corners of his husband's lips to curl. K'tai-win passed him the flask. "How is it?" He asked the technician warmly.

"I think I need to purchase a part from a smith," O'vel-win sighed as he took the flask.

"Can't be helped," K'tai-tul replied. The spreading machine was now ten years old and was the first that they had purchased to help ease work on the farm. He sat down beside his husband, the shade of the machine helping to cool him, even as O'vel-win's closeness heated him further.

"Well we knew when we bought it that it would need regular maintenance and repairs," O'vel-win mused as he wiped his hands on a rag cloth, after passing back the water.

"I'm just fortunate to have my own personal technician," K'tai-tul smirked.

"Is that so," O'vel-win replied.

"Yes, he keeps the costs down," K'tai-tul said. "And he happens to be very talented with his hands."

"I see," O'vel-win chuckled. And later that night, he proved just how talented he was.