By the moon, I swear

CHAPTER 5

‘The prince could not get her out of his mind so he took the slipper and decided to go in every house in the whole kingdom to look for his princess…..’

‘Didth he find her,’

‘Candhella sthop intherupting. Conthinue pleeeese,’

‘Okay as long as you two don’t interrupt again. Deal?’

‘Dheal,’ they both shouted and bumped at his hands to seal their agreement.

“He went into the first house. The ladies eagerly gave him their legs but the shoe didn’t fit. One after the other in all the houses but the shoe didn’t fit. Then finally he came to a beautiful house by the hillside aaand,” he cleared his voice and again started mimicking the characters.

‘My lord, this is the last house. Your lady must be here,’ the soldier said.

 ‘Let’s not waste any time then. My princess awaits.’ With that they both strode to the house. When they got to the house, they found….’ We will continue the rest of the story tomorrow,” he finalized already stopping the mimicking and joining them in bed.

‘Noooo  uncle Thristan you promisthed,’ the children cried in unison, ‘Pleaaathe uncle.’

‘Okay now that I see my babies want to hear the story as much I will tell. On one condition,’

‘Whaaath?’ they responded eagerly ready to do anything to soften Tristan’s mind.

‘Take a shower first. You have thirty minutes. Tick tock.’ With that the children ran cheerfully to Nana to request for her help in drawing a bath. They didn’t want Tristan changing his mind.

Tristan just sat on the bed for a while then released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He looked into his heart and found that he was happy. Strange since he could barely withstand kids and they were no different when they came. Linda had left earlier on with William to go and meet her mother’s Lawyer to try and come up with a mutual solution. Only two days remained and God he hopped everything worked in their favor. It was then that it dawned on him that even he was attached to the kids. That it was no longer about Linda. Yes she might have initiated their meeting but the children quickly warmed up his heart without him even noticing. Somehow with them around his heart always swelled with joy. They had spent the whole day at the zoo which the girls enjoyed as did he. When they came home he was exhausted but the kids still had a bundle of energy within them. They were a real chatter box and in no time they told Nana in detail of their day while screaming cheerfully. They then pleaded with him into telling a story which he obliged but of course with a hidden agenda. Initially when they got back he had tried to get them to bath to no avail and now after the story they willingly agreed. Kids. A beautiful miracle. He quickly got of bed and went to help Nana give them a bath.

William and Amber arrived about an hour later not able to hide the joy in their hearts. They had won the case. Well not really win but they had had a break through which was more than enough for now. At least the kids would be in Amber's custody till the jury decides otherwise in six months to come. Though Amber would have loved for the hearing to be sooner that was the earliest they could get booked in. in any case for now they were happy that things didn’t turn out for the worse. When they came in they first met Nana whom they quickly filled in and then strode in the house looking for Tristan.

William couldn’t breathe. This was a miracle. Never in a million tears did her think that was possible. Tears that he didn’t know he had trickled down his cheeks. He turned round to look at Amber and she was in the same state of awe. Closing the distance between them he took her in his arms for a hug. The day couldn’t have gotten any better. Everything was in its place Amber and her family were truly a blessing. He turned and looked at the sight before him again. Tristan was in bed with the twins on either of his side all of them sound asleep. Nana, whom none of them had heard approaching walked past them to the bed where he tucked the three in. They all then walked out to celebrate in the kitchen at the very least with a plate of food each.

They were all in the table having finished breakfast chatting. The kids were each on Tristan’s lap. Candela’s little hands were playing with his hair while Candy was busy drinking Tristan’s juice when she thought he wasn’t looking. Amber could not help but let out a little laugh when she saw Candy gasp caught in the act by Tristan. She then straightened her face and put on her innocent baby face and that did it. The whole table burst into laughter. After a while Amber broke the good news and Tristan felt his throat clog with emotion. Without thinking much he leaned forward and kissed both children’s heads who in turn wrapped their little arms around his neck for a hug. They then got to their feet and ran to Amber shouting excitedly. Amber got down on her knees and caught them in her arms, tears rolling down her cheeks. She had for so long dreamt of having them like this happy but at some point she had given up on hope. But now when they clung to her she could see a beautiful future for all of them. They were going to be inseparable and she was going to allow no one to tear them apart again. They were her life. Her most beautiful treasures and between Tristan, William, Gabriel and her she was sure they could keep this reunion permanent.

After breakfast Amber, Tristan and the kids went to play ball. They were all having so much fun and Tristan engraved all the joy in his heart. He wanted to remember all these beautiful moments for the rest of his life. William walked in on them a while later requesting for an audience with Tristan. Though he Looked composed Tristan knew better William was furious he could feel it frizzle in the air around them. He would have sincerely preferred to continue playing but he didn’t want to feed onto Williams’s fury so he quietly followed him behind all the way to the study.

‘Can you explain this to me?’ William barked, livid that Tristan could stoop so low. Tristan winced and went all white when he saw the cloth on Williams hand. Of course there was a part of him that knew he had forgotten to get rid of something but he just couldn’t put a finger on it. Having been in the army, his brother being a respectable lawyer and having Amos the policeman for a friend he knew he had every skill needed. And he pulled it out successfully he had no doubt about it but he always dreaded the moment when the truth came out. And he was right too. William has always been a brilliant lawyer but on top of that he was an impeccable brother. One whom he could never hide secrets from. Thus leading them to this moment.

‘William its …’

‘Do not lie to me brother. Don’t dare,’ William responded his anger barely under control, ‘were you ever going to tell me the truth or let me in on your plan? God Tristan how could you?

Tristan just swallowed refusing to cower away. He was the eldest and what he did was wreck less. William’s anger was justified. If the tables were turned, he would have been more than furious too. But at that moment he was not thinking straight. His whole mind was clogged with the possibility of failure once more and he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to do something and he was ready to do anything even cross the line. He looked at William who was now hitting the wall with his fist trying to calm down his anger. Between them Tristan was always better at controlling his anger than William. William was always like an atomic bomb ready to explode at the slightest nudge. Just one look, when their eyes met and Tristan knew what was running in his brother’s brain.

‘I took all the preliminary caution,’ Tristan said defensively.

‘What if someone saw you Tristan? What if you were caught? Not only would you have been in trouble but Amber would have lost the girls for good,’

‘Would. You said would and that’s all it would ever be but I wasn’t. Everything turned out for the better didn’t it?’

‘What if Amos and his team found evidence that links the crime to you?’

‘Got that covered bro. don’t worry,’ Tristan responded walking forward towards his brother and holding his arms, ‘I wore gloves and shoes that were a size bigger. And we have been in the house before. If my finger prints are found they would be no reason to suspect me. Chill will you?’

William took in a deep breath. He wasn’t happy but at least his brother wasn’t that dumb. He had to admit he was scared out of his mind when he found the mask. With his brother not been fully well he was his keeper but he couldn’t afford him linked with crimes. He had a clean record and he wanted it maintained that way till the time he was fully recovered and was himself again. ‘Tell me in detail what you did so we can tie down the loose ends,’ William said pouring them both a glass of whiskey.

Tristan told the tale from how he got the idea to executing it without letting a single detail slip by. After which William was fully satisfied that he indeed had everything covered. He also made Tristan promise that from then onward he wouldn’t keep anything from him and no more wreck less actions. Tristan complied and the two hugged.

‘You were the bugler who broke into our house?’ Amber's voice broke their reunion and they turned to see her by the door way. Furious. The joy of their achievement quickly slipped from their hearts. William looked at Tristan worriedly. He will always protect his brother but he wasn’t so sure about Amber. I mean she had no reason to. In the end she was still just but an employee and if she opened her mouth Tristan would be in jail for a long while. And with the look on her face she was ready to rat him out. William of course would understand her actions since one minor failure of the plan and she would have lost her sisters for good. The judge would side with her mother in no time as she would have been condemned as a friend to criminal and she would never see her sisters again. Even if she claimed that she knew nothing about their plan, she would be seen as a liar considering they all lived in one house and Tristan and she were close. Either way William could never let his brother go to jail.  If he had to get rid of her to solve the problem he would without a blink. Tristan might hate him but he was more than willing to live with the hate than let him drown in misery.

Amber took heavy steps towards Tristan, tears already unleashed. Her claws already out in the open ready to tear him apart. ‘How dare you Tristan? How dare you?’ she asked pocking against his chest.

Tristan went still. All his body parts frozen into place. In all his brilliant plan he didn’t take into account Linda finding out. He could live with William being mad at him because he was sure he could get through him but with Linda he was lost. He promised himself never to hurt her yet he just did. Deep down he hoped nothing would truly link him to the crime otherwise he would lose her forever and he just couldn’t. The disappointment in her eyes was hard to miss and it tore him apart in the insides. He wanted her to look at him with love not with loath as she did now. He closed his eyes and held his breath waiting for her verdict. A verdict that would probably make him wish he was dead.

‘How dare you put yourself in trouble and ….. And for me for that matter? Oh Tristan no one has ever done this for me. Thank you. Thank you so much,’ Amber said in the midst of sobs throwing herself in his arms. Tristan opened his eyes not believing what he just heard. He hugged her tight and stole a glance at his brother who was smiling widely.