Not far down the road, Ahwahnee Drive became Village Drive. We saw the Yosemite Welcome Center and Village Store just down the street to the south. We continued heading west on Village Drive towards the center of town. We passed Degnan’s Deli and the Yosemite Wilderness Center as we got closer to the Visitor Center.  

We walked three abreast. I held Akasha’s hand in my left, and Sydney’s in my right. Standing between them, I was struck by just how lucky I was. Sydney was radiant on my right. The form-fitting dress clung to her figure, showing off her curves and hiding the runes carved and drawn into her flesh. The dress was a dark green with golden dragons embroidered on it. They curled around her waist and down her arms. The effect was quite striking. The color of the dress nicely complemented her dark hair and hazel eyes. The stockings Akasha had given her sparkled in the light with each step she took. The dress ended right at her knees. Occasionally, the wind caught her dress and tugged it, giving me a glimpse of her silken thighs beneath. Sydney’s skin glowed with radiant health and beauty. Her smile was infectious.  

Akasha walked on my left, carrying herself with the poise and elegance of a queen. She was regal in her appearance. Her hair was the color of platinum and twinkled in the light as it filtered through the trees. Her eyes were amber, so brilliant that they could be mistaken for gold. Her high cheekbones and fair complexion were striking. Her skin was nicely tanned and shone through in her incredible dress. A low neckline showed off her generous bosom. The dress was silky and wrapped tightly about her figure. Numerous cutouts were filled with mesh that sparkled in the light, but showed off her flat stomach and slender arms. The fabric ended mid-thigh and continued with a mesh that danced over her bare legs. It gave the illusion of a miniskirt, but the rest sparkled and twinkled in the light as she moved. Thigh-high translucent stockings covered with glittery material clung to her legs. Green and gold pumps completed the look. Her poise was elegant and regal, but her smile was easy and heartwarming. Standing next to her, I felt like I was captured in the spell of her beauty.   

As for myself, I was wearing a pair of pants and a jacket, a green so dark it was almost black. The material was also some faux silk that sparkled in the light. My dress shirt was a pale yellow, nearly white. My hair was growing platinum in color at the roots, though the rest was still a rich brown. Black dress shoes completed my outfit.   

It was a beautiful day in the valley. The sky was clear and a perfect blue. A light breeze blew through the forest around us, keeping us cool. Many people were moving around the small town of Yosemite Valley. A few locals ran errands, and many tourists were here to see the valley. It was a great day to take in the sights. I had not expected to be a sight that people would be taking pictures of when I got out of bed this morning. But many things had changed rapidly over the last couple of days. I figured they wanted pictures of Akasha and Sydney, but neither would let me step out of the shot when I tried.  

Our destination was the Yosemite Valley Education Center, where we hoped to meet the Park Superintendent. It was Akasha’s idea, but I was unsure why she wanted to meet this person. We turned north onto a wide cement path that approached the building. I imagined that they used this area to set up outdoor displays, but having never seen them, I was not sure.  

The front of the building looked made of large river stones, sealed together with concrete. With the mountains towering over them, picturesque in the background, and tall trees to either side, it was a striking and beautiful view. There were two sets of doors, with door-sized windows between them. A couple came through the doors and saw us. They stopped and stared as we approached the building. Akasha called out a greeting to them. They nodded in response, their eyes wide with surprise. I stepped up and held the door for my two ladies. Akasha beamed a glowing smile at me as she passed. Sydney giggled and winked at me as she went in.  

Just inside the building, to our left, was a small bookstore. ‘Yosemite Bookstore’ was written in gold against a black border across the wall above the entrance. Akasha walked up to the desk in front of the doors, approaching the woman standing there. She looked up at us, a look of slight surprise on her face.  

“Good morning!” Akasha said with an easy smile. The woman smiled back. “We would like to meet with the Park Superintendent. Can you please point us to his office?”  

“Office?” The woman chuckled. “Mr. Mulbery does have an office in the building, but he is rarely there. You’d have more luck hunting the trails for him. I can leave a message if you’d like.”  

“Will he be back in his office later today?” Akasha asked with a smile.   

The woman behind the counter shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m sorry.”  

“Can you leave him a note for us, please?” Akasha asked sweetly.  

“Of course,” the woman answered, pulling out a paper pad. “What do you wish me to tell him?”  

“That Lady Akasha and Lord Edgar, of Dragon Manor, wish to meet with him.”  

“Lord and Lady? Like a real Lord and Lady?” The woman’s eyes were wide with amazement.  

Akasha raised an eyebrow at the woman. “Are you imagining us then, dear?”  

The woman laughed. “No. Sorry. Did you say Dragon Manor?”  

“Yes.”  

“You live in the house surrounded by dragon statues at the edge of the Backpackers Campground across the Tenaya Creek from North Pines Campground?”  

“Yes. You know of our house?”  

The woman laughed. “Everyone knows of that house, but nobody I know has met the residents of that place. Wow. How long have you lived there?”  

“My family built that house. We moved in recently after my grandmother passed the title to Edgar and me.” She reached and grabbed my hand, drawing me to her side. I could not help but smile as her eyes met mine.   

“Oh wow!” The woman exclaimed. “Congratulations! I’ll pass the message to Mr. Mulberry when he returns this way.”  

“Thank you.” Akasha nodded. “Have a nice day.”   

We turned and walked to the doors leading out. I held the door for both women. The lady behind the counter watched us walk out, smiling and waving as we did. Akasha stood a little bit away from the building, holding her hand to me as I caught back up with them.  

“That was a bust,” I said, taking her hand. She squeezed my hand gently and shook her head.  

“No. We made our presence known. Now we have other stops to make before we head back.”  

“Oh?” I asked. Akasha smiled and nodded. “Lead the way then.”  

Akasha took my hand in hers and started walking off to the west, across the cement area in front of the Education Center. Just past the clearing, the trees grew a little thicker. Through the trees, I could make out some old wooden buildings. A barrier had been erected using old wood, with posts with three cross pieces connecting them around an area. Inside the area were dwellings constructed of old wood. They resembled traditional Native American dwellings, but instead of being made with animal skins, they were made entirely of wood. We walked along the southern edge of the marked-off area.   

I found the structures fascinating. Their construction looked crude but effective, and I found it hard to grasp what living in that kind of environment would have been like. We continued to follow the path west as it turned south and west again. In but a few short minutes, we found ourselves at Village Drive. We crossed to the other side of the street and turned north along Village Drive. To our left was an old cemetery.   

We followed Village Drive north, enjoying the breeze and the tall trees. The sun shone down on us through the clear sky. Not many cars were driving in this part of town. It was quieter than where we had been before. The day had started to heat up, but the soft breeze kept us cool.   

Village Drive continued north for a short distance, then met Lost Arrow Road. We turned left onto Lost Arrow Road, continuing our journey west. We crossed Oak Lane and soon found ourselves in a residential neighborhood. Small one-story homes were spread through this area. We continued through the neighborhood. As we did, we noticed a home with a good half-dozen cars parked out front. People were milling around the lawn, talking in hushed voices. Akasha led us towards that house.  

As we drew closer, I noticed that most people here had a darker complexion. They tended to have darker hair colors, and they wore long hair. Some even had small stones or jewelry fixed in their hair. These people looked more like the Native Americans I would have imagined lived here before settlers from the east had come. As we approached, the place grew silent. They watched us with curiosity. A few nodded to us in greeting.   

Akasha smiled and walked past the people in the yard to the door. She did not bother to knock, letting herself in. Nobody tried to stop us.  The inside of the house was even more crowded. There were people everywhere, talking quietly. As we came in, they stopped and watched us.   

Akasha walked through the house like she had been there before. She walked down the small foyer, turned down the hall, and headed for a bedroom. I followed close behind her. People crowded the hall but stepped back to let us pass. The door to the bedroom was standing open. Akasha and I walked in, Sydney right behind us.  

An old man lay in the large bed against the far wall. As we walked in, a hush fell on the room. A few of the women around the room had tears in their eyes. The men’s faces were guarded, curious, and watching us. Akasha swept her gaze around the room. She inclined her head in greeting.  

“Mu'k-'am Ka ‘I-ni’iko,” Akasha said softly. Her voice was full of warmth. I smiled as I heard it. Many of the people in the room also smiled in response. I knew what the words meant, even though I had never heard them before. We are all family. Many of the folks in the room said them back to us. The people around the bed stepped back as Akasha approached. I followed but stayed back towards the foot of the bed, watching.  

The old man turned towards Akasha as she approached. His left hand raised out towards her. His eyes were milky white. His skin was old and wrinkled. His hand shook as Akasha took it.  

“You came,” the old man said in a language I did not recognize but understood. I shook my head; it was confusing. I heard the words as they spoke them, and then, a split second later, I understood their meaning. It was almost like watching a badly dubbed foreign film, where you could hear both the native language and your own dubbed over it a second later.   

“Of course,” Akasha answered in that same tongue. The old man smiled in response. His sightless eyes seemed to be looking at or past her.  

“Why did you leave the people?” the old man asked her. Akasha shook her head slowly.  

“I lost something precious to me, but I never left. I was always watching.”  

“Watching is not living. Are you living now?”  

“Yes.”  

“I always knew you would return. It saddens me that I will never see your face.”  

“Would it make you happy to see my face? The face of one who shamed her duties. The face of someone who watched but did nothing.”  

“The past is past. You are here now. You are with us now. Yes. It would bring me happiness before I must go.”  

I could hear a slight wheeze in the old man’s voice. His heart was beating irregularly. His body was sick. I could not say precisely what was wrong with him, but he was dying. He had been for a long time. That was the point at which I realized why everyone was here. They were waiting for him to die. To pay their last respects to an elder before he left them.  

“As you wish,” Akasha said softly. She leaned in and placed her lips upon his brow. I felt a soft prickling of Akasha’s power through the room. It felt warm, soothing, like a humidifier turned up just a little too high. I looked around, and only a few other people seemed to be reacting. Sydney shook her head, gripping her arms tightly. Her eyes were a little wider than usual as she met my gaze. I smiled at her, and she relaxed.  

I looked back at the old man. Akasha stepped back from him, still holding his hand. He blinked his eyes. Once. Twice. The white film over his eyes started to melt away on the third blink. His pupils were a deep, rich brown. His eyes focused on Akasha’s face, and tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes. His smile was breathtaking in his joy and sadness. He gripped her hand firmly and nodded once to her. He pulled her hand to his face and kissed her knuckles. Then he raised her hand to his forehead before moving it back to the edge of the bed.   

“Thank you,” the old man whispered. Then he turned and looked me straight in the face. He nodded to me with recognition.   

“Watch over her,” he said to me. “Take care of her. Love her.”  

I nodded. “I will.”  

He smiled at me and turned to Akasha. Tears continued to leak from his eyes, sliding silently down his face. “Thank you," he said one last time. Akasha squeezed his hand gently in hers, then let go and stepped back.  

“Mu'k-'am Ka ‘I-ni’iko,” she said softly. Everyone in the room repeated it back to her. Akasha turned and walked to me. All eyes were on us as we walked from the house. As we left the old man's room, Akasha’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. The people we passed in the hall put their hands on our shoulders as we passed. Repeating the words Akasha had spoken as we passed. No one tried to stop us. They merely wanted to touch us, sharing their grief and love as we left. Minutes later, we were back on Lost Arrow Road, heading east.  

“What was that?” I said as I held Akasha’s hand in mine.  

Akasha smiled. “We were paying our respects to the oldest living native of this place. Today is his last day with us.”  

“How did you know?”  

“I felt it.” Akasha shrugged. “You need to open your heart to the world around you. Once you do, you will feel all living things in our domain. I felt him dying.”  

A single tear slipped from Akasha’s left eye. Trailing a thin line of moisture down her cheek. She stopped and looked back towards the house.  

“Now he is gone.” Akasha smiled sadly. She squeezed my hand. I stepped up closer to her. She wrapped her arms around me. I leaned into her and kissed the tear from her cheek. It tasted sad on my tongue. Sydney came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. I felt Akasha grab her arm and squeeze. Sydney laid her head against my back. I could hear a soft hitch in her breathing.   

“What now?” I asked, my voice a whisper.  

Akasha leaned back and looked up at me. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. I felt my loins stir under that powerful gaze.   

“Now we go home.” Akasha stepped back from me, though I wished she had not. She smiled and squeezed my hand as she led back the way we came. Sydney let go of my waist and came around my side to hold my other hand as we walked.  

“We still have much to do, and not enough time to do it. Tomorrow we will hike the valley together. All three of us. Today we rest and gather supplies for our hike tomorrow.”  

Akasha looked over at Sydney with a wry grin. “And maybe we will have time for me to show you a few... tricks I’ve learned over the years.”  

“Oh?” Sydney asked, intrigued. She caught Akasha’s grin and giggled. “Oh!”  

Then both women laughed. I looked from one to the other, unsure what I had missed. I shrugged. I knew they would share with me when I needed to know.   

The rest of the walk back to the house was quiet. We enjoyed the weather and the valley around us. The sights and smells of nature. Everywhere we went, there were birds in the trees over us. Their soft chatter and music followed us through our walk. They never came any closer than the branches overhead, but I could hear them watching us. I also spotted other small animals around us in the underbrush. None came as close as our walk in the morning, but they were there.   

Sydney seemed lost in her thoughts as we walked. Her eyes were slightly glazed over. I do not think she saw most of the walk home. Her hand was warm in mine, and she squeezed my hand occasionally when some small animal stuck...