The woman stepped lightly from the rough soil and pulled herself up with the help of an obliging tree branch. Rain swirled above her head, rattling the leaves and greying out the swollen sky. The scents of damp soil and decay filled her senses even as the drops hit her naked body. She took a deep breath and smiled. She was home.

She stepped out into the clearing and regarded all the stones spotted about. So many stones. She only wanted to find one of them. Time to visit with family and announce the big news. In a dark corner, she found what she was looking for, a spot that shined to her senses. A man stood beside the stone looking at the dead flowers and torn tributes. He turned to the woman as she approached and smiled, a smile that turned into a frown, “You’re as beautiful as any girl I’ve ever seen, but you’ll catch more than a cold walking around like that.” Her laugh was light as she bowed ironically, “And what kind of a welcome is that?” She grinned and swept her hands across her body, now wearing a dark green dress with a purple ribbon holding her long dark hair behind her.

The man stepped forwards and opened his arms, “Come here for a proper welcome then.” She leaned into the hug, “Hello Dad. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.” The hug grew tight and then the man released her, “Well I’d say this is a surprise for everyone involved. Did you take a name yet?” She shook her hair. “I’ve thought about it but, well the obvious one is taken. Anyway that’s your job, isn’t it?” The man smiled at that, “We just need to be a little creative, How does ‘Danu’’ sound to you?”

The woman raised her head proudly,” Danu. Thank you, father. I love it.” He smiled brightly and then sighed,” Danu it is.” He turned to the gravestone and nodded, “Your mother does fine work, although I wouldn’t imagine most people believe the dates.” Danu stepped forward and smiled at the faded flowers until they bloomed again. He touched her cheek, “Now, let’s not be having the same row I had with your mother. My time was up and I have no great wish to start all that again. Send me back where you found me. You can call on me when you wish, even as your mother still does. You have my love and pride and little need for the advice of an old man.”

She pouted at that, “But I just got here. Surely you could stay for a while.” The man shook his head, “You know where that would lead. Would you break your mother’s heart, the three of us hanging around in a graveyard for eternity? I’ll just rest here until you need to chat, same as everyone else here.”

She smiled at that, “But you can talk back and they can’t. I suspect mother hoped for something like this.” Eddie stepped onto the grave and laughed, “I never figured out how your mother came to be in the first place and she didn’t remember.”

He looked around, “And you’re wrong. They all talk back in a way. Tradition, memories, all the remembered words and deeds for good or ill. You’d best take the time to organise yourself here and then go visit your mother. Goodbye Danu and leave with my blessings given.” The figure of the man turned to dust that fell lightly onto the damp soil.

Danu pulled the ribbon from her hair and tied it around the flowers, “Farewell Eddie. I’ll keep an eye on the place for you. Tell mother I’ll be along to see her soon.” She walked barefoot from the graveyard and passed the grim grey stone of the darkened church. She grinned about what they would think about her appearance on their sacred soil. With a thought, she was wearing sturdy shoes. Her father would approve.

She stopped when she saw the crumbling building ahead. It seemed to be kept standing with nothing but the endless layers of white paint and the fierce love of a grieving wife. She could feel the ghosts of old songs reach out to her. The sign had a faded look but the name was clear. This place roused strong memories from both her parents. Interesting. Time to make some memories for herself.

She pushed open the door onto the dark room and listened to the crowded silence. This place had roots deep into time and every forgotten laugh, every bitter tear, every love story and heartbreak hung about the place like a thousand yesterdays held in the varnish and polish of the dark wood. From out of the back shuffled an elderly man carrying a crate of bottles. His eyes raised in surprise, “Hello there and welcome. I just got the doors open so give me a minute and I’ll be with you.” He nodded at the fireplace, “Give me a few seconds and I’ll light it and take the damp out of the place.” He shuffled into the back to collect another crate.

Danu looked around. The place was a tiny wonder, a bottle floating atop an ocean of time, bobbing along with cheerful indifference to the great wonders outside the tired walls. She squinted a little at the fireplace. It remembered what it was supposed to do so it just needed a little push to burn brightly, throwing its heat and light into the room.

The old man shuffled back in and nearly dropped the bottles, “How in the blazes did you do that? It takes me an hour to build the thing up like that!” Danu smiled, “Oh just an old trick my mother taught me. I’m Danu. You have a lovely place here.” The old man smiled back, the fire forgotten, “Sean. Aye, it’s an old friend this place is.” He put down the crate, “and we’re both falling apart at the seams. What can I get you?”

Danu was suddenly struck by an obvious problem. She didn’t actually have money and she was fairly sure that suddenly creating it would cause problems down the road. Times had moved on from the days when a stranger could pay in gold or silver. “That depends. I’m sort of stuck, I’m waiting for money to arrive from off-world. Could I give you something to cover the bill until it arrives?” She pulled a gold bracelet from her pocket, a perfect copy of some design she had hastily taken from one of the stones surrounding her father. “I imagine the money will be here soon. My mother is fussy about things like that.”

Sean picked up the bracelet with a trembling hand. It was beautiful. “Miss, this is probably worth more than the pub itself. Is it old?” She laughed, “No, it’s just a trinket I made along the way. Would you consider the trade fair?” He put it back on the bar, “Miss, I’m an old man and although I can’t read a book to save my life with these eyes I can see when something surprising has arrived. Eat, drink and be merry. I have a room upstairs that you can take until your fortune arrives. You wear that and I’ll consider your bills covered. Now, what will it be?”

Inside she could feel her mothers approval of the casual generosity to strangers that these people had. Danu grinned at the thought, “Thank you, Sean, I’ll have a stout and I know a few songs if there’s a session later.” Sean poured the glass two-thirds full and rested it on the bar, “Well normally that’s a Tuesday but we have a sort of celebration tonight. Just a few of us old boys remembering an anniversary.” He finished the pour and put it in front of her. “I’d better get on with opening up. You just enjoy your pint.”

Danu lingered over the bitter-brew, testing her reach. All she really had was the hardwired memories of her mother, she was a strange mix of billion-year-old confidence and newborn innocence, all blended with the awareness of humanity from her father. She knew she was something new and it felt good. She wasn’t the planet, not yet but she could feel her reach growing. Now she needed to figure out what she wanted to do about it. One thing was clear to her though. Humans were hers. She had watched Sean as he shuffled about and could read every cell, every broken replication, every scar and tear. She compared it to her mothers little trick, her favourite way of showing approval but it seemed more personal.

---------------------

Aireen felt it like a ghost moving in her mind. The only part of her that was out of reach, the place she honoured above any on her own planet. She felt Eddie leave her mind, a hollowness that she hadn’t felt in years. The aloneness of it. She held herself tightly, refusing to panic, refusing to let this be a true ending. And then it wasn’t, she felt him flood back into the place she kept for him in her mind. He was...glowing with joy. What? What was happening out there? Then Eddie reached out to her, something he always resisted. “Hello love, I have news.” the voice paused, “Now don’t think I’ve changed my mind. I’m definitely not Eddie, I’m probably just a construct you built to cope with the loss, so don’t think I’m going to keep popping up. It’s unhealthy. But since I feel like Eddie and think like Eddie you need to know that we have a child. Born of the Earth and Aireen she is beautiful. But she is young and alone and living in a powerful world that is unfamiliar to her. She will need help. Find her where I sleep, I don’t think she will stray far for a while. Help her, love, and then let me rest. Find Danu and love her.”

It took her ten minutes to arrive at the TTTA offices in her city, find her pet human then begin making unreasonable demands. The thing about when a Goddess makes unreasonable demands is that they tend to happen quickly.

---------

Danu sipped away at her pint as people drifted in. Most of them passed her a pleasant hello and a few cheerful words but left her in peace. Occasionally someone resented an unknown stranger sitting about, but they were rare and easily dismissed. Sean had a habit of growling if he felt someone was pushing their luck and, old or not, this was his pub. As the evening began to draw it a certain group seemed to form, most carrying instruments of one kind or another. The crowd almost studiously ignored them, talking in the useful nothings of every day instead. To Danu, it was clear they were waiting for someone. She decided to try something new and asked Sean for a whiskey. She had no idea which one so she left it to Sean himself. After much humming and hawing, he passed her a glass of Jameson’s and ceremoniously added a teaspoon of water. She could feel the memories of her parents approval. It certainly looked good, a golden glow in a glass. She sipped it carefully as Sean watched. She nearly shot it out of her nose, her face twisting as she spluttered, “Bloody hell! That’s terrible, it’s like trying to drink a burning fire! People really do this for fun?” She pushed the glass away. Sean couldn’t help but burst out laughing, even as the crowd looked on amused.

“I take it you’re not a spirits drinker, I’ll put on another pint for you. I can probably make you a cocktail or two after you’ve settled in.” He was still laughing as he pulled her a fresh drink.

Danu waited with an odd feeling. She knew both her parents had loved the stuff and now she knew she didn’t. She really wasn’t just a bunch of someone else’s memories walking around. She was new. She was herself. Oh crap, what if she couldn’t sing? Maybe she just had the memory of singing? She focused on the musicians, trying to get a sense of them. That might help.

An elderly man, well dressed but thin as a rake arrived, chaperoned by two hulking men that were definitely his sons or even grandsons. Danu watched as everyone became a little quieter and many nods and mumbled hellos were exchanged. He was guided to his seat at a table and one of the men passed him a fiddle case. Apparently, this was what people were waiting for. Sean had obviously prepared for this as he chimed a glass, “Alright, I’ll be closing the doors in a few minutes so stay or go. Tonight we remember a man that we never met, on a wet evening on an ordinary day. His widow passed this way and left us all a lot of memories” he looked at the elderly man, “and some of us a lot of money.” The crowd laughed as did the elderly man. “He asked that we have a drink on him but, since I don’t want all my customers dead in a week, we do it once a year. Drinks are on the house for tonight. Remember that I only have one pair of hands and that the doors only open one way this evening. If I put you out you’re staying out.” He picked up Danus neglected whiskey and raised it, “To Aireen and Eddie. Cheers” The pub joined in the toast and then the drinks orders began flooding in.

Danu sat at the bar, slightly stunned by that last bit. She realised it made a curious amount of sense that she had been born today. People had been reminding the world about Aireen and Eddie and some hidden part of her had been listening. She watched Sean pass out drinks with a speed born of practice and the fact that he knew exactly what each customer wanted before a word was spoken. She sipped her drink thoughtfully and waited.

Her second shock was when the music rang through her, feeding her soul in a way she had never imagined. This must be what her mother had felt. Her reach grew with every melody, her mind encompassing every song and absorbing it. She no longer doubted that she could sing. Sean obviously felt something, “Danu? Are you okay? Would you like a cup of tea?”

Danu smiled, her eyes glowing, “Sean, do you mind if I tell you something important, but not something that I need everyone to know?” Sean nodded, “Aye, I’m a barman. That’s probably the best description you could give the job. What’s up? And if it’s about money, pay no mind. There plenty of that around tonight.” Danu shook her head, “Sean, Eddie and Aireen are my parents. I just didn’t want you to get worried if I’m a bit emotional tonight.”

Sean stood back in surprise and looked a little closer. Suddenly the memory of Aireen sitting in that exact spot flashed back to him, the beginning of a very strange day. Danu carried that same...oddness. But Aireen never mentioned she had a child. Was this some strange madness? Some weird vanity that had brought her here today? He had seen people bent into strange shapes before and she didn’t ring false but maybe he was just getting old.

Danu felt his conflict and impatiently waved her hand. “Sean, take a really good look around.”

Sean, now bewildered, looked around. Nothing was different. Everyone was drinking, talking, tuning instruments. He just shrugged, “It all looks good. What should I be looking at?”

Danu smiled briefly, “Sean, when was the last time you could see clear to the back of the pub?”

“Bloody hell.” Sean dropped a glass to the cheers of the crowd.

After the damage was tidied up and the crowd had returned to their amusements he poured himself a glass and leaned down on the counter. It was obviously taking him a minute then he spoke softly, “My thanks Danu. But your mother never mentioned you, so I have to say I’m confused.”

Danu nodded and picked up her own glass. “Eddie died before I was born. I’m what you might call a surprise.” Sean was even more confused, “But...that was eight years ago. You must have been eleven or twelve years old. Sorry, I don’t mean to pry but that’s fairly unusual in a… surprise.” Danu laughed, “Well that’s only part of the mysteries. Don’t worry about it. And I’m sorry about the trick with your eyes, Eddie tells me it was rude.”

Sean tried to parse that one out, “Eddie...your dead father, the one buried not a mile from here thinks it was rude?” Danu nodded, “Don’t worry, I know he’s dead. He bangs on about it a lot, gets irritable if you ignore it. Apparently, it drives my mother mad.”

Sean took a deep drink, “Aye, I can see it would.”

Danu relaxed into the music, softly singing along but making sure no-one heard. Then the elderly man finally opened the fiddle case and silence fell on the pub as his soft voice spoke, “Evening lads and lasses, good to see my money is as welcome as always.” That brought the expected cheer. He’d used the same line every year. “Well I’ll begin with the tune that brought the house down on that remembered day, ‘Raglan road’. If you have an instrument I expect to hear it and if you don’t I expect to hear your voices instead.”

The crowd joined in with gusto, the singing blurring into noise when memory ran headfirst into free beer. She waited for a little and joined in, unaware that it was like dropping a twenty-piece orchestra into the mix. She had never sung before and it felt amazing. The daze continued until the very end, just her and the fiddle left making a single sound in the room. Then the applause started and took another ten years off the building. One of the sons or grandsons arrived at her side. She sniffed. Grandson. He leaned over, “Excuse me, my granddad would like a word if you have a moment. That was beautiful.”

The group shuffled over to allow the girl to sit down. They had all been there the first time and were astonished to see the magic return. No-one wanted to miss a moment of it, it would make them part of the legend. The old man was carefully putting the fiddle back in its case while she sat. Then he leaned back and sharp dark eyes regarded her. Some conclusion was reached in that old mind. ”Welcome to you.” He pushed the case across the table,” I think that this belongs to you.” That brought out a few soft swears. The fiddle was part of the story, brought out only on this day.

Danu smiled at the old man, “I don’t think so. My mother gave it to you in good faith and I see you use it to honour my father’s memory. I think it is exactly where it needs to be.”

That dropped across the pub like a cartoon anvil. Rarely have so many ears worked so hard.

The old man nodded and pulled back the case across the table. “I had to offer, though I would sadly miss it. I knew the moment I heard your voice. Are you from your mother’s people?”

Danu laughed, “I’m a local girl. Born not a mile from here. I’m afraid there are many things that I won’t be explaining tonight but believe me when I say that I’m not here for any reason except to listen to the music and drink a little stout. Perhaps sing a few tunes. The same as all of you.”

The old man raised an eyebrow, “Can I ask your name?

“I’m Danu and very glad to meet you. May I ask yours?”

The old man paused, “Now there’s the thing. I was told never to go around giving my name to the fairies just in case they remember it. Why don’t you just join me in a song instead? My name will be in there somewhere.”

The evening lit up again as Sean began firing out the drinks and joining in when called for his party piece. Humanity had left its gods far behind and would never bow to them again. But a drink and a song? That was where they were willing to meet them.

Much later a shuttle flew low over the village and landed outside the pub. Only Danu and Sean were still there, sitting peaceably in front of the fire. Sean sipped his whiskey while Danu tried something called a ‘Fat Frog’, although Sean insisted there was nothing amphibian in it. He stared into the fire, “That reminds me. I haven’t put a log on that fire all night. Don’t forget to put it out before you go to sleep.” He looked over at Danu, still as fresh looking as the moment she had set foot in the pub. “If you go to sleep.”

Danu kept sucking at the straw, emptying the glass. “I don’t know. It might be fun to try. You know that expression ‘I wasn’t born yesterday’, well for me it’s true.

Sean looked at her, his sharpened eyes frowning, “How long have you been waiting to use that?” She giggled, “Since my second ‘Fat Frog’.” She sighed and listened, “Oh well, here comes the complicated bit. You just sit here and look stern. My fortune has arrived.” She held up her hand and a blue flame burned on her palm, taking all the alcohol out of her system.” Then the door, long since locked, swung open and three dark-suited men arrived in.

One of the men stepped forward. “You are Danu? Xeno representative for the planet/person of Aireen?”

Danu stood up, changing into a formal suit for the occasion. “At least one thing in that statement is true. I am Danu, daughter of Aireen and Earth. Well, I say Earth but I call him Eddie or Dad. I’m not a Xeno. Who are you?

The man seemed frustrated by her answer, “I represent the XCC in this matter. I have been asked to present you with your diplomatic credentials and ...certain financial instruments. Also, certain equipment that apparently you require. Much of which is prohibited for use on Earth.”

Danu looked past him to the other two dark-suited civilians, “And you? What’s your job?”

They bowed slightly and the older one spoke, “Ambassador, we work for you. Your mother hired us to defend your interests. We are here to ensure that happens.”

The documents were left on the table, as well as several heavy metal suitcases. Danu had encouraged the fire to calm down to embers as Sean poured another round for them. “What the hell was that about?”

Danu tried to hit the straw on the first go, “Well, you have to remember that my dad was a musician. Then you have to remember that everything my mother knows about Earth comes from him.” Sean nodded.

“Then I ask you to remember a very well known song.”

Sean began laughing, “Seriously?”

Danu nodded, taking another sip,” Yep, She sent lawyers, guns and money.”