Nikodemus, Elizabeth, and Annie brushed their way past the tribeswomen who were sprinting through the halls like headless chickens, getting vested for battle and grabbing several weapons while taking up positions both inside and outside the fortress. Nikodemus headed to the second floor and went about removing all of the sheets and blankets from the bed. He smiled, absorbed in the memory of his mother flawlessly sweeping the sheets off the bed with a single, swift jerk. He still was unable to do it that well, but he had improved since he was a child… Even though he was still very short and would often end up wrapped up in the sheets if he wasn’t careful.

Elizabeth and Annie had momentarily left his side, going to the other rooms in the hallway and cleaning up in them. Once they had finished collecting the sheets, blankets, and pillows, they headed to the bottom floor of the fortress to the laundry room. Nikodemus was too short to reach the top of the washing machine, so he let Elizabeth and Annie place the dirty laundry in the washing machine.

Elizabeth pushed the start button on the machine once they had it loaded. The machine began filling with water for a moment, but in another moment, it shuddered to a halt. Annie cursed. “Dammit. It must be stalling again. We’ll have to clean them manually.”

Nikodemus scratched his chin. “If you want, I can open it up and take a look at it. I have experience with such things.”

Annie and Elizabeth glanced at each other. “I guess I don’t see a problem with that. We need these cleaned immediately, though. We’ll fetch someone to be your assistant while we start cleaning them manually."

"If you could ask my assistant to bring some tools, I would be grateful. Let me write them down for you." Nikodemus found a paper to write the tools he needed down, and then handed it to Annie.

“Sure.” Annie said.

Nikodemus sank to the floor with a deep breath, glad to have a moment of peace. He looked around, making sure no one was watching, and then he reached out with his mind. He wanted to check and make sure that the Lionesses weren’t about to attack, so he attempted to brush their minds.

As he concentrated, he closed his eyes. He consciousness scanned his surroundings thoroughly; it sped through the halls of the fortress, seeing them as he would if his eyes were open. Soon, the hall became a blur as he sped up his pace and his consciousness shot under the entrance to the building and out into the desert. His consciousness was speeding so fast that the desert hills and sands had became speedy lines in his vision. He searched this way and that, but found no mind to touch with his own.

“Hello.” A voice roused him from his reverie. Nikodemus’ eyes opened, and he was surprised to see Lily standing in front of him. At the sight of a girl who was most likely his daughter, the smile melted from his face. Lily smiled, dropping the tools Nikodemus requested on the floor. Nikodemus took it and cleared his throat. “Hey, Lily.”Nikodemus grabbed a stool from the corner of the room and carried it over to the washing machine, next, he unplugged the washing machine from the wall, and then shimmied behind the machine to switch off the water supply. While he did, Lily cleared her throat. “Anything I can do to help?”

Nikodemus said awkwardly, “No, not right now. I’ll tell you when I need something.”

Nikodemus purposefully spent longer behind the machine then he needed to; he really didn’t want to have to communicate with any of his children. It was too painful for him. “How old are you, Lily?”

“Fifteen.” Lily responded.

“That’s a good age to be at.” Nikodemus said, clearing his throat again despite the fact that it wasn’t necessary. “What do you like to do with yourself when you’re not working?”

Lily made a face like she was genuinely confused by the question. “I… I don’t know. My favorite thing to do around the fortress is cook, I guess.”

Nikodemus nodded, unable to help the smile that came to his face as he emerged from behind the washing machine. “Cooking is good fun. Maybe you should try inventing some new recipes for it?” She must have inherited that from me. I wonder who her mother is? Nikodemus gave her brief look, down-to-up. She had blonde hair like he did, therefore, he assumed she must have had a blonde mother, too, and she definitely seemed to have his pointy nose and his large ears. Nikodemus felt a pang of sadness upon looking at her.

She was a beautiful young girl, and he wished he could have been a father to her. He swallowed his emotions and asked her, “Do you mind pulling the machine out about eighteen inches?”

Lily beamed that she was asked to do something, and did it without complaint. She jerked it away from the wall effortlessly, and Nikodemus marveled at her strength, wondering again who her mother might be.