We've resettled in Amber with relatively few problems.  The boys
didn't understand why we had to move.  Maybe it would have been easier had
they been older?  (Nimue seemed to accept Amber easily.)  I guess I'm glad
that they weren't of an age to have started school - it was hard enough
for them to say goodbye to the other children on the street and the house
they grew up in.  It would have been worse had they been in school - more
friends that they would have had to leave behind.  It's good that they
have such a good rapport with their nephews and nieces, and their uncle. 
It should make things here a little easier, though I can remember talking
to friends back at UCLA...seems people would rather have their own friends
than be forced to hang out with their family all the time.  I can
understand that.  I feel lucky that I get along with most of my cousins.

	The boys weren't entirely surprised when we stepped through the
Trump and into the castle.  We've always told them about Amber (and I
suspect that Tamaryn may have thrown in some information about Faerie, and
maybe Chaos).  I'd feared that the boys had been treating our talks as
faerie stories; I guess it was an unwarranted fear.  I should have known
that.  Crispin believes most anything you tell him.  Donal believes most
things that *Crispin* tells him, but he seems to have a little more sense
about him - he's not as susceptible to the plots of the Vetchlings. 
(Tamaryn would probably kill me if she knew I referred to her siblings
that way...being a Vetchling herself.)

	Actually...thinking of Ariana's children...our own lads could have
had it much worse...I bet her boys are going to miss their computers and
data jacks.  Considering that, I guess we're not too bad off.  We handle
things as they come up.  It shouldn't be as hard as last time (with Foster
during his "second childhood") - I don't have to play single dad anymore. 
Currently, the question of the hour is, "Why don't our toys make noise
anymore?"

	"Because batteries don't work in Amber?"

	"Why?"

	"Because..."

	"Why?"  But the boys are of an age that conversations such as that
are to be expected.  I missed out on so much with Foster...I still can't
help but feel that I'd no real influence on him.  He let my play my "game"
of being a father...but that's all it was...a game...not real.  Until we
went to Bedlam, I hadn't realized that Foster felt the same way...about
missing out, that is.  I'm not blind enough to have missed those looks. 
At times, I think he was jealous of his brothers.  I'd wondered if he
would be.  I suspect that he may not have been, had I been with another
woman, but I'm not.  It's Tamaryn and me, and these are his full brothers,
a fact that is not lost on me.  Foster's a good man.  I still feel shut
out at times - maybe they're just lingering doubts.  I don't know.

	I am happy to say, that to date, the boys have only asked to go
back "home" once.  Though, we've only been here a day...so I guess that
doesn't mean much, does it?

	During the earlier "why/because" conversation we had earlier, I
sent the boys out to play.  Mistake.  Man, I've not seen Tamaryn that
angry in a while.  I mean, she wasn't that angry...but she *does* *not*
get angry generally, and even a little anger stands out.  So I go out of
the room, and hear two doors slam.  Eeek.  They wanted to play a game. 
Some of my cousins might not take very well to having two small boys barge
into their rooms - I am grateful that we are a different floor than my
aunts and uncle.  I don't think any of them would take very well to having
two small boys barge into their rooms.  All in all, a very risky
situation.

	My heart stopped when I heard Crispin scream.

	He'd chosen the wrong door.  He'd chosen the door of Kimdyl's
assassin, though, I didn't know that at the time.  It was only after
Crispin described the woman, that I figured out who it was.  I'd actually
thought that maybe he'd chosen Shard's door.  Donal came out after Crispin
screamed.  After talking to them, it seems that they thought the castle
was *our* castle...as in mine and Tamaryn's.  They figured out that other
people lived there, too.  I told them to treat it like an apartment
building.  I really hope that helps prevent this situation in the future.


	Laughter took her kids on a tour of the castle this afternoon - to
reacquaint the older ones, and to introduce the youngest to it.  We tagged
along.  Laughter's had small children more recently than I have.  I
thought her explanations would be a little more practiced than my own. 
We're going to hit the town tomorrow.  We're also going to have dinner at
my grandparents tomorrow.  I thought that they might like to meet the
children (ours and Gideon, and the recently grown Vivienne).


	Crispin and Donal went down to the gym with me this morning -
spent the entire morning walking around like body-builders.  Geez.  I hope
I don't look that stupid.

	I hope that's not what they think of me.

	We ran into Vixen at lunch.  A nice, quiet morning in town, and an
assassin at lunch.  What more could I have asked for?  Then, Crispin took
her a flower.  It's nice to see that he's learning the "give flowers to
girls" lesson, but he obviously hasn't learned the "don't court assassins"
lesson...though, many of my cousins haven't learned that lesson, either. 
Must be something lacking in Amber's curriculum.

	Laughter's assistant from Faerie came a long as
well...D'something.  He was pretty quiet.


	Dinner went well enough at grandpa Peter's.  That is, until Gideon
said to me, "You really should marry Tamaryn."  Kids say the damnedest
things, and my brother is no exception.  It's not like we're living in sin
or anything.  I mean the Church of the Unicorn does not have the same
hang-ups as the Christian Church (we have a set of hang-up unique to
ourselves).  All marriage would do was say that the children legally
belong to me (instead of Tamaryn, and whomever she might marry).  I don't
think that anyone is going to contest their heritage, and now that Vetch
doesn't have control over his daughter, I'm not worried about my kids
being taken from me and turned into killer demon ninja assassins.  If
Gideon was older, I would have had words with him...but he's five, and I
don't think he said it to upset me, although it was pretty obvious from
the looks around the table that everyone agreed with him.

	Damn it.  And this day had so much potential.