"Control, Melek? My women?" He gives a short bark of laughter. "At this point in my long existence both on and off the physical plane, I simply want to coexist without war."

He turns the goblet in his hand, light shining through the clear crystal to the dark, amber liquid within. "I live in a house full of independent, intelligent, and strong willed women. Not that I would have it another way, mind you. And it is understandable that they do not always agree."

"Still, as the only adult male in full residence, currently? I do believe that the term civilian casualty may well apply."

"As for my lady's protegee, she has found herself a new way to make herself a shadow in our home. She is as a pastel hummingbird, or shy lynx that slips in and about with relative ease and anonymity; protected to this day by her love and loyalty to - and returned by - my glorious, enchanting lioness of a wife, and her two equally fierce, magnificent daughters."

"Woe to any man, including myself, who would dare a dark glance or hint of criticism where any of them may overhear."