It was another typical day in the Powers home. Of course, home this month was at the actual home, not France or Russia or the UN headquarters. The weekend came with a rare treat; their mother was home! Today had been filled with time with their mother and tomorrow night they would be going out to their mother’s favorite restaurant before she had to take a late flight to Cairo. The four of them had done some shopping, and spent some time outside in the backyard to enjoy the sunny, summer afternoon. It had ended with dinner and desert. Ian was sent to bed, and about two hours later, Audrey was instructed to follow suit.<br/><br/>Like any normal teenage girl, Audrey was currently trying to push her bedtime back further. She stood in the kitchen in her pajamas, hand on her hip as tried to haggle with her mother.<br/><br/>“Why do I have to go to bed at eleven? Bedtimes are for babies!” She grumbled to her mother. She hadn’t planned on bringing the subject up, so her defensive points were admittedly a bit rusty. Part of her wanted to spend more time with her mother. The other part definitely wanted to see if she could get a later time finagled out of her mother on this surprise weekend trip home.<br/><br/>Caitlin Mason-Powers just stared at her daughter with a raised eyebrow. She almost thought about giving in to Audrey, but then the woman thought of the bottle of wine waiting in the pantry for her and her husband once the children managed to get to their beds. Plus, Audrey had been pushing as many boundaries as possible lately. Caitlin chalked it up to the girl just being a teenager. She felt bad for her husband always having to be the disciplinarian for the kids, so decided to be a forceful parent in the end.<br/><br/>“There is nothing you could possibly need to do after eleven. You’re fourteen. Now, I’m done arguing. Go to bed,” she stated, her tone brokering no disagreement.<br/><br/>Deciding to broach the topic again in a few days with her father (who was much more likely to give in to her pleading), Audrey groaned the way only fourteen year-old girls can before she marched upstairs and into her room, glaring at her little brother’s door on the way as if he was the cause of her heartache.<br/><br/>Audrey closed her door before climbing into bed. She nestled under the covers and reached over to turn her light off. Despite her desire to push her bedtime back, Audrey fell asleep rather quickly. It was not really surprising; she was always able to fall asleep fast.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~*~</div><br/><br/>It was tea time in Mainsprings. Countess Audrey stood in her main parlor hosting a number of people for a gathering that happened each week. She flitted around the crowds with ease, pausing to speak a kind word to Mr. Habberdash for fixing her doorbell earlier, or to give her condolences to Lady Hufferdink for her husband’s passing (He was rather old, and everyone knew he could had stood to lose a few pounds). The gentlemen were still in their coats, but all of the hats rested on pegs in the receiving room. Ladies walked about in high-waisted dresses, their parasols placed in an umbrella stand by the front door. Audrey herself sported a dress of pale pink, which nicely complemented her auburn hair done up in a twist.<br/><br/>Occasionally, she would look around for the tea tray. It was hard to miss, sputtering and hissing as it heated up the tea kettles. The bronze contraption held a number of cogs and levers. It was able to travel about the room on its own, and the kinetic energy the tea service created was used to heat the tea. It was a new invention, one that had Audrey slightly worried. She had no desire for the object to explode and spew hot liquid all over her important guests. The inventor had assured her that nothing of the sort would happen, but she kept an eye on it nonetheless.<br/><br/>Artimus flew gracefully from a window before stopping to perch beside the Countess as she poured herself a second cup of tea. His metallic eyes turned this way and that as he took in the people in the room. Very few noticed him fly in, and those that did took little note of it. Artimus was almost constantly at Audrey’s side. He was one of the best advisors she could hope to have.<br/><br/>“You have a good turnout this week, Countess,” he said, pride filling his voice. “These are all very standup members of your fair town. Maybe this time we can stop these vile happenings for good instead of merely stalling them.”<br/><br/>A fan dangled from the Countess’s wrist. Lifting it, she snapped it out and fanned herself. A smile played on her face as she pulled the black fabric fan up to cover her speech. “I don’t know if this many people will be enough to stop him, Arty. I’m not sure if there are enough people to stop him.” The smile on her face juxtaposed the harsh truth she spoke. Audrey felt these were trying times for them all. The ruler of Zytglogge was inching closer and closer to Mainsprings. Countess Audrey was worried that soon her small town would not be able to stand against the ruler.<br/><br/>Artimus folded his mechanical wings into himself. “I have faith in you, my dear girl,” he said, turning out to the crowd of people as he spoke. “We all have faith in you.”