#sim: elowen traver

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

Queen Maura stared at the assembled crowd waiting for her to speak on the ground. She remembered watching her grandmother address the nation from the balcony on the highest floor of the palace. Queen Spencer had made it look impossibly easy, but then, she had spoken from there for decades. Maybe at some point, her grandmother had struggled with the task like Maura did. Probably not, but Maura could dream.

"Thank you all for coming to the Goldman Memorial Ball to honour two of our nation's greatest citizens, cruelly lost in the shadows of war. The current Duke and Duchess Goldman will be our hosts for the duration of the day, as we celebrate Prince Ewan Goldman and his posthumous Duchess, Elizabeth Traver in the place the prince spent much of his early years. Please welcome Duke Ewan and Duchess Edana."

Ewan and Edana were positioned at the entrance of the palace with a speech prepared to begin the festivities that would give Maura precious minutes to prepare herself for a day of maintaining the illusion that she was in any way prepared for this.

It was another royal event where hundreds of innocent people gathered, expecting Maura to guarantee their safety. She hadn't been prepared for a family barbecue that had ended the lives of two of her children; what possible guarantee could she give that their guests were safe today? Even worse, her surviving children would be milling around the room with these guests, in places she couldn't guarantee their constant protection.

She sighed heavily and took a reassuring breath in to steady her nerves. Her security was well trained and prepared for trouble. Claudia was bringing her own security and Roman's demon son as well, so there was even more protection against Maura’s mysterious enemies.

Mysterious and anonymous as an assassin. A trained assassin just like the man I thought I knew so much about. My dear old assassin father who faked his death to abandon me.

Maura shook her head vigorously, trying to free her mind of any thoughts about the past. This was the present and the future. Her life lay ahead of her, not in the pain of the past.

Maura descended down the stairs just in time to walk out with her wife, Ulyssa. Ulyssa had been just as much of a wreck as her wife all morning and the two women shared a miserable look before reaching the door.

"Please let this go smoothly today, without any bloodshed," Ulyssa whispered loudly, casting her eyes upward in case any deity could hear her plea. "Please. Please."

Maura couldn't have said it better herself.

"Welcome, Duke Goldman," Maura exclaimed loudly, holding her arms out to embrace Ewan. "The palace is yours for the remainder of the day. Do your ancestors proud."

"T-this isn't televised is it? Are millions of people going to see me dancing?"

Travis Goldman looked around anxiously looking for new crews and cameras, but he didn't see any. Just because he couldn't see them though, didn't mean they weren't there.

"No, this is just for the nobility," Claudia assured her little brother. "Some things need to stay out of the public eye, so we maintain a level of secrecy and interest. What people can't see for themselves drives speculation. Just like when Master Maricourt holds a coven meeting that apprentices aren't allowed in. It makes you curious, right?"

"That can't really be the reason for all this," Travis scoffed, making his sister laugh.

"No, not really," Claudia confessed, still laughing. "It's a memorial ball for the family and nobility, so it's supposed to look somber and respectful. The speeches will go to the media, but none of the dancing or fun. It's a good type of event for Maura to restart the royal schedule with after the palace mourning period. No cameras, a limited guest list, and all the security I could bring with me without causing a scene. This will be good for Maura."

"Being queen sounds complicated," Travis noted. "I'm glad that it's you on the throne and not me. When do you get time to read?"

Claudia tried to stifle her laughter as best as she could so she didn't interrupt Maura’s conversation nearby.

"That's a good question," she replied. "You and Ollie just enjoy your lives in the nobility, and I'll take care of the throne. Trust me, it has its benefits."

After several minutes of Maura speaking with the Goldman family, Claudia was allowed to greet her cousin.

"Hey. How are you holding up? Nothing bad will happen today. I promise you."

Maura hugged her cousin gratefully.

"You don't know how much that means to me," she said quietly. "Ulyssa and I have been losing our minds trying to get the kids ready while trying not to think of the worst case scenarios."

"That's understandable, but you have a limited guest list and both of our royal security teams. Plus, both Theo and Adam are in attendance, and trust me, those kids can pull off amazing things together. There's nothing to worry about."

Maura tried to smile, but she wasn't fooling the cousin who knew her better than anyone.

"Of course. Those are all perfectly logical reasons to believe there won't be any disturbances. Only...my children died at a barbecue with family only in our secure cottage. Nowhere is safe, Claudia. My mother died on our yacht while guarded. There's no reason why I should feel safe in my own home and you know it."

Claudia sighed. Maura had a point, but being paralyzed by fear was only going to lead her to the same path as Crystal Cove's ineffective king. There was no way that Claudia was going to let her cousin be ridiculed like King Liam.

"Just trust me on this one," she assured Maura. "This is going to be fine. If even the tiniest thing goes wrong, I'm prepared. Hellfire will rain down on anyone who poses a threat."

Instead of reassuring her, Maura’s anxiety doubled at these words.

"Not actual hellfire though, right? You're just using a metaphor and not telling me why you brought a teenage demon to my home to protect me...right? Claudia, this is my home, even if magic or whatever, thinks you have a better blood claim to it. You can't burn down this building that's stood for centuries just to protect one ball!"

Claudia waved away her cousin's concerns dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Nothing will happen, but if it does, then we're good."

Claudia could hear Maura start to stammer back a reply as she walked past the queen and into the castle. A devious smile graced her lips as her plan fell into place. Now Maura had something tangible to think of instead of worrying about assassins breaking through the windows. If assassins came, Claudia had security to deal with them, but how likely was that? No, now Maura wouldn't spend the day worrying about outside threats. Knowing Maura, she would now follow her cousin and Roman's fire prone son around, worrying about hellfire burning down her throne room instead of reliving the trauma of losing her children. Maura was lucky to have such a thoughtful friend. Besides, everyone knew that hellfire was cold and easily manipulated by magic. Even if Claudia had retained Theo's services for her defense, hellfire was the last thing Maura should be worried about.

Adam stared at the ballroom with an ever growing anxiety of his own. This would be the first time that he'd see Theo in months, and his heart still froze in his chest at the thought.

Theo would want to kiss him. He'd be physically touching Theo's skin again, just as he had before when touching Theo had nearly killed him.

But Theo was fixed now, or so he promised. A god had reassembled all the broken pieces of Theo's powers and he was safe to touch. Adam could close his eyes and still feel Theo's hand running across bare skin, sending shivers down his spine. Giving in would feel so good, but Adam couldn't. Something would go wrong. It always did, no matter how safe he felt. He loved Theo, but he couldn't deny how terrified he was to be standing near him again. It had just been Adam on his own for months now, recovering without Theo's help. Did they even still have things in common anymore? Adam knew that he'd changed since Theo left, and he didn't doubt that Theo had done the same.

"Look at Adam. He looks like he's about to have a stroke. We should get him a drink or something before he explodes and ruins the ball."

Bronwen stared at her stepbrother with concern, while Remy shrugged with indifference.

"He always looks like that," she remarked. "Theo's going to show up any minute and then he'll be fine. It's just nerves."

"Where's your date?" Bronwen asked, noticing that Adam wasn't the only Darktide looking anxious. "Did Malika stand you up?"

Remy scowled at the name.

"She had something come up," Remy replied, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice so that her stepsister wouldn't think that it bothered her. It didn't. At all. "It's for the best though. I didn't really like dancing with her much anyway."

Bronwen nodded, not willing to waste a perfectly good ball listening to her sister complain about her love life.

"Where's your date anyway?" Remy asked, hoping to deflect from her own problems. "Did your perfect demigod stand you up?"

Bronwen laughed happily, only deepening Remy's resentment.

"No, his mom dropped him off and security won't clear him while Life is around a secure royal property. He texted me saying that his dad was going to intervene and that he should just be a little late."

While the other Darktides were stressing about their own love lives, Elowen was pretty content with hers. Travis was dressed in his uniform, his hair brushed and not a book in sight. He was a perfect prince or Duke or whatever rank his sister would give him when he came of age. He held Elowen just the way she'd imagined he would while dancing, and he didn't miss a single step or step on her toes. No one thought of him being anywhere nearly as trained as his sister, but this dance revealed Travis' considerable skills. Clearly, he had been hiding his talent from the world.

"Well, Duchess Goldman, how is your ball so far? None of the kids are causing trouble, the queen looks like she's distracted, and everyone looks like they're having fun. I'd call this a success."

Ewan spun his wife around cheerfully, immensely glad that so far everything was going to plan.

"Yes, so far so good," Edana agreed. "I don't see Adam's demon anywhere. Maybe Her Majesty left him at home."

"You know that's only going to make Adam cling harder to him," Ewan chided gently. "You know, some of us dated people just to piss off our parents and when they didn't react, we moved on."

"Not me or my brother," Edana snapped. "I had respectful matches the coven approved of and Adam? He always brought home polite, beautiful witches. Which is why I just can't understand our children. Did you see who our daughter is dancing with? Travis Maricourt! His mothers were cruel, psychotic, evil-"

"Okay, how about you leave chaperoning the kids to me?" Ewan suggested, spinning his wife to distract her from Elowen's dance partner. "Travis Goldman is a perfectly nice boy. Do you really think one of the Goldman kids is going to do anything evil? You've met my aunt and uncle. Trust me, Travis is nothing to worry about. And as for your brother, I don't know why you can't see that he wasn't some saint. Obviously, he met his kids' mother somewhere, and she wasn't a 'polite' woman. If you ask me-"

Ewan wisely ended his thought before he could dig himself too deep. A dance floor wasn't the place to confront his wife's deep-seated brother issues. If he pushed too hard against the image of "poor Adam, lost saint corrupted by an evil woman" Edana was going to snap, just as she always did when her brother was mentioned. There were some days that Ewan wished that he could have met Adam before his death and punched the guy in the face.

"Yes, you're right," Edana conceded, though her eyes still burned with an indignate anger that Ewan knew all too well. "My brother was a bad person, how ever could I forget that? My son surely won't make the same mistakes and my daughter won't be tempted by the son of such powerful witches. Everything will be fine."

Ewan sighed, but tried to keep his expression neutral so that the queen didn't see his frustration at a ball he was hosting.

"Edana, the kids aren't our lost family members. None of them are Adam, or my sister, Tristianne, or even you or me. I know we're still not masters of the whole raising teenagers thing yet, but I know that none of the kids are going to follow someone else's path. They're going to find new, unexpected ways to drive us crazy and we need to be prepared for that instead of chasing the past."

"Would you like to dance?"

Remy looked up from her phone to find Princess Victoriana watching her. She instinctively looked to her side to see who Victoriana was talking to, but there was only Bronwen, still texting her date.

"Me?" Remy asked curiously. "Sure, I'm the best dancer around. I'd love to."

"Great! I was hoping to dance with an expert," Victoriana laughed. "After all the lessons my mom has put through, it'll be good to have someone be able to keep up."

Terror grabbed at Remy as she thought about all the dance lessons she'd ignored over the years. She could bluff her way through dancing with a future queen...somehow.

"Your mom keeps giving me a dirty look," Travis remarked as he perfectly executed the complex footwork few other dancers could master. "I get it; she knew my bio moms. Does any of that bother you? I promise I won't be mad if you don't want to date me because of my bio family. A lot of people get weird with me when they learn about them. Well, and then even more weird if they find out my parents are reapers and my sister is the queen of Pleasantview. I have a complicated family."

Travis seemed to brace himself for rejection, while Elowen's heart wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention. It was too focused on the word "date."

"You want to date me? Like be my boyfriend?" When Travis nodded, Elowen's entire face lit up. "Yes! Yes, I'll be your girlfriend!"

"You're a pretty good dancer," Victoriana lied, dodging Remy's wandering foot as she fumbled through the dance moves. "Do you practice at school? We have to at my school since so many of us are future leaders and will have to attend a lot of balls in our lives."

"No, we mostly focus on magic," Remy replied. "Spells, potions, healing magic, sometimes curses. It's pretty dull, especially if you're not planning on being much of a witch when you graduate."

"You still feel that way?" Victoriana asked curiously. Remy was always full of surprises. "With power like yours and your family all being in the coven, it would make sense for you to follow a life of magic."

Remy rolled her eyes, forgetting that she was dancing with a princess.

"It's all overrated. Just look at my brother. He's attached himself to a hurricane of demonic power and he seems miserable all the time, especially after nearly dying and being scarred for life. My dad leads the coven, but he's lonely and can't ever keep a partner for more than a few years. My mom- well, you've met my mom. You know what she's like. Magic ruins people's lives. I don't see what's so great about it."

"I don't think magic is to blame for all of that," Victoriana replied. "You're just so good at it; I'm surprised that you seem to hate it so much."

"I'm not good, I'm practically failing," Remy said quickly, before Victoriana could compliment her any further.

"You're failing on purpose. Everyone knows that. If you actually tried, you might even be better than your brother. Hell, you could even take your father's place and run the coven one day. I'd appoint you when I'm queen."

Remy laughed nervously, unsure of what exactly the princess was planning.

"You really like to talk like you're queen already, don't you?" she asked warily. "Your mother and Miruna's baby will be head of the coven, that's already been decided. I don't have the proper bloodline even if I wanted the job-which I don't, by the way. Thanks for the vote of confidence though."

Victoriana shrugged.

"Well, keep it in mind," she suggested. "It was just a thought."

Princess Georgiana tried to play her video game as quietly as possible. The last thing she wanted to do was be a part of any of the festivities in the ballroom. Dances were loud, annoying, boring things and as part of the royal family, Georgiana was expected to smile and stay focused on being a princess. While her parents were focused on the ball, Georgiana planned to hide by the large plant in the hall until she could take off her stupid formal ware and play video games wearing her pajamas in her room. Adrion was the future king, let him worry about dancing.

And Adrion was doing his part as best as he could. While Georgiana hid in the hallway, Adrion and Viola danced with the adults, always being sure to keep a calm, royal composure while there were guests at the palace. Their parents looked happy and relaxed, so Adrion and Viola trusted that they were safe. Balls weren't really that bad. There was food and music and they got to stay up later than their bedtime until the guests left or their parents sent them upstairs.

Theo walked by Princess Georgiana, who was doing a poor job of hiding from the adults. He shook his head, thinking about weird it was that his half-sister lived here in this palace. Then again, he had just spent the summer living with his other half-sister in a different palace with his dad's ex-fling. His life truly was a strange one.

But Adam was here. Finally, he'd be face to face with his boyfriend again and everything would be right in the world. He knew that Adam had been acting even more anxious than usual, and it was probably Theo's fault because of the accident that had nearly killed Adam. Theo wasn't stupid, he could understand Adam's fear. It was just up to Theo to help him move past that.

"Theo? Is that you?"

Adam stared at the sight before him, hardly believing his eyes. Theo stood before him, dressed in his formal apprentice uniform, looking nervously around to find his date. Adam was immediately overwhelmed by a whirlwind of feelings he didn't know how to process.

There was a battle raging in Adam's mind that he lost the moment Theo walked in the room. There was no fighting against a force like that.

Theo looked as gorgeous as always. He smelled like fancy soap he'd probably used at the castle. Adam could feel the connection between them crackle through the air between them. A mild static charge ran through him as Adam felt Theo's power linger in the air between them. He really had been altered by Lukas. Theo didn't feel anything like he used to. Power radiated from him, pulsing like waves that tried to submerge Adam in their dark depths.

"Theo!"

Adam's arms were around Theo before he could even announce his presence. It felt good to be in Adam's arms again, breathing in the familiar smell of the cologne his father insisted he wear to formal events. A million memories rushed back to him in an instant, his heart leaping with joy to finally be reunited with the boy he loved.

"You're late," Adam whispered as he pulled away from his boyfriend. "I didn't think that you'd make it."

Theo shrugged apologetically and Adam lost himself in Theo's guilty smile. Theo had a smile that could melt steel. Adam didn't stand a chance.

"I got held up in security," he replied. "There was a line because a certain deity triggered a million security measures designed to keep them out. It was a whole thing, but I'm here now."

"Well, it's a ball, I guess we should dance," Adam said finally, his brain short circuiting trying to count the freckles on Theo's nose. There seemed like more than usual now. "Everyone else is."

Theo nodded and extended his hand. Adam placed his hand in Theo's and walked towards the dance floor.

Electricity jumped through each finger as they brushed against Theo's. It hummed through their bodies as they pressed together to dance. Could other people feel the intensity between them or was this something only they could feel?

"I've missed this," Theo said quietly to avoid eavesdroppers. "The dream realm couldn't even come close to matching this. I'm actually touching you again."

Adam instinctively snapped to attention at these words, pulling slightly away from his dance partner for his own safety. It took a moment, but his brain did catch up, realizing that his fears were unfounded. He could see the hurt in Theo's eyes when he had pulled away, but he hadn't had any control over his reaction. Clearly, there was a long road of regaining trust between them.

"So, did they teach you how to dance at your school? You're way better at dancing than I remember," Adam asked, desperate to restart their conversation with anything else.

"A little," Theo replied. His gaze lingered for a few seconds longer than he'd intended on the large scar on Adam's face, which Adam noticed and turned his head away. "It was mostly the castle training though. Queen Claudia trained me for a bunch of scenarios, including dances. They did let me study some battle magic at school, though, which has forms similar to dancing. Torkel was a really good teacher when they let me talk to him."

More than anything, Theo wanted to touch the scar his magic had left on Adam. To trace it and see if he couldn't fix what he'd done. Adam was still looking away though, setting a clear boundary. Theo wasn't to mention the scar, and even if Theo wanted to try to help, he wasn't welcome to try. He could respect that. He already felt guilty enough, and he didn't need to feel any worse.

"So are you almost ready for school?" Adam said after an awkward few moments of silence. "My dad is already stressing about it. We're getting an exchange student this year from Jubilant Accosts, maybe you know him. His name is Sebastian something."

Theo shook his head.

"No, I didn't meet anyone named Sebastian. To be fair though, I didn't meet a lot of people there. I was pretty much locked in my room reading ancient books about demonic energy transfer. Maybe he went to the school across the street. They study light magic and healing. Do you know where our rooms are going to be at school yet? I guess we won't be roommates anymore, but hopefully, we're on the same level. We can still sneak out to watch the stars either way."

"No, I haven't asked about rooms yet. Knowing my mom, I'll probably be stuck with Remy again."

"Remy? But she's your sister. They don't assign siblings together so that people meet other students."

"Yeah, well, I guess I'm the exception."

Theo and Adam quickly gave up on conversation and focused on their dancing. There'd be plenty of time to catch up later where things might not be so awkward.

At least Adrion and Viola were having fun.

[nappe-plays-the-sims]

Happy Halloween!

I'm a little early, but since Simblreen is right around the corner, why not?

@luverofralts makes the cutest sims. And of course, my game being how it is, ACR runs wild and makes additional adorable kids for said sims.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

The school corridor buzzed with the hushed conversations of passing students. Rose leaned against her locker, her eyes scanning the faces as the crowd flowed around her. Today, her focus was sharp and her ears attuned to any sound out of the ordinary. Remy said her demon powers gave her a strong instinct of when destiny was about to change.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"This place is even more beautiful than I thought," Despina gushed, looking in awe at the grounds of Pleasantview's Academy of Magic. "It's amazing!"

"Try saying those words to Master Ewan Maricourt and he might just lower your tuition," Adrian laughed.

Despina beamed at her cousin and the responsible adult he'd found to help her. Theo had gone to Adam after the Arkhelios mixer with her request to apply for subsidized enrollment at their prestigious school. Both boys had turned to Adrian for help, as he was currently helping Theo's father pay for Theo's enrollment. Unfortunately, Adrian wasn't able to cover the costs himself, as he only managed a fraction of Theo's tuition himself, but his partner, Evren, had had some ideas. He knew the Pleasantview coven extensively and what loopholes might be exploited in a case like Despina's. Evren couldn't turn down a student that might add to the coven's greatness or disappoint the partner who had a heart bigger than his checkbook. As an added bonus, he would be taking away talent from the Arkhelios coven and away from Wanda's inept hands.

The only catch was that Despina had to have enough potential to even be considered as a candidate. Both she and Eero had to pass the entrance exam before they could even be considered as students, let alone subsidized students. Eero had never cared much for formal magic and had failed his entrance exam. Magic didn't call to him the same way it called to his sister.

Despina had thrown everything she had into her exam, desperate to get out of Arkhelios and find her place in the wider world. Her parents were talented magic users from what anyone would tell her and she could follow along with some of the spells in the study guide Adam had lent her. She knew very little about her mother, but Despina could almost picture her father whenever her aunt spoke of him. He was smart and gifted, ambitious and fearless. If there was a challenge that arose, he usually fought tooth and nail to beat his sister to the answer. Despina could relate to this. She, too, was ambitious and driven, willing to chance everything on getting a place in her cousin's school.

She not only passed the exam, she nearly aced it. Her score was high enough for both admittance and for the financial considerations to be raised with the school. Despina had stared at the letter congratulating her on her results for what seemed like ages. After a lifetime of being ignored and underestimated, finally, she had proof that she belonged with the strongest students.

Evren had presented the Pleasantview coven with Despina's test scores, asking that she be sponsored by the coven on the condition that she joined them when she was of age. It had been a common enough request in his own time and Pleasantview rarely bothered to change rules and practices after several centuries. Very little changed in the coven over time, and that was how the coven liked it.

Over the years, Despina had come to the rather obvious conclusion that her parents were part of the reason she was held back from her potential. There were people who held her parents' choices against her, others who feared what their daughter would do with a proper education. And of course, her aunt and guardian, Edana, who barely acknowledged her niece and nephew. Edana had had several children all within a few years of each other at a young age and reasonably couldn't take care of additional twin infants with her resources. Now that the twins were older, and Despina had proved she had the ability to learn what her cousins were learning, it became harder to rationalize why a slacker like Remy was admitted to the academy and someone like Despina wasn't. True, her cousins had Maricourt blood in them, but the Darktides were also a powerful family, something her aunt boasted of constantly. So why did her legal guardian ignore her?

That was the cornerstone of Evren's presentation to the coven- the irresponsible neglect of talent due to prejudice. He couldn't fault Edana for struggling with the burden of caring for her brother's kids with everything she had been through, but the Pleasantview coven was a different matter. Was Master Ewan Maricourt denying a talented student entry simply because she made his ex-wife uncomfortable?

There was nothing more powerful than public derision and Evren's presentation had swayed quite a few members. He might have had support, but even a subsidized tuition needed to be paid from somewhere. Adam Darktide had left a small estate that his sister had used over the years to care for his children. There wasn't enough left for four years of tuition and then college for both twins.

That was where Adam came back into play. He was close to the magic users of Crystal Cove and Master Josh Toyonaga in particular. Without his help, Adam would have struggled to complete the crystal ring he made for Theo, along with several other projects for school. It was Master Toyonaga who had been bullied for months by Adam and Edana Darktide and who currently lived with the king of Strangetown. When his favourite nephew in law came to him with a proposition that would benefit his beloved Edana's talented niece, King Charley had been all too happy to create a fund to pay for the educational needs of Despina. The Strangetown coven had been decimated on his watch and it was only fair that the crown pay to compensate one of the victims of that coven.

Despina wished that she could be a fly on the wall when her aunt was told about the fund. Edana wasn't a bad person, but her distant, disinterested management of her brother's children had to end. Now Despina had the chance to prove that Edana had been wrong to be so dismissive of her.

With a grateful hug with Adrian and her cousin, Despina went in search of the girl's dorms and her new bedroom. There was a dress code that she needed to comply with and her very own schedule and textbooks to look over.

Everywhere she looked, something spectacular appeared. Old portraits in golden frames were fascinating. The view she'd briefly seen outside was a breathtaking glimpse of all of Pleasantview. The school library had huge, leather bound books that looked as old as the school itself. Despina was absolutely going to love it here.

As she made her way toward her assigned room, Despina couldn't help noticing a boy who looked just as lost as her. He wasn't in his uniform either and was currently staring intently at a row of houseplants.

"Um, hi. I'm a bit turned around," she called out, catching the boy's attention. "Do you know where the girls' dorms are? I think I've taken the wrong staircase by mistake."

"Sorry, I'm new here," the boy replied. "I just started yesterday and I barely know where my own dorm is. I'm Jasper."

"Despina."

"This is my first day," Despina said excitedly. "I didn't know anyone else was starting halfway through the semester like I am."

"Yeah, well, my mother had to be convinced to let me come," the boy replied. "We don't have a school for magic anymore, but she thinks Pleasantview is too pretentious. The sheer cost of studying here is nuts."

"Yeah, it really is," Despina agreed. "I don't know why it's so expensive. Surely, the magical community here has enough money to get by without gouging everyone."

"It's the Maricourt name, I think," Jasper said. "People go crazy to study with them even though half the family has been caught murdering people or breaking the natural laws over the centuries. My grandfather is paying though, so my mom was overruled. He wants me to learn from the best."

"They really are the best magical teachers, it seems, even if they suck as people. My cousins go here and they learn so much cool stuff that I can't wait to learn about."

"Well, maybe we can study together," Jasper offered shyly. "I know I have a bunch of work that was assigned to keep up with the class, I'm sure you have the same."

"I'd like that."

"Your piano skills are amazing, Adam," Bronwen complimented. Both she and Theo had been dancing for half an hour already, with no signs of stopping.

"I know, right?" Theo agreed. "I keep telling him that we need to start a band. With my guitar, we'll be unstoppable."

Adam rolled his eyes but kept playing.

"Theo, when is the last time that you even practiced your guitar scales? You need to have a solid foundation to grow from if you want to play an instrument. I haven't seen you play it in weeks."

"Because I'm too busy for scales," Theo scoffed. "Between homework and studying my textbooks, I don't have time. Besides, you don't exactly make it easy to focus when you're distracting me. If there was less kissing, there might be more time to practice dumb scales."

Adam flushed slightly, but laughed.

"Well then, I guess you'll never succeed as a guitar prodigy because I don't plan on stopping those distractions."

Bronwen wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ew, guys, get a room already. Some of us here aren't being controlled by our hormones and would like to get back to dancing."

"Only because you're single," Adam pointed out, changing from the song he was playing to a difficult scale to impress Theo. "If you were dating someone, you'd be doing the same thing."

"Yeah, don't you have a crush on anyone?" Theo asked, eager for gossip. "Remy's dating Malika, but she has a crush on a new person every week and Elowen has a huge crush that she keeps denying. Isn't there anyone that you're interested in?"

"No," Bronwen insisted, despite her face turning a deep red. "I haven't met anyone yet that I like. I'm only fourteen, there's tons of time."

"I'm fourteen, and Theo's turning fourteen soon," Adam pointed out. "We're already looking at ideas for when we get married at nineteen, so it goes by fast. You never know who'll you meet."

"You're getting married at nineteen?" Bronwen exclaimed. "Isn't that a little young?"

She tried not to gag when the two boys stared lovingly at each other.

"No, eighteen is too young," Theo replied. "We're being mature and waiting until we're older and pursuing magic degrees in college."

Adam nodded proudly, twisting Bronwen's stomach when she thought of attending their wedding in just a few years. She didn't want to be the girl whose entire life revolved around a boy who wasn't available to her, but she couldn't control the jealous feeling burning in her chest. She needed a distraction and fast.

"Who cares about relationships?" she lied. "Let's have more music before an adult comes and finds us having fun. I'm missing second period for this, we might as well keep dancing."

"Totally!" Theo exclaimed, playfully spinning his friend around with ease. "I have class soon, so we need to hurry up. If I'm late again, I'm going to lose marks in potions, and then they'll call my dads. That cannot happen; they'll murder me for sure."

"Hey, Travis! Wait up!"

Elowen chased after the reclusive student. What did she have to lose? Her sister had told her a million times to tell him her feelings, and it might as well be today.

"Hey, Elowen," he replied quietly, looking desperately for an escape from this social encounter.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out later?" Elowen began quickly, before her target could escape. "You look like you know how to have some fun."

Travis looked at books spilling out of his backpack and then back at the pretty girl standing before him.

"Me? Are you sure you're not thinking of someone else?"

"Ummm, yeah, I'm pretty sure," Elowen confirmed. "I see you around the halls sometimes, and wanted to hang out with you. Is there something wrong with that?"

Travis stared in disbelief at the words.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked with horror.

He definitely didn't seem to be asking arrogantly. He had the same dejected tone as her sister Bronwen did when people made fun of her vampirism.

"Yeah, you're the guy in my English class who actually writes his own papers instead of trying to find a spell to do it for them," Elowen answered truthfully. "You helped Adam study for the ancient runes final after he spent all his study time making out with his boyfriend."

Travis scoffed, his cheeks flushing despite his best effort to hide it.

"I mean, who I am genetically," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "My mothers were terrible witches who only acted selfishly, even with each other. They led the cult that decimated the Strangetown coven. They only made me to use my life-force as bait for the Grim Reaper. If they hadn't been stopped, I'd probably be dead."

Travis braced himself for the rejection he knew was coming. No one ever saw him for the person he was, just who his bio parents had been. On top of that, he was being raised by reapers, which also didn't buy him a lot of social points. He was being raised by his biological uncle, a man who was only dead because Travis' mother killed him as an infant. His adopted sister was queen of Pleasantview, which only added to his anxiety. Would people hate him for his parents? Would they only try to use him to get to Claudia? As if being a teenager wasn't hard enough already.

Elowen just stared back at him, cocking her head slightly like he'd said something in a foreign language.

"Why would any of that matter?" she laughed. "Dude, I only exist because my dad was a massive slut and my mom was sad at the time he picked her up at a bar. Who cares how you were born or why? My mom does weird shit all the time and you know what? My dad brings her coffee every morning and sits down with her to help with that weird shit. Why are you any different?"

Travis blinked, unable to understand if Elowen was being sincere. No one paid attention to him, and here was the daughter of one of the most accomplished witches alive telling him that she saw him for who he was inside.

"Ah, shit, the rain wasn't supposed to start til this afternoon," Elowen groaned. Here she was, pouring her heart out and not only was Travis staring at her like she had a wart on her face, but she was about to be soaked while he did.

Without warning, Elowen felt arms wrap around her, gripping her tight as the rain began to pour.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" Travis asked quickly, still looking as if he were waiting for this to all turn out to be a joke. When Elowen nodded, all thoughts of getting to class evaporated.

Elowen shot the shy boy a devious look.

"You know, we're getting soaked out here. We should go inside and change into dryer clothes."

All the air seemingly evaporated from Travis' lungs at the thought.

"Y-yes. I think we should."

"Despina looks like she's going to fit in great here. It's so rewarding to see the younger generation find their paths in life."

Evren smiled politely at his partner's words while trying to gauge Edana's reaction. The witch had been uncharacteristically quiet for the few minutes that they'd been discussing her niece's admittance to the school Edana had done nothing to help with, and that made Evren nervous. Edana spoke her mind on any topic quite often, and to see her lost for words was unnerving.

"I hope you don't think we overstepped," he said cautiously. Beside him, Adrian looked confused at the civility of his words, but Adrian underestimating magic users was something of an ongoing trend. Evren was fairly certain that going to the Pleasantview coven and painting her as a neglectful guardian would have consequences for him and he wanted to know what those would be before they snuck up on him. "Your niece came to us in confidence and it goes against the values of our coven to waste potential."

"Yes, yes, of course. Ewan notified me as a courtesy earlier. Her test scores were quite remarkable."

Evren waited for the conversation to escalate to anger, but nothing happened. It almost looked as if Edana wasn't even paying attention to them in favour of something she was mulling over in her mind.

"The sponsorship from the Strangetown king was extraordinarily kind," Adrian said, seeing if that statement would be ignored as well.

"He owes it to her. His Majesty did nothing to reign in his coven, and people suffered," Edana murmured. "I tried to stop it, but I couldn't. I failed. He failed."

Evren and Adrian gave each other baffled looks. This certainly wasn't the way they had anticipated the conversation going. Edana barely looked like she was present in the room.

"You couldn't stop an entire coven on your own, you know that, right?" Evren asked, his eyes full of concern. "There was nothing that you could have done. You survived to keep the coven alive. It can't have been easy to juggle everything in your life while also grieving the loss of your coven, your family. Losing mine was devastating too, but I keep their memory alive every day."

"Despina has her father's talent and his eyes. I'm sure he'd be proud of her," Edana lied.

Her brother had been willing to sacrifice his children to pursue dark magic. He'd broken another natural law trying to speak to his sister beyond the grave and only mentioned his kids as an afterthought. Adam didn't give a damn about Despina or what she did, and yet, every time Edana looked at the girl, all she could see was his reflection.

Showing up to the school today wasn't important though. For all her experience and education, Edana was struggling to understand what her dead brother had been trying to warn her about before being escorted out of the world of the living. None of it made sense. There was next to nothing published about reapers, especially ancient ones. He'd mentioned Josh Toyonaga's husband knowing something about the explosion in Twikkii Island, but what did that even mean? The two men were hardly ever in the islands unless they were visiting Edana and her husband, and she'd never believe that either of them had the ability to pull an attack like that off even if they confessed.

As her mind wandered off trying to piece together the clues her brother had clawed his way back from death to give her, a thought came to Edana. Duke Siew was nothing special, but his partner was something of a mystery himself. Where had Evren come from and what might he know about her mysterious puzzle?

"Master Thorne, have you studied much about reapers in your training?" she asked. "Was your alternate version of old Strangetown aware of their movements or history?"

Evren stood baffled for a moment, as he was prepared to discuss Despina, while her guardian apparently had different ideas.

"My Strangetown was likely very similar to yours," he answered. "I spent most of my time in Pleasantview, though. They didn't need an architect hanging around, I'm afraid. From what I can remember though, Master Casper Maricourt and his daughter did write about some controversial topics. There were whispers about him researching death and immortality, but I don't know what came of it."

"His daughter led our coven to their deaths, that's what became of it," Edana replied angrily. "Charlotte carried on his work to its conclusion, but she didn't exactly like sharing with those beneath her. If there's a stash of secret documents from her hidden away somewhere, I can't find it."

"Charlotte was centuries old?" Adrian gasped, honestly surprised by the information. Would Evren live to be 300, long after he was dead? Would their children? This was a subject that was going to be addressed when they got home.

"The more you throw yourself into magic, the more magic throws itself into you," Edana shrugged. "That bitch was ancient and powerful, but she didn't have much of a life outside of her schemes."

"Try the royal archives," Evren suggested, ignoring the look of despair Adrian was giving him. "If the coven's affairs were settled, they would be in the royal archives. If Charlotte laid a finger on anything, it would be archived there. Have you tried appealing to the Queen of Pleasantview? She's descended from reapers, they may be able to answer your questions."

Edana scowled at the thought.

"No, His Majesty would be offended to have me meet with her," she lied. The last thing she needed in her life was dealing with Pleasantview or its monarch. That path only led to danger. "Besides, I need to know about ancient reapers and there's no chance of the queen revealing ancient secrets even if she did know them. Have you ever heard of a reaper named Atem? He's apparently the Grim Reaper's son if that helps."

From Adrian's blank stare, Edana ruled him out as a source of help. Evren, on the other hand, looked as if he was thinking.

"I've heard of the Grim Reaper in the stories of the destruction of Old Strangetown," he murmured. "I faintly remember a confrontation between the son of the Grim Reaper and Alpheus, the ruler of Strangetown at the time. Maybe that time period would be a good place to start. The archives have been burned and rebuilt in a nearly endless cycle since then, though. They may not be complete."

"That was the time of the Demon Wars in Viper Isle?" she asked, quickly writing a note to herself in pen on her arm. "If I summoned a lesser demon from then, they may be able to enlighten me on the subject."

"No! No. Start with the archives," Evren insisted. "That can't be an option. Those demons were insanely powerful. You don't want to risk a Great Demon or a Blood Demon escaping. Do you not know what Alpheus was?"

Edana's only response was a muffled grunt of acknowledgment, while Adrian watched the conversation with interest. Evren knew so much about magic and history. Adrian didn't even understand all the things Evren rambled on about to other warlocks, but Evren knew them well. He was a constant source of knowledge and power, and Adrian loved him for it. He may not know what Evren was saying half the time, but seeing the awe on everyone's face when Evren began talking was incredible. The man was a walking encyclopedia and he was all Adrian's.

"What was Alpheus?" Adrian asked curiously. "I don't know if we ever covered Strangetown in school. It doesn't sound familiar."

"He was a yellow eyed blood demon," Evren replied, watching as a look of recognition passed over his partner's face.

"Oh, like Theo?"

Adrian watched Edana and Evren trade careful looks. Neither of them seemed to be eager to answer the question.

"Sort of," Evren decided at last. "He was very old. One of the originals. Theo doesn't have his...temperament."

"The instant he shows that temperament, he's never seeing my son again," Edana stated, her personality seemingly returning now that she had a clue to chase down. "Alpheus fought Death itself, his kind should never return. Adam will see when the time comes."

"Hey, great. We'll see you around. Nice catching up with you, Edana," Evren called, steering Adrian away from the witch before one of them exploded. He could already see the vein above Adrian's eye begin to twitch, just as it did whenever one of the kids disobeyed them on an epic scale. "Message me if you want an archive research partner, I haven't been to the archives in ages."

"What are you doing?" Adrian hissed as his partner pulled him into the hallway. "That woman! I never know whether to hate her or feel sorry for her, but I don't care what happened to her coven if she's going to hurt Theo like that. You know Adam is his whole world and if she thinks that she can push him around or try another Maricourt reunion to control him, I-"

"Breathe, my love. You know that I'd do anything for the children, but tact is what is needed here, not rash anger. Theo has proven surprisingly capable of getting what he wants, despite what Adam's parents say. I have a feeling that whatever happens between him and Adam, none of us parents have much of a say in the matter. I love that you're so protective, but fighting a council member in a Pleasantview school isn't going to change anything."

"You're right," Adrian sighed. "As always. It's just...the way she looked at me when I mentioned Theo...it was like I was talking about a monster. With his family history, the last thing he needs is his boyfriend's mother calling him monstrous or dangerous."

"Hmmm." Evren paused for a moment, trying to phrase his next words compassionately. "You mentioned Theo, you brought him up. I was just trying to prevent a desperate Strangetown witch from messing with forces she cannot control for no reason. There's something of a history of bad ideas in her family, so i thought that some intervention might be needed. The demons she was thinking of summoning were monsters, without question. The Demon War ended only with the intervention of reapers and Life and Death. Blood demons were terrible, twisted things-at least when they roamed the earth. I'm not even sure if summoning one is actually possible these days, but it would be suicide to try. Then you brought up Theo as one of their brethren and understandably, Edana's mind drew comparisons."

"Well, he's studying blood magic, what else am I supposed to think? The Sovereign calls him a blood demon herself!"

"A hybrid version of one, yes. Nowhere near the level of cruelty and malice of the original demons. It's of no help to Theo to make comparisons, no matter how good your intentions are. A lot of magic users whisper about his education and wonder if it's going to become a problem in the future."

"I see. You work with a lot of small-minded people if they think Theo's capable of becoming some monster."

"I do, absolutely," Evren agreed. He smiled playfully, hoping to change the tone of their conversation. "They're all better than dealing with Wanda."

A small smile tugged at Adrian's mouth despite his indignation.

"They are not," he replied. "She's trying her best. You've been to Arkhelios, you know what she's up against. One of these days, she's going to catch you off guard and hex you. You're ridiculous."

Evren wrapped his arms around his partner playfully, glad to see his mood improve.

"Come on, let's find Despina and say our goodbyes. We both have work to get back to."

"As much as I want to stay here forever, I have class soon," Elowen declared, continuing to kiss Travis despite her words. "Plus, I think the coven is meeting here later on, so it's probably for the best we leave."

It would be just her luck to have her mother walk in on them. That was the last thing Elowen wanted. If her mother got over finding Elowen in various states of undress in the coven meeting room, then finding out who she was spending all her time kissing would absolutely ensure she was grounded until she was thirty-five. There was no way in hell that Edana Darktide's daughter could ever be with Charlotte Maricourt's son. If she hated Theo for dating Adam, Elowen could only imagine what her mom would do if she knew she'd seen Travis Goldman in his boxers.

"Yeah, my mom would kill me if we were caught in here," Travis agreed. "She would probably like you if you wanted to come over for dinner on the weekend, though. If you don't mind her making a scene, that is. Oliver's not dating anyone and Miruna's not over very often, so she might be a bit...much if I bring someone home."

Elowen smiled.

"I know all about over the top moms, trust me," she laughed. "That sounds like fun, just, maybe let's wait a few weeks to see how things go. I really like you, Travis, but I just need time to tell my parents about us. You've seen how well they reacted when Adam started dating, I just want to avoid a scene or an elaborate Maricourt family meeting."

"Yeah, I get it. We don't have to tell anyone until we want," Travis agreed. "Seriously, my family is a lot. I don't want to scare you away, but, if I don't warn you, you'll probably run anyway and I don't want that."

"You have met my family in passing, haven't you? Seriously, you'll be the one running away."

"Challenge accepted," Travis laughed.

Someone in the hallway passed by the door and both teens froze in terror. When the footsteps carried on down the hall, the relieved teens quickly reached for their clothes.

"We'd better get out of here quick."

"No arguments here!"

"Yes! This is the best thing to ever happen to me!"

Despina took a moment to celebrate in the empty kitchen. Her life had changed overnight beyond her wildest dreams. She was attending the most prestigious school for magic and she'd already made an acquaintance with similar interests even before her first class. Her troubled parentage for once in her life wasn't holding her back; it had been the reason for her scholarship. Things in her life couldn't possibly get any better.

"Nice dance moves."

Despina stopped her private celebration when Adam appeared from down the hall.

"Adam! Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"It's my job to escort you to your first class," Adam announced formally. "I'm sorry Theo couldn't also be here to help, but he has detention. Just a piece of advice, try to arrive on time for class if you want to stay out of trouble."

"Got it."

"Despina! Just who I was hoping to see. You look incredibly studious," Evren greeted, embracing the teen warmly. "We're about to leave, is there anything else you need before we go? Do you have your schedule?"

Despina nodded.

"Yes, and my very own guide," she said, pointing to Adam. "Apparently Theo's too busy with detention."

"Again? Roman's going to hit the roof," Adrian sighed. "Despina, try to keep an eye on those two for me, will you? Don't let them talk you into skipping class, especially since those classes are incredibly expensive. Right, Mr. Darktide?"

"Right, sir," Adam answered guiltily. It wasn't as if he hated his classes, he just could think of a million things he'd rather be doing instead. "Let's get going, Despina. You don't want to be late for your first class."

"We did a good thing here, Ev. That talented witch is getting the education she needs because of you. All of our kids are going to do well because of what you give them. You have a genuine talent, and I love that about you."

The two teens quickly exited the area, now that the adults were getting sentimental and gross.

"I love you too," Evren replied, pulling his partner in for a quick kiss. "But I noticed something earlier that I want to discuss. You looked really uncomfortable when we were discussing Charlotte earlier with Edana. I'd know that brooding look anywhere."

"It's nothing. It's just that...well, I'm probably going to die for the second time somewhere under a century from now. I don't think getting kicked out of the demonic void is going to save me again. But you-"

"This is about witch lifespans?" Evren exclaimed, looking instantly relieved. "I thought you might have objected to my recommendations for research or something like that. My love, witch lifespans vary greatly. The truly powerful ones can live centuries, just like demons, but very few live past a normal lifespan for a non magical person. The effort it takes to extend a life is intense, and often filled with difficult or immoral choices. The leader of my coven in this reality died quite young and he was immensely powerful. Don't worry, I'm not planning to start over with a younger magic user when you die of extreme old age, surrounded by our family."

"I wasn't worried about that," Adrian lied, failing to hide his relief. "It's just four hundred years alone, watching your family die as they all get older...it sounds incredibly lonely."

"It does. Roman's starting to rub off on you, I think. You two worry to death about things that will never happen. Speaking of, we should probably get home before the school calls the Bellamys with news of Theo's detention. Roman's going to be livid."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Thanks for agreeing to hold the party here," Roman said, looking proudly at the decorations he'd bought and the impressive cake he'd made for his son's important day. It wasn't every day that your kid turned fourteen and Roman wanted to make the party special.

Ewan Traver merely shrugged back at him, like it was nothing to use his estate to entertain a group of hyper teenagers. Truthfully, nothing seemed to bother the duke, and it made Roman incredibly uneasy to see such a laid back parenting style. Maybe if he lived on a tropical island and hadn't been a teenage father, Roman might be the same. But then again, Adrian had grown up in Twikkii Island, and he was just as bad as Roman when it came to his clingy parenting style.

"It's all good," Ewan assured his guest. "The kids love having their friends over and we have more than enough space to accommodate them. Tell you what. If you make one of those bat cakes for Bronwen's birthday, I'd be in your debt. Not many bakeries have vampire friendly designs, and it would mean a lot to her."

"Done," Roman agreed, eager to continue his party setup and ditch the hovering duke. "Is everyone here? I haven't done a head count."

"All of them are present and accounted for," Ewan confirmed. "I think they've found the pool table. If I know my kids, they're probably hustling the group. Never bet against a vampire or witch in a contest of skill."

"Uh...huh." Roman had no idea of what to say to this man. He was the father of Theo's closest friends though, so Roman tried his best. Ewan wasn't snobby or pretentious, nor was he trapped in the same constant anxiety that Adrian felt being a duke. If anything, the man reminded Roman of an eager puppy, excited and ready for anything fun. If Roman had to blindly guess who was married to stuffy, curt Edana, he would never have guessed Ewan in a million years.

"Where is Edana? Does she want to help set up?"

For the briefest of seconds, Ewan's face fell before he could correct it. It wasn't anger or frustration that Roman had briefly saw, but some kind of sadness. He didn't resent his wife like Roman would have assumed with such an emotionally mismatched couple. Instead, it almost looked like the look he sometimes caught Abe giving him whenever the subject of Roman's family came up. Ewan was just as worried about Edana as Abe worried about him. It was touching to see, and it gave Roman hope that the children of this man also inherited that same compassion. Any friends of Theo needed some extra compassion should anything terrible happen to their friend, and if Elowen and Bronwen were anything like their father, Theo would be in good hands.

"Edana's working," Ewan explained. "She's got this huge research project she's working on and it's very important. She promised to come up for cake though."

With the noise of a birthday party around her, Edana was finding it difficult to concentrate on her work. Several excited teenagers crowding around a pool table did not make it easy to stare endlessly at photo after photo of boring historical records.

Truthfully, she would much rather be upstairs, ensuring that the teens behaved like the young magical apprentices most of them were instead of staring at ancient records. She was certain that Adam was probably letting that demon hybrid of his push past acceptable boundaries, and that Remy and Elowen were likely trying to do some juvenile prank like spiking the punch or whatever it was that teens did these days. Ewan could handle the party itself, but his wife needed to be the stern authority figure ensuring that nothing went awry.

But her brother had given her a mission that superseded everything else. No one escaped death to pass something unimportant to their angry sister. For the measures he had taken to see her, Edana knew that this required her full attention. Something big had to be at stake and she wasn't about to stand over the dead bodies of her friends again, not when she could have prevented it. What if something happened to one of her children? She would never recover from that loss. If it took hours hunched over a computer to save her family, then it was worth all of it.

He said that the Darktides were in danger, but we're not originally from Strangetown, our ancestors are from Pleasantview. Why care so much about a supernatural being from another country?

Why did the answer to a mystery in Twikkii Island all revolve around Strangetown or Josh Toyonaga's husband? They lived in Strangetown, but neither of them came to Twikkii Island regularly. They came from time to time to visit Ewan and Edana, but not often. Besides, Josh's own mother died in that explosion. He wasn't close to the former queen consort, but Edana could never accuse him of murder. She'd seen for herself how devastated he'd been at her funeral.

Couldn't Adam have been at least a little more specific about this threat? If he hadn't spent so much time being a jackass, he could have explained this threat easily and she wouldn't be forever wandering libraries to search for whatever it was she was supposed to be looking for.

"There!" she gasped, scrolling back to a picture she'd nearly missed. "Finally!"

Atem Spector and his mother, Morganna Grunt, in the palace of Alpheus Toyonaga, Strangetown, Circa 678, photo from a private collection.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" Edana groaned, desperately scanning the photo for clues that might point her in the right direction.

The picture was blurry and barely showed what Atem looked like. His eyes were closed and his hair could have easily been dirty blonde or brown. The woman beside him didn't look much like her son. Green skin with green eyes. He must have taken after his father.

The year 678 would place this picture right in the middle of the Demon Wars. If she ignored Master Thorne's warning, she could probably summon a demon that old. It was only 2210, surely something that old would still respond to a summons?

No, Master Thorne was right. Adam would have rushed headfirst into summoning something that old. Edana was the smart one. The careful one. The one currently fearing for her family's safety.

She'd never seen a blood demon before. No one alive likely hadn't either. She used to sit on the memorial to Alpheus outside of the public library when she did her schoolwork as a girl. The shrine to the powerful blood demon always inspired her to strive for power like his. Perhaps that was why her coven had stumbled in the end. Power like that came with a price too high for mortals to pay. Her son's boyfriend worried her with his own power, but she was comforted by the fact that Alpheus had been a full demon, while Theo was merely a hybrid. He was dangerous, sure, but nothing like the demons of the past.

Master Thorne was displaced from another time, centuries ago where maybe he'd seen a blood demon for himself. He probably knew what he was talking about; witches and warlocks had differing practices back then, and not all of them were moral. Still, the urge to throw caution aside to play with something that far overpowered her was intense. What would it be like to see a demon so powerful? Would it be like staring at Anna Goldman's true reaper form, beautiful and terrible all at once?

"Dammit!" she swore, throwing one of her reference books across the room. "What am I supposed to do with this, Adam? None of this makes any sense! Just tell me how to save my family!"

"Edana?" Ewan's worried voice floated down the stairs, grounding her in her surrounding once more. In her anger, she'd worried her poor husband and been just as rash and improper as she forbid her children to be. This mystery was getting to her, but she couldn't worry her family or travel down forbidden paths like her brother.

"Everything's fine, honey," she called, picking up the book she'd thrown. "I just knocked a book over. I think I'm making progress though."

"Okay, well we're going to cut the cake now, if you wanted to join us. Theo's dad made it."

"Yeah, yeah okay. I'll be right up."

By the time Edana made it up the stairs, the cake was already cut and the teens were having a birthday toast with what she hoped was ginger ale. Ewan knew better than to let champagne anywhere near the kids who were all studying magic at a level he was incapable of matching. Their alcohol was stored safely in a locked cabinet, but Edana knew better than to trust a simple lock to keep the teens out. Elowen was getting better each day at subverting her mother's traps. Between her and Remy, Edana was going to have to be on top of her game to parent her children.

"To the birthday boy, Theo." Ewan toasted. The teens followed his example and clinked their glasses together to toast the young demon.

"To Theo!"

"Alright, cake and ginger ale is on the table if anyone wants refills," Roman said. "You guys have fun, and if you need anything, the grown ups are going to be here, doing boring grown up stuff."

"Ugh, Dad, I'm not four," Theo groaned, shooting his father a nasty glare. "We don't need 'grown ups' for anything. We're fine."

"Well the grown ups have actual champagne to drink, so we'll be fine too," Ewan laughed before Roman could snap at his son. "Go have fun. We certainly will be."

"Gross," Adam said, looking at his step-father like he had three heads. "Are our parents friends now? I don't like it."

"My dad doesn't have any friends," Theo replied snarkily. "At least we know they'll get along at our wedding."

"Ha ha, you two are funny," Roman grumbled, reaching for the bottle of champagne Ewan had produced. "Go have fun while the adults have their own party."

"Your mom is getting worse," Eliana said, while lining up her shot. The three sisters were pool enthusiasts and far too skilled to hustle anyone. No one believed that they could beat any of the sisters, so most of the gambling was on which of the sisters would win.

"You're not wrong," Remy replied. "She spends all her time at home on the computer and all her time at school in her office. I think my dad is worried about her, but he doesn't want to say anything."

"What do you think she's working on?" Eliana asked. "Not all of us are witches who know what mysterious secret she's looking for."

"You don't have to be a witch to figure it out," Elowen answered. "She's upset about Uncle Adam. She's always upset about Uncle Adam. It must be his like birthday or death date or something lame like that. I see her staring at pictures of him at school all the time."

"Nah, I think she's worried about Adam Jr and his demon companion," Remy laughed. "She's looking stuff up about demons, really old demons. All the blood demons died ages ago or whatever and she's worried that Adam's going to get himself killed too. Maybe one day, Theo's going to snap and kill us all and she wants to be ready."

"Remy, be serious," Eliana said. "The last person Theo's going to snap and kill is Adam. I don't think that those two can stand to be away from each other for even an hour."

"Yeah, you're right," Remy conceded. "They're probably making out downstairs and skipping the rest of the party."

"You and Theo should really come to the school dance next semester. Josh is taking me and my uncles said that I could wear one of my mom's dresses to it. It's going to be a lot of fun, and outside students can come by invitation."

"I don't know, Medora, Theo would probably want to go, but I'm not really into dances. The ones at our own school are more than enough for me."

Adam fidgeted, trying to politely refuse the invitation to a pretentious dance that he would likely be completely miserable at. Medora was really excited and Theo would love to let loose and dance wherever he could, so it felt like he had to say yes, despite his reservations.

"What's this about a dance?"

Theo waved at his friend and boyfriend, watching Adam's face flush like he was hiding something.

"It's only the largest dance in the school that isn't prom," Medora exclaimed. "I think we're supposed to practice our social and political skills or whatever, but it's a dance! I have my outfit all picked out. My uncles are letting me use my mom's clothes and jewelry and Josh has a matching outfit that will look amazing."

"Aren't you wearing your mom's dress now?" Adam asked, gesturing to the photo behind them. "That's your mom isn't it? My step-dad's sister?"

Medora was the spitting image of her mother, especially when she wore Tristianne's clothes. The resemblance was remarkable, something Theo was sure the princess heard all the time.

"This?" Medora repeated, looking offended. "Adam, I know that you have no knowledge of fashion, especially when it comes to what a princess gets to wear, but this is not one of my mom's dresses. Her dresses cost about the same as a year of tuition."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Adam didn't look like he really understood or cared about Medora's wardrobe, but he didn't want to be rude to an orphan trying to connect to her mother in whatever way she could. If he lost his father or step-father, maybe he'd want to use one of their suits to remember them too. His father's warlock robes probably cost a small fortune and since his recently discovered half-brother wasn't a warlock, Ewan's robes would likely go to his only magical son.

"I was just about to get my swimsuit, but I was going to head back to get another piece of cake," Theo announced, while his boyfriend mentally compiled his likely inheritance. "Wanna come with me?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. That cake was awesome," Adam replied. "Do you want some too Medora?"

"No thanks, I'm going to get changed too. The pool is calling my name. Can you believe that I live in a castle, and we don't even have a pool on the property? My grandfather says we don't have the infrastructure to support one, but he's the king. He can hire someone to install whatever it needs."

"A pool's not everything," Adam pointed out. "It's a lot of work and uses a lot of water for a desert nation like Strangetown. My step-dad makes us take turns cleaning it when we're living here."

"Well, either way, I'm headed for the pool," Medora announced. "See you out there. And think about the dance. Seriously. It'll be fun."

By the time that Medora emerged from the house in her swimsuit, a vicious water balloon fight was already underway. A balloon narrowly missed her head, but didn't break upon hitting the ground.

"Oh my god, you never said there was going to be water balloons!" she shrieked, picking up the fallen balloon and whipping at Elowen. "How many do we have left?"

While the other guests were distracted, Adam and Theo were changing into their bathing suits a little more slowly than the other teens. They changed together all the time at school when they had gym class or when they changed into their pajamas at night, but it was never usually while they were alone. Having a few moments of privacy together now was somehow very different than at school. The air crackled with tension and before he knew it, Theo's lips were on Adam's, pulling him as close to him as he could.

"We need to go," Theo whispered between kisses, only to have Adam move his hand and completely silence all thoughts of leaving.

"Your dad is busy and no one will notice we're gone," Adam whispered back, punctuating his words with kisses down Theo's arm.

"My dad will definitely notice a hickey," Theo protested, pushing his boyfriend away halfheartedly. "You know how pissed he'll be if he catches us in here."

"Yeah, my mom will probably murder us both," Adam conceded. "It would be pretty horrible to die on your birthday."

"Worth it though. Plus then I wouldn't have to go to dinner at home with my grandma. All she does is drink and scowl at me while going on about how much money my school costs. Rien says my grandma's just going to give me some money in my college fund for a gift anyway."

"Well, it beats hanging out here with my sisters," Adam replied. "All they do is talk about their partners and tease me. Plus, Mom's still acting like some kind of zombie. I don't think she's even made a single comment once today about you or your dad."

"Maybe she likes me now," Theo teased. "Maybe she's finally seen how perfect we are for each other and wants to apologize for everything she's said."

Both boys laughed at the thought of Edana Darktide ever apologizing for anything, especially when Theo was involved.

"Maybe one day. But definitely not today."

"You're almost out of balloons, you'd better surrender while you still can.'

Elowen stared menacingly at her half-sister, water balloon in her hand, ready to be thrown. Their water battle was down to just Elowen and Remy and Elowen had the clear advantage. Remy had just a few balloons left, but she wasn't about to lose and have her half-sister gloat about it all week.

"Maybe you should surrender before I tell Dad about your boyfriend."

Remy's taunt worked, and Elowen's angrily tossed balloon easily missed its target. It landed on the ground beside Remy, allowing the witch to scoop it up and hurl it back towards her half-sister.

"So the rumours are true," Remy laughed. "Who is he? Does he go to our school?"

"Mind your own business," Elowen snapped, launching another balloon at Remy that also missed its target. "If you don't, maybe I'll tell Malika that you've been flirting with the girl in potions class. Plus the guy you looked really into at lunch last week."

"It's not cheating to admire an attractive person," Remy insisted. "Malika knows that and I'm sure she looks at all kinds of people herself. Your boyfriend probably does the same thing.'

"He does not!"

"So I guess I'll see you again at our kids' wedding?" Ewan joked, looking over his shoulder to see if Adam or Theo were nearby to hear.

The dads had finished their alcohol fueled conversation upstairs and had finally changed into the bathing suits to supervise anyone swimming in the pool. Roman wasn't thrilled to see his son absent in the yard, but some of the other kids were missing too, which meant that there could be an innocent explanation, like Theo playing a game of pool. Roman had promised his husband not to be paranoid or suspicious about Theo's whereabouts during the party, but it was difficult. Theo was probably getting into trouble somewhere, but both Adrian and Abe had pleaded with him to keep Adam's parents happy. The last thing they needed was another inquiry by the Maricourts.

"You know they're going to break up long before they're nineteen, right?" Roman replied. "They're just kids."

"Oh, I thought Edana said that you married your high school boyfriend?" Ewan said in a tone that Roman couldn't discern the true intention of. He didn't sound like he was asking the question sincerely. More than likely, he and Edana had come up with topics to discuss with Theo's parents to continue their interrogation of the Bellamy family.

"Well, eventually," Roman conceded. "I did marry someone else first, and we broke up a few times since high school."

"Well, there you go," Ewan replied. "There's hope for them yet. Edana married someone else first too and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out."

"There's no way that Theo is getting married as a teenager. All he's doing is trying to get our approval and permission to have sex."

Ewan choked back a powerful laugh at this, clapping Roman's shoulder as he laughed.

"I had no idea that you needed parental permission to have sex," he laughed. "Oh man, if I did, my father would have me die a virgin. My sister too. The look on his face when she told him that she had no idea of who Medora's biological parent was because she and her husband had attended an orgy together! I wish I had had a camera. Trust me, Roman, Adam is his mother's son. He's not going to ask permission for anything. Kids are going to be kids, just like we were."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Roman sighed. "Theo's too much like we were."

"Ah well, my brother and sister and I all put my parents through hell," Ewan laughed. "Leo was almost murdered for defying the queen of Pleasantview, and Tristianne, well, it's not right to speak ill of the dead, even if her antics were hilarious. I have three kids with three different women who are pretty much all the same age. Being a parent means watching your kids make mistakes while helping them learn from them. My dad never gave up on me, even when I deserved it."

"I never really had parents growing up," Roman said. "My mother tried to kill both me and my kids and my dad was physically present but never there with me. Theo has a magical disability that's potentially fatal if he gets too powerful without something to ground him. He's almost died more than once and I can't lose him, Ewan. I also can't watch him struggle like I did with a teenage pregnancy either. If I let go of him for even a second, I'll-"

"You'll push him away," Ewan replied. "I almost pushed my dad out of my life when I was young and thought I knew it all. Everything he did, I assumed was just to punish me for having a good time. It took a tragedy for us to come together again and forgive, don't let the same happen to you and your son."

Roman stared closely at the man he'd underestimated. Ewan may not be as sharp as his wife, but he really did care about his kids and their happiness. He was just as fiercely protective of his kids as Roman was, though he didn't look like he spent long nights worrying himself to death like Roman did. He was still too close to Edana to trust, but Roman could still appreciate Ewan's advice.

"Any tips on letting go?" Roman sighed. "I don't know how I'll sit through a wedding between two nineteen year olds without saying something."

"Well, like you said, who marries their high school sweetheart?" Ewan laughed. "I'm sure they'll have a bunch of relationships in high school and forget all about each other. The only other time I'll ever see you again is when you drop off Bronwen's birthday cake next year."

"That sounds like a deal," Roman said, allowing himself a small smirk while still worrying about his son. "Adam's not a bad kid though, I don't want you to think that Abe and I hate him or anything like that. Just try to put in a good word about Theo with your wife if there's a wedding. I have a feeling that she'll call another 'meeting' about my son if there's a ring involved."

Ewan sighed heavily.

"Yeah, I guess it's no secret that she thinks that your son is going to burn all of Pleasantview down. We're all trying to reason with her. The last thing the school needs is a reputation for harassing demon students. He's only a hybrid demon though and he only seems to endanger himself with his powers, which is what has pacified her for now. Adam tying his bloodline to Theo's though- you should have seen her reaction. I thought the house was about to implode."

"Yeah, we had that reaction too," Roman groaned. "No offense, of course. You seem like a nice family, but-"

"But your thirteen year old playing with blood magic? Yeah, I get it. Still, yelling at them didn't change anything. If you push too hard, teenagers are going to push back. Give them a little room to breathe and your son just might come to you with his problems first."

"Yeah, that will be the day," Roman murmured, scanning the yard again and still finding no signs of his son. "Theo? Theo, it's a pool party because there's a pool. Hurry up and swim with your friends!"

"Coming, Dad!"

Theo and Adam emerged from the house, dressed in their bathing suits and looking guilty.

So he was inside with Adam, probably this entire time. Doing god knows what.

Roman was about to shout at his son, when his eyes met Ewan's and he reconsidered.

Don't push him away. You can trust him. Yelling will only push him away.

"Get in the pool now that we can supervise," Roman said, though his teeth were still tightly clenched. Beside him, Ewan gave him a quick thumbs up. "This is a pool party after all."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"You've got this. You're going to head out there and be completely normal. Theo's more powerful than me, he can probably smell fear with his demonic senses. Just be friendly and pretend it's one of mom's conferences. No one will suspect a thing."

Victoriana nodded at her reflection in the mirror. The past week had been confusing, now that she knew who her father was. Half the time she wanted to teleport to Arkhelios and run into his arms, and the other half, she just wanted to forget that he existed.

Things were weird between her and her mom now. Claudia had all but banished her from her sight and didn't text her back. Victoriana had spent the past two weekends at her grandparents' house, waiting to be summoned back to the castle. The call never came. The queen had all but banished her for the crime of pushing her to name her father, and Victoriana was starting to worry that her time with her grandparents was going to be permanent.

Her grandfather had to work most of the day, so her grandmother decided to take Victoriana and Travis to the Siew family cottage, where conveniently, Adrian and several of his children also just happened to be visiting. Ewan Traver's kids had also been deposited at the cottage, so the lot was full. If things went badly today, Victoriana could usually count on the Traver siblings to cheer her up. Bronwen especially, considering that she had also grown up without one of her parents. Bronwen's mother had abandoned her just after her birth, leaving her with a similar longing to know her place in the family tree.

It was good that her friends were there to support her if anything went wrong. Her biological father's ex-husband and children were there with her and Victoriana wasn't about to waste the opportunity.

"Okay, girls, let's start again. Ten points to Luci for winning last round."

Trent stacked the game pieces to restart the game. The twins were both ecstatic to play another round of Don't Wake the Llama, but behind them, their father wasn't amused.

"Trent, Luci needs to be in the pool practicing for her swim competition in a few weeks," Adrian insisted. "She doesn't need to be distracted with games. Rien has some math homework to do as well, don't think I didn't find that hiding under your laundry."

"Relax, Adrian, we'll just play one more round. I thought you wanted them to socialize while they're here. They can't socialize while doing homework."

"Yeah, Daddy. Rien's practicing doing something other than reading cards all day and I'm already going to win the competition even without practicing. We never get to see Uncle Trent and Aunt Cindra."

"If I do my homework, can you make Dad give me my tarot cards back?" Adrienne pleaded. "I won't fight with Luci again, I promise. Unless she starts it."

Adrian rolled his eyes in frustration. If he didn't remind his daughters about their responsibilities, he wasn't being supportive and if he did remind them, he was being uptight and strict. He couldn't win with the twins. At least Fiolett was still young enough not to sass him too often. It was only going to get worse when they became teenagers. He and Roman would need all the help they could get when the girls were Theo's age.

"Fine, play with your uncle. I have to make some calls. I'll come check on you when I'm done, and then you're doing your homework and practicing."

"Okay, girls, let's go find some information," Victoriana declared, looking expectantly at her small group of friends. The Travers children stared back at her with expectations of their own.

"Why are we trying to get info on Theo?" Elowen asked. "We've known him forever. The only thing you need to know about him is that he has a boyfriend. He won't shut up about him or talk about anything else."

"Theo talks about a lot more than just Adam," Bronwen said. "He likes a lot of things like playing guitar and practicing magic. There's a lot more to him than Adam."

"Please, like we don't all know why you really know so much about him," Elowen laughed. "You want his little demon babies. You're in love with him. Bronwen loves Theo."

"Shut up," Bronwen snapped, her face suddenly very red. "I do not!"

"We're here because I need to watch him. Because I said so, and I'm the Crown Princess so what I say goes."

Victoriana's words stopped the sisters from bickering, just as she'd intended. She was the heir to the Pleasantview throne and her tone needed to convey that. It was something she and her mother had been working on before the queen had distanced herself from her daughter.

"I just want to know him better," Victoriana explained. "His sisters too. I can't explain why."

"Alright, well prepare to learn all about what Adam eats for lunch," Elowen groaned.

"And his favourite food, colour and animal," Remy added. "Plus the names of their future kids and what month is a good month for a wedding."

"Basically, you'll know Adam a lot better than you'll know Theo," Bronwen laughed. "But if you insist."

"Ah, Vicky, I was wondering what you were up to. If you see your uncle Travis, tell him to get in the pool before lunch." Anna wrapped her arms around her granddaughter and smiled. "I saw Theo out in the hot tub on my way in. I hope you two find what you are looking for in each other. Your grandfather and I love you no matter what."

"Ew, Grandma, not in front of my friends! You make it sound like I want to date him or something. I just want to talk to him."

Anna watched Victoriana leave in search of her half-brother with worry. The poor girl couldn't handle a rejection from her sibling if this went badly. Theo seemed to be a nice boy though. She didn't see any reason why he would be rude.

Ewan should have been the one taking the kids today. He cried at the end of sappy movies and probably would have some kind of "family reconnection" party planned to help the siblings adjust to their new relationship. When he found out that he had a living half-brother of his own, Ewan had immediately set up "brother play dates" every so often to give them time alone to bond, despite being adults. Anna had no doubt that if her husband was here, he'd be doing the same for Victoriana and Theo. On second thought, maybe it was for the best that Ewan was working.

"What do you think Victoriana wants with Theo?" Bronwen asked her sister, watching as the princess took confident strides toward the hot tub. "She seems pretty determined to do whatever it is that she's doing."

"Jealous much? She has the same chance that you have with him, which would be zero. The guy is obsessed with his boyfriend, Bron. Move on."

"I'm not jealous," Bronwen hissed, looking around for anyone who might have heard the accusation. "We're just friends. And Victoriana could do way better than Theo, I'm just surprised. She's going to be queen one day and she wants Theo?"

"Maybe she just wants to yell at him for something. He's always screwing up with his blood magic, maybe he went too far and the queen is pissed," Elowen replied. "Victoriana seems jumpy whenever we mention her mom."

"I think something might be going on with her mom," Bronwen said, looking over her shoulder to check for eavesdroppers. "You've seen how twitchy Dad has been lately, and your mom seems to be practically living in the archives. When I tried to do my homework on her desk, I could barely find a place to write on. She had all sorts of weird books and scrolls."

"Yeah, something is up with her. I found her crying in the kitchen before we left for school, but of course she denied it. Do you really think their weirdness has something to do with Victoriana's mom? Victoriana has been staying at her grandparents' house on the weekends now, which is weird, and now she's determined to talk to Theo? It's all weird, but does it mean anything?"

Bronwen shrugged.

"I guess we'll see how this thing with Theo goes today. Maybe it's all just a coincidence."

Travis Goldman tried to walk as quietly as he could across the backyard, hoping to sneak past his mother's watchful eyes. He wasn't sure just what powers a reaper had, but she had to have super sensitive hearing for all the times she had caught him trying to sneak out of social occasions.

Today was no different. His royal niece had been staying with them, forcing social interactions on him the entire time. Now he had to endure a bunch of loud kids and all of Victoriana's friends at the busy family cottage. All he wanted to do was sit down with a good book and ignore all the noisy people around him, but his mother would never allow that. He had to always put on a smile and try to make some friends everywhere he went. His parents "worried about him" far too much. All the damage and trouble he'd caused at school made them think that he was lonely or lashing out because there was something in his life that he lacked. Ironically, the only thing he did need from them was some space, which the two of them could never give.

"Travis, honey, are you alright? Do you want a snack? I think the other teens are meeting in the hottub if you want to join them."

"Mom, I was just going to read a little. I don't want to use the hottub, I want to read. By myself."

"Well that sounds lonely," Anna said. "Why not join the other teens? You know all of them. They're nice girls and I'm sure they wouldn't mind the company."

"Maybe," Travis muttered. "Can I at least read a few chapters? I'm at a cliffhanger."

Anna frowned. It wasn't an unreasonable request, but the instant she said yes, her son would be locked in a room in the cottage, completely alone with the stacks of books he could magically summon. There was no way that he'd actually meet with the other teens.

Her other two children had had the opposite problem as teens. Claudia and Oliver were extremely social, driven to be the top student with a large group of followers. Travis was shy and reclusive by nature and his parents were at a loss trying to know what was best for him.

His biological mothers had both been outgoing, charismatic witches who had the combined audacity to try to kill the Grim Reaper. Travis had none of those traits, preferring to read quietly until people forgot that he was still in the room. She and Ewan had tried to raise him just as they did their biological children, and she'd like to believe that they had succeeded. Little Travis was an introvert in a family of extroverts; maybe it was just as simple as that.

"Go finish that chapter and then maybe you can read beside the pool," she decided. "You don't have to swim, but maybe you can join in some of the conversations later. I love you, you know that, right? I just want what's best for you."

Travis reacted to her words with embarrassment, just as Victoriana had earlier. God forbid an adult tell a teen that they loved and supported them.

"I'll go in the hottub for twenty minutes," Travis proposed, noticing the worry on his mother's face. "But that's it. Then I get to read as much as I want."

Anna had experience with the darkest minds, and the most hateful creatures of the supernatural world, but they were nothing compared to the roller coaster of parenting teenagers.

"I think that sounds very mature and understanding of you. I appreciate you and our talks, Travis."

"Mom!"

With that, Travis scurried away to find a bathing suit, desperate that none of the other teens see his mother expressing her feelings for him.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"We really need to bring this cottage into the new era. We don't need pictures of war criminals on our walls for 'history's' sake. Respect the past, but focus on the future. Yes. Yes, I like that. When I get a free moment, I'll mention it to the palace art team."

Maura murmured to herself as her eyes took in everything in the cottage that she wanted to change. It was her reign, and the cottage should reflect that. While she did love the historical photos and would probably face an intense battle to move them with her relatives, times had changed. Photos of King Ben, the national hero who had saved the islands from Pleasantview, but had murdered several of his children as well as some of their spouses, the Red Queen, who had no business being on any wall because of her crimes, and Queen Celeste, who tried to overthrow the grim reaper while enslaving her zombified mother, disgraced the warm feeling Maura wanted the Siew family cottage to have. Maybe if she put all their pictures upstairs in what had once been King Ben's office, she could balance honouring the past while still creating a better future.

"I can shove that picture in my attic if you'd like. You're glaring at it like it kicked a puppy."

Maura turned to see her cousin Claudia walking up to her, her usual confident smirk on full display.

"You're welcome to it," Maura offered, smiling despite her frustration. Claudia often had that effect on her. "I'm making a list of photos that may need to be retired."

Claudia scoffed.

"Just imagine living with the portraits of terrible people whose blood runs in my veins every single day. Pleasantview would fall before it gave up worshipping the ghosts of its past."

"Well, I guess you don't have to worry about being lost to history someday," Maura teased. "Give it a century or two and you'll probably be promoted to a demi god."

"I would make an excellent demi god," Claudia agreed. "But you can't be inventorying every picture here. Some of our relatives were good people. Not many, but some. Besides, don't you have a royal archivist? I just email mine and the pictures are rotated within a day. They deal with all the safety procedures needed to store the pictures for the next hundred years and I get something new to look at. I know this cottage is for all Siews, but the monarch of Twikkii Island owns it, so it should fall within your archivist's obligations."

"I'd prefer to deal with them myself. They can store them for me, but I'll be making the choices of which picture to display. It's probably the thing I like most about this job. If my mother had lived, I'd imagine that I might have been a royal curator for her. There'd be more pictures of Trent and Callista than I'd like, but no job is perfect."

"Very noble of you," Claudia remarked dryly. "They are your half-siblings, I'd imagine your mother would want pictures of them around. Honestly, with your complexion, jealousy's not flattering. You're the queen, and Trent is an orphan. Have some compassion for your little brother or are you getting rid of those pictures because the people in them are starting to look just like you?"

"Not all of us come from the two happiest dead people in existence. I'm an orphan too. My father was murdered by my grandmother. Mom shouldn't have remarried. She just forgot about him, like he didn't even exist."

Claudia raised a skeptical eyebrow, baffled at her cousin's behavior.

"Are you okay? Usually your daddy issues aren't this obvious. Added to a pregnancy that is obviously not your wife's, you're starting to look a little unhinged. Is something happening? I can help, unless you've got some insane grudge against me too."

"It's nothing," Maura snapped, turning away from her cousin. "It's just pregnancy hormones. Everything is great. I love my life. Everyone is jealous of my good fortune, so I should love my life. And I do."

"You could always step down if you hate your life," Claudia teased. "I'd be happy to claim my inheritance from my mother and add Twikkii Island to my realm."

Maura shot Claudia a nasty look, but after a moment to think, the nastiness faded into a weak smile.

"Do you have days like this? Days when you just want to fake your death and flee somewhere you've never been? That makes me a bad person, right? I feel like a bad person."

Claudia wrapped her cousin in bone crushing hug.

"All the time. I think about what my life would have been if Dad had never found out his true parentage. Would I be happier? What job would I have? It's only natural when you're in a position like ours. It doesn't make you a bad person to have doubts about your life. It makes you human. Look, why don't you come visit me more? Or I can stop by your place and we can go to that wonderful spa we went to before your wedding. You need someone to talk to, and I'm probably the only one who understands what you're feeling. Unless you want to ask the old, boring kings of Strangetown or Crystal Cove."

Maura laughed, despite her mood. Claudia always had been good at getting under her skin.

"Okay. I promise to spend more time with you to stop from being a complete bitch all the time. Ulyssa would probably love to have me out of the palace for an afternoon anyway. For now, help me log which paintings I should store. You know our history probably better than even I do."

Claudia craned her neck, looking for a certain portrait that had always creeped her out.

"I'd vote for that one," she said, pointing across the room. "Every time I'm here, one of the dogs is always barking at it. It has to be cursed or something. Something is off about it."

"Ah. You have a good eye. It creeps me out too. It's King Ben, after all. The man was a monster. No wonder the dogs can sense his evil."

"Oh, there's a million pictures of him all around this place," Claudia scoffed. "He was a fine king. He saved your country from becoming a part of mine under my psychotic grandfather. The heroism and the murders kinda cancel each other out, I think. No, he's not the problem. She is."

"Who? Is that his cousin or something? The names aren't engraved on the frame."

"His sister, Winter," Claudia replied. "She was a hell of a witch. I have some of her books in my library. Talented, but like you, a little unhinged."

"Ha, ha. I'll add it to the list."

"Are we supposed to be doing something? I feel like we should be doing something."

Adam looked nervously around the cottage, looking for guidance. It wasn't often that they were invited to the Siew cottage and just standing in it made Adam paranoid that he might accidentally break something expensive. He'd been there before, of course, but he never truly felt welcome.

The Siew family was gathered for a family barbecue, and even those at the far ends of the family tree were invited to celebrate. Adam and Remy got their invitation because their half-siblings were Siews. Elowen and Bronwen weren't just going to leave Adam and Remy out of a royal feast just because only their mother had married into the Siew family.

"Don't start cleaning something just because we don't have titles," Remy groaned. "We're invited guests, not the help. We're not doing anything to set up. Period. Our earned coven titles are more than good enough."

"Apprentice is a better title than princess or Duke?"

Remy punched her twin on the arm.

"Yes. Yes, it is. Now let's go find our sisters. They probably know where the booze is."

"Dad! You made it! I thought you, Dad, and Vrai were going away this weekend."

Ewan Traver embraced his father, Travis Traver, surprised at his presence. Ewan had inherited the title Travis had never wanted, and took care of the Goldman estate and all the responsibilities that went with it. His father, despite being born in Twikkii Island to two of its citizens, disliked spending any time on the island. He had been raised in Pleasantview and Crystal Cove. However tropical the island was, it held no allure for Travis, so his presence there was somewhat surprising.

"Your father and Vrai went ahead. I might join them later, but I wanted to be here. The anniversary is coming up and it's good to be with family. This was where she grew up. I wanted to see it the way she once did."

Ewan paused, unsure of what to say. His Aunt Celeste, better known as Queen Celeste of Crystal Cove, had practically raised his father after their father died giving birth to their half-brother, Ewan, and their mothers were murdered. The two siblings had been unsettlingly close until Celeste's death, due to the stranglehold she had on Travis' life. She blocked his mother's family from contacting him and insisted that he name his oldest son after their father. Aside from eloping with Ewan's father, Leonid, Travis' entire life had been carefully planned by his controlling sister. But Celeste had been gone for over a decade now and Travis was free to chart his own path forward. He hadn't recognized Celeste in the year or so proceeding her death, and he couldn't forgive her for telling his biological family that he didn't want anything to do with them. Or co-running a cult obsessed with killing the Grim Reaper. Or naming the child she created to sacrifice after him. Or murdering their half-brother, Ewan, as a child.

There were many things Travis hated about his sister, but every year near the anniversary of her death, he spent time in Twikkii Island, trying to understand the little girl who had been born there and where she had gone so wrong. He hadn't had any insight on how to forgive her yet, but every year, he was hopeful.

"So, are you going to help plan the memorial ball this year? Edana has been pretty busy and I've got some of the vendors lined up, but I could use some help."

Travis smiled tightly. The queen had provided a grant to the Goldman estate to celebrate Travis' parents after it had been revealed that their deaths were caused both directly and indirectly by the crown. Unhappily, the deaths of his parents and the death of his sister fell within the same month, so every time he left to grieve for his sister, he was expected to also celebrate the lives of the parents he'd never known. The anniversary of the day that his daughter, Tristianne, had been taken from him was only a few months later. It seemed fitting that he was in a polycule with the Grim Reaper; death seemed to follow him wherever he went.

"We'll see," he said at last. "The hospital still might call me in for a few consults. A retired doctor still has his obligations to old colleagues."

Ewan mirrored his father's tight smile. That was a no. It would hurt less if his father would just tell him upfront that he wanted nothing to do with whatever Ewan or the queen planned. It would be far more honest.

"Sure, just let me know your schedule when you can. No worries if you're busy."

"Isn't there supposed to be food at a barbecue? I'm starving."

Elowen set up the pool table while Victoriana waited.

"The food won't be ready for another hour at least. Mom said we have to wait for Grandma and Grandpa to come and they're at work. Grandpa refuses to let someone else touch the barbecue when it's his 'passion'. They'll be here soon enough though."

"Very soon," Adrienne agreed. She was too young to play pool, but she enjoyed watching the game. It was the closest she got to socializing with her extended family.

"Fine, I guess I can wait. There were chips in the kitchen though, right? We could steal some of those."

"Do you like my dress? I got it last weekend in the Pleasantview mall. It was on sale and I couldn't possibly say no to it."

Bronwen spun around dramatically to show off her dress to Fiolett. The younger girl clapped enthusiastically, wishing that she had a dress that pretty. She had a lot of dresses, sure, but they were all picked out by her dads. Fiolett couldn't wait until she was a teen and could pick out dresses for herself. That was a long way off though, so she admired other people's dresses for now.

"Be sure to congratulate Roman and Abe for me. That's wonderful that they renewed their vows. If I could find it in myself to forgive Trent if he cheated on me, I'd want to renew our vows too. It's a fresh start. Good for them."

"It's not entirely like that, it's...." Adrian trailed off, trying to find the words to explain a demon wedding. Truthfully, he wasn't entirely sure himself what Abe and Roman had volunteered for, but he didn't want Cindra to know that. "Well, maybe it is a bit of a vow renewal. Theo officiated it, so I guess it's like a magical, demonic vow renewal. You couldn't talk me into one."

"That would mean walking down the aisle again," Cindra teased. "We all know you're terrified of weddings. Otherwise, Evren would have a ring on his finger by now. Are you ever going to make an honest man out of him?"

Adrian frowned, not liking the direction their conversation had turned.

"Maybe. Not that it's any of your or Trent's business. It would make the legal process of passing my title to my legitimate daughter from another marriage harder. It's just easier this way."

"It does not," Cindra laughed. "Everyone knows that Luciana is going to become a duchess one day, the queen more than anyone. She'd have the legalities all sorted out in an afternoon. You're just chicken."

"I am not! Evren doesn't want to get married either."

"That's not what Trent said after he went bowling with Evren last week. Evren told him that he's just waiting for you to make a move. You'd say no if he proposed, so he's waiting for you to do it."

"He would never say something like that to my cousin," Adrian insisted. "You're just hoping to plan another wedding, no matter who it's for."

"Who can blame me for wanting to celebrate love? Planning my own wedding went amazingly and I want to plan another one!"

"Wasn't your little sister, Lauren, around here somewhere? Plan her wedding!"

Travis Maricourt was as far as he could get from the noisy group of people as he could be. His parents weren't coming until later, so most of the afternoon was his to sneak off and enjoy. Claudia wouldn't force him to socialize and Oliver hadn't bothered to leave college for a family event since their mother's birthday. Their father's birthday was coming up, and that was probably the last Travis would see of Oliver until the next family birthday. Travis couldn't wait to start college and finally get some time to himself without his parents "encouraging" him to talk to people he had no interest in talking to.

He didn't trust his annoying relatives not to read his journal if he brought it with him, so instead, Travis brought his magical theory workbook. Theory didn't feel like homework to him, like it did to his classmates. It was fascinating to map out the bones that held up the living world, to see how the pieces of an existential puzzle clicked together. His parents talked a lot about how the worlds of life and death overlapped, and Travis simply had to know how it all worked. Not that he would change existence or anything if he learned how. He just had so many questions.

"You were right."

"I usually am. Today, I wish I wasn't, though. I don't know what this means. There's definitely a current running through here, but why?"

Izanami bowed his head, contemplating the situation.

"I don't like this," he finally decided. "This feeling...it feels old. Demonic, probably."

"It feels like it did over a decade ago," Lukas insisted. "Like when Leo was attacked...but also different. There's this sense of...nothingness. Can you feel it too?"

Izanami nodded his agreement.

"I'll contact Gee and let him know how he should do my job. You can't intervene here."

"I know that. I'll go to the school and make sure that the children are safe. I'm not taking any chances with their safety. But this will probably blow over and be fine, right? Oh! Arterius! Call him and tell him to meet me at the school. Just because he's an adult doesn't mean he's exempt from family meetings."

"Of course, dearest. I'll join you in a moment."

Lukas vanished into a shower of sparkling light. As soon as they were out of sight, Izanami closed his eyes and tried to listen to the hum of existence. Screams echoed over loud waves crashing against jagged rocks. A hurricane roared as it churned into existence. A royal ship cracked in two as it sank beneath the wild waves.

Lukas lifelessly lying encased in a glass tomb. A howl of wind that swept away the souls of the dead. The cold truth that sometimes even the dead could die.

It had all happened before, and now it was happening again despite Izanami's best efforts. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt several names engrave themselves on the list in his son's office. The deaths had been finalized. There was no hope of changing them now. It was beginning.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Master Maricourt. You're late."

Ewan Maricourt straightened his spine and attempted to remain professional. He had been busy preparing for the Pleasantview Academy of Magic's fall term when a surprise visit from the queen had been announced, and all hell had broken loose. Student records and teacher paysheets were crumpled on the floor of his office as Ewan scrambled to find formalware appropriate for the queen.

"I apologize, Your Majesty," he said with a graceful bow. "Preparations are underway for the new school year and there is much to do. Any visit from you, though, is a gift to your humble servants."

"Wow, Dad's really off his game to be kissing the ring this much, even before school starts," Remy worried. "What does the queen want? To borrow Theo for even longer?"

"I hope not," Adam muttered. "I haven't seen him all summer. Between Mom and Her Majesty, there hasn't been a second of time to even see him in person."

"So just break into his dreams like you did last time," Remy suggested, causing Adam's scowl to deepen.

"No, I think that was a one-time kind of thing. Besides, he's not in some magically protected place this time. He's practically down the street at the palace! It's so stupid."

Remy scoffed, unwilling to listen to Adam drone on about his inconvenient, star-crossed love. Soon enough, he'd be jamming his tongue in Theo's mouth and the whole school would have to watch the two of them talk about their many annoying plans for the future.

"Well, absence makes the heart grow fonder," she sighed. "God help us if that's true."

"Master Maricourt. It's good to see you."

Miruna met her fiancée and smiled at her father. It had been too long since she had been to see him. Despite working with little magic users at the Princess Zarah Academy, she didn't have a lot of time to spend with the rest of the Pleasantview coven.

"Your Highness."

Ewan bowed to his daughter, trying to remain professional for the sake of the queen. There was a seriousness about her that he couldn't read. Between her worrying attitude and setting up class schedules, Ewan was about to collapse from stress.

"Let's talk inside," Claudia suggested, as if Ewan had a choice in the matter. "There's coven matters that must be discussed before the start of school."

Princess Victoriana rushed to the door to greet her mother, followed closely by her Uncle Travis. Victoriana was supposed to be on the school grounds helping prepare the school for the new term, but Travis was a surprise.

"Travis! What a pleasant surprise! Mom and Dad let you stay at the school early? That doesn't sound like them."

Claudia hugged her little brother, genuinely surprised but glad to see him. Maybe their parents were off at work. There had to be some reason her overprotective parents let their youngest child out of their sight when school was right around the corner and they would only see him on weekends.

"They're busy with work," Travis confirmed. "There's some portal open somewhere, and some reapers are missing or something. They didn't really explain, but it means that I get to help sort the books in the school library today instead of enduring an afternoon of family board games."

Claudia groaned with sympathy, knowing exactly how tedious family board games were with their parents. They didn't even have any of the good games, just cooperative games where everyone either won or lost together. Every time someone insinuated that her father might be as evil as his biological father, Claudia just imagined family board game night, and the idea seemed impossible.

"Lucky you," she laughed. "Well, I won't keep you. I'm sure you have a stack of books calling your name. Don't forget to call Ollie and me from time to time this term. We may not all live in the same house anymore, but I do miss spending time with my little brothers."

Remy lurked outside the hall where the queen and Remy's father had disappeared into the coven meeting chamber. There was something ominous in the air that she couldn't quite place, and it was driving her crazy.

She had been at the Siew cottage when the queen of Twikkii Island was attacked and had seen violence first hand. Within the past year, she'd witnessed dead bodies strewn in a royal cottage and had watched her father frantically try to keep her twin brother from dying in his arms in the room down the hall. It had been a dangerous year so far, and Remy couldn't seem to shake the sense that more danger followed the queen today. A meeting this unexpected had to be something big.

"How can I help, Your Majesty?" Ewan asked cautiously, taking a seat next to the queen. "Is everything well? I can call the rest of the coven if you wish."

Claudia shook her head, and some tension left Ewan's shoulders. A private meeting without the coven meant that any threat she was here to discuss would be minor.

"No, this involves your role as head of this academy," Claudia explained. "There has been a request to accept a new student this term. That place we agreed to send Theo to study? Well, it seems like they would like us to return the favour."

"An exchange student? I thought that realm was sealed outside of emergencies like Theo's meltdown. The amount of documents I needed to sign just to get his foot in the door was astronomical. What's the catch here?"

"No obvious catch, though I'm sure there is one. There always is. On paper, it's just a request to send a sixteen year old boy for the school year, living in the dorm with a meal plan. Unofficially? I have no idea. I know very little about Jubilant Accosts outside of what the onboarding team told us regarding Theo. They're strict and...religious, that's all I know."

"They descend from a medieval society just as Pleasantview evolved from Old Tredony," Ewan supplied. "The forms I had to sign for Theo were written in the Old Tredony language. I guess they thought we still spoke it for some reason. I had to get a coven elder to even understand what language I was looking at. But as long as they send me a list of whatever is needed, I can add this boy to the register today."

Claudia nodded. Her hands folded in her lap, signaling that she had more to say but was waiting for his full attention.

"I want to have eyes on this boy day and night," she said at last. "I will have one of my royal guards posted at the school to supervise him. Ewan, I need you to protect this school and its students and never let this boy out of your sight. It...it makes me uneasy to accept this student, but it's the best way to know what this strange land may want from us. Why are they reaching out now and why this boy? We sent them Theo when he was a danger to himself and others. Perhaps this boy is in the same situation."

Ewan frowned.

"But it was our demons and our council that even nominated Jubilant Accosts for Theo in the first place. The demonic sovereign enthusiastically supported the idea. It's a place as ancient as Pleasantview and-"

"And just as dangerous," Claudia interrupted irritably. "There are sections of Pleasantview darker than one could ever imagine, and I trust that this place is no different. Maybe they want to develop a relationship between our nations or maybe they're interested in something darker. After the attacks on Maura, I can't take that chance. Every sense in my body is screaming that this is dangerous, but I can't risk a bad relationship with an unknown power. I need you to protect this school and watch this boy."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Ewan replied. He understood the dilemma the queen was in and how dangerous the road may be before them, but this was just another important thing to cram into his already packed schedule. It looked like he'd be sleeping in his office again. "What is the boy's name? Does he have parents or siblings to call ahead of time with the supply list for the semester?"

"His name is Sebastian Wall," Claudia replied. "No parents, no siblings, no home address. All I've received is a name and an age and that he can perform defensive and battle magic with ease. He'd like to study our history and learn healing magic from what I've been told, and I'm more than happy to authorize that. If he wanted access to our battle magic, that would be out of the question."

"Of course. I'll hide some of our more dangerous tomes in the restricted area, just to be safe."

Remy wasn't sure if she felt better having eavesdropped or not. True, the queen wasn't worried about an offensive strike any time soon, but the possibility still lingered. What did this strange nation want, and why only send one teenager? Was it just because Pleasantview had sent one teenager to them? Was he a spy? Was he going to attack Pleasantview like Twikkii Island had been?

Still, a teenage boy was no challenge to Remy. She had every boy in Pleasantview eating out of her hand (aside from her twin, of course), winning this Sebastian over would be easy. She would do her patriotic duty and keep an eye on this newcomer for Her Majesty. There was no way Remy could handle being at ground zero of another attack. This Sebastian was going to fail at whatever he had come here to do.

"Do you ever think that we'll have our portraits hung up at school someday?" Travis asked a very bored looking Victoriana. He'd run into her on his way to the library and he usually didn't mind talking to his niece. She was well educated and reasonable, unlike most of the teenagers who attended his school.

"Well, I definitely will when I inherit the throne one day," Victoriana replied, as if this should be obvious. Clearly, Travis thought of her as a princess and not as a future queen. "I'm sure you will someday too. With your genes, you'll probably be running this place when you're done school."

Travis laughed at the thought.

"No thanks, I'd rather continue my studies over teaching. Have you seen how much stress Master Maricourt is under just getting ready for the year? I'll pass."

"Elowen! Elowen, I need to talk to you! Dad and the queen had a secret meeting that I need to tell you about!"

Remy flagged down her sister frantically, casting a spell for privacy between the two of them as she ran. Elowen curiously stepped into the resulting magic circle, baffled at her sister's urgency.

"Why were you listening to Dad's meeting with the queen?" she asked even though she knew the answer. Remy had to know everything, even if it was a private matter between her father and the monarch of her country. "Wait, is this a curse or something? Am I going to get in trouble for knowing this information?"

Remy waved away her sister's concerns and leaned closer to whisper her message. Elowen almost pulled away out of self-preservation, but then decided that if Remy was going to recklessly put herself in potential danger, Elowen should know what to tell Remy's father when it inevitably blew up in her face.

"There's going to be a student from wherever they sent Theo," Remy whispered, despite the privacy spell she'd cast. "The queen is worried that he's somehow broken like Theo was or some kind of spy. You have to help me watch him when he comes. It's our duty to the queen."

"Wouldn't our duty to the queen be to stay out of her conversations?" Elowen asked warily. "She knows better than we do when it comes to this situation. I'm sure she has a plan."

"But we could stop another attack!" Remy hissed.

"You don't know if this student is going to be dangerous!" Elowen insisted. "How would he have anything to do with what happened in Twikkii Island? He's coming to study here."

"Fine. If you're not going to help me, just keep an eye on him. I'll do the rest."

"Adam! I'm surprised you're not hounding me about Theo. He's lived down the hall from me all summer, and he says that you've barely been talking to him. He does have a cell phone, you know. His dads call him every day since my mom basically kidnapped him."

Victoriana smiled at Adam, only earning a weak smile in return.

"He's sworn an oath to Pleasantview by studying here. Your mother has the right to keep him for extended personal studies. I...I just don't want to interrupt him. He's got to be pretty busy. Plus, I'll see him at school in a while anyway. I've been busy in Crystal Cove learning how to double the size of the crystals I grow. I'll have a new one to give him by the time school starts."

"I guess. Well, text him that," Victoriana replied, looking at Adam strangely. "Not everything has to be a surprise, you know. Don't tell him I told you this, but he's been worried about you. You don't seem...excited to see him again, which has to be impossible. You two are crazy about each other. You broke into his dreams to talk to him again."

Adam smiled another weary smile that didn't seem genuine, raising the princess' suspicions.

"A lot has happened since we've seen each other really," he said cautiously. "He's been gone for so long and I've changed so much since then. I'm sure he has too, especially with all that he's learned. It's okay when we talk on the phone or text, but seeing him again in person? Holding hands again and kissing and...what if we've changed? He says that he's fixed, but what if something happens again? And my parents won't let us be roommates again, obviously, but what if he's on a different floor entirely and we never see each other outside of class? It's all just too much to think about."

Victoriana hugged her friend fiercely, hoping to dislodge his many fears about his relationship. Theo had been right, Adam was spiralling with anxiety about the future when he didn't have to face the future alone.

"Hey. Just talk to Theo, and you'll be fine," Victoriana promised, releasing him from her grip. "You can't be in a relationship by yourself. It's weird for Theo too, you know. Talk to him."

Adam nodded, but his expression was still conflicted.

"Yeah, thanks, Your Highness. I'll do that."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Do you have a date to the Goldman Memorial Ball? I'm still looking for someone that I don't might spending an evening with or being photographed with. Who are you going with?"

Bronwen looked nervously at her sister, who was too busy checking out her makeup to listen. The Goldman Memorial Ball was next week and time was running out to pick a date. Her father and stepmother were hosting the annual event at the palace, and all eyes would be on their family, so she had to pick wisely.

"Of course I do," Elowen replied cheerfully. "It's a surprise. Why haven't you asked anyone yet? We have a whole school of eligible guests to ask."

"Uh, well, I guess I was waiting for someone to ask me," Bronwen stammered. "I don't know who to ask. Does Remy have a date?"

Elowen rolled her eyes at the thought of their half-sister's love life.

"I think she's taking her girlfriend, Malika, but I don't know why. Those two barely spend any time together anymore, and their 'open relationship' is a joke. They spend far more time with their hookups than each other, and I'm pretty sure Remy forgot Malika’s name last week when I asked if she was coming swimming with us. I'm guessing that she'll take Malika, though, for appearances."

"What about Adam? Does he have a date?"

"Quit thirsting after Theo. You know that he's Adam's boyfriend and his date. The ball is right before the start of school, which Theo will be back for. There's no chance of you stealing him from Adam."

Bronwen tried to hide her frustration at being called out by her sister, but failed. She wouldn't mind Theo as a date, but Elowen was right. He and Adam were planning their college wedding and were bonded together to control Theo's powers. The only thing she'd ever be to Theo aside from his friend was aunt to the millions of kids he and Adam had planned.

"I don't want to steal him," Bronwen protested. "There's nothing wrong with wanting a dance or two with him. He's a nice guy."

"Who will be dancing with Adam," Elowen chided. "I'll be your wingwoman then since you can't decide who to pick. Let me make some calls and see if we can't get you a date before the ball starts."

Those words were terrifying based on every other time Elowen tried to do something nice for her sister. Elowen had no idea of what her sister liked, even if her intentions were good.

"Elowen? You called?"

A male voice Bronwen didn't recognize appeared in their hallway, accompanied with a shower of magical light.

"You summoned some boy here?" Bronwen hissed, looking for a place to hide from her sister's act of sisterly devotion. "Who? Why? What do I say? Urgh, sometimes you're the worst, Elowen!"

Elowen shrugged as if this were a perfectly reasonable thing for her to do.

"Go find out. It's Will from Princess Zarah's. He doesn't have a date to the ball either, and his moms are rich. He's perfectly nice and not dating our brother."

Elowen peeked out into the hallway where a confused boy was waiting for her.

"Where's Elowen? She said she wanted me to come over," he said, causing Bronwen to flush with embarrassment.

"Uh, she's just doing her make up," she replied nervously. "She wanted me to talk to you until she was done."

"So how are you?" Bronwen asked with false enthusiasm. Maybe she could fake being confident long enough to ask this boy to the ball. He looked attractive enough, and he seemed to know her sister well enough for her to judge his character. A blind date was better than no date to their family ball. There was no way that she was standing in front of a crowd while her entire family had a date with them.

"Good, I guess," Will replied. "Elowen said she wanted to go get fries on the boardwalk that's down the street in her message. I didn't think that you needed to put on makeup for that."

Bronwen rolled her eyes at this.

"Trust me, she never leaves home without at least wearing lipstick. Everything requires makeup."

"Okay. I guess it's a girl thing. Cool."

An awkward pause fall over the hallway, making Bronwen panic. Things weren't going the way they did in the movies at all.

"No, my brother wears a lot of makeup," she added quickly. "His boyfriend too. Plus, my dad and his brother. They all take a really long time in the bathroom getting ready for work and school."

Will just nodded in acknowledgment and checked the time on his phone. Bronwen grimaced at this, realizing that she needed to turn this conversation around and fast.

"Do you want to go to the Goldman Memorial Ball with me?" she asked, barely stopping to breathe. "It's next week and Elowen said that you're a nice guy and-"

"Sorry. You seem nice, but vampires aren't my thing. I'd prefer to date someone less undead. Nothing personal."

"Oh."

Bronwen's heart crashed inside her chest, and she could feel tears spring to her eyes. People were usually wary around her in public because of her paleness and tendency to burn in the sunlight, but this rejection still hurt. There weren't very many vampires in Twikkii Island, and there wasn't a single other vampire student in school. The only other vampire Bronwen had ever known was her mother, and she didn't have very clear memories of her before she abandoned Bronwen at Ewan's door. This was probably why she was the only family member to not have a date to the ball, which wasn't fair. None of this was fair.

"Fine. Whatever. I wasn't really being serious anyway. Elowen just asked me to ask you out of pity."

With that, Bronwen burst past Will and down the stairs before he could see the tears in her eyes.

Who cares about this stupid ball? I don't need to even go to it. After all, no one wants to dance with a vampire.

"Ewan, honey? I just need to pop over to Strangetown for a bit. Can you start dinner before I come home? I pulled out some meat from the freezer for you to cook."

Edana smiled when her husband nodded enthusiastically. Now this was a husband. As much as she cared for her ex-husband, Ewan Maricourt, he was always far too snooty and entitled to be an equal partner in their marriage. There was a reason why he'd been single since their divorce. He was a great warlock and friend, but a terrible husband.

Ewan Traver was down to earth, funny and supportive of even the most crazy of Edana's ideas. If she disappeared for days researching in her office, Ewan would have breakfast made for her before he left for work and had happily eaten dinner with her surrounded by ancient texts of dark magic. She didn't know what she had done to deserve him. His brother had told her horror stories of Ewan before he'd met her that didn't reflect the man she married. He had been a bit wild, but then again, so had she. He had two kids with two different women when she met him, and she'd narrowly escaped a cult due in part to the man she had mercilessly bullied with her brother. They were both works in progress, but they were perfect for each other.

"Did Charley summon you?" Ewan asked. "He had papers delivered for you yesterday that you needed to review. They're on your desk. You've been so busy working that I hadn't had time to mention it."

Edana nodded.

"Yes, His Majesty needs me to sign an insurance waiver. He's loaning us one of his mother's tiaras for the ball since I'm apparently an honorary daughter to him. Or so he says. I feel guilty about the whole thing, honestly. I don't deserve all the things he's done for me over the years. My fathers would be rolling in their graves to see me wear the former queen's tiara. Darktides aren't princesses, Ewan. We're pirates or demons or idiots that fall victim to a cult."

Ewan smiled and gently took his wife's hand.

"You do deserve it. Charley sees you for the person you are, and he likes you. There's nothing wrong with that. You don't have to be what you feel like your family is. You can be yourself, Edana Darktide-Traver, a witchy duchess wearing a queen's tiara with a past that's behind her."

Edana sighed reluctantly.

"Fine. You're right. You're right, okay? I'm just going to go with it and see how things turn out. Have you got your suit ready? The queen won't tolerate anything less than perfection after all the tragedy we've seen. Everything has to be perfect."

"Yeah, my suit is fine. It's my dad who's the problem. He keeps throwing a fit about having to go every year to celebrate the dead parents he never knew at a ball he doesn't care about. Even Queen Maura has heard him ranting. The queen! I guess pushing seventy makes you forget how to be respectful of your queen and your family."

"Give him some grace," Edana replied gently. "He doesn't remember his parents. The sister he trusted with his life betrayed all of us, and his little brother is the dead, rightful king of Pleasantview. I think that would make anyone a little sensitive on the subject."

"I guess," Ewan reluctantly agreed. "He's still being a child about how he treats the situation."

"Speaking of children, Bronwen is outside in the sun talking to a boy," Edana informed her husband, peering out a window. "Do we know about this? Should I intervene?"

Ewan laughed at the thought.

"You're going to have to give the kids some freedom at some point, Edana. We do want them to be well adjusted members of adult society in a few years. Yelling at every boy or girl our kids date isn't going to help that. She's probably looking for a date for the ball. It's all the kids have been talking about this week."

Edana didn't look thrilled at the idea of their children dating, but it was out of her hands. In a few weeks, the kids would be back at school, free to get up to mischief out of their parents' eyesight.

"Is that demon boy attending?" she asked, fully anticipating the response. "Can we not ban him from our own ball?"

Ewan shot her a tired look.

"Of course he is. He's Adam's date, and he's escorting Queen Claudia. The more you hate the kid, the more Adam is going to cling to him. My sister did the exact same thing with all of her dates, and my parents never learned. Those two aren't even fifteen yet. Are you with the same person you were with at that age?"

Edana didn't reply. Of course, she wasn't with a childhood crush, but she could remember those feelings, even if she couldn't remember their names. She could also remember her brother staring her in the eye and telling her that the woman she loathed with every fiber of her being was going to be in his life forever.

Ewan was right, just as he usually was. Yelling at her brother, Adam, hadn't worked then, and yelling at her son, Adam, wasn't going to help anything now. All she could do was make sure that Adam's demon date knew how much she disliked him and hope that her son made better choices in the future.

"Well, since you're the parenting expert, go check in on Bronwen and that boy. I don't want her burnt to a crisp pursuing a date to the ball. She needs to worry less about boys and more about the sun. I'll go fill out that paperwork from His Majesty before I leave and drop it off while I'm in Strangetown. Don't forget about cooking up that meat for dinner."

"Um, hi Bronwen. Your sister mentioned that you needed to talk to me?"

Bronwen had run outside to cry in private, only to nearly run head first into Davis Lane. This was obviously the work of Elowen and her good intentions. Boys didn't usually just show up at their house wanting to speak with her.

Honestly, Bronwen liked Davis far better than Will, so at least her sister's victims were getting more accurate to Bronwen's taste. Like her, Davis was a bit of an outcast himself. His parents were gods, but he and his sister were pretty ordinary, something that clearly frustrated them when people looked at them, expecting to see their parents' powers reflected in them. Destiny had been failing science class last year, or so Bronwen had heard, and Davis was well known for his inability to succeed in any sport the school made them play for gym class. Surely, Davis would see past the vampirism and connect with her for being different like he was.

"Will you go to the Goldman Memorial Ball with me?" she blurted out awkwardly before she could change her mind. If he was going to reject her, it was best to just get it over with.

"Of course!" Davis exclaimed, hugging Bronwen with joy. "I would love to! My mom's been talking about it for weeks now, but I didn't know who to ask. Honestly, I've always thought you were pretty, but I kinda thought you were out of my league."

A surprised laugh escaped before Bronwen could stop it.

"Out of your league? Your parents are gods! You must get all kinds of invitations to dances."

Davis shrugged.

"Not really. Most people are afraid of my dad and worried about my mom, so not many people see us for who we are outside of our family."

Ewan smiled from his hiding place under the back deck. Bronwen was smiling and laughing with a boy who appeared to be doing the same. It was a welcome change from her worried and stressed behavior all week. Being half-vampire wasn't easy, especially in a tropical place like Twikkii Island, and Ewan was proud of his daughter for the way she handled herself. Dating was its own challenge, especially as a vampire, and Bronwen seemed to be getting the hang of it.

But Edana wasn't completely wrong to be worried. As much as Ewan liked Theo, he was a dangerous influence on Adam and had very nearly gotten him killed. It had been an accident, and Theo had been traumatized just as much as Adam had, but it had still happened. If there hadn't been adults nearby, their family would have lost Adam and the joy he brought to them. Part of being a parent was protecting your kids from what they were too young to understand, especially if it was dangerous.

And Life and Death were dangerous. Ewan's brother, Leo, worked with Lukas, and he had a bunch of stories about what he'd seen that had chilled Ewan to the bone. It also didn't help that Edana's own brother was involved in trying to kill the Grim Reaper, and presumably Death as well. He had been killed for the attempt, but the whole incident made Ewan realize how dangerous it was to be close to Death or a reaper. Edana and Charley had been chasing down an ancient reaper for months, something that had deeply worried Ewan. The deities of Life and Death frequently left a trail of human bodies in their wake and it terrified Ewan to think that his daughter might be in harm's way if she dated their son.

But that was just the fear talking. Ever since his twin sister's death, Ewan had held onto his kids tightly. It was how he'd been raised, after all. To this day, Travis Traver still had opinions on his children's lives and how they should be behaving that drove Ewan insane. His twin, Tristianne, had made it her life's mission to ignore every expectation their father made for them, and every day, Ewan grieved her loss. She would have the answers to his parenting fears; she always had the answer to everything.

Tristianne would be smacking him on the head and asking what was wrong with him for thinking this way. Their fathers were dating the Grim Reaper, and nothing devious had come for them. He couldn't let fear dictate his life or ruin his relationship with his kids. He would call out a warning to his daughter about standing in the sun and then head back inside after inviting the teens to come play pool in the basement where the sun wouldn't be an issue. If Bronwen liked a boy with dangerous parents, then Ewan would treat him like he treated Theo: warmly, but with a heavy dose of caution.

This was never what he expected when he pictured having kids. A much younger version of Ewan would never have thought that he'd one day be juggling demons and the kids of deities as part of parenting his kids, but it was what it was. He just hoped that whoever Elowen was bringing to the ball was boring in comparison.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

“Can you practice any quieter? I’m having trouble tuning with all your noise.”

Bronwen Traver glared at her stepbrother, Adam, as he worked through several scales as practice on the piano. Both siblings were in Arkhelios for a government funded performance for teens and had been voluntold that they were contributing to the music that night. President Wanda wanted a mixer for the various teens of Arkhelios who were not already in a foreign educational program to make important connections. Her first idea had been a formal ball, which was probably influenced by the time she spent in richer nations like Pleasantview. In Arkhelios, there was neither the funding or desire from the population to dress formally and dance. She had had to change her vision to a social mixer with music selected or performed by the teens themselves. Most of the teens refused to dress up for the occasion, including the heir to the Bellamy fortune, who she had been hoping would set an example for the other children. Apparently dressing up on a day he didn’t have to wear his school uniform was too much for Theo, who had then whined about her “oppressive government program” until Roman not only signed his son up for the event, but had promised to deposit him personally on the property if he continued to complain.

Bronwen Traver was in a similar situation. Her stepmother Edana had signed the entire family up for the event, even if it was only her son, Adam, who wanted to go.

Wanda really wanted to focus on hosting foreign witches and warlocks and other supernaturals to increase Arkhelios’ supernatural population. The more Arkhelios citizens learned to appreciate the supernatural community, the easier it would be for the country to benefit from their knowledge. It had taken a long time, but Wanda had personally gone from a closeted magic enthusiast to the head of Arkhelios’ own coven. It was no longer something that she had to hide about herself and kids like Theo could grow up knowing that they were accepted for their differences...or at least that was her goal. After several years without demons threatening to destroy Arkhelios and its residents, the whispers about Roman and his large family of demon hybrids had mostly been quieted. Arkhelios gossiped largely about the Bellamy marriage instead of its demonic heritage, and Wanda couldn’t be prouder of her community for this change. Her next step was introducing vampire hybrids like Bronwen as well as any plant sim or alien she could find. She already humanely housed and isolated the zombie population in Arkhelios, giving their family members chances to bond safely with them if they chose to. Public opinion would change with this new generation of Arkhelios voters, now that the older, more judgemental generation was starting to die out and mixers like this were how she planned on cementing supernatural acceptance.

“Are you going to ask your boyfriend to dance?” Bronwen teased, watching Adam’s face flush predictably. “The only good thing about having to do this stupid event will be if you finally tell him that you love him and put the rest of us out of our misery.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s just my friend,” Adam snapped, smashing the piano keys to emphasize his point. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re friends with him too; I don’t see anyone accusing you of being in love with him.”

“Because I’m not. Theo’s great, but I have higher standards. I’m not going to date a guy who will only cheat on me with my stepbrother.”

“You’re delusional,” Adam groaned, glaring at his sibling. “Theo will find someone else to dance with tonight and then you’ll look stupid. He probably wants to date another demon, not a warlock he’s been friends with since he was a kid.”

Bronwen rolled her eyes, but returned her focus to tuning her instrument. Elowen and Remy were all on her side, and getting irritated by their brother’s constant pining whenever Theo was around. Theo was around their house almost constantly when he wasn’t at school with them. Enough was enough.

While teens trickled into the event, Theo watched his best friends start their warm up from across the room to avoid them noticing his gaze. Wanda hadn’t wanted to host the event herself and had slyly suggested to Elaine Helios that her grandson could network or find a proper romantic match at such an event, if only she could host it.

The Helios mansion had held several events and had more than enough space to accommodate the teens. As long as it wasn’t branded as a party, which Elaine loathed, she was more than happy to host it. She worried about her eldest grandson’s future; god knows his parents didn’t seem to. The boy’s head was filled with magic and and a weak work ethic. At least the twins had Adrian and Evren to guide them properly. She feared for poor Saturnia and Abraham III’s futures if they only had her son and the man who’d cheated on him with royalty as examples.

Lucy’s children at least seemed to inherit their mother’s spunk and ambition, which put Elaine’s mind at ease. Her daughter was many things, but lazy wasn’t one of them. She rarely spoke to her daughter after their falling out, but Elaine had no doubt that Lucy was carrying on the Helios tradition of ruthless ambition and teaching her children accordingly. As far as her youngest was concerned, Nathan and his string of illegitimate children were of no concern to Elaine. It was hard enough keeping Abe out of the headlines, she couldn’t imagine trying to take on Nathan as well.

“Check. Check check. Is this mic working?”

Medora Toyonaga grabbed the microphone closest to her group of friends and tapped it quickly.

“You’re singing, I take it?” Bronwen asked, still struggling to tune her instrument while Adam hit random piano keys to disorient her.

“Yeah, I was roped into this too,” Medora replied. “Grandpa insisted we humour the Arkhelians.”

“Theo, good to see that you’ve arrived on time. I won’t have my grandson show up late to help me host an international event.”

Elaine hugged her grandson and was grateful to have him return the gesture. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

“Hi Grandma. Dad says hi too.”

“I hope you’re ready to help set things up. I’m not going to be embarrassed in front of the global community in my own home. Everything has to be perfect. Wanda may even televise our little concert if things go well. And they will go well. Am I understood, Theodosius?”

Theo scowled at his grandmother.

“You’re not supposed to call me that in front of people,” he hissed. “Just call me Theo like everyone else.”

“That school you go to gets worked up over the most ridiculous things,” Elaine sighed. “I mean, really, I can’t address my own grandson by his own name? What if you’d been named something normal like Abe? Everyone would know what it’s short for and we wouldn’t have to dance around wording because someone might use your name in a spell. Though as long as we’re taking precautions, I might as well give you these.”

To Theo’s horror, his grandmother pulled a small box from her purse and held it out to him. Theo’s eyes could read the words and see the images printed on it and if he weren’t in complete shock, he’d be trying to force the box back into the purse it had come from.

“Condoms, Grandma? Really? My friends are all here! What if they saw me with those?”

Elaine scoffed at his embarrassed rage, but set the box on a nearby table.

“Before you were born, your fathers were friends,” she explained coldly. “You’re at an age where you might start to have certain feelings about your own friends. I’m hosting a public event with a group of hormonal teenagers. I had a child young. Your father had a child young. I’m ending this cycle before I’m holding another little Theo.”

“I’m thirteen, Grandma!” Theo hissed, looking around him anxiously. “I don’t have a boy or girlfriend and this important dance is at my grandmother’s house! What do you think is going to happen?”

Elaine gestured towards the other room where Gavin Chezzetcook and Lexy Toyonaga were exchanging kisses unsupervised. Theo couldn’t see how their actions possibly related to him. They were filling out college applications and driving cars; Theo was afraid to even brush his hand against Adam’s for fear of rejection.

“I wish my other grandparents weren’t dead or a zombie,” Theo muttered loudly, pushing past his grandmother towards the bass guitar he’d borrowed from school for the event. “They wouldn’t embarrass me at the stupid event I was forced into. They’d give me money for the mall and bake cookies or shit like grandmothers are supposed to do. This is so unfair.”

“I’ll leave the box by your jacket and bag,” Elaine called out, smiling at the glower she received in reply. “Go make me proud!”

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

“Don’t you look handsome! Look at how cute you are in that uniform.” Ulyssa gave her godson a huge hug and ruffled his meticulously brushed hair. “Your dad cleans up nice too.”

“Cleans up nice,” Roman scoffed, balancing his daughter in his arms while trying to see where Abe had run off to with her sister. “I have formally monogrammed pajamas. You can’t clean up what’s already perfect.”

“I’m glad you could make it,” Ulyssa continued, ignoring Roman. “I know it will make Aunt Maura very happy to see you in this sad time.”

“Can I try your crown on?” Theo asked, his eyes focused on the object. “Just for a minute; I’ll give it back.”

Ulyssa laughed as Roman shot his son a frustrated look.

“How about later,” she replied. “Lots of people worked very hard to keep this thing on my head, so it would be rude to take it off before the ceremony.”

“‘Kay.”

Already bored, Theo wandered away from his father and godmother in search of something fun to do. Luciana had the same idea, but Roman held her firmly in his arms.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “My dad’s funeral was crazy to plan, I can only imagine how stressful an event this big is to pull off.”

“It’s all been planned out for years,” Ulyssa said. “I go where they tell me to and smile for the cameras. Very simple. I’m still glad you came though. Now that Cherry is queen, Adrian’s claim to the throne is irrelevant and you don’t have to attend every event anymore if you choose not to. Just in case no one told you that. I have no idea who knows what these days.”

“I was told,” Roman replied with a kind smile. “You haven’t seen the last of me, don’t worry. I want the girls to know their extended family and their father’s home. The food’s pretty decent here too. We’ll keep coming until they kick us out.”

Maura quickly attempted to walk down the hall unnoticed, but was too slow.

“Maura! Your Highness!”

With a deep sigh, Maura closed her eyes, put on her sincerest smile and turned to face her half-siblings.

“Trent, Callista! Are you getting ready for the ceremony?”

The two green young adults smiled back at her. Beside them, a familiar woman was busy staring at the large painted portraits on the wall.

“Miranda?” she guessed, trying to remember her name and the exact reason she had to be standing in the castle corridor. “We went to school together, right?”

The woman nodded excitedly. For someone who had attended the same posh yet archaic school as Maura, the woman seemed surprisingly impressed by the castle decor.

“Miruna,” she corrected, before realising that she was probably breaking formal funeral rules. “I mean, it’s Miruna, Your Highness.”

“It’s just Maura. At least for now, anyway. I hope to have many years before it’s something as stuffy as Queen Maura. Why are you here anyway?” The princess caught herself and with another deep sigh, chose a different approach. “I mean, thank you for coming today, did you know my grandmother?”

The woman shook her head to Maura’s relief. The last thing she needed was to offend one of her grandmother’s allies.

“I’m here on a date. I mean, as a date,” she rambled. “I’m Claudia’s- that is Her Majesty Claudia’s plus one.”

“You’re dating my cousin? Since when?” Maura gasped, no longer caring about decorum. Keeping up to date notes on her chaotic cousin was more important than being polite.

“No, I’m just her date for the funeral,” Miruna replied defensively. “We’re friends, that’s all. I mean, I like her, but do I like her like her? I think so, but-”

“You’re a witch, right? Your father is the head of the Pleasantview council?”

At least she’s sticking within her country and away from Roman Bellamy. Is this political or does Claudia have feelings for this girl? Why didn’t she tell me about this? Is this a scheme for power and favour from the witches, or her usual misguided pursuit of love? This could be the mother of her illegitimate heir.

Maura shook her head to clear her thoughts. The responsibilities of being a grieving heir were already difficult to handle and people had only begun to arrive.

“Excuse me.”

Maura turned away from her guests and bolted towards the closest door as quickly as possible.

It was peaceful in the throne room and empty of any other well wishers or guests. Maura was thankful to just have a few moments alone to herself to think. Ulyssa was probably off somewhere keeping Roman and Claudia away from each other and greeting everyone else in her place. Anyone who had doubted her choice in marrying Ulyssa had to see the remarkable woman she’d married in times like this. Ulyssa was strong willed, stubborn and loyal. She could take on the duties that Maura struggled with and would protect her wife at all costs.

Sitting on the throne itself didn’t seem too bad. If her grandmother was alive, she’d scold Maura for desecrating the throne just by sitting on it before her time.

But the old woman wasn’t alive. Everything was changing in their family. Now it would be her mother sitting in this chair with her step-mother sitting beside her.

The perfect family: a queen, her wife, and their two perfect children. And me standing alone on the side. I wonder what things would be like if Dad hadn’t died. Would he be proud of me? Would I still feel so out of place in this family?

“Bronwen!”

Theo rushed towards his friend, enveloping her in a hug. The young vampire hugged him back enthusiastically, while her sister rolled her eyes at the sight of Theo.

“We got grounded because of you,” she snapped. “And you never gave me my sweater back.”

“It’s great to see you again,” Theo gushed, ignoring Elowen’s comment. “You have to come to these things too? It’s so boring here and everyone is sad.”

“Our dad’s important or something, and Grandpa said we had to go to this,” Bronwen confided. “I mean, that’s why you’re here too, right?”

Theo shrugged.

“I don’t think my dad’s important,” Theo replied. “Aunt Ulyssa asked me to come, and I guess my dads and sisters had to come with me. I’m helping her greet people. She said that my job is important and if I do it well, I get to ask the kitchen to make anything I want.”

“It sounds like they’re just trying to keep you busy and out of the way,” Elowen said, rolling her eyes. “They’ve got a grownup greeting everyone at the door, and he’s handing out program sheets. Where’s your sheets?”

Theo paused for a moment, trying to remember if he’d been given anything to hand out.

“Oh yeah! Aunt Ulyssa did give me some papers,” he recalled. “I think I left them upstairs with my sister. She wanted something to colour on.”

“Claudia! Long time no see.”

Queen Claudia of Pleasantview turned to see Roman and Ulyssa waving at her. Roman had his young daughter in his arms, and appeared to be hanging around with Ulyssa instead of speaking with any of the other guests.

“Duke Siew, Your Highness,” Claudia greeted formally, waiting for them to bow their heads to a reigning monarch. Once formalities were out of the way, Claudia gave Roman a playful punch on the arm. “I never see you anymore. Does someone really need to die for you to visit? Bring Abe and the kids over and we’ll have a barbecue or something. My dad can grill just about anything to perfection and the kids can play with my Victoriana. She doesn’t see a lot of other kids these days and she’d be happy to have visitors.”

“Maura and I will come too,” Ulyssa interjected quickly. “You know that I love your father’s steaks. He can teach a thing or two to Roman about grilling things. I’m sure Abe will love to meet everyone too.”

“Give my assistant a call later and we’ll set something up,” Claudia replied. “I should go find the queen and give her my condolences in person.”

“You love her father’s steaks enough to invite yourself along?” Roman asked skeptically, watching as Claudia left the hallway. “I’m getting married, Ulyssa, you don’t need to chaperone my visit to see a friend.”

“To see an ex, you mean? Let me put it this way: I trust Abe’s ability to control himself around someone who is clearly still interested in him more than I trust either you or Claudia. I’m not going to bail out Arkhelios when it comes under attack because you were caught with its queen in a compromising position.”

“I’m not going to cheat on Abe,” Roman replied frostily. “He’s the cheater, not me. You don’t need to worry about something that’s never going to happen. You’re my ex, and no one worries about us running off together.”

“Only because I have high standards,” Ulyssa assured her friend. “Let’s go find your fiance before we catch him making out with one of the guards.”

She shot Roman a playful grin and he sighed. Why did everyone in their life just assume that he and Abe were a toxic combination that couldn’t be trusted alone with their exes? Sure, Abe had gotten too close to Gareth for Roman’s liking, but he’d settled that matter. There was no way that he would survive pissing off the demon sovereign even if he didn’t want to marry Abe, so he was committed to having the ceremony even if he caught Abe with someone else. Ulyssa’s fears were misguided; he and Abe would never break up again for any reason. He refused to let Abe go, and he was pretty sure that Abe felt the same way about him.

“You’re sitting in my chair.”

Maura’s mind snapped quickly back to attention. She had been gone long enough from the crowds to have been missed and someone had come to find her.

“Mom? Oh my god, I’m sorry,” she rambled quickly, standing to her feet at once. “I didn’t mean to sit that long. I shouldn’t have sat there at all, it was inappropriate. I’m so-”

“It’s okay, my dear,” Queen Cherry assured her. “I used to sit there myself, trying to imagine what it would be like to wield that kind of power. To take on my mother’s role and try to live up to her reputation and legacy.”

“Did she ever catch you?” Maura asked curiously. “I can’t imagine that she’d be nice about it if she did.”

The queen laughed, encouraging her daughter to begin to relax.

“It’s a daunting thing to think about, isn’t it? But she was surprisingly kind when she caught me. Apparently she used to do the same thing, just as her mother did before her, and her mother before that. It’s natural to wonder how you’ll measure up in the big picture. Our legacy is made by the choices we will make, and I’ve always found it helpful to think in this room before making any rash decisions. One day you’ll be in my place, and tell the same thing to your daughter...or son, whenever you’re planning on giving me some grandkids.”

“I know, I know. We need an heir; trust me, I know. We’ll work on it.”

“Take your time,” Cherry replied, embracing her daughter. “I’m not planning on going anywhere any time soon.”

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

“Boo!”

The girl Bronwen had called Remy popped out from behind Theo to torment the vampire. Bronwen growled slightly and chased after her, leaving Theo alone again. He wasn’t sure if those two were playing around, or if they really didn’t get along. Either way, he’d still get to talk with his new friend after the wedding.

Theo looked around for something else to entertain him while they waited. A boy was playing piano, and ignoring the other kids. Maybe he was ignoring them because they teased him like Theo was teased at home. It was worth saying hi to him anyway. Maybe they could play a duet together. Aunt Lucy had been teaching him to play very simple songs with her at Grandma’s.

“Hi, I’m Theo,” he said loudly, talking over the sounds of the piano. The boy stopped, looking startled that someone was talking to him.

“Oh, is it time to go outside yet?” he asked and Theo shook his head.

“No, I was just saying hi,” he admitted shyly. “I don’t live here, so I don’t know anyone.”

“Oh, I’m Adam,” the boy replied. “Do you play piano too? It’s the most fun thing I can find to do here.”

Theo shrugged and sat beside him.

“A little. I’m not very good though. We have video games at home, so I have other things to play. Why are you being forced to be here? I’m the ring bearer. They couldn’t have the wedding without me.”

“I’m holding flowers or something,” Adam said dismissively. “My mom’s dating someone important or whatever, so I have to be in the wedding. But at least there’s like five of us carrying flowers. We don’t have to go by ourselves and have millions of people watching us. The wedding’s going to be on TV.”

“Oh yeah, I guess I never really thought about it like that,” Theo realized. He’d never thought about how many people would be watching him. What if he tripped and lost the rings on the ground and his aunt couldn’t get married because of him?

“Don’t worry,” Adam laughed, seeing the look on Theo’s face. “You’re right before the brides come in, no one will be looking at you, they’ll be looking for them.”

“I guess so.”

A uniformed guard knocked on the door, startling the distracted children. Bronwen and her frenemy both ran their fingers through their hair, trying to hide the fact that they’d been running around. Adam grabbed Theo by the arm and skipped to the door with him.

Theo stared at the arm linked with his, and smiled. This never happened at school. No one went out of their way to get close to him at home. Sometimes the Rivales twins would trade him chips at lunch for his dumb carrot sticks to be nice, but he still always felt left out. Two out of the three people he’d talked to today were nice to him, and one even agreed to be his friend. Theo remembered the excitement he’d felt walking around his dad’s old boarding school, and pictured himself going to school with these kids instead of the dumb jerks in Arkhelios. He’d never wanted anything so badly before in his life.

The children were assembled outside, queuing up where the wedding coordinator told them to. Maura’s siblings were dressed and waiting, and the queen lingered by the entrance to the gardens waiting for the brides, as her arrival would require the guests to acknowledge her, and unofficially start the wedding procession. Abe could see Roman’s face peering out a window, waving at him, so he and Maura were clearly ready. There was only one absence that could be holding things up like this, and Abe had a sinking feeling that he knew just what was happening. Lucy wasn’t anywhere to be seen. He couldn’t help but notice that there was a higher than usual amount of guards around the queen and her daughter than there had been before the guests had arrived.

Oh, Ulyssa’s going to murder me for bringing her. What was I supposed to do? She’d just find an even worse way to get in if I hadn’t.

“I’m going to go look to see how Ulyssa is,” Abe announced. Launce was straightening his tie nervously, waiting for his cue to get his daughter, and Abe had horrible visions of him walking in on one of Hurricane Lucy’s storms. This was his fault, he’d go deal with his sister himself. “Don’t worry Launce, Roman just uh, texted me that Ulyssa’s having dress trouble and she needs help. I used to sew a bit, so that’s why they need me. To sew something. I guess.”

Abe didn’t wait for a response or acknowledgement. As soon as he was out of the sight of Maura’s family, Abe sprinted towards the stairs that would lead him to Ulyssa’s room.

Please don’t let me be too late to undo whatever Lucy is doing. Please! Everyone is going to kill me if this wedding goes off the rails before it even begins.

Abe burst through the door to Ulyssa’s room, out of breath and sweaty from his jog.

“Birth control? You’re going to lecture me about birth control? Hunter’s lucky to have been raised by the Bellamys, since at least he wouldn’t be raised anywhere close to you! Hunter should be thanking my mom every day for keeping him away from your family!”

“Uh, Lucy? Ulyssa? The wedding is starting?” Abe tried to tentatively interrupt the screaming match he’d walked into, but both women ignored him.

“Oh, so now you’re trashing my family too? Classy Lucy, you always know just what to say to try to trap me into being with you again. I’m so tempted!”

“Wait, again?” Abe had clearly walked into something that he desperately didn’t want to be a part of. “Can we just-”

“I would never sleep with you again even if you begged me,”‘ Lucy snarled, and Abe massaged his head, already feeling a migraine coming on. “I don’t know what Maura sees in you. Your family’s poor, your mom’s a homewrecking slut, and our like, fifteen minutes together was average at best.”

Abe had to step between the women at this point, fearing what the queen would scream at him if he allowed Ulyssa to ruin her wedding makeup and hair by brawling in the hallway with his sister like she clearly wanted to.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you and your family,” Ulyssa spat. “You’re a selfish, entitled brat who just can’t handle the word no. Everything has to be about you. I. Don’t. Like. You. Do you understand yet? How many times do I have to tell you that? How many times does Roman?”

Lucy snorted angrily and shot her brother a fiery look.

“Oh, you better watch out, Abe. Ulyssa’s planning on stealing your man, just like her trashy mother stole Mom’s. Like mother, like daughter I guess. The Durants just can’t help themselves when it comes to screwing the Helioses over!”

There were so many things that he’d overheard in the last few minutes that Abe wished he could forget forever. That his sister had slept with an engaged woman was high on that list, right beside the mental image of Roman running away with that same engaged woman. Even by Lucy’s standards, this fight was devolving into something nasty fast.

“Speaking of daughters, what’s yours going to learn from you?” Ulyssa sneered. “How to sleep with an entire university, just like your brother? To go through so many people, but still not have a single one of them want to stick around to deal with you?”

“I didn’t sleep with the entire university,” Abe sighed, knowing that neither woman was acknowledging his presence. He was basically a living wall, keeping the women apart so that they threw insults and not fists.

Lucy’s face was so furious, so intense, Abe secretly wondered if she’d somehow picked up a dark form of her own from work. He’d take Roman stuck in his dark form forever over spending even another minute with whatever hatred and pain was controlling his sister.

“I didn’t have any choice,” Lucy snapped, her eyes filling with tears she refused to acknowledge. “What I did, I did for you! Do you really think that you’d still have all of this if it weren’t for me? If I hadn’t decided not to call up Maura and tell her what you’d done?”

“What I’ve done?” Ulyssa repeated. “How about what you did? You’re the one who kept buying me drinks, I’m sure that was all part of your giant plan to try to trick me into being with you! Am I supposed to thank you for not blackmailing me, for keeping the greatest mistake you’ve pushed me to make from my fiancee?”

“I could have ruined your life!” Lucy cried, long buried emotions beginning to choke her voice. “All I ever had to do was tell the truth, and you’d be out on your ass. No castle, no fiancee, nothing! I gave you all of this, while all you’ve ever done is take from me. I didn’t want to have my brother’s reputation at school, but I earned it thinking of you. If I hadn’t, people would have known! I didn’t want to see you kiss Maura the way you do, but I endured it, even though it should have been me. It should have been me!”

Abe and Ulyssa stood spellbound at a sight they’d never seen before, and might never see again. Lucy was crying.

“How can you have slept with Roman and still be his friend? What does he have that I don’t? That he can still laugh, and joke with you, when he had to have been a bigger mistake than me. It’s fucking Roman Bellamy! I’m better than him in a million ways, but he can still talk with you! His number isn’t blocked! If he was crying in a dorm bathroom alone with a pregnancy test, you’d have answered the fucking call!”

“Lucy?’ Abe slowly tried to wrap his arms around his clearly hurting sister, but she batted them away angrily.

“So yes, I guess I am like my mother.” Lucy’s voice was the coldest Abe had ever heard it. So much hurt and pain and anger was pouring out of her. “I’m so much like my mother that I hid my daughter away from the Durant family so that her bitch of a mother couldn’t hurt her like she hurt me.”

Abe had never felt a silence like the one he found himself trapped in. It wasn’t just an absence of sound, it was an absence of air, of light, of colour. If Roman were here, he’d accuse him of using his powers to manipulate the situation, but they were all human, standing in that room gasping to end the suffocation of unbearable silence.

Abe saw Ulyssa blink a few times in confusion, pause and then blink again. She had no response to what Lucy had just dropped at her feet on her wedding day. Lucy watched her try to break down this confession into smaller, more understandable pieces and still fail to comprehend what she had just been told.

Lucy looked over at her brother, who seemed to be short circuiting upon hearing her greatest secret just being dragged into the open. Abe was for once, completely at a loss for words.

Lucy snuck a quick glance at Ulyssa, who had also gone silent beside her. Her face was unreadable, frozen in place like she’d been carved from stone.

“I have to go, my father’s waiting for me downstairs,” she finally said. Her tone was robotic, as though the part of her brain that processed words had crashed, and her brain was still rebooting. “I’m getting married.”

Without another word, Ulyssa pushed past the Helios-Chun siblings and disappeared down the hall. They could hear her heels slowly descend down the stone staircase, slow and deliberate, like she was trapped in a daze.

Abe immediately spun around to confront his sister now that they were alone, but Lucy pushed past him too, wordlessly leaving Abe to process everything he’d heard alone. Well, he and Roman would be having a very scandalous talk later. Maybe he could tell him what exactly he should do in this situation, because Abe didn’t have a clue how to help his sister.

Abe didn’t see his sister when he went downstairs to look for her. Since she wasn’t anywhere in sight, and he couldn’t hear any more shouting, his guess was that she was in the washroom, reapplying her makeup so that no one could guess that she’d been crying. It’s what he would be doing if he’d had an argument that horrible with Roman, but still had to be filmed in a crowd for a television special.

He’d wait for her outside with the crowd then. He had no idea how to comfort a sister that was sad, instead of just angry. When he thought about it, he realized that for most of his life, it had been Lucy comforting him over his heartaches. She clearly had deep emotions, but Abe had never acknowledged them before. Just because she and Nathan took after their mother with their emotions, didn’t mean that they didn’t have any. From this moment on, Abe vowed to be a better brother to Lucy, especially when she was trying to push him away.

He had to cross paths with Roman on the way out, who was playing on his phone, while everyone waited for Ulyssa. Abe shot him a quick look that hopefully conveyed that they needed to talk about something important. Roman winked back with a salacious look, and then returned to his phone. Abe sighed. He desperately needed to reforge his lost connection with Roman. That, or get better at sending glances.

Abe took his place outside, glancing around for signs of either his sister or Ulyssa. Maura hadn’t been beside Roman as he’d walked by, and that fact filled him with dread.

What happens if this whole wedding falls apart because of Lucy’s secret? I wish I knew what to do here. This is all such a mess.

Abe nearly jumped when the wedding procession music began playing. The queen arrived first and the crowd was instructed to bow as she, and then her daughter took their places. A small group of children came out, scattering flower petals as they walked. A few bumped into each other as they waved to their parents, but were otherwise picture perfect. Abe waved proudly at his son as Theo walked down the aisle, but he didn’t notice, as his eyes were glued on the pillow he carried. He carried that pillow as though it were a bomb, and it could explode at the slightest jostle of the tiny boxes that rested on it. He was determined not to let his aunt Ulyssa down in front of so many people.

To Abe’s relieved surprise, both Ulyssa and Maura appeared, with Roman and Launce on their arms. He had no idea what their appearance meant for the future, but it looked like this wedding was still going to happen.

As the two women repeated their vows to each other, Abe saw Lucy appear beside him with red eyes, but immaculate makeup. She stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge the arm that Abe had wrapped around her. Both siblings watched the wedding before them silently, but Abe could feel Lucy curl into his embrace, hugging her brother like she hadn’t since they were teens.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

Bronwen and her sister Elowen were busy playing on the floor when a large ball of smoke suddenly appeared in their bedroom unannounced. When the smoke had cleared, a familiar looking boy was standing in their room, looking sad.

“Hi! I’m Theo, remember me? We met at my Aunt Ulyssa’s wedding,” he said politely. “You said we could be friends?”

“Theo?” Bronwen gasped. “You were the demon kid who actually knew how to dance, right?”

Theo nodded excitedly.

“And you were the vampire who was nice to me. My parents don’t want me around, so I’m looking for somewhere else to live.”

“We should probably call for our dad and tell him that there’s a boy in our room,” Elowen said skeptically, glancing at her sister. “It doesn’t matter if your parents don’t want you. Dad’s not going to let you move in with us.”

“No! It’s nothing like that!” Theo assured them. “My step-dad was from here, and my dad comes here all the time. They’re going to send me home if they find me, and my parents will lie like they always do and keep secretly hating me. I have to go far enough away that no one will recognize me.”

The sisters stared at their intruder like he’d been speaking gibberish.

“How far is that?” Elowen demanded, giving him a skeptical look. “Where are you going, and what exactly do you want from us? I’m not helping you go anywhere, you just showed up in my bedroom! If my sister didn’t like you, I’d be getting my dad right now.”

“You can’t get Dad, he’ll just tell Theo’s parents,” Bronwen insisted. “Theo is nice and he needs our help. He’s my friend and I understand what he’s going through.”

“I just need a map. Something that I can use to plan where to go,” Theo insisted. “I have an idea of where I need to be, but I don’t know where it is exactly. And maybe some juice if you have any. I didn’t really pack enough snacks.”

“See?” Bronwen said and though her sister scowled, she eventually nodded despite her reservations.

“Okay, fine, he can use our tablet and we can get him some food, but it’s just for tonight,” she agreed reluctantly. “Dad says it’s not safe out after dark, and since he was at the wedding, that means he’s probably important enough that we’ll get in trouble if he gets eaten by wolves. But he has to leave when we go to school! I’m not getting in trouble for hiding some strange boy you met at the wedding.”

Theo had fallen asleep on Bronwen’s bed almost immediately after stuffing several cookies in his mouth from the kitchen downstairs. The pain of realizing the truth about his parents’ feelings about him, and the stress of finding somewhere to new to live was overwhelming. At least he could get a good night’s sleep somewhere safe, so he could tackle finding his new home well rested.

He tried to reassure Elowen that his parents wouldn’t be looking for him, but she refused to believe it. Maybe yesterday he would have believed her, but he’d heard the truth for himself. His parents didn’t want him. Maybe some day when he was older, Theo could sneak back to his family and watch how happy they all were without him. If his parents were looking for him at all, it was probably just so Grandma wouldn’t get mad at them. As soon as he went home, he’d be grounded permanently, and forced to watch the whole family fawn over his completely normal new brother or sister.

“Dad’s going to find out about this,” Elowen said nervously, watching their guest sleep. “What if he checks in on us later? We’re going to get in trouble.”

“Relax,” Bronwen assured her sister. “We’ll both sleep in your bed and cover up Theo with toys. He’ll never know. It’s the right thing to do. If we found out that Dad didn’t want us around, I‘m sure that Theo would help us. He’s nice and he needs our help.”

“Sounds like someone has a crush on a demon,” Elowen teased, climbing into bed before her sister could steal the softest pillow.

“I do not!” Bronwen protested, her pale face flushing red. “I just know how he feels. Mom left me here with Dad because she didn’t want me, but what if Dad hadn’t wanted me either? I’d be just like Theo. No human wants a half-vampire around, any more than my vampire mom did. I was just lucky that Dad somehow does. If Theo has somewhere he needs to go, I want to help him because I know how he feels. At least your mom is still around.”

Elowen hugged her half-sister tightly.

“Your mom’s an idiot for leaving you, but I get what you mean. If you want to help him, then we’ll help him. But you’re taking the blame if Dad catches us.”

In the morning, Theo woke up when his hosts’ alarm went off for school. While it had been nice to sleep in a bed, and hang out with his friend, he had to keep moving or grownups would try to return him where he wasn’t wanted.

He could feel a pull towards somewhere unknown deep inside of him and he simply had to get there. It was calling to him; he could feel the call running through his veins. He didn’t know where he was supposed to go exactly, but after looking at maps on a tablet, he had narrowed it down a little more. It couldn’t be that far, but it had to be far enough to be safe from well meaning people trying to return him to a family that resented him.

Elowen had pointed out the fact that Theo needed to disguise himself if he was going to to remain hidden, and while the girls got dressed for school, Theo was given a heap of clothes to try on. Not all of them fit, but an oversized sweater with matching sunglasses seemed both comfortable and stylish.

Theo stared at his reflection in the hallway mirror. He looked normal enough. In a crowd of people, who would be able to identify him, especially if he was far enough away from Arkhelios?

“You look good.”

Bronwen embraced her friend before they left for school. She was sad to see him go, but maybe sometime in the future, they could hang out together again.

“Thanks for everything,” Theo said with a smile. “I’ll try to get your sweater back to you someday. It really means a lot to me that you and your sister would help me.”

“Keep the sweater, it looks nice on you,” she laughed. “Promise me you’ll come visit soon though. As soon as you can.”

Theo nodded solemnly.

“That would be nice.”

As the girls headed out to catch the school bus, their father, Ewan stepped in to collect their laundry, and was shocked to find clothes and snacks strewn across the floor. His daughters weren’t the neatest kids, but this was excessive, like they’d torn apart their entire closet looking for something. It wasn’t like them to hoard cookies and granola bars under their beds either. Clearly something strange was happening here.

He frowned as he spied an unfamiliar jacket on the floor in a clothes pile, and pants that he didn’t remember buying. If he had to guess, these clothes belonged to another child entirely, and probably a little boy. While it disturbed him that both of his girls had walked right past him for the bus without a sign that something was up, another thought occurred to him.

The queen had issued an alert about a missing child that might be in the country just that morning. A missing male child. The alert had been for the area around the castle or the estate of Lord Siew, but he wasn’t that far away from there. This mess in his daughters’ room could be unrelated, but they had never snuck someone into the house before, and they were nice kids who would probably be sympathetic to another child if they asked for help.

Ewan snapped a quick picture of his discovery, and forwarded it to the office of the queen so that she could identify if the clothes belonged to the missing boy. If they didn’t match the missing child, he was going to have an even more serious conversation with his children about having surprise sleepovers with their friends.

[luverofralts]

Simstober Day 5: Daylight

Bronwen’s never stopped trick or treating with her sister, so long as they’re home before daylight.

[luverofralts]

The girls of the latest generation ♥

[luverofralts]

Sims Download: The Travers

Ewan Traver has three daughters, two of which he has joint custody of. Bronwen is Ginger’s child and half-vampire, and Elowen is Edana’s child and half-witch. Ewan isn’t supernatural in any way, so keeping up with them keeps him on his toes. They live in tropical Twikkii Island away from most of their family, but Ewan tries to see his brother Leo whenever he is visiting Edana in Strangetown.

Download (left to right): Elowen, Bronwen

Download Ewan