#victoriana goldman

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

Ulyssa rushed to the cradle she had placed in her bedroom. The infant was crying, and with all the tears currently being shed in the castle, the queen regent thought it would be best to keep a close eye on the child. On her child.

The little girl stopped wailing as soon as Ulyssa picked her up. It brought back so many, now painful memories of her own children growing up. Alysiara had fussed whenever she was about to be put down for a nap to the point where even the nannies couldn't get her to sleep. She'd happily sleep in Ulyssa's arms while Maura held court.

This baby was hers in the same way that Georgiana was Maura’s. Ulyssa repeated that sentence in her mind every time she had to feed or change the baby. This little girl looked a lot like her father, but then again, so did Georgiana. There were bits of Maura in her face as well, but her eyes were all her father's.

"It's okay, baby. I'm scared without your mom too," Ulyssa confessed, holding the infant close. She couldn't understand all the words Ulyssa needed to get out of her system. "We'll be okay, though. She'll wake up and we can try to be a family again. You'll see."

"Ah, you're not as fussy as Alysiara," Ulyssa remarked sadly. "You're like Viola, shy until you get hungry. That's pretty good; we could use some more shy family members."

"Go to sleep, little princess. The nanny will be here soon."

The nanny was due to arrive within the hour, to Ulyssa's relief. She could handle babies, she and Maura certainly had enough of them, but dealing with a newborn, a country, funerals for her children, and praying that Maura woke up soon, all seemed impossible. She could delegate baby duties to a trained professional while trying to keep up with the rest of her responsibilities.

"Your Majesty, there are guests at the door. Security has cleared them. It is safe to approach."

Ulyssa groaned. All this security didn't feel like it was to protect them. It felt like it was some kind of test of patience just to get breakfast. We're they really any safer with all these "safeguards"? They had thought they were safe at the family cottage, and look how that turned out.

Ulyssa reached the door and had to check behind her for a camera or a group of people waiting to jump out and yell "surprise"! She couldn't have predicted the identity of her guests even if she'd had a hundred guesses.

"Your Majesty, it's great to see you again so soon."

"It's just Claudia at the moment," the queen replied, smirking at her daughter. "The three of us are simply foreign citizens, out for a walk on the royal estate."

That was an understatement. Despite Claudia's words, the three people on her doorstep were very much not a simple thing to acknowledge. Firstly, if you had asked Ulyssa to picture Claudia with her hair done up like a teenager, she could have never imagined what was before her. Victoriana was easy enough to expect to be with her mother, but Theo? The last Ulyssa had heard, Theo was away in a foreign school for almost killing his boyfriend with his broken magic. To see him casually strolling the palace gardens with his half-sister and the queen of Pleasantview? Had Roman approved this visit, or was it one of Claudia's games?

"Thanks for meeting with my lawyer about the cottage," Claudia exclaimed, greeting Ulyssa in a superficial manner. "He said that everything went through just fine and i have you to thank for it. Maura’s going to be so proud of the way you've handled things in her absence. Her doctors are saying that she might wake up soon, are you preparing all the documents and papers she's going to need?"

Ulyssa felt gross just listening to Claudia try to be nice. The papers giving her a legal stake in the cottage were already signed, what else did she have planned if she needed to butter Ulyssa up like this? She would ask how Claudia knew about what Maura’s doctors were saying, but she already knew the answer. The queen of Pleasantview knew everything.

"Anyway, I thought I'd drop by and see your newest daughter," Claudia continued, ignoring Ulyssa's attempt to answer her last question. "She's upstairs, right?"

"Yes?" Ulyssa was still trying to figure out what exactly was happening here. "The nanny is doing to be here soon. I think she's almost asleep-"

"Perfect! I'll just say hi before she falls asleep. Victoriana, Theo, run upstairs and signal to our security team that we're safe. You know how they worry when we're out of sight these days."

Before Ulyssa could stop the teens, Victoriana and Theo were on their way upstairs to complete Claudia's command.

Theo did pause long enough to give his godmother a dirty look. Clearly, his feelings for Ulyssa hadn't changed since she'd last seen him.

"Oh, isn't she the cutest?" Claudia cooed, reaching into the cradle to hold her cousin's baby. "She's got that Siew fierceness, you can see it in her eyes."

Ulyssa craned her neck, looking for signs of where the Bellamy half-siblings might have run off to. Security was still on high alert, so they had to be being watched by someone, surely. What reason did Claudia have Theo for anyway? There was no honest reason that Ulyssa could think of for Claudia to have her ex-fling's teenage son sneaking around Twikkii Island when he could be home with his parents or safe at school. There was still a week left in the semester, wasn't there? After everything that had happened, Ulyssa had no sense of time. It could suddenly be Winterfest tomorrow for all she knew.

"Princess Victoriana is just using the washroom," Theo announced upon entering the room. "Our security team wants us to move on shortly. They're not comfortable with our being in the castle when another strike could come at any time."

"Understood. Theo, would you like to hold the baby? You probably have enough experience holding children with the size of your father's family."

"No, Your Majesty, I'm fine here."

Theo looked as interested in seeing the infant as any typical fourteen year old boy. If it had been Adam's baby, that would be a different story, but someone else's crying, smelly kid hardly seemed worth Theo's time.

Ulyssa used Theo's reluctance to position herself beside the teen before he could bolt away. She would likely never have a chance to speak with him like this again.

"So Junior-uh, Theo. How have things been lately? I heard that you were admitted to one of the hardest schools to get into. That must have been quite an honour."

"It sucked and they took away my phone," Theo replied curtly. "I still haven't got to see Adam yet, but at least I can text him again."

"Well, what did you learn?" Ulyssa tried again. She'd clearly forgotten how self-absorbed teenagers could be. Maybe it wasn't his age, but his bloodline. God only knew what went through teenage Roman's head.

Theo shrugged. He kept his eyes averted from Ulyssa at all times.

"I learned that the life deity thinks that I'm practically a demigod and that Adam has a talent for making crystals now. I'm going to go back to school next semester, and they're probably going to have to assign me to the advanced classes. Maybe even some university level courses."

"Uh, huh. Well, I'm happy that you're back home safe. What are you doing hanging around with Claudia? More advanced magic lessons?"

It was a gentle probe, but it was probably too much. Claudia's well trained ears missed nothing, or so Ulyssa assumed.

"He's helping my mom with a project," Victoriana replied, skipping past her brother. She made a silly face for the baby and tickled her softly. "Very hush hush. Can I hold her?"

"Very," Theo agreed, still avoiding his godmother as best he could.

"Does she have a name yet?" Victoriana asked, rocking the infant in her arms.

Ulyssa looked at Claudia expectantly before answering. The name had only been entered into the records that afternoon, but Ulyssa had no doubt that Claudia already had that information. Claudia did her best to look innocent under Ulyssa's stare, but Ulyssa was quickly learning some of the queen's tells.

"It's Coby. Princess Coby Augusta Ulyssa Siew," Ulyssa answered wearily. Just when had Claudia learned this information? Was she secretly psychic, or did she have spies in every corner of Ulyssa's life? "Her Majesty was very fond of her father, and it's a unisex name, so I thought it was fitting. I hope she agrees."

"You couldn't have waited?"

Another snarky question from the cocky teenager. Ulyssa wasn't sure how Roman dealt with his son's attitude.

"No, there are laws in place about when an heir is registered and a name is needed rather quickly," Ulyssa replied. "They have to make sure that she's the daughter of the queen and her titles need to be assigned very quickly after birth. The process is all very formal."

Ulyssa could read the next thing Theo wanted to say as easily as if it were written on his forehead. How had Princess Georgiana gotten through that process if she wasn't the queen's biological daughter? Maura had seen to all of that in her authority as the monarch, something Ulyssa couldn't do now even with her role as regent. The crown had wanted a name and Ulyssa had given her one.

"Well, it's been fun, but we really should get back to our walk around the grounds," Claudia declared, handing Coby back to her mother. "Theo, are you all set? Victoriana?"

Both teens nodded, and Ulyssa could feel her stress rising exponentially. They were up to something and barely trying to hide it. Whatever plan Claudia was working went far beyond Ulyssa's understanding, and Claudia knew it.

"It was nice seeing you and little Coby," Claudia lied, suddenly slipping back into her well practiced monarch cadence.

"Yeah, you too," Ulyssa said as politely sarcastic as she could manage without offending the foreign monarch. "Stop by any time."

"Tell Maura that I'll be by to see her," Claudia called as she began to descend the stairs. "Tomorrow probably. We'll have lunch."

Ulyssa frowned. Well, that was cryptic. Was Claudia guessing about Maura’s condition, or was she aware of some secret information that even Ulyssa didn't know? Had her reaper parents given her information known only to the guardians of the dead?

Ulyssa released a frustrated sigh and turned her attention back to the infant. First, she would take care of finding their nanny for Coby and then she would pour herself a large, strong drink and continue to look over the remaining documents she had to review before holding court tomorrow and put all thoughts of Claudia Goldman and her schemes out of her head.

[blognegocios360]

Negocios y filantropía van de la mano

Negocios y filantropía van de la mano

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Recientemente, Eric Schmidt, presidente de Google, estuvo en el Reino Unido hablando en el festival internacional de televisión MediaGuardian en Edimburgo y lo que dijo podría haber molestado a algunos en la audiencia. Pronunció un discurso muy interesante, sin pompa ni pretensión, sobre la debilitante división entre las artes y las ciencias, una que ha paralizado a Gran Bretaña durante décadas. Parece que para la nación que inventó la televisión, la fotografía y las computadoras, la noción de yuxtaposición posmoderna o la idea victoriana del polimatismo están claramente ausentes del sistema educativo y del panorama empresarial; mantenerlos separados es lo que defiende el Reino Unido. Schmidt rechaza esta tendencia de la sociedad a compartimentar, "Lewis Carroll no solo escribió uno de los cuentos de hadas clásicos de todos los tiempos. También fue profesor de matemáticas en Oxford. James Clerk Maxwell fue descrito por Einstein como uno de los mejores físicos desde Newton – Pero también fue un poeta publicado ". Esta dirección también parecía profusa, habiendo llegado solo unos meses antes de que el mejor criador de la polinización creativa y técnica más conocida del mundo, Steve Jobs, falleciera.

De hecho, fue una vez que Jobs comentó en un artículo del New York Times que "La Macintosh resultó tan buena porque la gente que trabajaba en ella era músicos, artistas, poetas e historiadores, que también eran excelentes informáticos". Esta parece una noción muy moderna, una que no debería girar la cabeza, mirando hacia atrás en busca de inspiración. Pero, tal vez culturalmente, tanto en Estados Unidos como en Gran Bretaña, la idea de que desarrollar, practicar o sobresalir en varios campos es una imposibilidad o, en el caso de Gran Bretaña, altiva o vana. También existe la presencia invisible, potencialmente paralizante, de la duda de sí mismo, que, por supuesto, debe ser suplantada con positividad desde una edad temprana y "educada". De lo contrario, a la pequeña voz (que está en todos nosotros) de "no se puede hacer" se le otorga la raíz, se le permite florecer y puede estrangular rápidamente a generaciones de jóvenes (los recientes disturbios de Londres, pueden ser en parte una expresión de esta).

Nosotros, como sociedad, buscamos líderes, políticos, educativos, musicales y financieros, no solo como guía, sino también como inspiración. Y el mundo de los negocios y el entretenimiento ha sido fecundo durante la última década con hombres y mujeres 'cantando, todos bailando' que, con suerte, inspiran a una nueva generación a soñar, desarrollarse y aspirar. Cuando los jóvenes ven a un artista de hip-hop como Jay-Z, o al magnate de la etiqueta y el entretenimiento, Russell Simmons, yendo más allá del éxito inicial en su campo elegido y abrazando el emprendimiento, la conciencia social y la filantropía en una medida igual, un paradigma de polimath parece accesible .

Así es también el caso en el mundo de los negocios. No es nada nuevo saber que los CEO exitosos son filantrópicos en su tiempo libre, pero el compromiso y la dedicación empleados actualmente por leyendas como Warren Buffett, Bill Gates y el "Club de Multimillonarios" no tienen precedentes; infundiendo nueva vida al viejo adagio de que 'no puedes llevarlo contigo'. Pero hay muchos otros individuos menos conocidos, pero igualmente diversos y altruistas en el clima actual.

Scott Mead también está en este campo. Como banquero de inversiones de gran éxito, logró prestigio al captar a Goldman Sachs a través de, posiblemente, su década más aventurera y rentable a partir de finales de los años ochenta. Más allá de sus actividades comerciales, Mead está involucrado en una serie de trabajos caritativos que lo mantienen muy ocupado. Su actividad más reciente es en la Fundación New Look, de 10 años de antigüedad (iniciada por el artista de R&B, Usher), de la que recientemente se convirtió en miembro de la junta. La Fundación tiene como objetivo capacitar a los jóvenes y proporcionar un liderazgo positivo para inspirar el desarrollo personal. También está involucrado en muchas otras causas y lleva una vida paralela como fotógrafo consumado, ya que se entrenó con las luminarias Emmet Gowin y William Eggleston mientras estaba en la universidad (dos de sus tomas recientemente ganaron un lugar en el espectáculo de verano de la Royal Academy of Arts en Londres ).

Uno se pregunta por qué la vida no puede ser más como una charla continua de TED, un desfile en constante evolución de personas inspiradoras y múltiples. ¿No es así como queremos educar a las generaciones futuras? Brian Eno, músico, productor y todo tipo de personas, recientemente describió cómo muchas personas no reconocen en qué son naturalmente buenos, esencialmente cerrando una parte de ellos mismos. Qué lástima. La autoconciencia y la autoestima deben venir de algún lugar; Los líderes comunitarios y culturales son los que inculcan positivamente y alientan a los niños, el tipo de enfoque que Eric Schmidt cree que solía estar presente en el sistema educativo de Gran Bretaña. Hacer malabarismos con muchos mundos no tiene que ser una hazaña imposible, por el contrario, es un paradigma cuyo tiempo, si nosotros, como sociedad, decidimos nutrirlo, ha llegado una vez más.

de Negocios y filantropía van de la mano

[tuseriesdetv]

Noticias de series de la semana: Una millonada para Berlanti

Renovaciones de series

Global ha renovado Mary Kills People por una tercera y última temporada

Netflix ha renovado 3% por una tercera temporada

Netflix ha renovado 13 Reasons Why por una tercera temporada

TV Land ha renovado Younger por una sexta temporada

Netflix ha renovado The Innocents por una segunda temporada

FX ha renovado Atlanta por una tercera temporada

Channel 4 ha renovado GameFace por una segunda temporada

Cancelaciones de series

La tercera temporada de Shadowhunters (Freeform) será la última

Syfy ha cancelado Superstition tras su primera temporada

Channel 4 ha cancelado Damned tras su segunda temporada

TBS ha cancelado People of Earth pese a haberla renovado en septiembre. No habrá tercera temporada.

Noticias cortas

Greg Berlanti firma un nuevo acuerdo con Warner para producir nuevas series hasta 2024 por unos 400 millones de dólares.

Corinne Massiah (May Grant) y Marcanthonee Reis (Harry Grant) serán regulares en la segunda temporada de 9-1-1.

Rome Flynn (Gabriel Maddox) será regular en la quinta temporada de How to Get Away with Murder.

Keiynan Lonsdale (Wally West) no volverá como regular a la cuarta temporada de Legends of Tomorrow.

ABC pide perdón por mostrar en Quantico a terroristas indios culpando a Pakistán de su atentado y defiende a Priyanka Chopra por los ataques que está sufriendo a causa de la trama.

Incorporaciones y fichajes de series

Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex, Mean Girls) protagonizará Are You Sleeping junto a Octavia Spencer. Interpretará a Josie y Lanie, dos hermanas gemelas cuyas vidas han tomado caminos muy distintos.

Tony Goldwyn (Scandal, Ghost) será el marido del personaje interpretado por Uma Thurman en Chambers.

Allison Tolman (Fargo, Downward Dog) será recurrente en Castle Rock interpretando a la hermana de Molly Strand, el personaje de Melanie Lynskey.

James McAvoy (X-Men, Split), Ruth Wilson (The Affair, Luther), Lin-Manuel Miranda y Clarke Peters (The Wire, Treme) serán Lord Asriel, Marisa Coulter, Lee Scoresby y el maestro que cría a Lyra (Dafne Keen) en His Dark Materials.

Adrian Holmes (Arrow, Continuum) y Jacky Lai (Beyond) protagonizarán V-Wars junto a Ian Somerhalder. Serán el mejor amigo de Swann (Somerhalder) y una periodista online.

Danielle Campbell (The Originals, Famous in Love) será la nieta de Colleen (Kim Cattrall) en Tell Me a Story.

Grace Byers (Empire) se une como regular a la segunda temporada de The Gifted. Será Reeva, una mujer inteligente, elegante, autoritaria e implacable a la hora de defender a su gente.

Avan Jogia (Victorious, Ghost Wars), Kelli Berglund (Lab Rats), Beau Mirchoff (Awkward, Desperate Housewives) y Roxanne Mesquida (Gossip Girl) protagonizarán Now Apocalypse. Serán Ulysses, un nuevo habitante de Los Ángeles que se siente atraído por lo desconocido y tiene unas pesadillas que le hablan de una siniestra conspiración; Carly, aspirante a actriz y mejor amiga de Ulysses; Ford, aspirante a guionista y compañero de piso de Ulysses; y Severine, astrobióloga teórica francesa.

Will Traval (Arrow, Jessica Jones), Melinda Page Hamilton (Devious Maids, Mad Men), Stefania LaVie Owen (The Carrie Diaries) y Jane Adams (Hung) se unen como regulares a Messiah.

Kahyun Kim sustituye a Gillian Anderson como Media en la segunda temporada de American Gods. Dean Winters (Oz, Law & Order: SVU) y Devery Jacobs (Cardinal) serán Mr. Town y Sam Black Crow.

Liana Liberato (To the Bone), Haley Ramm (Seven in Heaven), Ajiona Alexus (13 Reasons Why), Brianne Tju (Scream), Peyton List (Bunk'd), Dylan Sprayberry (Teen Wolf), Jordan Rodrigues (Lady Bird), Brent Rivera y Dorian Brown Pham (Wilfred) se unen a Light as a Feather.

Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax), Sinéad Cusack (Marcella, V for Vendetta), Paul Ready (The Terror, Utopia), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Sick Note, Harlots), Danny Sapani (Penny Dreadful, Harlots) y Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones, The Tunnel) completan el reparto de MotherFatherSon.

Pósters de series

    Nuevas series

Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe), Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Nina Sosanya (Marcella, W1A) y Eileen Walsh (Catastrophe, Patrick Melrose) protagonizarán Woman on the Verge, adaptación de la novela de Lorna Martin 'Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown' (2008), para el canal británico W (UKTV) y el irlandés RTÉ.

Keshet anuncia que desarrollará y producirá la adaptación estadounidense de la israelí When Heroes Fly, ganadora de la primera edición de Canneseries, que trata sobre un antiguo militar que intenta rescatar al amor de su vida en la selva colombiana junto a sus excompañeros.

BBC One encarga seis episodios de Years And Years, drama creado y escrito por Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk, Cucumber) que cuenta la historia de una familia británica durante quince años de cambios políticos. económicos y tecnológicos a partir de una noche de 2019.

La española Mediapro y la francesa Federation Entertainment producirán junto a Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows, The Commuter) un drama de ocho episodios rodado en inglés sobre la desaparición de una joven en Ibiza y la investigación de un misterioso americano. Escrita por Ryan Engle (Rampage, The Commuter).

Netflix encarga una antología aún sin título en la que cada uno de los ocho episodios estará basado en una canción de Dolly Parton, que participará como actriz, compositora y productora.

Amazon encarga once episodios The Underground Railroad, limited series adaptación de la novela de Colson Whitehead (2016) sobre una esclava de una plantación de algodón de Georgia que decide huir con su nuevo compañero en un tren subterráneo mítico que transporta esclavos por el país en una realidad alternativa. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) dirigirá los once episodios.

IFC y Channel 4 han encargado seis episodios de Year of the Rabbit, comedia inspirada en Sherlock Holmes sobre un detective borracho (Matt Berry; The IT Crowd, Toast of London) que investiga crímenes en la Inglaterra victoriana. Completan el reparto Susan Wokoma (Chewing Gum, Crazyhead) y Freddie Fox (Cucumber, Banana). Escrita por Andy Riley (Veep) y Kevin Cecil (Veep) y dirigida por Ben Taylor (Catastrophe, Cuckoo).

Luz verde directa en Apple a diez episodios de Little Voice, dramedia musical escrita por Sara Bareilles y Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam, Stepmom) sobre veinteañeros de Nueva York intentando encontrar su voz y el valor para usarla. Producida por J.J. Abrams, tendrá música original de Bareilles.

HBO ha encargado el piloto de una precuela de Game of Thrones ambientada miles de años antes de la original. Creada y escrita por Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, Kingsman) y George R. R. Martin, la serie mostrará el declive desde la Edad de los Héroes hasta la época más oscura de Westeros.

La primera serie de Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Scandal) para Netflix será, adquiridos los derechos del artículo de Jessica Pressler en la revista New York, la adaptación de la historia de Anna Delvey, que estafó a numerosas personas e instituciones entre 2013 y 2017 haciéndose pasar por una heredera alemana millonaria.

Zendaya (Spiderman: Homecoming, The Greatest Showman), Eric Dane (The Last Ship, Grey's Anatomy), Storm Reid (A Wrinkle in Time), Maude Apatow (Girls), Brian "Astro" Bradley (Red Band Society) y Sydney Sweeney (The Handmaid's Tale) protagonizarán el piloto de Euphoria para HBO. Es la adaptación del drama adolescente israelí Kids-meets-Trainspotting.

Fechas de series

La segunda temporada de Anne With An E se estrena en Netflix el 6 de julio

La sexta temporada de Orange Is the New Black llega a Netflix el 27 de julio

La tercera temporada de Chesapeake Shores llega a Hallmark el 5 de agosto

La novena temporada de Shameless llega a Showtime el 9 de septiembre

Kidding se estrena en Showtime el 9 de septiembre

Tráilers de series

The Ranch - Temporada 3

Orange Is the New Black - Temporada 6

Sharp Objects

Take Two

3% - Temporada 3

13 Reasons Why - Temporada 3

Anne With An E - Temporada 2

Kidding

Shameless - Temporada 9

Nashville - Episodios finales

The Enemy Within

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Your Majesty, it's so great to see you again. Come, sit down. I've arranged for tea to be served if you'd like."

King Liam of Crystal Cove was a timid creature. His parents had been murdered when he was a child, and he had been raised under the thumb of King Ben Siew to be a compliant puppet to Twikkii Island's needs. Ben had married him to his granddaughter, Celeste, who had run the country for Liam until she and Charlotte Maricourt attempted to kill the Grim Reaper with the full force of the Strangetown coven. Since Celeste's death, Liam was trying his best to rule effectively and was utterly failing. His daughter, Theodosia, had been raised by her mother to force her father to abdicate the throne upon her mother's death, but Liam had refused to budge. The throne had been his mother's final gift to him and he wouldn't release it until it was his time to join her in death. It would be him who faced off against Claudia, even if Theodosia insisted on helping him.

Claudia was more than fine with the arrangement. All she needed was her heir by her side, and her number one secret weapon, Theo.

"How kind of you," Claudia replied dismissively. "It's a bit too hot for tea, don't you think? This meeting shouldn't take very long anyway."

"We'll see," Liam answered, attempting to sound authoritative and failing. "We do have so much to talk about."

Claudia only smiled in response. With a practiced nod, she gestured towards Theo. Victoriana walked to her mother's side (though two paces behind her at all times as appropriate for an heir). Theo nodded stiffly and marched carefully towards the front of the palace. He'd been doing lots of training with the queen lately since school was out for the summer and was loving every moment of it. He got to sleep in a castle, in a luxury bedroom all to himself. He'd been allowed to visit his parents twice now, but could only call or text Adam. Adam's parents had decided to keep Adam close to them for the summer and had forbid him to be alone with the demon hybrid until school resumed. Even if Theo's powers had been healed with divine intervention, neither Edana or Ewan wanted to risk another possible injury to their son.

"So, let's just get this out of the way," Theodosia began. "The Harvest Moon Ball will not be held this year. Our sovereign ruler has given his final decision on the matter, and you won't change it."

The crown princess glared at Claudia, but Claudia didn't seem to notice. Theodosia's wife, Charlotte, had gladly abdicated the Pleasantview throne to Claudia years ago, but Theodosia still had mixed feelings on the matter. True, Claudia had a better claim to the throne, and Charlotte was almost universally hated there, but the daughter of the Red Queen had to have some sway there.

But Theodosia was failing her mother's guidance. She had been too blunt, too quick to offer her opinion. Claudia had seen her true emotions on the matter, but Theodosia had seen nothing of Claudia's.

"Of course," Claudia responded, looking appalled at the insinuation of her having come to question the king's decrees. "Pleasantview has allowed your country to govern itself for what, seventy years now? My grandfather saw the potential in a second empire during his rule, but I made a very sincere vow to your nation upon taking the throne. Under my rule, you're free to make any decisions you'd like about your country. I do hope that Victoriana extends you that same courtesy when she takes the throne someday."

"You don't have a drop of Alioto blood in your veins," Theodosia said sharply. "My grandmother is your aunt on the Goss side only. You can claim relation to any other kingdom but this one. Your claim would have to go back all the way to the first emperor, who lived centuries ago. You don't know the first thing about Crystal Cove. We aren't so helpless these days."

"Ladies, please. Let's not let the heat get the better of us," Liam pleaded, looking sternly at his daughter. "Queen Claudia has sworn to keep the peace, and so have I. There's no need for arguments."

"It would help me learn about your country and traditions if Princess Isadora transferred to Princess Zarah Academy," Victoriana chimed in. "Queen Maura’s children and King Charley's grandchildren attend Pleasantview academies, and they love it there. It would no doubt be beneficial if your future queen studied alongside her royal peers. It would be unfair for the other future monarchs to have strong friendships with each other and poor relations with Crystal Cove."

"I'll consider it," Theodosia replied, in a tone that clearly conveyed the message that she would never consider the option. "So, if you're not here to complain about the ball being cancelled, I'm curious about the reason for your visit. We love hosting foreign royalty, but I wouldn't want you to waste your valuable time on something that could have been sent by message. I'm sure there's much to occupy your time in such a large nation."

"That's a good point though. Isadora is rather isolated from her peers. My own mother was born in Pleasantview, and we have a long history of friendship between our nations."

Theodosia cleared her throat, cutting off her father.

"Dad, Isadora loves her school. It's important to maintain our traditions and not be swept up by the culture of larger nations. Especially nations that have a history of making us their colony."

"I'm glad that she's happy with her education," Claudia replied calmly. "Crystal Cove has fine educational facilities. We have a few witches in Pleasantview who like to sign up for the occasional course here to experience your culture. The last one I approved to take a class abroad made me a little crystal tree in thanks. I proudly display it in my formal entryway."

Liam looked like he was about to say something in response, but Claudia cut him off.

"I'm sad to hear about the cancellation of the Harvest Moon Ball, but I can understand your concern for safety. I've come today to share some news I've received about another concerning threat."

"Another assassination attempt?" Liam asked, gasping audibly. "Another attack on Twikkii Island?"

Claudia shook her head solemnly.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. This is a global threat, I'm afraid. It's likely related to the attack that nearly claimed Queen Maura’s life, but it's been only spread by whispers so far. The dead are returning to our realm to warn us of what may come."

"The dead are returning? Is this-could it be...."

Theodosia trailed off, looking uncharacteristically unnerved by the Pleasantview queen's words. When she had gathered her thoughts, she cleared her throat and spoke with purpose.

"Does this concern our shared brother? Has he been...experimenting with the teachings of his mothers?"

For once, Claudia was caught off guard by a question and she didn't enjoy the feeling. She had prepared to talk about the names of dead reapers being mentioned to the living, but not about Travis.

Why would she bring up the shy, sensitive warlock who loved reading more than making a friend? To Claudia, Travis was a sweet, talented young man, who just happened to be her brother. Theodosia clearly didn't feel the same way.

Travis was Theodosia's biological brother by their mother, Queen Celeste, and a powerful threat. Celeste had been a dark, ruthlessly trained witch, and Theodosia was still learning about new terrible things her mother had done. His other mother, Charlotte Maricourt, had been an ancient witch raised in the Old Ways of Strangetown. Entire books could be written about her dark legacy. Travis was made by these two master magic users to sacrifice in their insane scheme to murder the Grim Reaper. Theodosia had seen the rituals for herself the day her mother died and remained terrified of Travis' potential, despite him having grown up into a shy, respectful teen.

Travis was Claudia's biological cousin, and Claudia was no stranger to the darkness that ran in their shared genes. Pleasantview lived at least a little bit in fear of their queen because she descended from tyrants and murderers, and that was something Claudia had been trained to promote. She knew the grey areas of her life and how to reign in the darkness without ignoring it fully. Celeste had been a terrible person, but Claudia's grandfather had instilled fear in the hearts of nations around the world. Crystal Cove had fallen to him in an afternoon and the things he'd done were too terrible to repeat. Hell, Theodosia was related to him as well on her father's side, but she wasn't his direct heir, so she got to be presented as innocent and kind. Claudia knew how Theodosia felt in secret, being a descendant of deranged monsters, but Theodosia wasn't using this insight to help others. Instead, she was placing her own fears and resentment on an innocent child and expecting praise for it. The Goldmans believed in the good of humanity and in redemption. Claudia's father adopted the unwanted son of the sister who had murdered him as an infant and had never once questioned Travis' heart. Theodosia had been telling the truth when she pointed out that Claudia had no Alioto blood in her veins. Maybe if she did, she'd be an asshole to innocent children too.

"No, it doesn't concern Travis," Claudia spat, trying to reign in her anger and failing. She paused to collect herself before continuing. She had business to conduct, and punching a foreign crown princess wasn't going to help anyone. "Ghosts have been seen for the first time in centuries. Have you received intelligence on this?"

"No," Liam answered, looking at his daughter, who shook her head. "I haven't seen any ghosts personally or had reports of them. Honesty, I've always thought that ghosts weren't even real since people like your parents apparently guard the dead so well."

"They usually do. Unfortunately, things happen out of their control sometimes. I believe the ghosts are trying to tell us something important. It's my intention to learn what they want, and my parents have suggested that I might have more success learning that information with a party. Spirits love gatherings of mortals for any reason, but especially when that gathering involves food and dancing. Blood magic is apparently stronger during celebrations involving food and thanksgiving, so their theory is that ghost might feel the same."

"Is that so?" Liam asked, leaning back in his chair. Beside him, Theodosia glowered.

"Now that you've cancelled the Harvest Moon Ball, I have to adjust my plans," Claudia continued. "You see, Lukas also fears what ghosts could mean for our world and has begged me to continue my investigation."

Her words had the desired effect. Liam froze in place, terrified of the mere mention of the being who had taken his throne when they were a teenager. Some nights, he still woke up in a cold sweat at the thought of the deity returning. Claudia had him just where she wanted him.

"So, you see, since the Harvest Moon Ball will not be held this year, I plan to hold my own ball to continue my investigation. Because your ball was cancelled, I thought it was only fair that I hold mine in Crystal Cove so that your subjects don't have to travel to Pleasantview to attend it."

"You don't have the right to just announce events in another country," Theodosia seethed. Her father had suddenly gone quiet. "You can't just rent out the ballroom. That's owned by the royal family and I don't grant you permission to use it."

Claudia smiled, her face perfectly calm.

"I wouldn't dare assume to use your property in Crystal Cove. That would be incredibly rude of me. No, I was planning on holding the ball in the piece of Crystal Cove that I own. The ball will be held in the Honora St. Julien Tower, which is the legal property of Pleasantview, so you don't need to worry about helping in any way. You're rightfully concerned about safety, but I can guarantee that my security team, several units of my military, and the brightest stars of my coven will be on hand to protect anyone who attends. Your whole family is invited, of course,"

Theodosia's face was turning from red to purple at this news, while Liam stared at the table, trying to form an objection to this plan.

"Your military in our streets? Your coven out hexing and cursing our magic users while people dance in the background? You don't have the right!"

"Well, actually, my mom legally owns the Honora St. Julien Tower. It's, therefore, a part of Pleasantview, and she can do what she likes in Pleasantview," Victoriana added quickly. This wasn't entirely the plan she had discussed with her mother before arriving here, but it was close. The queen had intended on elaborating on what she knew of the threat concerning old, dead reapers, but Victoriana could practically see steam coming out of her mother's ears. Clearly, the idea of sharing information had been abandoned. Victoriana was okay with that. She hadn't been briefed in full by her mother, but even she had not appreciated the princess' lack of respect for her Uncle Travis.

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, hey! Her Majesty thought you'd be here. I'm supposed to delay you while they talk a bit. Then you can barge in all you like."

Theo smiled at the new guests. Claudia had assumed that just because Lukas had asked for her help, they would have also reached out to a second person just in case. Usually, that meant the genetic line of champions they maintained to serve their wishes.

And here they were, standing before Theo. Varia, Vrai, and Leo all waved at the teen. It was just like Claudia had predicted.

"They're making you deal with this too?"

Vrai was old and tired and sick of politics. If his son hadn't nearly literally pushed him out the door, Vrai would be happy at home, ignoring Lukas' call.

"Dad, you were the crown prince of Strangetown when you were young. Politics is what you're good at, and it's not an inconvenience to spend time with me and your granddaughter on a nice day. You're still a prince, actively supported by Uncle Charley. Stop whining like a child and act your rank. We want the king to take us seriously."

Leo stared at the sky, wishing for a hole to swallow up his father and remove him from his sight. Vrai had never been a good father, and despite it being his destiny to serve, he was also a pretty lousy employee for Lukas. He sometimes behaved well when hanging out with his brothers, but overall, Leo found tolerating his father impossible. He would certainly never treat his own kids like that. It was getting to the point that if Vrai showed up properly dressed and with his mouth shut, Leo could usually get some work done. He'd been hoping that his father might pick up the conversation at the royal table and take an interest. He could make their job easier, though Leo knew he wouldn't.

"Theo! It's great to see you again! When did they let you out of school?" Varia ran to Theo excitedly, crushing him with a hug. "I haven't seen Adam in forever either. You must have so much to talk about. Was it a nice school? Did you have any favourite teachers?"

Theo laughed.

"It was the worst. Oh my god. They took my phone and I couldn't see Adam at all. I met Lukas there, though. Did they mention me at all?"

"Hmmm. I don't think so, but I don't always see them. You'd have to ask my dad. He doesn't always let me come on work trips, so I miss out on all the gossip. I have to spend more time in school before he'll let Lukas ask anything of me."

"My dad's ex-girlfriend hired me as a summer intern without asking me," Theo commiserated. "It's really cool, and I get my own room in a castle, but sometimes I wish I was back at school with Adam. Your dad probably has a point about not committing to serving a deity before you've learned how to handle them, though. Following the queen around is sometimes pretty boring."

"Your Majesty King Liam. Your Majesty Queen Claudia. Your Highness Princess Theodosia. Your Highness Princess Victoriana. I've come to talk with you all on a matter of some urgency." Leo stood politely beside the table of frustrated monarchs, waiting for an invitation to join them. The Crystal Cove royals looked furious, while the Pleasantview royals seemed to be enjoying themselves.

So nothing new then. This was how Leo had always seen the royal families act with each other. He had been born and raised in Crystal Cove, but he'd never felt respect for a monarch until he'd spent time with his Uncle Charley. Strangetown may be strange, but at least it had a functioning government.

"Of course you may join us," Claudia declared, once again acting on behalf of the king without permission. "If you have something important to discuss, then we are all glad to hear it. Victoriana, go sit with Isadora at another table and continue to think on our conversation while we speak with Leonid."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Leo said, pulling Victoriana's abandoned chair over to sit at the table.

"Is this news from Lukas?" Liam asked wearily. "If it is, then Her Majesty has already informed us of Lukas' displeasure with our choice about the ball. We were just discussing that matter when you arrived."

"No, not directly from Lukas," Leo lied. "From my uncle, the king."

The king and his daughter shared a worried look at these words.

"King Charley sent you here? For what purpose?"

"About the cancellation of the Harvest Moon Ball," Leo repeated, eliciting a deep groan from the Crystal Cove royals.

"Not you too," Liam exclaimed. "It's just a ball! We have several of them each year when it's safe to gather. Doesn't anyone else have a self-preservation instinct? The Queen of Twikkii Island nearly died, and that was just a barbecue!"

"That's why my uncle has sent me to speak with you," Leo replied. "He's been tracking the threat of this spiritual unrest, and he wants to hold an event in place of the Harvest Moon Ball. The barrier between life and death is thinnest at the time of the ball, and the spirits will be displaced if their usual schedule is interrupted. If you are unwilling to play your part in the maintenance of the world, then His Majesty will do so for you."

"It's just a ball! Besides, Queen Claudia has already threatened to have her military in my streets to hold her own ball in place of the Harvest Moon Ball. Are you both going to fight over the same day?"

Claudia smiled at Leo, and he grinned back.

"Not at all," Claudia said confidently. "There's a window of time where the barriers thin. We could easily pick separate days. In fact, if we stretched the events over a weekend, the spirits might be even happier."

"My uncle is very spiritual," Leo continued. "He would gladly hold a spiritual gathering to uphold the Old Ways during the day, with every intention of joining Her Majesty's ball at night."

"I would gladly attend such a spiritual gathering," Claudia added. "My parents and their coworkers might also want to attend. My mother is a descendant of Holy Queen Jasone, after all. I extend the use of my property within the boundaries of Crystal Cove to your uncle to hold this joint event. With my military and coven, and your uncle's military and coven, plus at least my parents' reaper team and possibly more, I think this event will be well protected. People will flock to this event due to the disappointment of the Harvest Moon Ball's cancellation, and we can assure them that we will protect them where their own king could not."

A silence fell over the table as Liam considered his options. This had to be at least partly Lukas' fault. Their employees wouldn't be here unless the deity had forced them to be here. Leo would still be advocating for his uncle, sure, but Varia and Vrai? Liam could hear Vrai complaining from where he sat. Claudia had admitted to speaking with Lukas when she revealed their anger at the ball's cancellation, but she was grinning too much at the thought of holding an event in his country. Lukas might have inspired some of this, but Claudia and Charley were exploiting this weak spot of Liam's. Every second he refused to hold the ball, the greater the chance that the other monarchs got even more ideas to make him look weaker.

"Sorry about my grandfather. Mom says that he's seen a lot of bad things, which makes him paranoid and that we should go easy on him. I agree with your mom. Cancelling the ball is stupid."

Isadora smiled at Victoriana. The gesture seemed earnest, which Victoriana thought was strange. No one in line to a throne ever relaxed in front of the other royals. The teens' mothers certainly never let down their guard around guests. Hell, sometimes Victoriana saw her mother wear her "I'm the queen and you will all obey" face for days. Princess Theodosia seemed to be equally distant, something her daughter didn't seem to share. Isadora was sheltered by her paranoid parents and was deliberately kept out of the school in Pleasantview where she could make political friends. To Victoriana, the princess' life was depressing. Claudia gave her plenty of choices to make on her own, even if the queen frequently interrupted her daughter's life when it was necessary. Even though Theo had been hired for the summer without knowing it, Claudia still allowed him every luxury owed to him as a guest of the queen. Theodosia looked like she ruled her daughter's life without restraint.

"I'm sure he has his reasons," Victoriana said charitably. She smiled back at the princess. Isadora had a beautiful smile.

"Hey guys! I mean, greetings Your Highnesses." Varia charged across the lawn and unceremoniously greeted the other teens. Her dad's work didn't often involve kids her own age, and she'd much rather hang out with princesses than listen to her miserable grandfather. "What's going on?"

Victoriana grinned at the sight of Varia. Varia and her father were frequent guests at the Pleasantview castle. They didn't see each other often outside of their shared science class, but Victoriana liked to think she and Varia were friends.

"We're talking about the Harvest Moon Ball and how much of a baby Isadora's grandfather is," Victoriana explained, causing Isadora's face to flush with embarrassment. "Everyone wants this ball to happen, even Strangetown. I think my mom's about to invade Crystal Cove just so it happens."

"He's just being sensible," Isadora protested. "My aunt died in the attack that killed Queen Cherry. He's never really recovered from that loss. It's okay to be safe sometimes."

Victoriana rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes, but not all the time. The man is afraid of his own shadow. My mom always says that a monarch has to take risks and go on the offensive or they risk everything they have. A lot of powerful people would be angry if she didn't rule the way she does. I plan on following her path one day when I'm queen."

"That's easy for you to say. Your mom has all the resources she needs to act like she does. The queen of Pleasantview gets everything she wants," Isadora complained. "Everyone is too afraid of her to go against her."

"Fine! I will hold the Harvest Moon Ball as scheduled as long as both of your kingdoms leave your militaries at home, and Strangetown's spiritual gathering is contained to the tower."

The teens could hear the king's frustrated declaration from across the yard. Isadora continued to flush with embarrassment, while Varia couldn't keep a snort of laughter from escaping.

Victoriana grinned proudly.

"Like I said, the queen of Pleasantview gets what she wants. One day, that's going to be me."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"So how many friends are coming over? Do you need snacks? Humans need snacks, right? Your mother's busy with work, but I could probably make you guys something."

Destiny Lane shuddered at the thought of what her father considered to be food. To be fair, as Death incarnate, Izanami didn't need to eat food to sustain himself. As a result, whenever he made dinner for the family, Lukas would politely put the meal in the fridge for "later" and immediately order takeout. Destiny was a popular teenager, with several famous or well-connected friends. If she let them anywhere near her father's cooking, her reputation would be ruined.

"Dad, I have the snacks covered, don't worry about it. Thanks, though. All we need is to practice our routine for dance class before the Harvest Moon Ball is announced. My professor has met with Princess Theodosia and he thinks they're going to announce it soon."

Izanami made a face at the reminder.

"Yes, the same ball that has happened in the same season, every year since the founding of Crystal Cove," Izanami sighed. "It’s such a mystery when it will take place."

Destiny rolled her eyes. Her father could be so oblivious sometimes.

"Of course it's important! We need to know how long we have to practice our routine and when our dresses need to be ordered by," she explained. "I have to think about who I want to ask to the dance and how. It's important. Has Mom ordered theirs yet, or are they ordering a suit this year?"

Izanami mentally searched for an answer, smiling to stall for time. Lukas had rambled on about several options to wear to the ball, but Izanami truthfully hadn't been paying attention. Fashion was something his spouse talked about with their half-brother, Reese, while Izanami read a book quietly far away from them. It's not like he had much of a say in what he wore on any formal occasion. Lukas always dressed him when they went out, as apparently his fashion sense "died out a millenia ago" and reminded them of "a cheap outfit you'd get cremated in". Izanami didn't think what he wore was anywhere near that bad, but what did he know about fashion? Lukas had the mortals' obsession with it, while Izanami could easily spend another millenia in a comfortable dark robe.

"Ask your mother," he replied at last. There was no way that he had retained any information about their outfits, and even if he had, Lukas had probably already changed their mind and ordered something else. "But wait until they're done work. No bothering them in their office."

When the twins were born, Lukas had installed a home office on the ground floor of their house so that they could be nearby if the children needed them. They still had a formal office in the afterlife that connected to Gee's, but they tried to limit their time there so that Gee wouldn't pester them with questions. Plus, it was generally more acceptable to wear their pajamas to work at home where their stepson wasn't hanging around.

They had strongly encouraged Vrai to speak with his brother, King Charley of Strangetown, about the names of dead reapers circulating amongst the mortals. Vrai hadn't seemed interested in the slightest but had still sent them a brief email detailing their conversation. Apparently, Charley would talk to Edana about the names she was still researching and redirect her from discovering who the names were to why dead reapers were being mentioned among the living at all. It was a start in the right direction, at least. Lukas couldn't get that horrible voice they'd heard while trying to summon Riley's spirit out of their head. What did it want and why had it mentioned their children? Both Lukas and Izanami would burn the universe to the ground before anyone hurt their children.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home for lunch! My friend Mordred is here with me, so don't embarrass me!"

Arterius Lane stepped into his parents' house, scanning the living room for anything he'd need to shield Mordred from. Sometimes his father left skulls littered around the house, while his mother abandoned their stolen jewels just as lazily. If stolen tiaras and skeletal body parts weren't bad enough, last time Arterius had brought a girl home to meet his parents, they had walked in on an amorous scene that neither of his parents stopped once they realized their son was home. No one else living could understand the drama of being adopted by two deities who followed their own rules. Still, Arterius loved both of them intensely.

"Mom? You'd better be wearing clothes after our talk last time!"

"Welcome to our home, Mordred. I'm Arterius' father, Izanami. Please let me make you something to eat while you are with us."

Arterius paled at the thought of eating his father's cooking.

"No! I mean, Mom left us sandwiches in the fridge, so we're fine. No need to make us anything."

"Destiny and her friends ate them yesterday," Davis informed his brother while making his way to the fridge. "I'm going to make some mac and cheese if you want some."

"What? Those sandwiches had my name on them," Arterius whined. "Can't she read?"

"Oh, she can read, she just doesn't care," Davis replied, filling a pot with noodles to boil. "I say sabotage your food next time so she learns to stop stealing it."

"Davis! No one is poisoning your sister's food! It must have been an honest mistake. Destiny is very absent-minded and doesn't always read labels."

The two brothers shared a look between them. Their father let Destiny get away with everything.

"We'll just share some of your macaroni then," Arterius decided, shooting Davis a grateful smile. "If that's okay with you."

"So Mordred, what is your occupation? How did you meet my son? What's your blood type?"

"Dad!" Arterius hissed with embarrassment. "That question's not on the approved list of questions to ask humans. It's weird, remember?"

Izanami nodded, but had no idea which of his questions had been inappropriate. Probably asking about his job. Mortals were so caught up with money and how to earn it. Their egos were so easy to bruise. His son was nearly thirty years old now, wasn't parental embarrassment something that ended when mortals finished puberty? But Lukas was the same way about their parents on occasion, so maybe it was simply a behavior for those with parents. Having no parents of his own, Izanami would just have to study the behavior further to understand it.

"I work with his friend Miruna," Mordred answered before Arterius died of embarrassment. "She works at the Princess Zarah Academy and the Pleasantview Academy of Magic when she doesn't have royal duties to complete. I work at Princess Zarah Academy teaching third grade magic and helping out with the coven now and then. Miruna introduced me to your son."

"Ah, so you're a warlock." Izanami didn't have a pre-approved follow up question for the young man. The question he wanted to ask about the nature of this boy's relationship with his son would only make Arterius more embarrassed. He had learned that the hard way. "That must be a fulfilling career. Come, we'll sit down on the couch and continue our conversation while Davis prepares the food. Your mother should be done with work soon and might want to join us."

Arterius smiled. His dad was trying to understand the mortal mindset and that all he could ask of him.

"Sure. That sounds great." Arterius leaned over to stage whisper to his friend. "But if you hear Mom mention the name Reese, you should probably start running for safety."

Izanami opened his mouth to dispute this warning, but after thinking about it, he couldn't disagree.

"Your Uncle Reese is occupied for the time being. He won't be bothering us any time soon. Now tell me, Mordred, are your parents still alive?"

"Dad!"

Lukas sat in their office, chuckling at the commotion in the hall. Izanami had grown so much over the centuries and it was cute hearing him try his best to be kind to the mortals. Centuries ago, Izanami had seen the living world as a waste of time. Now, he was trying to insert himself in the lives of their children and act enough like a mortal to pass as one. It was as hilarious as it was heartwarming.

"So how are the witches in the Pleasantview coven?" Izanami asked politely. "My spouse has taken an interest in one apprentice, but there are surely more witches of interest."

"We have a wide variety of magic users," Mordred replied warily. It was unnerving to speak to Death about his friends. He didn't want to slip up and accidentally get someone killed. "Theo is the brightest new star on the horizon, yes, but he's just one member in the coven. Miruna is also exceptionally powerful, and our queen can hold her own with magic. Master Thorne comes from a different universe, so he's always a good person to go to for perspective on an issue. Our coven leader, Master Maricourt, can solve almost anything it seems with both his knowledge and power. There's a reason why we're the strongest coven globally and it's not solely because of Theo."

"It sounds very similar to the reaper teams," Izanami replied. "Certain countries are led by stronger and more innovative individuals who elevate the team's performance."

"Yeah, that's it exactly," Mordred replied, feeling more confident that Death wasn't about to kill anyone he knew. Mordred almost wished that Arterius hadn't warned him about the true nature of his parents, as it would be less stressful, but Arterius had pointed that every time he didn't warn people about them, his friends would all eventually abandon him once they figured it out for themselves.

"Oh, well, a few centuries ago, I-"

Izanami stopped mid sentence and suddenly pressed his hand to his mouth. It was bizarre, but he could feel a sensation he'd never experienced before. There was a violent urging for him to expel something from his mouth that felt alien to him. To his knowledge, there was nothing for him to expel.

Lukas had "studied" him intensely when they were trying to conceive the twins, and they had struggled to find much of anything in the way of organs or blood in his body. Life was a biological being with DNA and genetic family members, while Death seemed to be a manifestation of mist, darkness, and a random assortment of bones. He never needed to eat, though whenever he did, the food vanished into his internal shadows and never reappeared. One of his first memories with Lukas was when the new deity had forced him to eat a cheeseburger at the burger stand downtown Pleasantview. The feeling of meat and grease and bread were so overwhelming, he'd almost expelled them simply by instinct.

Whenever he was cut, an impossibly dark fluid leaked from under his skin that mimicked blood. He wasn't sure what would happen if he lost too much of that fluid since, much like Life, Death was also impossible to kill.

He had to have some kind of DNA in order to make his children, though no one knew how to test what fluid came from his body. They had gone to multiple doctors in the afterlife to try to map out a genome or even perform a paternity test on Gee, but no scientific investigation had succeeded in revealing Death’s mysteries. It was a running joke that Gee looked nothing like his father, which some "experts" took to mean that no DNA had passed to Gee from his father. This theory had been disproven when Gee produced his daughter, Venisha, who had inherited Izanami's gold eyes. Destiny and Davis had also inherited traits from Death, so clearly, some part of Izanami functioned like the mortals. There was no way that he could carry children though. Lukas had naively considered this when they tried for the twins, but no embryo could grow within his shadows. No life could grow inside death incarnate. It had taken every scrap of power Lukas had just to suppress the pieces of death their twins had inherited while growing inside them. In the end, Destiny and Davis had been born normal, mortal children. They had inherited their mother's attitude and the ability to display horns at will from their father, but were otherwise powerless. The twins couldn't protect themselves from danger, which was part of why their parents held on to them so tightly.

"I've been thinking too much like the mortals," Lukas declared. After spending entirely too long thinking of ways to gain more information about the list of dead reaper names circulating amongst the mortals, Lukas suddenly had an obvious idea. "They can't talk to the dead, but I can. All these ghosts that keep popping up exist in the afterlife. Ugh, this should have been my first plan of attack. I'm spending far too much time with the mortals to not have even thought of this!"

They leaned back in their chair, crackling their knuckles as they did. Well, that was enough work for today. The king of Strangetown was going to handle their Edana problem and tomorrow, Lukas would track down the souls of Adam Darktide and those Siew ghosts Vrai had reported seeing. They had other things to take care of in the mean time. Poor Arterius needed to be rescued from his father, especially if he and this boy had feelings for each other outside of friendship. The poor boy struggled with romance, even with his mother's advice. There had been a real spark between him and Miruna ever since they were teens, but he'd been too shy, too nervous to make a move, and now she was the future queen consort of Pleasantview. Lukas was determined not to see history repeat itself. Their son deserved to be happy, even if it took a little nudging on his parents' part.

Izanami stood frozen in horror with his hand clamped on his mouth, trying not to worry his son. The unpleasant feeling wasn't going away and even more mist seemed to be leaking out of him.

"Mom! Dad! My friends are here! We're going to practice our dance in the kitchen where there's space."

Destiny and a group of laughing teens ran past Izanami, oblivious to his panic. Beside him, Arterius wasn't so oblivious.

"Dad? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Izanami quickly replied. "I'm going to check on your sister and her friends. They should be properly greeted and their names compiled so that I can call the correct parents in case of an emergency."

With his father suddenly bolting away, Arterius gave Mordred an irritated look.

"Sorry, I'm sure he'll be back. He's not always so flighty. You're probably lucky, actually. The last person I brought here, Dad asked weird questions about their favourite colour and exact height and then wrote the answers down in a creepy notebook. Mom yelled at him for hours when they found out. He means well, though. They're both just protective."

"Yeah, he seems a bit intense," Mordred noted. He hadn't run toward an exit like Arterius expected. In fact, he almost looked amused. "Maybe I could come over again for lunch this week and find out what other weird questions he has for me. If you want me to, that is."

Arterius smiled.

"I'd like that."

"Mom! Destiny won't leave the kitchen, and I'm trying to eat my lunch. She can dance outside if she needs space; I'm eating there!"

Lukas hugged their son reassuringly. They had never really been raised with a family or with siblings, so their own experiences weren't usually relevant for parenting. They were much older than most of their parents' children, and the few who were older than them weren't worth talking to. Izanami had his own obvious parenting difficulties, but they both tried their best.

Destiny was the dominant sibling, that much was certain. Davis just needed to learn to stand up to her and things would be fine. In a way, Destiny often reminded Lukas of Riley and how she had commanded attention away from her shy twin brother, Leander. There was little Lukas could do to intervene, the kids had to resolve their problems for themselves.

"Why don't you join your sister and her friends?" Lukas suggested. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind an extra dancer to practice with. Or, maybe you could eat outside on the patio. It's a nice day."

"There's no way that I'm dancing with anyone," Davis exclaimed. "I'd rather eat outside than put up with Destiny's friends. The whole Harvest Moon Ball is stupid. I can't believe that you and Dad go every year. Anything would be better than dressing up and listening to speeches from the stupid king."

Lukas paused. Growing up in Crystal Cove in their latest reincarnation, they had dreamed of going to the annual ball every year. They had gone every year since they recovered some of their lost memories, and the royal family had grudgingly welcomed them every single year for that one day. The ball was now a highlight of the year for the deity. They dressed up in impossibly expensive clothes from dead designers they commissioned and made over Izanami to match. All eyes were always glued to the deities and Lukas loved every minute of it. There was no way they would pass that attention up.

"That's your decision to make, but you might regret it if you don't come. Lots of your friends will be there and you could have a lot of fun. Maybe I should practice my dance moves too. Your father sometimes steps on my toes, so he should practice too. Izanami! I need a practice dance partner!"

Izanami walked towards the kitchen, stumbling a little as he moved. The strange mist seemed to be slowing to a crawl and hopefully wouldn't be noticeable.

"Of course, Dearest. I wouldn't want to dance with anyone else."

He pulled Lukas toward him, placing their arms in a rigid dancing form. Lukas smiled, and if Izanami truly had a heart organ, it suddenly beat faster when he saw the contentment on his spouse's face. With all the fear and worry he'd seen Lukas carry with them lately, he would dance for hours if that would make Lukas smile.

Destiny had a small group with her, far less than Davis had made it sound with his whining. The crown princess of Pleasantview was among them, which Lukas noted. A friendship between his daughter and the future queen could be quite advantageous. Though Lukas knew not to turn a blind eye to the princess while she was on their turf. Claudia was training her daughter well, and no doubt, she had allowed this visit in order to collect more information on the deities or to make a statement.

Well, two could play that game. Lukas had been sneaking around and spying for their entire existence. Some thirty something queen couldn't even realize her disadvantage.

"So how's Arterius' date so far?" they asked, pulling Izanami's hips closer to theirs and letting their hand wander.

"Lukas, not in front of the children," Izanami replied, placing his spouse's hand to an appropriate location. "You're as bad as your brother sometimes. And it's not a date, apparently. They're friends."

"It's a date," Lukas insisted, letting their hand slip once more to an inappropriate spot. Izanami moved their hand again, but not as quickly as before. "Trust me, it's definitely a date. You only take the ones you're serious about to meet your parents."

"Oh. I'll have to reread the approved questions for one of the children's potential romantic partners. It's been so long since Arterius has brought a partner to us. Have you picked our outfits for the ball yet? Destiny implied that it was an important, time sensitive matter."

Lukas nodded and spun themselves around Izanami happily.

"Yep. They're ordered and will be ready in a month or so. Reese ordered something similar for himself, since Gee won't approve Anakin to travel with him. Maybe you can talk to Gee and change his mind. It's so petty and unnecessary. Anakin's come before to the living world and it's only one night."

"Dearest, with everything we've been seeing lately, there is no circumstance where your dead brother in law will be allowed to cross into the living world with his reaper husband for a dance. Ghosts are appearing, and dragging the dead from their realm would only make it worse. Your brother can go dateless or stay at home."

Izanami really hoped that Reese chose the second option. Whenever the two siblings went anywhere with alcohol, bad decisions were made.

He leaned over, pulling Lukas into a passionate kiss that would surely embarrass their children.

"I'll talk to him," Lukas sighed once their senses returned to them. Izanami was being romantic and brushing their bodies together in a way that was flooding their mind with dirty thoughts. It wasn't fair. "He'll probably listen to me. Gee should have still approved something small as a consolation. I'll talk to him too."

"I'll leave it in your capable hands."

Lukas turned their attention quickly to the teens before their dance got any spicier. As much as they wanted to sneak up to their bedroom and lock the door, there was a crown princess and other children of wealthy, important people in their kitchen and Arterius to keep an eye on. If they left this crowd unsupervised, who knew what would happen?

Izanami broke away suddenly, clutching his stomach and shivering. This was no longer something he could keep hidden.

"Izanami? Are you okay? What's happening? You're scaring me." Lukas watched their husband shiver and shake, wrapping a supportive arm around him. "You're all cold and clammy. Sit down, let me see what's wrong."

"It's nothing," Izanami insisted, pulling away from his spouse. "I shouldn't have shared your breakfast this morning. I must have food poisoning or something. Perhaps I shouldn't have indulged in food at all. This will pass, don't worry about me."

"Of course I'm going to worry about you, don't be ridiculous. How on earth could you get food poisoning? You can't be poisoned in the first place! Sit down, I'm going to call...." Lukas trailed off, unsure of who they'd actually call. There were tons of dead doctors in the afterlife, experts in their fields, that they could call, but Izanami didn't have a human anatomy. They could call Gee, but Izanami's son knew next to nothing about his father or the finer details of the job his father had given him. Anku, a fierce woman who had once held the office of the Grim Reaper, was equally clueless about the actual biology of Death, and Lukas would eat glass before they ever called Hailee, their ex-coworker and ex-mistress, for anything.

Their stepmother, Destiny, had a doctorate in world theology and knew just about everything about anything. She had helped them write their own master's thesis about their own powers and abilities and was probably their best chance at fixing this.

"Destiny will know what to do," Lukas declared. "Right? She has to. Unless I could ask an angel? They might talk to me if I apologized for nearly burning their wings off when I burned down our office. They can't stay mad at me when it's an emergency, and I'm pretty sure they like you."

"Lukas, I'm fine," Izanami lied, still watching mist evaporate off his skin. "There's no need to bother anyone about this. I'm simply unwell. You and the children are occasionally unwell too. This will pass."

"Evalla, maybe? We did have a civil conversation at our wedding, and she might know if this is a demonic plot." They paused, considering a desperate option. "I know it's risky, but the Ocean-"

"We're not involving the Ocean!" Izanami snapped, uncharacteristically irritably. "You know he's dangerous and unpredictable. For all we know, he's behind this. He's made two demonic sovereigns disappear so far; I'd die before I'd let him take you. The risk isn't worth it, considering that I'm fine."

As soon as Izanami had said those words, twinkling lights engulfed him just to prove him wrong. He ran to the bathroom as quickly as he could, just as he saw the mortals do after overindulging at the bar. The urging to expel something from his mouth overtook him even if he had no idea of what he had to expel.

"Is Dad going to be okay?" Davis asked worriedly. He looked to his mother for an answer, but they looked equally worried. Davis' parents always had the answer to everything it seemed. To see them completely baffled by something this big was unimaginable.

"Of course so," Lukas lied. "Everything is going to be fine."

Izanami stood up shakily after releasing thick, dark clumps of what looked like mud into their toilet. He wasn't sure what it was or where it had come from, but it at least flushed without clogging the drain.

"Izanami? Can I come in? Do you need help?"

Izanami leaned against the wall, gathering his strength. Expelling the mysterious matter had given him some relief. He was already feeling more like himself, ready to completely ignore this strange incident and never mention it again.

A wailing from the kitchen jolted him from his thoughts and into protective dad mode.

"They've canceled the Harvest Moon Ball? They can't! They can't do that to me!"

Izanami relaxed his stance. No one was in danger. His daughter was just grieving a ball of all things.

"'Because of the tragic attack on Her Majesty Queen Maura, His Majesty King Liam has decided that it would be too high of a risk to gather his guests from the international stage at this time for the ball. Crown Princess Theodosia will hold a luncheon for the ladies of court in its place.' This may be the worst thing Liam's done since he's taken the throne," Lukas seethed, reading from their phone.

This news was Izanami's salvation. With something new to focus on, Lukas would still be concerned for their husband, but their attention would be on Destiny as they both ranted about the unfairness of life. He cracked the bathroom door slightly and saw that Lukas was already texting on their phone and no longer guarding the bathroom door. He stepped out, trying to look as normal as possible.

"That's terrible. What will we ever do with the dresses we ordered?"

[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]

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Do you know if my mother will be here? She didn't say anything in her email, but she must have told you, right?"

Princess Victoriana stared eagerly at her posted guard, desperate to be let in on her mother's plans. Last night, she'd received a message from her mother's office, informing her that her presence was required in Sedona. The details were scarce, just that she was to reopen some historical buildings and make a speech or two.

It didn't sound that bad to Victoriana, but her grandmother had read the email with an unreadable expression and stormed away afterward to speak with her grandfather in another room.

What was the harm of dusting off some old buildings in dumb Sedona? The former country had been conquered by Pleasantview centuries ago, and just about everyone had forgotten about them. There were still descendants from their former royal family, but Pleasantview had decimated their culture and history until the only recognized annual event in Sedona was the visiting of the Pleasantview monarch on the anniversary of their surrender to remind them of their place.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but the queen regrettably won't be here for the reopening," the guard replied. "Her schedule is only at the palace for today."

"Oh. That's okay, I guess. She wanted me to do this for her, so maybe she'll see me tomorrow to ask how things went."

"A very likely scenario, Your Highness. Her Majesty would never assign you a duty you could not perform."

Victoriana posed by the long abandoned thrones of the former Sedona castle, running her speech through her head before the cameras started rolling. After reviewing the speech, Victoriana had been surprised to see that this grand reopening of the castle wasn't reopening it as a museum, as it once was a decade or so ago. No, this castle and the other, much older castle in Sedona were being restored as living quarters for the Pleasantview monarch.

Victoriana tried to picture herself living in this place. It wasn't a bad place by any means, but it felt foreign and strange to think that she might actually live here. It's years as a museum had taken its toll on the old building, and clearly, they would have to remove the gift shop.

The master suite in the old castle was at least modern enough to be comfortable for the teen. After her speech, Victoriana had been ordered to stay in the building overnight to await her mother's next command. As the highest ranked person in the building, Victoriana got to sleep in the master suite, which was a rare treat. Whenever her mother was present, the queen was given the largest room. For one brief moment, Victoriana could imagine her future as queen. This huge suite would be hers permanently, and she would have the power to decommission museums that she wanted to live in, just like her mother.

It would likely be a lonely life, if Claudia's reign was any example. Victoriana would eventually inherit her mother's endless meetings and busy schedule. She would have to miss out on milestones with her own children, just as Claudia had over the years, and really screen potential spouses to make sure their intentions were honest. She would make sure to make time to see her half-siblings and hopefully her father when her mother was gone. That day wasn't anytime soon though.

Victoriana's phone beeped while she mused over the future. To her surprise, it was a message from her mother.

"Tomorrow, you'll be opening the second Sedona castle as a royal residence as planned," Victoriana read. "I will meet with you the day after tomorrow at the Honora St. Julien Tower in Crystal Cove. Your new speech will be delivered to you shortly. Love, Mom."

The princess groaned at the idea of more speeches but was incredibly excited at the news that her mother would finally be joining her. Who even cared about these dusty old buildings or about boring Sedona? Victoriana would much rather be at home in her own room or at school where she at least got to talk to people her own age.

She'd been texting with her half-brother Theo for the past few days, but only when she wasn't busy or he wasn't in class, so not very often. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and she'd learned a lot about their father from him. Her father was a great baker, overprotective and a passable demon hybrid according to Theo. He had a dark form, and the attention of his sister in law, the Demonic Sovereign. The rest of their conversations were heavily focused on Theo's boyfriend, Adam, or what homework assignment he found tedious that day.

Victoriana had less interesting subjects to talk about. She didn't have a romantic partner or even a crush on anyone. Her grandparents were the only family she was allowed to see unsupervised and her day was packed with learning rules and treaties that were only relevant three hundred years ago. She may live in a palace when she wasn't at boarding school, but her life was far from what the other kids her age assumed it was. What kid wanted to hang out in two museums her mother apparently needed to live in?

Sometimes her mother confided in her about her plans, while other times, Victoriana had no idea what her mother was thinking.

"And that is why we hope that the repurposing of this historical landmark will highlight the vibrant part Sedona plays in our great country. Thank you."

Victoriana stepped down from the podium, scanning the crowd for signs of her mother.

She hadn't been told to expect her mother until the next day, but she had still been hopeful. Eventually, the politely clapping crowd and flashing cameras would leave and she could once again unwind in yet another lifeless building on her own. Theo had written her a long text detailing his defensive magic exam to compare it to her own school's curriculum. Politics and networking were more valued at her school, and the princess often feared that she would fall behind magically, despite her private demonology lessons. There was a lot a crown princess needed to know and she couldn't risk the danger of being unprepared. Fortunately, Theo seemed to be studying dark, complicated magic that he was all too happy to demonstrate the next time they met or virtually on their phones. She doubted that her mother would approve of her contact with Theo, but Victoriana was her own person and she could forge alliances with whomever she chose. If Claudia was too busy for her daughter, then it was only fair that Victoriana got to spend time with people aside from her grandparents.

When her mother did meet up with Victoriana, the atmosphere was tense. First of all, Queen Claudia was dressed in full regal splendor, with her full guard behind her. The second concerning thing was that the queen and her guard were standing in a tower located in Crystal Cove, attracting many worried onlookers.

"Mom? Shouldn't we be in Pleasantview or Old Sedona if we're opening a building?" Victoriana whispered to her mother as cameras flashed around them. "We don't own any land in Crystal Cove."

"You'd be surprised what we own," Claudia informed her daughter, smiling for the cameras. "If you studied your history closely, you would know that when the empire broke apart, Pleasantview officially retained control of Honora St. Julien's tower as a good faith gesture. All I'm going to do is remind them of this fact."

Victoriana dutifully followed her mother inside the building and up to the outside balcony that was already set up with a microphone.

Her mother said a bunch of words that didn't really mean anything, just like most of her speeches. This action she was taking was controversial, it was written all over the faces Victoriana could see from the balcony. This must have been the thing that had made her grandmother so upset earlier. Grandma Anna was an excellent political strategist and one devoted to preserving peace. It wasn't an act of war to take ownership of something that was rightfully yours and it did look like the building hadn't been properly occupied in decades, so they weren't even evicting anyone. Still, restoring the Sedona museums into royal residences had clearly been a front to minimalize the potential backlash of repossessing this tower.

"Mom? What's so great about this building?" Victoriana asked, once the queen's speech had completed and they had a brief moment to smile for the crowds. "Grandma told you not to do this, didn't she?"

"Grandma doesn't know everything," Claudia replied. She paused before replying, making sure that there wasn't an active microphone picking up their conversation. "The king of Crystal Cove is old and inexperienced at ruling. His late wife did most of that for him. He won't fight this. He's probably writing a speech now welcoming us to take more land in order to keep the peace. His heir would fight to pay us the value of the tower in exchange for the land itself, so it's best to do this now, when there's a weak monarch in charge."

"What do we need with this dumb tower anyway?" Victoriana asked, completely baffled that her mother wanted to fight over an old, unimportant relic at all.

"It's a foothold, dear. My advisors believe that it may be necessary to expand our options in the near future. It never hurts to have options."

Claudia maintained a calm expression for their audience, but Victoriana could see past that mask...most of the time anyway. Lately, she had been harder to read. If her shadowy advisors were worried, something must be brewing behind the scenes. Something frightening enough to take controversial actions.

"Mom, should I be worried? Are we going to war?

"If this all goes well, then probably not," Claudia said reassuringly, leaving her daughter with an unsettled knot in her stomach.

"Probably not? Probably?"

Claudia's gaze remained on the crowd and the cameras, though her voice did soften slightly.

"Probably not," she repeated. "Peace is extremely hard to maintain forever, dear, and sometimes sacrifices must be made to ensure it lasts. There are frequently events that could potentially turn violent or tragedies that turn friends into enemies. How we survive them is by thinking ahead, and planning our moves carefully. You must always have multiple plans to fall back on and know when to trust your intel. Your life as queen will depend on it."

"Is...is this about my father? Are we in danger because of his family? Should we tell him?"

"Your father? Certainly not," Claudia replied, a ghost of a smile toying with her lips. "No, for once, I can't blame this on him. When you need to know, Victoriana, I will let you know. This all may blow over and it might not. Just enjoy the pageantry while it lasts. You'll be heading back to school tomorrow."

Despite her worries, Victoriana's spirits rose. Returning to school? She was finally free of her grandparents? Did this mean that her mother would finally let her return to the castle on weekends?

Another thought popped into Victoriana's head when she thought of her time with her grandparents.

"Wait a minute, did you send me away for weeks to Grandma and Grandpa’s just to keep Grandma busy?" Victoriana asked, the accusation clear in her voice. "I thought you were mad at me about asking about my father and sent me away. Was all that a front to keep an eye on Grandma?"

Claudia's only response was to raise a curious eyebrow at her daughter's accusations.

"Both of those theories could be true," she said at last. "You must remember that your grandmother has rules of her own to follow that cannot be broken. A reaper can't be caught interfering with the affairs of the living."

"Can't be caught," Victoriana said slowly. "That's different than not interfering at all. You plotted against your own mother to keep her out of your plans for claiming land in Crystal Cove?"

"In your opinion only, dear." Claudia was having difficulty repressing her smile. Her heart was filled with pride that her daughter was finally learning how to think as a monarch. Victoriana had come a long way recently. With her demand to know her father's name and now, her piecing together some of her mother's plan, the princess was slowly growing into the leader Claudia knew she would one day be. She was paying attention to how the world around her functioned and what pieces of it could be swapped out at her command if she disliked them.

"So who are we almost at war with?" the princess asked. "Crystal Cove? Is that why we need a base inside their country? I haven't heard anything about Crystal Cove at all lately. Why would they want to fight us?"

"I never said it was Crystal Cove," Claudia said sternly. "I don't recall mentioning any country of concern, just that we needed options going forward."

She paused as another thought occurred to her. Victoriana did have access to an entire student body of well connected students who were all very fond of gossiping about what they'd heard their parents say at home. Hearing the gossip and predicting who she could trust to support her reign would be a great help in these times.

"Okay," the queen conceded at last. "It would be very helpful if you could listen to the gossip at school for me. Every detail about what their parents believe helps our cause, but there is specifically one thing I want you to listen for: the Red Queen. If anyone mentions those words, I need you to listen carefully. This is crucial, Victoriana, you can't mention this mission to your friends or seem too interested in asking questions. Nothing can compromise this plan, do you understand?"

"Yes, Red Queen, don't be suspicious," Victoriana confirmed with glee. "What does it mean though? Is it a code word? Is it a another monarch threatening to invade?"

"Just remember your mission," Claudia said abruptly, returning her focus once again on the crowd. "And no texting your half-brother about this. If I find out that you've involved him in this, I will be quite disappointed in you."

Victoriana cringed, kicking herself for assuming that her mother wasn't aware of her and Theo's chats. The saying really was true: the queen of Pleasantview truly did know everything there was to know.

As much as she loved her mother, something inside the princess longed for the day when she would inherit that much power.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

Princess Victoriana stared at her phone, hoping for a message from her mother that demanded that she return to the castle at once. However hard she prayed it would happen, it was probably an impossible hope. Her mother and soon to be stepmother were scheduled all day for wedding planning, and there was nothing more that Claudia enjoyed than forcing family bonding time. So while her mother hunted for the perfect dress, Victoriana was stuck with her grandfather all day. Normally she enjoyed her grandparents, but they weren't even doing anything interesting. Grandpa Ewan was talking with his weird friend in dusty old Arkhelios, where absolutely nothing interesting ever happened...outside of the occasional murder it seemed.

Arkhelios was where her sort of friend Theo lived when he wasn't at school in Pleasantview, but he had declined to come home for the weekend to help prepare for a coven interview with his aunt.

It wasn't like she didn't adore her grandparents, as they were the only side of her family that she knew about. Grandma and Grandpa were nice and spoiled Victoriana rotten, and her uncles Oliver and Travis did the same, but Victoriana was bored senseless here. Her mother always told her that it was good practice for when she was bored to tears in meetings as queen, but Victoriana never believed her. Being queen could never be boring: her mother was just wrong.

"Vicki, put down your phone and go play with the other kids," Ewan ordered, gesturing with his hands towards the group of Durant children milling around. "You might make a new friend that you could invite to the castle for sleepovers, who knows? You'll never make friends glued to your phone all day."

Victoriana scoffed, but her grandfather wouldn't budge.

"Either you put down the phone, or it magically disappears from your hand. I can't be responsible if it never comes back from whatever dimension I send it too either. Its just too hard to guarantee."

Ewan gave a playful wink to Jorah as Victoriana scowled at him. Jorah had no doubt that his friend could perfectly control the magic he wielded, which only made Jorah more curious about what exactly Ewan could do.

He'd been hosting almost weekly barbecues with Ewan and his family since the day they had met. Valerian had been thrilled to hear about Jorah's new supernatural friend and insisted on having them over as often as possible. Together, the two couples had bonded over their love of family and tried to get together whenever they could find the time. It was a bit tricky to get Ewan and Anna's children to attend, given that the oldest two were adults and little Travis was in boarding school with Theo most of the time, but Victoriana was often babysat by her grandparents. She was still hesitant to join the younger members of the large Durant family, but it seemed to be Ewan's mission to find his granddaughter some non-regal friends.

"Come on, Vicki, we have a cool video game we can play."

Susanna was the gentle spirit in Jorah's family. Cindra's son and daughter were just as gentle and friendly as Susanna, but they didn't share the same DNA as Susanna's siblings, so it was harder to notice. To his chagrin, Jorah's other children didn't seem to share their sister's compassion. Hamnet was wild and hyper, running loops around the house and inviting wild dogs in the house to play with. There was a chance that he might settle down as he grew older, but his sister Judith seemed hopeless. If Jorah had to guess, all of her genetic inheritance from the Durant family came from either his mother or older sister. Judith didn't play well with her royal cousins, and she didn't tolerate annoyance well. Susanna was more than willing to embrace Victoriana, but Judith only saw a royal snob looking to play with her things.

"It's too nice out for video games," Jorah declared. "Why don't you guys play outside where I can keep an eye on you until dinner's ready?"

"It's a shame that Anna couldn't come today," Jorah commented, watching as the children scattered in the yard, reluctantly kicking a soccer ball around.

Ewan shrugged.

"She sends her regards, but something at work came up. Hopefully she'll be back soon enough tonight to try some leftovers."

Jorah paused, mindlessly flicking the burgers while he thought of how to phrase his thought.

"Is there any way that she can skip work?" he asked quietly. "I mean, her working means that someone's going to die, can't she just...not go to work today?"

Ewan gave his friend a frustrated look, but he understood the concern. It was probably the most frequent question a reaper was asked by a mortal. Interactions with mortals didn't happen often, but when they did, it always came down to this question.

"We talked about this, Jorah," Ewan reminded his friend. "The people are going to die regardless; we're just there to help them pass peacefully. So it would be much worse for everyone involved if Anna didn't go. Those lives can't be saved once they are sent to a team to reap. It's the way of things."

"Yeah, I know," Jorah sighed. He'd been expecting that answer, but still hoped deep down for a different outcome. "I get it. It's just hard to wrap my brain around it. People are dying in Pleasantview possibly at this very moment and your wife is there to help them die. Plus, there's a team just like yours working in Arkhelios who are standing by just in case Valerian or I die. It's weird."

"You did ask to know," Ewan reminded him gently. "Not many other mortals know about us for this reason. You're sure that you're okay with being our friend, right? Anna and I would understand if-"

"Don't even question it," Jorah interrupted quickly. "Sorry, sometimes I just get stuck on a thought and twist myself into knots trying to resolve it. You and Anna have been great to get to know, and we have so much in common. I haven't had this much fun with a friend since I was in college, Valerian too. Please, feel free to tell me if I make you uncomfortable. That's the last thing I want to do. Truthfully, ever since my sister blew up our family, I don't seem to have many friends at all. I was once really close to the Bellamys and now...now we don't talk, really."

"Ah well, I guess I can stick around then," Ewan teased. Jorah tossed him a beer, which the reaper accepted gratefully.

"So if you don't need to eat to sustain yourself, can you get drunk?" Jorah asked, opening his own bottle. He'd ask anything if it meant changing the subject from his own loneliness. "Do you need to stay sober in case you get called into work? I won't be offended if you can't."

Ewan took a sip of his drink, still keeping a careful eye on his brooding granddaughter.

"Trust me, it takes a lot to get a reaper drunk, so no worries," he replied. "We're connected to our once living remains as reapers, so we are able to experience faint echos of the human experience. Our reaper forms are designed to be efficient and powerful though, so I'd need to drink more alcohol than you have in all your house to be unable to perform my job. Besides, barring some kind of emergency, I have the day off. Gee- er, the Grim Reaper that is, is really good about flexible schedules. I have to pick up Travis later on from school today, so I have the time off."

"Oh? How is life with only one teenager left in the house?" Jorah asked. "Things are such a zoo here, I don't think I'll ever have free time until the day I die."

Ewan shrugged.

"It's a lot easier being a grandparent," he said. "I try to teach Vicki what I can and then send her home. It's a lot harder trying to reach a troubled child in full teenage rebellion. You can never do anything right, no matter how hard you try. I love Travis just as much as my other children, but he can't see it. He has too much of his mother in him and I don't know what to do."

"You know who his biological parents are?" Jorah asked, searching his brain for any memory that discussed Ewan's adopted son. Jorah had long thought about adopting more children himself one day, so it was something he had at least asked Ewan about.

"Of course I know," Ewan replied. "He's my biological nephew. My sister's kid. He's the son of two very powerful and dangerous witches, which unfortunately gets him into trouble pretty often. Anna just had a meeting on Monday about his latest incident. If Claudia wasn't the queen, he'd probably be expelled from school by now. He just needs guidance, that's all."

Jorah nodded. He knew all too well what the inside of a principal's office looked like because of Judith. When she wasn't tearing holes into the classroom puppets, she was getting into spats with classmates and pushing people at recess.

"I know what you mean," he sighed. "I try so hard to be supportive and encouraging, but there's still a wall my Judith refuses to lower. You try so hard for your kids and sometimes, all they do is fight you on it. For the life of me, I just don't understand how to reach that girl."

"Right? We've given everything to Travis. He's my son and I love him just as much as Claudia or Oliver. He has questions about his biological parents that I can't answer, and I get it. Really, I do. I have so many questions about why my biological father is the way he is, and what that means for me, so I know. I've tried to educate him on what i know of his parents and he just gets angrier."

"Hmmm. Have you tried asking other reapers for their opinion? I would ask Roman, personally if it were my kids. His mom was a nightmare and he seems to have gotten over it. Or at least he seemed like it the last time I saw him face to face. I don't really see him more than once a year when he drops off the desserts for charity. He might have some insight if you ask. I could introduce you if you want."

"Ah, I'll pass," Ewan said politely. "I don't want to step on the Arkhelios reaper team's toes by befriending half the country. We're supposed to try to not stand out, and let's face it, I'm the dead king of Pleasantview and the Queen's father. I have white hair and a dead princess for a wife. If I went too public, a lot more eyes would be drawn to me and the reaper program. We try not to present ourselves in public unless we have to. I'm also not sure that Claudia would appreciate me stopping by her old boyfriend's house to ask about parenting advice."

"Oh yeah, Claudia and Roman used to hook up when we were younger," Jorah recalled. "It drove Abe crazy. That one time it was even on the news and he almost had a full-blown tantrum. I'd nearly forgotten about that."

"Well, she certainly hasn't. I'd never hear the end of it if she heard I was chatting up Roman."

Abe paused, unsure of what to say when he got to the Durant's front door.

"Hi, my husband is going crazy because your bitchy sister won't let him see his kid?" "Could you ask Maura to let her wife's affair partner meet his daughter?"

Nothing sounded convincing enough. If Abe were in Maura’s shoes, he'd probably slam the door in his face too. Georgiana wasn't legally Roman's child and there was little he could do to change that.

It needed to be changed though. Roman was a mess of guilt and self-loathing, convinced that he was about to lose his son to a blood thirsty coven of witches. If Abe could just fix one of the many worries of his husband, surely Roman would improve. There was no way to throw himself at the mercy of the Maricourts, so he'd asked his sister to help. Lucy was currently grilling her godson with possible questions and good legal answers in Pleasantview, which was the best Abe could hope for his son. Lucy would teach Theo to protect himself and return the witches' questions without incriminating himself.

So, unable to continue to watch his husband deteriorate, Abe had walked over to the Durant house to speak with Jorah. If anyone would be sympathetic to Roman, it would be him.

"Abe? How are you?"

Jorah watched as Abe Helios-Bellamy crept nervously into the backyard of the Durant house. It was truly a shock to see him again, and without a clear reason. Nervously, Jorah leaned against Ewan, trying to look nonchalant about his visitor.

"This is my friend, Ewan," Jorah said quickly, interrupting Abe before he could answer Jorah's question. "He's visiting for a barbecue. He's from out of town, you wouldn't know him."

"That's great, Jorah. I'm happy for you."

Abe stood in nervous silence for a moment, while the two other men returned his stare.

"This is awkward, I'm sorry," Abe said quickly. "I don't want to ruin your barbecue or anything, I just wanted to talk to you quickly about something. I can come back if you're busy."

"No, don't worry about it," Jorah replied. "We're just waiting for the burgers to finish and chatting about the kids. Why don't you join us? Here, have a beer while we wait for the food. Come join us."

Abe nervously took a bottle from Jorah, glancing at it briefly before opening it up.

"Thanks. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me," he said. "I wasn't sure if you'd see me or not. Things have been strained between our families for a while now."

"Not by my choice," Jorah replied. "I know that Roman regrets the affair; you can see it all over his face. The cakes he brings for Georgiana are all made with a father's love. It's not fair what Maura is doing to him. It's wrong."

"That was exactly what I wanted to talk to you about," Abe said. "Roman's not in a good place lately. Theo had another episode and now he has to answer to a Pleasantview coven. I don't know what they can do to him if they don't like his answers. Maybe he might get expelled from school, who knows?"

"So he's taking after Roman then," Jorah laughed. "It's Bellamy family tradition to get expelled from a Pleasantview academy."

Abe shot Jorah a dirty look, one that Ewan mirrored. The last thing he needed was Jorah treating the situation as a joke.

"Sorry, I was just trying to break the ice. Valerian always tells me my nervous jokes aren't funny."

"Yeah, well, we're hoping it won't come to expulsion," Abe continued. "Roman's been freaking out about it, and it was recently Georgiana's birthday and...well, he's not himself. I'm really worried about him."

"So Princess Georgiana is the biological daughter of Roman Bellamy?' Ewan asked, looking concerned all of a sudden.

Jorah assumed Ewan's concern stemmed from this information being scandalous and shocking.

"Yes. Well, no. Sort of," he rambled nervously. "She is, but we're not supposed to talk about it. She's legally Maura’s daughter no one is supposed to know. Don't tell anyone, I don't want it to become part of the Arkhelios rumour mill."

"I'll take it to the grave," Ewan replied cryptically. "And he's never been allowed to see Georgiana? That doesn't sound like Maura. She's always been such a sweet girl and a great friend to Claudia. This doesn't sound like her at all."

"She's not exactly a teenager anymore," Jorah pointed out. "Do you see her often since she became queen? Losing her family changed everything for her. She's incredibly rude at family dinners, if she even comes at all."

Ewan weighed this new information in his mind.

"Does Claudia know about this?"

"Yeah, I'd say so," Jorah answered. "She and Ulyssa got into some kind of fight about it the day you and I met. Ulyssa was pretty shaken up after, even when we'd teleported back to Arkhelios."

"I see," Ewan murmured, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his messages. "Abe, let me see what I can do for you. This goes against everything the Siew family stands for and I know my wife won't be happy to hear of this. I'll make some calls. Vicki? Get your things ready to go, we're leaving in a few minutes."

A gleeful princess rushed into the house to grab her things, happy to be going anywhere but Arkhelios. Abe gave Jorah a confused look as Ewan started dialing his phone beside them.

"Who is that guy and why does he think he can help?" Abe whispered. Beside them, Ewan waved and then dissolved into a shower of magical energy along with his granddaughter.

"Some one who may be able to help." Jorah answered, still looking at the magical remnants of his friend blinking in and out of existence. "He knows some people in high places."

"Why would you let some random guy handle the situation?" Abe asked. "You're the leader of the Durant family, and Ulyssa and Georgiana are Durants. Can't you just talk to Ulyssa yourself?"

Jorah frowned at the idea of trying to use any kind of authority on Ulyssa. His sister was stubborn and set in her ways, and definitely wasn't going to listen to her brother about anything, especially Georgiana.

"No, she'd never listen," Jorah said with a resigned sigh. "It's better to see what Ewan can come up with. I have a feeling that Maura might listen to him."

Abe tried to hide his disappointment, but failed.

"Oh, okay then. Uh, thanks I guess."

Abe looked nervously around his surroundings, unsure of what to say next. He'd been hoping that Jorah would take some initiative and help personally, instead of pawning off the task on some random guy who might know Maura. If he asked something of the Helios or Bellamy heirs, they'd get the task done in seconds. Unfortunately, Jorah wasn't that kind of leader. Who even knew if that random guy would help Abe, or if Jorah would follow up with him?

This was a dumb idea. I shouldn't have assumed that Jorah would do anything to help Roman. I have to figure something else out.

"Hey, thanks for the beer, Jorah," Abe said. He looked at his phone for a moment, pretending that an urgent text had just come in. "Sorry, I've got to cut this short. Roman needs help with dinner. See you around though. Good talk."

Jorah stared at Abe's retreating form, feeling oddly disheartened. Abe was disappointed with him as a leader, and Ewan had left to try to deal with the situation himself rather than talk it through with his friend. Was Jorah in the wrong in this situation? If so, how did he change?

The smell of burning hamburger jolted Jorah from his thoughts. Let's finish lunch before I set the yard on fire. There's plenty of time to feel bad about myself after.

[luverofralts]

Not So Simstober #20: Revel

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

“Honey, honey, it’s okay. Your mom will be back soon and things will be okay. Do you need a tissue?”

Princess Charlotte tried soothing the young Pleasantview princess, but Victoriana kept bawling anyway. Charlotte wasn’t even sure what she’d said exactly to make the girl cry, but the last thing she need was for Claudia to see her child crying while in her care.

“M-My mom hates me and I know whoever my other parent is, they hate me too,” Victoriana sobbed. “She leaves me alone all the time and she makes me wear this stupid hat and dye my hair! When she gets married, I’ll get sent to boarding school full time and never see my room and- and-”

“Breathe, just breathe. Your mom doesn’t hate you, no one could hate you,” Charlotte reassured her. “Let’s sit down and call for some tea. Would you like some tea?”

Where had all of this come from? In one moment, Charlotte was inviting the child to play a game with her and the next, Victoriana was sobbing uncontrollably. She may just be hungry or overwhelmed, but it certainly looked like this meltdown had a reason. Charlotte had enough experience with her little brother and her daughter, Isadora to not miss the signs of a meltdown.

“Yes, please,” the girl whispered, her sobbing calming slightly at the thought of tea. “Only...can it be hot chocolate? With marshmallows in it? Big ones?”

Charlotte smiled. Now she was getting somewhere.

“Of course. Do you need anything else? We can sit on the couches here and watch tv if you’d like. We could have one sent down and you can watch whatever you want until your mom’s done with her research. Then she can tell you herself how much she loves you.”

“C-can I call someone else?” Victoriana asked quietly. She toyed with the hem of her dress nervously. “They said I could call even if they were at work if I ever got sad. That they would always be nearby.”

Charlotte cringed thinking of all the ways this request could backfire. Castle security was tight, but calling in random strangers was still discouraged. Knowing Pleasantview, this could be a Trojan horse and the princess could sneak in an attacking force on her mother’s orders under the guise of sadness. It could be someone Claudia had banned her daughter from seeing and the girl was manipulating Charlotte into reuniting them. The tears had been rather  sudden.

Only....All of Charlotte’s intuition as a mother was screaming to call whoever Victoriana needed to feel calm. If Claudia were comforting Isadora, Charlotte would want her to listen to her daughter’s request. What harm could a twelve year old cause?

“Okay, give me the number, and I’ll dial it,” she promised.

Victoriana had barely said three words into the phone and the room was immediately enveloped with light. Charlotte tensed, seeing that the shimmering form in the light wasn’t familiar to her.

“Vicky! What’s wrong? Are you okay? Why are you wearing that silly hat? Come here and let me hug you.”

Victoriana ran into the waiting arms of her grandfather, squeezing him tightly.

“Grandpa! I missed you,” the girl cried, tears springing to her eyes once more. “Mom has been acting really weird and I think I’m dying and she hates me and I don’t want to die before I get to be queen.”

“Hey, hey. No one is dying today, I promise,” Ewan replied, keeping his tone soft. “I would know if you were dying and you definitely aren’t. What’s going on?”

Charlotte cleared her throat awkwardly, signalling her presence in the room. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that we had a guest," Ewan said quickly, taking his focus from his granddaughter for only an instant. "Princess Charlotte I presume? You look just like your mother."

"Do you know her? Is she on your team?"

Charlotte knew the vaguest details about her reaper mother and that was it. They hadn't been allowed to see each other after her mother had been transferred to another team for fraternizing too closely with Pleasantview's royal family. Charlotte sometimes received written updates from her mother, passed along by other reapers, but she hadn't seen the woman in years. 

"Not my team, I'm afraid," Ewan answered. "I think they transferred her to headquarters where she won't be tempted by the living."

"Oh, I see."

Charlotte shifted awkwardly as the reaper focused entirely on his granddaughter. Even though this castle was where her family lived, she felt like she was intruding on a private moment. Clearly Claudia had inherited and passed along her sense of entitlement to other people's homes. Charlotte tried not to listen closely, but she could only pretend to be looking at a nearby bookshelf for so long. 

Victoriana described how she had started going grey a few months ago and how her eyes occasionally changed different shades of demonic out of her control. Charlotte was relieved to hear that this was likely the reason Claudia had barged into the archives and not anything sinister, but her heart broke for the scared child before her. No wonder she had broken down and asked for her grandparent to comfort her. Claudia had to be going insane with worry if her daughter and heir was in danger. 

"She's dyeing your hair?" Ewan asked, looking shocked at the information. "Why didn't she just talk to me? I can easily ask Life about what's happening. They can sniff out demonic energy in an instant or consult with their husband if it's a reaper problem. There's no need for her to be so stubborn."

"She seems to be insecure about these changes, thinking that you and her mom will hate her," Charlotte informed the reaper. "I told her that no one could hate her, but I know she'd rather hear that from you."

"Vicki, come here. No one in our family hates you. No one could. Who cares if you have some demonic powers? They could be cool, right? Some demons use their powers for good and it's not right to judge a whole species by a few bad demons. And your hair? I don't understand why it's changing, but that's cool as well. You're the only one in our family to inherit it and I'm so happy you did. It doesn't just belong to my father or his father, it belongs to us. You and me. I'd be proud if these changes are permanent and I'll be proud if they aren't. It’s a trait well known in the royal lineage which only makes your claim stronger. Besides, everyone's hair goes white eventually: you're just beating everyone else to it. We’re mature and regal compared to our peers."

"You're not mad?" Victoriana asked, looking relieved when Ewan shook his head. “You can ask Uncle Gee what’s wrong with me then? Can I come see him when you do? He tells the best stories.”

Ewan grimaced a little at the idea, but kept smiling.

“Honey, Uncle Gee is the Grim Reaper in front of mortals, remember? And he’s very busy, I may have to talk to him while you’re in school, but I promise I’ll talk to him soon.” He paused for a moment, giving Charlotte a wary glance. “Try not to repeat the stories he tells you to anyone else. I don’t think his tales about debauchery in second century Strangetown are appropriate for mortals or children.”

Charlotte couldn’t help smiling at the comment, even though it had very much not been directed at her. She had never really interacted with the Grim Reaper or his father, Death, but the world of the dead certainly seemed interesting.

“Here, let’s lose the hat,” Ewan suggested, walking to a nearby mirror. “Comb out your hair, that’s it. See doesn’t that look better? We match.”

The princess stared at her reflection carefully now that an adult had given her permission to accept what she saw in the mirror. Truthfully, it didn’t look all that bad. Her grandfather was right, they matched each other, though there was still the hint of dye clouding Victoriana’s hair. At least one of her features could be attributed to a relative now. Her skin was just like her grandmother’s and mother’s, and she liked to imagine that her original brown hair and brown eyes belonged to her mysterious other parent. Even if she didn’t know who they were, there was still some part of them in her DNA, linking them together. Who knew, maybe her mother or father had white hair just like her grandfather’s. In a family of blue, grey and gold eyes, Victoriana’s brown eyes surely came from her absent parent.

“Claudia Goldman. We need to talk.”

The once confident queen stopped dead in her tracks, instinctively reverting to a childlike submission at the tone in her father’s voice. It didn’t matter how many covens or armies she commanded or thrones she sat on, Claudia was Ewan and Anna’s daughter first and queen very much last.

She had just been returning for her child after some promising leads in the archives and the last thing she’d expected was to see her angry father waiting for her. When she had taken the throne, Claudia had had to add regal and historical names to her legal name, as well as her title as queen. Her name at birth was simply Claudia Goldman and that would be the name she used if she ever pursued dark or blood magic, since whenever her parents used it, she froze just like she was under a spell. There was nothing scarier than your parent calling you by your true full name.

“Daddy? What are you doing here?” Claudia asked, trying her best to look innocent. “No one has died here have they? Is the king alright?”

“Don’t give me that sad look, I’m not here on official business. I’m here because your daughter is afraid of you and that’s not how we function as a family. We raised you better than this.”

Claudia blinked, looking from her father to the daughter who was half hiding behind a floor length mirror, her long white hair exposed for the world to see. For her father to see.

“Daddy, I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to see this and be upset,” she pleaded. “I know that you and Mom don’t approve of me taking the throne and stepping away from a normal life. This doesn’t mean anything bad; I can fix this. I found some rare demons in our bloodline and if I can get their DNA from the archive, maybe I can fix what’s changing Victoriana.”

“Why on earth does everyone think I don’t understand how genetics work?” Ewan sighed. “None of this is your fault, Claudia. I look like my father because he’s my father. You look like my sister because she’s your aunt. We all share a gene pool that we don’t get to choose. It’s not your fault that my father was a bad man and that I look like him. You’re forgetting that I just looked like myself until I found out who he was and that I still look like myself today. I’m the parent here, it’s my job to worry and protect you from danger. I’m not going to love you any less if something changes my granddaughter that you can’t control. Nothing will make me love you any less, ever. And yes, your mother and I had simpler dreams for you, but you’ve been amazing as queen so far. You’re fair and strong and try to protect the people you love with everything you have. This is your destiny and we’re so proud of you. Just try to treat yourself and your daughter with that same kindness. You don’t have to hide things from me or your mother. I’ll talk to Gee or Lukas as soon as I can about this. It’s probably just genetics though, plain and simple. She’s growing up and things are changing like they do for all teens. Maybe she’s coming into her own powers from both you and her father and there’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe it’s something he could help you with. If you told him.”

Her mother and grandfather continued talking, but Victoriana remained laser focused on a single word. Father. She had a father. Her mother was marrying a woman, but Victoriana had a father. Finally! And her grandparents knew who he was on top of it all. Her mother would take this secret to the grave, but Victoriana knew exactly how to manipulate her doting grandparents into indulging her.

Her father didn’t know about her either. All those nights of wondering if her parent was thinking about her and how she was growing up were for nothing. Her father hadn’t rejected her, he’d never known about her in the first place! Who could it be? There were a number of warlocks her mother spent time with and of course there were men on the demonic council too that she was friendly with.

Her mother and grandfather were hugging now, so the princess tried to refocus on the matter at hand and not the fear and guilt she’d been feeling earlier. Would Miruna know who her father was? It would be weird to marry someone and never tell them who fathered your child. Her future step-mom knew, her grandparents knew, was Victoriana the only person in her family who didn’t know who her father was?

Was he a bad man like great-grandpa? The thought hadn’t occurred to her before, but maybe her mother was hesitant to tell Victoriana about her father because he was a bad person. Maybe he was a murderer or an assassin in league with the one her mother kept on staff but denied having. Or maybe a Great Demon, so old and feared, her mother wanted her to have nothing to do with him. Maybe she had already met her father and not known it. There was a teacher at school that her mother seemed close to. Maybe she wanted Victoriana to graduate first and then she’d tell them both so things wouldn’t be awkward at school.

There were endless possibilities regarding her paternity, but this clue was a massive step forward. She could now rule out an entire gender in her search for her parent.

“Come on kiddo, let’s go get some ice cream and debut your new look.”

Victoriana turned to look at her waiting grandfather and mother, who were gesturing towards the castle door and smiling at her. She smiled back, her fears and insecurities long forgotten. She was going to own her heritage and her new magic if she was actually growing into strange abilities. Her mother may be hunting down answers about Victoriana’s genetics, but Victoriana had her own mission. Armed with what little information she had, she was going to find her father.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

Dear Theo:

Theo, I had a dream today. Forgive my bluntness, I need to tell you something and asking about your school work seems unimportant right now. I keep having these nightmares, but the one last night was too real and too horrible to ignore.

You and I were in Pleasantview, visiting your half-sister. You and I were normal, but the Void had covered Victoriana. The only thing left untouched was her face, which had separated from her body entirely. It was gruesome to see.

She acted like things were normal and you two were talking like nothing was wrong. I couldn't understand it.

Then for some reason, you disappeared. The princess began talking to me about magic and wands and upcoming exams. She hugged me and it was like grasping into a sudden coldspot in the water. She seemed loosely tied to reality, slipping against my embrace like a trickling brook. There was no heat coming from her at all. She was just cold and fluid and empty. It was like losing your breath when you're pummeled by a large wave with no way up to gasp for air.

Once I'd gotten a hold of my fear, Victoriana looked right at me and said, "It's coming, Adam. Find Atem. Find Riley Reeves. Follow the names. Follow the currants of the ocean. Be careful. The Darktides are a family under much scrutiny. Your demon is dangerous, but you know that first hand."

Then suddenly, I was at a party, watching Ewan Goldman walk onto the lot, huge black wings splayed around him.

He looked directly at me and said:

"I'm not here to join in the festivities. Unfortunately, I'm here for work. I'm so sorry."

This all has to be some kind of symbolism about the Goldman family, right? Like I have unresolved issues with one of them and my brain is trying to work it out. That has to be it. I'm not dreaming about the future or being influenced by the Void, I'm just having unresolved feelings. The thing is, I haven't seen the queen or your half-sister in months. Maybe even longer. What issue would I have to resolve? Can you maybe read your cards for me? Did they let you take them? I feel weird about calling your little sister to read cards for me. She doesn't need to deal with this.

I can't get the image of the queen's father out of my head. The way his wings shivered against the wind, the hollow, scraping tone of his voice...I've never seen something dead before. Not really. Not up close. I've seen Mr. Goldman before in person and he was just like every other person in the room. He looked alive despite not breathing. You can't really notice that unless you look for it. But the man I saw in my dream was horrifying. I can't even really explain it. He's just a shell for something without a flicker of life inside. Something silent and cold and unfathomable. I know how you feel about that terrifying dream you had a while back. The one about the terrifying guy who took you to the afterlife. It's not the same person, but it sounds like they have a lot in common. I don't know how to talk to Mr. Goldman now. It would be weird to see the disguise up close now that I know what's underneath. Well, what I assume is underneath. This didn't feel like a typical nightmare. I could feel the coldness of the Void wrapping around me. I think it was real.

But if it's real, what does it mean? Are we in danger? Should I warn someone? I doubt people would really believe me.

Please, please get back to me soon. Do you think Rien could help? No. No, this isn't anything to worry about, I don't need to bother her. Let me know what you think. Are we dreaming about similar things? Do you ever dream about the Void? Sorry for the weird message, but I'm kind of freaking out about this.

Yours Sincerely,

Adam

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

“I think I can kinda feel something working. It’s stronger now that Ewan’s around. Can you feel it too?”

Theo rocked back on his feet and placed another cupcake in his mouth. Things were going slowly so far-too slowly. At this rate, they would never find out if Ewan was related to Adam and Remy. He’d be at home in bed for the night before any signal got back to his stalkers.

“Your dad makes the best cupcakes. Like seriously, these are amazing.”

After their encounter with Roman in the kitchen, Theo had “accidentally” liberated a plate of cupcakes intended for the dinner. The frosting was intricate, homemade and incredibly addicting. Adam would ask for the recipe if he thought there was an actual chance of him replicating the delicious treats, but only Roman it seemed had the skill to pull them off. Saturnia might learn it in time given her skill set, but for now, Roman was the only way to access the desserts he had become known for. Stealing a whole plate of them was so amazing a find that it almost overshadowed their important work. 

Once they’d found a tea set stocked with expensive tea in the queen’s old rooms, the two boys began to relax. This clandestine operation was on track so far and aside from some slow magic slowing them down, things were going okay.

“So these were the rooms of Queen Celeste? The witch who tried to kill Death along with the Strangetown cult...er, I mean coven? This is an amazing suite! I wonder what else she had stored around here?”

Adam lowered his eyes to the floor, obviously distracted by Theo’s words. Far too late, Theo realized that he was speaking dismissively about the “restructuring” the Strangetown coven had had to undergo. The coven his mother was single-handedly keeping together because of her brother’s actions.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Adam,” Theo said quickly. “I wasn’t thinking. Are you okay being here where one of the leaders of the coven lived? I just assumed that because it was empty, we could-”

“It’s fine, Theo,” Adam reassured his boyfriend. He sipped his tea quietly for a moment. “That all happened before I was born. I never knew any of them, but my mom was devastated when they died. I still catch her crying sometimes when she thinks she’s alone. She probably couldn’t be here in this room, but it doesn’t really bother me. Well, actually no. It makes me sad. Sad and angry that my uncle and her friends could do that to her. The world can be a really horrible place sometimes.”

“You’re telling me,” Theo laughed awkwardly. “I get it. Thank god my grandmother is dead, or whatever did happen to her. At least I don’t have to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for her in dark, secret corners. Having some closure makes things easier for your mom, I’d imagine.”

“Yeah, that definitely helps.”

After a long pause, Theo asked the question that had been plaguing him for a while.

“So what happens if this guy is your long lost brother? Does anything change?”

“I guess Winterfest plans change,” Adam sighed, picturing having to spend an extended period of time with the annoying Ewan. “We see him on family dinner night maybe? I don’t know. My dad’s not that hard to get a hold of, Theo. If his mom really wanted to let my dad know she was pregnant, then I can’t see why she couldn’t have done that. I mean, even Queen Claudia can be reached reliably through the right channels and my dad isn’t anywhere near as important as she is. This whole thing felts weird.”

“Ewan feels weird,” Theo agreed. “Can you sense some of what I’m feeling when he’s nearby? It’s like he’s empty, magically just nothing. I’ve never met someone like that before.”

“Hmmm, I can maybe feel a little bit of what you’re feeling, yes. It’s not as intense as I thought it would be.”

Theo nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, my parents always acted like blood connections were this horrible, dangerous thing,” Theo confided. “I think probably because their connection was so damaged and warped by the end that it was dangerous for them. If anything, this pact is barely a magical trickle of energy. It’s boring and ineffective. Next time we try a harder spell.”

“There’s going to be a next time?”

Adam chuckled while Theo flushed with embarrassment.

“Yeah, I mean maybe, if you want to...I’m not really expecting- well that is-”

“Relax Theo, I’m teasing you,” Adam laughed, easing Theo’s anxiety. “Maybe there will be a next time, maybe there won’t. I’m okay with either if everything is safe. We make a good team.”

Theo poked at the crystal that they’d brought with them and a suspicious amount of salt he’d taken from the kitchen when his father was distracted by the mystery of his missing cupcakes. Adam was obsessed with crystals, probably more than even a practicing member of the Crystal Cove coven was. He had an anxiety soothing crystal (which Theo thought was a scam for how useful it was at soothing Adam’s worries), a crystal to relieve headaches during exams, a crystal to find missing items in their dorm, a crystal he used to predict pop quizzes (which Theo was also skeptical of) and a crystal for enhancing spells. There were probably many other crystals that Theo had yet to find, along with stones from their many walks in the forest that he insisted were “special”. This crystal was supposedly going to enhance the blood pact and kick it into gear so they could finally get a clear answer about Ewan...if it worked.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

Theo flipped to a certain passage in his text book and read the latin inside, calling for their blood connection to be increased to solve the question their pact was formed to answer.

For a minute, nothing happened and Theo poked once more at the crystal in front of him angrily.

“Do you see anything? I think maybe I do. Is the room getting more blue to you? The walls look blue now.”

Theo paused to consider Adam’s words. The walls maybe did look oddly coloured all of a sudden. He could feel a strong pounding noise echo through his head. Almost like a drumbeat urging him into action.

“I have to go find Ewan,” he exclaimed, standing too quickly and faltering. “This is working, or at least I hope it is. Something is happening. I have to go!”

Adam stared nervously as Theo bolted from the room. His head did feel a little funny, but nothing like Theo was describing. If he were to write a paper on the experience for class, he would have to assume the pact was working as intended. Theo was using the spell on himself while receiving information on the bloodline that Adam was broadcasting, so it was reassuring that Theo was having the stronger reaction. If Adam had been as driven as his boyfriend to go find an answer to their question, he would have to assume that the connection made between them was faulty and that he and Theo had merged incorrectly. Not only did this information make him worry less about their spell work, but he was also incredibly proud of his boyfriend. Very few people could do blood magic and even fewer could do it correctly. Theo was going to be one of the standout students in their age bracket without any doubt.

“Can I have a pink one? I really like the pink kind.”

Victoriana stared at the collection of treats before her, her eyes lighting up at every selection. Roman had outdone himself, likely to impress the ruling monarch of the largest country and her family. Well, Victoriana was very impressed. She had already tried two different pastries and licked the spoons in the frosting mixing bowl clean, clearing a path to the cupcakes. Each one was a work of art with dazzling designs and specially designed toppings and if she’d been left unsupervised in the room, they would have all been eaten long before her mother had joined them.

“You don’t want to ruin your dinner,” Roman chided softly. “I worked hard on that too and I think you’re going to like it.”

“Does it have peas in it? I don’t like peas. I could just skip the peas and eat a cupcake now. I can’t spoil something I’m not going to eat.”

Roman smiled at the preteen, seeing so much of Theo and his girls in the young princess. If he had a dollar for every bargain Theo had tried to make to avoid eating vegetables, he wouldn’t be worrying about supporting his restaurant like he was.

“Sorry princess, but your mom’s the boss and she says no skipping dinner for cupcakes. You can help me start the cake icing if you want though. It should be- oh, goddamn it!”

Roman swore far too loudly for a dignified palace when he stumbled and watched the cupcake in his hands fly through the air, ruining a solid twenty minutes of work.

Theo ran down the stairs, not even hiding the fact that he was running from within the forbidden area of the castle.

“Remy! Remy!”

Remy looked irritably at Theo as he stormed into the room, thankfully sparing her the need to think of something mundane to talk about with their target.

“Theo, thank god. What took you so long? Were you and Adam making out somewhere when you know that you had a prior commitment? I can’t stand this anymore. It’s not even possible that I’m related to this guy, he’s an asshole.”

Ewan didn’t look surprised to hear Remy’s frustrated confession and ordinarily, that would have sent Theo spiraling to think up a new story. But now?

His heartbeat thundered in his temple as he tried to make sense of the scene before him. Remy and Ewan sat on a couch, barely hiding their disdain for each other. He blinked and saw an entirely different scene before him, one he could hardly fathom.

Blood pulsed through their veins and Theo could feel Remy and Ewan’s heartbeats as strongly as his own. Remy’s blood pressure was rising with her anger. She was born in Pleasantview, he could see her ties to the land, where she’d began. Her paternal great-grandmother’s name was Remy and they both had black hair and the same freckles. He could see both Remy’s in his mind as clearly as if they were standing side by side before him. Her maternal great-grandfather Adam Thompson stepped into view as well as her paternal great-grandfather Prince Adam Walter. Their names seeped out of them, ebbing into Theo’s mind. The two Adams joined hands and pointed at Theo’s now glowing hand that had been linked to Adam Darktide and suddenly an image of his own Adam stepped into view. Blood called to blood and names called to names; everything was connected.

He turned his eyes to Ewan, who was still eerily staring at him. His name was Ewan MacLeod and he’d been born in Pleasantview to Lynette MacLeod. Two Remys and three Adams turned to welcome him into Theo’s sight. 

“Ewan.” Theo whispered the word into life and watched several new lights spark into existence like tiny beacons of flames. Prince Ewan and Ewan Jr Goldman appeared, but Theo looked past them. That wasn’t the branch of the Maricourt-Darktide  family tree he was interested in. No, he wanted Ewan G Lind Maricourt, Adam and Remy’s father. 

The Maricourts were a secretive family and several members had just a single G hung in their name, seemingly just to frustrate those who sought out their true names. If Theo concentrated, using his connection to Adam, he could get a sense of the vague shape of the G starting name, but nothing came clearly into vision. It was an interesting tactic for self defense, one that Theo envied. Adam didn’t know the name either, which just raised more questions for the teen. Did the children named with the mysterious G name know what it stood for? Did they learn it before they passed on the name to their children or had the true name been lost to the centuries? Was just “G” accurate enough to provide protection against blood magic if no one knew the actual true name or did “G” become the true name if no one remembered what it stood for? This was a question Theo vowed to raise with his teachers later on. There was so much to see and learn with blood magic and he’d barely scratched the surface of his abilities. Why had he never tried practicing his spells on this scale before? Surely this must be how Life and Death saw the universe, each little spark igniting a chain reaction until the entire universe revealed its secrets.

Theo somehow pulled himself away from the Maricourt naming dilemma to the Maricourt family dilemma. It wasn’t easy. He could stare at the interconnections in his world for centuries and still not learn it all.

He watched as Ewan G Lind Maricourt settled back into view, holding his hand out towards the burning brilliance of Adam and Remy. A spark floated by them echoing Miruna’s name and Theo let it pass. He was getting closer. His own voice called out to him, repeating the name he’d used to create the pact in the first place.

“Ewan, uh, Maricourt?”

It wasn’t exact. Every Ewan in Adam’s family tree rose again to obscure his view. He squeezed his eyes shut, focused as hard as he could and repeated the name. The blood in his veins boiled as the magic rebelled against him. A sharp pain burned its way into his mind, but it was becoming clearer. His target was Ewan MacLeod, child of Pleasantview, child of Lynette and child of Ewan G Lind Maricourt.

Theo gasped at the strength of the connections before him. Ewan MacLeod blazed beside his siblings with the intensity of a star. He had been telling the truth all along; he was Adam’s brother.

His teachers would tell him to stop there now that he had his answer, but Theo was hooked on the revelations before him. Curious, he turned his attention inward. He might never get another chance to see himself like this, or at least not until he was almost graduating school. It was eerie seeing his own existence stretched out before him.

Theodosius Ulysses Bellamy, born in Arkhelios in a small section of land surrounded by dark churning water. Darkness surrounded him. He could feel the weight of the curse he had been born with just as intensely as he remembered it. It tied him to Abraham Helios Sr and the death that awaited him by a demon’s hand, to the curse seared into the flesh of Romanus Bellamy. Death and hatred surrounded Theo, clouding his vision. He felt the slow burning hatred of his ancestors, ancestors who harboured this hatred for Theo as well. They wanted him dead. He was supposed to be dead.

“Theo? Are you okay? You’re kind of creeping me out here.”

Remy’s words of concern faded into the background, irritating the young teen but not penetrating the haze he found himself in. There was something strong pulling to him and he needed to follow it with every molecule in his body, safety be damned. An image of his great-uncle Hunter Bellamy floated towards him, slowing him down. Hunter had been born Theo Helios and Theo himself had been named to honour this fact. He never really saw Hunter Bellamy due to his terrible relationship with Roman, but Theo could still sense his connection to the man. Their true names were both Theo which joined them both in blood and by name. Theo didn’t know the first thing about Hunter or his life, but the connection between them was strong.

He could feel the warmth of his father’s light burning in the castle down the hall, calling to him. Just as Ewan and Adam and Remy circled their father, Theo was called to his. Pain jolted through him as the memory of his curse wrapped around his body, seeking re-entry. This wasn’t right, the curse had been broken years ago, or so he’d believed. This all consuming darkness hadn’t left him. It called to every part of him, longing to be reunited. He had developed as a fetus with the darkness pressing itself into his very being; he could feel the inevitability of its return in his very soul. It had been a part of him that was amputated, but a still a part of him all the same.

Theo removed himself from the room somehow, whether by walking or teleporting or even just magically floating away from the Darktide family, he couldn’t be sure. He could hear laughter calling to him even stronger.

The princess was laughing at his father, who now had cupcake smeared along the edge of his coat and a frustrated expression.

The words Romanus Bellamy called to him, intertwining with the brilliant light standing beside him that spelled Victoriana. Victoriana had many names and many titles, but she was young and unguarded enough for Theo to see past those, far closer to her true name than he should ever be. Through Adam’s connection to his newly discovered half-brother, Theo had learned more about Ewan’s identity. He had a devastating suspicion about why he could see through the titles of the crown princess of Pleasantview. Of why she shone so brilliantly next to his father. He had gone searching for an answer to Adam’s family mystery and revealed a crushing answer of his own by accident. Just when he thought that his respect for his father couldn’t get any lower.

Theo was the half-brother of the future monarch of Pleasantview. His father had been hiding this secret all this time; hiding this shame. When was Theo going to find out about this? Was his father ever planning to tell him? Did his other father know?

He could feel the darkness that surrounded him pull him closer. It brushed against his eyes, swirling in his nostrils as he inhaled the anger and hurt and fear he had been made for. Perhaps this was why his teachers urged him to not actively practice blood magic until he was older. He remembered vividly being overwhelmed as a child when he ran away from home and tried practicing blood magic untrained. He had almost died back then. Maybe the curse he’d spent his entire life running away from would kill him now. It didn’t matter, not really. 

Theo could faintly hear the sound of his father’s voice call to him, but it was too late. He was underwater, drifting away into the comforting embrace of the curse that had been custom made just for him. He couldn’t feel the anger anymore; he couldn’t feel anything really. The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was the sound of Adam’s voice, calling him desperately back to safety.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Okay, be ready for anything. Demons, warlocks fighting, the undead rising from their graves. Anything."

"Adam, it's a cake tasting and wedding planning work dinner, not the end of the world," Miruna sighed, rolling her eyes at her half-brother. "You're going to worry yourself into an early grave if you keep up like this. I mean your friends get to come along with you, so if a horde of zombies show up, you can fight them off together."

Adam frowned but said nothing in reply. Miruna thought this was just a normal wedding planning visit, but both Adam and Theo knew differently. It was a trap they'd planned extensively for and who knew what trouble they'd find? Ewan was going to be there and Adam would finally have an answer about how they were related. He and Theo had spent hours trying to master the blood pact they'd made, but very little had happened. Since the pact had been to find out information about this Ewan, the boys figured that things would only start working if he was nearby. Theo couldn't just walk up to Ewan's door without a reason, and if he did, he assumed that Ewan would think he was there to flirt with him. The last thing Theo needed was for Adam to feel even more anxious about the situation.

Their solution was to utilize the whole family in their plan. Miruna would be around to help if things got out of hand, since she was a talented witch in her own right, and Remy would be the decoy. After promising to do her chores for a week and her homework for two, Adam had secured his twin's cooperation in the scheme, without telling her anything too incriminating. All she had to do was meet Ewan when he returned from school and mention loudly who her father was. He was usually at the mall from the brief surveillance Theo had done for the mission and no other reason. All she had to do was intrigue the guy enough for him to leave with her. Once the bait was taken, Theo and Adam would strike when Ewan was looking for information about the man he thought was his father or spending time asking Remy questions about her family. Surely the pact would trigger then and fireworks or something obvious would jump up at Theo and resolve this whole affair.

Sure enough, Remy stood at the front door of the palace, waving wildly. As their eyes met, a jolt of electricity passed between Theo and their guest, but he tried to ignore it as best he could. The guy was attractive, he couldn't lie, and worst of all, he seemed just as attracted to Theo as Theo was to him. 

"Theodore, what a surprise to see you here," Ewan called and Theo felt his cheeks burn in response. "I didn't know this was going to be a family affair."

Theo ignored his words and tried his best to focus on the magic he needed to resolve the pact. He needed to see the magic that ran through Ewan's veins, needed to delve deep to see how he was made, right down to the very molecules. Nothing obvious was calling to him, even when Ewan stood next to Remy. Did this mean that he wasn't Adam's brother after all?

"My name's still Theo," the demon hybrid called back, trying to focus on his task without sending any signals that might convince the boy that he was interested in flirting with him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Ewan shrugged calmly. Unlike Adam, Ewan wasn't anxious in the slightest. A girl inviting him to a palace to help her escape wedding planning duties was something that didn't even phase him. Being surrounded by the Maricourt siblings he claimed to be related to didn’t bother him at all. 

Theo looked in Adam's direction, hoping that some magic was flowing through him. Adam was just staring at the boy, half furious, half terrified of what else he'd say. Still, there were no obvious signs that the two were brothers. They looked different enough and Theo struggled to even see an aura on Ewan. The guy was a magical dead end, something Theo had never even heard of before. Any ordinary person could at least study magic and cast a basic spell with training, it wasn't hard. The big, important spells were out of reach, especially if you were partly demonic like Roman and Theo, but no one was empty of magic like Ewan appeared to be. Theo couldn't tell if it was just the blood magic flowing between him and Adam that was making it impossible to read Ewan or if the irritating guy really was just completely devoid of magic. He'd have to ask a teacher about it later.

"Theo, your dad wants to see you in the kitchen. He wants your opinion on the cupcakes."

"My dad? Why would he be here? Is he following me or something?"

Theo bristled at the thought of his father following him from place to place, showing just how little his parents trusted him. He and Adam had important work to accomplish, they didn't need his parents hanging around accusing them of whatever lurid details their own minds conjured. From the worry that always accompanied a request to spend time with Adam, Theo had to wonder just what his parents had been up to at his age that they were so convinced he was also doing. Life in Arkhelios must have been boring growing up since Theo's own imagination was pretty limited when it came to sex and romance. His parents acted like they expected him to be naked at any moment during the day, but Theo had more important things to spend his time on. He had a blood pact and a family mystery to uncover, there wasn't time to imagine a million dirty scenarios he and Adam could get up to.

"Your dad is catering dinner tonight," Miruna informed him, her voice betraying some small irritation. "He's been booked for tonight for some time now, you should have known that. I can't remember everything around here."

Theo met Adam's gaze and shrugged. He didn't follow his parents' schedule closely and Miruna should know that. He and Adam barely followed their own schedules when school was in session.

"So I get to meet your parents. That's pretty forward of you, Theodore," Ewan chuckled. 

Theo fumed, glaring at the boy who just wouldn't take a hint. Beside him, Adam reached for his hand, squeezing it protectively. Theo had mentioned that this Ewan was obnoxious, but Adam certainly hadn't expected this level of purposeful irritation. How could this guy be related to him in any way? He looked like he didn't care about what others thought of him, especially when it came to Theo. Adam tried to be a good, patient boyfriend and he knew how hurt Theo had been when he discovered his fathers' affairs. There was no way that Theo would ever place that level of stress on the guy he loved. Still, looking at his supposed brother trying to so obviously play them against each other nearly made Adam forget rationality and reach for his wand. 

"I don't know why Remy invited you," Theo lied. "You're the worst."

Ewan shrugged, making Theo fume even more. This guy was impossible.

"Let's just go inside already," Remy groaned, already regretting signing up for this plan. "I could use a drink at this point."

"That's not happening, Remy," Miruna scolded. "You've got the right idea though. Everyone inside. We have a wedding to plan."

"Miruna! So nice to see you."

Roman Bellamy greeted the future queen consort with a warm smile and a bowl of flour in his hands.

"You too, Roman. It's been too long. How's everything coming for tonight?"

"Perfectly," Roman assured his client. "Everything is on schedule."

"Amazing," Miruna replied, looking relieved. "Claudia's going to be late tonight because of a meeting, so it's just going to be me and the family."

Theo grinned hearing that he was included in Adam's family by the future queen consort. All of Adam's sisters and his step-niece were Theo's family too in Miruna's eyes. Hearing that almost made dealing with Ewan for the day tolerable.

"I can work with that," Roman said. "Abe's at home with the kids and he knows that we often run late with your busy schedules. It'll be nice to see your fiancée again. It's what, a month since she was able to attend these planning sessions?"

Miruna nodded 

"Sadly. It takes a lot to run a country like Pleasantview. She'll be here tonight though."

"Miruna? Is that you?"

Miruna spun around at the sound of the familiar voice, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Arterius? What on earth are you doing here? It's been too long!"

Theo watched Adam's sister radiate an excitement that he'd never seen from her before. It was like she was waking up from a dream and seeing her favourite person there beside her. Theo had never seen Miruna this excited before, especially over some ordinary looking guy. He'd never felt anything like this before from Adam's sisters, or really from anyone. Was this part of the pact finally kicking in? Were these weird feelings because he was tied to her through Adam's bloodline? What did it even mean?

Arterius beamed back at Miruna, though Theo could feel the waves of worry ripping through the man from across the room.

"I'm here to see Claudia. It's a matter of some urgency from what I'm told. About her daughter."

Beside Theo, Victoriana focused on this new visitor with intense interest. Here was a man that seemed connected to her mother in some way. Was he her father?

"Oh, the reapers sent you?" Miruna asked. "I didn't think they'd send someone living to talk about reaper business."

"The perks of being Death’s son," he laughed, shrugging his shoulders playfully. "I'm usually who gets assigned to work with the living people. Destiny and Davis are just teens trying to get through high school, so Dad chose me to take on the family business so to speak. I think he's just tired of dealing with Gee himself to be honest. You know how Gee is."

Miruna giggled despite herself.

"I can imagine! Gee can be a lot. Remember when he tried to have a family games night and got mad when your dad locked him out of the house with that weird sigil? Oh my god, that fight was epic."

"Yeah, Gee can be intense," Arterius chuckled. "Try having him for an older brother! You know I heard that Strangetown has an entire holiday to celebrate when he got married to Leah because she curbed his…more enthusiastic traits. A whole holiday because he pissed off an entire country that badly!"

Miruna giggled again, earning a worried stare from her siblings. What had come over Miruna? They'd never seen her act like a blushing teen even when she was a teen. She certainly didn't laugh that way when Claudia was around.

"Well, we'll just be around until you need us," Adam announced awkwardly, still watching his half-sibling stare intensely at Death’s chosen messenger. "We're just going to work on schoolwork until you need our input on anything."

Miruna rolled her eyes, making Arterius chuckle.

"We all know that you're doing no such thing," she sighed irritably. "But fine. No wandering the halls or going into the private residences. We're guests here and if I get a single report of bad behaviour from the palace staff, there's going to be hell to pay."

"Can your dad get a hug before you take off?" Roman asked before his son could bolt. "You could always stay and help me make dessert. I wouldn't mind the company of my oldest son, you know."

Theo recoiled, stealing a glance over his shoulder at the other teens. Adam didn't look bothered by the idea and Remy was currently conjuring a spell that was slowly turning Ewan's hair a vibrant shade of green. It was probably socially okay to hug his dad in public.

Theo reluctantly wrapped his arms around his father, pulling away again in an instant.

"I'm not Saturnia, Dad. Me and my friends are working on magic homework, not cake decorating."

Roman tried to smile while biting his tongue. 

He's just a teenager, teenagers are rude. Teenagers don't hug or hang out with their parents. The twins already refuse to stand in the same aisle as me when we go to the mall. This is normal.

It was hard for Roman to judge what made a childhood normal with what he'd experienced for himself. His grandparents and mother were all murderers and he'd had a kid at sixteen and had been forced to grow up faster than other teens. From all the parenting books that he'd devoured looking for answers, it was normal for his children to start to pull away from him and Abe. It may have been normal, but it still hurt just as bad as when he'd been shot.

"Kay, bye Dad! Bye Miruna!"

Theo grabbed Adam's hand and bolted for the door with Ewan and Remy following close behind them. Miruna sighed when she saw Ewan's  unsolicited hair change and waved her hand quickly to reverse her half-sister's spell.

"I don't know how you handle having so many kids, Roman," she groaned. "I can't seem to even keep my siblings in line without some minor disaster. You must be a wreck at the end of the day."

Roman tried to stifle a laugh at her frustration as best he could.

"Oh, you have no idea."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

Queen Claudia watched as her father talked the ear off Ulyssa's brother in the yard. It was just like her parents to take in strays who showed up on their door, regardless of the danger. They were frustrating that way. They'd learned it from their own family members and perfected it while working for their boss. The current Grim Reaper was a softie with a soft spot for families since his own fathers had been so absent in his life. It had been the Grim Reaper, Gee's fault that Claudia existed in the first place. Her parents were too important in living society to qualify to be reapers, and should have at least been told to wait a few centuries before reapplying to the program`. Gee had recognized the same devotion to family within the couple and approved them anyway. It was only when it was too late that Gee realized that he'd approved the former heirs to three thrones to return to the living world and allowed them to procreate. Many other reapers would have solved the problem by killing Ewan and Anna's children before they could become complicated political entanglements, but Gee had other plans. Children would never have to die to fix his mistake, especially the children of his good friends.

Claudia could see the danger that the Durant siblings posed, even if her parents didn’t. It was incredibly suspicious to find Maura’s wife loitering around Claudia’s secretive parents and if she had to guess, Claudia assumed that this encounter hadn’t been approved by her cousin. Whatever game Ulyssa was playing was all her idea; Maura would never show such an interest or be so bold. Maura had always been fine with keeping her distance from the Goldmans. Even as kids, Claudia and Maura had been instructed to play together, but Maura had made convenient excuses whenever Ewan or Anna came to spend time with her.

So what was Ulyssa’s game here then? Claudia knew that the queen consort didn’t have the magical skill for a curse or spell against Pleasantview. She didn’t even likely have the skill for a voodoo doll made from Claudia’s hair, so that explanation was out. Jorah was clearly the distraction for some other plan, so while Ulyssa sipped tea with Claudia’s mother, Claudia ran through her list of possible schemes. Ulyssa would slip eventually and when she did, Claudia would be ready for it.

"So what's it like dying?" Jorah asked, moving his game piece as he spoke. He and Ewan were bonding over a fierce game of Don't Wake the Llama. He could see Ulyssa's irritation through the window where she watched them, but he ignored her. His plan had saved them from Claudia's wrath and he had spent over an hour bonding with an actual reaper. A reaper who had already promised to come to dinner one night in Arkhelios to grill some burgers with Jorah.

"Truthfully I don't remember," Ewan replied, countering Jorah's move with his own. "I died as an infant and it was a long time ago. It's peaceful from what I've seen. A quick moment and then freedom from pain or suffering. Reunification with your deceased loved ones. It's nothing to fear."

"Do you ever work in Arkhelios? Have I seen you around without knowing it?"

"We work in teams," Ewan confided. "Every nation has a team assigned to them so that we can collect the correct souls at the correct time and ensure that the correct functioning of the living world is unharmed. I work in Pleasantview, so no, I don't work in your area, but rest assured, there is a team in place to protect Arkhelios."

Jorah paused to consider Ewan's words. He'd never thought of a supernatural team sent to harvest souls as serving as protection over the living realm. If anything, he'd always thought of them as villains or threats because of the nature of their jobs, but it was true that people were going to die naturally regardless of a reaper being there to help them pass. Having policies and trained professionals in place to help ease that transition was really a kindness extended to mortals by Death when he thought about it.

"So I was reading about the Great Demon War and the reaper sightings from that period. Would that be an example of how reapers protect the living? By fighting threats from beyond the living world? Have you ever been to the Void? Does the Demon Sovereign have to obey your rules? Can she be killed by Death if she breaks the rules? Is she actually evil or just misunderstood? I'm asking for a friend."

Ewan laughed.

"I'm afraid I can't answer all of those questions. There needs to be some secrecy maintained or life just isn't as fun. It's meant to be lived first and then the gaps are filled in once your life ends. It'll ruin all the spoilers you're meant to enjoy one day."

"Do you know when I'm going to die?" Jorah pressed. "All of my kids are going to outlive me, right? You can tell me that much, right?"

"Unfortunately that's above my pay grade," Ewan laughed. "We get told who to escort to the afterlife shortly beforehand. I can't change the death and I don't decide anything about it. Not even the Grim Reaper can. It's above even him."

"What's above him?" Jorah gasped, completely ignoring everything else around him. "Death? He decides when someone dies? What if someone is murdered? Does he know that's going to happen or can he prevent the murder if he wants to save the person?"

"That's a spoiler, I'm afraid," Ewan said with a wink. "Some things have to be a surprise and some questions can't be answered. Honestly, you're better off not focusing on all of that. Life is so short and eternity is forever. Live your life before you lose it and you'll find out the answers to your questions soon enough."

"Fair enough," Jorah grudgingly conceded. "I get it. Can I ask you about your family then? I've read so much about your parents and great-grandparents in books but you're the real thing. You know them."

Ewan fidgeted in his seat while he processed the request and Jorah immediately regretted asking about it.

"Hmmm, maybe when I stop by Arkhelios," Ewan promised, his eyes hooded with secrets. "If you've read about them, you know how difficult it can be to come to terms with the actions of your ancestors. My dad is the best dad I could ever hope to have. My other father is a monster who can't go ten minutes without committing some kind of war crime or monstrous act. I've tried to raise my children to be just like my dad and be happy and loving and kind to others. Unfortunately, these days my daughter seems to be happy following the path of my father. There are so many devious voices in her ear and demons happy to lead her into darkness. That's why I try to demonstrate kindness whenever I can. There's a darkness within her that I fear the throne will encourage. There's a darkness in all of Casper Maricourt's bloodline."

Jorah paused, unable to think of an appropriate response to this admission. The closest example that he could relate to would probably be the Bellamy family and he only had limited contact with most of them. Ever since the affair with Ulyssa, Jorah hadn't seen much of the Bellamys. Roman's mother certainly was evil, though not on the same scale as a ruthless king…not that Jorah knew about anyway.

"Do…do you see him at all?" Jorah asked quietly. "Is there a hell that he's in? Did they just send him to the Void when he died? Is there a king of the afterlife? Do people fight over it?"

"I…I have seen him. Just once and not alone. He…wasn't kind to me," Ewan sighed. "Always choose to be kind, Jorah. Whenever you can. It separates us from the darkness. You strike me as a man who already knows this, but never let yourself forget it."

Jorah paused, realizing that Ewan was upset by the conversation and had ignored all of his secondary questions.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just have so many questions and I love learning about new people and places and I'm afraid that I'll never have the chance to speak with you again."

"I promised you a barbecue, and I don't break my promises. I understand your curiosity, I would feel the same way in your shoes. Maybe we could just pivot away from my father for now. It's bad enough looking in the mirror and seeing his reflection." Ewan gestured quickly at his face. "The hair is a dead giveaway in Pleasantview, especially with the Maricourt eyes. I'm glad none of my kids have inherited them. I'd be tempted to dye it or wear contacts, but it doesn't seem fair. It's my hair and eyes, why should I have to change them because of someone else who died years ago?"

Jorah nodded compassionately at the reaper, who seemed to be working some personal issues out across from him. The last thing he wanted was to scare away his new friend and on top of that, Claudia might murder him if she saw him making her father upset. 

"So reapers eat obviously," he said quickly, gesturing at the grill beside them. "Do you have to sleep? How did you get a body? Is it different from the body that you died in? Can demons possess you?"

Ewan smiled, grateful for the change in subject. 

"We don't need sleep, but we can if we want," he replied. "Our non reaper romantic partners seem to find it unnerving when we're up all night without them and still refreshed in the morning. Death assigns us a body when we graduate training and yes, it's connected to our previous physical body, but it's not completely the same. As for demons, I've never encountered one with the ability to possess others, but they stem from a corruption of life and we stem from the natural course of death, so I'd wager that we're immune to their threat. But enough about me, what about you? How many children do you have? How did you get into autograph collecting?"

"I have three beautiful children," Jorah gushed. "Two daughters and a son, Hamnet, Judith and Susanna. They're turning six this year and they're amazing. Hamnet and Susanna are twins, so it was like having triplets when they all arrived, thank god that my husband was only carrying one kid, though we've talked about more. Maura actually introduced us to the idea of autograph collecting. I would never have thought about it in tiny Arkhelios, but with my sister suddenly meeting world leaders and famous people, it became easier to find people to sign our books. Maura was our first signature and we've got all of Maura’s family too, even her mother, watcher rest her soul."

“How fun. Claudia would have liked that when she was younger, the boys too probably. They’ve always been more hands on with things while Claudia will sit back, evaluate her options and then act. Oliver and Travis would like chasing down people to sign their book. Claudia would probably make them do it for her.’ Ewan laughed and Jorah joined in.

“Yeah, my Susanna is very similar,” he admitted. “She has her siblings under her spell when she wants to. I’ve found them making her bed for her a few times. Kids, right?”

“Exactly. I wouldn’t trade mine for the world though.”

Jorah smiled. Despite all of his excitement about finding rare supernatural creatures, Jorah seemed to have found something even rarer- a kindred soul.

“I completely agree.”

While Jorah was busy making friends, his sister set about her mission. Claudia was talking with her mother about an upcoming lunch event she was hosting and her watchful eye on Ulyssa was currently occupied. Where to begin though?  The bedrooms upstairs might be filled with secrets worth blackmailing a queen with, but the stair were being blocked by Claudia. To get upstairs, Ulyssa would have to sneak outside and teleport while no one was around..

A car pulled into the driveway, alerting Ulyssa as she tried to innocently explore. Claudia’s brother was home with his guest. This could be just the diversion Ulyssa needed to get past Claudia. Everyone would come out to welcome Oliver and Ulyssa could excuse herself to “use the washroom”.

To her surprise though, she recognized the friend exiting the car with Oliver. She would know him anywhere.

“Junior?”

Theo stood behind Oliver, almost hiding from the godmother he’d never expected to see in Pleasantview. It had been years since he’d seen her in person and he’d nearly forgotten the nickname she had for him. This wasn’t just his godmother though, this was his dad’s affair partner. The reason he had a half-sister no one talked about. The reason his parents decided to have a band aid baby that neither of them would have wanted otherwise.

“Hi Aunt Ulyssa. What are you doing here?”

‘Are you sleeping with Oliver’s parents too’ was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t dare say it. Oliver was a cool senior in the fanciest school in Pleasantview and had a lot of powerful friends. When the witches’ council had paired them for an assignment, Theo had leapt at the chance. There was no way that he would offend the coolest person he knew just to insult his godmother.

Ulyssa beamed and stepped towards her godson, only to have him back away from her. She wanted nothing more than to hug him and catch up with the drama in his teenage life, but she could see the betrayal in his eyes. Her godson hated her. He was named after her, but she’d broken his trust and now he could barely stand to be around her. All of her Claudia related schemes flew out of her mind with this realization.

Theo hates me, and he deserves to. There’s nothing I can say that will fix what I’ve done. His eyes though- they’re just like Roman’s. I can’t bear miniature Roman glaring at me like this.

Claudia watched the reunion derail on the front lawn with interest. Ulyssa’s weakness was laid bare before her and Claudia didn’t even have to do a single thing to force it. Whatever game Ulyssa thought she was playing was doomed to fail. All Claudia had to do was invoke Roman Bellamy and the queen consort would fold. Ulyssa posed absolutely no threat, but Claudia was still interested to see what her cousin’s wife was up to. Knowing where an enemy thought you were vulnerable was valuable information for the future.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

“This is the greatest day of my life. I can’t believe this is happening. Do you know how few people have done this? You used to have to be royalty to even know about their existence.”

“I am royalty,” Ulyssa remarked, entertained by her excitable little brother. “And as you always remind me, your greatest day is a three way tie between your wedding and the birth of your kids.”

The Durant siblings stood outside an otherwise unremarkable house in a less expensive part of Pleasantview. The house was small; the modest frame was expanded with the use of shipping containers. Pleasantview wasn’t known for a low cost of living, especially with a nobility and attention seeking witches to support. Estates were common in the areas surrounding the old castle and old ruins filled with lingering magical energy was where most witches chose to dwell. The “ordinary” people were scattered across the country, far enough away from the rich or powerful areas to be noticed by most of society. Naturally, if someone or something wanted to keep a low profile, this neighbourhood was an excellent choice. Everything on the street was quaint and charming. Well manicured lawns and carefully maintained wooden fences were everywhere.

Ulyssa had questions and concerns that could only be answered by a trip to Pleasantview, but wasn’t brave enough to go alone. Luckily, her little brother Jorah seemed to know a little bit about everything and had jumped at the chance to accompany his sister on an adventure. What she had overheard Claudia tell her wife was concerning. Not only did Claudia know about Georgiana’s paternity, but her only heir to the most powerful throne in the world was a Bellamy.

She could blackmail Roman or Wanda with her daughter, potentially harming Arkhelios. She could expose Georgiana and ruin my life- our lives.

They had all agreed that Georgiana would be Maura’s daughter when Ulyssa discovered that she was pregnant. If her daughter ever found out the truth, it would be devastating. Ulyssa needed some dirt on Claudia if she was going to keep her family safe. Something that she could use as a bargaining chip. If Claudia was going to threaten her family, then Ulyssa was going after Claudia’s. The only problem with that plan was that no one had really seen her family. Her own government listed her parents as dead, but also as unnaturally able to produce three children and stop by the castle on occasion. King Ewan and Princess Anneken were undead creatures who stayed in the shadows, flitting between life and death as easily as a demon.

“You know what I mean,” Jorah scoffed, refusing to let his sister ruin this moment for him. “No one has seen a reaper in recent memory, or if they have, no one will admit to it. They used to be legends and myths and now they’re real! Well, I mean they were always real, but they’re not hiding anymore. Well, I guess they are still hiding, but these ones aren’t. How did you manage to track them down anyway? Did you have to watch someone die and then trap whoever showed up? Did someone who had a near death experience point them out? No, I bet it was a dark spell that required a blood sacrifice to get the information.”

“I looked in Maura’s address book,” Ulyssa sighed. “You let your imagination wander far too much. Her grandmother had their address and it got compiled in Maura’s copy when she took the throne. Why on earth would I have to do any of that other nonsense?”

Jorah pouted, despite his excitement. There were times when his sister’s bluntness overshadowed her kindness. Living in a castle hadn’t made Ulyssa any less cynical, she just usually hid it better. Only Ulyssa could make meeting one of the rarest supernatural creatures into something mundane.

“Gee, I don’t know. Maybe, just maybe, you can only find a grim reaper when it’s doing its job?” he shot back. “They blend in otherwise. Maybe they have a dark form like vampires and demons that you can only see when it’s reaping souls. It makes sense to me.”

Ulyssa took a moment to reflect on her brother’s ideas. Truthfully, she didn’t know much about the grim reaper or any of his associates, but Jorah didn’t need to know that. Reapers had been just a footnote in their magical studies class at school as little was actually known about them. Jorah loved reading about the supernatural and world history, but books could only tell him so much. According to some ancient texts and some mysterious undated writings, the academic community had mostly agreed that there was one “Grim” reaper that assisted a sim with the process of dying, and a handful of lesser reapers that assisted him in this task. No living soul had insight beyond that, or if they did, they weren’t sharing that information.

The first glimpse of this secret supernatural hierarchy had come from Crystal Cove centuries ago when it was still known as Viper Isle. Reports of people seeing glimpses of deceased sims running around in robes and cloaks just before someone died were recorded in the history books, even if they weren’t taken seriously. A former king had seen his dead brother on a battlefield and spoken with him. This was chalked up to the king’s history of mental illness, even when his son confirmed the story. The next sighting was during the Great Demon War where palace staff claimed to see the recently murdered crown prince of the newly named Blue Viper Isle. When humans defeated the demons intent on expanding their territory beyond the Void, there were whispers about secret meetings held by the queen and long deceased members of the community. The demonic ruler of Strangetown was seen arguing with a man that no one had seen age and had demonstrated mysterious powers through his long lifespan. Strange children enrolled in school and were picked up at the end of the day by people who looked oddly familiar to dead sims. Sometimes these children would display unusual powers of their own but remained tight-lipped on where they’d inherited them.

Over the centuries, these accounts were assumed to be myth. Reaper sightings dropped and the creatures were considered about as real as a unicorn. They were a fantasy cobbled together to help the people endure hardships by imagining a world where their lost loved ones could return to them. Supposed sightings happened every few decades, though few found them credible. It was said that the ruler of a nation was sometimes warned by a reaper of a great peril they could intervene in, though no royal diary had ever recorded such a case.

That was until Queen Claudia had taken the throne. Born Claudia Goldman, the queen had grown up in this humble house with her two loving parents and her little brother, Oliver. To the outside observer, the Goldmans looked like a typical commoner family. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Anna Goldman had been born Princess Anneken Spencer Toyonaga, the crown princess of Twikkii Island and Strangetown. Her husband had been born King Ewan Ben Goldman Siew, the infant ruler of Pleasantview upon his father’s death. Both of them had died incredibly young, Anna as a toddler and Ewan as an infant. Their families had mourned and the line of succession moved on.

Until the day that Claudia and Oliver Goldman were enrolled at the Princess Zarah Royal Academy, their tuition paid for by the queen of Twikkii Island and her ex-husband, the former crown prince of Strangetown. Both children were listed as their grandchildren, even though neither supposed grandparent could list which of their children had created these mysterious grandkids. Pleasantview was ruled by Queen Charlotte II at the time, a ruler installed by a foreign government who hated living in Pleasantview and who was hated by Pleasantview in return. The nobility had salivated to learn that a blood descendant of the last “true” bloodline existed and upon turning eighteen, Claudia completed the first and only peaceful transfer of power in Pleasantview’s history. Claudia Goldman became Queen Claudia Anneken Maricourt Goldman Goss overnight and once again, the living world brushed against the world of the dead for a fleeting moment. Reapers had to be accepted as real creatures to somehow produce this living, breathing genetic successor to two dead sims. In the centuries that would eventually pass, Claudia’s origins would likely be interpreted as metaphorical or as just a myth to support a regime change and reapers would once more disappear into history.

Which was why Jorah could barely contain his excitement. Only a handful of people had knowingly interacted with a reaper, and even fewer had lived to tell skeptical audiences about them. Claudia’s origins could be explained easily enough by genetic tampering and a surrogate pregnancy, true, but there was confidence in the way Claudia held herself when she spoke about her family. As a family man himself, Jorah could see the respect and love she had for her mysterious family members, and Queen Spencer and Prince Vrai had both supported her claim and sponsored her education. You didn’t get royalty to do that unless there was a legitimate reason.

The siblings approached the house cautiously, unsure of what to expect from its inhabitants. Would there be a fight? Would the reapers run away? Would they kill the Durants just for looking for them?

Ulyssa held her breath and dropped to a curtsy as soon as a figure appeared at the door. Beside her, Jorah waved like an idiot.

“Can I help you?” the man asked, looking baffled by his visitors. “Are you selling something? I don’t think we’re interested. Money’s tight these days. But thanks for dropping by.”

Ulyssa dared to rise from her curtsy after a moment had passed and the door hadn’t immediately been slammed in her face. The man had kind eyes and bone white hair and barely looked older than Claudia. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn’t this.

“Your Highness? King Ewan? My name is Ulyssa and I’m married to Queen Maura Siew. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to talk to you if I could. Please don’t kill me or my idiot brother; we don’t mean you any harm or disrespect.”

The man looked visibly confused by this but made no move to reject them.

“Maura’s wife? I don’t think I’ve seen my niece since she was a teenager. Work keeps me busy these days. Come in, come in. Show me pictures of your kids, Claudia says they’re quite cute.”

The Durants slowly moved into the house, closing the door behind them. Was this a joke? Was this a trap? Neither one of them knew what to expect.

“Anna, we have guests! Your sister’s daughter in law stopped by. No, she didn’t bring the kids. I don’t know what she wants. Just come down and find out for yourself.”

“Is your hair white because your ‘job’?” Jorah asked excitedly, trying to remember every detail of the house they were in so he could relive this experience over and over in his mind.

“Uh, no. I inherited it from my father,” the man replied. “It runs in the family, you could say. Who are you exactly? You’re not that Abe that Claudia talks about, are you? With the demon son?”

Jorah shook his head quickly, fascinated by the knowledge these creatures possessed about his tiny settlement. Had they ever been to Arkhelios? Did they ever accept ‘assignments’ there? He had so many questions.

Before Jorah could ask anything else, a knock on the front door interrupted him.

“Mom? Dad? I’m here to pick up Mom’s brownies for the dinner tonight.”

“Wait outside!” the man exclaimed quickly, ushering the Durants out the door to the backyard in a hurry. “Claudia doesn’t like surprise guests. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

“Grandpa!“

Just as soon as the Durants were shoved out the door, Victoriana rushed in, engulfing her grandfather in a hug.

“Vicki, what a surprise!” the man exclaimed, kissing the little girl. Even through the back door window, Ulyssa could see the deep love the two had for each other. This wasn’t some random person Claudia paid to play her parents, this was a legitimate connection. The man with the white hair had to be King Ewan. A woman descended the stairs who could easily be Claudia’s sister. Both had the same shade of green skin and gently curved ears and a commanding demeanor. With Claudia’s hair dyed black, the two women could have been twins. Both of Claudia’s parents looked like they were no older than thirty which was baffling. Ulyssa’s own father was an elder with grey hair and wrinkles who looked very much his age.

“Do reapers not age?” Jorah asked with awe, clearly noticing the same thing as his sister. “Do they age backwards? Do they have real bodies or do they possess living people? I have to know. This is amazing.”

“Why don’t you stay for dinner? Your brothers will be home within the hour from school,” Anna asked, grabbing a chair to sit next to her daughter. Ewan played with his granddaughter happily, seemingly oblivious to the guests outside.

“I have a meeting, I can’t,” Claudia sighed. “Then another meeting with the witch council right after. I’m hoping that Miruna can keep that one short enough that we can spend some time together.”

“Oliver is bringing a friend home from school,” Claudia’s mother insisted. “At least stay long enough to say hi. You never see your brothers anymore. They miss you just as much as I do. Ewan, tell your daughter to stay for dinner.”

“You heard your mother, “ Ewan laughed. “I’m going to barbecue for our guests, so if you miss your dad’s famous burgers, stick around.”

“That’s not fair,” Claudia complained. “Maybe I can take some on the road. You know I can't turn down one of Dad's burgers. They're almost as good as Grandpa’s."

Ewan laughed, reaching for a plate to put the food on.

"I'll be sure to tell him next time I'm over," he promised. "Though he has the advantage. Cooking with actual food is way harder than shaping energy in the afterlife. So, mine are better by default."

Beside Ulyssa, Jorah was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Did you hear? He admitted it," Jorah exclaimed. "He's a reaper! We're looking at a creature so secretive and rare that we might be the only ones who have seen one this century! Our names are going to be in the history books as witnesses! Even Bigfoot has reliable sightings more than reapers. This is huge!"

"Well, clearly they have people stop by and come home with their kids," Ulyssa pointed out. "They get seen, but no one knows what they are. Even at royal events. Maura says that sometimes they go to functions, but in disguise or something. She's never seen Claudia's parents really. Once in passing supposedly, but nothing else. There's probably tons of reapers floating on the edge of society that we have no idea about. Also, I think that you should probably refrain from calling them creatures. They look human enough to be offended."

"Dad? Do you have company over?"

Ulyssa froze at the question. She hadn't counted on Claudia stopping by when she decided to attempt this mission. She was here getting intel on Claudia, but that would all be compromised if Claudia knew about it. She'd tell Maura and then Ulyssa would have to tell her wife that she emptied her schedule today to play detective with her brother.

"Abort! Abort! We've been made!" Jorah whispered urgently. "Teleport us out!"

"No, we told him who we are," Ulyssa hissed. "We need a cover story. Claudia's going to be suspicious as hell about why we're here. She's going to tell Maura and I'll have to spend three more hours in therapy talking about boundaries."

Without thinking through his plan, Jorah opened the door and stepped back into the kitchen area. He waved awkwardly at Claudia in apology.

"Sorry, we don't mean to intrude," he said confidently, despite not having a single clue of what he was doing. "Ulyssa and I were just visiting. I'm sorry, I was bugging her about getting an autograph from Queen Claudia's parents because I'm such a fan. She told me that it was rude to try, but I was just so desperate. My kids and I collect autographs together and they begged me to add the royal family of Pleasantview to our collection. You're so hard to find accurate pictures of, but you know Maura so I thought-"

"That you'd come bother my family?" Claudia remarked. There were icebergs warmer than the tone of her voice. "Innocent civilians just wishing to exist in peace?"

"Claudia, calm down," Ewan snapped, cutting his daughter off before she could tear into the nervous visitors. "We raised you better than that. You, me and your mom aren't too good to do a favour for a father. What example are you teaching Victoriana? Did you bring your autograph book? I'd be glad to sign it."

Ulyssa froze, frantically trying to think of an excuse to have not brought an autograph book with them, but Jorah just smiled.

"Just the small one," he said, pulling out a thin booklet from his wallet. "I wasn't sure if we'd find you, so I packed light."

Thank god my brother is the biggest dork in the world. Of course he keeps an autograph booklet with him, he pulled one out at the last formal tea we hosted. He's probably not even lying about collecting autographs with his kids. Is that a normal thing for a parent to do? Should I be encouraging my kids with a group hobby? Probably. Just another thing I’m terrible at.

“Hey, do you know how to grill fish? I’m not the biggest fan of fish, but Anna loves it. If you could assist me with that, I’d have no problem helping you get some even rarer signatures,” Ewan suggested, clapping Jorah on the back. “How would your kids like Death’s signature? I could probably grab Life’s too if they’re in a good mood.”

Jorah beamed with enthusiastic joy and waved to his sister as he headed for the barbecue, leaving Ulyssa alone with Claudia and her mother.