#malika vybirlbh

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Edana, you've been through that book five times. It's not going to be any different the sixth time."

Ewan Maricourt watched his ex-wife speed through the ancient tome she'd discovered in the school library, like it held the answer to life in it. She was clearly desperate to learn something, but enough was enough. She had to at least move on to another book.

"Eden, stop."

Edana did stop at her brother's nickname for her, just as Ewan knew she would. It was the nuclear option and he was likely going to pay for it, but at least she'd stopped.

"Don't call me that," she snapped, returning to her book. "You're not allowed to call me that."

"There are other books in the library," Ewan said gently. "There are other books in the archives. I'll help you research, just tell me where to start. You know that I can help and I want to be there for you. Researching archaic papers was basically my last few years in school; I can do it in my sleep."

"Where do I find information about reapers?" Edana sighed. "There's only two books on the subject and neither of them are any use."

"You know where to find more, that should be obvious," Ewan pointed out, noticing how his ex avoided his gaze. "Hon, the Strangetown archives will-"

"I'm not your 'hon' anymore, Ewan!" Edana snapped. "Stop trying to get in my head. I'm not going into the archives. There's no way."

"All of Master Casper Maricourt's writings on reapers are in the restricted section of the Strangetown archives. I know you have access to them, I helped restrict them myself for the king. The king who adores you and would help you in an instant. I'll go with you if you want."

Edana froze, unable to think of an excuse that her ex-husband would believe. There wasn't any. He knew her too well.

"Charlotte's office burned to the ground, Edana. There's nothing left to walk by, no ghosts to stumble across. I can go with you."

"Remy, I-"

Adam froze at the door, mortified by what he was seeing. He'd only gone looking for his sister to ask for her copy of the notes from class this morning, but he could unsee what he'd seen.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't think you two would be making out in the common area," Adam said, averting his eyes as much as he could.

"God, Adam. Don't be such a prude. I'll sleep with who I want, where I want to. My friend is using the spare bed in my dorm room to sleep with her boyfriend now, so where else are we supposed to go?"

"Wait, you two are sleeping together?" Adam asked, trying to hide his shock as best as he could. "Are Theo and I the only people not having sex in this building?"

Remy shrugged, then resumed kissing Malika as if her brother wasn't there.

"Probably. Now if you don't mind leaving, things will be really weird if you stay."

Adam didn't have to be told twice. He immediately turned around in search of his boyfriend.

"So, you're saying that everyone is having sex here," Theo repeated, his eyes wide with surprise. "Everyone?"

"Apparently," Adam confirmed. "I was told 'it's boarding school, what else are we supposed to do?'"

This matched the many things Roman had said about boarding school over the years and why he had been hesitant to send his children away. Theo had thought it was just a rumour, but apparently he'd been wrong.

"Wow, that's...interesting," Theo said. What did this information mean? Was Adam just telling him this as some gossip, or did he have something else in mind?

The two teens stared at each other awkwardly, unsure of to say. Was this a turning point in their relationship or something that would be forgotten about tomorrow?

"S-should we have a discussion about what that means for us?" Theo said at last, hoping not to screw this up. "If everyone is doing it, then maybe...."

"Maybe we could do it too." Adam finished nervously. He played with the seam of his shirt nervously, hesitant to see Theo's response to the idea. "I mean, we don't have to, but it is an option. Did you think you want to? You don't have to want it of course."

"I...I think I would like to try it," Theo confessed. "I'm okay if you don't want to try it though."

"Yeah, same. I mean, I'd like to try it too. Do-do we have everything we need to do it though? Protection, I mean. They don't exactly hand out condoms here at school."

"Look under my mattress," Theo laughed. "I could probably open my own store with how many contraceptives I've been given. My parents leave a bag 'discreetly' on my dresser whenever they come, and Aunt Lucy's been sending me free samples of pills that I think she steals from the hospital when she has to visit a client? I don't know, I'm kinda afraid to ask her about that, but the point is, I think we're good. Plus, the spell for birth control keeps showing up at random on my day planner, so Evren must be trying to help. No one else can charm my schedule when I'm at home."

"So, I guess we should try it then," Adam said nervously. "Do...do we just go right now? That'd be weird, right? Do we just wait for the right moment to strike? I mean, Hayden has been gone for a while now, we might have our room empty if he doesn't come back tonight."

"So, you're thinking about tonight?" Theo gulped, trying to look sauve and not terrified. This was everything he wanted, but they'd been warned and shouted at for even thinking about it. This felt like they were stealing a car or something bad. Surely, if they tried, alarms or lights would go off, alerting the adults to their crime.

But Remy was getting away with it. Lots of people were getting away with it. If everyone else was getting away with it, then Theo wanted to too.

"I love when you spend the night," Remy sighed, holding Malika’s hand tightly. After nearly getting caught downstairs, the two had moved back upstairs and booted Remy's friend and her guest from the room. It had been worth all the trouble in the end.

"Have you, uh, been seeing many people?" Remy asked nervously. "I've seen a few, but none of them compares to you."

Malika smiled shyly.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," she laughed. "Like you, I've seen a couple of people. I've missed you the most though."

A knot twisted in Remy's stomach without her consent. She wanted to be cool and collected, impervious to emotions that couldn't help her, but she was only human. The thought of Malika adding her to a list of lovers and ranking them made her want to throw something, even if she was doing the same thing without trouble.

"Good," Remy decided. "At the end of the day, you're still my girlfriend, so I should rank highest."

"It's cute when you're jealous," Malika laughed, still holding Remy's hand.

Ewan cringed as the clear sight of his son being sexuallly inappropriate appeared through the window. Edana was fuming and refusing to face reality, while their son was outside, sticking his tongue down a demon's throat. He didn't have the time or energy to deal with his son, and it would be more trouble than it was worth to try to talk to the demon's parents about the issue.

Still, this behaviour could not be tolerated, especially from his son. With a quick wave of his hand, Ewan redirected the flow of the nearby fountain towards the boys, soaking them completely. An improvised cold shower would cool them off while Ewan took care of his ex-wife's anxieties.

The water had shocked the boys enough to scurry away from the sight of the head of the coven, but had also given them a reason to return to their room to change from their wet clothes into dry ones.

The two of them climbed onto Theo's bed, pushing aside his defensive magic homework as they did. The two wet teens held each other in silence for what felt like an eternity. Neither one of them knew exactly what to say to the other, afraid of saying the wrong thing and breaking the delicate spell they were unconsciously weaving together.

"So, I think I'm going to put my shirt in the laundry," Theo stammered, pulling away from his boyfriend to lift his wet shirt above his head.

"Y-Yeah, me too," Adam replied, copying Theo's movements. "My pants probably too. I'm pretty much soaked. It's pretty cold in here, I'm just going to get out of these wet clothes and climb under the blankets. No sense putting on pajamas, really. I mean, you can if you want, but...I don't want to pressure you or anything."

"No pressuring needed," Theo replied with a devious grin. "Skin to skin contact is the fastest way to heat up. It's scientific or something, so we'd just be following the recommended guidelines."

Theo discarded the rest of his clothes on the floor and climbed into Adam's bed. It was a little tight with the two of them, but neither boy seemed to mind.

"Are you sure?" Adam asked one last time, trying to ignore the sensation of Theo's skin pressed against his own. "We don't have to do anything tonight."

Thoughts of his parents flashed in Theo's head as he thought about how to answer his boyfriend. His parents had hit the roof when he snuck off with Medora, but they had also been supplying him with condoms like they were expecting him to use them. If they thought he was doing it anyway, what was the harm?

Theo thought about Adam and the way he made him feel. About how the world seemed brighter and safer with him around. About how quickly Adam ran to protect him, even if Theo could more than handle the situation. About how Adam was the one thing he could rely on to be in his future, no matter what. With Adam, Theo had changed his own true, magical name and whisked him unknowingly into a strange dreamscape. They'd done magic together that would be impossible alone and every time Theo closed his eyes, he could almost feel Adam's warming presence beside him. Adam was never truly far away from him. Joining him in bed would just be the natural progression of the story they were creating together. Theo's parents were frightening, but the warm feeling that spread through his chest when Adam looked at him couldn't be denied.

"I'm very sure," Theo decided. "More sure than I've ever been."

[arkhelios-gameplay]

“Can you kindly save the kerfuffle until the funeral is over?” the priest asked out loud.

[luverofralts]

Not-So-Simstober #22: Bar the Door

Who would have thought that summoning demons in your bedroom could be dangerous?

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

“Malika? Malika where are you? You were just here a second ago.”

Mark Mishra frantically tried to locate his cousin. He and Malika were at the Pleasantview Academy of Magic for the day, touring the campus as Princess Zarah Royal Academy students. Both were prestigious schools that taught the rich children of Pleasantview’s elite, but only one focused entirely on magic. The magical ability needed to be accepted at the academy was impossibly high. That or you needed to have the right connections.

Both schools had a friendly rivalry that had spanned centuries though several times during the year that rivalry would be suspended for festivals and events that briefly united the students. Today, Pleasantview celebrated the Feast of the Red Queen and both schools gathered together to celebrate.

Mark had intended to spend the day with his cousin, but Malika seemed to have other plans. She’d been nervous all morning, chewing her nails and making sure that her hair was absolutely perfect. If he didn’t know any better, Mark would have guessed that she was trying to impress someone.

Malika peered nervously around the room, trying not to bump into the expensive busts that decorated the hallway. How did the school keep so many valuable items just lying around? Her own school had a collection of ancient artifacts and expensive furnishings, but the students still ate snacks in the hall and bumped into shelves from time to time. Maybe it was magic that protected the things that looked too expensive to touch.

She tried to remember where she’d been instructed to stand. It was by the painting of a woman in a red dress, she was sure of it. However, to her frustration, most of the portraits in the hallway were painted in red dresses. Red was the official colour of Pleasantview, chosen millennia ago to immortalize yet another mysterious woman in a red dress. It was also the colour of blood and anger, two things that seemed to be encoded in Pleasantview society. 

“Malika! How are you enjoying the festivities?”

Malika turned to find Evren Thorne standing behind her, smiling politely. She had never really considered a magical career, especially considering her controversial nephew, Theo. Wbuna had warned her daughter about following witches. Nothing good came from magic, especially the demonic magic that had killed her father. Still, not all magic users seemed to be bad. Evren and his kids were friendly whenever she ran into them in Arkhelios, and Malika had only decided to come today to spend time with another magic user.

“It-it seems really great,” she stammered. “Have you seen a portrait around with a woman wearing red? I’m supposed to meet someone there.”

Evren laughed, still offering her a welcoming smile.

“There’s a lot of those around here,” he replied. “I assume you mean the Red Queen’s portrait? It is her holiday, after all. She’s down the hall to the right. Be sure to grab some of the cookies out by the kitchen on your way. Roman and the girls stayed up late baking them all. There’s probably still piles of boxes at home, waiting to be sent here. We’ll be eating them until they graduate at this rate, so grab some to take home with you.”

“Yes, Master Thorne,” she said politely, hoping that she got his proper title correct. Witches weren’t granted official titles by the government, they had either passed their mastery exam or apprenticeship, or were still studying magic. Given his formal robe and status at the academy, Malika felt pretty confident that Evren wasn’t still a student.

Malika followed the hallway like Evren had told her to and stopped in front of the first portrait with a crowned woman in a red dress. Surely this had to be the Red Queen. There was a crown on her head and a fortune in jewelry depicted. Malika’s mother barely had a nice pair of earrings to her name and this woman had earrings that looked like they could pay for a mansion if sold.

Under the portrait was a small gold sign that read “Master Spencer Maricourt, Coven Leader. Served at the side of Their Majesties, Queen Anastasia, King Rassilon I and Queen Raynah I.”

So not the Red Queen then. Dammit.

"Waiting for someone?"

Malika’s heart leapt at the familiar voice, and she whirled around to find Remy Maricourt watching her with an amused look.

"Remy! I found you! Thank god, I thought you'd never show up and I'd have to spend the afternoon with my cousin. That or join the coven. There's a lot of people from Arkhelios here. Wanda's made quite the impact."

"Hmm. Well, joining is harder than it looks," Remy replied, her face becoming uncharacteristically guarded. "Funny you should be waiting at this portrait. That bitch there is the reason my dad has such a hard time getting anything done. She was the last true leader of our coven and if you weren't descended from her exclusive bloodline, you're apparently garbage."

Malika frowned, trying to quickly piece together Remy's family tree in her mind. It wasn't like she hadn't gone over her family tree before; they had been secretly meeting for months now and Remy's family was a large part of why. As a Maricourt, Remy had expectations to live up to in Pleasantview and with her mother's Darktide blood on top of that, the pressure to perform was high. Adam faced the same pressures as his sister and their half-siblings, but with Theo on his arm, some snobs were willing to cut him a break. A blood demon descended from a Great house was just too enticing. Malika was just part alien, and aliens didn't command the same respect in Pleasantview as demons. Maybe in Strangetown, but not in these regal halls.

"Are you not related to her?" Remy asked, finally giving up on tracing her girlfriend's genealogy. "But your dad is the leader. The position is passed down a bloodline, isn't it?"

"Spencer’s only surviving son, Casper Maricourt, married Queen Raynah I. They had a son together, King Casper I. He killed everyone else in the family."

"Excuse me? The king did what?"

Remy shrugged as if the idea were a normal fact of life and not the most troubling thing she'd ever heard.

"Raynah remarried, had a million kids that should have inherited the throne. Little Casper was supposed to be Spencer's heir and lead the council. He decided that he wanted to be king instead. He killed every eligible sibling and his mother. Nearly killed his dad too. That's why Casper Sr has that huge scar on his face, haven't you seen it? He teaches at your school."

"Professor Maricourt was married to a queen and was almost killed by his son?" Malika gasped, trying to picture the soft spoken history professor fighting for his life. "But he grades papers and looks so young! He would have to be centuries old if that were true!"

When Remy shrugged again, Malika’s mind raced, trying to imagine any of her other professors being ancient and the parent of a mass murderer.

"See for yourself," she said, gesturing to another, less prominent portrait on a nearby wall.

An unscarred, youthful version of the now weary looking professor stood proudly next to a young teen who could have easily been his duplicate. Both wielded the famous wand of the Pleasantview coven, though only one of them looked content about their station in life. The younger Casper looked miserable, his face reflecting the anger that must have been raging in his heart. Just looking at his picture sent chills down Malika’s spine. There was something unnerving about the way his eyes focused on the camera lens. It reminded her a little of the way Kamalani once looked at her. After Omar's death and Kamalani being revealed as his murderer, Malika had had nightmares about the demon for months. Could she really handle living in a country where there was a Kamalani around every corner? Ones that killed their own family for power?

"Hey, he's dead, don't worry. He died a long time ago. Queen Maura’s ancestor defeated him and the throne passed to his kids…more or less."

Malika felt a reassuring hand squeeze hers and felt herself unconsciously start to relax.

"Sorry," Malika said, trying to regain her composure. "I'm fine, it's silly. I'm just being stupid. I just…I just think about my dad and what he must have felt in his last moments. About how Kamalani must have…how anyone could…."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry, I should have thought about your dad," Remy apologized, hugging her girlfriend tight. It didn't matter who saw them together at the moment, Malika needed her more. "You could always talk to your professor, he might be able to give you some advice about grieving a murder." She paused momentarily, thinking about what comforting thing she could say. "Come on, I'll show you something."

Malika followed Remy down the hall and to the right, just as Evren had instructed her. Remy came to a stop in front of a portrait of a woman wearing a beautiful red dress. 

"This is the Red Queen," she said respectfully. "Queen Juniper Goss, the only daughter of King Casper of Pleasantview and Queen Holly of Crystal Cove. She protected the people of Crystal Cove from her father and made sure that Crystal Cove remained separate from Pleasantview after his death. She brought peace to her people her entire life and prepared the way for her brother to reign over Pleasantview. She was the beginning of the great promise made to our people and we honour her for it."

"Wow. She's pretty. That's who the holiday is for?"

Remy nodded.

"The Crystal Cove coven made the crystals below the portrait for the very first festival. You'll see more of them if you stay for the dinner later. Their king is Queen Juniper's son, King Liam. They have their own celebration and then he and Queen Claudia meet each other at the ruins of the royal tombs and we have a huge party with the Crystal Cove witches. Adam snuck some wine last year and got so drunk that he threw up. I can't wait to see what he does this year."

"So Queen Claudia is Juniper's daughter?" Remy asked, staring at the portrait curiously. "She looks a lot like her. She must have had her when she was really old. Liam looks like forty years older than her."

"Ah, well, not really. Claudia is her niece. The other half of the promise made to our people. It's complicated."

"Complicated?" Malika repeated incredulously. "I don't get it. If you can't rule a coven without the proper bloodline, how did the queen's niece override her son for the throne? Liam should be king of both countries, right?"

Malika paused, choosing her next words carefully. 

"How far have you gotten in magical lifestates class?" she asked. "Have you finished studying vampires? I'm pretty sure it's the chapter after vampires."

Malika blinked with surprise at the odd change in topic.

"We're at werewolves," she replied curiously. "Now you have to tell me what's going on. Not after a question like that!"

"Well," Remy started nervously. "Let's just say that what's dead doesn't always stay dead."

Malika gasped, images of Narcissa, Ian Chun and Tabitha Durant running through her head in horrifying detail. Wanda kept the zombie population of Arkhelios safe and far away from the public, but still Malika had had run-ins with some of them in the past. Between the horrid smells and frightening spasms of their body, Malika could honestly say that she was terrified of zombies, even if they were wearing a crown.

"The queen is a zombie?" she whispered in horror.

"Don't they teach you anything at your dumb school? Her father is a reaper! As in the Grim Reaper?" a familiar voice called out, ruining Malika’s mood in an instant.

Theo.

"Butt out of my conversations!" Remy snapped angrily. So much for keeping a low profile and their relationship a secret.

To her displeasure, her twin brother and Theo were intertwined on a couch, watching Remy with interest.

"So, you and an Arkhelian girl, huh?" Adam teased, making his sister ball her hands into angry fists.

"You're dating an Arkhelian guy!" she replied. "If you tell Mom or Dad about Malika, I'll make you regret it."

"Please," Adam scoffed, clearly enjoying having the upper hand for once. "You score even lower than me in school, I'm not afraid of what you can do. Besides, Theo's stronger than both of us combined. He'll protect me from whatever you try."

Adam stuck his tongue out playfully at his twin, but Remy didn't fall for his bait.

"No, but I doubt all that power will save you when I tell his parents that he's got his hand resting on your crotch."

Malika giggled as Theo and Adam pulled away from each other in an instant, each boy looking as embarrassed as Remy had hoped. 

"That's what I thought," Remy laughed. "I won't tell if you won't tell. Mutually assured destruction."

Adam glowered at his twin. As usual his twin had the upper hand. Going to Theo's parents with any allegations of sexual activity might just leave her twinless.

"Fine. Let's go get some punch, Theo. This area is getting crowded anyway."

Adam scurried off, dragging Theo by the hand, leaving Malika and Remy blissfully alone once more.

"Boys," Remy sighed dramatically. "Thank god you're a girl and have common sense. I can't imagine trying to date a boy and putting up with all of that. Sometimes I wonder if Adam and I really are twins or if he's just a jerk that was dropped off at our door one day. He's so frustrating!"

Malika giggled, thinking about her own complicated family tree. 

"Adam's not so bad," she laughed. "My own siblings can be a pain, but they mean well usually. Now Roman, that's a different story. Clearly he takes after his mom."

"Clearly."

The two girls laughed for a moment, despite their secret being compromised. Maybe they didn't have to hide their relationship from Remy's family after all. Adam had just teased them about liking each other, same as Remy often did about Theo. Maybe her parents wouldn't care about her not dating a witch. 

"What was Theo going on about anyway?" Malika asked, despite her reservations about zombies. If the undead were walking around Pleasantview, she needed to know about it. "Does the grim reaper really walk around Pleasantview making royal zombies? Do people really see him?"

Did he come for my dad when he died? Has Dad ever seen him?

Remy shrugged. 

"People say that he was seen when the Pleasantview castle burned down," she replied. "He supposedly wandered around the ruins, looking for the dead and killing anyone left alive. But that's just a story. Who knows what he really did? He's real though; I've seen him myself."

"Really?" Malika breathed. "When? What does he look like? Did he talk to you? Did he threaten to kill you?"

"Nah, he was just picking up his kids from school," Remy laughed. "They go to school here. Apparently they have enough magical skill to qualify to attend classes here. His partner is something weird too. Not a witch, but definitely powerful. You might run into them at the celebrations tonight. I'll introduce you if you want."

"I-if I want to meet Death? I don't know about that," Malika stammered. It was just her luck to have to shake hands with the embodiment of death itself. Why did she think that leaving Arkhelios would ever make her life less complicated? "Um…maybe? So the queen's father is death? How does he have a claim on the Pleasantview throne? How does he even have children?"

“Don’t worry about it,” Remy laughed, seeing the look on her girlfriend’s face. “I won’t introduce you. Baby steps. And the queen’s father isn’t death, he just works for him. Her mom too. Like I said, it’s complicated. But who cares about family trees and inheritances when we could be having fun? Lets go grab some cupcakes before they leave the kitchen. I’ll be pissed if Adam and Theo steal them all like they always do. Come on!”

Malika reluctantly grabbed Remy’s outstretched hand, looking over her shoulder at the expensive looking bust behind her labelled “King Casper I”. If things seemed dangerous and unnerving back home in Arkhelios, Pleasantview was turning out to be a waking complicated nightmare. There were so many rules and expectations layered with tragedy and greed.

She wouldn’t give up so easily though. Malika had made a promise to Wanda to do her best and she wasn’t about to break it anytime soon. Besides, if she went back to Arkhelios, when would she ever get to see Remy?

“Coming!” Malika replied and allowed Remy to lead her in the direction of the kitchen.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

Edana went from searching for her daughter to searching for her son. The magical academy wasn’t big enough for all of her children to hide in and since they seemed to be squabbling amongst each other, they likely weren’t hiding anywhere near each other, increasing the search area.

Edana hadn’t planned on being as young a mother as she had been when she got pregnant with Elowen and she definitely hadn’t planned on falling for two men named Ewan at the same time. Her relationship with her ex-husband was one of mutual respect and shared parenting goals, something their children hated. If they thought that they could play their divorced parents against each other, they were dead wrong. Her current husband was playful and goofy and fun, everything Ewan Maricourt wasn’t, and if she was honest with herself, she could understand how Adam and Remy were jealous of the freedom Elowen enjoyed. She was still one of the last remaining Darktides and a talented witch, but she didn’t have the same stress or burden her half-siblings did.

It was hard to know how to parent in this situation. Edana had no control over her uptight ex-husband and she knew how defending his leadership only made him grasp tighter for control over his life. Her own father had struggled with his destiny as far as she could remember and it had made a large impact on her own life. Growing up in the Strangetown coven, she and her brother Adam were practically guaranteed an easy career when they came of age because of their family connections. The Strangetown Maricourts had held a decades long grudge against the Darktides- something about a messy divorce and an affair generations ago- but her and Adam were overcoming it together. Her brother had been her best friend and trusted confidante once. Now he was dead and she was left picking up the pieces of a broken coven on her own.

Oh Adam...I hate that I still miss you sometimes.

“Oh, Adam.”

Edana jerked into motion, hearing her thoughts mirrored in a strange voice. She recognized the young voice and prepared herself for what she might be walking into.

Sure enough, to her dismay, Edana’s young son had locked himself in the council chambers with his boyfriend for some alone time.

I don’t know why I named him after my brother, this is something he would have done too.

“Adam Sebastian Casper Darktide-Maricourt! What in the Watcher’s name is going on here? You let go of that boy immediately and apologize for desecrating your school and coven’s sacred places! This is unacceptable behaviour. I’d expect something like this from your sister, not from you.”

“S-Sorry Mom,” Adam stammered nervously, his face flushing with embarrassment. “It won’t happen again. I’m so sorry, please don’t tell Dad.”

“Or my dads,” Theo chimed in, attempting to look as remorseful as he could. “I don’t know what happened. We just got carried away and...and....”

“We were only kissing!” Adam added and his boyfriend vigorously nodded beside him. “We’ve only ever kissed. It was just really crowded out there-”

“And my great-aunt won’t leave us alone,” Theo continued. “We just came in here to hide from her and then...we got distracted.”

Edana sighed, trying to massage the headache she could feel developing. Between her rebellious daughter and her amorous son, she had her hands full, not to mention the stress of running two covens, one with her ex-husband.

“I don’t have the energy to deal with this,” she groaned. “Both of you are going to leave this room immediately and head straight to the kitchen to help put out refreshments and collect plates as punishment. If everything goes flawlessly, I may just forget to mention this incident to either of your fathers.”

It was a lie, of course, but the teens didn’t know it. She would absolutely be calling up Theo’s parents to report this incident, as well as her ex-husband. Further punishment may not come from this incident, but it needed to be documented before her son pushed any other boundaries with his young boyfriend. If she had her way, Adam wouldn’t be allowed to date someone until he was sixteen at least. It was the rule she had grown up with, but Ewan was more permissive. He had no firm age restrictions for Miruna when she was growing up and she was marrying a queen, so he believed that his parenting strategy worked. Edana wasn’t so sure. The last thing she needed was for her son to be boy crazy and neglect his studies.

“Hey, sorry about having to ditch you earlier, my mom once again had to inform me what my future was going to be. Spoiler alert, it’s going to suck and end up looking just like hers.”

“You don’t have to be what your parents want,” Malika assured her girlfriend. “You can just not do what they say as soon as you’re eighteen. You could always move to Arkhelios, where we protect personal freedoms. I think you’d fit in pretty well.”

“Well, it’s not that drastic yet,” Remy laughed. “I think I have other options before I need to seek asylum in Arkhelios.”

”You might not need to, but you might want to someday,” Malika suggested shyly. “I might have a few ideas about that. Only if you’re interested that is.”

Remy smiled and took her girlfriend’s hands in hers. Even if her family was insane, there were still people in her life who saw her for who she really was, and not who they wanted her to be.

“That sounds great. You don’t know how much I appreciate that. We still have years until we’re eighteen though, so we might as well make the best of things now. Wanna go steal some fireworks? I copied down the spell Adam was given to light them.”

“It’s a date.”

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

To Elaine's relief, the official Arkhelios state event was a success. In the past few hours, teens had danced and played ice breaker games and inhaled all the food that had been provided. Not a single person had died, cheated on a partner or given birth. It was almost too good to be true. Maybe Wanda's constant bragging about improving the state of the country really was true. 

Crowds of teens swarmed the dance floor  chatting excitedly about whatever was relevant to them. Elaine had no idea what was cool these days and didn't really care to find out. Her grandkids all loved their phones and sarcasm, she knew at least that much. 

She could recognize some of her grandson's friends, especially the brown haired freckled boy that Abe had warned her about. Adam…she was certain that was his name. It reminded her of Roman's uncle Adam, who was shamelessly lecherous with his younger wife in public. That was not the type of partner she wanted for her grandson.

"That song you performed was really pretty. It was really good."

Theo cursed himself for his awkwardness, but it couldn't be helped. His conversation with his grandmother weighed heavily on his mind, making him flustered even when talking to his friend Medora. 

Why was his grandmother convinced that he needed condoms? He was only thirteen, when had everyone else in his family started sleeping with people? Was it expected of him now? Would all the visitors to Arkhelios be expecting him to be open to sex? He hadn't even had his first kiss. Would Adam be expecting it? No, he wasn't interested in Theo that way, but he might be expecting it from someone else. Would Theo have to watch Adam slink off for privacy with someone at the party? Could he even handle the thought? Jealousy burned Theo's mind, small flames searing into his thoughts. He wanted to be the one to slink off with Adam. He wanted to kiss him and hold him and whatever else you did with the boy you liked. 

"Theo? You just kinda blanked out on me. Are you okay?"

When Theo's attention returned to his surroundings, he saw Medora giving him a worried look.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," he apologized. "I got distracted. Your song really was good though."

Medora smiled.

"Thanks, it's one I perform a lot at the castle when we have events. It's Grandpa’s favourite."

"Well, you looked and sounded good," Theo repeated, lost for words. There were only so many things he could think to say to fill conversation. His mind was still adrift, thinking about the condom box and expectations.

Medora blushed at his words, assuming that Theo's lack of focus had something to do with telling her that she had looked good on stage.

"Did you want to hang out somewhere private?" she asked, looking around her for a place to go. "Doesn't this place have a hot tub? Do you think your grandmother would mind if we hung out there for a bit? Just you and me, right? Would that be something you'd want to do?"

Her voice wavered, uncertain if she was misreading the situation or if Theo really was trying to compliment her for a specific reason. When he shrugged and nodded in response, Medora had her answer. 

"Oh my god, Theo's finally making a move on someone."

Cain Rivales watched in amazement as Theo and Medora slipped away from the crowd, heading for the second level of the house.

"Who? Did he finally break and tell Adam that he wants to have his cute little witch babies?" Despina Darktide giggled. Adam was her cousin and the source of much eye rolling when he and Theo hung around, staring at each other and pining.

"No, it's the princess," Cain replied. He didn't often think about his distant mother Alex, but in times like this, he could see why she enjoyed the rush of a scandalous situation. "Theo's sneaking off with a princess! Adam is going to be crushed. He can't compete with a princess."

"Alexei, hi! How have you been? Practicing your magic? Maybe you could help me with my homework later?"

Malika gave the demon hybrid what she hoped was an enticing gesture and a wide smile. His name had been whispered through the halls of their school as someone worth pursuing. His one mother was the demon sovereign herself and his other mother was one of the few descendants from the last legitimate coven leader of Pleasantview. If he had the support necessary, he could remove Ewan Maricourt as coven leader one day. She wasn't entirely sure why or how that worked, but how could she refuse the chance to ally herself with him? 

Malika thought of her half-brother Roman in times like these. Somehow, despite being a complete failure as well as a teenage father who was obsessed with one man, he had found a way to make a respectable marriage for himself and powerful connections. Malika may not be demonic like he was, but surely she had to have some of his luck too.

"Hey, Mallory, right?"

Malika kept smiling, hoping that this was just one bump in an otherwise flawless conversation. 

"Malika. It's Malika. I've heard a lot about you. Maybe we could study together sometime?"

She tried not to sound desperate, but it felt like she was failing. 

Just sound normal, Malika. All the other people do this, you can too.

"You go to Princess Zarah Academy, right? I can't help you study in that case, my mom is transferring me to the Pleasantview Magical Academy this week."

"What? Why?"

Alexei shrugged with indifference. 

"My moms' divorce was just finalized and I'm suddenly told that I'm needed with the witches. Something about being a backup plan for something? I don't know. I can barely do formal magic. I think my mom's just being petty because she got cheated on. It's been a mess."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Malika replied, truly meaning the words. Her father had died, not divorced, but the aftermath in her family felt as devastating as his expression suggested. "Did you want to get some punch and talk about it? My family's messed up too."

"So the hot tub is up here, right? Do I need to get a towel?"

Medora looked around the spare bedroom for signs of a towel. She'd found an extra bathing suit that was probably one of Theo's sisters' but still fit her. It was a little awkward trying to flirt in a mermaid swimsuit, but Theo still looked interested. He'd been a gentleman and waited outside while she changed and hadn't even suggested that they go skinny dipping like some boys would have. But he still hadn't changed for the hot tub himself and was scrolling anxiously on his phone instead of acknowledging her. 

Well fine. If he wasn't going to make the first move, then she would have to. Before she could regret her actions, Medora reached out and grabbed Theo by the shoulders, kissing him passionately on the mouth.

Theo's eyes widened with surprise, but he didn't pull away from her. He leaned into the kiss and sloppily tried to kiss her back, learning the movement as he went. Kissing was nicer than he expected and Medora's lips were soft. Probably a lot softer than Adam's. No hint of the small stubble that ran along his jaw either. He was tired of hoping that Adam would make a move and Medora was beautiful, funny and a great friend. Maybe he should date her instead. Maybe it would finally show Adam that he was done waiting. Maybe-

"Theo? The alarm for the spare bedroom was triggered and your friend saw you come up here. Are you feeling alright?"

Ironman barged through the doorway only witness the Bellamy heir locked in a passionate kiss with a mermaid dressed young girl. Theo tried to scramble away from the girl, but the damage was done. His parents were going to murder him if his grandmother didn't first.

"It-it's not what it looks like," he stammered, as Medora blushed furiously and grabbed a blanket off the nearby bed to cover herself, suddenly feeling underdressed. "It was an accident and…and Grandma basically said I could do what I want, she even gave me condoms, so it's okay."

"Wait, you thought we were going to sleep together?" Medora squeaked, looking horrified by the suggestion. "We're not even dating! I'm fifteen, Theo. What the hell?"

"No, of course not! Grandma just said- I mean I thought that's what you wanted, you wanted to use the hot tub and you can't get pregnant in a hot tub, I heard that somewhere so it made sense that-"

"Stop talking," Ironman sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, hoping to sort this situation out before Elaine investigated the tripped alarm herself. She had been wise to set up silent alarms to prevent this exact scenario with hormonal teens, but she would be livid that her trap had caught her grandson. "Just stop talking, Theo. It's only going to make things worse."

[arkhelios-gameplay]

She needed Salem more than ever.

“I know you’re looking at me, Malika,” he said, as she stood by the door of his office and glanced at him in silence.

“We need to talk,” Malika said.

“Indeed we do,” Salem said, seemingly not listening to her serious tone. “I’ve just hired a hopefully permanent new teacher for the school. Wbuna Vybirlbh has several qualifications... Albeit, alien qualifications... But still qualifications.”

“Right,” Malika replied, trying to pretend to care about the shortage of teachers. “That is excellent, darling.”

[luverofralts]

Post Arkhelios

Things are going surprisingly well for the former Bellamys. Adam and Omar are closer than ever and are happily independent of their father. Salem seems to have given up on his sons ever amounting to anything he wanted them to be, and is instead focused on Hunter, and maybe Roman if he could get some sense knocked into him. Omar bought enough cribs to house his incoming babies, and after a promotion, Adam had enough money to renovate the second floor to accommodate their large family.

Wbuna goes into labour first, giving birth to a baby girl they name after Malika for all of her effort in trying to keep the family together.

Darcy is next and also has a little girl they name Daria. She’s been thinking a lot lately about her sister, and how she would have liked to pick a family name for her daughter like Omar. It’s her goal as a mother to keep her kids together, and have a close and healthy relationship. Nothing like their Aunt Narcy.

Salem actually makes the time to stop by the growing household and see the new grandkids. He doesn’t look happy to be there, but he promised Malika to make an effort.

While he’s visiting, Rosemary has little Viorica Vybirlbh. Omar has Katriona a few days later.

Mark, Viorica, Daria, Malika Jr, and Katriona make up the Bellamy baby boom that Salem always thought he wanted. Now that they’re here though, he isn’t sure this was exactly what he had in mind. Absolutely nothing has turned out like he’d envisioned.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

Standing at the microphone and staring into a tearful crowd was one of the hardest things Wanda had had to do in a while. She vividly remembered standing up at the funeral for her mother and brother so long ago, trying her best to find the words to say goodbye to them. While her mother had been easy to bury, Wanda still had moments of grief for Zane. Every year on his birthday, she and Hunter made a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and sat next to his urn. Since she and Melvin had briefly summoned Zane, she'd taken to leaving little offerings of cheese laying out around Melvin's house. It made her feel closer to Zane, but she was probably just fueling a rodent problem.

Losing Omar hurt a lot less. Wanda had been indifferent to him for the entire time she'd been with Hunter. Unlike Hunter, Omar was lazy, depressing and selfish. She didn't approve of how he treated his son, or his brothers. Hunter had to do so much of the emotional lifting in the family because of Omar's inability to lead and Adam's unfair isolation from his own family. Omar had spent most of the last few years being selfish, but he'd made real efforts to try to change that recently and he really had looked so happy in pictures before his divorce. Wanda couldn't sum up an entire life by only judging him on the last few years.

While she ran through a pretty forgiving speech about Omar's life, Hunter stood guard at Roman’s side, working with his half-brother to keep Omar's son from fleeing before he got a chance to publicly mourn his father. Obviously Omar and Roman hadn't been close, but he was the Bellamy heir and the head of the Bellamy family. He just needed to say something about the loss of a member of his family, and then he could go run wherever he felt was safe. The funeral was in his own home, so there was little he could do to ignore it.

Wanda had to admire both of Elaine's sons from where she stood. For half brothers, the resemblance between them was striking and though Wanda obviously favoured her husband, she could see why her nephew was so attracted to Abe. They both exuded strength beside Roman, hopefully stabilizing him enough to get him through the small event. The funeral was family only, and was even missing Rosemary, who was still recovering in the hospital from the attack. The amount of pressure placed on Roman was smaller than it could have been and Wanda was confident that things would go smoothly.

Being alien seemed to have spared Wbuna from the worst of whatever attack had claimed Omar's life. She'd regained consciousness and had walked out of the hospital that same afternoon, as did Darcy. None of them clearly remembered what had happened, but it was clear from where they were laying that Adam had shielded his wife with his own body, protecting her, but taking the worst of the damage himself. He still bore fading sores from the marks upon his face that no doctor had been able to explain.

Nothing made sense about any of their injuries, and yet another cryptic, supernatural crime was placed on the desk of Melvin Hydes. Kamalani was nowhere to be found, so he couldn’t just stamp the case closed by blaming her like so many others had. He had no idea of the first place to even begin looking for the culprit. He’d already had to unseal Kaeileen’s murder case and revoke her death certificate from his last case like this. Should he wait and just hope Omar mysteriously returned too? Omar had left a body though, where Kaeileen hadn’t, so Melvin was currently leaning towards this death being permanent. However, he and Sheldon had run into Oriana and Benvolio at the mall the other day, and Benvolio had been both dead and a zombie and was still every bit as alive as Oriana. It was crimes like these that made him want to move to a different country, or at the very least to a desk job where solving the unsolvable wasn’t his main duty.

Rosemary had been attacked from behind, so she didn’t get a look at her assailant, while Wbuna clearly remembered some kind of goblin like creature. Short, black eyes, stubby horns and a weird glow about it. Darcy had only seen what she could from behind Adam, which was maybe a running shoe and the tip of a horn. Adam couldn’t speak about what he’d seen, except that he would recognize it if it ever returned, and that Melvin would never see something like it just walking around Arkhelios. It had a shadow that crept unnaturally along the wall and piercing eyes that he could never forget as long as he lived. That and the hatred he could feel pulsing out of it towards him. Melvin had a hunch that Adam knew more than what he was saying, but he couldn’t prove it just yet. He would be keeping an eye on Adam not as a suspect, but as someone with information he wasn’t divulging to the police.

Wanda stepped away from the microphone, and Abe gave his fiance a reassuring nudge to start his own eulogy. They’d practiced for this all of the previous night, running over ideas and strategies for fulfilling his duties without bringing his own resentment into the speech. It had taken a while, and the end result wasn’t perfect, or even good really, but it met Wanda’s criteria.

“Omar Bellamy was the oldest son of Salem and Malika Bellamy, survived by brothers Adam and Hunter, his son Roman, and his three grandchildren. Also uh, what four other kids? Three? It doesn’t matter. A small ceremony is taking place at the Bellamy estate, interment on private Bellamy land. Donations to be sent to Arkhelios Hospital.”

Roman shot an eager look at his fiance, waiting for praise.

“Oh god, he just butchered the obituary as a eulogy,” Hunter groaned. Some days he didn’t believe his wife when she told him that Roman could be prodded into doing the right thing for other people. As usual, Roman was playing the martyr. It’s not like Omar had other children that Roman had left out of the obituary they were included in, or two women who mourned their spouse and deserved to see him remembered for who he had been to them. Everything just had to revolve around Roman’s feelings.

Beside Hunter, Abe was grimacing. This wasn’t the plan. He and Roman had gone over a speech for Omar last night, and Roman had been mostly okay with saying nice platitudes about someone a small section of the Arkhelios population dearly loved. Roman was choking under the pressure, and was clearly about to run away from the microphone any second.

Abe cleared his throat loudly, drawing Roman’s eyes to him. Just placing his focus on Abe was already calming some of the anxiety roaring through Roman. For the first time, Roman could feel the shadow of the bond he’d once shared with Abe return. It wasn’t even close to what it’d been before, but the familiarity of the feeling was enough to carry him through this ordeal. Abe was speaking to him with his expression the same way he used to communicate wordlessly through their bond.

They’d prepared for this. It was just a silly speech about a guy Roman barely knew. If he said enough nice things, people like Wanda would be proud of him. Theo would have a role model.

Roman took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He’d recently made contact with Lucy’s office about seeing a therapist for demonic abuse, and had been working through some exercises he’d been given to try to calm himself, instead of running away from his problems.

Just say words. Nice words. Just lie for two minutes and you’re free of this. Just like you practiced. A very short list of the good things you remember.

“My father liked to laugh. He loved bad dad jokes and laughed at all of them, even when he was the person telling them. I wanted to be just like him as a kid. My grandmother would cut both of our hair in the worst bowl cut I’ve ever seen, but I loved it. I loved him. He tried his best to be understanding, even if he failed completely at it. When I told him that I wanted to date men as much I did women, he gave me a hug and told me that it was good that I was getting to know the person I was becoming. He always wanted to see his grandson even after Theo accidentally set the couch on fire. I think he cared about my mother a lot more than he ever showed, and he turned that heartache into passion for other people. I’m told that he’s been a great dad to his other kids. If he had lived, I would have probably invited him to my wedding. That’s all I have.”

Roman placed the microphone back on the stand and looked towards Abe, who was beaming like a proud stage parent. Hunter was still grumbling beside him but, Abe was giving Roman a thumbs up signal and a smile. That was quicker, but less angry than they’d practiced. Abe looked triumphantly at his half-brother, who tried to smile back.

It was going to be a difficult time while the family adjusted to losing Omar. No one felt safe in their home anymore, and for the first time, Adam and Darcy thought about just getting a nice house for the kids and them. They could transplant some of Darcy’s favourite plants in the garden and start over with their lives. Wbuna and Rosemary were thinking of living somewhere more remote, where they’d be farther away from the core of Arkhelios and the place where most murders in the settlement took place. Hunter and Wanda had promised to help both couples as best they could, and Roman had offered them whatever they wanted from the estate house, as he hated most of it anyway.

“Has anyone seen Theo around?” Abe asked, looking around for his son. He’d been in the living room a second ago, he was sure of it.

Hunter was playing with Luciana without any trace of her sister in the living room, and Theo was no where to be seen.

“You should keep a closer eye on your kids,” Hunter said disapprovingly. “Especially Theo. He’s-”

“Very talented and special,” Abe finished for him angrily. “That’s what I’m sure you meant to say.”

“Very dangerous to leave by himself,” Hunter replied, and Abe rolled his eyes. “You’re about to be a father soon,” he snapped. “You’ll see for yourself how easy it is.”

Abe started to walk away from his half-brother, only for Hunter to stop him again.

“Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk about this,” he insisted. “I knew my mother though, and just from what we knew when she was alive, we knew she was dangerous. Wanda found even darker things the more we dug through her stuff and someone needs to warn you about it. Whatever powers Theo has now can get worse. Things can spiral out of control even when people have good intentions.” He shifted his weight awkwardly, trying to find the right words that wouldn’t end with his brother punching him.

“I know it’s not true, but since whatever killed Omar was small and supernatural...and it clearly hated Omar...well, there’s been some talk that I’ve overheard...and...uh....”

“Theo is the new Kamalani,” Abe gasped in horror, realizing what Hunter was trying to say. “She’s gone, so now her grandson is the neighbourhood boogeyman? You’ve actually heard people blame my son, who can barely tie his own shoelaces, for the violent attack on his own family?”

Hunter nodded, placing Luciana on the floor so he could try to impart how much Abe needed to worry.

“I’m not saying that there’s a mob outside clamoring for his arrest,” Hunter tried to say as kindly as possible. He would never dare bring this topic up with Roman. “People are afraid of what they don’t know, and my mother’s gained quite the reputation since she died. I know some of what she could do, and I’ve seen Theo play around. If Arkhelios starts another round of mysterious, supernatural murders, he’s going to be the first person people blame.”

Abe nodded numbly. As if his fears about his son’s powers weren’t bad enough already. He had to get Theo under control. If he didn’t he might lose his son.

“Hey! Hey, wanna play? This is boring.”

Theo pestered one of the many children running around the house out of sheer boredom. Most of the adults were sad, and uninterested in playing with him, and most of the kids there still remembered how snobby and aggressive Theo had been as a toddler.

“No one wants to play with you,” one of the green children snapped, pushing him away from her. “You’re the freak kid no one wants.”

“No, I’m not,” Theo protested. “I’m more normal than you are, and I have more friends.”

“Name two of them that aren’t grownups,” the girl demanded, knowing how quickly he’d fail at this.

“Noelle is my friend,” Theo stated, realizing for the first time that maybe he didn’t have all that many friends that weren’t grownups.

“Noelle is a baby,” the girl laughed. “She’s not old enough to know any better. She will though, give it time.”

Theo glared at this girl and felt his necklace heat up against his skin, absorbing the fire he longed to throw at this jerk.

“Is there anything even fun to do here? Like not all this dumb stuff for babies?” She gestured to the twins’ dolls and playhouses that had been shoved in a corner to make room for extra seating. “Cool stuff.”

Theo’s eyes lit up with excitement thinking about all the mysterious and spooky things in his dad’s office. Theo wasn’t allowed to touch any of them, so that must make them grownup and cool.

“Yeah! Follow me!”

Theo opened the door to the office, and stood smugly as the mean girl gasped in awe.

“What is all of this?’ she asked, looking at a voodoo doll next to a jar with what looked like an eye pickled in it.

“Grownup stuff. It’s all going to be mine when my dad dies someday, so really it’s already kind of mine.”

The girl stopped for a second, taken aback by his words. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, but was well practiced at hiding her feelings.

“My dad’s dead,” she whispered softly. “We have to move. I don’t where I’m going to live.”

“You’re Grandpa’s kid? I don’t know your name, my dad says not to talk about you.”

“It’s Malika,” the girl supplied, wiping her eyes on her sleeve to hide her tears.

Theo didn’t know how to react to tears. His parents usually yelled at each other and at him. He’d only heard his parents cry when they thought they were alone or that Theo was asleep.

“Hey, look, a crystal ball,” Theo pointed out, hoping to distract his aunt with something impressive. “Do you think it works? Do you think we could do a seance and talk to your dad? Then you wouldn’t miss him so much.”

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

“Why did you do it?”

Theo had just closed his locker door to put his crayons away when he was interrupted by one of the aunts his father refused him to talk to. His father refused to learn their names or interact with them, but it wasn’t like Theo had any choice. They went to his school and they all shared a recess and lunch break.

The one shouting at him was Katriona, who usually kept to herself while her sister Malika usually did all the talking. Today though, it looked like she’d overcome her shyness.

“Why did I do what?” Theo asked, already dreading the answer.

Katriona shoved him, pushing him back towards the lockers and glaring daggers at him.

“Why did you kill my dad?” she demanded, loudly enough for the entire hallway to stop what they were doing and stare at the scene unfolding before them. “It’s because of you that we have to move, and my moms cry all the time. Your dad already has all of the money that should have been ours, you didn’t need to kill him. Or does killing people just make you happy? You’re just like your grandma, a freak who’s too dangerous to be allowed to stay here.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Theo protested angrily. “I barely knew your dad. He was old and stupid and he hurt my dad. He was a bad grandpa, just like you’re a bad aunt!”

“You and your dad are monsters,” Katriona shot back. “You look like you’re from a horror movie and no one wants you two around.”

“Hey, that’s not cool.”

Theo turned to face his unseen rescuer, only to be disappointed. It was just that jerk Keiki.

“No one teases you for your weird ears and stupid eyes,’ Keiki spat. “There’s nothing wrong with demons. If anything, aliens are the real monsters. Where does your mom even come from? Did anyone even want her here or did she just show up hoping to conquer us like in the movies?”

“At least I have a mom,” Katriona shouted angrily. Keiki had clearly touched a nerve. “No one will ever admit to being your parent, you’re so stupid. Even your dad had to be tricked into taking you. Or did they have to pay him to take you home?”

Theo took this chance to escape the girls he hated. Let the two of them fight with each other, he had lunch to eat.

He’d only made it down the hall before he ran into yet another bully. While Katriona and Keiki nearly came to blows down the hall, Katriona’s sister Malika extended her leg out to trip Theo as he walked by. He landed on the floor, thankfully without breaking his glasses, but the apple from his lunch landed with a thud on the floor and rolled towards the wall. At least his dad always packed him a ton of food for lunch. The Rivales twins barely got more than a sandwich in theirs, and Theo gladly gave them what he couldn’t eat. It was nice to do nice things for your friends.

Before he could even stand, Theo was being pulled to his feet by Lauren Durant.

“Leave him alone!” she ordered, pointing aggressively at Malika. “You’re not special because your dad died. Demons are bad, but Theo barely counts as one. He’s more human than demon, which you’d know if you could actually do your fractions worksheet instead of copying off of other people. My sister’s a princess and she likes Theo, so what do you know?”

“Yeah, Theo’s dad has evil powers, but Theo’s normal,” Cain Rivales added, trying to stick up for the only boy who didn’t tease him and his sister because of their parents. He’d seen Theo display some powers before, but nothing that Malika needed to know about.

“Thanks guys, I’m normal,” Theo lied, clutching the charmed necklace around his neck nervously. Hiding his powers was what everyone said to do, even if people had seen him use them before. His dad had pleaded with him to be more careful about wearing his necklace, and holding his abilities in, but it got harder with each day. Theo could already do basic things while wearing his necklace, and Daddy and aunt Ulyssa had already warned him that once he could focus his abilities through the crystal, they could get even stronger. When they grew stronger, it would be even harder to keep them in, but Theo had to try if he wanted people to like him. The more normal he looked, the safer he would be.

“Did you want to sit together?” Theo asked his Rivales rescuers, but the twins shook their heads.

“Sorry, Theo. We really like you but...” Cain trailed off nervously.

“Mom says that we can’t hang out with you anymore,” Rose said, rolling her eyes. “It’s stupid, but she thinks you’re dangerous. She doesn’t even know you, but she won’t let us go on the next field trip if we hang out with you. She’s really mad at your dads.”

“Do you even see your mom?” Lauren asked incredulously. “I know you and your grandma were moving out of our house soon, but I didn’t think your mom ever visited.”

“We got a text from her this morning,” Rose sighed. “It’s not fair, but the school wants her or my dad to sign the permission slips. They won’t let my grandma unless my mom signs something. It’s stupid.”

“Oh. Yeah, I get it,“ Theo mumbled. “Maybe we could hang out after the field trip. I can wait.”

“I’d like that,” Rose replied with a kind smile. “She’ll get bored and find something else to be wrong about soon. I think she just really doesn’t like your dad.”

She shifted her feet nervously and tried to judge if she should say more on the subject. It was all over the internet, but Theo couldn’t read well, and he wouldn’t know what else her mom had written. If she were in his place, she’d want to know.

“Um, this is probably also a lie,” she began and then lost her nerve and just whispered the gossip quietly to Theo. She didn’t want it to be her fault if the other kids took what she said and teased Theo even more.

Theo blinked in confusion, trying to process what Rose had whispered.

“How do grownups accidentally have a kid? I thought grownups just wanted kids and they just happened. Does your mom really think that my dads didn’t want me? Is that something grownups can do?”

Rose shrugged.

“I don’t know Theo,” she said. “I don’t think my parents wanted Cain and me either, but my grandma says that they love us, so I don’t know. It’s probably just a lie that my mom made up. Don’t worry about it. I just thought you should know, in case-” She gestured with her head towards the green sisters that teachers were trying to separate from fighting Keiki.

“Thanks,” Theo said, following her gaze. He’d be ready if his aunts tried to use that to torment him, but something about that lie bothered him. There were often strange looks in his family when he asked how he’d been born, or when he wanted clarification on just why his grandmother was so intent on killing him as a baby and why he should be afraid of her. There was something that his family was nervous about him knowing, and a suspicious amount of questions he asked on the subject ended with “we’ll talk about it when you’re older” for an answer.

He sat down at an empty table and started to unpack his lunch while the Rivales twins waved at him sadly from across the room. Lauren sat beside him, but only because he was sad. He was pretty sure that his parents wouldn’t lie to him about something so important. Now that he thought about it though, he was pretty sure he remembered aunt Lucy say something to his dad about how having kids could ruin a grownup’s life. He assumed that she’d been talking about her own kid, but she could have just as easily been talking about him. Suddenly Theo had a lot to think about.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

Playing the piano usually relaxed Pia. Today, however, was an exception. Today she had a goal to complete.

Seizing control of her family estate looked to be impossible, no matter how hard she pleaded with her mother. Emilia had her heart set on Kaeileen inheriting the estate with Lucy, and there was little Pia could do, except hope that Kaeileen suddenly dropped dead, like she had before. Kaeileen now sat on the board of the Rivales factories in the position of vice president. Pia had watched in dumbfounded amazement as one by one, the board members’ hands all raised to vote Kaeileen vice president. A woman with no merits outside of her connection to Lucy. A woman who was still working on catching up on her high school diploma. This turn of events was completely insane.

Which was why she invited local business sim, Deric Carruthers to visit her. They sat in the renovated living area, talking about business, and the markets- all things that Pia studied in school and knew much better than Kaeileen. To her delight, Deric also found Emilia’s decision baffling. He was the president of a rival company to the Rivales’. He’d worked his way up the market, constantly beaten by the stranglehold the Rivales had in Arkhelios and always looking for an edge.The Rivales standing behind an inexperienced leader could be just the edge he was looking for.

Unlike Pia, Ginevra was doing her best to ignore her lack of a career. Her current single had flopped like all the rest of her songs, and most of the reviews were unkind about her musical skill level. To take her mind off of things, she began a physical relationship with the maid, Alys Hooper. Alys appreciated her looks, and wit when no one else did...or at least she said she did. Honestly, even if Alys was lying to her, she didn’t mind someone lavishing her with compliments.

Alys was a little different. Her teeth were sharper, and her eyes were a little on the red side, but Ginevra wasn’t one to judge. Not many people took the time to notice her, and if Alys wanted to think she was beautiful and talented, Ginevra wasn’t going to complain.

Pia sorted through her pile of flowers as she weighed her options. She wasn’t going to get her mother to change Kaeileen’s status as heir at this rate, so it was time to take matters into her own hands. The Rivales family name had to be respected above all else. Any signs of weakness, and the other families would strike. Or at least that was what her father had always said. Pia found it hard to believe that Roman would attack the Rivales in the same manner Salem had, but she still had to consider that option. She had a plan to take control of her life, and eventually her family; she just needed the courage to go through with it.

It wasn’t as if the rest of the Rivales family were trying to better their chances on Arkhelios’ stage. Jolanda still spent the days wandering around mindlessly, and Pia hadn’t seen Fabio in months.She wished that she could assume her brother was happy and successful, but knowing Fabio, the opposite was probably true. At least Jolanda had her scams to keep her busy.

Pia didn’t really pay any attention to the children running around the house. One was Lucy’s daughter (who probably didn’t even remember what her mother looked like), and the other was Kaeileen’s newly discovered half sister, who Kaeileen had just accepted into the household along with her father. No one asked Pia if she wanted more of Kaeileen’s family hanging around the house. Was it really fair to Jolanda to have her ex and his kid under the same roof as her? Of course, Jolanda hadn’t really cared much, aside from the odd glare every now and then.

If she couldn’t get Kaeileen’s entire extended family out of the Rivales home, then Pia would boot out the one person she could. She marched into the kitchen, and started shouting at her fiance, telling him in no uncertain terms that they were finished. He’d been surprised, and horrified by this seemingly sudden news, but Pia remained firm. She wouldn’t marry Tennyson, and she wouldn’t marry Abe’s boring ex either. She needed more from life, and more from a spouse than what they could offer.

As Rai tried to reason his way back into Pia’s heart, the children were watching with great interest. Keiki and Malika were inseparable since meeting in school. For all of her aggression against Theo, Keiki was pretty mild mannered around other kids and was only too happy to whisper about the grown ups’ secrets.

Pia’s next step was to propose a merging of her assets with Deric’s. She proposed both marriage and a business partnership, something Rai could never give her. If Kaeileen was going to marry Lucy in spur of the moment decision and be rewarded for it, then Pia would do the same. If she couldn’t be head of Rivales Industries, then she would work for its competitors and challenge Kaeileen to find out just which one of them deserved the title of heir. She didn’t want to crush the company her parents had built, but if she could buy it and merge it with Deric’s company, she would be sitting on an empire that would make Salem Bellamy jealous.

There were no expectations or reasons to delay their merger. Deric became Deric Rivales, and Pia became vice president of his company. In order to become the Rivales heir, she would challenge her own rival Kaeileen and emerge the winner.

There was just one tiny problem with her plan. Shortly after her impromptu wedding, Pia realized that she wasn’t as finished with Rai as she’d been expecting. In fact, to her dismay, she was expecting and there could only be one father. Deric would understand, she was sure, but she was furious. How had she been so careless? Where had her plan failed? Things like this happened to people like Lucy, not to calm, rational people like Pia. Well, this complicated things.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

The gardens were blooming at the Mishra residence. Darcy kept a small, but fruitful garden that supplemented Wbuna’s cooking for the enormous household. Of Darcy and Adam’s two children, Mark was the one that took after his mother the most. Mark grew up helping his mother plant seeds and harvest vegetables, and had earned a bit of a green thumb himself. He was still a young teenager, just a handful of years older than his cousin Roman’s son, but he had already started dreaming of becoming a botanist like his mother. (Mark is older than Cain and Rose Rivales because I didn't replay the Rivales house until later on, even though I the 'canon' play rotation would make them much older than him)

Their crowded household often felt like an isolated island in Arkhelios to Mark and all the smaller children. They were a part of the Bellamy family in some way, but none of their parents acknowledged it. Omar and Adam were not fond of reminiscing about their childhood, and only visited the Bellamy house when Wanda put pressure on them, like she had for her Winterfest party. Wanda and Hunter usually came to visit the former Bellamys at their small home, and didn’t stay long enough to make an impact on the children. They were always friendly, and Wanda had promised to make time for any of her nieces and nephew if they needed it, but the Mishras and the Vybirlbhs remained intentionally distant from the Bellamy legacy.

The few times Roman graced his father with a visit were usually followed by hushed discussion among the adults and whispers of curiosity for the children. Roman was the Bellamy heir. Roman was in newspapers kissing queens and dukes, and wielding the forces of darkness to get what he wanted. His son was a bit of an asshole, but thankfully Roman didn’t bring him around that often now that Theo was in school. Roman himself didn’t come over often and when he did, it was usually to yell at his father. The kids had all seen pictures of him in his dark form despite their parents’ best efforts, and it had become a running dare among them to try to trigger Roman into shifting into it.

No one knew why Roman had showed up that afternoon, but the kids were all whispering conspiracies to each other. He’d brought his two daughters with him, and deposited them at the activity table to have a discussion with his father.

The girls looked friendlier than Theo, who always seemed to be glaring at them. While Luci and Addy dug into the provided blocks, the Mishras and Vybirlbhs slowly began to approach them. When they didn’t bite or glare at the other children like Theo always had, the twins were immediately accepted into the group. They didn’t talk in full sentences yet, so sadly none of the Bellamy outcasts got to ask them any of their many questions about everything their parents hid from them.

While the children were distracted, Roman sat beside his father, trying to find the right words. This wasn’t going to be an easy or pleasant conversation, but Roman had to have it. His grandparents were dead, and Adam and Hunter likely had no clue about the things Roman needed to know. It was either talking to his father or following even further down his grandmother’s path and holding a seance. He had never liked sitting in on Malika’s seances, and he wasn’t about to try it for himself any time soon. He needed his father.

“So,” Omar began, fidgeting a little in his seat. “I imagine you’re here for a reason. You never stop by unless you want something. What do you need now?”

Roman scoffed at his choice of words. This was already going terribly and they’d barely even said hello to each other.

“Now? You say that like you’ve given me something I’ve needed before today. I can’t even think of the last thing you’ve given me. Not even a present for your grandson for Winterfest.”

Omar folded his arms defensively, and Roman pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to manifest calm before things escalated.

“No, we’re not going there,” he declared. “This is too important to waste time arguing about little things.

“What do you need?” Omar asked. He’d been trying to think of anything of his that could matter enough to his son to set aside their differences. Adam was afraid that Theo was sick and needed some kind of compatible transplant from his grandfather. Omar’s guess was that Roman wanted some obscure trinket or heirloom from his grandparents that he would of course blame Omar for losing.

“I need you to tell me the truth for once,” Roman said slowly, trying to be calm while saying the words he needed to get out. “Tell me about Mom; anything about her. Where did you meet her? Where was your first date? Does she have any siblings? What drew you to her in the first place?”

Omar physically recoiled upon hearing the request. He didn’t have the greatest poker face at the best of times, let alone when he was thinking about his ex-wife.

“Why?” Omar searched his son’s face, looking for answers of his own.

Roman didn’t move, but Omar could practically feel the walls his son was raising against him. It was funny that Roman should be asking about his mother. Kamalani had been a master of walling him out of her life.

“Because I asked you to,” Roman stated coldly. “I deserve to know my own family history, and Grandma and Grandpa aren’t here to ask anymore. She was your wife, why can’t you tell me how you met?”

Omar thought it over for a moment, realizing that Wbuna was likely in the background criticizing his parenting skills. She didn’t understand the rift that had developed between him and his son, and frequently urged him to heal the relationship before it was too late and Roman stopped visiting altogether.

“I was introduced to her shortly after graduating high school,” he said slowly. “Tabitha had just cheated on me and I was heartbroken. I’d really thought that she was the one, and that I’d never be happy again. Your grandmother insisted on taking me to a local art exhibition to cheer me up. She introduced me to your mother. They were close, far closer than I’d ever seen my mother be with someone outside of the family. Your mother asked me out for coffee, and my mother accepted for me. So I went for coffee with her.”

“Grandma set you up?” Roman asked.

Wasn’t that convenient? His grandmother needed one of her children to carry on Kamalani’s bloodline for her curse against Abraham to work. It should have come as no surprise that she was the one who introduced his parents, especially after a break up when Omar was vulnerable. Was his grandmother also behind Tabitha’s cheating to force her son to be so pliable? Considering that Tabitha had cheated on Launce too, it wasn’t likely, but Roman had learned not to put anything past his grandmother.

“And you fell in love and started dating?” Roman pressed. “When did you ask her to marry you? Did you meet her father before you asked?”

Omar looked towards the kitchen with a pained look. He could do this for Wbuna’s sake. The last thing he wanted was to make her upset.

“You do know that your grandparents were arranged to be married by their families, right?” Omar asked and Roman shook his head.

“No, no one told me that. They were so in love though, Grandpa worshiped the ground Grandma walked on.”

Omar rolled his eyes.

“They fell in love after their wedding,” he clarified. “They were perfectly matched, and their love developed soon after. Your mother and I weren’t so lucky. My parents arranged a marriage between your mother and I, and I was so heartbroken about Tabitha, I agreed. I never met her father at all, but my parents apparently did. He didn’t even come to the wedding. I guess that should have been a red flag.”

Wbuna smiled, watching her husband let down a little of his guard for his son. She would bring those two together again if it took the rest of her life. There was no reason for a father not to reach out to a child that was asking for help.

“What was Grandma’s family like?” Roman asked, honestly curious. It wasn’t Salem’s side of the family that he was following in the footsteps of. How many of his ancestors embraced the supernatural, and what were they like? What kind of environment had produced a woman like Malika?

Omar shrugged.

“Cold, distant,” he replied. “They didn’t come over often, and my brothers and I got a card with five simoleons in it each year for Winterfest that supposedly came from my grandparents. I think my grandmother died when I was still in grade school because my mother actually took us to the funeral. I vaguely remember her mentioning that we had an aunt and uncle that we would meet at the funeral, but I don’t remember meeting them. I was just a kid.”

Roman frowned. There were relatives somewhere out there connected to his grandmother? That was a lead he was eager to chase down. Maybe Abe could help him sign up for one of those genealogy websites.

“Do you know Grandma’s maiden name? I’d really be curious to see if I could connect with some of her family.”

Omar chuckled a little at the question.

“Easy, it’s your last name,” he said, laughing despite himself at Roman’s double take.

“Grandma and Grandpa were related? Like cousins or something? Nothing closer than cousins, right?”

“Nothing like that,” Omar explained. “Even though we barely saw them, the Bellamys were apparently a big deal wherever they were from. Your grandfather took their name when their marriage was arranged. He made it some ridiculous thing that he had come from nothing and made a name for himself, when he’d married into money or power or whatever the Bellamys had that made them so great. He loved rubbing Abraham’s nose in it whenever he could. He was a Bellamy, and would lead his own little Bellamy clan to greatness as a proof that he deserved to marry into the family. It’s why your uncle and I changed our names when we got married. I guess that makes it a family tradition of sorts. The Bellamy name is tainted because of your grandfather and his aspirations. We’ve barely even met our mom’s family. It’s like she was ashamed of us or something, and we don’t need the baggage that comes with the name.”

“That’s why Grandpa didn’t remove me as the Bellamy heir,” Roman gasped, seeing the bigger picture that his grandparents had created clearly for once in his life. “Grandma spent years teaching me her family’s ways. She taught me everything and no one else. I’m not Salem Bellamy’s heir, I’m Malika Bellamy’s.”

“There’s really no difference,” Omar said, a little too snidely from years of being reminded that his son had more value to his parents than he did. “You were all either one of them wanted from the moment they knew we were pregnant. Ask either of your uncles. Our parents forgot we existed once you were born. Not that they had cared much about us before, but still. I don’t really miss having them around as terrible as that sounds.”

“I do,” Roman said quietly. “I mean, I miss Grandma mostly. Grandpa was kind of a dick, and I’ll never get over him trying to arrange a marriage for me behind my back while I was at school.”

If the subject of his father was going to be discussed, Omar was going to need a drink.

“He had a habit of doing that,” he sighed. “I went actually through with my arranged marriage. Yours might have been with an actual human though, not...not whatever your mother is.”

Roman had been so distracted picturing a larger Bellamy family that would embrace the parts of him the rest of Arkhelios were reluctant to, that he’d forgotten the urgency of his visit. It wasn’t his fault that his father and uncles treated family history like state secrets.

“You’ve never met any of Mom’s family? Even when I was born?” he pressed.

“Not until they invaded our home and tried to murder me,” Omar snapped, reaching his limit of painful memories for the day. “She just said they weren’t close and I believed her because why shouldn’t I believe my wife? Until she walked out on me and tried to kill me the moment she came back. If I ever mysteriously disappear some day, she’ll be the one to blame, mark my words. It’s like she finds the fact that I’m alive offensive or something. She has to erase all the evidence that she ever lowered her standards to marry me, even though she’s the one who negotiated the engagement. She’s the one who humiliated me in front of everyone, I was trying to make things work.”

“Where was she from?” Roman continued to press, seeing the irritation in his father’s face and continuing to push his luck. “Did she ever talk about her family? How old is she? Why was I an only child? Do you ever have dreams about her?”

“I think that’s enough for today,” Omar groaned. “None of this is particularly pleasant to dwell on for too long. Let’s go find Wbuna and spend some time with your sisters. We can be a family. Leave the past with the dead and come make new memories with us.”

“I can’t,” Roman replied quickly. “I need to know everything I can about our family. About what I’m facing. Abe is in danger if I can’t protect him. Probably a lot of other people too.”

“Knowing silly things like your mother’s age and favourite colour won’t make a difference,” Omar chided. “Your mother’s gone, and Abe is going to be fine. You’ve been hanging around the Helios family too long. Some of their paranoia is starting to rub off on you.”

“What?”

The last thing Roman expected was to be scolded for trusting the instincts of a family that had done nothing but support him. Elaine wasn’t some gossip spreading lies about the Bellamys; she was a smart, cunning woman who knew when she was being threatened. All of Roman’s nightmares screamed to him about danger. What did this buffoon in a kitschy sweater know about danger? About loss?

“Dad, I need your help,” Roman pleaded. “This isn’t trivial. I don’t have time to sit around playing board games with children. My children are in danger. I’ve already buried one husband, and I wake up every day knowing that if I can’t do something now, I’ll be burying another. I don’t sleep at night, and when I do, the most horrible things run through my head. I’ve talked to doctors, professors, monarchs, you name it. None of them had answers, so I’m asking you. Please, be my father. Tell me what I need to know. Help me.”

Omar tried to process this information. For what it was worth, Roman really did look terrified. This probably wasn’t some lie he was making up for pity or attention like Omar would usually assume.

“Roman, you need to walk away from this,” Omar urged in what he hoped was a kind voice. “Let your mother go. Let your grandparents go. Stop chasing ghosts and come be a part of our family. We love you. Everyone here would love to see you and Abe and the kids visit more often.”

“This isn’t some game,” Roman continued to plead. “I’m asking you as your son to help me save your grandchildren. Just tell me about Mom. What was she like to live with? Did she have any secrets stashed away in a box that you’ve found?”

“Roman, stop!”

Omar’s voice rang through the house, disturbing the nearby children and causing Wbuna to step out of the kitchen she was eavesdropping from to frown at him.

“I can’t give you what you want!” he shouted. “I don’t know anything about your mother! I don’t know anything about the things you talk about, and I don’t want to. Why do you have to be like this? Why stick your nose where it doesn’t belong? Why chase after dangerous people who have never loved you when you have a family right here in front of you? Why can’t you just be normal?”

Roman reacted as if he’d been physically struck. The pain he felt rising in his chest certainly felt real enough. His hands balled into fists as he forced down the tears that threatened to betray just how hurt he felt.

“I’ll go,” he said quietly, standing from the couch to go collect his daughters. “I don’t know why I thought you could help me. I guess I was desperate and thought that maybe you’d changed over time.”

“Roman,” Omar said, trying to reach out for his son, wishing he could retract his outburst. Wbuna was glaring daggers at him across the room. “I didn’t mean- I just get so afraid and- you don’t have to go. Roman, stay. We’ll keep talking.”

“I’m sorry that I make you uncomfortable,” Roman stated, scooping a toddler in each arm. They were starting to get heavy to carry both at the same time. “I didn’t choose to be like this, but you know, neither did my son. Theo scares the shit out of me sometimes with what power he may be capable of, or how quickly he lashes out when he’s upset. We had to take him out of school recently in case he started fires if he got upset. He has a dark form that looks as intimidating as my grandfather’s and Abe cried when I told him that. We’re scared too. We wish things were different all the time. The one thing we will never stop doing though is supporting and loving our son for who he is. I’m sorry for thinking that you could feel the same way about me.”

Without another word, Roman and the twins had vanished in a puff of smoke. All of the children looked entranced by the display of any kind of magic and began whispering new ideas about their fantastical cousin/brother. The look Wbuna gave her husband was filled with anger and disappointment. Once Rosemary heard about this, Omar was sure that he was going to be sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future.

[luverofralts]

Post Arkhelios

After a quick plane ride home from Pleasantview, Salem is forced to interact with the children who aren’t as devoted to his cause as Roman. After he rescinded the money he gave Adam for the house, Salem had expected his son to come crawling back with legal documents declaring him a Bellamy again. Instead, Adam had reached out to his brother Omar, and together with Omar’s divorce settlement, they had enough money to secure a pretty good mortgage. It would be enough for Adam and Darcy, and Omar, Wbuna and Rosemary to start their own families in. Malika didn’t approve of her husband’s actions, and now that the boys were happy and secure, she was determined to keep her husband in line before he did anything else stupid. So while Malika helped Wbuna in the kitchen, Salem held Mark Mishra and tried not to scowl at his daughters-in-law.

Omar’s relationship with his partners was a bit unconventional, but it was good to see him smile again. Malika was still getting used to having two pregnant daughters-in-law, but she was excited to have more grandchildren running around. She could be wrong, but she was convinced that Salem was maybe, somewhat close to thinking of accepting Omar’s relationship. Malika was trying her best to work on him, but the boys teaming up and discarding the Bellamy name had injured Salem’s pride in a way she hadn’t been able to fix.

Darcy was also pregnant again now that they were certain that they had a roof over their heads. Everyone was excited for another Mishra, except of course for Salem.

Omar wants to make his relationship with his partners official and rushes back into a marriage. Because Arkhelios was founded on personal freedom, and I have a polyamorous mod, the three marry and officially form the Vybirlbh family. Malika, Adam and Hunter attend, and Salem sends a card on his way to “check in with the city council”.

To add to the chaotic household, Adam soon discovers that he’s also pregnant. Wbuna may have tried her hand at being a pollination technician and weirder things have happened in Arkhelios.

Despite the string of unsolved murders, life in Arkhelios becomes almost peaceful. Every day Melvin Hydes works to find the killer of Abraham, Peggy and Zane, but nothing has happened for months now, and people begin to feel safe again. The Mishras prepare for their new baby, and Omar prepares to go back to changing diapers again. It’s been a long time since Roman was a baby after all.

In the chaos of all his life changes, Omar neglects to keep his son up to date, as he assumed Roman was being kept informed by his grandfather. Since Roman has always been close to his uncle Adam, he makes time to give him a call. However, it’s not Adam that answers the phone.

“Who is this?”

“Oh hi Roman, this is Wbuna speaking. Your uncle isn’t home at the moment.”

“Wbuna? Alex’s girlfriend? Why are you answering Adam’s phone?”

“Because I live here, silly. With your dad and Rosemary.”

“With my what??”

“We moved in after the wedding. I thought your grandfather told you. You were invited.”

“WEDDING??”

“Your dad says hi, and to keep your grades up. You have to set a good example for your little siblings when they’re born.”

“Siblings??”

After receiving a distressing long distance call from Roman, Salem shows up to yell at his boys. Roman is the future of the Bellamy family, as he and Hunter are the only ones with the name left. It wasn’t Salem’s fault that the wedding invitation never made it to Pleasantview, or that Omar’s number somehow ended up blocked on Roman’s phone. Roman can’t be distracted from securing Arkhelios’ future and the Bellamy legacy, and really isn’t Omar the one at fault for letting all this happen?

Some days Salem doesn’t know why he tries so hard to help Arkhelios. Nobody listens to him and it’s really starting to piss him off.