#maura siew

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

When Maura opened her eyes, she didn't recognize the room she was standing in. It wasn't in the cottage or the palace. She was somewhere completely unknown to her. Where had she just been? Her brain scrambled, trying to piece together the last thing she remembered. She had been at the cottage, wasn't she? She had been talking to Adrian about parenting his strange little girl and laughing at how frustrated he felt. If one of her children could predict the future, Maura would be ecstatic instead of worried. Still, Rien was an unsettling child, even Maura could admit it. Honestly, she blamed that on Roman being her father. The poor girl was a Bellamy and even the Siew family genetics couldn't change that. There were Siews whose behaviour belonged in a horror movie, but they were never the haunted little girl that Adrianne appeared to be.

Speaking of horror movies, the decor of wherever Maura was seemed to fit right in a creepy movie. Skeletal figures and cloaked, robed beings were scattered across the room, making Maura feel like she was in some kind of evil cult building. Strangetown's coven had once worshiped and attempted to murder Death. Was this their second try? Had Edana lost her mind and followed her brother's path or was this the work of someone new? Why would Strangetown even care about the queen of Twikkii Island? This had better not be Claudia's idea of a joke. It would be just like Claudia to try to teach her cousin some misguided lesson about security or covens or whatever else Claudia had on her mind.

"Claudia? This isn't funny. You're not going to creep me out with some Gothic Halloween decorations. How did you even get me here? We promised to never use our security teams against each other, remember? Come on."

"I'm glad to hear that you and your cousin are still close. Our lives are lonely, and we need to keep our family near."

Maura spun around to face the voice coming from the next room. It was impossible. It couldn't be. It would have to be either a miracle or a tragedy for the owner of that voice to be standing behind her.

"M-Mom? Is that you?"

Impossibly, Cherry Siew, former queen of Twikkii Island, was standing in the same room as Maura for the first time in years. This wouldn't ordinarily be impossible, except for the fact that Cherry had died, leaving the throne to her daughter.

"Maura, I'm so sorry to see you here," the dead queen began. "It's so good to see you, though. I've missed you."

"Mom?"

Maura launched herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around the woman she missed every single day. She hadn't realized how much her mother had meant to her until she had been taken from her.

"You look so grown up and mature," Cherry said, holding her daughter just as tightly. "The crown hasn't crushed your spirit as I feared it might. You are carrying our family legacy well and making us all so happy."

Maura froze at these words, once again concerned about her location.

"Is this a dream? It has to be. I'm dreaming. You can't say things like this outside of dreams, you're gone. This is just me trying to rationalize the stress I've been under and fantasizing about parental acceptance. This is a weird dream though. I don't think I've ever dreamt of this place before."

"Honey, you're not dreaming. I know you're stubborn and strong-willed, but you need to accept this. You're not dreaming. You're between realms. You're dying."

Maura pulled away from her mother in an instant, suddenly taking notice of her surroundings and trying to guess where she was really being held.

"This is a trick! Who put you up to this? How did you find someone who looks so much like my mom? Tell me where I am!"

"Honey, you need to calm down. This is real and you need to listen to me. I'm here on behalf of our family. When someone dies, their soul is brought here to the office of the Grim Reaper, where they are greeted by their loved ones and introduced to eternity. Your grandmother wanted to come as well, but I overruled her. I know how you two always struggled to get along, and perhaps selfishly, I wanted you all to myself. I wanted to see the woman you've become in my absence."

All of the well reasoned arguments Maura tried to raise died under the withering glare of her mother. There was no denying that this was the same woman who could silence Maura’s childish antics while fidgeting during a royal speech with a single look. Too much evidence was piling up and it all appeared to be confirming Maura’s worst fears. If this wasn't a dream, Maura should still have a baby bump. She should be at the cottage. She wouldn't be seeing the very real ghost of her mother.

"I-I don't want to be dead," Maura whimpered. "I have so much to do still. I have a family. This has to be a mistake."

"None of that matters when it's your time," Cherry said softly. "We all had plans for how our lives would be, and being queen doesn't mean much against eternity. But honey, your life is still being written. You're dying, yes, but there is hope. You're not bound to this place yet. I'm speaking with you as a courtesy of the Grim Reaper."

"I...I'm not dead?"

Cherry shook her head. Maura had always struggled to pay attention growing up; it seemed like it was something she still struggled with.

"No, not yet at least. Your name hasn't been written in the lists of the Grim Reaper, but your body is damaged enough for your spirit to drift here. I was asked to greet you because your spirit wasn't the only one to travel here. Maura, I know this will come as an unwelcome shock, but there were casualties at the event where you were attacked. Alysiara and Spencer came to me earlier. Unlike you, their names are on the list of the lost. They wanted to say their goodbyes before joining our family in eternity."

"What? No. No, that's impossible. Those are my children. Children aren't supposed to die! Tell the Grim Reaper to fix it!"

"Mommy!"

Two familiar voices rang through the hall, breaking Maura’s heart. Those were undeniably her children, here in the realm of the dead. Her children were dead. How was she supposed to process this? How were her other children? Was Ulyssa safe? Were they at war in the living realm? She had to get back there and save her people, but she couldn't leave her children here.

"Spencer! You look so big! I love you so much." Maura wrapped her arms around her son, hugging him tightly. Behind him, Alysiara waited to do the same.

"You can look however you want here!" Spencer exclaimed. "I can look like a grown-up, but Grandma said it might be too much for you to see right now. Grandma's really nice."

"I know," Maura said numbly. "She's my mommy. She took great care of me, just like I'm sure she'll do for you."

It was all too surreal to process. Her mother, standing in front of her and two of her children, waiting to return to Cherry's side in what was apparently the world between life and death. She still half believed that this was all some kind of nightmare.

"Alysiara!" Maura hugged her oldest daughter fiercely. Alysiara remained the same as Maura remembered, with no sudden growth spouts like her brother. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you and-and that's the very first thing I promised to do as soon as I held both of you for the first time. This can't be happening! I...I just can't."

"We'll be okay," Alysiara promised her distraught mother. "Grandma has a lot of things to show us while we wait for you and Mommy to join us. I have a million people to meet, and they do parties here too. I can have a ball every day if I want and I don't even have to make a dress for it. You just think about what you want really hard, and it shows up. Spencer’s eaten a tub of ice cream already because he could. I'm going to ride a horse when you leave. No, actually, I think I'll ride a unicorn. I'm going to have my own castle now, filled with anything I want. You and Mommy can visit when you join us."

Cherry looked apologetically at her daughter.

"When children die, they assume an ageless consciousness, just like the rest of us," she explained, wrapping an arm around her grandson to keep him from running off. "It doesn't always kick in automatically. They'll be more mature once they get settled, but until then, there's no harm in unicorn racing. I promise that I'll take good care of them for you. I'll make sure that they're happy."

Maura wept for what felt like an eternity. She couldn't leave her children or accept their deaths. She also couldn't leave her living children and Ulyssa. She was torn between two realms, even if she knew where she truly belonged. She needed to guide her nation, at least until Adrion was able to succeed her, and she couldn't face a life without her remaining family that needed her in the living world. From the sound of it, the Grim Reaper didn't seem to expect her to die any time soon, so Maura prepared herself to leave her two children and her mother behind. She didn't want to, but it didn't seem like she was being given many options.

Maura thought of all the good times that she had shared with her mother and how often she longed to just sit down and chat with her about all the difficult things about being a queen and a mother. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed having her mother to bounce ideas off of until it was too late.

But wait. While Maura thought about losing her mother, she couldn't help but remember the difficulty of losing another parent.

"Where's Dad?" Maura blurted out. "I mean, if you're here and Grandma's here, then Dad has to be here too. Why didn't you invite him here? I want to see him too, even if it's only for a minute."

Cherry's posture immediately changed at the mention of her husband. She went from apologetic and soft to closed off.

"Your father's not here, Maura," Cherry said coldly.

"What? Where is he then? Is there anywhere else he could be? Could he be the in Void like Adrian was?"

"I don't know, and every reaper I've asked has refused to tell me. Dead people they can track, but living people? That's not their jurisdiction."

"Living people?" Maura repeated, horrified. "No, Grandma killed him. She didn't think he was right for a consort."

"My mother didn't kill my husband!" Cherry snapped. Her raised voice caused her grandchildren to flinch. "Your father was presumed dead and then declared dead so that I could remarry."

"Yeah, 'declared' dead so that you could find a new husband that Grandma approved of," Maura scoffed. "Convenient."

A darkness passed over Cherry's face that Maura had only seen when she was about to be grounded for a month as a child.

"Maura, I will not get into this while your children are here and still getting settled in. I have always told you the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not. Your father was declared dead after he left for a conference in Pleasantview and never arrived. We searched for months with the joined forces of Pleasantview and Twikkii Island. You were too young to remember that, but you can check the records yourself. My mother declared him dead after a year of searching to smooth things over with Pleasantview, seeing as he was en route there when he disappeared and some people were becoming suspicious. The Red Queen was also psychotic, Maura. We would have done anything to avoid a war with her, and you would have done the same. And yes, I wanted it to be over after months of searching. I wanted to marry the love of my life, and that wasn't your father. Iris and I were in love, and your father and I were planning to divorce. I'm sorry that I never told you that, Maura, but it's true. I never wanted to hurt you because you always spoke of your father like he was your hero and was special to you. You deserved closure and not the unhealable open wound of having a father who was missing. I tried to protect you. We all honestly thought that he was dead. The Red Queen wasn't known for keeping prisoners."

"Dad is still alive," Maura mumbled, her mind trying its hardest to piece together this new information but failing. "All these years. He could have come to my wedding and held my children when they were born. He could have walked me down the aisle. He could have called me up last week just to talk. Is he being held captive? He didn't abandon me if he's been a prisoner this whole time. I need to talk to Claudia. Maybe she has access to the Red Queen's secret diary where she confesses to kidnapping my dad!"

"Maura, don't pursue it," Cherry ordered. "Nothing good can come of this. Guide your people out of danger. Raise your children. Live your life. You can always talk to your father when you're both dead. He could be anywhere."

"How can I not?" Maura demanded. "He could be withering away in a prison cell somewhere. He could need my help. I'm sure he didn't leave us on purpose, even if you were going to divorce him. He wouldn't abandon me."

In a distant room, a large clock tolled, snapping Cherry's focus back to the matter she came to discuss.

"That's the end of your time here," she explained sadly. "I wish I could stay longer, but the kids need to get settled and you cannot stay forever in between realms. I love you. Never forget that. Don't worry about Alysiara and Spencer. They'll be happy with the family waiting for you here. I love you."

Within a blink of an eye, Maura’s mother and children vanished from sight, leaving Maura alone in this strange waiting room. She sobbed harder than she ever had in her life. For her two lost children. For the reminder of the hole in her life where her mother had been. For the cruel knowledge that her father was alive and yet absent from her life. Maura felt like curling up on the floor in the fetal position and never getting up again. Her entire life had been ruined over the course of an afternoon family barbecue, and there was no saving it. All she could do was what she always did in tough times: keep fighting until the painful knot in her stomach went away.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"If you're lying to me," Maura began. "That makes me the idiot wife who believed her cheating husband's ludicrous excuse of 'magic made me do it'."

"I'm not lying," Evren assured her.

"If you're telling me the truth," Maura continued on. "That makes me the cruel wife who blamed my husband after he was..." She swallowed, tears forming in her eyes. "After his mind was..."

[nappe-plays-the-sims]

Nothing ever goes wrong in @arkhelios-gameplay and they're going to live happily ever after!

[potential-fate]

“I uh… I thought you’d like it?” He said uncertainly. 

“No it’s nice, I’m not complaining.” Callum brushed their noses together to drive home his point. 

“Oh, okay.” Abe smiled back, “Okay, good. Good.” 

He didn’t need to think about Roman and his stupid new friends. He was having fun with his boyfriend. Here, in the same club, sure. Where he felt completely out of place, while Roman seemed completely at home across the room. But that didn’t matter. He was fine. This was what he wanted. He’d made his choices. None of that mattered. If it showed that he was distracted, Callum didn’t seem to notice. Instead, the blonde tangled his fingers in his hair and pulled him into another kiss. Abe willed himself to actually get lost in it like he wanted to. 

When they broke apart again, the group of strangers Abe was not at all interested in had disappeared again. 

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"What do you think Ulyssa's going to talk about today?" Adrian asked wearily. "Yesterday's briefing on garden maintenance was something else."

"She's just working on the easiest tasks in the court records," Trent replied. "Give her a break. I'd pick garden maintenance over the budget allotted for defense too. She's trying her best."

"And you're being too generous. Ulyssa is just fine at making decisions. She's certainly made some big ones in recent history."

"And there it is," Trent sighed. "You do know that you're not still married to Roman, right? He didn't cheat on you with Ulyssa, though you certainly act like you were the injured party. It's not like you're not benefitting from the queen regent. You did recieve the notice about Adrienne, haven't you?"

Adrian groaned, remembering the gold lettered notice that had been directly delivered to the house from the palace.

"Ulyssa's gone too far. I haven't told Roman yet, because I know that Maura will shut that down the instant she wakes up. Making Roman's daughter a princess? It's unheard of and will only draw attention. People haven't forgotten her affair with the man, and making Rien a rank higher than her sister and her father will only look like favouritism and a desperate attempt to win back Roman."

"I'll keep that in mind. I wasn't intending to lust after Roman with my actions, but seeing as you're something of an expert on that subject, I'll be more careful in the future."

Adrian and Trent froze in place, mortified to be caught gossiping by the true monarch of Twikkii Island.

"Your Majesty," they said in unison, bowing their heads respectfully and hoping that she hadn't been standing behind them for too long.

"Adrian, I would have thought that you had better political instincts than this," Maura chided her cousin, gingerly sitting on a nearby lounger. "Rien saved my life and likely those of several of my children. There is no greater noble rank than duchess that I could elevate her to without making her her sister's equal. The last time I checked, Luciana hasn't provided the Crown with patriotic service, and her sister has. The two girls are, therefore, not equal to each other and Rien must be raised higher to compensate. When you have to bow to your daughter at royal events, perhaps you'll remember her service and endeavor to act like she would."

Adrian remained silent, bowing his head. The queen was truly back and she was pissed. It didn't matter how well Adrian had acted in the heat of battle, Maura had to punish him and likely anyone else she blamed for the loss of her children. Adrian could understand that need, even if he couldn't defend it.

"As always, you are wise," he replied formally. "I'm sure that Adrienne will continue to serve the crown loyally."

"Gentlemen, do we have any leads about this unprovoked attack on our great nation? Maura informed me that there were bodies recovered."

"Unidentified still, I'm afraid," Adrian answered. "Crystal Cove has granted us emergency access to their genetic database, but nothing came of it. There was a weak match, but the comparison DNA was too degraded to identify it. The Pleasantview coven is working on a magical solution."

"How nice of Claudia. I'm sure that she'll ask us nothing in return for this help."

"How are you feeling?" Trent asked carefully. "I wasn't informed that you were conscious. We've all been so worried."

A dark look passed over Maura’s face, but a small smile graced her lips.

"I was cleared to return to work early this morning. Ulyssa has done her best, but this situation needs an expert to handle it."

"Shouldn't you be resting? You almost died, Maura. Are you in pain? Do you need us to get you anything? You can take the day off and spend it with your children. No one would think less of you if you did."

"My children need to see action being taken to protect them. They need to see how a monarch devotes themselves to their country. I'll have all evening to spend with them, but first, I have to do my duty and keep them and everyone else safe. Get me everything you can on the DNA match from Crystal Cove. I can ask Claudia for the coven's report, but I want to see to scientific results myself."

"Of course," Adrian said quickly. It wasn't technically his job to prepare data for the queen, but he would do it anyway. The job of a duke was to serve the crown however they could after all. Maura had teams of researchers and experts, but maybe she was distrustful of non family members at the moment. Adrian certainly couldn't blame her for that.

Maura was silent for a moment, clearly weighing her next words carefully.

"I don't know where my father is buried. If he was buried, that is. I need to know where his grave or remains are or any monument currently standing in his memory. I need the records of who paid for any memorial for him or any artists commissioned to make a monument. I need his itinerary for the day he went missing and where he was last seen. Get Crystal Cove to run a search in their genetic database using a sample that I'm sure they have from me. I want to know where his DNA shows up. Does he have siblings, cousins, or even other children? If they won't grant the search, use Claudia's name and I'm sure they'll comply with our requests. And gentlemen, this is to stay between the three of us. No one can know that I am asking for this. If anyone does ask, say that it is because I am planning my own chamber in the family mauseolem, and I want my father added to rest next to my children. If they ask about the DNA, say that it's Claudia's idea, and I'd imagine most people won't challenge you further."

"Your father?" Adrian repeated. "That should be easy enough. I'll make some calls."

"I'd appreciate it, along with your discretion. This is a sensitive matter, unrelated to our terrorists. After my brush with death, I just have some personal questions I need to answer."

"I'll see you tomorrow. I need to cut things here short for another appointment. Remember, be discrete."

Maura paused for a moment.

"Thank you two for doing what you did at the cottage. My life was saved because you two acted swiftly and took control of the situation. You did good work and helped carry Ulyssa through her duties as regent afterward. I trusted you with my life, and you protected me. However, so did Spencer and Alysiara, and you failed them completely. If anything else happens, and my children are hurt again, there will be consequences. You're dismissed."

Adrian and Trent rose and tried to leave Maura’s sight as quickly as they could. Her mixed message of gratefulness and anger wasn't something they wanted to continue to hear. Both of them would try to fulfill her requests, as far away from her as possible, until the queen's mood settled. She was enduring a senseless loss and coming to terms with nearly dying herself in a similar manner to how she lost her mother. It would take a long time for Maura to completely heal from this dark period in her life, and until she had, her half-brother and cousin planned to stay out of her line of fire.

As Maura began her slow descent to the throne room to openly hold court, a visitor to the castle strained their ears, hoping to pick up any gossip that might be travelling around the many rooms.

It was all above board, of course. The general agreement stated that when Lukas approached a building owned by a monarchy in the living world, they would present themselves in their female form, so that palace security had ample time to identify them. Lukas' female form had been gained after their second reincarnation as an abandoned infant. They had been raised without their memories as a regular human child in an orphanage in Crystal Cove. Because they did not recover their memories until they were a teenager, Crystal Cove had Lukas' fingerprints, DNA, and medical records as they would any other orphan in their system. After Lukas nearly toppled the Crystal Cove monarchy as a young teen, security had been put in place against them, assuming that they could not take another form outside of their reincarnated female body. Lukas proved them all wrong once they came into their full power as an adult and could switch between their various reincarnations at will, making the monarchies tremble at the thought of a god they had no leverage on, who made no secret of their desire to rule the living world even of it was not allowed. All the living world had against Lukas was the information collected on their female form, and Izanami had encouraged his spouse to make some silly peace deal with them under threat of divorce. He really gave the humans too much credit.

Lukas had spent their entire existence sneaking around the living world and influencing certain events to their benefit. Even a known security profile couldn't slow them down, as much as the humans hoped it would.

Lukas needed every piece of information they could gather about the attack on the Twikkii Island monarchy. It was their job to maintain order in the living world and prevent dark forces from tipping that balance to their husband's realm. Death was separate but equal to Life, and balance must always be upheld between the two. A mysterious attack mirroring the murder of the previous queen was something that might just tip those scales, and Lukas needed to know why. Strangely enough, none of the humans seemed to want to help them gain this knowledge, so what other choice did Lukas have but to sneak around palaces, maybe "borrowing" some new earrings if they had time?

To Maura’s relief, the first person to appear before her throne was Claudia, who had insisted that court be canceled for the rest of the day so that two monarchs could address their nations' security. Maura didn't have the patience to hear from strangers when her energy was already starting to fade. The doctors had warned her not to push herself, and Claudia's arrival had been the perfect excuse to retreat back to a comfy chair and ignore the rest of the world.

"You look better than I'd expected," Claudia began, eyeing her cousin with worry. "I know Mom and Dad said that you weren't scheduled to die, but you gave us all quite a scare."

"How do you think I feel? I thought I was dying. My two children are dead. My...."

Maura trailed off, unsure of what she wanted to say to her cousin. Claudia was her best friend and her family, but she also ruled the most dangerous country to exist in modern times. But there were also things that only Claudia could tell her, and Maura needed answers.

"Claudia, I know we have to talk about how we're going to move forward from this attack on a national level, but there are...things that I need to discuss with you on a personal level. Some things that only you can answer. Can I trust you not to breathe a word about this to anyone?"

Claudia looked intrigued at the question, but didn't immediately say no.

"Even Miruna? I try to make a habit of not lying to my future wife, but if it's that important, I may make an exception. Is it important?"

Maura nodded quickly, only to discover that moving her head too fast was still painful.

"It is, but Miruna is trustworthy, and she might know a magical solution," Maura conceded. "I don't even know where to start. All of this has just been one giant nightmare that never seems to end. When...when I was unconscious, I dreamt that I saw my mother. Or maybe I did see her, I have no idea what's true or not. But she had Alysiara and Spencer with her and when I woke up, it was true that they had died, so maybe that proves that my dream was something else entirely."

Claudia leaned back in her chair, absorbing her cousin's words before composing her reply.

"You were dying," she confirmed darkly. "For the longest time, we weren't sure that you would make it. My parents didn't have a concrete answer on your condition for days. From what they've always told me, the dying can end up in the afterlife prematurely, visit, and then return to the living. It doesn't happen often, but it's not unheard of. Your experience is probably genuine from what I've learned from having two reapers for parents. What did your mom say? Did she reveal the names of her killers? Maybe something scandalous about the family? I mean, the Siews have always had money, maybe Grandma buried secret treasure just like the Darktides of old. That would be a twist."

"Claudia, I'm being serious," Maura insisted. "There was no treasure, no ID on any of her killers, nothing. No, it was worse. She said that my dad’s still alive."

"No!" Claudia gasped, looking just like she had as a teenager when they'd play Truth or Dare. "But Grandma killed him, I thought. She never denied it and I thought for sure that she-"

"Nope. They declared him missing and then dead so that my mom could get remarried," Maura confided. "I have Adrian and Trent digging through records and investigating what they can, but it was a long time ago. I might need your help with some of it."

"My help? Sure, but I can't ask my parents to confirm if he's alive or not. They get pissy when you try to get a simple yes or no answer from them about dead people. Well, so-called dead people in this case."

"No, it's not your parents who can help, but the queen of Pleasantview," Maura replied, her eyes pleading with her cousin for help. "My mother said that the Red Queen might have been involved. He was headed for Pleasantview when he went missing and she was a psychopath, so maybe there's something there."

Maura held her breath, hoping that Claudia wouldn't find the question and implications about the country she ruled offensive. To her relief, Claudia laughed.

"Oh, god, yeah, that's a fair assumption. I don't think we've even scratched the surface on half the shit she did. I assume you want me to confirm or deny her involvement?" Maura nodded. "I'll have my best researchers on it. I'll lie to them about why, of course, but I simply don't have the time to do it myself. I've been rather busy these last few days trying to calm the global community down."

Lukas frowned. The queen's father? How was that relevant? It likely wasn't, and Queen Maura was just venting after her visit to the afterlife. It was fair for her to do, as annoying as Lukas found it. Mortals always got emotional when they first glimpsed the existence waiting for them after death. Still, this sounded like it could be juicy gossip, even if it didn't help Lukas' plans.

"Is that all you learned from your visit? It must have been incredible to see the realm of the dead. My parents talk about its beauty all the time."

"It was...memorable," Maura replied. "I think I was just in the welcoming center. Lots of skeletal decorations and unsettling things as far as the eye can see. I think I'd rather spend a few more decades in this realm, thanks."

"It's hard to believe that one day, this realm won't be ours to protect. When we're dead, what will we do with all our free time? No more long meetings or ceremonies that seem to last forever. I can't imagine it."

Maura smiled thinly.

"It's too recent a possibility for me to think about. I plan to keep those meetings for as long as I can. Adrion would probably prefer it that way."

"Right, sorry. I was raised by dead people, I have no sense of normal boundaries. Let's just move on from that entirely then. I'll search my records for your dad, and we'll regroup later. How are you managing otherwise? Is there anything you need help with? Purely out of cousinly love, I promise. I swear to god Ulyssa thought I was trying to steal your silverware the way she was watching me. The last thing I need is to conquer a kingdom where the monarchs seem to be targets."

Maura shot her cousin a look that conveyed her disapproval of that last sentence, but Claudia seemed oblivious.

"Oh yes, I've been bombarded with information all morning to catch up, but Ulyssa mentioned something unusual to me," Maura said. "Something about you buying a bedroom in the cottage? Right after an attack that could have killed any one of us, you suddenly want a legal piece of that lot. Why? What possible use do you have with a part ownership in our family cottage? And don't day that it's part of a cunning invasion plan, I'm really not in the mood for jokes."

Claudia smiled, suddenly very interested in their conversation.

"Oh, that. That is part of a cunning plan, though not for invasion. It's for protection. I own most of Pleasantview, a tower in Crystal Cove, the ruins of Sedona, and now part of a royal property in Twikkii Island. I just need something in Strangetown, but honestly, who needs Strangetown? Even when Empress Anastacia ruled the Crystal Empire, Strangetown was the lone hold out. They like being alone on the global stage, so let them protect themselves. It doesn't matter if they're my mom's family or not."

"And your plan is? My painkillers are wearing off, Claudia. You're going to have to skip over your distain for your great-uncle and his weird beliefs."

"Right. Well, you know that I've been following Theo's magical career and helping when I can, right? He's truly talented, and the coven expects great things from him. I was reading a progress report on him a while ago, and it all just suddenly seemed too obvious. Maura, I've been to the archives where they will search for your father's records. I've spent days living in there, pouring over what's possible and what's been done in the past. In the old days, Tredony not only survived, but thrived because of magic. Ancient magic. Blood magic."

"Oh my god, Claudia," Maura groaned, suddenly feeling a headache start in her already sore head. "What have you done? Blood magic? Are you serious? You know that they stopped teaching that for a reason, right? Didn't they have to dust off books in some dark, guarded crypt for Theo to learn from? If no other sensible demon practices blood magic these days, why should you?"

"Because Theo can control it," Claudia replied quickly. "Because no one else uses it, so they can't undo it. Because it's something whoever is after our family can't manipulate. It will keep us safe. It turned the small nation of Tredony into the powerhouse Pleasantview is today. Even Miruna supports this plan, and she's seen what Theo can do."

"Even if I thought that this was a good idea, how the hell does blood magic figure into your land buying spree? If you've somehow destroyed the cottage even more than it already has been this week with strange magic, my mom might just visit me again as a ghost and murder me herself. I'm supposed to protect it as strongly as I would the palace. I swore an oath as queen to keep it for future generations to enjoy."

"And you are," Claudia insisted. "We are. Blood magic needs names and titles, and ownership of something to be effective. You have to throw yourself fully in the spell for it to work. You give up a part of yourself. You show the world a part of you and bind magic to it. To protect something, you have to claim ownership, that it's now a part of yourself that you can wield."

Maura stared at her cousin, trying to follow her logic. She read reports about Theo from her international security team, but there was very little included about how magic worked.

"You know that Roman and Abe got demon married, right?" Claudia explained with a sigh. Maura looked like this was new information to her, though Claudia doubted it was. "In demonic marriage, you give up a part of yourself and receive a part of your partner in exchange. You cut a part of yourself out and bind it with magic, and in turn, you receive ownership of a piece of your partner. You sacrifice something to own that you want to control. I own parts of various countries and can therefore cast magic on them. I can protect what I need to protect, and help the innocent people that I don't actually rule at the same time."

Maura tried not to visibly recoil at this admission.

"So, you owning a piece of the cottage will let you cast blood magic to protect it? God, Claudia! What if you're wrong? What if someone can undo your magic some day? Every living soul outside of Strangetown could be at Theo's mercy if he ever decided to stage a coup and never even know about it!"

"Victoriana is his sister by blood," Claudia replied soothingly. "My heirs will share blood with him every generation after I'm gone. From what I'm told by the coven, this makes a very large difference magically. It'll be fine."

"Well, at least you only have your hands on the cottage," Maura sighed, rubbing her temples. "At least the palace is safe from your scheme."

When Claudia didn't immediately agree with her, a familiar sinking feeling washed over Maura.

"The palace is safe, correct?"

"Well, it is because of my magic," Claudia replied cheerfully. "Theo and I paid a visit to the palace while you recovered, so it should be safe from now on."

"Did Ulyssa sell you the palace too?!"

"Uh, well, technically, I already do own the palace," Claudia offered, earning a glare from her cousin. "I am the living heir of the oldest heir of our grandmother, and with that blood claim, magic actually sees me as the true queen of Twikkii Island."

"It what?! What the hell are you playing at? I'm the legal queen!"

"Legal, yes, but not magically legitimate. Magic operates by strange rules, you know that. Someone pulls one sword from a stone, and they're magically legitimate. You don't need to throw a fit about it."

"And Victoriana is going to magically inherit my throne instead of Adrion? She'll have blood magic control of the security of my nation and Adrion won't?"

"Maybe?"

Lukas glanced around them, hoping that the raised voices didn't attract unwanted attention. So far, very little of their eavesdropping was relevant. The laws of magic weren't unknown to the deity, but it was still good to have confirmation that Pleasantview was messing around with blood magic.

Now, there was a throwback. Lukas had assumed that the days of blood magic were at an end. All those demons fighting against each other in increasingly sadistic ways had been frustrating to deal with. Izanami used to keep a bottle of scotch on his desk whenever casualties of blood magic hit his death list, only to have their carcass resurrected or the ties to their blood magically littered over the centuries, sending false reports that stumped even his reapers. Lukas dearly hoped that those days were behind them.

There were rituals that could transfer magical authority to Maura or her son, but Lukas had no interest in revealing that magic at this time. If the issue festered and the state of the living was threatened, maybe, but some things were better kept quiet until they were absolutely needed. So far, none of this gave the deity the information they needed.

"Master Maricourt knows what he's doing. Miruna trusts him completely, and with Evren's knowledge of an alternate world and its magic, plus Theo's abilities, the Pleasantview coven can be trusted to attempt controversial magic."

Claudia was still defending her plan when Lukas resumed eavesdropping, making them groan. Someone had to move this conversation on the right direction.

"Something important has been brought to my attention," Lukas intoned, focusing their attention on Claudia.

"Something important has been brought to my attention," Claudia repeated, looking surprised to be speaking.

"Something from the coven. It's very important," Lukas added. With all the dubious sources the queen received her information from, Lukas was betting on her coven being the most likely to have news that would benefit the deity.

"Something from the coven. It's very important."

"More meddling from the witches?" Maura asked with a sigh. "Where else have they put blood magic in my home?"

Claudia frowned, but felt compelled to continue speaking, even if she didn't know why.

"No, it was something brought to me from Master Maricourt. He was informed of a series of prophetic incidents among his coven that the queen should be aware of. Apparently, there is a list of names being spoken from the dead or the supernatural that no one has been able to piece together. Sometimes, it is one simple name, other reports list several names. No one knows how they connect to each other or what they could mean."

"Names?" Maura repeated. "What names exactly? Maybe I've can help tie them together."

"Unlikely. Even my oldest scholars can't figure it out. I was beginning to think that it was just a hoax among the witches, but Edana Darktide has devoted most of her time to solving this riddle lately, and she isn't one to chase after riddles. I'm not really sure why I'm telling you this. This is something still being investigated. I must be getting sentimental after nearly losing you."

"Gee, thanks. It's nice to know that it only takes me almost dying for you to loosen your tongue. What are the names? Maybe while we're searching for my father, we can run down these names too."

Claudia shook her her head.

"No, we have them identified, it's just what they share that we're missing. The first name given was Atem Spector, son of the Grim Reaper. The second was Riley Reeves, we're confident that this is Life’s sister, though we have found very little else about her. The last was Alicia Wenlock, a former resident of Crystal Cove, who married into the monarchy. Alicia lived during the Demon Wars, we think Atem was first written about when Strangetown fell into destruction millenia ago, and we have no timeline for Riley. None of it makes sense yet, but we're working on it."

"Those don't sound familiar to me. I wonder why these names keep popping up. Has there been any lately, especially after the attack on us?"

"Not that I know of. Things have been quiet since the attack according to Master Maricourt. I'm sure that the quiet won't last long though."

Unknown to the two monarchs, Lukas nearly started hyperventilating in the palace corridor. It was careless to lose focus when they were supposed to be hiding, but their mind and heart were racing wildly and all concern for secrecy was gone.

This was worth the effort of coming here. The mortals were engaging with prophetic visions and the leader of the Pleasantview coven and his ex-wife were collecting a long list of all too familiar names. Lukas could add even more names to that list.

Morganna Grunt. Victoria Evans. There were likely more that they were forgetting, but Lukas had been just a tiny bit busy being discorporated at the time of their deaths, so they felt justified in not having a conclusive list of victims memorized.

They remembered when Atem nearly set the headquarters of the Strangetown reaper team ablaze, looking for answers about his mother, Morganna's, mysterious disappearance. They couldn't forget the helplessness of watching Alicia and Victoria's bodies turn to nothing, not even ash. How Riley....

No. They couldn't think about her. They refused to think about Riley or the way her death had destroyed their family in ways that hadn't healed over the many centuries.

But why were mortals hearing these names repeated? That was what Lukas should be focusing on. They couldn't change the past, but they could influence the future. No one else should have to suffer the pain the Lane family had suffered. Any mention of the names of the lost had to be investigated. It was severe enough that Lukas would probably have to involve their husband going forward. Izanami would smother them with protective concern, but he needed to be told that his realm might be in danger again. That his spouse might be in danger again.

"I'd better go catch up on appointments, but I'll be back in an instant if you need me," Claudia vowed, rising to hug her cousin. Despite her irritation with Claudia's magical choices, Maura held her cousin as tightly as she could. They had cheated death and couldn't afford to slip up now. Even the thought of losing her frustrating cousin brought unwelcome tears to her eyes.

"Come back soon. We'll talk when we have more information about our conversation today. And Claudia, next time, just tell me that you're stealing your ex-boyfriend's kid to do dark magic in the place I live. I am the queen, no matter what blood magic thinks of my claim."

"Of course. I don't plan on any more spells involving you in the near future, but I'll keep that in mind."

Blood magic. People collecting Riley's name like it was a trading card. Memories of a demon with golden eyes cackling as Lukas' body rapidly deteriorated before their family's eyes. It was all too much to handle. They had to leave this place before they were discovered, but Lukas' feet felt glued to the floor.

Izanami. He would know what to do. All they had to do was teleport home and Izanami would fix all of this.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"That was the worst thing I've ever experienced in all of my life. I never imagined something hurting more than my mother's funeral, but...but I...."

"Yeah. Me too. I keep thinking that they're just going to pop out from the hall and laugh at how gullible we were for thinking they were gone. I-I...I don't know how to keep going anymore. I'm just so tired."

Queen Maura and her very relieved to be back as consort, Ulyssa, stood in the echoing chambers of the Twikkii Island royal crypt, trying to process the events of the day.

They had entombed Spencer and Alysiara in the newly created family vault for Maura’s dynasty mere hours ago, but neither of them knew how to move forward. The service was finished, people had sobbed and told the royal couple how dearly the prince and princess would be missed and then left. The royal guard had gently hinted to the queen that it was time for her to leave as well, but those were her children. How could she leave them behind in a cold marble tomb? She had never left them alone without supervision in all of their short lives, how could she just leave them now?

"You did good today. With your speech, I mean. It was very moving; I think the public responded to it well," Maura said quietly, still staring at the marble walls that held her children. "You...you handled the regency better than I'd expected too."

When Ulyssa shot her a nasty look, Maura tried to understand why. Nothing made sense in her mind anymore, and it took a moment to realize that her wording had been insensitive.

"No, I didn't mean...I just tried to imagine doing it myself if my mom had...had lived a little longer than she did. I know I'd be an anxious mess, barely holding it together. You did everything to make sure that we could bury our children together, and I appreciate that. Truly."

Ulyssa nodded curtly, but felt her shoulders loosen slightly at the earnest remark. It had been some time since her wife had paid her a true compliment, and Ulyssa wasn't used to it anymore.

"We're on the same team, Maura. You prepared me for the possibility the entire time we dated. I'm here to support you; that's what a consort does. It wasn't easy, but I did my best because you're my wife. I care about you."

Maura looked away from Ulyssa's unwavering stare, unable to summon the courage to talk about her feelings on their marriage in a place as gloomy as this.

"What do we do now? Do we just go home? It feels wrong."

"It's not like they're here anymore, Maur. It's okay to leave. They're in a better place than here, waiting for us to join them someday."

Maura stared at her wife she had suddenly sprouted an extra head.

"You're suddenly spiritual," she commented. "I never thought I'd hear you say something like that."

"That's not true," Ulyssa replied, crossing her arms. "I've always thought about life after death, you know, since my mother's a zombie? Things just seem a little clearer since the service. Claudia passed on a message to me from her parents."

"Claudia did what? When did she talk to you? I barely saw her the entire time."

"People want to talk to queen who nearly died, not the consort who held things together for a few days. Claudia and I talked quite a bit, actually."

Maura froze, unsure of how to process this information. Had Claudia truly tried to ease a grieving mother's mind with supernatural knowledge, or was this some kind of deception? Both options seemed equally as likely, but Claudia had always made it quite clear how she felt about Ulyssa. Maybe Claudia sympathized with her now as a mother. Maybe she was trying to turn Ulyssa away from Maura during a vulnerable time.

"What did she say to you? I wouldn't mind some peace in this whole mess. She could have told me too."

"Well, we're married, Maura. I'm sure she thought I could pass a message to you at some point."

Maura recoiled at the hostility in her wife's voice. When had their relationship become this bad? It had imploded with Ulyssa's affair, but it had been cracking ever since the day Maura’s mother had died. Had it really taken a near death experience and losing two children to open her eyes to what should have been obvious? She and Ulyssa hadn't truly been alone together, being honest with themselves in years.

"Yes. Yes, sorry, that makes sense. I've just talked to so many people today, I thought that Claudia might have wanted to be one of them. What did she say?"

"That our children were happy," Ulyssa said slowly, ensuring that she repeated Claudia's phrasing to preserve the accuracy of the information. An afterlife was somewhat difficult to picture and Ulyssa didn't want to get it wrong. "They're being guided by your family and adjusting well. There was some mention of Alysiara running some kind of horse farm, I'm not sure if that's a euphemism for something or not. She does love horses. Spencer and your mom have been spending a lot of time together, and she's loving being a grandmother, despite the circumstances." She paused to take another deep breath. "There was nothing we could do to save them; it was just their time. Claudia said not to blame ourselves because once a death has been written in Death’s records, there's no changing it. It's not our fault, Maura. I didn't think I could spend the rest of my life living with the guilt of not being there to protect them, but there was nothing I could have done to change what happened. There's nothing Adrian or Trent could have done either."

Maura’s eyes fell to the floor, suddenly filled with regret.

"You heard about Adrienne's new title already?" she asked quietly. "That decision is mine to make and I won't revoke it. She deserves to be rewarded for saving my life."

"She does, yes, but that's not why you've made this choice. You want to punish your cousin, one of the few remaining blood members of your family, for not stopping something that was beyond his control. At least be honest about it; we can all see why you're doing this."

Maura paused again, unsure of how to respond to that accusation.

"I don't do well with death," she said at last. "I know that no one truly does, but I seem to be especially messy when faced with it. I hated my mom for letting my father die and remarrying. I let you crack under the pressure we faced when my mother died and didn't even notice how bad we had gotten together. I lost my children and all I can seem to do is lash out at anyone who tries to help. I'm a mess, Ulyssa, and I'm sorry. I try not to think about what my legacy would have been if I'd died. I know that I wouldn't be remembered as a queen as respected and loved as my grandmother. I'd just be 'petty, vindictive Maura' who got herself and her children killed at a stupid family barbecue. Plus, I'd be handing Adrion such a huge responsibility that he'd probably turn out to be just like me in the end. He'd probably grow to resent my memory over the years and hate me by the time we were reunited in the afterlife."

"Maura, that's not true. Adrion loves you, and you'd do anything to help him. You're not a bad queen either. You should have seen the public's response to potentially losing you. You would have been greatly missed."

"I don't know where my father is buried," Maura said quietly, trying to sort through the feelings that Ulyssa's words had raised. She struggled with the memories of her time spent with her own deceased mother. "I should think about him more often, but I don't. I don't even remember him, really. But I'm the queen, I should know where he's buried."

"You're not awful for not thinking about him," Ulyssa replied. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't remember my mother well either. Not...not how she used to be anyway. The way she laughed, the books she used to read to me...it's all gone. She was dead to me the moment she left us for Abe's dad, and now she's forever undead, so we can't even bury her. Her festering corpse still shambles in the restricted zone somewhere, but she's gone. Everything that she was or could be is just gone, and will never come back. I was so angry at her when she died that I never thought about whether I could forgive her and now I don't know if I can. There's no closure, just more hurt."

"You never told me that before. About your mom. I never thought that her non-death bothered you like that. You don't really speak about her."

"The only light in this dark, horrible situation is that our children are properly in a better place," Ulyssa stated firmly. Maura nodded, barely holding back tears. "They can never be like my mother and that's the only kindness the gods have shown us. Do you remember my first boyfriend, Zane?"

A quick smile graced Maura’s lips before she could fight it.

"I remember you sitting in your dorm room trying to tell yourself that you loved him. You were so cute back then, trying to find yourself and rewrite your life. I always admired that about you."

"I watched Zane's corpse try to attack the people he loved. It wasn't anything like Zane was, not even close. I can only imagine that my mother is the same. It is a blessing that our family won't be subjected to that."

Maura nodded solemnly, tears once again flowing down her face.

"I underestimated the way you were raised," Ulyssa said if only to break the silence that had fallen between them. "From the outside, you grew up in a huge castle, had tons of money and were gorgeous on top of all of that. I used to wonder what such a person could see in someone like me, what we could have in common. But it was all a lie. Royal life is dangerous and frustrating, and unrelenting. You never got to mourn your dad because the queen said so, you even suspect she had something to do with his death. Your mother and half-sister died right before your eyes and we are still powerless to find their murderer. I underestimated everything that you've been through when I should have been supporting you."

"I'm sorry about the baby," Maura blurted out. "I was just so angry and hurt about your affair. I thought that if I had a child with someone else, then we'd be even and we could move on with our marriage. Naming her and caring for her couldn't have been easy to deal with, and I'm sorry. I'm not sure that I would have handled it as gracefully as you did, had it been Georgiana's birth and you were unconscious."

The very thought of Maura handling anything to do with Georgiana with grace was enough to choke a small laugh out of the consort.

"No, I don't think you would have either," she agreed, still surprised that her body was somehow capable of laughter after all that had happened. "I mean, you named her after the most infamous bastard royal in Pleasantview history, after all. You've never been one for subtlety."

"No, no, I guess not. Mom always said that I was the spitfire in the family. Trent or Callista would have made a more suitable monarch in her eyes, I'm sure. Unfortunately for her, she had me first."

"That's not true and you know it. Trust me, I've learned extensively about the proper role and duties required of just a regent over the past few days and I can honestly say that you need that spark that you have to be a good leader. Trent has always been shy and hesitant; you have no problem making decisions and fighting for what you think I'd best. You stand up to Claudia, but keep her close at the same time. You're a good queen, Maura. Your mother is proud of who you've become."

"Who I've become is a hardened, self-righteous adulterer with two dead kids and a potential war brewing," she sighed wearily. "What's so great about that? Nearly dying has really made me stop to evaluate my life. If I had died, what would people say about me? What would they remember me for?"

"For being strong and kind," Ulyssa supplied. "You're well liked by our people. They trust that you know where to lead this country."

"Well, they shouldn't. I'm a terrible queen. I've openly had affairs, hoping to get caught. I've created a royal bastard out of revenge, and I made Adrian's daughter a rank higher than him, all because his daughters lived and my two children didn't. I'm the worst queen, Ulyssa. Even though my grandmother and her mother did terrible things to keep the throne, they at least knew what they wanted. They had principles they weren't willing to budge on, and I don't have any. I'm a petty, terrible person."

"You're many things, Maura, but you're always the woman I've loved since we were in high school," Ulyssa said quietly, reaching for her wife's hand. To her surprise, Maura reached out and wrapped their hands together. "You're a bitch who has strong opinions and refuses to back down when you think you're right. You like hurting those who hurt you, even if it was by accident. You won't divorce me because you have some weird hangup about divorce that I don't understand. Honestly, Maura, I don't always like the person you are, but I've never seen you act in a way that would threaten your people. You're a good queen, even when you're not always the best person."

Maura nodded. Ordinarily, she'd take offense to her wife's words, but Ulyssa was probably right. She couldn't disagree with her points, even if she had the energy to.

"Ulyssa? Do you still love me? Really love me, I mean. I know you just said that you loved me over the years, but do you still love me the same way you did when we were first married? Do you even want to be with me?"

Maura burst into fresh tears before Ulyssa could give a response.

"We're not what we used to be, and it's all my fault!" she sobbed. "If my mother had lived, we'd still be happy together. We'd probably only have two kids and they would have been born a lot later than our kids. You would have more free time to relax and wouldn't have to deal with all the responsibilities of a queen consort. My mother never mentioned there being a hell when I saw her, but I'm sure that it's real and that's where I'm going to end up when I finally do die."

"When you saw your mother? What does that mean?"

Maura froze, caught in a lie of ommission. She hadn't quite found the words to tell her wife about her experience yet. Telling Claudia was one thing, but Ulyssa didn't have reapers for parents.

"Uhhh...I was going to tell you, I wasn't sure of what to say," Maura admitted. Beside her, Ulyssa crossed her arms defensively. "When I was unconscious, when you were queen regent, I saw my mom again. I don't know if it was real or a dream, but Claudia thinks it was real and that my spirit wandered away from my body, but-"

"Claudia knows about this, but I don't?" Ulyssa snapped. "What the hell, Maura? You remember what happened while I was busy running your country and you didn't tell me? Why?"

"Well, Claudia has reapers for parents, and I just wanted to be sure that it wasn't just a dream. I was going to tell you this week once I had more time to think about it. It's been so busy, and I didn't want to get anything wrong."

Ulyssa raised an eyebrow at this explanation but remained silent. That excuse was at least plausible, even if it was infuriating. Still, as Maura’s wife, Ulyssa should have been told about a near death experience and they could have talked to Claudia together.

"I saw my mom," Maura confessed. "She was there to talk to me and I asked her some questions. She told me that my father's still alive. That he might have been kidnapped by the Red Queen all those years ago. I have Adrian and Trent running down leads to find him. Maybe he's been kidnapped this whole time, just waiting for someone to rescue him! I have to try to look for him."

Maura tried not to look suspicious, but probably didn't succeed. If Ulyssa was pissed off about Maura not telling her about seeing her mother, then Ulyssa would definitely be furious that her wife didn't immediately tell her about seeing their lost children. It was better to just leave her with the information from Claudia's parents that she already found comfort in. How would Ulyssa ever even find out that Maura had withheld the information? It was highly unlikely that Claudia would ever talk to Ulyssa nicely again, and her parents never spoke about work or the afterlife if it wasn't important. Ulyssa would never know and she therefore couldn't be angry at Maura for confiding about their children with someone else.

"Your father is alive?" Ulyssa gasped. She looked shocked enough to only ask questions on that subject. "How? Wouldn't there be a ransom if a foreign queen took the crown princess' father? She should have at least wanted to gloat about it. Most psychopaths in movies like to gloat.

And are you sure it was Queen Charlotte? Did your mom really say it was her? There were more dangerous people than the Red Queen back then. Was your great-grandfather, Ben, still alive? I mean, we have to hold the Goldman Memorial Ball every year now for everything he did to just one of his kids. The man liked murder, and he didn't care if he killed family or not. There's that creepy lot on our border with Strangetown that he used to use for god only knows what, after all."

Maura paused to consider this explanation. It wasn't a bad idea. She wasn't sure when King Ben had died in relation to her father, but her grandmother knew about that lot. Crystal Cove's Queen Celeste attacked the Red Queen of Pleasantview and locked her prisoners in the cells that authorities had discovered there. It was a place that was well known by her ancestors. There was a real possibility that her father had been taken there at some point. It wasn't much, but it was a lead.

"It's worth looking into," Maura conceded. "I mean, Queen Charlotte is the obvious suspect, but you're right, I need to keep an open mind."

She reached out to embrace her wife, and to her grateful surprise, Ulyssa accepted the hug.

"I do still love you," Ulyssa said. "The answer to your question earlier is yes. I've never stopped loving you, and I never will. Even if you're a little petty sometimes, none of that matters. We're not the same people that we used to be, true, but I want to work through things and be a team again. Can we be a team going forward, Maura?"

"I'd like that." Maura released her wife with a small smile.

"Claudia did mention something weird about Zane during our talk. Something about how he was pissing everyone off in Arkhelios? Has she mentioned anything weird like that to you?"

"Not that I remember," Maura replied honestly. "We don't really talk about Arkhelios unless we have to discuss Victoriana's father. Which we almost never do, by the way."

"That's strange. I wonder if it was part of the message from her parents then. Though, I can't imagine why Zane would cross paths with the Goldmans."

The sound of tears interrupted the couple. The children were downstairs being watched by the royal guards while their parents struggled to find a path forward. They had been quiet so far, but clearly the queen and consort had run out of time for adult conversations. They still had a family to protect.

"It's okay, honey. We'll go home now and make some hot chocolate," Ulyssa promised as Adrion clung to her. "We can all change into our pajamas and read a story together. Our family has changed shape a little in this lifetime, but you'll always have your brother and sister watching over you. We'll see them again, I promise."

"Your baby sister is waiting for us back at home," Maura added, stroking Georgiana's back soothingly. "We need to be strong for her and for our people. It's our job to make sure that our subjects feel safe and we can't let them down."

Ulyssa fought back a groan at her wife's words. They had been raised quite differently, and the children did have royal duties to perform, but couldn't Maura hear how callous her words would be to a grieving child? The Durant family was overly affectionate, especially Jorah, and there had still been duties expected of them in Arkhelios. Maura couldn't hate the fear her grandmother had inspired in her about royal duty and still pass on that same mindset to her own children.

But then again, not learning how to guard their minds from the stress and the danger of the crown didn't help them either. Surely, there had to be a compromise between letting their kids just be kids and dumping the same trauma on them that had shaped their mother's capacity for cruelty and spite.

Viola watched her parents guardedly. They had been gone on the upper floor of the tomb for what felt like days and for once, they didn't seem to be shouting at each other. Things would never be the same without her siblings, but maybe, just maybe, they could make it through this as a family.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

It was as if she had gotten struck by lightning when the realization dawned on her. She was out in Prometheus College, getting drunk with a bunch of college students she had never met before, had sex not once, but twice, that day, with complete strangers, as revenge on her husband for kissing her sister. It had felt good, then, as if she was reclaiming herself and her independence. Why should she care about the baby? She was all about Maura now and what Maura wanted.

Yet now, when she looked down on Nathan, she felt dirty. Tainted. She had not helped herself at all. She had let him use her.

And now he was going to hold it over her head the same way he was with Cindra. He was going to make it everyone's business what they had done, how they had done it, and how far Maura had embarrassed herself.

Nathan was blabbering on about sexism. Somehow it was making Maura feel even worse about ever letting him inside her.

"I... I have to go home," Maura mumbled.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

Evren placed both hands at each side of her head. "Listen to me," he said, in between tears. "You're my wife, and I love you. Believe me or not about the spell, but I love you, and you better believe that."

"How can you still say that?" Maura whispered. "After all I've done today, you..." She didn't notice that the tears had started running until some droplets found their way into her mouth.

"You were hurt," Evren said. "You're pregnant, hormones are raging, it's all an unlucky combination..."

"I cheated on you!" Maura cried. "I didn't just cheat, I..."

"...Put myself in danger," Evren finished. "And I'll never do it again. Correct?"

"Aren't you angry?" Maura questioned in between sobs.

Evren paused. He wasn't really angry. He was upset that her instant reaction had been to try to hurt him in the most awful ways she could think of. He was relieved that she had cheated and drunk alcohol and not done anything even worse, or had anything even worse done to her.

Then there was the fact that, in all earnesty, Evren didn't really feel jealousy. Ever.

"Maura," he said. "Earlier today I was afraid you wouldn't even come home. For now I'm just..." He caressed her face gently. "I'm just so glad you're here."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

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

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

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

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

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

Claudia scoffed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claudia wrapped her cousin in bone crushing hug.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remy punched her twin on the arm.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elowen set up the pool table while Victoriana waited.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You were right."

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

Izanami bowed his head, contemplating the situation.

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

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

Izanami nodded his agreement.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Maura? Can you hear me?"

Queen regent Ulyssa watched her wife's still body as her chest rose and fell with her breath. Maura was breathing, which meant she was alive. After the disastrous past few days, just watching Maura breathe seemed like a miracle.

The past few days had been a blur for Ulyssa. Maura was sent home from the hospital to see if she would recover in a quieter, familiar setting. Ulyssa's father had assured her that this was good news, and it meant that they had faith that Maura would pull through. Maura’s child had to be removed from her for both of them to have a fighting chance to survive. The infant seemed to be doing well, or so Ulyssa was told. She didn't have the energy to deal with her wife's affair child. Not when her own family was failling apart.

"I hope you can hear me, Maur. You can't die on me, not when I need you the most. Our people are scared, our children are traumatized, and it hurts so bad to even think of you dying. I've loved you since I was a teenager. You were my high school sweetheart. I can't lead this family without you."

Ulyssa closed her eyes, and the only things she could see were two of her children's empty rooms and two little coffins she had picked out three hours earlier. The royal physician had given her something to help her relax, but it was barely touching her pain.

Maura couldn't die. Ulyssa didn't give her permission to die while they were still at each other's throats. She needed Maura to wake up so that she could hold her as tight as she could and tell Maura that she loved her with everything she had. The past didn't matter. The affairs didn't matter. Becoming both queen and a mother too soon didn't matter. Ulyssa had loved only one person after Zane and she wouldn't let Maura die too.

"The funerals are next week. I delayed them as long as I could just in case you woke up. I know how pissed you'd be if you missed our children's...if you...." Ulyssa trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. "Lauren's funeral is this Friday. Cindra is going, but Trent and I have to stay here in case something else happens. I can't believe that I have to miss my little sister's funeral. I can't believe she's dead in the first place. You would know what to do if you were here. You've always known just what to do. I love you, Maura. Please, please wake up."

"Mommy?"

Ulyssa turned over to find her oldest son staring fearfully at her.

"I had a bad dream," Adrion whimpered. "I-I saw Alysiara and-and she...her face was-"

"Hey, it's okay," Ulyssa said soothingly, running to her son's side. "You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise."

"It's not okay. Mommy's going to die, isn't she? I don't want her to die! I want my brother and sister back!"

"Come with me. I want to show you something," Ulyssa replied, guiding her reluctant son towards his unconscious mother. "Mommy's right there. She's not going to die. She's a fighter just like you. I miss Alysiara and Spencer too. I miss them so much, it feels like my chest is going explode from all my sadness. I bet you probably feel the same way."

Adrion nodded, his eyes glued to Maura on the bed.

She didn't look scary or connected to the scary machines she'd been hooked into at the hospital. People weren't yelling orders or preparing her for surgery. She was just there. Sleeping. At least he hoped she was sleeping.

"I just want everything to be normal again!" Adrion cried, clinging to his mother tightly. Ulyssa wrapped her arms around her son as he began to cry.

"I know. I know you do. I want things to be normal too. But we have to be strong. One day, you're going to be the king, and you'll need to lead this country like Mommy does. When bad people try to hurt us, you will tell your children the same thing I'm telling you now." Ulyssa paused, trying to remember the words her father had once told her after losing her mother. "We are strong and brave, and no one is ever going to love you more than me and Mommy. I'll protect you and your siblings with my life if I have to. If anyone tries to hurt you, they'll have to go through me and Mommy and Uncle Trent and Uncle Adrian and the queen of Pleasantview and all her witches. This attack won't happen again, I promise you. You're descended from warrior kings and queens on Mommy's side and the biggest, toughest survivors on mine. We're going to get through this."

"She looks sad. She needs someone to keep her company. Can I stay with her?"

Ulyssa looked at her son kindly, smiling softly at his kindness, even if she couldn't allow the request.

"Honey, she needs to rest. There will be lots of doctors coming to check up on her, don't worry. You need to be a big older brother and help your siblings. I'm keeping the country safe until your mom can again, and we need someone to protect your siblings, to be a leader. I want you to watch what I do and what Mommy will do when she's better very closely. One day, this will be your job. Can I count on you to practice being king and protecting your siblings?"

Adrion nodded tearfully. Some of the clouds of grief disappeared from his face now that he had a mission and something to focus on.

"I'll be right back!"

Ulyssa watched as her son bolted down the hall towards the children's bedrooms. At first, she worried that Adrion was running into Alysiara or Spencer’s rooms, but minutes later, her son returned, carrying a familiar large stuffed fox toy in his arms.

"Mr. Fox can take care of Mommy while we're gone," Adrion declared. Mr. Fox was easily his favourite toy in the world. He had been a gift from Claudia, who had inherited the descendants of King Mordred's fox breeding program to her displeasure. She had handed care of the domesticated foxes over to a highly qualified candidate, but the farm they lived on was a popular place for young royals to visit. Adrion vowed that one day he'd have one of Aunt Claudia's foxes as a pet to his parents' frustration. Trusting Mr. Fox to care for his mother was an important gift from her young son and it made Ulyssa want to cry just looking at the toy nestled in her wife's arms.

"That's a very nice thing you did," Ulyssa said, trying not to cry. "Mr. Fox will take great care of your mother. I'm sure that when Mommy wakes up, she'll be very thankful to have had his company."

Please wake up. Please, please wake up.

"With Mr. Fox on duty, it's time for us to do our part, too. I'm going to be meeting a bunch of important grown-ups downstairs, and you're going to stay with your siblings upstairs where the guards will protect you. If you need anything, ask them for help. I'll be back upstairs with you guys in a few hours. I love you. Remember that."

"I love you, too."

Ulyssa took a deep breath and then released it. She wasn't used to sitting in this chair. Hers was the seat next to it. The throne for the consort. Sitting in Maura’s place didn't sit well with her. Ulyssa had never wanted Maura’s thone, and it felt wrong just sitting in it without a guard yelling at her for trespassing.

Still. Maura needed her to do this. Ulyssa would do this for the woman she loved and the country she loved and then sob about how awful it felt to sit in the throne room alone.

"Welcome Lord Goldman and...Prince Goldman was it?"

Ulyssa paused, unsure of what titles she was supposed to be using. She knew both men but, Ewan, Duke Goldman, was closer to her own age. His father barely came to royal events if he could get out of them, so Ulyssa tried not to beat herself up about confusing his title. Maybe even Maura forgot about him sometimes.

"It's Dr. Travers," the older man replied stiffly. "Prince Goldman was my father, and Duke Goldman is my son. I don't need a fancy title in my life, trouble usually finds me easily enough without one."

Ewan scowled beside his father, hoping that Ulyssa didn't pick up on Travis' rude words. She was a grieving mother, for God's sake! All those years listening to his older sister had made Travis wary of titles, roles, and ceremonies. It was an attitude adopted by his maternal family as well. They had welcomed Prince Ewan Goldman into their family as Ewan, master of the grill and the man in possession of their daughter's heart. Duke Ewan didn't see things quite that way, which often caused friction between father and son. Grumbling about the monarchy to family was one thing, openly being hostile to the queen's appointed successor was another entirely.

"We've come here to renew the pledge of our family's loyalty to Her Majesty," Ewan said politely. "There has been talk of a war since the attack. This is the second attack on the throne in a decade, and we want to make sure that our families will be safe going forward. That the country will be safe going forward."

"A war?" Ulyssa repeated. She hadn't been briefed on declaring war on anyone yet, and it was probably a burning question in many of her subject's minds. "I appreciate your concern and loyalty. I'm not ready to declare war quite yet, but unlike the last attack on our beloved Queen Cherry, I vow to find the person responsible for the deaths of my children and soon. When the time comes, I'll be sure to inform you."

"Are we done?" Travis whispered to his son, at a volume that Ulyssa could clearly hear him. "Medora wanted me to take her shopping for a dress for the Goldman Memorial Ball. I promised not to be late."

Ulyssa could see Ewan grind his teeth, trying to ignore his father.

"You're dismissed," Ulyssa declared before father and son could start an argument consisting entirely of glares. "Thank you for your kind thoughts for my family."

Ewan smiled at Ulyssa as his father sped through the building like he was allergic to it.

"He doesn't mean to be disrespectful," he replied. "It's a fight to get him to the island at all these days. Too many 'bad memories'. But he's working on it. So he says."

Ulyssa watched as Ewan chased after his father with envy. Holding court in Maura’s place was confusing and unnatural to her. She wished that she could escape it as easily as Ewan had.

"Your Majesty, you're holding court. I wasn't sure if I'd find you here. Shouldn't you be at Maura’s bedside like a proper wife?"

Ulyssa could recognize that voice anywhere. It was the voice of the nightmare that Maura could never see her as, as Claudia was always nice to her cousin. Maybe it had been Ulyssa's trying to dig up dirt on Claudia by visiting her parents that had started the permanent glower Claudia gave her, but honestly, Ulyssa had always felt it in some way. Even when they were engaged, Claudia made no secret of her dislike for Ulyssa to anyone who would listen.

Of course, Claudia would show up here at the moment Ulyssa felt weakest.

"Hello, Claudia."

"Hello, Your Majesty," Claudia corrected. "I'm a queen, and you're a stand-in. Maura is my equal and cousin. You can address me as Your Majesty while holding court."

Ulyssa gritted her teeth, but vowed not to show weakness to Claudia. Maura always said that Claudia was just trying to test people for weakness with her words. She never truly threatened people, she just listened to what they revealed about themselves.

"Hello, Your Majesty," Ulyssa replied, trying not to fall for Claudia's tricks. "What do I have to thank for your presence here?"

"Well, I came to check on Maura’s condition personally," the queen replied, sitting casually in a nearby seat that didn't belong to people outside of the immediate royal family. "Of course, I've already been informed about her, but I wanted to visit with her personally. I've also come to pass along my sorrow for the loss of your children. No parent should have to go through what you're going through."

Ulyssa couldn't judge if that comment was sincere or another trap to avoid. She decided to believe the best of the queen, like Maura would.

"I appreciate you saying that. It hasn't been easy. Truthfully, a part of me wished that I'd died with them. I don't what I'll do if Maura doesn't make it. I...I can't lose her too."

Claudia's intense gold eyes searched Ulyssa's face, looking carefully for lies. Eventually, she appeared satisfied with her results and seemed to relax slightly.

"You do seem earnest. After your fling with Roman, I've always wondered what you would do if something were to happen to Maura."

A million angry words sprung to Ulyssa's mind, but she tried as best as she could to silence them. This was clearly another test.

"Roman Bellamy is a man we are both fond of, even though he can't possibly measure up to our spouses," Ulyssa said as charitably as she could manage. "Truthfully, I haven't thought of him in years. I'm sure he sends his condolences for the tragedy that has consumed my family, but I have no interest in hearing it from him personally."

"Hmmm. You're getting better at lying, but like so many other aspects of your life, it's still a bit lacking. An admirable attempt though." Claudia paused, watching as Ulyssa struggled not to react to her words. Maura had had a poker face mastered by the time they were teens. Clearly, she hadn't instructed her wife on how to do the same. "Look, Queen Regent, I'll be blunt to save you the trouble of trying to discern my intentions yourself. I've come to talk about how our countries will need to operate going forward from this tragedy."

"How they need to operate? I wasn't aware that you had any influence on how the monarch of this sovereign country chooses to 'operate'. Maura can make her own choices and I will make them in her place."

"My children died, Claudia," Ulyssa hissed, finally reaching her breaking point. "Everything you fear actually happened to me. I don't give a fuck about your fears or threats. My children are gone. I hope that never happens to you, but I couldn't care less about your opinions about my family. I'm sure Princess Victoriana is perfectly safe with your 'forces' to watch over her."

"Your family was attacked, Regent. Only your family. The Durant family was targeted, and my daughter could have been killed just for sharing a cottage with them. I don't intend to let that happen again. I can easily defend myself, but I will not tolerate anyone who puts my daughter in danger. If the heir to the Pleasantview throne is harmed in any way, there will be consequences. Not just from me, either. Forces with power beyond your imagining will make their displeasure known, and you don't want that, trust me."

"Oh, she is well protected," Claudia replied, ignoring Ulyssa's outburst. "But there is always the danger of being caught unaware. My security didn't recognize the danger here until it was too late. I trusted Maura’s team when I should have relied on my own. Twikkii Island seems to be unsettled when Pleasantview security personnel are seen in the streets. Making the public feel secure isn't my responsibility, and in the future, I will have my security team here with me. They're here right now and so far, no one has noticed."

Ulyssa nodded curtly. She had never seen Maura disagree about Claudia's security team. If anything, having them around might benefit Twikkii Island security. Claudia had a much larger budget to work with and a loyal coven of powerful magic users.

"As long as they are discreet and willing to inform our security of their findings. I see no issue with that."

"I'm going to need ownership of a piece of the cottage," Claudia continued. "Not the entire lot, just a fraction of it. Legally. Let's say the room that is already reserved for my use. This is nonnegotiable."

Ulyssa's blood ran cold despite Claudia's pleasant smile. What would Maura say? She was always worried that Claudia might come for her throne someday. Claudia did have the stronger claim legally as the daughter of Queen Spencer’s oldest daughter. If she was going to pursue that claim, she would probably also be targeting the Strangetown throne as well, seeing as her mother had been the oldest heir of their oldest heir. Was this what was happening? Was Claudia finally making a move to conquer while Maura was fighting for her life?

Ulyssa didn't think so. She had watched Claudia and Maura together over the years and Claudia seemed to earnestly care about Maura. Besides, if this really was a coup on Claudia's part, it was far too clumsy and ineffective. If Claudia really was planning to take over the throne, Ulyssa had always imagined such an attack to be more aggressive, striking fear into the hearts of everyone in her path.

"What do you need with a small ownership on land belonging to the crown?" Ulyssa asked, trying not to show weakness. She had no idea how successful she was.

"For your protection. For my protection. I'll explain it to Maura when she's back in charge. For now, you can get the paperwork started. I'll have one of my lawyers meet with your representative tomorrow. After everything I've done for Twikkii Island over the years, I'd expect it as a gift, but unfortunately, money needs to be exchanged. A single simoleon will do to make the transfer legal."

"You want to buy part of the land owned by the crown for a simoleon?" Ulyssa repeated, blown away by the sheer audacity of the Pleasantview queen. "Maura would never agree to that! No one would!"

Claudia smiled.

"Maura will. It's such a small ask after all I've done for her. For all I'm going to do in the future."

"Think on it," Claudia said, rising from her seat. "I'll have my lawyer visit tomorrow around noon. Give Maura my best. I think she's going to like my special project. Oh, and congratulations on your new daughter. Be sure to let me know what her name is, and I'll send a gift."

Ulyssa struggled to keep her composure. It would be so rewarding to flip Claudia off, but Ulyssa was half convinced that the woman had eyes in the back of her head. Claudia was the last person Ulyssa needed to piss off at the moment, so her hands remained firmly in her lap.

When she was confident that Claudia had left, Ulyssa rose from her throne and signaled to a royal guard that she was ending court early. This merited some deeper thoughts on the matter. Snuggling with her children while reading what little the Twikkii Island monarchy had on Claudia was probably much closer to what Maura would want than thanking wellwishers for their sympathy. Twikkii Island wasn't going to fall for Claudia's scheme on Ulyssa's watch.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

Maura's sour thought quickly swapped out for joy when she saw Catalinia's work.

"Catalinia, you've outdone yourself," Maura whispered as she eyed herself in the mirror.

"It's easy to outdo yourself when you're dealing with such a beautiful client," Catalinia said with a grin.

Claudia smiled at her cousin's happiness.

"Are we ready now?" Callista asked. "We have to stay on schedule-"

"Schedule, schmedule," Catalinia said, waving her hand dismissively at Callista. "Let her look at herself for a while."

"She can look at herself in photos later," Claudia said, jumping out of the bar chair. As much as she was dreading the awkwardness of seeing Roman again, she wouldn't let it stand in the way of her cousin's big day. "Come on, let's go."

[arkhelios-gameplay]

On the morning of the wedding, Maura's favorite relatives gathered in her kitchen. Catalinia turned it into a makeshift salon with makeup spread out on the counter, her jewelry box on the island counter, and a huge bag with hair products and a curling iron hidden behind it. Callista had brought a cup of coffee and was completely engrossed in managing the schedule, checking her watch every five minutes.

"Maura, you look stunning," Catalinia said cheerfully as she adjusted Maura's veil for the twenty-fifth time. "Evren is going to faint at the altar."

"I'd rather he didn't," Maura said with a small smile. Her mind was reeling with concerns. Not so much for Evren himself as for everything - and everyone - else. She hoped Rachel would behave. She hoped Rachel's child - apparently now children, somehow, according to gossip - would behave. And of course, Claudia was too busy being anxious about the prospect (as in, absolute certainty) that Roman Bellamy was going to show up at the wedding as Rachel's plus one.

"Trent says they got done dressing Evren hours ago," Callista said.

Catalinia snorted. "They're men, they don't understand beauty."

Claudia rolled her eyes. As if Maura didn't always look like a princess who got lost in a fairytale and accidentally landed in their world.

"If I was in charge of Evren, I'd take just as long preparing him," Catalinia said. "Your man is gorgeous, but with some extra makeup, we'd accentuate his features..."

Maura, suddenly uncomfortable with any of her relatives swooning over Evren, decided to change the subject. "Callista, how's everything else coming along?"

"Caterers are ready, the band is ready, your grandparents are late."

As usual, Maura thought, gritting her teeth. Then again, perhaps that was for the best.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"Oh," Maura said, smirking again. "Don't worry. You will."

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"Your boyfriend cheated on you in a public bathroom," Maura said, gently caressing Ulyssa's face. "My husband cheated on me on our wedding day. Wouldn't it be... Poetic, if we cheated on them in a public bathroom on my wedding day?"

Ulyssa swallowed. A strange feeling stirred up inside her, an excitement and nervousness both at once. "With... With who?" she asked.

"With each other," Maura said, smirking despite her tears. "We can probably find a willing man if you absolutely need one, they're desperate."

Ulyssa smiled shyly. "I... I haven't been alone with a woman before," she said, her heart pounding in her chest.

"I'll show you how," Maura said in a sly voice.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"I do know," Ulyssa said. "I do..." She tried not to start crying herself, thinking back to the night Tennyson had returned home from his dalliance at the bar.

"Now I'm pregnant and all alone," Maura wept.

"I'm pregnant and alone too," Ulyssa said, patting Maura carefully on the shoulder. "My boyfriend cheated on me in a bar bathroom with some random chick he had never met." Ulyssa grappled with the internal turmoil of the sentence she had said. She wasn't sure if it really could be labeled cheating. It felt like cheating. "It wasn't on my wedding, but... It hurt. I know it hurts."

[arkhelios-gameplay]