#sim: Trent Siew

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

“Duke Goldman! How lovely to see you again.”

Maura kept her tone polite as she’d been trained to do since birth. The day had already been incredibly long, and it was barely over. After the duke’s visit, she still had several more appointments and a meeting to go through that she was dreading. It was a beautiful day out and despite ruling a country, Maura wasn’t free to go out and enjoy it. While other people got to swim or take long walks on the beautiful beaches of Twikkii Island, Maura would be reviewing graphs and approving budgets. No wonder her grandmother had been miserable to her family; the job as monarch felt more like a prison than anything and it took all of her strength not to run out of the castle in defiance. This was her job. She had a nation to protect and she knew it. It was all up to her.

“It’s great to see you again, Your Majesty,” Ewan Traver, Duke Goldman said with a smile. “I know you’re busy, but I had something I wanted to discuss with you. A close friend of mine thought he might be able to help with your initiative to update the palace gardens. I know you’re looking to maintain security while still having the garden look impressive and I thought....”

Maura tried to retain the smile on her face while still looking interested in talks about the back gardens. Couldn’t any of her family members just come to her like they had in the past? Did she really need to listen to a grand proposal about lawn care? Ewan had fun; she often saw him at the family cottage laughing and playing with his wife and kids. He had a small estate to run and all the time in the world to do what he pleased. When she and Ulyssa had children would she ever have time to play with them or would she be stuck in meetings all day?

“King Charley and Prince Vrai of Strangetown have arrived, Your Majesty,” a voice behind Maura interrupted. “Security is just clearing them now.”

“Thank you.”

What was the Strangetown king visiting about? Maura could hardly remember. Something about their shared security treaties? The upgrades to the ferry service between their two nations? Whatever it was, it would undoubtedly be tedious.

“And if I had even a limited contract, I’m sure that I could improve those statistics in as early as three months.”

Maura focused again on the man eagerly awaiting her response and smiled.

“Submit that proposal in writing to my office and I’ll have someone evaluate it,” she replied politely, completely unaware of what had just been proposed. “It certainly sounds promising. Thank you for your time.”

Ulyssa happily played on the drum set in the ballroom, feeling her frustrations leave her. She was supposed to be en route to the home of the recently revived Duke Siew, but his estate wasn’t far from the castle and Ulyssa would simply teleport there instead of drive. Teleporting meant that her security would teleport with her and she wouldn’t have to spend twenty minutes in a car, staring out the window while four armed guards watched her. It wasn’t as if there were any real threats to her safety. Most of the recent “threats” had all been fraudulent- bored people looking for attention or teens who underestimated the reaction of the castle. And her doctor’s appointment after seeing Adrian? That would be a breeze to get to; what would be hard was protecting any conclusions of that appointment.

“King Charley. Prince Vrai. Welcome to Twikkii Island.”

Maura forced a smile. It wasn’t like the two brothers from Strangetown were difficult people. Maura usually enjoyed their company at balls or formal events, but did they really need to visit and add one more appointment into her schedule? Surely a secured phone call or email could have been just as effective and she could have read or spoken to them in more comfortable clothes and without a heavy tiara.

“Your Majesty,” both brothers replied in unison, Vrai quickly bowing to the queen with higher rank.

“Shall we sit down to discuss your business with Twikkii Island?” she asked, gesturing towards the comfortable chairs in the throne room. “I can have some drinks brought in if you’d like.”

Maura watched the prince’s eyes dart around the throne room, clearly uncomfortable with standing in it. That made some sense to Maura as Vrai was once married to her now deceased grandmother and had probably spent countless hours in the throne room with the woman he loved. As far as she suspected, Vrai had been the only person her grandmother had ever loved, though Maura’s mother would have angrily corrected her if she were still here. But her mother wasn’t there. She never would be again.

“On second thought, let’s move our meeting to my office upstairs,” the young monarch said tactfully. “It would make my security team much happier and I’d much prefer the change in scenery from this room I’ve been trapped in all morning.”

Both men nodded their approval and followed Maura out to the hall towards the staircase. Vrai paused briefly, looking very much like he was evaluating something in his mind. After a moment’s pause, he cleared his throat and looked sheepishly toward Maura.

“Before we do have our meeting, there’s something I should mention,” Vrai announced quickly. “Someone is here- someone I didn’t bring, you have to know that. They usually follow me around -long story- but I didn’t bring them here. They’re not a threat-or at least they’re not usually a threat, but you should still probably know that they’re here all the same.”

Maura raised an eyebrow, suddenly interested in where this conversation was going. Beside Vrai, his brother groaned, massaging his temple.

“Oh god, here too?” he groaned. “Where?”

“The visitor entrance near the parking lot,” Vrai replied. “I couldn’t be sure until I saw the kid. It’s definitely him though.”

“Him? That’s against the treaty!” the king sighed, looking towards the door they’d just entered through as if it could explode at any second. “Why did we ever sign the agreement if they never intended on following it?”

“I told you that you can’t make a deal with a tornado. Order is against its very nature. You can’t order a god to listen to you.”

Maura stared at the brothers, completely lost.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” she said diplomatically. “Are you saying that we’re in danger?”

“No,” the king replied. “But your jewelry might be. Usually their husband makes them return it within a week, but they’re like a magpie, always on the hunt for shiny objects to hoard. How lucky for me that they’ve chosen my brother as their newest pet.”

“What?”

“Smile, Davis! Daddy will want to see all the pictures from our tour of the castle. We’ll get him a keychain from the gift shop when we go for ice cream.”

“No need. Daddy can come along with you for ice cream, after we all do the tour.”

“Daddy!”

 The pale, stereotypical tourist groaned, realizing that they’d been caught.

“Who told you?” he demanded, holding his arms defensively. “I brought our son, I’m not going to do anything with Davis around.”

“No one needs to tip me off; I just wanted to spend some time with you. Although, the red hair and glasses you use in most of your disguises certainly helps.”

Death stared at his spouse kindly and Lukas sighed dramatically in response. This was a game they frequently played together, a playful game of hide and seek of sorts. Lukas would frequently get into trouble among the humans, and then wait for Death to come “stop” them. The living mortals were often frightened by the game, adding to the legend of Life and their constant struggle against Death. To the two deities however, it was simply how they flirted with each other.

“Dearest, you know the agreement you made with the living,” Death continued. “I’ve caught you fair and square, now you must use the form their security officers have been made aware of. I’m certain that you’re not going to try to steal their throne for yourself, but you know how they worry. The children need a positive role model while they’re young.”

“You steal a throne once and they judge you forever,” Lukas grumbled, waving their hand and transforming into their feminine form. “Here you go, right down to the clothes in the security alert. You ruin all my fun. The queen has the most beautiful set of earrings I wanted to try out.”

“Next time,” Death promised with a laugh.”I’ll try to arrive a little slower if you promise to put more effort into your disguise. For now though, let’s just have a nice outing with our son. I may even try to consume the mortals’ desserts that you love so much.”

Ulyssa wandered through the hallway of the living quarters listlessly. She had a long list of places to be and people to speak to, but she struggled to find the energy. She was just so tired and there was just so much to do. At least she had a reason to be so tired, aside from the long hours she kept. Her doctor’s appointment had confirmed what she had been hoping. She was pregnant.

She tried thinking of romantic ways to tell Maura know this news, but she struggled. The way things had been between them since Maura’s coronation, a text might be the fastest way to tell her this news. Before Maura’s coronation, Ulyssa could have planned a romantic dinner or made a card or surprised her with a box of baby clothes. But now? Maybe she could tell Maura when they went to bed together. Maura was usually first to fall asleep though. Maybe a note left on her pillow?

Ulyssa sighed at the thought. How unromantic. She stared at the many photographs on the castle walls with new respect. A small piece of all the people who had lived in this castle before her was now living inside her. Ulyssa carried both Twikkii Island’s past and future inside of herself which was an overwhelming thought. All of these people had made Maura and walked down these same halls. She was bringing the Durant family into this crowded bloodline in a way that she hadn’t understood until this moment. She was going to be a mother.

“There’s not a lot of new pictures posted here. I figured that Maura would have the walls covered with all of the pictures she takes, but I guess she’s busy now.”

Ulyssa turned around to find Trent alone, standing behind her. Cindra wasn’t anywhere that she could see, but if Ulyssa knew her sister, Cindra would be down in the kitchens, grabbing the pastries Ulyssa had smelled baking earlier.

“She doesn’t take a lot these days,” Ulyssa replied, grateful to see a friendly face. “Plus it feels wrong to take these pictures down. They’re historical. This whole place is historical.”

“These are my grandmother’s pictures,” Trent insisted. “These are all the people she knew and loved. There’s not even a single picture of me up there, or even your wedding photos. It’s time for you to make the space your own. This is your home now; we just live here. Have some fun in your life. I promise you, Grandma’s not going to come haunt you if you change the lamps in the hall.”

Ulyssa smiled at her brother in law fondly.

“You’re right,” she said. “There has to be some upsides to living here. You’re a good guy, Trent. If you hurt my sister though, I’ll have you murdered. Don’t think that that’s a joke. If I don’t, then my dad will.”

The two laughed together and Ulyssa could feel the slightest bit of peace flare up inside her. She had a loving wife and would soon have a child that they would love together. She had so many good things to look forward to and a family that would support her through the rough patches. For the first time in months, the future looked bright.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

Seemingly out of nowhere, a green hand stretched out to Roman. Roman looked up at the man the hand belonged to.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

“I wonder if Grandma’s proud of me, wherever she is. She never seemed to be, but maybe dying has made her less...intense.”

Ulyssa looked at her wife sadly. From all the microaggressions she’d endured during her brief time with the former queen, Ulyssa doubted that the woman could be proud of any of her family members. None of them had ever measured up to her standards, but saying so wouldn’t be comforting for Maura.

“I’m sure she is,” Ulyssa lied. “You’re doing great as queen; you just have to believe in yourself. Twikkii Island has changed since she ruled it and you’re guiding it through a hard time. You’re doing just fine.”

“It really has changed, hasn’t it?” Maura remarked with a sigh. “Things aren’t as peaceful and calming as they used to be. I’m spending enormous amounts of money on our military and I can barely use the washroom without a full military escort. This isn’t how I wanted to rule. Everyday things here feel less and less like the home I grew up in. On one hand, I’m sending our forces to be trained by Claudia’s generals and on the other, I’m supposed to be cautious of trusting her because of Pleasantview’s history of aggression. She’s my cousin and my friend. Am I really supposed to consider her a suspect in my mother’s murder?”

“I know things are rough now, but we’ll get through them,” Ulyssa promised, kissing her wife quickly. “I have my doctor’s appointment to get to this morning, but I’ll see you after lunch if I can. Just try to relax until then. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have good news about the heir situation.”

Maura smiled.

“That would be one less thing to worry about,” she agreed, though her rigid posture showed no sign of relaxation. “Good luck. I hope things go well.”

Maura left in the direction of the throne room, leaving Ulyssa alone- or at least as alone as she could be in a castle on high alert with a protective squad following her every move. While she understood the need for security, the castle had felt unusually claustrophobic lately. Her only escape was teleporting back home to Arkhelios where Wanda had made it very clear that sending a protective detail with Ulyssa would be seen as an act of aggression. The Durant family was entitled to privacy and seeing armed guards escort the Queen and her wife around didn’t sit right with the witch. Arkhelios would take care of its own, which was more than fine with Ulyssa. Visiting Arkhelios was her only escape from the castle and her time spent there was now incredibly precious.

“Ulyssa? Are you free to talk?”

Ulyssa recognized her little sister’s voice immediately, though she couldn’t guess why Cindra was at the castle.

“I’m free for a little bit, what’s going on?”

Ulyssa saw the shy smile on her sister’s face before she realized that Cindra was standing next to someone. Maura’s half-brother Trent was shyly smiling and wringing his hands, a clear sign that he was nervous to speak with Ulyssa.

Oh god, this can only mean one thing. She’s either dating him or pregnant. At least it’s not Nathan. I don’t know what I’d do if it was Nathan.

“We just wanted to let you know that we’re dating,” Cindra announced, looking hopefully at her older sister. “I’ve run into Trent a couple of times when I’ve been here to visit and we really hit it off. I asked him out for coffee and one thing kind of lead to another. I hope you’re okay with this. We’re not trying to threaten you or Maura or compete with you to make heirs or something stupid like that. We’re just dating.”

Ulyssa cringed internally but managed to hide it from her expression. What weird world had she gotten herself into where her little sister felt like she couldn’t date someone without her permission? Had someone in the castle told either one of them that Maura may oppose their happiness because she was still without an heir of her own?

I hate this.This wasn’t supposed to be what my life was like. Maura and I were going to live how we wanted and have kids when we wanted and go where we wanted. Now, everything’s a mess and I don’t know how to change things. Am I really supposed to worry about who Maura’s little brother dates, just in case they’re a threat? It’s Cindra, for god’s sake. She couldn’t threaten a fly.

“I’m glad you told me,” Ulyssa said finally. “I’m really happy for you two. He’s a much better man than Nathan and I want you to be as happy as I am with Maura. Maybe we can have lunch together sometime and catch up.”

:Yeah, I’d like that.” Cindra beamed at her sister and grabbed Trent’s hand eagerly. “Trent, you promised to show me the back gardens. Let’s have a picnic out there this afternoon. Maybe my sister or Maura can join us too.”

Not likely with our schedule. I barely see Maura anymore until we’re in bed at night. If I wanted to take her for lunch, I’d need to schedule it three months in advance, plus clear it with my own schedule. Just talking with her in the hall was a miracle. We were supposed to have years together before she got the throne but now it’s all we talk about.

“That sounds great. I don’t know if I have time today, but sometime soon.”

With a sad smile and a quick hug for her sister, Ulyssa continued down the hall to prepare for her doctor’s appointment and likely more bad news about the potential heir she was supposed to produce.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

“I was kind of hoping to have some time for myself, Trent.”

Maura took another sip from the glass in her hand and tried to appear as hostile as she could so that her half-brother might understand what she thought she’d made pretty clear. To her dismay, the young adult appeared to be completely oblivious to her request. In fact, he appeared to be inching closer to her on the stairs with every passing moment.

“Have you heard anything about what we’re doing after Mom comes back from the yacht? I’m not sure where I’m supposed to be and no one will tell me where I need to be standing. Is it okay if I stay here for the rest of the night with you and meet them later? I’d rather be here than at some stuffy dinner or something. If I’m allowed to stay here, that is.”

He paused, waiting for Maura’s reaction and visibly preparing for rejection. His half-sister wasn’t always the friendliest whenever he got her away from her wife and he never quite knew what to expect from her.

“You can stay here,” Maura replied, making a visible effort to appear friendly. It really wasn’t her brother’s fault she was upset. She shouldn’t take her frustration out on him. “I really don’t think that we’re needed tonight. It’s all Mom’s show. She’s the one who has to sell Grandma’s death as something to be mourned, after all. I plan on staying where I am for at least tonight and I can cover for you too. Someone has to make sure that Roman Bellamy isn’t found naked on the grounds and it can’t always be Ulyssa.”

Trent smiled, glad to be included in his sister’s private jokes, even if he didn’t fully understand them.

“Thanks. In that case, I’ll go grab another drink.”

“Not a bad party after all, right?”

Roman sank down on the comfortable couch next to his fiance, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close.

“It’s not bad at all,” Abe replied. Truthfully, it wasn’t that bad, aside from the constant reminders of Adrian. “You host a good party, as always.”

Roman shrugged.

“It’s Maura’s party, I just provided the house and the beer. Speaking of, there’s some non-alcoholic wine in the kitchen if you want, and some juice you can share with the kids.”

Abe rolled his eyes. Being pregnant at a beach party wasn’t exactly fun. Roman could have at least stopped waving his beer in front of him.

He was just about to make a snide comment when a small noise chimed on Roman’s phone. With all the kids and Ulyssa and Maura at this party, any call or text coming in had to be from someone who needed something from them. Lucy never called unless she wanted something, and Wanda usually sent emails through her assistant. There wasn’t a scenario possible where Elaine would be trying to get a hold of them just to chat either.

Roman stared at the gibberish that had been texted to him, completely baffled as to what it meant.

“Please respond back to this message as urgent demand ok?” he read, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

My Dear partner M. Bellamy, the chief purist said to make everything come to an end and tune on to your good. you must buy 4 white rams and some other sumptuary items for the sacrifice.

and we are going to pay him $150000 once the job is by then you have confirmed every word, he said all the all of them that working ageist you everything is going to retune back to you, and they will begin you how to send you all your money back.

So all the amount needed for this sacrifice is $2,150. This is the amount to buy all the needful things for the sacrifice.

So I want you to tell me the best way you an send this amount to me here, so that the sacrifice will move on immediately ok, I am expecting an urgent response from you ok

I want your positive response.

“What the hell is this?” Roman said, completely baffled at the text. “It’s addressed to me directly but I’ve never seen any of this before. Do most scam emails already have your name when they’re sent? I’ve never had any like this.”

Abe frowned, reading the message over Roman’s shoulder. He noticed something strange about the text but didn’t know how to broach the subject with his fiance. He could easily be wrong about this text and might spend weeks of dealing with Roman’s paranoia for no reason.

“Um, is this directed at you?” he asked slowly. “It just says M Bellamy, not Roman Bellamy.”

“Mr. Roman Bellamy, obviously,” Roman scoffed, still scanning the text for clues. “What the hell sacrifice is this person talking about? There’s a picture of a herd of sheep included! Are they going to kill these sheep?”

He paused, as another thought occurred to him.

“Oh god, did we miss a notice from Theo’s school? Do we have to send them even more money this semester? I don’t feel comfortable with our small child murdering sheep for school projects, Abe. We have to draw the line somewhere, right?”

Abe shifted his feet awkwardly while staring at his drink.

“Yeah, I agree, but I don’t think that this is a school thing. Those usually come in letters we need to sign. This could just be some scam artist pulling your leg who got your name from a list somewhere.” He paused for a moment, then blurted out his fear before he changed his mind. “You know that you’re not the only Bellamy, right? Your grandmother was Malika Bellamy, and according to that album she left you, names that begin with M aren’t uncommon with other Bellamys. What if- What if it’s one of them? Do we know anything about them? Maybe the text is for them and it was coincidence that you got it.”

“Or it’s one of my grandmother’s clients following up after not hearing from her or the estate for several years,” Roman guessed. “You’re right, this probably isn’t for me. I’ll forward this to Wanda. She’s still the head of my grandparents’ estate. There’s no way I’m dealing with an angry customer who wants money and some goats or whatever.”

And if this is another Bellamy reaching out to me, Wanda knows better than most people how to judge a potential threat.

A warm breeze finally gave Theo something to do to pass the time. He’d found an old kite in a room downstairs and abandoned his sisters to go play with it outside. It was a good day to fly a kite and while it wasn’t exactly as interesting as his tablet, it still gave him something to do until someone finally gave him some attention.

He was just about start running down the beach with his toy when he was caught off guard by a thunderous boom coming from the water. He’d never heard anything as loud or as devastating before in his life. Whatever had happened, it was something bad.

He jumped a little when his father fell out of a portal and immediately reached to protect him.

“Theo! Are you okay? Where are your sisters? What happened? Are you hurt?”

“I-it’s gone,” Maura gasped, holding her hands against her face in horror. “It’s all gone. This isn’t happening.”

Maura stared in shock at the flaming wreck drifting helplessly in the waves. Fuel from the royal yacht was currently burning in the water, drowning flame covered furniture below the waves.The yacht that carried the majority of the royal family was destroyed- completely obliterated in a single moment, no doubt killing anyone on board. She could already see debris floating from the ship and when emergency crews finally reached the site, she had no doubts that they would be too late to recover anything but human remains. The harbour where they had launched from was also on fire, huge pieces of it missing from what she could see. She had merely blinked and in that one instant, her life had completely changed. Was this an accident, or an act of terror? Who could possibly want an unarmed, peaceful ship destroyed when it had been merely minding its own business in a friendly port?

“We need to save our moms! Callista’s on there too!” Trent cried beside her and Maura’s heart sank to the ground. There was nothing they could do to save anyone on board. If there were any survivors, they may not even make it to a hospital before succumbing to their wounds.

“Trent...I don’t think....”

Maura had no idea of what to say to her half-brother. Nothing could erase what she could see in front of her. Nothing could change this horror or the pit of despair she could feel welling inside of her.

“Watch Theo!” Roman commanded, disappearing in an instant to presumably help at the site of the disaster.

Maura couldn’t say how long Roman had been gone for. It could have been an instant or it could have been hours. Her ability to note passage of time had broken the instant she saw flames consume her mother’s yacht.

When Roman did return, soaking wet and covered in wet ash and oil, his face was grim. Maura was still frozen in the same position of horror as when he’d left. She couldn’t breathe. It was all too terrible to acknowledge as reality. Her mind fought desperately against what she knew to be true. Roman had presumably been in the center of the disaster, maybe he had seen someone alive. She was probably overestimating the scale of the destruction. Roman probably came back to get more help.

“What happened?” she managed to whisper through her fingers. “Did you see any survivors? I...I should call for medics. Yes, medics and the police. My mom will be able to tell them what happened. She’ll know what to do. Go back and find her; she’ll be able to deal with this much better than I can. I mean, she’ll probably have to be in the hospital for a bit, but after....”

Maura trailed off, Roman’s face telling her exactly what she didn’t want to hear. He paused for a moment, his hair and clothes dripping with seawater, and bowed as deeply as he could.

“The queen is dead,” he said quietly. “Long live the queen.”

[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.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

Roman turned around and waited for Trent to leave, but to his surprise, he stayed, standing next to him awkwardly.

"Aren't you going to go back to the party?" Roman asked.

"No," Trent replied. "Are you waiting for the wings to disappear so you can go back?"

Roman nodded. "My kids need me. I just... I'm not ready for people to know about these," he said, gesturing towards his wings.

"Okay," Trent said. "Is there something you need to happen before you are ready, or...?"

"Well, no, it's just..." Roman trailed off, thinking back to the situation with Dorhack, and how he had returned to his world with Martha in his arms. Images flashed before his eyes of how Evren had performed what he had wished he could do with Rachel. I mind control people, Roman realized in horror.

"...Do you want it under control first?" Trent offered as an explanation.

Roman latched onto that thought. "Yes," he said. "Yes, that is my thought process."

"I know how that feels," Trent said. "Not about wings but... Other things. But sometimes it's best to tell people ahead of time so there aren't any misunderstandings or accidents."

Roman crossed his arms. Trent must have seen something. There was no way he would be mentioning 'accidents' otherwise.

"But you will keep my secret anyway, won't you?" Roman asked.

"Yes."

"Okay."

Silence reigned between them. Roman shot a glance at Trent, briefly mesmerized by the galaxy on his cheeks again. He wondered if that was how Trent felt when looking at his wings.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

Then, to his horror, Roman realized he was not alone.

"Wings!" Trent said excitedly. "It's as if you were a butterfly!"

[arkhelios-gameplay]

Kerstin shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Do you like dancing?"

"Not really," Ulyssa said dismissively, looking back at Roman, who seemed to be involved in a tense discussion with Rachel.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"I'm Trent Siew," the man explained without being asked. "I'm Maura's half-brother. Biologically. So I'm not related to Rachel," he said, looking over at her. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"My name is Roman," Roman said. "Roman Bellamy."

"I know," Trent said. "I figured by the fact that you were with Rachel's daughter."

Rachel's daughter. The wording was not lost on Roman. He paused and inspected Trent's face, trying to search for what he meant. But Trent wasn't looking him into the eye, instead staring off into the distance.

"Our daughter," Roman corrected instead.

"Yes, our as in you and Rachel's, not mine and Rachel's," Trent replied, still staring off into the distance. "That would be strange. It wouldn't be incestuous, but given my half-sister was adopted by her family, it would be strange."

[arkhelios-gameplay]

Trent didn't even acknowledge Rachel's existence half the time.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"How horrifying," Trent said. "Butterflies never have to deal with pregnancy. When the male butterfly transfers sperm to the female, her eggs are fertilized internally before she oviposits."

[arkhelios-gameplay]

As per usual, Trent didn't say goodbye. Instead he said "I'll see you next reset."

Roman was glad they were playing together on the regular, though, and decided not to question the quirk.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"Of course Valerie," Roman said, picking up his kid and snuggling her.

Trent stood there awkwardly while Roman told her about all the characters that needed to level up. "You have your kid level alts for you?" Trent asked with a laugh.

"I do, and she's great at it," Roman said. "Except for when she..." He started tickling her. "...Runs the car off the bridge and drowns my characters in the water." Valerie giggled loudly.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"Can I play with daddy now?" Valerie interrupted.

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"You're skilled," Roman said, smiling.

Trent shrugged. "I'm fine," he said. "You topped the damage charts on the last boss. You're good."