Alden stood before his mother, his shoulders back and he looked at her. “You were not to leave the house.” Anastasia started. “No, she was not to follow her mother.” He said with a straight face. “She was not to leave Clyde, Alden.” Ana stared at her son with narrowed eyes. That was when Alden looked down. He had forgotten about that part. “I didn’t take her far. I had my eyes on her the whole time, Mother.” He was trying to defend himself. “You were to stay here.” She paused as she finally decided to tell him. “As soon as we get a house here, you are not to leave that house for two weeks!” She was irritated more than anything that her good boy was trying her patience which didn’t happen much.

His eyes widen, Alden thought he misheard his mother. “Get a house?” He asked thinking she probably said something different. “Yes. We are all moving here. Don’t leave the house again.”  She said as she headed back in the house. Alden stood there for a moment, he was leaving his homeland for this place?! He hadn’t even found his father, why would he leave the only place he could find him. “Damnit!” He cursed as he kicked a rock near his boot. “This is not happening.” He said as he headed back to the house.

Alden ended up finding Nymph and hearing her last words. “And I am stuck in this place.” He said leaning his back on a tree near she was seated. “Guess you're going to see more of me.” He paused as he looked over at her. “So what happened in there?”

Nymph was now in the garden lounging on the bench much like her mother would. She had Yaeger by her side and as soon as Alden made his way into the garden she groaned. Her eyes looked up at him and she groaned again. “Clyde and Mother are having a baby.” It was like watching a groan woman melt down. She had her mother all to herself for years and she still needed her. Now there would be a baby?

Brown eyes closed and she took a few deep breaths. “You are stuck in this place? Don’t tell me Ana is making you stay here.” She flopped over on the bench and sat up so she could look at him. “Mother, Rowan, Clyde, and I all had a little family heart to heart about the new baby. Mother is even showing now.” He hadn’t been there that long but there was a possibility it was the magic in their blood.

She went back to lounging on the bench. “So what did they nail you with? A week? Two weeks? LIFE?” She was being sassy now as she hung herself off the bench and stared at him from upside down. Her dark brown hair waterfalling and crumbling to the dirt below. “I don’t know what mine is yet. She won’t discuss it on this joyful day.”

Standing against the tree, he stared off into the sky. The sun started to fall and lit the sky with oranges and reds. This time of day was his favorite. His father would take his sister and him hunting. Learning to fight at night was essential, “You have to become one with the darkness.” His father’s words echoed in his mind.

Nymphaea’s voice interrupted his thoughts, but he was grateful to have his mind off his father. “This isn’t a bad thing.” He started thinking about the cousin he was going to get. “Having more than one sibling can be a good thing. Means you will always have many people to support and be there for you whenever you need them. Family will always be there.” He said and trusted his words. He had 2 other siblings. No matter how many times they bickered they always had each other’s back. “And it will never mean your mother will love her or him more than you.” He said with a bit of a smile as if he was reading her mind.

She spoke again asking about his mother and he nodded. His mother wanted to stay but it was more than that, she wanted to live here. His eyes went back to the sky. It was a beautiful sight. His eyes went back to her again when she was hanging upside down. He let out a small laugh at her and replied, “life here. In arri. We’re moving here. As soon as mom finds a place, I can’t leave the house for 2 weeks.” He shrugged. It would shorten as long as he is on his best behavior. “I give it a week.” He smiled and looked from Nymph.

“Wait till you meet my brother. He is always grounded.” He laughed as he glanced at her. “He is just like you.” He had heard about Nymph being against orders. “So, what do you do around here when you can’t leave?” He asked getting a bit board.

Nymph turned her eyes to him to laugh. “You need to meet my family sometime. I have three aunts and a hundred plus cousins. Trust me when I say I know family.” She lounged about more because it made her happy. “It’s just different knowing Mom’s focus will be elsewhere.” His words were exactly her fears and she gently let  a sigh out. “I just worry.” Worry that the Queen of Hearts doesn’t have all that much heart to split up to everyone…

A smirk came to her as he noticed her and laughed. She was fine with the lightheaded feeling she felt like this wasn’t the first time she was upside down… That demon from Bohar was something else. She reminded herself she needed to be more on point next time with her magic if she went against one like that again.  “Look at the bright side. When I’m allowed to leave we can take jobs and kill shit. Normally I take low ranking demon jobs and kill the crap out of them.” She laughed a bit. “I’ll bust you out. Shouldn’t be that hard…” 

She tilted her head the best she could while she was hanging there. “Sounds like my type of party.” She crossed her arms and looked at him. “Besides be thrown into a pool of holy water? Read. Meditate. I’m normally by myself though. This is the first time someone has been grounded with me…” Not to mention a boy on top of that. “Did you have anything in mind? I could show you my room. It’s pretty cool.”

Thinking for a moment she laughed. "I don't know if they told you but my full first name is Nymphaea or Waterlily."

Thinking about what she said he shook his head. “Siblings are different from aunts or cousins. You have this certain bond no one can break. Aunts and cousins leave all the time.” Turning towards her, he looked at her when she said she was worried. “Your mother will stop loving you.” He knew what he said wouldn’t ease her fears, but he knew when he saw the baby that would be her turning point.

After he asked about what to do, his eyes looked over to her, his face expressionless. “Lonely.” He thought to himself. “Maybe you need a younger sibling to brighten up your day with more fun.” He said with a small laugh. He nodded, his mother only called her Nymph when he heard about her. “Nyphae–” He started to repeat her name but he heard his name. “ALDEN! I found you!” His brother came out from the house, he ran over to his brother and was about to pick him up. Alden side stepped to dodge his brother who almost hit the tree. “Well that isn’t nice, is that a way to say hello to your little brother?” He leaned on the tree and crossed his arms. His eyes narrowed.  

“Alden.” Her voice was low and sweet as she walked across the grass. Her blueish silver corset top showed off her figure. White sheer sleeves and dress came from the corset. She seemed to float as she walked over the grass. Her hair as white as her younger brothers, but blue eyes the same as the Vladimir line. Alden didn’t move when his sister came to hug him, she laid a kiss on his cheek and smiled. “I missed you, brother.” She said. She paused and looked over to Nymph. “Hello, I am Katherine. Alden’s sister.” She was the first to notice the girl on the bench.

That was when Daulten, the younger brother, saw the beauty on the bench. “Hello, Beautiful.” He said with a smile, he bowed towards her. “Names Daulten. Who would this beautiful woman be, Alden?” He nudged his brother for not introducing them yet. With a sigh, he motioned towards his brother. “These, are my siblings. He is crazy and she is nicer than both of us. Guys, this is Nymphaea.” He said with a smile pointing at his siblings. “Hey!” Daulten narrowed his eyes at his brother. But forced a smile on his lips as he looked at his new friend. His eyes noticeable went to her breasts. He didn’t hide it.

Alden caught his stare and hit him over the head. “Be a gentleman.” He said as he put his hands on his belt. “Yeah yeah.” His brother smiled back over at Nymph.

Nymphaea’s face went funny for a moment as she sighed. “Even if I did get a sibling all of them have the same magical presence my mother has. Something I can’t do.” It was lonely for her. She had always been by herself since the magical studies that her siblings and other court members could do… was impossible for her. 

As his siblings poured Nymphaea did a graceful tumble off of the bench and pulled herself up off the ground. “Hello,” She bowed a bit and looked at Alden. “What a lively little bunch you have.” She pushed her brown hair back for a moment before thinking about everything. “I suppose that I’m going to be Clyde’s stepdaughter.” That was a weird thing to think about.

“This garden is way too small for everyone,” Nymphaea was a person who liked having her space. Especially when she was as volatile as she was. Her eyes went in between them all. “Arri is a fun place to live. You should have fun here. Plenty of half-demons to hang out with… I would stay away from some, though. They like the darker pleasures in life.” Lotus immediately came to mind as she grabbed Yaeger off the floor.

“We need to go on a hunt again as soon as… well, we’re allowed to.”

At the mention of Nymph becoming a daughter to Clyde, Daulten’s eyes grew wide. “Whoa Whoa Whoooaa! What did we miss?! Mom didn’t tell us what was going on, just that we were moving and to get here right away.” He eyes looked over to Alden searching for answers. Alden stood there beside his brother, resisting the urge to smack him again. “Clyde is engaged to her mother, The Queen here. They are also having a child. So mom wants to help out.” He explained as he stare off into the sky that was turning dark. His stomach began to rumble and he looked over to Nymph as she stood.

“Why not go now?!… Wait you're grounded. Hahaha! Thats awesome!” He looked over at his brother and laughed. “Who is hungry?” Alden asked not fazed by his brother. Katherina stayed quiet the whole time they bickered until now. “I am going find mother. Please, do not start a ruckus.” She turned towards nymph with a sweet smile. “It was lovely to meet you, Nymphaea.” With a bow, she was gone.

Walking over to Nymph, Alden grabbed her arm and looped it with his. He lead them into the house and into a living area. He let her arm slip from his as he stepped away. “I will cook us dinner.” He nodded and headed towards the kitchen. “Don’t forget about me!” Daulten called to him while he walked over to a couch and flopped down.

Daulten looked over Nymph in silence for a moment. His demeanor changed a bit. Now he was quiet and unsure what to say. “So, you're going to be my cousin? That sucks. I would of totally took you out on a date.” His voice was soft and smooth. Not loud like he was before, now he was serious and calm.

Before he could give a smile, his brother called his name. “Come help me, Daulten.” Alden called from the kitchen. With a roll of his eyes, he jumped off the couch and headed into the kitchen.

After a bit, they finished the chicken soup Clyde loved making and headed back into the living area. Alden set down Nymph’s place before her on the small table and sat on the couch beside his brother. “WAIT!” He said holding up his hand. “We are missing something..” Jumping up from the couch once more, he headed back into the kitchen. The sound of cabinets opening and closing erupted from the kitchen. Then a door.

“FOUND IT!” He called from below the house. He quickly entered the room holding up 3 cups and a bottle. “Since the parents are busy. They won’t notice.” He smiled pouring a few cups and setting them down on the table. He set the bottle down in the middle of the table. The cups weren’t half way full like you were supposed to do with wine. No, Daulten decided to fill the classes to the top. “Daul-” Alden wasn’t able to finish his sentence, he was handing his glass and told to drink by his brother. “Have some fun. Stop being so serious.” Daulten said with a large smile on his face. Alden sighed, then took a drink.

A glare shot to the younger brother as she put her hands on her hips and stared. It was enough of a movement that she managed to put Yaeger into the loop on her belt. “We’re both grounded. We decided to run off and do things we weren’t supposed to.” She gave a smirk to Alden. “I’m starved actually. All the fighting with demons earlier wiped me clean.”

She gave a smile to Katherina and nodded. “Nice to meet you as well. I’ll look after them.” Not that she could even look after herself. She jumped at first to Alden touching her and shot him a glare. Soon she was blushing as she realized he wasn’t a threat. She walked with him having never really been treated like a lady before, she was more so a terrorist on most days to most people. 

“Thank you,” Nymph said as she fell down onto one of the couches in the room. She put Yaeger up against one of the stands. “Well, we’re not blood cousins. Though in monarchs it's not rare to see cousins marry for power either.” She shrugged a bit. Though she was unnerved by his comment. She had never actually had boys try for her attention before. She scared most.

Once the dinner was done she caught herself laughing as the alcohol came out. “This should be fun.” Once Alden started to go against what Daulten was doing Nymph jumped over to him and laughed. “Come on let’s have fun.” She grabbed his arm and held it close to her. “It will be a blast. They will never know.”

She watched as he took a drink and she followed. She had tasted wine on several occasions but this would be a bit different since her mother wasn’t there to hold her hand. She downed the first glass easily enough and poured another. “The ceiling has a shit ton of wine in it. I bet there is some well-aged wine down there to grab.”

The sword was wiggling and attempting to yell however Nymphaea had secured it so it couldn't talk. A smirk came to her lips as the second glass hit her lips.

When Alden was forced to drink by his brother, he soon accepted it. Nymph had soon jumped beside him and grabbed his arm. He sent a small smile at her with a nod. He needed to let go and have fun. He was always on edge and following orders. They were safe in the walls of the city and he didn’t have a care in the world. He finished the first drink in just a few gulps. Now they were all on their second cup.

The bottle was almost out and Daulten sighed. “Screw this.” He said with a laugh standing up. “We need a few bottles.” He was gone in a flash and soon arrived just as quick. He was carrying now four bottles of wine. One for each of them and then an extra. “They won’t miss them. There is so many bottles down there.” He to Alden when he saw the look on his face. He knew Alden was about to say something about the wines in his hands.

Alden took his bottle and handed Nymphaea hers. Soon enough they were all drinking their own and were half way threw their bottles. “So Nymph.” Daulton smiled over to her as she sat next to his brother. “Does a beautiful young thing like you have a man?” He asked in all seriousness while he took another sip of his wine. “Shut it, Daulten.” Alden glared over to his brother. “What!? Aldensir. It is just a simple question. Were going to be cousins after all. We should be able to ask anything.” Daulton downed the last bit of his drink, knowing he just made a joke out of his brothers name. He smiled over at his brother who rolled his eyes. “Plus I gotta know if I can take her on a date tomorrow without having to worry about a guy trying to punch me in the face.” He smirked over at Nymph. His bright blue eyes sparkling against his white hair and pale face. “Wouldn’t worry anyways.” He said just above a whisper towards her.


Alden sighed and rolled his eyes. His brother was always forward. He decided to let his brother do whatever he wanted. Nymph was the kind of girl to stop it if she didn’t like it. He poured another cup and gulped it down. Soon his body was feeling the effects; he wasn’t a big drinker. Daulton finished his as well. Noticing the empty bottles, he ran and got more. Returning with the good ones she had talked about. He opened his and took a swig right out of the bottle. “Whoa! That is good! Should of got this in the first place!” Daulton said around as he sat back down on the couch.

Alden opened Nymphs for her then his. Daulton was soon cracking jokes about Alden and sharings stories of the past. “You should've seen him back in his day! Alden was a real killer and never. I mean never listened to my mother or pops! It was amazing. Now he he is a bore.” Alden slurred out as he took drinks in between his words.

Alden soon fell back on the couch, the bottle in his hands almost gone. “If you’re not going to finish that…I will.” Daulton said while taking the bottle Alden held out to him. Before long they were all passed out on the couches. Daulton sprawled out on his couch with the bottle in his hands. Soft snores coming out of him.

Alden didn’t know that while in his sleep, Nymph was somehow pulled into his arms and they were asleep together.

Empty bottles laid over the coffee table along with the bowls they ate from.

Nymph laughed a bit as Daulten came back up with all the wine bottles. “There are a lot of them. Mother drinks them often but when your aunt can produce wine like the ocean does water… You never run out.” 

She took her bottle with a smile as she started in on it. She froze up at Daulton's question and blushed a bit before taking another mouthful of the wine. “No,” it was rather quite but she decided to avoid the reason why with a generic answer. “There isn’t enough men in Arri for everyone. It happens.” She about jumped at what Daulton was proposing and quickly took another drink.

She would have stopped it if she had any idea how to respond to a person like Daulton. The truth was she had never been around someone who actually was interested in her like that. She was avoided like the plague. She finished her bottle and laughed when he brought out the good stuff. “Yeah.. that was aged to perfection using magic. I’ve heard stories about it.” 

She laughed at their stories and smiled at Alden. “I don’t know we didn’t listen earlier. He might not be that much of a bore.” She was defending him and also teasing him. She didn’t listen well but her mother had the strength and the mind to keep her in place. Holy magic was a powerful thing about someone as inexperienced as Nymphaea.

Once they were all passed out and she was curled up on Alden she snoozed happily. Not that she knew where she was at that point. 

They got away with it for an hour before all the adults returned to the house. “NYMPHAEA!” Lily was the first one to shriek. Nymph didn’t bother to jump up but her eyes flickered a bit as she looked up at her mother and rubbed her eyes as she moved Alden’s arms lower by instinct alone.

“What?”