It seemed like it was another normal day at the Black Rose Court, at least as far as the patriarch of the Norcross was concerned by the time he arrived. Dante was lounging about the den on one of the couches, enthralled in a book while the young children were playing about. Steele, Eldora, and their own children were present as well, though they seemed annoyed by something. Xunatar wouldn’t know what until he heard the commotion from upstarts followed by the sounds of things crashing.

“They’re at it again, papa”, Dante spoke, not bothering to peek up from his reading. “They have been getting even louder half an hour ago”, Steele said, rolling his own eyes. “Would have thought they’d be done by now…”

“Yeah, we should be hearing thuds of a different sort by now”, the younger son sighed, not bothering to explain his words for most of them knew what was meant. Also, it didn’t help that the children were present and he’d rather not get blamed for filling their young minds with more depravity.

Meanwhile, Sol was indeed in a tense argument with Undine. The damn thing about it was that he couldn’t remember why they were fighting in the first place. He had been secretive the last few days and today was supposed to be a good occasion, but then one of them said something stupid and the other reacted. Which caused the first person to react and before they knew it, they were at each other’s throats.

“If you weren’t so damn stubborn, then we wouldn’t be having this discussion!”, the fire djinn snarled. “Why do you have to be so emotional?!” Back and forth they bickered, it was like they were an actual married couple at times, except for the fact that they could kill as easily as breathing. Sol and Undine argued for what seemed like all morning and while normally they would end it and make amends, he had no such interest in carnal affairs.

He didn’t even know whether he was the guilty party or not, but he sure as hell wasn’t going put up with it anymore. “You know what! Screw it!” He dug frantically into his pocket and marched up to her. When his hand came out, it held a little black box and he waved it at her face. “This was supposed to be a happy, fucking day for us. I was going to propose to you because I actually wanted to be married to you, Undine! And not just keep playing house like we were since Jayou!” To secure his point, Sol got down onto one knee and popped the box open, revealing a gorgeous diamond ring with sapphires plopped around the center jewel. “Now do you want to fucking marry me, or not!?” He took her hand regardless and slipped the ring onto her finger.

“I fucking love you!”

Downstairs, Dante’s mouth hung down after he was able to make out what was going on. He looked to Steele who also had his jaw dropped. Xunatar merely looked up and blinked. The demon lord didn’t believe his ears and simply thought that his son had finally gone insane. Dante rushed up the stairs and broke into their room. “No…you didn’t…”
He moved to his sister-in-law and looked at the ring. “Oh, yes you did…this house be damned… I get to plan the wedding!” The half-elf jumped up and down, hugging his sister and forgetting her terms on personal space.

Sea demons were an emotional lot and Sol’s parents had been right to steer him clear of creatures like her. However, she was the only woman on the living plane who could deal with him. She wasn’t bowing to him and giving him everything he wanted. They walked on equal grounds and she wouldn’t be some bed adornment, no she wanted to be his equal. That had been the deal from day one.

Sol was used to women throwing themselves at him. He was used to them giving in to his every demand like he was a god. He didn’t have an inch to move with Undine. The moment he started to bark orders at her she told him to go to hell. She was filled with pride and maybe that was why he had fallen for her hard. Maybe that was the reason why the two of them had fallen hard for each other. The other had met their match.

When Sol had the option of behaving or going back to the tomb… He had given up his pride for her to make sure she had been okay. This wouldn’t have been Sol at the start. They had their fights but they were loyal to one another. The problems, however, started when he would leave her for odd time slots.

At first, it didn’t bother her but eventually, the thought came to her mind, maybe because deep down she hated herself, that he was going to replace her. Undine would never settle for second place and it would be her or no one at all. That was the type of demon she was. She spoke to no one about her feelings or they would have told her how stupid she was being.

The youngest of the court children were holding each other’s hands. It was an odd thing for Angelette and Tristine to get along like this as they dragged a set of binoculars over to the window and climbed up helping each other. “They are still yelling. He’s gonna do it right?” Tristine batted her big blue eyes at her sister.

“That’s what he said. Yup, yup,” Angelette said as she patted her younger sister on the head and they began to watch each one taking a side of the binoculars.

Undine was throwing her hands up into the air at the fire djinn. She was losing her own temper at him, “Me? I’m stubborn?! I’m talking to the world’s biggest ass!” It was true as Angelette nodded along.

“They are both the worlds’ biggest asses,” Angelette looked down at her sister. “That’s why they are made for each other little sister.” Triss nodded her head. It was weird to see the five-year-old and three-year-old like this.

“Screw it?! SCREW YOU!” Undine yelled before she stopped to look at what he was doing. The demoness was rather quiet now as she tilted her head. Finally he was waving a box in her face and she didn’t know what to do. Propose? What was he doing? The color drained from her face as he got down on one knee.

“Marry you?” Suddenly the rage-filled her back up and looked it over. “If you weren’t such a fucking ass I would say no.” Angelette perked up an eyebrow and went back to the binoculars. “Why didn’t you just tell me that’s why you were leaving me alone for long periods of time?” Undine had actually gotten a bit jealous.

“Because~ AUNTIE UNDINE, then it wouldn’t have been a secret. Women are such problems sometimes,” Angelette let out sarcastically as she shook her head with sass. “Just don’t scratch it we spent a long time picking the ring out with Uncle Sol.” Triss was nodding her head furiously.

“FINE, I’ll marry you!” Undine pulled him up and kissed him, “because I fucking love you too. I would have no one else.” Her voice was soft now and the ocean was finally at peace.

Angelette climbed down from her window seat and went to go get the flowers and chocolates that her uncle had told her to bring. “Come on Triss, we got a job to do.” Triss climbed down and slipped a little before running behind Angelette with some wine.

“OUT OF THE WAY UNCLE DANTE,” Angelette came her way in and held it up. “Sorry, Auntie… He was with us. We helped.”

Undine looked down at the kids and back up at Sol. “You… put a lot of thought into this.”

Triss nodded and held up the wine, “We made sure to pick out everything you would like.”

Undine looked shocked as she looked at the man who would be her husband, “Sol… that’s so thoughtful.” She was suddenly no longer mad as she curled up into him and kissed him again. “Dante, you aren’t planning our wedding. Over my dead body.”

Colden hadn’t noticed what the two little schemers that were his daughters were up to. Things were plenty quiet today and he had been catching up on his reading when he noticed from the corner of his eye that they were together with a pair of binoculars heading down the hall. He went back to reading just a few more lines before he grew curious about just how quiet they were being. Tristine herself was known for it; Angelette was not. Grumbling softly, he rose up, placed the book down onto the corner table, and silently followed the two. He caught them up against the window watching something. What it was was anyone’s guess. He stood from a distance, close enough to overhear them and frowned as his oldest was speaking of a pair of asses, in the literal sense.

“God, what are they peaking at?” He remained still for a few more seconds before he snuck up behind them and peaked over himself. “You’re spying on your Aunt and Uncle?” He didn’t see a reason for it for nothing really new ever happened when it came to those two. They would argue and argue and then by the end of it they would… “Okay, okay, I don’t think you two should watch them for too long. Or at least I hope they close the curtains soon…”

Meanwhile, Sol looked at Undine like she was crazy. “I’m the biggest ass?! Look who’s talking!” He groaned loudly as their argument intensified. By the end of it, they both were looking like dumbasses. Sol made a fool of himself with this proposal he did instead of the one he had been practicing for weeks now and Undine was utterly speechless. He had already slipped the ring onto her finger and rolled his eyes. “It wouldn’t have been a…surprise if I had told you, now would it?” He was calming down now. “I was trying to nail down the perfect way to propose, but…” It was his temper that made him lose sight of it. Not that he would go that far to admit it. He looked to her with a slightly puzzled look. “Why did that matter? You think I was out messing with someone else?”

Colden looked on stunned. “What…what just happened? I saw him just kneel over but I could see what was going on.” He looked to his children for answers but Angelette did mention a ring. “Wait…did Sol just ask for her hand in marriage?” He would have fainted if he wasn’t made of sterner stuff. Still, he could hardly believe it. In his state, he hadn’t noticed the girls departing with gifts they stashed.

Dante was celebrating while swinging his sister-in-law around like a small doll and then noticed the children’s arrival. “Aw, you little munchkins have excellent taste, must get that from me.”

Sol went over and released her from Dante’s grip and held her in his arms. It was an odd sight considering their height difference but she was able to maneuver herself up to his lips to bless them with her own. Afterward, he looked up to Dante, “I concur. You aren’t in charge of that.”

“Oh come on! I never get to plan anything!”, the younger brother complained, crossing his arms. “You all suck!” Sol rolled his eyes and nuzzled his lips against the top of Undine’s head. “You can thank them. Apparently, the choices I’d made weren’t exactly ideal.” It took a lot to get the approval of not one of them, but both his nieces. It was painstaking labor, putting it lightly. But at least now that part was over and nothing could ruin that.

That was until he felt a slight tickling sensation coming from the back of his shoulder. He peeked around to see a dark purple butterfly on it and before he could react, it flew away with great speed towards an open window and far from Sularia. “Whoa, what was that?”, Dante said as he dashed over to the window, while Colden and Xunatar now joined them. Sol’s face was filled with horror as he pushed Dante away and leaned out the window. “No, no, no…fucking hell no! Please, not her.”

He looked over to Xunatar, “Put me back in that tomb now! I swear to god, put me back in there now!” Xunatar looked at him with a grave look. “No. You knew that she would come for you sooner or later.”

Sol was scrambling about like a madman and Colden looked on, unsure of what to make of this. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Maybe, he doesn’t like bugs? But come on, it was just a butterfly”, Dante said, trying to keep his composure and not burst out laughing.

“It’s not the insect he fears, it’s who summoned it to spy on him”, their father replied. “It’s the one person he truly fears.” He shook his head and sighed, “It’s his mother. She will be coming to see him shortly. That is why he’s acting moonstruck. Kali must have been keeping track of him, likely since his escape.”

Angelette looked up at her father and nodded, “Don’t worry it won’t get that bad. He is on a mission today Daddy.”

“Yeah, Daddy today is a happy day!” Triss bounced a little and took her seat again so she could continue to watch.

Undine looked away when he asked her if she was suspecting. “I was just jealous.” The fact that she would even admit it now even in a whisper was a change that would have surprised Sol. “I thought you would replace me.” Undine was still struggling with aspects of herself. She had always been replaced and sometimes she put that on Sol which she now saw was a mistake.

“Yes,” the girls answered Colden with happy energy. Undine was trying to get free from Dante and luckily sol was there to save her. She wrapped her arms around the tall djinn and smiled up at him. “We were trying to make it perfect! Do you like it, Auntie?”

“Yes, you two did very well,” Undine chuckled a bit at them. Though she was in shock as Sol suddenly left her to chase a butterfly. “Her?” She tilted her head and she thought about the only person it could be. Sol spoke rarely of her but if it was her this could be a problem.

Undine was in shock, “He doesn’t even act this way with me.” She softly spoke as she rubbed Sol’s shoulders. “Relax, we’ll take it in stride. How bad can it be?” Her eyes went to Xunatar and Dante. “This is much like my father coming for me. We both only fear one person really. No offense, Father. It must have been his proposal that caught her attention… Which means… Does she want to be involved?” She turned Sol to look up at his face. That had to be it.

Colden was at least grateful that his daughters weren’t up to any trouble. In fact, they were busy making sure that their Uncle was properly prepared to ask Undine to marry him. It did his heart good to see them doing good, no matter how short-lived it would be. Dante was annoyed that he was denied another chance to plan out a wedding, and he groaned loud enough to gather their attention, not that they would give it to him willingly. At this point, he was just being a spoiled brat. “It’s not fair, I’ll just do my own wedding, and it will be better than any one of yours!”

Xunatar ignored him largely during his temper tantrum and instead replied to Undine. “His fear of his mother derives from…much more subtle issues he has with her. She will likely wish to be involved, as she always did with his life, which is precisely what he doesn’t want.”

“That woman treats me like a damn child”, Sol interrupted, even as Undine was trying to subdue and make him relax. “She is a complete menace! You just wait until she gets here, then you’ll see!” He didn’t want to think about her coming all the way from Abed. But just how long had she been watching him for? How much did she know about his situation and that with Undine? Damn that woman!

“Knowing her, she’ll be here in the next few weeks.”

“Oh, come on. How bad could she be?”, Dante asked, still stewing over his disappointment.

“Aside from that, she is a powerful enchantress. That butterfly? It’s but a very small taste of her power, even though between the length of time that summoning had been around him. I’m fairly certain that it was with him prior to his entombment. Kali tended to keep tabs on him, especially during his warmongering phase.” To that, Sol rolled his eyes and buried his face into Undine. “This is just perfect. That madwoman is destined to ruin me…”

——-

For weeks, Sol kept tabs of who would come into the Manor, scared for dear life that it would eventually be his mother. And when the time came, her entrance into the city wasn’t a quiet one. Flutes bellowed as four elephants decorated in the bright colors of Abed invaded the city and their caretakers close by them, leading with ropes around their necks. In the middle of them were four servants hoisting up a palanquin. The small parade made their way down the route towards the manor and as soon as he saw it, he screamed bloody murder.

“Guess she’s here”, Dante could be heard saying from downstairs. They were aware of his paranoia ever since learning about Kali and sure enough, that fated day was here. He made his way to the door and peeked as her entourage stopped at the courtyard and the men set down the palanquin and opened it for her. A beautiful woman of dark complexion came out, garbed in a red and purple sari. Her black hair was braided behind her and golden eyes shined like the stars would in the evening.

“Ooooh, I wouldn’t mind calling her mommy”, Dante said excitedly as the men took lead and moved him out of the way.

“Crap, crap, crap!” There was nowhere for Sol to run. He was trapped like a rat and even if he could get away, she would track him down eventually all over again. Defeated, he slumped himself downstairs where as soon as she laid eyes on him, she fled from the group and clung onto her son. “My little cub! It’s been too long!”

“Little cub?” Dante was ready to burst out laughing, but a death stare was shot out at him.

“Hello…mother…”

“Sol, how cold of you. Is that any way to greet your mother?” She released him only to pull gently at his cheeks. He grumbled softly but didn’t try to pry her away. “My little cub, I can’t wait to see this young woman you proposed to. She’s quite the catch, especially to put up with you.”

“Just how long had you been watching me?”
“Ever since you were free, my child. I would have come sooner, but you seemed upset with me still. Well, upset with most things really. So I had my little friend tag along without you knowing.” She lifted a finger up and the butterfly was quick to land onto it.

“Now, where’s this lady of the sea? I want to see her formally now.”

“He doesn’t like to be controlled,” Undine chimed in lightly. Even though Undine could see why he was treated like a child from time to time she just merely pet his head. “There, there.”

–

Undine had been out at sea with her father. He wished to know everything about the ring and about Sol. His only daughter was marrying a hot-headed asshole who acted just as entitled as she did. Undine pat his hand as he played victim. “My only little girl with a cretin like that~” Eliagos would stop to make sure that Undine was still there. He would stop his tears and everything before starting back up. “Why not one of the nice boys from the east sea?”

“I would eat them,” Undine patted his hand some more. “You know they are scared of me so much they ink themselves.”

“This is true… What about the south sea…”

“They close their waterways when I get close. Sol is the only man who can stomach me Papa,” Undine smiled up at him. “He’s not so bad. You know he loves me.”

“But he is such a brute~”

“You are a brute.”

“I would have treated your mother like a queen if she wasn’t such a…”

“A bitch?”

“I try not to speak ill of your mother in front of you. It’s rude for a father to do so but yes,” Eliagos had such a soft heart when he had his daughter alone. Undine knew that women were underwhelmed by how he was when he was alone. He was awkward but he had love for his daughter. “And you are sure?”

“Yes, I love this man very much. He does treat me like a queen even when we quarrel.” Eliagos pouted lightly but kissed her forehead.

“Very well, I will approve it.”

Undine left her father to return to dry land. She put on her robe waiting for her by the ocean and heard the noise from afar, “Crap…” She had left poor Sol at the mercy of his mother. She hoped he would survive until he was there.

Making her way inside the house she came from the back to the sight before her. Kali was holding onto Sol and Undine made fish eyes at them both. He looked alive but dead on the inside, “Pardon my poor appearance. I have just come from the sea. My father requested me this morning. Give me five minutes to get decent so Dante can put his eyeballs back in his head.”

She came back downstairs in exactly five minutes in a fine dress. Her hair was brushed out but the saltwater made it frizz alive with wild curls. “Father was very upset and cried for an hour about Poor Undine and her taste in men,” she kissed Sol’s cheek. “However, after going down the list of eligible male bachelors who would put up with me he has agreed to accept you as his son-in-law. No one wants to put up with me or they are scared of me.”

Finally, after she greeted her soon to be husband she bowed to Kali, “It is a pleasure to meet you. I am sorry for being late. I am just a tad exhausted from holding my father and his tantrum."

Sol truly did feel dead inside the moment his mother clasped down onto him. There was no escape; only misery and despair awaited for his soul. Perhaps he was acting a bit melodramatic, but he seriously couldn’t stand the way his mother treated him. She wanted to meet Undine, but for the life of him, he had no idea where she could have gone. As far as he knew, she probably fled to the sea to escape the fate that he was in. Unfortunately, she did arrive back home and she saw for herself the terror that was his mother. His eyes spoke “Save me” while Kali glanced over to the girl that had his son’s heart. It was a funny thing to believe that it was a sea demon of all things that her child coveted. Especially after all the times, she had warned about her kind. A part of her believed that he was simply rebelling, but after learning what she did of their relationship, it was much deeper than that. He actually did love her.

“Eliagos, crying?”, Dante snickered, “I can’t believe that, not from a mighty demon lord like him. I could see him trying to eat Sol though.”

Sol would have thrown fire his way, but his mother was far too close against him. Once Undine went upstairs, Kali chimed in, “Yes, well he did make a pretty daughter, I’ll admit. Even though her mother…well, an unsightly woman she was. I’ve heard tales about her from others, your father included. At least her children seem brighter than she ever was.” She wouldn’t hold those crimes of Cyprus against her children. They were her greatest victims, after all.

When the time came for her to come back down, Kali released her son and approached Undine. She moved her fingers underneath the girl’s chin and lifted her head up. “Darling, you need not bow to me. We will be a family soon.” She kissed her forehead tenderly. “Come, we must talk in private.”

“Wait what?”, Sol went to protest but Kali cut him off. “I must learn of the woman that tamed my little lion cub” Another groan came out loudly from his mouth as she led her into the living quarters. “Now Sol, you can wait there. We won’t be too long.”

Once they were settled down, Kali sat down and decided to rip off the bandages, so to speak. “I hope you realize that a union between you two isn’t to be taken lightly. The daughter of Eliagos and eldest son of Xunatar…you two are already bonded whether you two know it or not. Fate had weaved it tightly around you the moment you met. I have foreseen greatness for my child, the depths of it were unknown. To be honest, I never quite pictured him with a sea demon, though I also never suspected that he would settle with any woman in general. You are special, Undine. As will be your lineage…”

She stopped in her tracks and chuckled, “Forgive me, I speak too far into the future. I wish to learn about yourself, dear Undine. And in turn, you may ask anything of myself.”

Undine snapped her eyes to Dante, “He only cries to me. Try saying it to his face.” Undine was Eliagos’s only child and a daughter at that. He was protective of her. He had gone so far to give Undine half of his own power so she would live. Even after doing that Eliagos was a powerhouse demon of the sea.

Once Undine had come back down Kali had surprised her by pulling her face up. She didn’t know what to expect but this wasn’t it. Sol’s vanity didn’t seem to be in this woman. “Of course.” Settling down into the family room Undine was unsure what to do. With Xunatar she could just be quiet but this woman seemed to want to get to know her.

Eliagos had always sheltered Undine from other demons. Most of them knew of her but had never seen her before. “He told me that he was told to stay away from my kind but he is just as wild as we are… If I may be so bold.” There was a small smile from her. “You’ve seen how he can be and how matched our anger tends to be. Xunatar says you’ve been with him since the beginning of all this.” She rubbed her ring gently and took a breath.

Undine wasn’t too sure what she meant of lineage but as soon as it dawned on her they were talking about children her face went a little red, “Sol dislikes children… he does like our nieces though. I’m sure you’ve seen how wound around their fingers he is.” Her voice was soft. “So maybe…”

The sea demoness shifted uncomfortably at first, “There’s not a lot about me I fear. My father kept me by his side for most of his life due to circumstances with my mother and what I did to the shore here. I was raised in the royal courts but away from the other demons. My father is very protective even now they don’t know what I look like. He was afraid they would say something I wouldn’t like. Like Sol they would have demanded things of me… The difference would be…” She held her breath and finally released, “That nothing would be holding me back from ripping them apart. I really do love your son and it took us much time to admit it for we saw it as a weakness. I find myself fairly boring."

“Yes, he’s always been rebellious, to both me and his father. At least with the latter, I’m sure it’s because he wanted his approval, even when things went south with them. I had him until he was old enough to go with Xunatar and learn from him. Occasionally I would come and visit him, but much of his father’s reluctant towards showing emotions rubbed off on him.” That and his pride combined made getting close to him a difficult task in itself. It was fortunate for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law that he didn’t become completely heartless. Not that his father was either. “I do fear that he resents me because I can be a tad too loving towards him. But he will always be my cherished son.”

“Forgive my assumption- I merely meant that should you decide to have children, then their powers could be greater than what you both may realize. Inheriting power can be a scary experience; you of all people can attest to that.” Kali knew of how Sol was with children and she herself could barely see him as father material. Still, she was aware of how he treated his nieces, begrudgingly as it were. Even he wasn’t immune to family ties, however, and it showed. “And your own thoughts about them? I hardly blame you if you don’t since your own mother was horrid to you and your siblings.”

Kali leaned up forward, studying every motion Undine had made. It was evident that she wasn’t used to speaking in such a matter. Even with all that power, she wasn’t as confident when being asked about herself. Perhaps it was intimidating to speaking to Sol’s mother, or a demon older and stronger than herself. Maybe both? She kept herself passive as she spoke. Once she finished, Kali smiled at her.

“Boring is a subjective thing, love. You are anything but. You are the greatest treasure to that Eliagos, and my son doesn’t go for boring women. You are the only person that can get through that thick skull of his and you are strong enough that even that old goat Xunatar respects you. The remnants of your family welcomed you back, slowly but surely and those rugrats of theirs adore you. I believe that you are the only worthy woman for my lion cub. A powerful combination you two make, love.”