Janus watched as all the other kids lined up and huffed at the thought of exercise so early in the morning. With Lila taking care of Glynn, that meant that the youngest trio was not going to take part in the absurd race that was about to happen. He already knew that it would be Alshaya or Everett who won. Sure, there was a small chance that Llonan might win, but the boy was too honest for his own good.

The lazy twin yawned and rolled over. The race would be far too boring to watch.

Llonan lined up next to the other kids, and knelt down, readying himself to go. He knew that the race would be insane if magic was allowed. Everett was stretching and hopped up and down, raring to go. The other kids were all preparing, while a few of the more posh children were standing back and watching with disdain, though silver was trading hands. Even the youngest of merchants knew how to bet. There was, however, a very angry rich boy lined up. The one that Everett had knocked down…

“Ready!?” Everett said as he smirked. “Set!!!”

Alshaya grinned. “ANDDDD GOOOO!!!”

They all started off, with Alshaya immediately taking the lead with magically enhanced reflexes. Everett wasn’t far behind, followed by a trailing Llonan. The rest of the kids were shocked and a few even stopped trying entirely. Some of the other kids adapted quickly, and were quick on the update. Alshay, though, was hardly playing fair…

Alshaya was learning to be in complete control of her powers. It was important to be in-sync with what had given birth to her, at least that was what Simone had taught her. Now she could communicate with trees for short instances and she was mastering being able to use them as doors but up until now, she was only allowed to do so with guardians present as the Terrowins were scared she was going to go someplace she shouldn’t have.

“She certainly is coming into her nymph blood well…” Llywellyn was watching. “I can see why it scares Simone so much.” Alshaya even managed to loop some of the children behind her and once the race was over she patted her skirt more to shake the dirt off.

“You cheated!” One of the bigger boys yelled.

“The only rule was we couldn’t cut through the playground. Magic is fully available to use.” Shaya put her hands on her hips.

“A girl like you shouldn’t ha–” A rock flew and knocked the boy right in the face.

Lila had a few in her hands now as she made a face. “SHHH.” Glynn had started to make a fuss. “Don’t wake Glynn.”

“Or Janus,” Janus waved his hand.”

“I’m going to report you to the owner of this fortress!” The boy yelled. "My dad will get your parents kicked off the fortress!"

“Sure,” Alshaya smiled. “Let me help you.” She was gone for a little bit and managed to find Raile after asking some unsuspecting plants. “Uncle Raile, this boy wants to report us.”

“…Uncle?” The color drained from his face.

"Shaya… is bold." Llywellyn was facepalming.

Raile sighed when the two kids came up to him. Of course things were going this way, but he had an idea in the back of his mind to help cool the tensions that were obviously flaring between the Terrowins and the other kids. “Now, now, Shaya. Let’s try to make friends with everyone. Nobody is getting reported today…” What was more concerning was how she found him so easily. He wondered if his own girls were a part of that problem…

He led the kids back and waved over one of his more successful business partners; a small metal cart with frozen treats. The mage specialized in ice magic, and created fantastic frozen fruit treats. With a bit of silver and coaxing, the mage started to pass out treats to all the kids to try and calm the heated tensions.

Janus waved his hand, sleepy, and yawned. “Lila, one for me? And Glynn?” The moment he finished the sentence, he dozed back off.

Lila hopped up and smiled. “Yes!” She seemed excited over the possibility of a frozen treat, and trotted off to the cart. Unknown to the both of them, though, there was one boy who would not be participating. The merchant boy who was, at this point, furious with the Terrowin family. He snuck up to Glynn, and without hesitation snatched the baby boy up.

“I’ll teach you all to make a mockery of me…”

At the first cry from Glynn, Janus’ eyes opened. He was up in an instance with a dead look in his eye. Not only was he rudely interrupted from his nap, but someone was tormenting his baby brother.

And that just wasn’t allowed.

Lila dropped the treats. Her own eyes latched onto the merchant boy. “Put him down now.” Lila was next to her brother in an instant. “We’ll make you regret it.”

Janus nodded with Lila.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH GLYNN!” Shaya yelled but she couldn’t get close enough because of the twins. The presence those two had was… terrifying.

Lila had a black flame in her hand bouncing it up and down as if it were a ball. If they were looked more like Lewis than Simone it was right now. “Put him down. Go home.”

“Or what? You going to kick my ankles?”

“Burn alive~” Janus replied as he formed his own little black ball of fire. “Or we see how high you fly.”

“Or~ We turn you into something else,” Lila replied at the end of Janus’s sentence. “Put. Glynn. Down. Go. Home.”

“I don’t mean to bring up that we should intervene… but Xeik, I think this is one of those situations we should intervene.” The louder Glynn got the angrier the twins' presence got.

Janus and Lila’s eyes were wide with the same intensity that Lewis had when he was about to enjoy slitting someone’s throat. It was absolutely terrifying to most of the kids, and even Xeik was getting chills at the energy that was pouring off of the twins.

Janus took a step forward, and started to throw the black flame, but his hand stopped. He looked at his arm curiously, and noticed that someone had stopped it. It was Xeik, who was standing there calmly with a smile on his face. The fact that an adult was stepping in immediately made Janus sigh.

“I had it,” the boy grumped.

“Lila, you too. Put your hand down.” The Divine Mender looked over to the royal brat who had Glynn in his hands. “I suggest you put him down now. He really doesn’t like being held like that.” Xeik’s voice was unwaveringly calm.

“I’ll do no such thing. My fath-” the boy started. At once, Xeik was in front of the kid. Glynn had appeared in his hands, and the crying was subsiding, replaced by giggling as Xeik smiled down at Glynn.

“There, there, Glynn. It’s okay now.” Xeik walked towards Llywellyn, and glanced back. “I don’t know about you, Lly…but I need to pay attention to Glynn for a moment. So as long as I don’t sense someone getting too badly hurt, I won’t be able to focus on the kids for a moment…”

Lila smirked, and looked at Janus. He mirrored her look, and their gazes trailed back to the merchant boy. “Play?” Janus asked his sister.

“Play.”

Show us the Wife!

“We don’t believe you.” The group stared at the other survivors.

“It’s true! Xeik is getting married and has a son! Lewis is married and has thirteen children!”

“Show us his wife! She has to be a whale or ugly,” they said as they remembered what Lewis was like. Only someone like that would settle for the emotionless boy.

“Fine!” They found Xeik easily enough with the information he left for them. “Xeik, take us to see Lewis at once!”

“But… They are working…” Xeik looked up. “I wouldn’–”

“We don’t care! He married an ugly woman didn’t he!?” They yelled and Xeik realized why the two from the restaurant looked… confused as well with their words.

“Okay but don’t blame me for how Lewis reacts.” Xeik pushed up and opened a portal. “I will take you to the entrance it’s up to Arrin to find them.”

They were dropped off in front of the Angel Cabaret. “Here?” Xeik nodded. It was the weekend anyway. Once they went inside Arrin took the charge looking for Simone.

He found her with a revealing outfit on. It was much different than the one they had seen her in at the restaurant. Was it really the same woman? The way her black hair fell around her. The wings! They were actually real. Their breaths hitched in their throats. “That’s her.”

“There ain’t no way~”

Xeik had all but given up on trying to convince the old guild boys to drop the subject. Despite his desperate pleas, the old members of Heaven’s Dawn were persistent, and eventually Xeik gave in to show them Simone. The Divine Mender knew very well that the island was off limits, but the cabaret club that Raile owned was considered a neutral space. That would be fine.

It wasn’t long before the small group was in front of the Angel Cabaret, and the boys waltzed in, determined to see the ‘ugly’ wife that had to exist. It didn’t take long for Arrin to find Simone, and when he did his jaw dropped. Having met the woman before, he had an expectation of what to expect, but this was far from anything he could have imagined.

Of course, the rest of the women from Xeik and Lewis’ circle were there too, minus Mia. Osiria was showing off in a fantastic, lacy red corset that emphasized her figure as she poured round after round of drinks. Tonight was also one of the rare nights that Vela graced the cabaret with her presence, and she was strutting around the place in what was practically nothing of a white see-through outfit, with just the barest of cover on the essentials.

Xeik sighed, and took a seat at the bar and waved his hand for a drink from Os.

Lewis was watching, of course, and immediately noticed when the old guild boys walked in behind Xeik. Without even having to ask the healer, he had a general idea of what had happened, and slithered his way through the crowd to the space behind the group, and crossed his arms.

He cocked his head to the side, and watched Simone for a moment, a smirk on his face. His wife winked and smiled back, which got the boys thinking that she was interacting with them. That was when Lewis leaned forward.

“…and why are you staring so hungrily at my wife?” His voice was ice cold, with murderous intent. At once, all of the boys froze.

The boys were practically frothing at the mouth. She winked at them! She, of course, knew what Lewis was thinking so she slinked over after dropping off the last of the drinks. Once Lewis scared them they started to scream after the freeze.

“Oh Lewis,” she directed his face with a single finger. It was enchanting and the boys watched as he was brought down to be kissed. “You don’t need to be so threatened. When I’m only going to ever be touched by you~” She was bringing out every ounce of sexy she had as she slithered herself around him and looked at the guild members. “I remember some of you from the restaurant.”

“You… You look so different,” Arrin said.

Simone smirked a bit, “Well, on the weekends I work here as a hostess. It breaks up the week and gives us a break from the children for a little bit. Doesn’t it Lewis? He likes the outfits.”

"Okay, Lewis. What is wrong with her?" It wasn't meant as an offensive remark from one of the boys. "You were always so awkward with the women. HOW DID YOU GET HER?!"

"Isn't it obvious? He was hired to murder me," Simone said for spice.

As if to make things weirder, Rhenakos happened to walk by at the remark that Simone made.

“Did a shit job at it,” he said. “Looking good, Mone.”

“Keep walking,” Lewis replied with a dead stare. As he sauntered off to go stare at more women (or, in his words, ‘work’), Lewis turned his attention back to the ex-guild. “Long story short…we met when I was contracted to kill her. Things got…complicated. We’re here now.” Having told the story multiple times at this point, he really didn’t feel like going over the whole thing again.

“Fine, fine,” he said as he looked at Simone, who was chastising him through their resonance. “She was immortal. I had to break the curse. During that time we fell in love. Believe it or not…”

Arrin huffed and crossed his arms. “Yeah, but there’s no way that’s possible. You were practically a psychopath.”

Lewis smirked. “Who said she isn’t? At her request, I helped murder her entire family…you should see her with an axe.”

At that, the boys paled a little. “Maybe…she’s not as great as I thought…”

“She’s a damn treasure,” Lewis replied with a death glare.

“RIGHT! A treasure! One you’re super lucky to have,” one of the other boys said with a quick, rushed response.

“Damn straight,” Lewis replied with a smile as he looked at Simone.

“Geez…it’s really creepy when he smiles….”

With a Husband Like That!

It was another weekend at the Angel Cabaret and Lewis had discovered yet another outfit that he was in love with. Today his lovely wife was in a gorgeous black silk halter that cropped just below her breasts. A delicate gold chain held the skirt that barely covered her. The ends of the skirt held a gold outline. It showed off her legs which excited Lewis.

Various gold chains with gems were across her waist creating art across her skin. On the upper part of her arm was silver silk with gold edges. Flowing from them was long black see-through fabric with gold designs towards the ends.

Her long black hair was half pulled back with a gold circlet with a blue gem in the center of her forehead.

It was jaw-dropping and only outdone by whatever Vela had decided to wear that evening. Which to be fair was even less than what Simone was currently wearing. Her black and blue wings were even decorated with the same gold chains. They were lightweight and a new design by Kite so that someone like her was comfortable but still decorated for the evening.

A man sat at the bar and his jaw dropped. “Ahh, you see our Simone,” Osiria was in a corset and pants. She didn’t look as dressed up as the floor girls but still she was easy on the eyes. “I would be careful with that one. Her husband is a noble.” Os was trying to tell the man no in so many words but it didn’t look like it worked.

He moved from the bar and moved to the table waving Simone over. “Out of everyone here… Your wings are the prettiest.”

“Most are off put by them but I thank you for the compliment,” the omen of death bowed her head as she took his order and brought him another drink. Osiria gave her warning and Mone nodded with a smile. It was gonna be one of those nights.

“Say, what would it take for you to come home with me?” The man looked interested in her.

“I’m sorry but my husband wouldn’t like that~” Mone gave a smirk directed towards her husband who was hiding in the shadows.

“I’m sure he is just some pampered noble. He wouldn’t know what to do with a woman like you,” the man smirked at her.

“That isn’t a good idea~” Mone smiled before leaving the man’s side to attend to other people for the rest of the night. As the night wound down she found herself face to face with the man again.

“I can give you so much more than he can,” he sounded confident.