Xeik and Angela had the time to show up early, and help with all of the prep work. He had grown so much during his time with the Goddess, and between his new skillset and his old skillset, he was a great help in getting things prepared. It was an interesting event to be attending, but he didn’t mind it so much. With everything set up, they all hid, and waited for the assassin to show.

When he came in, he was confused at the sudden rush of giddy emotion from Simone. “This isn’t another one of these books you’re writing, is it? You get so bubbly when you write them, and-” When the blindfold fell, and everyone yelled surprise, he had a dumbfounded look on his face.

When Alshaya rushed him, though, he swooped her up and laughed, “Wow, what a surprise!” he said with a mental eyeroll. He put his nose to hers, and nuzzled her for a moment before letting her down and looking around. “A birthday?” He was a little confused. “But I don’t…”

Xeik smiled. “Happy Birthday, Lewis…”

Before anything else could happen, there was a knock at the door. Rhenakos barged in with Osiria in tow, complaining about how late they were. Raile, Leilah, and Kalina waltzed in afterwarwards, with the merchant holding up his hands and apologizing about how it was his fault they were late.

“Terribly sorry. Had some issues at the shop that had to be resolved.” He looked at Xeik, and immediately lit up. “Xeik! It’s been a long time! You’re looking well!” And then Lewis. “And Lewis, what a wonderful day this is. Happy birthday,” he said as he handed over a poorly wrapped dagger. “Can never have too many, right?” Behind him came his daughters, Nyssa and Piper, who were parenting to be shy, hanging behind their mother.

Rhenakos sighed, “Izzy couldn’t make it. Toya has her doing some training, but Reva is outside. She saw a plant or something and wanted to take a look.”

Simone chuckled a bit and shook her head, “No, it’s not I promise. Not this time.”

There was a snort from Simone at his mental eye roll and Alshaya was excited as she kissed his nose. She stayed by his side eager to show him her hard work with the decorations. She held his hand and saw Rhenakos and family stroll in late as usual. “Uncle Rhen you late,” Alshaya let go of her father’s hand to put her hands on her hip. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you guys that’s rude?”

Kalina was watching the twins and making sure they were behaving before handing Lewis a new dagger pouch, “I ain’t good at wrapping but I am good at making. Made it from dragon leather.”

Leilah fumbled around but she presented Lewis with a few potions, “You are pretty strong but everyone could use a boost every once in a while.”

Osiria crossed her arms and tapped her foot, “Well, we had silver put away for a gift… I let Rhen go to pick it out but… Go ahead Rhen tell him what you bought him.”

Coming over to her husband after the commotion Simone gave him a good kiss, “Happy birthday handsome. Seriously, you deserve it don’t question it.”

“YEAH, we celebrate our birthdays. You need a birthday to Daddy!” Alshaya yelled up at him.

Rhenakos rolled his eyes, “Well it’s not my fault that the budget is so low now is it, Os…Did Izzy and Reva really need forty dresses…each?” He crossed his arms. “For the record…it was meant to be a gag gift, and we would get a REAL one along side it, but nooo…apparently a birth control potion is too insensitive…”

Reva walked in amongst the commotion, and offered up an intricately crafted flower crown and bouquet. “It’s not much Uncle Lewis, but Simone gave me permission and I thought you would like it…” Lewis knelt down and the redheaded girl squealed a little as she got to put the crown on his head. “Thank you, Reva. It’s lovely.”

He stood up, and started to play with Alshaya again as he twirled her around. “My beautiful daughter, thank you for the surprise.”

Rex marched up to Rhenakos and Osiria, eying them both, “Can you two drop it? This is not the place….”

Xeik walked up to Lewis, and handed over his own gift. “Isn’t anything crazy. Just a salve that Angela helped me make. Should help with soreness and muscle relaxation. Just…you know…gotta keep in shape for the kids, right?” He walked away at that, and found himself in the corner with a drink in hand as the festivities went on.

Alshaya was squealing as he twirled her. “Okay! OKAY! I get to show you now,” she dragged him over to the wall of her pictures. “I did this for you!” She started to point out all the pictures one by one. She went into great detail about what each was and corrected him when he said something wrong.

Simone sat down next to Xeik and looked at everything, “You really did help make this possible Xeik. The kids and I were really sick. I wouldn’t have died but I was miserable. You helped Angela back then and I haven’t forgotten. Lewis hasn’t forgotten either but he isn’t as open as I can be. I can feel it though. His gratitude.” Her words were low as she watched Alshaya with him and soon Everett was tugging at her to share Lewis.

“They love him so much. Unlike the others, Alshaya and Everett have only ever known Lewis as their father. To them, there isn’t a difference. Ezili is a bit different since she knew… but while they know they are adopted… It just doesn’t matter. Plus, we get to watch as Lewis tries to handle suitors and that’s funny. He’s dreading Alshaya getting older. Ezili has been hard enough,” Simone looked over to Ezili who was dancing with Lucas as a violin was being played by one of the house help. “We’re proud of you Xeik.”

Angela moved to the center of the room and cleared her throat. Everyone was confused but she was smiling, “Five years ago Lewis dropped Xeik off in my clinic and told me to help him. Xeik asked me to find a path. I think the one gift I can give Lewis is peace of mind. Xeik Eraphim, you have come a long way. You are an excellent apprentice and you are quickly climbing the ranks now that we’ve caught you up… It’s because of this that I extend my hand to you. I offer you a higher path as my voice. Will you accept becoming the Champion of Life and Love?”

Simone’s eyes got big but she was honestly happy for Xeik.

Fiori was seven years old, seven exactly and found herself rather proud of that fact. She was practically a lady! Now it was her father's birthday and her siblings were swarming the room they had chosen to celebrate in. Fiori held a blue neatly wrapped present with a white ribbon tying everything together. The wrapping was done with a ruler and extra care to make sure it would look perfect. Inside was a special little gift for Lewis that Fiori had spent weeks on. One of Lewis' favorite shirts had been damaged during a mission and Fiori had snatched it up while he wasn't looking.

Taking the white shirt, she had repaired it with some help from Simone. But what both her parents didn't know was that she used her embroidery skills to create a stick figure image of the entire family on the front while having a "Worlds Best Dad Assassin" stitched on the back. The stitch work was fine, certainly good for a child but the images were no better than a stick figure drawing and the letters on the back had some oversized letters and some undersized letters. Overall the product would be useless for any more missions and would be practically a target on his back should he ever wear it. 

Fiori, unaware of this, had decided this would be the perfect gift for him and that he would wear it on all his missions. Rushing over to Lewis and Alshaya, she waited patiently for her younger sibling to finish, as waiting was the polite thing to do. When she was done, she gave her dad a big smile and held out the present to him. Then she turned to Alshaya and gave her a big hug, wanting her little sister's attention. 

"I hope you like it daddy!" She said with a smile before looking back to Alshaya, "I'm gonna make you a dress one day. It'll be just as pretty as the shirt!"

Fiori then looked for her other siblings, as she had plans to make them something one day. There were already ideas spinning around in her mind. Mira would have to wear something blue, to compliment her hair and showcase the fact she used water magic. Alshaya would be beautiful in green and it would be a nod to her background. Rex would need a fire dress of some sort, or a green? She was still figuring out what worked with red hair. Ezili would be a snow princess so white and pink were the obvious choices. Lucas was the hardest with his unique hair. Her mama had yet to tell her on how to work on people that had unique hair colors. But all that would have to wait until she was skilled enough. She stopped hanging on Alshaya and looked towards her dad. 

"Do you like it? Well do you?" Fiori asked her father eagerly. 

———————————-
Meanwhile Dala was sitting on the couch with a book in her hands. For the last five years she had delved into her studies and overtime had done less adventuring. The money she had collected over the years were plenty for her to begin her kingdom, thanks partially to her parents and to Simone. The book she was reading was all about economics, something she knew like the back of her hand. It was a book she was familiar with so she could stop at any point to fight anybody who even looked at Simone's family the wrong way. There were a lot of guests here, some of them she knew and a lot of them she didn't. 

Despite having aged, she still held that inner fury that always kept her alive. Deciding to put the book down, she sat and watched as Lewis received a hoard of presents. The gift Dala brought was a deadly poison, labeled as poison and had a child cap on it so none of the kids would be able to get it easily. But she still was cautious and made sure the bottle with the ribbon remained in her own hands until she was able to give it to Lewis in person.

When she gave it to him she didn't really make a whole deal about it. She just handed it to him quickly then walked back over to the couch. He had kids to attend to and she didn't dare get in the way of that. Instead, she walked over to Simone and stood next to the couch, partially listening in on the conversation with Xiex, only out of curiosity. Xiex was one of those people that she had heard about but only saw occasionally.

The goddess Angela moved to the center of the room and cleared her throat. Everyone's attention was drawn to her. The goddess talked about Xeix's improvements and past, filling up many of the empty gaps in Dala's knowledge about him, and then asked if he would become her Champion of Life and Love. Dala's eyes were wide with an impressed look. Xeix must have been one heck of a healer if he was able to beat out all of Angela's many many healers in that temple of hers. 

"Congrats Xeix." Dala said unsure of any other way to respond. 

Mira was nearing her teen years, just a couple years shy. She had calmed down considerably since she joined the family–as she didn't headbutt people nearly as often. Thanks to Simone and Ezili, she could read and speak common more fluently. But when she got too excited she would revert to chattering away in her native language. Like her adoptive father, Mira didn't know when her real birthday was either. But she quickly learned what it meant and why it was important. Finding a good gift was hard; most of what she thought of didn't seem like stuff her papa would use. The shell knuckles and giant clam shield wouldn't fit in with the 'sneaky strike from the shadows'. She wasn't interested in things like weapons and poison. She then thought of buying a magic item, but that would take several months of saving up her allowance for a small thing. There wasn't much time before the day of the celebration would be here.

Lying upside down on her bed with her legs propped up on the wall, her curly long hair was fanned out on her sheets while she was thinking hard. Maybe she could make him a cake? But mama and Ezili were good at that. She wasn't good at sewing, and Alshaya was already drawing a picture. Finally, it dawned on her. Rolling off her bed, Mira quickly began digging through her extensive shell collection. "Too big, too small, too spiky. I want to keep this one…" At last, she pulled out a medium-sized slipper shell that had a glossy coating. "Perfect! Now I need something that can poke a hole through this." Thus began the hunt for a tool that could bore through a seashell without cracking it into pieces. When she found it, she painstakingly drilled a hole to attach a few ribbons she swiped from a sewing kit. Layering white and dark blue ribbons, she carefully tied them to create a shell medallion. With some help from Ezili, she added a pin so it could be fastened onto clothing. When she was done, there was a mess to clean up.

When it was time for her to present her gift, Mira ran up to Lewis and thrust the shell medallion at him. "It's a pin for you! It's super strong, so if you wear it underneath your clothes people won't be able to stab through. I tried to make the holes using the stuff in the kitchen but none of them worked, so you're safe!" Her purple-blue eyes were beaming with pride at her handiwork. Unfortunately her efforts might have left some lasting damage on the kitchen cutlery. Her crystal ball was tucked under her arm, now much easier to carry around as she had grown taller. Her eyes lit up when Lady Angela came in, and she gave a round of applause for Xeik. Being a healer was hard work, but if he was getting a special position from Lady Angela–then he definitely deserved it. As the goddess had helped her before she had met Lewis and Simone, Mira knew she was a good person. 

Lewis found himself being dragged about by Alshaya to be shown her drawings, and the assassin went along with it, enjoying the time with his daughter. Between some of the pictures, Fiori found her way over, earning herself a hug and a kiss from Lewis as she gave him his gift; an embroidered shirt that stated his profession. With a laugh, he pet Fiori, and knelt down, thanking her.

“It’s wonderful, Fiori.” He pat her head as she beamed with joy, and Everett came over as well, all vying for his attention. With the three kids all around him, Lewis’ face lit up with happiness that aws, still to this day, weird to see on him.

Dala’s gift was something special as well, a poison. He wasn’t sure what kind it was at first, but he figured he could speak with the girl at a later date to determine the style and potency, as well as how to procure more should he need it for a job. He was thankful for it, but too preoccupied with the children to express it to his fullest extent.

Mira’s gift to him was endearing, and completely up her alley as she thrust a shell pendant at him. It was cute how she seemed to think that the knives and other tools in the kitchen were equivalent to anything close to a blade, but he gave her a hug anyway, promising to wear it. It couldn’t hurt, and he would treasure it alongside the rest of the gifts he had been given.

—

Xeik watched in horror as Angela made her way to the middle of the room. Oh gods, what now. He was surprised, though, that the Goddess wasn’t doing anything too crazy to start. In face, she was talking about him. The healer set down his drink on a nearby table, and crossed his arms. What’s the meaning of this, Ang… And that was when the question was asked.

Champion?

Xeik’s arms dropped. “Wait, what?” He looked around to a room that was expecting an answer. “Angela…this was supposed to be a day for Lewis, not for me, and-”

“Shut up and accept it,” Lewis said from under a pile of kids. “You’ve earned it.”

The healer turned red, “I…I accept…” The look on his face turned from embarrassment to something of a half smile as the room started to applaud. Even Lewis was clapping, though his face remained stoic as he did so. Still, it was progress, and it was a win. “Thanks…”

Angela smirked towards Xeik, “But it is for Lewis. He wouldn’t have brought you to me if he didn’t think I could make you better. What you needed was a purpose and I can give you that. Your ideas are the opposite of my own and we can make a good team. We can give the world what it needs but this doesn’t mean you can stop advancing. You are only half as good as Leilah and that means we have much to do.” She came over and gave him a hug. “You’ve done well for yourself… and I’m sure it has relieved Lewis to hear it.”

She rubbed his hair and smirked, “That does mean you are in charge of Raine though… So using your thievery might be a good idea. The girl is going to end up stealing something important one of these days.”

Taking his hands Angela hummed a little at first before a flood of green light came from her and crept over Xeik. He could feel everything. The life around them. The bond between Lewis and Simone. Everything that Life and Love had to give. “It’s overwhelming, isn’t it? Life and Love are two very powerful spheres for something so small. It isn’t scary like darkness, death, or chaos… but Life and Love are strong. They are ancient spheres. They were the very first spheres in some cultures. Try not to be overwhelmed by the plants they do like to scream… In the coming days, I will forge you something only you can use… but for now, there is a party! I did bake a cake after all and I expect Lewis to eat it.”

Simone had already gotten a knife to cut it and was putting a piece on a plate. “Simone, if I may have a suggestion… You did miss your reception after all.” Simone had been handing Lewis his plate when she looked down at hers and back up at her husband.

“Oh, but the mess…” Simone shook her head.

“It’s tradition! YOU SKIPPED IT!” Leilah laughed a bit before Simone rolled her eyes back and forth before smashing the cake in Lewis’s face.

“They told me to do it.” Simone chuckled before taking some of the icing off with her finger and sticking it in her mouth. "Tastes pretty good."

Xeik was overwhelmed with the energies that flowed into him, the life energy of everything around him. It was all so much, and for a moment he swayed, hearing the plants outside of the castle, their joy at being so well tended to. The resonance between Simone and Lewis was something intense, as well, coating the green that he saw with azure blue, almost flooding the entire area around which they stood.

And then it was gone. No, not gone…suppressed. He could still feel it around him, but it was like a dull whisper. It would probably be something he would need to learn to control, like anything else. But there was a time for that, and now was not that time. He took a step back from Angela, and smiled. “Thank you,” he said with a half bow. “Now…you said cake?”

Lewis watched as Simone started to cut the cake, and stopped. He was close by to her, and moved closer, wondering what exactly was supposed to be happening. “Simone, I don-” He was cut off by the sudden cake to the face. There was laughter from Rhenakos, but the rest of the room was mostly silent, awaiting the response.

The assassin stood there for a moment, and then walked out of the room without a word, disappearing as the door closed behind him. For a moment, Xeik wondered if they had done something wrong. Even Simone looked a bit worried, as though their link had something wrong with it. Even the children had a look of concern for their father.

Then, from seemingly above, a pie seemed to phase from nowhere, and launched itself into Simone’s face. Similarly, other messy pastries appeared mere inches away from Angela’s, Leilah’s, and Rhenakos’ faces, and launched themselves forward. In the center of the room, Lewis appeared with a quick spin, as if he had just thrown a slew of daggers…but this time, there were no deadly weapons.

Simone was worried for a few moments but the moment that pie hit her she started to laugh and so did the kids. Angela cleaned herself off easily enough but the others were busy laughing hard. Lewis had at least gotten a sense of humor. Simone launched herself at Lewis and he easily caught her. Both of them were laughing as she got spun around. There was a snort from Angela as she watched them kiss.

“This is the true evil!” Simone yelled but only because Lewis had found where she was ticklish. She was squirming around in his arms before she licked the icing off his cheek. “So rude!”

Alshaya and Everett ran over to them, “Our turn! OUR TURN!” Simone gave Lewis a look and then they both gave the same smirk at the same time.

“Oh? Your turn?” Lewis and Simone spoke together. Both of the little ones got a cake piece to their fast and they were laughing and bouncing. It was a good day. With a little magic from the goddess the room was clean in no time and so was everyone else.

The night wound down and all of the little ones were asleep. Alshaya had been the last one to be put to bed but she was trying hard to saying she was a big girl. “I wanna stay with you Daddy. It’s your birthday,” she was so sleepy as she hung onto Lewis. “I can’t go to sleep,” she yawned. “What if you get sad when I go?”

“Oh, I think I got him covered little one. Go to sleep,” Simone kissed her daughter’s messy hair and winked up at Lewis. Everyone settled back down for some drinks as Lewis carried Alshaya off.

“Thank you for coming,” Simone smiled a bit. “It meant the world to the kids and to me. I’m just glad that things have calmed down recently…”

“You mean you haven’t been getting kidnapped every two months,” Angela joked and Simone laughed a bit.

“Only by Lewis.” She found herself on the sofa and patted the spot for Lewis once he joined her. “So, Xeik… What do you plan to do with your new power? It is exciting not to be as powerless as we once were… Isn’t it?” Simone knew because she had been powerless to her own fate before she got her magic.