4.3--Adamaris & Uther

 

"May we sit?" Adamaris asks, gesturing to the couch behind them. "What we have to say might take a while."

Harper nods mutely and ushers them all to the living room, a little embarrassed at their lack of decor, but otherwise wholly surprised to see her sister - still virtually unchanged from when she last saw her as a teenager.  "So I take it this isn't simply a family visit?" She's hesitant for the answer, but it's too late to take the question back.  The look on Adamaris' face tells her she's going to break whatever news they came to tell anyway, so she braces herself for the worst.

"No." Adamaris sighs. "I wish it were so, but things - are a bit difficult right now and Lord Vincent wishes to make sure that everything is still relatively normal with you and your children."


Harper scoffs. "I'm not uprooting my family.  I'm not putting them through what we went through."


"Thankfully, that is not in order."  Uther replies softly.  "Not yet anyway."

"Then why are you both here?"  Cedric's worry is evident on his face.  Sure, Uther said he was going to keep in touch when he left all those years ago and Adamaris promised to visit - but he never believed it.  Not for one second.  If they're here, then it must be for something serious.

The two vampires look to each other for reassurance before continuing. "For one -" Adamaris begins, looking sadly at her sister. "- to let Harper know of our parents passing.  Mother outlived father by a few years, but died a few days before your most recent birthday."


Harper sucks in a surprised breath.  Surely, she knew her parents had died before now - but hearing it confirmed was much tougher than surmising it in her own head. "I figured as much." She states lamely. "Where are they buried?"


"In Shang Simla.  It was noted as such in their wills to have plots next to each other at the local cemetery.  Lord Vincent and myself took care of the arrangements."


"Wait -" Harper interrupts. "- you two got to see them, but I couldn't?"


"It was for your and their protection.  And I did not get to visit them while they were living.  They needed to think we were both dead - and they did.  It was for the best."

Cedric places his hand on Harper's to calm her before she says something she is going to regret and then turns back to their patient companions when it's clear that her anger is under control once again.  "And what's the second reason for the visit?"  He asks skeptically.

Uther brushes his hand through his hair, waiting for the words to come to him.  "Things are a bit tense back home."  He says slowly. "It seems some outside of our coven have figured out about Lord Vincent's past after the situation in Anne Arbor.  It's fueled hatred among our own kind - even more hatred, I might say.  We don't have the time to get into the details, but people are going missing and we were sent to make sure that whoever is doing this isn't targeting any one person specifically."

"Me, you mean."  Harper offers. 

Uther shakes his head and smiles sadly.  "You, yes - but there are others like you here.  Your children, some of their neighbors... it seems there is quite a few partial-breeds living among you."


"And these 'enemies' are only taking those like my wife?"  Cedric places his hand on Harper's knee - as if making sure that she's still there.  He may not have been awake for the brunt of the attack in Anne Arbor, but he saw enough of the aftermath to know that he certainly doesn't want anything like that happening again near him or his family.


"Not necessarily.  They have taken quite a few - but there seems to be no method to their kidnapping.  And it isn't widespread enough for us to warrant moving you somewhere else.  Our investigation here in Meadow Glen has come up empty, so we aren't worried yet."


"But Lord Vincent was worried enough to send you here."  Harper protests.

Adamaris leans forward and stretches her hand toward her sister, patting her gently on the arm.  The coldness of it doesn't escape Harper's notice and she frowns knowing the reason behind it.  "We won't let anything happen to you or your family if we can possibly avoid it."  Adamaris promises.  She locks eyes with her sister, smiling peaceably before leaning back. "Lord Vincent will be sending a dispatch here as often as he can.  The issues are mostly between our kind for the time being, and hopefully it will remain that way once our investigation turns fruitful."


"In the meantime -" Uther interrupts. "- go on as normal, but keep a watchful eye.  If anything strange turns up, write to this address."  He hands Harper a piece of paper.  "Keep your correspondences short and infrequent.  We'll notify you if anything comes up on our end."


Harper takes the sheet of paper and folds it in two, and then places it in the end table next to her side of the couch.  She takes the key from under the pot and locks it safely.  "Okay."  She nods.


Adamaris and Uther get up from the couch, heading toward the front door.  "I really wish we could stay longer, but it's almost daylight and we must make our way back to Bridgeport to help out."  Adamaris frowns. "I'm not sure I'll see you again before -"


Harper grimaces. "- I die?"  Admaris looks at her hands, the frown still etched across her features.  "Well, I guess this is goodbye then."


"I guess so."  She says looking up at her sister, taking in all of her wrinkles and laugh lines - Adamaris lets her jealousy take over her emotions momentarily.  Her sister got to have everything that she wished to live for - a husband, children, a long life; but most importantly, she gets to die and have her eternal peace.  And Adamaris will live long beyond her, stuck the way she is now; never to change.  When her thoughts become too much, she smiles blankly, pats Harper on the arm one last time, and finally makes her way outside.  She tells herself now what she told herself long ago - it's better that she leaves.

Harper and Cedric stand by the door and watch as the two vampires make their way into the night.  When they can no longer see them, Cedric releases a sigh of relief.  "Vampires - all they do is make me nervous."


Harper smiles, grabbing his hand. "We're going to be okay, right?  Our kids won't come to any harm?"


"I believe your sister when it comes to that, at least.  We're going to be fine - and they'll make sure of it."  He raises his hand to brush his wife's cheek, relishing in the years that her wrinkles show; knowing that he's been the main culprit behind the ones etched around her eyes and mouth.  "Let's go to bed."  

Back at home, Lachlan and Dasia are doing homework in front the dishwasher.  0_0


"What?" Lachlan smirks when his mother gives him a confused look.  "The noise helps me focus."


"Riiiggghhhttt."

Like mother -

Like son.


While his mother is preoccupied writing her next biography of a local Meadow Glen'onian; he spends time on the computer surfing the web and talking to "friends."  Both of his parents aren't aware of his recent connection to the "simonymous" group that's been hacking the major corporations around Simnation. "What they don't know won't hurt them."  He mutters.

Ellis and Logan are still going strong and even though he only has a couple more days in Meadow Glen, she feels herself getting attached.  Logan is still a bit of a mystery to her however, and she isn't sure she's ready to trust him; not emotionally anyway.

The night before he leaves, her inhibitions give way.  "Do you - want to stay over?"  She asks, shyly.


Logan smiles, pulling her closer.  "That's one question you never need to ask."

When things get hot and heavy, Logan pulls back.  "You don't need to do this, you know?  I can just sleep here with you and be satisfied."


"But I won't be."  Ellis smiles.  She slowly moves her hand from his shoulder up to the back of his head and gasps when his body inches closer with every gentle touch she applies to his neck.  "Kiss me."

-------------------------------------------

The next morning, they both get up bright and early.  Logan has to catch the train at eleven and he still has to stop by the hotel to get all his stuff gathered for the trip home.  "It's been fun."  He smiles, placing his hands on either side of Ellis' face.  "I don't know when I'll be back in town, but I would like to see you again when I do."


Ellis nods, frowning.  "Of course."


He kisses her gently in an attempt to wipe the frown from her face, but it doesn't work.  "I'll keep in touch and try to come back as soon as I can."


"Right."  She enfolds her arms around him, pulling him into an embrace and he willingly obliges. "Goodbye." She whispers.

Just a couple days after he leaves, Ellis goes to bed feeling... odd.  She supposes it's just the fact that she misses him -

- but when she wakes the next morning, she's sure it's something else entirely.

Welp... here we go again.


-----------------------------------------

Okay, so I thought I should clear some things up since a friend of mine was a bit confused when editing this chapter for me.


Uther is part mortal (a "half-breed"), therefore he still ages.
Adamaris was changed, so she does not.  


Uther stated more than a few chapters back that vampire/mortal children are a possible solution to the vampire population problem in that human conception is usually much more successful than vampire/vampire conception (which is extremely rare and extremely dangerous for both baby and mother); as well as an alternative to transforming others (as that is also dangerous and doesn't always work).  However, the rate in which vampire/mortal children actually take to the blood and become as Uther is, is also exceptionally rare.  In most cases, a mortal child is born with dormant vampire blood (like Mya - Ellis' great-great grandmother) who pass that on to their children etc. etc. The blood becomes stronger with each generation it passes on to, much like a normal aging vampire, which makes them a threat in more ways than one - if they survive being turned, they could possibly tip the scales against those that have been running the covens for centuries; so on and so forth.  


It will be elaborated more as the legacy goes (as may be obvious by Ada and Uther's -erm- hints that something else is going on).


TL;DR: Vampires in my legacy hate each other, for one reason or another.  Add that with a touch of crazy (i.e. Vittoria'esque radicalism) and the majority dislike of humans and half-breeds alike; and an all out brawl is bound to happen eventually.  Thasss all I'm sayin'.

3.10--Uther the Wise & Dasia

Cedric hit a stalemate with Harper.  Even though they talk, it's never about what he wants to discuss. Harper being in her pregnant state makes everything more difficult, as he doesn't want to upset her by bringing up unpleasant topics. But he also doesn't like allowing their feelings to fester.


He decides to take his frustration out on the appliances, if only for distraction. "Damn sink. WHY.WON'T.YOU.WORK?" 

Despite the circumstances, Uther can't help laughing at Cedric's angry mumbling throughout the house.


"Having trouble?" He asks.

Cedric doesn't turn when he mutters an impatient "no" and then resumes his abuse of the sink.  


"Just thought I would offer my aid." Uther sighs.  

Cedric drops the wrench in the sink loudly and then leans on the bar, staring out the window. "Why won't she marry me?" He blurts. "She should know by now that I'm not going anywhere." Cedric passes his hand over his brow, before looking over his shoulder at Uther. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"


Uther let's the question hang in the air, choosing his words carefully. "No..." He says gently, "under normal circumstances, your intentions would be seen as rational; but Harper is a complicated case."


"Tell me about it." Cedric smirks. "I just don't know what to do.  I want to continue being patient with her, but I love her and I want her to have the family she never had."

Uther quirks his brow. "Are you sure you love her?"


"Of course I do.  My constant flirting with her should be a tell-tale sign.  Oh, and the fact that we're having a baby and I asked her to marry me." He adds, sarcastically. 


"You've flirted with me too." Uther retorts.


"I just like to see you blush."


Uther shakes his head, as if admonishing a child. "The point I was trying to make was; if you love her, as you say you do, then you'll wait.  I know Harper will come to her senses eventually, but you need to be patient.  What you two have..." He stops, sighing; "... She loves you just as much as you love her. Harper just needs more time to put things into perspective."


Cedric looks down at his feet, absorbing Uther's advice. "You're one smart twelve-year old." He says with a lopsided grin.

Uther turns his attention back to his homework. "And you are insufferable." He smiles. "You two truly deserve each other."

Cedric laughs. "Thanks, I guess."


----------------------------

Cedric takes Uther's advice to heart and drops the marriage subject for now.  When he plops down on the couch with her, Harper is surprised to see Cedric back to his old self. "So I was thinking," he smiles; "if we have more kids, we're going to need a bigger place."


Harper frowns.  She's just trying to get through this pregnancy. "More kids? How many are we talking about here?"

"Hmmm... I was thinking of seven?  And we can train them to do the stuff around the house for us.  What are the child labor laws here anyway?" He muses.

"Very strict, I imagine." She smirks. "I was thinking four would be perfect.  A nice, even number and all of them would have someone to grow up with."


"That's a reasonable amount." He nods. "All right then, deal. Four kids for us and no more." Cedric smiles suggestively. "We should probably get started on the baby makin'."


Harper looks down at her stomach and back up at Cedric, quirking her brow. "Uh... I believe we're ahead of the game on that front, sweetheart."


Cedric shrugs. "Details. Besides, practice makes perfect."

Harper agrees. 


I have their autonomy on low, because I'm controlling, and I forgot to have Ced shower for over two days and somehow didn't notice. Hence, why they went straight to the shower. Whoops.

Harper finds herself alone the next morning when Cedric heads off to work.  She's due to explode at any moment, but shrugs it off.  Her pregnancy has transformed her into a busybody; mostly due to the fact that idleness makes her hyper aware that there will be another life joining the household soon... and then she panics.


So she wakes up a little after Cedric leaves and begins cleaning the house.

But not before promising that she won't let herself become the household maid. "You hear that, little one?" She smirks. "Mommy and Daddy are not going to be your personal cleaning service. Nope!" The baby kicks and she laughs. "I'm just going to assume you agree for now."

Harper is invited to a little gathering by one of her co-workers, Abigail Salinger.  Normally, she would have declined; but she hasn't been out of the house much and needs a reason to lug her pregnant belly around town.

Abigail is the only other woman working in the theater besides their boss and Harper finds the female company strangely comforting.  After an awkward start to the conversation, Abigail asks Harper to show her a few new strings and Harper obliges.


"Wow." Abigail smiles. "Leliana told me you are good, but you're better than I thought."


"Hardly.  I've just had more time on my hands recently to practice." She says, motioning to her belly.


"Yeah, and you're more pregnant than I thought as well.  How long until the nightmare birthing scene?"


Harper laughs, appreciating Abigail's humor. "Not long.  A matter of days, maybe?" 


Abigail shakes her head.  "I don't know how you do it.  My boyfriend has a few kids and I'm never sure what to do with them when they visit. Not to mention Foster's horror stories about seeing his ex give birth." Abigail shudders. "Yeah, not happening for this girl."


"I can cement that for you by sharing my own tales..."


"No!" Abigail interrupts. "No... thanks, but just no.  I have enough nightmare material to last a lifetime, trust me."


Harper shrugs. "Suit yourself.  I do have some pretty good ones if you're ever interested."


----------------------------

Harper ends up spending the rest of the day with Abigail, before returning home with stomach cramps.  It's only a matter of hours before she realizes that they're contractions.

Uther has lived a long life and seen many things, but even then doesn't know what to do when Harper goes into labor.  So he panics...

...while Cedric rushes Harper to the hospital. 

They return home with a baby girl.

Cedric offers to make them both a late dinner (i.e. cereal) while Harper puts their new addition to sleep.


"Goodnight, Dasia." Harper says softly. "And welcome home."


What is Harper looking at?! 

Harper takes advantage of the time she has alone while Cedric "cooks" to take a quick shower.  Abigail was right, giving birth was certainly an experience, to say the least. Harper shudders. "At least I'll know what to expect next time." 


She joins Cedric in the kitchen for a quick meal, before they both head off to bed.  Before she can leave however, Cedric stops her.


"So... should we get working on baby number two?" He smiles.


"I'm way too tired for that."


"Me too." He admits. "Tomorrow?"


Harper laughs. "Definitely." 


----------------------------------------------------------

UPDATES!

--Harper now has friends guys! She is BFF with Abigail, and is best friends with Bea (I'm actually not sure how that one happened) and Leliana.  And Ced is best friends with Foster and Alistair; so that makes things a bit innnerestin'.

--Dasia's traits are Excitable and Brave.  She'll be getting Virtuoso (to fulfill the Runs in Family requirement) once she ages up.

Also, after getting confirmation from calisims (thanks Melissa!) about some questionable rule derailing, I can say that I'm really excited to get my generation four plot in the works. : D

3.9--Untitled

Harper's been fatigued the last couple of days and decides to call-in sick when her symptoms get worse. 


She has her suspicions, but keeps that to herself for the time being.  There's no use raising hopes if it turns out to be anemia...or mild narcolepsy.

Cedric is worried, but Uther assures him it's simply a cold.  He's lying, of course. Uther can sense another life growing within Harper, but just like the latter, keeps silent.  The news should be shared when they're ready, he reasons.

Harper notices that her condition stresses Cedric out to the point of sleeplessness.  He often returns home from work haggard and slightly disheveled, but otherwise determined to take care of her; even when she tries to convince him she doesn't need it.


So she decides to make dinner in payment.  After all, anyone willing to continue caring for someone who constantly complains, curses, and vomits deserves a thank you.  One that preferably doesn't pass on the malady.


+1 approval from Harper.


After many mishaps, Harper finally made a salad. Cooking achievement unlocked: salad toss- Uh, I'll just stop right there... : /

"Thanks for the rabbit food, babe." He'd been living on cereal for the last couple of days, mainly because he's been far too tired to prep something that required more than two minutes' time, so this is a welcome change.


Harper smirks. "After burning waffles, getting disgusted while making mac and cheese, and realizing we didn't have any ingredients for anything else; I just threw whatever was in the fridge together."

"And it's an edible masterpiece, to be sure.  Are you feeling any better?"


"Sort of.  I haven't relived the barf-apalooza from this morning; so that's progress."


"Are you well enough for, you know?" Cedric asks, quirking his brow and motioning toward the bedroom.


"Really? After seeing me covered in whatever I ate yesterday; you still wanna do it?"


Cedric nods enthusiastically.  "You've showered since then though, right?" He quips.


"I've showered twice since then. Thank you very much" She smiles, playfully slapping him on the shoulder. "But I don't think any activity of that kind would be wise.  However," she adds; "I think I'm well enough to guarantee eight full hours of sleep tonight."


"Mmm...You really know how to turn a man on."

Cedric has a moment of clarity while sleeping and puts the puzzle pieces together. 

Morning sickness? Check.
Constantly tired? Check.
Food cravings? Check.
Pregnant? ...

Once he's close to reaching a conclusion however, his dreams quickly take a stroll down "things he'd never like to witness in his lifetime" alley.  Something about giant, parent eating babies with evil anthropomorphic toy minions make him shudder in his sleep.  If his possible children come out remotely cannibalistic with abnormal body size and the ability to turn objects against him, he's putting those suckers up for adoption.  


----------------------------

When Harper wakes the next morning, she finds herself in the unmistakable situation of pregnancy.  She shudders, "A biological wonder and all I can think about is having to pop you out eventually."  She shakes her head, chastising herself, before rubbing her belly affectionately. "I bet you can't wait to meet your ridiculous mother..."

Harper waits impatiently for Cedric to return from work to tell him.  From his odd murmurings last night about evil spawn of some sort, she isn't entirely sure how he'll react.


She leads him to the kitchen where they can get some privacy.  "I have something to tell you." She stammers, grabbing his hands nervously. "I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant."


Cedric stares intently, muting his reaction. "Pretty sure, or sure-sure?"


Harper releases his hands and places her own on her belly. "I'm sure.  We're going to have a baby."

Cedric grins and then pulls Harper into a kiss. "I was hoping for this." He admits as he begins nuzzling her ear. "Marry me." He whispers.

Harper pulls back in surprise. "What?"


"Marry me." He repeats. "Become my wife."


Harper pushes him away lightly, lowering her gaze. "I'm not sure... I don't think we should do that yet Ced."


"Why?" Cedric brings his hand to her chin to lift her eyes to him, but she moves her head away gently.


"Cedric... I don't how to put into words what I'm thinking.  I love you, more than anything else in this world, and that scares the shit out of me.  And now we're going to have a child and I'm happy, I really am, but... I don't have the best track record with family." She states simply, "And I'm not sure my sanity can take losing another person.  Can we just wait for now? I know we're doing this backwards, but I just want to make sure that everything works out.  You understand, right? Please tell me you understand." She pleads.

When Harper moves toward him for a hug, he doesn't stop her.  She feels him tense slightly and when he pulls away, Cedric doesn't look her in the eye. "Sure." He says, donning a fake smile. "I understand." 

Cedric excuses himself from the room without further word; Harper slumps her shoulders when she hears him grab his keys and head out the front door.  She stands there for a moment, going over what just happened; then shifts her gaze to her growing belly and frowns. "I hope you don't take after me."


------------------- 

Cedric decided to take a long walk after his failed proposal and doesn't return home until the early morning hours.  Harper is already asleep, but obviously stayed up as long as she could waiting for him.  There's a book lying on her chest and as he quietly removes it and places it on her nightstand, he can't help laughing at the title; "Totally Preggers: An Expecting Mother's Tale."  Harper stirs slightly, as if realizing the weight from the book is gone, and then settles back into sleep.  He's tempted to wake her so they can talk, but he doesn't know what he wants to say and she looks too peaceful; so he joins her quietly in bed.

He hates being angry, but what he hates more is being irrationally angry.  He understands where Harper is coming from, he's seen it firsthand, but he can't understand why she doesn't trust him.  

And he finds that he can dream up much worse nightmares than cannibalistic children.  The way she looked when she rejected him, the last glance she gave him when he left the kitchen; he can't forget it.  Why does everything have to be so damn difficult?


-----------------------------------------------------------

UPDATES!
--Cedric is at Level 2 of the military career. He got promoted so quickly *mostly* because his Athletics were already quite high and I had him "Suck up to [his] Superior" his whole 5 or so shifts.  Both his Athletics and Handiness are at Level 7.
--Harper is at Level 6 with her guitar and still Level 1 with the Music Career.  Ya' know, popping out kids and all the jazz tends to stunt job promotions. *shrug*
--Uther is still skill-less. Poor guy.