The Final Kingdom - Chapter 2

<-Chapter 1

(Protea; Protea Castle)

The fighting could be heard from even outside the castle. Shana Toulume could only sigh and ask her husband, "Why couldn't she have gotten more of my temperament than yours?" She had always been exceptionally hard to make mad thanks to her Dark core, but her Light core lover was rather quick to flare with his temper. Their daughter was almost perfectly half and half of each of them, including being quicker than her mother but slower than her father to temper.

Rocky Toulume snorted softly. "Hey, at least she has some self-control." His grin turned mischievous. He shared most of his personality with his younger sister, Siobhan, just as Shana shared most of hers with Edgar as his younger sister. The age difference was all but negligible, though, and the siblings not only looked and acted like nearly identical twins, but also shared the same age for brief periods each year. "Let's go see Chance deal with his lover's temper."

She snickered as she followed him into the castle. "You just delight in tormenting him!"

"I consider it my prerogative as his father-in-law. He's kind of hilarious when he's trying to get used to the fact that we always sort of treated him like a son even before LeAnn was born, and even disregarding his being older than either of us by a few years!" He swung an arm around her shoulders and tugged her closer. At six-two, he had one of the tallest heights in their circle, and it was the only real difference between him and his sister. They shared the same skin, eyes, and hair, though he kept his quite short. He also had staved off their lineage's propensity to magical plumpness by hard physical training, but he still had a visible softer edge.

Shana stood an equally impressive six-foot tall, meaning only one female in their circle was taller, and barely any of the males. She also stood taller than her brother's five-nine height, and looked even more powerful—though not as powerful as she truly was thanks to being Apex of Dark and the embodiment of everything physical in existence. Her hair fell to her ankles in perfectly straight lines, much longer than Edgar's but still the same texture and color, and they equally shared their skin tone. Tasia, as Apex of Chaos, literally looked half Shana and half Siobhan, with the best of both in her body type and hair alike; the now uncontrollable locks had half curls and half straight lines in a chaotic blend.

Shana's pink eyes sparkled as she asked a servant, "What set them off this time?"

The maid muffled a giggle. "His majesty took offense that Queen LeAnn neglected to include him in a recent sparring exercise. She said she was afraid he would be hurt."

Both Rocky and Shana winced good-naturedly. No doubt there was more to the story. Their daughter wasn't mean-spirited enough to keep her own Caretaker—a former Captain of the Royal Knights—out of a mere practice match. Obviously, Chance had done something to spark the action.

Inside a drawing room of the castle, High Queen LeAnn Protea stood nose-to-nose with her only slightly taller husband and looked near ready to knock him on his decidedly attractive ass. He was only a couple inches taller than her five-ten height, and she had inherited her mother's shapely and strong frame, so he really did not have much of an advantage over her. She also had her Protean lineage's golden brown skin and pink eyes, but her waist-length black hair held visible waves as well as white streaks to harken to her technically half-Delphinian blood.

Rubeo Chance's crystal blue eyes snapped with sparks that indicated his temper could be as fiery as his dark red hair, and the shadows of his power churned inside his eyes as well. Offset against darker brown skin, he had a surprisingly devastating appeal despite his usually reserved nature. Reserve all too often went out the window where his Cultivator wife was concerned, though. There were times where he wasn't sure if he would shake her or kiss her senseless. Kissing her usually won; he loathed the idea of hurting her in any shape or fashion. "You did it on purpose!" he snarled.

"Of course I did!" She shoved him back a step and then tossed her dark hair out of her face. Normally she wore her hair up in double ponytails, but she had left them down after a shower and not bothered to put them back up. If anything, the heavy crown she wore as High Queen sat easier on her head without the up-do; she had considered moving away from it entirely lately. "YOU started the fight by trying to put me under house arrest!" She straightened to her full height and looked every inch a Dual Cultivator and warrior queen. "You're lucky Tasia didn't hear about it!" she challenged.

He grimaced. Tasia happened to be LeAnn's twin soul mate and therefore her personal protector among the Defenders of their generation. Since he was LeAnn's lover soul mate, they clashed frequently when they had conflicting ideas over how to keep their shared soul mate happy and healthy. "I'm surprised you didn't tell her," he muttered.

She smirked. "I figured it was more satisfying to take my own revenge. Now we're even!"

"Ah, trouble in paradise," Rocky said dryly from the doorway. "Have you spent every minute of your marriage arguing?"

"Yes," LeAnn said.

"No," Chance said at the same time, and glared at his wife.

Shana covered a smile. "What started it this time?"

LeAnn crossed her arms. "We had a hopeful moment where I thought I might be pregnant. He promptly forbade me from going anywhere and tried to keep me from doing anything."

Rocky very slowly lifted a brow. "Chance," he said helpfully, "you were there when Shanae was pregnant with LeAnn. You do remember that I and Arista couldn't keep her out of anything, right? You really can't contain any force of nature, let alone Nature Flower Elements!"

"Are you?" Shana asked LeAnn hopefully.

"No." Her gaze lowered as sadness clouded her pink eyes. "I wanted to be. So badly."

Chance forgot all anger at the pain in her voice. The same pain seethed inside him. They had been trying for a year to conceive the child they both wanted so badly. He tugged her into his arms and rocked her back and forth gently. "It'll happen when the time is right," he said into her hair softly.

Rocky and Shana exchanged a smile and then the latter said, "I always knew LeAnn would be perfect for you." Chance looked at her warily and she added impishly, "You've actually turned into a nice guy."

Lacking anything creative to say, he made a single rude gesture toward his former queen and current mother-in-law. She didn't need to rub it in.

 

(Carnation; Carnation Kingdom)

Alliances crossed Blossom Field like threads woven on a tapestry. Delphinium and Protea had queens who were cousins twice over, while Gladiolus, Daffodil, and Iris had Rulers who were siblings by blood and marriage—Gladiolus and Daffodil by blood as birth brother and sister, and Iris as their shared stepsister. Hyacinth and Orchid had Rulers who had been adopted siblings before each had been subsequently adopted into different royal families, and had ended up marrying twins as well. And, lastly, Carnation and Aster also connected via marriage. Theo's elder brother had married the Ruler Cultivator of Carnation for the Era and therefore become Carnation's latest king.

Like all Carnation Cultivators be they Defender, Ruler, or Dual, Bethany Carnation appeared both beautiful and enchanting to just about anyone who beheld her. Long mahogany hair with red and gold streaks framed bright teal eyes, tanned skin well suited to the Glass element-based desert lands of Carnation, and a surprisingly curvy figure despite her rather petite height. She had been quite well-suited by her Caretaker husband, though, for Terrence Carnation—Terry to his friends—shared his younger brother's overall coloring sans streaks as well as his nearly sultry beauty. He also made no secret of the fact that he was perfectly content with the way his wife could get her way with a smile. Their relationship was very much equal, and they had been mutually wrapped around each other's finger forever. He had his own ways of getting what he wanted when he felt the need for it.

Carnation's personal flower, the red carnation, represented love and pride and beauty, so the people of the world collectively felt a little giddy at seeing their king and queen be so happily married. Sure, all Cultivator-Caretaker pairs were ridiculously in love through their hearts and souls alike, but the pair from Carnation had a reputation for adorable public displays of affection.

Virginia and Michael Donohue had heard all the stories long before they were halfway to the palace. "Your child," Michael told Virginia. A strikingly handsome man in his own right, his brown skin contrasted beautifully against opal hair and silver eyes. His five-eleven height and strong frame served him well as a Commander who protected Edgar; he was in fact the former king's twin soul. The combination of Defender-Commander happened across the entire galaxy, in fact. The same way all eight Defenders of the Elder generation protected the former High Queens, their husbands served as Commanders protecting the former High Kings.

She smirked. "And what's your point?" The former Lower Queen Veronica Carnation, who happened to be the Lead Defender of her generation, had no compunctions about admitting that their adopted daughter was more like herself than her husband, though Beth did have enough of Michael in her to keep things interesting. Virginia had gold eyes and red hair from her lineage, however, as well as a strong body proportioned with curves in such a way that she literally could wear anything. She had spent as much time being a model as she had spent it painting them; the art in nearly all castles had been made by either her or Raine, another artist. "But let's be fair: I've never kissed you on a public street in broad daylight."

"That is true." He eyed her warily as she suddenly stopped walking. He didn't trust her often devious mind. "What?" He got his answer when she suddenly jumped into his arms and kissed him so hotly that his toes curled. They were in broad daylight on a public street. He should have guessed. And it was only the whooping and cheering that gave him the will to break the kiss. "Point proven," he said huskily.

"And nicely too. Whoo." She blew out a breath. They did everything passionately, including fighting and loving. They had no middle ground, not really. "Okay. Now let's see how Beth is handling things."

She was handling things just fine. When they found her and Terry, they were locked in a sparring match in a gym room of the castle. Terry wore workout pants and a black sash that marked him as a master in several styles of physical combat. Beth wore workout pants, a workout bra, and a matching sash. He had a few more styles mastered than she did, but that did not mean she couldn't give him a good run for his money.

The match ended with a surprising suddenness. She snaked under his guard and clipped him in the chin with a fist just hard enough that it knocked him off balance, and she was able to spin him around and knock him flat. She had him pinned before he could move. "Ha!"

"Alright!" Virginia cheered. "That's my girl!"

"Mom!" Beth brightened as she saw her parents in the doorway. She had always considered herself one of the luckiest of the Resurrection Cultivators because she had two full sets of parents to love and be loved by; only Tasia, Raine, and Storm shared that. Her birth parents lived in the capitol city surrounding the palace where they could easily see her anytime. "When'd you get here?"

"Just now," Michael admitted.

"Bethany . . ." Terry said warningly.

"Oops!" She scrambled off her husband and then watched in admiration as he rolled over and flipped to his feet. The way he moved made her pulse flutter happily. She had once tried to count all of his muscles. She had given up halfway through and jumped him instead.

Terry ignored the heat in her eyes to the best of his ability. "What brings you by?" He grabbed a towel and rubbed it over his sweaty hair.

"Just felt like it." Virginia grinned at Beth. "Want a match?"

She grinned back. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you, old lady."

Challenge sparked Virginia's eyes, and she took off her jacket. While, technically, yes at over five thousand years literally and ten thousand metaphorically, Virginia could be called old, the immortal sure did not like to be called it. You were only as old as you felt, and she preferred to feel young. "I'll show you old, kid." Such a smartass she had for a daughter. It did her heart good.

 

(Hyacinth; Hyacinth Castle)

"She didn't mean that!" the lavender-haired king blurted hastily as he saw the ire rising on the visiting delegate's face.

Beside him, her crown at a cocky angle, his wife narrowed her pine green eyes and said, "Yes, she did! Get out of my castle!" She turned sharply and stalked away across the throne room before she gave in to the urge to kick somebody's ass.

The delegate beat a quick path to the exit. Silas Hyacinth could only sigh and run a hand through his short hair. "Em," he said warningly as he went after his Dual Cultivator wife with warning in his silvery-black eyes. "You promised you'd have more tact!"

Lower Queen Emily Hyacinth merely snorted rudely. "For those that deserve it!" She impatiently yanked off her crown and chucked it to the side before raking both hands through her slate hair to get rid of the careful coifs. She hated styling her hair. She kept it just short enough that she would not be required to curl the stuff each time a formal occasion came around. She hated curls. They bounced.

Silas caught the crown and put it aside. He then caught her around the waist and hauled her up into the air over her indignant yelp. She may have only been three inches shorter than his five-eleven height, and sturdily built, but he had more than enough strength as a demi-god to keep up. He actually had the normal strong build of a physically-oriented combatant; his twin sister, Gail, had a much curvier and rounded frame from being magically-oriented, though they otherwise looked nearly identical.

The slim though long skirts of Emily's Ruler gown fell back, and he grinned as he saw her feet. She was barefoot. "I knew it!"

"I am not wearing high heels!" She wiggled and squirmed, but her husband kept her easily trapped. "Bad enough I have to wear a skirt almost all the time."

"You do know if you hated it as much as you claimed, it'd change, right?" he asked dryly. "Kiegan from Aluria proved that."

She crossed her arms mutinously and considered the merits of turning into something wiggly and slimy. Maybe an electric eel. She could zap him for being heavy handed when he knew she hated it. As a witch, her skill lay in Shapeshifting, so she had read plenty of biology books to learn all manner of different things to change into. A useful skill with her husband around!

Her thoughts scattered when his lips suddenly pressed to her neck. He smiled as he felt her pulse kick into overdrive. "I could always get the dress off you." He held her with one arm so that his other hand could steadily climb her leg under the dress. Despite her protests to the contrary, his wife was sexy as hell, and he knew he was not the only one to think so. She rivaled Beth for that and honestly had no clue. They all found it rather adorable.

"Damn it, stop that!" She let her magic rise until wind began to blow. She carried the Air Flower Element of her world across both magic and majik alike, so had plenty of tricks up her sheer sleeves. Wind nearly always blew on Hyacinth, actually, and rustled the endlessly flat grasslands that hallmarked the temperate world. "I'm warning you, Silas!"

"Alright, alright." He let her go, and a smile teased his lips as he moved back a step. "And anyway, you've already got feathers in your hair. Why add more?"

She stopped in her tracks. Her eyes narrowed. "You bastard." She whirled and rushed across the room to look in a mirror. Sure enough, gold feathers had been tangled into her slate locks. It couldn't be helped, unfortunately. Silas and Gail had been born in the Realm of the Gods, and they therefore had small gold wings. Silas slept with his wings out, so the bed was often covered in feathers. Emily never really could avoid getting some in her hair, though she tried her damnedest.

She turned and went after her Caretaker. He laughingly blocked the first punch and then caught her wrists before she could try again to hit him. "You're foul, mean tempered, and violent," he said. "It makes me wonder why I love you."

"It's because you're stupid!" she scowled.

"We left when you were arguing, and we come back when you're arguing," Alexandria Francisco said dryly from the doorway as her husband and Caretaker, Diaz, grinned beside her. "I feel as if we never left at all!" The former Lower Queen Arista Hyacinth shared almost nothing of her appearance with her daughter, but she shared nearly all of her personality. Alexandria's short blue hair and cloudy white eyes could be seen in the streaks Emily possessed, though. And where Emily had a rich coal skin tone, Alexandria was actually rather fair with plenty of freckles across her face and arms alike—she also stood very tall, passing Shana by an inch exactly. Just enough to have the strength to keep Shana safe as her twin soul. Diaz stood a few inches shorter than Alexandria, though looked not much less powerful, and had bright blond hair paired to strawberry red eyes and tanned skin.

Joy lit Emily's face at seeing her parents, and Silas's heart ached painfully as he saw it. That was why he loved her. Because under her tough exterior was a beautiful, tender, heart that loved generously and endlessly. If he could only see her smile, he would do anything. He let her go and smiled as she ran across the room to hug Alexandria and Diaz equally tight. "Rumor has it she's just like you," he told Alexandria.

Diaz grinned at him. "Rumor has it right, except for the fact that emotional blackmail was involved in getting her to wear her Ruler gown more than once every few months, and she did reluctantly wear heels."

"There was no blackmail involved, thank you," Alexandria retorted on a grin. "And I wore those heels because Shanae wore them, and I needed to stay taller than her for my own sanity."

Emily snorted. "Because it's hard to bodily protect someone taller than you. Gee, know that feeling."

At five-eight, Emily did actually stand in the taller side for her generation, but LeAnn still had her beat by two inches as well as a bit of strength, so fulfilling her duty to protect the High Queen as a Defender could be challenging. Reagan was far easier to protect thanks to being both short and willing to stay back in battle. Proteans? No keeping them back ever. That was why all twin soul mates to a High Ruler had at least an inch of height and whatever strength may be needed to bodily remove said Ruler from danger.

"Now imagine how I feel," Diaz said dryly. "Or, better, Tyson. Rocky almost towers over poor Ty. Never stops us from tackling him flat, though. Makes it funnier, usually. Remind me to tell you about the incident a few months ago."

"Let's not," Alexandria groused. "I lost sleep over that."

Emily grinned. "Now I have to hear it! Since you're here, tell me we can have a big get together and I can wear denims."

"I think there was rumor of that."

"Sweet!" She made a beeline for the door as fast as she could.

Alexandria and Diaz shared a smile with Silas. They would have changed nothing about Emily. They loved her because of everything she was not despite it.

 

(Gladiolus; Gladiolus Castle)

A long and honored tradition existed on Gladiolus: all Cultivators, Ruler or Defender or Dual, loved to cook. They loved to nurture and care for their loved ones, and they had ages before determined the best way to do it was to feed them. People teasingly said all Gladiolus Cultivators had recipes instead of genes inside their blood, and no Cultivator ever denied it. In the last few years since the kingdom on the rainy world had been resurrected, however, it had come to pass that the same genetic difference existed inside nearly every citizen as well! Gladiolus had ended up with the biggest and best culinary export in the entirety of Blossom Field, and they produced foods that got sold on all planets. People made the long trip just to sample some of the specialties. Whimsically, tourists claimed that the entire planet smelled like pasta and cookies.

It actually was true in some places on the world, and the most prominent was near the palace in the center of the capitol city. The entire castle almost invariably smelled like cookies. The cooks of the palace blamed the king and queen, both of whom loved to cook and bake. Without fail, all cooks and chefs got weekends off and the royal couple made meals for themselves.

It was for that reason that Juliet and Nathaniel Matica got to the palace, smelled the delicious scents coming from the kitchen, and felt not a bit of surprise. The former Lower Queen and King of Gladiolus shared a smile. "He really is your kid after all," Nathaniel told Juliet. A handsome man of taller height, he had coal colored skin, black eyes, and auburn hair that he kept short around his shoulders.

Juliet, formerly Julianna Gladiolus, just smiled. As proof of her lineage, she had long yellow hair and vibrant green eyes, and olive skin that often called attention. "And the fact that Stormy turned this into a cultural icon is evidence that he is yours." She sniffed the air. "Let's follow our noses. He and Kari smell like they're up to decadence."

Lower King Storm Gladiolus and his Caretaker wife, Kari, actually happened to be up to their elbows in cookie dough and chocolate chips. Flour was smudged across Storm's tanned face. Chocolate had smudged on Kari's fairer skin. The oven dinged. "Aw crap," Kari said.

Storm glanced over his shoulder and lifted an ash brown brow. The oven door opened, and the casserole that had been cooking obediently floated out and over to the cooling rack. As a Dual Cultivator of Gladiolus, he had the Thunder Flower Element of his world, and as a witch, he had the skills of Finding and Telekinesis. He also had the much rarer Pattern Mastery; the latter proved the most powerful of his abilities, but his mind had more than enough strength to move objects without touching them.

Proof of connections between worlds, Storm looked a fair bit like his elder sister Raine with the same coloring across the board—though he had yellow and green streaks—as well as the same slender but clearly strong build. Kari looked like no one else thanks to usual auburn eyes and beautifully rusty colored hair no artist had been able to replicate in paint; Virginia and Raine kept trying anyway. She also had a lean though softly curved frame thanks to being a runner, but she actually spent as much time as a clay sculptor as she did a chef.

"Do you realize how incredible it smells outside?" Juliet said from the doorway.

Storm shot her a grin. "Probably as good as it smells inside." Blithely he continued, "There's plenty for all of us, so grab a chair."

Juliet eyed her adopted son warily. "Alright. How did you know?"

"Lots of reasons." He finished putting dough on his trays and popped them into another oven. Several had been situated around the enormous castle kitchen. "Mostly it was just timing. It felt right. Theo sensed that we'd have visitors, so I calculated your last location and knew when you'd get here."

"I blame you for that," Juliet told Nathaniel. "I think he got part of your legal advisor brain."

"Goddess help me," Kari said under her breath.

Storm beamed. "At least you're not bored." He leaned over to kiss her cheek and then rested his head on her shoulder. "Let's have dinner then we can plan to meet up with everyone else. We can even bring cookies."

"Not that you planned that either."

"Who me? Never."

 

(Statice; Statice Castle)

Of all the kingdoms in Blossom Field, Statice had always been the most unusual for it had had only one Ruler and one Defender—the same person as a Dual—since the beginning of Time. Only with the advent of the Resurrection Era had that shown possibility of change when a second Dual Cultivator of Statice had been born, though she had neither been born to the previous one nor even born within that Era. Again, Statice and its Memory Flower Element tended to be the odd one in the family.

Lower Queen Racine Statice served both as the current and second Ruler of Statice, but she also served as the Apprentice Librarian to the Hall of Records within the Ephemeral Plane where the memories of all living creatures were housed. The Hall maintained the flow of Time itself, and only the Librarians had full access to its shelves, though witches could knock on the door and ask to see things about their own past lives. To maintain the flow of Time was to watch over past, present, and future and ensure everything continued to move smoothly without interference. It did happen; they called those Paradoxal Pivots, and both Librarians had seen their share.

Being Apprentice meant that Racine only acted as a sort of sidekick for her mother who was the full Librarian with full powers and skills related therein. Normally, the two had shared oversight of the Hall while also filling duties as a Dual Cultivator, but when Racine had ascended the throne two years before, her mother had decided to take a real vacation for the first time in millions of years and had left the Hall wholly in her Apprentice's hands as well.

A soft fluctuation through the Hall told Racine when Clara Castlera had returned to reclaim her hourglass, the item that marked her role. "Mom's back," she told her husband as she looked over from where she had been reading an immigration report. Statice's position at the end of the galaxy behind Protea—and Iris' end position behind Delphinium—meant the two worlds had to be checked into before ships coming from other galaxies could go any further.

Allister Statice looked up from the chess game he was playing. Across from him sat their eight-year-old daughter and future heir to the throne. Relisha had been winning, much to her father's reluctant amusement. Her twin brother, Percival, sat on the floor and avidly sketched a portrait of the small fae that was Allister's sidekick and familiar. Both twins had their mother's mink brown hair and their father's vibrant green eyes as well as a lighter version of their mother's bronze skin. Racine's eye color matched her hair, and Allister had smoky gray hair to go with his fair skin. Since she stood at five-nine and he at six-foot, both twins also skirted the tall side. "I hope she and Sam enjoyed their vacation," Allister said.

"I'm still confused," Percival told Racine. "How come our grandpa is also our uncle?"

"Strange quirks of adoption and two brothers being more alike than is good for your mother and grandmother's sanity," she grumbled.

Allister's elder brother, Samuel, was Clara's husband Caretaker, and had also adopted Racine, so that made him her father and brother-in-law alike. However, because Allister had himself always seen Sam as more of a father than a brother due to his brother raising him, it felt less confusing than it seemed. A lot of people actually forgot Allister wasn't his son at all despite the fact that the brothers nearly passed for twins personally; Sam just stood a few inches taller—a necessity as Rocky's twin soul mate. Clara herself was the same height as their daughter, and eerily did look enough like Racine to be her mother. They shared the same skin tone and some similar features though Clara had the lavender eyes and pink hair alike to the pink statice flower of their world.

Allister grinned swiftly. "Sam blames Destiny for all of it."

"Well, who else would have made it so complicated?" She stretched largely. "I guess I better go say hi and give her back her authority. Pity. I was hoping they'd take a longer break. I liked being entirely in charge. It felt . . . right."

Melina, the fae, looked at her curiously. "You think you're ready to take over?" she asked.

"Well, I certainly think she is," came Clara Castlera's voice from the doorway to the family room. She smiled when all eyes turned, and she held tighter to Sam's hand when he laced their fingers together. "I think the time has come for me to retire. The Hall showed no ill effects for not having my presence, and I noticed a few things had happened that I had entirely not seen with my Sight or even sensed—but you did, and handled. I always thought that that would be my sign of the change, and it is."

"Given how long you served," Sam told her, "I think you're more than ready to retire. I didn't notice you once worry while we were away."

"How could I?" She smiled up at him and then at their daughter. "I had Racine there. From the day I met her, she made sense of everything to me. How I could love Shana and Siobhan, especially Shana, so much more than any other High Princesses I had ever served. Maybe a little reciprocity could be involved, but it was truly a sign of change, as Time herself told me once. We will do the transfer within this week and make it formal. The Resurrection Era and all Eras beyond shall belong to you, Racine." A thought occurred, and she blinked. "Well. How . . . odd."

"What's that?" Allister asked.

"I was just thinking over what would be involved for the transfer, and it occurred that, well, we need someone with Memory power who is not the current or future Librarian, and perhaps oddly conveniently, we have exactly that in Tasia. She has very tactfully not used her Memory majik for much because she feels that's our special job, but the fact is that she is the High Priestess of the Plane as wholly as she is of Protea given the two being inexorably linked, and she can in fact serve in lieu of Pallas as Archon, Allister as Knight, or even us as Librarian."

Allister had known about Tasia's ability to step in, yet he had not realized the full ramifications of such a thing. "Do you suppose Destiny planned for that as well?"

Clara and Racine looked at each other. They were not allowed to see their own futures; at least, no more than the extremely metaphorical and often deeply interpretive visions that Racine had through her All Sight. Clara's own All Sight tended to be more literal, so she could only see things where she was not involved. However . . . at that very moment, neither of them could see anything. The futures surrounding all Cultivators and Caretakers, Elder and younger alike, had gone entirely murky and vague.

"Destiny's planning for something," Racine said softly. "That's for sure."

 

©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.

Chapter 3->

The Final Kingdom - Chapter 1

<-Prologue

(Delphinium; Delphinium Castle)

The Blossom Field galaxy was at peace. It had been two years since the last war, and life had settled into the nearly idyllic feeling that beginning of the Resurrection Era had brought. It was now October of Year 35 of the Resurrection Era, and the worlds of the galaxy thrived. The Ruler Cultivator of each world worked together as a unified team of ten, though the High Queens of the two biggest worlds, Protea and Delphinium, served as Overseers of the four Lower worlds following each of their own.

Delphinium was ruled by High Queen Reagan Delphinium and her husband, Pallas. He served also as the Archon of the Immortal Fields that made up a large chunk of the metaphysical realm known as the Ephemeral Plane, so though he may not be a Cultivator like his wife, as a demi-god he had his own share of power.

Reagan happened to be a Dual Cultivator—both Ruler and Defender—so she both ruled and protected her world alike should evil arrive. She was a seasoned Defender, in fact, with several wars in her past. She was mostly magically-oriented though, so she fought from the back row. She had an open and giving extroverted personality, was generous to a fault, and never hesitated to get dirty to help her people. She simply effused optimism and good will into the air around her. She was also a little forgetful, clumsy to an amusing degree, and had more than once said something on the edge of ridiculous without shame. Her people worshipped the ground she walked on. They had loved Reagan's mother—the last High Queen—with the same degree, but Reagan was different from her mother in many ways.

But not all of them.

Edgar Chivanti stood in the grand foyer at the entrance to the castle and looked at the broken vase being swept up by a maid. Musingly, he said to his wife, "You know, I seem to recall that we eventually moved the vase from the entrance because you were always knocking it over too."

Siobhan Chivanti, the former High Queen Sayena Delphinium, grinned unrepentantly. "And like her father, she refuses to bow to tradition."

The former High King Evan Delphinium just grinned back. "Shall we see how our erstwhile heir is handling things? It's been a year since we were here last."

"Two years since we got our freedom," she murmured. It seemed surreal. She turned to go down the hall and promptly bumped another table and sent another vase tumbling.

Thankfully, Edgar was used to his wife. He caught the vase before it hit the ground. He hid a smile as he took her elbow and firmly escorted her down the hall. They had grown up together in two lives spanning ten thousand years, so he had seen more than one clumsy attack, outrageous statement, unquenchable belief in happy endings, and volatile temper tantrum. He had loved every single moment, honestly.

They walked into the throne room in time to hear their daughter almost wailing, "If you hadn't distracted me, I wouldn't have knocked it over!"

Reagan stood near her throne and was waving her hands at the green-haired man sitting on the other throne. He wore the familiar crown of the High King, but it had tilted at a slight angle as if to imply he had been unintentionally smacked. "And," he said, laughter in his voice, "you weren't complaining until the vase fell."

They made a beautiful pair visually as much as emotionally. Reagan had a plump and petite frame against Pallas' slim, though strong, and slightly taller one. She possessed the familiar gold eyes and cream skin tone of her Delphinian lineage, and her shoulder length white hair hung in loose though enthusiastic curls that had black at the end of every strand; it gave her an adorably freckled effect across her hair that paid homage to her half-Protean blood. Pallas had hair and eyes as green as grass as well as a richly tanned skin tone, both likely echoing to the Nature Flower Element he owned. Reagan, of course, being of Delphinium, had the Illusion Flower Element.

She nearly retorted at her husband and then spotted her parents in the doorway. A smile brightened her lovely face and made her eyes glow like precious metal. "Mom! Dad!" She rushed across the room and happily hugged her only slightly shorter mother. They shared the same body type as well as eye and skin color, but Siobhan's solidly white hair hung to the floor in a thick mass of fluffy curls far more uncontrolled than her daughter's hair. She usually kept it in a fancy braid of some sort to try to tame it. "When did you get here??" Reagan demanded.

"Just now." Siobhan hugged her daughter just as fiercely. "Oooh! I missed you!" She eased back and studied Reagan's face intently. If there was any stress in her life, it had been well hidden. "You look happy."

"I'm feeling pretty happy." Reagan smiled. "You look wonderful."

Siobhan smiled back. "I'm feeling pretty wonderful." She looked at Pallas. "You're not letting her get herself too worked up, are you?"

"I do my best. It's good to see you again, Siobhan." He smiled at Edgar. "I'd say it's nice to see you again, but you are never far away for me. Though you and Shana no longer rule the Ephemeral Plane, you will forever maintain contact."

Edgar was a Ruler Cultivator in his own right, from Protea, and the reason why Reagan had black bits in her hair. His own hair hung straight and fine as it clung to his head in a short ponytail, and he had eyes the same pink as the black protea flower of his Mother world. He also had a golden brown skin with an underlying red hue that made him look Siobhan's perfect opposite; indeed, almost literally, they were opposites. He also had a relatively average height of five-eight, but an exceptionally powerful musculature from being a warrior his entire life. He did possess magic of course, and more than most Protea Cultivators, but nothing near his wife's literally infinite magic as the Apex of Light. "As long as we're not in charge anymore," he said dryly, "then we're happy. We served far more than a normal length of time."

"How long are you visiting?" Reagan asked curiously.

"For a little while. We thought it might be fun for a get together. All of the Elder Cultivators are visiting their kingdoms." Siobhan linked her hands behind her back. "And hoping for grandchildren," she said pointedly.

"Moth-er!" Reagan sighed. She should have known she would hear that refrain. "You're just jealous because Aunt Yvonne and Aunt Clara have grandkids."

Siobhan contemplated that while Edgar grinned at her. "Yes," she decided. "I am. Particularly when Yvonne gets to bragging. So make your mother happy and give her a grandkid sooner rather than later."

Reagan rolled her eyes. "Just don't expect me to go doing any fertility spells! You should have seen what happened when Raine did!"

Edgar slowly lifted a brow. "What happened?"

Pallas grinned. "The Daffodil Castle is covered in vines now."

Siobhan giggled. "And Tasia didn't fix it?"

"She said it served Raine right." Reagan giggled too.

 

(Iris; Iris Castle)

Yvonne Notesong stood in the foyer of the Iris Kingdom castle and studied a painting on the wall that showed a beautiful woman riding on the back of a dragon over the eternally snowy landscapes of Iris. Flowers still bloomed though; quite a few things grew wonderfully in snow, and the artist had captured many of them. Of course she had; the painting had a rather familiar signature in the bottom corner from a dear friend. "I never could have imagined the events of the last ten years," she decided. "Ever."

Her husband smiled wryly. "How were we ever supposed to envision the Resurrection Cultivators? Particularly our daughter!" Douglas Notesong added with emphasis. "If she'd been born to us, perhaps we'd have been prepared."

"After talking with her birth mother for hours on end about that very thing," she countered dryly, "I can say with certainty that we wouldn't have been prepared at all! Ah, well." She headed down the hall with her hands linked behind her back. "Let's see how our favorite Mystic Sorceress is handling things."

A very loud and terrified feminine shriek came from the direction of the throne room. It was followed by a mystical feminine voice saying in exasperation, "It's just a frog! It doesn't have teeth and it certainly won't give you warts!" The beautiful contralto voice sounded as mystical as Chaos itself and just as wild and untamed.

"Oh my," Doug murmured as he pushed the doors open. He was fairly sure he knew what they would see.

Sure enough, there was a visiting dignitary standing on a chair while an ugly bullfrog hopped around on the floor. A little boy of no more than five chased the frog from one direction while an older girl closer to twelve tried to catch it from another. Both wore the small coronets that marked them as being of the royal house, but only the boy wore the small Ruler suit that named him as the next Ruler Cultivator of Iris. The girl wore an Irisian gown of her own of course; it just did not come as a magically generated outfit for she did not have a Seed. Her brother was also the only one of them to have the familiar softly glowing Flower Mark of Iris over his heart. His suit covered it mostly, but the glow could be spotted with ease.

Their mother stood close by with a look on her face that echoed to her being torn between amusement and exasperation. She wore the Ruler gown of an Iris Ruler Cultivator and a matching crown for she was the queen, but like all others of her generation, she was in fact Dual. The Flower Mark on her chest as a Ruler could not be seen; only the Mark on her upper left arm as a Defender was visible. It actually had tiny black poppies amid the iris blossoms thanks to the world of Aria in the next galaxy claiming her as well. Both Marks possessed a sparkling gray crown wrapped around the blossoms—something only Siobhan and Shana Toulume possessed as well, though Siobhan had a white one and Shana a black one.

She made a strikingly impressive figure thanks to possessing a body type perfectly between the powerful muscle of physical sorts and the plump curviness of magical sorts. She also had a breathtaking beauty emphasized by chocolate hair, mocha skin, and eyes that changed from caramel to chocolate depending on whether light or dark crossed her face. Both of her children shared her skin tone—which her husband did as well—and her daughter had her hair color while her son had her caramel eyes. Curiously so, perhaps, when her daughter had been adopted. "Anna." Her amused voice carried the distinct drawling rhythms of her Vericity heritage. She spoke every language fluently yet always maintained her accent unless she actively tried to remove it. She had given up on the effort. "Just reverse it back out."

"Oh." Anna Iris stopped in surprise and her black eyes widened enough to emphasize the magenta undertone within. "I forgot I could do that!" She closed her eyes and concentrated hard enough that the pendant of blue diamond she wore began to glow softly with silver majik. She opened her eyes and pointed at the frog, and it disappeared with an aggravated ribbit. She brightened visibly. "I did it!"

"And it was your dumb brother that conjured it!" the dignitary nearly shrieked.

Both children dashed over to hide behind their mother's skirt and under the cape she wore. Anastasia Iris' eyes narrowed sharply and dangerously. Across her pupils swirled white and black lightning caught inside a seething galaxy made of shadows. To look into the shadows was to look into Chaos itself. "Repeat yourself," the Lead Defender for the Resurrection Era said softly.

If you dare.

The words were unspoken but distinctly heard. The dignitary swallowed carefully as she got off the chair. Nerves made her palms sweaty. She knew all too well that Queen Anastasia, as Lead Defender, was by far the most powerful and dangerous of her generation. She had been specifically chosen by Destiny itself to be the strongest. She was also a sorceress in possession of every Flower Element as part of her majik; the majik equally existed inside both of her children to make them witches. She held Ice, True Shadow, and Chaos Flower Elements in her magic as a Cultivator (Ice from Iris, Shadow from Aria), and on top of that, she also happened to be the Apex of Chaos: a goddess among mortals with infinite power known as arcanistry and the only being alive to own the Chaos Flower Element. She could literally make miracles. "M-my apologies, Your Majesty."

"Out."

The dignitary gathered her skirts in her hands and rushed for the door with more haste than grace. As the door slammed behind her, Tasia blew out a breath that stirred her bangs. "Bloody buggerin' hell as Beth might say! Daelan!" She turned on her son. "You know better than that!"

Daelan Iris was a smart boy. He ran and hid behind Doug. His grandfather grinned. "Nice try, kid. I'm not facing your mother's wrath!" He scooped up his grandson and tossed him over his shoulder while Daelan shrieked with laughter. "Are we having fun?"

"I don't know," Tasia retorted. "Are we? Ooh!" She yanked off the crown she wore. "Have I mentioned I sometimes hate my job?" She began to yank out the pins holding her thick hair on top of her head. She only ever left down the streaks of purple ombre and golden yellow when she pinned her hair up. The streaks were mark of her Seed being born of Iris, and they matched to Yvonne's own purple ombre hair and golden yellow eyes.

Until Tasia's generation, every Ruler or Defender—or Dual in Yvonne's case as well—had had coloring matching their world's flower thanks to power becoming inbred. The lineages had safely rebooted in this generation with the Lower worlds having Duals not born to the last generation, and the two High worlds being internally rebooted by intergalactic blood coming into play two generations earlier. Therefore, other than a sort of eerie echo, Tasia did not actually look like either of her adopted parents. Yvonne had the coloring of the purple iris, fair skin, a mostly plump figure, and a shorter height. Doug was an inch shorter than his daughter, had a strong frame, and green eyes paired to blond hair and tanned skin.

Yvonne watched Tasia's hair come down and her brows shot up. The chocolate locks touched the floor. Pooled, in fact. It had never grown normally to begin with—moving in fits and starts based on her power—but it had seemed to stabilize at ankle length after she had evolved to an Apex a few years before. It had happened to Siobhan and Shana alike as well up to their own evolutions ages before, but here, suddenly, Tasia's hair had grown again. "What happened, Tasi?"

Tasia scowled. "I don't have a single clue. It started growing insanely over the last two months, and I don't use that term lightly. My power is completely erratic right now, though Goddess knows why. It grows so damn fast that I have to keep cutting it nearly every day to keep it off the floor! I keep hoping it'll settle down soon." She propped her hands on her hips. "So. What's new?"

"Not much." Doug smiled. "You still keeping LeAnn out of trouble?"

"Ha! I leave that to her Caretaker husband."

"And is your Caretaker keeping you out of trouble?" Yvonne asked dryly.

"Now you're being silly." She walked over and bent to hug her tightly. At five-eleven, she was more than half a foot taller than her adopted mother. They jokingly said she got her height from Doug since he stood barely shorter. They may not have shared much in looks, but in personality, there was no mistaking her resemblance to either. "I'm missed you both! I knew you'd be by soon, just not when."

"There's something you don't know?" Yvonne teased lightly.

"Sometimes."

"Where is Rodi anyway?" Doug asked. He scooped up Anna to hug her tightly when she ran over. "There's my favorite girl!" He gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. Though not Tasia or Rodi's by blood, there was no telling. In fact, most didn't know until they realized she had no Seed. She had a remarkably eerie physical resemblance to her parents over all, including a taller height.

"He and Logan decided to beat the crap out of each other." Tasia grinned. "It would seem he wasn't in a mood to let me kick his ass."

"I don't blame him," Doug groused. "You kick hard."

"I only dumped you on the mat once."

"And it hurt."

"Alright, alright!" Yvonne pushed them apart with a smile. "Let's get something to drink and get caught up." She picked up Daelan. "And no more frogs."

"Bunnies?"

She could only laugh. "Maybe just one."

 

(Daffodil; Daffodil Castle)

Kellie and Tyson Gregori were in an electric carriage about to stop in front of their family castle when their eight-year-old son, Devin, told them, "I was thinking about things and realized that I have a weird family tree."

"Other than obvious?" Tyson asked dryly. "Your adopted sister is married to the cousin of her stepsister. We long ago decided that our side of the galactic tree is the strangest around." He opened the door as the carriage stopped, and he blinked rapidly as he got out. "We also have the strangest castle around. What the weighted hells?"

Kellie and Devin got out behind him and stared at the sight of the castle covered in so many vines that it was a surprise any stone could be seen at all. "Oh my," Kellie murmured.

Devin grinned cheekily. "I'd bet Raine messed up a spell."

"Devin, be nice!" Kellie ruffled his hair. "Or next time LeAnn turns you into a gecko, we won't make her turn you back."

"Yes'm." He linked his hands behind his head as he followed his parents into the castle. He fully intended to torment his sister despite the warning. She was the best person ever. She had something called magikry which was magic and majik combined—all of her generation had it—and for as long as he remembered, he had just always felt safest near her. Anyone with majik, really, but especially Raine. She sometimes felt more like another mother than a sister, given the wide age gap of twenty-six years, so when he walked into the throne room and saw her standing with a farmer, he completely forgot any sort of princely protocol. "Rainy!" He happily rushed across the room and jumped to hug her tightly around the neck.

Raine Daffodil burst into laughter as she caught her little brother before she dropped him. "My apologies," she said to the farmer.

He smiled. "No worries, my queen." He, like the rest of the kingdom, loved Raine and Logan deeply not just because of their brilliance as leaders, but also because they always gave generously of themselves to their people, and Raine herself willingly gave more as a Dual Cultivator. He spotted Kellie and Tyson, and though they wore casual clothes, he recognized them quickly. He bowed respectfully. "Lady Kacey and Lord Talon, it's a pleasure to see you."

Upon crowning a new queen and king, the former set would take Lady/Lord as their title to keep things clear as to who was in charge. Kellie—formerly Kacey Daffodil—found it a fair trade. She returned the bow and belied her regal heritage as much as her own Dual training. She looked nothing like her adopted daughter thanks to her copper eyes and peach hair set against brown skin, but she had passed her eye color on to her son as well as a lighter hue of her skin. Tyson had passed his cornflower blue hair to Devin, and he had gray eyes set against fair skin. Both shared their five-six height, so Raine's five-eight beat them both. "I'm sorry for interrupting," Kellie said on a smile.

"Not at all. We were just about done. We'll get right on things, Your Majesty," he told Raine.

She gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you SO much." As he walked out, she blew out a breath that stirred her streaks of copper and peach as well as her normally ashy brown hair where it fell into her equally ash brown eyes. She had tanned skin and a surprisingly slender frame despite clear strength that her Ruler gown could not disguise entirely. "That's one less issue to deal with. And you!" She tickled Devin mercilessly. "If I have to behave all proper, so do you!"

"He learned bad habits from Emily," Tyson whispered loudly.

Raine snorted. "Emily is a bad habit!" The words were fondly said. Lower Queen Emily Hyacinth of the world of the same was one of Raine's closest friends. "Okay." She crossed her arms. "Let's hear it. I know you're dying to ask, Dad. I can see it in your eyes."

He coughed. "So . . . vines?"

She rubbed her forehead on a sigh. "Majik overkill and plausibly karmic irony kickback from my sister. I tried a fertility spell."

Kellie covered a smile. "Didn't work?"

"How'd you guess?" Her gaze lowered. "Logan and I have been trying. But . . . nothing. A few hopeful moments, but nothing in the end. No one else has conceived either, but other than LeAnn and Chance they aren't actively trying the way we have been, so it has us concerned to say the least."

Kellie frowned and walked closer to put a hand over her belly. Raine was a powerful healer within her own right, but it was sometimes easier to look into others than yourself, and Kellie had vast medical training as a doctor on top of her magic. She found nothing that implied anything may be wrong. "I don't see anything, but best we have Siobhan check you as well. She has as much skill as I, but more magic to be sure. Even the most minute of things can be found by her."

"I wouldn't argue." Raine smiled. "What brought on the visit?" She pulled a device out of a hidden pocket in her Ruler gown while she was talking. The object known as a Personal Communication Assistant allowed for audio and visual communications across the galaxy in varying ways; the most useful was calling another PCA via personal code to talk across any distance.

"We missed everyone and decided it was time to come home. That, and Shana was being Shana and just knew we needed to come home." Kellie tilted her head toward where the farmer had gone. "Is he helping the palace?" She knew Raine and Logan often contracted jobs to small farms for landscaping of the palace grounds. Daffodil's mostly flat landscape with scattered craggy stones and volcanos that spewed metal fragments into the air—from the world's Metal Flower Element—made for a surprisingly fertile ground, so they had a decent number of farmlands.

"Yes, he's getting rid of my overzealousness. Also known as the clinging vines." Raine lifted her phone. "Logan Daffodil." When the other side clicked over, she said, "Home. Now." And immediately disconnected again.

Tyson grinned. "That's my girl."

 

(Aster; Aster Castle)

For much of the Rebirth Era preceding the Resurrection Era, the two Defender Cultivators of Protea and Delphinium had been the most legendary of their team, though the team as a whole had been relatively legendary as well due to many factors. By the time the current Era had arrived, both Shana and Siobhan had hung up their Masks in order to rule as High Queens, and most people had even forgotten they existed—until years later when their own daughters stepped up as Dual Cultivators, and the truth had been needed to be revealed.

It likely could have continued being a secret, Sherry Yamamoto mused to herself, if it hadn't been for the fact that Tasia had told LeAnn and Reagan they could serve as full members of the team despite being High Princesses—or Queens—and so it had been needed to be announced to the galaxy as a whole that, yes, Protea and Delphinium actually had Defenders despite never having them before in millions of years. Shanae and Sayena had debated endlessly over how to make the announcement and had finally just made Tasia write it since it was her fault.

"You know, I always knew that Liena's bloodline would cause us trouble," she told her husband, Justin. "I just didn't realize how much, or in what way!"

He grinned. "I blame Byron's blood mixing with Jean's."

Fair point. Liena Vanguard had been an incredibly powerful witch who had been the High Priestess of Protea for the Royal Era. Her direct descendant five thousand years later, Jean Kinsley, had been High Priestess for the Rebirth Era. Jean had turned out to be a Caretaker herself, to a Defender Cultivator of the planet Ranunculus. Byron Rancul had been rather special in his own right, and had become an honorary member of Blossom Field. His and Jean's direct descendant, the third and final High Priestess of Protea, was none other than Tasia. "I agree," she decided. "There is definitely almost as much of Byron in Tasia as there is Jean or Liena. Which may be why Theo keeps her from getting away with murder. I always had a knack with keeping Byron in line." She grinned. "And speaking of, let's see how our erstwhile son is handling things around here."

Justin smiled. "If he's anything like his mother—and he is—then there's nothing he can't handle."

She swung around and grabbed him for a hard kiss that made many passing servants start giggling and clapping. Upon releasing him, she dragged him into the castle. "Where's Theo?" she asked a butler going past.

He bowed quickly with a smile. "He and the queen are in the Contemplation Room."

"Where else would they be?" Justin smiled and tugged Sherry close as they headed for the room in question. Aster Ruler Cultivators, by nature of the orange aster of their world, had the ability known as Ghost Sight that allowed them to see and speak with the spirits of those who had passed. Since Aster had the Fire Flower Element, and its flower represented rebirth, inevitably all the spirits that did not want to pass on to the Realm or be reborn ended up on the warm desert world. To allow the Rulers of Aster to communicate with their invisible subjects, they had Ghost Sight. The Contemplation Room effectively acted as a place where spirits could go to specifically gain their Ruler's attention for some reason.

Ghost Sight was not the only Sight in the Aster lineage, though. All Defenders of Aster also possessed the exceptionally rare Future Sight that allowed them to have premonitions and visions of the future. Sherry and Theo alike, both Dual, had both forms of Sight. Theo was not alone in his Sight, however; his wife and Caretaker, Kimber, possessed Present Sight of her own as part of being a witch within her own right. In fact, six of the ten Caretakers to the current Cultivator generation were witches as well. The other four had their own unique gifts.

As soon as Sherry and Justin entered the Room, they spotted Theo and Kimber sitting beside an eternally burning flame in a pit. There could no missing them amid the décor. Theo had long cardinal red hair currently tied up under his crown, fair skin, and intense cerulean blue eyes. After years of training, he had a rather strong frame though a soft sultriness clung to him still and only made him more unfairly beautiful. Streaks of orange and yellow hair over his eyes echoed back to Sherry's own orange hair and yellow eyes as proof of their shared Aster lineage. His adopted mother had a light brown skin tone, though. Justin's fair skin looked more like his son's, but he possessed pale green eyes and lavender hair instead. He also stood several inches taller than either mother or son's much shorter heights of five-three and five-five.

Kimber possessed soft coal skin, honey brown hair, and darker blue eyes, and she had a far softer figure, though she was not without some strength of her own. She quite easily kept her slightly shorter Cultivator in line as his Caretaker for she had plenty of tools at her disposal—as all Caretakers did.

Sherry couldn't resist showing off a little. She flicked her fingers and made the flame start to dance as she added to it via her Ruler magic. Retaliation was prompt: the edge of her short skirt caught flame. "Hey!" She hastily put it out. "That's cheating."

"Never try to one up a witch," Theodore Aster sniffed as he turned around. "My priestess teaches me all kinds of tricks." He hopped to his feet to brush out his Ruler suit, and his eyes sparkled merrily. "Do I know you people? You look kind of familiar."

Justin walked over and hugged him fiercely. "There's my boy!" He could have loved him no more if Theo had been his by blood. "Still the same as ever." He eyed Kimber. "You keeping him out of trouble?"

"I leave miracles to the Apexes," Kimber countered politely. She smiled and got to her feet gracefully to smooth out her gown. "Do you want some tea?" She pointed to where a tray with four cups waited nearby. "We were expecting you."

Sherry eyed Theo who grinned unrepentantly and said, "I take after my mother."

 

(Orchid; Orchid Castle)

If there was anything scarier than a witch with a gentle disposition and a complete lack of regard for following rules he didn't make, the people of Orchid hadn't seen it. Combined with an absolute love for their Ruler Cultivator was a certain sense of fascinated awe with him. He was kind and generous and possessed a great sense of humor, and he never changed his mind once it got set.

The landscape developer currently waiting in the throne room of the castle knew that he was in for an epic battle to get his way. He held his breath as the doors opened, and then his shoulders relaxed in relief as the queen walked in instead. "My liege."

Gail Orchid slowly lifted a lavender brow over silvery-black eyes. Her shocking beauty had gotten her fancifully termed the Mermaid of Orchid, which seemed fitting given the world held the Water Flower Element and therefore was nearly all water with floating cities. The largest, though still small, strip of land held the actual kingdom. Gail herself possessed the Thunder Flower Element, and was a demi-goddess within her own right, so she could actually be almost as stubborn as her husband. "Hello," she said as she approached. "Ryan will be here shortly." She barely hid a grin as the developer's smile faltered. "I'm sure we know your request, but you're welcome to make your pitch anyway."

The developer took a deep breath. "I have bought a parcel in a city and want to build a large industrial building there."

"And how many buildings do you currently own and lease?"

He sighed. "Five."

"Which is the legal limit per developer," Ryan Orchid noted as he walked into the room with his black hair swinging merrily around his shoulders. Ultramarine and purple streaks over his almond-shaped blue eyes marked his lineage, and his olive skin displayed handsomely against his Ruler suit. Streaks and suit alike harkened to the blue orchid of his world, as did his not visible yet softly glowing Flower Marks as a Dual Cultivator. Though on the slender and shorter side at five-five—his Caretaker stood taller by five inches—he still had a distinct presence. "I don't want our world to be overdeveloped, thank you, and everyone gets a fair shot at being landlords!"

"But I just bought the parcel!"

"Well, you knew the law before buying it, so that's your problem." He crossed his arms as his chin took on a stubborn line that made his wife grin. "I'm not changing the law for anyone. You came from Protea. You saw what happened as the world had to overdevelop to compensate for sustaining the entire galaxy for ten thousand years. It's only now recovering from that, and I and my fellow Rulers aren't letting it happen anywhere else."

"So what do I do with the land?" the landscaper asked anxiously.

"Build something other than a building," came a female voice from the doorway.

All three turned, and Ryan brightened. "Mom! Dad!"

Desiree and Uwe Andres both smiled as they walked into the room. "Still keeping troublemakers in line? That's my boy," Uwe said, his hazel eyes twinkling with humor under his peach bangs.

The developer bowed hastily, awe on his face. Desiree and Uwe alike had quite a pedigree; both had been the last queen and king of Orchid, but Uwe also served as a Commander and personal guard to the former High King Robert Protea, and Desiree of course had been a Dual Cultivator. Her lineage could be clearly see in her ultramarine hair and purple eyes matching to the streaks in her son's hair, and she had a light brown skin tone. She shared her height and slender but strong frame with her son, while Uwe stood a bit taller and had a much stronger physique across tanned skin. "My lord and lady," the developer said. "I, uh, did not expect you."

"You, scoot! I'm busy now and you aren't going to change my mind." Ryan began pushing him toward the door. "Design something else."

"Pleeease?" he pleaded as he was pushed. "Just a little building?"

"No!" He shut the doors firmly and blew out a breath. "Honestly!" He smiled and swung around to look at his parents. "I didn't expect you either, but I'm happy to see you!" He moved to hug them both happily. "I guess this means everyone is visiting their kids?"

"Indeed." Desiree grinned. "I look forward to hearing about Diaz and Alexandria seeing your sister. Rumor hath it she keeps Silas on his toes in trying to keep her out of trouble."

Gail snorted softly. Silas was her slightly younger twin brother, and she did not envy what he dealt with on a daily basis. "Rumor hath it right!"

 

©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.

Chapter 2->