A/N:

To my old readers-

Yes. I know I said I was done. I lied. The plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone...and for the record, I've had to delete 4 curses thus far.

To new readers-

If you are just now joining this crazy train, you will want to go back and read the stories in order. You can find them in my profile. Also, be aware of 100 Themes, which are one-shots (sometimes two- and three-shots) of 'extra'. I'd recommend reading the stories before 100 Themes, as the Themes were posted on the timeline with the main story.

To everyone-

Hello! This is a...4th generation?

How did I let the plot bunny and you readers talk me into this...

This is a 4th generation RA fanfic. You will definitely need to go back and read the first stories if you have any hope of following along. I LOVE LOVE LOVE reviews! If you want to post something but think I won't read it, think again! I get them sent directly to my phone so I can read them asap. I will also respond to each one either in an author's note at the beginning of the next chapter or via PM (to get a PM, you must leave a signed review).

Unlike the last stories, this one has never been seen before. The 'old reader' and 'new reader' divide ceases to exist. Feel free to make all the predictions you want in reviews. I find them entertaining, and there is no chance of spoiling now :) That's right! All characters are safe from spoiler-related deaths!

Family Trees

Mason/Scout- Hazen (17), Mara (12)

Tucker/Caitlyn- Carter (12), Lina (1)

William/Anamaria- Reese (21)

Frey/Rosalina- Iris (13), Lily (8)

Ace/Kelly- Halle (11), Horace III (9)

Daniel/Julia- Maggie (10)

Warden/Carissa- Max (14), Jasmine (9)

Kane/Gabby- Russ (26), Holt (20), Robin (18), Anne (11)

Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan.

Reese mentally moaned when Aunt Kelly fell in step beside him. He felt her hand on his arm, pulling him back to a slower pace as they made their way to breakfast with the family.

"You left the banquet early last night," she whispered to him. "Why?"

Reese had been so sure he stuck around long enough no one would catch on to his early exit. Hopefully, Aunt Kelly was the only one who noticed. Though he loved his parents and was grateful to them, their way of life wasn't his. He grew up feeling like an outsider. They never hid his adoption from him, but they weren't exactly open about it either. Once they sat him down and explained everything in detail he'd already accepted he could never be the crown heir they wanted him to be. It was something they did their best to correct. They fed his curiosity hoping he'd get enough and settle at home, but he couldn't. He wanted more.

"That's what I thought," Aunt Kelly sighed when he didn't answer.

"I'm not meant to be a prince," he muttered. Of all his family, Aunt Kelly was easiest to talk to about his frustration with his crown. She understood him, or at least she attempted to. The others all dismissed his curiosities as childish dreams.

"But you are," Kelly reminded him, as if wearing quality clothing in a castle wasn't enough.

"Maybe I'll abdicate."

"Maybe you will," she agreed. "Do you really want Iris on the throne though?"

"Maybe she'll grow up."

"I think you should wait to see if she does before you leave the country in her hands."

Reese could always count on Aunt Kelly to listen. He could also always count on her to be annoyingly reasonable. They joined the family and their conversation cut off. His grandfather, Lord Horace, sat with his youngest grandchild Lily in his lap. Of all his cousins, Lily was by far the most lovable. Unlike her sister Iris, Lily dodged her mother's appointments to play with servants' children. She was of the age many of her friends were beginning work themselves, and Lily happily fell in line with them. She built fires and collected laundry wearing borrowed aprons, having next to no royal responsibilities as the young third-in-line.

Not to say she didn't enjoy time with her cousins. Between the Araluen and Hibernian bases, there were six girls in perfect stair step years. It began with Lily and went up to Iris, with Jasmine, Maggie, Halle, and Mara in between.

Speaking of Halle and Iris, those two sat on either side of their grandfather taking turns teasing Lily. Reese, being oldest of the cousins, wasn't as close to the children in their family's circle. He'd been raised alongside Russ and Holt, the sons of Captain Kane and his private physician wife Gabby. He was also close to their daughter Robin. The three O'Carrick children were considered part of the family circle, but without titles they weren't as included as others. Their parents weren't personal guards, Captain Kane wasn't a knight, Gabby, though a friend, was now a free agent rather than service to the crown. Captain Kane and Gabby didn't have much interest in formal events associated with royalty themselves. It rubbed off on their children. The result was Reese having few friends to mix with at such events…and lack of camaraderie is what led him to duck out early the night before.

At twenty-one, Reese was expected to be settling down with a bride, shadowing his father and preparing to take over the crown. However Reese's interests were everywhere but with the crown. He still wanted to explore, speak other languages, and see how others lived. His desires sparked jealousy of Robin and Jin, whose parents had no expectations for their careers other than to be successful in their chosen fields. So far, the girls didn't disappoint. Robin worked within the company her mother helped build alongside Caitlyn and Lucy. Part of Reese wished he could join her, but with three women in charge many of the leadership roles went to other women. It wasn't that Gabby, Caitlyn, and Lucy disliked working with men, it was more that men disliked working under them rather than their husbands (or, in Lucy's case, lack thereof). Reese's title made him unsuitable for the profession anyway, a title he didn't want or ask for. A title he wasn't even born into, technically. He got to shadow Lucy for a little while, but it was as much as he could hope for. Robin took over his post when he left and would grow and fulfill Reese's dream while he was stuck in the castle.

Then there was Jin…beautiful, exotic, intelligent Jin. Liam and Talia couldn't take all the credit for raising her, as she was older at the time of her adoption, but they did a good job with the years they had her. An orphan in Nihon-Ja with no education could only hope to serve a wealthy Senshi household, maybe marry a common soldier or mediocre craftsman uninterested getting into the palace. With Liam and Talia, she became much more. Sure, she had the position of educating his younger female cousins now, but anyone could see it was simply a step to a higher position within Castle Araluen. With her parents she could have asked for a position, but her ambitions were to carve her own way. She was doing a good job thus far.

Reese realized a few months back while on a trip to Nihon-Ja with his parents and Jin she'd positioned herself to be an appropriate choice for his wife. He did admire her. He enjoyed flirting with her, and she with him, but they were just games. Jin didn't hide the fact she wanted an advantageous marriage, which he could give her, but it wouldn't be right. At least, not for them. He usually hated when people used him for their own personal gain. Jin was the only one honest about it and he respected her for that. He even became willing to help her. They could enjoy their harmless attraction to one another at events they both attended, Jin using it to boost herself and him avoiding others who wanted boosting. One day one of them would marry, probably Jin first, and they'd simply become allies within the castle.

Reese took the seat between his father and Uncle Frey while Aunt Kelly joined Aunt Rosalina. They'd be hosting a tea later and needed to go over last minute details. Kelly organized it, Rosalina took all the credit for it. That was how they did things. Kelly may be the most understanding of the family, but that was only because she managed the stress of others better than her own. When she was thrust into leadership, she took it with panic. His mother, Aunt Rosalina, and Grandmother Cassandra protected her from the heaviest work of princesses. Luckily, Anamaria and Rosalina enjoyed the workload. Anamaria appreciated the distraction from having no mass of children Iberions were conditioned into wanting more than anything. Rosalina liked the attention.

Ace, Reese's uncle who served as Chief Physician, kissed Kelly's cheek before returning to a conversation with his son, Horace III. The family tried endlessly to find a nickname for Horace III since he was born. Unfortunately, none stuck and there weren't many ways to shorten 'Horace'. This left the family with Sir Horace, Prince Ace, and Prince Horace III. Reese wondered if he should one day name his son 'Horace the Fourth' so that Araluen would see another King Horace. Of course, that would only work if Reese refused abdication and if his first child was a son. His great-grandfather Duncan changed that rule when his sick wife gave him just one child, a daughter. Of course, Cassandra proved herself a worthy leader. Duncan dragged Araluen out of a deteriorating leadership, Cassandra built an inner circle that became a strong foundation, and William was expanding the reach of Araluen with his ever-developing treaties and conquests. Reese wondered what would be left for him to do when the time came. Luckily, his time wouldn't come for another decade, two if he was lucky.

"Don't forget, we leave next week for Hibernia," his father announced. "For Elizabet's and Gabe's weddings."

Reese took the cup of fruit juice in front of him wishing he had something to spike it with. Trips to Hibernia were most common for them. He did a couple of years at their Academy he thoroughly enjoyed, under the direction of Caitlyn. She was the only person he personally knew who abdicated her crown without some kind of scandal. Caitlyn had never grown up in a castle. She not once used her title all her life. She abdicated to avoid being forced into a life of politics, instead shocking everyone by choosing academics. She married Tucker, who headed up the Academy, and built her career around research. Her specialty was poisons, but she learned early in her studies that the only difference between poison and medicine was dosage. This brought her into the company Gabby's sister organized. As a physician, Gabby identified problems and marked up a list of everything the solution should include. As a researcher, Caitlyn took Gabby's lists and experimented until she found a solution. Gabby would then test them in the field, and once something was deemed useful Lucy organized mass production and put them on the market. Their intertwined working relationship was flawless.

Though Reese was most interested in Lucy's role, he enjoyed playing Caitlyn's assistant during his free time those two years. She'd been a good mentor, and she'd certainly be at the Hibernian weddings. Seeing her and Tucker would be great, but he wouldn't get to visit the Academy during their trip. He'd be tied up in royal duties as Crown Prince of Araluen, attending wedding-related events and meetings crammed into as short a time as possible to take advantage of so many important people gathering in one place at the same time. He'd be forced to attend most, if not all, of these events alongside Hibernian Crown Prince Hazen, whom he found completely, utterly annoying.

Sometimes he wished he had siblings. His parents were never able to produce a child of their own and they never formally adopted again. They'd taken a risk with him as is. It didn't make sense to push their luck further.

Reese pushed his food around until he felt a tug on his sleeve. He grinned, pulling sweet Lily into his lap. Frey and Rosalina gave both their children every opportunity to be spoiled brats. Iris took advantage of such opportunity. Lily was too busy with her head in the clouds to be aware with them. In Lily's world, life seemed so much simpler. As a princess without the responsibility of being crown heir, it probably was. Reese could never be too frustrated with Lily around. Her happiness was too contagious.

"Will you take me kayaking in the loch next to the castle in Roscrea?" she asked with sheer delight. "Please, Reese?"

"Your dad doesn't want to take you?" Reese asked as he eyed Frey. His Skandian uncle spent as much time on the water as he could get. Lily's love for the sea came directly from him. He taught her how to sail just as he'd once taught Robin when she was young.

"If you take me I can go twice," Lily answered. Reese chuckled. Perhaps Lily was more aware of her influence than they gave her credit for. He nodded to her. She'd hold him to his promise and get him out of some undesirable appearance with Prince Hazen. Lily squealed with excitement and gave him a tight hug. Reese sighed. If only Lily could pull him out of all his duties.