Author's Note: This is something I've wanted to try for a while now. Let's just see how it goes. For starters. I can already see people telling me I ripped off Next-Generation Dragons. I'm in the middle of reading that fanfic right now, and aside from the fact it's about the main characters having children, I have yet to see any glaring similarities. I have wanted to write this story for a while now, but I didn't have as much confidence in my skills or knowledge about the series that I do now.
At least read the first two chapters. Then you'll see the tone, setting, plot, and even the characters are different from that fanfic. ;)
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Orange sunlight streamed into the room, rousing a redheaded teenage boy from his sleep as a maid pulled back the sheer blue curtains in his room. The boy lazily opened his eyes as he focused on the rays of light pouring into his room, one thing on his mind.
The brightness of the sun meant Spring Break would officially end tomorrow, and school would start back up. It would be time to return to the boring, daily grind of life in the human world, that world up above that remained just as mysterious as it always had, despite how much time he spent there.
But that would be tomorrow. Today was his last day of freedom and he was determined to spend it doing something fun. He intended to make the most out of this day.
"Don't forget about breakfast," The maid gently reminded him as she curtsied, leaving his room. Abigor nodded, glancing around his room briefly. It seemed that he was all alone; no members of his harem had snuck in and cuddled with him in the night. For once, he felt himself strangely relieved by that thought. He needed all of his focus on having fun today, and his plans didn't necessarily include his Peerage. Besides, he'd likely see all of them at breakfast.
He hopped into the shower for a quick wash, getting dressed in his usual red T-shirt, black skinny jeans, black sneakers, black fingerless gloves, and of course a black leather jacket on top of all of it. It was his trademark and he loved the way the overall look not only made him look, but feel. He ran a hand briefly through his short spiky red hair and blinked his light blue eyes, perking up as he took one final look around his room.
Time for breakfast. And also time to see his Peerage. He headed down the large spiral staircase that separated the other wings of the palace from his parents' wing, going into the large dining room shared with all the other groups.
He was expecting to see nobody there yet, as he had woken up early, but much to his surprise, two people were already sitting at the table; Akira in the seat across from Abigor's, and Freyr, sitting in the seat next to her at the end of the table.
Abigor felt a huge grin form on his face as he bounced over to the table, giving Akira a small kiss on the cheek that made her giggle. He offered one to Freyr, but the older male simply gave him a dirty look and looked away. Abigor shrugged and took his usual seat across from Akira.
"Good morning!" He greeted cheerfully.
"Good morning to you too!" Akira smiled back, her voice echoing Abigor's in cheerfulness. Her raven-black hair had been chopped and styled recently into an adorable bob, though her black beret shielded most of it from view. Her violet eyes shimmered nicely. The rest of her clothes gave her the air of being intimidating; Abigor knew that beneath that intimidation was a beautiful and sisterly eighteen-year-old. She had on a long black skirt, tight black sweater, black combat boots, and a dozen colourful bracelets and necklaces all lined up and going up and down her neck and arms.
She then took to gently playing with her fork as she waited for everyone else to arrive while Freyr gave Abigor a brief nod of recognition, finally turning around to face him again. He then focused his light blue eyes on the yellow tablecloth once more.
"What are you going to do tomorrow?" Abigor asked curiously, trying to make conversation. The nineteen-year-old wasn't the easiest member of his Peerage to talk to, and that was exactly why Abigor kept trying to befriend him. Somewhere underneath that stern and serious exterior was a guy who just needed to learn to loosen up and have fun.
"I think I'll remain here. I'm not required back at school for a few more weeks still. If I start to get bored, perhaps I will locate Mother's current whereabouts and see how she's been," Freyr commented softly in a slightly-thick accent. He had long silver hair that was almost always pulled into a neat and high ponytail; he almost always wore his lilac business suit as well. The suit was always kept sleek and spiffy.
"Really? I was thinking of getting a group together later to go shopping. Want to come with us?" Abigor asked.
"No. I don't have time for such trivial matters, as you should know well by now," Freyr glared at him slightly. There was that whole 'stick-in-the-mud' attitude he had that Abigor disliked. He considered that to be one of the only downsides of the Norwegian man.
"Good morning, everyone! Have you started eating breakfast yet?" A heavenly voice that sounded like bells reached their ears, and Abigor held out his hand to greet the newcomer.
"It won't be a good morning until I receive my good-morning kiss," He teased, making the blonde girl named Europe blush deeply.
"Right! Oh! I'm sorry! I always forget!" She sweetly kissed Abigor on his right cheek, smiling as she took her seat a few seats away from Freyr.
"How about from you? Did you forget too?" He continued to tease the tiny girl with silver-white hair, who scoffed at him as she walked in.
"A kiss? I would much rather give you a kick. Kick you on those two cheeks you're currently sitting on!" She rolled her eyes as she sat across from Freyr, adjusting her dress slightly. Her violet eyes were striking enough, but her current outfit was a whole other matter. The dress was a sky-blue lolita gown that made it impossible for her to move at times, an elaborately-decorated sword kept by her side in an equally-decorated sheath. Her hair was tied up in a fancy and elaborate bun. She finally just rested her elbows up at the table. Her name was Bethany, but she vastly preferred to go by Betty. She was also the second-youngest in Abigor's Peerage; only fifteen years old.
"It's too early in the morning for your vulgar mouth, Princess Charming," A blond, muscular boy of an average height mocked, sitting a few seats away from her and across from Europe. He was named Riley and kept a smaller, plainer sword at his waist all of the time. He had on a 1920's overall-outfit in a dark brown, complete with the suspenders, jacket, boots, and cap. Fanning out from his back was a large and fake display of golden and purple Phoenix feathers. He also had bright purple eyes and short, curly golden-blond hair.
"Shut up," Betty glared at him; Riley scowled right back.
"Cupcake Queen,"
"Pretty boy,"
"Hey, is this going to turn into a huge argument?" Europe asked nervously, clasping her hands together. "Especially so early in the morning?" Much like Riley, she had emerald eyes and waist-long golden hair, but unlike Riley's fiery handsomeness, her beauty was far more of an ethereal kind. She was as plump as a peach and was dressed in a loose white gown that resembled an old-fashioned wedding down. Not an inch of skin aside from her face was visible, and a lacy white bow was attached in the back of her hair, trailing down. She was seventeen years old; same as Riley. She then glanced at Abigor. "Can you please calm them down?"
"Uhhh...I'll tell your moms on you!" Abigor announced, which made Riley and Betty both freeze and stare at him in slight horror. With a final glare, they looked away from each other, too afraid to continue their fight. He giggled. "Works like a charm,"
"Can you really blame them for being scared? Riley-kun's mother is scary when she's mad!" Akira laughed teasingly.
"As is mine," Freyr chimed in, nodding.
"Actually...so is mine..." Abigor recalled a few particular incidents.
The maids had started to serve everyone their breakfast just as a tall and muscular boy walked into the room, yawning and stretching as he took a seat next to Riley. Much like the blond, he was also seventeen. He rubbed his head full of spiky blue hair, having a single strand of it dyed green. "It's such a shame we have to go back to school tomorrow. I'm not ready at all, I can tell you that much. I already miss relaxing and taking it easy," By his side was a large sword embezzled with jewels and he wore a black suit that was finely-tailored in a way that made it fit for nobility. Despite the suit's fit, it did very little to hide all of the muscles currently on his frame. His name was Sirius.
Abigor nodded in agreement as he looked around the table. Akira had finally stopped playing with her fork and had set it down. "Looks like everyone is here! And just in time too! Our food is all served!" He announced eagerly, just about to pick up his fork to eat.
"W-Wait for me! O-Oh no! Oh dear," A tiny little voice squeaked out, belonging to an equally-tiny vampire who barreled into the room, nearly falling over on his face. He looked around the room, trembling with tears forming in his big, reddish-pink eyes. "Oh no, I'm late, aren't I? You all started to eat without me..." He sniffled, his short blonde bob hanging in his face.
"Alex-kun! What happened?" Abigor gasped in surprise, mentally kicking himself for forgetting a member of his Peerage.
"I-I...I woke up too late..." Alex sniffled, slowly taking a seat next to Europe, who gave him a reassuring smile as she helped him get ready for breakfast by setting out his silverware. He was the youngest of the group at only fourteen, and loved wearing gothic lolita-style clothing; today's outfit being a blue and black ruffled suit with short-shorts, striped blue and white stockings, black heeled boots, and a matching lacy bow covered in frills in his hair. The little vampire was adorable and Abigor cooed and doted on him just as much as the girls did. There was something a bit...off about Alex, but Abigor always shook off that thought whenever it appeared. Alex was just a socially-awkward vampire who loved cute clothes. Nothing more, nothing less.
With everything taken care of and everyone finally and properly accounted for, Abigor wasted no time in eating, knowing he would need his strength for what he had planned later that day. He wanted to go shopping, and swimming, and exercising. Of course his Peerage were all welcome to join him whenever they saw fit. He had his own personal favourites he secretly wished would agree to come, but in reality, he wouldn't mind if all or none of them came.
Abigor was silent as he ate his breakfast, but his Peerage all chatted eagerly around him, talking about various things. The main topic they kept coming back to, however, was how they would have to go back to school tomorrow, and only Europe and Betty seemed eager to head back.
After they finished eating, Abigor stretched and stood up, grinning at his Peerage. "I'm going to go shopping. Does anyone want to join me?"
"I'd like to go!" Europe offered instantly, hurrying over to Abigor with a smile. "Are we going shopping here or in the Human World?"
"Here. As much as I'd love to shop in the Human World, I don't think Mom would allow it," Abigor grumbled slightly. "Not after what Prosperine brought back last time,"
"That animal with the long neck? A giraffe? I still can't believe that happened," Betty smiled slightly to herself. "I'll go shopping with you, but only because Europe-chan is going. I'm not going for you,"
"I-I wanna go too!" Alex piped up, trembling as he walked over to Abigor. Betty smiled at him, gently placing a gloved hand on his head.
"I've got nothing else to do, so I suppose I'll go too," Riley shrugged as he stood up, standing on Abigor's other side. The redhead then glanced at the remaining members of his Peerage.
"Well?"
"Oh, I would love to, as you know. But I promised Mother I would help her with some of her contracts today," Akira apologized sweetly, her hands on her large chest.
"I don't like shopping," Freyr immediately declined.
"Normally I would, but I gotta train with Momma today. And I'd rather not show up late and have to explain stuff to her," Sirius waved his hand.
"But you guys are a pretty good group!" Abigor nodded, then glanced at Betty. "But maybe...you should ask your mom. You know how she can get when you do stuff without her permission,"
Betty sighed. "Fine. I mean, you're right, but I don't wanna deal with her so early in the morning,"
"Crud, I probably gotta ask my mom too!" Riley groaned to himself.
"I-I wanna ask Daddy too...b-but..." Alex started to tremble again. Abigor shot the vampire a look of sympathy. Aside from Freyr, Alex was the only member of his Peerage whose parents didn't live in the palace, and it was fairly obvious he tended to suffer greatly from that fact. While Freyr's mother still visited from time-to-time, Abigor couldn't even remember the last time Alex's parents visited.
"I'm sure he'd say yes," Abigor reassured him. Europe pulled Alex close to her and followed Abigor back up the stairs to his parents' wing, while Riley and Betty went down different staircases to their parents' wings.
Riley's was closer to Abigor's floor, so it didn't take him very long at all to head up the staircase and walk down the pink carpeted hallways of his mom's floor. The whole wing looked like something out of a Barbie Dreamhouse; all pink and fashionable. At the end of the hall was a large pained portrait that sported Riley's mom; he paused for a moment to look at it.
In the portrait, his mother; Ravel Phenex, was wearing a short hot pink wedding gown with matching ribbons in her pigtails; she also had pink fishnet gloves and stockings on. She carried a small bouquet of red roses tied with a yellow ribbon, and a tiny silver tiara was placed on her head. Fanning out from her back were large purple and gold phoenix feathers that surrounded her figure much like a peacock would.
And standing next to her was her master, her King, in both Peerage terms and ruling terms. Issei looked awkward and uncomfortable as he smiled in a hot pink tuxedo printed with a zebra print. He had his arm hooked around Ravel's; she looked mildly annoyed yet confident. Riley smiled as he looked at the portrait. As always, his mom was amazingly cool-looking in it. He admired his mom; he was annoyed by Issei. True, they had 'married' for the formality, but Ravel was not his true wife. Riley wasn't even sure that Issei was his dad. He looked nothing like him. He frowned slightly. Why couldn't Issei have married Ravel? She was his Bishop. That had to count for something, right?
He shook his head and pushed open the door to his mother's bedroom, taking in the scent of perfume. Ravel sat in front of her vanity mirror, brushing her hair, which had been taken down out of its usual pigtail style. She slowly worked the brush through her hair, never looking away from her appearance in the mirror.
"Hey, Mom!" Riley called to get her attention.
"What is it? I'm busy," She snapped slightly, never once pausing in her brushing.
"Abigor-kun wants to take a group of us all out shopping. May I?" He asked nicely, smiling. Ravel gave him a small smile back.
"I don't see why not! Go have some fun with him. Where are you shopping at? One of the stores here? Then get me a new bottle of dragonfruit perfume. This one is running low," She tapped the dark red bottle on her vanity desk, and Riley nodded.
"Will do, Mom! And I promise I won't stay out very late," He turned around to leave.
"Remember, you may be a Hyoudou in name, but you will always be a Phenex in blood. Be confident and proud, and never waver," Ravel nodded in approval, and Riley nodded back at her. He would've hugged her if she wasn't in the middle of getting ready. She hadn't even dressed yet; wearing a short pink bathrobe. Riley then left his mom alone and headed back downstairs to the entry way of the palace, knowing his friends would be waiting there for him, most likely.
Meanwhile, Betty had arrived to her parents' wing of the palace, hurrying past all of the decorations. Their wing was set up to resemble an old-style European castle, and all of the tapestries and empty, old suits of armor gave her the creeps. She shivered slightly as she passed by a suit that had its helmet pulled open slightly, revealing nothing but blackness. She quickened her steps, feeling a sudden urge to just pounce in fright.
She ignored the painting of her parents at the end of the hall; normally she loved to look at it and bask in her parents' happy faces, but at the moment, she just wanted to get out of the creepy wing. She smelled chocolate coming from the kitchen and hurried in that direction, stepping inside the pristinely-white kitchen.
"Mom, Dad, may I please go shopping?" She asked bluntly, folding her hands in front of her. She smoothed out some creases in her skirt.
"Who are you going with?" Koneko asked, wearing a light yellow turtleneck with tight brown shorts. She looked up from where she had been crouched on the counter, intently watching the wooden spoon twirl around and around in the mixing bowl.
"Europe-chan. Alex-chan, Abigor-san...Riley-san..." She mumbled that part under her breath.
"I don't mind if you go with them! Sounds like you all will have a lovely time!" Kiba looked up from the bowl he was stirring, smiling at her. He playfully batted away Koneko's hands when she tried to grab the spoon. "They aren't ready yet, silly kitty. Wait until I bake them,"
"What are you making?" Betty asked politely.
"Brownies, princess. Triple-fudge and coated in chocolate chips, the way my princesses like it," Kiba teased.
"Save some for me when I come back, okay Dad?" Betty smiled nicely at her parents. She thought the two of them were just so adorable.
Kiba nodded and went back to cooking while Koneko jumped off the counter. Their weddings rings twinkled in the lights. Koneko came up behind Kiba and buried her face lovingly into his back; even at this point she was smaller and shorter than him. Betty watched them for a bit before she politely excused herself and walked out of the kitchen, hoping her group hadn't left without her.
Luckily, they hadn't; she was the last one to arrive as she hurried over, awkwardly adjusting the sword at her waist. "They said yes," She relayed, and Abigor nodded with a grin on his face as he pulled Europe over to him; she blushed and leaned into his touch.
"Walking, carriage, bus, or car, Your Highness?" The maid by the door asked nicely. Abigor glanced back at his group.
"What do you think, ladies and gentlemen? How should we travel?" Abigor asked, glancing at his group.
"Let's take the bus! We might see some interesting riders!" Europe suggested nicely.
"I-I wanna take the carriage...so we'll be alone..." Alex spoke up briefly, trembling.
"How about we just walk? We don't need to associate with commoners or each other," Riley stared at his nails.
"I say car. Or carriage. Anything that has large seats I can curl up in and take a nap in," Betty finally offered her own opinion, and Abigor glanced at the four of them.
"Carriage it is!" He nodded at the maid, who curtsied nicely and left to prepare it.
"I have to get some snacks at the store. Specifically, fish. Dad says Mom wants to eat nothing but fish and chocolate brownies now," Betty announced, pulling a yellow lollipop out of her dress and licking it gently.
"Awwww, you know what that means!" Europe squealed happily. "You're getting a little brother or sister! I'm so happy! Congratulations!"
"Me? No way. Mom told me once that if it were up to her, she wouldn't have had any children. Dad was the one who wanted a lot. And even then, they only had me for Abigor-san's Peerage," She rolled her eyes slightly.
"Doesn't mean they can't have a little bit of fun on the side," Abigor grinned, nudging Betty. She elbowed him in the stomach and walked off. He groaned in slight pain, clutching the wound.
"I-I wish I could have a little sister...b-but that'll likely never happen...Daddy told me recently he doesn't even remember who my mommy is," Alex hung his head, tears filling up his eyes.
"What a waste of a harem. If you're gonna have one, you should remember who everyone is instead of just randomly sleeping around," Abigor placed his hands behind his head and stretched slightly.
"Mom told me the same thing. She only had me for Abigor-kun's Peerage too," Riley chimed in.
"The carriage is ready," The maid returned, curtsying again and leading the five teenagers outside, gently helping them into the carriage. Abigor and Riley sat on one side of the carriage, while Betty and Europe sat inbetween Alex, being careful to not accidentally squish the child on the other side. After making sure everyone was situated, the driver took off, riding off at a steady pace.
Abigor leaned back in his seat slightly, closing his eyes and trying to relax. He recalled how for his tenth birthday, his present had been his Peerage; his mother had explained to him that it was a custom to gift high-ranking Devil nobles with equally-high-ranking Devil nobles for their Peerage by the time they reached a certain age. Before any of them were even born, it had been decided by their parents that their own children would serve Abigor, since they themselves were the Peerage and best friends of Rias and Issei, the Kings of their own respective groups. They all hoped their children would be as close and hardworking as they themselves were.
The ceremony itself was awkward for Abigor since at first he had no idea what was going on. The parents dressed their best and so did their children; each one announcing their rank and power before taking a knee and vowing to serve Abigor for the remainder of their life. All he knew was that he got some cute girls out of it, so he figured he was okay with that.
And of course there was the fact of being allowed to explore interpersonal relationships with each other. Abigor, now being sixteen, was eager to get started and foster new relationships with his harem, but most of them weren't as eager. His own father had a bunch of beautiful Devil girls around him almost constantly and Abigor strived to be just like that. All of their parents approved of any matches and kept encouraging their children to get closer, wanting grandchildren. Abigor didn't want to pressure his Peerage into doing anything they didn't want to though. He figured it was best to just simply keep on waiting for them to eventually come around.
"We're here!" Europe announced happily, gently taking the hand of the servant who offered his to her. She gently lifted up her skirts slightly so she could exit the carriage easier. Abigor shook his head to clear away the drowsy feeling he suddenly had, bolting out of the carriage. Alex left next, and Riley and Betty both tried to exit at the same time, only to get caught in the doorway from Betty's wide skirt.
"Ugh, you trapped me! That's what you get for eating so much!" Riley groaned, trying to shove Betty out of the way.
"At least I have some meat on my bones. You are skinny, like a featherless baby bird," Betty shot Riley a death glare, her lollipop still in her mouth.
"Lady, Lord, please," The servant warned, gently pulling Betty out of the doorway with a slight groan. He then gently smoothed her skirt down. "If I might make a suggestion, Lady, perhaps less-restrictive clothing the next time you go out?"
"Take that up with Dad. He's the one who makes me dress like this," Betty shrugged, hurrying to catch up with the rest of the group.
The mall was smaller than ones in the world above, and contained special items one could only obtain in the Underworld, but other than that, functioned as a regular shopping mall a human would go to. They stepped inside and Abigor looked back at his group again.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, where should we go first?" He asked nicely, seeing their eyes light up as they took in everything.
"I would like to visit the art store!" Europe smiled cheerfully.
"Makeup. Gotta get Mom a new bottle of perfume," Riley slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Snacks, I wanna stock up since Mom and Dad keep getting into my own stash," Betty twirled her lollipop around in her mouth.
"V-Video games..." Alex squeaked from his position.
"Hmmmm...how about we head to the makeup department first? Then snacks, then the art gallery, and then finally the video game store!" Abigor decided, nodding eagerly to himself. The others all nodded in agreement, following after him to the makeup department. A few people stared at them as they walked past; the teenagers paid no attention to the passerby though.
They knew their parents were famous in the Underworld for being powerful Devils and saviors of the world on several different occasions. It wasn't really even worth flaunting it anymore. They weren't used to humans staring at them, only because of the limited time they spent in their world.
They reached the makeup department and Riley darted straight in, heading right for the perfume section. Europe followed after him. "Do you remember the type of perfume your mom wanted?" She asked curiously.
"Uh...dragonfruit," Riley replied in a distracted tone, looking through the racks.
"Ooooh, that's a really fancy one!" Europe gasped in surprise. "She's out already?"
"Yup. You know Mom, she likes to spray a huge amount of that stuff everywhere. On her and in her room. I'm immune to it, but I can't imagine what everyone else thinks," He slowed down his search, having reached the fruit-based perfumes. He ran his finger along a few of them.
Meanwhile, Betty and Alex were looking at different makeup kits, staring at some lighter shades. "You want to start wearing makeup? The first step is matching your skin tone. Then, you have to match to your clothes," Betty explained gently. Alex nodded, trembling.
"I-It sounds so c-complex...how can girls do this sort of thing daily..?" He hung his head again in embarrassment.
"You just get used to it after a while," Betty shrugged. It never occurred to her just how complex putting makeup on was. She usually had hers done every morning and suddenly worried she wouldn't be able to teach Alex properly. But it wasn't like she was the only girl in the group. Akira would likely be more than willing to help, and then of course there were the moms.
"Hi! May I help you two find anything?" A soft voice spoke up politely. Betty briefly glanced up to shake her head at one of the attendants; a silver-haired woman dressed in a teeny-tiny maid gown with pinkish eyes. "Are you sure?" She pressed, still smiling.
"I mean...this guy here wants to try using makeup, but he's not sure what would be the best for his skin tone," Betty pulled Alex over to her and spun him around to face the woman, putting her hands on his shoulders. The woman bent over and ran her hand down Alex's face, making him blush heavily.
"He is awfully pale. But! Pale skin is my specialty!" She grinned eagerly, showing off some large fangs. Alex gasped.
"A vampire! You're a vampire!" He announced joyfully. "I-I so rarely see them!" He opened his mouth, pointing at his tiny fangs. "I-I'm one too! W-Well, actually...I'm more of a half-vampire, half-dhamphir I guess..."
The woman giggled. "Don't worry, I know who you are. Your vampire blood is far stronger than that of your father's dhamphir blood,"
"Did you know him?"
"I was a loyal member of his harem for a few years before I got offered a job here. I have cousins here in the Underworld, so I decided to live here instead. But we're not here to discuss my personal life. Let's go find you some makeup, alright?" She motioned for the two to follow after her.
"I wonder if s-she's my mother..." Alex wondered to himself.
"Probably not. She would've said something," Betty tossed the empty lollipop stick into a nearby trash can.
Riley's eyes lit up and he pulled a shiny bottle of perfume off the shelf, smirking. "Found it! Didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would!"
"Congrats!" Europe clasped her hands together happily. "Now we just need to wait for Alex-chan and Betty-chan to get finished with their own shopping!"
Riley scoffed slightly, tightening his grip around the bottle of perfume. It had a fancy stopper shaped like a dragon, and the outline of the bottle was delicately-painted with red flowers.
Abigor overheard them and nodded back at them. "They're picking out some makeup kits. Since they're being given suggestions, however, it might take a little bit longer," He walked over to them, looking over at the large selection of perfumes. "Do you think I should get something too? For Mom? Or maybe even for Prosperine?"
"I totally think you should get something for Prosperine-chan! Shes been feeling pretty down ever since Satomi-chan vested her at training the other day," Europe nodded. Abigor had to stifle his giggles. The sight of his crimson-haired younger sister getting bested by the Student Council President with the two-toned hair had been hilarious. His sister was one half of what they called the Crimson-Haired Siblings of Destruction, and seeing her under Satomi's boot amused him.
But even so, that was troubling. Prosperine was supposed to be far stronger than Satomi at this point. He didn't blame his sister at all for being upset.
"I'll get her a perfume too, at least. I think she'd like that," He finally decided, nodding to himself. Europe and Riley moved aside slightly as he looked over the shelves. He was much taller than either of them; Riley had needed to stand on his tiptoes to see certain parts of the shelf earlier but Abigor had no need to. Europe smiled slightly as she hugged him from behind suddenly, pressing her large breasts into his back. He blushed a bit in surprise, trying to play off his surprise.
"Find anything good yet?" Betty randomly asked, making the two gasp. Europe quickly backed away.
"Yeah! I was going to get this for Prosperine," Abigor nodded eagerly, holding up a green-tinted perfume with a hummingbird stopper. "It smells like forests...I thought she'd like it,"
"W-We got this!" Alex stated, holding out a small black case that housed a few shades of eyeshadow in varying tinges of pink and purple and blue. Betty took it from him and snapped it shut.
"Looks like we're ready to pay," Abigor nodded, heading straight over to the counter and smiling as the cashier promised to send their goods back to the palace. They nodded in response and left the makeup department, heading for the snack section next.
"We need a bag of chocolate chips and frozen fish. Mom says she's not picky, so I think I'll just get her some fish sticks," Betty was currently licking a green lollipop as she talked.
"I-Is your mom just going to eat t-the whole bag...?" Alex asked in concern, gasping when Betty nodded.
"At least, she would if Dad wasn't around to stop her,"
After getting said snacks, they then headed to the art store, Europe eagerly running inside and taking everything in.
"Is there any particular reason why we're here?" Riley asked, putting his hands on his hips. Europe slowly nodded.
"My favourite painter recently sold a few of his older works. I wanted to see if I could get them cheaply," She explained, heading to an aisle of old-school paintings made from oils. Abigor followed after her, looking around at some of the selections.
"A few of these give me the creeps, not gonna lie," He shivered at a particularly intense one of someone being electrocuted. Europe giggled.
"A lot of them tell stories though. How people died, how they became Devils, how their lives went, how battles were fought, how history was..." She trailed off as she noticed a painting of a church on fire. She shivered, tears sparkling in her eyes. "O-Oh...that one...now that one scares me,"
Abigor nodded in agreement. Religion was very important to Europe; it was drilled into her by her mother from an early age. Even if she would never be able to become a nun, her mother still insisted she lived a holy and pious lifestyle. He knew seeing depictions like the burning church disturbed her greatly, even if he himself would never fully understand it. He gently pulled her closer to him, feeling her relax slightly in his arms.
"We won't tell your mom you saw that either," He whispered to her, running a finger through her hair. A small chuckle escaped from her and she finally looked up at him.
"Let's keep looking," She wiped her eyes and bounced away, steering clear of that particular painting. Abigor followed after her, relaxing his hands behind his head again. Europe would speak up often as they looked, wanting to show him a particularly cute or interesting-looking painting, though she got the most excited when she finally found what she was looking for.
"This is it! One of his older works!" She announced, hurrying over to it. She gently ran her gloved hands over the canvas, taking it in in its entirety. Abigor tilted his head slightly as he stared at the painting. It was of the vampire lord of many years ago, sitting on his throne with a cold expression on his face. The entire tone of the painting felt claustrophobic to Abigor, and he finally looked away from it.
"Well, get it then. I'm sure your mom can help you hang it up in your room back at home," He motioned to it, and Europe nodded and slowly lifted it off its display, gently and gingerly holding it away from her body. She took slow, steady, and careful steps all the way up to the cash register, only allowing herself to breathe when it was finally out of her hands.
"Lastly, the video game store!" She smiled, hurrying back over to the group. Amazingly, Betty and Riley had managed to not rip each other apart while they were left alone, but they were still looking away from each other, arms crossed in front of their chests and noses in the air. Europe simply sighed in disappointment while Abigor grinned widely at Alex.
"We're going to get you some new video games! Are you excited?" He riled Alex up, who started to nod eagerly.
"Yeah!" He shyly flashed Abigor a grin back.
"Great! Then let's get going!"
The group hurried to the video game, finding themselves to be the only people in there aside from the cashier, who was boredly reading a magazine, their feet flipped up onto the counter. Alex started to walk off by himself nervously, looking around at the different shelves.
"Do you have an idea of what you want?" Europe asked him politely, bending over slightly. Alex shook his head.
"To be honest...I-I'm not even sure if I want to buy a video game...I just wanted to come in here and look a-around..."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that! Let's see if they have anything interesting!" She continued to smile at him, wandering around. "Which console do you have?"
"The SPS," He stated.
Europe nodded and started to look around at the SPS games, finding most of them to be too graphic for Alex's tastes. She eventually sighed and pulled a kiddie-style cooking game off the shelf, holding it out for Alex to see. "This was the only non-violent, non-sexual thing there was!"
"I-I don't mind...s-sexual stuff..." Alex admitted shyly. "B-But...it's probably better if I keep stuff like that a secret.." He took the game from her. "I don't mind s-stuff like this...it looks cute!"
Europe smiled happily. "Perfect then! Then we'll buy it!"
She lead Alex to the cashier and politely cleared her throat, making the cashier glare at her slightly before he recognized her.
"Oh! My goodness, I am so sorry for ignoring you like that, Lady!" He blushed awkwardly, taking the game from her. He nervously rung her up, refusing to make eye contact with her. Europe stared at him nervously.
"I'm not mad at you, I promise! I don't blame you for doing that since we're the only customers here currently..." She nodded when he asked her if she wanted it sent to her palace, then they all followed Abigor out of the store.
"Time to go home," He stated, a hint of regret in his voice. "It'll be boring there though..."
"I'd suggest training some more, but I don't really feel like doing it," Riley stated.
"Plus, we'll probably have a lot of extra work put on us tomorrow. So it's best for us to just rest," Europe suggested.
Abigor lead the group back out to the carriage, leaning back in his seat again.
"At some point this week...we'll all go swimming," He said to himself, sighing.
"...If I must," Betty sighed, folding her hands up nicely in her lap.
"At least that's one thing we can agree on," Riley rested his chin in his hand and started to stare at the window.
"I don't mind swimming with you, Abigor-kun! It's been getting really warm here lately..." Europe smiled nicely.
"W-Wear a...swimsuit...?" Alex asked nervously, a hand on his chest. "I-I don't know..."
"You guys are such losers! Live a little bit!" Abigor teased as the carriage lurched to a sudden stop. As usual, they were all helped out of the carriage by the servant, who bowed politely to each one of them.
"I had fun going shopping with you, Abigor-kun!" Europe carried on, following him into his parents' wing. "Let's do it again sometime!"
"OPf course! Next time, though, I definitely want to get the others involved. Yes, even Freyr-san," Abigor nodded in agreement, tilting his head at her in confusion when she looked unhappy with that suggestion. "Huh? What's wrong?"
"No...I just meant...I want the two of us to go shopping together. Alone. Nobody else," She stared at him with a determined look on her features, only to blush heavily and dart away, running down the stairs loudly. Abigor was left to just stand there, confused and dumbfounded, his mouth wide open.
A date...with only one of his Peerage members..? He had no idea how to react. He didn't even know such a thing was possible! Still, it wasn't like he could say no to Europe. He finally sighed and threw up his hands, continuing to just walk to his room, throwing himself down on his bed after he arrived.
Why was he so exhausted all of a sudden? Maybe that was the laziness he inherited from his father finally starting to show. A quick nap wouldn't hurt, after all, he had made no other plans for the remainder of the day. And it wasn't like he couldn't be woken up again.
With those thoughts in his head, he finally settled down into his bed and started to doze off, soon falling into a deep sleep.
