A/N: Happy Mother's Day, everybody! I own the characters, but... Not Apollo, because he = Skulduggery and Skulduggery = Derek Landy's. Don't sue please.
"Mother…"
Alison mumbled something and her eyes tightened, as thought keeping out imaginary light. Persephone noticed this and turned away for a second, opening the window. The light was grey, the birds just waking up and going crazy over the new day.
"Mother…" The raven-haired girl whispered urgently.
Returning to the bed, she reached over and shook Alison's shoulder, which she noticed (rather awkwardly) was naked.
Alison mumbled louder and whacked the hand away, rolling over. The blankets went with her, and Persephone lost any conviction she had that her mother had to get breakfast.
---
Persephone went back to sleep within seconds, curled up against her aunt's side like a cat. It was warm in Echo's room, like a fire was burning in a distant corner, just far enough to not be hot but close enough to be comfortable. Even when Echo wasn't there, the room still burned for Persephone, like some part of the brunette's mind left itself behind when she was gone.
Alison wouldn't be awake for another two hours. Echo wouldn't take it kindly if she was woken up now. Father was out in the grounds somewhere.
…And Persephone was tired.
Echo mumbled something when she felt another small, warm body join her in her bed, but did not protest. She didn't even open her eyes: She knew what today was.
---
Apollo rode back to the house with a grin, his bags full of cooking supplies from the town that the shopkeeper had assured him would be useful. The wind blew back his ponytail, which Alison still teased that made him look like a girl, but he knew better. It took a man secure in his masculinity to have long hair.
Stabling his horse, he walked around to the front and looked doubtfully at the front door. It was spelled to ring if someone tried to enter it without the 'key'- a small metal disk meant to be carried in a pocket- and he knew where his key was.
It was on the small table by his bed.
Apollo looked up at the upper floor windows. They were spelled against thieves, so he couldn't jump up and open one of those from the outside… (Too bad for him Alison's open window was on the other side of the master bedroom's tower.)
A few moments of wondering how to get in later, he came to an 'Oh, right,' conclusion and launched himself easily to Echo's balcony. No sooner had he landed then the door swung open, and Persephone looked at him blankly.
He grinned. "That's my girl," he whispered.
"Alison's not awake yet, and her room is far enough away that she couldn't hear us even if she was," Persephone informed him with an amused tone.
Apollo looked beyond her, into Echo's room.
Persephone answered his unspoken question. "Echo needs to wake up anyway."
"Oh."
---
Three hours later Alison walked down the stairs, still not completely awake, and searched for her family. Down the spiraling steps, she stopped on the second floor and searched the bedrooms- No one, in either Echo's or Persephone's room. Echo's balcony door was open, so Alison closed it.
---
Downstairs, in the kitchen, a small chime went off, followed by a whisper in Echo's ear. The tattoo on her wrist glowed briefly as the Clan Leader's spell told her that the door on her balcony had been closed. She grinned and broke the eggs into the pan, listening to Apollo and Persephone squabble over how done the small cakes needed to be before they could be taken out, making sure they didn't break anything.
---
Alison entered the kitchen to the interesting view of her husband and daughter arguing over food.
Echo looked over, grinning. "Good morning," she greeted her, and Apollo looked over.
Persephone used that to her advantage, removing the small sweet from the stove- then squeaking and tossing it in the air comically to keep her hands from burning.
Apollo looked surprised and tried to catch it, inadvertently knocking it towards Echo, who hadn't really been paying attention and barely managed to use her pan to stop it's decent towards the floor.
Apollo burst out laughing as the scrambled eggs slopped onto the floor, and Persephone giggled when Echo's thoughts turned murderous.
"Well, sister, it appears as if you will not get any eggs today."
Alison laughed it off, turning to Apollo. "You should have seen your face when the thingy went flying!"
Unnoticed in the background, Echo put the food on a plate and fetched a cup and some orange juice- her sister's favorite drink in the mornings. Unnoticed, she put it on a table, and unnoticed she slipped out the kitchen door and into the gardens.
Happy Mother's Day indeed.
A/N: First things first: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. SHOW YO MOMMA SOME LUVIN'.
...*cough*
Secondly: All four characters? OCs, yes. But it's Pre-Dead Skul's family, so... Technically not. Persephone can read minds, which should clear up a few things.
Thirdly: Echo's little part with the Clan Leader's spell thingy? Even though Alison is the elder sister, she wasn't chosen (because she's blond- no, jk) because Echo was more eligible for the special powers that came with being the Clan Leader. Random funtiemz.
Fourthly: I am aware that my story is an AU where Skulduggery was born in the B.C.'s. Mother's Day would not have been around then, and neither would they have a stove, but... STFU! *hits the person who thought of commenting on the unrealisticness*
READ AND REVIEW, PLZ! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!