I had originally planned a six to ten chapter around some of the Fates kids, and I was just not happy with how it was coming along. I took the idea and turned it into this, which was a big thing I had wanted to do. And just because someone isn't mentioned, doesn't mean they aren't around in the group, somewhere on the beach.
The sand was warm under Prince Siegbert's feet. It did feel nice, perhaps it was one of the nicest things about the trip that had been under the orders of their Uncle Corrin. He wanted the Nohrian and Hoshidan royals to get along, not just for him or for their countries, but to actually bond. So, a trip to the Southern Isles had been demanded. Not requested, but demanded.
the young prince had also been given his own orders from his father. He was supposed to have fun during the trip. So far, he had not had any fun. He had collected shells for Peri at her request since she could not join them. He had gone swimming. He had tried some of that flavored ice treat that had been so popular. He spent most of his days outside, in his purple swimsuit, because if he had stayed inside, he would no doubt get in trouble for reading and not enjoying himself. And at night he tried to sleep through Shiro's snoring, as the four princes shared a room.
Siegbert had often found himself alone, but that was fine with him. His little sister spent more time with their father, as neither of them were able to swim, and his cousin Forrest stayed in their room, insisting the sun and sand would ruin his hair, clothing, and skin. And there were two girls he was trying to stay away from, unsure of how to deal with his own emotions...
As he thought of going inside and getting his sister, he spotted Midori struggling. "Midori?" he called as he timidly joined her. "Can I help?"
She looked up and sighed. She was surrounded by piles of crumbling sand with even more sticking to her striped swimsuit. "They won't stay up, Prince Siegbert," she told him. "I've tried all morning to make a really nice sandcastle."
Siegbert studied the crumbling sand for a moment. "I think you simply need more water, Midori. May I borrow your bucket?" She offered the green bucket to him and he made his way to the water's edge. He looked out for a moment and spotted Shiro and Kiragi in the water. Shiro was letting Kiragi climb his shoulders and jump into the water, something both of them appeared to enjoy. Further down the beach, he could see some of the others, though he could not tell who it was at a distance. Perhaps it was...
He shook his head and gathered his thoughts. He was helping Midori, not looking for a girl's attention.
He filled the bucket and returned to Midori. She thanked him and together they mixed the sea water and sand. He used her plastic shovel, also green, to pack her bucket full. He placed it upside down on the sand and lifted it. The sand stayed in place. "See?" he told her.
"You know a lot, Prince Siegbert," Midori said in awe. She clapped her hands and hugged him. He chuckled and hugged her back. "Will you help me build it?"
"Sure." He smiled as she hopped with glee, her dark purple pigtails bouncing around as she did. "How big do you want it?"
"Big!"
She began to clear the surrounding area of shells, twigs, and other debris. He went to fetch more watch. After his third trip, he heard Kiragi shout at him. "What are you doing?" he asked. He and Shiro had swam back to shore. The cousins wore matching suits, both red with the sides striped white.
"I'm helping Midori build a sandcastle," he told them.
The cousins exchanged a look. He waited for them to call him silly or childish. Instead, Shiro asked, "Do you need anymore help?"
"I think we could use help," Siegbert admitted.
Shiro crossed his arms over his chest and frowned when he saw what they were working with. "You're not going to get much done with one bucket and one shovel."
"I think there are more in the house," Kiragi offered.
"We'll go get them."
Siegbert watched them run off, making it a race to the beach house and back. He wanted to call after them to be careful, but he stopped himself.
They burst through the front door, nearly knocked over Laslow, and hurried to a hall closet that had been stuffed with beach supplies. Each grabbed an armful and tried to run past Laslow again. "Where are you two off to in such a hurry?" he demanded.
"Midori wants a sandcastle," Shiro told him. "And she wants it huge. So we're helping. Hey," he looked over Laslow's shoulder and spotted Katerina, Siegbert's little. "Think Kat would want to help?"
Laslow looked to his charge, who was eating her lunch, her fingers and face sticky from fruit. "When she finishes her lunch, I'll bring her out."
Shiro accepted that and he and Kiragi ran out again with the front door banging shut behind them. They returned to Siegbert and Midori and dumped their finds on the clean stretch of sand. As Siegbert sorted through the various beach toys, they conferred on what they wanted to do. All Midori cared about was the size, but she agreed on a central courtyard and that they would work their way out. And maybe add a moat, once they were done with the castle itself.
The lone tower Siegbert had built served as their starting point. Some of the buckets brought by the Hoshidan princes were short and long, perfect for building walls. Midori and Kiragi started to work on the walls of the courtyard. Siegbert used one of the shovels to carve a gate in the tower. "Impressive," Shiro said as he leaned over Siegbert to admire the gate.
"Can you do windows?" Midori asked as she joined them.
"It shouldn't be too hard." He started to carve small windows in the walls of the courtyard at even intervals. As he worked, he heard Kiragi mention that they could use the shells and pieces of wood for decor as well. "Great idea," Siegbert told him, thankful he would not have to carve what he was going to assume was dozens of windows.
"I'll sort through them." Siegbert looked up at that familiar airy voice and blushed. There had been no telling how long Ophelia had been watching them before she made her presence known. She had her way of doing that. Her black swimsuit, with the sides cut out, helped her stick to the shadows of the palm trees. She smiled, tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder, and knelt besides the shells. She was quick with them, broken ones were immediately returned to the sea as whole ones were placed in piles of colors and sizes. "How about these?" she asked, holding up a few small round shells with swirls of purple and white. "I can see if I can find some more."
"I like those," Midori told her. She had just finished taking a small rake and raking the courtyard with it. She also took a few stones from Ophelia's piles to decorate the inside of the castle. "It looks like a zen garden," she said happily.
Siegbert peered over the walls and had to agree, based on the gardens he had seen during his few trips to Hosido.
Also in the collection of assorted buckets were several of various sizes. They would be perfect for making larger, more detailed towers. Shiro and Kiragi started to build those larger towers as Siegbert sat back to take a breather. As he sat, he heard approaching footsteps. He looked up as Asugi joined them, lollipop in mouth, as he studied the castle.
"Looking good so far," he remarked.
"Thank you."
"How long do you plan on working on it?"
"Until Midori is happy with it."
Asugi surprised him with a chuckle. "Then let me help. That's going to take as many hands as you can get." He joined Shiro and began to help construction on the big towers near the front. The extra help did seem to make the work go faster. Before Siegbert had realized it, half of a larger expansion was done. It went around the side of the courtyard, or zen garden, the towers nearly two feet tall. Asugi had even pulled some sticks from his pocket, no doubt used to make his beloved lollipops, and snapped them in small pieces to go around some of the towers.
A yelp from Kiragi surprised them all. Shiro nearly knocked over the base of a tower but caught himself in time. Kiragi ran over to them, his eyes watery with pain, something cupped in his hands. "I was looking for driftwood, you know, for doors, and - " He opened his cupped hands over the center of the castle. Three small crabs landed in the garden, a fourth clung to Kiragi's thumb. He shook it off.
Siegbert thought Midori would be upset her garden was destroyed, but she laughed and called them her royal crab family. They began to scuttle around the center of the castle, snipping at each other. But they could not get out. They would be released once the castle was done, but for the time being, it was their new home.
By the time the crab family had been situated, Ophelia returned with several shells, and she was not alone. Caeldori had joined her, in a tank top the same color as the cherry ice she liked. "I did not do it on purpose," Ophelia was saying.
"What happened?" Shiro asked of Caeldori, who gave Ophelia the occasional side eye.
"She nearly hit me with a shell."
"It was broken, and I did not need it. I did not see you there," Ophelia replied.
Caeldori was clearly suspicious, but she was in awe of the castle being built on the beach. "This is amazing," she said as she knelt to look at it. "You've done all of this work today?"
"It - it isn't taking very long," Siegbert admitted. "It had just started off with Midori and I. With the six of us working together, it goes so quickly."
"I see. Then I guess you would not need my help."
"We'll take all the help we can," Midori told her. She was pleased with the progress of her castle, but she still felt it could be larger. She stood back to observe, her hands on her hips. Ophelia had started to place her swirly shells in the inside of the castle walls, careful to avoid the ongoing progress. Siegbert had marked where he wanted them to go with small x's spaced evenly apart on the courtyard walls. She had enough shells, and some spare ones just in case.
"Oh, I know what I can do!" Caeldori hurried off towards the beach house. As she hurried, she passed Laslow, who was leading the Princess of Nohr to the beach. "Hello Laslow," she called, stopping to greet them. "Milady."
"Hello, Caeldori," Katerina greeted her. She peered around Laslow and thought of taking the older girl's hand. She liked Caeldori. And her Pegasus. "You didn't bring your Pegasus," she said sadly.
Caeldori giggled and said, "I do not think they make beach clothes big enough for a Pegasus. It would look rather silly, don't you think?" Katerina giggled and agreed.
"Where are you off so quickly? You're the third person to come by in such a hurry," Laslow told her.
"Well, they need my help on the beach." Caeldori turned her attention to the large blossoms that grew near the house. They were larger than her hand and in full bloom. She began to pick them, and gather small strands of ivy that also grew around the house.
"Help? With what?"
"A sand castle."
"Really?" Laslow had to wonder what was so special about this sand castle that it had put both of the Hoshidan princes, and now Caeldori, in such a rush. "Then let's go see this castle," he told Katerina. She held onto Laslow's hand as they made their way to the beach.
It certainly was impressive, he had to give them that. He walked around it, observing the intense work the children, if he could even call them that, had put into it. Even the crabs seemed to enjoy their new "home." Kiragi and Asugi worked hard to build the third wall of the outside, Shiro and Siegbert followed them, marking bricks into the sides with shovels. "Stay here, little princess," he told Katerina, who had no plans to leave Siegbert's side. He had to get their parents and show them.
Siegbert realized just how sandy they all had become as Katerina hugged him and pulled back, her white sundress now covered in sand. Though she laughed, he worried their parents would have something to say.
"We'll wash off later," Kiragi told him. "We're almost done!"
"Unless Midori isn't happy," Asugi added. He stood before the front of the castle, the only side missing an extra wall. The plan had been to make a huge front gate for the castle. All of them at the front would increase the risk of it falling. At that time Caeldori returned, her arms full of flowers and vines. She sat down on the sand next to Katerina, a little ways away from the castle, and started to weave the ivy together. As she worked, Katerina would hand her a large, colorful blossom on occasion, and it became wound up in the rope she was making.
Kiragi and Midori took the shovels that were not being used and began to dig a moat around the nearly complete castle. He had managed to find a few pieces of wood, including one that would work very well as a drawbridge.. They dug around the perimeter of the castle, then placed the "drawbridge" over the front where the gate construction had begun.
The front was to stand as tall as the outer towers, but the boys wanted to attempt an arch entryway. As Shiro and Siegbert began to form the arch, everyone else set about adding finishing touches to the castle. "Gardens" of smooth rocks and shells went up around the sides. Additions were made of Caeldori's extra flowers were placed atop towers. The braided ropes of ivy and pink, coral, and white blossoms were draped around the larger towers.
"Did you have to make it so feminine?" Shiro asked her playfully.
"I like it," Midori countered.
"I was teasing," Shiro said. "It looks great, actually. You're really skilled, Caeldori."
"No, not really," Caeldori said, her cheeks a light shade of pink. "Anyone could do it."
"Not me. Probably not Kiragi, Asugi, or Siegbert, either."
Brightly colored shells and rocks were placed along the moat so the sun would catch them just right. Buckets were filled with seawater, which was emptied into the moat. Smaller flowers were picked and set adrift in the water. As they waited for Siegbert, who was laying on his back on the sand, shaping the entrance just so with his shovel, Shiro felt a small hand slip something in his.
"Huh? Are you sure?" Katerina had freed her curls from the white ribbon that had them up. "OK." Shiro tied it to a small twig and stepped over Siegbert to place it at the center of the entrance. The soft breeze tugged at the white banner they had made.
"Finished!" Siegbert called as he sat up. He felt color rush to his cheeks as he heard the sound of applause.
He peered over the castle and past everyone to see that Laslow hand managed to round up several of their mothers, fathers, and anyone else he could find. Even Forrest had left the safety of the beach house, though he hid under the shade of a pink parasol. The adults joined them, each one looking over the castle and making comments. Kaze chuckled at his daughter's crab family. Caeldori's ropes were praised, with Charlotte asking if she could teach her. Leo was heard remarking over the tiny details. Camilla said she hoped it would hold until everyone had a chance to see it. Subaki declared the structure to be perfect. Even Selena managed a sincere smile.
"Impressive," King Xander remarked. "The eight of you did an incredible job."
Siegbert had to agree with his father. Though it had started as an attempt to help Midori, it had grown into a huge project. But one he, and everyone else, was satisfied with its completion. And... dare he think it? It had been fun.