Chapter 3: Family Dynamics

My morning routine consisted of taking care of any of Eliza's necessities before waking the rest of the family. Since I was so determined to care for my young at night while everyone slept, years ago Milton brought us an elven invention called a "baby bottle" so we didn't have to hire a wet nurse when Addie was asleep. Addie insisted on breastfeeding all of our babies, and for me to feed them her breast milk at night with the help of the baby bottles. Bella scolded her, saying it wasn't proper for a royal mother to breastfeed her own children. Addie didn't care what society thought about the norms of royal child rearing. She was determined to be the complete opposite of Lionel, and if that meant she nursed them, so be it. Only when I was away at the citadel did she ask a nursemaid to watch over the baby at night.

I kept a stash of filled bottles in a drawer every night. With my magic, they remained chilled until feeding time. I couldn't say how often Addie thanked me profusely for working the "night shift" when I was home. Taking care of infants at night was difficult for the humans, who required sleep, but not for me. I eagerly awaited nightfall so I could spend alone time with my offspring. I gave Addie my word long ago that I would devote myself to our children by being highly involved in their lives. My children came first and foremost, even over my sorcery. If I had to choose between being the best father to my children or becoming the greatest sorcerer to ever live, I'd pick the former. Nothing is more rewarding than being a parent, and no other love is greater.

I loved being the main caretaker of my babies at night. Having the responsibility of feeding them, bathing them, changing them, and playing with them were my fondest memories. One would assume taking care of babies at night would cause me to fall behind on my studies. That wasn't the case at all. In fact, they helped me study by being good listeners. I would lie down on my couch with the baby resting on my chest, and read the material in my spell books aloud. While the heat of my flame kept them cozy, my deep voice would lull them to sleep. When they woke up crying, I would simply feed them or play with them until they fell back asleep. Caring for infants was a lot easier if you didn't require sleep.

Eventually, when they grew into toddlers and small children, they slept in their own chambers, but would occasionally come into my study when they were supposed to sleep. I had to bribe them with cloud pillows numerous times to make them go back to bed. But sometimes they came rushing into my study, wailing after having a terrible nightmare. Depending on how old they were at the time, I would hold them and use magic to entertain them, and then give them a cloud pillow so that their future dreams would be lovely. My kids strongly associated the cloud pillows with comfort, which was why even the older kids still loved them.

When my kids were older children and teenagers, they would visit me at night if they couldn't sleep. The best way to promote sleep was to read from my study books. Only Rosie was intrigued by the spells; all the other kids would tire quickly after a few pages. At least my goal to help them sleep worked.

In the mornings, some of my kids would already be awake and some would not. Since they were half human, half sorcerer, my children had different sleep patterns. However, all of them required sleep at some point; it was their human blood.

Usually, I woke Addie first to give her Eliza so she could feed and bond with her, and then I proceeded to wake our other children. Now that R.J. was married, I left that duty to Matilda. I was certain he'd rather be wakened by his beautiful wife than his father.

First stop: Meryl, my tenacious daughter. Out of all my children, she and I had the most strained relationship. Whereas I was polite and proper with people, she was not. I tried enforcing manners, which she complied with when she was little, but then she turned into a teenager and everything I taught her vanished. I blamed it on the knights and soldiers she spent her time with nearly every day. Being her father, I had broached the topic before; in one ear, out the other. It would not have surprised me if she tuned me out every time she saw my mouth open. Oh, how much I'd give to fast forward this phase in her life...

I knocked on Meryl's door. "Merry, are you awake?" I asked, using her occasional moniker. We called her Merry especially when Meryl the fairy was present or when we just wanted to call her something different.

Nine times out of ten she wasn't awake. Unlike R.J., who only needed two to three hours of sleep, Meryl needed a full seven to eight hours, just like the average human. Slowly, I opened the door and spied a sleeping Meryl turned onto her left side. The top of her bed touched the right wall, so if she were awake, she would have seen me. Her aunt never slept in like my daughter did. Sometimes I would use that as motivation to wake her because she admired her fairy godmother. Of course, those were the few times I got lucky if she possibly went to bed early, which was practically never. Even worse, she was not a morning person.

I stepped in and said in a normal voice, "Merry, it's time to get up."

Nothing.

"Meryl, get up," I said more assertively. I knew she was awake. She was ignoring me, in hopes that I will give up. I never did, so I didn't understand why she tried. I entered her small, cluttered domain that she refused to have cleaned by the servants and stood next to the bed. "Meryl, breakfast will be served soon," I tried reasoning. "Remember how I told you to go to bed earlier so we could have an early family breakfast before Mother leaves?"

Meryl rolled over and covered her head with the fluffy comforter.

I was actually surprised she wasn't yelling at me yet. At this point, she was usually shouting insults and a fight between us would start. I jerked the covers away from her disheveled head.

And it began.

"Go away, Father!" she growled, grabbing desperately for the covers I had pulled down to her hip.

Before she had the chance to re-cover herself, I yanked them off the bed.

"Are you deaf? I said go away!" she snapped, not budging.

"Meryl, I won't tell you again," I warned, choosing to overlook her insult. "Get up!"

Nothing.

"All right, I warned you." I was not in the mood for her stubbornness (not that I ever was). She was going to regret being disrespectful to me. Flying over to the open window, I took out my baton and guided a cloud half the size of Meryl's bed into the room with a grand gesture, as I always did. With an exaggerated flick of my arm, I pointed my baton at the cloud, filling the room with a great thunderclap.

The abrupt noise made her flinch but not get up.

Then rain fell from the cloud, soaking my grouchy daughter and her bed.

Meryl thrashed up and flashed me a dark glare with her blue eyes she inherited from me, framed by salt and pepper-colored eyelashes. "I'm up!" she cried. "Stop making it rain!"

"Well, get up and you won't get rained on," I retorted.

She roared and jumped out of bed and stomped her five and a half foot self over to me.

I waved my baton, ceasing the rain, and then the cloud went back outside.

"Why did you do that?" she shouted, her long, brown wavy hair spilling over her shoulders. Still scowling at me, she pointed at her drenched bed. "You've ruined my bed!" Meryl hollered, her sun-kissed face reddening. "I'm telling Mother!" Her angry expression strongly resembled Addie's when she was angry, and when Meryl was placid, she strongly resembled her deceased grandfather, Lionel.

"What, that I woke you up after you called me deaf?" I mocked. "It's your fault. I warned you, but you did not listen. Now get dressed," I ordered, pointing at her wardrobe.

Meryl balled her fists and clenched her teeth, trying to think of a comeback. She couldn't, which only fed her flames of rage. "I hate you!" she screamed.

Unfazed by her tantrum, smiling, I replied, "I love you too." I pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

Her temper reached its peak from my affectionate gesture while she was in a livid state. She pushed herself away from me. "Get out of my chamber!" she shouted.

Her yelling was getting on my last nerve, so I left, not because I was trying to appease her, but because after being gone for nearly a week, I wasn't in the mood to argue with her while I still had the other children to wake and greet. I would have a word with Addie about the way she treated me later. Meryl did not respect me like she respected her mother. It was because I wasn't as good at wielding a sword or any type of weapon as she was. Meryl revered warriors and nothing else.

I was relieved that my next stop was Rosie's room. Out of all my kids, she and I were the closest and looked the most alike. My relationship with her was a stark contrast to my relationship with Meryl. It was hard to believe she and Meryl were sisters. Rosie was my quiet, loving child, who connected with nature more than people. Only I was allowed to accompany her nature walks and adventures, which meant the world to me. According to her, R.J. and I were her best friends.

I knocked on her door. "Rosie, are you awake?"

No response.

I slipped into Rosie's chamber. The layout of Rosie's chamber mirrored the layout of Meryl's chamber, though Rosie kept hers cleaner. I had wondered many times if they did that on purpose, since the two were at odds often. Usually, Meryl would start it by degrading Rosie, calling her a coward or weak. Being a sensitive girl, Rosie would end up in tears and Addie or I would intervene. It pained Addie to see her daughters quarrel like enemies, as the behavior was foreign to her.

There she was, sleeping on her left, facing away from me. On average, she stayed up late and slept five hours a night.

I sat down next to her on the bed. "Roselina, it's time to get up," I said, calling her by her real name. I wanted to name her after Addie, but Addie didn't want to, believing she was unworthy to have a daughter named after her. I also wanted to honor a human girl named Rose from my former home village. But now was not the time to talk about Rose—not on my first day back home with my family. Anyway, Addie and I agreed to mesh "Adelina" and "Rose" together, making the name "Roselina."

Rosie's black eyelashes fluttered open, revealing her grandfather's brown eyes. Her skin tone was in between Addie's complexion and mine. Once she saw me, she lurched forward and hugged me. "Father, you're home!"

Her warm welcomes always made my flame burn hotter. I chuckled and kissed her cheek. "Hello, dearheart," I greeted warmly.

"I've missed you," she stated sweetly. Rosie flung the covers away and crawled over to her nightstand on the other side of the bed. She collected a wooden box and crawled back over to me. "Look what I found near Lake Orrinic." There was a small turtle sitting in the corner of the box, munching on some lettuce. "Isn't it cute?"

In moments like those, I often forgot her age. I had never seen anyone love animals as much as she did. "Yes, it's very cute," I agreed, "but don't you think it would be happier in the wild where it belongs?"

Rosie sighed. "I know," she mumbled. "It would be nice if I had another pet." Her shoulders slumped. I had reminded her many times of the castle cats and her own personal cat, but she still wanted more pets. Not even the farmers from my former home village loved animals as much as she did.

"Maybe you'll have a pet dragon someday," I joked.

Her snub nose scrunched in disgust. "No way! I'd never catch one of those! Besides, if I brought it home, Mother and Meryl would kill it in an instant," she said, smashing her fist into her other hand for emphasis.

We laughed together.

I put my hands on either side of her face, pushing her straight, chin-length, light brown hair out of the way. Her facial structure was like mine: almost flat with wide cheeks and high cheekbones. She looked like a female version of me. Thanks to her short hair and face shape, she appeared younger than her age. It also didn't help that she had a child-like innocence despite being fourteen. Something I hoped she'd retain for years.

"You'll come with me to free it at Lake Orrinic, right?" she asked, with a hopeful glitter in her eyes.

I smiled at her innocent expression that reminded me of Addie's when she was the same age. "Yes," I replied.

"Promise?"

I crossed my finger over my chest in an "x" gesture. "Cross my flame and hope to die," I promised. I stood. "Come on, get dressed. Breakfast will be served soon."

As I drifted to the door, Rosie called, "Father?"

I turned around. "Yes, dearheart?" I recognized that unsure tone; something was troubling her. Despite being the opposite gender parent, I read her better than Addie did. I waited for her to finish.

Rosie wet her lips and blinked rapidly, looking everywhere but at me, just like Addie did when she was unsure of herself. Finally, she fixed her eyes on an object in her chamber. "Before you left for the citadel, I heard..."

Heard what? Did she hear what I had hoped at least one of my kids would hear eventually? Did my daughter hear the—

"...that you were supposed to be gone for seven days instead of six," she finished, meeting my eyes.

Oh. That was not what I was hoping to hear.

Rosie smiled. Her smile was too brilliant to be real. I knew that look; she was hiding something from me. Right as I was about to pry the truth out of her, Rosie sprung out of bed and headed to her wardrobe.

I decided to drop the issue, since I was on a timed schedule to wake the other children. "See you at the table," I said, closing her door behind me.

Next was our ten-year-old, Daria, who was named after Addie's mother. She was our stereotypical princess. Daria loved anything pink, frilly, and sparkly. She adored being a princess more than any of our other daughters. Out of all of the kids, she was the most artistic. At a young age, she took up embroidery and drawing, like her mother, but also took up baking. Bella chastised Addie many times for letting Daria bake, and as usual, Addie ignored her. I didn't mind her baking if it made her happy. I had tasted some of Daria's desserts, and I didn't eat on a regular basis. I wanted to show support for my daughter... and they were delicious. Daria assisted in my growth from all her delicious creations.

I knocked on Daria's door.

Like her older sisters, nothing.

"Daria?" I called. Perhaps she was still asleep, which was unusual because she was an early riser. I entered and saw an empty bed. And then it dawned on me: She was going to make cinnamon rolls to celebrate my return. On the rare occasions I did eat breakfast, that was a favorite. Just thinking about the warm, moist, doughy pastries made me salivate.

The twins were last. They were our manifestations of pure energy. And it didn't help that there were two of them and that they did everything together. They must have inherited that endless energy from their aunt because Addie and I were not hyper and never had been.

As minute as it seemed, Addie had Matilda help me wake the twins in the mornings. Drualt and Gavin were natural flyers, and they flew everywhere at full speed all the time. Thankfully, they required a full ten hours of sleep like human children their age and naps, giving us a break from their craziness. I felt sorry for Addie and the nursemaids whenever Matilda and I were gone.

Matilda waited outside their room for me. She curtsied once I stopped in front of her. "Good morning, Rhys," she greeted without using my title. We had been friends for decades and she was my daughter-in-law. There was no need for formal titles in private.

I bowed as usual. "Good morning, Matilda." I gestured at the door. "Shall we?"

She nodded, bracing herself.

I opened the door and found the boys' black-haired heads under the covers, sound asleep in their shared bed.

Matilda took the side farthest from the door while I took the nearest side in case one of them jetted out into the corridor. It had happened many times, and they had broken several vases as a result.

Instead of sitting on their bed, like I did with the other kids, I remained grounded on the floor while waking them just in case they flew away. "Drualt, wake up. It's time to eat," I said, using my normal tone.

Drualt's big, dramatic blue eyes eased open. Like mine, his eyes were ringed by thick white eyelashes. When I looked at my twins, it was like looking at two miniature copies of myself, except for their facial structure, which looked like a combination between Meryl the fairy and Addie's mother. None of my sons looked much like me. If standing side by side, one could tell that I was the father of my sons, but only Rosie bore a strong resemblance to me. The only way one could tell that the twins were half human was the fact that they were children. I suspected that when they become teenagers, they would be mistaken for full-blooded sorcerers. Drualt sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Father!" he cried, hugging me.

The sudden exclamation roused Gavin. Still prostrate, he looked at the source of the commotion and instantly sprung up to hug me. "Father!"

I embraced my sons for a moment, and then I patted them on their backs to get their attentions. "Time to get dressed."

At lightning quickness, Drualt tried to fly away, but I caught his ankle.

"Not so fast," I said, pulling his floating body closer. "You have to get dressed first."

"Ohhh..." they whined in unison.

Matilda knew the drill. She went over the wardrobe and picked out their clothes.

I pulled Drualt down onto the bed and held him in place. "If I let you go, will you behave?"

Smiling, he nodded vigorously.

I removed my hands and was surprised that he remained on the bed, gazing at me with rare guiltless eyes.

Matilda brought over the clothes and began to dress Gavin, the tamer twin. Since the boys mostly took up from their sorcerer side, they were slow learners. Dressing themselves was still difficult for them. In fact, they still couldn't walk on their own weight because they were natural flyers. I remembered when I was born, I didn't know how to walk on my own feet. It took several years before I mastered the unnatural technique. Also, sorcerers were born capable of speech. The twins spoke their first words when they were one month old and were able to formulate full, coherent sentences when they were six months old. None of my other children spoke that soon. Some started talking at a normal human age while others spoke a few months earlier than humans.

After dressing the twins, Matilda and I led them to the dining hall, where the rest of the family was seated. Bella was standing at the table, holding a curious Eliza, so Addie could enjoy a meal and I could have a break from the hours I spent watching her at night. Bella would teach the twins right after breakfast, and then she would eventually teach the rest of the children.

The servants stepped into the hall, bearing breakfast dishes and placed them on the table. Everyone except Matilda and I began to eat. The food must have been delectable because no one spoke for a while.

Addie looked at the twins, who were sitting on either side of me. Addie sat at the end, where the sovereign traditionally sat. She swallowed her food and set her fork down to talk to the twins. "Do you boys know what Friday is?"

They stared at her blankly.

"Your father's birthday is on Friday," she answered.

"Ohhhh..." they said in unison.

"Do you know how old he will be?" she asked.

Puzzled, they looked at each other. They didn't know.

"He's turning one hundred," she responded, smiling.

Their blue eyes widened. "Wow!" they shouted in unison. "That's old!"

"I can count to one hundred!" Gavin cried rapidly. "One, two, three, four, five, six..." he counted in the background, and then Drualt joined.

We all laughed at their honesty. For a sorcerer, one hundred was still young. Physically, I was just about twenty to human standards. I had only aged three human years throughout my eighteen years of being married. Thanks to the herb, Addie aged nine years instead of eighteen, but she aged well, in my opinion. She was no longer the gangly teenager I once knew, which was fine. After having seven kids, she was no longer considered skinny, but she certainly wasn't fat. With her constant war training, she was muscular for a woman. Personally, I thought the weight gain and muscle definition suited her well and made her look more curvaceous.

"And you two are going to give him something, aren't you?" she asked.

They nodded.

Straightening my posture, I looked at Addie. I didn't need any presents. Having them in my life was enough for me. "I want no—"

She met my eyes. "There may be a law against refusing a royal gift," she said, exactly how Meryl did years ago, "especially if it's from the queen, your sovereign." Addie looked at me with playful challenging eyes, as a dare to oppose her.

Defeated, I leaned back in my chair. That was normal. Addie would spoil me in some way and use the royal gift excuse to prevent me from declining it.

Addie resumed eating. "Besides, you wouldn't want me to lock you up in prison again, do you?" she asked before chuckling.

That was an embarrassing moment in my life, one I did not want to repeat in the future. "That was a dark time for all of us," I stated glumly.

We were all silent for a moment, unsure how to respond.

"I never got to hear the full story," said Daria. "What happened?"

I shook my head. "I can't give you all the details now. Maybe some other time," I said, smiling. "I'll probably need a whole night to tell that one."

Daria intertwined her fingers together and placed them on the table. "I can't wait," she uttered.

Gesturing at Matilda and R.J., Addie said, "Tonight tell them about our adventure at Mulee Forest when I was pregnant with R.J.," reminded Addie. "She'll like that one."

I waved my hands and wagged my head. "R.J., do not take Matilda to Mulee Forest when she's pregnant," I warned playfully. "It's a bad idea."

Addie laughed at the memory, and added, "A bad idea, indeed."

Meryl finished sipping her milk. "Tell her about how I killed a dragon."

"You mean how you caused the Great Monster War?" I asked sternly. "That's in the same story as my arrest." I glared at her for having a triumphant attitude. "That was very foolish of you, and you shouldn't be proud of it," I lectured.

Meryl harrumphed and rolled her eyes without Addie seeing.

Rosie chuckled. Bad mistake while in Meryl's presence.

Meryl whipped her head around to glare at Rosie. "How about the story when you flew for the first time and cried like a baby?" she snapped.

"Meryl!" Addie and I chastised in unison.

"At least I can fly forward!" Rosie spat. "You can only fly twelve feet up and can't move."

"It does you no good if you're too chicken to even do it," Meryl snarled.

I hated their bickering. I wished they would get along for once. "That's enough!" I said, voice raised.

Both girls went back to eating, avoiding eye contact.

The fair blonde, blue-eyed Daria lit up when she saw everyone was done with the main course. "Time for cinnamon rolls!" She hurried over to the closed dish that contained the rolls and lifted the lid, releasing steam, before the servant had the chance to move. In sheer excitement, Daria dropped a hot cinnamon roll on each of our plates. Her compact energy and coloration reminded me of her aunt, but with my white eyelashes, big blue eyes, and tall stature, which made sense considering how Addie and I were tall. And from old paintings, it appeared Daria inherited her grandmother's oval face shape. We suspected she'd be pursued once she was of age by many a nobleman and prince.

Bella gasped. "Daria, you're a princess. You're not supposed to—"

"Let her," interrupted Addie. "She's not hurting anyone."

Daria finally made it over to me and dropped a cinnamon roll onto my plate.

Biting into the sticky mess, I tasted a sugary, doughy delight. It was her best one yet. Some of her first creations were burned black or tasted horrible, but this was a major improvement. "Daria, this is delicious!"

She blushed and said, "Thank you."

"I agree," joined R.J. to show his little sister support. "This is fantastic!" I liked seeing my children be kind to each other. R.J. was very sweet to his sisters, something I enforced when he was little. Even now that he was wed, I still made sure he was kind and never spoke maliciously to or about someone. I was the hardest on him because he was my son and the future king. But even with my high expectations, we still had a close father-son bond.

"Thank you," Daria said shyly. Praise made her shy, like her mother.

After everyone was done eating, Addie dismissed us so we could carry on with our day. "Matilda," Addie called before Matilda had the chance to get up, "I need you to come with me to Lord George's castle. Apparently, he's having foundation issues and needs a sorcerer's touch. I want to make an appearance to show my vassal respect."

That was one of the things I loved about Addie. No one was beneath her. There was a reason why the people adored her. Not only was she the kingdom's new, living ideal, but she treated everyone respectfully, regardless of rank.

Matilda nodded. "All right," she responded. Addie did not mind her daughter-in-law being casual with her in private. However, she still respected Addie as her queen and took her assignments seriously.

"Come, Matilda," Addie said kindly, walking out of the dining hall.

"I'm coming too," I said, following.

Addie stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I want Matilda to handle this one for her training," she explained. "Stay here and spend time with the kids. They missed you."

For a moment, I was afraid because the last time Matilda handled a construction issue, she missed a falling stone and nearly had a builder killed. Thankfully, I was there to prevent the casualty by holding up the stone with my magic just in time. "Very well," I agreed, bowing. "I shall await your return, my queen."

As soon as Addie and Matilda left, so did Meryl to study before sparring at the training ground, and R.J. to study and then probably do something musical.

I stood, about to push in my chair out of habit.

"Father, can we go to Lake Orrinic like you promised?" asked Rosie with that same hopeful sparkle in her eyes as earlier.

Saying no to that sparkle was virtually impossible. She was my little girl. Might as well. "Yes, of course," I replied. "Let me know when you're ready and then we'll leave."

Her body language sagged. "Can we ride on horseback?" she asked me timidly.

"Rosie," I began in my fatherly tone, "remember what we talked about?" Riding horseback was uncomfortable. I didn't see how humans tolerated the jarring sensation, but I would for her.

"Please, just this once?" she begged, now standing.

"All right, but next time we're flying," I declared. "Promise?"

Rosie crossed her finger over her chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die." It was our pact gesture that she only did with me.

I sent for a nursemaid to care for Eliza while I was gone. I collected my infant from Bella and waited for the nursemaid. Thankfully she arrived quickly and took Eliza.

Bella walked over to the twins and said, "Come, children."

And the twins raced out of the dining hall.

"Children, wait!" shouted Bella, running after them.

I reached out in the direction of the exit, contemplating helping Bella, but then changed my mind. Bella was used to the challenge.

"Let's fetch the horses from the stables," I said to Rosie.

We left the dining hall together.