14)

Seth sat at the dining table, viciously consuming his tower of pancakes. Tanu was staring at him with his eyebrows furrowed.

"How do you fit that all into your mouth?" he asked.

Seth smiled and opened his mouth for another bite.

Suddenly there was a loud cough - not the sickly cough but the Can I get your attention please? cough. All eyes went to Bracken, who was sitting the the end of the table with Kendra by his side. He was visiting for a few days, like he did every month. He was busy helping his mother build the Fairy Kingdom, so the occasion visit was all he had as a break from the work.

"Me and Kendra have something to tell you," Bracken began, and turned his head towards Kendra and smiled.

"Tell me you haven't gotten her pregnant," Warren said, only half-joking. Their faces blew up into a vibrant red color as everyone else chuckled.

"No, Warren, thank you for asking. As I was saying, me and Kendra have something to announce." They gave each other a quick glance before Kendra finally blurted it out.

"We're officially dating!"

The table broke out in claps and whoops and a bunch of "I knew it!"s and "About time"s. But Seth sat still. He was happy for his sister and his best friend - no not happy, thrilled - but he remembered the amount of heartbreak that his sister had gone through with Gavin and was hesitant of the announcement.

A sudden, unexplainable anger rose in his chest, and he stood abruptly, causing his chair to topple over.

"A word with you Bracken?" he growled from between his teeth. Everyone was taken aback by the sudden burst of anger.

"Seth, are you o-" Bracken began, but was interrupted when the temperature dropped to twenty degrees below zero.

"Now." Seth stormed out of the room and into the kitchen. He heard footsteps as Bracken followed. Seth leaned against the counter and waited for the fairy prince to enter.

"Seth, I thought you were okay with me being with your sister, you always knew my feelings for her-"

Seth rushed forward, grabbed the front of Bracken's shirt, and pushed him against the fridge, pressing his arm against his throat. He brought his face only inches away and growled.

"I am warning you one time, and one time alone. If you break my sister's heart, I will kill you. You hurt her in any way, I will kill you. I make her feel sad, make her cry, make a single tear fall onto her cheek, I will kill you.

"I don't care, that you're my friend, I don't care that your mother is the Fairy Queen. I don't care that you're a unicorn and I don't care that my sister loves you; you break her heart, and I will chase you to the end of the world and make sure you suffer. Am I clear?"

Bracken stared at Seth in horror. As he had been speaking, the boy's eyes had turned blood red and his skin had turned into an ashen color. It was this and the boys actual words that made Bracken understand just how close the Sorenson siblings were.

"I would never hurt Kendra, and you know that, don't you, Seth?" Bracken asked. "If I ever make her feel that way, if I ever hurt her feelings, I will do whatever it takes to make her feel better; to right my wrongs! I love your sister, and I won't let anything hurt her. Not even me. If I do, I gladly accept any punishment you give me, for then i deserve it! Seth, I would hunt down anything that makes her sad or scared. She sees a spider in a bathroom and I am chasing it down and squashing it until there's nothing left. Seth, I will go to the edge of the world and over to save her. I would enter the Zzyzx to get her a flower if one grew in there! You know how much I love her. Trust that I will love her as much as she deserves and more."

Seth was silent for a moment.

"Promise?" he asked quietly.

"Promise."

Seth's eyes returned to their forest green and his skin became it's normal color again. Backing off, he took his arm away from Brackens throat, which the fairy prince immediately began to favour.

Seth stared at him. "I'm trusting you with her Bracken." Bracken was surprised to hear his voice waver. "I am trusting you to keep Kendra safe from all harm, to give her everything she ever wants and more. I may be an annoying little brother, but I love her more than anything in the world. And I am trusting you, and you only, with her. You hear me? Don't let me regret it."

With that he walked out of the room, leaving the stunned fairy prince behind. Stil, Bracken couldn't help but smile. This was a whole new level of siblingship that he had ever seen from Seth and Kendra. He was happy there was someone who cared about her just as much.

15)

Kendra's mind was a whirlwind. Her heart was pounding like never before, and she was struggling to keep her breathing level. Her fingers dug into the black suit sleeve, a millimeter from puncturing the fabric. She forced one leg after another, keeping her eyes on the person standing only fifteen meters away.

"You look beautiful," Seth whispered out of the corner of his mouth. Kendra glanced at him from the corner of her eye, trying to be subtle, but since he was a foot taller than her, it didn't go as planned.

"Thanks," she replied. Then with a smile she said:"You look quite handsome yourself."

Seth didn't answer back, but Kendra felt him stand up straighter. Her eyes roamed the seats around her. Most faces were ones she didn't recognize, belonging to enlarged fairies, unicorns and other magical creatures. The only beings she knew there were some new friends she had picked up during the years and Warren, who had insisted on coming to his cousin's wedding despite the danger.

A few hundred years ago, Kendra had turned eighteen and made the decision of becoming an Eternal. Warren did too. They were both accepted as good candidates and had done well so far. Despite being in the protection of the Fairy Realm, it was still dangerous for them to be in the same place at the same time.

As for Seth, he had trained his powers for the three years after Zzyzx and suddenly stopped aging. Or, so it seemed. While everyone else aged, he seemed to stay the same age. They had taken him to Nero who in exchange for a few hours of massaging had revealed that Seth's Shadow Charmer powers were so powerful, they physically slowed down his aging and making him nearly impossible to kill, with the immunities of an Eternal. He had considered to take the job with his sister and cousin, but decided against it, aiming for the Captain of the Knights of the Dawn.

Kendra was happy that she had her brother there, but couldn't help but feel sad. The rest of their friends and family had passed away centuries ago. Ever since she was a little girl, she had imagined her father walking her down the aisle, with her in a long white gown, identical to the one she was wearing right now. Everything was perfect. She was marrying the man of her dreams, who just happened to be a unicorn, and the son of the Fairy Queen. She was being walked down the aisle by her little brother, annoying, but precious. She had her friends standing by, smiling broadly with tears in their eyes as they watched her finally get what she finally deserved.

They arrived at the stair leading to the altar. Seth retrieved his arm from where it was being held in a death grip and moved to stand behind his best friend as his best man. Bracken took Kendra's hand and lead her up the stairs to stand opposite of him. This was the day she had looked forward to her whole life. It was finally here. And everything was perfect.

16)

Seth Sorenson had faced a witch at the age of eleven. He had defeated the Revenant, a being few men dared to name out loud, when he was twelve. At the age of thirteen, he killed a dragon. Three months later he fought an army of demons, nearly dying in the process. At the age of fifteen, he had been shot three times in the chest by a goblin assassin. At the age of seventeen, he had learned to speak three different languages and had befriended a griffin.

His eighteenth birthday he spent in the hospital in a critical state after being mauled by a hellhound. At the age of twenty, his niece was born. At the age of twenty-five, he was blessed with a nephew. He met the girl of his dreams at the age of twenty eight. His son was born three years later. Twins -a girl and a boy - joined the family five years later.

At the age of forty, he was named Captain of the Knights of the Dawn. At age fifty, his nephew was injured by a hydra and lost his leg. At sixty, he became a grandfather. At sixty-four his niece had a son. At seventy his daughter had triplets. At eighty, his wife passed away.

At eighty one, he was diagnosed with severe dementia. His sister visited him frequently, still looking beautiful at the age of twenty-three, though his memories of her were faint. At eighty-five he was granted his final wish of flying a dragon, which was brought to life by his dear friend Raxtus.

Seth Sorenson flew a dragon at the age of eighty five; his story written in history books and told in bedtime stories. Seth Sorenson, the world's greatest adventurer, passed away, on his last adventure.

17)

Kendra walked peacefully with her hand in Brackens. The evening was beautiful, the stars were out and the moon was shining. A warm breeze ruffled the trees around the yard. Reaching out an arm around Kendra, Bracken pulled her closer and placed a kiss on her head.

The night had been amazing. They had gone to get lunch together, enjoying time together without the constant crying of their daughter, who at the moment was being looked after by her uncle. Kendra was slightly nervous, to be honest. It was the first time Seth was babysitting Essie and he was still a little too irresponsible to be taking care of a three-month-old. Still, no one else had time and Seth was excited to take care of his niece.

As the house came into view, Kendra saw the low shine of lights on the bottom floor, but the house seemed to be standing. Kendra wasn't quite sure what she was expecting. But what worried her was the lack of movement, and most importantly, sound. There was noy crying, no screaming, not even laughing. Usually Esmeralda made enough noise to be heard to the nearest town. Something about the silence made Kendra's heart drop.

She walked faster and rushed up the steps to the porch. She knocked. No answer. She called out Seth's name. Silence. Fear rose in her throat and she cast a glance at Bracken who seemed to be getting worried as well. Pulling her keys from her jacket pocket, Kendra thrust them into the lock and pushed the door open.

Toys littered the ground along with a bunch of her shirts, which was curious. Pieces of furniture were slightly out of place, a table pushed a few inches from the wall and a chair was on the floor. Still, not noise.

There were lights in the kitchen and in the living room. The kitchen was empty, with bottles and baby goo splattered over the walls. They hurried into the living room. The sight made Kendra stop in her tracks. A lump rose in her throat and her hands flew to her mouth. A smile spread across her face.

There on the sofa, lay Seth, looking exhausted as ever. On the floor were pillows, movies, books, toys, blankets and anything you could imagine needing while babysitting and many things you wouldn't. But the thing that made her so happy was the small person laying on Seth's stomach.

Essie, much like her uncle, was fast asleep in a pink sleeper, he head resting on the young man's chest. His hand secured her safely, pressed gently against her back. Kendra had never seen either one sleep this peacefully.

Slowly and quietly, Kendra began picking the things off the floor and putting them were they should be. The clothes and blankets were immediately taken to be washed, since the floor hadn't been washed in a while. Bracken was cleaning the mess in the kitchen. Though they tried to be quiet, the noise seemed to wake up Seth. He walked into the kitchen were KEndra was not helping BRacken, with Essie securely in the crook of his arm. His eyes were half closed and his hair was messy from sleeping.

Essie cooed and shifted slightly in her uncles arms, making the young man smile. Kendra shook her head in wonder. Everyone else, who had tried to put her to sleep or hold her in that way - apart from and Bracken of course - had managed to get themself a permanent hearing disability from all the screaming that followed. Yet here her brother was, holding her gently, with her sound asleep.

"What on Earth happened?" Kendra whispered and Seth chuckled. "Looking at you it seemed like everything's fine, looking at the house it looks like a demon broke in!"

"She was screaming her head off the first three hours you were gone," Seth replied quietly. "I couldn't get her to quiet down no matter what I tried. I tried to give her milk, make her a pillow fort, I watched a bunch of barbie movies with her but the fit she was throwing only grew worse. I just gave up at one point and laid on the sofa and placed her on my chest. She just quieted down. Immediately. Not a sound. I opened my eyes and she was just staring at me. For a moment, I just stared back and she really seemed to like the feeling of rising and balling as I breathed. Eventually she fell asleep, and I was gone right after."

Bracken gave a shake of his head, grinning. "You never cease to amaze me, Seth Sorenson," he said.

Seth smiled and peered down at the baby in his arms. "Well, at least now you know who to call when you need a babysitter."

***IMPORTANT! If you want me to continue this story, I will need more ideas. I am running out, and since I am trying to get five short stories into one chapter, the next chapter is far away. In the worst case, I will have to update chapters with only one or two stories, which would be kind of boring. Give me a genre or a main idea of a story you want and I'll work on that, but I need your help. Please?***