Chapter 24

"What do you mean, the flight was delayed?" Allyson asked, pressing a hand to her forehead. Luke focused his gaze on the ground. His mother had forced him out of bed at an unspeakably early hour to help deal with whatever problem was going on with this family day celebration. From what Luke could tell, the huge, earth shattering issue was that some flight was delayed.

Great.

Totally a worthwhile reason to get him out of bed

"There was a storm over the midwestern provinces. Lasted for a brief time. Very few of the flights could get through, most were delayed a couple of hours." A nervous-looking man said. Luke vaguely recognized him as an intern, for who though he couldn't quite recall.

Max sighed. "When are the flights supposed to be here?" He was usually the one in charge of these parties, but since it was for her son, Allyson had decided to join in on the planning for this celebration.

"The last one should be arriving around three o'clock." The intern explained quickly.

"Right. I'll tell the chefs to cancel the breakfast spread then." Max said.

"What will we do for the reception then? A garden party?" Allyson asked. On cue, both her and Max glanced towards the large windows in the foyer. Despite it being May, it was rather cloudy, not quite the perfect conditions for an outdoor party. After all, no one wanted to get their fancy clothes wet and muddy if it started to rain.

"What do you think Luke?" His mother asked. In all honesty, Luke couldn't care less where the party was being held. He didn't even know why his mom dragged him down here to deal with the situation. This usually wasn't his problem. He wished that he could go back to the days when he didn't even know what was happening. How blissfully oblivious he had been only a few months before.

"I don't care. I'll just show up where you tell me to." Luke answered, shrugging.

"Not helpful Lucas." Allyson said, barely suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. Luke knew he should be more engaged in whatever crisis was going on with this party right now. He should be grateful. This whole shebang was meant for him, so he could get to know the families of his possible wives. The least he could do was pretend to care..

But still, it was early.

Max didn't say anything, instead pulling up the weather on his phone. "It's not supposed to rain until nearly eight in the evening. I doubt that will reassure people though. They're not going to want to be caught in a storm."

"I guess we could set up tents." Allyson said, she turned to the intern. "Do we have any tents or canopies in storage?"

"I'm..I'm not exactly sure. I...suppose I could check in the sublevels of the palace." The intern mumbled hurriedly.

"Do that, please." Max said, addressing the man.

"Yes, yes. Of course Your Majesty." He said with a quick bow.

Max watched him go, making sure he was out of earshot, before turning to Allyson. "Seventeen hundred applications and Carl chose him of all people."

"The one last quarter was far worse." Allyson replied. Luke didn't say anything. As incompetent as that man seemed, Luke wasn't exactly one to judge. If Luke had been applying for whatever internship this was, he was sure that no one would choose him. If it wasn't for his title, he wouldn't be chosen for anything to do with politics.

"You're not wrong about that." Max said with a small smile. "I should probably go talk to the chefs about changing the menu for the reception." He glanced at his watch. "I hope they didn't start preparing the yogurt cups yet."

"That would be a waste." Allyson commented.

"I know. I'll go tell them." Max assured her. "Oh Luke, before I forget, Lady Ophelia is sick and can't attend family day. She's staying in her room until the doctors clear her."

"She is?" Luke asked skeptically.

"Yes. She is." Max said firmly, subtly nodding his head towards Allyson. Oh. Comprehension dawned on Luke quickly. Farrah must not have wanted her to attend the celebration, she was probably stressed enough with Faye's father as it is. Bennet must have decided not to tell his wife, probably correct in assuming that Allyson would disagree with the way the situation was handled. And that, ladies and gentleman, was what led to Ophelia suddenly having some highly contagious illness.

Pretty smart, Luke had to admit. No one would care enough to question the story, and even if they did, Luke knew the doctors were loyal. They would give a false diagnosis if they were asked to.

"Poor girl." Allyson said distractedly. "You know Luke, it's a shame you eliminated that McKinley girl. I think Farrah was really looking forward to meeting her mother."

Luke felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. "Nobody told me that. If I knew, I wouldn't have eliminated her."

"She didn't mind too much." Max assured him. "She meets famous people everyday, it wasn't that big a deal."

"That's good." Luke answered, relieved. He didn't want Farrah to have secretly been harborning any resentment towards him. No, he preferred to know about any ill will she might have towards him.

"I really ought to go." Max said, before heading off towards the kitchen in the basement, leaving Luke and his mother alone.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Luke said quietly. All this talk about meeting the families of the girls made him want to know what it was like on the other side, what it was like for the women he was courting. As unappealing as the prospect of talking about this with his mom was, Luke could never talk about this with Max or his grandmama.

"Sure honey. Anything." Allyson replied.

"What was it like for you?" Luke mumbled quickly.

"You're going to have to be more specific. What was what like for me?"

"Family day, for when you were in Dad's selection I mean. What was it like?" Luke asked, correcting himself.

"Always make sure to specify Luke. It wouldn't look good for you to be talking like that when you're older." Allyson advised him. Luke pursed his lips, taking his mother's advice. As much as he might not like getting the advice, it was usually worthwhile in the end. "And, I don't really remember my family day, it was nearly forty years ago."

"Oh." Luke said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "You're sure you don't remember anything?"

"It was so long ago...I was nervous though, I was worried that my family would embarrass me. I was one of the lowest castes left in the selection, most of the other girls were 3s."

"Oh. Do you think any of the ladies now feel that way?" Luke sincerely hoped they didn't. He didn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable or...intimidated by him. By the palace or by his wealth.

"Probably. It's unavoidable." Allyson said.

"Oh." Luke said, frowning slightly. He wished there was something, anything he could do. He didn't want the women to worry about their families making a good impression on him, they should just focus on spending time with their loved ones. Afterall, it had been over two months since they last saw their relatives.

"Don't worry about it too much. I know you care Luke, and it's good that you do, but you have bigger things to think about today." Allyson said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What bigger things?"

"Well, you have to meet a lot of people today. That's not something to take lightly. I don't want you to get stressed today." Allyson explained. Of course she had to make everything about Luke not being stressed. He knew if he didn't change the topic quickly, she'd be on him to go to therapy again. He was the prince for God's sake, he didn't need his parents to pay someone to listen to his problems. It was a ridiculous thought, he never should have gone in the first place.

"Can I ask you another question Mom?" Luke blurted out, wanting to get out of the dangerous waters into which this conversation had been headed.

Allyson laughed delicately. "You don't have to ask every time Luke. Go ahead." Success! Her attention had been diverted. Thank God for his mother's short attention span.

"If Dad hadn't chosen you, what would you have done after the selection? If you weren't going to be the queen, what would you have wanted to be?"

Allyson tilted her head to her side, thinking hard. "I'm not sure exactly. I never really considered it, I never had time to really consider it."

"Did you know Dad was going to choose you?"

"I suppose I did. Let's put it this way, I might not have known for sure, but when he said my name at the ceremony no one was surprised. Not me, not the other girls, not the press. I think everyone else had hope, but they knew deep down it wasn't going to be them. I doubted that he would choose me, but deep down, I knew it would be me." His mother explained with a small smile on her face.

Luke considered his mom's words carefully. He had never really wanted to know all the details of his parent's selection. Just the thought of it was enough to make him puke. Though, finally listening for the first time, it was...disconcerting. His father had obviously chosen his mother, but it was just wrong to think about them ending up with different people. He wondered if his children would feel the same way about Luke's selection.

How one little choice would completely change everything.

"Oh." Luke said, nodding his head. He wasn't exactly sure what to say in response to that. He couldn't discuss his parent's private life with his parents. It was disgusting to even think about engaging in the conversation he had found himself in.

"The public relations manager wrote you a speech for today when you greet the families." Allyson informed him, handing Luke a folded piece of paper from her pocketbook.

Luke held the thin, crisp piece of paper in his hand without opening it. "That...That's ok. I wrote my own speech for later today." Luke said shyly.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "You did? That's...surprisingly mature."

Luke blushed at that. "I figured if I'm going to be married, I could at least write my own speech, you know?" He asked. In truth, meeting all the women of his selection and hearing about their lives, from Sydney's time in the foster system to Laena's brother not being able to receive treatment had made him want his welcome to their families to be genuine. Not some fabricated piece of garbage that a woman who had never heard of these people had typed out. They had all gone through so much, the absolute least he could do was spend a few hours on a statement.

"Can I read it?" Allyson asked.

"I have it on my phone." Luke said, taking his phone out of his pocket. He quickly opened his notes and pulled up the speech he had written, handing it to her mother. Allyson read it quickly, her eyes darting across the glowing screen of his phone. When she had finished, she nodded her approval.

"That's really good Luke. You did a great job." Allyson told him, a twinkle of pride in her eyes. Luke smiled at that. "Maybe you can start writing all your own messages from now on."

Not exactly the outcome he had been hoping for, but he'll take it.

Though it was cloudy out, no one had complained about having the reception outside. White canopies had been set up that would provide little help against rain, but would calm people's nerves. Luke suspected that the real reason for the lack of complaints was simply that all of the guests were far too happy to see their daughters. The ladies were equally delighted to see their families after so long. A few girls had asked about Ophelia's absence, but Luke had explained it away quickly, and with the arrival of their families, they all -including Sable- forgot about it.

If there was one thing the palace did well, it was parties. They never disappointed, and this time was no exception. Towers of different delicacies, cupcakes, cookies, fresh fruit and macaroons sat on top of white linen tablecloths. Trays of mini sandwiches and danishes stood next to platters of chilled pasta and salads. There was a bar fully stocked with a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, a mixologist standing behind it.

Luke watched the families for a second more, before a gentle hem-hem from his dad prompted him to start his speech. "Everyone, can I have your attention please?" He asked, waiting a few seconds for the crowd to quiet down. "First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of you for traveling to Angeles for these few days. I know it was a long trip, but at least the airplane snacks were good!"

Luke's quip earned him a few chuckles from the audience. "I would also like to thank you for allowing your daughter, sister or friend to enter this competition. It must have been hard to go without seeing them for months, to make adjustments on how to go through simple tasks without them, but it has truly been a pleasure getting to know each and everyone of them. This process has been eye-opening to me about how many different types of people live in this country. I hope everyone has a fun time visiting the palace and seeing their family. I know you have all been waiting for this for a long time." Luke finished to applause from the guests, but it felt different than the usual applause he was given. This time, they were applauding his words, not the ones of a press secretary.

"How was that?" Luke asked anxiously, turning to his parents.

"It was good Luke, you should be proud of yourself." Bennet told him.

"Thanks Dad."

Farrah nodded in agreement. "Maybe I should give the public relations manager a raise."

Luke glanced at the ground. "Actually, I wrote it myself." He said, happy that Farrah had mistaken his words for that of a trained professional. It couldn't have been that bad if she was considering giving said professional a raise.

"Oh. I didn't know you had that in you." Farrah said in what might be the closest thing to a compliment that she had ever given him. "Daddy, can you get me a drink?" She asked.

"Sure darling, what do you want? Wine?" Bennet agreed.

"Uh, no. I'll take a lemonade."

"Lemonade?" Bennet asked, making sure he hadn't heard her wrong.

"What? I'm in the mood. Besides, I can't have alcohol on an empty stomach" Farrah said shrugging. You can't have alcohol at all Luke thought silently. Of course he kept his mouth shut though, there was no need to get Farrah mad at him. She was already tense about pulling off her plan with Faye's dad. After all, that was the reason for family day in the first place.

Luke left the scene before he accidentally let his sister's secret slip, his parents rarely noticed that he left, too preoccupied with Farrah, and Luke was happy to have it that way. He didn't want to be pulled into another discussion about manners.

Luke had made it a few feet before a small body crashed into his legs. The boy was young, maybe only 14 and clutching a football in his hands.

"Sorry about that." The boy said, pushing himself to his feet.

"No problem." Luke said, laughing slightly. "Do you want to throw around the football? I think I still know how to throw one of these things." He offered.

The boy looked surprised. "You know how to play football?" He asked skeptically.

"Yeah, I mean, it's been about a year since I last played, but I learned how to throw a football when I was much younger." Luke explained.

"My sister still doesn't know how to throw one. I've been trying to teach her for a few years."

"Oh, who is your sister?" Luke asked curiously. Best to know who's family member he was talking to right now.

"Sydney." The boy said, pointing to the redhead talking to her parents. This boy must be adopted, because he didn't resemble the parents in the slightest. Sydney had told him she was adopted that night in the kitchen, maybe the rest of her siblings were too. It made sense when he stopped to think about it. Another reason why he was happy he had written his own speech to welcome the families. It was amazing how much everyone in his selection had gone through. Maybe Farrah had rigged it so that only people with tragic backstories got in. That seemed like the sort of thing she would do.

"Ah." Luke said, nodding.

"Can my brother play with us too?" The boy asked.

"Sure." Luke agreed quickly.

"Timmy!" The boy called loudly, searching the lawn, his eyes landed on a much smaller figure with black hair. "Timmy, come play football with us." The boy-his name was Timmy, turned and ran over to Luke and the other boy standing next to him.

"Wait, Austen, who is the us?" He asked.

Austen laughed. "The prince is going to play with us." He said cheerfully. Timmy turned to Luke, surprise etched on his face, he bowed quickly, which now that Luke stopped to think about it, was something that Austen had forgotten.

"There's no need for that. It's nice to meet you Timmy." Luke said, extending his hand for a handshake. Timmy shook his hand eagerly.

"You're nicer than I thought you would be." Timmy said bluntly.

"I get that a lot." Luke joked. "Do you want to throw around the ball?" He asked. Both Timmy and Austen nodded eagerly.

Luke wasn't boastful, but he had to admit he was pretty good at throwing a football. Bennet had taught him when Luke was around eight years old. Though his dad hardly had time to play with him, and Farrah refused to, Luke still liked to play in the gardens with his football, even if it meant throwing it with no one to catch it. This time, he made sure to make his throws smaller than what he was capable of so that Timmy and Austen could catch the football. By the time they were done, both of the boys were out of breath, but smiling. Luke was happy that he had been able to make sure they had a good time. Besides, he had gotten to put his secret skill to good use.

Finally, he decided to go over to where Sydney stood with her parents, and a girl that he could only assume was her younger sister.

"HI everyone." He said, inputting himself into the conversation. "Mr. and Mrs. Foster-Wintson." He nodded towards Sydney's parents. "And what's your name?" He asked the girl.

"I'm Alexandria." She said. "But you can call me Alex." The girl had black hair and skin the color of dark chocolate. Her purple sweater read Hills High Softball Team.

Luke nodded, mentally jotting down the information. "So, Mr. and Mrs. Foster-Wintson, what do you do for a living?" Luke asked politely.

"I'm an industrial engineer." Mr. Foster-Winston said. "Skyscrapers, bridges, all that stuff falls on me." he said.

Sydney groaned. "Please don't get him started on architecture. He can go on for hours."

"Sydney, it's a very complex field. Do you know how much work went into making...this palace for example?" Her father said, gesturing towards the palace.

"Do you know no one cares?" Sydney asked.

"I care." Alex piped up.

Luke honestly couldn't care less about engineering and the science that went into buildings, but years of training allowed him to paste a smile on his face and seem convincing when he said. "Why don't you tell me more about it."

Mr. Foster-Winston launched into a long and boring explanation, so long and so boring that Luke tuned out most of it. He caught phrases like lean manufacturing and six sigma. He had no clue what they meant, and to be frank, he didn't want to know what they meant. When Mr. Foster-Winston finally stopped, he turned to the woman standing next to him. "What about you, Mrs. Foster-Winston?" He asked.

"I'm a social worker Your Highness, I work with foster children to make sure they have safe and comfortable homes." She explained.

"That's really great." Luke said. "Is that why you decided to adopt?"

The woman nodded slowly, sipping her glass of champagne. "I've always wanted to adopt, I was part of the foster system myself. My husband was more than happy to comply." She said, shooting Mr. Foster-Winston a fond sort of smile.

Sweet as this all was, Luke had to wonder if Sydney would want to adopt too. Follow in her parents footsteps and all that. Luke was no history buff, but he couldn't recall a single time, in any country when an adopted child was part of the royal family. In some instances where a child wasn't possible, a surrogate was used, but never adoption. It just wasn't how it was done.

Luke pushed the troubling thoughts out of his head, and turned to Alex. "What grade are you in?" He asked her.

Alex turned bright red and stammered out her sentence, barely understandable over all her giggling. "I'm a junior Your Highness. I...I play softball too." She added quickly, tacking it on to the end of her statement. Luke had assumed as much from her sweater, but he still nodded as if this was new information to him. No need to embarrass the poor girl more than she already was.

"Softball…" Luke's voice trailed off. "Do you want to play in college?" He asked.

"I..I don't really know, I mean, maybe I guess." Alex said unsurely.

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you all. Please, enjoy the party." Luke said to the family, before heading off in search of another family to meet.

After a quick scan of the gardens, Luke's gaze was caught by Quinn's brightly colored hair. She was standing with three men, a boy who seemed about Luke's age and two middle-aged ones. Luke made his way over to them, grabbing a cookie off a tray before he approached them.

He swallowed the last bite of his cookie, put his well-practiced smile on his face and turned to them. "Hello everyone, how are you doing today?" he asked.

"Well, thank you." Said the taller of the two men. "I'm Jackson Fraser, Your Highness."

Luke extended his hand for a handshake. Jackson took it confidently Luke then turned his attention to the other man. "What's your name sir?" He asked.

"Ethan Levine. I work as a pianist." He said. Luke shook his hand -he really should start carrying hand sanitizer with him- he glanced at Ethan's ring finger to see if the two men were married. They didn't share a last name. Still, a gold band sat on his finger, so Luke concluded that they must have opted not to change their names.

"A pianist? That's really cool, I tried learning the piano when I was younger, I'm not very good." Luke told him.

"It takes a lot of practice, years of hard work." Ethan said. "If you really want to learn, then you should try again. It wouldn't be as hard for you as most beginners since you learned when you were younger Your Highness."

Luke nodded. "Maybe I will." Was all he said, before turning to Quinn. "You didn't tell me you were adopted." He said.

Quinn shrugged. "Why would it have mattered?" She asked.

"It wouldn't have." Luke said hurriedly. "I just thought it would have came up."

"Quinny, why didn't you tell him?" Ethan asked.

Quinn's face flushed a dark red. "I don't know, it's not exactly something you blurt out on a first date, besides why do I need to tell people that. I'm sure most people can figure it out on their own." Quinn said in response to her father.

"So you two have been on a date and you didn't even tell me?" Asked the boy about Luke's age.

Quinn grimanced. "Yes we have, and Ansel, I don't need to tell you every single detail of my dating life. That's a little weird."

"It's on television anyway, you're basically on a reality TV show. You can't accuse me of being the weird one." Ansel said. "So, have you kissed yet?" He asked eagerly. The news of Luke and Quinn's date hadn't made it to the Report or magazines simply because it was boring to read about, and there were no pictures of the date. Luke had read something about it on a thread about his selection, but no credible news company had decided to run the story, instead focusing on the Go-Kart date the very next day.

Quinn turned red, and seemed unable to answer her brother's question. "Um, yes, we have." Luke supplied for her.

"Wow, how about that for a first kiss." Ansel said.

"It's not my first kiss, you moron." Quinn said to him angrily.

"Children, please." Was all Jackson said, but Quinn and Ansel quieted down. Quinn was probably embarrassed that she had fought with her brother in front of him, but Luke didn't mind. It was no different than what went on between Farrah and him behind closed doors.

"So, Mr. Fraser, where do you work?" Luke asked hurriedly to change the subject.

"I'm a muralist. Most of the time I do commissions for art shows or new restaurants, apparently murals are a staple of restaurant decor when they want to appeal to the younger crowd." Jackson told him.

Luke had never actually been to a restaurant where there were murals, his parents opted for more formal atmospheres, and even when Luke went by himself, he still wasn't allowed to go to the more edgy restaurants, and if they had a bar...well, that was an automatic no for him. He could only be seen at places that were dignified and classy.

"That's awesome. I've seen a few of those restaurant murals, they always look amazing." Luke said. "Did you teach Quinn how to do murals?"

Jackson seemed to swell with pride. "Yes, when she was younger she always wanted to come to work with me, I suppose that rubbed off on her."

"Best teacher I ever had." Quinn said dryly.

Luke smiled. "My dad taught me how to draft legislation, so I think you're definitely ahead in that department." He told her.

"Neither of the children seemed to want to learn how to play an instrument, despite how many times I tried to teach them." Ethan said.

"Pappa, you know I wasn't any good." Ansel complained loudly.

"I wasn't either. I bet Luke is better at piano then I am." Quinn said.

Luke felt a sharp nail tap him on the shoulder, and turned around to see his sister standing behind him. She addressed the family with a small smile, "May I borrow my brother for a second?" She asked. It wasn't really a question, and Luke allowed her to pull him away without waiting for an answer from Quinn or the rest of her family.

Once he was out of earshot Luke clutched his shoulder. "Ow. That hurt by the way." He said.

"No it didn't, stop being dramatic." Farrah rolled her eyes at him. She was holding a glass of yellow liquid that looked like champagne, but Luke was fairly sure that it was just lemonade. She was wearing flats, her heels would sink into the grass, and seemed even smaller than usual. Still, her gaze was steely.

"What do you want?" Luke asked.

" Go talk to Faye's father. I need to speak with him soon, and I would really prefer if you were out of the way when it happened You do have a habit of complicating things for me." Farrah told him bluntly.

Luke looked at the small corner where Faye sat with her father. They were barely speaking, and Faye seemed to be trying to distance herself from him as much as possible. No one had approached the pair, something about her father's aura seemed to be scaring everyone off. It was quite obvious from the wide berth that Sam's family and Sable's family gave them.

"I don't want to." Luke whined. "He looks scary."

"Looks scary- oh my God. Grow up Luke." Farrah said angrily. "You know what, I don't have time for this. Go over with Daddy for all I care."

Luke considered his sister's suggestion. He knew it was meant to be an insult, but it really wasn't a bad idea when he stopped to think about it. "Sure, I'll go with Dad." He agreed quickly. He saw annoyance flash over Farrah's face.

Still, she said "Fine." She turned to go wave Bennet over, when Luke stopped her.

"One more thing, why'd you tell everyone Ophelia was sick?" He asked.

"Come on Luke, this one is quite easy even for you. I didn't want to see her. I hope your not planning on keeping her here after I get all the documents sorted." Farrah said, scoffing slightly.

"No, I...I think I want to eliminate her." Luke said quietly. To her credit, Farrah didn't outright smile, ut a look of happiness settled over her face. "I don't think I could be with someone who lied to me like that. I can't trust her after that. I mean, who knows what else she could be lying about? Maybe her real name isn't Ophelia, maybe it's something like...Janet."

"I doubt her name is Janet, but that's fair. Send her home after family day, I should have all records of her gone by then." Farrah agreed. "Now, let me go get Daddy and you can go talk to Solomon. Then I can finally get rid of this ludicrous cult."

"Great, I just have one question." Luke said. "Who's Solomon?"

"Her father, you idiot." Farrah said, rolling her eyes before going to get their father.

"Your Highnesses." Solomon said, bowing quickly. It was nothing more than a small jerk of his head, he clearly didn't feel the need to actually bow. The way he addressed them was full of more scorn than respect, he clearly despised the royal family. Luke could tell even from his two words.

Luke was suddenly grateful that his dad was standing behind him. He wouldn't have been able to go through this meeting without him.

Luke extended his hand, and Solomon shook it quickly, squeezing it hard. Luke tried to hold back a wince. Up close, this man was downright scary. His hair was long, reaching far past his shoulders in dark brown waves. His eyes had a wild, almost feral look in them that slid fear into Luke's stomach. His beard was long, but well-kept, only adding to the frightful picture.

He didn't resemble Faye, except for the eyes. Their eyes were the same dark brown color, the same shape. Only Faye's held warmth and joy, unlike her father's. Still, it was clear that they were biologically related, so it must have been Faye's mother who was from New Asia.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Zhao." Luke said politely, lying through his teeth.

"It's Mr. Reuben actually. Didn't you bother to learn the families' names before they came, boy?" Solomon asked.

Luke's face flushed a dark red, but luckily Bennet spoke up, saving Luke from having to answer. "My son has been very busy, Mr. Reuben. I think we can excuse this common mistake?"

"Ah, yes. Faye told me that you took a vacation to Spain. How was it?" He asked.

"The coronation ceremony was beautiful." Luke said, making sure that Solomon knew that it hadn't been a vacation. He would have stayed home had he been given a choice. Still, he had to be there. This man didn't have to be so accusatory about it.

"Luke translated it for me." Faye said, speaking for the first time. "It was very kind of him Papa." She said simply.

"Our tax dollars are hard at work." Solomon muttered. This was one of his potential father-in-laws? Luke didn't know what to say in response to that, and Faye seemed equally as decided the best route would be to say nothing, and an awkward silence settled over the four of them. Faye fiddles\d with the hem of her shirt, and Luke dug his shoes into the grass.

"What is your profession, Mr. Reuben?" Bennet asked to change the topic and to rescue them from this unpleasant silence. He placed his hand on Luke's shoulder to reassure him that this would be over soon. Farrah might have scoffed at him, but as childish as it seemed, Luke was happy his Dad was with him.

"I'm a priest, Your Highness." Solomon said simply.

"Ah. And what religion do you follow?" Bennet asked, as if he didn't already know the answer to that question Faye shot Luke a look, and he shrugged in response. He didn't exactly know where Bennet was going with this, but it was better than having the attention focused on him.

"I doubt you've heard of it, but Deuxoccodium. It has a moderately sized following, for being established only a few years ago that is." Solomon said. Luke suddenly understood what his dad's goal was. He was trying to get as much information as possible.

"I think I've heard my daughter mention it a few times. Wasn't there recently some trouble regarding a baptism?" Bennet asked.

Solomon shrugged. "Not that I can remember." He said evenly.

"Are you sure, Papa?" Faye asked.

"What do you mean dear?" He asked, turning to her.

"Didn't Leslie Ottoman die during the baptism about a month ago?" Faye challenged, seeing if her father would answer her honestly, trying to see what possible explanation he had.

"I'm not doing this here Faye." Solomon said.

"And didn't Mason Chen die a few weeks ago during one of the ceremonies?" Faye asked again.

"Faye-" Solomon started.

She cut him off. "No, I want answers. Tell me what happened. Please Papa, I need to know what happened. Please." She said.

Bennet gently squeezed Luke's shoulder, before whispering in his ear. "Perhaps it's time we go." he said, nodding his head towards a point away from the fighting father and daughter.

"Sure." Luke agreed morosely, he followed his father, sparing a glance at the mess he had indirectly caused.

Thank God everyone else was preoccupied, or Luke would have a hell of a lot explaining to do.

A/N: So here we met the first three families. Sydney's wonderfully normal family, Quinn's dads, and Faye's well...you know what, I think that doesn't need an explanation. I know it has been almost two weeks since the last update and I am so, so, so sorry. I'm going to go back to twice a week updates, so expect the next chapter on Sunday.

Joke: What's brown, hairy, and wears sunglasses?

A coconut on vacation.