Three felt odd as she stared into the big empty room, the room that had been hers almost since hatching, the room that had been her sanctuary for sixteen years. Off to the side was the only item left, her bed, the bed her mother used to tuck her into, read her a story, sing her to sleep.
If Three was honest with herself, she didn't want to leave it, didn't want to step out of her comfort zone, this familiar place, into a new phase of life, didn't want to grow up. She wanted to be that little girl again, sit in her mother's lap, wrestle with her dad, bake cookies with her iya. She wanted to do it all over again. Even if she couldn't change the past, she wanted to go back and cherish every moment.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. Her father was there, smiling kindly at her. "The van just left. Time to go, sweetie."
Three bit her lip, trying to keep her emotions under control, but she couldn't prevent the sad blues filling her mantle. She hugged him tightly, desperately. She was scared.
"You'll be just fine," he whispered, hugging her back. "You were right, you need this."
A brief flicker of green through her otherwise blue mantle was her silent response. Gradually, it transitioned back to her natural green, a match for his, and then she stood up straight. It was time to go.
Her father handed her the tattered old backpack she had been using since she turned fourteen. She smiled a little when she spotted the dark brown stain on one of the straps, a reminder of the first time she had gone out hiking with Callie and Marie and they started peppering each other with berries.
She looped it around her shoulders and gave her father a firm nod before they went together down the stairs.
Her iya was waiting for them by the back door, holding her purse tightly in her hands. The bulge in her middle showed clearly through her otherwise loose shirt. She looked like she had been crying a little.
"All ready to go?" She asked in a brave voice. Three flashed green and they departed the house.
"I have to drive," Three said as they headed to the back lane. "I know the way."
Her father sighed and made a show of reluctantly handing her the keys. "Just had to borrow my car one more time, eh?"
Three smiled as she accepted the keyes. "Just think of it as one more memory, Dad."
Three carefully placed her bag into the footwell of the back seat and got into the driver's position. This would be a new thing for her, taking her parents to Callie and Marie's house, a place she had been keeping secret for two years.
It was just after ten in the morning on a Saturday. Rush hour traffic would be gone but a lot of people would be going shopping around now. Three decided to cut through downtown, which had less traffic.
The whole way, her parents peppered her with questions like how often she had been to Callie and Marie's house, if she had spent any nights there, and what kinds of things they would do for fun. About halfway there, her mother started going into a lecture about how girls behave during second puberty and warned Three to watch herself around the two, emphasizing that whatever she learned in school didn't do it justice.
The lecture continued until they finally pulled up to the gate leading into Calamari Castle.
"Moving in at last eh?" The guard asked as he scanned Three's pass then handed her the binder.
"Yeah, I guess it was going to happen eventually." She handed the binder to her father and told both her parents to sign in. A few more quick words with the guard and then she handed the binder back. He gave it a quick scan, smiled and then gave her a two-fingered salute before going back to the guardhouse, signaling the other guard inside to open the gate.
"He seems nice," her iya said as they drove through, a suggestive tone in her voice.
"He is." Three made herself sound as flat and uninterested as possible.
Less than a minute later, Callie and Marie's bungalow came into view. The moving van was parked on the driveway and the three movers were hustling boxes through the front door. They looked excited.
Three parked the car at the curb and then retrieved her bag from the backseat while her father helped her iya out of the car.
Aside from the movers, Calamari Castle was fairly peaceful today. The sun was shining, a few lawn sprinklers were running and the sound of lawn mowers could be heard from nearby streets. The breeze, though cool, was gentle, and Three closed her eyes to feel it gently washing over her face.
It had been two weeks since the rescue operation, just a little over two-weeks since she had told her parents about Callie and Marie. They still didn't know they were anu eelae, but that could come later.
"Awfully normal looking neighbourhood for being one full of rich people," her father commented.
"But the houses have so much more square footage than normal," her iya said.
Three opened her eyes and moved alongside her parents, walking them to the house.
"It also has an indoor pool," Three said. "It's a great place to relax in. Maybe you can use it a couple of times before you have your eggs, iya."
She smiled. "Thank you for the thought, honey, but I'll be spending at least a month in a tank with those eggs and whatever comes out of them. I'm not really in any hurry to go swimming."
They gently moved past the movers and entered the familiar bungalow. The boxes were placed in a neat pile just to the right of the entrance. Callie and Marie were already in the process of moving the boxes from the entranceway to the former guest bedroom that was now her bedroom.
Three removed her shoes and gestured her parents to a nearby couch. One of the movers carried in a box and she accepted it from him, carrying it to the bedroom. She passed Callie coming back the other way and received a pat on the head from the older girl. Marie was still inside the room, just putting a box down. She gave her a smile and displayed a welcoming green in her mantle which Three returned. Yes, this was her home now, her new sanctuary for the foreseeable future.
Three didn't have many possessions so the movers were quickly done unloading and left. Three, her father, and the Squid Sisters then went about moving the rest of the boxes into the bedroom and then Callie offered to make some tea while Marie showed her parents around the house.
While that happened, Three went to her new bedroom and unzipped her backpack. Inside were some of her more delicate and precious belongings. A small box containing jewelry she almost never wore, a stuffed toy she had since she was a toddler, and various similar items. She reached inside and pulled out a thin rectangular object wrapped in protective cloth, the most priceless thing she had.
She removed the cloth to reveal her mother's smiling face and gently brushed her fingers over the protective glass. "Guess I finally moved out, Mama," she whispered. "At least I didn't have to run away from home like you did. I bet that makes you happy."
She pressed the picture frame to her forehead and then placed the picture carefully on the night table next to the bed. She leaned her bag against the wall and glanced around the room again, noting, not for the first time, how much larger it was than her old one. Having all her stuff there, even still in boxes, seemed to drive that point home.
Callie's call came from the kitchen just as she left the room. "Three, tea's ready."
Everyone else was already back in the living room. Her parents sat on the couch chatting lightly with Marie while Callie poured the tea.
There was something so alleviating about seeing the four of them interacting together, people from two parts of her life she thought would always have to be separate from each other. True, there were some secrets that would probably never be shared between the two, but she could live with that. At least her parents hadn't asked why everyone called her "Three."
She was just about to sit down when the doorbell rang. She raised an eyebrow towards Callie and Marie, mantle yellow but they flashed blue and Marie displayed green with spots of red, telling her to investigate.
Three turned and headed to the front door.
This is my job now. I'm a bodyguard. This is what I need to do.
Three looked through the peephole in the door and was surprised at who she saw on the other side.
She pulled open the door and Pearl burst inside.
"Hey everybody! The party's here!"
Heads snapped up from the living room. Marie's mantle turned dark blue with splotches of brown while Callie laughed and got up to greet their guests as they came in, mantle a warm yellow.
Marina came next, smiling apologetically for Pearl's boisterous behavior even as the diminutive inkling clasped hands with Callie. Eight emerged slowly, left hand resting on a cane. She smiled at Three and Three smiled back.
"Pearl insisted," she whispered.
"I figured. Gotten used to the cane yet?"
Eight shrugged and spun the hooked stick in place. "I am getting used to it, but I will be glad when I no longer need it. It makes it difficult to perform my maid duties."
Three smiled and reached out to gently caress one of her tentacles. It wasn't a conscious thing, her hand just did it naturally. More and more she caught herself doing these things around Eight over the past two weeks.
"Want to sit down?"
"No," Eight sighed. "But I have been walking a lot today so I do need to rest my leg."
Three offered her hand and Eight accepted it, allowing herself to be assisted to one of the couches. It was fortunate that the house had been designed with the intent of entertaining numerous guests. A typical home's living room would not have been able to seat so many so comfortably.
She managed to avoid flinching when her iya looked in her direction. There was a pause and then a knowing smile on her lips. Three couldn't stop the heat from rising to her cheeks or the embarrassed pink that ripped through her mantle.
They sat down on the last empty couch, Eight favouring her right leg. Even then and despite her embarrassment, Three didn't let go of her hand.
Callie and Marie left the room to fetch their new guests some cups and to brew some more tea. Pearl and Marina also became conspicuously silent.
Three groaned inwardly, knowing what she was expected to do. She didn't dare look directly in Pearl's direction, she could practically hear the older girl grinning.
She looked directly across the sitting area to her parents. Her iya was calmly sipping tea while her father looked a bit puzzled and surprised at all the celebrities his wallflower daughter seemed to know.
Three flashed orange to get his attention and gave Eight's hand a light squeeze. Eight looked at her with an expression asking what was wrong. Three took a deep breath and summoned every ounce of courage she could muster, imagining Callie and Marie listening and waiting from the kitchen.
Just let it all out at once and get it over with.
"Iya, Dad, this is Hachiko, my girlfriend."
She felt Eight suddenly tense up. Only then did Three realize that Eight probably had no idea what her parents looked like and only now understood just who these other people were.
Three kept her head down but glanced up to the couch across the room, doing her best to ignore the rising anxiety inside her.
Her father looked shocked, as if he'd suddenly been convinced the world was flat. Her iya, by contrast, smiled broadly and switched her gaze to Eight.
"Nice to meet you, Hachiko. I'm Purdie Scarletteri, Cortina's iya. The slack jawed one next to me is my husband, Dekin; her father."
Eight's grip on Three's hand tightened considerably and she bowed her head abruptly.
"I-i-it is an honor to meet you. I am Hachiko Brath Stonefeller Connko Turfer. I have the pleasure of courting your daughter."
Her iya chuckled lightly. "My, you are a polite young lady aren't you?"
Pearl groaned. "Is everyone going to say that?" Marina laughed while Eight blushed at the praise and fidgeted in her seat.
Three regarded her father, who still hadn't said anything. Her iya gave him a shake and he snapped out of his stunned silence.
"Uh, nice to meet you, I'm Dekin."
Three huffed. "It isn't that surprising is it, Dad?"
"Uh.. no, of course not, sweetheart, it's just… unexpected. You never even told us you were dating."
"Because I wasn't. We just started."
Her iya laughed. "Well, you never expressed interest in the idea of romance until very recently, given how shy you've always been. We certainly wouldn't have expected you to be dating an octoling."
Three frowned, and something pulled at her stomach. "Is that a problem?"
"Of course not. It's just surprisingly adventurous of you. You're normally a very cautious girl who tends to dip her toe into things for ages before putting a whole foot in."
Callie's laugh was heard and she reentered the living room with a fresh pot of tea.
"Yeah, she's not exactly the type to jump in headfirst. Still, she has a strong sense of righteousness, and nobody can stop her when she feels strongly about something."
"So I've noticed."
Marie arrived with more cups and saucers, and Callie began to pour.
"Just means it'll make the relationship more interesting," Pearl said. "Makes it more unique and special too, I guess."
"I suppose."
Three eyed her iya carefully, noticing her brown mantle turn a shade lighter with an underlying layer of yellow. Then her iya asked, "Are you speaking from experience?"
Pearl blanched and Three had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Marina's face darkened significantly and averted her gaze, covering her cheeks with her hands.
"I noticed the ring," Her iya went on. "It's quite pretty."
Pearl and Marina both flinched and Three saw Marina gently grasp a small ring on her left hand with a large red gemstone in the centre, twisting it slightly on her hand.
"Iya," Three warned. "Take it easy."
"Oh, I'm just complimenting her, dear. People should feel comfortable about their relationships. Besides, she isn't the first girl to wear a promise ring."
Pearl frowned, her wits somewhat recollected. "How did you know it was a promise ring?"
A shrug. "Instinct, I suppose."
Callie giggled and sat on one of the chairs. "Makes me glad I'm single." Marie flashed green in agreement.
"Just wait till you two start dating," Pearl said. "I'm gonna' tease you mercilessly!"
"Oh?" Marie asked, amusement rippling in her mantle. "It's war, is it?"
"Scared?"
"Not really?"
Three leaned back in her seat, sighing. Eight looked at her and smiled. "This is the family we chose."
"Yeah, I know," Three whispered back. "Regrets now?"
"Of course not." She leaned back alongside her and gave her hand a squeeze. "After what we went through to get here, this is nothing. My love for you is much stronger than that."
Three flushed and slowly squeezed her hand right back. "What did I do to deserve you?"
Eight giggled. "It is not about deserving. I love you. Isn't that a good enough reason?"
"I don't know," Three admitted. "Maybe it's just my anxiety coming back. I just know that I'm glad you love me and I don't want to be without you." She frowned. "You know I'm not good with words."
Eight leaned her head on her shoulder and sighed contentedly. "You do not have to be. Your actions have always been more than enough for me."
Three felt an odd pressure seem to come off of her chest and she found herself relaxing as Eight leaned against her. She didn't know how this relationship would go but for now, she decided to simply enjoy having someone she cared about so much with her. So, she leaned her head on Eight's and the two of them simply witnessed another way people showed their love, as their families bickered and teased.
Author's Notes:
Well, that's it for the story proper. There will still be an epilogue to read that will allude to the sequel so make sure to keep an eye out for that.
I hope this story is more satisfying than the last one was with the promise of the story fulfilled in a likeable way. I might not have managed quite the same with Pearl and Marina's relationship but at least there are possibilities for the future.
The sequel will be a bit different from this story but I hope you'll still enjoy it.
Remember, there's still the epilogue left.