Hello people and welcome back to my domaine! My update schedule is set in place, for those of you who didn't know. I will update every three or so days. However, under my circumstances I will often not be able to keep up with this, but I will try my best. So, as usual all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all ideas! See you guys later!
See you guys in a bit,
-Tytonic
Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.
Return of the Myriapods
Prologue II
The soft cries of a newly born child rang throughout the hospital corridors, announcing the arrival of a new generation. Gregor, who was at Luxa's side, could never have imagined it possible to be so worried. While the birth of a child usually went without issue in the overland, the underland was a different story. Defects or sicknesses were much more common, and as such the chances of his child's survival were far less than desirable.
Howard, the only doctor Gregor trusted with this, set a silk bundle in Gregor's hands and announced, "Your daughter, my king."
Holding the bundle firmly, but gently, Gregor turned to Luxa. "Not my daughter. Our daughter."
Luxa had a beautiful smile on her face. It was a special one, one he had only seen one other time: when they had first made love to each other. A tear formed in the corner of Luxa's eye; not out or sorrow, but out of joy.
"Our. . . daughter." she mumbled, as if testing the words. Her tears then began to flow freely. "She's beautiful."
The flash of a camera went off [1], however Gregor nor Luxa noticed; they were too absorbed in the moment. Not only was this baby their first child, but she was also proof of their love, and the new princess of Regalia.
"What should we name her?"
"Holly." Gregor responded.
"And why is that?"
"Holly is a plant in the overland. It represents Christmas, a time of joy, happiness, and love. A time you spend with your loved ones." He explained.
"It is. . ." She paused for a moment. "Perfect. Our beautiful daughter, Holly."
Two years later. . .
As the car pulled into the driveway, Gregor's anticipation grew even more. It had been three years since he had last seen his parents or siblings, and he missed them sorely. Due to his duties as king, and his daughter, he had been unable to visit them. Normally, he would not have a means to get to Virginia, but Mrs. Cormaci had so kindly offered to drive him and Luxa.
As eager as he was, he was also very worried. Two years had passed and he had yet to tell his parents of their granddaughter [2]. His mom was highly against him getting married at the age of sixteen, so he could only imagine her reaction when she discovers that he had a child at seventeen. It was a truly horrifying thought.
As Gregor stepped out of the car, he rushed over to the other side, where he helped Luxa by taking Holly, who loved to squirm while being held.
Walking up to the front door, Gregor rang the doorbell. His family was expecting them, so he did not need to worry about surprising them too much. Albeit, having a child kind of spoiled that thought.
He could hear frantic steps behind the door, and soon after some banging noises and high-pitched yelps. Meg probably fell down the stairs, as she often used too.
Moments later, the door was yanked open, and a bouncing mass crashed into, arms wrapping around him. He eagerly returned the hug as best he could, due to the child in his arms.
"Hey Liz, long time no see!" He gasped out between breaths. For such a small girl, she was strong. "How's it going?"
She pulled away, although she was still bouncing with excitement. "Everything is great! I have so much to tell youuuu. . ." She stretched out her final word as she noticed Holly.
"Awww,she'ssocute!What'shername?Issheyourdaughter?She'saprincessright?Howoldisshe?" Lizzie couldn't seem to get her questions out fast enough. She was a very shy person, but apparently seeing her brother for the first time in years got her riled up.
"Woah, slow down Liz, one question at a time. I'll tell everybody at dinner, okay?" She eagerly bobbed her head up and down in response.
Within the next few minutes, Gregor, Luxa, and Mrs. Cormaci endured the same greetings from the entire family. Gregor did not miss the look in his mothers eyes when she saw Holly. He was going to get a huge lecture later.
Aside from the momentary look in his mothers eyes, everybody was very joyful, and fell in love with Holly immediately. She seemed to love the attention too. However, it was clear that everybody was waiting for an explanation.
All too soon, dinner came along, and Gregor began to get more nervous. He knew that his explanation would be fine, and his family wouldn't be mad or anything, but that didn't ease his anxiety. Luxa clearly noticed this, and held his hand underneath the table.
"So, yeah, I guess we have a lot to explain, don't we?" He asked. "Well, I'll start with what you all want to know the most. So, everybody, this is Holly. She is two years old, and as you can tell, she is our daughter." He claimed, as he leaned closer to Luxa to emphasize his point.
"She looks like you, Luxa!" Lizzie observed. "But where did the black hair and blue eyes come from?"
It was true, Holly had jet black hair, like Ares once had. She also had amazing eyes. They were blue, unlike her parents. They were such a sharp vibrant blue that you would think somebody drew them with a marker. It was weird, because nobody in Gregor nor Luxa's family had black hair or blue eyes.
"Honestly, I don't know. I think it has something to do with her being a halflander. Apparently the genes mix differently." He explained. "But I like it; it suits her well."
"She is also very similar to you, Lizzie. While you cannot tell from brief periods of time spent with her, she is very smart for her age." Luxa paused for a moment. "She is very shy, as well. While she does not appear so, she very rarely speaks. However, when she does, she can speak very fluently for her age."
This was also very true. Holly looked like a girl who would talk often, and would always engage in activities. However, she would always avoid other children and would only speak to her parents, or their bonds. This, along with her different hair and eye colors, resulted in her lack of friends. Gregor and Luxa were not too worried though. Hazard had gotten friends, and he was a halflander after all. The only friend she had so far was a flier named Nyx, who was only half a year old. However, fliers matured faster, so she was around the same age as Holly in bat years.
Nyx was a jet black bat, whose fur was dark gray in a few patches on her back. She had lightning blue eyes, much like Holly. Nyx was also the goddess of night, which was very appropriate, seeing that this particular bat could disappear without a trace in the blink of an eye. She was the very personification of stealth.
It was clear that Nyx was going to be Holly's bond when she gets older. They are very similar; Nyx is very shy, yet smart, much like Holly, and Holly tends to disappear without a trace often as well. Holly even gave Nyx a nickname, which was very unusual for her. She tended to call Nyx, Nya, and Nyx seemed to like it. She would not tolerate anybody else calling her that either.
Later that night. . .
It was close to one in the morning when Gregor's mother called him and Luxa out into the living room for a "talk". Gregor had expected this, and had already thought up ways to explain everything to his mother if she asked. Luxa did not seem as worried, but she probably did not understand. Having children at such a young age was common in the underland, after all.
"So, Gregor, would you like to explain why you decided to have a child at such a young age?" His mother questioned. The anger on the edge of her voice was clear, and he knew that this was going to be a long conversation.
Before he could answer, Luxa spoke. "I apologize, but I am not well educated in the ways of the overland. All I can say is that having a child at our age is considered normal in the underland, and as royalty, we are expected to have a heir to the throne. My parents understood this, and were only eighteen when I was born."
His mother seemed to struggle for a response to this, but eventually landed upon the most basic. "But, why?"
Gregor could have answered this, but Luxa seemed determined to make his mother understand. "Because, in the underland, humans do not live as long as those in the overland. While your life expectancy is around eighty or ninety years, ours is only thirty to forty years. In addition, the underland is a very hostile environment, and the likeliness of death is much greater than in the overland."
His mother did not seem to be capable of responding to this. While she would still lecture Gregor, despite what Luxa said, Luxa had completely changed the mood of the conversation, and His mother did not seem like she would push it any further.
"If you do not mind me asking, what exactly happened to your parents?" His mother asked. "It is okay if you don't want to share."
"No, it is okay. I have gotten over it years ago." Luxa began. "My parents went out on a picnic, and I wanted so badly to go. I remember crying when they denied my request. It's just, my parents never came back from the picnic. They were attacked by a group of gnawers, or as you call them rats, while out, and they were both killed, including their entire guard."
His mother seemed to regret asking, and did not respond to this.
"Well, Holly is already here, we both love her more than anything, and we are more than prepared to take care of her. You don't have to worry mom, she will be fine. If anything she will be raised better than any other child, since she is a princess." Gregor explained. "The only thing to worry about is her becoming spoiled."
His mother seemed to think this over a few time before responding. "I guess your right. Even if you cannot take care of her, there are plenty of people to help, like Dulcet, who took care of boots. Just ask me if you need anything at all, though, okay?"
"Okay, we understand. And in addition, Dulcet takes care of her when we cannot, so she is in safe hands." Luxa responded.
The conversation seemed to die out then, and everybody prepared to leave. Before Luxa left, Gregor's mom stopped her. When Gregor cast a questioning gaze her way, she waved him back to their room, so that she could talk to his mother in private.
"Luxa, dear, I know you are a good girl. If you ever need anything, anything at all, just talk to me, okay? As far as I am concerned, your my own daughter, got it?" She explained.
Luxa had long forgotten what it felt like to have a mother, so when she heard these words, they brought tears to her eyes.
She wrapped her arms around her 'mother', and whispered, "Thank you."
"Take it from his mother, Gregor can be quite the handful at times, so take care of him, okay?"
Luxa happily nodded. "Do not worry, he is in good hands."
Grace smiled in response, and kissed Luxa on the forehead before exiting towards her room.
If you looked close enough, you would have seen that smile on Luxa's face, for the third time ever.
Ok, so this thing was a pain to write. I just had a lot of difficulty on it, but I managed. I'm still a little doubtful about the ending, but it's okay. I guess. Sorry that I haven't started the actual story yet, I just felt that this would be a nice addition. Kind of spices it up a bit. So, as usual all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all ideas! See you guys later!
1- Gregor had asked a doctor to take a picture beforehand (he had taken a camera from the museum).
2- They had exchanged a few letters over the years.
Question: How will Holly react to what happened last chapter?
Until next time,
-Tytonic