"So who exactly was that girl you were fighting Kiera?" Eva interrogates once she settles in a seat amongst her kids on a bench.
Aikka had briefly left in order to purchase some ice cream for them.
Kiera catches sight of her twin before she responds to her mother's question after Kieran nods his head as if to give her the go ahead to tell their mom the story.
"Her name is Morose. She has been my so called enemy ever since Kieran and I entered Master Canaan's class."
"She really didn't take too well to me but she instantly fell in love with Kieran once her eyes laid on him." She truthfully answers her mother's question.
"So I'll assume that you've been returning the same attention toward her? And you better not lie to me Kiera." Her mother's voice was stern since she attempted to get to the bottom of why her daughter attacked another girl.
"Yeah, I mean I did do a couple of pranks but nothing that would put her life on the line." Her daughter sincerely discloses.
The pregnant woman releases a breath because she tries to ponder the best way to show Kiera what she did was wrong and that the only time she should retaliate is when someone put their hands on her first.
"Listen Kiera, don't even gawk at what I'm about to make you imagine, but put yourself in Morose place when you pulled that prank on her."
"You wouldn't have liked it either, now would you? So don't pull anymore pranks on people or you won't be going to Oban with us." The raven haired woman with crimson tips threatens her daughter with the privilege of going to Oban.
The brownish red head was about to protest until she spies her brother nods his head in a 'no' fashion as if to warn her that she would only dig her grave even deeper.
"Yes ma'am." The young girl agrees in a sullen tone.
Kiera could not believe that she was being punished for something Morose started with her. She felt that she was ultimately the victim in the situation.
"Good, but like I said earlier, I'm proud that you could hold your own in a fight." The older woman adds while she ruffles her daughter's hair with her hand, which earns a smile on her face.
"Get them before they fall!" Aikka urgently claims.
He held four ice cream with two in each hand when Kieran hopped off the bench and aided his father. He took two of the four cones from his hand.
Eva felt a hard kick from the baby as she slightly wriggled in pain. It did not go unnoticed by her husband who asked, "Did the baby kick again?"
She slowly nods her head as she rubs her stomach with her hand in a clockwise and then counterclockwise fashion, which seems to have soothe the baby whenever it would give her a hard kick.
"Yeah, it got tired of waiting for the ice cream." His wife jokes with a small smile on her face.
The older male could not help but to wear a smile on his face as his twins play along with their mother. He could never envision another woman replacing Eva as his wife and as a nurturer for his unborn and born children.
"Let's get going. We should be getting back to the castle." He says to his family while he helps his wife up to her feet while the twins stand on their feet.
0000
After her subordinates escort Princess Mai to her guestroom on the East Wing of the castle, they brought her personal belongings so Natalie could properly search the guest's items.
"You know what? You're a really good actress."
"Have you every thought about that instead of being a Captain in the military?" A voice coyly suggests before she was about to thoroughly check Princess Mai's belongings.
"Who said I was acting Avatar or even you can't tell when I'm telling the truth or not?"
"Besides, I enjoy my role as a defender to the king and queen." The young woman retorts.
The captain made sure to keep the items neatly in its correct order since she wanted to maintain a sense of hospitality.
The golden figure was briefly silenced before he stared at that solider once again when a thought passed through his head. He leans over and touches her arm when images…painful ones rapidly flies through his mind.
Natalie was feeling the Avatar rummaging through her mind ever since his hand was connecting with her shoulder. She instantly felt betrayed and violated that her privacy had been evaded by him.
"I'm so sorry Natalie. I really didn't mean to probe your thoughts." Jordan quickly apologizes to the young lady but receives no confirmation on whether or not she accepts it.
The raven haired woman merely ignored him and continued to search through Mai's article of clothings.
"It seems quiet in here…how's the search holding up with our guest?" Rick voiced once he realized that it was too quiet in the search room that he could heard a pin fall to the floor.
"It would've gone a whole lot faster if the Avatar didn't shown up and acted like a butt hole by reading my thoughts."
"You know what, dad, can you take over this search? I only have one more bag to go but I might end up killing someone with diplomatic immunity at that time." His daughter snaps once she slams the luggage close and pushes it a little ways off of the table before she leaves the room.
"I didn't know that you were a dad?!" The golden figure conveyed with shock written over his face once he discovered the relationship status between Natalie and Rick.
"So you still don't understand the extent of private thoughts do you, Jordan?" His voice had an edge on it, which signaled to the young man that he was very serious at the moment.
"Just think about it for a moment, what if we could see your private thoughts?"
"Imagine how you would feel if Aikka knew how you were so willing to trample over him and his family. He calls you a close friend and even considers you as a part of his family just to have his wife to yourself."
"That's called a home wrecker to me." The older man systematically outlines his issues.
Natalie overheard what her dad said to the Avatar, which seemed to coincide with the images she saw when his little mind trick backfired at lunch that day.
"I have the right to have those thoughts! Since when could you pass judgment on someone, Rick?"
"If it wasn't for me then Aikka would've never had Eva. She would be in my position watching as someone else loving him while she was bound by law not to be involve with plantery dignitaries." Jordan adamently defends his position.
She soon finds herself in a bind but decides to head to the garden so she could process the conversation between Rick and the Avatar.
"That's the point, knucklehead! Natalie has the right to keep those thoughts from other people because she doesn't want to add people in her burden." His former pilot reprimands him as if he was his own child.
"One last thing...can you explain why I saw a house burning?" The young man suddenly probed about one of the images he saw once he touched Natalie's arm.
"You're truly an idiot Jordan!"
"Did you not hear anything that I just said to you? If you want to know then you need to ask her for yourself." The raven haired male repeats what he says as he shakes his head in utter disbelief.
His eyes noted that Jordan disappeared as a small smile made its way to his face when a thought past through his head, 'He just might have matured...a little.'
0000
Eva feels her children's hand inside of hers while they travel back home. She silently wishes that Kiera would learn from their little talk in the park.
"Isn't that Natalie?" The raven haired woman with crimson tips softly whispers to her husband once they cross the front gate of their home.
It was then that the couple registered that they were a lot more security in the front courtyard of the castle. They caught a glimpse of Natalie stride passed the water fountain before she pushed the gate to the garden open and close.
"Do you want me to go check up on her?" Aikka suggests to his wife after he scoops Kiera in to his arms. The little girl nearly collided with the ground when they trekked up the pathway.
"No, I can handle it. Can you tuck the kids in to bed for me?" The young woman suggests to him. He nods his head in agreement before he removes Kieran's hand from hers.
"Thanks, I owe you one!" His wife thanks him before she places a kiss on their children's cheek and wishes them "sweet dreams" along with "good night".
She then separated herself from her husband and children, which led her to think just how grateful she was to have Aikka as a husband, a father and a mentor to their kids.
The pregnant woman releases a deep breath before she directs her sights to the garden's entrance and exit.
The captain seemed to be angry at something or possibly someone as it caused her to remind her of her younger teen age self.
A streak of golden light soon catches her focus once her hand touches the wrought-iron bars of the gate. She immediately identified the only person, who was able to emit light from their body...Jordan.
"Haven't you already done enough for tonight?" Eva could hear the irritation in her tone once she posed the question to him.
"I'm sorry. I don't quite fully know the extent of my own power yet. I am still rather new at being the Avatar." Jordan answers her question with sincerity or at least from what Eva could hear.
"So is this how you apologize to people after you just probed their minds?" The solider counters with a shake of her head.
"You know what? You aren't a really good Avatar, you know that right?"
"For you to have the gaud to not even admit the truth is just blashphemy. I'm not even going to listen to your watered down excuses anymore." She vehemently opposes his apology.
The queen understood all to well where Natalie came from and could even agree with her view of Jordan.
"Look...you're taking this beyond the point that it needs to be." The Avatar nonchalantly mumbles aloud.
The older woman shakes her head at Jordan's stupidty since he only adds more gasoline to the fire.
"At least, I geninuely felt sorry for you after I witnessed what you weren't able to have once you become the Avatar."
"After your mind technique backfired, your memories never left my head of your undying and unyielding love for Eva! It sickened me to my core that you were willing to trample over Aikka and their kids just so you can have her to yourself!"
"I can't believe that she still thinks of you, a selfish bastard, as a close friend to the family."
"Now, who is the one being biased? Captain that's not like you at all."
"Surely you can't begin to comprehend how you have to unwillingly sacrifice someone that you have wanted for the longest!"
"You don't understand the feeling of having your own personal dreams slipping from within the tips of your fingers because you want to give that someone the life that they so deserved…"
Eva could no longer stand by and listen to their conversation. She immediately decided that it was time for a much needed intervention.
"Hold on you two! Now wait just a minute…you two aren't handling this like the adults that I know you are." Eva's voice caught catches Natalie off guard but Jordan was the one who knew that Eva was there through their entire conversation.
"I apologize Queen Eva but I must return back to the guest that just arrived today." The raven haired woman attempts to excuse herself but she remains firm with her hands on her hips.
"I'm sure Rick can handle your men for a couple of more minutes. Besides, this conversation is extremely toxic for the both of you."
"You need to tell each other how you truly feel about whatever problem you two have with each other or if so God help me, I will make both of your lives miserable." She threatens while she points at both of them with a look use to reprimand her children if they ever act out of line.
"Jordan, you invaded my privacy and no you can't ask me about anything as to what you saw. You are a total jerk and you don't take other people feelings into consideration when you do things."
"I don't want you around me anymore because I find you annoying and a pest. Come around me and I will not hesitate to kick your ass, do you understand me?" The young woman admits with a "try me" expression.
'Wow, that almost sounded like a real threat. I wonder would she follow through with it?' The queen wonders before Jordan shares similar thoughts.
"Natalie, you simply can't understand what I've been through physically and emotionally. You're a very cold-hearted bitch that doesn't see anything other than the big picture because you hardly focus on yourself and expressing your feelings."
"You are going to encounter some severe roadblocks if you aren't aware of how others use you for their own personal gain. You will never be happy with your life." The golden figure responses to Natalie's statement.
The raven haired woman with crimson tips was in total shock at how they just exchanged some very cold and harsh words with one another.
However, she of all people knew that it had to come out eventually or the solider might kill the Avatar for real.
"Are you happy now?" The two inquired in unison as they turned their attention toward the queen with an equally peeved look on both of their faces.
"Although you two exchanged some very negative words with each other, I see that this is the only way for you two to talk about your real feelings about the situation."
"My only request is don't bring that hostility in my house or you will find yourself back to square one." The pregnant woman warns them.
But before they were about to protest, Eva was too fast and cuts them off.
"No ifs, ands or buts about it. Now if you two don't mind, I have to tuck my children in and take myself to bed with my husband." The young woman swiftly cuts them off.
"Queen Eva there is-" "Didn't you just hear what I said a couple of minutes ago Captain?" She questions as her tone was serious before she leaves the pair alone with each other.
Jordan was laughing after realizing that Eva was cutting Natalie completely off when she was trying to tell her something.
It was then that he felt a sudden pain in his lower face or jaw region.
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Author's Notes:
11.27.16 Major editing revision
Major editing cleaning 06.23.17