Cassandra was the first to awaken the next morning as the events from the previous day came flooding back, and what a day it was. The harassment, Joseph and Mandy confronting their parents, Miranda adopting them, and the celebrations they had of their achievements. It was a lot to take in, and the headache she had from the champagne last night wasn't helping either.

With a groan, she slowly opened her eyes to see Joseph fast asleep, a sight that made her smile. This man had done so much for her and her family without asking for anything in return, all while enduring a tremendous amount of pain himself. She felt blessed to be called his girlfriend.

She didn't want to disturb him. So she slowly and carefully unraveled herself from him (which was hard due to how sore she was from last night) and got dressed into some morning clothes before making her way downstairs. The other lords had gone home last night, but she was still surprised that she seemed to be the first one up, which never happened. The events from last night must have done everyone in.

She wanted to go to the castle's library to start researching how to start the business she had in mind, but she knew that would make her headache worse. So instead, she decided to make herself breakfast.

As she entered the kitchen, she saw Julia was already up and making some coffee.

"Good morning, Lady Cassandra." She greeted her. "I'm making some coffee for everyone as I imagine all that champagne wasn't kind to your body.

The brunette nodded.

"You would be correct. Thanks, Julia. You're a lifesaver." She said as she accepted a cup and took a sip.

The maid nodded in return.

"My pleasure. Shall I start making breakfast?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could join you. I want to start working on my culinary skills more."

Julia shook her head.

"I insist that you nurse your hangover, Lady Cassandra. Such activity would make it worse. Perhaps dinner tonight would be better?"

"Yeah, good point. Alright, I'll go sit at the table. Thanks again, Julia."

"My pleasure, Lady Cassandra." The maid said as she bowed.

As the brunette went back to the dining room, she saw that Bela was there now too, also rubbing her temples.

"You too huh? You're in luck though. Julia is making coffee for everyone to help with their hangovers." Cassandra said to her sister.

"Oh, that's music to my ears. She is definitely getting a raise." Bela said as she slowly stood up and headed to the kitchen.

Before long, everyone was seated at the dining room table with a cup of coffee in hand and talking about last night's events. It didn't take long for Joseph to bring up what he and Cassandra had talked about before bed.

"So last night, Cassie and I talked about things that we and everyone could do for the future, since we have managed to make peace with our pasts now, and she said that she wanted to open her own outdoorsman's store in the village."

"Oh, that's a wonderful idea Cassandra." Elena Said. "That would be a great way for you to interact with others and share your hobbies with them."

Joseph nodded before continuing.

"This got me thinking though. What if it wasn't just Cassie that did it? What if we all got involved with this? What if we expanded the Dimitrescu name to include not just the winery, but this new business idea as well?"

This got everybody's attention and they all leaned in to show that.

"How so, Joseph?" Miranda asked. Since she was becoming his and Mandy's Godmother, she insisted that she stay at the castle with them, which Alcina and the two siblings had no problem with.

Joseph took a breath.

"Okay, Cassie likes to hunt and I like to fish, so we can run those parts while also offering lessons to people. Raphael could help with the hunting part while Moreau could help with the fishing part. Bela and Elena want to go into tailoring so they and Donna can make outdoor clothes and maybe even merchandise for people.

"Mandy wants to do sports, and it seems Daniela wants to do that too. They can run the fitness part of it with canoe, kayaks, you name it. Heisenberg can help us make the equipment and gear as he's definitely able to make whatever we need.

"Lastly, Alcina and Miranda can be the 'ship's Generals' so to speak, helping with satisfying customers, paperwork, finances, you name it. They are definitely better…the best qualified for that in my opinion."

Joseph stumbled on that last part as he didn't want Cassandra to pull his ear again. He looked over to his girlfriend who winked at him.

The rest of the table seemed intrigued and amazed by his offer.

"You clearly put a lot of thought into this, Joseph. This plan of yours is very solid, and it sounds like it will benefit everyone involved." Alcina said.

Miranda nodded in agreement.

"For sure, but I'm confused about something. I thought martial arts were your thing, Joseph. You don't want to have that be part of the business?" She asked.

Joseph shook his head.

"That was just part of my teachings to help me get better. Though with that said, I don't see why I couldn't include self defense lessons as well. I mean, I already have been teaching Cassie, Bela, and Dani."

The brunette perked up.

"That reminds me. You still owe me katana lessons."

Alcina sighed.

"Cassandra, this is not the time for that. Nurse your hangover first before holding such a dangerous weapon."

Mandy smirked.

"Yeah, we don't want you hurting your leg again. I sure as hell am not giving up my wheelchair."

The brunette glared at her as she giggled, but Daniela looked disappointed.

"You mean you don't want me to carry you everywhere?" The redhead asked.

Mandy turned to her girlfriend and blushed before turning back to Cassandra.

"Actually, screw it. You can cut your leg off for all I care."

"Mandy!" Miranda scolded her new Goddaughter, which made her laugh.

"Relax. I'm joking. I would never want Cassie to do that to herself. You know that."

The Priestess just sighed

"Why do I have a feeling my hair isn't going to be blonde for much longer now?"

Alcina chuckled

"I think you'll be fine. I've had my daughters for years and my hair hasn't turned gray."

"Despite our best efforts." Bela joked.

Now it was Alcina's turn to sigh as everyone chuckled now. Joseph suddenly perked up and faced Cassandra.

"That reminds me. You never told me the story of when Daniela tried high diving into the lake the other year."

Alcina's head shot to him with her eyes wide.

"We do not speak of that!" She proclaimed.

Now Mandy faced the redhead.

"Wait, you did that, babe? Oh, do tell us!" She snickered.

"Mandy, please." Alcina begged, causing Daniela to giggle.

"I'll tell you guys later. My mother is traumatized by it enough as is." She said.

"Deal."

There was a pause in the conversation as Leonardo came out with some other maids to serve everyone his iconic pancakes before Elena invited him to take a seat. The castle had received quite a few new staff members in recent weeks but it still had a way to go.

As everyone ate their food, Miranda broke the silence.

"I think we should go forward with Joseph's idea, assuming everyone is in agreement of course."

Everyone nodded to confirm this.

"We should start making plans now then to get the ball rolling, but I don't think we should actually start building anything until we get that chair lift for Mandy ready, which I believe it almost is." Alcina said.

"Yay! I can finally see what the upstairs looks like!" Mandy said excitedly. She had been wanting to go there since she arrived, and Alcina wouldn't let Daniela carry the raven haired girl upstairs so the wait was excruciating for her now.

Bela had a thought and she swallowed her food before speaking.

"There's two things we need to figure out though. Where would this store be, and what do we call it?"

Elena perked up.

"What about Otto's Mill? Nobody uses it anymore and it's a huge building too so it would be perfect."

Leonardo shook his head.

"No Elena. One of those giants lives there, remember?"

"Giants?" Joseph asked

Miranda's face got more serious.

"Lycans that mutated to massive sizes. There are four in total, and one of them lives in Otto's Mill, which is an old meat processing building."

The Priestess then smiled.

"But I would say he's been there long enough. I'll head over there after breakfast and take care of him."

Leonardo chuckled.

"Ah yes, I forgot. He probably wouldn't be much of a challenge for you, would he?"

Miranda chuckled back.

"Not at all. So you need not worry. That building will be cleared and ready to be renovated by noon."

Bela smiled and nodded before turning back to the rest of the group.

"Okay. That just leaves the name. What should we call it?"

There was a long silence as everyone thought hard about what to call their new business. It was surprisingly harder to do than they thought. Finally, Cassandra spoke up.

"What about 'Koi Fish Outdoors'? I think that would work.

Joseph got a huge smile on his face at that suggestion, but everyone else looked confused.

"I don't understand. Why that name in particular?" Miranda asked.

Joseph turned to his new Godmother.

"In Japanese culture, the Koi Fish is a symbol of perseverance, transformation, and good fortune. They're supposed to inspire us to overcome obstacles and achieve success by standing strong and never giving up. That perfectly represents all of us."

Hearing this explanation, everyone smiled and looked at each other while nodding.

"It's settled then." Alcina said. "Koi Fish Outdoors has officially been founded!"

Everyone clapped in excitement at the creation of their new business officially taking shape.

"Oh! I already have an idea for a shirt you can make, Bela!" Mandy said.

Joseph narrowed his eyes.

"We're not doing 'bear slayer' shirts, Mandy. I really don't want to encourage people to do that."

Cassandra laughed.

"That's bullshit, babe. You're the one, true bear slayer."

Now it was Mandy's turn to laugh.

"You speak the truth, but he's right. It wouldn't be a good idea. With all seriousness, I was actually going to suggest a shirt that displayed some kind of nature painting, like something Bob Ross would make.

Alcina smiled.

"I'll handle that. I haven't painted something in ages and I would love to start that hobby again. I've heard of this Bob Ross fellow. Who is he?"

Mandy and Joseph both gave The Countess a smile.

"Let's just say he has a positive attitude more contagious than even Duke's. You'll see." Joseph said.