1. Fortune’s Fancy-
Chapter 1 part 7
A Legacy by Nicbemused
and simself Nicki Bemused
with possible commentary by Other Characters

2. “Huh? “
“What?”
“Mom?”
“What the…”
“Have a seat kids. We’ll explain. Some things happened after
the wedding and it’s a long story.”

3. “Alexandra, I will leave you all alone now to discuss our
contract. Although, I must say that had I know of the genetics
of your children I might have asked for something else. It is a
terrible shame your mother took the power of your line out of
the Circle. Speak swiftly, lest I grow impatient.”

4. And with that, the witch left.

5. It didn’t take them long to find seats, though Leif chose to stand behind Alex to offer his
support.
However, Alex seemed to have a difficult time getting started and finally Brenda broke
the silence. “Um, does someone want to explain what we’re doing here?”
“It’s a long story, but I guess I have to start somewhere. OK. You know I have 2 younger
siblings who were babies when I ran and I try and keep up with them, right?”

6. “Well, I was doing an internet search when I came across a society piece on
Belinda and her husband Andrew. They had just brought their youngest
baby home from the hospital and there was a picture of all of them out in
front of the Fortune family house. I had a sudden urge to contact them. “

7. “Now, I’ve tried to speak with Belinda before and she’s
never been particularly welcoming of my overtures, and
your Papa wasn’t sure I should try again, but they are
family, right? At least that’s what I thought.”

8. “This time Belinda returned my email and suggested we get
together for lunch downtown. I figured we’d finally have a
chance to connect after all these years.”

9. “Your Papa, though, wasn’t so sure. He told me I was a beautiful
and kind woman, but that not everyone was like me, so I should
try to remember not to be too disappointed if the reunion didn’t
go quite as I expected. I told him that of course I wouldn’t be,
but secretly I had hopes.”

10. “The restaurant she chose was a fairly casual lunch place, which I thought
was unlike the woman I’d read about over the years, but you never really
know people from their public profiles after all. And it seemed like an OK
place.”
“Ma’am, may I help you?”

11. “No thank you, I think I see my party.”
“Belinda looked just like her pictures, sitting there coolly,
expertly coiffed and overdressed for family dining. I thought
she might have been nervous and hiding it.”

12. “Hi Belinda, I’m your sister Alex.”
“A few years too late to be sisters, isn’t it?”
“She started off very coolly, but seemed to warm up after a
short time.”

13. “We discussed our families and children and the
directions our lives had taken.

14. “She asked me a bit about our mother and then casually mentioned
that she’d found a codicil for Mama’s will, dating the day of her
death, stating that her personal monies should be shared between
all her children.”

15. “She was sure, she said, that I had not intended to steal Mama’s
money from them, but that I had in fact stolen it and she would
appreciate if I returned her and Robert’s parts of their inheritence to
them.

16. “And so at this point I understood why she had suggested we meet
and I was very disappointed, but I explained that I had not stolen
the money, but that it had been left to me, with no codicil in
evidence and that I couldn’t give it to her if I wanted, due to the
curse. She was not impressed.”

17. “What are you talking about? There is no such thing!”
“Now, I could understand her reluctance to believe in a curse, but I doubted there was any codicil at
all, so I explained again and apologized and said that my understanding was that her father had left
them well off. She wasn’t pleased.”
“That money is as much mine as yours and if you don’t give it to me, you will regret the day you
ever made up that ridiculous story.”
“At that point I was out of patience with her threats and told her it had been interesting meeting her
but I didn’t think we would need to meet again. She continued to issue threats as I left, but I did not
think anything of it. We had met in the city and all she had was my email, not even my phone number.
That was a few days before we came to your wedding and nothing happened to worry me in the mean
time, so your Papa and I left with clear hearts.”

18. “When we returned from the wedding, your Papa and I were very
happy. One son married to a lovely girl who we liked very much
and two grandbabies on the way. The wedding had been
beautiful and you were all growing into excellent adults. ”

19. “Your Papa had a couple of chores to take care of, so I went into the house
alone. I was a bit puzzled as to why the door was unlocked, but not
unduly worried. It was a safe neighborhood, maybe the Nanny had
simply forgotten to lock the door.”

20. “When I came into the house, the Nanny was passed out on the couch.
I couldn’t wait to see my little guy, but he didn’t come running up like
he usually does when one of us comes home, so I went looking for him.”

21. “He wasn’t in his room”

22. “Or Papa and my room, as he sometimes is when
he misses us.”

23. “I thought perhaps he might have gotten upstairs
somehow, but he wasn’t there either.”

24. “Neither was he outside.”

25. “At this point I was becoming truly concerned. He was just a little
guy, a baby really. Where could he have gone and why was the
nanny simply sleeping on the couch and not looking for him as she
should have been. Did she even know he was gone? Then I heard
the phone ring.”

26. “Ah. Dear sister. You are home at last. So nice of you to make things easy for us
by going out of town like that. You should know that your child is safe. For now.“
“What do you want from me?”
“I want my money, so this is very simple. We will meet and you will transfer the
money and then my compatriot will return your child to you. I’ll give you a few
days to get the payment together. Do not call the police or you’ll never get your
son back. Sleep well, we’ll talk again soon.”

27. “I can only guess what happened between when we met and when Belinda
stole Blake, but I hope she and whoever her compatriot is suffer ten times
what I’m suffering now.”
“I expect my payment on time and the kid’s already starting to cry for
mommy, so don’t drag this out forever. “
“No problem, handsome, we’ll both have it before the week is out.”
“Good. Then we can have some real fun together.”

28. “I couldn’t believe that someone, no wait, my own sister, had
kidnapped my baby for money. I would be glad to give it to her,
but I didn’t think my nieces and nephews deserved the curse, and
I would have given her other money, but most of the money your
Papa and I had had gone into the house and tuition.”

29. “And I couldn’t believe that incompetent, useless, bag of bones
nanny had let someone just waltz in here and steal my child and
she hadn’t even noticed. How horrible could she be if she hadn’t
seen my son in most of a day and hadn’t worried about that at
all? I’d show her. I’d kick her saggy behind personally!”

30. “Fortunately, your Papa came in at that point and prevented me from doing
anything too rash. I had to explain to him what had happened and we tried
to comfort each other in our fear of what could happen to Blake.”
Alex’s voice broke at this point and Leif took over the story.

31. “Your mother and I were both very upset, but she had an idea of
how to proceed. She wished to call her mother’s old lawyer, Mr.
Matlock, to see if it was possible to get the curse removed from her
inheritance. I had wanted to call the police, despite the threats,
and was not sure this would help any, but she was adamant that it
was the correct step.”

32. Thus, she called him. Fortunately he answered immediately, or I
do not know what she might have done. Your mother asked
him about the curse, but he didn’t know. He said he’d send
word among her mother’s old friends and see if one might
speak with us.”

33. “Your mother was very upset that there could be no
immediate answer.”

34. “However, we comforted each other with the knowledge
that we would do everything in our power to get little Blake
back. Then I went to call the bank to see if a loan might be
possible, if we could not get the curse removed from the
money.”

35. “Your mother, however remained very upset at the
nanny.”
“Wake up, Zombiebrains!”

36. “While you were passed out on the sofa, someone came in and
kidnapped my son! How incompetent do you have to be to not
even notice my baby is gone? I’m calling your supervisor and
you’ll be lucky if I don’t sue both you and your company!”

37. “The nanny attempted to explain, but your mother was not
amenable to listening.”
“Get out of here! Get out of here before I kick your saggy incompetent
behind out the door personally. If I ever see your face again, I’m going to
take you down!”

38. “We worried throughout the night. Fortunately one of
your grandmother’s former colleagues showed up the
next day.”
“I hear you are looking for me.”

39. “Your mother explained the situation.”
“…and then ideally I’d like her to go to jail, or for there to be some
other way to stop her permanently. She’s obviously a horrible person
and I don’t trust her not to come after my kids again, even if we do
what she wants. And I’d like her punished.”

40. “I don’t really do people. I’m more of a naturalist, myself. Insects, weather,
that kind of thing. However, I do have a friend who has specialized in magical
effects against persons who might be able to help you out. There will be a
price, however.”

41. “And so we followed her somewhat complicated directions
and, after turning around several times, finally ended up in
the middle of nowhere at the end of a mountain road. At
first we weren’t sure if it was the right place, or what we
should do.”

42. “However, there was a path, and we decided to follow
it. It led deep within the hills, to a dwelling cut into the
side of one of the mountains and at the base of the path
there was a door.”

43. “It was a huge wood and stone door. We stood outside and
debated for some time. In the stories of my culture, such
things are considered a warning and dangerous to those
seeking answers. However your mother was determined.”

44. “We entered and through the door before us was an old
woman seated on a throne. She had an air of power
around her.”
“For what do you seek?”

45. “We need help. My sister had stolen our child and we need her
stopped.”
“Your mother explained the situation.”
“A complex matter. You must come into my study so we might
discuss this more comfortably.”

46. “I am not afraid to admit that I was even more worried at this
point. A mountain witch had invited us into her parlor, however
it would have been more dangerous to insult her by refusing,
and it was possible we might achieve our goal by agreeing.”

47. “Fortunately, it seems my fears were without merit.”
“I am Deirdre. Had you been raised properly within the Circle, you might have
called me cousin. It is a pity your mother left as she did, for there would be
strength in you had you been properly trained. Alas, it is too late. I can, however,
help you.”

48. “It is not an easy request that you ask of me. Several layers of spells must need be set and triggered
for you to achieve the desired outcome and your sister, no doubt, has strong potential as well, so that
must be considered. I’m afraid you will need to pay a high price. The Circle is unable to pass on our
full powers to our heirs, due to a curse left by the witch wars. There is a quest that a non-aligned
family line will need to perform, generation on generation, to restore that ability. If your family will
agree, I will free your child and punish the woman who took him from you.”

49. “She explained the requirements but told us we could not be the only
ones to agree.”
“Your children, however, are of age and already fecund. You cannot commit for them and
their children. Therefore I shall summon them so that you may discuss your decision and
the consequences.”

50. “And that,” Leif concluded, “Is the way in which we have arrived at this juncture.”
Brenda went directly to the heart of the matter. “What exactly is the agreement?”
Alex, recovered, took up the tale again, “Each generation shall have it’s own task.
Each task will be dangerous and require some sacrifice but not deadly ones unless
the task is refused. Before the generation’s heir births an heir for the next
generation he or she must form a cadre of not more than 8 and complete that
generation’s quest. The heir cannot make the sacrifice, one of the team must
accept it and take it on, themselves. If none will make the sacrifice, the heir will
die. And the next generation’s task will be taken up by the next heir’s line.”

51. “Mom, I don’t know if you noticed, but Chloe and I are both quite
pregnant. Unless Bryan is the heir, we’re running a bit short on time.”
“The tasks would begin with the next generation. “ Alex answered. “Your
children rather than you. It’s why you have to agree.”
“This sounds like a bunch of Storybook BS.” Bryan was having none of it.
“I’m leaving.”

52. “Bryan, wait.” Leif stopped him. “I realize this appears outside reality, but it
seems that this is the best way to have Blake returned and Belinda stopped.”
“Listen, Papa, I feel for you and mom, and all, but I hardly know the kid, and it
wasn’t exactly our decision for you guys to push out another kid right before
you get old. I’m not mortgaging my future or my possible kids futures, if I
even have any, for someone I’ve barely even seen.”

53. “You guys are insane. I’m so out of here.”

54. After Bryan left, Leif took his seat and they sat in silence for a
moment. “I understand that we have dropped a bomb on you
children, and if you decide as Bryan has, that you cannot help,
we will attempt to find some other way.” Leif tried to be
understanding, but the kids could tell that Alex was steaming.

55. “There isn’t any other way! This is the only way any of you will have any peace in
your lifetimes. Belinda is only a couple of years older than you guys and if she’d
do this to me, why wouldn’t she do it to you too? What if she finds out that you
have something she needs and kidnaps your kids? What will you do then? This
will stop her, without any possible legal consequences, forever.”
They discussed it and ultimately reached the conclusion that Alex was right.
Neither Brenda nor Bastien wanted to be responsible for the death of their little
brother, and they were sure that their children would share just as much mutual
concern, so no one would ever die of the quests. Besides, they’d be restoring an
entire race of people.

56. None of them, however, were particularly thrilled.
“Have you reached an agreement?” Deirdre asked when she returned.
“We don’t have a lot of choice.”
“I suppose.”
“I guess.”
And they all agreed to Deirdre’s terms.

57. “Excellent. I see that your mother is very convincing. So, here is the plan. I will make
my preparations and tomorrow Belinda will contact Alex asking to meet at the
Enchanted Pastries Internet Café here on my land for the exchange. “
Alex interrupted, “But there isn’t any…”
“There will be. Alex, you will arrive and make the exchange. Belinda will have a pastry,
beginning the spell layers. Your husband will confirm when the child is returned. I will
activate the spell and track your sister for confirmation. After she has completed her
deal with her compatriot, I will trigger the spell. Now, please return to your residences.
Alex, I will see you tomorrow.”
Without asking any questions, they all immediately stood up and left. Alex’s children all
arrived back at their house with no idea how they had even gotten back, including
Bryan.

58. While Alex awaited Belinda’s contact, Deirdre made her preparations for
the coming day. She had more to do than she had let Alex and Leif know
and she would need every minute of preparation before the exchanged
happened the next day.

59. Especially given that the baking had to be done in
the traditional manner.

60. At her house, Belinda had discovered an advertisement for a
new internet café when she arrived home from work. She was
immediately sure it would be the perfect place for her to meet
with Alex and emailed instructions to Alex and her henchman.

61. When Alex arrived the next day to make the exchange, she was
surprised to discover that there was a café there, where there had
only been mountains and forest the day before. It looked as though
the building had been there forever, even though she knew it hadn’t
been there just the day before.

62. Alex was already sitting at a computer, ready to go, when Belinda
arrived.
“Ah, good, I see you are as anxious for the return of your child as I am for
my money.” Belinda started to sit down at one of the other computers.

63. But Deirdre stopped her. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, but the computers are for
customer use only. If you would like to sample one of our truly
enchanting pastries, however, you may use them for as long as you like,
afterward.”
“Fine. Whatever.”

64. Belinda ordered a pastry and she did admit to herself that it was probably
the most delicious pastry she’d ever had, she wasn’t sure what made the
difference, but there was just something unusual about the spices or
something. However, time was wasting, so she finished it quickly and
returned to the computers.

65. “Excellent. I see the electronic transfer has gone through. Now we
can set this little situation to rest. It surprises me, though, that you
were able to get the money so quickly. Perhaps I should have asked
for more.” Belinda stood up to go.

66. “I’m not letting you go out that door until I know that Blake is safe and
sound.” Alex stood in Belinda’s way, ready to take them both to the ground if
that were necessary. No way Belinda was leaving until Blake was returned to
them.

67. “Fine, fine, just testing you.” Belinda paused and then spoke into the
earpiece hiding behind her hair, “Yeah, let my darling nephew go, I’ve got
the money. Yes, yours too. See you later.” She turned to Alex, “It should be
a few minutes and then your husband should call.”

68. “I’m not moving until I get confirmation. “ Alex
turned her own headset on.

69. The two stood there waiting awkwardly until Alex’ phone buzzed.
“He’s safe, he’s fine, I have him.”
“Thank the Lady.” Alex scowled at her sister but stepped out of
the way.

70. She didn’t see the proprietor follow her out.

71. “Thank you so much for helping us. We’ll be eternally
grateful to you for helping us get little Blake back home
safely. I have to go, but thank you, thank you so much!
Call me to tell me what happened with Belinda!”

72. “Oh, Alex?”
“Yes?”

73. “One last thing. So that you do not forget, there will be children who are
marked. The marks will not harm them, but they cannot be the heir. One
of them must be included in the quest each generation. Now go, and
forget the way to my home.” Alex left without saying a word and arrived
home too excited about Blake’s return to worry about how she got there.

74. When Alex got home, Leif told her what had happened while she had
been having her standoff with Belinds.
“I waited by the window, but not so that anyone could see me, and I
heard a car drive up and a door slam and I peeked out and there was
Blake sitting on the curb.

75. “I rushed out to grab him as the car sped away, so that they could
not change their minds, and checked him over to make sure he
was uninjured.

76. “He was fine, but very upset, and so I cuddled him close
and hugged him strongly until he stopped crying”

77. “By the time I thought to look around, the car was
gone.”

78. “But with Blake safe, I did not care.”
“Come on, little man, lets get you into the house.”

79. Several days later, Alex received a phone call from
Deirdre.

80. “Your sister met with her minion and finished her deal.”
“Congratulations on getting your inheritance back, you have
my money?”
“Right over there.”

81. “It was nice working with you. Perhaps we can celebrate your victory
more… personally, later.”
“I’d like that very much, but right now my husband is home and I don’t
think he’d appreciate finding you in our bed. Have a good evening.”

82. “When Belinda returned from seeing him out, I’m
afraid she began to feel terribly unwell.”

83. “She tried to make it to the sofa, but with each step
she felt worse and worse…”

84. “Until she collapsed to the floor.”

87. “When she awakened, she no longer was who she had been.
Belinda Fortune-Barrister no longer existed and in her place
was Lindy Worshes, the housekeeper for the Fortune family.
There is no record that Belinda ever existed.

88. “What will happen to her now?”
“She will act as the housekeeper, unless she gets herself fired. No
one remembers her as anything else and she does not remember
any other life.”

89. “She has a relatively comfortable room over the garage, which fits
her memory of her usual sort of residences.”

90. “And Andrew and her children?”
“Andrew believes his wife Belinda Barrister divorced him for another
man and that his ‘friend’ Bunny asked him to move in with her family
since he needed help caring for the children. He does occasionally
drink too much.”

91. “And then find himself strangely attracted to the housekeeper. He
often indulges in that attraction despite his ongoing relationship
with Bunny, telling himself that he only does it when he has had too
much to drink and that he cannot help himself.”

92. “I cannot, of course, say for certain, but the signs point to Lindy Worshes finding
herself in an untenable position before too long. It will not help her that men
other than Andrew sometimes find themselves invited to her room. However,
whatever happens, I think your problem is truly solved.”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“You are most welcome, but I must go. I have another commitment to prepare
for.”

93. It had indeed been a pity that Alexandra’s mother
had taken such strength out of the circle.

94. And this generation did owe a payment, though
Deirdre had not mentioned that.

95. It was a bonus that they were such attractive children.
“Oh, my, please excuse my state of dress. I so rarely see
people way out here.”

96. “And you are such a good looking man. Why, I believe I feel faint
with desire simply being in your presence. I hope you won’t
think me forward, but would you like to come in?”

97. And it seems he would. Though for him it would all
be a dream.

98. With Blake back at home and Brenda nearing her time, she invited her parents up to
be with her for the birth of their first grandchild. Alex refused to leave Blake alone and
they couldn’t bring him, so Leif came by himself.
“Thanks for coming, Papa, I know Brenda will be glad to have you here.”
“I am glad to be here. Your mother, however… she is still very upset and will not leave
Blake. She is nervous of the safety of the house, as well, so we are making some
changes and getting a dog or two. It will be much different when next you see it.”

99. Brenda went into labor later that night in the bathroom. There were
several guests and a couple of them came in to watch, but most of
her family was there, so she didn’t care that much.
“Lady! This hurts!”

100. But despite the pain and onlookers, baby Camden was born to his
overjoyed mother. He was marked, as the witch had said some of
their children might be, but she was not concerned.”

101. Late one night later in the semester, Chloe too gave birth
in the bathroom. It was so late, however, that everyone
had gone home or was asleep and Chloe had to labor
alone.

102. “Um, Brends?”
“What’s up, Chlo? D’you know what time it is?”
“No, but I could use a little help here.”

103. “What? Oh. Baby time. Why aren’t you off showing her to
my brother?”
“I just kind of need you to hold her for a second.”
“Why?”

104. “Oh. Ohmagoddess. Twins.”
“Lady that hurts.”

105. And so little Cleopatra and Colette were born to their very tired
mommy, helped by their aunt. Tara was marked like her cousin
Camden, as a reminder of their promise, but Chloe and Bastien
loved both girls just the same.

106. They hadn’t really prepared for three babies, so Brenda,
knowing that she was nearly ready to graduate,
volunteered to give up her room to be a makeshift nursery
and moved her bed to the unfinished 2nd floor.

107. With three babies in the house, all the parents
were kept very busy.

108. Even Uncle Bryan had to help out sometimes.

109. Fortunately, soon it was time for Brenda to take her final set of
exams. Bryan was due as well, but he was staying on for grad school.
He said that the SCIA only took people with graduate degrees and he
wanted to make it to the top so he could know all the secrets.

110. So with exams over and passed, Brenda gave herself a peptalk in the
mirror. “OK. I can do this. I’m an adult now. I can get a job and be
the best chef to ever not burn lobster. I can raise my baby to be a
fully functioning member of society and I can do it all without
collapsing into a gibbering mess.

111. And with her confidence buoyed, Brends had one
final college hurrah.

112. Ahem. One final college hurrah.

113. And headed home with little Camden.

114. She was not, however, prepared for what she found there.
Fornicating Fitzhugh! There was renovating and then there was
renovating. The house had been torn down and entirely
rebuilt! And there were really fierce looking dogs now, too.
Her mother sure wasn’t taking any chances!

115. She wasn’t sure what to think about the dogs, though
Artemis and Ajax did warm up once properly introduced.

116. Fortunately Brenda’s parents rushed out to greet
her before the dogs could cause her any trouble.

117. After he hugged her, Leif immediately started cooing at Camden
and couldn’t wait to hold him. “Ah, who’s my most favoritest
grandson ever, who’s my most smartest grandson.”
“Papa, he’s your only grandson.”
“Hush, don’t listen to your mother, Cammy-kins.”

118. And Alex was even more anxious to greet her daughter. She
hadn’t seen her since the wedding.
“Are you OK, labor wasn’t too difficult? And you didn’t work to
hard your last semester, did you?”

119. Not that Alex wasn’t just as enthralled with her grandbaby, even
if he was only a little younger than her youngest son.
“Aw, you are the sweetest little thing, yes you are, yes you are,
shush shush shush.”

120. Both grandparents appreciated having time to spend with Camden
when he was a baby, because not long after Brenda’s return it was
time for his birthday. Brenda invited both her brothers and Chloe and
their babies and her friend Gerrick to the birthday, but it was very
awkward because Alex was still refusing to speak to her oldest son and
he would not apologize for what he had said.

121. Camden was just happy that everyone was here to see him. He
was happy with having everyone love him and be happy for his
birthday.

122. After some consideration, everyone agreed that the markings
made him look very distinguished and that he was the cutest
toddler currently in the family. Unfortunately, the party did not
last too long, due to the awkwardness and because Brenda wasn’t
feeling well.

123. And, with some time spent communing with the porcelain god,
Brenda had a pretty good idea what might be causing her digestive
upset. Brought home from Uni: One sheepskin diploma, one
baby, and one surprise pregnancy.

124. Brenda wasn’t really worried about her suspicions, though. If she was, she
was. None of the local restaurants were hiring right now, so she could use the
time to spend with Cam and in taking a few culinary classes.
“Mommy’s tummy gurgle. Mommy go potty with mouf.”
“Yep, kiddo, Mommy’s tummy gurgles and then Mommy throws up.”
“Frows up in potty.”

125. “Mommy’s tummy got round, like Cammy’s tummy. Tickle
tickle hee hee.”
And Camden was right about that too, Brenda realized, her
tummy had gotten round. She was definitely pregnant again.

126. Not that she let Camden get away with anything because of
that. Even though she was tired, slow, and grumpy, he still
needed to learn to walk and practice his talking. She spent
most of her pregnancy in the nursery teaching him.

127. It wasn’t all work, however. Camden got some play time to
spend with “Unca Blake” as well. They were close enough in
age that they had a chance to play together, which was nice
since all Blake’s siblings were so much older.

128. And they both got a chance to play with the “doggies”.
“Look, look, Unca Blake, Awtems luffs me.”
“I dwaw!”

129. And Artemis might have loved Cam, but Ajax loved Blake
just as much. Most especially when he’d been eating
bread with jam.

130. And it was good the dogs had gotten a chance to practice on
the yuman puppies, as they were going to have a puppy of
their own.

131. And before long it was time for Brenda to give birth again. Alex had
had to work that day, but Leif was home to comfort her. “Remain
of calmness, Brenda. Breathe, breathe.”
“But Papa, it huurrrrttttssssss.”

132. Once she was holding Conrad in her arms, Brenda
thought it was worth it.

133. And then it was time for Blake’s birthday. Alex had been
responsible for planning the party and Bastien and Chloe were
both invited, as were their now toddling twins, but they had
decided to leave the girls at Uni with Bryan, who had not been
invited.

134. Blake grew up into a child and shared a strong resemblance to the
rest of his siblings. While none of them were clones, it was readily
apparent that they were all closely related.

135. Once Blake went to bed, however, Alex got to the other reason she’d
invited them to the party.
“As you know, Bastien, Chloe, you have both nearly graduated, and Brenda
is already out, so it is time to decide on an heir.”

136. But Leif interrupted her before she could get further. “Before we decide I
want to say that I am proud of all my children and that neither of you
need to be heir if you don’t want it. Blake can be heir if necessary, or
your mother and I could go to a fertility specialist to have another baby. I
don’t want you to feel you need to do anything you don’t want to do.”

137. Bastien looked relieve at his father’s words. “To be honest, I don’t really
want it. I want to build something for myself. Brenda and Bryan always
did everything first, had everything first, knew everyone first. I want
something for me that is just mine. Ours.”
Everyone tactfully refrained from looking at Chloe, but she knew.

138. Chloe looked at Bastien. “I want that for us too. With all due
respect to your family, I think we need our own space for a
while. Someplace we can have to grow together.

139. Alex looked at Brenda. “Well, do you think you could
take on the role of heir?”
They all stared at her, waiting for her answer.

140. “Mom, to be honest, I’ve always kind of thought I was going to be heir.
Bastien has always talked about wanting to forge his own path and Bryan?
Well, no offence to Bryan, but he’s kind of a dick. I don’t think he’d make a
good patriarch. And he doesn’t seem to want to do the kids and family thing
anyway.”
And so it was decided.

141. Bastien and Chloe were relieved to have it over with and no
longer hanging over their heads. They’d had a busy year with
Tara.

142. And Lettie both having their birthdays.

143. And then needing to learn their skills, all while their
parents were frantically trying to finish their senior
year.

144. Both parents tried to spend time with them, though Chloe didn’t
always know what to say.
“And if you keep this up, you’ll both do really well in school!”

145. “Silly Mama, I walkin’.”
“Yes, you are, baby, yes you are.”

146. The girls really got along, so they were able to
entertain each other as well.

147. So their parents were able to study, pass their
exams and graduate on time.

148. Unlike Brenda, neither needed peptalks or last
hurrahs, so first Chloe

149. Then Bastien, graduated and the four of them
moved back to Enhearten to start their new lives.

150. Gradschool exams were on a slightly different schedule and
Bryan got to spend a few days in the house by himself. He used
the time to throw killer parties, with no babies or pregnant
ladies around to squash his fun.

151. He was also looking for someone to pass the house onto.
He thought Flor was a good choice. It didn’t hurt that she
was really hot. His nephews should thank him.

152. Then it was time for Bryan, too, to grow up and move out.
He’d delayed that aging stage as long as he could. And with
his change, all three of the other siblings from this
generation were settled.

154. Author’s Note:
Belinda’s henchman is Deuce Mercer, by
Sleepycat. He’s usually a bit shady and he
was handy to help Belinda out.
This was very complicated to play with
getting the pregnancies, ages, and timing
right. But it worked out in the end. Hope
you had fun reading!