Chapter 7 | Chapter 9

By the time I woke up, the sun had gone down, but the pain in my abdomen certainly had not. It still felt like hunger, though, so I reached into my cooler to try something else.

Nope. The yogurt was definitely bad, too. I wondered what might have happened. I’d never had stuff in my cooler go bad before – and it made me wonder how long I’d been trapped in that coffin at the vampire’s mansion. Maybe I’d been “out” for quite a while. It was the only explanation I could come up with.

Meanwhile, I most definitely was going to have to find something to eat. And going all the way to Windenburg in the state of pain I was in now was definitely out of the question. I tried to think of options, but my brain was as muzzy as the rest of me.

Finally, I grabbed my fishing rod and tackle and headed to catch a nice fresh fish. Halfway there, I doubled over in pain, and looked in horrified wonder at the purple glow that was emanating from my stomach. Moments later, the pain passed slightly, and I convinced myself I had been imagining things, and continued on to the pond.

Fishing while hurting is not something I recommend, I have to say. It felt like forever before I had a bite on the line, and the disappointment when I didn’t catch anything was palpable.

What seemed like hours passed, and finally I managed to catch something big enough to eat. All the little goldfish I threw back. I still didn’t know what goldfish were doing in the pond – but they could also stay there for all I cared. I grabbed up the fish and my stuff and started the painful journey back home.

By the time I got home, I needed to go to the bathroom – so I used my friendly bush. By the time I got done, the weird glow was back, and the pain had nearly doubled. Tears ran down my face, and I angrily wiped them away and set out to make some dinner. I couldn’t remember ever being this hungry before. How long had I been trapped?? Days?!?

The fish took literally forever to cook. It smelled amazing, too. I wondered why I had been too busy to get fresh fish lately, and why I had just been eating out of my cooler. I guess I’d forgotten how good a fried fish could be!

Once my fish was done, I sprinkled it with some spices and sat back down to enjoy it.

The moment it hit my mouth, I knew something was terribly wrong. I couldn’t imagine what it was – but there was no way the fish had gone bad in the short walk back from the pond. What was going on?? I dropped my head in my hands, and then decided I’d try one last thing.

Again, the hot dog took forever to cook.. but finally, it was done, and I braced myself for yet another attempt to eat something.

Nope. This was not going to work. Food was out of the question. Maybe I just had some sort of a stomach bug?

Miserably, I say there and looked at my weed-strewn garden and my sad little campsite. What was I going to do now? There was no way I could garden in the amount of pain I was in. … Perhaps I should call the local landscaping company and see if they would send someone over just for the day. One quick phone call later, I steeled myself for the bill that would certainly be placed in my hand when the gardeners were done for the day.

I contemplated painting while I waited for them to arrive, but I couldn’t think of anything to paint. I wondered if I even had enough red paint to depict the amount of pain I was in… and quickly determined painting was not in my near future.

The gardener arrived, looking a bit confused at the fact that he’d been called for such an extensive garden at what was, essentially, just a camp site. He clearly wanted his paycheck, however, and said nothing. He went about his business, and I asked him to pin the bill to the easel when he was done – I needed to rest. I crawled miserably into my tent, and fell, blessedly, into a deep sleep.

When I woke again, I stumbled groggily out of my tent and glared at the sun behind the clouds. After getting violently ill in the bushes, I headed back to my tent.. but I didn’t quite make it there.

A force I couldn’t deny pulled me into the air and spun me around. The glow was back, too, only this time it was all over my body. What, exactly, had happened to me while I was at Vlad’s house? What had he done to me?!

Still airborne, I felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside out. I screamed out in agony, confusion and anger.

Then, finally, I was set back down on the ground. I nearly fell over in relief. Most of the pain was gone, and the only thing left was a dull pang of hunger. Which did make sense since I’d been sleeping for nearly an entire day. I made up my mind to go to Windenburg and do some more research on vampires. On the way home, I could stop and get something to fill my cooler with. I quickly cleaned all the bad food out of the cooler, trashed it, and headed for town.

I ignored the strange looks I was getting and went immediately to the section on vampires. I pulled out a volume I hadn’t noticed before and began reading. I couldn’t imagine why people were looking at me like I was cursed or something. I quickly lost myself in my research, though, and it was nearly dark again before I pulled myself back out of the books. I had learned quite a lot about Vampire feeding habits. They would hypnotize their prey and then drink their blood, and the victim would be left with no memory of the incident and exhausted. There was nothing mentioned about being ravenously hungry after such an attack, though, so I wondered why that had been the case with me. I was filled with anger that Vlad had apparently attacked me, though. Had that been his entire reason for inviting me to his house? Or had he had other motives?

I had skimmed over the section on “vegetarian” vampires who drank plasma fruit or the juice instead of feeding on humans, not seeing any reason why I would need to know how to make either. It did ring a bell, however, with the weirdly pulsing fruit that grew on my trees. No wonder it sold so well in my town….

Before leaving the library, my thoughts ran to Alex and my home. I headed to a nearby computer terminal, found the proper website, and started filling out the paperwork to apply for building permits. I was going to need a home to bring Alex to, after all, and I still hadn’t told her about the fact that I was camping on my own land. I wondered what her reaction would be. Maybe if I got the building underway before I let her know, then she wouldn’t be as upset. It wasn’t like I hadn’t saved enough to start building, after all – I just hadn’t taken this final step.

I finished putting in the applications, and checked my email. There were a couple notes from Mariko, checking up on me, wondering where I’d been the last couple days, and the usual spam. I didn’t know what to tell her, so I didn’t reply. I would figure out what to say, and call her tomorrow. After I got some food in my stomach and had another nap. The nap sounded like the best part, however, and I packed up and started to leave the library.

Thinking about the trip home, I decided to make a pit stop at the bathroom. While washing my hands like normal, I looked up at the mirror.

The only thing in the mirror was the toilet behind me. I cast no reflection.

Chapter 7 | Chapter 9

Chapter 2.7 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.9

Generation Two: Brown

Appearance: Brown hair, unkempt clothing style
Traits: Loves Outdoors, Loner, Child of the Island
Aspiration: Beach Life
Occupation: Conservationist
House Goal: 20,000 worth

A Crazy Holiday

Winterfest dawned with some huge changes. First of all.. we had STAIRS! The house upgrade that I mentioned planning for was complete – or, mostly so. The building was done, at least, but there were some glaring things missing – like furniture. All our funds had gone into the building, though, so we were going to need to spend some time saving to finish out the furnishings. But, first, I’ll give you a little tour of the changes:

Alexi’s office was expanded, so it wasn’t just a glorified closet anymore, and he had room to store some of his artwork, too.

The deck overlooking the ocean was official – you can see we moved the Master Bedroom upstairs, as well. And yes, it’s pouring – the weather for Winterfest isn’t exactly ideal – but this is Sulani, and winter means storms.

The front of the house also got a major upgrade with another deck – this time, overlooking Alexi’s beloved water garden.

And, finally, we had a major surprise for Kali. Today was her birthday, and we’d set up a room of her very own upstairs. She even had her first journal, sitting on her desk, waiting for her first words.

Apparently, Kali had forgotten it was Winterfest, too, and squealed in joy to find the tree had been moved into the living room before she got up.

Before long, Jaye was up, too, and Alexi watched both the kids, who were thoroughly excited for the day – while I worked on yet another surprise in the kitchen.

When the surprise cake was ready, I called Kali, and she came running.

We all gathered around Kali’s Strawberry cake and sang the birthday song as Kali blew out the candles. She got them on the first try, too!

Then, because it was her birthday, Kali and I cut a couple thick slices of cake and sat down while she chatted excitedly about school starting tomorrow. I have to say, her new wardrobe looked great on her, and I was glad to see her growing up. She had gained the Art Lover trait, and I couldn’t wait for her to find her Winterfest gift!

Kali offered to clean up the dishes, since she could actually reach the sink now – and I tried not to watch for broken dishes while she worked. I swear, the sponge is as big as she is!

Then, I brought out the decorations for the tree, and we all started working on setting it up. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jayce eyeing the vase on the shelves, and quickly found something else for him to do.

Finally, he settled down and sat quietly while we finished the tree and I scattered the presents around the base of it.

Because it was her birthday, we let Kali go first. Jayce was impatient, but was more than happy to “help” with the ribbons and discarded wrapping paper.

Then, it was Jayce’s turn, and he was immediately captivated with the action figure in his present… which gave us time to set up Kali’s present in the new activity room.

Of course, she had to try out the art table immediately, and Alexi shuffled Jacye off to his room so he wouldn’t interfere.

This gave me a chance to take a much-needed nap in the middle of the day.

By nightfall, the kids were still busy with their gifts – and I woke up to give Alexi some time to go feed his fish. We had installed lights in the garden, luckily, and it looked amazing at night, now.

I made my last grilled meal for my aspiration – a special Fruit Cobbler for Winterfest, and everyone rushed to be the first to get a slice.

The merry sounds of laughter drew everyone outside to meet Father Winter – who had showed up in his swimwear, much to everyone’s surprise!

He quickly added some presents to the pile under the tree, and went back outside to hand out the rest of the gifts.

Kali’s gift was a new virtuoso violin, and I quickly made notes to sign her up for lessons.

Alexi hadn’t expected a gift of his own, but Father Winter insisted.. and I think he was really excited by the gift….

… because he immediately went to set it up in his office. Now that his painting skill was getting so good, I should have thought to get him a real easel myself! After we tucked Jayce in, I sent Alexi to the kitchen for yet another surprise.

I’d made him a decadent coconut cake – his favorite – for his birthday, and we had a quiet celebration downstairs. Wow, it still feels weird to call this the “downstairs” – it’s just been “home” for so long, and it’s not like the house I grew up in ever had stairs. We were really moving up in the world!

Alexi was exhausted, since he hadn’t had a nap, so I offered to tuck in Kali in her brand new room, and she was asleep practically before I could pull the covers up. It had been a long, busy day… and I stumbled off to the downstairs bathroom – since the upstairs one didn’t have any fixtures yet – then practically crawled back up the stairs to my nice soft, familiar bed. Even with the nap, the new life in me sapped most of my energy, and bedtime was always the best time of the day. Any day now, however, our new baby would arrive… and I was so excited to meet them!

Chapter 2.7 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.9

Chapter 2.6 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.8

Generation Two: Brown

Appearance: Brown hair, unkempt clothing style
Traits: Loves Outdoors, Loner, Child of the Island
Aspiration: Beach Life
Occupation: Conservationist
House Goal: 20,000 worth

The Big News

Waking up to a dirty toddler is never fun, but waking up to someone else taking care of it .. well, let’s just say, it’s much better. This pregnancy was harder on me than I remember the last two being – at least, it sure was in these first few weeks. I’ve had trouble sleeping, and I’ve been pretty sick, too, so Alexi has been (thankfully) taking up the slack. Having two toddlers and a baby on the way made for a crazy house.

We had really lucked out on Jayce – he was so Independent, he tended to almost take care of himself. He was often content just to play by himself in the kid’s room.

Kali, however, was still our little troublemaker. She took constant care and attention – but she was getting better behaved as she grew up, luckily. Don’t tell Alexi I said this – but she’s still my favorite. I love her spirit – she reminds me a bit of me.

After Alexi pointing out that the sink was filthy after he’d given Jayce his bath, I decided something needed to be done about it. And I really wasn’t feeling up to cleaning it. So I spent the extra time needed to install some auto cleaning hardware on most of the bathroom appliances. Apparently, I needed to fix the toilet while I was at it! The kids were curious about all the noise I was making – and they both came toddling in to see if they could “help”.

Noticing that I was foot-deep in a pile of laundry, Alexi went and cleaned up the whole house of it and started the Washer. Which left me trying to upgrade a sink and watching two kids at the same time.

Later, though, Alexi gave me some time to go “hydrate my scales”, and I happened upon a dolphin. I remembered hearing stories of my grandmother and a dolphin she had befriended – so I spent some time to get to know this blue dolphin.

After a little while, we were great friends, and she had told me her name was Squirt. She let me rub her belly, and we splashed playfully until her pod showed up and she swam off to be with them.

On the way home, I found some turtles, and stopped to watch them. I wondered if any of them were the baby turtles I had observed earlier in the year. They were gorgeous, though, and seemed to all be healthy, which made my heart glad.

Alexi and the kids were playing happily when I got home, although my “mommy sense” told me the little tummies were going to be hungry soon – so I let them play and headed for the back deck.

I still needed a couple of grilled meals for my aspiration, after all.. and for some reason, I was craving baked potatoes. I covered them with cheese and bacon and the entire family enjoyed the treat.

Days passed, and, to my excitement, I started feeling the little mermaid or merman inside really starting to “swim around”. I showed Kali and Jayce – who, predictably, had completely different reactions. Jayce could have cared less for the most part, whereas Kali had to ask a million questions – with the most prominent one being “Does this one have to be a little brother, too??” I stifled a laugh and told her we’d just have to wait and see!

Kali had finally succeeded at her potty training lessons, although being the one who usually cleaned out the potty made me slightly ambivalent about the whole process. At least I wasn’t still changing a million diapers, I guess. Those got to be expensive.

Alexi still spent time working on commissions for clients, and his painting skills were really getting quite impressive. I tried to give him some kid-free time to work in his office each day, but sometimes they escaped and toddled off to try to find where he’d gone to.

My parents, and brother and sister in law made an excuse of bringing us some good island food to come over, and it was great to see them.

I kept the kids occupied while he and the rest of the adults had dinner. Kali and Jayce had already eaten, so keeping them out from underfoot was the best thing to do.

Everyone sounded like they had a great time, however, from what I could hear from the kid’s room.

When my Dad came back to check on us, it gave me a chance to tell him the news about the new family addition. Apparently Mom overheard, and soon they were both in the kid’s room with me, chatting excitedly about another new grandkid. Before long, I had to shoo them out to put the other two grand-kids to bed, though.

Alexi was multi-tasking and trying to finish up a commission that was due in the morning, but he did tell me later that after my announcement, that the conversation hadn’t strayed very far from talk of the new arrival.

I tucked Jayce into bed and read Kali her nightly story, watching her little eyes try to stay open until the end of the book. She didn’t quite make it, as usual, and I smiled and gave her a soft kiss before sneaking out of the room to get some sleep myself.

Chapter 2.6 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.8

Chapter 6 | Chapter 8

Author’s Note: This chapter takes a dark turn, and is not recommended family friendly reading. Be aware – and enjoy!

I walked up to Vlad’s door with a sense of foreboding in my heart and a chill running down my spine. Somehow, I knew this was a bad idea… but I digress. First I should explain.

My day had started out pretty normally. Taking care of my bees and the garden was a daily chore that I have quickly come to love doing.

Then, I have breakfast and spend some time painting. I’m getting pretty good, but there’s always room for improvement. The gallery says my paintings sell like hotcakes, and to keep them coming.. but there’s only so much time in a day.

Today, however, thoughts of doom were interrupting my idyllic retreat. That old vampire was still waiting for me to come meet him at his house. I wasn’t sure of his intentions, but the friend he sent to threaten me definitely had me worried. I wondered if I should meet him before anything else could happen. I couldn’t figure out another way to keep myself and my family-to-be safe other than to confront the him and ask him to leave me and mine alone from now on. We were practically neighbors and I certainly didn’t plan on making friends, but perhaps listening to whatever he had to say about my family’s history would satisfy whatever he wanted, and we could learn to co-exist in peace.

So here I was, terrified. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Come in, my son. The door is open.”

With a gulp, I drew myself up to my full height and turned the handle of the massive door.

At once, pipe organ music completely assailed my senses, and I tried not to blink in consternation. I don’t know what I had expected, but this nearly pristine Victorian Mansion had definitely not been on the list. Surreptitiously, I looked around for cobwebs, but didn’t see any.

Suddenly, the music stopped and the old vampire began laughing, almost as if he could read my mind. Wait a minute… could vampires read minds?? Damnit, I should have read more in those books from the library.

“Welcome to my home, Dusan.” He said, rising from the pipe organ and holding out his weathered hand to me in greeting, “whether you feel it or not – you are truly welcome here, although I understand your reluctance. I have so few human acquaintances, these days – sometimes I forget how to treat them. But please – be my guest. Have a seat.” He motioned to a nearby love seat that was – of course – right next to a skull on display. Fabulous.

We both sat down, me almost as far away as I could get from him, and again – he smiled at me as if he knew.

“I suppose you wish to know about your family?” He asked.

“Actually – I want you to have your friends stop stalking me at night and threatening me. I came here to live on my mother’s beloved homeland, and, god willing – raise a family here. I know the history and I certainly don’t need lecturing from you.” I was mostly bluffing, and I dearly hoped he didn’t know it.

He chuckled slightly, and raised an aquiline eyebrow before he began speaking again, “Dear child – had you truly known your history, you would not have come back. Your family had made itself unwelcome here, but we vampires had no part to play in the final accident. We even tried to step in during the tragedy to help rescue, but our services were denied. Your lovely mother was the only survivor – and the house was gone. There was nothing left for the child here, so she left to find a new life. For our part, we were very moved by her loss – even a vampire understands family – and we certainly also understand loss. Since then, the grudge held against your family has been erased and you are as welcome here as you would be anywhere.”

I looked away, mulling over his words. Was he hinting that I wasn’t welcome anywhere? I shook my head slightly, trying to get rid of that idea. “It was arson, the police said. If my family weren’t wanted here, how am I supposed to know that it wasn’t you and yours that began it to get rid of us?”

”Because, childe, that’s not how we operate.” He had moved closer so that he was sitting right next to me, and I found myself compelled to watch his eyes. In fact… I couldn’t look away. What was happening here??

Things started fading around me, until I could see nothing but Vlad.

Then my vision went completely black.

I remember nothing else until I woke up in a box. A dark softly-lined box. And it smelled like old mothballs. Wrinkling my nose, I tried opening and closing my eyes several times, but to no avail. I had no idea whether I was just in the dark or whether I was utterly blind. In a panick, I pushed at the fabric lined wood above me, and, much to my surprise, it swung open easily.

Not in any mind to stay where I was, I quickly got out of the box – only to turn around and see that it was a cobweb-covered coffin. What the hell!?

Shivers of fear ran down my spine, and I would have completely bolted had I not been nearly struck down by a pain in my midsection.

I cursed in both of the languages I knew, and tried to gather my thoughts through the pain. The only thing I could settle on was that I needed to get out of here – quickly and without being seen. After a glance around this … dungeon – for I could see nothing else to call it – I quickly found the stairs leading up.

I tried to be as stealthy as possible, but with the pain I was in – I really don’t know if I had managed any stealth at all.

Somehow, however, my luck held and I finally reached the front door, unnoticed.

Once through it as quietly as possible, I broke into a painful, shambling run. All I wanted was to get home.

Finally, I got back to my little campsite, nearly exhausted. I sat down on my cooler to catch my breath. Or – at least, try to.

Thinking that perhaps my stomach pain was due to hunger – that was what it felt like, after all – I pulled out some breakfast and started eating. Within the first bite I knew something was wrong. The milk for my cereal must have gone bad – because this was awful. Looked like I was going to head into town soon for new supplies… but perhaps I’d just take a nap first. The sun seemed especially bright today, after all, and I could always go later, right?

Chapter 6 | Chapter 8

Chapter 2.5 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.7

Generation Two: Brown

Appearance: Brown hair, unkempt clothing style
Traits: Loves Outdoors, Loner, Child of the Island
Aspiration: Beach Life
Occupation: Conservationist
House Goal: 20,000 worth

New Babies

I woke up the next morning to a disaster area. How could one little party make such a mess? Sighing, I got down to work. Humming softly to myself, I gathered up the dishes and cups and carefully carried them all to the sink. Perhaps we needed to invest some money in a dishwasher if we were going to continue with the family parties! I couldn’t regret the mess, however, because seeing all my family was such a precious thing. I was glad we had managed to remain a close family. Even Tevin and his son had managed to make the party – all the way from San Myshuno!

In the other room, I could hear Kali playing quietly, and Aleki soothing baby Jayce, who was up yet again. Oh – and speaking of Jayce – it’s his birthday today – which is exciting news!

Finally, everything was all cleaned up and we all gathered around to wish baby Jayce a happy birthday. He grew up very Independent, and insisted on taking his first steps all by himself.

Having a little brother that was big enough to actually have a conversation with and play with thrilled little Kali. She spent the rest of the morning completely monopolizing poor Jayce’s time.

Finally, Aleki managed to distract her long enough for me to spend some time with my little boy.

Potty training was the first order of business – it’s never too early to start with a toddler. I’m not sure Jayce quite understands the concept, however, but at least we tried. Then, we played some shape games with his toddler blocks, hoping to raise his thinking skill enough to forestall nightmares. We’ll see if it worked!

Once my babies were down for their afternoon nap, I took some time on my day off to go see the baby turtles being born. It was good to get back into the ocean again and let my scales hydrate a bit.

I was not the only person here to see the turtles, and before I knew it, there was a crowd hanging around the roped-off turtle lanes. I heard people ooo-ing and aahh-ing over the little ones, but my conservationist self decided I ought to Survey the scene thoroughly to make sure the baby turtles were happy, healthy, and headed right for the ocean as they should be.

I was apparently, not the only one studying them, either. I didn’t recognize the woman, but she was clearly doing some research, as well.

While I was gone, Aleki did some work on his newest commission.

Kali had woken up, upset about a broken dollhouse – and she took comfort from ol’ Blarffy while Aleki fixed it. After the dollhouse was back in good condition again, he was able to get her back asleep, and spend some time actually painting for the commission.

He watched over our babies while working, and apparently that was really inspiring, because the first two paintings were accepted right away. The third, however,  took several tries to get “just right” for the client. Once it was done, however, he managed to get a nearly 5,000 simoleon paycheck! Definitely good money – but we would need it – because having kids is not cheap, let me tell you.

Speaking of money, it was definitely Monday, because the bills arrived right on time. By the time we got around to paying them, I was home and taking a short nap until the toddlers woke up.

Later that night, Aleki and I took some time for ourselves after putting the kids to bed. Dinner had been a feast of grilled fish I’d prepared – fresh caught from our fish traps – and it had been excellent.

Don’t worry – we locked the bedroom door, just in case!

… And it was a good thing we did, because Jayce was apparently up and wandering around the house. I suspect he was admiring the angelfish in our new saltwater aquarium.

A few mornings later, I had a sneaking suspicion our late night romp had borne fruit, so I took a pregnancy test. Sure enough… we were expecting .. AGAIN!

I went to wake Aleki to tell him the news, and I think he could tell right away by the silly grin on my face.

He laughed almost until he cried, then fretted a bit about the fact that it was so soon – but I convinced him this was a good thing as Aleki and I checked on the kids and headed to bed ourselves.

We were definitely going to have to start drafting plans for a bigger house, though, because we barely had enough room for the two toddlers as it was! The higher commissions from Aleki’s Freelancing job were definitely going to come in handy, after all! I drifted off to sleep thinking about possible designs and maybe even a balcony overlooking the water….

Chapter 2.5 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.7

Chapter 2.4 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.6

Generation Two: Brown

Appearance: Brown hair, unkempt clothing style
Traits: Loves Outdoors, Loner, Child of the Island
Aspiration: Beach Life
Occupation: Conservationist
House Goal: 20,000 worth

A House Party

(A/N: Welcome to Simnano 2020! I’ll be alternating posting days with this story and my Ramblers family, and aiming for at least 25,000 words for the month. I had so much fun last year I had to enter this year, as well. I’ve been looking forward to it since last year. This is the story I used last year, so it only made sense to use it again this year and get a little farther along in my challenge. Oh, and a note on the challenge, She’s at level 8 in her career, and on the last part of Beach Life aspiration. The house is way over value, too, so I don’t have to worry about that. Things are going well!)

The new baby, Jayce, was keeping us up at all hours. Aleki was so helpful, often being the one to get up with him while I made sure Kali was asleep in the next room. However, I still had big plans to invite the whole family over for a house party tonight, no matter how little sleep I was running on.

While stocking up the fridge for the party, I swear I saw a Freezer Bunny in there, but I managed to convince myself I was just really tired. Babies are hard work!

I finished stocking up the fridge and making breakfast, while Aleki finished connecting our new Washing Machine. Now that we had two kids, there was no way I had time to spend all day at that darn washtub anymore.

After installing it, he started our very first load of laundry in it.. and amazingly, everything worked smoothly. We had debated a while, but decided we liked the way the outside wash line dried the clothes, so we hadn’t bought a Dryer, too. Also eliminated the possibility of fire, which I’d heard was a terrifying possibility with that particular appliance.

We ate a quiet breakfast together while the kids were still asleep, and I headed outside to do some chores while Aleki watched the sleeping babies.

It was a great day for putting the laundry out, luckily, so I got that done, and then went to check on the fish traps. Again, there was plenty to sell and new fish to bait the hooks with.

On the way back inside, I couldn’t resist stopping to finish my beach-combing aspiration. Now I just needed to do some major outdoor grilling – so I was looking forward to trying out our new grill for the party tonight.

The rest of the morning practically flew by once Kali and Jayce woke up. There were diapers to change, bottles to warm up, and potty training to be worked on. Kali was really a great kid, though, and she was so independent that she liked to do most things on her own. When she went down for her afternoon nap, Aleki and I took some time to work on my Logic skill and play a game or two of chess. It was a lot of fun.

Then it was Aleki’s turn for outdoor chores. We had decided it was a good time to spend the 1000 simoleons on getting some cleaner snails for his Koi Garden, so he carefully introduced them, and we hoped that the fish didn’t eat all of the snails before they were able to do their job.

Lastly, he took down the laundry and put it away, while I made all the phone calls inviting the family over for dinner.

After making the phone calls, I finished final preparations by firing up the grill…

.. And making some Kava for the adults. This party was going to be Epic.

As people started to arrive, I chatted with my sister in law, Meilani about our kids and how much fun parenting was (most of the time).

My nephew, Barry, was here, and chatted happily with Aleki while Kali looked on.

By the time everyone arrived, our house was utterly full. Kali seemed to think the party had been thrown for her, and she went around meeting and charming everyone. She wasn’t quite big enough to join in on the conversation, but I have to give her credit for trying.

It was so good to see my Mom and Dad again – it felt like it had been forever, and I was well aware that time with them around was definitely limited.

The advantage to having a family party – usually there’s people willing to help clean up. This is Grayson, Kaleb’s son (my cousin). They grow up so fast!

Kaci and Barry (my brother’s kids) found the playroom, and Meilani kept them occupied while the adults chatted in our new living room.

There were a couple heated games of chess between my parents, and plenty of food for everyone.

By the end of the night, when everyone headed home, even the kids were willing to practically fall into bed. But I think everyone had had a good time, at least. Which was the important part. I slept while I could, knowing Jayce would probably be up before long.

Chapter 2.4 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.6

Chapter 5 | Chapter 7

I was determined to put a possible meeting with the old vampire out of my head for the time being, and I spent the morning keeping myself busy. I most definitely had more cheerful things to think on, and they quickly pushed aside the foreboding. By early afternoon, I had painted a masterpiece, taken care of my garden, and had breakfast. I packed up the painting and took a quick shower – partially because it was mostly cold, and partially because I had places to be.

More specifically – I was meeting Mariko at the city shops to look for a ring for Alex. This was not something I wanted to do on my own… and a trusted friend like Mariko seemed like perfect company for the outing.

I arrived before Mariko, and – wouldn’t it figure – right in the middle of a summer cloudburst. Dodging more lightning strikes than I cared to see, I hurried into the store and began looking around.

I was still looking around when Mariko arrived, and I was just as confused by the selection as I had been when I arrived. Everything was sparkly and pretty – and one pretty much looked the same as the other. How was I ever going to decide?!

“Dušan, are you SURE you want to do this? You practically just met the girl. You hardly know what she’s like, even.” said Mariko, and clearly she was not happy with me. Apparently talking theoretically about Alex being the one and actually getting the ring were two very different things.

“Of course I am!” I assured her, and continued gushing about Alex’s good looks, amazing kisses, and our easy conversations.

Mariko didn’t look convinced, but she seemed to resign herself to the fact that I wasn’t about to change my mind. We turned back to the ring display, and I pointed out a tiny sparkly ring that appeared to be in my budget.

“Um, Dušan – that’s not going to work.” Mariko quickly pointed out some that she was sure were more appropriate, and I cringed at the prices. Mariko again expressed her doubts about the match, but I cut her off and waved one of the sales-girls over.

A good chunk of my meager fortune later, I was still trying to convince Mariko that what I was doing was the right thing.

“Thanks for your help, Mari.” I told her, “I truly couldn’t have done this without you. I promise, I’m not rushing into something that will be bad for me. I know this is the person I’m meant to be with! It may be fast, but it’s a sure thing. Now I just have to convince Alex!”

Mariko didn’t reply, but she gave me a huge hug and we both thanked the sales-girl for her help. I headed home, again dodging the lightning, with a huge smile on my face. Everything was falling into place. If only my dear mother could see me now. I’m sure she’d adore Alex.

On the way home, I called Alex and set up a date for that weekend – and then the hard part began. Waiting. I painted, and gardened – although most of the time was spent at the easel. I had to recoup the price of the ring, after all – but I wasn’t going to begrudge Alex the expense. She was certainly worth it.

Friday arrived, and I nervously waited out front of the Von Haunt Chalet – the most romantic place I could think of when I was planning this whole thing out. By the time Alex arrived, I was a sweaty wreck. Or at least I felt like one. I wiped my hands off on my jeans and greeted Alex by kissing her hands, which seemed to immediately charm her. Breathlessly, she started in about how she was sorry she was late – work had kept her overtime.

I interrupted her, assuring her it was more than fine, and took her hand, pulling her towards the front doors. I showed her around the Chalet, then we wandered out back to the beautiful gardens. The whole time, she kept up a running conversation about her work and the celebrities that had stopped in earlier today – and the massive tips she had gotten from them. I swear, I was so nervous I barely heard a word she said. By one of the fountains, I pulled her close for an embrace, which succeeded perfectly in what I wanted – it shut her up.

“Alex, love, you know how much you mean to me, right? I swear, I can’t imagine life without you.”

“Of course, Dušan!” Alex gushed.

Before she could say more, I handed her a rose, then took a deep breath. I started to say more, but my tongue seemed stuck to the roof of my mouth. Embarrassed, I tried to hide my nervousness with another kiss. I don’t know whether it worked or not, but it helped calm my nerves some – and I quickly took the rush of adrenaline and dropped to one knee.

“I know I haven’t known you long, Alex, but you’re everything to me.”

I fumbled the ring out of my pocket, almost catching it on the small tear in my suit, and held it out to her. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh, Dušan! Look at that RING!” Her eyes lit up as she grabbed it out of my hand. “Yes!”

… And before I knew it, she had leapt into my arms. I only just managed to catch her in time, and I set her back down carefully. We celebrated with a kiss and a sunset stroll around the rest of the gardens before she excused herself because she had to work early.

When I arrived home, the first thing I did was phone Mariko with the news. She congratulated me, but somehow sounded sad. After our earlier conversation, I didn’t want to press for why, so I quickly made the excuse that I needed to let other people know, and said goodbye.

After Mariko’s lukewarm response, I elected to just text Sonia with the news, and I got an elated reply, which made me feel instantly better.

I ate my dinner of some cold granola and yogurt, with my head still in the clouds. I couldn’t believe I had come so far so fast in the last few weeks. I was on my way to becoming an accomplished artist, and now I had a fiance… and two amazing friends. What more could I ask for?

… Other than, perhaps.. a roof over my head?

(A/N: Welcome to Simnano, story two for me. I hope you like this story so far, it only gets better. Next post for this story will be July 5th! This is by far my favorite story-driven challenge I have going now, and the amount of inspiration I’ve gotten for it lately shows. There was no way I could have waited until August to post these chapters!)

Chapter 5 | Chapter 7

Chapter 1.6 | Chapter 1.8

When Caizey woke, it was to the rays of sunlight playing in colors on the wall from the stained glass windows. Stretching happily, she crawled out of bed and groaned at the temperature. Apparently there was a summer heatwave going on. She found her hot weather dress, and headed downstairs. A couple of paintings later, she noticed that her stomach was growling, so she took a break from painting to get some fruit salad for breakfast.

Pulling her fruit salad out of the fridge, Caizey again smiled to herself about her new dining room furniture. And a bar – what had possessed her to buy a BAR! She didn’t even know how to make drinks! Chuckling, she shrugged. That just gave her a new project – learning how. If she ever had the time, that is….

She washed up her dishes and put them away, then headed back to her art room. The inspiration was clear today, and she carefully began work on what she was sure would be a masterpiece.

It turned out that Caizey was right. It was the perfect painting to keep, too, to commemorate mastering the painting skill. She made a mental note to actually furnish the living room… parlor? .. to match the painting, because it looked sorta silly in there by itself.

Pulling out her furniture catalog, she lost a few hours picking things out and planning what to spend. The poor catalog was now dog-eared all to heck, but such was life when you had a whole house to furnish!

Crawling back into bed that night, Caizey decided she had spent enough time alone this week. Tomorrow, she was definitely going to take the day off of painting and head out on the town. It was supposed to be even hotter, then, too, and spending time in her still-un-air-conditioned house just didn’t sound like fun.

She spent the next morning weeding her baby money trees, whistling to herself.

Then, she practiced her pick up lines in the mirror in the bathroom, happy to finally have a shower and bathtub. This house was really coming together, now! However, it was getting hotter, and it was long past time to get some socialization in, so Caizey headed out to the local bar.

…. And look who was here! Lucian! And who was that at the bar? Another handsome man. She surreptitiously greeted him, hoping that Lucian wouldn’t notice when she jotted down the man’s number for another day.

Wouldn’t you know it.. it was “Knight Night” at the bar – and there were a million people here. Caizey waved at a few familiar faces, and sat down to chat for a little while.

Finally, she decided enough was enough, and snuck behind the bar to get a hug from Lucian. He looked as overwhelmed by the crowd as she was, and was definitely amenable to calling in a replacement and heading out the back door with Caizey.

They drove a while, heading into Windenburg to the closest Nightclub – the Narwhal Arms. Caizey had a blast joking with Lucian on the way, and she was more than willing to hop straight onto the dance floor with him when they got there.

Luckily, this weren’t quite as crowded here, and there was plenty of space to “get her groove on”. Lucian laughed at her antics, and they shared a grin over the music. Even the DJ got a little carried away and put the music on auto-play, coming down from the booth to dance with everyone else.

Later, on a break from dancing, Caizey and Lucian found a quiet corner to get to know each other a little better.

Spying a random closet, they took advantage of it – although Caizey was pretty sure several other people in the club noticed. Lucian was ready to head home since he’d had a long night – but Caizey was not, so they parted ways. She was sure she could find a ride home… and started glancing around the club again.

Bingo! Caizey wondered why all the bartenders seemed to be hot in the area, and headed over to make his acquaintance. She made a stop by the flowerbed outside the front door, and picked a rose to surprise him with.

It turns out his name was Blaine, and he was so Self-Absorbed he hadn’t even noticed Lucian and her antics from a bit ago. Which worked out in her favor – and she quickly charmed him completely. He called in a replacement, and Caizey agreed to meet him outside.

On her way there, she noticed the pompous guy from the other bar than she’d given the potion to.. and she chuckled to herself. It didn’t look like he remembered her, though, luckily.. and she pretty much ignored him.

A heated kiss later – Caizey noticed out of the corner of her eye that Paolo had spotted her and Blaine. Oops! Guess she wasn’t going to worry about calling him again! She made her excuses to Blaine and hopped on her broom to go visit the Magic Realm and escape this crazy club.

She related the entire hilarious story to Morgyn – who appreciated a good laugh, then Caizey charmed her out of the last couple of Mischief spells she needed for her spellbook. After a little practice session, Caizey decided that she was so close to having a full spellbook – there was certainly no reason to stop now.

She tracked down Simeon, and after a bit of light conversation, she managed to get her last two spells out of him. She now knew all the spells, and the potions, too! She hadn’t completely topped out her experience bar to Virtuoso, yet, though, and so she found some more folk to practice her new skills on.

She reveled in the way the magic sparkled in her hands and she threw spell after spell. Her opponent blocked a few spells, but he couldn’t block them all.

Soon, a well-placed zap spell knocked him off her feet and netted her a few simoleons. What luck! – Or was it skill? Caizey smirked to herself and headed off to the basement to mix up some more needs potions.

L. Faba grinned at her as she walked by, and they shared a smile. Her mentor was incredibly proud of all that she had accomplished, and all the duels she won. Caizey was sure she had heard about Caizey mastering her spellbook, too, since the three spellmasters were very close friends.

Finally, exhausted, Caizey headed home. Her comfortable canopy bed was calling her, and after a lovely bath, she fell into a sound sleep, dreaming about dancing spells and grown money trees.

(A/N: This story is now on “break” – but don’t worry, Caizey will be back in August. If you’re interested in stories like hers, feel free to check out my “Foreshadowed Sunset” vampire story – I have 8 new chapters of it coming in July! .. and 15 chapters from my Mermaid Legacy story, “Tails of Sulani”, also coming over the next month. Caizey will see you again in August, and I’m so excited to be caught up on posting her story finally so I’ll be able to dive back into playing her. She needs an heir, after all… and that house needs wallpaper!!)

Chapter 1.6 | Chapter 1.8

Chapter 1.5 | Chapter 1.7

Days later, Caizey was back in the Magical Realm, working on some more needs potions. She had workers all over her house back home – installing a greenhouse in her backyard. The new windows she had ordered were due to come in in a few days, too. With all the noise the workers were making, she hadn’t been able to think straight, so she decided it was time to work on her magic some more. Perhaps they would be done by the time she got home!

Simeon, the Practical magic teacher had turned out to be a great friend. Whenever she got the chance, Caizey spent some time with him, either chatting or training. She felt she was pretty much at the end of where she could go with her Mischief magic, so concentrating on the other two schools of magic kept her occupied.

She was also steadily improving her dueling skills. Not only was she winning, she was having fun with it. Sure, it was frustrating to lose occasionally – but winning usually netted her some more ingredients and sometimes even money.

Really, things couldn’t get much more perfect if she wanted them to. If someone had told her where her life could go a few weeks ago, she never would have believed them…. and there would have never been a question in her mind as to whether to take the crazy offer her “benefactor” had offered.

After that last duel, Caizey’s phone went off – apparently the workers were done with her greenhouse. She could wait to see it, however, because there were more duels to be had. Lots of them.

She had won every single duel. Even the one against Darrel Charm – the braggart who said he couldn’t be beaten because of his Ancient Bloodline. With a bag full of new ingredients and a wide smile on her face, Caizey hopped on her broom and headed home.

The new greenhouse was amazing. It just needed a coat of paint – but she could do that on her own. It’s not like she didn’t know her way around a paintbrush! Caizey had also discovered a loophole. You were only supposed to get one Money Tree – but nobody made the seeds immune to magic. Her Copypasto spell had worked admirably – and she now had enough plants to seed the whole greenhouse with Money Trees. If one was good, more was better, right? All she had to do was wait for them to grow and her money worries were over forever.

That reminded her – she had to go check out her new bed, too. She put the new bed linens on it and gazed at it happily for a while, almost dumbfounded at how far she’d come.

Her comfortable bed could wait for a while longer, however.. because she still had to pay for those new windows she ordered. The smells of the magical herbs she had successfully grown filled the room with inspiration, and she painted late into the night.

Finally, her stomach growled loud enough to distract her, and she headed into her new dining room. She gazed proudly over the full table, and contemplated ordering a chandelier for above it. It was still a little too dark in the room for her taste. Then she laughed at herself wryly. She had bought a huge table and full kitchen for just her. What a silly thing she was – but she had the advantage, now, of being able to be as silly as she wanted with her life and her funds.

Days later – and who knows how many paintings, the workers finally finished installing the windows. She could finally say she had a real home. Granted, she still needed to put up wallpaper and finish furnishing the other rooms – but she’d made a real start to things.

The greenhouse was even fully painted now, with little money trees sprouting happily inside it. Life was perfect.

(A/N: I apologize for the lack of story in this post – there’s only so many times you can describe a duel and have it be interesting. Then there were the house pictures, which I really wanted to include so everyone can see this masterpiece, but they required very little in the way of explanation. I have one more post of this story to publish tomorrow, then this story will be going on the shelf until August while I work on Simnano in July. But the best part is, that last post will put me back to being caught up and ready to play Caizey as soon as July is over!)

Chapter 1.5 | Chapter 1.7

Chapter 1.4 | Chapter 1.6

There was something to be said about coming home to your very own house. With the sun shining, (although, strangely, it was also snowing…) and a plan in her head, things were most definitely looking up. She used her lamp and explored the house – a full two stories with a basement. The basement even already had a cauldron in it, and the bathroom upstairs had a sink and toilet, so she wouldn’t have to order those. Her first order of business was to order a few lights, and the basics necessary to at least make salads at home. A shower was definitely high on her list, as well – and a bed. But those could wait, being that she still had a healthy stock of needs potions. She happily painted away on her easel set up on the back porch while awaiting the lights, fridge, and counter, and luckily it didn’t take long to arrive.

She had the delivery people set up the fridge and counter in what would eventually be a kitchen and dining room, and she counted herself lucky that at least all the electrical outlets and such were already set up. A quick salad eaten while standing up prepared her for a marathon painting session, earning as much money as possible in as short a time as she could. She really wanted to get some windows in this house – staring at drywall was already getting old.

Before starting on her painting spree, she made a couple calls, and ordered some catalogs so she could get an idea of where she wanted to go with furnishings and window types. Sure, she had blueprints – but that didn’t mean she had to follow them – right?

The lighting wasn’t the best for painting, but the knowledge that she was in her OWN home, earning money for things that would be exclusively hers made all the difference. Inspiration flowed, and she gladly ran with it, making painting after painting.

Those needs potions were amazing – and they kept her going for hours. Caizey felt weird not eating, though, so she ended up making some more salads to eat on her breaks. After her painting marathon, she decided she should head out and start getting to know her neighborhood, too. I mean – it was Love Day!

On her way out, she decided to plant the stuff she had harvested from the magic realm, starting her very own garden. After asking a neighbor she found walking on the road directions to the pub that was supposed to be in Glimmerbrook, she headed in that direction, humming to herself.

Since she had some potions standing by that she wasn’t about to use herself – namely a nausea potion – she decided to try one out on the pompous jerk who gave her a weird look when she entered the bar.

Caizey had to hold back laughter when the potion started working and he ran for the bathroom. Served him right. Meanwhile, she romanced the cutest guy at the bar – one Paolo Rocca – and didn’t care what anyone else thought. Which was a great change for her from high school when she’d cared way too much what people thought of her. It was so freeing to not care!

A first kiss later, Paolo argued that he had to go home, so Caizey headed back into the bar and looked for new prospects.

Not seeing anyone of interest, she went up to the bar and ordered a drink. That was when she noticed the bartender. OOhhh! She chatted him up for a while, then convinced him to ditch work and go to the nearest museum for a date.

Lucian turned out to be a great date, and Caizey had a blast getting to know him.

He was very curious about her story about her benefactor, and her transition to Spellcaster – which gave them plenty to talk about. Apparently he had been born and raised in Sulani, and was always missing home. He talked about being able to commune with the Island Elementals, and his experiences swimming in the ocean. Caizey made a mental note to take a vacation out to the Islands when she could, because it sounded amazing.

For the second time that day – she found herself romancing someone… and Lucian was as into her as she was into him. Mind you – she wasn’t thinking anything permanent – god forbid! – but she was definitely thinking he was at least Mr. Right Now!

They ended the date with a passionate kiss, and Caizey went in and looked around the museum.

Caizey looked at some paintings – which ticked off some requirements for her aspiration, but she quickly found herself distracted by another romantic prospect. And since Lucian had left – she was going to need a ride home, anyway.

Kabir was from the city, apparently, and was just visiting the museum for the day. He was gorgeous, though, so Caizey took some time to get to know him a little better.

Another “first kiss” later – and she’d convinced him to give her a ride home. Love Day had been a blast. she was definitely going to have to do this speed-dating thing again soon!

After arriving home, she waved goodbye to Kabir, and settled in for another long night of painting. It wasn’t like she had a bed yet – and setting up a tent in her own backyard seemed a little silly. She definitely had more simoleons to earn – her home needed furniture, after all. And windows. Couldn’t forget those…. and before she knew it, she was lost in the catalogs, admiring stained glass windows. It was going to be a long night..

Chapter 1.4 | Chapter 1.6