Chapter 29

 

This chapter has been transferred from the original posting and may contain typos and grammar mistakes. 

And so life went on. Anwyn was ridiculously happy, and Liam took to fatherhood flawlessly. Seriously, he had a perfect relationship with Gloria in no time, while Anwyn is trying hard with her half bar.

Soon it was time for Gloria to grow up, to get a bigger bed, bigger clothes, and to be able to feed herself. Hallelujah!

~*~

Gloria looked up through her ceiling, the glass separating her from the starry night beyond her. If she laid there long enough, she could notice the stars move. Of course, their movement was so slow her eyes couldn’t see the actual movement, but after a while she would notice that they weren’t where they had been positioned before.

They glittered the sky, looking like slowed down twinkles of sun on the water. Some of them had different colors, but you had to have a good eye to see that. Daddy couldn’t see all of the different colors, not for many years now, but he could see most of them. He said he missed seeing the different colors, but he’d rather miss some colors over not being able to see at all.

The moon would be full tomorrow, which meant that her room would be full of light and she could play with toys later, as long as she was very, very quiet. She was getting better at being silent; there was a lot that you could get away with when people don’t know you’re there. She had been able to take a second helping of dessert from the cabinet yesterday, and she had been able to build sand sculptures at night when she was supposed to be sleeping. Of course, the evidence of these actions were obvious when they looked at the disturbed sand the next morning, or noticed the sweet missing.

Benjamin was older than her by only half a year, and while she was potty trained before he was, he still liked to pull rank on her once in a while and say that as the older person and as the uncle, he knew better. They were in the same level in school, he didn’t know more than her.

She giggled at his attempt to be better than he was. Mara and Mable were always together, and when they were little it was hard to tell them apart, but now that their hair had grown to be different colors it was easier. They were Gloria’s best friends, and when Anwyn thought they were up to something at school she called over the whole group. Benjamin usually stayed above it all, though he wasn’t impervious to a good sneak once in a while.

Gloria very quietly got up from the blanket on the floor and avoided the floorboards that creaked as she climbed into bed. Tomorrow was going to be busy, she just hoped that she would be able to fall asleep before morning.

Of course, Anwyn didn’t want just one child, and Liam always saw himself as a family man, so they had a bit of fun while Gloria was sleeping…

~*~

Anwyn and Liam layed out on the chilly sand, looking up at the cloudy sky. She sometimes missed the feeling of grass, but the grass also hid lots of bugs. Then again, the grass didn’t stick around with her when she got up, not usually.

“Would you like a boy or another girl?” she asked Liam, pondering with a smile on her face.

“I barely know what to want. I was a single child, I don’t know much about raising a family besides what these few years of being with Gloria have taught me. Would a boy cause more trouble or would a girl be more of a competition?” he asked, half serious.

“I guess we’ll have to find out,” Anwyn rested her hands where she knew that a new life grew, then rolled over and kissed Liam.

“We’re having a baby.” she congratulated.

~*~

“Hey, honey bunny, you know how Grandma has six kids?” Anwyn asked Gloria while they were making dinner.

“Yeah, there’s Uncle Dante, Aunty Lara, Aunty Sophia, Uncle-” she started to list before Anwyn waved her off.

“And you know how Aunty Lara has two kids, right?” Anwyn asked.

“Sure. Mable and Mara are my best friends.”

“Well, soon we’re going to have another kid. Mommy’s growing a baby in her belly.” she smiled.

“Really! Wow! I’m going to have a baby!” Gloria squealed.

“Well, we’re all going to have a new baby around. But yes, you’re going to have a new baby sibling.” Anwyn corrected as she hugged Gloria.

~*~

A few months later, it was a day between school sessions, and Anwyn was at home with Liam and Gloria.

“Oof, Kicking is not allowed, squirt! Take it easy.” Anwyn soothed.

“What’s that?” Liam asked, looking at her concerned. “Are you in pain?”

“You try having your insides kicked by your insides. Here, I think you can feel it.” She put Liam’s hands on her bump and smiled as his eyes lit up.

“That’s- that’s fascinating. It’s one thing to see you get bigger and bigger- in the best way, believe me, you’re still stunning- but it’s another thing to feel the movement. That’s our child in there!” he exclaimed.

She smiled, and Liam eventually dropped his hands.

Gloria was working on a school project that Anwyn had assigned to the class, but Anwyn wanted to allow Gloria to feel the baby moving too.

“And that’s going to be my sibling?” she asked, looking up at her mom.

“Yep. All wiggly and pink!” she laughed.

“Wow. Is it a boy or a girl?” Gloria asked.

“We don’t know, silly. We have to find out when the time comes.”

~*~

“Gloria! Ben! Stop running in the house!” hollered Lara as the four children played, making their way outside. “I swear, having twins was hard enough, I’m just happy I don’t have to look after all four of them at one time. I can’t imagine how you manage it, all those kids to look after.”

Anwyn grabbed a plate to clean. “They raise themselves, if there’s a problem I’ll step in. I can still observe them, but they play nicely most of the time. And I don’t have to raise them, that’s the parents’ job.”

She turned the water off and turned to Lara. “Something odd happened with Gloria the other day. She fell on the rocks, and she cried out for a minute, but then she was ok. She wasn’t even bruised. I saw it happen, I thought that I would have to ask the priestesses for a salve and bandage but- there was nothing to fix.”

“That’s odd,” she thought for a minute. “Kids are pretty resilient, maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked? And you know Gloria, she’s not one to cry much. Fight first, cry later. She gets that from her folks.” Lara nudged.

Anwyn smiled. “I can only hope that she gets the bravery of her father, but not the danger. I would die, Lara. I don’t think my heart could take it.” she gave a hesitant smile.

“Gloria will live a long, happy, healthy, and safe life here. You don’t need to worry so hard.”

Gloria was busy working on her latest sand sculpture on the beach down by the water with Mara, when Ben came and destroyed it, laughing as he did so. Gloria gave him a piece of her mind.

“Ben! What’s wrong with your head that you would do that? I was working hard on that, and you thought you’d be able to just come over here and go boom!? You’re going to pay for that!” she yelled, and suddenly Ben’s shoes weren’t on his feet. He looked down at his feet, perplexed, and the rest of the group did too, the anger gone instantly.

“You- where did my shoes go?” he asked, not expecting an answer.

“I… I have no idea…” Gloria answered, her eyebrows knitting together. “You’re sure you had them? Didn’t you lose your shoes last week in the ocean?”

“I got them back! I just had them! Where did they go? How did you get them off my feet?” he asked.

“Me? Why are you blaming me? I didn’t do it!” Gloria said.

“Remember last week when we wanted to steal Chelsea’s quill and it suddenly ended up in your hand? As if by magic? Where did you ‘magic’ my shoes?” he demanded to know.

“I- I wasn’t thinking about your shoes! I was just thinking about how I was angry at you, that’s all! And how I kinda wanted to stomp on your toes.” she said honestly.

“Well magic them back!” he ordered.

“I- what’s in it for me if I do? I’m still mad at you, you ruined my work!” Gloria said.

“I- I’ll let you take home Mr. Snuggs. For a week.” he said, saddened by the thought. Mr. Snuggs was his stuffed animal that he held at night. He kept saying that he was a bit young to have a security animal everynight, but he still loved the thing. To part with it was no small thing.

Gloria’s eyes grew large and she considered the offer. “Alright, I’ll try and get your shoes back.” she said with an annoyed scowl. She thought about his shoes being in her hand, pictured them, and then there they were, one in each hand.

Benjamin snatched them back, then ran back to the house. “Mom! Mom! Gloria stole my shoes with magic!” he tattled.

Gloria rolled her eyes at her two other cousins, and then slowly followed after him. There was going to be a million questions that she didn’t have any answers to.

Her mother came out of the house along with her dad and Aunt Lara. Her grandma was a bit slower coming out, and out of all the adults there she seemed to be the least bothered.

“What’s going on? Are you guys being nice? What’s this about stealing shoes?” Anwyn asked.

“Gloria stole my shoes with magic and then she gave them back, but I had to say I’d let her have Mr. Snuggs to get them back!” Ben complained.

“What!? No! He wrecked my sand sculpture! That’s why I was angry! I didn’t mean to take his shoes, it was an accident! He offered Mr. Snuggs as payment for messing up my sand!” Gloria complained.

“Whoa, whoa, I don’t think that the thing we’re all wondering about is the fight, what’s this about magic?” Liam asked.

“I… I can magic things. Last week I took a quill from- across the room,” she covered. “And I just now took Ben’s shoes and got them back. I don’t know how to control it, it just happens!”

Anwyn looked at Liam. “I think we need to make an appointment with the sisters on the hill. This sounds like something they would know about.”

“Agreed. Gloria, how about you don’t magic anything else for today, we’ll talk to Midshore and Everstar tomorrow.”

“Oh, ok.” she said, then followed the adults back into the house, feeling like a dog with its tail between its legs.

~*~

That night the moon was out in its full glory, but Gloria still felt like she was in trouble, so she didn’t stay up late as she had planned. Instead, she climbed into bed and fell asleep, but it wasn’t easy. She hadn’t thought of why she had been able to summon Chelsea’s quill, she just suddenly had it. She hadn’t even focused on Benjamin’s shoes, they had just disappeared and reappeared. What if she did that to her own toys and couldn’t get them back. What about her parents? The idea scared her and she got out of bed and rushed into her parents room, needing to be consoled.

“I- I was thinking about what if you guys suddenly disappeared and I couldn’t get you back? I would be stuck here, little brother or sister would be gone, I’m scared.” she gushed.

“You don’t have to be scared, we’re not going anywhere. None of us are going to leave any of us, we’re together for the long run. Don’t worry about it, hun. Come on, let’s get you nice and warm in bed. You’ll feel better that way.” Anwyn comforted.

Together they walked back to Gloria’s room, and Anwyn tucked her in. “Sleep well, baby. We’re nearby.”

“Will you stay?” she asked her mom. “Would you sleep on the bench like you used to when I was little?”

Anwyn remembered fondly of when Romeo had slept on the two seater when Gloria was an infant and didn’t want to wake Anwyn on a night that she had off of baby watch. However, she hadn’t been pregnant at the time and now the idea of sleeping anywhere but in her bed made her uncomfortable.

“I wish I could, but I don’t think that I would be very comfy. But you know where we are if you need us. Or just to peak to make sure we’re still there.” she smiled.

“Ok.” she said, trying to be brave. Her mom closed the door on her way out and Gloria was left with the glow of the moon. Her lovely moon. She felt anchored when she saw it in the sky, and it comforted her as she fell asleep.

Just as her eyes shut for the final time, she opened them to a world full of a purple sky and floating rocks.

What a weird dream… she thought as she sat up from her bed. It felt so real, but still had the feeling of a dream. No sky could look like this, and she didn’t own this dress. This wasn’t even her bed, this all felt very strange.

Gloria looked around her environment. There was a greenhouse just like the one the priestesses lived under, but this one was in good condition.

She also noticed that she wasn’t alone. There was a dark haired boy on the other side of the greenhouse, mirror image of her, similarly dressed in white. He looked equally confused and mystified by his surroundings when he met Gloria’s eyes.

Who was this dream boy? What sort of a character was he? And why could she see his face? He wasn’t someone she knew, he certainly didn’t go to school with her, and Gloria had heard that it was impossible for the brain to conjure faces that it hadn’t seen before in dreams. So why did she see his face?

She opened the door to the greenhouse, filled with oddities and lights. He did the same on his side, and now they were a few paces from each other.

“Hi, who’re you?” Gloria asked the boy.

“My name is Seneca.” he said with a chirruping accent. “Do you know what this place is? I’ve never seen it before.”

“I’ve never been here either.” Gloria started looking around at the things in the small building. “I wonder what sort of person would collect things like these. I hope we aren’t chased out of here by an angry old woman in a few minutes. That would be terrifying.”

She turned to look back at the boy, but he was gone. “Seneca?” she asked, but there was no response.

It wasn’t unusual for dreams to not make sense, and she turned back to looking around. As she did, she very vaguely picked up her name in the air, as if someone was saying her name over and over, and suddenly she felt very dizzy.

This was a very strange dream to be sure, and when Gloria woke up she still felt a bit dizzy, but rested. She looked up at the sky above her, but when she did her head swam and she decided that she should probably look at solid lines for a while to help combat the swirling that had been her dream.

~*~

He woke up with a sweat and a terrible headache that felt like an anchor holding him down. It was still night, and he felt like he was ill with a disease. He moved his legs to the side of the bed, still able to remember the name of the girl he had met. He hadn’t seen her for long, just a sparkling image of a red haired apparition. Her name had been Gloria. He felt like he had to remember it, though he wasn’t sure why.

Instead, he wandered out into the night and was sick in the bushes.

A few new faces! I will be very surprised if anyone guesses who the boy is, and I'd be interested to hear your theories. Obviously, I will neither confirm or deny your suspicions, But fire away any way.

I had the hardest time figuring out how I wasn't going to have spell-casters in the background of my dreamworld! First I just thought about finding the right lot, then the people started filling in, and a wall would block out the sky and make the world feel restrictive, so I thought, I'll do like I do in Minecraft, just build it above the ground so that the other people can't easily get to it. But then the plants and things weren't going to be right, and it seemed like more of a hassle than it was worth. I ended up just making a room in the basement and teleporting any sims that made an appearance in there. They'll get out when I leave the world. Works like a ... charm.

Oh! here's a picture of all the Cupshire children.

From left to right: The father I can't remember the name of, Alondra Cupshire, Dante, Lara, Anwyn, Sophia, Joseph, and Benjamin.