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Talia
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I had not seen my cousins since I was little. Not since their whole family, all twenty of them, came to see us after Zachary, Zander, Zayden and Zaley were born. In fact, there were a lot of people that came to visit us after the quads were born. I remember that back then, when Star, Artem, and the others came to visit us, their friends and family from Artem's side were there as well.
I also remember that when I was a kid, I used to call them my aunt and uncle. I didn't really understand that Star was just another distant cousin of mine. You see, my mom was a many times a great grandchild to Valerian, one of the brothers to Aunt Glory. There were three of them, triplets. And their other brother was the only one that they thought was going to have any children, but he was also the one that died kind of young. His name was Sorrel, and his many times great grandchild was Star. Having such a large family that dates back thousands of years can be confusing. Especially when you consider that those relatives are still alive and have kids younger than me.
Trying not to think about that too much, since it was a rabbit hole that always made me realize that my grandmother was also my great grandmother, or that my great grandfather was also my grandfather. All of that was due to a marriage between in-laws for my mom and dad and it was just so confusing that I tended to stay clear of it all.
However, there was nothing at all stopping me from talking to my cousins Elise, Isabelle and Olivia. They were about a year and a half younger than me. They would be fourteen soon, but at the moment, they were just thirteen and seemed to be looking up to me like I was some sort of amazing creature.
.....
“Talia, what's it like being on an investigation with your parents?” Elise asked me with an awed voice.
“Have you seen the crime scenes?” Isabelle asked me.
“Is it scary?” Olivia wondered with worry in her face.
Honestly, looking at the three of them, I wouldn't have been able to tell them apart if it weren't for two factors. The first was that they were all wearing similar clothes, but different colors. They had the same sense of fashion, but different favorite colors. Olivia liked pink, Isabelle preferred yellow, and Elise's favorite was purple. That helped a lot in figuring out who was who. I remembered their favorite colors from when they were little. But also, I remembered that they had different personality traits. One of which being that Olivia was more skittish and Isabelle loved scary things. Also, Elise was the most curious of them all, even though they were all three prone to asking a million and one questions.
“Well, I didn't expect to be following them on this case.” That was the truth. “I was brought in because of the souls. I..I am the only one that can free them from their bodies. So, yes, I saw the crime scenes, I saw the bodies, and sometimes it can be scary.” I looked over toward Rudy and Alexio that were standing guard in the room. I didn't want them thinking that it was too much for me.
“Tally?” Elise leaned in. “Why do your guards follow you in the house?”
“It's because they don't know you, and they are just worried about me.” I whispered back in response to her question. I could tell that Lex had heard us, but he was remaining silent about it.
“They're so cool. I know that we met them when we were little, but that was so long ago that I just don't remember them. They are also so good looking. That tall one is hot.” Isabelle was eyeing Lex with appreciative eyes. I knew that they were teenagers, but I didn't think that they would switch to this topic.
“Have you ever thought about how hot they are?” Olivia asked as she too leaned in. “That short one is so sweet looking, he is more my type.”
“That is Rudy.” I explained to her. “He is married and has a son named August.”
“Figures, a hot guy like that would be taken years before I become an adult.” She was grinning. “Still, he's fun to look at.” Olivia was still eyeing Rudy, and I could tell that he was getting a little uncomfortable. He wasn't the type that liked this kind of attention.
“I am sure that there are men in your group that you like as well.” I was trying to make them think about other people.
“No. Most of the men around us we've known since we were in diapers.” Elise rolled her eyes at the thought.
“Yeah, Daddy won't let new men around the house too often. He is way too paranoid for that.” Isabelle giggled. I didn't want to tell her that the reason that their dad was paranoid was because they were developing crushes on men that they don't even know. If they had strangers at the house, who knew what they would be like.
“You have to know some hot boys though, right Talia?” Elise jumped onto a new subject. It was not focused on my guards though, so I was good with that.
“I know guys. I am a senior now, so a lot of the guys that I know are older than me. And, well, there was this really cute boy in England when we were investigating. He tried to talk to me, but it didn't really work out.” I remembered what happened that day and laughed.
“Ooh, do I detect a story?” Olivia leaned in with her sisters. The three of them were smiling, giddy, and giggling. It was kind of nice, having a day that seemed so normal for once. I had been focusing so much on finishing school and going to college early. All of these things that were for my future were important and all, but I was forgetting to be a kid. I was forgetting that I was supposed to have friends.
“Well, it was kind of funny. He was talking to me, asking about me and all that. He was standing really close though, and he bumped into me just a little. I think it was on purpose, you know. Like he wanted to touch me or something. Well, the moment that he bumped into me, uh..uhm, someone said something to him. After that, my dad heard the commotion and scared him off. He was so scared of being face to face with King Reece, and when he learned that I was Princess Talia, he just ran away as fast as he could. I didn't know what to do, but it was a little sad.” I sighed as I thought about it.
“Ooh, that's a bummer. Why would someone say something? It was just a bump, right?” Isabelle looked like she was feeling personally offended by what happened to me that night.
“Yes, just a shoulder bump. However, think about it from that person's point of view. I am the princess. I need to make sure that I act properly with everyone. That is just what it means to be me.” I was deliberately not telling them that it was Lex that stepped in that night. I didn't want them to think less of him. He was just protecting me. If slightly over protecting me.
“Well, you don't need to worry about being the princess today, Tally.” Elise sat so close to my side that she was pressed against me when she wrapped her arm around me. “We're family and that means that you can be yourself.”
“That's right. Also, we're going to have an all out sleep over tonight. The kind you see in movies and stuff.” Olivia sat on my other side and mirrored Elise.
“That's right. We will do our nails and other beauty treatments, we will eat junk food, dance to loud music, watch movies, dance, and talk about boys.” Isabelle leaned against my back and hugged me around the neck. “And best of all, there are no boys allowed. If they want to guard you, it will be at the door.” She turned to look at the men and smiled.
“I will tell them to get some rest. We have a lot to do tomorrow, so they need their rest. It's best that they take some time for themselves as well.” As I thought about it, I realized that Lex usually worked seven days a week. And those were long days that he spent with just me. I guess he didn't really have a life to live on his own. No wonder he hadn't found a mate yet. He never got out there to meet anyone. I should start making him take days off. He can go out into the city with Uncle Shane or something.
It took some convincing, but I did manage to make the guys leave. And, of course, it took longer to convince Lex than it did Rudy. He was obstinate and refused to leave at first. Finally, though, he left and let me and the girls have a slumber party.
And I will admit that it was one of the best nights that I had ever had. I got to stop worrying about being proper and behaving in front of my guards. I finally got to unwind. It felt amazing. And I will say that my skin and nails looked amazing afterwards.
I hadn't known how much I needed this. A night to relax and unwind with some people that didn't care that I was the princess. They just wanted me to be me. And even though I was up late, I felt so refreshed in the morning. It was amazing.
However, first thing the next morning, when Lex and Rudy were back on duty, it was back to being the proper Princess Talia that I always tried to be. Yes, there were times that I slipped. Yes, there were times that I wasn't perfect. I don't think that there has been a person in the history of the world that was able to be perfect one hundred percent of the time. Still, I tried. I worked hard to be the person that my family wanted me to be, the person that Lucifer, Hades, Hel, and the others wanted me to be. I pushed myself to achieve my goals and do what was expected of me. And that was fine, I made the decision to do that. But honestly, this one night of freedom from that was just what I needed to keep me going.
