Welcome to Gaia! ::

Umbra was not having a comfortable ride, every bump, every notch on the road was amplified to her because she was sitting on Tobi’s lap, meaning there was more than a few times she almost put her head through the top of the carriage. Umbra had to resort to wrapping her arms around Tobi’s neck and holding on as tight as she could to keep herself in this infernal contraption. There was more than a few times she almost ended up on the floor too, this was not a ride fit for royalty such as herself! Another bump thrust her upwards, and she more or less pulled poor Tobi’s face into her chest to keep herself inside of the carriage.
”Hey Driver! Can you hit a few more bumps?! I haven’t quite bounced out of the carriage yet!”
“Sorry your Majesty, this road is pretty bad, must be from the thaw of winter. I’ll try to go a little more gently.”
Umbra growled slightly and tried to snuggle back into something of a more comfortable position on Tobi’s lap. At least he gave her a bit of a break by forming some scales on his thighs so that at least when she bounced around she didn’t knock herself against some hard bone… she didn’t think that landing a** or face first on dragon bone would be very pleasant. Umbra was going to need a mental secretary after today, as she made one more note to herself that she was going to be checking on the transportation before she actually agreed to go on one of these road trips with her mom and sister… and Tobi… her mood certainly wasn't improved by the teasing and being poked fun at by her mom and Niccy.

Finally, after the long hour of Umbra’s life, a rather comfortable looking cottage came into view. There was something of a stable not far off from the road leading to the house where it looked as though there were a couple of people shoveling hay inside, in the yard, there was a loveseat swing near the garden where a woman was reading a book to a young child, possibly around the age of five. As the carriage drew down the fairly beaten path a younger girl, roughly seven years of age came running up to the woman reading the book to the young child.
Ana would immediately recognize the woman as Haku, and as she looked from her young daughter to the direction she was pointing, Haku slowly closed the book and stood up. It wasn’t often that they had visitors and now that they had more or less just moved in, Haku wasn’t expecting anyone but Jace to return home. Instead, she saw… was that Ana-chan? If it wasn’t for her five year old who looked rather nervous about the approaching carriage, she probably would have ran over to her old friend and embraced her. Instead, she opted for allowing them to stop the carriage and get out before she came over and immediately embraced Ana.
”Ana-chan… it’s so good to see you again! It’s been so long! How on earth did you find me so fast, we just moved in!” Haku couldn’t believe it! It really was Ana, after all this time she was finally able to see her again. Haku certainly hadn’t lost her motherly quality to her, in fact, the simple dress and the apron rather complemented her natural look. Her eyes fell upon the trio of teenagers who were getting out of the carriage. Her expression, soft and gentle as ever, fell upon them. She pulled away from Ana. Her eyes fell on Tobi. ”You must be Ryuu… my… you’ve grown up so much sense the last time I saw you.” Obviously Haku hadn’t heard about Ryuu and the transformation that had occurred in between, seeing as she seemed to think that the only boy here must have been the Prince. It wasn’t a bad guess really, all things considering. Her eyes fell to Nicolette. ”And you must be Nicolette-chan… it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” It was by this time that Umbra had presented herself more or less beside Tobi, having spent the previous amount of time trying to get her back in a straight line once again. Haku took immediate notice of this and tilted her head, she knew of Ryuu… hell she help change his diapers at one point… and she heard of Nicolette… but who was this young lady? ”Is… that your Girlfriend, Ryuu-kun?”
Umbra forced a smile, though it looked rather strained. She… she wasn’t sure what the hell to say at this point, and she certainly didn’t want to bite this woman’s head off just because she had a bad ride here.
Haku felt her dress being pulled as her youngest tucked himself behind her, she smiled down at him and looked to the girl who stood by, amused but puzzled as to what was going on. ”Olivia, sweetheart, would you go and fetch your brothers from the stables please? We have special guests.”
The girl didn’t say anything, though she obeyed her mom after one last lingering glance on the group gathered before taking off to fetch the twins.

Haku didn’t quite know what was going on, but the mistake in getting Ryuu mixed up with Tobi was enough to put some red in her cheeks and a bow at the waist. ”Oh, I am so sorry! That was rather presumptuous of me.” Haku was obviously flustered, though she was slightly confused and once more she was starting to jump to conclusions in her mind. Was Ryuu transgendered like she was? Huh, it’s a small world after all. Haku was then distracted by Ana asking her children’s names. A bright smile appeared across her face. Olivia was the one who just ran off to get her brothers. Jace and I had twins on our first try…” Haku explained with a bit of an embarrassed look before turning to the youngest one who was still tucked away behind her. She smiled gently and picked up the youngest. ”And this is Jaggar. Can you say hi?” The youngest one buried his face into his moms neck, Haku looked over with a smile. ”He hasn’t quite grown out of his shy stage yet.” Haku kissed his forehead and set him down shooing him towards the yard where he went to go and play.
Haku’s attention was pulled away when she felt Ana loop her arm though hers, she looked over and smile, blushing slightly under the praise of Ana, her free hand came to the side of her face as if to try and cover the blush. ”Oh I sure there are others who can make better tea than I can… thank you for the compliment though.”

Umbra was certainly not having a fun filled time, she shot a withering glare at Niccy when she first heard the giggles coming from her about her and Tobi being a couple. It was so wrong, and it felt so weird getting this kind of attention and these kind of questions. With the rough day that Umbra was having, Niccy could still very well be swallowed into a pit of darkness by the end of the day. Umbra frowned a little bit, she wasn’t sure how much she liked having her story told to others, but her mom really seemed to trust this woman. She looked over at Tobi before she looked back at her mom. Tea time huh. ”Only if Niccy doesn’t make me wear it…” Umbra replied, her mood was coming through in her voice. It was starting to get harder and harder for Umbra to mask her emotions like she used to, it must be an estrogen thing. Umbra closed her eyes for a moment before looking back up at Tobi with a sickly sweet smile. ”Shall we darling?” She asked in a playfully sweet tone to match her smile, she waited for Tobi to offer his arm to her and if he didn’t do so he was going to get an elbow in the guts, if she was going to have to be miserable, she was going to take people with her. Ugh, this was so embarrassing, now her and Tobi were an item? What the hell? Tobi already seemed to have a beau and she certainly wasn’t over her heartbreak with Isabelle just yet. There was no way in hell that Tobi would ever go out with her anyway (not that she cared) he already said it before that he was only interested in girls with a less shifty gender. So that ruled her out pretty quickly.

The inside of the cottage was rather cozy and homey, there was a lot of pictures of a proud family displayed with a lot of crafted pictures and ornamentation from obviously younger children. Haku invited them all to have a seat, Umbra chose to sit as much to herself as possible and both pout about her situation she seemed to have gotten herself into and brood about how this day turned into a humiliation fest for her. Haku started to brew the tea for her and her guests, the boys still hadn’t come in yet, though they were the kind of people who didn’t like to leave things unfinished, so they were probably going to do their job till completion before they came in. She doubted it would take too much longer.
The tea was served and Haku got snuggled down next to Ana. ”I’m sorry for the slight mess here, children don’t tend to pick up after themselves very often on whim. Now… tell me what’s happened, Ana-chan?” There was a slightly concerned undertone to Haku’s voice, it sounded like there was something going on that was causing some distress among them. Haku never really did like it when there was distress among people, being the nurturer that she was. Haku looked over to Umbra, who only turned her head slightly and addressed her mom. ”You brought it up… go ahead and tell it.”

Despite herself, Umbra gave something of a chuckle and a playful swat to Tobi’s arm before taking it up once more. ”You’re such a dork!” Though saying that, she still continued to play her part and pulled herself close to Tobi, he had seen a lot of ladies of the court do this kind of things with their beau’s so she guessed that’s what women did with their men. While they walked the short distance, Umbra’s eyes narrowed slightly, her face dropping ever so slightly as well, her hand had come up to his bicep and she could feel the firm bulge of muscle under his shirt. It made her feel rather small, frail and weak. There was once a time when she had muscles like this, but now, she was slender and elegant, soft to the touch and atrophied compared to her former self. She didn’t know how to feel about that, other than this mentality that her physical strength was on par with her inner strength. She wondered… if Tobi still saw her as someone who was strong or if he saw her as someone who was weak and frail now, perhaps like the rest of the world. When they got to the table, Umbra let go of Tobi’s arm, giving him a poke in the ribs with her finger before she took a seat.

”If everything was spotless and in place, one could assume that I was only borrowing the children from my neighbors.” Haku added with a tease. It was about then that Ana’s story started and she listened intently to her old friend, she couldn’t stop her sympathetic looks from passing over the children, she knew how awful it could be when you were locked in a body that you weren’t familiar with. She did fall kind of silent though as the story went on, there was something strange that raised a bit of a red flag in her mind about Ryuu’s willingness to give the potion to his sister, and the fact that she was obviously suffering more than she was. She knew, that if she had a choice in a similar situation that she wouldn’t likely give the potion up so freely… at least, she didn’t know if she could. But Ryuu did so, either she was a very strong young person or… She stopped those thoughts and offered Umbra something of a proud smile at her… she didn’t miss Ana’s subtly in the name either, she remembered well going over baby names around the campfire, as excited as though she was going to have one herself. ”I’m surprised that you remembered that name Ana-chan… it was so long ago, and we went through so many of them at the time.” Returning her attention back to Umbra, who was faintly distressed by the memories that were conjured, she spoke softly. ”That was a very brave thing that you did, Umbra-chan, not many people in your situation would have done such a thing… Nicolette-chan is very lucky to have an older sibling such as yourself.”

Umbra didn’t have the pleasure of Nicolette’s escape from the fleshy prison that she found herself in, granted, she knew that Nicolette was suffering far more that she was, it was still something that she was getting used to. Umbra had also lost someone that she had loved deeply as well, now that Lady Isabelle was no longer hers, she had to force herself to heal and move on from that. She was doing her best to keep their friendship, but it was still so tender and painful. Maybe someday… maybe someday they would be able to call each other sister instead of friend, but those were some pretty deep, far flung hopes at the moment. Umbra’s hands were in fists at the memories of that the story conjured, frustration and resentment clawed their way back into her being again. Why… why did she give the potion to Niccy and was it the right thing to do? Would she be able to have lived with herself if she did. Umbra almost felt tired again, her mom didn’t need to tell of the months that she locked herself away to still feel those emotions ebbing and flowing inside of her, muted and numbed now, though they were. Her mom’s hand grasping her own startled her a little bit and she looked over at her. Her face softened when she saw the proud tranquility that her mother was sporting on her face and in her eyes. Umbra’s eyes returned to the reflection in the tea up after that. Umbra gave a bit of a short, dry chuckle at the thought of growing into herself. ”It’s more like I’m desperately fumbling through a maze blindfolded rather than actually growing into myself… though I think ‘fumbling’ might be too kind of a word for it.”

Haku remained silent for a few moments, studying Umbra little more. She didn’t want to say anything in front of the obviously distressed Princess… but she made a few mental notes. ”Well, whatever you’re doing Umbra-chan, it’s far better than not moving at all, right? It’s never easy adjusting to changes that big and I can understand your disorientation.” Haku looked over at Ana with a smile. ”I see, so that’s your motivations then! I should have known that it wasn’t just to come and see me again.” Haku teased, then turned her attention back to Umbra. I’m happy that you trust me enough to come here and I would be honored to be of any help that I can. Just let me know if I can do anything for you, alright?”
Umbra nodded slowly, though she still avoided eye contact with everyone else. She didn’t know how to feel at this point, though she felt Haku’s hand fall over hers and give it a squeeze before she turned to Niccy and ran her fingers though her hair, trying to sooth her demons that seemed to have come up as well. It was obvious that Nicolette was rather haunted by that traumatic experience, and Haku knew it. Hell, she was still haunted by her own maligned gender.

”MMOOOOOMMMM! JAGGAR GOT HIS HEAD STUCK IN THE FENCE AGAIN.”

A look of annoyed exasperation crossed Haku’s face. ”Oh for Pete sakes… I’LL BE RIGHT THERE, HONEY, TRY AND MAKE SURE THAT HE DOESN’T PANIC… AND I’LL NEED YOUR BROTHERS FOR THIS TOO.” Haku fetched a tub of something from the cupboard and gave an apologetic look to her guests. ”I’m so sorry, please excuse me for a moment and help yourself to some more tea.” Haku loved being a mom… but sometimes children could be so… so special…
Umbra watch was Haku left to try and rescue her child from the self-inflicted peril. ”Remind me… never to have kids…”

Umbra’s hands were clenched on her lap and she was getting tense. Her eyes were more or less glued to the reflection in the cup of tea. Her eyes narrowed a little bit when Tobi asked her the question of what she thought of her. ”I don’t know Tobi, she’s a nice woman and seems to be very nurturing…” She let those thoughts trail off as if she lost what she was thinking in her head. She supposed that it was a happy and good thing to meet someone who had taken hold of their life and made the change like that, but Umbra never asked for this change and she was struggling to adjust. Umbra sat in silent thought for a while until Tobi took her cup away from her, breaking the gaze of the reflection and causing Umbra to look over at him with some sort of minor surprise on her face. She gave something of an amused, though small chuckle. ”Adding sugar does wonders to get rid of the bitterness, you know. Maybe you should try getting your own cup and experimenting with the amount of sugar that it would take to get things right for you.” There was a pause before a sly grin came across her face. ”Or is it that you’re so desperate to have my lips on yours that you purposefully suffer through the tea to taste where I put my lips first?”
Umbra’s smile faded a bit, she looked down at her lap for a moment before turning to Tobi once more. Her tone was soft and gentle, though there was an ache in her words. ”Tobi… did I do the right thing by giving my sister the potion instead of taking it myself?” Umbra once more brought her slightly downwards and dropped her gaze once more. ”I regret giving it to her, but I’m not sure that I would have been able to live with myself if I didn’t. What does my kingdom think of me, I wonder, and I wonder if I should care?” Without warning, Umbra’s hand came on top of Tobi’s and there was a firm squeeze that accompanied it, as if she was looking for some sort of reassurance that what she did was truly for the best or if she made a huge mistake. She missed the way that things were, and things were getting seemingly more and more complicated with her and Tobi as well, she didn’t know if it was a bad thing or not. But she knew that it was a change that she was a little uncomfortable with at this time. ”I must be so weak and pathetic in your eyes right now. You’re bigger than me, stronger than me… and it feels like I need to rely on other people right now instead of myself, I hate these feelings and needs. I was so strong and independent when I was a guy, but now…”

Umbra grinned a bit. ”I do add sugar, honey, I just don’t add so much as to kill the flavour of my tea.” Now it was Umbra’s turn for her cheeks to get a little warm as Tobi made his proclamation of taking her lips. ”Oh please, If I wanted to kiss you I would have taken the in-“ Umbra paused for a moment and brought her face into her hands. ”Did we just flirt with each other because of a stupid cup of tea?” Okay, seriously? Umbra noted to herself that she was going to have to watch the escalations between her and Tobi from now on, now that she was a woman these teasing and taunts seemed to have taken on a whole new life of their own and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for someone to hear this kind of banter from the outside. She was pretty damn sure that it would cause the wrong idea. Tobi was her best friend, and nothing more. It was easier for her to remember this because Tobi was still pretty well the same as he’d always been… spare now being taller than her and a few cosmetic changes, he was more or less the same person that he always was. It was easy to see why Tobi was having troubles, Umbra was very, very different from Ryuu and even though they knew each other their whole lives, visually, there was a huge difference in Umbra now. Umbra brought her hands down and looked over at Tobi with an amused look. ”How the hell did we get here, Tobi? We’re flirting without meaning to flirt with each other. I’m sure we’re violating most, if not all of the bro-code doing this.” Not that Umbra was much of a bro anymore, so… was the bro-code even able to apply to her?

Umbra listened to what Tobi had to say. ”So, she’s been confiding in you, has she? I suppose that’s good to know that she has someone that she can talk to as well…” Umbra paused for a moment, letting Tobi finish what he had to say before her eyebrows quirked a little. She felt guilty did she? It was a horrible thing for her to admit to, but she secretly loved the fact that Nicolette was suffering in some way too. At least Umbra wasn’t alone in that matter. ”Still, at least she’s able to pick up where her life left off before the change. Mine fell to pieces.” Perhaps it was a cold comfort that Niccy seemed to have also lost something in this exchange, even though she was able to get what she needed in order to move on in life… time would heal this wound as well, and give Umbra some time to forgive her sister fully herself. She just… she just needed to get comfortable with her position in life first, though it may take a while, maybe both sisters would be able to forgive each other for the sacrifices made and the guilt that they both felt because of it. Umbra gave a dry chuckle before bowing her head slightly and closing her eyes. ”We certainly take after our mother, Niccy and I, don’t we? Too proud to right a wrong and to stubborn to take the initiative and just bury the hatchet.” Ah, their mom must being pulling her hair out at this, it’s always frustrating when you’re a parent and you see your own flaws in your children.

What Tobi said next, made Umbra stop and think, what did it mean to be strong? How could she possibly be strong when she was so vulnerable and lost… and dare one say, afraid? She appreciated Tobi’s support, though she wasn’t sure if she totally followed his line of thinking. He did, however, give her some food for thought, and something that she could think about to find an answer to her own question of what it meant to be strong. ”I’m not even sure if I know who I am anymore, Tobi. I’m not the person that I was a few months or even a year ago, but what does that make me in the present? Am I moulded by my past or am I a product of my current actions? What do I do now? Where am I going in life? How do I get there? I can’t be the person that I once was, at least not until I find that Unicorn horn. So… who am I?” Umbra paused for a moment and let the thoughts swirl in her head a little bit. She looked over at Tobi with something of a worrisome look in her eyes, but… also a look of determination as though she had made up her mind about something but was afraid of what he would think of her if she did do so. ”If… if I did my best to embrace this new life of mine, Tobi… would you think… lesser of me for doing it? I don’t know who I am right now? What makes me… well, me anymore? I don’t think I’m going to use my new gender and feelings of awkward insecurities to give myself to excuse not to experiment and find about who I am as a person. I’m probably going to be violating the bro-code from here on out… though I don’t think that applies to me any longer…” Umbra took a deep breath after that, she had just spoken out loud and to Tobi that she was going to try a little harder to find out who she was, the vow between them both felt liberating and more than a little intimidating. First, she would have to find a way to start. She supposed that the best place to start was fully acknowledged that Ryuu was gone. She was a woman, a girl… a member of the female gender, and there was nothing wrong with that. She was a blank slate and could do as she wanted to find herself, and she would be free of any sort of ‘shame’ or ‘guilt’ about doing it just because she was once a Prince. She felt better now, if only a little bit.
She punched Tobi in the arm. ”So you think I was a burly hunk in my old body, did you?”

”I know she is Tobi, and I guess that’s what made me decide to give it to her in the first place… and I could have guessed those damnedable old bastards would have done something like that. The thought of that makes my blood boil.” Umbra had to take a deep breath to calm herself down a little bit before continuing on. Her voice was softer than it was before, her eyes were softening as well as she looked at him as she continued on with the thoughts on her embracing her female self. ”I know that it’s pointless waiting for something that will probably never come, I think that I’m just having some personal pride issue getting in the way. I think I just need to know that I had people in my corner outside of my family when I decided to do this… though honestly, I’m not sure where to start.” She grinned. ”Though a new wardrobe and bedroom is a good place to start.” Umbra paused when Tobi mentioned that they were coming back in. Umbra cleared her throat and straightened herself up to appear as though there was nothing wrong with her a few moments ago.

Jaggar was still sobbing when Nicolette teleported him out of the fence, his face was red and his lower lip was poked out whilst his cheeks and chin were wet from tears. “I was only trying to see the fairies that live on the other side of the fence…”
”Oh sweetheart.” Haku cooed while she pulled him onto her lap and started to comb his hair with her fingers, trying to sooth the upset child as best she could. He was happy to curl around his mom and continue to sob. She looked over at Nicolette with bright, happy eyes. ”Thank you, Nicolette-chan, that’s quiet the impressive ability you have there.”
“Well, it looks like we weren’t needed after all.”
There were a pair of boys that came from behind the group, they looked to be the same age though one was the spitting image of Haku when Ana first met her as a boy, and the other one certainly took after Jace in the looks department. There was something gentle about the boy who looked the male version of Haku, his long hair hung tamed and neat down past his shoulders, his brilliant green eyes held such strength behind them. His brother on the other hand, hand short and rather messy hair, his eyes were filled with a raw determination that looking like it could start a fire if he looked at the wrong thing. The short haired boy didn’t look too impressed as he shouldered a crowbar and looked away from the small group. With the amount of bandages on his forearms and the bandage across the bridge of his nose, it was pretty safe to say that he would rather be training with a weapon of some kind rather than be around people in any sort of social way.
Haku’s eyes lit up. ”There they are, Ana-chan, I would like for you to meet my twin sons, the one with the short hair is Galahad and the other one is Percival. Boys, this is-“
“Her majesty, Queen Anastasia, and Princess Nicolette.” Percival replied as he walked over and knelt down in front of her offering her and Nicolette a kiss on their ring and knuckles respectively. “Forgive us, we overheard the story that you were telling about your daughters. Olivia said we had special guests and we came as soon as we were able, though it seemed like an inopportune time so we thought it best to wait for the right time to introduce ourselves….”
“Then the twirp got his head suck in the fence looking for fairies.”
Percival’s eyes closed and his eyebrows angled towards the bridge of his nose. “And who put that thought in his head, I wonder?”
“It’s not my fault he’s-“
”That’s enough Galahad!” Haku interrupted with a warning tone. She wasn’t about to let this escalate any further than it had gone, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let a five year old be brow beaten by his older brother… there was severe punishment in her house when things like that occurred. She heard him tisk and she knew that he looked away, it was common of him to do so when he knew that he was getting himself into hot water. Galahad always had troubles expressing his emotions in any sort of way, Percival was a lot more open about them and thus, was usually a lot calmer. She waited a while till Jaggar calmed down a little more before standing up with him still in her arms. ”Shall we go back inside? I’m sure the tea must be getting cold by now. Are you boys done with the barn then?”
“Not quite yet, we should have it done within an hour or so though.” Percival answered readily while Galahad still looked like he was sulking about being scolded by his mom.
”Alright then, come and take a break and at least introduce yourself to Umbra and Tobi. If you’d like some tea then go ahead, though if you want to go back to your chores after than then you’re welcome too.”
“Alright.”
“Tsk. Fine.”
The group started to head towards the house again, Galahad looked over at Ana. “Hey, I heard that your eldest is pretty good with a weapon and elements, think she’d be up for a spare or something.”
“Oh for pete sakes, is that all you ever think about?” Percival asked with a bit of a glare towards his brother. “I’m sure that Princess Umbra would actually like some peace and quiet every now and again, surely you can respect that.”
“What can I say, the only way I’m going to get better as a Templar is if I challenge as many people as I can and get better at fighting.”
Percival almost gave his brother a disappointed look. “There are other things that a Holy knight needs to learn and master you know… not just the might of arms.”

It was about this time that the group managed to get themselves into the house. ”Sorry about that, crisis averted thanks to Nicolette-chan here, now… This is-“
“Umbra, I challenge you to a duel!!”
”…Galahad…”
“You dolt! That isn’t a way to greet a Princess.” Percival replied after knocking his brother upside his skull with a balled fist.
Percival was on one knee in front of Umbra, taking her hand gentle and kissing her knuckle. “I assure you, my Princess, that not all men in this household are as barbarous as him. My name is Percival, and it’s a pleasure and an honour to make your acquaintance.”
Percival blew into his hand, creating an ice rose with his element and handing it to a very confused looking Umbra. “Here, My Princess, a token of apology for my brother’s brash and unwelcoming words.

Umbra blinked a few times before slowly accepting the rose. ”Um… thanks?” Umbra still wasn’t totally sure how to react to this sort of attention, she could handle Tobi any day with a quick, witty retort and some cheeky elbowing, but strangers… strangers were a whole new different game. She watched with a slightly tilted head as the two older boys seemed to continue their sibling rivalry for a while before Haku stepped in and sorted them out, they both took a seat quietly at the table. Umbra forced a rather awkward chuckle while things moved on before turning silent once more. What Tobi had said to her was rolling around in her head, though she wasn’t sure what to make of it just yet, but she would certainly reflect upon it for a while. She finished off her tea and placed her cup gently on the table. ”Hey mom… when was it that you and Miss Haku started to become friends and… what sorts of things did you two used to do together?”

It was rather interesting to get to know Haku and her family, with every topic asked about and ever new bit of information gleamed the group of two families seemed to grow a little closer together, they learned of Percival and Galahad’s dreams and aspirations of being Templar knights, just like their father, as well as some other things about Haku and Ana’s relationship and how they seemed to have gotten along so well. Umbra was rather surprised that Haku had been so open with her family about who she once was, she guessed that she just didn’t want her children growing up thinking that they had to hide who they really were from her. Perhaps she was worried that one of her children would turn out like her and feel that they had nowhere to go or anyone to turn to. Through the conversation, Umbra was starting to warm up more and more to Haku and Percival, Galahad was a bit obnoxious and hot headed for her tastes but she did promise a duel the next time they met, and that seemed to please him to no end.
Soon however, it was time to go, and they all piled into tiny, three seated carriage, though this time Umbra boldly claimed Tobi’s lap as her own, she did so almost playfully as to get the first laugh before anyone else did. Maybe it was what Tobi had said to her earlier, or perhaps it was just that she was in a good mood from the day and meeting some new friends outside her usual social circle, which ever it was, Umbra was playful and rather light hearted at the moment. Not even the bumpy ride back was making her miserable… it made her rather sore but not miserable… though she never passed on the opportunity to dramatically declare that her poor, royal backside would never be the same after this ride. Indeed, it was probably some black and blue by now, she couldn’t imagine how bruised Tobi’s leg was going to be after all of this. Then again, Tobi was made of much tougher stuff than she was at this point, so he may very well not have the same problems as she did now.
It was kind of sad to see Tobi leave tonight and as he bid his farewells and then disappeared into what was left of the setting sun, leaving Umbra rather forlorn after the amount of time that they had been a part from one another. She was hoping that he would say the night, but she guessed that he still had work to do at home. Maybe she would see him tomorrow? It was something to look forwards too in any event.

Umbra wasn’t as tired as the rest of them it seemed, she as going to see how her room was coming along and then maybe get caught up in her paperwork, or perhaps read a book for a while when her mom pulled her away to give her something. Umbra followed her into her private room where she was handed a scroll and told that it was from Vidor. She raised an eyebrow and took in her hand. ”Uncle Vidor was in your private room? Oh the scandal!” Umbra teased with a grin. Her expression turned a little more serious when she looked down at the scroll, it certainly was heavy and rather large, she wondered what it was. Was it a private thing that she should keep to herself about or was it something that could be shared with the rest of her family. Vidor certainly never gave her a straight answer for anything. Though, she was certainly curious about what it was. She broke the seal and quickly, though gently unfurled the parchment that made up the paper. Once the lengthy scroll was all opened (and mostly lying on the floor with its length) Umbra started to look it over, she didn’t mind that her mom was in the room or that she was more than likely reading over her shoulder. ”It’s… it’s a family tree, or at least a part of one.” Intrigued, Umbra went to the far end of the family tree where she saw her, well… his name, though it was separated by a line with her new one underneath it. Her heart started to race as she saw her mom’s name… and then her Uncle Vidors branch off from her own name. She looked up at her mom for a moment after she looked at the short foot note about her being adopted by Thomas. ”Mom…?” she asked in a shaky voice, was it true? She didn’t know if she wanted an answer or not. With shaky hands she continued through the scroll to look at the other names and notes that with them in various place. She didn’t know how to feel right now, she was torn between feeling a little betrayed that her mom never told her about her real father, confused as to why her birth father was showing her this, and fear of losing the throne that she worked so hard to get if this ever got out. Still, she continued to look over the names, tears blurring her vision at times as she trudged forwards, she recognized some of these names from her history lessons when she was younger, vilified men and women who’s deed’s history perverted by their victors. She kept going, getting faster and more anxious as she started to near the end of the scroll until she came to the very end. The very last name.
Emperor Archeon.
Umbra found her legs giving out and she found her way to the floor, her legs on either side of her, forming an ‘M’ shape with her body as she stared at the names at the end. Her ancestor was the Dark Lord of all Dark Lords, the man who conquered the whole continent and both destroyed the lands and brought them into new prosperity. A man, who history would have loved to forget and yet because of them the History of the whole continent was made and forged from. Umbra was a direct, pure descendent of this man and his seventeenth wife. The notes that she read seemed to suggest that Vidor’s family kept the bloodline very, very pure for whatever reason. Umbra was at a loss as to what to feel or how to react. How did you react when it seemed that everything that you had been told was a lie, and that everything that you thought you knew was turned on its head.
Emperor Archeon.
The name bounced around in her skull and she wasn’t sure what to do about it, Part of her was proud that she was a direct descendant to such a man, the other part of her was horrified at the thought. Though, even she now knew, that even though she wasn’t Thomas’s natural born child, that she had the blood of kings in her veins, and they were thick and pure, arguably, far more purer that Thomas’. Umbra looked up at her mom, her eyes were wet with tears though they didn’t spill. ”Mom?” It was though she was looking for answers, answers that her mom probably didn’t have for her.

A gentle hand came and rested on top of Ana’s own, there was a gentle squeeze as though there was some sort of reassurance for her mother, she remained silent for a while longer as she re-read what her eyes just rolled over not too long ago. As if making sure that there were no mistakes or misunderstandings on her part. Umbra gently rested her hand on top of the page, namely at the end of the page where her mom’s name, her own, and… and her father’s name, her true father. Umbra a soft smile touched Umbra’s lips despite the tears that were flowing down her face. She listened to her mom as she explained things to her. As she went on, Umbra was starting to put memories together and the pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit into place. Her element, her coloration and her facial traits, none of these were a match to Thomas or anyone else on his side of the family, and she doubted that these kinds of traits where found on her mom’s side of the family either. From what she saw… her mom also had a rather fair family form which she came from. Though there were a lot of emotions that were crawling into her heart and soul, there was on that was predominate, there was a feeling of a calm tranquility.
Was this really so bad? Was this… something so terrible that her mom and Thomas would need to protect her from everyone else? She supposed that neither of them knew of Vidor’s bloodline, though knowing who’s blood was flowing through her veins, perhaps nothing would have changed. Archeon was not a name that came up with very much love or joy, and she could have imagined that there would be some panic and discord at the thought of a bloodline of Archeon was returning to the throne of one of the most influential kingdoms in the continent.

Umbra moved herself onto her mother’s lap and pulled her arms around her into something of a hug, she leaned her head back to rest it on her mom’s shoulder. She kept on hand over top both of Ana’s hands to keep them where they were while she raised her hand up to brush the tears off of her face with her thumb. She took a deep breath. This was a bombshell to be sure, but she had survived being turned into a girl, she survived a dragon attack, she survived finding out that her best friend was a dragon and she survived the courts. She had vowed to Tobi that she wasn’t going to hide from herself anymore, that she was going to face the world as she was, and little by little, discover who she really was… she didn’t think that anything like this would happen when she vowed this. But a man was only as good as his word. Or, rather, her word in this case. Umbra opened her mouth for a moment only to close it right away as if she was trying to find the right words, or perhaps try and tame emotions from coming out of her mouth. She pressed her lips together and slightly inwards towards her mouth before she released her lips and try again.
”I’m not upset about who my real dad is.” She said in a soothing whisper, being strong for her mom and also trying to sooth her worries… it was almost funny, really. The one who got hit with the bombshell was the one providing strength for the one who hid this little secret from her. ”I think I figured things out a while ago, though I was missing a piece of the puzzle and couldn’t see the big picture. There is no mistaking that The King treats Nicolette far different than he did me, and when I was around Uncle… no… when I was around Dad, there was something more there then just teacher and student. It was though being with me both hurt him and brought him such joy. I thought it was just because he was a lonely man, but… I now think that it was because he had a son but could never be a father… and that must have torn him a part inside.” Umbra sniffled quietly and licked her lips for a moment before she continued on.

”I don’t know if I agree with the actions that you and Thomas took, but I can see where you were coming from and why you thought it was for the best… and I can’t fault you for that.” Umbra leaned back into her mom, she closed her eyes to try and tame the gentle flow of tears that were coming from her eyes. Though she had no idea why she was crying… was it… happiness that she was told that her mom and dad loved each other and that this was all for her protection… was it despair because she was denied her real father while the others played this masquerade around her to make sure that she was kept in a the dark, spun in something of a twisted lie for the good of Queens reputation?
She couldn’t think like that now, she had to be strong for her mom, she put her through enough the past three months, she was sure that her mom wouldn’t appreciate her throwing herself back into a black hole again over something like this. It was so major, and yet, it seemed so minor in the grand scheme of things. If anything, it meant that by birth right this whole Continent was hers… though she wasn’t sure if she wanted THAT sort of responsibility. Perhaps a Kingdom would be enough for her… for now…
Umbra brought her hand up and brushed tears away from under her mom’s eyes. She could see how much that her mom was suffering, she was suffering like Vidor was suffering in her own way, she couldn’t be mad at her, not for long anyway. Umbra was loved, she was well loved which made this adoption news less painful. She knew that her blood father loved her as well, he trained her, he came to her rescues twice when she was in need without so much as half a though. Why he decided to give her this information now was a bit beyond her, maybe it just hurt him too much and he needed her to know that this was who she really was, maybe he was worried that something else might happen and he wanted to give her some form of strength? Hell, she knew that the Emperor Archeon conquered the whole damn continent… and if he could do that, then she could conquer her own personal demons, right? She wasn’t sure what his real reason was… maybe he didn’t have on and just gave her something that she could interoperate for herself. She offered a bit of a smile to her mom. ”Yeah, next time a little more gently would be appreciated.” Umbra replied with a chuckle that sounded half way between a laugh and a sob. ”I’m not sure how to feel right now… but I’m alright. I’m okay. I have you in my corner, same with dad and dad, Haku and Tobi too… and though I think that Nicolette is a little sore at me for doing what I did, but I’m sure that she’s there for me if I need her too, right?”