"Good morning!" Sadie's singsong voice called through the intercom. "I've let you sleepyheads sleep long enough, it's time to get up. Your betrotheds will be expecting you soon." Esmee groaned and stretched.
"Do we really have to get up?" She asked her sisters as they woke up.
"Apparently, yes." Savannah said as she swung her feet off her bed. "And if we are getting up, you can bet that the boys are getting up too."
"Why? They always let us sleep in on Saturday, so why not this week?" Claudia complained as she started getting dressed. "And what does she mean, 'your betrotheds will be expecting you soon? Are we hosting another party?"
"I guess we will find out when we go downstairs." Esmee replied as she pulled on her shoes.
"Oh good, you are here." Sadie said in a too cheery tone. "After you make breakfast, you will be seeing your betrotheds' again. You will have breakfast with them, and start planning your weddings, the sooner the better. Your Father and I want to have your weddings before the end of the year. Boys, you will borrow some of your Father's sportscars. Girls, your Fiancés will pick you up from here. Am I clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." The six of them said in unison.
"Good. You are dismissed." Sadie said brightly as she turned to head back upstairs. "And boys, you would do well to remember to return your Father's cars undamaged." She added as she headed up the staircase.
"Yes, ma'am." The boys replied as Esmee, Savannah and Claudia went into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast.
"Breakfast is ready! "Claudia called through the intercom when the sisters finished making poached eggs and bacon, with a lunch of roast chicken and vegetables ready for cooking and the beginnings of dinner ready. She picked up the pair of plates and carried them into the dining room as Sadie and Jonathan entered.
"Is everything set for today?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes Dad." She replied. "Lunch just needs to be put in the oven, and the beginnings of dinner have been made."
"Good." He replied as the door rang. "Go and get that, would you?"
"Yes, sir." She replied, leaving the dining room and going to the door.
"Can I help…" She started to ask, before she noticed who was at the door. "Angus. How lovely it is to see you."
"I could say the same to you, miss Claudia." Angus replied, taking her hand and kissing it. "May I come in?"
"Certainly." She replied, stepping aside and opening the door wide. Angus stepped inside. "Let me take you to see my parents." Claudia said, leading the way down the hall and into the dining room. "Angus is here." She said to Jonathan and Sadie, who were halfway through their breakfast.
"Good. Go get your sister Savannah to take over servicing breakfast, and go and get ready for your date." Sadie replied.
"Yes, ma'am." Claudia replied in monotone. She turned around, only to be faced with an extremely surprised and slightly alarmed Angus. She made her way past him and into the kitchen.
"Savannah?" She called. "Could you take over serving breakfast, please? Angus is here, I have been commanded to go get ready for my wedding shopping date, and the boys are still working on cleaning the house."
"Sure." Savannah replied, wiping her hands on the dish towel. "I've finished washing the dishes anyway, so as soon as breakfast is over there won't be much to do." She said to Esmee. "I will come and get you if either Hunter or Fletcher come before breakfast is over."
"Sure, go finish serving the food. And you," She pointed at Claudia. "Go and get ready for your date before someone gets angry."
Almost as soon as Savannah entered the dining room, the doorbell rang again.
"Go get it." Jonathan ordered in a bored tone, not looking up from his newspaper.
"Yes, sir." Savannah replied, leaving the room and opening the heavy black door. "Hello, Fletcher." She said to her Fiancé, who was standing at the door holding a bouquet of roses.
"Hello, Savannah. How are you?"
"Okay, for now. But your arrival has lifted my spirits significantly." She replied. "Are these for me?"
"They certainly are." He replied, offering them to her. "Would you like them?"
"Yes, though I fear that they might be stolen by my parents."
"Then I guess I will just have to hide them." He replied, hiding the flowers behind him.
"As much as I might want the flowers, it would cause a lot less drama if you just gave them to my parents." She responded.
"Savannah?! What is taking so long?" Sadie called.
"You had better come inside." Savannah said, pulling the door open wide enough for him to enter. She led him down the hall and into the dining room. "I'm here," She said as she entered the room. "As is Fletcher."
"Perfect timing. Clear the plates, and then you can go and get ready for your date. Also, tell your brothers and sister that they can go ahead and get ready for their dates too." Jonathan replied, putting his newspaper down and looking at her.
"Yes, sir." She replied as she collected the plates, "You should give them the flowers now, before we leave." She mumbled as she walked past Fletcher and into the kitchen. "I will prepare a vase for them to go into."
"Are you sure that you don't want them?" He asked.
"I meant what I said about them likely being stolen." She replied as she put the dishes down next to the kitchen sink before she turned to Esmee. "Dad said that you can go and get ready for when Hunter comes. Also, could you please inform the boys that they are free to get ready to pick up their Fiancées?"
"Sure. Are you okay doing those few dishes?" Esmee replied, indicating the dishes Savannah had just left on the sink.
"I was just about to do them." Savannah replied, turning back to the plates. "You don't have to be in here, if you don't want to." She said, noticing that Fletcher had followed her into the kitchen.
"No, please, let me help with these." He replied, picking up a tea towel. "Right, where do these go?"
"Their Majesties have given you leave to go and get ready to see your Fiancées." Esmee said as she found Jeremy, Joshua and James in the garage, cleaning down Jonathan's supercars.
"Cool." Jeremy replied, throwing the dirty rag he was holding back into the bucket. "I do hope that things go well today, the sooner we can get out of our parents' control, the better."
"I agree. Right, I am going for a shower and getting dressed, I expect that Hunter will be here soon." Esmee said as she raced up the stairs.
Standing under the hot water, knowing that she wasn't going to be spending the rest of her day satisfying the whims of her parents, Esmee thought she was in heaven. Maybe I should go for more of a woodsy-boho theme for the wedding, she thought, enjoying the hot water. Deciding the theme is probably the first thing I should do, before Hunter and I purchase anything else.
"Hunter is here." Savannah said as she entered the room. "I've left him with Fletcher, but you should hurry."
"Thank you for the warning." Esmee replied as she combed her hair. "What do you think?"
"Perfect for a date." Savannah said as she took in the teal jumpsuit. "One of Jeremy's creations?"
"Yup."
"It's perfect for today, given how many dresses you are likely to try on."
"That's why I chose it." Esmee replied, tucking the last pin into her bun. "Do I need anything else?"
"Other than your handbag, you are good." Savannah said as she handed Esmee her favorite black bag.
"Thank you." She replied, taking the bag. "I will see you later." Esmee said as she stepped out the door of their shared bedroom. "I expect we will have a lot to talk about."
"So, where are we going for breakfast?" Claudia asked as she got into Angus's black BMW.
"I was thinking that we could go to this really nice little waffle house." He replied, buckling his seatbelt and starting the engine. "It is one of my favorite places."
"As long as I am not spending my day at home, I will be happy." Claudia replied. Angus laughed.
"Anything that will make my dear Claudia happy, I will do." He replied, taking her hand and kissing it.
It wasn't long before Angus pulled into the parking lot of what appeared to be a diner.
"We're here." He said, opening the car door for Claudia. "After you, milady." She stepped out of the car.
"Well, this looks cute." She said as she sat down in the chair that he had pulled out for her. "Do you come here often?"
"When I don't want to talk to my father." He replied, sitting down across from her as a waitress came and gave them menus.
"Is that often?"
"Yes." he replied, opening the menu.
"Is there something that you would recommend me ordering?" Claudia asked, perusing the menu.
"Perhaps the Original waffles? They are served with maple syrup, bacon and banana." Angus replied, setting down his menu and calling the waitress over. "We are ready to order."
"You're here!" Esmee exclaimed, jumping into Hunter's arms.
"Good to know that I am welcome." Hunter replied, putting Esmee down. "Are you ready to go?"
"Absolutely!" She replied, picking up her handbag. "Let's go."
"Where are you taking me?" Esmee asked, after almost an hour of driving.
"I have decided to take you for breakfast to a Café I own in Modesto." He replied, not taking his eyes off the road. "While we were there, I thought that we could go ring shopping. We should be there soon."
"You own a Café? That didn't come up in your career section."
"I don't want it to. I am rather private about things like where I get my money from, and I have several rivals who I wouldn't put it past them to try and kill me by taking out my businesses."
"Really? Are you that hated?" She asked, slightly concerned.
"Only by rivals of my village, who want to take over its territories." Hunter replied, still concentrating on driving. "And no, your life is not in imminent danger."
"Not out of the woods yet." She replied. "Just because my parents haven't killed me with overwork yet doesn't mean they won't." Hunter laughed. "I'm serious!" Esmee complained.
"Is it really that bad?" He asked, sounding concerned.
"Yeah, it is. And the sooner I can get out of there, the better." She replied. "The sooner we can get married, the sooner I can get out of there."
"Then I guess we should make a decision earlier, rather than later." Hunter replied.
"How about July 29th?" Esmee asked, as he pulled into a parking lot of a Café.
"Sure. It gives vendors enough time to get ready for our 'last minute' wedding, while getting you out of there sooner rather than later," He replied as he put the car in park. "We're here."
"This is nice." Esmee said as she entered the Café. "Did you pick out the interior design yourself?"
"A few of the pieces, but most of the choices were made by my interior designer." Hunter replied, guiding her over to a booth. "Now, the bacon and eggs are good, but my favorite is the waffles." He said, handing her a menu. "Though, I hear that the eggs benedict is really good."
"Maybe I will try that, then."
"So, what's the agenda for today?" Savannah asked as she stepped into the bistro Fletcher had brought her to.
"Didn't your mother tell you? Wedding Shopping." Fletcher replied, leading her to a smaller dining room at the back of the Café.
"First, she is my stepmother, not my mother. Second, yes she did tell me to a certain extent, but I want specifics."
"Very well then. Today we are going to purchase your wedding dress, my suit and our wedding rings." He replied as a waitress came in. "Just the usual for me, please." He said as she gave Savannah a menu. "She will order when she is ready."
"Do you come here often?" Savannah asked, opening the menu.
"It is a good place to come and do business deals and other meetings." He replied as the waitress came back with a large glass of a mystery crimson liquid. "Now, I have a secret to tell." Savannah stiffened. This can't be good, she thought as she put the menu down.
"What kind of secret?" She asked, eyeing Fletcher suspiciously.
"The kind that puts both of us at risk." He replied, taking a sip of his drink. "I am not human."
Jeremy's jaw almost hit the floor of Jonathan's black Corvette as he pulled up to the gate of the supposed address of Peia Jet. If his father was rich, Peia was somehow richer.
"It's Jeremy." He said into the buzzer. "I'm here to take Peia out to breakfast, and to start wedding shopping."
"Come on in." A female voice replied as the gate opened. Jeremy drove through the enormous gate and up to the somehow larger house.
"Hello Jeremy!" Penelope greeted, answering the door. "Come on in."
"Hello to you too, Penelope. Is Peia home?"
"She is, just follow me!" Penelope led him down the hallway and into a large, open plan kitchen-dining-lounge room. "Jeremy's here!"
"I can see that." Peia said, looking up from her bowl of cereal. "Can I help you with something?"
"That depends on whether or not you would allow me to take you out for a proper breakfast." He replied.
"I suppose I could accept such an invitation. Just let me get dressed," She replied, looking down at her silk dressing gown. "And then we can go."
Looks like Genifer was right, Joshua thought as he pulled up to the front gates of Hampstead farm. I think that I would enjoy life here. Though, I don't think Jonathan is going to appreciate the amount of mud I've managed to get on his car. He got out of the car and knocked on the door.
"Hello, Joshua." Bella greeted him.
"Hello Bella. I've come to see Genifer."
"Come on in." She replied, ushering him inside. "You should forgive my sister for not being here, she is out doing some farm chores and we weren't expecting you for another half hour."
"I'm sorry for disappointing you." He replied, slightly uncomfortable.
"What for? You didn't disappoint me, you just came a little early." Bella replied, heading back to the kitchen. "I'm making pancakes for breakfast, would you like some?"
"If that wouldn't be too much trouble."
"No trouble at all." She replied, continuing to pour batter into the sizzling hot pan on the stove. "Please, have a seat." She motioned for him to sit down at the dining table. "I'm guessing that you are here to start wedding planning?"
"Those are the instructions my mother gave me." Joshua replied as Genifer entered the house, covered in mud.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize we were expecting guests." She said, taking her shoes off. "If I did, I would have gotten the jobs done earlier."
"But I don't want to get married!" Skylar complained, sulking and turning over in her bed.
"Neither do I, but here we are." James replied coolly from the doorway of her bedroom.
"The sooner that you get this over and done with, the less we all have to suffer so please get up." Eric said, wrestling the covers off his daughter.
"Fine, I'll go shopping like you want. But breakfast must be provided." Skylar said grumpily, swinging her legs off her bed.
"That can be arranged." James replied. "I need to have breakfast anyway, so I don't mind."
"Why are we stopping here?" Skylar asked as James pulled into a parking lot.
"This place has amazing breakfast platters." He replied, getting out of the car and opening Skylar's door. "That is, unless the little miss princess over here can't let lowly eggs touch her fragile stomach and must go to a vegan place." Skylar scowled at him.
"No, eggs will do me just fine." She said crossly, getting out of the car and stalking over to the diner.
"So, do you have any siblings?" He asked as they sat down.
"Why do you ask?" She replied hotly.
"Trying to make polite conversation with someone I don't know anything about."
"You're right, you don't know anything about me."
"Then let's change that." He retorted, opening the menu. "So, do you have any siblings?"
"No."
"Step-siblings?"
"No."
"Step-parents?"
"Again, no." She replied in a bored tone.
"How old are you?" James asked. Skylar stiffened.
"Much older than I look."
"How much older?"
"Centuries."