"Oh, Snowball, where are you?" A pleasant voice hummed out without any rush.
"Come on Leo! We've got to go!" Another voice spoke next to the previous voice, they seemed much younger.
"Ev, it's okay, we're not in a rush." The pleasant voice responded.
"Yeah, but Mom, he does this every time we have to go somewhere…" The young voice, Evelyn, retorted with a slight groan. She was around the age of eighteen and had very dark hair and blue eyes. She wore a plain dress that she found in her closet as she didn't like dressing up.
"That- Yes, I suppose that's true." The pleasant voice giggled slightly. "But you were like this when you were younger as well. Leo's growing up, you have to remember that."
"Lily, did you or Ev find him yet?" An upbeat masculine voice asked while entering the same room as the other two. The man was wearing a very sharp suit, but he seemed a bit uncomfortable being in it. His jet-black hair was slicked back, and his eyes were a deep blue. He was also a giant, towering over the other two in the room, although Evelyn was getting there in height. He was an entire torso and head taller than Lily.
"Ah, Felix! There you are. Where were you?" Lily, the owner of the pleasant voice whipped around with a smile and spoke to the man entering the room. She wore a nice white dress covered in frills. She had black hair and emerald, green eyes.
"Looking for Leo, what else." He chuckled before continuing, "I've finished checking the other rooms so either he's in here or outside. Also, the boys are meeting us there."
"Hmm, alright." Lily responded as her eyes narrowed to slits and a devious smile appeared on her lips. She erased any and all sounds she was making and slowly started walking around the room.
"Is he…" Suddenly she dropped to the floor and looked under Leo's bed, "here?!"
Seeing a dark and empty space, save some toys that had made there way under there, Lily's face froze slightly before she smiled and got back up.
"Alright, check the closet, I'll check the cabinet." Felix said chuckling.
The group started searching the room quickly before everyone suddenly came to a halt when they heard a noise at the door. Lily turned and saw that the bottom of the doorframe was occupied by a small child trying to get the last remaining drops of juice out of their juice box. His large eyes stared at the three people in the room trying to find him.
"…"
"…"
"…"
All four individuals were silent until the little child, Leo, raised the box up and asked, stumbling over his words, "Can have more juice?"
Lily and Felix both held their heads in defeat with slight smiles on their faces. Instantly, Lily appeared before Leo, and she started tickling him.
"Oh?! My little Snowball wants more juice?!" Her face was one of pure joy as she tickled Leo.
Leo on the other hand was squirming around, trying to evade his mother's fingers as he laughed nonstop.
Felix and Ev had hopeless smiles on their faces as they watched the scene. Lily absolutely adored Leo and could never help herself when it came to playing with him. That included when they were heading out to see their other sons who had already moved out of the house, like right now.
Felix scratched his head and spoke up, "Lily, it's a bit of a drive, we should head out. I'll go get Leo some more juice, you take him and Ev to the car."
Lily nodded and hummed affirmatively although she didn't even hear what Felix said.
"Lily, I cut myself earlier when making food." Felix said while staring at her.
"That's nice dear." She said, once again, not paying him any attention as she continued to tickle and play with Leo.
Ev stared at Felix and shrugged, he saw this and chuckled. He patted her head before running over quickly and scooped Leo into his arms before quickly bolting it to the refrigerator across the house. He quickly grabbed the jug of juice and closed the door. When he did, he looked to his left and saw Lily who seemed like a devil who had just crawled through hell. She stared ominously into Felix's eyes, and she lowered herself to pounce and steal Leo back.
"Mom." Ev said and tugged at Lily's sleeve, which napped her out of her angry stupor, "We really should go."
Hearing this, Lily looked a bit sad, but she nodded and took Leo from Felix who was trying to pour the juice. Leo started playing with Lily's hair without much thought as his eyes started getting heavier and heavier.
Noticing Leo had stopped playing with her hair and had fallen asleep, they put him in the car before they all hopped in and left their nice house.
They drove and drove until they found themselves entering an archipelago and crossed bridge after bridge. Each island was densely packed with forest, but many old towns sprouted out here and there along the roads they took. Eventually, after a few hours, they reached the largest island which was home to a massive city that had tons of classic architecture.
Driving under the evening sky, the buildings were now highlighted with nice red, orange, and pink colors and many lights were coming on. They made their way over to the restaurant their sons wanted to meet at, and they eventually pulled over and left their car. The family all wore excellent suits and dresses as they walked in the city. Eventually they made it to the restaurant and there were security guards posted everywhere, preventing anyone from getting remotely close.
Lily lifted Leo up into her arms as the family made it to the security guards. Seeing the family, the guard spoke quickly into a sleeve microphone and let them all in with a slight bow. Felix and Lily both had a slightly complicated expression but didn't think much about it as it happened often.
They entered the restaurant, which had been completely reserved, and once inside they were taken to their other sons by a waiter who seemed extremely nervous although they tried to hide it. Felix and Lily's expression both grew in complexity upon seeing the waiter.
Reaching a large ballroom, there was a single table in the middle and the walls were lined with security personnel. The table had three individuals already sitting down, talking to each other.
Much like Felix, they absolutely towered over everyone else in the venue. Taller than the tallest guard by a torso and head, just like how Felix is taller than Lily. They were all expertly dressed in suits and had great hair and facial features. There was Samuel, as well as Isaac and Nathaniel who were identical twins.
Lily put Leo down and said with a smile, "Go say hi to your brothers." He happily ran over to them and started speaking to them while Lily started whispering to Felix.
Evelyn walked over to the table and sat down, she looked around the walls at all the guards before frowning slightly. She picked Leo up and helped him into the chairs which were a bit too high for him.
"Thank you!" He said quickly to Evelyn before turning back to his brothers which he only saw a few times a year. Ev smiled slightly before leaning back into her seat and staring at the ceiling.
A few seconds later Felix and Lily made it to the table and sad down with upset faces. They stared at their sons, excluding Leo, in disappointment.
Felix spoke up, "Guys what is all of this? You know we don't need any of this."
Samuel, Felix and Lily's second oldest son spoke up, "We didn't want this shit-"
"Language. Leo's here." Lily interrupted.
"Ah, sorry mom." Samuel scratched his head slightly in embarrassment, "We didn't want any of this stuff either. But Uncle Jackson insisted so much I thought my ears would fall off. I just wanted to go to Tino's but, well," he started mimicking his uncle with a very thick voice, "Tino's is no place for the future kings of this country."
Flabbergasted, Felix mumbled, "What's wrong with Tino's…"
Isaac and Nathaniel just shrugged simultaneously after hearing their father.
Samuel continued, "Uncle Jackson and Uncle Edward are both being weird around us though. I think they're avoiding us. So are their kids…"
Felix's eyes drew to a slit as he looked towards his sons, he asked coldly, "Any reason why?"
Samuel sighed, "Not any for any reason that I could find out, well… actually…"
Everyone looked over, excluding Leo who was happily looking at the pictures on the kid's menu. Felix urged on Samuel who seemed very hesitant to say whatever he was thinking about. Eventually, he closed his eyes firmly and leaned over to Isaac, telling him to get the guards out of the room.
Isaac stood, whistled, and spun his hand in the air before pointing to the other room with his thumb.
After the guards left, Samuel leaned forward, prompting everyone else to and he whispered, "I think they want to take the bell from Leo."
As soon as these words left his mouth, bloodlust started leaking from both Felix and Lily, prompting everyone in the building to freeze in terror, even their kids weren't spared, although they weren't affected as much. Save for Leo who seemed perfectly fine as he scribbled away with crayons on the kid's menu.
After realizing what they were doing, the two quickly stopped.
Lily noticed Leo's undisturbed attitude and was slightly confused, but before she could ask if he was okay, Felix spoke.
He asked, "Where'd you hear it?"
"The Eighth Prince, he came back to tell me."
"Charles? He came back?" Felix eyes widened.
Samuel continued, "Then he left immediately, remember he said he was done with this bull…" Lily glared at him, "this crap. Although I can't blame him." Samuel slightly leaned back in his chair.
"I trust him though."
Felix closed his eyes for a moment before looking over at Leo. He sat in his seat quietly ignoring the people around him as he scribbled on the paper. His skin was extremely pale, and his hair was pure white, hence his mother's nickname of 'Snowball.' Around his neck dangled a silver bell on a red ribbon, it was completely silent despite the metal ball inside of it.
Felix softly called out to him, "Leo."
With a smile, Leo looked up at his father while swaying his feet around in the chair.
"I know I've told you this before but try to keep your bell safe. Don't let anyone take it. It's a gift from your grandfather, and he'd be very sad if anyone took it away from you."
Leo was silent for a moment as he digested his father's words, but he quickly nodded.
"Good. Good…" Felix sighed.
Leo tilted his head a bit in confusion as he saw all of his family staring at him, but he just smiled before going back to his scribbles.
Fourteen years later.