"Adriana, when are you going to come home? Your brother is in town with his family, and they're dying to see you again!" Evelynn Byrne chides her daughter over the phone.
"Mom, I know, I've just been so busy with work." Adriana complains half-heartedly, wincing at the mediocre excuse. Truth be told, she wasn't excited about sitting at a family meal with her three siblings and their spouses and kids. Her parents, while well meaning, never fail to judge her.
"It's one meal with the family, you have to eat, right? And I happen to know you're off today, so it'll be a perfect time!" Evelynn argues, not in the mood to allow for such behavior.
Adriana sighs, massaging her temples. "Ok mom, ok… What time should I come over?"
"Thank you darling! Come over no later than four, and don't worry about bringing anything! I love you, bye!" Evelynn beams and seems to be full of energy suddenly, rushing off to make sure she has enough of everything.
"Ok, bye mom…" Adriana mutters as her mother hangs up, feeling like she's lost years of her life already. She sighs again and heads to her closet, deciding she needed to look "presentable" and not just like a zombie rolling out of bed like she planned to do. "It's gonna be a looooong night…"
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Adriana debates if it's too late to walk away, simply to turn around and pretend she's fallen ill and couldn't make it. Staring up at the large house before her, a house passed down from generation to generation of her family, she knew it was already too late. Even more so as the door instantly opens, her mother smiling and waving at her to come over with laughter floating out of the home. With a wistful look at her car, she ambles to the home with an awkward smile, hugging her mother. "Hi mom, glad to see you doing good."
"Adriana, I'm so happy you made it honey!" Evelynn happily hugs her, glad to have the family together again. She leans back and looks her over at arm's length. "Oh sweetie, you look good, but you've gotten a bit thin! I'll be sure to send you some food to take home."
"Mom, thanks but you don't have to worry about it." Adriana replies half heartedly, entering the home with her mother. "I just need to manage my meals better."
Evelynn rolls her eyes at that, tutting a bit. "You should have been doing that to start with, now no arguing about it. I'll make sure to have some things ready for you."
"Adriana, my little girl! How's work lately? The office still has spots if you want a change!" Rolan Byrne greets her, giving her a warm hug in the process. He places a kiss to her forehead as he remembers her being a child crying to him anytime anything bad happened.
"Hi dad! Thanks, but I'm having fun at the store I work at now. How've you been?" Adriana replies, snuggling into her father's arms. If one asked for her closest family member, her father was them.
"I'm good, still taking care of things one at a time." Rolan states, then leads her towards the living room full of his children and grand-kids. "Come on, everyone's together now."
"Hi everyone!" Adriana greets her sister and two brothers, Illiana, Quinton, and Ulysses. Quinton's spouse was Helena, and they had two kids named Victoria who is six and newborn baby Keith. Ulysses' spouse is Jerald, their five year old son being Luther. Illiana's spouse is Tamara and their son is Hero and just turned four.
"Auntie Dree Dree!" Her niece and two nephews enthusiastically greet her and race to hug her. "We missed you!"
"Easy you guys, I've missed you all too!" She replies, giggling and giving them all hugs and kisses. "Have you been good for your parents?" She teasingly asks the little cherubs.
"Yes, we've been good!" They exclaim, clinging to her and giggling merrily.
"Ok, ok you guys, let's allow Auntie Adriana some breathing room." Illiana intercepts, freeing her from their grasps. "You know, they wouldn't be so bad if you came around more often." She admonishes before giving her a big hug.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… How's this little one coming along?" Adriana asks as she gently rubs Illiana's stomach, Hero being born from Tamara.
"It's not so bad right now, see me again when I'm a blown up whale though." Illiana replies with a laugh as Tamara joins them, planting a kiss on both of their cheeks.
"I for one can't wait to see you at that stage, I can have some payback for my pregnancy!" Tamara jokes, making them laugh while Illiana rolls her eyes too.
"Hey sis, how's it going?" Quinton asks from his spot on the couch as they take a seat. Helena is cuddling against him as she rocks little Keith back and forth and a group of adoring cousins watched. She waved a tired greeting to her as well. "Hello Adri."
"I'm good, thanks. Hope you guys are having an easy time with little Keith here." She coos to the baby while the couple share a smile.
"He's actually been great! Not too fussy and sleeps well at night, so not so bad." Helena replies as she gets more comfortable.
"Good to hear, he is such a little angel!" Adriana enthuses as Keith gives a little grunt.
"Isn't he though? Kind of making me have the baby blues." Ulysses adds, getting a mock hit from Jerald at this causing them both to chuckle.
"Luther is still a handful, I'm not sure we'd manage having another." Jerald states with an arched brow, but still smirking and obviously half teasing.
"Well, Luther being a big brother seems good, there's a decent age gap too, so it'll be great!" Ulysses debates, giving Jerald a peck on the cheek.
"We'll talk about this later…" Jerald relents with a sigh just as their parents come in.
"Dinner is ready everyone!" Evelynn announces, ushering everyone to the table with Rolan.
"And so, the night wears on…" Adriana murmurs to Tamara, who laughs as they go.
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"Shhh, Emperor Beyond is on!" Illian hushes everyone, causing them to quiet down and start paying attention to the show. The show was about a bunch of scheming nobles all vying for the control of an empire after the ruling family mysteriously dies. The house of Lion, a strong and capable clan that perfects leisure and paradise. The house of Wombat, a clan that focuses on advancements and profit. The house of Fox, the clan of strong mages with mischievous behaviors. The house of Dragon, a relaxed clan of warriors with noble hearts. The house of Serpent, a clan of rogues that is renowned as much for their assassins as they are for their confections. The house of Spiders, a clan blessed with clairvoyance known to stay neutral of the world around them.The house of Cervitaur is a clan closely intune with the earth, being druids. Each clan definitely had certain things they excelled at, and things that hindered them.
"I can't believe they're killing the princess!" Evelynn exclaims as they all hold their breaths and watch the scene. The young Princess Gloria of the House of Serpent was captured by the House of Wombat, being used as a bargaining chip for the return of their Princess Venus. However, the House of Fox planted a spy to assassinate Princess Venus, resulting in the angered House of Wombat to retaliate with the execution of Princess Gloria. The execution held many prominent people in the crowd, and the moment is very intense with all not sure if someone will interfere.
Everyone leans in and holds their breaths just a bit more as the criers announces the execution of the sweet Princess Gloria. Her sobbing frame is pushed down, then shoved forward to expose her neck to a clean cut. The mixed emotions of the audience seeps from them as on one hand, the House of Serpent deserved some comeuppance. However, none could argue that Princess Gloria was a definite fan favored with her idealistic and kind views on all. Her death will leave a bitter taste for everyone watching, especially since her clan wasn't at fault for it.
But suddenly, there's a commotion! Flames spread throughout the hall, going along the walls and tables at an impressive speed! The cries of dismay and fear hangs in the air as many rush to escort people out and to put out the flames. A small group of cloaked people are able to free the princess, then run off with her amongst the chaos, much to all that's watching's delight!
Right before they reveal those hidden by the cloaks, sudden power outages happen throughout the world. Adriana looks around the room in confusion with the rest of her family, feeling the sharp pang of disappointment in the show being interrupted. Before she can voice too much, the television snaps back on only to show a swirling mess of statically colored particles. And in a blink, all of them are drawn within.