Prologue
Glaston Township, State: Percival, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat Year: 2040, Planet: Grimoire
Primeval forests covering the majority of the continent Barat created quite the defensive barrier when it came to preventing intruders intent on devastating small towns and villages. In one such township, Glaston, a mother and eight children resided in a prosperous inn with a residence attached to it.
The mother, Davina Glaston, had a long history of bad decisions that placed harsh disgrace on her founding progenitors within that township. Currently, she is managing the inn but longs for a different kind of life. Even her children wished to move elsewhere. Somewhere, where they weren't viewed as shameful parasites because their mother remained unwed despite having birthed eight children and was soon to deliver yet another child.
Davina Glaston, keenly aware of her children's distaste for the current circumstances sat in the office alcove on the first floor. Her children were in school, but who knew how long that would last? Certainly, the oldest three neared the coming-of-age time when they could advance to adulthood and leave this place.
While Davina would miss them, she understood their need to break away and explore other opportunities. She'd never denied their requests to give them further educational time. In fact, she'd encouraged them to pursue their varied interests. "Hmm, will it be this week that they turn eighteen?" She looked at the tintypes featuring all her children throughout their lives from children to adults.
It wouldn't be long before the other five also flew the coop. Davina was pleased and regretful at the same time. She'd wanted to provide them with better opportunities than what she'd been stuck with. Davina shrugged ruefully as a sigh escaped her. "How time does fly."
Briefly Davina inspected her appearance in the reflection of a window. Long black hair with lavender highlights carefully braided and pinned into a bun at the back of her head. Slanted light grey eyes, and lightly tanned angular features with a smattering of freckles crossing her nose and cheeks. She shook her head with a snort of dismissiveness.
"Hmph, nothing to brag about when it comes to attractiveness. I do wonder why I thought I could trust a man again. More foolish, then again I was celebrating my latest birthday a bit too much." She folded her arms over her bulging abdomen. "To think I was too careless eight months ago," Davina grumbled. "I suppose I was a bit too lonely that night."
What a mess she was in now. Davina grunted with disgust. Yes, she'd known several men over the past decades. However, she hadn't encountered someone like Amos Denbigh in a long while. "Why did I think he was different from the others?"
In the end, he'd disappeared after that one evening with her. Davina shook her head with frustration. She should've known that jerk, Amos Denbigh never intended to acknowledge her as anything more than a one-time hookup. "Bastard, he'd better not come back here." Her fists clenched at her sides before she sighed and relaxed. "Meh, why should I even care about him? He's not worth worrying about." Though she did hope he would come through on the promises he'd made regarding her oldest three children. "Ah, that's right. He said he'd arrange for them to attend that new college for vocational trades."
Interestingly enough to Davina's mind, her children hadn't wanted to enter the politics of the world. Instead, they'd chosen some challenging pursuits in the artisan sector. She shrugged. "Well, I admire them for having more courage than I ever did." When the time came, she too would find another place to live. Somewhere that didn't know her past and would appreciate her ability when it came to managing an Inn, or something similar to that.
"In the meantime, I should check on the status of luncheon," Davina recalled that she still needed to eat. She rose to her feet and paused, both hands on the table. Dizziness often engulfed her these days. A hiss of pain from her lower body made Davina gasp as searing agony ripped through her. "Oh, that isn't good." Was there any blood flowing yet? Just because she couldn't feel anything didn't mean that Davina wasn't hemorrhaging. It just meant that she could no longer discern what was happening.
Davina risked glancing at the floor around her feet. Nope, nothing, not even clear liquid. However, the searing agony signaled the end coming faster than she'd anticipated. "Well, this is going to change my plans, now won't it?" She had to take care to avoid falling. Yet another side effect of that damn genetic curse handed down through the family. Davina gritted her teeth.
Another wave of dizziness assailed Davina. She was not going to remain upright for much longer it seemed. "I must endure to safely birth the children. In the end, I know my cousins Terabitha and Samuel Hodgekins," She grimaced because they literally were the only ones who stepped forward voluntarily to raise them the moment they heard about Davina's latest pregnancy and the familial curse activating with their presence.
The timing was suspect, but what could Davina do? She was lucky to have avoided the damn curse this long, she reflected on her horrible luck. The cousins were calculating what profit could be made from the inn, she didn't doubt. Most likely from selling it, not running it of course. Davina pulled her mind back to the present. "They will become their temporary guardians until the youngest five children come of age officially." She looked outside. Originally the plan for the midafternoon was a picnic with her brood. Somehow, Davina wasn't sure that would happen after all.
Fortunately, she reflected, that would only take about three years. The dizziness subsided, but Davina remained uneasy. Something about her physical condition was getting worse, not better. This was too nice of a day for a bad incident to occur, but of course, that was how her situation tended to run true to form.
So what were her options now? "Should I inflict those five mischiefmakers on my cousins after all?" Davina just hoped that five youngsters would be able to tolerate the two stuffy cousins, Terabitha and Samuel Hodgekins, from her mother's side of the family for that duration. "Either that or a miracle occurs and they're awakened to a new path." She was doubtful of that happening, not while she was in their proximity at least. "On the other hand, they could very well travel easily enough to another township or hamlet to start anew." It had been a suggestion made previously in the weekly discussions they'd held.
Not only that but Davina had raised all eight of them to be self-sufficient should some emergency occur and they couldn't rely on adults to guide them correctly. Maybe I should've just given all eight of them the advanced freedom option instead. I did offer them the choice, but they turned it down. She pondered on the dilemma and shrugged. Then again, no one expected me to have an affair with a married man thus activating that nasty curse because I got pregnant as well. Not something that Davina was proud of happening. in fact, it dictated her demise happening sooner than anyone anticipated.
In that case, Davina might as well ensure that no one with ill intentions would get their hands on her extremely intelligent and talented children. "Well, I can always enter that into the will," She sat back down and did exactly that.
Davina didn't want any conflicts arising just because her kids were just that damn stubborn and hardheaded. No sooner than she finished the alteration of the will, and sent the completed document to her lawyer, then she tried to stand up and abruptly dropped to her knees and fell unconscious. Her body had had enough. Damn, I hadn't wanted to miss that picnic with the kiddos. After all, it was to celebrate their birthdays...