Chapter 3 - Family Reunion

  In one of the winter months, my parents brought us along on a trip to the Kingdom of Zeffa. My mother visited with her parents and her other family. I came to find out Tobias and I had quite an extensive amount of cousins. Although my mother was the oldest among her siblings, her brothers, Gabriel Abdullah and Tristan Abdullah were married to Osmiran noblewomen coming from count families. Ivana was married to Gabriel, and Kaitlyn was married to Tristan. Both had two sons, although Gabriel also had two daughters.

  Gabriel's eldest child was Sarah, a gentle six-year-old with beautiful blue eyes like my mother's. Her skin was more like her mother's, however, light in color like most Osmirans. Her hair was long and black with slight curling, although not as much as mine. Devin was his oldest son. His hair was rather straight and his skin lightly tanned. And his eyes gleamed a soft blue like his mother's. Devin was five years old and a rather rambunctious child. Full of energy, he practically jumped on my mother, calling her "Auntie" upon seeing her.

  Gabriel's other son and daughter were twins. They were both my age, which at the time I was three years old. Felicity and Simeon coincidentally were born just a day after I was. Our family seemed to indulge in this fact, claiming I was a bit too impatient to continue waiting around. I guess that was true. Every day inside my mother's womb was a mixed bag of comfort and torture.

  Tristan's sons were seven and five years old. His oldest was Sean, and his youngest, Jason. Jason was a quiet, shy kid, while Sean was a gentle kid like Sarah. I suppose the two oldest of my cousins filled their role as the oldest kids well. As my little brother started crying from the ruckus of having so many new faces around, Sean walked over and held Tobias in his small but strong frame.

  Brown in color, Sean's hair seemed to be longer than mine but his small coils made it sit shorter, while my hair fell among my shoulders. His skin was a sienna color, and his eyes were lavender like mom's. Jason's skin was slightly lighter than Sean's and so was his hair with a subtle amber color, although his eyes too shone a soft lavender.

  While our parents were off talking and recalling old times, the children were left with the caretakers to play on the opposite side of the manor.

  "You're pretty, Kaliah!" Felicity said as she came and sat beside me, her face only meer inches from my own. I was sitting in front of a marble fireplace that kept the room we were in heated. I could feel it's flames licking against my back as I leaned back trying to take back some of my personal space.

  "Oh… thank you," I responded, trying not to leak my discomfort through my words of gratitude. "But you are prettier than me," I said, clapping my hands from my impulsive toddler tendencies.

  "Oh! I am pretty too?" Felicity raised a finger to her cheek as if she was thinking about such a possibility.

  "Yah, you are pretty too!" I talked as I remembered talking to babies in my old world. Using baby talk as a baby was far more entertaining, though, in this case. I could use my whole body to express myself in such silly ways.

  "Ooh! Because you are pretty, and… and I am pretty." Mid-sentence, Felicity stopped and stared off into the fire.

  "Yeah?" I asked, hoping she'd continue.

  "We should be friends!" She'd finally finished. A smile erupted from her cute cheeks that was nothing more than an infectious attack from the baby nation.

  "YEAH! Let's be friends," I said back, my own cheeks hurting from smiling. I felt so innocent, so free at that moment. I couldn't help but burst into laughter along with Felicity.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  "Hey, what are you guys laughing about?" Sarah came over and asked us.

  Felicity shot me a quick glance and then leaned in and whispered into my ear. "Can my big sister be friends too?" Although I was quite sure she was audible to the whole house still.

  "Mmm yah! she's pretty too," I whispered back, just as loud as she whispered into my ear.

  "Hey, what are you whispering about?" Sarah said, leaning in closer before tickling the both of us. A vicious attack considering how defenseless we were.

  "Ahhh, I'll talk! I'll talk!" I yelled through laughter.

  "Okay, then spill," Sarah demanded, crossing her arms with a triumphant grin plastered on her face.

  "We want you to be our friend!" Felicity jumped up and landed onto the wood floor in front of the fireplace.

  I jumped up too, and crossed my arms to mimic how Sarah was standing.

  "Hmmm… a tempting offer, but I think I'll just tickle you both instead!" Sarah said with as low and menacing a sound as a seven-year-old girl could muster. Raising her hands in a claw-like shape, she hissed. Felicity screamed blisteringly loud and started to run through the open door into the main corridor. It wasn't until I was in the corridor too, that I realized Felicity had grabbed my hand and was dragging me behind her.

  Jeez, this little girl is strong, I thought to myself as she continued to shriek in exacerbated terror. It wasn't until we ran past and knocked a vase off a small table that true terror began to set in.

  Our parents came billowing out of the library where they had been talking and into the main hall where we'd been playing. The maids rushed to clean up the mess we had made, while our mothers looked us over to make sure we weren't hurt since Felicity was bawling her eyes out, likely already knowing we were both already in trouble.

  "Kaliah, we told you kids not to play in the main hall!" My dad said sternly as he realized we were both okay.

  "Yes, sir… sorry, daddy." I tried to apologize with my most innocent face. I could see my father's disappointment melt away like ice. He was ready to forgive and forget the whole thing. It was mom, however, who betrayed me.

  "Marcas!" She said, slapping my father's arm as she realized he wasn't going to discipline me on his own.

  "Oh right… oh come on, Kaliah." He said, reaching down and picking me up. "You gotta learn to follow directions and listen. You're a big girl now." He said as he walked with me to a dressing room on the bottom floor. He found a place to sit and turned me on my stomach. It's funny, although I'd never experienced this in this life, I knew exactly what was coming. I wonder if I knew what was coming the first time this happened in my original life.

  Five firm slaps to my bottom. I was quickly reminded that my father was a prestigious knight of the Osmiran Empire. While my composure was calm up until this point, I could do nothing but cry. I had received my first spanking, and for something that wasn't even my fault, no less.

  After that visit, our family seemed to grow much closer. My cousins would come over to our house and we would visit their houses from time to time. Felicity and I became known as the terror twins. For whatever reason, she'd always drag me into something and the both of us would get into a heap of trouble.

  Simeon wasn't much better. As I got to know him better, I learned he was a quiet and calculated type. He'd try his best to play pranks on Felicity and I when the two of us got together. I figured he was only acting that way because we were leaving him out. After Felicity formally invited him to our club by giving him a mud pie, he joined us in our quests of mischief.

  Unfortunately, father continued to deliver swift justice every time we were caught doing something we shouldn't have. In all fairness, though, I was always making sure the two kiddos were staying safe, including myself, of course…