'...Damn it.'
When Abaddon stepped through the portal into his backyard, he immediately regretted not appearing in the house instead.
Evidently his children had chosen this spot to break the news to their girlfriends, and he had walked right smack into the aftermath.
'...I just wanted to go into the training room and spar with Bekka for a bit.'
Sometimes, even an emperor can not avoid an uncomfortable conversation or two.
When his wives passed through the portal after him, they were not interested in fleeing the scene, and instead felt like they'd just stumbled into a drama play.
He could feel their giddy excitement and wondered just what part of this they found so amusing.
Suddenly, Jasmine spoke up, clearly feeling betrayed and her fists trembling with anger.
"I thought you were a kind man, but the entire time we were here you were only thinking about killing my mother and stealing our land!"
"Jasmine, that's not true!" Thea cried.
"Stop, daughter."
Abaddon walked forward with calm eyes and stood directly in front of the two phoenix sisters.
While Claire looked like she was on the verge of shrinking away from him and crying, Jasmine seemed like she was going to sock him in the face.
He was unsure of which was going to happen first.
The girls watched as Abaddon did something that was entirely taboo for a true dragon, or even a ruler to do.
He lowered his head in apology in front of the two young girls.
"W-What're you...?"
"Why...?"
"You girls have my apologies. I know you must feel like you have been lied to, but you should know that none among my blood were attempting to deceive you, nor does my focus lie on killing your mother or stealing from you as you say."
Most would consider his current behavior to be a sign of weakness or even take it as he was placing himself on their level or beneath them.
But Abaddon didn't believe in stupid shit like that.
If you do something hurtful to someone close to you, you should always apologize no matter your circumstance or position.
Those that believe themselves to be above such a courtesy, are psychopathic monsters with no concern for others around them.
And he had never been, nor would he ever be, that kind of man.
He had taken a liking to these girls, and as a result he was sorry to see them hurt due to unavoidable circumstances.
"My mother... will you kill her?" Claire asked shakily.
Abaddon suddenly lifted his head and gave her a reassuring smile.
"I am not an unfeeling butcher. My armies will harm as little of your people as possible, and your entire family will be spared. Even if she resists, I will not take her life."
Both of the girls looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes and it was easy to see that their hearts had been shaken.
"She will fight you... She will force you to kill her or she will kill you." Jasmine warned.
"Neither of those things are gong to happen. This wouldn't be our first time subduing an irate demigoddess, we keep the former witch queen locked up in our basement."
""What?!""
"Nothing, never mind."
He moved past the two phoenix girls and prepared to enter the house, deciding he was no longer in the mood for sparring.
"I have to do this and there is nothing that can stop me. But the lives of you, your mother, and your people, will all remain unchanged. On that you have my word."
Before he entered the manor, he silently sent his children a bit of advice.
'I have obsolved them of their fear, but it is up to you to repair their broken hearts.'
In his mind, his children needed to learn how to repair their own relationships so that there would be less chance of trouble if they were to be wed in the future.
After all when it comes to relationships communication is key.
Abaddon stepped inside of the house, but his wives were slow to follow.
They were continuously looking back, as if they were unsure whether it was appropriate of them to watch this spectacle.
'My loves, let them be...' Abaddon reminded gently.
Lisa: 'I-I will let them be, but...'
Bekka: 'I want to watch this so badly!'
Seras: 'Our daughter looks so emotional...! I have never seen her like this before!'
Bekka: 'She needs a hug!'
Audrina: 'I can smell Claire all over our son... Don't tell me he's lost his innocence!'
Abaddon wondered if it would be smart of him to reveal that Apophis had already long become a man, but he elected not to share that information at present.
No doubt they would fall to their knees and weep as hard as their bodies would allow, and then they would track down whatever women stole his first time and grill her like none other.
They were motherly like that.
Eventually they all entered inside and left the four of them behind, still trapped within a lingering silence.
"If the war isn't supposed to happen for another two months then why are you guys telling us now...?" Jasmine suddenly asked.
"Because we didn't want to keep it from you... and we wanted to give you the choice of still deciding to be with us, or..."
Thea did not finish her sentence, but it was very clear where her words were headed.
"Aren't you worried that we'll go back to our mother and tell her what you're planning? A lot of preparations can be made within two months."
"You're free to tell her if you wish, I don't care about that! The only thing I'm worried about is you leaving and not coming back!"
While Jasmine fell silent once again, Apophis bit the inside of his lip so hard that he drew blood.
He couldn't even bring himself to look Claire in the eye after everything that had been said, and he felt an overwhelming amount of guilt from his earlier actions.
He suddenly heard the sound of small footsteps, and a familiar soft hand took his.
"Do you... want me to stay with you?" Claire asked.
"I have never wanted anything more." Apophis said honestly.
No one would believe that the boy who had only just grasped the full concept of emotion a few months ago would be making such a pained expression as the one that was on his face now.
"I am sorry, I know that I should have waited to embrace you until we told you, but I abhorred the idea of letting you slip away from me and I would have done anything to make you stay."
"...So...do you regret the night we spent together...?" She asked in a hollow voice.
Apophis cupped her face in his hands and brought their foreheads together.
"How could you ever dream of asking me such a thing? It has only reaffirmed my desire to be beside you and never let anything come between us.
You have ignited an obsession in me the likes of which I could never hope to free myself from, and my sole regret is that I ignored the proper steps before I tied us together for life."
Claire was certainly not a girl made of stone, and Apophis' words containing genuine love and regret were more than enough to ween the last of her resistances away.
"Then, you have to take responsibility for me... if you do that then I will forgive you."
"Do you truly bear no resentment to me? I robbed you of a choice..."
Apophis was surprised when Claire started laughing as she cried like a woman who was both very moved and tickled pink.
"I don't feel like I ever had a choice. From the moment I saw you, I have been hopelessly in love with you without ever understanding the reason."
Going out on a limb, four words left Apophis' mouth before he even knew to stop himself.
"Will you marry me?"
"You're such a dummy... Of course I will."
While Apophis and Claire were reconciling and moving forward, Jasmine didn't look like she was any closer to forgiving Thea.
And the scene of her sister passionately kissing her new fiancé without a care in the world had only served to make her feel worse.
Thea hesitantly reached out for her hand in an attempt to reconcile grievances. "Jasmine, I-"
"Don't... "
The young phoenix pulled her hand away as if she was afraid for what that touch would due to her mentally, and she seemed to be trying her best to maintain her anger.
"You're always trying to touch me, and you're always saying these weird flirty things without thinking about how I feel... you're so inconsiderate."
A twisted and heartbroken look of sorrow was displayed on Thea's face, and her amethyst eyes that were watery before had finally started to spill over.
"You're right, I am..." Anyone who heard the intense amount of self loathing in her voice would have immediately broken down into pieces.
And Jasmine was not an exception.
"I-I guess I always thought that you secretly liked it when I flirted with you, b-but It seems like I could not have been more wrong.
If you want to curse at me, condemn me, or say that you hate me I would understand. I mean it's not like I wouldn't deserve it, right?
I've just dragged you along without ever really taking your words seriously and I expected you to love me... I've caused a lot of unnecessary harm for us both so you don't have to worry, I won't bother you anymore."
Even though she was crying, Thea was still trying to put on her usual cheerful smile as if she was trying to make the false assurance that she was okay.
Jasmine's heart was now beating out of control and she wished that she could take her words right back out of the air.
But for some reason, her voice wasn't quite as loud as before."Wait, I... I didn't mean that..."
Thea started backing away while wiping her face and maintaining her princess-like smile.
"I don't want to do that anymore so... you should go home, okay? I will miss you... so much..."
Thea finally turned around and ran back towards the manor, no longer able to keep up the famous smile that she was known for.
The world around her was blurred due to the lenses of her own tears, but she was somehow able to find the backdoor without falling.
Turning the handle, she nearly had the door opened wide enough to enter when Jasmine pushed it closed.
"W-What're you doing...?"
"I'm sorry, okay! I think I just wanted a reason to be mad at you so that I could keep pretending like I'm not falling for you!"
Jasmine was slow to realize it, but this ordeal that should have fragmented her feelings for Thea, hadn't even put a dent in how she saw her.
Sure she was mad about the secret being kept from her.
But seeing Thea cry had made her get over it very quickly, and now she just wanted her to go back to being herself.
"You don't mean that..." Thea muttered.
"Y-Yes, I do! I may not know what it's like to have feelings for someone, but I know that I want to learn about it with you!" She cried.
If Thea didn't already have her back against the wall, she would have long run away.
She didn't have the necessary emotional stability to deal with a joke like this right now, and she felt like she was going to fall apart at any second.
After everything that had transpired, she didn't dare believe the words coming out of Jasmine's mouth.
As to why, perhaps it had to do with her own guilt over their relationship so far and the added burden she felt from hurting her so recently.
As Jasmine watched Thea shirk away from her like a mouse being cornered by a cat, she knew that her words weren't quite reaching her.
But still, she had to keep trying.
"I-I just didn't want to be a disappointment to my family, b-but now I don't care about that because if I have to choose between my mother and you then I choose you!
Y-You're always in my head and trying your best to make me laugh and it was also new and scary at first but now I know that-"
Jasmine didn't get to finish her hastily prepared confession before Thea stole away her lips on instinct.
It seemed like she'd realized what had happened a few seconds after and she pulled away while making a horrified expression.
"I-I'm so sorry! You were just so close and I-"
Just as Thea had done, Jasmine wrapped her arms around Thea's waist and kissed her of her own volition, displaying a previously unseen amount of boldness.
Thea was largely unsure if this was a dream, but she closed her eyes and prayed to the heavens above that she would never wake up.
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