"She's so adorable," my mom rocked in her chair. "And well behaved! You were such a hellion as a little one. Always getting into trouble."
"Thanks," I leaned on my hand.
"I always thought Analeise would give me my first grandkid," my mother couldn't stop smiling at Eleise. "But a grandbaby!"
"I would be 'ery careful mentionin' kids 'round 'er 'ight now," Sal sat down beside me.
My mother dropped. "Oh no, what happened now?"
"She found out she can' 'ave children," Sal whispered.
"Well, Caius, you and Sal could always-"
"No," I sat straight up, elbowing Sal's arm. "No, that's not why she can't have children. It's her. Sweet fucking Titania mom, you seriously think-"
"-well, it was just a thought-"
"-and an awful one. I'm not going to do that. It's my fucking sister."
"So she's infertile," my mom went back to rocking. "I was afraid that would happen. She did inherit that awful power from your father."
"Your kids got 'eir powers from 'eir father?" Sal dove in.
"I came from a family that bred Cassiopia," my mother thought it over. "However, in families like that, typically only the eldest daughters end up inheriting the Gift. I was the youngest of six girls. One of my daughters could have ended up as a Cassiopia, but sadly, none of them did. They all ended up as Ophiuchus. Which is odd, considering Cassiopia has a stronger genetic dominance than Ophichius, but your father carried a strain that was stronger than most."
"I'm sorry, what?" I lifted my head.
"I don' get all 'is dominance and stuff," Sal shook his head.
"Hm," my mom sat back. "Well, the genetic dominance of constellations over one another depends on the power of the constellation itself. For example, the Zodiacs are the strongest we have. Followed by constellations named after famous fae, and lastly would be constellations that had little control or impact. Ophiuchus falls into that second category since it wasn't a true Zodiac. I think my power blended in with theirs, which is why Analeise has a strong human form. Some children are born powerful, some have no stellar Gift at all, and some are missing forms."
"It's why girls sell higher," I grumbled. "Since they can carry on stronger forms better than boys, but they also run a risk of infertility since their Gift is deemed too powerful to pass on. It's a curse."
"It's a rough world out there," my mom touched Eleise's cheek. "She looks like neither of you. Who donated?"
"Adopted," Sal corrected.
"Oh, sorry," my mom shook her head. "I'm caught up in the process. Either way, as my first, I have a present for you."
She set Eleise back in my arms and disappeared up the stairs. I huffed, leaning my head on Salvador.
"She's only allowed to be watched by your parents," I sighed.
"Yeah," Sal kissed my forehead. "'He 'hole water fae 'ing kinda made 'at 'he only option."
"Here!" My mom brought out a small case of jewels. "These were for my first granddaughter. They're all made of star crystals. I hoped they would protect my grandchildren."
"Thank you," I stared at the necklace and earrings.
"We shoul' get goin'," Sal stood.
"Aww," my mom hugged Eleise close to her again. "Caius, at least say goodbye to your sisters before you leave."
"Fine," I huffed.
The stairs felt weird to climb. They felt smaller than I remembered them. I creaked past that cursed room. I knocked on each door, saying farewell to each of my sisters. Nintia, Babany, Tega, and Licirus all hugged me before I went. Clara didn't answer when I knocked. I let myself into her room. Paintings of all sorts greeted me. The largest sat behind her bed, a smiling Titania. All from when we fought in the war. My stomach was uneasy seeing this all again. One on her wall showed me exactly what I saw when I was in my snake form—the glowing six stars on a blue background.
Clara was sitting in a bubble, floating before another painting. I could see she had a radio before her. She couldn't hear me. I waved my hand, causing her bubble to fluster. She quickly dropped it when she saw me.
"Hey," she smiled. "You leaving?"
"Yes," I gave her a pleasant grin. "You able to hug me without getting paint on my clothes?"
"Yeah," she laughed. "Simply don't touch my hands."
I released her from the hug before what she had been painting caught my eye. It was a man on a cloud, no clothes, only a cloth draped across his waist. His eyes glowed black. More disturbingly, his wide bird wings were dark, sprinkled with stars like the night sky.
"What are you working on?" I asked, taking a step closer.
"Dunno," she shrugged. "I saw him in a dream."
"Interesting," I nodded slowly. "Don't get too trapped in your own head, okay?"
"Don't worry about me," she shoved me. "I'm doing just fine."
"Are you sure?" I hesitated in her doorway. "You've been through a lot, especially with me. If you ever need to talk or anything, you know where I am, right?"
"Of course," she wrung her hands as if something was eating at her. "It's all good, right now. I'm working through it."
"As long as you are," I stopped for another second. "I love you, Clara."
"I love you too, you big moron," she grabbed her brushes off the floor. "I have to go rinse these before they dry."
"See you," I watched as she disappeared down the hall.
I took one glance back at the painting. It was haunting. Disturbing. I hated it.
But I moved on.
~*~
"Good morning!" Violet broke into our cabin.
"Get off my ship!" Lynn stood so fast her chair flew back.
"Aw, but I need a ride back to Medowlark, sister dear," Violet leaned back on the door. "How're the travels going?"
"Where's your boyfriend?" she glared.
"Fiancé," Violet grinned. "Checking your engines to be sure. I heard about your sabotages from our darling Sky Rose up in the crow's nest."
"It was months ago now, and we killed the men who had planned it. Either way, I don't recall inviting you here. I was about to call for takeoff."
"It's a couple of weeks' journey; come on," Violet sat down on Lynn's desk. "Are we having dinner too?"
"I hate you," Lynn sighed. "Fine."
"Well, Seth," Violet looked at me, stuck in the chair. "Lynn's patch job a little rough?"
"Titania, we get it," Lynn grumbled. "I am bad at mechanics. I'm taking him to mom."
"Oh hey," Redbeard entered with Sky Rose. "We got the engines moving. Consider us headed to Medowlark."
"So you were going to let us go without telling me?" Lynn looked ready to kill.
"Dinner's here," Sky Rose held the door for someone behind her.
Dishes were set out on the table. The cook then hobbled back to wherever below deck she came from. I stayed in my chair as everyone settled into seats. Sky Rose sat beside me, furthest away from the sisters who were glaring at one another so hard, the room could set on fire.
"Mum's a proper nutter, though," Violet leaned back. "Always has been."
"She's brilliant," Lynn argued.
"She's whacky," she waved her arms. "Careful when you meet her. She'll probably test out nine experiments before you can get a word in."
"I can reason with her," Lynn looked away. "She's a good woman."
"What happened?" I asked.
"Oh, Titania," Sky Rose leaned against me. "Here we go."
"We're not quite sure," Violet smirked. "See, mum was found afloat at sea. She was holding tight to some driftwood. Pop's ship picked her up. Allowed her on board. She didn't remember none of it."
"Then she worked for him. Nothing came back," Lynn continued. "Pop noticed she got a bit...screwy. Followed her one night."
"She wasn't sleeping," Violet continued. "She spent each night fixated on the ceiling. When Pop asked her why she could only answer that in every dream she had, she was drowning."
"Pop tried a lot to get her to fall asleep. They were in love a tad, and so he tried to get her to sleep with him. Every time she would be sitting in a chair or staring out the window. She hated it."
"Mum never did sleep. I'd argue she's probably going through mania. Even on land, she won't sleep until she's thoroughly exhausted. We watched her pass out a lot as tots."
"Pop managed to get her under control, but when he wasn't home, she was...insane, which is when she picked up inventing. Gave her something to do."
"You're gonna love her," Violet pinched my cheek.
"Great," I crossed my hands. "I look forward to another one of your insane relatives."
"He finally figured out our dear Sky Rose?" Violet raised an eyebrow. "It's about time."
"Only took him a year or so," Lynn smirked. "Are we letting dinner get cold, or are we moving on?"
~*~
I stared at the little girl. My brother's...little girl. I still couldn't believe it. I had worked so hard. Was I seriously that unbearable?
"Isn't she the cutest?" Jonathan came up behind me. "We named her Starla. Starla Livian Spacic. Sort of after you."
I wanted to punch him in the face.
"Thanks, Jonny boy," I elbowed him. "Now you're just rubbing it in."
"You have to drop your standards if you want to beat me," he laughed.
"No selfish Fretala Star man wants me," I huffed. "They're all too proud of their Zodiacs or jobs or money to respect a hard-working, powerful woman like me."
"Or maybe you need to expand your horizons," Jonathan offered. "I bet you will be such a great aunt. Starla will at least respect you. I hope she grows up to be like you."
It was such a sweet compliment, I felt myself choke on the sweetness.
I would prove to him that I could have the best of both those worlds.