"Clara! Hali! Come on you two, we're going to be late! You don't want to miss out on time with grandma and grandpa!" Claudine called as she looked up the staircase that led to the bedrooms of their lighthouse.
While technically it was Eric and Ariel's lighthouse, since it was in Eric and Ariel's kingdom, Claudine and Henry ran it for them. It had been part of the deal they had created back when they were getting their wedding underway. Neither Henry nor Claudine had felt comfortable using the beach for free while neither Eric nor Ariel felt comfortable charging them for its use.
Working the lighthouse had been a compromise that suited everyone—even if Eric and Ariel insisted on paying them for the work.
"Coming mama!" Clara called as she and Hali slowly and carefully made their way down the stairs.
"Alright you two, you got everything?" Henry asked as he walked in. "Boots? Hats? Swords?"
"Yes papa!"
"Henry, they won't need swords at Aurora and Phillip's," Claudine said, shaking her head in amusement.
Henry raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And what if Ari and Paige want to spar? You told me that Phil's going to be there with his kids and I'm pretty sure Percy and Maddie aren't at sparring ages yet."
"Knowing you, you'd be training the infants on their footwork sooner or later," Claudine chuckled.
"No I usually like to hold off until the person learning to spar can walk...with the exception of Ryan but that was because I practically raised him since he was three," Henry said, a fond smile gracing his lips. Claudine couldn't help but smile as well as she thought back on those times on the Isle, though it was a slightly sad smile.
Those times when no one thought escape from the Isle was possible. Those times when Freddy was still plaguing their every movement.
Those times where their girls weren't even a possibility.
No, Claudine told herself as they made their way out to the car, Hali bouncing slightly in Henry's arms as Clara ran ahead to be the 'line leader'. Whatever that was. Don't think about that. Not when you're with the girls.
While the girls knew about the fact that their parents had grown up on the Isle of the Lost, if only because Henry always took the time to tell them to take pride in the fact that their Queen was like them, a girl of the Isle, the girls didn't know about Freddy.
How could they tell them? Clara was only three and Hali was a year younger than her sister. How could they possibly explain the wickedness that was Freddy to their innocent daughters?
Henry reached over and gently grabbed her hand, giving it a small squeeze. It was as if he could sense what she was thinking.
I get it, he seemed to say. But we've got time. Ari and Paige haven't even started asking about Freddy yet.
If Freddy's own daughters weren't asking about him, it was safe to say that their girls wouldn't be asking about Freddy for a long time.
Claudine gave Henry a small smile and started up the car. The trip to Honeymoon Castle was uneventful—if one ignored the repetitive loop of children's music on the CD player for the entire trip. Honestly, it almost made one yearn for the Isle where such things didn't exist.
"I swear, whoever came up with that song should partner with Lord Hades to torment people in Tartarus," Henry muttered as they got out of the car, having arrived at Honeymoon Castle.
"I know dear but the girls love it," Claudine sighed as Clara ran up ahead, excited to see Aurora and Phillip or as she called them 'Gram and Grampie'. Aurora and Phillip loved seeing the girls and always offered to watch them if Claudine and Henry needed a break.
"But it's going to be in my head all day!"
"So think about something else."
Henry chuckled and shook his head. The issue with that was the fact that they'd be listening to the song on the way back.
"Auntie Claudine! Uncle Henry!"
"Hello Paige," Claudine smiled as her niece ran out to greet them. "Is that a new dress?"
Paige nodded, swishing the skirt of her dress. Evie had once again worked her magic and made Paige a blue and grey dress that somehow looked as if the fabric had been swirled together. "Uh huh! It has pockets!"
"Lucky!" Hali said from Henry's arms, locks of her red hair falling into her face. She had inherited her father's hair while Clara had inherited her mother's brown hair though in certain light, Clara's hair looked like it had red highlights in it.
"Hali, love, your pants have pockets too," Henry said with a small chuckle as he brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"But my dresses don't!"
Claudine shook her head. "Well we can talk to Evie and see about getting you a dress with pockets. Does that sound good?"
"Okay mama!" Hali said with a grin as Clara came running back to them.
"Gram said that there're snacks! But we can't have any until everyone's inside!"
Henry chuckled and smiled at his daughter. "Is this your way of saying hurry up, sweetheart?"
"Yes papa!"
"Well then we'd better do just that," Claudine said and the five of them made their way into Honeymoon Castle.
"Claudine! Henry!" Aurora said with a grin as she saw them. "Oh it's so nice to see you!"
"It's wonderful to see you too, Aurora," Claudine said, returning the grin. "It's been too long."
"And who's fault is that?" Phil asked with a chuckle as Maddie and Percy cooed in his arms.
"No Melody today?" Claudine asked as she walked over to take one of the twins from him.
Phil shook his head. "No, she's having a cousins day with Herkie and Hadie. She was going to have the twins but we switched so that they could be here today instead."
"Mama?" Clara asked. "Why do Maddie and Percy's mama and papa not live together like you and papa?"
Claudine's face flushed as she shot an apologetic look at Phil. "Clara, honey, remember when we talked about questions that are okay to ask around other people and questions that are 'at home' questions?"
"Uh huh!"
"Well that's an at home question sweetheart."
"Oh...I'm sorry mama."
"I'm not the one you should say sorry to, sweet girl," Claudine said and Clara turned to Phil.
"I'm sorry Uncle Phil."
Phil chuckled softly. "It's okay Clara. You were curious, and curiosity is never a bad thing. Just remember there's a time and a place for curiosity okay?"
"Okay," Clara nodded. "Uncle Phil...can we spar?"
"I'd love to but I'm holding Percy right now. Maybe Ari or Paige would like to spar with you?"
"Where is Ari?" Claudine asked, looking around as Phillip walked in with the refreshments. "She's normally one of the first ones to greet us. Is she feeling okay?"
Aurora sighed. "I'm not sure. We went to the park this morning and she was her usual happy self but when we left she seemed a bit downtrodden. She wouldn't tell me what was wrong though."
"She's in her library," Paige spoke up.
Claudine nodded as Phillip walked over and took Maddie from her arms. "Well, I think I'll go and see her. I'll be back down soon."
"Take your time," Henry said as he handed Hali to Aurora, the blonde eager to see her grandchild and the redhead just as eager to see her grandmother.
Claudine smiled softly and walked out of the room, making her way up the stairs to Arabella's room. She knew what Paige had meant by Ari being in her 'library'. It was a toy playhouse that Ben had given her for her first birthday—or rather a replica of it.
When it became clear that she was getting too big to move around in it without knocking down the books that were in there, Phillip commissioned a new library for Ari; big enough so that she could grow into it.
"Knock, knock." Claudine said, knocking on the green shutters that were on the windows. "I'm here to check out a niece?"
"Hi Auntie," Ari said softly, her arms wrapped around her legs as it almost looked like she was trying to make herself into a ball.
"What's got my sweet girl down in the dumps?" Claudine asked, wishing the mini library was bigger so that she could go in and wrap her arms around Ari. Whatever was bothering the girl had to be big since she was normally full of light and laughter.
Right now, it was like one of the clouds from the Isle had come and cast a shadow over her niece.
"...why don't I have a mama?"
"What?"
"There...there was this girl at the park," Ari said, her soft voice sounding like she was trying to hold back tears. "And I...I wanted to play with her but she said....she said she doesn't play with kids without mamas because they're evil and that my mama was evil and tried to hurt King Ben and Queen Mal according to her mama and so King Ben and Queen Mal had to get rid of her."
Claudine sighed. "Oh sweetie..."
"Is it true? Is that why I don't have a mama?" Ari asked, looking over at Claudine through the window of the makeshift library. "Is that why Paige doesn't have a mama?"
"Did the girl say anything to Paige?"
Ari shook her head. "Paige was on the swings with grand-mère, they didn't hear anything," she told Claudine.
Well that was good at least, Claudine thought. Not that Ari had to hear those words of course but that Paige wasn't hurt by them either.
"Well I have to say this, that girl's mother's wrong about one thing," Claudine said.
"What's that?"
"That kids without mamas are evil. I don't have a mama and neither does your Uncle Henry and we're not evil right?"
"But...you're not kids!"
"We were kids once," Claudine said gently. "And yes I now have a mom because of your grandma but I grew up without a mom. So did your Uncle Henry."
Ari wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks. "I...I love grand-mère but I want a mama too. Does...does that make me bad?"
"Not at all sweetheart," Claudine said gently. "Wanting to have a mom like other kids does not make you bad at all. But can I tell you something?"
"What?"
"If you ever feel like you need a mom, you've got three substitutes ready and willing to be there for you. Just like you've got three substitutes if you ever feel like you need a dad."
After all, Melody was practically another aunt to Ari and Paige already. A lack of a marriage to Phil didn't seem to matter to the girls.
Ari gave Claudine a small smile and slowly made her way out of the makeshift library to Claudine's waiting arms.
"Won't Clara and Hali be jealous?" Ari whispered. "I'd be taking their mama from them."
"You would be doing no such thing," Claudine promised. "If you ever need a mom and you don't think you can talk to your grandma about what's bothering you, you can always come to me okay?"
"Okay Auntie," Ari said softly and Claudine held her close.
Should I be thankful that the girl didn't say anything about Freddy? Claudine thought as the two of them sat on the floor. After all, Ari seemed more preoccupied with the fact that she didn't have a mom rather than the fact that she didn't have a dad. Though that question's probably going to come at some point.
"...are...are Clara and Hali here too?" Ari asked after a few minutes.
"They are," Claudine nodded. "Your Uncle Henry's probably got them sparring already if you want to go join them?"
Ari nodded softly and Claudine smiled as they got up, Ari going to grab her trusty wooden sword and tri-cornered hat, before they made their way down the stairs. There, they saw Henry giving a quick lesson to Paige, Clara, and Hali while Aurora, Phillip, and Phil looked on in amusement.
"Okay you three, what's the first rule of sword work?" Henry asked.
"Oooh! I know papa!" Clara said, holding her hand up as high as it could go. "I know!"
"Okay Clara, what is it?"
"Stick 'em with the pointy end?"
"...you've been around Auntie Captain a bit too much haven't you?" Henry asked with a small chuckle and Claudine couldn't help but smile as she heard the title Clara had given Mal during one of the many times she'd gone over to the castle for Mal and Ben to babysit her for Henry and Claudine.
It was a title that Mal seemed to wear with pride.
"Know your surroundings," Ari said, her voice soft as she went to join them. "Know if you can trap your enemy or pin them against a wall."
Henry nodded, giving Ari a bright smile. Though it was a teensy bit unfair, Henry had been telling her the rules of sword work since Ari could remember. "That's it. You want to tell them the second rule of sword work, Ari?"
"Have your sword out before you approach," Ari said, her face brightening up with the answer. Claudine went over and sat next to Aurora.
"Did you get her to tell you what was wrong?" Phil asked, Claudine leaning over to take Percy from his arms.
"Yeah," Claudine said with a small sigh. "Apparently a girl at the park gave Ari a hard time for...for not having a mom."
"What?" Aurora gasped softly, trying to make it so that she didn't attract the attention of the kids. "I didn't even know that happened."
"Apparently it was when you were on the swings with Paige," Claudine told her. "I'm guessing it was just before you left the park."
Aurora sighed. "I knew we'd have to talk to both the girls about Audrey at some point but...I didn't think it'd be this soon. We take them to visit Audrey's...Audrey's grave but there just hasn't been a right time to tell them who she was to them."
"They're only kids after all," Phillip whispered before shaking his head and clearing his throat. Thinking about Audrey...well it still hurt even after the years had passed.
"I told Ari that...that if she ever needs a mom, she can call me," Claudine said, her voice soft as she looked over at the girls. All of them seemed so eager and innocent, whereas she had been so timid and meek at their age. It'd taken Freddy teaching her how to throw daggers to finally get her out of her shell.
"Thank you Claudine," Aurora said and Claudine looked back at her to see a sad smile on Aurora's face.
"Hey...you two welcomed me into your family when you could have easily said that you didn't want anything more to do with the Frollos," Claudine said as she took Aurora's hand as best she could with her arms filled with baby.
"Except we weren't having anything to do with a Frollo," Phillip spoke up. "You were a Rose. By choice and later by us."
Claudine smiled at the words Aurora had used at her wedding. The words she sometimes would tell herself when she'd be reminded that she was genetically connected with Freddy.
She wasn't a Frollo. She was a Rose—and a Kersey.
"Ooh! Ooh! Papa, I know!" Clara's voice pulled Claudine out of her thoughts and she chuckled at the fact that her husband was still holding 'sword school' as he liked to call it.
"Okay Clara," Henry nodded. "Go ahead. What's the most important thing to do with your empty hand?"
"Keep it out of the way or you end up like a codfish!"
"...Henry, are you calling Captain Hook a codfish around our girls?" Claudine called.
Henry chuckled, looking more than slightly guilty. "Hey, the man didn't show up to Harriet's wedding, I'm within my right to insult him. Doesn't matter if he's practically pirate royalty."
"That's hardly becoming behavior for a Prince you know, insulting people behind their backs."
"Ah but it is becoming behavior for a pirate."
Everyone in the room chuckled as they heard that and Claudine smiled at her husband. He somehow had an innate gift at lifting the spirits of everyone in the room.
Besides, they never used their royal titles even after Claudine had been adopted by Aurora and Phillip and Henry married into the family. They preferred to use their pirate titles of Captain and Captainess.
The girls would have all the benefits of being royal of course, they wouldn't deny their daughters a good life. But they also would know their roots.
"You know, I'm hearing a lot of talk and not a lot of sword work," she teased. "You wouldn't be losing your touch Mr. Kersey now would you?"
"Ah ba ba ba, you're forgetting one of the most important rules of sword work Captain Kersey," Henry teased back.
"And what might that be?"
"Make sure there's nothing you might trip on," Henry said, gesturing to the coffee table, end table, and the feet of the other adults. "Not really a lot of room here for actual sparring."
"We can always move outside," Aurora offered. "I only set up in here so Phil would be able to sit while holding the twins."
"Can we go outside?" Clara and Paige asked at the same time.
Claudine chuckled. "I don't know. What's the magic word?"
"Please mama?"
"Please Auntie?"
"Thank you girls. If it's okay with your grandmother, it's okay with me," Claudine said and smiled as all four girls looked over at Aurora with big, pleading eyes. Soon the Rose and the Kersey family found themselves sitting on the back patio while the girls quickly began sparring each other with their wooden swords.
"You ever think we'd have this life?" Claudine asked as she rested her head on Henry's shoulder.
"Truthfully? No," Henry said. "But I'm glad life seemed to defy my expectations."
"I am too," Claudine said, smiling as she heard the squeals of her daughters and her nieces. It was truly the best sound in the world.
Thank you Fred, she thought. As weird as it is to think, if you hadn't been a threat to me, Mal would have never brought me over from the Isle. I would have never become a member of Aurora and Phillip's family. Would have never been adopted by them. Would have never been given a gift from the Good Fairies and I likely wouldn't have my daughters. So in a way...I owe this all to you.
"What're you thinking about?" Henry asked, noticing the soft smile on his wife's lips.
"How lucky we are," Claudine said. Hey, there was no reason to ruin the moment by saying she was thinking about Freddy.
Henry smiled and held her close. "We really are. Lucky that is," he said softly before kissing the top of her head.
Claudine smiled as the sound of wooden swords clashing and girlish squeals graced her ears. As hard as it was to believe sometimes that this was her life, she wouldn't trade it for anything.