"Have we got enough alcohol and do you think there's enough food?"
Kai's family were coming over this evening for a get together and a mini house warming now that we had officially moved into our new home.
We had been here for a week now but Kai insisted that we had no visitors until we had both recouperated from our recent stay at the medical centre.
"Daisy, everything is perfect. No one is coming to judge our hosting skills, it's just an excuse for my mother to have an evening with all of her offspring and have a catch up, just relax."
"How can I relax when your parents are due to take the reins of Zandara? They're going to be the most powerful people on the planet and they're coming round for tea."
A few days ago, there was a special announcement from Hilz and Danik. They were stepping down from their position as the head of the monarchy and in two weeks time, Reela and Vin will be replacing them.
"They're not coming on official business, they're coming as my parents, to let loose and enjoy themselves."
"Well, we still need to feed and water our guests. Will this be enough?"
I was flapping around the kitchen, dressed in a pair of navy sweatpants and a white tank top with barely any time left to get myself ready.
Kai was already suited and booted, relaxing at the kitchen table while I was nit-picking at everything.
"Come here." He held his arm out as I walked past him, looping it around my waist and pulling me onto his lap.
"Why don't you go and have a shower and I'll guard the food."
"Eat the food more like." I tapped his hand as he went to grab another piece of cake.
The cake was my favourite dessert from the menu that Klaus and I worked our way though and it turns out that Kai was particularly fond of it too.
"Ok, last piece. Now, go on. I'll make sure everything's in order for when everyone arrives."
"Thank you." I quickly pecked him on the cheek and jumped off of his lap before running up the stairs to take a shower and get ready.
I had to thank my lucky stars for the incredible technology on Zandara.
I was showered, dressed, had my hair done and applied a light amount of make up in twenty minutes flat. New personal best.
"Wow!"
I walked into the kitchen and Kai looked me up and down seductively.
"Is it too much?" I blushed, embarrassed that I'd gone a tad overboard.
I was wearing a pale blue skater dress with butterfly sleeves and a pair of white wedges.
I prefered flats but the extra height from the wedges helped with the height difference between Kai and I.
"No. Not at all, you look stunning."
He stood before me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He lent down and pressed his soft lips against mine.
"Shall we cancel? I can think of a few things I'd rather be doing than this." His grin was short lived as the doorbell chimed throughout the house.
Kai groaned and I hit his chest playfully. "Let the party commence."
When the doorbell chimed again and then again and a few more times after that, I knew that Klaus was the first to arrive.
I chuckled, opening the front door to see the one and only Klaus and Kiara.
"You only need to press it once, idiot." Kiara was scolding him for playing with the doorbell.
"But this is so cool. It's an Earth thing."
Klaus pressed the doorbell again and I laughed as Kiara huffed, rolling her eyes at him.
"Come on in." I stepped back, letting them past me.
I closed the door behind them and followed them into the kitchen.
To the side of the room, all of the machines were lined up, taking the place of Earth appliances and a grey, stone breakfast table was next to them with eight chairs around it.
Kai had a larger table delivered which was in the middle of the room. It was covered in bottles of alcohol and around twenty trays, stacked high with food.
There was enough to feed a family of elephants but Kai assured me that none of it would go to waste.
"How's life as a duo?" Kiara asked, pouring herself a drink.
"It's actually been a little bit boring so far. Kai wouldn't let me do anything this week so I've just been lay in bed or watching T.V."
"Well, if you need a change of scenery, you know where I am. I can imagine you'll be round all the time with Kai as your only source of fun." She shot a look at Kai and he responded with a death stare.
The doorbell rang again and Kai went to answer the door.
Kiara had somehow made music play in the whole house with her wristband but when Kai walked back into the kitchen with his parents in toe, he quickly changed it to something a little less loud.
Her music sounded like chaos and I was grateful for the soft melody that Kai had chosen instead.
"Spoil sport." She huffed, downing her drink in one.
"Hi Vin, hi Reela." I went over to greet them with a welcoming smile.
I was nervous having them here but when Kai pulled me into his side, snaking his arm around my waist, I felt better and offered them a drink.
"How are you, Daisy? Vin can get our drinks, can't you Vin?" Reela shooded him towards the table and he shook his head with a smile.
It was obvious who wore the trousers in their relationship and I stifled a laugh, looking in Vin's direction.
He quickly returned with two glasses of wine like drinks and handed one to Reela.
"Marvelous." Her voice was high pitched but she had something about her that brightened up the room.
"Have you recovered from your spell at the medical centre my dear?"
I smiled widely as Reela placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Yes, thank you." I nodded. "In record time too. I've done nothing but rest for the past week so I'm feeling much better. I was lucky if Kai let me brush my teeth unaided"
"We raised our boy right. Didn't we son?" Vin chuckled.
"Indeed you did." Kai smiled, proudly.
"Won't you show us around this house of yours? We've been dying to see it." Reela insisted, flashing her smile in Kai's direction.
The doorbell chimed again.
"I'll get it while you show your parents around."
Anxiety was building as I headed for the door. No doubt Florna and Yara would arrive together, they seemed to be joined at the hip and everyone else was already here so I knew it would be them.
I sucked in a breath, putting on my best smile as I pulled the door open.
"Hey, Daisy." Kordin was the first to speak.
"Hi, come in. Thanks for coming."
He came in and Yara followed behind but she stopped in the doorway and smiled.
"This is for you."
She handed me a wooden statue of a tree that had emeralds in the leaves and diamonds in the bark.
"It's beautiful, thank you so much."
"It's a prosperity tree. It should bring you great health in your new life with Kai and I also want to apologise for the frosty welcome when we first met. I'm happy that Kai found you and I hope you have a long and happy life with him here."
Well this was unexpected.
"That's so thoughtful, thank you Yara. I.. I don't know what to say."
"You don't need to say anything." She nodded and joined Kordin in the kitchen.
I turned around to see Kintel and Florna still stood on the poarch and Kintel smiled awkwardly.
"Hey." He mumbled.
"Hi, come in."
I moved aside and he came in, Florna following behind, her eyes set infront of her. She didn't look at me or even acknowledge my existence.
Wonderful, I thought, rolling my eyes as I closed the door. She still hates me. Great. Perfect.
I shrugged off Florna's hatred, remembering why she hated me in the first place and made my way back into the kitchen to pour myself a drink.
Heading into the living room, I placed the tree ornament on the middle of the coffee table and stood back, admiring it's beauty.
"She doesn't hate you." Yara gave me a fright as she silently came up behind me.
"Oh, jeeze. I didn't see you there." I laughed, holding my hands across my chest.
"Sorry. I just wanted to catch you on your own while I had the chance."
"Is everything ok?" I spoke softly, sitting down on the sofa, gesturing for Yara to sit down too.
"I just feel awful. Kordin told me what happened with the tracker and the explosive and then I remembered how rude I was when we first met. It couldn't have been easy going through everything you went through, to then end up here for me to dislike you without giving you a chance. I'm sorry, Daisy."
I was taken aback by her apology. I wasn't expecting it and looking in her eyes, I could see the sincerity behind them and I appreciated her reaching out and making amends.
"I just kinda rolled with it, you know? Obviously it's been a tough few months but it ultimately led me to Kai. A life without him now would be like taking away my oxygen and if I had to do it all over again just to be with him, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
"You sound like a true zaviour." Yara let out a small laugh and it felt nice to be able to talk to her.
"Hopefully one day I'll know what it means to be a true zaviour. I feel like a weak, earthling most of the time."
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're a badass human that survived hell and I'd bet no other human could last as long as you did and live to tell the tale."
"You said it. She's a one of a kind my Daisy." Kai was stood in the doorway, smiling as I looked up at him.
My Daisy? He said my Daisy! My heart fluttered and I fought the grin that was forming on my face.
"I'll leave you guys to it." Yara stood to her feet and headed for the door.
"Yara?" I called after her and she stopped and turned to face me. "Thank you. I know she's your friend so it means alot."
She nodded, understandably before leaving Kai and I alone.
"You look happy."
"Yeah, I guess I am. Do you like this tree? Yara gave it to us."
"Yes, it's a nice tree." The sarcasm in his tone caused me to chuckle. Typical man.
•••
The atmosphere was great. I sat at the breakfast bar talking to Kiara and Klaus. Although they tend to bicker alot, they were actually quite close and their energy when they were together was addictive.
Other than Kai, they were my favourite people here on Zandara.
"Daisy, we're going hiking next week, you should come with us."
I looked at a slightly drunken Klaus wearily.
"Umm, I don't know. You guy have longer legs than I do, I won't be able to keep up."
"Don't worry about that. Klaus might be tall but he's always slugging it at the back." Kiara quipped.
"That's probably why he invited you, to keep him company when he's a mile behind."
Kintel surprised me when he joined in the conversation and I caught a glimpse of Florna, sending me daggers with her eyes when I turned to face him.
"Alright, I'll come." The thought of getting out in the wide open spaces made me smile.
"I'm actually a really fast walker. I just enjoy watching the animals and I like to take my time and look at the views." Klaus mumbled.
After one too many drinks, I could feel myself getting tipsy and after sitting down for too long, I needed to stretch my legs.
Excusing myself from the table, I made my way to the bathroom to relieve myself.
Tonight was going extreamly well. I had managed to get to know everyone a little better, everyone barring Florna and I was almost certain that Yara and I were on the verge of becoming friends.
I quickly washed my hands and left the bathroom. When I reached the top of the stairs, Florna was already half way up so I waited until she had got to the top.
"Florna?" My voice was low.
This was my chance to speak to her alone and I took it. I couldn't carry on with the dirty looks and her constantly scowling at me.
Whatever the outcome, I had to at least try and clear the air.
"What?"
"Kai told me about your brother. I'm so sorry about what happened to him." I peered up at her.
Her stoic expression was unnerving but her words were what unnerved me the most.
"Your time will come. His blood is on your hands and I promise you, you will regret staying on Zandara. You're a freak, nothing more, nothing less. You have been nothing but trouble since Kai planned his little rescue mission."
"I'm sorry, Florna. I didn't intend on causing any trouble."
"Really? Let's see.. my best friend has sided with you, my soulmate has been frosty with me and my brother is dead. Soulmates don't do that. They stick together through everything and all of a sudden, Kintel is backing an Earth freak." Her fists were clenched and for a split second, I thought she was going to hurt me.
"Is there anything I can do? I feel awful, I never wanted any of this to happen." I gulped hard, waiting for her to say something.
"You don't need to do anything, other than be very careful."
Was she threatening me? It sure felt like it but before I could say anything, she turned on her heel and walked back down the stairs.
Once she had gone, I lent my back against the wall and took in a deep breath. What the fuck?
I took a minute to compose myself and decided not to say anything to Kai about our conversation.
No matter what she said, I understood why I wasn't exactly her number one fan and I didn't want to cause anymore trouble.
I made my way to the kitchen, avoiding Florna for the rest of the evening and when everyone eventually left, I slumped down on the sofa with Kai, absolutely exhausted and ready to sleep.
_______________________________________
Hi guys.
How are you all?
Did you know that theres only 11 more weeks until Christmas?! I can't believe it! 😱
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Comments/votes are very much appreciated so if you're still reading this far, let me know what you think.
Possible update on Sunday! 😁