Chương 1783: [1680] – Y07.180 – A Man of Family X

As the dawn blanketed the land of sun and gold, the carriages stood tall, the steeds stood proud, and the morning was full of busyness, with the children all running and leaping as though they were trying to escape the touch of the rays of the sun, and the Ray within their life.

"Mummy, I am too swift now!" Jirot declared, taking her stance to fight, and as her mother stepped towards her, the girl bolted ten steps away, only to find her mother was not chasing her, but had turned to chase her siblings, but as she made to take her place in front of her mother, a shadow formed over the girl.

Jirot froze in place for a moment, and as the arms threatened to swallow her, she squealed and tried to retreat, and though the shadow had given her plenty of time to flee, it would not allow her to escape now that she was within its arms.

"It's time to bathe now," Adam called, towards all his children, who were once taken by a tiredness, but were now so full of life, meaning they would be able to fall asleep so much easier later in the day. As they trekked to the baths, the half elf held his daughter, who he did not trust not to cause trouble until they were finally within the bathroom, and as he placed her down, he peeked over her face, like a moon engulfing her vision.

"No running in the bathroom, okay?"

"I know, daddy, I know!" As the half elf assisted his twins in their baths, little Kirot swam over towards him, bowing her head. Adam smiled, lathering her hair gently with the concoction which smelled lightly of coconut, and was so soft to the touch, even to their sensitive touch, massaging the cloudy lotion onto her head. Eventually Konarot and Karot swam their way towards their father, and Jirot and Jarot paddled their way to their mother, cackling as they finally escaped their father.

Yet, he raised his hand, and clenched his fist in the most menacing manner, and the water in front of them shifted, pulling them towards him. Trick: Shape Water"You believe you can escape this father of yours?" Adam called, his voice clear, low, and menacing, the half elf letting out the hoity laughter of a villain.

"It is I, this father of yours, who wields such spells as though they were tricks, tricks as though they were but breathing, and this father of yours…" Jirot and Jarot glanced back towards their father, wide grins upon their lips, their eyes sparkling towards him, as their mother pulled them close to her chest.

"How did you…"

"You were monologuing…"

"Ah, of course."

"Of coas," came the echo. Vonda couldn't help but think her husband's genius reached the heavens, for he was able to deal with his children with such ease, even easier than her. She smiled, holding her twins close, and assisted in washing them, while the half elf washed the triplets, and once they were finally done, they assisted each other in drying off, before applying their lotions, until, finally, they donned their clothing.

The children wore the masculine cut of the shalwar, each less billowy, formed of heavier cloth, and donned their turbans, while their parents helped with the rope belt which would carry their wooden weapons, and almost immediately Jirot posed, with one hand holding her chin, the other holding upon the elbow, and she placed her shoe upon the step.

"Gosh, daddy, I look so good in all clothing." The girl admired herself within the mirror, and then she turned towards her brother, reaching out to him.

"You look so handsome too, Jarot." Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Jarot smiled and he waddled beside his sister, crossing his arms in the way his papo and babo would, while Konarot and Kirot joined them, and little Karot turned to look towards his parents, until the three were opposite the mirror, which Adam cleaned once more with his light magic, causing the vapour to disappear to allow them all to reveal themselves.

Adam, too, wore a shalwar, but they could all see the one who was covered from head to heel, save for her brow to chin, covering all but most of her face.

"I want to dress like mummy," Jirot said, looking up towards her mother.

"You may dress this way tomorrow, but for now, I must show you off to everyone else," Vonda said, realising midway through her words the disappointment upon the girl's face, and then how she was about to speak up against her.

"Right! We need to show off to ahm and aila, and then they'll get jealous, and ahm will hurry up and give you so many cousins!" Adam added, striking the final nail on the coffin, and the girl's eyes brightened.

'Sorry, Korin…' Korin stared at the children, all of whom beamed mischievously towards their ahm, and then his eyes fell to Adam, who held such an apology within his eyes.

"Oh my! I am so jealous that my nieces and nephews are so handsome!"

The children cackled, with Jirot clapping her hands excitedly, and she pointed to him, was about to say something inappropriate, so her eyes said, but thankfully her eyes flashed with a lucidness that reminded her she needed to be nice, and so the girl clasped her hands together in prayer, but as she opened an eye to peek up towards her ahm, she could see he realised what she did, and then realised that she realised that he realised what she had done, and with that, she showed her ahm mercy.

A familiar carriage appeared, revealing the Amira, who smiled with such a bright smile.

"I hope I am not intruding." Jirot huffed, though glanced towards the boxes Kal Kachya began to bring towards them, and so she showed the Amira mercy.

"By the way, Jirot, technically the Amira may be considered somewhat related to us, ah, I mean, I could probably somehow manage to claim her as a cousin, and then when the Amira has children, they would be your cousins too, and then we could spoil them." Jirot turned towards her father, her eyes so full of surprise, not realising the depths of her father's foolishness, nor the depths of his genius, for the half elf had thought something not even she had managed to claim to think.

'What the heck?' The Amira gifted the various bits of jewellery to all the Iyrmen, some of whom seemed utterly baffled by the gifts, but accepted it all the same.

"To think you can gift the children jewellery the Amira personally chose for you," Adam mused, and in this way, the fool taught the Iyr to be grateful, all the while his eyes coveted the various jewellery pieces, not for himself, but to say he had gifted the items to all the children, but he relented. Just this once.

"I wish for your journey to remain safe upon your return," Miriam said, having made sure the Black Lions would escort them to Arisa at least.

"Thank you," Adam replied, smiling warmly towards the woman.

"I will construct an estate which you may find more comfortable and when you visit, you may remain there," Miriam said.

"You don't have to worry about that, we rather like this place."

"Perhaps it may be more comfortable if it was an estate that belongs to you?"

"Oh? I suppose I'll have to bring quite the gift for you in return then, Amira."

"Please, since we are in good company, you may call me Miriam."

"You can still call me Mo," Adam joked, winking at the woman, a wide smile upon his lips, and as he turned towards his daughter, his smile quickly dropped.

"What?"

"I cannot believe my daddy is winking at other women…" Adam's mouth dropped, his eyes darting towards his wife, whose face slipped from a humorous alarm to a stern glare towards her husband, causing his mouth to drop further.

"You can't do this to me! I won't wink again!" Seeing the way her father almost began sweating, the girl let out the widest smirk towards the Amira, winking at her, for she had claimed her position at the peak once more, and within her heart she thanked the Amira, and quickly, for the sake of her future cousins, she would show mercy to the woman.

'If they are like this, should I assume I am safe?' Miriam thought, and as they all passed their greetings towards her, and began to figuratively fly away in their carriages, beyond the small army of her personal guard who were to protect her from harm, but not from the Iyrmen. She wasn't entirely sure she should have accepted Adam's offer of friendship, for he was like cursed gold, though at such a thought, she considered the Mustahalur's words, in which she mentioned the half elf in comparison to cursed gold.

He was not cursed gold. He was perhaps cursed. He was perhaps gold. He was undeniably a fool. He was undeniable a father. He was, so simply, Adam.