Deception

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"...Well, you should all go shuffle off for breakfast. I... I know perhaps I should come and have something, but the thought of sitting with your mothers all glaring at me isn't a good start to the day," sighed Hope, quietly pulling Dax back into her arms. Dax was perfectly healthy at this point, other than his slow development. He wasn't walking particularly well, and he barely even made noises these days when he ought to at least be babbling in some baby-talk. It was just another reason why his mother seemed to abandon him to focus on herself - but he had Hope, at least. The woman was dedicated to at least try and encourage him-- and she knew his siblings all loved him. He might not have the greatest parents, but he was at least loved by other members of the family.

"Come on, you don't want to miss breakfast because you were chatting to me," she encouraged, ushering the children from the room with a growing smile. "I'll just be helping the chefs in the kitchen-- I'll even put chocolate chips in your oats, it'll be our little secret~"
 
And they were all heading to have breakfast until Apophis showed his face. Alfred bowed, before grinning up at him. "Hi father, how are you this morning!"

"Good." Mumbled the king, walking over to Hope. He then took Dax, looking at him worriedly as he held him, stroking his back. Dax seemed to be the only one that Apophis really worried about. None of his other children have done this...Not talk. "...Avery, has he been talking? Have you been trying to teach him?" Apophis spoke to Avery as if she was adult, because well...Avery was basically an adult.

"...He laughs a bit." Felix mumbled.
 
Avery hated her father, that much was obvious. She constantly wrote how much she detested him and her mother in her little diary-- and she often cried herself to sleep about it all; about how her parents barely batted an eye for her. But she was wise enough to know that showing Apophis that vitriol would only get her into trouble. The man infamously killed his entire family just for power; she was sure he would punish her if she dared say a bad word. So, as much as she hated him, she knew when to show respect and act politely.

"...Yes, but he doesn't seem to pay attention. Alfred helped him to toddle about but he doesn't do that anymore--"

"My friend Sandra has a cousin who had a baby a few years back. She didn't need baby books anymore so I asked her for them. I could start helping him with his reading and all that. I'm... his Nanny, it's sort of my job to help him," began Hope, frowning a little at the way Dax was taken from her-- and she couldn't help but smile a little proudly when he began to whine, reaching for her again. "He'll get there, sire. He's... just a tad behind is all. My little brother, Mark... he barely spoke until he was 5 and now he doesn't shut up, so... so all it takes is time."
 
Pushing his blonde hair from his golden eyes, Apophis studied his child, before looking back at his soon to be wife. "I'll get some baby books. We don't need hand-me-downs." Rocking his child softly, he smiled a bit at how adorable he was, before carefully handing him back to Hope. "Feed him, make sure he gets the food he needs...Avery teach your sister to move gracefully in dance class. I hear Azula is behind you....I hear she's behind you in many things." He mumbled before turning from his children. "Oh that's right, Alfred, you be visiting Escaflowne next month to see your fiancee." And with that, he left them.

Alfred's eyes lit up happily. "...Next month...THat's so close. I..I can't wait." He whispered happily, before giggling happily. "Did you hear that? I'll be seeing my fiancee, I bet you guys are jealous~" He teased.

"Who would want a stupid cat as a boyfriend." Azul hissed, moving to hold her twin's hand.
 
All Apophis seemed to do (at least for Hope and Avery) was make the day worse. Hope couldn't stand the man at this point and she didn't really know why she even loved him in the first place. Sandra was trying to help out, and he wasn't accepting that piece of generosity because the books were 'hand-me-downs'?

Equally, Avery glared at him as he walked away. He complimented her intelligence and her advancement, but in doing so, he insulted Azula; her practically identical twin sister who she loved most in the world. Clutching her hand tightly, she offered her a rare smile. "...You're not that nice, Alfred. If you were nicer to us, we'd be nicer about... your boyfriend..."

"I'm happy for you. Oh, you should wear that cute little suit your Mom bought for you. You look adorable in that," gushed Hope, moving a little to glance down at Alfred-- even if the boy was catching up to her height far too much for her liking. She knew all the children would, one day, be much taller than her, even the twin girls. As dragons, their height would far surpass hers. It just made her feel uncomfortable, though. She saw them all as her own children at this point, so knowing they'd grow up soon was... difficult. "Would you need me to come with you? I'm not sure your father would like that, but maybe if you asked, he'd allow it? I want to come and chaperone you, keep an eye on you, you know?"
 
"I'm so nice to you guys, I even played dress up with you, and put makeup on myself. You know how insulting that was for me? But I let you guys do it because I love you, see?" Huffed Ally, crossing his arms. "Be nice to him, he...I love him a bunch, we're getting married, and we'll travel the world~"

"Not uh, you're the heir, you can't travel. You have to take care of the country~!" Giggled Felix as he moved to take Avery's hand. "Right Avery? Anyway, we're going to travel~! Avery promised to take me to the fairy Kingdom~! Remember?" He asked his older sister with wide golden eyes.

"...Shut up, anyway, Hope, of course, you'll come. And I want you to help me get ready that day. I want him to think I look super nice. I wonder if he thinks I'm cute..."
 
Each day Hope spent in the castle -hell, every second- was a mixture of a dream and a nightmare. She loved the children like they were her own, and, as the days passed, she was slowly warming up to the reality of her pregnancy. It was far from easy, of course. Apophis wasn't how she wanted him to be, so she avoided him as much as she could. She was struggling with it all and didn't have anybody to turn to. She couldn't even go and see Sandra now she was Apophis' wife-to-be - he didn't want her fraternising with 'commoners'. The wives hated her more than ever, and she had to deal with them not just being verbally abusive, but going as far as to lightly nudge her into walls and do what they could to torment her.

So, as difficult as it was to go travelling, she was eager for the break away from the drama of her life. She would get to accompany Alfred and relax a little in the other kingdom, perhaps make a few allies and friends. It was what she hoped for, anyway, as she sat back in the carriage with Alfred a month later.

"...You look adorable, stop fussing," she chastised lightly, noticing how fidgety he was. Calmly shifting her position (however difficult it was to find comfort right now), she offered over a smile. "I'm sure he's as eager as you are, hon. Now, you know I can't go running about playing games with you boys, right? I'll just... have tea with the Queen, introduce myself and... get to know her-- I'm as nervous as you are, kid. Besides, I don't know how she'll think of me. I'm a mess right now. I look awful."
 
"You look pretty, hush~" Giggled Alfred as he eagerly awaited until they pulled up to the marvelous castle. Ally was just excited about seeing Incy. He was also excited to see a new country. He's never left home, not once so this was huge for him. It was a whole new world for the young dragon. Once they pulled up to the castle, he grinned at seeing Queen Bella, his fiancee and another man standing with them. Once he was let out, Alfred bowed to them, before running to Incy easily hugging him tightly. "Incy~ I've missed you~!"

Bella smiled at the boys, before looking at Hope. She was obviously shocked to see the Nanny and not Alfred's mother. "...Huh...I'm sorry for looking so shocked, I wasn't informed you'd be here. I was under the impression his mother would be here. You know, I thought she'd be worried about him. Well, nevermind that, welcome~! Your name was Hope, am I correct? Well welcome to Escaflowne, I hope your stay is enjoyable. This here is my assistant, Bexen. Bexen this is King Apophis's fiancee."

Bexen looked at the bunny hybrid, his eyes a bit shocked. He'd never picture the dragon king to marry a bunny. It wasn't heard of. The elf man bowed, before smiling kindly at her. "Welcome to Escaflowne."4206842ddd4712fb3cde2d1c62ffc9f7.jpg
 
"...You need to start learning to act like a Prince, because your hectic behaviour is awfully embarrassing," began Incy, the purple-haired boy grumpily frowning as he squirmed at the hugs, though it was nothing new. He was an enigma; a mixture of confusing ambiguity. One moment he seemed to hate the other, and the next... well, he offered a smile and nuzzled his cheek a little. He was confused with everything, hence the discomfort around Ally sometimes, but as soon as he relaxed, he liked the other's company. It was just difficult for a child to understand the concept of a fiance.

Watching the boys quietly, making sure that Ally would be okay without her hovering close, Hope managed a bashful smile and even a curtsy to the Queen. It was something she automatically assumed she needed to do, especially when she actually respected Bella. She was the Queen of her kingdom and had ruled alone for years, and she actually loved her son. That was enough for Hope to warm to her.

"I... his mother had prior arrangements," she began diplomatically, trying to hold back her anger. "I... love Alfred, I really do. He's... my world. I would have come, regardless of what his mother chose to do-- Ally wants me here, I want to be here-- It's such a beautiful place! My... home kingdom is nothing like this. Even my King and Queen live in a tiny little castle, nothing like yours--" She began, realising she was babbling and inwardly cursed herself for it-- until Bexen came into view. He immediately made her speechless, which at least saved her the embarrassment of chattering on further.

"Oh-- Oh god, don't bow to me! I'm not--, I'm-- I mean, I... It's difficult to explain right now," she awkwardly laughed, realising that Apophis had mentioned he'd fake documents about her heritage, so she could marry him. Thus, she had to allow this man to bow to her, even if it just made her awkward. "...Are you an elf? That's-- so cool! I used to read books as a kid about elves and fairies and-- gosh, you're taller than I thought an elf would be."
 
"Many people say that, but yes I am an elf. It's a pleasure to meet you, milady. I'll b escorting you and the Princes around today. I'm afraid Queen Bella has a meeting to attend, but she'll be joining us for dinner."

"So please do make yourself at home, Hope. I'll see you tonight at dinner." She grinned, before walking over to her son, crouching down to kiss his forehead. "Be a good boy for mommy~" She cooed to him, before heading back into her castle to said meetings.

Bexen watched her go, before looking at the trio. "We should head in the village. There's plenty of things for us to do in the village. I'd like to take you to Prince Incy's favorite bakery. He adores the pies. I believe they sell carrot cake-Oh, I'm so sorry! I...That sound a bit racist, just because you are a rabbit hybrid doesn't mean you have to like carrot cake! Do you, milady? I've heard that your kind are very fond of it." He stated with an apologetic smile.

"She never stops eating it, she's so greedy~" Teased Ally as he held his fiancee's hand happily. He was obviously thrilled to be reunited with the boy he liked.
 
"Alfred! Don't... say that. I'm not that greedy. Alfred's a little dramatist, he enjoys... exaggerating," the woman awkwardly smiled, her face flushed red at the boy's comments. He was just 10, so she couldn't be too angry with him, especially when she realised he had no malicious intent. Besides, he was right - Hope did eat carrot cake most of the time, especially now she had cravings for it and could justify her eating habits by blaming it on the pregnancy.

"I do enjoy it though, so... that sounds great! It's not too far, is it? I--"

"Why? Because you can't walk too far without your feet hurting? Don't get pregnant then, it's relatively obvious. I want to go and we're going. I want to walk. We could have taken a carriage but we're walking now," decided Incy with a spoilt smirk on his face, even if his cockiness faded a little at the crack in his voice. It started happening to him yesterday at dinner, and it seemed to make his mother giggle for some strange reason. Incy was older than Alfred, at 12 years old, but he didn't understand the concept of puberty. His father died ages ago and he had no older male relatives. The concept wasn't something he was aware of, so the cracking in his usually light voice disturbed him. "...Bexen, I want my favourite pies but Mama said I'll ruin my appetite, so we have to keep it secret."
 
"Yes, m'lord. But you can't have too much. Otherwise, your mother will find out. And Hope, if your feet start hurting just tell me. I am more than capable of carrying you." He told her seriously. He knew she was pregnant, but he couldn't get the carriage now. The Prince said he wanted to walk, so he would have to walk. He had to obey his Prince.

Alfred blinked when hearing his voice crack a bit, before giggling himself. "You're so cute~" He cooed, nuzzling in to place a kiss on his cheek. It was so sweet at how smitten he was with his little fiancee. "Don't you wish we could spend every day together? How much fun would that be? We could play games all day, I could show you all my cool toys, and we could eat all day~!"
 
"You're strong, Bexen, but you aren't invincible. She looks too heavy to carry--"

"...Your 'lord' is really rather rude, isn't he?" Hope muttered, poking her tongue out towards the little Prince and smirked triumphantly when he smiled back, unable to stay moody with the woman too long. Hope clearly had a way with children that made them warm to her, however moody and grumpy they were. Alfred hated her when they first met, and now the little boy was easily like a son to her. "I'm... fine, honestly. I'm not that tired. My mother manages to walk miles when she's pregnant, so a little stroll isn't... bothersome to me--"

"I'm not walking slowly, you'd better hurry up," sighed Incy again, before glancing across at the other boy with an arched brow. "...Well, sure, it'd be fun-- I don't play with toys much. Besides, you shouldn't grow attached to your home. You'll be living here when we're married. I'm not leaving Escaflowne. This'll be your home, you should visit here every time."
 
"I'm moving in with you?" Blinked Alfred. This was clearly news to him. But not unpleasant. Sure he'd miss his siblings but...Incy was here~! He'd be fine! He looked back at Hope and grinned brightly. "I'll visit you, promise Hope~! But my little kitten wants me to move in here~!" Giggled the Dragon. He kissed the top of Incy head with a purr. While Incy was his senior by two years, Alfred was a head taller than him. He was almost Hope's height. He was tall, but most dragons were.

Cackling slightly, Bexen watched the boys with a small smile. "...My lord seems to be fond of your Prince. If anyone else hugged him or kissed him they'd have lost an eye by now. He hates being touched. So it's nice to see him make friends with someone. He rather likes your Prince. Spoke about him often. So do you know the gender of your child yet?" Asked the elf, as he moved to touch her stomach with a smile. "Childbirth is a beautiful thing hmm? I remember when my wife, rest her soul, gave birth to my son. Looking at your child for the first time is honestly love at first sight."

As Bexen spoke they reached the village and a small cat hybrid boy ran up to them, bowing to the Prince, before looking up at them with wide eyes. "Prince Innocencio~! You're going to the bakery again aren't you?" Asked the child before went to hug Bexen.

Bexen chuckled a bit, picking the boy up. "We are, we are showing his fiancee and his stepmother around. Where's your aunt? I thought I told you not to run away from her today."


"But Daddy~! That's borrrriiinngg. Aunty's such an annoying lady~" Whined the boy.
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Despite the stereotypes of her kind being the affection they adored and often craved, Hope wasn't particularly fond of being touched either. She at least had that in common with Incy. She had turned to prostitution because she had no choice-- and it had been the worst time in her whole life. Not only did she feel degraded constantly, but she had to be touched by men she really didn't want touching her.

Being pregnant seemed to be a green light for people to touch her. The servants she worked around in the castle had all taken turns touching her stomach and gushing. She knew they meant well, but it constantly made her uncomfortable. Even when Apophis did it, it made her cringe-- but Bexen's touch made her grew red and bashfully giggle to herself, biting her lip to stop the little giggles.

"I... no, no idea yet. I... don't quite know what I'm doing and the King isn't... remotely helpful. He doesn't like me all that much--" She began, rolling her eyes until the cute boy arrived, her eyes lighting at just how adorable Bexen's son was. "Is this your son? Oh, he can join us, can't he? He's so cute."

"...He isn't that cute. I'm the cutest here. He's... okay," grumpily mumbled Incy, glaring jealousy at the little boy. He had to admit that Bexen's son was adorable--but he wouldn't admit how jealous that made him. "You can't join us, I'm with my fiance and... and I want to focus on him, not you."
 
Bexen looked at the Prince, sighing a bit before looking at his son apologetically. "Hunter...You have to go back to your Aunt. The Prince would like to spend the day with his fiancee undisturbed. You understand don't you?" He asked his young son, moving to kiss his forehead.

Hunter huffed a bit, before looking at the bunny hybrid next to him. "Who are you? You're pretty and short." He giggled happily, grinning brightly at her. "I'm Hunter~!" He pretended he didn't hear his father, mostly because he didn't want to leave his side. He adored his father, but he often had to stay with his aunt because of how busy he was.

"Hunter," Bexen warned, sitting him down. "Listen, if you go back to your aunt-" He stopped talking when Hunter's ears flattened on his head and his usually wagging tail simply dropped sullenly. Bexen hated seeing his son so upset, it made him feel like the cruelest man in the world. "...M'lord, can he join us to the bakery? I take him home after he eats a bit."
 
Hope, in that moment, understood exactly how the little hybrid felt. She was often excluded because of the royals. She didn't want to spend an ounce of time with Apophis' wives, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt when she saw them all chatting happily and dining at lunch together while she was excluded and teased relentlessly. She understood what exclusion felt like, and she wasn't really prepared to have this little boy -one who called her pretty, no less- be excluded.

"Now, you both are Princes, but he's coming along and if you don't like that, then you're really mean," she declared brazenly, ushering the elf's son into the group with a friendly smile. "Now, I'm Hope and this is Prince Alfred-- he's really very sweet, he won't be at all mean because he knows he has me to deal with."

"...I don't... fine. Fine! But I'm not talking to him--"

"That's fine, he can talk to me instead," replied Hope with a faint frown, before glancing back at the new child. "How does carrot cake sound, sweetie? It's my favourite-- obviously~"
 
"Carrot cake? That sounds yummy~!" GIggled the little boy happily walking in the group, his huge fluffy tail swaying happily. "I want cookies too~! Sugar cookies are my all time favorite~!"

Bexen chuckled happily, looking at his son with nothing but love in his eyes. He then looked at Hope. "Thanks for that. You're pretty good at handling children, hmm?"

"Because Hope's awesome. She's like my mommy...Well not like my actual mom, she kind of sucks, but I think she's how my mom should be~" Grinned Alfred. Once they reached the bakery, he pulled his fiance in with an eager grin. "What should we get Incy?" He asked excitedly before his eyes wandered to a couple in the bakery cutely feeding each other. Instantly he wanted to do that too. "Incy! Let's feed each other like them~!"
 
The children had always referred to her as a sort of mother; it was nothing new. Avery had often called her 'Mommy' and Hope had to gently let her down, but it was always made her feel good. However, none of them had told outsiders or strangers about how fondly they thought of Hope until now, and it made her pause and blink hard to make sure that she hadn't imagined that.

"...I... guess I am... like a mother to them," she repeated quietly, her cheeks now burning hotter than ever in her delight at Alfred's little comments. He was a child, far too preoccupied with Incy, so he barely saw the effect his brief comment had-- but it had easily made everything Hope had gone through worth it, just for that little remark.

"You are not feeding me," Incy grunted, interrupting Hope's little moment with his typical cattiness. "That's unhygienic and disgusting. I'm 12. We aren't dating. That's what grown ups do. You can feed me on our wedding night-- you know, my Mama thinks you shouldn't visit again. She thinks it'll be romantic for us to see each other on our wedding night for the first time in years, like a reunion. If you continue to be weird, I'll agree with her."
 
Alfred instantly quieted down, feeling a bit upset. "...Wouldn't you miss me if I were gone for that long? I'd miss you...That's six whole years." He whined, looking down at himself. All he wanted to do was be more like a couple, but he didn't understand that Incy wasn't that comfortable. They were only children, but Ally was a helpless romantic.

Hunter ran up to the glass, before looking up at his Daddy. "Daddy~ Can I have four sugar cookies?"

"Of course, four sugar cookies, a carrot cake for Hope, and what would you two like?" He asked the Princes, about to order.

"...I'm not really hungry anymore." Mumbled a now upset Alfred, looking down at his feet.
 
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