CHAPTER 11: HONEYMOON (7)
~11.7~
*****
After changing into their swimsuits, Kye and her wives met up with the others in the lobby, everyone wearing their own swimsuits. The group had grown a bit, too. Akane wasted no time inviting more to join them.
“How the hell did you get here so fast?” Kye asked after greeting Alaira, Rika, and Kanade. She eyed her paternal grandmother. “Did you work that fast?”
“I can’t take credit,” Akane said, “they were already here!”
“Both of my adult granddaughters are here!” Hannah cheered, pulling Kye and Alaira in close.
“What? I’m not-” Alaira said.
“Oh, details details. I’m stealing you from my brother for the day. Maybe forever. Hehe. You two are so beautiful!”
“I feel the same way!” Akane pulled Rika over and joined them on the other side of Kye. “Look at us!”
“Akane! What are you-” Rika was squished up against Kye with Akane poking her head out from behind them. Akane held them together with her hands on their sides. “Akane!” Rika looked at Kanade, seeking help, but her mother was giggling at the sight.
“Oh, Rika, you have no idea how hyper Akane can be. This is nothing!” Kanade was outright laughing with Ginchiyo by the end of her sentence.
“Mom!”
“Rika, you are so cute!” Akane cheered. Alaira and Rika struggled to escape from Hannah and Akane, but finally managed.
Alexandra chuckled at the sight of their relief. “I wish I had more girls in my family. Anastasiya declined to join us.” She shrugged. “The rest are boys. Luka is here, too, though. He’s out on the beach somewhere, probably being a boy.”
“Heh. Well, I dunno about everyone else, but I’m ready to have some fun!” Alethea cheered.
“So, let’s see… we have so many hot girls here,” Michelle said. She made a rectangle with her thumbs and index fingers and started looking around at everyone. “First up, my lovely wife Kye with the purple bikini. Nice and simple, and hot as hell. Alethea with the white and pink skirt onesie. Adele and myself with black skirt bikinis.” As she looked around, she kept describing everyone’s swimsuits.
Liliana and Aliana wore bikinis opposite of their hair color, Liliana’s was black and Aliana’s was white. Hannah chose a purple bikini with a frilly top and bottom that matched the shade of her hair. Alexandra went with a dark red and black one-piece to go with her dark red hair. Ginchiyo and Akane mimicked the Venturi sisters and went with black bikinis to contrast their own white hair. Astraia went with a black frilly bikini to contrast her blonde hair while her sister chose a white one-piece with a frilly skirt like Alethea’s. Being only a day old, baby Kaede had to stay inside.
“I take it Alethea coordinated for us while my half of the group went to Yokohama Sekai,” Kye said. “What about baby Kaede? If all of us are going, who’s staying with her?”
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“I may have coerced Allison into coming to babysit for the afternoon,” Hannah said. “Technically, royal children can only be in their home palace when apart from their parents, but I think we can bend the rules a smidge, since this is your honeymoon.”
“I see. One moment.” Kye quickly began tapping her fingers in the air to send a message.
Kye >> Allison, are you here?
Allison >> Yes. I am taking care of Kaede while you and the others are at the beach. I’ll be leaving once you return.
Kye >> May I ask you to stay? I’ve been sensing a very faint bit of mana across the sea. I can’t tell exactly what it is from here. It’s too faint. What tiny bit I can sense feels out of place.
Allison >> If it’s enough to warrant your concern then I shall stay. I’ll watch for the mana and let you know if I figure out anything.
Kye >> Thanks. What about talking with Layla and James about the… things.
Allison >> We discussed it immediately after you left yesterday and have come to a conclusion. We’ll wait until your honeymoon is over, though, so go have fun.
Kye >> Okay. Thanks. If you’d like to enjoy the beach at all, I’ll come trade places with you in a while.
Allison >> Thank you, but no. I’m fine staying in with Kaede and reading. I’m not much for crowds. Now, stop replying and go have fun.
Kye giggled. “Okay, that sounds good. Let’s go!”
“Wait, hold on,” Alethea said. “I’m having second thoughts about my suit.”
“Do you want to take a detour to the shop and let the others go ahead of us?”
“No, I just need to run back up to our room for a minute. I picked out a second one in case this one didn’t work out.”
“Oh, okay.”
“I’ll be right back!” Alethea quickly ran off up to their room. Once there, she shed her one-piece and fished her backup from her bag. Now wearing a white bikini with a frilly bottom, she rejoined the others. Before they left, she swiped her hands in the air and set her phone to record a photo. She pulled Kye, Adele, and Michelle in close and said, “Cheese!”
“Oh my, what a sight!” Hannah said with a grin. “You’re such a cute… couple? Quadruple? Cute!”
“Indeed, they are,” Akane agreed. “But…” She rapidly formed her manasteel bracelet into a katana and slashed at Kye, who was just barely able to transform her aethersteel bracelet and block it, earning a smile from her white-haired grandmother. “Very good, dear granddaughter.” Both returned their weapons to bracelet form. Ginchiyo watched the heartwarming scene with a tear in her eyes.
*****
The beach was a beautiful sight. People were scattered about, enjoying so many different things. Barbeques, volleyball matches, watermelon smashing, a large beach shop with the resort branding, and so many other things were all over.
“This is incredible!” Alethea had stars in her eyes as she took everything in. “Shi-chan, look! There’s watersports!”
“Oh hey, look at that. I see… waterskiing, kneeboarding, wakeboarding, oh and there’s somebody over there making a big wave for surfers!”
A sudden blast of mana skated across the water’s surface far on the far-right side of the beach that threw up a small wall of water on either side, soon followed by another slightly larger.
“Are they competing?” Alethea asked.
“For heaven’s sake, those boys never learn…” Hannah sighed. “You all go ahead. I need to go discipline a couple young royals.”
“Royals, you say?” Kye asked. “What’s going on over there?”
“Your dear cousins, Johnathan and Joseph, like to run a competition that’s basically ‘who can make the biggest wall of water’. The winner gets a prize. But they know damn well that most people can’t beat them. They’re royals, and they graduated the academy a few years ago, so they’re pretty good. They hold back and only do just enough to win.”
“It sounds like they’re just stringing people along. That’s… not nice.”
“Yes, and both myself and their mother have punished them many times for it, but as soon as I’m distracted…”
“Hmm. I’ll go with you. I have an idea.”
Hannah smirked. “Yeah? Alright then, this should be good.”
*****
Revision: 2024-2-5