“Christena! Squishy says he can see Auntie’s house!”

In response, Christena smiled a genuine smile. She seemed just as happy to be done traveling as Addie was.

Squishy, on the other hand, had never grown tired of the novelty. He was a stoic creature, after all.

Fluffy seemed just as prim and proper as the first moment they all left on this trip, but Addie knew better. Fluffy would be the first of them to jump into a soft and warm bed.

Unfortunately for her, Addie also knew Christena was going to make Fluffy take a bath first thing. That fluffy tail certainly did seem to soak up all the dirt from their travels. Addie would let Christena fight that battle, though. Addie wanted nothing to do with forcing the ever-fluffy princess to take a bath.

That would be for later, though. First would be greetings, and Addie wasn’t looking forward to it. The last time she had a ‘get-together’ with her precocious cousin, Addie was five years old, and it was still one of Addie’s clearest memories. Her cousin, Nettal, being the older of the two of them by nearly two years, had taken the lead and found a ‘fun’ place in the swamp to play. That was the exact moment a giant frog, nearly the size of a man, popped right out of the swamp and tried to swallow Addie whole. Luckily, Addie’s dad had been supervising and he quickly dispatched the foul creature. Addie swore she smelled its rotten fluids in the back of her nose for weeks.

Just like in Addie’s memories, during their travel to her Aunt’s Area, she slowly saw the scenery around her change. The earthy-scented forest of her home over the past two weeks slowly transitioned to the musky stench of swamp. Why her Aunt wanted to live in such a dreary place completely eluded Addie, but she suspected her Aunt enjoyed the isolation. Despite being an Area Lord, Ragnay Lomain had no interest in housing civilians. She lived with her daughter and no one else, and Nettal’s father remained an unspoken mystery.

The house slowly came into view as Addie and Christena got closer. She called it a house, but it actually seemed big enough to be called a mansion. A perk of being an Area Lord: Aunt Lomain often directed the flora to build structures out of themselves for her. It still was only about half the size of Addie’s manor—making the house too big would just make it unnecessarily empty. It fit in with the general colors of the swamp, being made of bulbous swamp trees itself.

That didn’t stick out to Addie nearly as much as Nettal did though. She could hear Nettal’s excited pitter-patter squelches in the mud even though Addie was still so high up floating in the carriage. Addie watched as Nettal’s long brown hair flapped in the wind. Her face was freckled, much like Addie’s, and today she was wearing work pants and a simple brown shirt.

“Ohmygosh they’re so huge!” Nettal screeched in delight at the fillow.

This caused the excitable creatures to start pawing the ground nervously and twist their heads from side to side. Christena had to fight them as the reins were pulled along with their motions.

Seemingly oblivious to her blunder, Nettal just continued to look up in awe at the creatures with stars in her eyes.

“Please, Nettal, they’re just fillow. I see them all the time.” Addie mocked the older girl.

Though Addie tried to sound blasé, left unspoken was the fact that she had a similar reaction the first time she saw the fillow.

“Is that Addie? Hi Addie!” Nettal shouted and waved from below. It seemed she hadn’t heard Addie’s comment.

This made Addie humph, drop her shoulders, and cross her arms. That girl was far too enthusiastic, anyway. Addie still hadn’t forgotten the Super Frogs.

“I’m lowering us down, now, Addie,” Christena spoke from the front of the cart.

Fluffy ran down the lengths of the reins like a tightrope performer until she reached the place where they attached to the fillow’s necks. While Fluffy unfastened the buckles, Christena started to fiddle with some kind of knobs in the driver’s seat. Once Fluffy successfully finished unbuckling the fillow from the reins, she somehow walked back to the floating cart on a manifested transparent platform made of illusion. Meanwhile, Addie noticed the vines and trees start to come alive and gently usher the fillow towards a stable that constructed itself in real-time.

Christena’s voice broke Addie out of her observations, “Addie, can you help me pull up the reins back into the cart? I can’t finish lowering us down until I’m sure we won’t land on them.” As she spoke, Christena was hefting one of the thick lines of leather up into the cart.

Instead of replying, Addie climbed into the driver’s seat and began pulling up the other set of reins.

Since Addie still had such a good view of the ground below, she thankfully noticed that Nettal was leaving, walking along with the fillow to the now nearly completed stables. It was truly fascinating to watch the swamp build the stables. Vines spun themselves into thick lines of rope and secured the newly growing logs into place. Rather than moving like an animal might, it seemed more like the plants were actually growing into the shape of the stables, just at an insanely accelerated pace.

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After the pair had finished pulling the reins back into the cart, Christena twisted one more dial and the cart started floating downwards towards the ground. It landed deceptively softly into the swampy mud floor.

That’s when Christena’s father made his appearance, walking out from the surrounding swamp. At nearly the same time, Aunt Lomain exited the front door of her mansion and started making her way to greet the traveling pair. Christena’s father and Addie’s Aunt seemed to purposefully ignore one another, which Addie found a bit odd.

Unlike Addie’s father who wore practical clothing produced by the people working his land, Christena’s father wore perfectly fitting high-class attire. Mr. Owlcharge’s black and white suit was accompanied by a slick blue ascot tie. Addie was slightly amused at the efforts he was taking to keep the swamp gunk off of his shiny black shoes. This fully grown man seemed to elegantly tip-toe his way across the swamp.

As he walked toward the cart where Christena and Addie were still standing nearby, a flat snake-like creature slithered between his two legs. Its body undulated in a mesmerizing pattern. Its underlying scales seemed to be pitch black but also somehow reflected the sunlight out in a kaleidoscope of colors. The snake-like creature was still mostly longer than it was wide. Although, it did have these weird fin-like edges on its sides, much like the top fin of some species of eel. It seemed almost as if someone took the crown of a cobra and stretched it down the entire length of the snake on both sides. Addie assumed the creature was Mr. Owlcharge’s bonded.

More in line with something her brother might wear, Aunt Lomain had on a simple wool tunic and rough linen pants. Her boots were covered in mud, and she didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

Unlike the shiny creature slithering between Mr. Owlcharge’s legs, Addie’s Aunt had a more mundane bonded perched on her shoulder. The vibrantly purple bird looked sparrow-shaped and sized. Addie knew from her previous visits that it was a caste four bonded called a Viollow. Addie wasn’t sure what kind of power it had, but she definitely planned on asking at the first opportunity.

The pair arrived in front of Addie and Christena’s cart at about the same time.

“Ah, hello daughter.”

“Addeline, come give your Auntie a hug!”

Christena’s father and Addie’s aunt spoke over each other since both of them spoke at the same time.

Instead of responding to either, Addie decided to let Christena take the lead, here. Addie looked up at her face just in time to see Christena’s normally impeccable smile crack for just a second.

As if they hadn’t just interrupted one another, the two Area Lords attempted to ignore the blunder with forced polite smiles.

“Why don’t you both come in and have some tea? I’ve been researching this new plant that is just fascinating. It has such strange effects on the mind, I’m sure you’d both enjoy it.” Aunt Lomain waved her hands at Addie and Christena as if to welcome them over as she tried to break the awkwardness.

Mr. Owlcharge had other ideas, and he spoke up before Addie or Christena could respond to Aunt Lomain. “I’m sure you would both rather spend the night in a more, shall we say, civilized location after your long voyage through the wilds. How about I offer you a nice soft bed and some cookies my wife baked in anticipation of your arrival?” Mr. Owlcharge’s tone sounded innocent, but Addie knew full well he had just openly spited Aunt Lomain.

Before anyone could respond, his finned snake slithered up his arm lightning quick, and let out a loud hiss and warning snap almost directly next to Aunt Lomain’s shoulder—the same shoulder the viollow was perched on.

In response, Aunt Lomain’s viollow took to the air frantically and flapped its wings in clear agitation in the snake’s face, pelting everyone with an irritable wind. Addie had to sweep her hair out of her eyes.

The two Area Lords still hadn’t so much as acknowledged one another’s presence, but their bonded pairs certainly seemed up in arms against each other.

Aunt Lomain waved her hand, telling the snake to bugger off. After it retreated its head a bit, she said, “My mansion is hardly uncivilized, despite any, shall we say, rumors in the air about my living space. Please, I insist, I bet neither of you wants to travel more, even if only for twenty minutes. Mr. Owlcharge’s Area is a bit of a walk. You’re already right here near my place. Come on in.” Her warm and friendly tone contrasted heavily against the spiteful title she used in reference to Christena’s father. She had given him the lowest of the three titles for a lord, as if he was a small child, much younger and lower down the hierarchy than her, despite the fact that the two of them should be peers.

That remark caused Mr. Owlcharge’s polite smile to falter. He caught himself just before a likely outburst, and instead cleared his throat and fidgeted as he adjusted his tie. His snake bonded slithered around to his other arm and stuck its tongue to taste the air. Mr. Owlcharge’s smile renewed itself as if to say he wouldn’t stoop down to Aunt Lomain’s level.

Aunt Lomain’s viollow also settled back down on her shoulder, now that the snake had completely backed off.

“Please, Dad, Ms. Lomain. Addie and I are quite tired from our travels. Let’s put aside the bickering for now, yes?” Christena was politely smiling herself, but Addie gulped regardless. Christena’s expression seemed to promise divine retribution if she had to continue dealing with the two bickering Lords.

Clearing his throat again, Mr. Owlcharge replied, “Yes, well, in that case, I’ll leave the decision up to you.” He said to Christena placatingly.

Christena’s posture relaxed and she spoke up, “How about the two of us go over to your Manor, Dad?” Christena proposed, “Let’s leave Addie to catch up with her family alone.”

Addie looked at Christena with a shocked expression. The betrayal! She didn’t want to be left alone with her Aunt and Nettal! It was all for naught, though, as her pleading expression was thoroughly ignored.

His snake still attached to his arm, Mr. Owlcharge led the way as he and Christena started walking away from Aunt Lomain’s house. They left together back through the swamp. Christena followed her father as he took the same path out of Auntie’s Area that he entered from. To join them, Fluffy ran off from the cart and jumped up onto her spot around Christena’s shoulders.

The crunch of boots on the swamp twigs was Addie’s only warning before she was trapped in a ferocious hug. It would be a while before Auntie Lomain finished doting on her. She was being squished so tight against the woman’s front that she couldn’t speak up even if she wanted to. She couldn’t even return the hug either, as her arms were locked into her sides by the other woman. Addie managed to pleadingly wheeze out, ‘Auntie,’ but she wasn’t sure if she was heard or not.

With the tiny bit of her face not trapped, Addie gave Squishy a pleading look to save her from this fate, but he simply made that odd gurgling noise he did when he found something amusing. Addie resigned herself.

Aunt Lomain’s viollow began idly pecking at Addie’s hair.

Addie started to wonder if she would have to unpack all the belongings in the cart by herself.