You wanted me indomitable.

“Aren’t you afraid?” Franklin asked.

Jared looked up at him with a frown. He blinked slowly and then shook his head. “Why should I be?” he asked, his voice soft. “You aren’t. Logan’s not. Why would I be afraid, if neither of you are?”

“You always have been, in the past,” Logan said, shrugging.

For a moment, Jared was deep in thought. Then, he shook his head. “I didn’t think either of you wanted me to be afraid of everything. I just… being afraid won’t help. Will it?”

“No,” Franklin said. He smiled and hugged Jared briefly. Then, he said, “You ready, then?”

Jared squared his shoulders and then nodded. “I’m ready, if you two are,” he said.

state of mind

“That’s – that’s not what it means!”

Jared frowned and peered into the room. Cecil was flushed with frustration and glaring at Ophelia, who had an expression of innocent confusion on her face.

“But – but I’m the sovereign state of Shynia,” she said, blinking. She tilted her head one way and then the other. “You’re the state of Kawaii.”

“But that’s a different kind of state,” Cecil said, his voice cracking.

Jared bit his lip to keep from chuckling. “What are we arguing about?” he asked, looking from one to the other.

“I just wondered who was the state of Mind,” Ophelia said, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. There was a playful smile on her lips now.

Jared chuckled softly and shook his head. He reached out and ruffled Cecil’s hair, earning a glare from the smaller nation. “She’s messing with you,” he said.

“She’s infuriating!”

Ophelia laughed and shook her head. “No, silly,” she said. “I’m in the sitting room!”

Cecil released a roar of frustration and then spun away to stalk out of the room. Once he was gone, Jared shook his head. “Really, Lia,” he said, his tone only slightly scolding, “that wasn’t kind.”

“Fun, though,” Ophelia said, giving him a mischievous wink. Then, she spun away and skipped out of the room, calling for Logan. Clearly, she wasn’t done yanking people’s chains quite yet.

That is one thing you don’t want to do to yourself.

“Hey, Logan,” Ophelia said, stepping into view. He turned to face her. His eyes were wide and his expression was slight guilty. “As my boss is fond of saying, you don’t want to do that.”

Logan’s brows furrowed and he whirled away from her. Crossing his arms over his chest, he said, “What are you talking about? I wasn’t going to do anything. I was just… looking.”

Ophelia nodded and stepped closer. She drew him back from the cliff and said, “Look from further back.” She didn’t release his arm. Instead, she set her head on his shoulder. “You’re not alone, you know.”

Logan gave her a sidelong glance. “Yeah?” he said, his voice cracking. “How do you figure?”

Ophelia smiled faintly. She said just one word, but she knew it was enough to get through. The crisis was diverted. Logan’s intense loyalty to his family would override whatever dark emotions were going through his mind. It wasn’t something that would work with everyone. Logan, though, was the one person in the world she knew it couldn’t fail with.

She turned away and started back towards the house she once shared with the three nations that she still saw as her brothers.

“Lia,” Logan called. When she turned to face him, he bowed slightly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, big brother,” Ophelia said, giving him a faint smile. Then, she turned away once more and headed inside.

Stench and splendor.

Jared leaned back in his chair and sighed. Everything about Mayvis’s home was magnificent. The grounds were beautiful. They had everything they could ever want or need there. They had everything, that is, except for the one thing they all needed.

He glanced over at Ophelia. “It’s a trap,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s a pretty trap, I’ll admit, but it’s a trap all the same.”

Ophelia smiled. “Yeah, it stinks,” she said, nodding. “We get to live in safety and comfort, but we can’t leave.”

Logan leaned on the doorjamb and said, “Don’t let Mayvis hear that talk.” He glanced around quickly, as if he’d heard her. Then, he bit his lip and looked back at them. “Just… try to enjoy it?”

Ophelia rolled her eyes and Jared sighed. “I want to go home,” he breathed. “There’s all this comfort here, but… it’s a prison, Logan!”

“If you take a deep breath,” Ophelia said, nodding in agreement, “you can smell the reek of a dungeon’s mildew and iron bars.”

“Yeah, well,” Logan said, rolling his eyes as wall. “If you keep up with this talk, you won’t have to breathe all that deeply to smell those things. Mayvis will just toss you into one of the cells she has in her basement!”

love can change any pessimist

“Has he always been like this?” Jared asked, nodding over at one of the earth nations. He looked over at one of the man’s brothers.

For a moment, he blinked and then he looked over at his brother. He shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy,” he admitted. His brows furrowed and a sad sort of smile touched his lips. “Well… that’s not true. He was happy when Alfie was a colony, but…” he trailed off and then shrugged at Jared. “It’s been a long time since then.”

Jared nodded. “It’s hard when a colony grows up,” he said, his voice soft. “They want independence and, while that’s how it’s meant to be… even humans have trouble letting their children grow up and they only raise them for eighteen years. We can raise ours for hundreds.”

The other nodded. “Anyway, it’s nice to see him smile again,” he said, his voice soft. “He cares a great deal for Vree.”

“Love can make all the difference in the world,” Logan said, nodding. “It can make even the worst pessimist in the world view the world through rose-colored glasses.”

“I suppose that’s very true,” he said, nodding. His gaze drifted to one of the other earth nations. His voice was faint as he added, “I know it changed my outlook.”

Witch of perversion and luxury

“What took you so long?” Logan asked, his voice soft. He shook his head, his brows furrowing. “Why did it take something so… so extreme to wake you up?”

Franklin sighed and shook his head. “May has this way of making you… content,” he said. “You relax and just… let her do what she wants. But… I promised to protect Ophelia.”

“So, hearing her crying woke you up,” Jared said, nodding. He sighed and shook his head. “I can’t say that I’m glad that Ophelia and her people suffered, but I can’t complain about the results.”

Shrugging, Franklin said, “Neither can I.” His brows furrowed. “I just wish I’d never gotten involved with Mayvis in the first place.”

“If wishes were horses,” Ophelia said, settling down among the three brothers. She sighed and leaned her head against Logan’s shoulder. “We’d all have full stables.”

“I’m sure that’s not how that goes,” Jared said. A faint smile touched his lips, though. Ophelia wasn’t quite herself again, but she was getting there.

questionable

“Is that so?” Jared said, looking intently at Ophelia. It was one of those times when she seemed to be telling a story – exaggerating the truth of some small fact and blowing it out of all proportion. The problem was, he could never tell when she was doing that and when she was telling him the truth.

Ophelia nodded vigorously. “Michelle told me so,” she said. Her eyes brightened excitedly. “Her children are so clever. They really are!”

“Yeah,” Jared said, nodding. His brows furrowed. He still didn’t know if he believed Ophelia or not. Then again, Ophelia might be telling the truth as she knew it. Michelle often exaggerated just what the inventions her children crafted were capable of.

“Little hard to believe,” Logan said, voicing Jared’s thoughts. “I mean… dolls that look and act like living people? That’s just a bit… doubtful.”

“It’d be cool if it were so, though,” Ophelia said, her eyes brightening. Then, she laughed cheerfully and scampered over to Ian. She called to him as a warning before she tackled him in an enthusiastic hug.

“So… does that mean she made it up?” Jared said, blinking.

Logan shook his head. “Who can say?”

I don’t think now is the best time

Jared sighed softly and headed down the corridor to Franklin’s room. As he reached up to rap on the smooth wood, someone cleared their throat.

Frowning, Jared looked over his shoulder. “Lord Vincent,” he said, ducking his head. “Logan sent me to tell Franklin that breakfast is ready.”

“You might want to wait a bit,” Vincent said. He winked and added, “May went in there about ten minutes ago. I’d be willing to bet that she wouldn’t appreciate the interruption.”

Jared flushed and nodded. Then, he whirled around and hurried back downstairs. “Franklin and Mayvis can have breakfast later,” he said.

“It’ll get cold,” Logan said, frowning. “Did you wake them?”

“I really think it would be best to wait,” Jared said. “They’re… busy just now.”

“Right,” Logan said, nodding and turning away to hide his own blush.

a match made in hell

Jared frowned as the sound of shouting came from the other room. He shook his head and glanced over at Logan. “Will they kill each other, d’you think?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

Logan smirked. He flinched when a crash emanated from the other room. “I think it far more likely that she will kill him,” he said, his voice soft. He peered through the doorway, being careful not to step into view of the couple.

When he returned and stepped over to the stove once more, Jared said, “It’s quiet, at least.”

“She stormed out of the room,” Logan said. He shook his head and added, “I’d stay out of her way, if I were you.”

Jared laughed and nodded. He wasn’t about to argue with Logan. Generally, he read Mayvis quite well. If he said to stay out of her way, Jared intended to do just that. “And Franklin says they were made for each other,” he said.

“Yeah, but he never mentions who made her,” Logan pointed out.

And the girl in the corner that no one ignores

“Ophelia?”

Logan smiled faintly and pointed over at her. “Over by the snack table,” he said. She was, as always, the center of attention. Ever since he’d met her, she’d been loud and boisterous. Jared called her playful. Franklin called her impish.

“Ah, I’d noticed her,” the other nation said. The corners of his lips twitched, as if he were trying very hard not to smile. “She was giving Ivan a run for his money.”

“Jared is fond of saying that a little crazy goes a long way,” Logan said. He chuckled and shook his head. “It made things interesting when she was our protectorate – even more so when we were occupied by a foreign power.”

The visitor laughed and nodded. “I know the type,” he said, nodding over at a younger nation. As if on cue, the young blond let out a loud burst of laughter and slapped Allen on the arm, earning a faintly disapproving frown.

Logan smiled. “I think they need to be introduced,” he said. “Ophelia would have fun with him.” The reserved nation he was speaking with chuckled softly at his comment.