The Ryman LegacyChapter 5B – In with the New

By Mzyra

Some have bright futures, others not so much…

Sara

Seth

Tiana

May

Now being heiress of the main family, Nicola decided it was time to get serious about finding her husband, so she headed out downtown once again, this time to the Lost in Love hedge maze, hoping that that wasn’t just a name…

There were a few teenagers around, but she caught a glimpse of a guy with brown hair as she liked and wearing her favourite colour and knew she had to meet him.

Starting to talk with him, Nicola could vaguely remember Alvin Futa from school – he had a bit of a geeky reputation, but she kind of found that sweet; after all, her own reputation was as a bit of a goody-two-shoes and all the ‘bad boys’ were so self-centred.

Alvin was easy to talk to as well, despite being as shy as Nicola and most of her family were. He had very good potential in Nicky’s eyes.

But soon it started to rain and he left before she could put this thought to him. Maybe another day…

Some teenagers weren’t so cute and quiet…

E: “You’re going to take that back, Juan Harris!”

Elizabeth Ng, despite having refused Terry’s timid advances, still came by the Ryman household fairly frequently and occasionally caused trouble…

J: “AH, chill out Liz!”

E: “Not until you apologise!”

J: “I’m not going to- Oof!”

T: “L-l-l-l-liz…!”

L: “Stay out of this Terry, it’s not your problem…”

T: “N-n-n-no! This is m-my house and we don’t w-want any violence! S-so if you’re not g-going to stop, I’m g-going to have to a-ask you t-to l-leave!”

L: “Hm. Fine, I’m almost done here…”

E: “That’ll teach you to insult me, Harris!”

J: “Ugh, you Three Lakes girls are complete psychos!”

E: “What did I just say?! Honestly, do you want me to get Opal over here?!”

J: “No! No, it’s fine, I was just leaving…”

E: “Good, don’t come back! Now, there was something else I was doing…”

E: “Hi Terry…”

T: “H-hi… W-what do you want? Y-you’re not g-going to beat me up t-too, are you?”

E: “I just thought it was quite… interesting the way you asserted yourself just then. I guess you do have a backbone after all…”

T: “R-really? I mean- yeah, y-yeah I do. I stand up for what’s right! And stuff…”

E: “… I think I like that in a man, you should do it more often…”

Once Liz left Terry was stuttering and blushing more than ever, but was extremely happy with himself.

Meanwhile other people had also been having happy romances as Opal and Sean finally got married. Carla was meant to be watching as well, but refused to see her eldest son get married to that ‘psycho hussy’, so her seat was empty. Everybody else happily watched the cute new married couple-

Mal: Malcolm Landgrabb claps for no-one!

- especially Marina, who loved a wedding, even having not changed her formal wear since her own and looked like she was up next. Mrs Jacquet hoped she might be desperate enough to marry her son, but alas it was not to be…

And Opal turned out to be a cake-shover, just as Marina had been, though she was careful not to get any on Sean’s suit or her dress – they had been quite expensive.

Though maybe she was just trying to hurry things along so that she could devour half the cake…

As she soon turned out to be pregnant. It was sooner than the couple had planned on, but they were both eagerly looking forward to meeting their new little boy or girl- and then spoiling it senseless.

Elsewhere, this wasn’t taken as such good news.

“Ugh! My stupid twin brother’s married and having children! And what do I have to do with my ‘life’? Nothing! I’m technically dead and haven’t even gotten to ‘bleh’ anyone yet! And I’m never hungry so I can’t eat grilled cheese without getting fat!”

“Ah, Kimmy, my dear…”

“It might not feel like much, but you shall always have me, and there are so very many things that we can do together…”

It was a fruitful night, in more ways than one…

“WHAT THE FREAKING HELL?! Did you plan this?!”

“Were you not feeling down that your brother was having children and you have nothing new in your life? Now you shall.”

“A kid?! What do I know about a freaking kid?! You have to get up in the night to stop them crying and smelling and-”

“You are always up in the night now-”

“That’s not the point! It’s just a hassle!”

“Ah, but my dear you are not alone, in fact…”

“I very much wish for you to be my wife and I shall make sure the child is never a hassle for you when you do not wish for it to be.”

“M-marriage…? Huh, I never considered that really…”

“It can be anything you want for it to be.”

“Well, I suppose since you got me into this state, you’ll be taking responsibility for it!”

“Yes, I most certainly shall.”

So Kimmy and Count Christian got married with no fanfare and no vows promising anything (though Christian seemed happy to promise her everything she so desired). It would soon be proved whether having married parents was always better than non-married ones…

“Soon, my dear, you shall have a child and, as its mother, it will always unconditionally love you. I know that you appreciate that…”

“Yeah… You know Christian, this may not be such a bad thing; you’ve just reminded me of something I need to do…”

Meanwhile, back at the main house, Nicola was making her feelings for Alvin quite clear as she needed to: it was only a few days before she would be an adult and would need (and want) to get married.

And Alvin seemed to be just as attracted to her as she was to him. In fact, he couldn’t believe his luck. The future was bright for them as a couple and, maybe, as a family…

Over at Marina and Nery’s big (and they needed a big one) family house….

Marina had just had their second child and, having put him down for the night, was going through the chores that needed doing…

“Right, trash put out, now what else was on my list…? If only Nery wasn’t so tired after wor-”

“Hello sister dearest.”

“K-Kimmy…? What the heck happened to you?!”

“Which bit? If you mean the grey-blue skin, red eyes and fangs, then I’m a vampire. Cool, huh?”

“… It doesn’t make you much more of a monster than you already were…”

“I see you’ve changed too – you’re no longer pregnant! How many children have you had now?”

“My family is none of your business!”

“Oh, come on – are you going to tell me that your little children are never going to know their sweet aunt Kimmy?”

“Their sadistic, cruel, evil and monstrous aunt Kimmy? No, no they won’t. You never even apologised about what happened with Terry and he still has anxiety issues-”

“Ehehehe….”

“STOP LAUGHING, it’s not funny!”

“Ohhhhhh, but it is, Marina. Do you remember what you said to me on that holiday? Quote: ‘you’re going to end up miserable and all on your own with nobody to love you and that will be your punishment for all the bad things you do and how little you care…you’ll get old and you’ll need somebody to look after you and nobody will because nobody cares about you if you don’t care about anybody else’. Ha. Look at me now; I’m married to a man who adores me and as for getting old and dying… Never even going to happen, you foolish little mortal!”

“…He’ll tire of you and your childishness eventually. And hopefully this will end like the horror films I’ve seen – the villagers coming with torches and pitchforks and driving a stake through your heart- if you have one, that is.”

“Like it would really matter if Christian left me: recognise my bump, sister? Soon I’m going to have a baby of my own! And you surely wouldn’t stake a pregnant woman, would you? Or deprive a little baby of its beloved mother? Because that’s the other thing – the child will love me as the only mother it has and ever will have. I’m never going to be alone and unloved Marina and I’m never going to be ‘punished’ for anything I’ve done. Enjoy that thought.”

Marina just glared on with hatred as Kimmy turned into a bat and flew away in the direction of the castle. Hopefully now she’d said her piece she wouldn’t be back anytime soon. Not if she had to waddle around with a baby bump – or with a baby.

But then what about that baby? It may be Kimmy’s child, but that wasn’t its fault. It could be a perfectly sweet child, taking after its grandparents or something… Maybe Kimmy would turn out to be a good mother to her own child… But surely that would only be if it was a miniature version of her. What if it was boy? What if it looked like or reminded her of Sean or Terry? Could she be so cruel as to physically or psychologically torment her own child? Marina wasn’t sure, but felt that the answer could very possibly be yes.

Something had to be done.

“Thanks for letting me come over so late, Nicky, but I really need to talk to you guys.”

“Well I knew it was urgent when you were willing to leave your kids for so much as a second… Terry’s waiting inside, so what could possibly be so urgent?”

M: “Right guys, Kimmy came over to my house earlier.”

N: “Oh no, she didn’t threaten your kids did she?!”

M: “No – well, not explicitly anyway, and I’m not worried about that yet. The thing is… she’s pregnant.”

N: “Pregnant?! Who would ever be the father…?!”

M: “Well apparently she’s married now too, but I’m really, really worried for this baby she’s going to have.”

T: “You don’t think it’ll turn out like her, do you?”

M: “I don’t know, but if it’s brought up by a loving family it might not. I think we have to do something about it, but… I have a young family, I can’t leave Sara and Seth, no matter how much this child may need me. And I’m not sure we’ll be able to get the baby away from her and her husband.”

N: “So what are we supposed to do?”

M: “I think somebody might have to go live there and be an intermediary.”

N: “… I can’t. Me and Alvin… we’ve planned everything, wedding and all. We’re going to have a lot of kids. We would never fit into a house with another family and… I don’t really want my future kids around Kimmy anyway…”

M: “How about you, Terry?”

T: “M-m-me?”

M: “I know you don’t like Kimmy, but you’d only have to stay until the child goes to university - or if it asks you to leave - and you’d still be able to have your own family after that…”

T: “B-b-b-but…”

M: “Just think of that little baby. Remember what Kimmy did to you on holiday? You were only just a child and she’d have plenty of opportunity to do that and more to her own child if she wants to… You could be that kid’s only line of defence. Its saviour, defending it from Kimmy’s twisted evil.”

T: “Its knight in shining armour…”

N: “Yeah…”

Terry swallowed. “Okay. Okay, I’ll do it. D-do I have to go right now?”

M: “No, from the looks of how big the bump was, you can wait another day, enjoy your freedom for a little while. But you’ll be okay, I have confidence in you, Terr – you’re a good guy.”

T: “Y-yeah. I’m going to go to bed now then… M-mentally prepare and stuff…”

Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod – what had Terry done? Living alone with Kimmy and her husband?! He hadn’t liked even being alone in a room with her when there were other family members in the house, never mind sleeping in the same house as her when there was nobody to help him for miles… All the potential horrific scenarios rushed through his head – so much pain and torment, lost and alone…

He had to calm down.

Yes, Kimmy was bigger than him. And scary. But he was a teenager, not so very far from being an adult. Being a man. Sean wasn’t scared of Kimmy anymore; Terry shouldn’t be either. She was just a woman like Marina and Nicola, even if her mind was twisted. If he didn’t let himself get into dangerous situations like before, didn’t leave himself in her power he’d have no reason to fear. And the husband… Well, he’d just be a man and it was always easier to defend than to attack, right? He could hold them off.

And the baby… Children needed defending. And if the kid turned out to be just like its mother Kimmy wouldn’t be mean to it and he’d be able to leave anyway. There would be no problems. But there was one thing he thought he should do before he left, just in case…

E: “You called me, Terry?”

T: “Yes. I’m going to do something dangerous from tomorrow. And I just wanted to make sure I had one good teenage memory if I don’t get to have any more. I’m going to kiss you.”

E: “Are you now?”

T: “Yes. I am.”

Such assertiveness Elizabeth had never seen from Terry (and nobody else had either). And it was very attractive for her. She didn’t know what he was going to do, but she really, really hoped that he would come back – she liked him this way…

Nicola was astounded to find that Terry had skipped school that day and had already left by the time she came home. Maybe it had been unfair to ask him to be so brave. Maybe they should have gotten their Mum and Dad involved…

But Alvin soon took her mind off her worries – after all, it was her birthday and she ought to be especially happy then, regardless of whatever else was going on.

So she allowed her mind to wonder and dream her hopeful dreams over her birthday cake. Marrying Alvin and having her own little children… And Marina, Sean and Terry would all come around for birthday parties and things – stay as close as they already were and everyone would be happy…

Hmm, she might need a new outfit, though.

S: “At least you’re not wearing red fishnets this time…”

N: “Are you ever going to let that go, Sean?”

S: “When the image finally fades from my mind maybe I will..”

Alvin’s outfit was a little better, though Sean was unimpressed.

S: “Nice man-bag, mate.”

A: “Oh yeah, and what did you grow into?”

S: “This. Some people have fashion sense, you know… But I suppose a manbag is better than sandals and socks…”

A: “… You are just teasing, right? I don’t want to cause problems between Nicola and her family…”

S: “Of course I am. But if you ever meet Kimmy, she will not be teasing. Carry pepper spray, just in case.”

A: “…Is that a joke too…?”

Nicola quickly popped downtown to buy her and Alvin some new outfits and sort out her appearance for the majority of the rest of her life, then came back with one thing on her mind…

“Alvin Futa, will you marry me?”

“OMG yes! But… I won’t have to wear this, will I?”

“No, I bought some new outfits, they’re inside in the chest of drawers.”

“Oh, you think of everything, my perfect Nicky…”

“You don’t mind taking my name, do you?”

“To be with you, I’d do anything. Even carry pepper spray. That was a joke, wasn’t it?”

“Um, sure… but maybe you should carry it just in case?”

And thus the new couple of generation 1 was established, if not yet married. And their colours and personalities still matched almost perfectly.

Elsewhere children had been born and had their birthdays and anxious teens had managed to attend on their way to scary places.

Meet Marina’s second child – Seth Jayapalan, who looks a lot like his father, but with his mother’s black hair and skin tone.

Sara (who was born in the main household, if you remember) has become a pink-obsessed child and looks extremely like her mother, but with her father’s brown eyes and skin tone. She also, much to her frustration, needs glasses – it’s just a shame there weren’t more designs for children.

Over at the Raymonds’, Sean became the first person in the whole family to reach his lifetime want (this happened before the golden wedding anniversary party that made Carla perma-platinum as well) by becoming a Criminal Mastermind – as you do.

Opal’s pregnancy resulted in natural twins (which Sean himself was one of and was found to be very interesting).

Sean’s holding the first-born child, a girl called May who has all of Sean’s colouring, and Opal’s holding the second-born who’s also female called Tiana who has her father’s black hair, but her mother’s skin tone and light blue eyes (though Birch also had those, so could come from either).

May continued to look almost exactly like a small, female version of her father, but Tiana has her mother’s nose with her father’s mouth, so they’re very far from being anywhere near identical. But that doesn’t mean they don’t love each other; unlike Sean and Kimmy, this probably wouldn’t be the last and only time they would ever hug.

Speaking of which…

There were almost certainly bigger castles than this one in the world, but as Terry stood in front of it in the dark, it seemed to loom up to the stars themselves, tall and foreboding. One of the lights was on, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing, since that probably meant they were awake…

All of Terry’s instincts told him to run - run and never come back. But how could he? To reappear on the doorstep with Nicky knowing what he’d failed to do – failed to put a small child’s life and happiness before his own. She wouldn’t be cruel to him for it, but how could he live with himself? How could he ever allow himself to have his own children if he hadn’t been brave and strong enough to protect this one?

He had to be brave, the knight in shining armour, and march right in there.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have marched quite so far, though…

T: “Ah!”

He wasn’t sure whether he was screaming at the weird guy with the cape, whatever the heck was going on with their skin or just the sight and idea of Kimmy ever being in that kind of relationship. Maybe it was all three.

CC: “Who the hell are you?”

K: “…Terry…?”

K: “To what do I owe this pleasure, little brother of mine?”

T: “W-w-what the heck’s h-happened to you…?”

K: “I’m a vampire – did Marina not mention that to you? Bleh, and all.”

T: “I-I-I’m-! M-M-Marina s-sent me t-to p-pr-protect the-the-”

K: “Ahaha! She sent you to come and protect my baby from me? And I thought I was cruel…”

CC: “Do you want me to remove him, my dear?”

K: “No… I think this could be good… Hehe.”

K: “Since you’re here and Christian and I can’t get up during the day, you can be our live-in nanny.”

T: “O-okay…”

K: “Naturally, once the baby is born you won’t be able to go to school and I’ll be locking the door so you don’t run away with the child or something.”

T: “R-r-right. A-at least you guys h-have a bed-”

K: “That’s our bed. You can sleep on the sofa. Or the floor. See? Plenty of choice.”

T: “B-but you don’t even-!”

K: “Sleep in that bed and you too will soon need a coffin and not because you’re a vampire, clear?”

Great. A fantastic life for Terry. No school, no friends, no bed… But he wasn’t dead. Or particularly traumatised (unless you count seeing your sister in bed with a vampire) yet. It could be worse. And Kimmy surely wouldn’t do anything too bad to him – she didn’t want to look after a baby or toddler, no matter whose it was. He’d be safe for now. As for when the child got older… He’d cross that hurdle when he came to it. If the child was unhappy he could try to run away with it, and if it was happy here he might be able to leave. Nothing bad would happen, everything would be fine in the end.

Terry put his diary away, hidden behind the other books on the shelf.

And tried to curl up on the sofa. It was undoubtedly quite expensive and nice-looking, but was definitely not comfortable. The cushions were almost as hard as the structure itself and it was all freezing – apparently vampires didn’t seem to need heating. But still, the emotional anxiety had tired Terry out enough that he managed to slip off to sleep.

But not for long before Kimmy was groaning and yelling upstairs, Count Christian trying to soothe her with his vaguely hypnotic powers, but not to much avail.

Soon Kimmy was holding a little baby boy though – with his father’s brown hair and natural skin tone, but his mother’s natural dark blue eyes. Tom Mamuyac.

K: “Here, this is what you’re here for, right?”

T: “Yeah...”

K: “Hmm, I think I’d prefer it if that was a ‘yes, Kimmy’, actually. Right?”

T: *Sigh* “Yes, Kimmy…”

Terry took little Tom down into the new nursery. His eyes were the same as Terry’s, almost like having a child of his own if he tried hard enough to imagine it…

T: “’S’okay Tom, I’m here. We’re in this together now, little buddy…”

~~~End of Chapter 5~~~