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Shawn
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It had been an emotional week for us. Luther and Fauna had graduated this month, alongside Talia. The three of them would be joining the others at the university in the fall. For the ti being though, we were getting ready to go on a family trip. One that was long overdue.
We had traveled a lot with the kids, all eight of them, but we hadn’t taken most of the kids to the castle in Germany. Luka, Levi, Alyssa, and Alexa had all gone when they were younger, but sohow, it just hadn’t co up with the others as ti moved on. And they had not been there to see the place that Dietrich had lived for so long.
The place where Dietrich and I had spent the majority of our pregnancies all those years ago.
I was a little sad that the older ones weren’t coming with us, but they had a lot of work that they wanted to get done.
"We’re going to be training with Reagan and Rika." Luka had told us when we planned the trip.
"Besides, I think that it will be a lot more special for the younger kids if they are the only ones to be with you." Levi added with a smile.
"Who you calling younger kids?" Luther glared at him. "We’re like a year apart in age."
"Still younger." Alyssa smiled and laughed at the indignation that Luther clearly felt.
"I feel attacked." Fauna laughed along with her. "I am not a kid."
"You are seventeen." Luther snapped back playfully. "I am eighteen. At least I am an adult."
"And yet, to us, you will always be children, even when you get to be my age." Dietrich bead at them with loving eyes.
"If you call a kid when I am almost six hundred, I will seriously be mad at you, Papa." Ember piped up in her sweet little voice.
"But, Kleiner [1], you will always be Papa’s little girl, no matter how old you get." Dietrich scooped her up into his arms as he spoke. "That is alright, isn’t it?"
"Well, yes, I guess so." She smiled at him.
The decision was made that the older four children would stay ho for the ti being, so that they could train with Reagan and Rika at the castle. The other four would co with Dietrich and to Germany for a vacation and so much needed ti in the countryside. We would see the place that Dietrich had lived for so long as well as the surrounding areas.
We left just a week after the graduation ceremony. Our bags were packed for two weeks and we headed to the airport. Yes, we could have used a door made by Trinity, but sotis the journey of getting there was just as important as the ti that we spent there. Not to ntion, it wasn’t like we were flying on a normal plane. We were using a private plane to fly across the world.
We landed at the airport in Frankfurt and made our way toward the car that the staff had waiting there for us. The bags were loaded into the trunk of the limousine and as we stepped into the back of the passenger bay, I couldn’t help but rember the tis that Dietrich and I had spent in Germany throughout the years, and because of that, I snuggled close to his side.
"Dad, look, that building looks really old." Bret said excitedly. "Why do the buildings look so different here?"
"They were made with different architectural styles." I told him. "That is the beauty of traveling. You get to see different ways of life and how things look."
"Yeah, that is cool." He had been so young when we traveled out of the country before, so this was all still so new to him and Ember.
It took a little while, but we made our way to the castle that was hidden in the woods. It had been immaculately kept in our absence. And knowing that we were coming, they prepared for us in advance. The pantries were fully loaded with everything that we would need, the rooms were prepared, and everything that the kids would need to help them settle in.
The staff, of which there were twenty in all, were waiting for us when we arrived at the castle. They bowed to Dietrich and I as we got out of the limousine, and then they did the sa to the children.
"Welco ho, King Dietrich and King Shawn." Ulrich, the head butler, said with his head still down. "And welco Prince Luther, Princess Fauna, Prince Bret, and Princess Ember. We are all delighted to et you."
"Uh..uhm th..thank you." Luther was a little embarrassed about the royal welco. They had seen this treatnt from the staff in Colorado with Reagan and Rika, but not for them like this.
"We will take care of your luggage, if you would like to co with inside, I will show the children to their rooms." Ulrich had raised his head and was looking directly at us now.
"That sounds wonderful, Ulrich. We will co with you." Dietrich answered him with a lord of the manner smile.
"Of course, my King."
The six of us followed Ulrich into the castle while the others started to take the luggage out of the trunk. A lot of things were the sa, but others we had ordered to be updated in our absence.
Dietrich and I had wanted to keep things up to date with the internet connection and the other anities throughout, so there had been so work even since we were here last year during the Jaegan investigation.
The kids were staying in the west tower while Dietrich and I were staying in the east tower. This would separate us so that they would not be able to hear anything that may or may not be coming from our room later. I know that we were here as a family, but that didn’t an that I had not planned to take advantage of the familiar surroundings.
I felt like I was due so ti with the man that I loved, even on a vacation like this.
The four rooms were all close to each other, so that the kids wouldn’t feel alone. And the two towers were close enough as well, so that if they needed to co to see us, they were able to. And we would hopefully hear them coming before they got to the room.
The kids’ rooms had all been personalized before we had arrived. Ember, the youngest, was really cutesy and loved things that were aesthetically pleasing. She had flowers, butterflies, and other pretty things in her room back ho. Now, we didn’t want to replicate this exactly, because the point of being on vacation was to be in a new place, but we did make it familiar enough for her.
The coloring and so of the accents were the sa for her.
Bret loved all things outdoors. He loved the various color sches that went along with those thes. His room was decorated to look like a wintery mountain landscape. It looked peaceful and I had to hand it to the staff, they had done an amazing job.
Fauna was all about music, so they decorated the room with posters and paintings that went along with that. And the furniture for her was done in a modern sort of style. There was also a very impressive sound system in there for her so that she could listen to all of her music.
Luther was contrary to what people usually expected of him. He was a bear, so they expected a brute. And while he had tis when he was capable of acting like that, most of the ti he was very studious and loved to learn all that he could. He was actually looking forward to the museums here that we were going to visit.
His favorite topic was even history, and that was why he had a lot of classical pieces in his room.
All the kids loved their rooms, and the fact that they still had their own private bathrooms like they did back ho. They were definitely not used to sharing those with anyone else. Not since they were little and shared rooms that is.
That first day we settled in and took a walk in the woods before dinner. We led them to where the now abandoned and decayed Jaegan house was. Dietrich and I didn’t hide this history from them. We told them about Dietrich’s past and what he used to do in his younger days.
The al that the staff made was perfect, as expected. After dinner, we spent the rest of the evening in the library talking about so of Dietrich’s past. I had learned about this years ago, but the kids had not heard it all. They thought that it was cool though, knowing how much their Papa had done in his younger days. They thought he was so sort of hero or sothing.
Soon, it was ti to tuck the youngest two into their beds, not that they couldn’t do it themselves since they were twelve and ten, but we wanted to make sure they were doing OK before heading to our rooms. Luther and Fauna didn’t have to go to bed, and they were allowed to explore the castle all that they wanted.
There were no rooms that were off limits to them aside from ours at tis, but that was the sa back ho as well.
[1] Kleiner - German for Little One
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