We stopped outside my shop on the way home. It hadn't changed much since I was given it. The most significant change was the name. Before I took over, it was called Delsinian Arms. I had asked Mother about the name many times, but she had always said she would tell me when I was older.

"I see you renamed it." Mother said, looking at the sign with a far-off look in her eyes.

"Yeah. I wanted to make it clear the shop was under new management." I told hers as I let them into the shop.

"Are you still living here? Isn't it a bit small?" Mother asked, looking at the stairs to the apartment on the upper level.

"No. We moved out after my third daughter. I have a really nice place out in the woods outside of the city." I told her, leading the two of them deeper into the building.

Walking up to the door in the back of the storage room, I placed my hand on it. After the door flashed with a golden energy, I ran my hand along the door frame. Finding what I was looking for, I pulled a small ceremonial knife out of the door frame.

Looking at the dried blood covered blade, I turned to my mother. "Mother, I need some of your blood." I said, giving her a soft smile.

"Why?" she asked, giving me a skeptical look.

"To add you to the wards." I told her. "This door is linked to one near my new place, but it's protected by a blood ward."

Nodding in understanding, she held out her hand. Stepping up to her, I made a shallow cut across her palm, just enough to get some of her blood on the blade. As I pulled the knife away, Asra cast a quick healing spell, closing the wound.

Stepping back to the doorway, I returned the knife to its notch in the door frame. Watching the door flash with golden energy once again, I opened it. Seeing the familiar forest clearing, I turned to my mother.

"That's some impressive runework. Did you do it yourself?" Mother asked, studying the doorway.

"Uh, Yeah, I kind of threw it together a few years ago. I got really into runecraft for a bit." I said, feeling a bit embarrassed. It was really messy work.

"Wait, you made this! I thought you hired someone." Asra exclaimed.

As I tried to get out some words, Mother spoke. "September, creating a permanent link between two points in space is used as a mastery exam for runecraft."

"Oh." was all I could manage to say. I didn't know how to feel about that. I had never thought the door was all that impressive. It was just a door that opened somewhere else; it seemed so simple compared to some of the stuff I'd thought up. Not wanting to think about this anymore, I walked through the door and started down the path home.

Walking down the path, I heard Mom and Asra whispering about something. Not wanting to deal with whatever they were plotting, I sped up.

Arriving at the house, I looked over it. I really needed to take better care of this place. I'd really let it fall apart for the last few years.

"Wow! I wasn't expecting that." Mother exclaimed behind me. When I gave her a confused look, she clarified. "When you said you had a place in the woods, I was not expecting a manor."

"Yeah. I guess I kind of forget how big it is since I only really use the one wing." I said, looking up at my home.

"How'd you get your hands on it? I doubt you would have paid for something like this." Mother asked.

"I fixed up a sword for a noble. Apparently, it was like some kind of ancient family heirloom. Anyway, he had heard I was looking for a new place to stay, so he offered me a manor that he didn't use instead of money. He said it was haunted, but I've lived here for nearly 10 years now and haven't seen anything strange happen." I explained.

"That seems a bit excessive, doesn't it?" Mother asked, sounding doubtful of my story.

"Rich people are weird." I explained, shrugging as I headed for the door. As I placed my hand on the doorknob, a small shock shot threw me, followed by a small click sound.

As the door opened, I was greeted with the sight of my youngest daughter. With a bit of hesitation, Vayla walked over to me and gave me a hug. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi. How's my little gremlin holding up?" I asked, squeezing her tightly.

"I'm doing alright. I was worried when you weren't here when I woke, but then Lyra explained how you were staying at the temple. It's awesome that you finally realized you were always our mom!" Vayla said, beaming at me. It was then that I realized she was ever so slightly taller than me.

"How... How! How am I shorter than all of my kids!" I yelled out, squeezing Vayla tighter.

"Mom, you're crushing me." Vayla croaked out, struggling to breathe.

"Oh, sorry. I don't really have a grip on my new strength yet." I said as I let go of her.

Taking a moment to breathe, Vayla looked behind me, a confused look forming on her face. "Mom, who's that?" she asked, pointing at my mother.

"Uh. Let's go inside and sit down first, then I'll explain." I said, ushering Vayla into the living room.

"Okay. That's not suspicious at all." Vayla said as she turned around.

Entering the living room, I saw Lyra already sitting on one of the couches. As we all took our seats, I received a series of looks for sitting on Asra's lap unprompted. "This is okay, right?" I asked, looking up at Asra. Instead of answering, she gave me a warm smile and a pat on the head.

Looking to the rest of the group, my eyes focused on Vayla. "So, Vayla. I'd like to introduce you to your grandmother." I said, gesturing toward my mother.

"I have a grandmother?" Vayla asked. Giving her a nod, she screamed. "I HAVE A GRANDMOTHER!!!" Leaping out of her seat, Vayla tackle hugs her grandmother.

"Well, hello there, you're quite the excitable one, aren't you." Mother said, returning the hug. "Reminds me a bit of your mother when she was younger."

"Hi. I've never had a grandmother before. Are you a good one?" Vayla asked, channeling all of her cuteness as she looked her grandmother in the eyes.

"I'm going to try to be. I've been a terrible mother recently, but I'm trying to make up for it." Mother said with a sincerity I didn't expect.

"That's good. Being a mom sounds like a hard job. At least mom always seemed exhausted by it." Vayla said, nodding her head as he got off her grandmother.

"Lyra, have you heard from Princess Sophia yet?" I asked, hoping she had.

Letting out a loud sigh, Lyra answered, "Unfortunately, no. I haven't heard from her since she was here. I have a shift up at the castle tonight, so I might be able to talk to her then."

A moment after Lyra spoke, there was a knock on the door. Getting up, I answered the door. Standing outside was what looked like a well-dressed butler holding a fancy-looking scroll, looking at my house with distaste.

"Hello," I said, catching his attention. His expression changed to a very professional smile.

"Hello there. Would you be one lady, September?" He asked, a condescending tone to his voice.

"My name is September; yes." I said, a bit confused.

"Good, good." he said, unrolling the scroll. "At 11 tomorrow morning, an escort will arrive to bring you to the castle for a meeting with the first princess." looking me up and down, he added on. "And please be dressed properly for such an occasion." before walking away.

Well, that just happened.

gNatonthewall

Hello everyone. The story only just passed 400 readers and where already getting close to 500. it's hard for me to believe. When I first started, I had the thought of trying to set up a Patreon when I got to 500 readers. I wanted to see what you all thought of that. The next chapter will have some fluff and a bit of training. No princess meeting just yet. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and favoring. Have a nice day.