“Jiro!” Jiro sighed. His sister Sevvie was calling him again, but he was almost to the end of a very interesting book about wizards. Ignoring Sevvie, he flipped the page, continuing to read. “JIRO!” Yes, just ignore Sevvie. Just ignore her. “JIRO!!!”
Sevvie was right in his face now, shouting, and Jiro sighed as he closed the book. “What is it, Sevvie?”
“This wierd portal showed up in my room. You think I should go through it?”
“That sounds like the last thing you should do, Sevvie.” replied Jiro, putting the book on the bed next to him. “We should get our parents, we should-”
“I vote we go through it.” said Sevvie. “Come on, Jiro, it could be an adventure.”
Well, since Sevvie mentioned it… he’d never read a book where going through a magical glowing portal ended without an adventure of some sort. It would be rather anticlimactic if the portal just randomly killed them or lead to some horrifying place.
“We should at least leave a note.” said Jiro. “Before we go. And we should pack supplies.”
“I’ll write a note, but we gotta leave fast. Who knows if this portal will randomly disappear before we can even go through it.”
“Fine.” sighed Jiro. Sevvie quickly scribbled a note for her parents to find.
Sevvie was right in his face now, shouting, and Jiro sighed as he closed the book. “What is it, Sevvie?”
“This wierd portal showed up in my room. You think I should go through it?”
“That sounds like the last thing you should do, Sevvie.” replied Jiro, putting the book on the bed next to him. “We should get our parents, we should-”
“I vote we go through it.” said Sevvie. “Come on, Jiro, it could be an adventure.”
Well, since Sevvie mentioned it… he’d never read a book where going through a magical glowing portal ended without an adventure of some sort. It would be rather anticlimactic if the portal just randomly killed them or lead to some horrifying place.
“We should at least leave a note.” said Jiro. “Before we go. And we should pack supplies.”
“I’ll write a note, but we gotta leave fast. Who knows if this portal will randomly disappear before we can even go through it.”
“Fine.” sighed Jiro. Sevvie quickly scribbled a note for her parents to find.
dads-
we found a giant glowing portal in my bedroom and jiro and i decided to go on an adventure
if we’re not back by next week please try and look for us
love,
sevvie
we found a giant glowing portal in my bedroom and jiro and i decided to go on an adventure
if we’re not back by next week please try and look for us
love,
sevvie
Putting the note on Jiro’s bed, she grabbed her brother’s hand. “Okay, let’s go. Time to see what’s on the other side!”
Stepping through the portal, Sevvie and Jiro suddenly found themselves in a bedroom done up in an ornate style, like the rooms they’d seen in the older parts of the Uldoki Imperial palace. As they stepped through the portal it vanished. But before either sibling could react to that, a girl charged across the room and thrust a bladed fan at Sevvie, near her throat!
The girl glared at Sevvie. “What in the world are you two doing in my bedroom?! Answer quickly, before I-”
“No need to panic!” said Jiro. “Um, we found a magical glowing portal in our home that went here! We didn’t mean to intrude!”
The girl focused her eyes on Jiro. She had black sclera and irises in a very familiar shade of violet. “Do not lie to me! I’ll fight you! I’ll fight you both!”
“Jeez, we didn’t mean anything by it! Sorry, sorry! We’d go right back through that portal if it weren’t gone! I’m Sevvie, and this is my brother Jiro. We’re not going to fight you.”
“Oh goodness!” The girl folded up her bladed fan and put it in a pocket. “I’m so sorry for attacking you, then! I thought you were here to try and assassinate me again. But it looks like you two are just lost children. I hope you can forgive me and we can become the best of friends.”
“Um, yeah, sure. Let’s be bffs.” replied Sevvie. “What’s your name.”
“I am Tsesarevna Serafina, heiress to the throne of Uldok.” replied Serafina. This both made a lot of sense and was completely baffling at the same time. Her dark skin, a few shades lighter than most members of the Alkavov family had, violet eyes, black hair and wings were all obvious features of that dynasty. She also had tiny twisty golden horns and a short tail, ending barely at her knees.
“Wowwie.” replied Sevvie. “Um, we know all the members of the Uldoki Imperial family, but we’ve never met you.”
“That’s impossible.” said Serafina. “My father, Tsar Akim, is the oldest child of Tsar Dmitri the Great.”
Sevvie and Jiro exchanged glances. /Jiro, do you think this girl is crazy?/ asked Sevvie telepathically.
/Don’t be rude./ replied Jiro. /We must be in an alternate universe./
/A what?/
/A world where things are similar but also different. This isn’t our universe, it’s an alternate universe where this Tsar Akim was the oldest child of Tsar Dmitri the Great instead of Tsaritsa Esfir./
/I’m glad you’re a big nerd, Jiro, and you’ve heard of things like this before./ replied Sevvie. Out loud, she said, “Well, um, I don’t think that Jiro and I come from around here. Do you know how you can get back to Naven?”
“Naven? I don’t think anyone has ever been to Naven.” replied Serafina. “That’s the red planet, right?”
“I don’t think it’s red.” replied Sevvie.
“No, it used to be red.” corrected Jiro. “Nobody’s ever been there? What year is this?”
“7070.” replied Serafina.
Both siblings now wished that they’d paid more attention in history. Jiro was pretty sure this was after his father had defeated Zeark, but wasn’t entirely sure if he was wrong about that or if this was another part of the alternate universe. The only thing Sevvie was sure about was that was over 300 years ago.
But their thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. “Your Imperial Highness? Are you ready for your combat training?”
“Give me a few more minutes, please!” said Serafina. She sat back down at a table and continued eating a half-eaten breakfast. It primarily consisted of porridge. “I would offer you two some, but-”
“Don’t worry, we had lunch before we came.” said Sevvie. “You have to do combat training, too? What should Jiro and I do while you’re at combat training? Try to find someone to take us back to Naven? Also into the future? Also maybe into a different universe? Come with you? Hide in here?”
“You should come with me.” replied Serafina. “I will tell them that you’re my friends and you are here to watch.”
“Kay, cool.”
The girl glared at Sevvie. “What in the world are you two doing in my bedroom?! Answer quickly, before I-”
“No need to panic!” said Jiro. “Um, we found a magical glowing portal in our home that went here! We didn’t mean to intrude!”
The girl focused her eyes on Jiro. She had black sclera and irises in a very familiar shade of violet. “Do not lie to me! I’ll fight you! I’ll fight you both!”
“Jeez, we didn’t mean anything by it! Sorry, sorry! We’d go right back through that portal if it weren’t gone! I’m Sevvie, and this is my brother Jiro. We’re not going to fight you.”
“Oh goodness!” The girl folded up her bladed fan and put it in a pocket. “I’m so sorry for attacking you, then! I thought you were here to try and assassinate me again. But it looks like you two are just lost children. I hope you can forgive me and we can become the best of friends.”
“Um, yeah, sure. Let’s be bffs.” replied Sevvie. “What’s your name.”
“I am Tsesarevna Serafina, heiress to the throne of Uldok.” replied Serafina. This both made a lot of sense and was completely baffling at the same time. Her dark skin, a few shades lighter than most members of the Alkavov family had, violet eyes, black hair and wings were all obvious features of that dynasty. She also had tiny twisty golden horns and a short tail, ending barely at her knees.
“Wowwie.” replied Sevvie. “Um, we know all the members of the Uldoki Imperial family, but we’ve never met you.”
“That’s impossible.” said Serafina. “My father, Tsar Akim, is the oldest child of Tsar Dmitri the Great.”
Sevvie and Jiro exchanged glances. /Jiro, do you think this girl is crazy?/ asked Sevvie telepathically.
/Don’t be rude./ replied Jiro. /We must be in an alternate universe./
/A what?/
/A world where things are similar but also different. This isn’t our universe, it’s an alternate universe where this Tsar Akim was the oldest child of Tsar Dmitri the Great instead of Tsaritsa Esfir./
/I’m glad you’re a big nerd, Jiro, and you’ve heard of things like this before./ replied Sevvie. Out loud, she said, “Well, um, I don’t think that Jiro and I come from around here. Do you know how you can get back to Naven?”
“Naven? I don’t think anyone has ever been to Naven.” replied Serafina. “That’s the red planet, right?”
“I don’t think it’s red.” replied Sevvie.
“No, it used to be red.” corrected Jiro. “Nobody’s ever been there? What year is this?”
“7070.” replied Serafina.
Both siblings now wished that they’d paid more attention in history. Jiro was pretty sure this was after his father had defeated Zeark, but wasn’t entirely sure if he was wrong about that or if this was another part of the alternate universe. The only thing Sevvie was sure about was that was over 300 years ago.
But their thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. “Your Imperial Highness? Are you ready for your combat training?”
“Give me a few more minutes, please!” said Serafina. She sat back down at a table and continued eating a half-eaten breakfast. It primarily consisted of porridge. “I would offer you two some, but-”
“Don’t worry, we had lunch before we came.” said Sevvie. “You have to do combat training, too? What should Jiro and I do while you’re at combat training? Try to find someone to take us back to Naven? Also into the future? Also maybe into a different universe? Come with you? Hide in here?”
“You should come with me.” replied Serafina. “I will tell them that you’re my friends and you are here to watch.”
“Kay, cool.”
Serafina’s handler was surprised to see that she had two friends with her. “Serafina, who are these two?” she asked.
“They are my friends, Sevvie and Jiro. And they are here to accompany me to combat training.”
“Alright.” said the handler, not asking questions about why they were already in her room.
“Will either of my fathers be watching today?” asked Serafina.
“No.” replied the handler, shaking her head. “I’m afraid not.”
Serafina looked slightly upset by that. “Jiro and I have two dads, too.” said Sevvie. “I think the only bad part is it gets really confusing. They both respond to dad.”
“Well, one of them is my father, and one of them is my papa.” said Serafina with a smile. “Have you ever tried giving them different names?”
“Nah.” said Sevvie. “They’re both dads.”
Finally, the four of them arrived in a large room full of exercise equipment, training dummies, and weapons of all sorts and sizes. There was a large open area in the center, where a tall tiefling woman with lava-red skin and an eyepatch over one eye was standing. “Young lady, you are late to your training.” said the woman. “Your father will be very upset about this.”
Serafina winced. “I’m sorry, Madame Marfa. I was with my friends.”
“Hmph.” replied Madame Marfa. “Not an excuse. Now, will your little… friends wish to be joining us?”
Sevvie shrugged. “Do you got any scythes here?”
“No, we do not have any scythes here.” replied Madame Marfa. “They are a commoner’s tool, not a weapon. If you wish to practice using a proper polearm, we have several varieties.”
“No thanks.” said Sevvie. “I’ll just watch.”
“And you, little man?” asked Madame Marfa.
“Um, no thank you.” said Jiro. “I’ll sit next to my sister.”
“Alright then, Serafina, we will be practicing the longsword today.”
Serafina sighed. “The longsword? Again?”
“Your father wishes you to become competent in this weapon. Far more so than you are currently. It is a proper and noble weapon for an heiress.” Serafina nodded, still looking displeased, and went to the weapon-rack, selecting a child-sized longsword. Madame Marfa snapped her fingers and a bright red figure appeared, a smaller version of herself. Child-sized. This version of herself was wielding a longsword as well.
Serafina entered the large circle on the floor, and so did the miniature Marfa. They bowed to each other, and then the fight began.
“They are my friends, Sevvie and Jiro. And they are here to accompany me to combat training.”
“Alright.” said the handler, not asking questions about why they were already in her room.
“Will either of my fathers be watching today?” asked Serafina.
“No.” replied the handler, shaking her head. “I’m afraid not.”
Serafina looked slightly upset by that. “Jiro and I have two dads, too.” said Sevvie. “I think the only bad part is it gets really confusing. They both respond to dad.”
“Well, one of them is my father, and one of them is my papa.” said Serafina with a smile. “Have you ever tried giving them different names?”
“Nah.” said Sevvie. “They’re both dads.”
Finally, the four of them arrived in a large room full of exercise equipment, training dummies, and weapons of all sorts and sizes. There was a large open area in the center, where a tall tiefling woman with lava-red skin and an eyepatch over one eye was standing. “Young lady, you are late to your training.” said the woman. “Your father will be very upset about this.”
Serafina winced. “I’m sorry, Madame Marfa. I was with my friends.”
“Hmph.” replied Madame Marfa. “Not an excuse. Now, will your little… friends wish to be joining us?”
Sevvie shrugged. “Do you got any scythes here?”
“No, we do not have any scythes here.” replied Madame Marfa. “They are a commoner’s tool, not a weapon. If you wish to practice using a proper polearm, we have several varieties.”
“No thanks.” said Sevvie. “I’ll just watch.”
“And you, little man?” asked Madame Marfa.
“Um, no thank you.” said Jiro. “I’ll sit next to my sister.”
“Alright then, Serafina, we will be practicing the longsword today.”
Serafina sighed. “The longsword? Again?”
“Your father wishes you to become competent in this weapon. Far more so than you are currently. It is a proper and noble weapon for an heiress.” Serafina nodded, still looking displeased, and went to the weapon-rack, selecting a child-sized longsword. Madame Marfa snapped her fingers and a bright red figure appeared, a smaller version of herself. Child-sized. This version of herself was wielding a longsword as well.
Serafina entered the large circle on the floor, and so did the miniature Marfa. They bowed to each other, and then the fight began.
For a kid who was probably ten at best, Serafina was extremely good at fighting. While even the small Marfa was much stronger than her, Serafina excelled in quick bursts of speed and using a few different strategies.
After twenty or so minutes with the miniature Marfa, Serafina took a quick break to drink some water, and then came back to fight a regular sized version of her instructor. Against the regular sized Marfa, Serafina was quite disadvantaged. To add insult to injury, the real Marfa was yelling at Serafina the whole time. “Don’t just stand there!” “Correct your stance!” “You’re getting too close!”
Finally, after nearly an hour had passed, Serafina was exhausted and Marfa seemed pleased. “Well, you’ve improved a little. And I suppose that’s the most we can hope for.”
Serafina seemed happy with this mild praise. ‘Thank you, Madam Marfa.” She then went to see Sevvie and Jiro, who were still sitting on the bench, watching.
“Gosh, Serafina. She’s worse than General Kardinia.”
“Is that your weapons tutor, Sevvie?” asked Serafina.
“One of them, yup.” replied Sevvie.
“I didn’t know that Kardinia was training children now.” said Marfa, who had come over to intrude on the children's private conversation. “But seeing as how she trained me, I’ll consider that a compliment.”
“Well, if she trained you, she shoulda told you that-” Sevvie was interrupted by a loud, high pitched squee from Serafina.
“Papa!”
Sevvie and Jiro turned to see who Serafina was referring to, and was shocked to see that it was their own father. Yes, the man walking in the room could be no other person than Xander, though he was wearing an outfit that Sevvie and Jiro had never seen him wear. It was a bright red and gold military uniform, complete with a sash and a long red cape, and a golden crown. The expression on his face was blank, neutral, until he noticed Serafina running to hug him and smiled widely.
Serafina jumped up into the air, flapping her wings slightly, and Xander hugged her tightly. “Oh, Papa! I thought I wasn’t going to see you all day!”
“I wish I could have been here to help with your combat training.” said Xander. “But I knew I had to see you before your father and I leave for Xiaomen.”
“How long will you be in Xiaomen, papa?”
“Just today and tomorrow, Serafina. I’d much rather come back tonight and go back again tomorrow, but you know how your father is.”
“And why can’t I come with you, again?”
“Oh, Serafina, I have no idea. Your father is just being himself again.” Xander gently let go of Serafina and put her down. “Do not tell him I said that.” He looked over to Sevvie and Jiro, who were still stunned by the sight of their dad and Serafina. “Who are these? Your little friends?”
“Yes. This is Sevvie and Jiro, my friends.”
“Sevvie, hmm? It reminds me of your grandfather’s nickname.”
“It’s actually short for Seva!” blurted out Sevvie.
“Seva is a beautiful name.” said Xander. “Serafina, if your father had allowed it, you would have been named Seva. He demanded that I give you an Uldoki name, and so we compromised on Serafina.”
Serafina smiled. “Look like we have something else in common, Sevvie.”
“We sure do?” said Sevvie.
A tiefling man in a gorgeous outfit tapped Xander on the shoulder. “Well, Serafina, Seva, Jiro, I must go now. Goodbye!”
“Goodbye, papa!” said Serafina sadly, waving to him.
Xander left, and Serafina walked to Sevvie and Jiro. “That’s my papa! I’m glad you got to meet him.”
“We’ve already met him before, Serafina.” said Jiro.
“Have you?” asked Serafina. “I suppose he must already exist in your universe. But I don’t?”
“Serafina, I think you’re like the alternate universe version of me or something.” said Sevvie. “Because Xander, who Jiro and I call the Xandad-”
“Sevvie, I don’t call him the Xandad, only you do that.” corrected Jiro.
“He’s our dad.” said Sevvie. “In our world.”
“That’s impossible.” said Serafina. “You and I don’t look anything alike. Okay, yes, we’re both very tall for our age, I suppose that we have similar noses, and facial structures in general. Burt you’re far paler than me, you have no wings at all, I suppose your sclera are-”
“That’s because we have different fathers.” interrupted Jiro. “Your father is Tsar Akim, right? Our father is a man named Illiam.”
“That’s my uncle’s name.” said Serafina.
“Is he a sorta short blonde man with big green eyes and-”
“And he has a twin brother who looks just like him, and his name is Elian?” asked Serafina.
Jiro was thinking. “If he’s your uncle, who is he married to?”
“My uncle Kir.” replied Serafina. “We could go visit him, right now. Uncle Illiam, I mean, not Kir. He’s asleep. And I have classes with Illarion in about half an hour.”
“Who’s Illarion?” asked Jiro.
“He’s my cousin. Uncle Kir and Uncle Illiam’s son.”
“Jiro, he’s like your alternate world self.” said Sevvie.
Jiro shook his head. “He’s our half-brother, Sevvie. And Serafina, you’re our half-sister.”
Serafina looked at her feet. “And does my father have any other children in that strange other world of yours?”
“Like we said before, he doesn’t exist.” said Sevvie. “Tsar Dmitri the Great’s first child was a lady named Esfir. She’s really mean and-”
“That’s my father’s other name!” said Serafina. “When he’s female, that’s his name.”
“Wait! That means our dad married Ms. Esfir!?” Sevvie was baffled by this. “But she’s… he’s…. well, I dunno how it works, but she’s at least a lady part of the time, right? But our dad is gay…”
Jiro, too, found this confusing. “I don’t know why he’d be with Esfir, or Akim. They were mortal enemies. And Serafina, has your father ever killed Zeark or even considered doing so? When he was as old was we saw him… he had already gone to Naven.”
“No, my father has never killed Zeark. And neither has my papa, but my aunt Daniys did kill Karik.”
“And is she now an evil dictator lady ruling hell?” asked Sevvie.
“I don’t know if I’d call her a dictator.” said Serafina. “She’s very strong, that’s for sure, and firm, but that could describe either of my fathers.”
Sevvie nodded, calculating all this. “We need to make a big diagram, Jiro. Of the different things that are different in this world.”
“Serafina, if your father Akim is Esfir, your two other half-siblings in our world are Anya and Ekaterina. Anya is a big starry lady, like the universe, and she’s currently the Tsaritsa. She’s married to Helorie, who’s the Tsar.”
“But he’s my great-uncle.” said Serafina. “Wouldn’t he be also her great uncle?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty gross.” said Sevvie.
“They’re not genetically related!” said Jiro. “Anyway, Anya and Helorie have three children. Dmitri II, Pyotr, and Zarya. And Ekaterina is her younger sister. She likes animals a lot, and poetry, and she’s married to-”
“That’s not important, Jiro.” said Sevvie. “What’s important is figuring out how we can get back into our world and leave this wonky world. Not that it isn’t cool. But if we’re late for dinner the dads will be angry.”
“I don’t know anyone who would know how to send you across universes.” said Serafina. “But maybe my great-uncle Helorie will.”
The handler from before appeared. “Your imperial majesty, you need to come to your lesson right now. Please, come right away. Will your little friends be coming too?”
“Yeah, we will.” said Sevvie.
After twenty or so minutes with the miniature Marfa, Serafina took a quick break to drink some water, and then came back to fight a regular sized version of her instructor. Against the regular sized Marfa, Serafina was quite disadvantaged. To add insult to injury, the real Marfa was yelling at Serafina the whole time. “Don’t just stand there!” “Correct your stance!” “You’re getting too close!”
Finally, after nearly an hour had passed, Serafina was exhausted and Marfa seemed pleased. “Well, you’ve improved a little. And I suppose that’s the most we can hope for.”
Serafina seemed happy with this mild praise. ‘Thank you, Madam Marfa.” She then went to see Sevvie and Jiro, who were still sitting on the bench, watching.
“Gosh, Serafina. She’s worse than General Kardinia.”
“Is that your weapons tutor, Sevvie?” asked Serafina.
“One of them, yup.” replied Sevvie.
“I didn’t know that Kardinia was training children now.” said Marfa, who had come over to intrude on the children's private conversation. “But seeing as how she trained me, I’ll consider that a compliment.”
“Well, if she trained you, she shoulda told you that-” Sevvie was interrupted by a loud, high pitched squee from Serafina.
“Papa!”
Sevvie and Jiro turned to see who Serafina was referring to, and was shocked to see that it was their own father. Yes, the man walking in the room could be no other person than Xander, though he was wearing an outfit that Sevvie and Jiro had never seen him wear. It was a bright red and gold military uniform, complete with a sash and a long red cape, and a golden crown. The expression on his face was blank, neutral, until he noticed Serafina running to hug him and smiled widely.
Serafina jumped up into the air, flapping her wings slightly, and Xander hugged her tightly. “Oh, Papa! I thought I wasn’t going to see you all day!”
“I wish I could have been here to help with your combat training.” said Xander. “But I knew I had to see you before your father and I leave for Xiaomen.”
“How long will you be in Xiaomen, papa?”
“Just today and tomorrow, Serafina. I’d much rather come back tonight and go back again tomorrow, but you know how your father is.”
“And why can’t I come with you, again?”
“Oh, Serafina, I have no idea. Your father is just being himself again.” Xander gently let go of Serafina and put her down. “Do not tell him I said that.” He looked over to Sevvie and Jiro, who were still stunned by the sight of their dad and Serafina. “Who are these? Your little friends?”
“Yes. This is Sevvie and Jiro, my friends.”
“Sevvie, hmm? It reminds me of your grandfather’s nickname.”
“It’s actually short for Seva!” blurted out Sevvie.
“Seva is a beautiful name.” said Xander. “Serafina, if your father had allowed it, you would have been named Seva. He demanded that I give you an Uldoki name, and so we compromised on Serafina.”
Serafina smiled. “Look like we have something else in common, Sevvie.”
“We sure do?” said Sevvie.
A tiefling man in a gorgeous outfit tapped Xander on the shoulder. “Well, Serafina, Seva, Jiro, I must go now. Goodbye!”
“Goodbye, papa!” said Serafina sadly, waving to him.
Xander left, and Serafina walked to Sevvie and Jiro. “That’s my papa! I’m glad you got to meet him.”
“We’ve already met him before, Serafina.” said Jiro.
“Have you?” asked Serafina. “I suppose he must already exist in your universe. But I don’t?”
“Serafina, I think you’re like the alternate universe version of me or something.” said Sevvie. “Because Xander, who Jiro and I call the Xandad-”
“Sevvie, I don’t call him the Xandad, only you do that.” corrected Jiro.
“He’s our dad.” said Sevvie. “In our world.”
“That’s impossible.” said Serafina. “You and I don’t look anything alike. Okay, yes, we’re both very tall for our age, I suppose that we have similar noses, and facial structures in general. Burt you’re far paler than me, you have no wings at all, I suppose your sclera are-”
“That’s because we have different fathers.” interrupted Jiro. “Your father is Tsar Akim, right? Our father is a man named Illiam.”
“That’s my uncle’s name.” said Serafina.
“Is he a sorta short blonde man with big green eyes and-”
“And he has a twin brother who looks just like him, and his name is Elian?” asked Serafina.
Jiro was thinking. “If he’s your uncle, who is he married to?”
“My uncle Kir.” replied Serafina. “We could go visit him, right now. Uncle Illiam, I mean, not Kir. He’s asleep. And I have classes with Illarion in about half an hour.”
“Who’s Illarion?” asked Jiro.
“He’s my cousin. Uncle Kir and Uncle Illiam’s son.”
“Jiro, he’s like your alternate world self.” said Sevvie.
Jiro shook his head. “He’s our half-brother, Sevvie. And Serafina, you’re our half-sister.”
Serafina looked at her feet. “And does my father have any other children in that strange other world of yours?”
“Like we said before, he doesn’t exist.” said Sevvie. “Tsar Dmitri the Great’s first child was a lady named Esfir. She’s really mean and-”
“That’s my father’s other name!” said Serafina. “When he’s female, that’s his name.”
“Wait! That means our dad married Ms. Esfir!?” Sevvie was baffled by this. “But she’s… he’s…. well, I dunno how it works, but she’s at least a lady part of the time, right? But our dad is gay…”
Jiro, too, found this confusing. “I don’t know why he’d be with Esfir, or Akim. They were mortal enemies. And Serafina, has your father ever killed Zeark or even considered doing so? When he was as old was we saw him… he had already gone to Naven.”
“No, my father has never killed Zeark. And neither has my papa, but my aunt Daniys did kill Karik.”
“And is she now an evil dictator lady ruling hell?” asked Sevvie.
“I don’t know if I’d call her a dictator.” said Serafina. “She’s very strong, that’s for sure, and firm, but that could describe either of my fathers.”
Sevvie nodded, calculating all this. “We need to make a big diagram, Jiro. Of the different things that are different in this world.”
“Serafina, if your father Akim is Esfir, your two other half-siblings in our world are Anya and Ekaterina. Anya is a big starry lady, like the universe, and she’s currently the Tsaritsa. She’s married to Helorie, who’s the Tsar.”
“But he’s my great-uncle.” said Serafina. “Wouldn’t he be also her great uncle?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty gross.” said Sevvie.
“They’re not genetically related!” said Jiro. “Anyway, Anya and Helorie have three children. Dmitri II, Pyotr, and Zarya. And Ekaterina is her younger sister. She likes animals a lot, and poetry, and she’s married to-”
“That’s not important, Jiro.” said Sevvie. “What’s important is figuring out how we can get back into our world and leave this wonky world. Not that it isn’t cool. But if we’re late for dinner the dads will be angry.”
“I don’t know anyone who would know how to send you across universes.” said Serafina. “But maybe my great-uncle Helorie will.”
The handler from before appeared. “Your imperial majesty, you need to come to your lesson right now. Please, come right away. Will your little friends be coming too?”
“Yeah, we will.” said Sevvie.
Author's Note: This is the first chapter of "The Parent Trap", a story where Sevvie and Jiro go to an alternate universe. Honestly I really want to return to this story and finish it up one day .It has all of your favorites.
Word Count: 2,636 Words
Date: February 9th, 2016
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