Chapter Eleven

I nearly caught fright at the high-pitched, delightful squealing as school finished for the day. I turned round to seek out the source, and was met with a little boy waving a report card at me, proudly proclaiming that he’d achieved the highest grade. I glowed with pride at the sight; this boy’s so smart!

One thing I’ve noticed about twins; they do most things together. Barely had Dylan calmed down before I was faced with another excitable child waving an equally impressive scrap of paper.

Both of them are doing so well, and I couldn’t be happier with either of them. This is certainly one of the best parts about being a mother.

With the knowledge that I would no longer be around forever, I felt some practice was in order – poor Neptune must have got a fright when he found me.

Not really! I was in fact teaching him to play dead – and, just like his mother, he caught on very well.

Incredibly well! He had me in stitches with his antics. If he doesn’t go up in the world after this, I’ll be very surprised.

Speaking of going up in the world, Teddy’s been climbing the ladder at a rate of knots lately. Every time he returns from work, I have come to expect that he’ll bring a large bonus and promotion with him. I’ve yet to be disappointed, too.

I came back to a lovely reception today. Darya flew from the house to give me a welcome hug. These two are really blooming; any fears I may have had about them have all but evaporated. I’m so proud of them both.

The next day, Darya brought home a familiar face after school. This is Jackie Stanley, who I met once while I was a Captain Hero. Lovely little girl, pretty quiet like me – and, it turns out, the twins too. It was nice to see her get on with them as well as she does with me.

I had no doubts about Dylan’s ability to do his homework, but he asked for my help all the same. Darya did the same with Lore a little while later; Jackie was still here, but it needed doing.

There seems to be a strange force emitting from the chessboard; it pulls our children to it like a magnet. They’re always playing it, either alone or together. I saw Darya alone one day and decided to join her – although, despite her cleverness, she wasn’t the most honest of players.

Why she felt the need to cheat is beyond me, unless she just found it funny. I warned her that she wouldn’t gain many friends playing this way, but she just shrugged.

There we have it – proof she really doesn’t need to cheat. Her logic skill peaked while we were playing. Given how much she played with that block puzzle as a baby, I shouldn’t be that surprised, although I did start to wonder if the smart milk lasted longer than we were led to believe.

I caught Dylan scribbling into his diary later on. I don’t know what was more adorable; his reminiscing or the paranoia that his sister would see what he was writing.

Dylan and I have grown very close, and I don’t doubt that it’s because we’re so similar. He’s even been asking about my work, and offering to help out with the building and decorating I’ve been doing here.

While the humans are away, the cats will play… and Hydra receives an unwelcome visitor while her owners sleep.

Not even another cat, but a roaming wolf instead – a sinister looking one, at that.

Hydra: Come on, that was hardly fair! I demand a re-match… with someone my own size, of course.