2. It has been a while, has it not, since the beginning of the Interlude Saga
of Doom that was “Emma”? Remember how before that we were
freaking out over our heir and his obnoxious dilemma over a Simself and
his lovely wife? No? Maybe I was the only one freaking out… details…
Anyway, before we get back to our um… “wonderful” heir and
his family there are some things that you really ought to see. Things
to wrap up, to finish off, to explain…
So! If you‟ve got your tea and biscuits, let us get to it!
Top: Frank, Lark, Alice
Middle: Marian, John, Henry, William
Bottom: Robert, Isabella, Lucas

3. Once returned from their honeymoon in Simbrighton Francis and Mary
Jane settled into their new lives as husband and wife quite easily, spending
much of their time in the suite newly decorated for Mary Jane‟s use.
Happy though they were, they had no luck whatsoever in conceiving a
child.
Of course…they were more than happy to try again and again.
Mary Jane often visited her father, and though she loved her new home
at Bertram Hall, she was still homesick. She and Francis were so often at
Blickling for dinner that the servants had taken to setting their places at the
table every night out of habit.
…

4. The servants (and cook) of Blickling Hall also adopted a habit of
ensuring that the new Mrs. Blackthorne always had a variety of things to
choose from at dinner, for as her ever expanding belly grew, she was
increasingly ravenous and progressively more picky.
…

5. Not a day after Francis and Mary Jane‟s wedding, Requiem Bohemian-
Fitzhugh became Requiem Howard. She married her beloved Fulwar in a
small ceremony with his family, her father Rhys Fitzhugh, and her
guardians Jamie and Marina Simself in attendance.
About a week later, Requiem and Fulwar set off for the Simcaribbean,
Simmaica, and Smith Plantation. The family has not yet had word as to
their arrival, but expect it daily.
…

6. George Haggerty II married Lucy Munster at St. Catherine‟s Church
not long after announcing their engagement.
It was whispered amongst the family that George had inherited some of
his parents‟ romantic habits, and had behaved most improperly with his
future wife, albeit with her consent.
As such, the wedding was rushed to avoid people muttering about how
Lucy seemed to be rather more round than she had been, and how the
expansion was all concentrated on her middle.
…

7. Benjamin and Raphaelle Howard got on as well as a couple only half in
love could. Raphaelle continued to shower her husband with obnoxious
praise but he became more and more distant, choosing instead to focus on
his sermons. They had the son and heir that was needed in Ezra and
Benjamin seemed content enough with that to not worry about giving his
wife another child. As Raphaelle was so concerned with her waistline, she
was not overly bothered with this. Either way, she was not of the
mothering sort, and as soon as Ezra was born she begged one of the
Simselves to come and work for her as Ezra‟s governess until such a time
as he needed gentleman tutors. Lily Simself obliged, liking the chances she
had of both annoying Raphaelle and impressing Thomas, one of the
preeminent judges in Simdon, and moved in forthwith. Also, the
opportunity to spend time with so adorable a child as Ezra certainly did
not hinder her opinion of the situation.
…

8. It was not long after his mother pushed him in the direction of
Apolline O‟Leery that Vaughn Fitzhugh fell in love with the young lady.
Wishing to waste no more time without her, he proposed marriage and
wed her almost immediately, but not before securing for them a place to
live. As former tenant Abe Munster had relocated to Simfield, and his
partner Oswald Legacina had plans to vacate the premises of Darcy Manor
Farm, the property was left open. Being the intended husband of the
niece of Henry Blackthorne, owner of the farm, Vaughn had little trouble
in renting the land from the Blackthornes.
Mr. and Mrs. Fitzhugh chose to spend the entirety of their honeymoon
at their new home, but they certainly found enough to entertain
themselves.
…

9. Kitty, or Mrs. Legacina as she was now called, did not have the
immediate happy ending that her friends and cousins had. Though she‟d
gotten to know her half-brother George during their time at school in
Simdon she was resistant to having any sort of relationship with her
mother . It was only natural; she‟d gone so long without a mother and did
not know how to deal with having one, let alone having one as enthusiastic
as Georgiana Haggerty.
For twenty-one years, Catherine Fitz had assumed that her mother and
father were dead. It was done, there was nothing she could ever hope to
do about it, and anyway… she‟d always had Anne. She could deal with her
parents dying, too, for it was not of their choosing. But to know that her
mother had given her up? Of course she understood why; it was not
proper at all for an unmarried lady to have a child.

10. Then again, she could not understand why her mother had not simply
married her father. She met Garrett once in the first few weeks after her
marriage, and could see nothing wrong with him at all other than his odd
coloring and his odor, but she knew that had not always been the case.
Certainly, it was explained to her that he had once been a very, very bad
man, and had tried to extort her grandfather Fitzwilliam Austen out of
somewhere around fifty thousand pounds; she was told that he had teased
her mother with the idea of marriage and tempted her with it, forcing her
to let him into her bed, but Kitty still could not come to terms with any of
it.

11. If she were not still grieving for her beloved Anne perhaps she would
have seen it all differently, and seen Garrett Surilie for the man he used to
be, but her mind was clouded by her disappointment in her mother, and
the new fondness she felt for her father.

12. Nobody had yet had the heart to tell her that Garrett was the reason
Anne was dead, and it seemed that that bit of information would never
reach Kitty‟s ears.

13. Indeed, the Austens knew all about lying for the greater good, and
everyone felt that this certainly qualified.

14. Therefore, in the beginning, Kitty and her new husband Oswald
Legacina spent their time at their home of Darcy Manor Farm, simply
enjoying being husband and wife, and trying not to think about Kitty‟s
mother.

15. Of course, things could not remain so simple or happy for long. Abe
Munster, Mr. Legacina‟s long time business partner, had been invited (or
rather instructed) to stay with the Simselves for unreleased reasons.

16. As such, Mr. and Mrs. Legacina could not easily remain at the farm, for
the price paid each month to the landowner Henry Blackthorne was a bit
beyond their means at the time. Indeed, unless Mrs. Legacina decided to
suddenly dispose of her stubbornness and accept the dowry her mother
insisted she should have, the Legacinas would have extraordinarily little to
live on, and may be reduced to living in some rented room somewhere.

17. Lord and Lady Darcy would have been more than willing to lower the
rent for their newfound niece had Vaughn Fitzhugh not made a better
offer to rent the farm for himself and the Blackthornes‟ other niece,
completely unaware of the Legacinas‟ predicament.

18. A solution was found not long after in the last person anyone would
have guessed. One afternoon, just as Kitty was packing her books into a
trunk, her husband knocked on the bedroom door and explained that
George Haggerty I was calling and that would like to speak to her alone.

19. Kitty was so surprised at his coming that she had not had time to think
up an excuse as to why she would not see him, and soon found herself
seated in her small parlor across from her stepfather. She‟d listened,
dumbstruck almost, as he explained that he loved his wife, and that he
would do anything for her, and if that meant coming to Kitty and relaying
the entire, truthful history of her birth in the hopes that Kitty may be
swayed, it would be done.

20. “She cried for days after giving you up, I still remember. It was awful and for a
while I thought she may do harm to herself, but she merely sat in her room and cried,
screeching at me or anyone else when she was interrupted.”

21. “I take the blame for much of it,” George sighed. He did not pause when he heard
Kitty‟s gasp, but he noted that he would have to beg her forgiveness later. “I was a young
man then, and stubborn as you can imagine, and it did not suit me at the time to raise
another man‟s bas—child. I was angry! Not only was I being forced to marry a
woman I did not particularly like, though I learned later that I loved her deeply, but she
was with child, and it was by another man! How could a proud, insolent youth like me
accept that? Curse me, but I did not want you.”

22. “I told Georgiana that I would not take the child, and so my father and your
grandfather Fitzwilliam came up with the plan that you would go to stay with your
Aunt Anne in Simdon and live as an orphan. Though it was not my idea to give you
into the care of your Aunt Anne, if I was to be forced to marry Gee I was certainly
willing to accept any situation which did not bring you into my house.”

23. “All I could think of was what would happen if you would turn out to be a boy. I
could not claim you as my own, and I would not have had I been able to, and you know
how that would have looked. Looking back I may say that I agreed for you to be sent
away thinking it would be better for you, but really I was thinking only of myself and
my family‟s reputation. My uncle Fitzwilliam put such a terrible stain on his family,
and I was not about to let his daughter do the same to my branch of it. Not that you
are a stain, not at all! Not any part of this is your fault, and I hope you know that we
do not think so.”

24. “I‟m sorry. I know words mean little, but believe me when I say I hope
one day you may forgive my unkindness toward you and toward my wife.
She says she never blamed me, but she should have. I think she did, then,
but she does not wish to hurt me in admitting it.”

25. George looked at Kitty, waiting for a response, but he got nothing. He
knew there was much more to tell her, but he‟d hoped that perhaps he
wouldn‟t have to.
“Though Georgiana came close to weeping any time she saw one of her
sister‟s daughters, she lived on. She could almost accept that you would be
happy in Simdon, that you would get an excellent education, and that you
would be provided for. That was my gift, however.”

26. “What?”
“Your mother came to me with an excellent dowry, something that would have
allowed me to expand my land had I wished it. It was a great help to my accepting her
as a wife, I assure you…”
“But?”

27. “I gave it to you. It is amazing, really, how quickly I fell in love with your mother.
Before your first birthday we had fallen into a sort of peaceful normality, arguing one
minute and… well, spending a good deal of time in her bedchamber the next.
Occasionally in the drawing room—sorry. At any rate, by the time you were toddling
about I had secured the small fortune on you.”

28. “I… when I found out about all of this I thought perhaps Anne had
done something to help me, but never you!”

29. George laughed and smiled. “Oh, she did. She never was the marrying
sort, always too interested in reading and numbers to pay attention to a
man, you know. Smart woman, that Anne. She managed to work it out so
that on her death, the inheritance she received from her father would pass
to you. You will remember coming into rather more money around your
thirteenth birthday.”

30. Kitty nodded slowly. “So that is when she died, is it? I cannot
understand why nobody will tell me the details! She was the closest thing
to a mother I ever had and yet the cause for her death is hidden from me!
I do not… I am not a child!”
“Nobody wished to burden you, dear.”

31. “I insist that you tell me. You have been so honest thus far; can you not
extend that honesty to this event?”
George twisted his hands together, fretting., before sighing resignedly.
“Georgiana is going to have my hide.”

32. “Mrs. Legacina, I assume you remember the night your aunt put you into a carriage
in the middle of the night and sent you across Simdon to M.Bennet‟s?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know why she did that?”

33. “I remember exactly what she said, but she was brief. She said, „You must leave at
once. There is a very bad man after you, and I will not let you come to harm. I promised
your mother.‟ And then I interrupted and asked about her knowing my mother.”

34. George bowed his head. “The night Anne helped you get away, she‟d had word
that a man was after you with the intention to either kill or kidnap. That night…”
He took a breath to prepare himself. “That night, your father, Garrett Surilie, shot
her in the back just as she was running away from him. She would not tell him where
she had sent you, and he responded the only way he knew how.”

35. “Oh my Plumbob,” Kitty said weakly. She was not a fainter, but this
was a lot to process.
“I‟ll take my leave,” George said, about to bow.
“No! No, finish. Tell me the rest of it, I am well.”

36. “My cousins and brothers-in-law found him later that night, for of course the
scoundrel had run off. We held him, I may have punched him in the face for insulting
your mother, and the Simselves arrived and took him into custody.”

37. “Nobody knows exactly what happened in the dungeons at Simfield, but apparently
he went through a great ordeal at the hands of his jailors, and it is thought that he
suffered a mental breakdown over all his guilt. To make matters worse for himself, he
contracted some horrible and rare illness that nobody understands which is the cause for
his present… state.”

38. “He is a much different person now, and truly repentant says Mrs. Simself, so it is
no surprise that you took an immediate liking to him. In addition to his time at
Simfield, it is generally agreed that raising his son Tristan (though nobody knows quite
where he came from) and taking care of Austen Cottage did marvelous things for his
personality. Your mother still cannot be around him but that is because she truly loved
him as a young woman; to know what he did to her sister, and to see him so kind
now… it confuses and hurts her greatly.”

39. “I can imagine…”

40. “Your mother loves you, as I—and we hope that someday you will
forgive us for what she was forced to do, and for what I, in my horrid
vanity, did. When Anne died we looked for you, and looked for a long
time. Had we found you, we would have welcomed you home and given
you the life you deserve. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your
view, Anne did such a fine job of hiding you that we could not!”

41. “Yes…”
“We would like to extend that same offer to you now.”
“You want me to live with you?”

42. “Yes. Temporarily, if you wish. If you do not wish to stay with us
permanently, which you are welcome to do, we have a cottage in our
possession that is in poor repair. We could have it fixed with the
intention of renting it to Mr. Legacina for a reasonable price. I know
there is little money between you at present, but with the dowry your
mother and I wish to bestow upon you, I think things could turn out
quite well, all considered.”

43. “Is this to ease your guilt?”
“Not at all.”
“Then why would you help us?”

44. “Is that not what family is for, my dear? I have told you that your
mother loves you, and as I love her, well… I have come to care for you as
well.”

45. Kitty stared at the old man. He wasn‟t her biological father, and they
hardly knew each other, but she felt connected to him. She did not
understand it but there was an odd kindness in his eyes that she trusted.
Strange, she felt, as he explained himself as being horrid and selfish as a
younger man.

46. Perhaps age really does improve people, she thought.
“Thank you. I am sure my husband would be very grateful for that. I
think perhaps he might prefer to live in Simdon, but—”

47. “But he would do anything to make you happy.”

48. Kitty laughed. “Yes,” she agreed.

49. “Something I understand most clearly,” George replied, lowering his
head in a quick bow.

50. Kitty and Oz spent a short while living at Martin Hall with her family,
and by the time they left to move into Martin Cottage, they were as close as
they might have been without the long separation of Kitty‟s entire
childhood.

51. With the acceptance of the money Georgiana had so long put aside for
her daughter, Oz and Kitty hoped to soon go into business, beginning with
a shop in Simyton.

52. Georgiana was extraordinarily grateful to her husband for bringing
Kitty closer to the family, and she showed her gratitude with enthusiasm.
Often.
…

53. Mrs. Simself was sitting at her desk in her study at Simfield House as
her husband was looking and reading over her shoulder. Mrs. Simself
never was a patient woman, and when she tries to concentrate, she cannot
countenance having someone watch over her in such a way. As such, she
was just about to scold Mr. Simself when they were interrupted by a gaggle
of ladies.

54. Three Simselves, Marina, Di, and Katy, burst into the room with faces
of sheer glee.
“They‟ve had them!” they all shouted at the same time.

55. Cee raised an eyebrow and looked at Jeremy, who shrugged. “Pardon
me, ladies. Would you mind terribly if I asked you to repeat what you‟ve
just said? Or perhaps not repeat it, and instead say something that is a little
bit more informative?”

56. The three newly-entered Simselves looked at each other for half a
moment before all speaking very quickly, and at once.

57. “Ladies!” Cee interrupted. “I am really rather busy, so could you
please…” She gestured for them to get to their respective points, and
quickly.

58. “But Cee, there are new babies!”

59. Mrs. Simself ‟s mood changed abruptly. “Babies? I say! How
wonderful!” Grinning widely, Cee turned her tablet to a fresh page and
dipped her pen in some ink. “Details?”

60. Di chose to begin. “Mrs. Leonora Legacy has given birth to twin sons this
morning. They are called um… well the names are long so blame Leonora if I‟ve got
this quite wrong. But the elder is James Henry Leigh Hunt Legacy and his brother is
Leopold George Christian Frederick Legacy. The both of them have their mother‟s
dark brown hair, and their father‟s greenish-brown eyes. Leigh, as James is to be called,
is slightly fairer in skin than Leopold, who is to be referred to as Leo.”

61. “Twins? Why am I not surprised…?”
Jeremy chuckled at his wife‟s growing agitation, and Cee sighed as she
jotted down the information. Later, she would add it all to the massive
family tree. “Katy?” she asked. “Mrs. Lucy Haggerty was also with child,
no?”

62. Katy nodded vigorously. “Yes. Lucy, well, she had hers too. Today,
obviously, since we sort of barged in and said… never mind. Twins!”
Jeremy laughed and patted his wife on the shoulder as her jaw fell open.

63. Katy smirked. “She had a girl and a boy. The older one, the boy, is to be named
George Austen Haggerty the Third, and referred to as Gordy on a day to day basis.
The girl is to be called Grace—Grace Elliot Haggerty. Both children have darker skin
than their father but not quite as dark as Lucy, and they have dark blue eyes and red
hair. My research shows that the red hair comes from either George the Second‟s father,
George the First, or Lucy‟s father, Liam Munster. I would like to add that they have
their father‟s nose as well, and Gordy's distinguished brow clearly comes from my
Munsters, and Grace‟s mouth—”

64. “Katy,” Di whispered, poking the other Simself in the ribs.
“Oh. Yeah, be quiet, I get it.”

65. Cee inclined her head to Katy to indicate that she‟d gotten it all, sighed
crankily, and turned to Marina.

66. Marina went red. “Now, Cee, do not freak out.”

67. Cee set her pen down and stared at the other redheaded lady. “Do you
mean to tell me, dearest of dear Marinas, that Mrs. Blackthorne has had
twins as well?”
“Possibly?”
“…Go on.”

68. “The Blackthornes were blessed with a girl and a boy, like the Haggertys. The son
is called Carlisle Fitzhugh Blackthorne and he has his father‟s black hair and brown
eyes, and his mother‟s skin tone. The daughter, Miss Victoria Charlotte Blackthorne,
also has her mother‟s skin tone and father‟s eyes, but shows off her mother‟s brown hair
as well.”

69. “Oh good heavens…” Cee said, fanning herself, once the ladies
finished. “So many babies… Three sets of twins, and in one day! All
today! Good heavens.” Mrs. Simself leaned back in her chair and, after a
good shake of her head at the ceiling as if it was the ceiling‟s fault that
Austen men and women were as fertile as rabbits, turned back to the
Simselves. “Is there anything else?”

70. Marina nodded. “Jamie received a letter from Requiem; they‟ve arrived
safely in Simmaica—”
“Marvelous!”
“—and they‟re expecting a child.”

71. “I have the oddest feeling that I shall be adding a great number of
infants to the family tree over the next few seasons.”

72. The Simselves shrugged and nodded. Marina added, “Mrs. Apolline
Fitzhugh is expecting as well, and so is….er, well she should be delivered
of the child around the same time as Requiem. Either De or I will bring
you word immediately when that happens.”
“Thank you, good, good. Are any of the other newlywed couples expecting?”
Di shook her head. “Not as yet, no. Mrs. Legacina and Mrs. Howard
have not yet had good luck in that respect.”

73. “Oh. How very disappointing…” Cee sighed. “Well. All in good time,
I suppose. Erm... what else? Has anyone heard from Miss Lily? I do
wonder how she gets on out there in Simdon. I must say it is unorthodox
for a Simself to offer her services as a governess, but I suppose Lily could
not resist. I dare say she is trying to talk Thomas into attempting to pass a
law allowing female lawyers. What nonsense, do not you… all… why the
devil do the three of you look guilty now?”
Marina and Di shared a look while Katy snickered quietly.

74. Jeremy groaned; he‟d been here long enough to know what that sort of
thing meant where a Simself was concerned.
Cee glared. “What‟s happened?”

75. Di and Marina had a silent argument over who would be the one to
break the news, but Katy saved them from it. “Lily is pregnant, Cee. I
think Cait probably knew, but decided not to tell you.”
Wow, talk about throwing someone under the bus.
“You‟re welcome!”

76. Um. Please don‟t yell.
“Do not yell? I swear you just let these things happen so you have to
watch me clean up the mess.”
This is the part where I whistle innocently. Right?
“Ugh! So,” Cee said, turning back to the others. “Miss Lily finds
herself in a delicate situation.”

77. “Yes,” Di nodded.
“I am going to hazard a guess and state that the child is Benjamin‟s?”
Di sighed. “Correct.”

78. “Hm. Well. That shall have to be dealt with for I dare say Raphaelle is
not taking this well at all.”

79. Marina looked uncomfortable. “…Actually she has been rather odd about it,
despite the early and understandable anger and slapping. She has now insisted that
Lily is, well… at any rate she declares that Benjamin is innocent and that Lily had
someone else get her into such a predicament. She is allowing Lily to remain at the
house due to—what did she say, Di?”

80. Di narrowed her eyes. “Due to her „immense generosity in kindness for
the less fortunate, and for those poor misguided sheep of Reverend
Howard‟s holy flock‟ is what Lily tells us she said. What a load of
nonsense.”

81. “That absolute cow!” Cee was furious, and when Cee was furious
propriety was thrown quite to the wind. “What is she attempting to do,
make herself and her horrid husband look like saints?”

82. Katy shrugged. “She would.”
“I‟m not entirely sure she is… all there,” Marina said awkwardly
Di sighed. “I really doubt that she is all there, at this point. Certainly in
her view, twisted though it may be, the fact that she as a vicar‟s wife is
taking pity upon her unfortunate employee who was beset by an
unscrupulous man fixes the entire situation. It directs the blame away
from her perfect husband, and makes her out to be a good Boolpropian
woman.”
Cee shook her head. “She is in denial.”
“I think so, yes,” Di agreed.

83. “It is unfortunate. And I suppose Benjamin will not acknowledge the
child, which leaves Lily in an awkward position. What in Plumbob‟s name
even posessed her to entertain that man‟s desires?”
“She refuses to speak about…that.”
“Of course she does. The situation must be highly embarrassing. Is
she going to come home, or will she stay with the Howards and—good
LORD what must Thomas think of all this?”
“Disappointed in his heir and son-in-law, but sympathetic toward Lily
due to his mother, of course, and therefore generally staying out of the
whole mess.”
“Right, right.”

84. “And no, she is going to stay there. She does not wish to leave Ezra,”
Di added, smiling despite the strange turn the conversation had taken.
“Alas. Well. I cannot fault her for that. At any rate I do not think there is
anything else I need—oh. How are our new guests settling in?”
“Well enough,” Di said. “Cordelia, Mrs. Whedon I should say, is
lodging with Rose in her room, and we‟ve set Abe Munster and Rhys
Fitzhugh up in a suite on the top floor.

85. “Rhys is really excited about sharing,” Marina added.

86. “CEE!” Jamie yelled as she burst in through the side door. “You four,
OUT.”

87. “Oh, dear,” Cee sighed as the other Simselves and Jeremy exited the
room. “Is this about the vampire situation again? Jamie, really, I thought
you would be happy.”

88. It was somewhere around eight in the evening. Thomas, Philadelphia,
Gwendolen, and Olivet had been summoned to the Simfield palace, and
none of them were very pleased with the hour.

89. “What I do not understand is why Mrs. Simself wished to see us at
THIS time,” Thomas grumbled, picking at his new jacket.
Philadelphia patted her husband‟s arm comfortingly. “I do not
understand either, my dear, but I am sure it is important if she has decided
to inconvenience us so.”
Gwendolen and Olivet largely ignored the other two, and went on with
their snuggling, improper though it was.

90. Finally, twenty minutes later, Cee entered the room. As she looked
around at Jamie‟s children and their spouses, she announced simply, “The
Countess of Simfordshire.”

91. The couples looked up to see an extremely elegant woman glide into the
room; she had golden hair and skin paler than any they had ever seen.
Her eyes were scarlet.

92. Philadelphia screamed and fainted into her husband‟s lap. Even the
O‟Leerys, generally unflappable people, sat up a good deal straighter, but
they none of them could remember themselves enough to rise and curtsey.
Tom, who was usually very punctual about propriety, could only sit and
wave his handkerchief weakly at his wife‟s face as he stared into the
Countess‟s blood-red eyes.

93. The elegant woman looked over Philadelphia Austen‟s unconscious
form and a wry smile decorated her features. She did so love it when
people had that reaction.
“Good evening,” she said softly. Olivet raised an eyebrow at her perfect
Simlish accent; he‟d been expecting something a la Simsylvania. “Thank
you all for being here this night. I suppose Mrs. Simself told you not the
reason as to the hour nor that you would be meeting me.”

94. Olivet looked at Cee. “Nope, no, she seems to have forgotten that
part.”
The Countess laughed softly. “As I thought! For would you have come, had
you known? Do not bother to answer that, young man. Well, what matters is that we
are all here, no?”

95. “And why are we here?” Tom demanded. The Countess raised an
eyebrow. “Ah, why are we here, your ladyship?”

96. The Countess looked them all in the eye before answering. “I am here
to speak to you all of your immortality.”
The three conscious people stared, confused as ever.

97. Gwendolen spoke first. “But… we are not immortal, my lady. Our
mother is, but not my brother or I, and certainly not Olivet or Philly.”
“No, no you are not. Not yet. And neither is… well. That is not for me to
explain.”

98. Cee raised her hand just as Gwendolen‟s eyes widened.
“Erm, perhaps I ought to bring in their mother.”

99. A few minutes later Jamie Simself joined everyone in the small sitting
room.
“What is this about, Cee? Oh!” she said upon realizing her children
were before her. “Tom, Gwen? I did not know you were coming… how
are you?”
“We are well, mama,” Gwen lied.

100. Tom stared at his mother uselessly; he‟d shifted Philadelphia into a
slightly more manageable position..
“I…don‟t exactly know—Philly!” His wife‟s eyes had finally opened,
and she was moaning softly.
“Did I faint?” she mumbled.
“Poor girl…” the Countess said quietly.

101. Jamie raised her eyebrows at the pale woman as she belatedly noticed
her presence. Her eyes flashed with recognition. “Cee. Why is she…?”
Cee thought it was probably best to speak quickly before anyone else
fainted so she interrupted, “Jamie, it was a long time ago, but I wonder if
you remember a conversation we had on the topic of your children‟s
immortality.”

102. Jamie sighed. “Yes, and you said I‟d have to watch them die because
they are not immortal like me.”
“Indeed, that is what I said. However, I was not entirely honest with
you. That is, I thought I was honest, but I did not understand it myself at
the time. Your children are not immortal…”
“Yes, and?”

103. The Countess played with the chain around her neck as she finished
Cee‟s thought for her.
“But neither are you.”

104. Jamie stared. After a long minute she asked the Countess, “Shouldn‟t I
be sort of dead, then?”
“No, but you ARE about slightly older than I am,” Cee said.
Jamie‟s eyes narrowed. “Explain. Now.”

105. Cee swallowed. “Erm, heh… ah…let me fetch Fire and Fuzzy. They
understand this sort of thing far more than I do.”

106. It was a groggy Fuzzy and mumbling Fire that entered the room in their
nightgowns a while later. They squeaked when they realized there were
men in the house.
“CEE! Warn us next time, please!” Fire yelled, covering her chest
immediately.

107. “I apologize; I did not even realize you were in a state of undress when
I came to get you…” Cee trailed off.
She was not her usual self that night. That is to say, of course, she was
not entirely overexcited and always thinking four steps ahead of everyone
else.
“Erm, could you please perhaps explain how the house works? I think
it is time for everyone to understand properly.”

108. Fire sighed and looked at Fuzzy. “You start?”
“Sure. Okay look here‟s the thing. The Simselves are not inherently
immortal in this existence. They are human, just like everyone else, and
may live, „hoo, breed, and die, just like everyone else. The magic, therefore,
is in the houses.” Fuzzy said, rubbing her hands together simply to incite
spookiness.

109. Fire nodded. “Simfield, where we are now, er… obviously… is under
an enchantment. The other Simself home at Simton Court, too, is
enchanted. While a person resides at one of the two Simself palaces, they
are in a sort of stasis… and yet, again, we remain human. Children may be
conceived, carried, and borne, but once the child reaches an adult state,
they will no longer age.”

110. “Yeah. However, when someone decides it‟s a great idea to LEAVE
US,” Fuzzy said with emphasis directed at Jamie, “and move out of one of
the enchanted houses, the enchantment leaves them, and they begin to age.
This, obviously, would explain why Miss Jamie is practically ancient when
compared to the rest of us.”
“Fuzzy she‟s not that much old—”
“Shh.”

111. For a moment after their explanations were complete, the assembly
stared at Fuzzy and Fire with absolutely blank expressions.

112. “…Yeah. Okay, can we go back to bed now?” Fire asked, taking in
everyone‟s expressions, which clearly said that the group aside from Cee
assumed the good witch and the evil witch were both eternally crazed.

113. “Could you stay actually please, ladies? I think we may have questions
for you…?” Cee prompted the group.

114. “That‟s it then? That‟s all there is to it?” Olivet asked. He was
extremely intrigued indeed.
“Yes. Well no, not even close, but that is the gist, definitely. Sort of.”
“But… how does that work? And how did you find out?”

115. Fire looked disappointed. “What do you think I do all day? Sew? I
research. And, if you‟ll recall, I used to live at Simton Court, with Gin and
a very large library. Amazing, really, the things you‟ll find in a library.”

116. “Mhm. Also the fact that Lark is sprouting more grey hairs every five
minutes over at Austen Park solidifies the theory,” Fuzzy added.
“That too.”
“But how?”
“Cait‟s the real reason it happened,” Fuzzy concluded. “If you think
I‟m bad ass, you should see the kind of power Cait wields.”

117. “Is she… some sort of god?”
Sort of.
Cee scoffed. “Hardly!”
Thank you so much, Cee.

118. Jamie looked mutinous. “How could you do that?” she demanded.
“How could you let Lark leave, and go to her death, without her even
knowing?”
“Lark… knows.”
“WHAT?”

119. Cee waved her hands about to try and calm her friend, and babbled so
quickly that Jamie had to pay close attention to grasp the words.
“When Frank chose to purchase 234 Pride Street for Lark, it was just
days after Fire had begun the research with Gin. I went to visit her at
Simton Court so Fire, Gin, and I could speak with her... and warn her. We
told her that leaving the protection of the Simselves could very well cause
her to age, and eventually die. Lark knew the risks, and chose to accept it.
She did not want to live without her daughter, she told us. She could not
bear to watch Marian live and die before her.”
Cee‟s eyes were swimming before she finished, but she held the tears
back.

120. Jamie snapped. “You knew this. When Marian was born? You knew
this that long ago? And you never told me I could leave and be with my
children?”

121. “We did not KNOW! It was only a theory! It wasn‟t until Fuzzy
arrived and could collaborate with Gin and Fire that we were almost sure
of it. Jamie, I‟m sorry! I did not know what to do! I promise, had I known
when your children were born, I would have told you immediately! But
after… I‟m so sorry.”
Cee was actually crying then, and Fuzzy poked her head out of the
room to call for Jeremy.

122. “I can‟t believe this, Cee. I can‟t believe this of you either, Cait! You‟re
going to make me watch my babies die while Lark gets to live out a normal
lifespan?!”
Jamie, Cee is not so good with emotional things, especially when they
concern our—your children. We haven‟t told you because we wanted you
to have the chance to be happy. To find a man you truly love, one who
truly loves you in return. When Will did what he did, rotten man, we knew
it broke you. We knew that it hurt you extremely deeply, but we thought
you would heal eventually, and all would be well. We wanted to give you
the chance to live out a normal life with him. I still hope you can.
“You‟re telling me this was all for my own good. Is that right?”
Have you not realized that we are in the presence of a vampire, one that
you know very well, even, and that we‟ve summoned your children before
you?

123. While Jamie stared furiously at the wall Jeremy came in, followed by Di
and a cup of strong tea. He hugged his wife to his side and she sniffed
hopefully at the tea.
“Sugar?” she mumbled at Di through her hands.
“Yes, Cee. Cream too.”

124. Jamie looked at the Countess, who bowed her head gently, threw her
hands in the air, and plopped rather ungracefully into a chair.

125. Cee, who had regained her self-control thanks to Di‟s tea and Jeremy‟s
arm, smiled weakly. “Countess, if you do not mind, would you please
explain what we are proposing?”

126. “Yes, thank you Mrs. Simself. Children, I do not think it is a secret that
you are all human. Indeed, you live and breathe as humans. It is something
I envy, for I have not lived as such for quite some time.”
“You‟re a vampire, is that what Cait said?” Gwendolen asked.
“Yes.”

127. Tom snorted, and the noise made the still-shocked Philadelphia jump.
“But vampires are not real! They are things of fairy stories and
nonsense!”

128. The Countess flashed her perfectly white, pointed teeth. “I assure you,
Mr. Austen, that we are quite, quite real.”
Tom slumped back into his seat and swallowed. “Please accept my most
profound apologies.”
“Think nothing of it, my good sir. At any rate, if you choose, you will
soon be among my kind.”

129. “WHAT?” Tom blurted, turning quickly to his sister for backup.
“What the devil do you think she is here for, Tom?” Gwen whispered
impatiently. “This is our way out.”

130. “Yes,” the vampire agreed. “Now…” Before she went on, she looked
at every face in the room for a full second. “The life of the eternal is
nothing to enter into lightly, or at the very least… the life of the eternal
darkness. There will be benefits, surely, for just as your mother will remain
young for so long as she remains in this house, and you will remain so for
as long as you will. You shall have eternal beauty and youth, your senses
will be made far more sensitive, multiplied in their effectiveness by at least
fifty times.” Again the woman paused and looked into everyone‟s eyes
carefully, even the Simselves who had stayed merely to listen.

131. “But there are downsides,” she continued. “Very serious disadvantages
to life as one of us. You will need to feed, and I do not mean on tea and
biscuits. Certainly, you will be able to enjoy those things still, but your
palate will not necessarily be interested in such morsels. Instead, you will
wish for blood above all else.”

132. Gwendolen, the eternally cheerful and brave daughter of a willful
Simself and a careless father, actually paled at that.

133. “Yes, you will feed on human blood, though there are ways in which to
get it that do not involve killing others. Drones are certainly an option, but
I encourage you not to try animal blood. There are all these rumors flying
about that such things will keep you strong, but that is utter nonsense. It
does not work. Not in this existence, at the very least.”
“Would the sun cause us to go up in flames?”
“Do not be ridiculous.”

134. Gwen blinked. “But… I thought all vampires slept in coffins and only
came out at night? Is that not why we‟re here, so very late in the evening?
So you will not be harmed?”

135. The Countess explained, “Yes and no. The sun can kill you, but not
quite so easily as legend would have us believe. It does sap our strength,
and if we are too long touched by its rays, it will steal our lives from us
drop by agonizing drop. The farther removed we are from the sun each
day, the more comfortable we remain, and this is why most vampires
choose to sleep in, ah, confined spaces during the daylight hours. And so,
while you may survive a few hours together in direct sunlight, I do not
encourage you to try it. Even as old as I am, the sun makes me dreadfully
lethargic, and very quickly.”

136. “How old ARE you?” Olie had to ask.
The Countess looked at him levelly. She sighed. “That is hardly polite.”

137. “Sorry,” Olie said, repentant, but he found himself hiding a snicker as
Fuzzy mouthed “REALLY OLD” behind the Countess‟s back; the
Countess turned to stare at Fuzzy too.
“Sorry, sorry,” Fuzzy waved her hands apologetically.

138. “There is more,” the Countess sighed. “Much more. You should know
that you ladies will not be able to bear children. You will, essentially, be
dying an unnatural death in order to avoid a natural death, but you will still
be, for all intents and purposes, not among the living. You will be frozen.
A lady must make great changes within her body in order to carry a child,
and that is not possible, obviously, if a woman is a block of unchanging
ice. However… a man, from birth to death, changes very little internally.
You will be frozen in your current state, but your… well, you would still be
able to father children.”
Gwen looked at her husband, and Philly at Thomas.

139. The Countess backtracked “Of course, as you are all happily married I
highly doubt that is here or there. It is of no importance. Have you any
questions for me?”
The O‟Leerys and the Austens traded looks. Philadelphia was still quite
faint, and not at all looking as if she was enjoying the idea of immortality.

140. She wasn‟t.
“Tom, I do not… that is I do not think I could do this. Think of the
girls, of Ezra?” She turned to Cee. “Would they be given this choice, if
we chose it?”
“Yes.”
Philadelphia nodded. “And yet I do not think Raphaelle would take it,
nor Josephine.”

141. “I do not either, and I do not think I could bear living and watching my
children… no. I have seen what it has done for mama…”
Tom and Philly looked at each other for a good five minutes, carrying
on one of those silent conversations married couples sometimes do.

142. Eventually, Tom nodded and turned to look at the vampire. “My wife
and I will decline the offer.”
“Very well,” she said, closing her eyes and nodding slowly. “I am not
surprised, and saying no to immortality because of the consequences may
be the wiser thing to do in your situation.”

143. Tom nodded, and his wife rested her head on his shoulder. Worried for
her health, Tom asked, “May we leave, Mrs. Simself ?”
Cee looked at Jamie apologetic and full of empathy. “Certainly,” she
said quietly.

144. The group watched as Tom escorted his wife out the door. Jamie tried
to stop him, but he merely interrupted her and kept walking.
“Mama, I will not choose immortality over my family, nor will I force
my wife to take the curse, when she so clearly does not like the sound of
any of it.”
“But Tom!”
“We will speak soon, mama.” He could not look her in the face when,
in deciding not to outlive his children, he had forced her into the fate he
wanted to avoid. “I am sorry.”

145. Jamie tried to hold in her emotion as she watched her son walk out the
door, but she was shaking. She sat back down and turned to Gwendolen
and Olivet, hoping against hope that they would have a different answer.

146. “Olie?” Gwen prompted.
Olivet grinned. “Well I think it sounds great! I can‟t really understand
the idea of drinking blood… gross… but as you say I will want it more
than anything else? And there are ways to get it which do not involve
taking lives?”

147. “Indeed and yes.”
“What do you think, my freaky little Gwen?” That earned him a sharp
look from both her mother and Mrs. Simself. He ignored them. “Want to
be freaky in all senses of the word? Want to spend forever with me? Um,
sort of literally, this time?”

148. Gwendolen pursed her lips. She knew none of her children would
mind; indeed, they were all such independent people and so happy in their
own lives at the moment, she doubted they would notice much of a
difference. She looked at her mother, and thought of the pain she must be
facing, knowing her children are nearly old, and will die not all that far
from now. At the idea of her own death, at being parted from Olie, Gwen
shuddered. Would it be so horrible, living the life of the damned?
Wait ,she thought. “Will we be… damned? To hell?”

149. The Countess laughed. “Nobody quite knows, dear girl. However I
should think it quite unlikely. What are we but half dead? We do try very
hard not to kill anyone to feed our thirst, and we do not worship the devil
or the reaper. Though… I must say the reaper in this dimension is an
excellent cricket player.”

150. Gwen nodded, showing her understanding. “I think… Olie do you
think the girls would choose it as well, when the time came?”
“I do not think so, love. Maybe Story? She is the only one I can think
of that may be up for doing this, but I doubt it. Bleu probably wouldn‟t be
as interested, if at all.”
“Can you bear letting them leave us?”

151. Olivet shrugged. “We‟ll leave them, if we don‟t do this, and it will have
to be their decision, just as it is ours now, when the time comes. Anyway,
think about the possibilities! We can „hoo ALL the time and not worry
about… more… kids…” he trailed off as he caught the expression on the
Countess‟s face. “Let‟s do this. If anyone can rock the undead world, it
would be us.”
Gwen giggled. “Yes.”

152. Anne rolled her vibrant eyes. “I am told you do not have much time
left before it is too late. Let us do this now.”
“Now?!” shouted at least four voices at once.
“You have until six o‟ clock tomorrow evening to make the decision,
Mr. and Mrs. O‟Leery, but I must say I will not exactly be pleased if I have
to be out and about during the day simply to change you.”
Olivet and Gwendolen nodded to each other and then to the vampire.
The Countess smiled sadly and motioned for everyone to leave.

153. Jamie was outraged once again and had jumped up from her chair and
into the Countess‟s face. “But they‟re my children! Or… Gwen is! Olie is
as good as!”
“Hey, thanks!” Olie beamed.
“Madam I hardly think this is something you would like to witness.”
“But they may need me!”

154. The Countess gave her a wry smile. “I do not think they will need the
help of anyone ever again, if I am quite honest with you, madam. I am
very sorry for the bluntness, but here we are. Do please exit with the
others.”

155. Jamie frowned, glared after Di‟s retreating figure, shouted “YOUR
creation” to her, and stomped out.

156. As Cee shut the door behind her, the Countess grinned.
“This may hurt a bit.”

157. Outside, Jamie was pacing; Cee and Di were trying to calm her.
“Really it is for the best Jamie,” Di soothed.
“I know! I know I get to keep my Gwen, but Tom! He doesn‟t want to
stay…”

158. “We knew that was likely, and it is part of why we did not tell you
beforehand. Cait thought you would try to persuade him, and Anne
refused to do it unless she was certain it was their decision alone.”

159. “Also, Jamie, Thomas and Philadelphia are not the sort of people to
give up their normal lives simply to live forever. I think they are very
content, where they are,” Di added.

160. Jamie slumped against the wall. “I want to move out.”
Excuse me?
“I want to move out so I can age too.”
“Jamie your daughter is becoming a vampire to be with you,” Cee
reminded her.
“No! She is doing it because her husband thinks it will be interesting,
and Gwen is always up for anything she thinks could be fun!”

161. “Perhaps, but think of what it means. She knows she will have to watch
her children leave her just as you will watch Tom. You should focus on the
fact that you will have your daughter, albeit in darkness, for the rest of your
days.”

162. Jamie was quiet for a minute before she turned to Cee with a sad smile.
“This was really selfish, wasn‟t it?”
Cee whimpered and laid her cool hand against her face. “No, I think it
is only natural to want to keep one‟s children around.”

163. Di was an intelligent woman, and she knew exactly what had had Cee so
distraught that night. Deciding it was time to ask the question Cee didn‟t
want to answer, just to get it over with, she looked at Jeremy and noted his
nod before asking his wife, “What are you going to do about your son and
Cecilia?”

164. Cecilia Legacy and Carew Simself had become officially betrothed very
recently. As it turned out they got on extremely well, and the arrangement,
just like all of the arrangements Cee and Di put forth, ended up being a
love match. As soon as Cecilia was finished studying at M. Bennet‟s and
Carew had his degree from Pemberley, they would marry.

165. Cee groaned. “Carew has asked that he and Cecilia be allowed to live
here.”
Jamie‟s jaw dropped. “That is hardly fair, Cee!”

166. “I know! I know. I… I told him no. His father and I are giving him
what would be the equivalent of his inheritance were we to die, and setting
him up with a home in Simyton. He has… he has already declined
vampirism. My girls, my babies…they—Sophie and Phoebe agree with
him on this.”

167. “Oh, Cee. I am sorry,” Jamie murmured.
The door to the small sitting room opened at the least opportune
moment; Olivet and Gwendolen O‟Leery stepped out of the sitting room.

168. They were white, and smiling.

169. “Happy? Of course! I am to keep my Gwendolen! But that is not
important now!”
“…Indeed?”
“No, this is far more pressing: Gin has stolen my anteater pendant and
refuses to give it back, for she says it is HERS and I must have lost mine!
But I haven‟t!”

170. Cee blinked. “Is that all?”

171. “Well, I‟ve also—All?! This is very important!”
“Oh for the love of…” Cee leaned back in her chair, exhausted. It was
only three in the afternoon.
…

172. “Marian? Are you awake?” Robert Austen whispered loudly, therefore
defeating the purpose of his whispering. He peered in the small but
elegant room his sister inhabited and waited for an answer. He heard an
indelicate snort come from the bed.
“Clearly not as I am sitting here reading,” said a young lady‟s extremely
sarcastic and muffled voice.
Robert rolled dark blue eyes. “You do have the bed curtains shut,
dearest sister of mine.”

173. Behind the creamy curtains, Marian blinked.
“Oh. Right.” She placed a ribbon between the pages of her book,
marking her place, and threw open the curtains.

174. Her eyes found her brother in the door, and as she got a good look at
him, she sighed. “Oh, Robert. You look much worse today,” she said.
Robert looked away and rubbed his cheek self-consciously. “It is
nothing. Now do please get up, Wills and Lucas are being quite horrid, I
do not know what to do with them, and we have party guests arriving in
little more than six hours.”

175. “Oh come now, Robert! Our brothers are, what, nearly thirteen years
old and still you cannot manage them. Whoever said you were family
oriented was clearly mistaken.”

176. Robert frowned. “I love my family, Marian. I just get nervous with
them, and it does not help that they are usually messy, and covered in…
things. It is just that I get nervous!”
His sister looked at him levelly. “You‟d think your… situation… would make
childcare second nature for you.”
Robert glared. “Marian,” he warned. “I said not to bring it up again!”

177. Marian was immediately penitent. As much as she enjoyed teasing her
brother, this particular thing was probably not the best topic to tease him
about. “Alright, I am sorry! Truly I apologize, but Robert…”
“Hn,” Robert grunted.
“Really, I didn‟t mean any harm. Now… why can Mama and Alice not
care for the twins? I was just getting into my book, you know. It is the
newest novel by— Robert are you quite all right?”

178. Robert didn‟t answer. His face was pale, gaunt… but that is how it
usually was. Now it was green.
Marian sighed. “What is it?”
A grimace covered Robert‟s sickly face. “You do not wish to know,
believe you me.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, really, Marian.”

179. “Tell me!”

180. “I… don‟t think I can. Follow me.”

181. “Ugh,” Marian groaned. She quickly checked herself in her mirror,
brushed down her dress, and then followed her blonde brother out of her
room and down the hall.

182. “Alice‟s room?” she asked when they reached the door nearest Robert‟s
suite. She and Robert entered the first room, Alice‟s sitting room, and
Marian looked around curiously. “Where are they?”
Robert pointed to the glass doors to Alice‟s bedchamber.
Marian looked puzzled. “They‟re all in there? Is everything…”

183. When Robert pulled her to the glass doors Marian gave up speaking in
exchange for an ear-piercing shriek.
…

184. Thus ends the first proper chapter of Generation 5! I know it was a lot of
end tying and recapping, but in order to return to the main house I found
it necessary.
Next time:
-Just WHAT did Marian see in Alice’s room?
-The meaning behind Robert’s “situation”…
-A distinct lack of spares and/or simselves.
-The most annoying sim!dog ever.
-Cake!
I would like to thank Dicreasy ever so much for the loan of our wonderful
vampire Countess, Anne Legacy.
And thank you ALL so very much for your comments and input and help
and and and and… generally just thank you all for reading. It means a lot!