When they arrived to Zion's courtyard, inside were two row of maids standing on both sides of the pathway. They wore the same white maid's robe and they were all bowing. Their face never looked up as Sya and Zion made their way towards the pavillion where Sya could see some table that had food and drinks were set out. In all, Sya counted 30 maids as she reached the stairs to the pavillion.

Zion moved to sit at the head of the table and Sya's chair to his right was moved out for her to sit on his right side. From behind her siblings filed in one by one and sat down as if they were all having a family dinner. They all knew which seat to sit on without asking or fighting. Everything became bizarre to Sya as her eyes watched them move insyncinization like a machine.

Wine was soon poured and everyone picked up the cup of wine and raised it up as if they knew Zion was going to make a toast. Sya hated seeing this the most. With Zion's powers and strength, he controlled everyone with an iron hand. From birth until death, they had to follow his rules or face death. No one had a voice to disagree. No one had freedom of choice. It was his way and his way only. And you learned really quickly at a young age, to know how to act and conduct yourself to survive.

"I do not drink this kind of wine. I prefer tea." Sya said as she did not pick up the cup of wine. Her eyes looked at her siblings to see their reaction. Some were in shock that she would openly defy their Demon Father. Other's were snickering as if she just sealed her fate and they couldn't wait for her death. There were some that held onto their cold and indifferent masks as if nothing happened.

"Change it to tea." Zion ordered the serving maid.

The maid quickly took the wine and another maid brought in a fresh pot of tea and a new cup. She poured the tea into the cup and bowed once before standing to the side, ready to pour more tea, should Sya need a refill.

Sya did not move to hold on to the cup of tea, she just shifted her eyes to stare at her Demon Father as if nothing happened.

"Raise your cup for a toast." Zion said as his right eyebrow twitched with annoyance. "For my beloved first daughter has finally come home."

Everyone raised their cups, but Sya didn't even pick up her tea. She stared at everyone as surprise lit up their faces. She openly defied their Demon Father again!

Zion did not see the shift in emotions inside of the room. He tilted his head back and drank the whole contents of the wine down this throat in several gulps then his cup was refilled then he drank it down again in a matter of moments. Several of her siblings remembered to at least taste the wine, then placed the wine down.

"Is your tea okay?" Zion asked.

"It's cooling down." Sya said as she answered him back.

"You must be hungry and tired. Your journey must have been hard on you. You must have suffered so much over the last seven years. Eat. Eat." Zion encouraged her as he picked up his chopsticks and began eating.

His fake concern made her want to puke. It disgusted her down to her very core as everyone moved to grab their chopsticks and began eating. Sya took her chopsticks and ate some seasoned tofu. As everyone ate, there were no words that were spoken. The only sound was the clinking of the chopsticks on the porcelain bowls.

After awhile, Zion placed his chopsticks down and sighed heavily. Everyone who was there suddenly froze and sat up straighter. As if they could tell what kind of mood Zion was in by one sigh. Sya kept eating as if she didn't hear Zion sigh heavily. She needed to eat to save energy so she could fight. She didn't have time to worry about the feelings and emotions of an old man.

"Are none of you happy that your sister has come back safely?" Zion said as he stared down every man, woman, boy and girl. They all placed their chopsticks down and bowed their head down. Before the eldest sibling could stand up and make a toast, Sya interrupted him and waved him to sit back down.

"No need." Sya said as she watched down the food she ate with the warm tea. The food did not taste as good as her cooking, but it was passable to ensure she keeps her strength up and her belly full. "With the skills that I learned from birth, I knew I could survive. Coming back safely or not does not depend on the happiness of my siblings. It is fate."

Zion smiled at Sya's last words. Fate. He had always liked that word. It was his fate to be exiled onto this island. It was his fate to find the thousand year old Tortoise Pearl that woke up the entity that lived on the island and gave him the power to control the sea and the winds. Which in turn changed his fate from living a life worse than death, to a life that he created with his hands.

"Hahahahaha!" Zion laugh boisterously. "My beloved daughter said words that are correct! Everything is fate! Fate made it so we could be Father and Daughter. Fate took you away, so this old man can learn what it means to lose someone close to them. And fate made it so you could return, so this old man can learn how to treasure others more! Hahahaha! What a lesson Fate as taught me! Hahahaha!"

Everyone stared at Sya in awe, while others quickly hid their jealous hearts. Their Demon Father never treated them the same way before. What made Sya so special? What is it about her that their Demon Father moved heaven and earth to find her?

"Everyone! Drink! Drink! This is a happy occasion! Drink! Fate has brought us together! Let us celebrate!" Zion shouted happily.

Sya could see some of her sibling smile tightly before doing what they were ordered to do. Other's still held onto their tight uncaring masks and drank from the cup as if they were soulless bodies with no minds.

Sya took a sip of her tea along with everyone. She knew she should not keep pushing her luck with her small defiance against him, so she drank the tea obediently.

The wine was poured again and Zion made another toast. Everyone made a move to drink the wine again, but Sya wiped her mouth with a towel instead. She refused to drink a toast to his life.

"Daughter?" Zion questioned her.

"This daughter is just a bit tired. The journey has been hard on this daughter. This daughter seeks your understanding and asks Demon Father to let this daughter return back to River Awaking Court to rest." Sya said as she placed the towel down on the table.

"Em!" Zion said as his eyes soften towards her. "But before you go, this Father has a surprise for everyone!"

Everyone froze as they heard Zion say he has a surprise for everyone.

Suddenly the young woman who sat next to Sya started coughing. Sya turned to the young woman and suddenly she coughed up blood. Sya could only sit still, as five more of her siblings started coughing and coughed up blood as well.

"Ahahahahaha!" Zion laughed as he clapped his hands. "Congratulations! To the lucky few who are chosen! You have three hours to cure yourself or you're dead! If you can't cure yourself, well... We'll just call it your fate."