Chapter 13

"Morning!" Una smiled tiredly as she entered the main room of the apartment. The sun was shining brightly and her mood was lovely when she woke up energised and well rested. Mostly when she was in the village she would wake up feeling even more tired than when she went to bed, but there was just something about the city that made her feel and be a lot cheerier. She had loomed over the idea that it was magic but she had used that as an excuse so many times she decided just to settle on the fact that she was happy.

"You're happy," Ferris laughed, handing her a cup of tea that he had prepared for her when she had woken this morning and her mind was active. She grinned as she took the cup from his hands, nodding her head in agreement to his words.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, moving away from the kitchen and to her favourite spot on the middle sofa in the living room part of the main room. She loved that the apartment was open planned and that she could talk to Ferris or any of her friends as they worked away in the kitchen and she lay in the living room.

"No reason." He shrugged, "just an...observation."

"Well it's a lovely day outside and it's bright and I woke up rested and I'm just happy," she said. She took a sip of her tea, smiling when she realised Ferris had made it perfectly and made herself comfortable on the couch, "where is everyone?"

"Elysia is awake...I think she's getting dressed. Gus is out doing stuff, he left this morning. River is fixing his tie for the seventh- no, eighth time, Flynn is thinking of ways that he can sneak a pet in here through the window in his room and Del is sleeping considering she was up until four. O'clock. In. the. Morning."

"Four?!" Una repeated wide-eyed, "why?!"

"Has Gus ever told you about Del's other hobbies?" asked Ferris, moving to the couches and sitting down.

"He said she liked...technology?" Una trailed off, wondering if she was remembering correctly but Ferris nodded.

"She loves it. Del and I were out maybe six or seven months ago and she had just bought herself a laptop because she wasn't really into technology but she wanted to see what the fuss was all about. So, we go to the library and she found a few books on hacking and I ask her what she wants to hack because it's you know...illegal! And she said that she had a feeling Elysia's boyfriend - at the time - was cheating on her, so she learns how to hack, hacks into his computer and gathers all of this stuff from his social media, documents, files, drives, the lot. Presents it to Elysia a week or so later and she dumps him over the phone.

She started doing it with other people, they go to her with their problems - she hacks. Terribly illegal but no one suspects a thing, she stopped doing it for a while because she felt guilty but River asked her to do something last night and she didn't stop until it was done so she won't be awake until maybe two."

"What did River ask her to do?" asked Una, her eyebrows knitted together but Ferris merely smirked.

"See that is the type of information that I, as my wonderful self-knows, but you and your wonderful self will never know," he winked at her and she flipped him off and instead went back to drinking her tea.

"Gus said something about hacking but I didn't think she made a full-on business out of it!" she exclaims.

"She was almost caught once, a few times before she stopped doing it we got a pleasant visit from one of the guards of the castle that there was a criminal and of course I knew, so did Elysia and of course Del but we didn't tell Flynn or River because they're all for the greater good," Ferris rolled his eyes, "and would have tried to stop her. I had to control the poor guy's mind to think it was somewhere else except he just didn't know where."

Una let out a laugh, covering her hands over her mouth, "if River asked her to do something, how did they find out?"

"Well after that everyone was a bit confused, Flynn was freaking out thinking one of us was going to get jailed or something like that and River was demanding answers and a little pissed off so Del told them, and out of relief - Flynn just couldn't stop laughing. I think he was just happy that none of us was a secret mass murderer and River kept shut about it because it's obvious Del loves it." Ferris shook his head with a laugh.

"So, it all came about because of Elysia?" she asked, her eyebrow raised and he nodded.

"She would give the world to Elysia if she could," Ferris snorted, sending a wink to Una whose eyes widened.

"You are such a gossip, Ferris," she chuckled, "I think those two would be lovely together."

"Oh, I think so too," he said, "but I made a vow, didn't I? I didn't exactly tell you, you just figured it out but I couldn't outright tell either of them or I'd be breaking what I promised I'd never do."

Una nodded her head, "you say tell either of them," Una trailed off, "does that mean Elysia likes Del too?"

Ferris winked and she scoffed, "alright vow-breaker, why don't you tell me more about this castle and these guards. If they can suspect criminal activity does that mean they keep all criminals captive or is there a jail system?"

"Oh no there's a jail system," Ferris said, "the guards are just for show, to scare people and if they're guilty then the police take over."

"You said that if Gus' dad continued to rule then Somnium would be more like a nightmare? Is he really that bad?" Una was entirely curious about the man. She had thought about it occasionally and she knew Ferris knew because he would try and distract her from her thoughts as much as he possibly could, but she couldn't help but be a little scared about it, the man seemed absolutely terrifying, "of course I know he's bad after what Gus said, but what else has he done?"

"He tried to sign a law that said that if there were any Shifter's in Somnium that he had permission to kill them," Ferris scowled, "he didn't get permission because Shifter's haven't posed any real threat, but he is allowed to kill fire controllers. None of us agrees with that because whilst the man who terrorised Somnium was a fire controller, it is bad in every field.

Not all of them, I believe, should have to face something like that because of one - or a few people, it's unfair. There are a lot of Deceivers who use their powers to lure woman and men into their trap and have their way with them without them being able to protest because they're under the control of someone else.

There are givers who torture people with thorns and wrap vines around them to squeeze and suffocate them to death. There are some makers who change the fate of good people to have horrible lives just for their own enjoyment, cast spells over them just for their torturous happiness.

I don't even need to tell you about Healers because Gus' dad is the worst out of them all. For a time after the law was forgotten about Shifters, he would try and seek out everyone who voted against him - falsely accuse them - and then sentence them to death.

Everyone was terrified so he has been able to pass multiple laws after because no one wants to die. I don't think there's anyone who likes him anymore, some people did because it seemed like he had the best interest of the people when he passed the law about the fire controllers but he doesn't, he just enjoys being crazy."

"He can get away with that?!" Una gasped, her eyes wide as she clutched the mug in her hand tighter than before.

"Well yes, he's the ruler," Ferris grumbled, "Gus should have been the ruler after him but he'd never do that - he wants to get revenge on him actually. He says he just wants to get his powers back but I see it in his eyes, he hates him, he wants him to pay for all the pain he has ever caused."

"What happens if the people rule against him?" asked Una. She was trying not to think of what would happen if this...monster got his way if, in a few years or even months, he had been able to get everyone under his spell and rule them the way he would like.

"There would be a war," Ferris frowned, "the idea has been thought of many times, believe me, but this city would be destroyed and no one wants to risk that."

"What would happen if Gus ruled?" asked Una, "would he have to wait until his father's death? what happens when he does die?"

"When he does die the people of Somnium would have had the choice to pick a new ruler because Gus isn't ruling. If that happens then they'll pick River's dad," Ferris shrugged, "he's someone who does actually care about the greater good, who is already working towards throwing Elphcoe off his throne and making sure that the laws he wants to be signed aren't getting that."

"Elphcoe?" she repeated, "Gus' dad."

"Weird name, I know, his parents wanted something that was fit for a ruler, of a king. It's a traditional name, Cassia - Gus' mother wanted Angus after her father so Gus tells me they had a huge fall out over that but there's no arguing with Cassia," Ferris laughed, remembering the woman with a smile.

"Cassia is great. Gus told me that too once," she remembered back to the time in the tea shop, when her worries were far less than what she was worrying about now, when she only cared about how much teas and when Beck would be home and if Kasey was alright, worries that were relevant but they just don't seem to be any more.

"What about River's dad?" she asked.

"What about him?" her eyes lifted when she heard the different voice to see River walking into the living room with his eyes glued to his phone and clad in his familiar suit attire.

"I'm telling her about Elphcoe," Ferris said.

"What could his dad do to stop him?" Una asked and both boys looked at each other as though they hadn't the faintest idea of what she meant.

"Excuse me?"

She rolled her eyes, "if your dad has the power to make sure laws don't get enough signatures then he must be important enough to go up against Elphcoe. If the people have a say in who their new leader will be then they could rise up and defend your dad and then Elphcoe could back down."

"It doesn't work like that, unfortunately," Ferris sighed, "The Hillsteel family-"

"Hillsteel?" Una repeated with a snort, "what are they the family of weird names?"

River smirked at that as he took a seat on the free couch, typing away on his phone whilst Una's attention was focused on Ferris, "they have ruled for generations, if someone ruled against them then Elphcoe could easily kill them."

"But what if they lived?" Una asked, "what if River's dad got an army to rise against him? is everyone going to sit around and do nothing until he strikes and does something worse than anyone could imagine and then it's too late?"

"You sound like you know what's going to happen," River said, he hadn't looked up from his phone and Una couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"I read a lot of books, if a ruler is ruthless then they'll strike," she snapped, soon standing up and taking her mug with her, "this city is far too beautiful to crumble."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

"We need to talk to you." Una frowned, stopping in her tracks on her way to the kitchen to see the full heart squad sitting on the couches. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she set her mug on the counter that she had yet to wash from this morning and slowly made her way over to them.

She was about to sit next to Flynn when Gus took her hand, pulling her closer to him and guiding her onto his lap, and she tried to make herself as comfortable as possible as he played with her hair.

"What about?" she asked, reaching for Gus' hand tangled in her hair and lacing it with her own. He was tugging at her scalp as he ran his hands through it and it was rather sore considering her curls were very tuggy, so she opted for a better option and simply kept her hand in his.

"About Somnium," Elysia said, her head resting on Delilah who was trying to braid the girl's hair.

"There is a ball," Delilah piped in, "like a formal gathering that's happening soon. It's a little over a month away and we have to get tickets, and we were wondering if you would like one."

"A ticket?" she repeated, shifting on Gus lap and even turning to look at him. He looked at her with a small smile, as though he knew what she was going to say or more like hoping for it.

"But we're going home in a few weeks?" she frowned, "I'd love to but I don't think coming back for just one evening would be wise."

"Exactly," Gus smirked, kissing her cheek.

"Do you want to stay longer?" asked Flynn, reaching over from the other couch for her hand that she squeezed tightly.

"...How long?" she whispered, blinking away the shock but her mind hadn't stopped running.

"Indefinitely," Elysia smiled, "as long as you like, Una. This is your home as much as it is ours."

She wasn't smiling, she wasn't frowning either but she was just...shocked. Her head was racing so quickly that Ferris couldn't decipher how she felt and neither could she. She was surprised at the question because she had never thought of the possibility of staying longer than the month even though up until now she very much wanted to.

This felt like her home regardless of their bond, or the magic, it was still her home. It felt more like a home than the village ever had. The only reason for going back to the village was for Beck and Kasey and they were very big reasons to return but she didn't have opportunities there, she had friends here and those friends loved her as much as she loved them and even now thinking of the possibility of leaving in a few weeks sent her stomach into a frenzy.

Her lips had parted as though to speak but she didn't know what to say, she didn't know what she could say, there was so much to say and to think about and think over and she wasn't sure. She wished to talk to Kasey, to Beck and tell them and see what they think but she knew regardless that it was her decision.

Her mother hardly cared for her, she could pack up and leave if she so wished to but if she was to stay indefinitely then she would like her books, and her clothes and her laptop and everything she had left behind in the village.

She would like her siblings.

She ran a hand through her hair and Gus' smirk had wavered at the sight of her looking so lost. She wasn't at all sure what she could do and she even stood up when he kept running his hands over her body, she was too distracted by him that she couldn't think of something clear to say."

"Babe," Gus whispered, eying her and she was sure she could see the hurt that she jumped away from him so quickly but she couldn't help it. She reached for his hand and he tried to get her to sit back down but she shook her head.

"Stop pulling me about!" she exclaimed to him, pulling her hand from his grip.

"I'm just trying to help, Una!" his eyes narrowed slightly and her head fell into her hand whilst Gus grumbled something she couldn't hear under his breath.

"Gus we've just asked her to move in," Ferris said, "you were distracting her. She couldn't think properly."

Gus seemed to get it after that as she sat on the arm of the couch beside Flynn, but he didn't speak a word, instead, he was looking at her. He was looking at the girl he was slowly falling in love with and his clothes on her body and her looking so lost and wished to help her decide, for her to know what she wished to do.

"If I go," she said, looking at Gus, "If I go back to the village, what are you going to do?"

"If you go back, I'll be back at some point," he said, "but I'm staying here until I can figure out how to get my powers back."

She nodded silently. She didn't know why she asked that she didn't know why she wanted Gus to be there with her when his life was here and coming here had proved that and she wanted her life to be here too and a huge part of it was, but she wished to see her siblings.

She missed them, she had missed them since leaving and she longed to see them again. Their talks every day didn't fill the hole in her heart but she knew that If she left here and went back to the village then a bigger hole would open.

"What is your heart telling you to do?" asked Elysia, "do you want to stay here?"

"More than anything," Una whispered, squeezing Flynn's hand, "but it's not that simple."

"What's stopping you?" asked Delilah.

"My siblings," she frowned.

"I didn't know you had siblings."

Her eyes lifted to River on the couch opposite and she nodded, "two. Brother and Sister."

"Oh." He nodded, "me too."

"Are you close to them?" she asked him, and he nodded once, "then how can you stay here?"

"Because they understand that regardless of where I live I still love them," he straightened himself up, "and if you want to live here then they'll understand too."

She smiled softly, "do you want me to live here merman?"

"I don't see why that's important."

"Oh, it's not, I just like seeing you suffer," she smirked, leaning on a laughing Flynn.

"Your presence here is somewhat bearable," he grumbled, flipping her off whilst she let out a loud laugh. She looked over at Gus who was staring at his hands clasped together and she moved off of the side of the couch, reaching for his hands and kneeling to stare at him.

"What about your mum?" she whispered, her forehead resting on his, "and Raymond? What about the tea shop?"

"They are all so important to me," he muttered, "you are the most important thing to me and whatever you chose, I'll support but you are so happy here and we can see it and I can see this huge change in you, and it's not a bad change, it's a wonderful change. It's you realising that you don't need to be trapped in that village anymore, that you don't need to have the same routine every single day.

There is so much here for you, so much more you need to see, and Beck and Kasey can come and visit if they wish to, but this could be your home," he pressed a kiss to her forehead but she moved her head to kiss his lips, sliding onto his lap and wrapping one arm around his shoulder.

"Are you all sure you want me to stay?" she asked, earning a wave of nods and shouts and even pleads for her to stay whilst she laughed softly, "I'll stay, but you guys need to break it to my siblings."

"That was not part of the deal!" Ferris exclaimed, wide-eyed and when Una glared at him he shut up, only muttering, "if it gets you to stay."

The feeling bubbling in Una's stomach she was a little unsure of, it was excitement and happiness and warmth but there was something else, as though she was scared and she was. It was something new and as Delilah left to get her laptop in order to message her siblings she could feel herself getting more and more nervous.

She wanted them to be okay with it because this was her home, this was a place she felt she belonged with the people surrounding her like her family. She was pacing as everyone set up as though they were really going to meet them. Elysia was fixing her hair and makeup as well as doing Flynn's beside her as he bounced on the balls of his feet, making sure that his eyeliner was perfectly winged.

Ferris was asking Gus if Beck or Kasey were cute whilst Gus waved him off, not exactly sure Una would be fond of Ferris wanting to get with any of her siblings. River was eying Una from the couch, knowing she was terribly nervous but he knew that he was probably the last person she would wish to talk to.

He got up anyway, and at the moment she turned, offering him a very forced smile and running her hand through her hair, "what are your siblings like?"

"Crazy," he shook his head, "one is just a year younger and one is my twin."

"Really?" she said, "I didn't know you had a twin."

"What do you know about me at all?"

"You have two siblings, and you really hate being called merman, which is hilarious," she listed off and she was too frantic to notice the hint of a smile.

"You certainly listen," he snorted, "look I know I'm probably not the best at advice but leaving my siblings was hard but they understood and if you are this close to your siblings then they'll love you enough to understand. I know that your further away and I can see my siblings anytime but Del can mist anywhere and if you really needed to see them then she could take you. It's not like you're leaving them forever, Una, and there is plenty of spare rooms if they ever wanted to visit."

She took a deep breath, nodding slightly before turning to look at him, "I'd say you were pretty good at advice, River."

He smiled at her. It wasn't one of his normal smiles, the ones that were barely tugging at the corners of his lips, or the smirks, or the half-smirks, it was a real genuine smile and she couldn't help but smile back, "y'know, seeing as I'm now part of the heart squad, I think that gives me the right to know your real name."

River's head snapped around to Gus who was near them who had stopped in his tracks when he heard Una's words and soon slowly smiled sheepishly at the sight of River's hard glare, "you told her it wasn't my real name?!"

"I didn't say that!"

"Yes, you did!" Una exclaimed, her arms flailing around.

"I may have said that..." Gus trailed off, "but she doesn't know what your real name is, what's the big deal?!"

"The big deal is," River pinched the bridge of his nose, "Is that my name is so stupid, I would rather fewer people know that there's a possibility of it."

"You named yourself River as if that isn't a giant pun," Una snorted, "and on the subject of puns, water - a liquid you can control - is blue too, so you know what River ­- which is not your real name - you are just one giant pun."

"Well I'm certainly giant," River nodded, earning a scowl from Una who flipped him off as he walked back to the couch and she wandered over to Gus.

"Alright, got it!" Delilah grinned, rushing to the living room with her laptop tucked under her arm. Una breathed a sigh and Gus laced their fingers together, pulling her over to the couch with her sitting in the middle and him right beside her.

The rest of them surrounded them, with Ferris to the left of her and Delilah beside him. Elysia sat beside Gus, trying to lean over him in order to be seen better and River and Flynn stood behind them all, leaning down so that they were able to see better.

Una had texted Beck previously so that they could call them and she could feel her nerves coming back to her, a shaky breath falling from her lips when the screen appeared and her siblings popped up.

"Una!" Beck grinned, peering at the screen as though he couldn't see it properly until he realised she wasn't the only one there.

"Hi, Una!" Kasey beamed, waving with her brother, "and Una's friends?"

"Yes, Kase, these are my friends," she laughed softly. At that, the heart squad took turns greeting them, waving furiously whilst her siblings laughed and greeted them back, "I have something to tell you two."

"You don't sound pleased," Beck frowned, "are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm great actually," she nodded, "better than great I'm happy. I just don't think you will be."

"You being happy is our main concern, Una," Kasey frowned, her glasses almost falling off of her face when she leaned her hand on her cheek, "are you having fun?"

"So much fun," she nodded. She had made sure to inform them in their many conversations that this was the city that Gus grew up in, and when she had gone on and on about Gus for longer than what was normal in a friendship, her siblings realised there was something more between them.

She took another deep breath as her friends introduced themselves to give her time to prepare what she was going to say. She realised that if her friends were to tell them she was staying then they'd be a bit pissed and figured that saying herself would be a much better idea.

"You look happier," Kasey said after a few moments of the introductions passing and Una still hadn't found it in her to speak yet.

"I am," she choked out, lifting her eyes to stare at the girl, "I'm really happy. Actually, I'm the happiest I have ever been. The village was my home, but-"

"Was," Beck whispered. He didn't mean to cut her off but he could hardly listen anymore when he picked up on the word, "it's not anymore."

"We were staying here for a month," she said, gesturing to Gus beside her who forced a smile at the stares, "and then we were coming home but now I can't think of it, of doing that, of leaving. I was trapped in the village, and you both know I was.

Beck you could do what you wished to do, you could see the world or stay and enjoy yourself at the ice cream parlour because you like it there. You had the choice to leave but you didn't, and Kase you're starting school again school and I don't have that option because it's over for me and I failed everything and I didn't care about school, I threw it away.

I have so many opportunities here, skills I could learn or places I could work or just things to do except sitting in a tea shop and watching my life pass me by. I loved the tea shop, hell there's one here! But that's not all that I do and that's not all that I want to do...the thought of coming home is making me miserable.

If you both weren't there then I wouldn't have had to think about my decision to stay here. I don't want this being something that will make me lose you because I will phone every day still, I'll visit but don't tell me mum will care, don't tell me that there's more there than you two because no one cared about me there except from you two."

"I think I would be opposed to this," Kasey whispered, "had it not been for what you look like. Una, you look brighter, like just getting out of the village made you a better and happier person and I can't be the one to take that away from you, I couldn't do that."

"If you all don't take care of my sister I'll march there myself and-"

"And get a grip, Beck they don't need to take care of me I can do that for myself," Una laughed, "but they have been the best friends I could ever ask for."

"Who is the one to the right?" asked Kasey, and Una realised she meant her own right when her eyes turned to a widely smirking Ferris.

"Ferris...why?" asked Una curiously, a frown on her lips.

"Can you tell him to stop fucking winking at me?"

The others let out a howl of laughter, Delilah having to clasp her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing too loudly and Flynn was clapping his hands in delight that someone hadn't fallen at Ferris' feet.

Una nudged him roughly, earning a yelp from him whilst she glared, her eyes finally trailing back to the screen, "you're all welcome to visit!"

Her friends agreed, all of them speaking words of praise to Kasey for shutting down Ferris whilst Ferris even went as far to apologise. Beck was just happy that Una was happy, that's all he ever wanted for her and he knew very well that she was as she laughed and beamed with her new friends.

"We love you, Una," Beck whispered, waving at the girl who waved back.

"I love you too, I love both of you so much."