ma mère

[beheld_beauty]

Jane's out again.

But at least this time Rose fetched Renée up from Downside first. Renée's been reacquainting herself with life; Charlie has been catching her up. Belle was a small child when her mother died, and her mother has spoken with her a little, but mostly wants to catch up on the past decades from Charlie, who is more or less as she left him.

Today Renée is ready, she says, to meet her son-in-law and grandchildren.

They walk, because why not. Céleste is obliged to leave Rainier at home; creatures more mythical than grandchildren are not for today's revelations for Renée. Renée is living with Charlie, of course, in his cottage that he has allowed Belle to renovate but not expand.

Belle knocks on the door. Charlie opens it, and holds out his arms to solicit hugs from granddaughters. Céleste provides gladly.

Comments

[beheld_beauty]

"I could enchant it that way. If you want to train it, then you will need to do something else in the meantime while it is still being trained."

[carillons]

"I will think about it," Hyacinthe decides.

[beheld_beauty]

"All right." Belle pets her hair. "Anything else on your mind apart from winged mice?"

[carillons]

Hyacinthe shakes her head and hugs her Maman.

[beheld_beauty]

Hugs!

[carillons]

Hugs.

"I love you, Maman."

[beheld_beauty]

"I love you too, Hyacinthe."

[carillons]

Snuggy hugs!

Over the ensuing months, Hyacinthe continues to think about winged mice. She does not ask for one, not even for her sixth birthday.

A week after she turns six, she is walking through the castle lost in thought, and when she looks up she is not in the castle at all.

[she_sells_seashells]

And here are eight of her maman.

[thaumobabble]

One double-takes at her.

[carillons]

"Hello, mamans!" says Hyacinthe.

[thaumobabble]

"Hi, um, alt of Ariel," says Glass, who hasn't seen Ariel in person but is guessing from attractors.

[giftedandtalented]

"That's an Ariel? Aww," says Tab.

[cross_and_bow]

"Rose's?" says Juliet, inspecting Hyacinthe's world signature via her torchabling power.

[carillons]

"My maman is Belle Cygne and I am Hyacinthe Avril Cygne," says Hyacinthe. "Who are you, besides more mamans?"

[incanted]

"We are," says Aurora, and she points with every name, "Aurora, Juliet, Shell Bell, Tab - she's new, you won't have heard of her - Stella, Golden, Pattern - that's Pattern's boyfriend Ripper - and Glass. We're collecting all of us to sync up the worlds again. Wanna take us home with you?"

[carillons]

She peers at all of them, especially Ripper because he is not a maman.

"What is a boyfriend?"

[bellfounding]

Pattern says, "We're together, like your parents, except we aren't married."

[carillons]

"Oh," says Hyacinthe. She nods. "Okay. Would you like to see Maman now?"

[luminous_regnant]

"Yes, please."

[carillons]

She turns around back the way she came, and opens the door, and leads many mamans (and one boyfriend) through it.

[she_sells_seashells]

[Rose!] calls Shell Bell, with Hyacinthe and the other two rosebuds and Beast and all the Bells and Ripper conferenced in. [We have an alternative timesyncing solution and then we're going to see if we can fetch the welcome committee.]

[beheld_beauty]

[Oh! Hello, welcome!]

[carillons]

[I found many mamans,] Hyacinthe contributes. [They were in a place. Now they are here. One of them has a boyfriend.]

[deslandes]

[A boyfriend?] says Beast.