In Which Holladrin Is the Middle Sister

October 16, 1199

"You, uh... you don't really need a story for your dolls, do you?" Holladrin mused as her cousin--her new little sister!--banged one of the dolls against the wall of the castle with a gleeful smile on her face. Holladrin supposed she ought to have been annoyed, given that it was her castle, and her doll... but, she didn't play much with either any more. She was six, after all. She had big girl toys.

Celina could have the little girl toys, if she wanted them. And if they were hers... well, they were hers to be rough with, if she chose.

Really--Holladrin would have traded all of her big girl toys for a little sister!

"That's all right. My brother doesn't need stories for his wooden sword things either, and he's almost eight. Not everyone likes stories, I guess."

"Nope!" Celina agreed, showcasing her teeth before chomping down on the doll's feet. A stream of drool leaked from the corner of her smile as the dangling doll bounced against her chin. "Look! I'm a walrus!"

Holladrin laughed, though maybe she shouldn't have. Her father never yelled, but he wouldn't have wanted her to encourage any toy-biting. "You're too cute to be a walrus. You're more like a kitty--granted, a kitty with big fangs."

"A vampire kitty?"

God, her little sister was weird! A good sort of weird, though. "If you want. Just don't bite me, all right?"

"Right!"

"Is Celina being silly again?"

Lileina! In all of Celina's antics, Holladrin hadn't even noticed her other cousin--her new big sister--come into the room. "She's silly, but it's good silly."

Lileina shrugged. Lileina was nine, and nine was a little old for Celina's sort of silliness. But at least she was nice about it. "Well, thanks for entertaining her."

"No problem. Wedding parties are boring anyway."

"You won't think that when you're older." Lileina winked as she sat down on the rug. "You can dance with boys at wedding parties."

"Boys like my brother? Or... brothers?" Alas, Lileina and Celina did have a brother between them. But, Holladrin supposed she could put up with another brother if she at least got two sisters out of the arrangement. Especially an older and a younger! She'd always wanted to be a middle sister. "No thanks!"

"No, not boys like our brothers. Better boys! They're still stupid, but they're stupid in convenient ways rather than annoying ones. You can make them do whatever you want! Kay gave me his dessert just because I kissed him on the cheek, and I didn't even mind kissing his cheek; he's cute." And Lileina's cheeks were as red as her hair. "I think I might marry him."

Holladrin gagged--though at least Kay Kemorin was nice enough, for a boy. "I think you and Celina are both silly. But, you're my sisters, so I'll forgive you."

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