Pairs of Pumpins #11: the Teleporting Tours of a Top-Heavy Teenager (09/13)

Pairs of Pumpkins, Episode 11:

The Teleporting Tours of a Top-Heavy Teenager

by Jess Faulks

Chapter 9 of 13

Anastasia Pridemoon took a deep inhale and found some strange pleasure in the ozone smell of magic, even as the dryness it brought to her mouth was now burning her sinuses and the back of her throat.

She stood in the middle of a ten foot diameter teleport seal she had painted in her bedroom at Zarron's second home in The Pale Lands, now a safehouse for a new wave of rescued children.

A year ago, Portia and Joseph had broken every seal that Zarron could use to return here. Teleportation without a seal was incredibly dangerous The location was so remote it would take enormous effort for him to travel there by conventional means and all for a house he had nothing left of value in and no reason to believe was occupied.

Portia, her mother had been difficult to convince but the house was self-sufficient, out of the way and concealed from most of the world. Ana cast spells to further fortify and hide it, from both the public but especially from the raccoon wizard who technically owned it. Certain runes and sigils she painted all over the inside and outside of the house made it near impossible to scry or track them. There were new teleport seals she'd painted as backups to this one, original ones known and usable only to her.

Once Anastasia was able to teleport to and from there with some assurance of safety, it became the perfect interim housing for the rescued children they were accumulating. Only recently did they receive word that Stusport had reopened. Jasper had extended the offer to shelter any of their family there but by then they were already using the Pale Land's house.

Of course, this house could only support so many. The Duodecaplets had never been housed here so it had been at most Zarron, Eva, Joseph and herself plus a few nannies, tutors and servants when they were younger.

Now there were seventeen siblings of varying ages and she could hear the ruckus of them in the distance. After years of the tomb-like silence of her bedchambers in either of Zarron's homes, it was odd but pleasant to have it sound lived in and alive.

The manor was built much larger than needed and with abundant supplies, dry storage and a sizable greenhouse. Food would become an issue before space did and they would be at capacity once there were twenty five mouths to feed.

Her and her mother were working their way towards Brummel, a town where Portia was hailed as a hero from some deeds when she was closer to Ana's age. They'd hopefully take some of her family into their community.

Ana went to her wardrobe, reaching first for one of the many, duplicate purple house robes. Her hand hovered for a moment, reconsidering her choice.

She reached for one of her older, neglected robes her sister had once made for her: this one was black with a gold sash around the waist. Slipping it on, she checked herself in a full-height mirror, ensuring she was tucked in and decent. She straightened her hair then fluffed it out before going to the door.

Her mother had retrofitted it with slots to drop a heavy beam of wood into, allowing Ana to brace it from the inside. When locked, it could only be entered via teleportation. It was the safest teleport entrance to the whole house and they couldn't chance any of the younger children running in at the wrong time and being spontaneously spliced with their older sister to the mutilation, irredeemable torment and probable death of them both.

She lifted the lock with a grunt then opened the door, out to the familiar stairwell. "ANASTASIA'S ROOM! KEEP OUT. RISK OF DEATH." the exterior door read in months old red paint. She closed it behind her then went to the stairs, taking a grip on the railing for steadiness.

Ever since her mother told what had happened in the moments after they first met, she couldn't ascend or descend the stairs of her childhood home without imagining her carrying her brother Joseph on her back and knotted in her rear, up all five floors to Zarron's bedchambers.

The oldest sister of the newer rescuees slept there now, blissfully unaware that her mother and a son she'd never met had sex on her bed. It was only fair to give her the best room, as she'd fallen into the role of Mother to the rest of them or at least, the responsible one around the house while their actual mother and her were off on their missions.

Constance was her name. Being crossbred with a raccoon gave her unique fur patterns more than distinctive features. She could pass for an odd-colored or dyed fox but astute eyes might notice her muzzle was more blunt with ears shorter and more triangular. Not much younger than Anastasia, they found her working in a Clerk's office in the city of White Port, safe, sound but doomed to a lifetime of boredom.

Even without a tragic situation to escape from or any adventuring-relevant skills, Constance was compelled by the story of their family and jumped at the chance to be part of something bigger. She maintained that it was the right decision, though with less confidence after three months of babysitting the ever-growing household.

"I feel like I'm doing more mothering than our mother!" she would half-joke but it was hard to argue against.