The Seven: Origins

When I woke up, Dr. Regan was telling me to push. I tried and he held up a small baby with bold bright white hair. I smiled weakly and stayed awake until all seven were out.

Dr. Regan said all of them were fine except the third one. I had already named them all. Her name was Arika. She had blood-red hair and eyes. She wasn't breathing.

"Save her!" I sobbed. I looked up and Nerezza stood, glaring in the doorway.

Dr. Regan worked on Arika for at least 15 minutes. I had Chris check on the other six. They were all girls to our great surprise. They all had one of my colors.

The eldest, Kalo, had the white hair and eyes. But her eyes had gold specks in them.

The second born, Kennie, had black and yellow hair and blue eyes.

The fourth, Zylia, had purple hair. Her eyes were yellow.

The fifth, Cadance, had grassy green hair and bubblegum pink eyes.

The sixth, Kenzi, had bubblegum pink hair and grassy green eyes.

The seventh born, Dahlia, had bold blue hair and yellow eyes.

I waited for Regan to tell me Arika was alright. He looked at me, sadness on his face. I started sobbing.

I stared at the unmoving infant. Kalo reached her tiny hand over and took Arika's hand. I saw Arika's leg twitch and then she started wiggling like the others and crying. I laughed in astonishment.

"Did you see that?!" I shrieked at my husband. He and Dr. Regan were staring.

I looked up and Nerezza was gone.

When news had spread that I had given birth to a The Seven and that they were girls, many young men sought to have one of my girls promised as their bride, when old enough. Dimon Red was the first and last to ask about it. I said I would choose who my daughters were promised to so they needed to stop harassing us.

The first year and a half of their lives, I guarded them like a mother wolf. I barely slept with Christian anymore. Nerezza always wanted to "help"me with the babies. I forbid her to go into the nursery.

Chris hadn't believed me when I had told him about what Nerezza said and that it was her fault. Skylar believed me, of course. She was livid upon discovering it, too.

But I forbid her from coming over. I would handle it myself. I'd wait it out.

Ezra and Isabella had their boys a week after I'd had the girls. Their hair and eyes coordinated with my girls.
Desmond, the oldest, matched Kalo. Kaleb matched Kennie. Aidan matched Arika. Daniel matched Dahlia. Zachariah matched Zylia. Evangelos matched Kenzi and Lyric matched Cadance.

Izzy was under the impression that her boys were sent to protect my girls. Therefore we promised our daughters to their sons, not an uncommon tradition. But, the men who had visited before were very disappointed.

The boys came over often to play. They seemed drawn to their color match. Izzy and I thought it was cute.

Kalo seemed to feel obligated to protect her sisters. I adored it. Kennie was the fiesty troublemaker. Arika, my little survivor, seemed much darker than the others but still not as twisted as Nerezza. Dahlia was the sweet, shy, loving baby. She hated fighting. Zylia was the smartest. She was quiet and content with puzzles and brain-stimulating games. Kenzi had to have ADHD. She was ridiculously happy and hyper. Cadance loved being outside with plants. She was sweet with a bitter side. They were all pretty well-behaved.

"KENNIE! DO NOT--!" A crash cut me off. An adorable giggle followed. Kennie had a bad habit of touching and breaking fragile things, sometimes on purpose.

Izzy's boys were always around during the week. The fourteen children were a handful but even worse when Nerezza was around.

She provoked Kennie and Arika. Arika never spoke much to anyone but Kennie, myself, and Skylar. It was strange how she took to my sister instantly. Despite her dislike of children, she adored Arika. Everytime she came over, she was toting Arika around in her arms.

Skylar didn't visit much anymore because of Nerezza. She knew Nerezza was dangerous and that she'd poisoned me. She came by twice a month to check on us.

"So when you gonna get rid of the Anti-Christ?" Skylar muttered.

"When he shows up." I retorted. "She's just...wrong. She's not the Anti-Christ."

"Hokay." She lit a cigar as a herd of colorful kids ran into the kitchen, screeching for ice cream. I glared at my sister and she put it out.

She helped make ice cream for the kids and we all watched a movie. After, the kids went outside to play. I sat in the yard with Sky, drinking juice, when I noticed a missing child. Dahlia was missing.

"Where's Dahlia?" I hollered.

"She had to potty!" Her little boyfriend, Daniel replied. I relaxed.

Sky started talking to me about Council. I looked up and noticed Kalo, Kennie, and Arika were missing. I heard a scream and all of the kids ran towards it. Sky and I arrived before them though.

Nerezza was fighting with Kennie and Arika. Kalo was comforting Dahlia who was cradling her arm.

Sky seperated the fighting girls and I turned to see Kalo glaring up at Nerezza, white and gold eyes glowing angrily.

"You broke her arm." Kalo murmured. Her voice had a resonating echo to it that made her sound robotic or demonic.

Nerezza seemed surprised that she was being challenged. She stood straight and glared back.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Nerezza smiled.

"This." A slow smile spread across Kalo's face. Her little canines extended and I gasped. It was highly uncommon to get fangs before the age of 10. Her eyes shimmered with anger and she swung at Nerezza. Nerezza shrieked.

Suddenly, Kalo, Kennie, and Arika were on Nerezza, yelling at her. Skylar seized Arika, Izzy grabbed Kennie and I grabbed Kalo. Kalo's little fangs retracted and she stopped fighting. Kennie and Arika followed suit.

We put the girls in their rooms and I took Nerezza to the manor with me. Christian was there on business with the council. Ezra and Isabella were watching the girls for us because Skylar was accompanying me.

When we arrived, we ran into my mother and father. I hugged them and Sky hugged Mom. She said nothing to Dad. Their relationship had not improved.

"Hello, Skylar."

"Dad."

"Won't you remove your sunglasses? I haven't seen your eyes since you were 14 years old."

"I'm fine with them on, thanks."

Dad sighed and looked down at Nerezza. He smiled kindly at her.

"There's my eldest granddaughter. Come here." He picked her up and she beamed. She adored attention.

"Where are those colorful girls at? You left them at home?" He frowned. Nerezza's dark eyes narrowed and she glared.

"Nerezza is only here because she's in trouble, Dad." I informed him. He looked at her before I took her and carried her to my husband's meeting. It was over, fortunately.

"Dahlia has a broken arm, much thanks to Nerezza. Something has to be done about this, Christian. From the day these girls were born, she's been trying to harm them..even through poisoning me. I won't have it anymore. If you don't do something, I will. I'll have her committed somewhere or I'll leave. WITH the girls."

Christian had paled and looked devastated by my words. He nodded and his eyes landed on Nerezza. She batted her eyelashes innocently.

"I don't think so. Not this time. You're not going to endanger your sisters." He told her.

He took her from me and as she left my arms, a weight lifted from my mind and chest. I could breathe easily now. She was going to stay with Christian's parents for awhile. They were very strict and uptight people. It was a wonder that Chris turned out so relaxed.

Now I could sleep better at night. The girls didn't seem too upset about her absence. Dahlia was the only one who asked about Nerezza.

"Is she coming home?" Her little voice was worried. It didn't matter that Nerezza had hurt her. Dahlia would always be a sweet caring child.

"Of course. She just needs to get her act together before she comes home." I told her as I picked her up and held her in my lap. Kennie and Arika glared at each other. They didn't want her home.

"She broke Dahli's arm. She should get both arms broken." Arika concluded.

"I just hope she's okay..." Dahlia sighed. Her little shoulders seemed tense and I kissed her forehead.

"She is, love. Now, go get ready for a nap, girls. Mommy has to clean." I instructed them.

They didn't complain as I filled their sippy cups and let them sleep in my bed.

I walked around the house, picking up toys and messes. The doorbell rang and I went to open it.

Dimon smiled down at me. I felt annoyance and nausea erupt in my stomach.

"Lady Desoto. It has been a long time."

"Dimon, the answer is still no. You're not getting ANY of my daughters. I've promised my seven girls to Ezra and Isabella Kale's boys. And the only one I haven't promised is going to be promised to a better suitor."

"But little Nerezza is unstable. I could help her." Dimon smiled.

"More like put her in a straight jacket. No." I went to shut the door.

Dimon caught it and pushed it open. I snapped my teeth shut and hissed.

"If you won't let me have one with your blessing, I'll have one without it." He spat.

"Come near ANY of them and I'll end you." I snapped.

"Mama, I had a bad dream."

Kalo was standing beside me, holding my leg. Dimon smiled down at her and she glared back at him, her white and gold eyes shining.

"You're far more precious than I'd imagined." He whispered. She pulled me back and shut the door in his face.

"I don't like him, Mama." She explained.

"Neither do I , baby."

"He was in my bad dream. He came in with a bunch of men and was looking for me or my sisters."

As soon as the words left her mouth, I knew it was a prophecy. I called Chris, Skylar, Ezra and Izzy. They were all there in twenty minutes. I told them everything.

"We have to hide the girls....they aren't safe here anymore." Chris whispered to himself.

"They need to be seperated." Skylar stated.

"I'm going to put them up for adoption...human adoption." I informed them. They all stared at me.

"What?!"

"If they grow up around humans, they'll forget about what they are and they'll be safe. When the time is right, the boys will bring them home or they will make their own way home." I explained.

"Are you sure?" Chris asked me.

"I'm certain of protecting my babies."

"Let's just kill Dimon!" Skylar snapped.

"Illegal. And we couldn't have him arrested on any legitimate charges. Please..." I looked at her.

"Okay...I'll make some calls and have them put in the system." Skylar muttered.

She was not pleased about losing Arika, her favorite niece. She hesitantly touched my hand softly before leaving.