Hollywood Zenith

" I will see what I can do. I have to check my schedule."

" I know you are busy. I wanted to invite you in person, but It\'s hectic here." The person on the other side of the phone said.

" I understand, Aunt Laura. I will try to make time."

" I will be waiting. All of us will."

It was a short call, but she had just been invited to the party. She was still preparing himself for how she would face Samuel. They have had little contact as of late.

" Who was it, Adele?" Penny asked, seeing her daughter staring into the air.

" No one." Adele didn\'t want her to worry.

" I definitely heard Laura\'s name. You know you can tell me anything, right?" Penny pressed a little.

" I am fine, really; I am going to my appointment. I will see you later." She left after making an excuse.

Penny watched her go, but she was very concerned. She was hardly eating lately and often did late-night work at the studio for her upcoming first album.

She believed the studio was pushing her too hard, she tried to talk some sense into her a couple of times, but she shut her out every time. Hannah was the only one who would visit her. She was so happy when she got her first break, but now everything was going downhill a few years later.

Penny decided it was best to meddle a little, albeit discreetly. She took out her phone and sent a short text.

...

...

...

The rest of the drive was awkward as hell, Samuel tried to pry in, but he was getting nothing. After a few minutes, they were in the vicinity of the estate. The surrounding got lusher, with large gates running past them.

" Now that I think about it. How come you never invited us to your place?" Paige asked. This reminded her of Beverly Hills, just with a little more space. These parts of town had a long history; Samuel\'s home was built many decades ago.

" You never asked. What was I supposed to do? I can\'t ask you to fly across the globe to visit me, right?

" What about now, then? Aren\'t we doing the same thing?" Maia joined.

" Hehe, I guess I am lucky. I have been here countless times!" Iblis boasted. Somehow it became a competition.

" Please, you have been in Europe all these years. I can count how many times you visited the estate on my fingers."

" He meant both his hand and feet! It is at least that much." She tried to clarify.

" Well, we are the same, I guess. Is that the gate? It looks massive." Liliana pointed out.

" We are a little tight on privacy. Hence the big gate; I will show you around once we reach the main house."

" Main house? How many buildings are there?" Rosaline asked curiously.

" More like a castle. There are a lot of things." Iblis interjected. Samuel only smiled in response; he would not ruin to see their surprised faces.

The car kept driving for a few minutes, but they were still not there. Everyone could see a few isolated buildings, but the main road was still deep into the estate.

" I am confused. This is all inside the thick wall we had to see earlier?" Rosaline couldn\'t suppress her curiosity.

" Yeah. We are almost there. Can you see those white blobs in the distance? That\'s our destination." Samuel pointed through the car window. Rosaline looked and could hardly make out from there, but as they got closer, it started to become more and more massive.

An expansive castle came into view as they stopped in the driveway. When they got out, they were greeted by several impressive statues but were dwarfed by the size of the mansion beside them.

" Why didn\'t you tell me you lived inside the eighth wonder of the world?" Maia said. Even she was impressed by it.

" There are only seven of those things, right?" Paige asked.

" Case and point." Others were too flabbergasted to comment on anything. Iblis went on her own, she did know the way around here.

She couldn\'t go far as people were already waiting for her there. Her brother, Oscar and Karoline, were there to pick her up.

" Brother, what are you doing here?"

" Why? I came to pick you up. You are not planning to stay here, right?" Oscar asked.

" Where are the little ones then?"

" They are outback with the others. But Robert and Laura are running a little late; they got some last-minute call at work." He informed.

" This must be your friends that I heard about? That\'s quite a line-up." Karoline said with a smile.

" Really, Karoline? I don\'t think they are here to model." Oscar loved his wife\'s sense of humor, but sometimes she got to tone it down a little.

"With that appearance, they could pull it off, right? Here they come." Others also arrived and saw Iblis talking with them.

" Hello, I am Karoline, her sister-in-law, and her former best friend. You can come to me anytime if you want to know her secrets."

" Karoline!" Iblis sighed.

" I am her older brother, Oscar. It\'s nice to meet you. Also, ignore my wife; she skipped her meds this morning- Ow, really?" He defended her attacks. Samuel saw them, it looked like they were still going strong.

But apparently. they still like to butt-head over everything. A couple that fights always stays together; although it is a paradoxical saying, it does make sense for their situation.

" Aunt Karoline, I see you gained some weight," Samuel commented abruptly.

" How can you tell when not even he could tell?" Karoline was bewildered.

" It\'s not like he can\'t tell. I bet brother is keeping his mouth shut!" Iblis said.

" Really?"

" I don\'t really care beside you were way too skinny before." Oscar shrugged.

" ding, wrong answer." Maia, who was watching, knew he had just made a big mistake.

" You guys go on ahead. I have some things to discuss with him." Karoline didn\'t want to embarrass them in front of the kids. Sensing an upcoming battle, they made the hell out of there.

" When will guys learn? Am I right? Rosa?" Liliana asked.

" Huh, did you say something?"

" Nevermind. Why are you so quiet?"

" I don\'t know, it\'s too overwhelming. I feel like I came to a different planet. Look at all these pretty flowers." Rosaline said meekly.

" Didn\'t I promise to show you around? There is a lot to see here. Come, they must be waiting for us." Samuel knew her nature; it was normal for her to be absent-minded.

The girls didn\'t know what was waiting for them inside, but they followed him as a beautiful garden appeared in front of them. They could see a lot of people waiting for them at a distance.

...

...

...

Meanwhile, inside the inner courts of the mansion, the kids were playing among themselves. It was only some days they got to meet like this. Few maids were watching over them.

" Rune is already getting sleepy. You should get her to Aunt Amelia." a young boy commented. Rune had been crawling around and circling everyone. She was a very active kid.

" Ah, yes. Young master, please give me a moment." the young maid realized her mistake and swiftly did as the young boy asked.

" You know you don\'t have to act like an adult all the time." another young girl who was about the same as he said.

They had known each other since they were little. Both of them were well acquainted with each other\'s nature. The little girl always felt that something was wrong with the boy. She couldn\'t put her finger around it, but he acted off.

" You know, you are not my babysitter, right? Why don\'t you go and join them?" his voice was soft, but there was an inevitable dominance hidden in his pronunciation.

" I will, but they must be arriving. Don\'t you want to see him?"

"..." The boy didn\'t say a word, but there was clear expectation hidden in his eyes, but the little girl failed to notice it.

" Big sister!" another boy closer to the entrance noticed someone and called out enthusiastically.

" The band is all here. I thought I would find you here." the girl who came said with a smile.

""Aunt"" Two other kids playing beside the one that called out earlier surrounded her.

" Wow, look at you guys. You guys got so big. Do you still recognize me?" It would be a surprise if that were the case. They haven\'t met in years.

" Yes. Aunt Iblis! You taught me how to add." one of them said.

"Right; what about you, Wynonna?"

" I don\'t know." She said with her head down.

" It\'s alright, honey. We met a long time ago, so it\'s okay." Iblis consoled her.

" Um," the little girl smiled, just the cutest thing in the world.

" What about you two? Aren\'t you going to see Sami?" She asked the boy and girl who were sitting in the distance. They were the ones who were not playing.

" I don\'t think he wants to meet him." the little girl said.

" It\'s not like that. We are coming!"

Iblis felt like something was wrong, but seeing them coming with her, she dismissed them temporarily. She could always ask them later.