The second day at sea dawned even brighter than the first.The yacht floated like a dream across the azure waters,its white sails gleaming against the endless blue sky.
The families — Vale and Pendragon — rose with the sun,their excitement infectious as they prepared for another day of adventure.
The first plan of the day: "The Great Fishing Competition."
The adults had set it up with noble intentions —teaching patience, skill, and the art of catching a good meal.
Reality, however, laughed in their faces.
Within twenty minutes:
Lucien managed to hook his own boot. Twice.
Darian, trying to demonstrate proper technique, almost fell overboard.
Lyra's husband reeled in a furious seagull who promptly attacked him.
Mira accidentally cast her line... directly into Arthur's shirt.
Arthur, with regal dignity, floated the hook out harmlessly using his golden aura —but not before Mira declared herself "Grand Champion" for catching a king.
Meanwhile, Aren — despite all protests —was forcibly volunteered into the yacht's "Tourist Competition" by Mira and Elara.
The rules were simple:balance on a floating board while casting a line.Catch anything, anything at all, and you win.
Simple.
Aren — in a neon flamingo shirt, white shorts, and a floppy pineapple hat —stepped onto the floating board with all the seriousness of a man facing battlefield death.
The moment he cast his line,a rogue wave knocked the board sideways.
Aren did not fall.
Aren did not even waver.
He stood perfectly balanced atop the tumbling board —looking more divine than mortal —with Mira and Alice screaming in awe from the deck.
Naturally, he caught nothing.
Mira declared him winner anyway.
Later, anchored in a quiet cove surrounded by lush cliffs,Arthur — mischievous king of the day — struck.
Without warning,he gently nudged Mira, Elara, and Alice off the back of the yacht with a casual push.
Three splashes.Three shrieks.
"Uncle Arthur!" Mira wailed, flailing.
But before panic could truly set in,golden light blossomed under the waves,holding them safely afloat like weightless feathers.
The girls sputtered, shouting protests, but realized —they weren't drowning.They were floating like stars on the sea.
That should have been the end of it.
Until something brushed their feet.
Something large.Something unseen.
Mira screamed first.Elara kicked.Alice tried to climb Elara's back.
"Help!" Mira shouted. "There's a sea monster!"
"Save us!" Elara bellowed, deadly serious.
The adults on deck — all of them — howled with laughter.
No rescue came.
Finally, the dark shadow rose.
Aren surfaced smoothly beneath them, smirking,his purple aura shimmering like silk under the water.
"You called?"
The girls pouted so fiercely it could have ended worlds.
"You tricked us!" Mira screeched, splashing him.
Aren only smiled serenely,adjusting his hat still somehow perfectly perched atop his head.
The children clambered back aboard, dripping wet and furiously betrayed.
Selene kissed Aren's cheek, laughing.
"You are merciless."
"Training," Aren said solemnly. "Vital life skills."
The sun dipped lower as the day's mischief wound down.
The families gathered on the upper deck for a sprawling dinner —a feast of freshly grilled fish, sweet fruits, rich breads, and cool juices.
The long table overflowed with laughter.
Mira insisted on recounting every betrayal in scandalized detail.Elara documented everything in her "Records of Injustice" notebook.Alice, solemn as a tiny judge, proposed "punishments" (ice cream bribery) for the guilty adults.
The adults humored them all with indulgent smiles.
Aren, his sunhat askew and his tropical flamingo shirt proudly worn,sat like a king surrounded by his most precious treasures.
When the plates were cleared and the children tucked into cabins below,the adults remained outside.
Under a sky littered with stars,the ocean whispering around them,they sat in a circle on soft cushions.
Selene leaned against Aren's chest, his arm around her.Sarah and Arthur curled together, sipping golden wine.Darian and his wife held hands quietly, content.Lyra and her husband lounged close, stealing each other's glasses like playful newlyweds.
Lucien sat a little apart at first, cradling his glass, gazing at the endless sea.
His blue eyes reflected something deeper than starlight —something old, and a little broken.
Aren noticed first.
Selene followed.
Without a word,the circle opened naturally, inviting Lucien in without pity, without sadness —only love.
Lyra pulled him into a half-hug.Darian clinked his glass against Lucien's with deliberate force.
Arthur handed him a fresh glass.
Lucien smiled, a little crookedly, but genuine.
"She would have loved this," he said quietly.
"We love you too," Sarah said warmly.
Lucien laughed under his breath.
"And you're much better company."
They toasted together —to the ones they lost,and to the ones they still had.
The wine flowed gently.
Stories tumbled out —of ridiculous academy days,of terrible haircuts,of fights they barely survived.
Aren spoke little —but when he did,his deep voice wrapped around the night like a vow.
He would protect this.
All of this.
No matter the cost.
And under the endless stars,the strongest warriors of humanity,the legends of their time,became simply —
fathers.mothers.friends.family.