The Aurora Immortal Dynasty - Chapter 216: Alone at last

[RaiaDraconis]

Awww...it's almost painful to see the interactions between Greta and Cary, knowing that their love will never realize its full potential. I am glad that at least they get to spend plenty of time together.

Oh boy is Beata going to be a handful! She is just adorable though!

[Snufflesxx]

Wow, so many outfits and hairstyles! I suppose she is the last child in this dynasty so she should get special treatment 
And I'm so glad she's insane! It wouldn't be a dynasty without an insane Sim!

[sdhoey]

I love the pattern in her clothes. It's so cute. So grew up adorable and will be a mess.

[ladyaya]

She's adorable! Is she gonna be a stylist? 
What's the hair on her second and third formals, and that pattern? It's pretty. 

[saltpastillen]

She's adorable! Is she gonna be a stylist? 
What's the hair on her second and third formals, and that pattern? It's pretty. 

The patterns are from the exchange. The hair is the Curly Bed Head from the store.

[saltpastillen]

Gah, I've lost an entire day of playing and updating my dynasty because I got lost in a silly (but enjoyable) side project. I was just going to get a few screen shots for the dynasty (bedtime stories for Beata) but the thing took on a whole life of itself.

So I've started a little misc story about how Cary and Greta could have met and fell in love and had a (hopefully) happily ever after if they weren't in this dynasty. Just like Beata ordered it it's both adventurous and romantic, and melodramatic and thirty kinds of cheesy. You can check out the full story on this thread, it will only appear with a few screens in the ID. The first page is something like a warning label, so if what it says there puts you of the story, no hard feelings. 


I'll hopefully get an update in tomorrow. I know I'm probably the only one who's stressing about my timetable, but I really have to get it done before I move. Because I'll probably be without internet for a while after I move, and having things to add to the dynasty then will probably drive me crazy.

[ladyaya]

The patterns are from the exchange. The hair is the Curly Bed Head from the store.

Do you know who created them?

[Louise56]

I read Great and Cary's story and love it! I hope you get the dynasty finished before you move. You're almost there.

[saltpastillen]

Just make something up! How hard can it be? I suddenly had a lot more respect for grandma K than I ever had before. Making up stories is hard, especially if you have a very opinionated listener.

Greta: Ready for your story?
Beata: Yep, what's it called? And are there mummies?
Greta: It's called The Quest for the Fountain of Youth. And of course there are mummies, any good quest has mummies. *thinks* Note to self: remember to add mummies.
Beata: Does it have pirates? All the best stories have pirates in them.

My daughter loves pirates, hence the pirate ship bed.

Greta: Yes, there is pirates, it's the story about The Pirate and the Quest for the Fountain of Youth.
Beata: What about love. Is it awfully romantic? You promised you'd tell me a love story about you and dad!
Greta: Of course it's romantic, and about your dad and me. *thinking furiously* How do I fit all this in one story?
Beata: Well, come on!
Greta: So, this is the story called The lost Heiress, the Pirate and the Quest for the Fountain of Youth...

...another well guarded secret is Nellie's explosive temper and her and her sisters hidden mean spirited traits.

Nellie: Have you been eating our food again? You are a selfish girl who belongs out on the street!
Greta: No, I promise, I didn't take anything.
Nellie: I'm going to make sure you're not lying. Because if you do, we'll lock you in the basement again.

Greta: Oh, I just wish we were old enough to get away from this town.
Cary: The Ivanov's aren't that bad.
Greta: No, they are nice. But they are to poor to pay you for your work, and I won't get a single simoleon from the Spensters, ms Nellie makes sure of that.
Cary: I'll find a way for us to get enough money to move together. Do you trust me?
Greta: With my life.

Once he was old enough Cary joined the military and signed up to go to Simdia in the hopes of getting enough money together for them to marry and leave Riverview behind forever. But first...

Cary: Which is why I wanted to do this before I go. Greta, will you marry me?
Greta: Oh, Cary! Of course I'll marry you! It's only been my dream since forever.

...Greta staggered to her feet, she was light headed and couldn't really take in the information. "All passangers and crew presumed dead"  it said in the paper.

All dead. Did that mean that Cary was dead? No, she wouldn't accept it, there had to....

She fainted dead away.

After a few chapters she was out like a light. Which was good, since I felt like I had aged during the telling of the story. Coming up with all this was hard work, hard enough to give me wrinkles.

Beata has been getting in some quality time with her dad.

Beata: Look dad, look!

Beata: I challenge you, you pirate!
Cary: Bring it on!

Their pillow fighting matches became the stuff of legends, at least when she was talking about them, and she was - constantly.

I was just happy they had grown closer together. My little girl might be insane, but she was just like any other girl - she loved her daddy.

Of course, she was a little different. And once she made up her mind about something, there was no way to change her mind.

Julia: I'm so glad we're having vegetables for dinner. Beata needs to eat a lot of greens to grow up healthy.

Julia: What? *breaths fire* What did you put in this?

Beata: Grandma J, I'm not eating vegetables again. They hurt my brain!
Julia: I'm sure it's just something she put in when cooking.
Klara: Who is this "she" you are referring to? Is there something wrong with my cooking?
Julia: Of course not Klara!
Beata: See, they are doing it to you too! Vegetables scramble your head. We've got to stop eating them.

[saltpastillen]

Greta: All right, where were we when we left the story?
Beata: Dad had just died. He didn't did he? Tell me he didn't die, or I'll start screaming.
Greta: No, no he hadn't died but...

On a far away beach someone else was also lying lifeless...

Back in Riverview someone was knocking on the door.

Perry: Hello miss, my name is Perry and I'm Lord Hamming's manservant. Are you miss Greta Aurora?
Greta: Yes I am, what can I do for you?
Perry: What you can do is pack your bags and come with me to Lord Hamming's home in Bridgeport city. He's been looking for you for a long time, he's the guardian your parents appointed when for you before they died so tragically in a car crash.

Greta wasn't completely comfortable with this new development, but he had legal documents proving he was speaking the truth, and she was at least relieved to leave the Spenster house behind.

Max Racket, the entrepreneur with big plans. He's branching out to the rest of the towns after completely monopolizing the illegal and semi legal trades in Twinbrook. His newest venture is a casino masquerading as a vampire lounge in Bridgeport. The real power in Bridgeport is held by vampires, so the police never come near any place that cater to these denizens of the night.

Max is doing brisk business, and he seems to have caught a pretty big fish in his net. Lord Hamming himself, the Duke of Bridgeport.

Mr Racket: Lord H, before you leave, let's discuss this little thing called settling accounts.
Lord H: You dare speak to me familiar like this? I'm a part of Bridgeport's upper society, you are nothing but a wannabe from the swamp.
Mr Racket: Take care how you speak to me Lord H, I might not be a celebrity, but I do have something you seem to lack - money!
Lord H:I do have money, I just prefer spending it on essentials such as beauty treatments for my face.
Mr Racket: It's good to know what you value, it makes it so much easier to negotiate.
Lord H: Negotiate?
Mr Racket: It's a very easy concept. You get me what I want, what I'm owed. And I won't mess up your face any more than this...
Lord H: I apologize most sincerely Mr Racket. (An actor always knows how to sound sincere even when they aren't) I don't have the funds at the moment, but I have something else that might interest you.
Mr Racket: I'm a business man, payment can come in many currencies, but it will come. Let's hear your proposal.
Lord H: I've heard of your wifes passing, you are not by any chance interested in remarrying? Because I have a ward who's parents left her some prime real estate in Sunset Valley, but the property is tied to marriage.

Lord H: *thinking* It really was most fortuitous that I had Perry collect Greta from Riverview after all. And marriage to a Racket will ensure she's out of play once and for all. The way to the fountain is all mine, all mine. Muhahah. Oh, is that a new wrinkle? I'll have to ask Perry when I get home. No matter, I look smoking, the face is safe.

Contrary to what you might believe, not all of Beata's and my time together is spent on that silly story she is forcing me to make up- There is also plenty of opportunity for me to talk about how fabulous I am.

And since she's easily impressed she likes listening to me boasting about myself. How could I get this lucky with my daughter?

She doesn't even get upset when I squeeze her head like an orange.

We have so much in common! I love looking at myself in the mirror, she likes looking at herself in the mirror. It's one of our favorite things to do when we are spending quality time together.

Here's my adult exhibit, I tried a demure pose, to show I have grown since becoming an adult. I barely talk about myself these days (at least compared to earlier).

Here's Beata's child exhibit.

[SimBlip]

Greta and Beata have such a wonderful bond! It's quite unique considering the former mother-daughter relationships in the Aurora Dynasty.
I enjoyed the scene where Julia and Beata are firing from all cylinders after a plate of 'healthy' veg! 

[saltpastillen]

Lord H: I'm glad you agreed to wear that new dress I bought you, because today you are meeting your husband!
Greta: What husband? I'm not getting married!
Lord H: Your parents wanted me to see you settled, and you don't have a fiancee do you?
Greta:*with tears in her voice* No...no I don't.
Lord H: So, turn around and see who I've snagged for you.
Greta: *gasp* Mr Racket! No, it can't be! He's one of the wickedest people in the simverse. You can't be serious!
Mr Racket: Hey sexy girl, you can call me big daddy.
Greta: Ew, get your hands off me!

Greta: Is this how you respect my parents trust in you? By giving me to this monster?
Lord H: You obviously don't understand how the world works. I'm in charge of you, and you have to obey. I tell you to marry Mr Racket, and you do. I tell you to smile while doing so, and you... well fill in the blanks.
Greta: Never! I'll not marry him!
*slap*
Lord H: It's Mr Racket or the street. You think Riverview was hard? You wont last an afternoon without me in Bridgeport. So you better resign yourself to this marriage, and practice your smile in the mirror, because it's going to happen.

Greta: Please, I'll do anything, anything at all. Just let me stay unmarried. I don't love mr Racket, I love...
Lord H: You love who? That dead sailor form Riverview? I know about him, I know all about your life. He's dead, but you are not...yet. Do this, and you get to keep it that way.

Greta:...how will I survive this? How can I marry someone that's not you? Why did you have to go to Simdia? We could have been happy even if we were poor. Cary, I miss you so!

Now it's my turn to tell my story. Mom i all right at telling stories, but she always forgets the most important parts - like pirates. Like with the story she reads me at bedtime, where is that pirate? She promised me a pirate and all I get is talk about marriage and money and stuff. And they haven't started that quest either! I should have asked grandma K to read instead, at least she does it for a living. That must mean she's pretty good at it, don't you think?

Anyway, wanted to tell you that today was my first day in school! I first decided to wear my athletics clothes, because I heard we would have P.E.

The bus lady was strange, she told me I looked straight laced. I think it was an insult, but I'm not really sure. I'll ask grandma F, she's god at that kind of stuff.

When we got to school I realized I had made a terrible mistake! But I managed to change to my fancy dress before getting of the bus, so the day was saved! I obviously need to wear my fancy clothes in school so that the teachers think I take school seriously (but I really don't). There are so many other interesting things to spend time on.

Like my fight against vegetables and their evil ways. Did you know that vegetables can hide in almost any kind of food? I asked for my own oven so that I can make my own food. That's the only way I can make sure no veggies are trying to take over my body.

It's hard work, but so far I have been successful. Now I just have to convince the rest of Sunset Valley to my way of thinking.

I've started small, setting up my table every time mom or one of the grandmas have people over. I don't make a lot of money, because I mostly hand out free samples. Grandma J says that's not the way business works, but I think it's more important to make people understand how much better food without any added vegetables taste compared to food with vegetables. 

[saltpastillen]

Beata: Is there a lot left of the story now mom?
Greta: We are about halfway throuhg honey. Why? Do you want to stop listening?
Beata: No! I just wondered if there is ever going to be a pirate.

After leaving Greta in tears downstairs and saying goodnight to mr Racket, Lord H goos up to his study. A study that is suspiciously well used. What is he researching? Why does he have an evidence board? All will be revealed.

He opens a secret compartment and takes out a map, a treasure map, a treasure map left to Greta by her parents. This is the real reason he's so sanguine about marrying her off to mr Racket. He had to get her from Riverview to make sure she didn't know anything about this map, and now he has to get rid of her again, to make sure she wont find out about it. The map gives the location of the fountain of youth, something any actor and celebrity would kill for. And he already has, it was in fact he who killed Greta's parents...

...and if she won't go through with the marriage to mr Racket, he will just have to ask Perry to organize another "car accident".

After overhearing Lord H talking about a map in a secret compartment Greta goes to investigate.

Greta: Oh my God! My parents knew the location of the fountain of youth! They would never want to keep this from me, look here it says "to be kept sealed until handed over to our darling daughter". Lord H has been keeping this for himself! Now I really can't trust him! First things first, I have to destroy the map, I have to make sure he can't get to it. And then, then I guess I'll have to run away from here. It's not safe, I can't stay with people I can't trust.

Perry, Lord H's loyal manservant, was very disgruntled. That girl Lord H had him bring from Riverview was ruining everything. But Perry always had the master's back, and now he had tasked him with making sure the girl stayed where she was supposed to until the wedding, went through with the wedding and disappeared from their life forever.

Perry: Oh, Greta! Are you going somewhere?
Greta: Um, no...I was just going to see if there was any mail....so...
Perry: I've already checked the mail, it's my job after all. I'm the manservant of this house, you should be in your room preparing for your wedding.
Greta: I was...I was, I just have...nerves...
Perry: If you're nervous, this calming drink will help you relax. Come on try it. The master always let's me make him this when he want's to calm down.
Greta: Oh, all right, if Lord H drinks them I suppose they are all right.

Greta woke up with a blinding headache, dressed for her wedding, (gulp! Who had changed her clothes? Was it Perry?) and locked in the bathroom!

Greta: Could this day get any worse?

Beata: I have the best idea! I declare vegetables a menace to society, and then we wage war on them. That should keep them out of our kitchen.

Beata: Hear ye, here ye! From this day forth all of vegetable kind shall be seen as an enemy by the Auroras, if you dare cross int our home we shall cut you up - and throw you away, denying you the satisfaction of messing with our heads.
Klara: Vegetables can't talk dear, and we are going to continue eating them. Eating your enemy is the best revenge.
Beata: If you say so. *thinking* I think grandma K has joined the dark side.

Mom got another promotion or something like that, now she's some kind of pilot/fighter. I tried to enlist her in my secret vegetable resistance, but she says she can only belong to one army at a time. I hope she retires soon so I'll have someone to fight beside me.

This is my good friend Caro Maddingly. She's in my grade and she has a brother who is in our grade too.

Beata: Come on Caro, why can't you sit next to me. This is just silly.
Caro: Because if I do, you'll just copy my homework.
Beata: So what if I do. What's the big deal?
Caro: That would be dishonest!

Caro is good, but other than that she's a pretty decent girl.

Beata: Now you'll sit next to me?
Caro: Now there's food.
Beata: A hundred percent vegetable free, I checked.
Caro: Who cares, I can't taste the difference.
Beata: Blasphemy!

Beata:...and then the monster came to life and he named himself Frankesim, after his creator. And he was feared..What are you looking at?
Caro: Do you ever fell like we are being watched? Like someone is spying on us, watching our every move?
Beata: All the time, but I pretend they aren't there.
Caro: Must be pretty great to be insane sometimes.
Beata: It's not bad.

Beata: Hey Watchers, stop freaking my friend out!
Caro: What are you doing! Don't talk to them! I hear sometimes they talk back...
Beata: Nah, they don't talk to my family, grandma F installed some kind of disturbance filter, they can talk as much as they like, but their voices don't get through. Now, back to the story...

[saltpastillen]

Beata: Still no pirates! Give me pirates, give me pirates!
Greta: Will you stop it with the pirates already?
Beata: No, I won't. There can never be enough pirates in an adventure story...*mumbles* not that there has been a lot of adventure so far...
Greta: What? No adventure? Wait till you hear what happened next...

Masked man: It is I, the Dread Pirate Inkbeard.
Greta: A pirate? You look more like Zorro. What are you doing here?
Masked man: That is why this is the perfect disguise, no one expects a pirate to dress like a flamenco dancer! What I'm doing here? I've come to tell you not to go through with this wedding. Does your promise mean so little to you, that you'd marry the first man who asks you once you find out your fiance died?
Greta: No! I don't...

Masked man: You love your mr Racket? What do you love about him? The way his kisses makes you feel? Maybe you like every mans kisses? Shall we try with mine?
Greta: No! Wait! You misunderstood! Stop, what are you doing?
Masked man: I'm going to kiss you, of course. What else would a flamenco dancing dread pirate do?

This latest development proves to much for Greta, or is the sleeping drought still active?

Greta wakes up on a beach, the masked flamenco dancer has now transformed into a pirate, but he is still masked.

Greta: What do you want from me? Money? There is no money! I'm being sold in slavery to Mr Racket to pay for Lord H's gambling debts, so if that was your aim, you are out of luck.
Masked man; now Pirate: I only wanted to see you, to learn why you were marrying mr Racket.
Greta: And now that you know? Will you give me back to Lord H to sell as cattle?
Masked man; now Pirate: No, I thought I'd deliver you to your first fiance.
*slap*
Greta:I despise you, barging in on my life, making accusations and passing judgement. Mocking me with Cary's death! I don't have to listen to you, I'm leaving!

Masked man; now Pirate: It's me, Cary.
Greta: Cary? I can't believe it!
Masked man; then Pirate; now Cary (oh, I give up!)
Cary: The ship was sabotaged, I and a few others were washed up on the smugglers beach in Barnacle Bay. The Dread Pirate Inkbeard took us in and let us join his crew. When he decided to step down in order to run for mayor, I took over.
Greta: Why didn't you contact me?
Cary: I tried, I went to the Spenster's, but they wouldn't say where you went. First I was afraid they had thrown you out on the street or locked you in the basement - I even had my crew search the entire house! But you had vanished in thin air.
Greta: I wrote to you every day, even after they said you had died.
Cary: Then I saw the notice of your engagement in the papers. I was so conflicted. I was so happy to have found you, and so jealous you were marrying someone else.
Greta: I never wanted to marry mr Racket, but Lord H was forcing me. I even planed to run away, but his creepy manservant drugged me and locked me in the bathroom.
Cary: I love you.
Greta: I love you too.
*smoochies*

Life is going great for me. I have everything (well almost everything) I ever wanted (I still think becoming an actress was my true calling). I can't believe I almost threw it all away. I'm so lucky Cary decided to overlook my walk on the wild side. Nowadays I'm an upstanding citizen of the Valley. I only work three days a week, and that's done wonders for my social life. I can spend my days off hanging with friends at my property Varg's Tavern.

We've had to cut down on house parties because the grandmas were tired of fighting of the advances of younger sims. Apparently they are atracted to both wealth and skill level, so the phones never stop ringing. I don't think they'd mind if they were actually interested in dating, now that they aren't, it's simply annoying.

Anyway, Cary came and spent Thursday with me at the Tavern. We had a great time, and the all I had to do to make the Tavern the ultimate venue was to add a buffet table. Sweet.

The guests all seem to agree, the party was fabulous!

And lengthy. It started at 10 am, and I went home at 9 pm, some stragglers were still there. One of the latest was my boss Harry. I played some Foosball with him before going home. He's mostly into military research, and is a tad eccentric, so we overlook his fashion faux pas.

[saltpastillen]

Beata: Well, finally!
Greta: See, a pirate, are you happy now?
Beata: Only one? That seems kind of skimpy. And there still haven't been any mummies.
Greta: Possibly more pirates and a mummy coming up, this is the last part of the story... *thinking* thank you Watcher it's almost over!

Greta: So this is it then?
Cary: Yep, the Temple of Death and Doom. Sound like fun.
Greta: Yeah, a great place to take your kids.
Cary: Kids?
Greta: Don't get carried away now. We've got a job to do.
Cary: Right, job now, kids later.
Greta: We'll see.

Greta: If I remember the map correctly the key should be behind one of these piles of rubble.
Cary: I think this is it!
Greta: It's...it's not exactly what I had expected.
Cary: It's not the fountain?
Greta: No and yes...it's not the fountain, but it's the next treasure map. I guess one map and one treasure hunt was too easy.
Cary: So, what do we do now?
Greta: We take the map...and figure out where to hide it...we've got to keep it safe from Lord H and mr Racket.
Cary: What about that creepy manservant?
Greta: Him too, but I worry more about the other two.

Greta was right to worry because the nefarious trio had also reached the Temple of Death and Doom. Luckily for our heroin and hero they were not very good adventurers...

Lord H: Coming mr Racket?
Mr Racket: I. Don't. Feel. So. Good. Water, so much water. I have to get out of the water.
Lord H: Oh my, are you feeling unwell?
Mr Racket: Must. Dry. Off. Water. Must. Get. Rid. Off. Water. *jumps in fire*
Lord H: *ignores screams* Oh dear, Perry my boy, it seems we've lost mr Racket.
Perry: Terrible sorry my lord.
Lord H: Oh, don't be. I'm suddenly a lot less in debt, every cloud has it's silver lining. Carry on, carry on.
Perry: Yes, of course my lord.

And so ended the story of mr Racket, in a fiery death.

Perry: My lord! Run, save yourself! The door is closing and the monsters are...arg!

Lord H watches the door close with a definitive clang...

..his loyal manservant is unconsious on the floor and a blue man creature is shuffling closer and closer...

This is where we leave Lord H and his loyal manservant Perry in this story. Did they survive the mummies? Did they manage to open the door and escape the Temple of Death and Doom? Or were they looked in there forever, till the end of their days maybe.

Our heroin and hero exited the Temple of Death and Doom without any problems. They found a new hiding place for the map. And hid it where Lord H would never think to look.

And then it was time for the reward, the reward every hero or heroin get after completing a quest.

Cary: I take you Greta to be my wife. To love, honor and protect, even if you think you don't need protection.
Greta: I take you Cary to be my husband. To love, honor and protect, especially when you think you don't need it.

And then they kiss, and all is right in the world.

Greta: So what did you think?
Beata: It was cool, especially the part about the mummy, and the pirates, and being locked in the bathroom, and a secret map. But there was a lot of boring stuff too.
Greta: Really, I think it needed that boring stuff to make any kind of sense.
Beata: Who says it has to make sense? I think you should do a cowboy story next. A cowboy and a fairy princess and a unicorn poisoned by an evil witch! Oh, and zombies, lots and lots of zombies!
Gerta: I don't know if we have time. Speaking of time, it's time for bed. You have school tomorrow. Nighty night.

I think mom should tell me another of grandma K's stories, don't you? About cowboys this time, because I was playing I was a cowboy yesterday morning and I really, really think they could be almost as cool as pirates. Only they have horses instead of ships. Also, there really should be a princess for it to be a adventure story, maybe it the heiress had been a lost princess it would have been less boring in the parts where there were just lot of talking. Also, the story Greta fainted a lot, I've never seen mom do that ever in real life.

Today is my last day of grade school. Wow, that went by fast! I'm almost a teenager, mom's throwing me a party after school. I decided to wear another of my fancy dresses to the last day. It's important to leave with a show stopper (I learnt that on Sims for the Runway). Have I told you how much I love watching the shopping channel? They have the best reality shows (not that I'm supposed to watch those...)

There was a slight mishap after school. The bus driver left without me! So I had to bike back home. Not the best way to prepare for a party. Also, I was late. But since I was the guest of honor it didn't really matter.