Author's Note: Just wanted to say thank you for all your kind remarks and for reading this story. I've been pretty sick and not really in the best spot creatively speaking so wasn't always in top condition for writing or taking pictures. Thanks for sticking with me. Now, here's the next bloodline ready to step up. Again, done while I was sick so apologies for lack of pictures and content.
Writer's Note: My apologies. Due the massive mess Mediafire has caused, many pictures are missing. I therefor simply deleted their ugly message saying they were missing and left you all with a wall of text for now. It WILL improve I promise!
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Ok, I guess it's our turn now. Let me introduce myself. My name is Marina Marr and if I look a lot like that Simburn creature, well, couldn't be helped. She is a cousin after all.
Opening day for the challenge came and here I am with a big lot of nothing except a big lot. It's in a pretty good local being in Newcrest, but that other person was granted the lot I'd hoped would be mine. After all, I AM the aristocratic one, am I not? Rather than getting all depressed and defeated at the prospect of what would like ahead, I just pulled on my big girl panties and set to work. I absolutely was NOT going to live like a vagrant for long so I immediately set off to find my willing slaves, errr...housemate helpers. I knew exactly what I wanted and who. I wanted cash coming in and a lot of it and fast so to my way of thinking an artist and a writer was tops on my list. Ulrike Faust was the first on my list. I complimented her a lot on her charming little house, (ok, I lied a little), and we set off to cloudgaze. It was so easy to get her to like me and the idea of moving in to a place where she would have unlimited time for her art was just too enticing. She agreed immediately and she and her roomie, Maaike Haas, went immediately to our future home. Wonder what they both thought when what greeted them was an empty lot? Ah well, it will improve. Just so they wouldn't be too uncomfortable I had my Watcher set up some tents and necessary things. The money from the sale of their house would at least keep them under some sort of roof and I would pocket the rest for future house buying.
With that under my belt it was time to go find item number two, the next most necessary member of our future household. A spouse. There weren't all that many likely candidates to choose from actually. Most of the men were either too old, too ugly, too evil or too broke to suite me. I wanted someone I could love. That Simburn woman had already snagged the guy I considered the most eligible so I had to find someone else. Most of my day was spent trying to track down a man of my dreams. No one in the park. No one I liked at the gym. No one anywhere it seemed!! Oh sure, I made a few friends, or at least acquaintences, but no husband. I decided to go visit someone called J. something or other the third.
It seemed every other cloud he described looked rather like a ball and chain to him, so despite his obvious attractions, (well, he IS a looker!), I didn't feel like having to deal with his rather neurotic need to be unattached.
My next stop, at what I considered to be sheer desperation, (it was getting quite late), was at the house of two young men in Windenburg. The first guy, Sergio Romeo hated kids. He right off told me that! No husband material there! The other one, you know, the cute one, Joaquin La Chien, was definitely a winner. I sweet talked him into moving in with us, and since I wanted the extra cash, I took both of those guys. Too late to do anymore, we all just headed to sleep. Rather pathetic but I figured the next day I could get everyone busy making us some money while I wooed Joaquin. I was determined to be pregnant before the day was out, wedding or no wedding. It actually took a lot of work and time but........
Success!!!
With the magic of the Watcher and the accumulated cash from all three groups, (me, my helpers and my future spouse), we soon had a house. It was rather a pink confection of a place empty of everything we'd need to make life liveable. Good thing I'd put our necessary stuff in storage! We sold off the tents and bought some beds and extra things we might need and voila! Before the crew could even complain about the accommodations I was busy in our new kitchen whipping up some yummy meals for us all.
We spent most of the day working, skilling up and planning what our future would hold. May, (short for Maaike), quit her job so she could spend more time writing. Sergio took a job as a scientist, mostly to keep him out of our hair and away from our future heir. Ulrike kept hers for a bit while we settled in. Jo, (short for Joaquin), reluctantly quit his job as well. He might get one later but for now I figured he could just learn stuff, garden and gather and mostly keep me happy. We had soul mate ahead of us and that would take time, plus there was a wedding to plan somewhere down the road.
And what a wedding it was!! We both looked pretty good if I do say so myself. To my surprise, I found we both actually did love one another. It made taking that big step a dream come true rather than just another item to click off my list!
We had quite a nice shindig afterward with wedding cake, confetti and all. A gold medal event and another item ticked off my list, one of three required gold medal parties.
Later that night, Jo was so tender and caring. He was proud and happy to be a future father and let me know right from the start he would have married me even if I wasn't pregnant. This just made him love me even more. Sigh.....what a guy.
Just a heads up, if anyone out there is planning on going on a date to the haunted estate, don't! The facilities are few and far between and sometimes you just don't make it on time! Fortunately, Jo overlooked all this and our date was a definite silver. We ended it early but in time for the reward and headed home. I REALLY needed a shower and change of clothes!
Well, best get back at it. There's a lot more to go. Be seeing you all soon!
