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Chapter Text

Years ago, when Dedyet returned, the whole De Nile family rejoiced. There were hopes of them finally becoming a real family when the girls were still children - before everything happened, before Dedyet’s disappearance. The truth was that their healthy family environment never existed in the first place. Dedyet was always unsure of Ramses’ parenting, wanting her girls more freedom. He was way too traditional for her liking. Not having her around for centuries, the former king misused his power, continuously hurting his daughters. When news came out about Dedyet’s safety, Cleo hoped her mother’s return would fix everything, but Nefera took it terribly. She was afraid her mother would be upset when she realized how much she had changed, but Dedyet only blamed Ramses. It was inevitable that the couple would divorce, but Nefera didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

Ramses and Dedyet didn’t need to file for divorce - they weren’t married under twenty-first-century laws and had no contract. Ramses remarried, marrying Queen Amuncommon of Boo York. Amuncommon gave birth to a daughter named Lydia. Although she wanted to stay home, Dedyet broke Nefera out of the toxic environment and took her to Cairo. At first, Nefera hated being away from home. It was too different, and she hated how restricted she felt, but soon she understood why change was needed. After so long, she was finally happier. She no longer wanted to return and face her old life. She chose to stay with her mother. Enrolling in University, she felt like she belonged for once. It helped her fall back in love with fearleading. Being the captain again felt so nostalgic, but fairly this time.

It didn’t take long for her to find someone she was interested in, a vampire her age who took the same classes as her. Mina. Mina seemed lovely at first, sweet, and supportive. Nefera was head over heels for her, but something about her seemed off from the first second. Still, she couldn’t help but fall for her. At first, it started with only hooking up, but it turned into more than that. They agreed to date, but Mina didn’t want to publicize the relationship. After a while, she started skipping classes. It turned out Mina was cheating on Nefera the whole time. Regardless, she finished her education and returned to New Salem with her mother. Nefera was happy to reunite with her family and support her sister after giving birth to twins - Atem and Ife. Cleo wanted Nefera to stay with her, so she agreed but later accepted a job offer at a dance company until she returned to her old modeling career. The media would barely leave her alone, and the more she was away from home, the more annoyed her father got. So, she quit her career to stay at home.

Of Cleo’s kids, Nefera was closest to Narissa - the middle child. The little girl always wanted to play around and talk for hours. She could see herself in Narissa, from her love for dancing to her medium sienna brown skin tone, big curious eyes, and plump lips. The more Narissa opened up about looking up to her, the more anxious she got about having to be a good aunt and not letting her find out about her past.

Nefera decided to move away from home after tension started building up in the family. She didn’t want Cleo’s kids to deal with family drama, but most importantly, she didn’t want to be a bad influence. She quit all her jobs, moved to Hauntgary, and joined a dance company. It was a one-year contract - she was supposed to return home after that. Her therapist recommended that she stay, not wanting anyone to impact her progress. It went from a year and a half to three to almost five years. Of course, she never forgot about her family during birthdays. Still, she never stayed in New Salem for longer than two days and avoided her father at all costs.
No matter how much she loved her life in Hauntgary, she missed her family. Cleo’s call came at the right time, asking her for a favor. That was the sign she needed - it was time for her to go home.

Chapter Text

The only reason Cleo didn’t like having days off from work was because whenever her other family members were working, she was the one who had to take care of all the other kids in the family. Even if most of them were in their teenage years by now, the smaller kids wouldn’t stop getting into trouble and pulling pranks on the others. 

She was glad that just in a few hours she was going to have a good rest with Deuce, heading on a vacation to celebrate their wedding anniversary.  

“ So, since your dad and I are going on a trip soon…” Cleo looked at her kids. “ We need someone to take care of you. “

“ Boo, we’re not toddlers anymore.” Atem rolled his eyes. “ I’m sure we could survive three weeks alone just fine. No babysitter needed.”

“ Yeah, and then you’ll burn the house down like you almost did two months ago.” Ife sighed. “ I would rather have someone who can actually cook.”

“ You can’t cook?” Kitty rolled her eyes, looking at the twins with an unimpressed look. “ I could prepare a luxurious 5 course meal with closed eyes.”

“ Is that my nail-file?” Ife groaned, looking at the 4 year old. 

“ Uh, yeah…” Kitty scoffed. “ I borrowed it. It’s mine now.”

“ Want me to kick your ass?” Ife raised her brows annoyedly.

“  Hey, don’t fight!” Cleo interrupted them, picking Kitty up and placing her on a bean bag seat. “ My Ra… Why did Pharaoh leave you with me for the week?”

“ Papa said you wouldn’t be mad.” Kitty formed her lips into a pout and looked at her aunt with puppy eyes, still holding the nail file. “ I’m no trouble, right?”

“ Whatever.” Cleo clapped her hands together and stood on top of the sofa to get everyone’s attention. “ I can reassure all of you that you won’t be bored these two weeks. Plus - you’ll be more than excited when you hear who I got to babysit you.”

“ Casta Fierce?” Kitty asked, finally letting go of what she was holding and throwing it at Ife. 

“ No.” 

“ Then who else?” Kitty sighed. “ You’re talking like it’s a celebrity. I got excited for a second.”

“ It is a celebrity.” Cleo nodded. “ Very famous actually. You know her.”

“ More famous than mommy?” Kitty asked. 

“ Will you let me get to the point?” Cleo asked, trying to calm herself down. 

Before Cleo could say anything else, the living room door opened and a tall, blue haired figure stopped in the doorway dramatically. “ Everyone bow down in front of the most amazing aunt in the universe ”

“ Aunt Nefera!” Leo screamed, all the kids rushing over to her. Because of this Cleo lost her balance and almost fell straight into the wooden table in front of her. The kids gathered around their aunt, barely letting her breathe or walk forward. 

“ Please let go of me, I can't breathe.” Nefera hissed under her breath. She wasn’t fond of little kids but she could handle them if they behaved. However, at one point they were hugging her so strongly that she lost her temper. “ Stop pulling on my hair!” 

Cleo burst into laughter, staring at her older sister from a distance. The two of them didn’t speak to each other much for five years. No conversations at family gatherings, just some birthday wishes, Christmas gifts and that was it. Even though it was hard for her to admit, she missed having Nefera around. There was nobody to annoy her.

“ I have some gifts for you.” Nefera said, trying to get the kids off her. “ They’re outside in the car, so if you ask the servants - nicely - they will hand them over to you.”

The kids all ran out of the room excitedly, screaming through the hallways and almost knocking some of the centuries old antiques down. Cleo let out a sigh, finally getting to breathe for a second and picked up some of the mess the kids dropped. 

“ You’re not even going to hug me anymore?” Nefera asked, looking at Cleo with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“ Nefera!” Cleo let out a small giggle and ran over to her sister with open arms, hugging her like her life depended on it. “ You look so beautiful.”

“ Thanks, you don’t look that bad yourself either.” Nefera shrugged with a chuckle. “ Just kidding… Hey, 3 kids and you still look amazing.”

“ I try.” Cleo laughed, leaving out a sigh.

“ So, where’s the baby daddy?” Nefera asked. “ I brought him a gift.”

“ Shopping for Draculaura’s soon to be born baby.” Cleo shrugged. “ If all goes well, we will be home before she goes into labor. You’re invited to the baby shower, by the way.”

“ My Ra…” Nefera shook her head, leaving out a sigh. “ I guess I’ll have to dig up some unwanted memories again, huh? Where’s Narissa?” 

“ She’s at ballet.” Cleo replied, shrugging. “ She finishes in two hours. You can pick her up if you aren't that tired. I’m sure she’d be really happy.”

" Well, alright." Nefera shrugged. “ I wanted to take a walk in the city anyway.”

" Want to get some coffee?" Cleo asked, more so with a pleading look than as an offer. She just wanted to get away from the fighting kids who were about to come back. 

Nefera nodded.

Chapter Text

The kids were way too occupied with the gifts. In a few minutes a luxurious black BMW stopped in front of the De Nile home, Kitty immediately recognizing her dad’s face inside. 

“ Papa!” She screamed excitedly, not expecting that he would come today. He was busy working on his new album in another country while Catty was touring, so Kitty was spending time at Cleo’s house who she considered her aunt.

“ Uncle Pharaoh!” Leo grinned, clapping his hands together excitedly. 

While Cleo’s kids weren’t directly related to the Ptolemys, they still considered them family. By the time they were born, Madame Ptolemy and Ramses were already together. The only person born out of that marriage was Lydia, but she was nothing like Pharaoh. The two siblings couldn’t doubt their shared genes based on their appearance but their personalities were as far from each other as the Sun from Pluto. The two of them got along if needed, but Lydia would never speak to Cleo nor Nefera. No matter how much the girls did for her when she was just a little kid, as she grew older she decided not to interact with them. 

Ife used to have a gigantic celebrity crush on Pharaoh as a kid, but it took her some time to understand the concept of step-siblings and why exactly Madame Ptolemy was married to Ramses. She was way too shy to speak to him at first, so she always begged Nefera, who was closer to the Ptolemys, to tell him her funny confessions. 

“ Have you brought me any souvenirs?” Ife asked, jokingly wiggling her eyebrows at Pharaoh. 

“ Yes, they’re in my suitcase…” Pharaoh nodded.

“ Can I see it?” Ife jumped excitedly. 

“ Ife, papa just got home.” Kitty muttered annoyedly. “ He will talk to me first, because he is my dad and then hand you your cheap nick-nacks.”

Nefera and Cleo started at the scene from the main entrance. Kitty was like a comedic relief in the family. She always made everyone laugh. " Well, I wouldn't call them cheap." Pharaoh laughed. 

" Exactly." Ife rolled her eyes, climbing into Pharaoh's car to grab some of his suitcases.

“ How was your day, cutie?” Pharaoh asked, lifting his daughter up and placing a kiss on her forehead. 

“ So boring, papa…” Kitty whined. “ I’d much rather be on our private island, soaking my feet into the ocean.”

Everybody let out a laugh at this. Anyone who saw Kitty just couldn’t deny who her parents were. She was small, but resembled both of them. She was raised with all the riches and her parents spoiled her like crazy. Catty got pregnant with her a few years ago, but she was already struggling to conceive years back. The couple were incredibly happy when they found out that the popstar was pregnant. 

“ When will both of you be at home?” Kitty asked with puppy eyes, playing with Pharaoh’s single earring. 

“ Three more days and we’re all yours.” Pharaoh smiled. “ Mommy will be really happy to see you. She has her last day of tour tomorrow. "

" So, you're flying back tonight? " Kitty sighed. 

" Tomorrow afternoon." He replied." I'll stay with you and take you to kindergarten. How about that? "

" I wish I could come with you." Kitty muttered." But whatever. That city smells like dogshit anyway."

“ Okay…” Pharaoh nodded, surprised at the word choice. 

“ I wonder who taught her that word…” Ife sighed, staring at her twin brother with an annoyed look.

“ It wasn’t me.” Atem raised his hands in defense. 

“ What word?” Kitty raised a brow. 

“ Nothing.” Pharaoh shook his head with a small smile.“ Alright, you guys go inside and I’ll come in a second.”

" Oh, sorry, excuse my language…" Kitty rolled her eyes. " I meant poop. The city smells like puppy poop." 

" How would you know what the city feels like if you’ve only been there in mommy’s belly?" Pharaoh laughed, wondering about the things going on in the De Nile home while he was away. 

Kitty shrugged." Mommy told me. Otherwise - telepathy." 

" Telepathy, huh..." Pharaoh responded.

“ Don’t forget the gifts.” Leo winked, jumping towards the staircase excitedly. 

As the kids all rushed inside, the two sisters stayed in the doorway. “ Guess who I convinced to come home.” Cleo punched Nefera’s arm playfully. “ It took some time, but she’s finally here.”

“ Well, we’ve already seen each other last week.” Nefera laughed, shrugging. “ We share a penthouse, duh.”

“ It feels kind of weird having you back here.” Pharaoh raised his brows. “ I honestly thought you wouldn’t want to come back.”

“ I changed my mind…” Nefera rolled her eyes, talking in a dramatic tone. “ Anyway, guys, I’ll go pick Nari up and then come back. Please don’t let the kiddos find their gifts before she comes because I want to see all of them open their things together.”

“ Okay.” Cleo shrugged. 

Nefera had to use her GPS to get around town as she could barely remember some of the streets anymore. Narissa’s dance studio had also changed a lot from the last time she saw it, so it took her some time to realize that the exact building she was searching for was right in front of her nose. 

Nefera knew Cleo would text Narissa about who was going to pick her up, so she parked down in front of the entrance, waiting for her niece in the car. Narissa was one of the last ones to arrive. She wore a black puffer jacket over her pink ballet clothes and warm up booties. It seemed she had no time to change her clothes, which was unusual because she was the last one. She headed over to Nefera’s car, opened the front door and sat inside. The moment she made eye contact with her aunt her hazelnut eyes lit up with joy, hugging her strongly. “ Do you understand how long I needed a hug from you?” Narissa formed her lips into a pout. “ You better stay this time.”

“ Yes, yes, I know…” Nefera shook her head, patting the girl’s back.

Narissa was a perfect mix between her parents. Although she had obvious features that she got from Deuce like her mesmerizing eyes and mouth shape, she still resembled her mother Cleo. She had her thick dark curly black hair, tan skin, height and mannerisms. As their kids were a mix between gorgon, normie and mummy they all had different features but neither of them were able to turn anyone into stone - nor were they born with snake hair like Deuce. It wasn’t a must for them to wear mummy wraps either, though some of them chose to as a fashion statement. Regardless, they were still monsters with some of them having inherited similar scales on different parts of their bodies as on Deuce’s arm. 

“ So, how’s life going?” Nefera asked as Narissa changed her warm up booties into proper sneakers. 

“ Like shit.” Narissa muttered.

“ Aw, come on.” Nefera rolled her eyes. “ There has to be something you’re excited about.”

“ The girl I liked turned out to be homophobic and now I want to disappear.” Narrissa replied, shaking her head. “ I came out to her and she posted my messages on her social media account.”

“ Does Cleo know about this?” Nefera shook her head. 

“ I’m not coming out to mom just like that.” Narissa muttered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “ I don’t want her to worry about me. She’s about to go on this fun trip with dad, and I don’t want to ruin it for her.”

Nefera sighed. 

“ It’s just - you’re the only lesbian I know.” Narissa said, playing with her long box braids. “ The only person I feel safe discussing this with.”

" I'm saying this for the hundredth time, Nari. Your parents are both bisexual and trans.” Nefera replied. “ They won't bite your head off if you tell them that you're a lesbian...”

“ Karla is related to one of the teachers.” Narissa replied. “ My parents can't do anything.”

“ Wow, related to a teacher.” Nefera scoffed. “ And I’m the crown princess of an Ancient Egyptian dynasty, the sister of your mother who is also a princess. Karla either apologizes and takes down your messages or else.”

“ Or else what?” Narissa raised her brows. 

“ My daddy will have a little conversation with her parents.” Nefera shrugged. She almost said she'd outleash a plague on them but she remembered what sort of pandemic they had to go through ten years earlier thanks to some inconsiderate normies spreading it at monsters.

“ And then she’s going to pick on me more.” Narissa nodded. “ Nope. No thank you.”

“ Nari, you’re half De Nile.” Nefera answered. “ Please comprehend that.”

“ I want to be like you were in high school.” Narissa said. 

“ Like what?” Nefera raised her brows. 

“ I don’t know, I just want to be like you.” Narissa shook her head, fidgeting with her fingers. 

“ No.” Nefera replied. “ Babes, I get that you inherited my personality but I will not let you become who I was in high school.”

" Not that I'm capable of it anyways." Narissa scoffed. " I'll never be popular like Ife and Lydia." 

" Popularity won't make you happier." Nefera raised her brows. 

" If you say so." Narissa sighed. " Also, now that you're here, promise me you won't leave again. I need you here. Mom needs you, too. "

" I know." Nefera nodded, biting her lip." I thought about it, already. But I do need to get some things done in Hauntgary before I move back here. “

" Fine by me." Narissa shrugged, leaving out another sigh." I just want you to be around again."

" I promise I'm staying this time." Nefera shook her head, a smile appearing on her face." Anything else you'd like to say? "

Narissa looked at her." Well, the good thing is I finally got to be one of the little swans." 

" Congrats, I told you your hard work would pay off." Nefera smiled. " I'm very happy for you." 

" Yeah, but…" Nari sighed." They didn’t choose my friend and she wasn't too happy. I'm scared she's going to break my leg or something."

“ Then I’ll break it back.” Nefera answered in a serious tone. “ Honey, what you need is better people around you! Don’t trust everyone so easily.”

“ No, auntie, the problem is me.” Narissa said. “ When mom was in high school she was the most popular ghoul, the captain of the fear squad and was dating the most popular guy in school. And I hang out with absolutely no one because I’m boring! Not even that Stein ghoul wants to be my friend.”

“ Hm, have you ever considered that because you moved up a year the others think you’re a bit too young compared to them?” Nefera asked. “ ‘Cause um, you’re 13. You know what I was doing at 13? Wondering if I could count desert sand!”

“ Whatever.” Narissa sighed. 

“ By the way, Pharaoh’s home, too.” Nefera replied. “ I guess you got kinda lucky today.”

“ Really?” Narissa’s eyes lit up in happiness. She adored her uncle.

Chapter Text

As Nefera stepped inside her old bedroom, she felt a sense of nostalgia filling her up. It was almost as if butterflies had grown in her stomach. The room was well taken care of, but everything was as she left it. She knew Narissa loved spending her time there, especially because her own room was still under renovation. 

Cleo sighed, stopping next to her sister. “ Oh, I hope Nari didn’t mess anything up. She has been studying here for the past few days because we just repainted her room - and you know how the guest bedrooms are less than ideal for that stuff.”

“ Did she sleep here, too?” Nefera raised her brows.

“ She sleeps in Pharaoh’s room because she thinks your bed is uncomfortable.” Cleo laughed. She was thankful that the air was starting to have less tension and that she could actually make Nefera giggle a little.

When Nefera finally got a little time for herself, she got to explore everything she had left behind in her room like her old clothing and diaries. It was a relief to know everything was in its place. Walking into her closet, she felt a sense of nostalgia hitting her. Originally it was meant to be a shared closet for her and Cleo, but as they would fight way too much, their father hired someone to create a seperate one for her sister. The secret door was in fact covered by her ball gowns.

“ I stole one of your dresses.” A squeaky voice came from behind Nefera. 

Seeing Narissa standing in the doorway of her bedroom, a small smile appeared on her face. The 13 year old was tightly gripping onto Nefera’s infamous wrap dress that she used to love wearing so much. “ You can keep it.” Her aunt laughed, opening her suitcase.

“ Really?” Nari’s eyes lit up in excitement. “ Wait, can I try it on?”

Nefera sat down on her bed. “ Sure.”

The princess excitedly rushed inside Nefera’s closet and immediately shut the door behind herself. As Nefera continued unpacking her suitcase, she found an old letter in one of the pockets. It was wrinkly but the writing stayed intact. It was from her childhood - a letter to one of her closest servants. She never had the chance to hand it over to her, but she kept it with herself throughout all these years as a memory. She quickly hid it in her diary, then moved it back under the mattress. 

Finally the closet door opened. Nari walked outside wearing Nefera’s dress and snake high heels. “ How do I look?” Narissa asked, imitating Nefera’s voice. She almost fell on her nose as it was way too tough for her to balance.

Her aunt burst into laughter, greeting her niece with applause. “ Adorable. Those shoes are way too big for you, though. You’ll twist your ankle.”

The 13-year old slowly took the shoes off. “ I’m taller than mom but my feet still haven’t grown past a size 5.”

“ Because you’re barely a teenager.” Nefera responded with a chuckle. “ Just be patient.”

The young ghoul let out a sigh and sat down on the floor. “ Lydia called me an annoying dwarf yesterday. She keeps bothering me as if she’s this superior being because she’s part of two powerful dynasties….”

Nefera snorted. “ I can’t believe she’s my sister, brr.”

“ It’s a pain having her around in school.” Narissa sighed. 

While waiting for Deuce to come home, the three adults sat down in the kitchen at a small dining table while decorating muffins. The youngests were still running around in the hallways, but the twins were there to watch them. They weren’t ones to cause too much trouble. 

“ Um, so, does Lydia bother Narissa often?” Nefera tried starting a conversation, slowly trying to indicate that the little girl was scared to speak out for some reason. 

Cleo almost dropped the cupcake in her hand. Her face froze.  “ What?”

“ Ah, she didn’t tell you this either.” Nefera sighed, burying her head in her hands. “ Look, I tried telling her to speak to you because you’re her mother but she just won’t tell you a bunch of things and I feel like it’s not my right to tell you instead of her-”

“ Anytime I asked if something was up, she said she was fine…” Cleo shook her head, starting to question her own parenting skills. “ Ra, I really hope she doesn’t think she can’t speak to me because I’m busy…”

“ I wouldn’t say she doesn’t trust you.” Pharaoh replied. “ She’s just scared of Lydia finding out she told you.”

Cleo let out an annoyed gasp. “ You know too?”

“ Yeah.” He nodded. “ I think I was the first one she told, but told me not to say anything because she said she would tell you that day.”

“ It’s not just Lydia, though.” Nefera bit her lips. She felt nervous about telling her sister, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Nari needed to know that she could trust her parents.

The princess sighed deeply, her eyes shifting to the floor. “ Okay.” She nodded. She got up from her seat and rushed over to Nefera’s room where Narissa was doing her homework. Until then, the step-siblings stayed in the kitchen. It wasn’t usual for them to speak with each other, so the air was quite awkward. 

" Can't you just speak to your sister?" Nefera asked, referring to Lydia. 

" My sister?" Pharaoh asked, taking out a carton of milk from the fridge. " As far as I'm aware, she's your sister too."

They heard the door of the royal apartments shut by itself. If Nefera hadn’t recognized Lydia’s fast-paced footsteps, she would’ve thought it was Deuce.

The ghoul entered the room dramatically, sunglasses covering her eyes and ignoring her half-siblings. She grabbed her daily protein shake and placed it into the microwave to heat it up. Her half-siblings just stood there, glancing at her with disgust in both their eyes. Once she noticed the stares, she popped her head up. " What?" 

" What do you mean what?" Nefera responded, an annoyed look on her face." Have some respect for your elders, maybe?" 

Once the microwave beeped, Lydia gripped onto her cup in an aggressive motion and shoved her middle finger in her step-sister’s face as she stepped out of the room.

Nefera got so angered at this that she exclaimed. “ I hope your cat pisses on your face tonight!”

“ Your insults have gotten rusty, love.” Lydia laughed, her long dark ponytail swinging around as she turned to face the princess. “ Just like your popularity - maybe it’s time to accept it. Your reign is over.” With that she walked away, leaving the older princess pouting.

She let out a shocked gasp and hopped back down on one of the chairs, staring in front of herself in agony. Pharaoh burst into laughter,handing a cup of black coffee over to the princess. “ Are you really going to let a 19 year old roast you?”

“ Why doesn’t she roast you?” Nefera raised a brow. “ Hm? Why does she like you?”

“ I just don’t speak to her.” He replied. “ And she’s a fan of my wife, so obviously she’s going to be nice to me.”

Before Cleo could even speak to her daughter, she noticed Deuce approaching and let out an excited scream. “ You’re finally here!” They exchanged a passionate kiss, causing him to almost drop some of his bags from how sudden Cleo’s reaction was. 

“ Oh, hey, I was just three streets away.” Deuce laughed, handing some of the items in his hand over to his wife. 

“ I knoww, but…” Cleo whined.

A throat clearing interrupted her words. Leaving her sentence unfinished, Cleo noticed her sister standing in the doorway. Both their attention drifted to her. “ Hi, Deuce.”

Deuce nodded, feeling slightly awkward around Nefera. They were both grown adults now, they put their childish arguments behind them but there was still a lot of tension in the air when they were in the same room. “ Hey, Nef.”

The princess immediately left them alone, heading to the shared drawing room the two sisters shared to take a look at the kids. Cleo really wanted to tell Deuce about what was going on with Nari, but didn’t want him to worry too much. She decided she would speak to her daughter when Deuce was playing with Leo.

And so she did. She entered Nefera’s room, finding Nari sitting on the bed with papers spread all over the sheets. She was reading something out loud, her soft voice sounding tired from all the studying. “ Is that for tomorrow?” Cleo asked, settling down next to her daughter. 

Nari nodded as tied her long braids into a bun. “ Nope - I just want to get it done before the exams.”

Cleo smiled, caressing her daughter’s little hands. “ I know this is really random, but… If anything is up - you can speak to me. I love you and I care about you, so please don’t be afraid of opening up. Be it anything.”

“ Um-” Her daughter let out a faint laugh, her lip corners curling up. “ I’m aware of that, mom. It’s just - kinda tough to open up about some things because I don’t want you to worry. Same with dad.”

“ But worrying is part of being a parent.” Cleo shook her head. “ Nari, I know you’re not telling me something. I’ll be here when you’re ready, but my reaction will always be the same. I won’t judge you.”

As she fidgeted with her fingers, the thirteen year old let out a sigh and nodded. “ I am a lesbian.”

Cleo smiled. “ Alright, that’s totally fine.” 

“ I am sorry for telling Aunt Nefera before you, but I knew she would understand me.  I knew you would too, but I was nervous of Lydia hearing about it. ” Narissa bit her lips. “ She’s not been kind to me - at all. On top of that, I confessed to someone I liked and she posted my messages on her social media account. She blurred my name out, but she implied it was me and I had to close my message requests.”

“ Was it Karla?” Cleo asked, her eyebrows moving up in shock. 

Nari gasped. “ How’d you know?” 

Cleo was well acquainted with the fifteen-year-old. The ghoul was the daughter of Gil Webber, Lagoona’s ex-boyfriend and had certainly not learnt any morals from him. She sometimes felt bad for his wife for having to deal with such a terrible man. “ Her dad’s a racist a-hole who emotionally destroyed one of my best friends for years, but let me not get further into this or I’ll call him some terrible names.”

“ Oh.” Nari nodded, a small disgust appearing on her face. “ That man.”

“ I will call your teacher first thing in the morning and ask Nefera to speak to Bloodgood if you’d like.”

Narissa smiled. “ Thank you.”

“ You’re welcome, cutie, I love you.” Cleo said, hugging her daughter. “ And I’m sure your dad will be really glad we have another LGBT kid in the house.”

“ Hah, Atem’s the mole.” Narissa burst into laughter. “ Would be funny if he said he was part of the community, but oh well… I think it’s unlikely.”

Cleo shrugged, emotionally pressing her arms to her chest. “ Well, no matter what, I love you all. My beautiful children.”

“ Don’t cry.” Nari joked, shaking her head with a happy face.

Driving the kids to school was not as quick as Nefera expected it to be. As neither of the parents were at home, she was the one who had to make sure everyone ate breakfast and packed in all their belongings for school. Leo was the easiest to deal with - he just had to be taken to kindergarten and Pharaoh took care of that. Lydia drove herself to school, so at least the princess’ morning was that much more calm. The princess was more than excited to see the school for herself again. She couldn’t wait to go inside and relive some of her best memories. The bad ones she didn’t care about anymore. 

When Lydia spoke about Nefera’s dead popularity, she sure didn’t know much about her half-sister. Because the moment Nefera stepped out of that car with her iconic high ponytail, thick heeled knee high boots and satin mini dress, all eyes were glued on her. Including a very special someone’s. 

Because Clawdia Wolf, drama teacher at Monster High could barely take her eyes off her. She never expected she would see the ghoul again in person, looking like a billion dollars. Ife stepped over to her senior boyfriend, while Atem just rushed inside the building to find his squad. Narissa stuck with her aunt so she wouldn’t be harassed by fellow classmates.

“ Who is that babe over there?” Farkas gasped, whistling.

Ife let out a sigh, touching her forehead with her hand from second hand embarrassment. She didn’t need weird comments about her family. “ That’s my aunt, you moron.”

Darren, one of Farkas’ friends, laughed. “ Ah, another princess. Cute.”

“ She is THE crown princess.” Ife groaned, slamming her bag into her boyfriend’s hands so she could tie her shoes. " Have some fucking respect, she's like... the same level of royalty as the Queen of Fangland."

“ Oh, if I was just a little bit older…” Darren shook his head with a dreamy sigh.

Ife’s eyes widened in shock. Her friends were absolute idiots. “ Shut up, she’s a lesbian.”

“ Well, if I was a woman…” Darren continued. 

Ife raised her hands in defense and walked away from the duo. “ Nah, I’m done here.” 

“ Honey, your bag!” Farkas screamed, but Ife ignored him.

It didn’t take long for Nefera to make eye contact with Clawdia. The werewolf was shocked to her core, staring at the princess as if she was the prettiest person to ever walk the face of the Earth. She was still undeniably gorgeous years later. But obviously - she was ageless. 

“ Nef?” Clawdia gasped.

“ Clawdia…” Nefera whispered, staring at the ghoul dressed in a white blouse and a red blazer- mini skirt combo in front of her. She still had her trademark blonde hair yet she looked a hundred times more mature, even more attractive than she was back when they dated. Nefera wasn’t going to lie to herself - she still had feelings for Clawdia.

A black motorcycle stormed onto the campus, making every parent and relative’s head turn but not surprising the students. The monster sitting on it wore a full black leather outfit consisting of a crop top, pants, chunky boots and a helmet with a hole for a pair of orange cat ears decorated with silver hoop earrings. 

The driver stopped the bike in front of the entrance, putting their right foot on the floor. They took their helmet off slowly, dramatically shaking out their long stripey orange hair and finally revealing their face. The ghoul was incredibly familiar to Nefera, but she just couldn’t pinpoint who exactly it was - until she read the number plate. LUV - TORI.

Before she could think twice, another motorbike appeared in the near distance and parked down right next to the other bike. It was a blonde-blue haired ghoul wearing a similar outfit, but a lot more feminine. “ I gotta say, mate, the way you beat me out there is really impressive.”

“ Meow, see?” Toralei giggled, digging her fingers into Lagoona’s hair. “ I told you I could.” They exchanged a quick kiss, some of the students cheering them on.

A pouting, blonde haired blue-ish teenage ghoul with cat shaped eyes stepped over to the two, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “ Mom.” She looked at Toralei and then at Lagoona. “ Mommy. DON’T EMBARRASS ME LIKE THIS. Why do you have to do this everyday?”

“ Crikey, embarrassed?” Lagoona raised her brows with a small giggle. “ Aren’t you exaggerating a little bit, tiny lady?”

“ Oceania, love, last time you said it was embarrassing for us to drive you to school.” Toralei sighed, shaking her head. “ So, we let your friends pick you up and we use our bikes instead.”

“ Yes, but when I meant bikes I meant like actual fucking bicycles.” She pouted. 

“ I thought their bikes were cool.” Lucia shrugged, playing with the black crystal hanging from her neck. She was a dark red haired ghoul with cat ears and cat eyes, yet her eyes and expressions were almost siren-like.

“ I didn’t ask you.” Oceania groaned, rushing inside the school with her little squad.

Lucia rolled her eyes, mimicking her sister’s voice. “ I didn’t ask you, bleh, bleh, bleh.”  She ran after her sister.

Toralei noticed Nefera from the corner of her eye. She greeted the ghoul with a soft smile, then walked inside the school holding hands with her wife. Narissa turned her head towards Nefera with an excited look. “ They’re my favorite teachers. Aren’t they so cool?”

“ Yeah, very…” Nefera responded, trying not to look at Clawdia too much.

Nari giggled, grabbing onto Nefera’s wrist. “ Come, let me show you my school.”

“  Yeah, just don’t pull me…” Nefera almost fell in the muddy grass, and being dragged by her niece sure didn’t help her to keep her balance. She immediately rethought how good of an idea it was to wear those boots that day. 

Clawdia’s lips turned into a smile, she stepped over to her own niece and sighed. “ Did you forget your gym clothes again?” She asked, looking at Farkas - seeing he wasn’t holding his usual bag.

“ Oh, shit.” Farkas cursed, but immediately silenced himself because one of his teachers just walked past. “ Give me the car keys.”

“ What about Ife’s bag?” Darren raised his brows.

Farkas smiled with an annoyed look and handed the heavy bag over to the werecat in front of him. “ Keep it.”

Clawdia handed Farkas the car keys and watched as he drove away, hoping he wouldn’t break any driving rules. 

“ Oh, this is heavy.” Darren shook his head, attempting to balance with Ife’s heavy bag between his hands. “ What does she keep in this?”

Clawdia moved one of her brows up and stepped over to one of her colleagues. In the same moment an angry Ife appeared in the doorway. “ Could you move your feet already?” She groaned, staring at Darren. “ I have a project to hand over.”

“ Hah, I’m coming.” Darren gulped, walking forward. Ife seemed intimidating but in fact she was just like her mother with a little attitude borrowed from her aunt. 

“ Don’t drop it.” Ife sighed, turning around and leaving the werecat behind. 

Darren rolled his eyes. “ Yeah, I won’t.”

Chapter Text

Walking into the school, Nefera felt all her memories slowly come back to her. Everything was the same - absolutely nothing had changed. She felt like it was 2008 all over again. She remembered the first time she ever walked into that building. When her family first moved to New Salem that year, she was just a spoiled princess with centuries of trauma bottled up inside her. It took her years to heal from her past but the new environment slowly but effectively helped her find herself.

“ How are you feeling?” Narissa asked, smiling at her aunt who was still looking around in awe.

Nefera laughed. “ It’s hitting me. The nostalgia is just unbelievable.”

Nari nodded, responding with a small giggle. “ I think you might have to wait a little because I don’t think the headmistress is here yet.”

“ I have way too much time on my hands, so....” Nefera shrugged.

“ I think I’ll go to class and in case the headmistress needs me, you’ll know where to find me.” She said as she backed away at a slow pace. “ Mrs. Blue’s classroom.”

The princess nodded and watched as her niece ran upstairs. A small smile appeared on her face, thinking of her own sister when she first entered the school as a freshman. Narissa was so similar to her. As her thoughts slowly drifted away to something else, she started making her way towards the headmistress’ office. 

It’s been a while since she had been in the building, so it was tough to find her way around even if it looked the same. As she sat down in an armchair to wait for her, she noticed a familiar face in one of the classrooms. A blonde werewolf with glasses, sitting at one of the desks, scribbling in a notebook. Gaining some confidence to talk to the ghoul, Nefera stood up and slowly headed over to the empty classroom.

“ Are you busy?” She asked, almost scaring Clawdia who popped her head up in surprise. Clawdia let out a loud gasp, gulping in nervousness. “ Did I startle you?” Nefera pursed her plump lips together. She was afraid she gave the werewolf the wrong impression.

“ Hi.” Clawdia responded, her lips curling into an anxious smile. She slammed her thick notebook together and stood up from her seat to greet Nefera. “ I’m sorry, I was just really focused on something.”

Nefera nodded. “ Hi.” 

Clawdia wasn’t so sure how to respond. She had a lot to say to Nefera but nothing interesting came out of her mouth. “ Well, will you come in?” The princess made two bigger steps forward, still very much standing in the doorway. Clawdia thought she looked adorable.

“ Sorry.” Nefera laughed, apologizing for her awkwardness. “ I just wanted to greet you. I actually had no idea you worked here.”

The werewolf giggled. “ Well, I do. I’m a drama teacher - mainly. I do other things sometimes.”

“ Is that what you’ve been up to?” Nefera asked, looking around the well-decorated classroom. Well, that was one thing that changed - the rooms were now less boring. “ I thought you wanted to be a screamwriter.”

“ I did try my best to make it in Hauntlywood and I did, but…” She sighed. “ Anytime I came home and drove past Monster High, I knew I had a future here. It was pulling me like a magnet, I guess”

Nefera bit her lips. “ Oof, well I barely came home in five years.” 

“ What have you been up to?” Clawdia asked, as if she had no idea what Nefera has been doing. She knew it very well and was completely up to date with all the drama. 

“ Mostly ballet, fearleading, university and more modeling,” Nefera laughed. She was trying to be brief and not say too much in a short time.

Clawdia raised her brows. “ Hm, uni, what did you study?”

The princess pursed her lips together with a smile.“ Believe it or not, I actually majored in classic literature.”

“ Ah…” Clawdia nodded, returning the smile. “ Well - I guess we have something to talk about now.”

“ Didn’t we always?” Nefera raised her brows. 

Clawdia felt her cheeks heat up. She nodded as another giggle left her mouth. She missed this ghoul. “ So… Anything else?” She wanted to get out one answer in particular from Nefera and she knew she was going to get it.

“ I actually read some of your novels a few years ago…” Nefera said, approaching her ex and tapping her long nails on the wooden teacher’s desk. “ I really loved them. In fact, I felt like one of the main characters really represented me.”

“ Yup, that totally wasn’t planned…” Clawdia cleared her throat, speaking in a sarcastic tone. She even knocked over a jar of pencils with her shaky hands.“ I also totally didn’t know that you read them. Not like I was stalking your Instagram account any chance I got… I totally wasn’t doing that. That would’ve been crazy of me.”

“ Well, I could never find you on social media.” Nefera shrugged. “ You used to tell me you hated Instagram, so I just kind of assumed you didn’t use it.”

“ It’s not that I don’t hate it…” Clawdia shrugged, leaving out a sigh and dropping some new pencils in a jar. “ But it’s kind of fun when my students message me and we can talk about different plays, classic literature or just history in general. Oh, or when they tell me that they look up to me because I’m openly lesbian… It’s a feeling that I’ll never be able to explain. Do you get what I mean?”

“ Wow, all I do is stalk my half-sister on social media…” Nefera snickered. “ No, for real, I’m really glad you’re having fun. Me - not so much.”

“ Are you talking about Lydia?” Clawdia laughed, shaking her head with a smile. 

“ Yup.” Nefera nodded. “ You teach her?”

“ Hell yeah, I do.” Clawdia nodded. She leaned to the side of her desk.“ She’s… well, she’s Lydia. My sister, Howleen’s wife Twyla works as the school psychologist and oh boy, have I heard her many rants about how disrespectful Lydia is.”

“ Worse than I used to be?” Nefera chuckled.

“ She is trying so hard to be you.” Clawdia replied. “ Obviously she’ll never admit to that, but it’s true. You know, the high ponytails and the snake prints… She copies all that. Including the way you speak.”

Nefera shrugged, digging her fingers into her blue hair. “ Well… Sorry to her, but we can’t all be me.”

“ I just don’t get where she got this behavior from, though.” Clawdia shook her head. “ Like, alright, I’m not going to sit here and say you weren’t scary, but… At least you were somewhat likable.”

Nefera rolled her eyes playfully. “ Somewhat likable?”

Clawdia let out a small chuckle, her cheeks once again turning into a pink color. “ Okay, very likable. And very gorgeous.”

“ Anyway.” Nefera sighed.. “ Can I have your number? You know, because of the kids.”

“ Yeah, totally just because of the kids, mhm.” Clawdia giggled, picking up a small piece of paper with her name and number on it. 

“ Ms. Wolf, PhD…” Nefera read, taking the note out of Clawdia’s hand and raising a brow curiously. “ Well, I’ll treasure this, cutie but now I have to go.”

“ Not yet…” Clawdia formed her lips into a pout, knowing Nefera could never go against her sweet face. “ I want a kiss.”

“ Oh?” Nefera turned around, leaving out a small laugh. “ A kiss? Why exactly?”

Clawdia giggled and leaned to her desk. “ Let’s see.” She sighed. “ I can see how you look at me and you know I like you, so… How about we give it another shot?”

Nefera wasn’t sure if they were going too fast, but it would’ve been a lie if she said she didn’t want to kiss Clawdia. She accepted the werewolf’s hand and let Clawdia pull her into a deep kiss, their hands on each other’s thighs and touching each other’s face. Each other’s presence was so addicting that they almost forgot where they were and that anyone could walk in on them. But students did worse things, so it wasn’t like they were being crazy and inappropriate. 

“ Miss Wolf?” A familiar voice was heard from the doorway, Narissa and Ife standing there with complete shock on their faces, Lydia behind them with Mr. Rotter.

The two adults pulled away from each other, trying not to look crazy awkward. They had no idea how long those four had been standing there. Nefera forgot to shut the door.

“ Oh, what a pleasure, Miss De Nile.” Mr. Rotter’s mouth turned into a freakish grin. The girls suddenly got reminded of the time the same teacher walked in on them during a makeout session and hoped he wouldn’t bring that up in front of the kids. “ Oh, as I see, history repeats itself. It’s, ehm, always nice to see high school relationships that last this, ehm, long.”

“ I’m sorry, sir, we were just…” Clawdia sighed. “ We got a little distracted. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“ No, no, don’t apologize.” Mr. Rotter shrugged. “ I could care less. I just came to print something out for my students. The office is way too far away, heh, for my old legs you know…”

“ Bye…” Nefera muttered awkwardly, about to walk away but Clawdia pulled her back into a hug. 

“ I hope you’re actually staying in New Salem this time.” Clawdia whispered into Nefera’s ear. 

Nefera let out a soft chuckle and rushed out of the room, wanting to get away from the kids who were running after her. “ What the fuck was that, huh?” Lydia raised her brows angrily, forcefully turning her older sister around. “ You can’t go around embarrassing me like that.”

“ Oh, you can speak now?” Nefera raised her brows sarcastically. 

“ Since when are you a lesbian?” Lydia asked. 

“ Since when did I say I wanted to speak to you?” Nefera grinned annoyedly. “ Now goodbye before someone actually thinks I’m a student here.”

“ Thanks, I’ll never get that sight out of my head again.” Lydia groaned, rushing away from the princess. 

" You're dating my teacher?" Ife asked with a confused look on her face. 

" No, pff." Nefera groaned, rolling her eyes. 

" Call me crazy but I sure saw you make out with my teacher in front of my two eyes." Ife nodded, waving her hands in front of her aunt's face. 

Nefera formed her lips into an annoyed smile. " Don't do that.". 

“ Auntie, please…” Ife shook her head. “ If you have something going on with her just tell me.  I don’t want people to make up theories that you’re fucking Miss Wolf to make my grades better.”

“ Okay, now that was highly disrespectful of you to phrase it like that.” Nefera said. “ We’re two grown adults. We are attracted to each other and we got caught away, so we kissed. Please let me enjoy my time back in New Salem without my sister’s child policing me.”

Ife groaned. “ I apologize if I sounded disrespectful, but I just want to know what’s up. No offense, but can I please be me without the attention constantly being on you or my mom? It’s fucking exhausting when all I ever here is “oh, your mom is so cool’ or ‘your aunt is such a hottie’. I’m SICK OF IT.”

Looking at Cleo’s family, Nefera always wanted the best for the kids and to make sure they weren’t affected by the abuse the two sisters got from their father Ramses. This was a family she would’ve loved to have when she was in high school. “ I’m sorry for being such a shame to you, then.” 

Nefera knew she had to speak to the headmistress, but after this incident she needed some coffee. Ife realizing what she just said covered her mouth in shock and sat down on one of the benches in the hallway. No, she shouldn’t have complained about this. Not to Nefera. Not when her family were all incredibly amazing. She was aware that both her mother and aunt had terrible lives growing up, but it wasn’t easy for her to comprehend. Her father always made sure she knew that when talking about family, it was important to be empathetic with the two De Nile sisters, yet sometimes she forgot about it. 

Maybe in a way it was Lydia who fed her mind with dislike towards her own royal status. She shouldn’t have let her cousin’s bitter thoughts get in the way of the love she felt towards her family.

Chapter Text

Pharaoh headed back to Hauntgary to pick up Catty and come home with her. The two of them spent a lot of time traveling, but they didn’t like to spend a long time far from each other. Each other’s presence was what made them happy. Their daughter Kitty especially needed attention at only 4 years of age. 

Catty and Pharaoh truly wanted to build a bigger family and while marriage was not something they felt hyped about, they got married years ago in a personal, informal wedding without the need to dress up. It was just close family. They didn’t want a celebration, they just liked the idea of being together on paper as well. The two of them spent a long time trying to get Catty pregnant, so when Catty gave birth to a healthy baby girl they were full of joy. It meant she just had a tougher time trying to get pregnant. Catty hoped that by getting her weight a little higher she could have an easier time with pregnancy. The doctors said it wasn’t the exact solution, but it helped and she took better control of her diet, making sure she ate enough even during tour. And after a few tries, it finally happened. She got pregnant.

Catty couldn’t wait to share the news with Pharaoh. She wanted to make sure that at least 6 weeks passed so the risk for a miscarriage would be lower. It was so hard for her to get pregnant, so she really wanted to make sure that this time everything was going to go saf and sound. She knew her own mother had struggles with conceiving and she couldn’t really do much with genes. That’s why she was an only child. But Catty wanted more kids of her own. It’s not that they never considered adoption, but the werecat just wanted to try again before the couple made a decision.

Although monsters had the ability to get pregnant regardless of what they were assigned at birth, some still had struggles with conceiving. They were built completely differently, meaning each type of monster had a different immune system with different organs. Mummies, werewolves and werecats were the ones most similar to normies, but they all had varying functions in their body meaning even a monster without an uterus could get pregnant. The birth rate was also lower than within humans, as unlike normies, monsters had forever to spend together. 

The moment Pharaoh stepped inside his and Catty’s penthouse bedroom, the werecat jumped into his arms happily. “ You’re here!” 

“ Yes, I’m here.” He smiled, staring endearingly at the werecat in front of him. Their meeting immediately ended in a makeout session, the two of them falling on the bed together and undressing each other like they haven’t met in centuries. In fact, they had only been days apart. But Catty, in particular, couldn’t wait to announce something to her lover.

“ I have incredible news to share.” Catty giggled, snuggling into Pharaoh’s neck. They were both under the sheets, lying in bed naked with only Pharaoh’s cartouche necklace with Catty’s name written in hieroglyphs decorating his neck. “ Any guesses?”

“ You tell me.” He smiled, brushing his fingers through his hair.

Catty sat up, getting on her knees and exposed her naked body to show off her tiny baby belly. “ I’m ten weeks pregnant.” 

“ Wow!” Pharaoh gasped excitedly. He immediately hugged Catty in happiness. After trying for so long, the result was there. “ That’s amazing! Kitty will be so excited.”

Although the two of them had just made out naked earlier, Pharaoh didn’t at all notice that Catty had a baby belly forming down there. He was just happy that the werecat was taking care of herself.  “ I found out I was pregnant at 5 weeks.” Catty smiled and lay back down in bed. “ I phoned my doctor immediately. He told me to be very careful and wait until 6 weeks, you know, so there isn’t a risk for a miscarriage. I decided to wait until now because I am paranoid. But when I’m telling you, the scream I let out-”

“ I can imagine what your managers thought.” Pharaoh laughed, softly placing his hand on Catty’s belly.. “ I guess you didn’t tell them either, right?”

“ No, I was so scared.” Catty shook her head and placed her hand on top of Pharaoh’s. “ I told them I slipped in the bathroom instead.”

“ You’re cute…” Pharaoh giggled. “ Aw, I’m so glad to see you this happy. I’m very excited for our baby to arrive.”

Catty smiled, placing her hand on Pharaoh’s face.  “ I’m just happy my tour is over. The baby couldn’t have come at a better time.”

The prince pulled Catty closer to him and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “ I’m so happy for us and for Kitty. She always wanted a sibling and you always wanted multiple kids.”

“ Okay, but imagine if we’re having twins.” Catty laughed, bursting into laughter. “ Or triplets!”

“ You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” He giggled. 

Catty shrugged as a grin formed on her lips. “ The chances are endless.”

“ I know I’ve already said this, but I am so glad you are this happy.” He responded. “ After so much crying over negative pregnancy tests, I just want you to know that everything will be fine. Just take care of yourself, okie? Don’t overwork yourself, I’ll do anything. Even help your parents out at the farm.”

“ Says the prince who was raised in a skyscraper with a garden taken care of by servants.” Catty joked, chuckling happily. “ I’d like to see you do gardening, Your Royal Highness.”

“ Hey, I can always learn a new skill.” He said, forming his lips into a cute pout. 

“ Okay.” Catty said and spoke in a dramatic tone. “ I will tell my parents that the Crown Prince of Boo York has offered his mighty, how do you say-”

Pharaoh snorted and burst into laughter. “ Hand in help.” Catty finished her sentence. “ His mighty hand in help. For milking the goats.”

He shook his head. “ Wow. He's so generous, isn't he? He's willing to milk a goat.”

" By hand, by the way." The popstar smirked jokingly. “ You’re about to go from sexy rapper prince charming to sexy farmer boy in a few days. Get ready.”

“ Hey, and I’ll be super good at it, you can bet on that.” He protested. They both ended in a laughing fit, unable to keep it to themselves. Their little jokes meant the world to each other. Pharaoh brushed his fingers through Catty’s pink locks. “ Who would’ve thought that a shy little ghoul from farmer parents would become the best selling popstar ever and also the Princess of Boo York?”

Catty giggled. “ I’m anything but a princess.”

“ You’re my princess.” He replied. A big smile appeared on Catty’s face. She sighed in joy, staring into Pharaoh’s blue eyes dreamily. “ I love you so much, Catty.” Pharaoh muttered, intertwining his fingers with the popstar. 

She nodded as she kissed the prince’s nose.“ I love you more, Pharaoh.”

With that they fell asleep in each other’s arms, resting while trying to ignore that their alarm would go off in just a few hours. They were exhausted, constantly performing and touring. They needed the rest and the family time. It was what they deserved after working so hard without stopping. A well needed break.