#venice beech

The theory was simple but not without potential consequences for Loren's mortality, so he asked Virginia and Gabriella to help him test it safely. Gabriella was a naturally strong swimmer and had recently done a lifeguard internship, in which she 'saved' a few swimmers feigning floundering about while training, so she volunteered to retrieve Loren if anything went wrong. Virginia had a fully charged phone in her bum bag ready to call for help, too.

Now for Loren's part to play. He sprinted from the beach house to the waves, his skin smoking as he flew across the sand. The waves were coming in gently today but he hit them with a clumsy crash before finally getting shoulder deep. He turned and gave the girls a thumbs up.

"There he goes. I don't see any smoke. Do you, Gab?"

"No." Gabriella was still watching her uncle bob around, determined to be ready for anything, just in case. But the fact remained: the telltale sign of the sun singing Loren's skin was gone. It was the middle of the day, in the full heat of the middle of summer, and he wasn't holed up under the sunlamp in his shed with the blinds drawn. Whether it was the salt of the sea protecting him, or Virginia's half-joking theory that he was a merman, he could now join his family in the sun.

Rocky blinked and both his daughters were nearly as tall as we was. Overnight, Myrtle had started rapid firing at the dinner table about the boy she liked at school; he was super cute and nice and they were partners for the science project and got an A, and could he come over to swim in the pool sometime, please? Of course, Rocky agreed, as long as she didn't think it was too uncool if he and Daisy swam as well. Why should the elders miss out on a sunny afternoon?

There were things she didn't want to acknowledge. She didn't want to know if she was seriously sick, because then she would have to know for sure that her immune system had become weaker in old age. She was going to stifle this cough, that was surely just a little throat tickle, nothing more, and keep on trucking. She had to, for her daughters.

An entirely separate matter that Daisy wilfully turned a blind eye to was her teenagers being teenagers and doing things like sneaking out to hang in random fields with friends at midnight. Myrtle and Venice were awesome kids, truly - both took after their dad's natural smarts, did well in school, and even put their hands up for clubs and student leadership roles. The latest development was Venice joining the spirit team and advocating for cheerleading as a brand new initiative. However, they were still kids. Daisy slipped water bottles with slices of lemon into their backpacks and assured Rocky they would be fine, in spite of his frowning. Someone in the village would let them know if something was amiss. Besides, weren't they both young too, once?

Venice was up on her feet now, toddling around and being generally charming. She recently formed her first syllable: "Dah." It was hotly debated whether she was trying to say dad or Daisy, like the flower on her head. Maybe she'd heard people say, "Daisy, you look amazing!" at her mum's milestone birthday party (at which natural grey hair was debuted), and became inspired. Whatever the case, it was adorable.

There was a brand new baby, too. Elmo's eyes popped open to reveal they were forest green like his dad's. Basil would've put money on him taking after Emilia's rich, earthy gaze! Of course, either way, the little guy was adorable.

Daisy and Rocky knew it was just a matter of a DNA dice roll when it came to their kids being full-fledged faeries. It just so happened that their youngest daughter Venice was very much one of the fae, and their oldest daughter Myrtle wasn't. Daisy had someone to share her culture with and Rocky didn't have to make dinner for one; win-win!

Daisy and Rocky welcomed another baby girl. They named her Venice, after where water met the beach in the city of angels and formed the famous canals heaving under the weight of history. Watery smiles formed on Rocky's face when he looked into the newborn's eyes - they were deep and warm, like his dad and nana's. The happy parents were delighted to now have two gorgeous children to nurture.

Meanwhile, Basil reckoned with the fact that he was Daisy's silly goose of a younger brother, and now also a married silly goose. He and Emilia were wed in Nightingale Chapel, which was easier for Emilia's elder family members to access than the lofty forest path that led to the sacred faerie ruins in the hills. It was important to both of them that everyone was there to see that there was hope for the two romantics after all! They would spend their honeymoon glamping near to the ruins instead (Emilia required standing room that your bog-standard tent could never offer).