Barbatos's heart

Swimming Lessons

Elaina waded in the pool while she held Wendy in one arm and Hazel in the other. She wanted Beel to start teaching Wendy how to swim and she brought Hazel along to introduce her to the water. Beel had called and told her he would be a little late due to practice being extended, but she was too excited to get the kids in the pool. At first, the girls seemed okay with the water but once their little feet touched it, they (specifically Hazel) started to throw a fit.

"Baby girl, please don't cry. It's okay, mommy won't drop you!" Elaina sighed as she tried to calm her daughter down. Now, of course, since Hazel was crying, Wendy started to get fussy as well. "Noooooo!" She whined as her feet dipped farther in the water. "Wendy, don't you want uncle Beel to teach you how to swim?" Elaina asked. "Noooooooooooo!!!!!!" She started crying. "Awe, that makes me sad!" Beel pouted as he entered the room in his swimming gear, carrying a small ducky float. "No cwy untle Bee... I Sowwy." Wendy sniffed as she wiped the tears from her eyes and reached out toward one of her favorite "uncles" (they would technically be her 2nd cousins but whatever). He took her willingly and showed her the cute ducky float that would be assisting her today. She was very happy to find that its little head squeaked.

"Mr. Ducky is here to show you how fun water can be!" Beel started. He showed Wendy the basics of swimming, as much as a 2-year-old could understand, while Elaina calmed Hazel down and was now playfully dipping her legs and tummy into the water. Now that Hazel was used to it, she found it funny. Demon children were so interesting, with emotions like the flip of a switch. It took some getting used to.

"She did great today!" Beel beamed as he pulled Wendy to her mother in the little floaty. "Thanks again for helping me out. Barbatos is getting pretty restless knowing that Wendy is getting along on her own now. He keeps worrying she will find her way to the pond in the garden and drown. She's fast, but not that fast." Elaina sighed. "Yeah, well you never can be too careful. Unfortunately, though, there's not too much I can teach her at two and a half." He frowned. "That's what I told him, but if it will give him peace of mind, then so be it!" She chuckled. They let the babies splash around a bit more while they caught up.

"Well, well girls, look who it is!" Elaina bleated as Leviathan came into the pool room for his daily swim. "Untle E-I, Untle E-I!!!" Wendy cheered clapping her little hands. Elaina didn't know why but Wendy loved Levi and Beel the most out of all of the brothers. "Hey, Levi! Why don't you show Wendy how great of a swimmer you are? It may help her like the water more." Beel suggested. Wendy splashed happily in the water. "Swimmy swimmy, Untle E-I!!" - "Now, how can I say 'no' to that?" Levi gushed. He transformed into his demon form and dove into the pool making Hazel screech with joy seeing another demon with a tail and horns. "Oh my!" Beel laughed seeing the baby react to Levi in that way. "Yeah! she gets excited seeing others like her," Elaina explained.

Wendy started to seem a little concerned when Levi didn't come up for air. She was quite fidgety and kept making small whimpers while looking in the water for her dear uncle E-I. Suddenly there was a splash near her and then the tip of his tail came up out of the water and tickled her little tummy. She started giggling as Levi's head peaked out from the water's surface. All you could see above the water was his eyes, nose, and mouth still submerged but you could tell he was smiling. His eyes were bright with glee.

"Thanks for a wonderful time today guys! I appreciate it. Can't wait for next week!" Elaina waved as she left the house.

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"Hello loves!" Barbatos gleamed. He was in the palace kitchen making pastries for an upcoming meeting. His apron was smeared with icing and flour and his hair was a mess. "Why hello there Betty Crocker!" Elaina laughed. "Who?" Barbatos asked. "Nothing, never mind!" Elaina giggled. Wendy ran to her father and hugged his legs "Hewwo daddy!" She sang. "Why hello darling! How was swimming" he asked. "Fun fun fun!!" She answered as she spun around. Barbatos smiled brightly as he patted her on the head. "Tilly, could you please take the girls to their rooms to get cleaned up? I need to speak to Elaina." Barbatos asked the older maid, with greying hair, next to him. "Oh, of course, dear!" She smiled politely and took Hazel from Elaina's arms. Barbatos waited to speak again until the girls were gone.

"Okay, what's going on?" Elaina fretted.  Barbatos seemed to deflate when the girls were out of sight. "Elaina, my love, Something is coming." He cautioned. "What do you mean? What's coming?". She asked. "I don't know. Something is off, something in the air, something is wrong." He stressed. "Well, can't you look into the future and figure it out?" Elaina suggested. "I can't..." He answered. "Why not? Does it have something to do with us?" She asked. "No, I don't know. Elaina, I can't! Something is blocking me." Elaina's eyes widen "I can't see the future!"