Fated reconnection

Prologue

"Ruby.. is that you?" Carly asks, her voice cracking as she saw the child in front of her, looking more vibrant and full of color than the one she had been seeing for the past year.

Without giving the child the chance to respond, Carly ran over, kneeling down in front of Ruby, hugging her tightly, unable to stop the tears in her eyes from falling. "I will never let anything like this happen to you again. I promise." Carly said, lifting Ruby in her arms. "So much has happened since you.." She trails off. "New family members as well.. you'll see. Let's get you home."

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As they arrive at the kingdom Carly is still holding Ruby tightly in her arms as they walk inside. Once inside, Carly instantly hears Kelly yelling as she runs down the stairs.

"Carly! Where in the world did you go?! It's the middle of the-" Kelly instantly stops in her tracks once she properly sees Carly and who she's holding.

"Is that..?"
"Yeah."
"But- how?"
"It's.. complicated.. But I'm just happy she's back."

Kelly nods. "Welcome back, Ruby." Kelly said smiling at the child. "You should've said something before leaving though. We didn't know where you were, scared me half to death!" Kelly scolds Carly but shakes her head. "You both should probably get some sleep. It's late. And I'm sure the kids will be freaking out about seeing Ruby in the morning.."

Carly nods, sitting Ruby on the floor but grabbing one of her hands in hers, looking at her. "You have a younger sister now and a cousin you'll get to meet in the morning.."

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"Mama, mama!" Ariana's voice rang through the room in the morning. Carly woke, the noise also waking Ruby, who was lying next to her. Both of them sat up.

Ariana jumped onto the bed, looking at Carly before looking at Ruby with wide eyes.

"You look familiar!" Ariana shouted, earning a small laugh from Ruby, who rubs her eyes.
"Yeah.. I ran into you a few times when I was trying to get mummy's attention." Ruby explained tiredly. "I'm Ruby!"

"That was you??"
"Yep!"
"But you look so.. different."
"Because I was a ghost when you last saw me."

"A GHOST??" Ariana yelled.

Carly put a hand on Ariana's hand softly, signaling the younger one to calm down a bit.
"Yes, she was a ghost. But the important thing is, she's not anymore, and she's here with us now." She said, smiling down at both her daughters. "Ruby is your older sister, Ariana."
"Mhm!" Ruby hummed, smiling at Ariana.

"I always wanted a sister!" Ariana smiled before looking at her mother. "Auntie Kelly said to meet her, Ellie, and Calvin downstairs for breakfast!" She announced.
"Alrighty." Carly nodded, but Ruby seemed to tense slightly.

"Calvin?" Ruby asked.
"He's your new cousin. When I adopted Ariana, Kelly adopted a little boy named Calvin!" Carly explained, getting out of bed and helping Ariana and Ruby down as well. "Come on, you can come meet him now." Carly insisted, taking Ruby's hand as Ariana rushed ahead.
"Okay.." Ruby muttered, her voice unsure.

Once downstairs, Kelly was finishing setting the dining room table, Ellie and Calvin were seated at the table, being joined by Ariana who ran up to them.

"Ruby??" Ellie shouted out in surprise- disbelief- once she saw Carly and Ruby walk into the room. She jumped out of her seat, running over to her cousin and instantly hugging her. "I thought you weren't coming back?!" She asks, slightly yelling. Carly smiles at the interaction before going to help her sister with setting the table.

"I wasn't sure I was coming back either honestly.." Ruby says, but she smiles, hugging the other back. Once the hug breaks, she looks over at the other kid in the room.
"Who's that?" She asks.

"That's Calvin!" Ellie shouts, going over and grabbing the boys hand as he gets up from his seat and brings him over to Ruby. "He's my little brother! Calvin, this is Ruby!" Ellie says, smiling brightly.

Calvin blinks once he looks at her. "What- Ruby?" He asks, his voice laced with emotion he never really showed much. He sounded genuinely confused but looked at Ruby, awaiting her response.
"Uh. Yeah. I'm Ruby.." She mutters before smiling at him.

"Oh. Okay. Hi, Ruby." Calvin responded, nodding, his voice the same monotonous way it usually sounded, which caused Ruby's smile to falter. She didn't have time to dwell on it, however, as Ariana jumped.

"I got an older sister like you now Calvin!" Ariana yelled, jumping up and down excitedly, which Ellie joined in on. Ariana then hugs Ruby. "We're gonna have so much fun!" She exclaims happily, which Ruby nodded at.

"Kids, breakfast time!" Carly yells, helping the kids into their seats and then she and Kelly took their seats. "I hope eggs and bacon are okay for your first meal since.." Carly looks at Ruby and trails off.

Ruby nods. "It looks delicious!" She exclaims happily, and they all began eating.

"Leo's coming over later- do you remember him? Nearly gave me a heart attack at his house.
Ruby stifles a laugh before looking at Carly. "Yeah, I remember him."
"That's good! He's my boyfriend- but you don't have to interact with him if you don't want to. Ariana calls him dad, but you don't have to if you don't want to." Carly explains.

"Dad's nice Ruby! You'll like him!" Ariana shouts, shaking her seat slightly.

"Ariana, please don't do that! You'll hurt yourself." Carly scolds softly.
Ariana pouts, but she listens, straightening her seat.
"He's nice though!"

Ruby nods. "I can't wait to- properly meet him." She mutters with a slight chuckle.

"Don't give anyone a heart attack this time." Carly pleads.
"Okay.." Ruby agrees, rolling her eyes softly.

Ellie throws her hands up. "Me and Calvin have new parents too! Mummy got two girlfriends!"
"Two?" Ruby asks, a little surprised.

"Yeah! Miley and Ally!" Ellie exclaims, moving her hands quickly as she talks. "Well. Ally's not always a girl- so I guess Ally isn't always Mama's girlfriend. Sometimes Ally is her boyfriend or just partner. But still! Calvin and I kinda have like- three parents!"

"Now Ellie- we haven't sat down and talked about that yet—" Kelly starts.
"I don't care! I've already adopted them as my other parents, so you better not break up!" Ellie responds, still moving her hands.
Carly laughs softly and Kelly glares at her.

"We should invite everyone over and throw a welcome home party for Ruby!" Ellie shouts, clapping her hands together.
"Yes! Party!" Ariana shouts as well, fidgeting with the tablecloth.

Ruby looks a bit overwhelmed with everything, which Carly notices.
"That's a good idea- but maybe we should wait until Ruby settles in a bit girls? She just got here." Carly suggests, looking at Ruby who nods.

Ellie and Ariana both pout but reluctantly agree.
"Fine, but I want to help plan the party!" Ellie exclaims.
"Me too!" Ariana says.
"Alright, alright. Now finish eating." Carly says.

As they continue talking, Ruby and Calvin keep looking at each other, but not directly saying anything to each other unless the conversation included both of them. A feeling of familiarity seemed to come when they saw each other, and they knew why, but neither knew how to bring it up. Neither could directly tell if the other recognized them either..