The Best Present (An ACOTAR fanfiction)

Chapter 29

Mor and Karshia would be back in four days, so Catalina and Diana were having their lesson with Azriel. I was sitting on the sidelines with Elain and Rhys was taking a day with the kids since he hardly ever got that. Nesta and Cassian were out on a date since last night, which was surprising. Azriel was teaching the girls some new sword techniques. They were learning the basics of swords in school as well, but they knew it so well that they helped teach. They could learn a bit more about daggers, but Mor taught that better so Azriel was doing swords. After Mor touched up their dagger technique and taught them about throwing knives, I would teach them how to use a bow and arrow. Azriel had just walked over and fixed their stance and grip.

"Thanks, Uncle Azriel," the girls said in unison.

After their lesson, Azriel and I helped the girls place their swords away and remove the buckles and straps on their armor. Then I winnowed them back to the KK House, walking through to check on all the kids. A lot of the younger kids were playing with toys or doing homework, but I saw few of the older kids. I went upstairs and found all three of the training rings in use, as well as the magic room we had created for practice. The kids who were training were practicing basic sword moves or putting on their armor by themselves. In the magic room, the kids were all practicing their abilities. Some of the older kids were helping the younger ones. They didn't have any supervision, so I went back and forth making sure no one got hurt. After a couple minutes, Catalina, Diana, Jeremiah, and Ayden came up the stairs.

"Oh, hey guys," I said. They greeted me. "Catalina, Diana, I was wondering if you could supervise the training kids? Make sure no one gets hurt? Let them practice for another 45 minutes and then ask them to put it all away."

"Okay," Catalina nodded cheerfully. The four of them bounced into the training room, but not before I saw Jeremiah's hand slip into Catalina's. I grinned and went back to the magic room, going around and giving advice here and there, sometimes comforting a student who couldn't do it. The 45 minutes passed quickly and I called out.

"Kids! I think that's enough for today. I'm glad you're all practicing. Now go shower and maybe get a snack. Okay?" I directed. I heard a chorus of 'okay's and they all filed out of the room, mingling with the training kids who were coming out of the training room. Catalina, Jeremiah, Diana, and Ayden came out of the room and said goodbye to me. I smiled, following them down the stairs and to the High House. I opened the door and heard silence.

Rhys? I'm home. Where are you? I didn't want to shout just in case the kids were asleep.

In the bedroom, Feyre darling. I slipped off my shoes and walked to our bedroom. I walked inside. I found Rhys on the bed, book in his lap.

"Hello darling," he said softly. "I just got the kids to go to sleep. How was your day?" I slipped into bed beside him, kissing him hello.

"My day was good. Thanks for taking care of the kids today." I proceeded to explain the girls' progress, and then what I seen in the KK House.

"That's awesome." He checked his watch. "We should go to the townhouse for dinner. I told Az we'd be there."

"Okay," I sighed. I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on a nicer shirt and pants, then gently poked my head into the kids' room, and picked them up. Rhys took Astria from my hands and held her close to himself. We decided to walk rather than winnow since winnowing would wake the babies. So we put them in their carriages, placed at sort of noise barrier around them and pushed them out of the house. The crisp September evening air enveloped us and I pulled my light jacket around me. It was getting colder, and closer to my favorite time of year. I made sure the kids were snuggled up in their blankets and we walked down the road, the noise of the city getting slightly louder as we approached the main street.

"We don't get much time together anymore, Rhys," I said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, I know darling. I miss that. Maybe we should go on a date. Like spend the morning with the kids and then have Cia babysit them through the afternoon while we can shop and have a nice meal," he replied.

"I would love that." Rhys stopped, and I paused. He came forward and pressed his lips to mine. I kissed him back, sort of blurring out the surrounding world. It was a perfect moment. We pulled apart and he pressed his forehead to mine, looking into my eyes. I smiled, and we continued on our walk. We walked through the bustling roads before turning onto a quiet street and stopping in front of the black townhouse and it's elegant yard. Rhys gently lifted the carriages up the steps, careful not to wake the babies, and we knocked on the door. The door swung open.

We murmured our hello's, explaining that the kids were asleep, and walked into the house, leaving the carriages in the sitting room. Then we walked into the dining room and had a nice dinner, without Cassian and Nesta, who still hadn't returned from their date. Which was strange but I wasn't too worried. The kids woke up about five seconds after I finished my last bite, crying. I sighed, getting up to feed them.

"We got it," Amren said, stopping me before I could get up. She and Elain left the room. Within five seconds, the crying stopped. I sighed happily. Five minutes later, we all went into the sitting room, finding Elain feeding Astria and Amren feeding Cayden. Everyone started playing with the kids and talking, and suddenly the door slammed open. Cassian and Nesta burst into the sitting room, looking insanely happy.

"Um what's going on?" I asked cautiously. Lucien looked suspicious.

"Yeah, and where the hell have you been for the past two days?" Amren demanded.

"Guys we have some news," Cassian said, smiling at Nesta.

"We're mates! The mating bond snapped into place at our date yesterday and Cass took me to a hotel in the city where we spent the night," Nesta rushed out.

"That's amazing!" Elain gushed with her usual grace.

"Congratulations!" I exclaimed afterwards.

"That's great, guys," Rhys said, smiling happily.

"Wow, good for you," Amren said, looking marginally happier, but that was a huge mood change for her.

"Congrats," Az said, giving them a small smile.

"Congrats!" Raelia and Lucien exclaimed. We drank some wine and talked well into the night. It got so late that Rhys and I decided to spend the night.

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