Cayenne looks so much like her mother. This is the first thing Percy thinks of, every time he sees this toddler. She may have his own upturned nose, those spotty freckles, reddish blond hair like Mittens, and those piercing green eyes Cliff had... ...but she looks so much like her mother. The rest of her face, and the pinkish tint to her soft baby skin.
Percy worries about Cayenne's mother, Abbie. He knew her for such a short time. It's a foolish trick of mind, he tells himself, to want something one cannot have. And he doesn't want her in the romantic sense, he only wants her back. Awake, alive.
Of course, then she'd take their children away. Wouldn't she? He doesn't know.
It's complicated.
But he knows Abbie was cheerful and sweet, and that's been taken from the world.
Most film stars hold fancy parties at their houses.
Tiberius tries to imagine the chaos that would ensue, with five overactive toddlers loose at a party.
Instead of having a house party, Percy adds onto the house.
The Archer place now has a balcony in front, and in back.
A perfect place for practicing one's sim-fu moves.
Actors need to stay in shape, so rigorous daily exercise is a must as Percival ages.
Parsley was the first to walk, the first to talk, the first out of diapers... and now, the first to attend school.
And the first of the five to notice she's the only one with pointed ears.
Soon enough, Parsley is joined in childhood by her siblings. (And Chervil.)
From left to right: Cayenne, Basil, Loki, Chervil, Parsley.
They each have their own personality.
Short-tempered and full of himself, Basil spends as much time avoiding other people as he does trying to impress them. He thinks he's going to be actor like his father.
When pressed about his own aspirations, Chervil decides he'll grow up to be a sports star, because boys are supposed to enjoy sports, trucks, robots, explosions, and that sort of thing. Also, apathy towards everything else. The television has taught him this.
Loki, the youngest, doesn't care for theatrics or sports heroes.
He's neurotic, and—from the other boys' perspectives—he's reacting to innocuous objects in peculiar ways. He stares at an ordinary green block like it's done something to him, and when Basil calls his name, he just doesn't answer.
Basil is the first to accept there is something wrong with his little brother, and he's going to have to put in some effort to protect him from bullies once he starts school.
Parsley loves the outdoors. She is in love with the trees and the water and the clouds in the sky. She chooses athletic type activities, and even fishing, just to spend more time out here.
Those people at the school, the ones with all the tests, say cautious little Cayenne is a genius.
Cayenne accepts this as her identity, and sets out to learn all she can.
Close-up pic of Chervil and his eye color.
Percy finds the children easier to look after now that they're older, because they tend to group up and do stationary activities rather than crawl all over the house in five different directions.
What. A. Mess.
Tiberius is obsessive about cleanliness. Borderline psychotic about it. His mother and step-father let the Annan mansion fall apart; Tiberius thought that once he escaped, he would not be living in filth nor clutter. But this isn't really his house, and the mess is really just kids' toys, so he manages to keep his mouth shut.
The boys take over Percy's childhood bedroom. It's remade in blue.
Chervil's blankets have cartoon cats on them.
The girls are given a brand new bedroom upstairs.
It's nice being rich. But seriously, sometimes they wish they each had their own bedrooms.
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Etc.: Why is the one with the "different" name the odd one? That's cliche. That's what you should be saying to yourself, or to me, the author, right now.
