Keeper of the Flame teller of the story

Anicka knew that she was going to have to make this fast. There was no reason to think that she was going to make it out of here with all three kids still in decent enough moods, but the new intern had started today, and Anicka wanted to meet her. Temperance hadn't had much to say at lunch, and Anicka hadn't expected that she would, but she still thought that it would be worth it to at least come and meet her for herself. They took a new intern every once in awhile, and she had to admit that she was sad to see the last one graduate. She knew that the girl was going on to bigger and better things, but it was still sad that she hadn't been able to keep her around. There were always a number of applicants though, and Anicka had requested that the applications be sent to her directly this year. Since having the twins she had been spending the majority of her maternity leave at home. Actually trying to take it easy for once in her life, which, if she were being honest, she didn't think that she had ever done before. She hadn't been working when any of her other children were born, the magazine had only been around for twelve years, and Philip was going to be twenty this August. But she thought that it was still something she wouldn't have done before. She wouldn't have taken the time off. Spent that much time at home... She hadn't really wanted to be at home before, Mountbatten Hall, for as much as she had redone it over the years, had always felt like her mother-in-law's home. And the kids had never known any different. She knew that Philip was more than pleased to have gone back there, and neither Constance nor Thea had seemed to have any complaints. Temperance had... And those had been addressed, but Anicka thought that if anyone would have had a problem with that house it would have been her eldest. And Ella no longer had to worry about it. MacGuffin Hall was closer to the home that she now shared with Malcolm and the kids. Her children were growing up. There was no doubt about that.  Even the three that she had with her today were growing up too fast. She had known Pippa for a year, and no matter what anyone tried to tell her, Anicka would claim her too. All three children were growing like weeds, and she knew that that was good. She knew that them growing was just how life worked, but Anicka wanted them to be little, just a little while longer. And it wasn't that the twins were big by any means. They had been born very early, they were little, Eve especially, though Izák was catching up to where he was supposed to be height and weight wise. Carrying the twins in the basket on her arm, held up with just a little wandless magic, she had let Pippa run ahead of her into the magazine office, and to Anicka's personal office. There wasn't anyone here that was going to harm the little girl, but Anicka knew that her own brand of paranoia was running a little high right now. It had been almost a year exactly since Malcolm and Ares had gone to Prague. Since everything had changed...  Her father had been killed. Otec had never expected that Malcolm would be there. He had expected her, and maybe Ares, but not Malcolm. And she had gotten him back. Malcolm had come back, and that was important. Losing him would have been devastating, even then, and she was much more attached to him now. They were getting married, in less than a month now. They had two, three really, when you counted Pippa, and Anicka most certainly did, beautiful children, and she would have done anything for him. But he was working on the other side of the city, and she had come to make sure that everything for publishing had gone off without a hitch this morning, and that everyone was settling in nicely for the summer issues. They had one more before the anniversary issue, and Anicka wanted everything in pristine condition before it even made it to her desk.  Catching sight of the new intern she smiled a little bit as she stepped up behind her, the basket with the twins in it still suspended from her arm. “And just what do we have here?" The tone of her voice suggesting that she had no idea who Miss Remington Monroe was, even though she had chosen her specifically from the group of applicants. ”You must be my new intern." The whole office could hear her, she had no doubts about that, even if she hadn't raised her voice in the least. Her being there, and not being in her office, tended to make the entire floor rather hushed...

Anicka's Outfit	@remington
Pippa's Outfit | Izák and Eve's Outfits

Somebody blazed this trail

OUTFIT

Her little run-in with Sera in Knockturn Alley had been nice. Not that Remy particularly liked the girl, or liked the shop where they had met, but she enjoyed the conversation. She enjoyed learning more about the strange little Nott girl (who just so happened to be Caerus’ cousin). She was going to have to ask him what her deal was when she got home… But for now, she needed to clear her head, she thought, standing in front of the door to HOME’s offices. Remy wanted today to go perfectly. Looking down, she straightened the edge of her blouse, making sure that everything looked flush against her skin. Impressing her new boss was at the top of her priority list today because if she impressed Lady Wentzell, there was no telling what sort of doors would open up to her. Maybe the woman would ask her to stay on full-time after she graduated, maybe there was a glowing review in the cards? There were a thousand maybes, and all of them depended on what happened today and the rest of the summer.

When she had finally managed to gather up her courage and go inside, Remy had almost immediately been thrown to the wolves. A part of her was glad. The constant coffee runs, the organizing and alphabetizing of paperwork, watching over Thea Mountbatten’s shoulder as she worked through one of the flat lays for the upcoming issue…all of it was exhillarating. It was a hundred times better than working at the small Hogwarts Paper. This was real. And it was exactly where Remy wanted to be. She had dreamed about this moment for as long as she could remember. A part of her wanted to sit down at one of the desks and bang out a story on the runway fashions from last week’s KA Designs fashion show….but that seemed like pushing her luck. She didn’t want to test her boundaries just yet. No, she was here to be an intern.

And a good intern was there to care for the small things. Like picking up lunch and delivering it to desks. (Which she did with a smile, thank you!)

The only thing that was missing was one Anicka Wentzell. To say that she was a little disappointed when she found the woman’s desk empty this morning when she arrived was an understatement. But, as the employees had been quick to fill her in on, Nika had plenty of business outside of the office. Not to mention she was taking good care of her children while on “maternity leave.” (Which was actually not leave at all but instead an absence from the office and working from home a majority of the time, Remy had also gathered.)

“Is there anything else you need?” Remy asked, pausing at one of the desks to check on the writer whose lunch she had just delivered. He seemed to wave his hand dismissively and the girl nodded before turning around.

The woman behind her was not what she was expecting. Remy had imagined her a bit taller and certainly not carting around three kids in a flowy skirt. But Anicka Wentzell was just as intimidating, regardless of what she was wearing. Rem arched an eyebrow, feeling a bit crestfallen that the woman seemed to have no idea who she was. “Remington Monroe. Nice to meet you Lady Wentzell…and Lady Wenzell’s children.” Of course, she knew Pippa, Izák, and Eve’s names. She had done her research before coming to work. But she also didn’t want to appear like a know-it-all. She considered curtsying, but figured that was a bit too antiquated, instead, she stuck out her hand for a shake. “I’m your new intern. Thank you again for this opportunity. I’m really looking forward to all that I can learn.”

Keeper of the
Flame

Lingering in the office wasn’t something that she had done all that much of lately. Having the twins early had taken a toll, but once she had settled into a routine, and they had both gotten used to the lack of sleep that came with newborns, things had evened out. Malcolm had gone back to work, pretty much immediately, and if she were being honest, Anička thought that she preferred that. She had her matka, and she had Ella, and she had had Talia around more than she had expected to, and it was good. Things were good. She was happy, and that was… Well that was a lot different than when she had done this before. Twenty years ago, she had had her last baby, and she had broken her pelvis in the process. This time nothing like that had happened. This time everything had gone smoothly, and they had two perfectly healthy little babies. Eve might have been a little small, but Anička herself had always been small, and that had never held her back. It had made her an easier target, she knew that. But there was a fire within her that burned too brightly to ever be extinguished by hate.

She was strong, and she was fierce, and she had learned to harness that power that lived within her. She had learned to use that fire to protect herself, and to protect her children. She thought that they were going to know that, in the end, that was what her children would remember. That no matter what else was happening, no matter what else it was that they were going to do, or be, or any of it. She would always be their mother, and she would always be there to protect them. For years she had used fire to protect them. She had used her own strength, and the flame within her head to make her something more than she had been before. To make herself strong. She had to be strong. She had to find that strength within herself if she was going to carry on, if she was going to survive, and she had survived. She had survived it all, and she had thrived. In the end she had thrived, and she had become something more than just a silly princess. She had come from a castle, she had come from a foreign land. And yet, she knew that she was more than just that silly girl.

More than just a girl at all. Because she had proven that. Her otec had never used her name. He had only ever called her ‘Girl’. She was, she was his girl. Because she had had two brothers, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that he had never treated her like a person. That he had never treated her like she was more than what she already was. There was no potential for what she could become. But there was. There was plenty that she could, and had, become. This magazine existed because she had willed it into being. This was her baby, just as much as her babies were, and that was something that Anička was proud of. She was proud of this place, and she was proud of the witch that she had become, and she was even prouder of the witches that she had raised. Because they weren’t like her. They weren’t held back. They knew that they were strong, and smart, and powerful. And that was what was most important. She thought that, while her own otec and matka hadn’t exactly been shining examples, that was what people were supposed to do. They were supposed to want better for their children.

And she did. She very much did. And Pippa, and Izák and Eve… She wanted the best for them too. She wanted more than the best. She wanted a world where they didn’t have to live with everything that their older siblings had had to live through. She wanted a world where they knew that they were loved, and wanted, and that everything that made them who they are was okay. That was the world that she wanted for them. But getting there was an entirely different story. They were caught in the middle of all of this, and Anička thought that she was so very glad that for the most part, now, they were out of it. If she could figure out a way to get that mark off of her arm, she would. But for now, that wasn’t going to happen. For now, it would have to stay. “I know who you are Miss Monroe. You write for The Advocate. I’ve read some of your work.” Tilting her head to the side she ushered her along with her towards her office. “In my absence I see they are making you run errands?” There was a smile on her lips, and it was phrased as a question, but she very much knew the answer, of course they were making her run errands. Carrying the twins with her, she conjured a swing from nowhere, and set their basket in it before moving behind her desk, and keeping an eye out for Pippa, who had seemed to get distracted at her sister’s desk.

@ miss monroe - 883 - anička's outfit

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