She Sets the City on Fire London sky don't get much brighter

Anicka knew that she was pushing it on the amount of time that Pippa was going to tolerate being away from home. She probably should have just gone home already, but she knew that she needed to pick a couple of things up before she left, and running to her aunts didn’t seem like it was that far out of the way. She could have asked one of Pippa‘s sisters to take her home, but this last errand wouldn’t take too long, and they were already out. London was smaller than one really thought. That much she had learned over the last thirty some years... It was strange to think that she had really been here that long, and yet she was still so foreign, but there was just something about her that made it quite plain that she was not from here. She was exotic in the sense that she didn't belong. That she was simply that much different. And she liked being different. That much she would willingly admit. Now that she wasn't as worried about people not liking her, just because she was Czech, and not English, she could be a little more free.  If she were being honest, she should have just let it be a long time ago. She shouldn't have worried, when she knew that she would never really please them. But it was still something that she worried about. She would worry about it until the last breath. It was just a matter of who's last breath. The last thing that they needed was something happening to her bratr. She didn't really want to go back to Prague, and if something happened to Josef she knew that she wouldn't have a choice. That she would have to go back. All that she could hope was that he would stay in Prague, and she could stay in Nottingham, and that would be all there was to it. No one would have to worry about it anymore. They could all just... Be. Though she knew that that wasn't the case. The fact that she was ferreting her entire family away to a secret island in Africa just to get married without him proved the lengths that she would go to to stay away from her bratr. It was just easier that way.  Anicka knew that Malcolm and Pippa's lives probably would have been easier without her in them. That she wouldn't have to worry about what was going on with them, and making sure that they were protected. They were her people now. Even his matka... Anicka worried about Talia, and she worried about Lester, and Rosalind, and their children. Anicka worried about everyone, because of her. She was the reason that they were in danger. She was the reason that her children were constantly in danger, and that was something that she knew that none of them had asked for. They hadn't signed up for this life. Running her hand through her hair she looked down at Pippa and she smiled as she opened the door into the shop. Heading upstairs would be their last stop before they went home today, and she thought that that was something at least. Perhaps she would even let her have ice cream after dinner for being such a trooper today. It was summer after all, and she figured that the last thing that she seven year old wanted to do was hang out with her and the twins running errands all afternoon.  A hand on the little girl's shoulder told her to stay with her as she headed into the shop, and Anicka headed for the door to slip upstairs and drop off the designs for next fall for Katrine to look at. They were working on a joint line for some handbags. Something that neither one of them had ever done before, but they thought that it was worth looking into. There was always a need for such things, after all. But before she made it to the door behind the counter she caught sight of a familiar face, and it stopped her in her tracks. "Calliope?" Anicka hadn't seen her in ages. Not since right after Jeremy had been born, and that was nearly a year ago now... Things had been... Strained, at best. But she thought that she would always have a soft spot for the girl that had grown up with her daughters. Shifting the basket that she was carrying the twins in on her arm, she tossed a little wandless magic at it so that she wasn't supporting the whole thing herself and she smiled a little bit, "It's been a long time."

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

The day for her wedding to Samuel was slowly creeping closer, just a few more months and she’d be able to call herself Calliope Copeland, she wasn’t nervous yet… more excited. Calli was a little bit bothered though, that she didn’t have her father to walk her down the aisle but she’d managed to figure out who she had wanted to give her away. Kit had been stunned when she’d asked but he’d eventually agreed. She and Samuel knew that they needed to be careful with him, he was still legally dead and Phineas was still out there looking for him and now that they had their son back; they didn’t want to lose him again. She’d left Samuel and Kit at home today whilst she came to check on the progress of her dress and see how her soon to be sister-in-law was doing. She knew it had been quite a surprise for both Samuel and Alayla when Hannah of all people showed up again, Calli was still yet to meet her fiance’s sister but she wasn’t going to push, when the time was right it would happen, but for now she wasn’t going to force Samuel to introduce her.

Calliope had been leaning on the counter and chatting with Alayla, even though she was an apprentice, Calli had specifically requested that Alayla was the one to help design her wedding dress and the two women had had their heads together frequently as of late. She knew that Alayla should be on maternity leave but just like her brother, the young woman was stubborn and determined, Calli had even suggested going over to Alayla’s house to discuss the dress but the blonde had refused and wanted to do everything ‘properly’. She’d disappeared into the back room to get the dress for Calliope to see when the brunette heard the door open and she ignored it, instead fiddling with her engagement ring and lost in thought. She wondered if Jeremy was still giving Samuel and Kit a hard time, when she was leaving he’d been starting to whine about… something (she still had no clue what, it was more that he seemed to be moaning for the sake of it). Calli finally glanced over her shoulder when she heard the door shut and smiled faintly at the sight of the three children and she let her gaze wander towards the mother to compliment how adorable the infants were and how well behaved the older girl was when her gaze fell on Anicka and her expression hardened,

Calli looked away quickly in the hopes that Anicka hadn’t noticed her, she still wasn’t sure how to feel towards the older woman, she had always been like a mother to her but when her father was murdered things became… tense and Calli was finding it hard to forgive her or anyone like her with that vile mark on their arm. She knew Anicka probably had no say whatsoever but she still was related to Ares and that made things harder. She wasn’t going to lie though she had somewhat missed spending time with Anicka, the last time they’d had a proper meet up was when Jeremy had only been a couple of months old and now he was a 14 month old ball of energy. She’d contemplated staying in contact with Anicka after her father’s death but had found it increasingly difficult and then when she’d been told Kit had been murdered at the hands of his father, that had been the final nail in the coffin. Sure, Kit had ended up still being alive but Calli was terrible when it came to holding grudges.

The witch gritted her teeth when Anicka spoke to her and she planted a smile on her lips as she turned to Anicka, she wasn’t going to be rude, but she also wasn’t going to be overly friendly, just civil. Not until she knew how to approach Anicka or what she wanted. ”Anicka, how lovely it is to see you.” Calli greeted with a slightly strained smile. ”It has been long, how have you been?” She continued politely.

She Sets the
City on Fire

Whether or not she thought that her daughter was going to continue to be on her best behavior throughout this little afternoon excursion she didn’t know. There was always a chance that letting her run and play and get her energy out at the park was going to backfire on her. It could make her cranky, and annoyed, and then Anička would have not only two three-month-old infants to try and appease, and keep calm, but she would have a tired, and grouchy seven-year-old. Time would be the one to tell her there if they had a problem or not, but so far, she thought that they were going to be alright, but a seven-year-old was about as predictable as a kitten, and thus not at all. If they could make it through the afternoon, she thought that they would be headed in the right direction. This stop wouldn’t take too long though, and she thought that Pippa had grown quite accustomed to being around members of Anička’s family. Even if she knew that Malcolm would prefer her not hang around Athena too much, and she understood that one. Anička loved her cousin, dearly, but she wouldn’t want Pippa to take on Athena, or Sabine, for that matter, as a role model.

If she were being honest, she didn’t know if she wanted her to take on herself as a role model either. She wanted her to be stronger than she was. She wanted Pippa and Eve to both grow up knowing that they were just as strong as their brothers. Just as powerful as the boys beside them. Because there was strength in knowing that you were equal. In knowing that they weren’t going to think lesser of you, or look down on you, just because you were a girl. Anička had had that, for her entire life. Malcolm had been one of the first people in her personal life to treat her like she was equal to him. To treat her in a way that wasn’t looking down on her. Dominick had treated her like that. He had made sure that she knew that she wasn’t any lesser than him. But he was her younger brother. In terms of the monarchy, he was actually less than she was. Every child that she had had, had sent him further back, and he hadn’t cared. He hadn’t ever really minded that situation and she knew that.

She knew that her younger brother had been someone that she would miss for the rest of her life. He had died on her once. Faked his own death. Whatever it was that he had done that had torn them all to pieces again. Issa was dead, or they had thought that she was dead. And then everything had happened, life had changed, and she had been seven months pregnant with Philip when they had told her that her baby brother was dead. That she couldn’t go home for his funeral, because she was staying in Prague until Philip was born. Staying with the girls, out of harm’s way… Only then she had come back. She had come back, and they had tried her, and she had been found, not innocent, really, but she hadn’t been in trouble. She had been a girl, that was forced into the Mark, and she had been at home raising children, in Prague, pregnant, when the war was going on. She hadn’t been in trouble, because she hadn’t been a danger right then. She hadn’t been a danger to them all at that time. Not the way that Ares was. Not the way that Andrew was.

Her husband’s title had pardoned him, just a little bit. He hadn’t been sent to Azkaban. Ares had. He was not married to the Princess Royal of another country. He wasn’t a Prince. That title had gotten Andrew out of trouble, and now… Well now she didn’t know how she felt about it. She could never really tell how she felt about Andrew, and her otec, and everything that had happened. Anička didn’t really have a way of describing everything that had happened, everything that had gone on. They were just the way that they were, nothing more. Nothing less. Stepping to the side just a little bit, putting herself between Pippa and the door, as she set the things that she was carrying in her other hand on the counter, Anička lowered the basket on her arm far enough that Calli could see the twins inside of it. “I’m well. Tired, more often than not these days. But well. How are you, how’s Jeremy?” Anička hadn’t seen the little boy since he had been about the same age the twins were now, and she thought that he had to have been getting big.

@ calliope - 802 - anička's outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRPHY 2.0