The dining hall was abuzz with activity. Servants of all types rushed from one end of the room to the other trying to arrange the decorations precisely as they had been commanded.The man who had issued those commands stood in the center of this organized chaos. Tall & strong, he stood out even amidst all the hurried movements around him. Despite his large, bulky frame no one came close to bumping into him. As he observed the work being done around him, a look of discontent began to spread across his bearded features.

"You there" King Weha called out in his most authoritative tone. "that banner is sagging on its right side, straighten it out at once." The king then pointed at another servant with one of his massive pincers. "And you, that table is for food & beverages only, gifts go on the other table. I'll not have my only granddaughter's birthday marred by shoddy arrangements. Am i clear?"

His question received an answer in the form of a "yes your majesty" from about a dozen nervous members of the Horror Hall staff. Satisfied, if only for the moment, Weha simply waved his pincer in a commanding gesture & commanded "Then get to it". At that, the assorted staff began hurriedly enacting their king's instructions. He was keeping a keen eye on the whole affair when a soft almost melodious voice came up from behind him.

"Don't you think you're pushing them a tad hard father?"

The king spun around with considerably more agility than most would expect from someone with both his advancing age & imposing stature to be greeted with a bright, warm smile. Gray eyes matched almost perfectly with the white hair she always kept in a perfect bob cut. The Crown Princess had adorned a flowing gray-white dress that highlighted her regal appearance. Weha flashed his eldest daughter a grin.

"Nonsense Ishara." he replied, all the commanding presence from moments before suddenly gone as he now spoke in the voice of a loving father. "Your daughters first birthday only happens once. Therefore we must ensure it goes off without a hitch."

"But that's the thing. It's Hadru's first birthday" his daughter countered. "Why waste time worrying if it's perfect when she's never going to remember it?"

"She may never actually remember it but i've arranged for some of those new image capturing devices from Dryl to be sent so she'll be able to see how her first birthday went & if i have anything to say about it she WILL see perfection." He paused before adopting a smug grin. "And as it happens, i'm king so i do"

Ishara rolled her eyes before giving an exaggerated bow. "Oh but of course your majesty! I only hope my dress meets your rigorous standards." She finished by raising up to her full height & dramatically raising a pincer to her forehead with a look of faux worry.

A deep booming laugh filled the hall being used for the festivities. The kind that only his children could draw out of the normally stern King of the Fright Zone.

"Don't be ridiculous my dear, You look positively radiant as always" he said engulfing his heir in a hug into which she almost disappeared entirely. Pulling back he asked "And where is our guest of honor?"

After taking a few breaths to recover from her father's bearhug, Ishara replied. "Selkies is getting her dressed before the guests arrive. You remembered to keep the guest list small yes?"

"Per your request, only family & our closest friends shall be present." Just then Weha had a look of realization spread across his face. "Speaking of which, they should start arriving soon enough. Shall we go check how our birthday girl is coming along?"

Father & daughter made their way to the royal nursery. There they found Princess-Consort Selkies as she finished getting a squirming Hadru into her finest onesy. The child was cooing softly as her mother fixed the final snap. Selkis couldn't have cut a more different picture than Ishara if she tried. From her tall, broad, muscular frame to her massive red pincers to her propensity to wear black. More than once it had been commented that Selkis looked more like what most outsiders pictured the heir to the Fright Zone's throne to look like then her wife, a fact that actually amused the two of them & even Weha himself.

Looking up to see them enter the room, Selkis lifted baby Hadru into her arms to present the infant to her other mother & grandfather. "Look Hadru, we have visitors"

Selkis kept her long black hair loose in the front but tied in a braid in the back. Her dark red-grey robes clung to rather tightly, though more to her brawny build than any desire to show off. A st of large black scale-like spaulders that went all the way up her neck completed the look. Her large black eyes shone with joy as she addressed her wife & good father. "How's everything going out there?"

"Oh it seems to be going well" Ishara said as she took her child's pincers in her own. "Though it may be going better now that someone isn't there to terrify the staff." She pointed her head to the side where Weha gave an indignant "hmph" earning a laugh from the two women. Moving next to his daughter he took his only grandchild into him arms, his hold surprisingly gentle despite the sheer size of his pincers.

"You hear how your mothers talk to me Hadru? Sometimes i think you're the only one in this entire castle who cares about me." he said dramatically as he lowered the tip of one of his pincers to the infant in his arm who grabbed ahold of it with both sets of pincers. "Ah look at you, such a firm grip already! You'll be crushing steel beams in no time." The only response this got from the infant was her taking the tip of his pincer into her mouth which got all three of them bursting out laughing.

The laughter was interrupted by a servant knocking on the door to inform Weha that the Dryl image-takers had arrived.

"Excellent!" Weha boomed with delight. "I know just what the first picture should be."

And so after the equipment was set up, the first picture was taken. The crown Princess & her wife standing side-by-side with baby Hadru seated on Selkis's massive claw while her tiny feet rested on Ishara's smaller one. The child stared at the strange contraption with a look of absolute wonder. The royal family was delighted to see how it had turned out & decided there 7 then that they would take another such picture on each of Hadru's birthdays going forward.

Several years later, Princess Scorpia stared longingly at that same picture. Looking once again, on the faces of two women who meant so much to her but she would never truly know. It was her birthday again, though it was shaping up differently than all the ones she could recall. While those were spent either on duty of, if possible, spent hiding away in her family's abandoned home, this year she was in Plumeria, surrounded by friends, well-wishers & most importantly the love of her life. Even so, she couldn't resist spending time staring at the one image of her parents that she'd thankfully managed to find in the ruins of the now rebuilt Fright Zone.

"Scorpia? Scorp...oh there you are!" Perfuma said in that voice that always seemed to resonate with joy & optimism. "Our friends are all here & waiting for the guest of honor." As she approached, Perfuma noticed the picture in her girlfriend's pincer. "are you feeling alright?"

"Oh yeah i'm just...uh...it's just that i wasn't always able to celebrate my birthday but one thing i could always do was spend some time with this photo. I just wanted to do that before everyone showed up"

Perfuma seemed to think on that for a bit before suddenly declaring "You should bring it with you."

At first Scorpia was too surprised to answer before sputtering "Oh no i shouldn't. I wouldn't want to make the others uncomfortable."

"Nonsense. The others will understand once you explain it to them." Perfuma took her massive pincers into both hands & brought them to her chest. "Besides today is about you. You should be able to celebrate with you entire family."

Scorpia could feel herself getting misty eyed. "Yeah...yeah you're right." She took a deep breath to settle her emotions before standing with the photo still in her pincer. "Ready honey?"

"Whenever you are dearest" Perfuma replied with that beautiful smile that always made Scorpia's heart melt. She held out her arm for Perfuma to take before joining the others to celebrate.

With her entire family.