The Monroe Legacy - G.4 Chapter 16 - Something Old

She had the drowning nightmare the night before her wedding and was trying not to read into it. It didn't come naturally to her. She got ready telling herself nothing was wrong, that it was just a stress response ahead of a big life event, but the dark voice in the back of her head kept telling her there was more than one way to drown. 

Lillia loved Noki. She wanted to marry him, to start there family but she couldn't shake the feeling that their comfortable little bubble was actually just the inside of a huge barrel wave, headed towards an inevitable crash. Fortunately her mother and Eva knew her well enough not to try and make her talk about it, instead conversing merrily together about the best of Noki and Lillia's past, their hopes for them and joking about the trials of marriage. With them in her corner, Lillia made it to the venue feeling almost calm and ready for the next chapter. 

Her dad and Oscar were waiting to lead her in, and Rose was peeking impatiently out to get a look at the dress. They'd kept things small, wanting to live within their means and celebrate their hard-won happiness with only those closest to them. 

She'd made it almost all the way down the aisle, finding strength in the warmth on Noki's face, the solid presence of her father beside her when she spotted the stranger in the crowd. The woman looked at her with curiosity, confusion even, before arranging her face into a neutral impression whose similarity to Lillia's almost-husband told her who she must be. Noki's mother had come to Lucky Palms.

She stumbled slightly, blushing and thrown, sure that Mrs Moon must be judging her, finding her lacking and the panic was back. 

Monroe Legacy Gen 5 Heir Poll

 Hello Humans

While I'm still scooching through writing the interrim, I've arrived at the point where I basically need to decide my heir for Gen 5 for it not to be a colossal effort/get the kiddo prepped. Therefore I'm doing a slightly early heir poll on the grounds it's also kinda fairer for the older kids not to get more attention which is usually my failure :D

Gen 5 is going to have a mystery element that connects (loosely) to the Gen 1/2 Arc so there are things that need setting up. 

I aged all the kiddos up to teen for a picture and have plopped them below with their 4 unique traits. Whoever wins will have adventurer as their fifth. I tweaked Lillia and Noki's genes to be a bit more interesting when I rebooted the legacy and I'm really happy with how the kids turned out - possibly why I ended up with 5 :S

Option 1: Rumi Monroe

Full Name: Rumi Blaise Monroe

Traits: Virtuoso, Good, Vegetarian, Heavy Sleeper

Vibe: Rumi is a drummer, a bit of a hippie and a pretty laid back chick. If she wins the vote she'd pursue the mystery on location, living nomadically and trying to stay grounded, despite the madness. 

Option 2: Asa Monroe

Full name: Asa Gray Monroe

Traits: Loner, couch potato, slob, compute whiz

Vibe: If Asa is heir, he'll try and use tech to progress the mystery, using whatever parts of the internet he can to avoid having to physically dig. Ew. He will be a reluctant explorer.

Option 3: Matisse Monroe

Full name: Matisse Maev Monroe

Traits: Artistic, brave, excitable, technophobe

Vibe: Matisse couldn't be more different from her big brother, she'll pursue the mystery with great energy, if not much finesse. Her hands on approach may put her risk but she figures maybe it'll also inspire her great work.

Option 4: Revel Monroe

Full name: Revel Rose Monroe

Traits: Perceptive, unlucky, disciplined, friendly

Vibe: Matisse's twin, Revel has spent a lot of time cleaning up after her impulsive sister but it's never gotten her ahead. In pursuing the mystery, she believes that order and preparation will see her triumph, if only her luck will hold. 

Option 5: Hero Monroe

Full name: Hero Shay Monroe

Traits: Rebel, eccentric, heat lover, nurturing

Vibe: Hero has always gone her own way, and she doesn't really care if it's legal or not. To solve this mystery and protect her family, she'll not only think outside the box, she'll burn the box down. 

CAST YOUR VOTE HERE

The Monroe Legacy - G.4 Chapter 15 - Rose Intervenes

In all the great love stories, the destined lovers come together in a shower of sparks. Stars align, shoulders bump in a coffee line and the twists and turns are gentle and minimally painful. Lillia called bullshit. 

She'd had a lot of boyfriends. Sometimes it had been romantic but more often than not it had been transactional, calculated; the elite of two circles extending their status, ensuring some meaningless title, proving she could get what she wanted. And now?

Whatever it was she had with Noki was certainly not rose petals and sunset strolls. She loved him. Lillia could admit that to herself now, and she was pretty sure he felt the same but they'd both hurt so many people it would never feel the pure and exciting rush of storybook love. And anyway, they were "just friends".

Since he'd moved to Lucky Palms they had spent a lot of time together, late nights at Sparky's, TV binges and dinner at his place. He'd even briefly met her parents and joined Lillia and Rose for a quick drink. From the outside it seemed they'd found an easy friendship, inside Lillia felt she was at war with herself. 

Surely nothing good could come from giving into the feelings that had torn her life apart? Wouldn't her and Noki crossing that line prove right all the awful things she'd heard whispered in her last semester at college? And her family would never approve. Rose would never truly approve...

In the end it was Rose who made it happen. 

Watching her idiot cousin and ex circle each other like self-flagellating martyrs had been fun for a few weeks but now it was pathetic. Anyone could see they wanted to be together and honestly? It was getting annoying to try not to yell "JUST KISS HIM" in Lillia's face every time she turned up for a coffee or a drink looking all sad and faraway. 

Rose had decided that Mugsy was going to marry her and Mugsy was fine with that. Rose did not want morose Lillia at her engagement party so she hatched a plan. 

Lillia walked into the empty bar with a puzzled look. Had she got the wrong time. An awkward throat-clear alerted her to Noki's presence. 

"Rose isn't with you? She said 5PM..." He looked equally confused. 

"Um- I thought this was supposed to be her party". Lillia struggled to connect the dots and was interrupted by the snick of a letter being slid down the bar by the barkeep.

"Rose told me to give you this," the woman said, clearly enjoying her part in the plot. "She said to tell you that she's bored of the 'will they wont they' and you can't come to her actual party until you 'sort your shit out'. 

Lillia's cheeks burned. It was so Rose. She forced herself to look at Noki and saw the same scared, hopeful look dancing in his eyes as was swirling in her chest. He held out a hand. 

"You wanna dance on it?" he said. And she did. 

Everything and nothing changed. Lillia and Noki did the same things, but there was an honesty in the space between them. They'd agreed without really saying as much to take it slow, so there was no mad tumble into bed but where before they'd had stepped back from a brush of fingers while walking, a head on a shoulder during a movie they now leaned in. 

Noki knew all her secrets, her worst parts and he wasn't going anywhere. She knew all his, from the mad family to the disaster of his finances and she was still in it too. For both of them this was new territory.

Rose claimed to be disappointed there had been no fireworks, no steamy bar bathroom hookup but Lillia could tell she wasn't really. Nobody was disappointed. Her parents hadn't even blinked when she'd told them her and Noki were feeling things out romantically, for the first time in a long time Lillia wasn't hiding anything from anyone, there were no games being played, it was easy.

Noki told her he loved her over beers they hadn't waited to get cold while watching a hospital drama. Lillia told him back after she'd had a second to collect herself while refilling the popcorn. Knowing it and saying it were two different things. Letting herself feel it was yet another. 

It felt right though, another clear truth in the increasingly simple life she was building. 

With things falling into place Lillia finally knew what she wanted to pursue. She signed up to a business course which, along with her major in sport would enable her to work with young athletes on building sustainable careers. Maybe all the bad things that had happened to her, all the bad things she'd done all on her own weren't the end of the world, but just shaping a new one. For the first time Lillia felt like maybe she had something worthwhile to add to her family's legacy. She might not be a star, a genius or even a particularly nice person, but she had kept going, kept learning. 

Reading back over some of her family's journals she supposed persistence was what had really defined each of the heirs before her. Maybe her trials had been self-constructed but that didn't mean overcoming them was meaningless. She could build something better for her kids. Her family would support her in doing that and Noki's were out of the picture. 

They had a clear shot, a real chance. That was better than some bullshit fairy tale happy ever after and nothing was going to get in their way.

Read Chapter 16 - Something Old

The Monroe Legacy - Gen. 4 Chapter 14 - The End of Avoidance

 She's hoped he wouldn't come - that he'd run away like she had but vanishing had never been Noki's style. He was on time, looking only a little nervous which somehow made Lillia's sweaty palms even clammier. She gestured at the next sun lounger, slightly further away than would make for a comfortable conversation. A calculated move to try and keep things short. Impersonal.

"Hi," he said. It didn't feel impersonal.

"You wanted to see me?" Despite everything Rose had said, everything Lillia knew to be true in her cousin's outburst the night before, she still didn't know how to have this talk. She didn't know what she wanted so she figured it was best to let Noki take the lead while she tried to work things out.

"Um. Yes. It's about Lucky Palms. Well sort of. It's about you and Lucky Palms, you in Lucky Palms... am I making any sense?" He stumbled for words and Lillia couldn't help the affectionate smile that quirked her lip. He's never been unsure in college, until that last time, and it reminded her of - no. She didn't want to think about that.

"So far I've understood you have something to say about me and/or Lucky Palms in various configurations", she kept her tone light, and he looked at her, something of the old dynamic snapping between them.

"Right." Noki gathered himself. "So I've had an offer. Two actually. One of a job, here in Lucky Palms and another from the University to buy Yellow Cottage for more than it's really worth. It's a chance for me to have a real fresh start, one that I could never afford otherwise... but I know that this is your hometown. "Your family is here, Rose is here, and I've made things hard enough for you. So - I wanted to give you the chance to tell me to stay away. And I will. I can look for another job".

He tailed off. Lillia stood and walked towards the water. She knew without looking that he had followed. She paused.

"You know, I really liked that Yellow Cottage" she mused, "I got the impression you did too?"

Noki agreed. "I did. I do. But I can't really afford to keep it. Nobody's hiring anything close to what I'd have to pay to keep it up.

"Your parents still haven't reconsidered?" Lillia was surprised. Was it really so terrible to not go through with an arranged marriage in the 21st Century. On look at Anoki's face told her that apparently it was. He looked sad, angry and resolute all in the fraction of a second.

"No," was his only response.

"Well Lucky Palms is a pretty big town, and I assume you're not planning to work for any of my family's businesses? Lillia asked.

"The job is just out of town, New Business Junior Associate at Rowson Hydroelectrics. It sounds boring as hell. It is  boring as hell but it pays, and they didn't make my dad's list of companies to call and tell not to hire me so..."He sounded matter of fact, resigned to his limited options and Lillia almost envied him the simplicity of his choice. She still had no idea what to pursue.

"You should take the job" she said. "What happened between us was a mess and a mistake but we don't have to keep paying for it forever." Lillia couldn't quite believe how simple it sounded in clear air. 

"Really?" Noki sounded doubtful, but pleased.

"What?" Lillia joked, "Surely I wasn't that big of a controlling bitch at college that you expected me to ban you from an entire town for my convenience?"

"Weeeellllll-oof", he started, before Lillia punched him in the arm.

"And there I was about to take you up on your long ago offer of friendship Anoki Moon. Such a shame your sense of humor is still that of a grade schooler". He grinned at her and she suddenly remembered why he'd been so dangerous, what his smile - the real one rather than the knowing smirk - could do to her.

"You really wanna be friends with me?" Noki sounded so hopeful that Lillia didn't have the heart to say no, even as all her cautious braincells screamed to run, maintain distance, guard against the man who was somehow standing much closer than she'd thought he was. 

"Sure." She shrugged, stepping back. "I think we can probably manage friends. Rose asked me to tell her what you wanted so I will make sure she's cool with it before we plan any bar crawls or... friendship bracelet ceremonies."

Lillia's sentence trailed into silence. Had she given away the flip her stomach still did for Noki in the pause when she desperately racked her brain for platonic activities they might do together. Had he caught the faint blush that chased the definitely not platonic activities that had briefly flirted on the edge of her mind. Had he-

He stepped forward and took her hands. 

"Thank you Lillia. You've made all this sound easy but I know it might not have been. I appreciate the second chance. I owe you a beer."

"Third chance." She lightly stepped out of his reach, keeping her tone light and even. "So I think you owe me three beers!" She walked away before he could see that her hands were shaking.

The Monroe Legacy - Gen. 4 Chapter 13 - Who Are You Punishing?

"Of course you're here." Lillia didn't care that her voice carried a little too far across the empty terrace. "It's 5AM Noki, do not try me".

He crooked an eyebrow but otherwise didn't react to her harsh welcome. 

"Hello Lillia. It's nice to see you too. I know it's early but your mum told me that you finish at 6 and I would really like for us to talk when you're done? I wanted to give you some time to think about it. I figured if I came at 6 you'd just run." Noki sounded the same as always, though the smug confidence that had carried him through college was gone.

He fidgeted on his chair.

Lillia frowned.

"You want me to think about whether or not I want to talk to you while I wait on you?"

Noki shrugged. "I can go wait somewhere? In the park round the corner? Come back at 6? Or I can stay, I promise I'll leave a good tip".

"I don't want anything from you!" It escaped before Lillia could realise what she was saying. Noki's eyes went big as she clapped a hand over her mouth. "What I mean is that I don't want to feel like I owe you a chat. I'll talk to you if I want to, not because you threw money at the problem. We're not in college any more and I'm trying to be different".

He nodded slowly. "You know I was jo- you know what never mind. I'll go wait in that park. Come by if you want to see me Lillia. I would - well - just do what you want okay?"

Lillia didn't watch to see if he looked back on his way out, wiping down the table with excessive vigour and dumping the cleaning kit back behind the bar. Sparky looked at her with the sort of kind curiosity she'd spent months trying not to attract.

"You wanna tell me why you're scaring off paying customers Miss Lil?" he asked.

She shook her head. "He's... just a guy things ended weirdly with Sparky and - ," Lillia's sentence hung unfinished as she stared at a spot on the counter, twisting a pen in her hands.

Sparky smiled, nodded, this made more sense than the nothing he'd had to go on before. 

"Why don't you finish up a bit early? Go do what you need to. Mitch and I can handle things," he said, and then held his tongue and his neutral expression until Lillia had crumpled up her apron and dashed for the door.

She stood for a second, looking in the direction of the park, with a curious expression, then
got in her car and drove home as the sun rose over the desert.

The Monroe Legacy - G.4. Chapter 12 - Now... Where Was I?

 

I suppose you're wondering how we got here. How is it that after six years of silence and a cliffhanger that must surely have been fatal to your interest by now, Lillia Monroe is standing in her wedding dress as if no time has passed. 

We last saw her, humbled and heartbroken by the loss of a friend, a possible romance dead on arrival and facing the disapproval of her family. Home from college but with no idea where to go, who to be, and on her own for the first time without the shield of popularity and her family's legacy to uphold.

How could a young woman, only just beginning to reckon with the harms she's caused, the lives her lies so carelessly derailed, get back to a place where she could peacefully walk down the aisle? Could that self-centred child ever be ready to start a life with a partner that would stand the test of time?

Well, if you'll bear with me, I'll tell you...

It's been so long that when I found these Monroe Gen 5 pics in my harddrive I couldn't remember who the supporting characters were supposed to be and that made me sad :(

Lillia is a beautiful bride though :)