Hazel and Rex walked through the portal Lewis made them hand in hand. Though Rex was stopped by Simone who had his sleeve. “Can I borrow him a moment?”

“Of course,” Hazel bowed to her, kissed Rex, and found a barrel to sit on in the corner while Simone had a few words with her son.

“You shouldn’t ever doubt yourself, Rex,” Simone’s eyes were full of worry as she closed the portal behind her so they had a bit of privacy from the terrorists known as his younger siblings. Simone took him in for a young and kissed his forehead.

“You are one of my precious children and I don’t ever want you feeling like you don’t matter or that you aren’t good enough.” She pet his hair. “Don’t get mad at her for telling me… She was worried about you and honestly, I’ve known for a while something was wrong. The next time you feel like that please don’t to me. I’ll tell Lewis to fuck off even… It can just be the two of us. I promise.”

When Simone pulled Rex aside, he was expecting another conversation about sex, but what he got was a lot different. He had seen Simone try to get close to each of the kids when they were feeling down, but Rex had fought back against that idea from day one. Simone had seemed to catch on, but it seems as though Hazel talking to her had re-invigorated her efforts to make sure Rex was okay.

“Sim-, Mom…don’t…” He grumbled as she pet his hair. “I just…I want to fix things on my own. I’ve always only ever relied on myself. So I…” He glanced over and saw Hazel, and sighed. “Fine…I guess I can…ask for help more often.” The boy took a deep breath, and sighed. “Thanks…Mom…”

He waved goodbye to her, and started back to Hazel, taking her hand. He gave her a bit of side eye for telling Simone, but in the end, he was already well on his way to forgiving her.

The streets of Sularia were busy as always, and the heat today was something else. Knowing the weather, Rex had chosen to wear a rather simple outfit again, choosing his usual sleeveless tunic and short pants combo to keep cool. He was tolerating the sweaty hands though, because he wanted to show support to Hazel as they walked through Sularia.

Already, he could feel the gazes on him. Soon, though, there was one in particular.

Natayl.

The girl was the daughter of a rather prominent figure in the Yellow District, and she knew how to throw that weight around. Her ‘allowance’ bought her lavish outfits and ‘toys’, though her choice of word was questionable when it came to taste. It was on this particular day that the dark skinned beauty was wearing an elegant, sky blue silk and silver sarong, showing off her curves. Natayl had a rather large man, probably twice her age following her. He was carrying a bag; probably for Natayl.

“Samson…” Natayl said as she spotted Rex and Hazel in the crowd. “Be a dear fiance, and go fetch me some water. I spy a plaything that I want to torment…” She approached the couple, and immediately took Rex and dragged him into the nearest alley, leaving Hazel to follow.

“My, my, Rex…” Natayl said as she looked him up and down. “It looks like you went on an adventure of sorts. I could use you tonight…maybe we can work off some of that tension.” Without waiting for an answer, she glanced to Hazel. “Though…I’ll need you to ditch the undesirable. I can’t let it be known that my boy toy is associating with…her kind.”

Rex yanked his hand away from her. “Natayl…glad we could meet like this. I’m uh…ending our relationship here.”

“Excuse me…?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Oh I see. She must have put you up to this. Threatened you? Put you under a spell.” Natayl got coy, and started to bat her eyelashes. “Do you need me to break the spell with a hot and heavy session?”

“That’s all I ask of you,” Simone ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead before she headed home.

Hazel took his hand and gave him a squeeze. She saw the side evil eye her way and she looked away innocently with a smile. Hazel was back in her own dress after practically being wrestled out of it. It was more like a saree and she had her shawl up over her head. She wasn’t comfortable with everyone seeing her but Rex kept her safe.

Natayl was going to be a problem for Hazel. She knew that and she was almost disheartened at it all. Here in Sularia was different from Benin. She didn’t feel like she had the same kind of power here in these streets. The feeling of helplessness washed over her as she took off after them.

“No, he doesn’t,” Hazel spoke up though her voice was much timider than that back in Benin. “Please leave him be. He doesn’t want you anymore.”

Natayl just looked towards Hazel, “You don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot have.”

“He’s not an object to possess,” Hazel fired back and Natayl let out an exhausted sigh.

“Why did you have to pick a stray of all things? It makes me feel dirty…” She tickled under Rex’s chin before she went and slapped Hazel across her face. Just like Hazel thought… She was just going to take the abuse. “Rex is just going to get dragged down by you. No one even wants to touch you, not even Rex. Come on now… We can go back to my place. This creature can get out of Sularia now before I tell my brothers.”

Hazel clenched her teeth and her fists but she suddenly just let it go like she had lost the fight already. She was terrified.

Rex was getting annoyed with Natayl’s attitude, but he could handle her. It was when she started to go directly after Hazel that it went from annoying to rage inducing. The moment she slapped Hazel, Rex’s entire demeanor changed. His eyes glared at her as she tried to use her sugar coated words to convince Rex to leave Hazel.

“Oh…oh this is priceless,” Natayl said as she noticed Rex’s behavior. “You want that thing more than you want me?” She walked over to Hazel, and ripped the shawl off of her head, throwing it to the ground. “You want this…over me?” She leaned down, her breasts practically falling out of the small top she was wearing.

“Rex…you’re so much cuter when you keep your mouth shut and just fuck, you know?” she whispered. “But if my body isn’t enough…I have money…servants…the entire of Sularia is my oyster. This vile beast that you dare call a woman…that you dare fraternize with…” She gave a venomous look to Hazel. “Has nothing.”

“She has a smile a like,” Rex said, clenching his teeth. “And a nice laugh. She’s smart…not just street smart, but actually knows her shit. She can fight too. I’ve seen it….she’s beautiful to me, and you? You’re a fucking joke. I’m not smart. Hell, I’m a fucking dumbass. But at least I know better than to throw my father’s status and money around like it’s mine. What would you be without it?”

Natayl gasped, pretending to be offended. “Oh no, the idiot street rat with the good looks thinks I care.” She dropped the act almost immediately. “I can have anyone in this city in my bed tonight. I feel sorry for you, Rex…I chose you, but you’ve squandered it.” She yawned, “It’s a shame. You were a really good lay too. I’ll miss it.” She looked to Hazel, “You and this…filth can go.” She smiled cruelly. “Oh…but little beastie…he’ll get tired of you. And when he does…he’ll come crawling back to me. I might take him back…on the condition that he trashes your little cottage…”

“You hear that, Rex?” she said. “If you want me back…you know just what to do.”

“Hazel…” Rex said through gritted teeth. “We can go now. Before I decide that hitting a girl isn’t beneath me.”

Hazel almost panicked at having her shawl taken but she stood her ground if only not to make things more volatile. She took the stinging words but Rex’s words made her smile a bit.

“What the fuck are you smiling at?”

“Not you… that’s for fucking sure,” Hazel said it almost too softly but once Rex said he was ready to go Hazel held out her hand and Rex took it. “You are wrong Natayl… He’s not going to get bored of me. If he was going to… He already would have.” They had something she knew that much and she wanted to find out more.

“I don’t want to see you back in my city!” Natayl yelled.

Above her, a glaive came down and almost stabbed Natayl. “WHAT THE FUCK!” The girl yelled looking up and suddenly she looked like she saw a ghost. “Lady Bryony…”

“Your city? Last time I checked this was the Rose family city. Last time I checked Rex was Angela’s step-grandson… This is HIS city.” Bryony glared down at Natayl. “Get lost before I ask to have your father’s businesses revoked.” The woman was terrifying.

Bryony dropped down from the high building and landed taking her glaive out of the ground as Natayl took off. “You shouldn’t take that Hazel.”

“You know what happened last time,” Hazel frowned. “I don’t… I can’t.” She was shaking now. Bryony picked up Hazel’s shawl and threw it to Rex to put around her.

“I’m happy for you both but it will be a hard road. I won’t be able to always keep watch and she seems like a vindictive bitch. Just be careful,” Bryony gave a smile. “I think I made your chickens fat.”

“Please don’t tell me they are rolling around now…” The little joke got a laugh out of Bryony as Hazel told it.

“Rex, take her out of the city, please. She looks like she’s going to pass out from nerves.” The mother was at least honest as she disappeared from sight.

Once Hazel and Rex were back at the cottage… Hazel threw herself into his chest and started to cry. “I hate it here. I hate them. This is my home too.” She was still a teenage girl underneath it all. She was sensitive and timid. She pulled him up into the loft where she just laid with him. “I don’t really care about what she said… It was the slap. I… Ugh. Maybe it’s payback for the Alice thing.”

It was really impressive how the Terrowin family continued to draw such important and powerful people around it, and the appearance of Bryony merely proved that fact. Natayl was stunned, but not as stunned as Rex was. They had only met once, and briefly, before Rex had been sent on his way. Now, Hazel’s mother was standing between them and Natayl, offering up solid reasoning on how it was more his city than it was Natayl’s.  Natayl left in a furious fashion, leaving Bryony and her daughter alone with Rex. “That was…impressive,” Rex said as he bowed a little in respect. He wasn’t entirely sure how to address Bryony at the moment, and something in the back of his mind told him that joking around with her probably wasn't the best course of action. Even he wasn't that stupid.Bryony was able to get a small laugh out of Hazel, and Rex smiled too. He just wanted her to be okay.  "Yes 'mam!" Rex said, snapping to attention at her request to take Hazel home.  Much to Rex's surprise, getting out of Sularia wasn't too stressful. For the most part, they avoided the larger crowds and ignored any of the rude stares they were given, and soon they were back at the cottage.Rex wasn't sure what to do other than hold Hazel, and when she brought him to her loft, all they could do was lay there. Normally, Rex would have been estastic to be in bed with her, but this…"Hazel…" Rex said, merely holding her close. "I wish I knew what to do." The teen closed his eyes. "If only you could live on the island with us. I'm sure Lew…Pops wouldn't care, and Mom would adore having you around."

Hazel curled up into Rex and she frowned a bit, “Maybe but that would just be running away wouldn’t it? My business is here… My life. All of it. I don’t hate this place… I just hate how I’m treated. I keep going back and forth on whether or not this place is my home… It is.”

She pushed her head up under his chin and made herself calm down and center herself. The squid plush nearby was growling at the situation. He was upset that Hazel was unstable, “Jack… You need to calm down.” Her voice sounded so dead but still… She hugged herself to him even more tightly. “I’ll make it I swear Rex… Just have to endure it. How long can she actually stay mad if she has so many people at her beck and call?”

Two months passed and things were seemingly better. Mostly because if she wasn’t in the shack she was in Benin with Rex. The glares from Alice were hysterical but she was mostly harmless. Today she was working on a brew. “If you don’t stop you are going to mess me up,” she joked towards Rex who was wrapped around her.

He was in a particularly naughty mood too and Hazel let out a small noise as he nipped her neck. “Your teasing is going to get you into trouble someday.” She reached up and when she couldn’t get what she needed Rex lifted up lightly if only to perv some more. Setting her back down she added it into the cauldron.

For the most part, Hazel let him do whatever he wanted as long as it stayed within the original boundary they had set and it was hard… Trying to decide just went she wanted to cross it but she felt with due time, sooner than later, that she was going to give in.

Rex was just about to do something even naughtier, when there was a sudden knock at the door. With a reaction speed that Rex couldn’t even follow, his hand was smacked with a wooden spoon as she called out who was there.

“Xeik,” a voice called out from outside. “Here for a few things.”

“Uncle Xeik?’ Rex asked as Hazel gave him permission to enter.

Surely enough, the Divine Mender strolled in with a small paper list and a smile. “Good afternoon, Hazel. I’m here to pick up some herbs and do a checkup. Your mother made the request a few weeks ago but my schedule has been full. I can slide you in today if you have the time.” He paused, and looked to Rex. “Ah, so Lewis wasn’t pulling my leg. I’m…surprised at the very least, Rex. But not as surprised as I am about you, Hazel.” His smile never wavered. “Well, I’m happy for you.”

He passed the list over to Rex, who started reading it off. “Hey, Hazel. I know what most of this is…I can gather it together while you do the check up, if you want.” In the past few months, he had taken up trying to learn what Hazel did. While he was rather inept at the actual brewing, he was pretty good with memorizing the names and associating them with the herbs.

“That sounds great, Rex. If Hazel is okay with it?” Xeik asked.

Hazel wasn’t shocked that her mother asked Xeik to stop by. She could be unstable especially with what happened and she gave a mischievous smile as Xeik clowned Rex a little. “Thank you! It’s been really slow but good.” Days, where she had been so bored, were now filled with Rex entertaining her.

Looking over at what Rex was reading Hazel nodded, “Yeah, you can go get it but don’t get caught in the briar patch again… It took me all day to get all of it off of you.” She kissed him lightly as he took off and blushed lightly as she knew that Xeik was going to start hounding her now.

“Go ahead and ask what you want to ask,” Hazel was almost laughing which wasn’t normal for her. She got the plush and brought him in for the check-up too. “Jack has been happy lately too but the… incident a few months ago put him on edge. I started to have nightmares again.” Hazel explained what they had gone through with Natayl.

As Rex went off to find the herbs, Ceik and Hazel sat down at one of her small tables.

“Hello, Jack,” Xeik said with a smile as he pulled out a piece of parchment. “All right, then.” He started to write down some basic information, and then looked up.

“Miss Hazel Black. You’re, seventeen, right?” He looked up to see her nod. “Right.” Another couple of scribbles. “Now for the annoying things. Have you weighed yourself recently? How have you been eating? You mentioned nightmares. Have you been sleeping okay?”

Hazel waited for him to finish his initial barrage of questions, and started with the first. “No, not recently. Rex has been making me eat three times a day. I’ve been sleeping decently. Normally Rex stays and wakes me up if the nightmares start. It’s exhausting when they do…”

Xeik nodded and had been writing the entire time Hazel had been speaking. “Ah yes, and on the subject of Rex. Are you two sexually active?”

Hazel knew she had to answer truthfully. After all, Xeik was only trying to help. “We haven’t had sex. We’ve done…other stuff, but not sex.”

“Got it,” Xeik said as he started to write. “Sexually acti-” The notes stopped. “Wait. What?”

“We…haven’t had sex?’ Hazel replied.

“You and Rex…haven’t…” He looked down at his notes. “All right…I think Rex is in need of a check up. He might have a head injury of some kind..”

“I mean, he gropes me a lot,” Hazel replied, blushing.

“That was a joke, Hazel,” Xeik replied.

“Oh…”

Xeik smiled, “It’s okay, Hazel. Rex is…well, he’s not acting like his usual self. That’s not a bad thing, but it is surprising to us who have come to expect a certain behavior. The fact that it has changed means that you’re important to him.” The Divine Mender started to write more, and then asked a few more questions. Hazel answered them, and during the last question, Rex came back with a small basket of herbs.

“Got everything,” Rex said with a smile. On his left legs were a lot of briars. “I…uh…mostly avoided the briar patch. But I didn’t fall in it this time.” He glanced outside. “I think the chickens are mad at me since I don’t feed them as much as your mom does…”