Rose's POV

I got it! While waiting for the unknown material to cool off and set, I came up with the perfect name for the substance. I will call it imperium, the latin root of the word power. This can be used in a variety of ways, such as the power an individual may wield or the power an individual holds rank wise.

My sword is now cooled off and it is time to personalize it, my favorite part. I get a sheet of paper and sketch a couple different designs for the handle of my sword, most times they are small designs, but I feel like this will be my best creation yet.

In the end, I come up with one larger design, 2 smaller designs, and a quote to be engraved along the spine of my sword.

Facing up on the front side of my sword, there will be two dragons opposite of each other who's tails are encasing the moon while the sun is between them. I drew this because I feel that although there is darkness and light in the world, shown by the sun & moon, we will all stick together through thick and thin, shown by the two dragons. This will be a larger design that will be at the hilt of my sword / base of my handle and will cover most of the empty space.



Along the fuller / spine of my sword will be a quote that has been in my head for a while, waiting to be read by others. It will be written in cursive:

in perfect harmony as one in peace, light will prevail and balance will maintain

I feel a need to engrave those specific words onto my creation, no more, no less. The words came to me in a dream and I have not forgotten them in the least. Along with this, about an inch away from where the quote ends, will be the smallest design to be engraved onto my beauty. This sketch of two dragons portraying yin and yang, in perfect balance between darkness and light. This somewhat plays off of the quote and larger design, but also shows a uniqueness; No matter what occurs, in order to properly function in a community, there must be a perfect balance of both good and bad.



Flipping over my sword on the back side, there will be a smaller design of a head of a dragon that is darkened and bolder to signify strength to the sword's wielder. This sketch will be in the same location as the previous larger design, yet just on its back face.



When I am done with my sketches, I get to work on my artistry. Three and a half uninterrupted hours later, and I have a sleek, lightweight sword. My craft a beautiful black-like obsidian color, that is reflective of light. It will bear no scratches and is sharpened to no end. No doubt, this is a deadly weapon. Whoever said nothing can be perfect was absolutely lying, because this is my best design yet with creativity shown in the craftsmanship. I feel an overwhelming amount of pride knowing that I was the one able to make this weapon, let alone a masterpiece out of imperium.

I take my sword off of the table and rush to show the triplets.



(Think of this as a reference to color with the previous specific designs and engravings added to it that were mentioned before.)

"I did it! I did it!" I hoorah. The brothers pile in the center of their shop where I am anxiously waiting to show off my work. The Smiths know I often do not show off my craftsmanship, so I can only guess that they are curious to know why I am so eager to gain their approval. They all give me their full attention, gratefully, because they were probably doing something important yet dropped it for me.

"Okay, so I made a sword out of imperium, which is what I have decided to call the material that you lot were about to throw away. The word imperium is a literal translation of power in Latin, but that's beside the point because I feel that this is my best work, and I am nervous you all won't like it, yet I put a lot of hard work into it though, of course if you find that it is not suitable- " Brandon cuts off my nervous ramble with a hearty laugh. Landon joins in with his eldest, while London only chuckles.

"No matter the look, we know it will be amazing. And you want to know how I know this?" Brandon asks. I shake my head in response. "It is because we personally trained you and know what you are capable of." He honestly tells me.

"Yeah kid, if you say that it is your best work, no doubt it would be less than fantastic." London reassures.

"What they said." Landon adds in. With that, I take a deep breath and unsheathe my sword, showing off its perfection. It is eerily silent. When I gain the confidence, I take a leap of faith and look into the brothers' faces. They are showing very different emotions despite sharing the same womb for 9 months. I mean, Brandon looks shocked, Landon seems proud, and London is just .... awestricken.

"H-How?" Brandon stutters out.

"I don't know really, I just followed my instincts and welded it, then I added some sketches I have been working on, along with some words that I haven't been able to get out of my mind." I say, not really wanting them to know of the energy transfer ordeal quite yet.

"This is incredible, astounding!!" London says excitedly.

"Yes, not only were you able to weld - um ... imperium, you made it into the finest sword I have ever come across. This is true piece of art. I mean, I know that you like to draw and paint and sketch with your oils but this, this .. this is just- " Brandon compliments.

"It's extraordinary! I say this wholeheartedly, this is the best sword I have ever laid eyes upon." London finishes for him.

"This is one of a kind, truly." Landon says honestly, still looking shocked. There comments make me feel so relieved. It's because they mentored me that I felt a need to make them proud, and hearing their sincere words has made me extremely happy.

"Thank you." I beam. We remain in silence, all looking at my finest work. It takes a while before I suddenly realize the time and sheathe my sword rushing out, thanking them repeatedly, in hopes of making it to the orphanage to begin dinner. It's nearing half past 5 in the evening, and I must begin dinner if I want everyone to be full and have a great nights rest for the festivities tomorrow. Also, I want to bake some treats for everyone in celebration, especially since I am 15. I get there right on time, to see Isa reading on the counter and Gabby playing with her cards, both waiting for my arrival.

"Sorry girls, we may begin prepping dinner now." It does not take long for the twins and I to finish making a butter-garlic pasta with yesterday's leftover buttermilk bread. I pour some water into all of our cups and wait to serve dinner until everyone is here. Although, we do not spend time together everyday, it is an unspoken rule that we eat dinner together like a family. It is nearing 6 o'clock when the last person, Colt, walks in.

I remember him telling me that he wanted to spend some time near the lake today with his girlfriend, Madison, such a hopeless romantic my brother is. He washes his hands and takes his seat at the table where I begin to serve everyone our dinner.

It generally goes that the older kids have more of a serving than some of the younger kids, but I make sure no one leaves the table hungry. After filling Gabby's plate, I take the rest of the pasta, which is about the same size as Kyle's serving, and put it on my plate. They wait till I return from placing the dishes in the sink. I sit down in my seat when we all say grace to the goddess and begin eating. All of us go around laughing and chatting about our day, all paying attention to each other.

When it gets to my turn, I briefly go about describing my day until it gets to my sword. Making sure my hands are clean, I show my 'siblings' my baby and their reactions aren't too far off from the Smith triplets' reactions. The compliments fill in and a light blush covers my face from the praise. When we move off of the discussion of my sword and it gets to Colt's turn, he blushes like a tomato, describing his day with Madison like a love struck teenager. When the twins ask if Colt has kissed Madison in sinc, we all snicker thinking that he hasn't grown the pair to do it. But, when it falls silent and he blushes a deeper red than before, Texas and I gasp in shock, the boys cheering and congratulating Colt for 'manning up', meanwhile the twins and Autumn squeal like little schoolgirls.

The thing about Colt is that it is super easy to read him because he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Some people call him girly for it, but I believe he is stronger for doing that because it's takes strength to admit your feelings. Anyway, Colt is super respectful when it comes to females, more humble than most. And for being one of the better looking people in our village, previous to this day he had never kissed a girl before. That must mean Madison is really special to him.

Getting over our initial shock, Texas and I swear to each other to gossip with Madison about their date, talking to Colt about more date-worthy ideas. I chat with Kyle about his training, giving him tips on being stealthy and light on his feet, which he accepts happily. I also talk to Autumn about her classes and where she can learn more languages, because she too is one of the many fascinated with the Latin language I am fluent in. I listen to the twins finish each other's sentences, Isa rambling about her new favorite genre of books, Gabby rambling on about a game she created with Isabelle and their friend group. Oliver is just talking about how he is nervous for tomorrow and me providing him comfort. I also mention to Luke about how their will be some new internships opening up at the blacksmith shops this coming winter.

Taking a step back from the conversations, looking around the room, I see how everyone here has a place. Nobody is left out, even Oliver, Texas and Isa are mindlessly chatting about. I see the whole table is either listening or talking with one another, with happiness seeping from their faces. I just smile bright to myself in my own little world, grateful for how lucky I am to have a family like mine.

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