Hollywood Zenith

On one side sat the whole Rothschild family except for Samuel\'s parents, while on the other were the girls. Arthur, who had just arrived, took matters into his own hand and arranged an impromptu meeting place.

" It\'s nice to meet you. I am Kenneth, Samuel\'s grandfather. These are.." Kenneth introduced the others one by one. He could see they were nervous, so he led the conversation.

Samuel, somewhere in the middle, did the same and introduced everyone to his family. He saw that Iblis was not here, but that was not a big deal. They were already acquainted with her.

" So? I never knew Sami had such a wide range of tastes in girls!" As usual, when Mary opened her mouth, something controversial would pop out of it.

" Mary, behave! I am sorry for my daughter." Margaret quickly shut her down.

" It\'s okay. Iblis had mentioned that Miss Mary likes to joke around." Maia said. They had a long conversation about Samuel\'s family before coming here. But it was not the case with Liliana and Rosaline.

" We had also heard a lot about you from her and Samuel. It\'s so nice of you to attend the party." Patricia said with a smile.

" The pleasure is all ours. It was a sudden invitation, but I always wanted to see where Sami grew up." Paige said.

" Should we say something?" Rosaline whispered to Liliana.

" I don\'t know."

" By the way, where are mother and father? They said they would be here to receive us." Samuel asked.

" I don\'t know about Robert but Laura is at Buckingham Palace meeting her aunt. That woman is hard to invite, we don\'t know if she will show up, but it\'s cordial to give the invitation in person." Kenneth informed him.

" I am sorry? Aunt? Palace?" Liliana spoke up after hearing exciting words. Rosaline was the only other one who was curious.

" You didn\'t know? The grandmother is the older sister of the Queen. Which makes our family very connected to the monarchy." Samuel said. It was common knowledge and one of the first things one would find on the internet if they searched for the Rothschild family.

" Eh? So you are like a prince?" Rosaline exclaimed. An actual prince and nobles sat before her, casually chatting like it was nothing. Anyone would be surprised to know about it.

" He wishes! You don\'t usually retain your titles after marrying off the family. My case was a little special as I voluntarily abolished my title \'Countess of Snowdon\'." Margaret elaborated a little.

" Isn\'t it better to be the Queen? If you don\'t mind me asking." Maia asked. Only some days one got to pick the minds of the shadow queen. A cliche title in all accord but pretty accurate considering the power growth of the Rothschild family.

" Well, if you put it that way..." Margaret played like she was weighing her options.

" Are you seriously thinking about it now? After all these years!" Kenneth was surprised, but a small chuckle escaped her mouth, seeing his reaction.

" Relax, honey! I was only joking about it. Getting with you was a blessing, at least briefly." She said with a mischievous smile.

" Seriously."

Everyone laughed, seeing the old couple bicker; it rejuvenated the atmosphere as it began to feel more and more like an interview. Amelia, watching from a distance with her husband George, came forward and said a few words to the girls.

" I was also the same as you when I first met them. I was nervous reck back them." Amelia sat down beside them.

" It was before my time, but I can\'t believe it after knowing your temper." Samuel ruined the moment by trying to be funny.

" Can\'t you see you are not really needed here?" Amelia gave him the side eyes, and he understood what they meant.

" I am Amelia; we failed to meet, Rosaline, right?"

" Yes." She noticed Amelia said it to her specifically. Everyone else seemed familiar with her. She looked toward Liliana for answers.

" I met her when she visited my home back in the States. I failed to tell you about it as we were swamped for the past few days."

" As I was saying, when I met them, I thought they would be scary, but they are all normal except a few people like Uncle Donald, who is probably cooped up in the library or my husband, who is obsessed with making movies."

" Is it that bad? I am just surprised by everything." Rosaline sighed.

" Are you kidding? You look like an alien trying to fit in the crowd." Paige said honestly.

" Ease up, girl. We have got to meet the final bosses." Maia smirked, eluding to Samuel\'s parents.

" They are not that bad. Robert is stern but a good person while Laura is..." Amelia failed to find the words to describe her.

" eccentric?" Samuel, who was sneakily hearing everything, chimed in.

" Right! No! Is that what you think? I am telling her when she is here!" Maia said, which made his face lose all colours.

" Please don\'t tell Mother about it!" Samuel pleaded when he heard the voice.

" Don\'t tell me what?" Laura, who was standing behind him, asked curiously. Robert followed behind her; they finally arrived and, hearing shouting from this area, decided to investigate. They found everyone gathered here \'entertaining\' the guests too.

" Nothing. When did you get here?" Samuel asked nervously. He was looking for signs if she heard him talk earlier or not.

" Just now."

" Thank god~" He signed.

" Why? Are you not happy to see your mother?" Robert said.

" Why would he be? A few days\' trips turned into a few weeks; I am afraid he would have stayed there if I didn\'t mention the birthday party." She looked toward four girls sitting beside Sami.

" N-nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Rothschild." Rosaline immediately greeted them. Others followed suit, Paige and Maia had met them a few times during parties, but those were formal events. This felt different even to them.

" No need to panic. I just wanted to meet his \'girlfriends\'. I am glad you can make it." Laura said with a smile.

" Yeah, she is not mad at you. Sami had occasionally been dodging her calls." Robert explained.

" Is that so?" They looked toward Samuel, who had no defence. He couldn\'t possibly tell her why he had been flaky lately.

" I told you countless times I was busy-"

" Don\'t try to be smart with me. Why don\'t you go inside? I would like to speak with them alone." Laura ordered.

" Madam, sorry to interrupt," Arthur called out to them.

" What\'s the matter?"

" Lady Amelia, the maids are looking for you regarding Miss Rune. Can you accompany me?" He asked for Amelia. They had people looking after her, but Amelia insisted on taking care of her alone.

" Right! I will follow you." She got up and left.

" What are you waiting for? Go inside and meet the kids. They had been clamouring since morning, and you are hiding here." Laura exclaimed, which made Samuel leave too.

" Alright, I am going. Just...Please don\'t... I mean.. forget it." He couldn\'t tell her anything. He feared what would happen, but his father was there, so the conversation wouldn\'t be that bad, right?

He didn\'t know that Laura also urged Robert to leave after he left. He was uncomfortable surrounded by ladies, so he was more than happy to oblige.

" Now, why don\'t we start from the beginning?" Seeing the clear coast, Laura brought out her imaginary \'questionnaire\'. The girls gulped as they were unprepared for whatever was coming their way.

...

...

...

" Why are you here? I was just bringing the kids outside to meet everyone." Iblis said as she saw Samuel coming her way.

" Mother kicked me out. I don\'t know what she is thinking, but I think you should go and help them." Samuel asked her.

" Eh? I don\'t want to. She can be terrifying when she is like this. I really don\'t want to be involved in that." Iblis was evidently hesitant. She was most familiar with his mother\'s personality among the girls.

" Please. They need you. I will look after the kids." Samuel\'s pleading worked. She left reluctantly, sighing heavily.

Now Samuel was left with three kids coming in his direction fast. Although he had met Amelia\'s kids not too long ago, the enthusiasm in their eyes was the same.

" Uncle Sami~!"

" Uncual Saami~"

" Uncle Samuel."

Only three were there; the last two were nowhere to be found. But the tackle was just as intense as he was on the ground before he knew it.

" Basmus, Wynonna, Kenneth, How are you guys? What about the other two?" Samuel asked. Basmus was the youngest child of Karoline, who was five years old. Kenneth and Wynonna were Aunt Amelia\'s kids whom he met in the States.

" They are coming. When did you arrive?" Kenneth asked.

"A few minutes ago." While he was chatting with them when he spotted them.

" Grey, Anya, I am back~" Samuel called out to them. Anya snorted and faced away from him, but Grey came and greeted him.

" Big brother. Welcome back; we were just coming out to see you." He smiled.

" I really missed my little brother!" Samuel went forward to hug his sibling but pulled away for some reason.

" Humph, you can\'t even notice that he is mad at you! It\'s been eighteen days and four hours since you last spoke with him!" Anya shouted as she came between him and Grey.

Anya was Karoline\'s oldest daughter. She was a few months younger than Grey, but for some reason, she always played his significant sister role.

" I am so sorry, but I told you I would be busy right? I came a few days earlier just to spend time with you!" Samuel tried to make excuses. He had nothing else to go on.

" Don\'t listen to him! I had heard why he had not contacted you when people talked about him." Anya was not convinced in the slightest. She definitely inherited the fiery red personality of her mother. It was clear as day in looks, too; she was like a mini version of Karoline.

" Uncle do something bad?" Wynonna asked her brother.

" I don\'t know. Anya is yelling that means something bad right?" Kenneth turned toward Basmus. They hoped he would know something, but he was just as clueless as them.