Is this destiny?

After lunch, everyone gathered outside the villa. It is time for the Olympic games (with a twist)!

The planning committee (Nala, Oni, Imani, and Masika) came up with brilliant ideas for an active afternoon which will include events such as…

Archery. The competitors get to shoot at balloons which are filled with water. Who gets the most of them in the allotted time, wins. From weapons, allowed are bows and arrows, knives, or anything else as long as it\'s a long-ranged cold weapon. This addition in a variety of weapons was suggested by Masika.

The next event is hurdles, where racers have balloons attached around their ankles. The goal is to reach the finish line first, with balloons intact. For additional excitement: they can pop each other\'s balloons.

As a team event, there is a three-legged 400-meter race: two racers will have their legs tied together. It is a test of speed and coordination. This one is very popular with couples.

Another team event is dodge ball, where a \'ball\' is a water-filled balloon. Who gets hit, gets wet, and he (or she) is out!

There will also be a long jump and water-filled balloon throwing and many other events.

When all the events are done and the points are calculated, before dinner, they will have a ceremony where winners will get medals and flowers, and it will be like a real Olympic thing. The medals are given to the winners at every event, the overall score, and there will also be voting for the suavest move, the biggest impression, the most elegant win, etc.

There will be additional awards as well.

It is designed so that everyone gets something. After all, they are here to have fun, and everyone loves freebies.

Sarah and Aiden are keeping additional awards as a surprise, but the kids are whispering that there will be things such as sports gear, gadgets, a spa day with Sarah, and a shopping spree with Aiden. Some kids are hoping that the overall winners will get promoted into generals (if they are not generals already).

Everyone present is looking forward to the fun afternoon where they will get wet one way or another, and the warm weather is perfect for the occasion.

The kids chatted enthusiastically while forming teams and starting to sign up for the events.

Kitty didn\'t appreciate the commotion. She went up high on a branch of the biggest tree in the area and settled there for a nap.

Pups were excited. There is a lot of humans who want to play with them, but the three whelps were more interested in butterflies and they were chasing after them through the garden.

Because Kitty went up for a nap, Zack was free to join the festivities. He signed up with Masika for the tied-legged race and for archery (he and Masika will go with knife throwing).

Noah passed on the games, he sat with Master Hollow and the two of them chatted while enjoying the lively commotion. For Noah, this is a perfect opportunity to look at Sarah. With Aiden sticking close to Sarah, that is the most Noah can get. 

Hande was surprised when Ade asked her to team up for the race where they will have their legs tied up together.

"A-Are you sure?", Hande stuttered.

Ade nodded confidently. "We ran this morning side-by-side and we are in sync. This race will be a piece of cake."

Hande blinked. She likes that Ade said how they are in sync, and his mentioning of the cake reminded her of the chocolate cake from the previous evening and that she was feeding him, and she ate with the same fork… and the indirect kiss. Many of them, actually.

Ade observed her face and frowned. "Are you sick?"

"Why?"

"Your face is red. Do you have a fever?", he asked with concern obvious in his voice while reaching to touch her forehead with the back of his palm.

Hande swatted his hand away and responded robotically: "I\'m fine. The race. Let\'s sign up."

Ade thought how Hande is a nice girl, but sometimes she is… strange.

Ade and Hande went in the line to sign up as a team, and they stood behind Daniel and Xiaohui who were discussing their strategy of winning the race. Within a second, that turned into bickering between Ade and Daniel who will win.

As the kids focused on the sign-up for the upcoming events and coming up with strategies for their win, the pups went deeper into the garden.

Sarah and Aiden let the pups explore, Eve will notify them if pups get close to the edge of the property or if they get into some trouble.

"Should we sign up for something?", Sarah asked Aiden.

"If you are in, so am I.", Aiden responded right away. He does not care much about competing against the kids, but he will not pass the opportunity to do something together with Sarah.

Sarah smiled and looked at the paper which listed events and rules. "Let\'s see what is there…" She should know everything, but because Angelo was on his way to Los Angeles, Sarah left the girls to plan and arrange for the event. And the girls did a wonderful job. Sarah is proud.

Sarah and Aiden frowned when they got a notice on their Eve-lens that pups are in trouble. They switched to see the pups on Eve-lens, and they saw that in their pursuit for butterflies, the pups bumped into a snake. And the snake does not look happy.

Sarah and Aiden dashed toward the direction where pups are.

When Sarah and Aiden arrived near the pups, the two of them saw that the pups are cornered with a pile of decorative rocks behind them, and a hissing snake in front.

"Blackie!", Sarah exclaimed when the boy-pup jumped in front, grabbed the snake just below her head, and shook it a few times before throwing it to the side.

In the next moment, Kitty pounced on the snake and dashed between bushes with the limp snake in her mouth. They saw Kitty climbing up the tree with her afternoon snack (aka the snake).

It all happened in a flash, and Sarah and Aiden exhaled in relief when they confirmed that the snake is not venomous. But that means it\'s fine for Kitty only, because such a huge snake can hurt the little pups if she bites them, even without a venom.

Aiden squatted and gave the boy-pup a good head rub. "Boy, you are a real hero for protecting your sisters…"

"He is a hero…", Sarah murmured. A second later, she exclaimed: "That\'s it!"

Aiden gave Sarah a side-glance. "What?"

"His name! We will call him Hero!"

Aiden looked at Sarah skeptically. "Are you sure? So far he was Lucky, Rex, Star, Rover, Blackie, and I probably missed a few names. And I\'m used to calling him \'boy\'."

Sarah shook her head in disapproval and squatted to pet the pups. "You can\'t call him \'boy\'. That is weird. \'Hero\' is just right because that is what he is. He is the bravest pup in the world, a hero… Like his dad."

Aiden grinned. He likes that Sarah praised him. "OK. Hero it is… Luna, Bella, meet your brother: Hero."

Sarah giggled. "You got to name a pup after all…"

Aiden looked at her with a warm smile that reached his eyes. 

---

If you are not reading this at \'W e b n o v e l .. c o m\', then the content you\'re reading is stolen! Please support the author by reading this novel from the original source.