Chapter Five
1507 Words
Chusi was at the keep, still in shock over who her parents and brother were. Although, Alev seemed to not believe she was really here. Of course, she was surprised she had a brother, let alone a twin brother at that. She had always heard stories of twins having an infallible bond, yet she felt nothing when she tried to connect with him.
This would have to be something they worked on, but right now, she wanted nothing more than to speak with her mother and father. She wanted to learn about her family history and make up for the lost years that were kept from her. She was thinking about the first things she wanted to speak to her mother about. One of them being that handsome man that was here, he smelled really good and Storm, her dragon was overly excited about him for some reason.
Lillith and Nervem were over the moon that their daughter has been returned to them, they recognized her immediately. Their dragons telling them that their child was well and truly alive. They had so many questions for the council.
"How do we question the council without them becoming angry?" Lillith asked her husband. "How could they have done this to us?" she was pacing in their bedroom. Just doors down from their daughter's.
Nervem was looking at his wife, he knew she was angry. He could feel it radiating off of her in waves.
"I don't know my love," Nervem said, trying to calm his wife.
"They stole years, " Lillith said, close to tears, "Years, and for what?" she cried. Her voice breaking at the thought of everything she has missed about her daughter. "What if they poisoned her against us?" Lillith said suddenly fearful that her daughter wouldn't love them.
"There's no way they did that," Nervem said to his wife, although there was a tiny part in the back of his mind that shared that fear.
"You're right," Lillith said, straightening her spine and standing tall, "I am going to go speak with Chusi, I just want to be close to her right now," she said with that she walked out of the room and down the hall.
The knocking on Chusi's door was barely audible, she almost missed it. Chusi looked up, puzzled over who it could be. She stood from her place on the bed and walked to the door, opening it. She was surprised to see her mother in the doorway, her graceful beauty still a surprise to Chusi.
"I don't mean to bother you," Lillith began nervously.
"It's no bother at all, mom," Chusi said greeting the woman in front of her.
Tears filled Lillith's eyes at the sound of Chusi calling her mom, "I never thought I'd hear you say that again," she said her voice breaking.
"Come in, please," Chusi said making way for her mother to come into the bedroom.
Chusi's room had been as it was the day they thought she was killed. Lillith never had the heart to empty it out, it was filled with all of her toys and books. The walls were her favorite color as a child, light pink, with splashes of yellow resembling a sunrise. Lillith looked around the room, "We can change all this if you want," she said touching the lacy curtains.
"Oh, no, it's fine. I love it actually. I was looking at everything and trying to remember," Chusi said softly.
Lillith smiled when she looked at the desk seeing the coloring book that had been left open. The pages were yellowed with time, and you could tell that a child had colored the picture.
"Do you still like to draw and color?" Lillith asked.
"Yes, I do actually," Chusi said. "Momma, I have a few questions if you don't mind," she said nervously.
"Not at all, dear. What would you like to know?" Lillith asked.
"First, did you miss me?" Chusi asked so quietly.
This question broke Lillith's heart, "More than you can ever know, my little flower," she said. "Your father and I will be speaking with the council on this because we need to know why."
"So would I momma, so would I," Chusi agreed.
Lillith was still wandering around the room, touching odds and ends. Smiling at a few of the objects then putting them back where she picked them up from.
"What's our history, momma?" Chusi asked. She wanted to know about their lineage. She was curious about what her ancestry was, and her mother and father would be the best way to get those answers. "And who was that man that came in with Alev today?" she tried to keep her tone calm but was sure that her mother could tell she wanted to know all about the handsome man with smooth brown skin and tightly braided hair.
Lillith smiled, "That is Bardik, he's the fire chief. He was here to assist in the fires we get from the younglings learning to control their flames," she said answering the last question first. "And as for your second question, I think we need to consult not only the people that kept you but your favorite book when you were a child," she said as she pulled the worn book out of the shelf.
Chusi looked at the book her mother handed her, what was in this book that everyone thinks she needs to study it?
"I've read this book hundreds of times, mom. Even with the council," Chusi said perplexed that her mother wanted her to read it again.
"But not this copy, sweetheart. There are only two copies like this out there. We have one," Lillith said.
"Who has the other?" Chusi asked.
"Let's just hope it's in the right hands," was all Lillith said with a smile.
******
Bardik watched as his father walked out of the den. He was left staring at the fairy tale, just as confused now as he was when he asked his father about the name of their pack.
"What does this book have to do with our pack," he wondered out loud. He sighed and left the den. "I guess I'll have some light reading," said to himself as he made his way to his room.
Alyona was leaving the girls' room as he was heading down the hallway. "Hey big bro, whatcha got there?" she asked peering at the book in her brother's hand.
"Oh, Papa thinks I should read this over," Bardik said still confused by their father's insistence that he read this book. He lifted it up to show his sister the title and cover of the book.
"Oh, I love The Dragon's Tale," she exclaimed. "It's so romantic," she sighed getting a soft dreamy look in her eyes.
Bardik softened his look at his sister, "You'll find your mate soon, Ally," he said to his sister. He knew how she must be feeling. He still felt the same way, he didn't want to get his hopes up too soon about the young woman today being his mate. Although Topor was insisting that she was, he wanted to be sure.
Alyona smiled at her brother, "Yeah, with my luck, he's probably some troll or ogre. Or worse," she whispered, "he will be like Sergei." She shuddered at the memory of her sister coming home, her eye blackened by that jerk.
Bardik scowled at the mention of the piece of s**t that beat his sister. He and his father made sure that he would never hurt anyone again.
"That won't happen Ally, " Bardik assured his sister. "Hey, Ally," he paused, remembering that his sister was fond of family history.
"Yeah?" she asked, she had been turning to leave but swung around to face her brother again.
"You're big on our family history, what's the deal with our pack name?" Bardik asked causally.
Ally smiled, "You never paid attention in school, did you?" she said shaking her head at her big brother.
"Eh, history wasn't my favorite subject. What can I say?" he said almost sheepishly while shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, Papa gave you that book for a reason. So before I tell you anything and make it easier on you. Read the book," Ally said with a snarky grin.
Bardik feigned a shocked expression, "I thought you were on my side!" he said gently tapping his sister with the book.
She gave him a full grin, "I am, big brother, read the book," she said and walked away from him. Leaving him standing there shocked that his sister wasn't about to help him out.
He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, "Guess it's you and me tonight," he said to the book.
- Writer
