Arrival of the Prophecy, page 22
“To tell you the truth, I’m starving,” Sky added. “And I am happy Adella. I just want to know if it’s normal to already be feeling the baby move?”
“You would be close to four months to a human’s cycle, so yes, you should feel the baby a great deal more each day.”
Adella left the two of them to get cleaned up and went to join the rest down in the family dining room. Bonny and Henry sat next to Parker and Tiffany. Anthony Senior and Adella sat next to Carter and Mike, across the table. Anthony came in and took the seat at the head of the table, and Sky sat down at the other end. Sky sat there for a few minutes then picked up her plate and walked down and stood by Anthony Senior. “Would you mind having the other head of the table seat, Grandfather? I would really like to sit by Anthony from here on out. Besides, don’t you think that’s where you belong?”
Anthony Senior stood up and did a small nod, then picked up his plate while pulling out the chair so she could sit down. “It would be an honor My Queen.”
“You old fool! You know you have always liked sitting there.” Adella snickered, taking a drink from her juice glass.
“This is very true, but it was My Lady that asked it of me. No one can say that I have ever denied the order of my leaders,” he replied, nodding his head at Sky.
“I wanted us all in here so that you will all know that the house will soon fill with others like ourselves. Other than human.” Anthony nodded at Henry. “I have asked my people to gather on the land. All of the older women will stay in the estate. We have a lower level and a side wing just for them.”
“The lower levels?” Sky asked with a mouth full of food.
“It’s nothing like what you have all seen. There is an area much like the rooms on this floor and upstairs. I would never allow our elderly to live in that state,” Anthony added looking at Sky, reaching over and touching her hand.
“And this is why you keep me locked in the attic?” his grandfather interjected, pouring himself a shot of blue tonic.
“It was your idea to remodel the attic, Father, and we only lock it to keep others out.” Adella said, moving the bottle away from him.
“Well, still remains that I can’t take a stroll in my own yard in the middle of the night anymore. Offer the lady a drink,” he wiggled his fingers at, Bonny. “She has taken a liking to my homemade tonic.”
“Oh, no, thank you. I don’t think that I’ll be drinking anymore, ever.” Bonny said, turning a few shades redder.
“Why is everyone coming here? I mean like what’s the big deal anyway?” Tiffany asked, reaching for the toast. “I mean, like, don’t they have their own homes?”
“Don’t be such a bitch, Tiff. You’re here,” Sky added, slamming her fork down on the table.
“They come because I asked them to, and she is here because they are in as much danger as we are. How can the two of you expect me to bring peace to a world of breeds, if you two can’t even get along at our table? And Grandfather, since when did you start drinking tonic this early in the day?” Anthony loudly asked standing up.
“I’m sorry.” Sky excused herself from the table.
“It was just a question,” Tiffany added, sticking a piece of bacon in her mouth.
“Leave it alone,” Parker spoke low glancing up to look at the rest of the people setting around the table.
“Does it seem ironic to anyone else that I’m eating bacon?”
“Would you just shut up?” Parker snapped, excusing himself from the room as well and quickly walked out.
“Oh my God. No he did not,” Tiffany sternly pushed her chair back and stormed out right after Parker.
“Anyone care for more coffee?” Henry asked, getting up and pouring himself another cup.
“Why does everything have to be so complicated?” Anthony muttered more to himself than anyone else. “How am I going to handle hundreds?” Then he too walked out of the room.
Anthony senior stood up, picking up his bottle of blue tonic, and poured himself another shot. “And he wonders why I drink before eleven,” then he turned the bottle up.
Adella and the others finished their breakfast then relaxed while waiting for the crowds to arrive. And arrive they did. One by one, families drove in, parking their cars in every free spot they could find, even on the perfectly manicured lawn. By the time they quit arriving, vehicles went from the beginning of the driveway by the entrance, all the way up the curve of the hill, spreading throughout the lawn, and parked three deep in the wide driveway up next to the house. Hundreds filled the house, as tents popped up along the view from the back balcony. Sky stood and watched in awe, at the speed in which the people were putting up what was now looking like a small town. Flaming lights on the end of poles lit up the night, as people moved about making their meals on open fires and chatting amongst themselves.
“It’s been a long day. Why don’t you come inside?” Anthony said, walking up and putting his hand around Sky’s shoulder.
“Look what they’ve done in less than a few hours.” Sky circled her arm around his waist.
“A strong group of people work hard and fast together. My father used to use the saying, ‘hardfast’ for the things he was serious about. ‘I mean it, hardfast’ he would say.”
“I think it’s a beautiful word to use. Maybe I’ll start using it…would you mind?” Sky asked turning in his arms.
“I would be honored, but know this. He always told us that one should never lie to a ‘hardfast’ for it was worse than breaking anything that you hold dear. He told us that Mother Earth would never forgive such a misleading ordeal.”
“I really like the way your dad thought. I want our children to be taught the very same thing, and if they believe it, we won’t ever have to worry about them telling us a lie,” she giggled.
“I bet my mother said the very same thing.” They stayed a while longer watching their people move about, then went inside, to the much crowded hall and foyer. Everyone knew that the upstairs belonged to the family, but the rest of the estate was free for all the clan to use as they saw fit. The kitchen was the only room on the first floor that the women held as their own, warning any man that his life would be in utter danger if he chose to enter. Anthony had set a meeting for later that night, which all the men would attend, leaving the women to ready the final things in their own rooms and tents.
Some of the men seemed to be in disagreement, wanting to seek out and stop the boars before they could attack and harm their families like they did in the past. Anthony called Parker out, and had him stand next to him on the steps so every man could see his face. “This man saved my life. He killed a wereboar,” Anthony said, getting an automatic cry from the crowd that led to several howls and yells from others. “Yet, he is not one of our own.” The crowd calmed as soon as the words left his mouth. “He protected our men when we went into the back caves on no man’s land where the boar’s where staying, putting his life before others, and yet he is not one of our own,” Anthony said getting louder as he went.
Anthony looked over and nodded his head at Parker who began taking his clothes off down to his boxers. He then did as they all do; he bent forward, gripped his chest then yelled out as his body shifted, until he stood proud as a wereboar for the entire crowd to see.
“He’s an enemy!” One man yelled out.
“Are you deaf? He is my friend, and one of my highest enforcers. If any man here does not like that, leave now and be on your own, because we are proof that peace can be made,” Anthony yelled, becoming angry at the man’s ignorance.
“How can this be? We have never befriended their kind. They killed your parents, and yet you let him live?” Another yelled out.
“My father would never have me avenge his death by killing what he was trying to accomplish. He was friends with this man’s father, as I am friends with him. We will become a nation of one if we all work together. There is no need for any of us to live in fear of the other anymore.”
“What if the boars are out there right now, waiting to attack us?” The same man asked.
“The elders and I have decided to give them what they want. The piece of land on the east side of the river.”
“This is madness.”
“They’ll kill us one by one.”
“What will become of our children?” Many of the crowd spoke up.
“I’m doing this for our children, and their future. Don’t you see? They will have nothing but war to face if we don’t put this to an end right now. I would lay my life on the line for any one of you, and I would think that you would do the same for your fellow beast, be it werewolf, or boar, or any other kind of were creature. Some are too small of prides to make it on their own, and others fear leaving the confinements of their own land, because of the fear of crossing the wrong plain of land. Why should any of us have that fear?”
“And if the others do not agree?” This came from the first man that spoke.
“Once they see that we are making progress, they too will join. I know this as my father knew this,” Anthony assured, as Carter walked up beside him, tall and proud.
“My father knew it as well,” Parker added in a gruff voice, standing even taller on the other side of Anthony.
“And together we can bring their hopes of peace to life!” Anthony yelled at the top of his lung, causing the crowd to go wild.
Chapter Twenty Two
Mohee lay asleep on the bed with the girls wrapped around her, one on each side, holding her tight. Marcus and Dillan sat in the two high back chairs watching them, until they were good asleep, then both stood and left the room. Marcus told Dillan that he had something that he wanted him to see, hoping that it had not been discovered by his wicked mother. He took Dillan into the study and closed the door.
“It’s over here by the book shelf.” Marcus said stepping up next to it, and fumbling through the books. “My mind fails me, and it’s hard to remember which book. Ah, yes, here it is.” Then he took the book down, opened it and smiled.
“What?” Dillan smirked, walking over to see what he was looking at.
“The key.” Marcus took it out of the cut-out in the center of the book.
“Guess the ole girl didn’t do much reading.”
“What’s it for?”
“I’ll show you.”
He watched as his grandfather went to the bookcase on the other side of the desk and pulled out four books off the middle shelf, then reached in and inserted the key. A clanking sound rang out, and the bookshelf slid open. “It was your father’s private work room. It was once my own, and now it belongs to you.” Marcus reached in and hit the light switch. The room came to life with several sconce-like lights, hanging off all three of the walls, layering the room in a yellow glow. The fireplace sat at the back of the room and had piles of wood stacked on both sides. Tools hung off of the right wall, while unfinished weapons hung on the other. The table that sat in the middle was made of thick dark mahogany, scarred beyond repair, with an anvil on the far right corner.
“This is the third one…” Marcus commented, running his hand along the table, “since your father took this room. See the charred marks on the ceiling? It was his first year, when he was younger than you are now.” Marcus remembered shaking his head, smiling. “He created this enormous fire trying to heat the metal faster. The next thing you know he almost burnt the house down around our ears.”
Dillan walked around the table running his hands along the marks that his father’s hammers had made, then reached up and smoothed his fingers along the anvil. He told his grandfather that night that he wanted to follow in his father’s foot steps and wanted to learn how to create the amazing things that he and his father had made. The two stayed in the private room, building a fire and beginning the first lesson of Dillan’s new craft until the sun rose the next day. They found Mohee, sitting on the desk chair when they came out, with a tray of steaming coffee and muffins, waiting for them.
“I knew where to find the two of you,” she smiled warming both of the hearts.
Mohee was a small woman with a weak hip that kept her from standing for the roll of matriarch. She kept her hair up in a bun, and now had her cane. Marcus was a tall thin man with a long gray pony tail that hung down his back. His face was worn and was marked like old leather. But his love glowed as he looked down at what he thought was the most beautiful woman that he had ever been blessed enough to see again.
“I prayed to Mother Earth, every night to keep you safe,” Marcus said, going down on one knee in front of Mohee, as Dillan quietly slipped out of the room.
“Father Moon was watching this family, while he waited for the life of that evil woman to be banished,” she reached out running her fingers down the side of his face. “You look tired, husband.”
“And you bring comfort to my eyes.” He laid his head in her lap as they enjoyed holding each other.
Dillan cracked the door to the girl’s room just enough to look in, and found them gone. “Cara? Tara?” he called out as he burst into the room. He dashed around the corner finding Cara, sitting on the toilet, with Tara standing beside her. Dillan closed his eyes, then opened them and smiled at the girls. He walked exited the room and waited for them to come back out. When they did, they were both smiling.
“I’m so proud of you.” He opened his arms and they ran to him. “Want to try breakfast with the others today?”
“Mohee?” Cara asked.
“And Popee?” Tara interjected.
“How do you know about, Popee?”
“He lives in our dreams with Mohee,” they replied in unison.
“What else lives in your dreams?”
“Others.” They sounded like a recording set to go off at the same time. It was uncanny.
“Others?”
“Where are our sisters?” Cara asked.
“I’m afraid they did not survive at birth, but you have a brother named, Parker,” Dillan explained the best he could.
“He lives with the others.” They looked at each other and smiled.
“You mean the others are the werewolves?” he asked, getting a confused look from them both. “Can you tell me what the others look like?”
“She looks like you,” Tara said.
“And others look like soft hair, with bright orange eyes,” Cara added, pulling at a strand of her hair.
“They live in our dreams,” they said at the same time.
Dillan had no explanation as to why his sisters would be dreaming of the werewolves, much less the only female that could look like him. But he did tell his grandparents about what he had found out after the girls had been cared for. He asked the girls if they wanted to play dress up, then took them into their mother’s walk-in closet, a place he had once thought of as a hell that they would never see, until he saw his Mohee. He finally knew that this house never belonged to her, but the Fortain family, and would make this room fit for the two future Queens of the Fortain, fortune. The girls stood frozen at the door, looking in with huge eyes at the sparkly dresses that hung on one side, and all the shoes that sat on the many shelves on the other.
“You two find whatever you want to wear, and I’ll go get Mohee, and then we will have some yummy breakfast,” Dillan told the girls, closing the bedroom door as he went out.
He knocked on the door to the study and his grandparents opened it. Mohee went to the girls and Marcus went down stairs with Dillian to have a meeting with the men that Thomas had gathered. They spoke of going in a small group to the Michelle estate within the next few months, to talk about a peace treaty, and see what could be done to have their Parker returned and for the wars between them come to an end once and for all. They were totally unaware that Anthony was planning the very same thing.
Dillan excused himself early, going back in to check on the girls. When he walked into the room where he had left them, he found all three dressed in ball gowns that were three times too big for the girls, and somewhat to tight around the bosom for Mohee, and dragging the floor on all three. They had found the make-up, and like all young minded females, with the help of Mohee, had learned that the colorful contents went on ones face. Mohee had just as much spread across her face as the twins did, and a smile to match.
“Do you like, Brother?” Cara asked, standing up, wobbling in shoes far too big for her.
“You look marvelous. You all look like the belle of the ball.” He bowed at the waist, causing the girls to giggle. “But, you Mohee, I must say look absolutely divine.” Then he walked in, took her hand and kissed the back of it.
“I should have known you would be just like your father,” she snickered, covering her mouth with a little white hankie.
“Shall we have some breakfast? I’m so hungry, I could eat two girls dressed in ball gowns,” he said, making a spooky voice on the last.
The girls ran screaming, leaving their shoes behind as he acted like a monster with his hands out in front, making a horrid face, and making loud growling noises. Mohee laughed so hard, she was bending forward in her chair. Cara went one way, as Tara went the other, and Dillan went face first down on the bed. The girls burst out laughing, then jumped up on the bed, grabbing at his sides, with him yelling. “They got me. Help me, Mohee, help me!” He rolled over grabbing them both around the waist then sat up with one hanging over each arm. He remembered what happened the last time he had tickled them laying down on the bed, and decided it was best to not do that again until they had learned a bit more control.
Weeks passed and the girls learned more every day. They talked more, became more accustomed to being around others, and found a love for drawing. Mohee rarely ever left their sides. Marcus and Dillan spent a great deal of time in the private room, Dillan being the student, and his grandfather being the teacher.
Thomas used his time making sure that things stayed calm on the grounds, and that no one was breaking the new rules of keeping the peace. There had been a few fights in the beginning; one man claiming another took his things, to another complaining that a man tried to steal his portion of food.
