Tearful Reign

by V L Friends

  My heart was pounding at his sudden move toward me.

  “I am not going to hurt you.” Julian sounded annoyed.

  “Stop! Please! Don’t come any closer!”

  “Okay,” Julian said and held up his hands in surrender.

  “If you are not here to kill me, why did you show up here like this?” I asked.

  “What can I say? I have a flair for the dramatic. I also am very curious about you,” he said.

  I let out a noise that was intended to be a scoff but which sounded more like a very unladylike snort. This caused him to look at me with a flash of disgust, as if I were no more than the dirt on the bottom of his shoe. I huffed a noise of disdain back at him at the thought that he would dare look at me as if I were beneath him. I was still in defensive mode so it was a kneejerk reaction. I didn’t want to make him angry. I certainly didn’t like him but there were so many contradictions I was seeing and it confused me. It seemed like he got to pick and choose when to be polite and when to be a rude jerk, and mostly it was at my expense.

  I saw the hardness in his eyes.

  “Caleb is a pushover. He buys your story about just wanting to get to know your uncle, but I am not that easy,” he said.

  “What are you saying, exactly?” I was now getting angry, and for some reason fear was going away.

  He ignored my question. “If you are here trying to claim your inheritance or perhaps are working for one of our enemies, I will find out. By the way, I have been meaning to ask you, how is it that you were able to hear from so far away? And how is it that you seem to be immune to any of Caleb’s or my powers of suggestion? I have never seen a human with superhuman gifts. What else do you do?”

  “First of all, how dare you call me a gold digger! Second, I don’t know what you are talking about.” I was not giving him any information.

  He looked at me closely. “You are a liar!”

  “Why are you keeping me a prisoner here? Let me go!” I snapped. I wanted out of this.

  “I am afraid not, my dear.” Julian turned to walk toward the open window.

  “Why?” I asked insistently. “Do you really think you can keep me here? If you do, I assure you, you are mistaken!”

  “You’re freaking out,” he said with an irritating calm and continued walking toward the window.

  “Do yourself a favor and just settle in for the night. Get some sleep.” He leaped out my second story balcony with such ease and grace.

  I ran to see him land with ease and just walk away. “What have I gotten myself into?” I said to myself as I stared in shock at the departure of this creature. I tried not to imagine the worst scenarios of what these two inhuman beings had planned for me. Caleb had seemed so nice but maybe it was all a part of the act, designed to confuse me. I shook my head and tried to clear my mind of the horrible things I imagined. All I knew was that I needed to get away from here.

  I went to the bed and began stripping off the sheets and tying them together to fashion a rope. It was only about sixteen feet but it would have to do. This was just getting creepier and I was not about to stick around as their prisoner. Tying it to the small balcony outside the window, I had about 5 feet of drop at the end of my makeshift rope. I can do this, I coached myself. I landed hard but thankfully without spraining or breaking anything.

  Once on the ground, I realized I had not thought this through and had no idea where I would run. The woods were my only option. I didn’t get far before I felt a cold hand grab my mouth and another went around my waist as my feet lifted off the ground. My back was against a hard chest.

  Even as my arms and legs flailed about, trying to strike at the being behind me, he seemed unaffected.

  “So, tell me, my little lamb, is this just a ploy to get Daddy’s attention?” he whispered and I could feel his breath tickle my ear.

  “I just knew you were going to try something.” He held me tight against him as I tried to dig my nails into him anywhere I could, still kicking.

  “Let go of me, you heartless creep!” Did I just snarl? I did. Just like a wild animal. How embarrassing.

  Julian’s head fell back as he erupted with laughter but he still clutched me close. The sound gave me chills.

  “Julian, let her go!” It was Caleb’s voice. Julian let go and I dropped from his arms, but he was still laughing.

  “This is all your fault, you know! You got her all worked up!” Caleb said as he held out his hand for me to take it.

  I slapped it away.

  “You can’t hold me here against my will!” I yelled, trying to straighten myself. My face was undoubtedly flushed from my embarrassment.

  “Anaya, we are not holding you captive. We are trying to take care of you. You are family. We are trying to protect you. I’m sorry I locked you in your room. I was trying to keep you safe, is all,” Caleb pleaded. “Come, let me help you walk back to the house. I promise no one will lock you in.” He held out his hand again. This time I took it.

  He pulled me into a hug. “Are you okay? I know this is a lot for you to take in right now. Just give it a little time. Please stay with us at least a little while longer?” I felt the warmth in Caleb’s embrace and didn’t want to let go. Damn! He is good!

  “Fine.” I pulled away from his hug. “I’ll stay for a few days… but no locking me in my room.”

  I started walking toward the house. I didn’t trust them and was still mad, but I had to admit that I could not help but take a liking to Caleb.

  “You two make a good team… let me guess…” I pointed to Julian. “You’re the mean beast, and you’re the sweet talker,” I called back to them over my shoulder, nodding at Caleb.

  I could feel their amusement as they both watched me walk ahead. I thought I heard Caleb say something but it was very faint.

  “She is going to be a handful.”

  Julian’s voice echoed his amusement.

  “You’re just figuring that out?”

  ****

  The next morning, I didn’t feel any different for having my world turned upside down. I sat up in bed staring out the window. If I was in prison here, it sure seemed like a strange prison at that.

  “Knock, knock.” Caleb peeked out from behind the door. “Ah, I thought I heard you stirring. Are you hungry?”

  I just stared. He seemed in an unusually good mood. He sat down a tray of eggs Benedict, sausage, pancakes, and toast, along with fresh fruit and freshly squeezed orange juice. “Do you drink coffee? If so, it’s freshly brewing.”

  I just nodded and continued looking out the window, but he kept talking.

  “How are you feeling?” He began touching my face and forehead. His personal space issues were going to take some getting used to. “Are you okay enough to get dressed? Julian is gone; it’s just you and me today. I get to show you around. What do you say?” His eyes twinkled.

  My shrug seemed to satisfy him. “Here are some towels. You should have everything you need in the bathroom. If not, give me a holler. I will just wait for you downstairs.”

  I guessed that was his subtle way of saying that I smelled. I chuckled to myself, remembering the dumpster last night.

  The room was even more beautiful in the sunlight and seemed to put me in a better mood as I looked around at all the ruffles and floral colors. It was definitely a girl’s room. In the corner was a big freshly cut bouquet of lilacs. How did they know it was my favorite flower? Caleb was sure going out of his way to make me feel at home.

  My suitcases lay unpacked on the floor next to the bed, along with a couple of other large gift boxes. Jeez, when had they had any time to shop? Were they going to lavish gifts on me, in an attempt to win me over? I had to laugh. I wasn’t really the type to want a lot of things. Then I remembered Julian’s comment last night about looking for my inheritance and I was even more amused. He really had no clue about who I was.

  Every inch of my skin hurt when the water hit me. My muscles were sore and I had so many scratches and bruises f
rom the day before. After showering, I glanced in the mirror. I couldn’t help but notice how different I looked. I must have been in shock last night while I was hiding from Caleb and Julian because my memory was hazy. What I did remember came flooding back suddenly. Oh God! Was it true? Julian was really my father! He only looked, at the most, a couple of years older than me! Caleb looked even younger. Remembering his deep cobalt eyes that looked at me with such gentle concern and his black wavy hair that fell over his brow made me blush. Ew! I may be developing a slight crush on my uncle. I let out a laugh at my predicament. Ruby would really get a kick out of this. I let out a sigh, as I thought of my best friend Ruby back in Africa. I took in a deep breath. She would never believe this.

  I couldn’t believe how enormous this house was. Would I even find the kitchen? I thought to myself as I made my way down the stairs to find Caleb.

  “Over here!” I heard a voice at the other end of the house.

  “Whew, I made it.” I let out breathless sigh. “This place is huge!”

  Caleb lit up. “Whoa! You clean up nice! You look much better. I see some color back in those cheeks.”

  He reached over and kissed my hot blushing cheeks and hugged me tight.

  “Sorry, I am just not used to all this attention,” I said, continuing to blush.

  “It’ll take some getting used to for all of us. I don’t want to make you feel more uncomfortable but I can’t help myself,” he beamed. “I just learned that I have family again after decades without anyone!”

  “What do you mean? You have had Julian.” I said, arching my brow in question.

  “Well, that doesn’t really count—because Julian is—well he’s Julian. Never mind; you will find out what I mean soon enough.”

  “It does feel good not to be alone,” I nodded, choking back tears. “What is going to happen to me now?” I asked, getting right to the point.

  “Ah, well, I know this is quite an adjustment for you. I want you to know that you are with family and you are safe with us,” he said with a reassuring smile.

  “So then why did you chase me down and force me to come here?” I said.

  “No offense, but you were freaking out,” he said, still smiling.

  “I was not!” I felt defensive.

  “Yeah, you were,” he said with a grin while handing me a cup of coffee and taking a strand of my hair and pushing it back behind my ear. Okay, he really needed to stop touching me.

  “Okay, maybe I was a little.” I couldn’t be mad at him.

  “Soo, did you really come here to find me?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” I was now feeling a little shy.

  “So why would you want to leave so quickly, when we have not even begun to get to know each other?” he said, motioning me to have a seat on the stool next to him.

  “I think that, due to the current additional information given, it shouldn’t be so hard to understand why,” I said.

  “I see. Well, not all walkers are dangerous,” Caleb said.

  “Are you reading my thoughts again? I wish you would stop that!” I demanded.

  “Well, in all fairness, I wish you would stop listening in on private conversations that are not meant for your ears,” he said with a wink before taking a sip of his coffee.

  I had to smile; I admit that he seemed rather charming and easygoing. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to stay for a while.

  “Good,” Caleb said. “Now how about a tour of the grounds?”

  “That would be great.” I followed him.

  He took me to the stables first to show me the two horses, Chester and Leopold.

  “I usually have to hire someone to ride them, so I don’t know why I even keep them. They won’t let me or Julian around them. There are some horses that just know when a walker is around and won’t let a walker ride them,” he said.

  So it was a surprise to Caleb when I walked right up to Chester and began petting him.

  “I have always had a natural thing with all animals, it seems,” I said.

  “That’s good news; maybe they’ll let you ride them,” Caleb said and kept his distance.

  I had imagined scenarios in my mind of what this moment would be like, but nothing compared to what it was really like. The feeling I felt inside of me was like I had finally come home. I was connecting to Caleb like he was my long-lost best friend. He wanted to know about my life in Africa, my mother, and my childhood. I asked him about his life as well. We spoke for hours as he showed me around his mansion. He had been residing here for about 10 years. He inherited family wealth and he had invested well, so he bought this place and moved here from Ireland. He let it slip that he left Ireland to get away from Julian, but Julian had followed him here recently to reconcile. I learned that Julian had brought all the artifacts that I was admiring. He was a world traveler for sure. I wondered if I would see him again soon.

  “Why does he have a French accent and you don’t?” I asked Caleb.

  “He spent most of the last fifty years in France before coming here,” Caleb said.

  I found myself wondering where he and my mother had met.

  “Julian is very unpredictable,” said Caleb. He was obviously reading my thoughts again. “I know very little about his life when he lived there.”

  “Did you know my mother?” I asked.

  “I did know her but we drifted apart. I regret that very much.” Caleb seemed to be in pain, as he looked off in the distance. “I knew her when she was just a child.”

  Seeing the pain in his eyes, I decided not to press this now but made a mental note to ask him about it later.

  We had ended the tour in the kitchen and now had decided to work on a dinner project together. As I sat on the counter conversing, Caleb began looking for ingredients. We had decided to make a pizza from scratch.

  “Do you even eat food?” I asked, amused at his scrambling for ingredients. I wondered how much time the millionaire actually spent in the kitchen.

  “Walkers don’t need to eat, but we can,” he said as he fished a few pizza pans out of a cupboard.

  “Have you made pizza crust from scratch before?” I asked because the dough seemed to be sticking all over his hands. I began to laugh, which made things worse.

  Julian walked in to witness our mess as we were trying to add more flour, which caused a cloud of white, dusting us both. The mess caused our giggling as we playfully threw clumps of flour at one another.

  “Well, you two certainly look cozy,” he said.

  Julian walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer and turned to observe the mess further.

  “You might just have to hire a cook, Caleb; otherwise, this poor thing will starve,” he retorted, winking at me. Why was he being nice all of a sudden? Caleb was right, Julian was unpredictable.

  “Hello, Julian. Nice of you to grace us with your presence.” Caleb was still chuckling, wiping at his face, which was still white with flour.

  “Easy, brother. You seem to have everything under control here. I told you that you two would hit it off.” He winked at me again, popped the top off his beer, and took a long swig before sauntering out of the room.

  “Interesting. I never thought of Julian as a beer drinker,” I said, scrunching up my face.

  “One thing you will find out about Julian… his moods are constantly changing. I have never seen him drink beer before but, at this point, nothing he does surprises me anymore.” Caleb shook his head and began plucking little clumps of dough from my hair with amusement.

  Chapter 3 - Tiger Brothers

  It was late and I decided to retire for the night, but Julian and Caleb remained awake and were conversing downstairs. I knew this without using my special ability because they were conversing loudly enough for all to hear. From the sound of their argument it didn’t seem like I was going to get any sleep anytime soon.

  Note to self: I need to pick up ear plugs next time I am in town.

  “I don’t see why you are getting so upset a
bout this, brother! So what if all the covens in the area will know about her now? Trust me, it was better for us to come clean about this ourselves, instead of letting rumors fly and then we would be bombarded with supernatural of every kind at our doorstep wanting to get the scoop or even worse. This way we have the advantage and we parade her around. If we don’t look like we are hiding something they won’t have a reason to be suspicious. Why are you so worked up? I mean, it’s not like we really have an invested interest. If this plan doesn’t work, if this fails, we can always turn her into a walker,” Julian said.

  “Brother, I swear, I will kill you myself if you lay a hand on her!” Caleb threatened his brother.