"I told you, she loves things that are uncommon... She's thrilled about meeting you tonight, I promise..."
"Sweetheart!" Ruby's barely had time to finish her sentence when the door opens abruptly and a beautiful blonde woman who wears a flower dress runs to her arms, kissing her cheeks and hugging her so tight that I think the witch struggles to breathe for a second. "Finally, you remembered you had a mother and came to visit me... You work too hard, Ruby, you have to stop from time to time to smell the flowers and enjoy life... You must be Iselen, I'm Katia..."
"I'm pleased to meet you," I whisper surprised when the lady raises her hands and puts them in front of my face, closing her eyes and mumbling something. I stare at my girl confused and she only smiles and shrugs.
"Wow, your energy is wonderful, your connection with the Great Mother is really powerful... Tell me, dear, druids are forest people, aren't they? I mean your energy is more in tune with the air element that shakes the tree leaves than with the earth and cultivated fields..." I nod puzzled and she steps back, waving her hand to invite us to come into her house. "Ruby's energy is in tune with the fire but that makes you a good match, air always helps fire to burn brighter... I bet you're really good in bed..."
"Well, I eh..."
"Be careful, Ruby, people connected to the air element are independent and they don't like to be bossed around... If you try to control her life, she'll fight you and you'll lose..."
"I know, mom. I can assure you Iselen is perfectly capable of putting me in my place..."
"I love her..." Katia shakes her hands nervously while pointing at us. "You're perfect together, Mother Nature did a great job with you two... What do you think, Boudica?"
"Meow..." A black cat stares at us casually from the stairs leading to the second floor sitting with a majestic attitude.
"She agrees... But come in, please, you must be starved... I've made hummus from Morocco, some Mexican tacos with chicken and guacamole, Japanese ramen and an almond cake with raspberry ice cream, a recipe I learnt from an old French witch... To be honest, I didn't know what you like, Iselen, so I decided to cook a little bit of everything but not Spanish food, of course, I bet you're sick of eating Spanish dishes since the day you were born..."
Katia keeps talking nonstop while we follow her through the living room, the house is decorated in a style I'd call boho-hippy but tastefully: there're dozens of colourful pillows, candles everywhere, lots of plants, wicker chairs and antique lanterns, tons of books on shelves but also on tables or piled up in corners, oriental mirrors that match small coffee tables made of carved wood, soft colourful carpets... All the rooms are crammed with stuff but it doesn't feel overwhelming and the perfume of flowers gets mixed with incense but it doesn't make me feel dizzy. In fact, I'm not feeling sick and I suspect my hunter is as shocked as I am and that's why he doesn't know how to react.
"Boudica is Morgan's mother," Ruby whispers in my ear when the cat zigzags between our ankles down the corridor. "It's a grumpy old animal that gets pretty upset when you wake her up from one of her countless naps but she's the only serious and responsible creature living in this crazy house. My mom is really funny, I'm afraid, and has an extraordinary creative personality I got from her, but her life is a relaxed chaos, if you know what I mean... It's not that she doesn't care, she raised me the best she could and was always worried about my future, but she doesn't turn every situation into a drama and she's able to see the bright side of life even when people thinks she's being reckless, irresponsible or a lunatic sometimes..."
"I'd love to be like her, sometimes I think I worry too much about things that haven't even happened yet... My family always praised me because I was a serious and responsible girl and I always behaved up to their expectations... I feel like I've been living wearing a tight corset... The only spontaneous thing I've ever done was coming to NY and going to live with you in your apartment and yet, I had doubts and weighted pros and cons..."
TWENTY (Iselen POV)
Beginne am Anfang
