1970

Chapter One: March 23rd, 1969

Elora's point of view:

I had heard my parents and sister were coming back with their new commander. I mostly communicated with Lorelei's husband, Mihn. He was the only one who wasn't bustling around all the time trying to make sure the trip was successful. All I knew was that when he informed me that my father had lost his leg in a blast caused by some insane guerrillas, I just about lost my mind.

Mihn also informed me that the doctor said my father had to retire. He was almost sixty, the time was about to come, but it was about ten years earlier than what he planned. He didn't want to be a veteran yet, he didn't have to tell me face to face for me to know that. Mihn also informed me that he was absolutely irate when he was informed he was going to lose his leg and he couldn't fight anymore. My mother was still going to work, and so was Lorelei apparently. But my father would have to take to the sidelines. I was told he was screaming and wouldn't let anyone see him while his procedure was starting. Now he had to retire, that couldn't be good for anyone.

"When are they coming?" I asked my sister, Carina, as she held her baby girl Kamila in her hand. She was so cute, a perfect mixture of Carina and Peter.

"I'm not sure. I think Mihn told us the plane would land sometime around noon," she replied. I nodded and sighed as I twiddled my thumbs on my lap. I was sitting down in an armchair, hoping they would arrive home soon so I could see them. Not to mention, their new commander would be staying with us for a while until he could find some permanent residence in Washington. He lived with his father until he died, and now that he didn't have that place anymore, he needed to find somewhere else.

"I want them here now," I stated. This made Emmaleigh laughed and shook her head with a smile. Emmaleigh was all about joking and laughing, and I could usually go along with it, but now I was plain paranoid that Lorelei and my parents wouldn't get back safely. It was rather worrying.

"They'll come, don't worry. Just because dad is hurt doesn't mean mom and Lorelei can't deal with it. I'm sure everything will turn out just fine. If you worry like this you'll lose your hair," Emmaleigh replied. Carina nodded in agreement but she was rather occupied by Kamila, who was beginning to whimper.

"You know me, though, I always think something is going to go wrong. Never rule out that it won't," I replied. Carina and Emmaleigh shook their heads at me and went back to what they were doing. This was when I stood from the chair and exited the living room. I went out to the balcony of the first level of the house. The swiftly cool March air swam around my skin as I crossed my arms and shivered. It was beginning to get warmer now, but it rained a lot and there were days that the overcast just never seemed to leave, this came with strong winds or moist, sharply cold air.

My dark brown, sort of red, hair blew in the wind. My father would always say it was the colour of cherry mahogany, which made it seem better than brownish-red or something like that. My hair was really long, it went down to the far middle of my back in waves and was even longer when it was straight. My skin was pale like that of my mother's, of which I took her Nordic genes. My eyes were also a similar colour to hers, a green, but much paler. My mother's eyes were like an evergreen forest, whereas mine was more of a sea green with hints of blue wandering around in the mixture. My height was a little below average but I wasn't nearly as small as Lorelei and my mother. When they were five-foot-two, I stood three inches taller. I still looked small compared to some of the larger people I knew, Max Keller for instance. He was a giant man, nearly three inches taller than my already massive father, and made me look like a mouse next to a bear. The whole of my family, save Lorelei and my mother, was dark, but I had the palest complexion out of all of them. I was almost paler than my mother, who seemed to be lighter than a vampire at times.