The Secret in the Mist (Random Updates)

Chapter 3

"Do you have any food allergies I need to know about?" Cirro asked after he could no longer take the uncomfortable silence that filled the air.

"Um," she cleared her throat as she pushed the salad around with her fork. She nodded, "I am allergic to all nuts."

"Then I'll go make you something else," he said as he stood and picked up her still full plate. "I cooked with peanut oil."

"It's okay," she shook her head. "It...it...it isn't life threatening."

He froze and turned his hazel eyes onto her. "What happens?"

She quickly let go of the plate that she tried to take back from him and dropped her hands into her lap. She pushed her hair behind her ear and mumbled under her breath.

"Speak up,' Wolf demanded, making her jump.

"It just g...gives me m...migraines," she said a little louder.

"How bad?" Cirro asked as he stepped away from the table so she couldn't grab the plate again.

"Depends on how much I ingest," she admitted as she looked down at her hands. "S...s...sometimes if I catch it in time I c...c...can just take some of my medicine and s...sleep it off but if I'm not aw...aw...aware of it until after I eat then the medicine d...d....doesn't work in time and I have to go to the h...h...hospital but the shots just make me sicker so I don't go."

"So you just suffer?" Raine asked as he clenched his jaw.

"It's b...b...better than throwing up from the shot the hospital tries to force me to take," she shrugged. "Most of the time I can just sleep it off. But that hasn't happened in a long time," she shook her head. It was taking everything in her to not stutter so much. "I c...c...can sleep them off most of the time and I don't eat out j...j...just to be on the safe side."

"Do you have an epi pen?" Raine asked and she shook her head.

"I don't need one since it doesn't cl...cl...close my throat."

"Finish your salad," Cirro said as he left the room.

"It's fine, really," she muttered, "not hungry."

"That's understandable," Mr. Thomas said as he patted her shoulder. "You've been through a lot in the past few days. This is a lot to adjust to. Just eat what you can and maybe after you tour the property and rest you will be hungry for dinner. It may just take a few days for you to get used to living here before your appetite comes back."

"I doubt it," she mumbled under her breath but quickly took a bite of the salad when she felt multiple eyes on her. She ate what she could then pushed the bowl slightly away from her.

"Eat," Cirro demanded as he picked up the bowl and sat a bowl of mixed fruit down in front of her. She looked at it and noticed it had grapes, diced up watermelon, diced up peaches, and green apple slices in it.

Her eyes teared up slightly, which she quickly wiped away and smiled, "Th...th...thank you, these are my favorite fruits."

He cleared his throat and nodded as he sat back down, "Welcome, now eat."

She nodded, "Yes Sir."

Once she was done, Mr. Thomas placed his napkin on the table and stood, "Ready to refresh your memories of this place, my dear?" She nodded and stood. As she reached for her bowl, it was quickly taken from her hands. The look on Cirro's face told her not to argue about it. She dropped her hands to her side and followed Mr. Thomas out of the dining room just as she heard Wolf speak.

"The gate's locked so we should be fine. I'll let you know once we're back."

"Just be careful," Raine said.

"Always am."

A part of her wanted to ask as he headed towards her and Mr. Thomas but she felt like that was a conversation she wasn't supposed to have overheard so she kept her mouth shut. "Come along, dear, there is a lot to see."

"And I thought it was humongous when I was a child," she said as Wolf opened the front door. "It w...w...will be n...n...neat to see it in an adult's p...per...perspective."

"Calm down, my dear," Mr. Thomas smiled as he looped her hand through his arm. "Don't let your nerves get the best of you. Just ignore Wolf, he tends to disappear into the background anyway," he waved his hand through the air, "it's part of his military training. Just imagine it's me and you."

She looked at him with curiosity but ultimately just nodded as he walked over to the fountain. A huge smile graced her mouth as she sat on the edge and ran her fingertips along the top of the water to watch the ripples form underneath her touch. A soft giggle left her mouth as the second tier caused a soft drizzle to touch her arm. She stood and walked back to Mr. Thomas, "I just re...re...remembered Duke put soap in one time and made bubbles. Father told him to stop being a child but he just laughed as he put bubbles on his beard. He looked like Santa."

"That sounds like something Edward would do," Mr. Thomas chuckled. He pointed over to the building next to the mansion, "That's the garage with all of his cars plus Raine's, Wolf's, and Cirro's. You can look at them later. Let's follow this path to the gardens. There's a fountain out there as well."

"Okay," she beamed. "Is it still like a r...ra...rainbow? I remember lots of different colors and flowers. It was like a fairy garden to me. I swore it held magic to me."

She noticed Wolf freeze for a second just as Mr. Thomas pulled her along the cobblestone path. When she glanced back he was typing on his phone before Mr. Thomas opened a gate door and her breath left her. It was just as she remembered, there were roses, lilies, orchids, chrysanthemums, and so many other kinds of flowers in all sorts of colors. There were those flowers that were purple and white and there were even some roses that were multicolors. She gasped when she saw the blue, purple, and black roses, those were her ultimate favorites not that she would ever tell anyone. It was more than she remembered as she rushed to inhale their fragrances. She wanted to soak up every smell and the happiness they brought her. She went from one flower to another, she was like a child in Duke's safety all over again. She swore she could hear him chuckling in the background as she inspected every flower she could. Once she realized what she was doing, she blushed and rushed back to Mr. Thomas' side.

"Just like you remember?" He asked fondly.

"Better than I remember," she beamed. "It's more beautiful than I imagined."

"Raine takes pride in the gardens," Mr. Thomas smiled. "He will appreciate your appreciation for them, I'm sure."

She blushed and clasped her hands behind her to keep herself in control as she whispered, "I do."

"How old are you, my dear?" Mr. Thomas asked. "I know you're in your twenties. Are you still going to university?"

She shook her head as she bent to inhale the perfume of a white lily. "I'm 23. I finished high school at sixteen so I could get away from my parents and Duke helped me with the whole emancipation process. He even helped me get into the university and I graduated at 20 with my master's degree even though I hadn't been able to see him for a few years by then thanks to the whole drama with my parents. It was just secret phone calls and texts by that point to be on the safer side. He didn't want them to try and drag me into that fight."

"I remember him telling me about that," Mr. Thomas nodded. "He was so worried but proud of you. It pissed him off that he couldn't attend your graduation, he actually sent me to video it so he could watch it later. He bragged about you often." She smiled fondly as he led her down a sandy path. "Well you should get along with the boys since you're close in age. Raine is 27, Wolf is the oldest at 29, and Cirro is the baby at 26 but don't tell him I called him that," he chuckled mischievously. "He hates when I call him the baby of the group."

"I won't," she giggled then frowned, "where are we going?"

"To your beach to see your boat, of course," he smirked.

She froze, "A boat?"

He nodded, "Yes, now come along." He took her hand and pulled her along the path once more.