Ruby Shimmer (re-write)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

But now, we have their granddaughter gracing my humble home and the entire League itself. She has already demonstrated her abilities and I truly believe that she will prove to be the last piece in a puzzle that we have been tackling for so many years. And with her help, may we finally find success in completing our sacred mission."

I was already feeling extremely embarrassed thanks to my earlier stomach rumblings, but as I listened to his speech, I quickly felt my face growing even hotter the longer he spoke.

"I also wish to take this chance to officially welcome Miss Melanie into my own family. My dear child and beloved niece, I look forward to many wonderful times together with you, as well as greatly anticipating your future results. To Melanie!"

"To Melanie!" everyone but me echoed loudly after standing up as well. Even Julian did so with a broad smile on his face that mirrored the ones worn by all the others.

"On that note, everyone please go right ahead and enjoy your meals to the fullest."

I was still feeling incredibly self-conscious after Uncle Phineas's speech filled with nothing but praise and acceptance. However, I had had nothing to eat that day except for an iced latte that morning, a few protein bars during my walk in the rain, and those small cakes from our earlier meeting. As such, his last words were all the provocation I needed to happily start digging into the delicious-looking food.

But even as I did so, I tried my best not to make a total pig out of myself in front of such obviously cultured people.

And the food itself was absolutely magnificent!

The steak was cooked to perfection with just enough juice to keep it moist and flavorful. The potatoes were superbly seasoned and baked just long enough to give the top layer a golden brown coloring and a slight crisp. And the second I placed a piece of asparagus in my mouth, the lemon butter glaze it was coated with had it practically melting on my tongue.

But, unfortunately for me, my joy and pleasure must have shown all over my face, because I suddenly felt like I was being watched, only to realize that every single pair of eyes in the room were all staring at me in undeniable amusement.

"Is it good?" Julian asked with an annoyingly teasing tone that caused the blush on my face, which was finally starting to fade, to come back with avengeance.

"Julian." Uncle Phineas warned him in a low voice before turning back to me with an unsettlingly serious, yet still somehow gentle look on his face.

"Putting aside my nephew's persistent rudeness, I am indeed glad that you are enjoying your meal as much as you are. However, I think it's about time for us to have a rather important discussion."

My curiosity about another sudden flip in his entire attitude immediately won over my initial hunger, so I put down my silverware and wiped my mouth as I swallowed the food still inside before giving my uncle my undivided attention.

"Fine then. Let's talk. But, I should probably mention that I'm still reeling from finding out so much new information about my family in such a short period of time."

I felt bad for Uncle Phineas for having to say this, but luckily, he seemed to sympathize with how I felt. And I thought this because his serious face had turned back to that made me feel guilty enough to finally say something I had wanted to say for a while now.

"Before we get into anything too heavy, I just wanted to say that I am so sorry about how I acted when we first met. You showed me nothing but kindness and all I did was answer it with suspicion and distrust."

"I appreciate your honesty, my dear. But, don't worry about it too much. Tonight is merely about formally introducing you to those of us on the High Counsel and our heirs. We all simply wish to know more about you, especially if we are going to be working so closely together for the foreseeable future.

So, if you don't mind, why don't you go ahead and tell us a little about yourself?"

Knowing that this wasn't really a real question and more of a suggestive nudge, I took a deep breath to calm myself down, then began to share my life story with the rest of the group, at least as much as I was willing to share at this time.

"I guess the first thing to say is that I grew up in Myrtle Springs with my parents, as well as my grandparents. Though, Gramma and Grampa have been traveling across the globe for the past several years, which I only just learned today was because they have apparently been meeting with each of you at your own homes in your different countries of origin.

But not only that, I've been living all alone for the past few months since Mama and Daddy both died together in a car crash.

And because of that, I also ended up having some recent money troubles. As you can expect, this also included my living expenses, so I had no choice but to sell the two-bedroom apartment we had been living in. And, since then, it's just been me living all alone in a simple studio apartment.

Unfortunately, even paying for the new apartment and for daily necessities such as food and utilities have put a real strain on my bank account. As such, I had no choice but to try and make some extra cash, unusually by working around the clock, going to my usual part time job while taking on a series of short-term jobs on my days off."

As I continued to explain my current situation, I could feel myself growing parched from the quiet tension in the air. And eventually, it had grown to a point where I ended up having to pause for a moment to take a quick drink from my glass.

It was then that I noticed that one of the older members of the group, whom I had to think for a second before recognizing him as being the Elder of the Amethyst Clan, had raised his hand. And this action itself caused everyone else at the table, including myself, to turn our attention onto him for the time being.

"Scusa, mis bella." the ginger-haired man said in Italian before turning to English, albeit with a thick accent. "Apologies for the interruption. But, you said before that you were originally distrustful of signore Davenport and I was just curious as to why."

As he said all this, I could see out of the corner of my eye that the rest of the group had slowly leaned in, as if they had been waiting for this moment from the very beginning.