*Second Book To Alliance*
Mel and Ben survive the mission across the Wasteland, but they arrive home changed. Ben's wound is healing slowly and what Mel witnessed in the past month haunts her at night. Their mission was fulfilled, but the conflict h...
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To most people, the house was grand, with the walls painted white with a grey trim, with three levels and large windows, and a garden of ferns and colorful flowers were planted with care before the wooden, wrap around porch. The house looked loving and inviting but to Alec, it wasn't. The house was his childhood home and it never felt like a home to him. It was his father's house. A place where his father was king, and his rule was unforgiving and final.
Alec crossed the porch to the front door. It felt like a mistake to visit home. He should have stayed in York to start his training as a Ranger. Only a few days ago he was placed in the Ranger ranks after the mountain simulation where Mel threw herself back into the river to help him.
"Mom?" Alec called, opening the front door.
No one answered. Like always, the house was quiet, the way his father liked it. There was never laughter in the house, no love or smiles.
"Mom?" He stepped into the foyer. The living room that was spotless and stood at attention was to the right, to the left a staircase against the wall and a hallway that sprouted off perpendicular to the stairs.
Light feet raced down the hallway upstairs. "Alec!" cried Lena, she stopped atop the staircase, she smiled wide and her blue eyes bright and cheerful. She ran down the stairs and jumped into her brother's arm. Like always, Alec caught her. Her small arms wrapped around his neck and a smile crept on to Alec's face.
"Hello Lena," he said.
Releasing him, Lena leaned back in his arms. "Where have you been?" she asked. "Mom said you would be gone for awhile."
"I know," Alec sat her down, "I can only stay for the night. Where's mom and dad?"
"Mom is in the garden out back, Dad is in his study." Lean's bright smile was contagious. She bounced on the tips of her toes. Every part of her was innocent and happy, she was the only brightness in the house.
"Okay, I'm going to speak to dad."
"Can I come with you?"
"No, you go on. I will play with you when I am done."
Lena held out her pinky. "Pinky promise?" She stood with enough confidence as a full grown woman with her tiny picky up in the air.
Alec knelt down to eye level with her and wrapped his pinky around hers. "Promise." Lena released his pinky and fled from the foyer toward the kitchen in the back. Once, when he was very young, Alec was carefree, but that was a long time ago.
The feeling he was making a mistake coming home intensified. He should have stayed in York, should have visited Mel, it was his fault after all she was in the hospital. If she hadn't thrown herself back into the river to save him.
Passing the stairs, Alec entered a hallway clear of any color or decoration. That was how his father liked his home. No life, no color, or laughter. There were many times Alec had walked down that same hall terrified of what awaited in his father's study. That old fear wormed its way into his chest, making it difficult to breathe. Some memories could not be erased. The room at the end of the hallway was the place Alec had hated the most and the memories that came with it.
