Thought I'd upload a photo of "Almira" in the office at Aries.
Happy Reading!
Isabella x
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As the carriage rode off, leaving us in front of the doors to what I presumed was Aries’ house, I felt a strange sense of DeJaVu, remembering the night I’d visited Tom and the night of the attack. The laughter from the carriage had faded, the reasons for our journey sinking in. It wasn’t until Ray brushed past, walking to the door and banging it with his cane that I walked closer.
Latches clicked and turned a few moments later, the large door opening to reveal a man in his mid twenties, his dress attire only a shirt and breeches, much like I was wearing, completely unlike the attire a footman but it wasn’t the attire that caused my alarm bells to go. His scent was off, something musty flooded my nostrils, he smelled of woodland, but it smelled old, as if he’d rolled around in the dying leaves of autumn and coated himself in it. He raised an eyebrow as we all stood by the entrance, questioning our arrival.
“We’re here to speak to Aries.” Ray spoke loudly, boldness and confidence oozing off of him, his chin tilted as he spoke.
The man huffed, “He’s busy, come back another time, boy.” He finished, shutting the door before Ray’s cane connected with the wood and the eyes of the footman glared into his. The colour a beautiful brown as it glinted for a mere second before changing and forming into auburn, the color widening my own.
“It’s important.” Ray gritted between his teeth.
“So is my dinner, which is getting cold! Unless you volunteer to take its place.” He snapped back.
“It’s about Miss Thorn.” Michael blurted, receiving a look from Ray. As he said that, the man’s gaze snapped to Tom and me, snapping to me. I bowed my head down, letting the shadows of the night and hat cover my features and hide me, for some reason, I didn’t want this man staring at me.
“Look at me.” The man ordered. I lifted my chin slightly and caught Ray staring, a look of apology in his eyes before smiling and briefly nodding for me to obey. I exhaled and lifted my chin fully, staring into the eyes of the man holding the door, noticing the colour had gone back to brown as he widened them and smiled briefly.
“You’d better come inside then. Miss Thorn?” He gestured his hand, which I took as he pressed his lips to my knuckle, never leaving the contact of my eyes before gesturing us inside, ignoring the look Ray gave him as he shut us inside the house and took our jackets and I removed the hat, allowing my hair to fall around me like a curtain of comfort again as the footman chucked them on a chair, waving us to follow as he descended up the stairs and down a corridor.
As we reached a door, he knocked and entered, not bothering to wait for an answer, as we were left in the hallway, not sure whether to follow.
“Aries, we have gues-“
“Can’t you see I’m busy!” a voice shouted back.
“I understand that, but you really ought to see the-“
“I don’t have time, I’ve got a man to find!” He responded. With that, I knew what I had to do. I exhaled, clenching my fists and allowing myself to relax, letting my control seep into my bones as I barged through the door and faced the man, the others on my heels. A few candles lit the room, most were placed on a desk, which was at the center of the room, a fireplace roaring behind it, reminding me of a painting I’d once seen with Papa. Behind the desk, it was occupied by a tall and bulky man who stood, perching over papers and letters, his waistcoat and trousers creased and his hair brushed back in a hurry. His eyes bore down on the footman, who, surprisingly, didn’t seem afraid by it. The eyes were a dark blue; they held intelligence and authority that I often used to see in Papa.
Now was the chance. “Listen, we don’t want to interrupt you but we need your help.” I spoke up, not letting my confidence slip on me now. As the eyes turned on me, they widened and didn’t blink, as if trying to capture a scene and imprinting it into his mind. His mouth clenched and he moved around the desk to stand in front of us, his age looked around 30, his last chance to have killed, and he did. Ever since the change, I could sense the Immortal Bloodline; their scent becoming so familiar as Lucian’s house was coated in the scent, right down to the weapons. Now, staring at Aries, I could smell his scent and tell he’d killed, changed and become the man standing before me, and he’d been this man for a very, very long time, older than Jeremy.
For a moment, the silence became unbearable and his gaze too strong that I had doubt and regretted coming, but slowly, he smiled and it lit his face, making his haunted eyes look painfully beautiful. He lips parted as he grinned at her, it wasn’t until the flicker of the candle light shone over him that she realized his eyes held un-shed tears.
“I’d know those eyes anywhere.” He said, his voice sounding soft and calm as he kept his frame tall.
I looked back in confusion, “Have we met?” I had never seen this man before, how does he know me? I thought.
He chuckled, “No my child. Though I don’t need to have met you to know that your confidence is a spitting image of your mothers.” He finished. Mother?! This man knew my mother? Papa would never speak of my mother, the topic looked to sore in his gaze and I felt as though I was twisting the knife deeper mentioning it. The only thing I knew about my mother was that she was stubborn, brave and died bringing me into the world.
I struggled to grasp the right words, too many questioned floated in my head. I breathed but it came away shaky, get ahold of yourself, I mentally shouted before taking a deep breath and controlling myself. “How do you know my mother? Papa never mentioned you.” I said the last part, more to myself, feeling the pain of yet another lie my own flesh and blood had hidden from me. Aries breathed deeply, as if preparing for something and walked up to me, bringing his arms to rest on my shoulders, ignoring the sounds of the others, objecting to the contact as the footman held his hand up to stop them, tears of his own in his eyes.
“We found her, Aries, it’s really her.” He breathed. Aries smiled and nodded to him, looking back at me and taking a deep breath.
“Because I knew your mother as a child, saw her grow into a beautiful woman and become braver than most. Because Almira, I’m your mother’s brother, your uncle.”
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To be continued....