"Are we going to have our tea party now, Garrick?" Lily asks innocently while I place her on the kitchen's island counter top.
"Lily, Garrick needs to sleep. He can have tea with you tomorrow night." Luka informs her at the same time I look around for the ingredients to make something sweet for me and Lily to snack on.
It comes to a surprise to my siblings- well, with the exception of Lily- that I find joy in baking sweets for me and my sister along with consuming them. Especially chocolate because it's not too sweet nor is it close to being bland. Chocolate in my opinion is the best human food I ever tasted and I don't know how I ever lived with myself before tasting it.
"Oh. . ." Lily breathes out sadly.
Turning my head over my shoulder, I see Lily bowing her head. "Don't be sad, Lily. I promised you that we were going to have a tea party and that's what we're going to do. I'm not even remotely close to being tired. Alright?"
That brought a huge grin on her face and wraps her arms around my neck. I have never once missed my little sister's tea parties and I won't start now. I love how a simple tea party can bring that smile of hers. There's nothing I wouldn't do to make sure my lovely sister smiles like that all the time. Absolutely nothing.
"Alright, but can you make the gateau au chocolat?" Lily requests with a tilt of her head.
Nodding my head, I place a soft kiss on her forehead and answer, "Of course. Would you like to help me make it?"
"Yes!" She shouts excitedly, releasing a short chuckle from me. I pull away from her so that I could grab the mold pan for the gateau au chocolat, a stick of butter, and flour before handing them to her.
"Cover the pan with the butter then put flour on it so that when the gateau au chocolat is done, it won't get stuck to the pan and be ruined. Can you handle this for me?" I instruct and tap her nose with my finger, making her giggle again.
"I can do it, Garrick!" She shouts joyfully and gets to work with her task while I began preparing the batter.
"Garrick, I think you should be resting right now. Did you even drink any blood while you were on your walk?" Luka questions, his voice not hiding the concern he's feeling.
"Burning hell, he didn't! Garrick! Why didn't you say something about that?!" Damian exclaims, almost peeved that I didn't spoke a word about my need to feed. I forgot he was here. . . Old habits die hard, I suppose. . .
Shaking my head with a soft sigh, I continue preparing the batter while I reply back to Damian's question with, "I completely forgot about my thirst. Lily, be careful with the flour. I don't want you covered in it."
"Right, you were too occupied with your little human contractor." Damian responds and walks over to me, dipping his finger into the batter. He licks the batter off his finger and smiles in delight.
"You have a contractor?!" A high pitch voice shrieks from behind. Jasmine's home and if she's home. . .
"I never thought I see the day where our righteous big brother would form a contract with someone. Human must be special if you broke your rule." Aidan's clip and cold tone comments quietly. I could practically feel a cold breeze through me from his voice alone.
Turning my head back, I see the twins walking towards me. Well, Jasmine makes her way to Damian. Aidan was the only one that walked to me and looked at the mess that I made in baking a pastry for Lily and me. His eyes, ever void of any kind of emotion, scan the contents on the counter before they were looking at me.
"You go on a walk, make a contract with some human, but the first thing you do when you come home is bake a cake." Aidan states in disbelief as a small frown starts to form. The only visible sign that reveals how he's feeling other than when he talks which is not often.
Unlike Jasmine, who would tell me exactly how she feels, Aidan doesn't bother expressing himself and would simply stare at me before he tells me what he wants. I managed to figure out his mood by listening closely to whatever he's saying. Right now, he finds it absurd that I'm not bothering to brag about the contract I formed for the first time in my three hundred and ten years of life.
"I made a promise to Lily that we would have our tea party after I was done with my test. You were there to witness it, but I went for that walk. So, I'm making it up to her by baking her favorite treat. Isn't that right, my little flower?" I respond calmly, not wanting Aidan to think anything else.
"Yup! I'm even helping!" Lily agrees cheerfully as I look over at her and see that she's almost done filling the mold with the flour.
A chuckle escapes me, but I heard a low growl to my left where Aidan was standing. My eyes drift over to him, only to find him glaring disdainfully at our sister. I'm assuming that he doesn't approve of Lily getting her dress covered in flour, though Aidan doesn't say anything about it.
"You're going to get your dress dirty, Lily!" Jasmine shrieks while she scoops Lily into her arms.
"Jasmine, it's fine. I was going to draw her a bath once we were done." I inform, ignoring her melodramatic antics.
"After you speak to our parents about your contractor?" Aidan asks.
"After he takes some time to rest and you two better not tell them. It's not your news to share." Luka interjects before I could reply.
"And who assigned you to speak for Garrick?" Damian counters while I pour the batter into the mold. If I say anything now, I won't be able to finish baking.
"We could ask the same bloody thing to you. Why are you still here, Damian?" Aidan snarls, his voice having a quiet fury in it. A fight could start if I don't hurry. . . Just a few more scoops left. . .
"I'm here because your mother invited me to come watch Garrick's test. If you have a problem with that, talk to your mother about it because I'm not going anywhere else." Damian retaliated with the same fervor. Meanwhile, I have the last of the batter in the mold and I take it to the oven.
"Oh, good! You won't disappear on me again like last time. Forty years of you gone has made this house so boringly quiet." Jasmine states a bit too flirtatiously for my taste.
For some odd reason, Jasmine has an infatuation with Damian even though he has done nothing to make her believe that he has any interest in her. Everyone knows about it and I have tried my hardest to get her to understand that Damian isn't someone she should have strong feelings for. I don't mean that Damian isn't good for my sister, but rather that she and Damian can cause a real hell here if they break up.
"Maybe I left for a reason. To get away from your sexual advances, you little tramp." Damian snaps without remorse. I would have stepped in to my sister's defense, but she can handle herself without my intervention.
Jasmine didn't respond aside from snarling at him which in turn resulted in Damian laughing. Of course, Aidan doesn't have the same mentality as I do when it comes to his twin sister. He quickly comes to her aid by growling, "Don't call her that. Especially in front of Lily."
"Did that hurt your feelings? Hearing the truth about your harlot sister? Because she doesn't bother hiding her affections for me or anyone with a handsome face." Damian quips as a smirk forms on his mischievous face. This won't end well. . .
"Damian, that's enough. You already had your jab, I don't need a brawl to occur in the kitchen. Again." I step in, literally, between Aidan and Damian. Both filling the room with tension that is becoming visible on the two. Damian has his eyes flickering back and forth to his demonic silts whereas Aidan's hands glow with tips of orange flames.
"Now you interfere? He insulted our sister and you stood there silently watching him offend her. What good are you in defending our sister's dignity if you don't bother to go against your mentor?" Aidan inquires bitterly with a cold glare that holds a bit of anger.
"Aidan, you know perfectly well that Garrick wouldn't stand there if Jasmine or anyone of us were in need of his help." Luka intercedes and steps in between Aidan and me.
"You're no different either, Luka! I didn't hear you saying anything to Damian about insulting me!" Jasmine exclaims, taking her place by her twin's side.
"Do you really need your older brothers to save you like a princess? The last time I saw you, you and your stone cold twin were bragging about eating souls of killers. Which explains why you two are bordering on being heartless, though I think you two don't have any of those working in you anymore." Damian chaffs as he crosses his arms.
Both Aidan and Jasmine were about to yell when I interrupt, "Enough! I'm sorry I didn't defend you, Jasmine. Aidan, you and I both know that Jasmine doesn't require our help. She can take care of herself without us. Damian, you had your fill. Now back off. Go eat a soul or whatever it is you do for fun."
"Is that really the best you can do?" The twins question simultaneously.
"Now that's just scary and I'm the scariest thing ever." Damian comments, but takes a step back with his hands up in surrender. He won't cause anymore trouble. . . For now.
"Unlike you two, I don't believe in physical violence to get my point across someone." I declare firmly as I start cleaning up my mess.
"Your methods won't get you anywhere. Especially your rules of being sans soul. I'm surprised you haven't already died from starvation." Aidan argues, though his words troubles me. He doesn't mean that. . . Does he?
"What is wrong with you, Aidan?! How can you say such a terrible thing about our eldest brother?!" Luka shouts in an astonished tone.
"Don't tell me you haven't wondered that either, Luka. How is it that Garrick has lived this long without eating a single soul as his rule?" Jasmine notes. I always thought my blood drinking is what kept me alive. Is there more to it?
"What does it matter? It doesn't give Aidan any right to say that about Garrick." Luka answers while I wash the last utensil I used.
"What are you going to do about it, Luka?" Aidan challenges and I can hear electricity cackling. Luka is prepared for a fight which means Aidan shows signs of readying for battle, one that I was trying to diffuse from the beginning, because Luka never engages into combat unless forced into it.
"Oh? Am I going to see you two fight tonight?" Damian chimes enthusiastically as I dry my hands off.
I turn to face my two younger brothers glaring at each other with tensed bodies. A small ray of lightning travels around Luka's body with strands branching out to the air before they disappear. Aidan, however, has his arms enflame up to his elbows with his hands burning white as the center. It's not surprising for me to see this stance between them, but it still saddens me that the two of them want to fight each other.
I hate seeing my siblings like this. I don't see why we have to fight to prove a point or to protect our pride as the twins put it. We're family, we shouldn't be so accustomed to seeing one another as potential opponents. The twins may be the ones that start a fight among us, but what I want to know is why they feel the need to do so. Specifically towards me.
"Luka, Aidan, stand down. There's no need for a fight." I order calmly. If I raise my voice in any way, it would only encourage Aidan and that is not what I wanted.
"Are you going to stop me if I don't listen to you?" Aidan defies, shifting his attention to me. His bluish green eyes alight with a prompt like look, as though he wants me to do something.
"No, I will only stop you if I believe that what you're doing is wrong. I never want to fight you or Jasmine, but if I must, I will. Please, drop it." I respond while I walk between my two brothers.
Neither of them said another word and I notice Luka's rays of lightning vanishing, but Aidan's flames are still present. I thought I had to resort to violence just to get him to calm down when I hear my mother's voice, "I thought I told you boys that I do not want another fight to ruin my kitchen."
At the doorway stood our parents with Lily in my father's arms. She must be the one to fetch them when we weren't looking. Actually, where have they been? Why didn't they come looking for me when I returned home?
"Care to tell us what you three were about to do?" Father asks sternly, his eyes glancing at each of us for a second before they land on me.
"Garrick has news to tell you." Jasmine announces from behind me.
Everything went quiet once again as I feel all eyes on me. I don't have to look at either of the twins to know that they have a sly smirk on their faces. If I wasn't being watched by my parents, I would've sent a glare in Jasmine's direction for revealing information that I planned to tell after I had a few hours of rest.
"Well, I think I'll do what you said, Garrick, and go eat a soul or something fun. I'll see you in a few hours!" Damian states and tries to walk past my parents when my mother blocks Damian's path.
"You're staying as well, Damian. You must know what Garrick's news is." Mother affirms. She's not going to allow anyone to leave until I tell them about Galvin.
The only good thing is Galvin won't be here like when Damian found out. Except, they're my family and I wouldn't put it pass them to find Galvin to see how he's like. I'm going to have to make sure that they won't do anything to him. Especially the twins.
*Nickole's Note*
Hey, guys! I'm back and with a long chapter for you guys! I have some Fun Facts for you guys so let's get through them first!
1. The picture above was arranged by me from looking up the quote and background picture on Google Images then arranged them on PhotoGrid.
2. The whole thing with coating a molding pan with butter then adding flour is a real thing because my mom tells me to do that whenever we make cakes. It actually helps in taking the cake off the mold without it getting stuck.
3. Gateau au chocolat is an actual dessert that I found in Black Butler and even tried it. It's pretty good.
And that's all! I don't have any announcements for you guys today so I'll move on to my usual farewell. As always, I hope you guys liked the chapter and I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. If you guys have any questions about when I'll update the next chapter or why I'm taking so long, please check out my activity page for more information. Until then, I'll see you guys next time! Enjoy~