Losing The Light Of The Moon

The Heart Of A Pint-Sized Pixie, Part II

Chapter 38: The Heart Of A Pint Sized Pixie, Part II

JACE

As we all attempted to gather ourselves after Lorenzo’s heartfelt declaration, he revealed something else—the meaning behind Mother’s emerald ring that she always wore—and how she almost never received it...

On his deathbed, Soloman requested that Lorenzo gift the ring to Mother so she could remember him and know how much she meant to him—but as it was a favorite of his mother’s, Lorenzo arrogantly found the request difficult to fulfill. However, on the day of the funeral, he placed it in his pocket intending on giving it to her—but took advantage when Mother gave him an opportunity to do so...

“Always respectful, Tati attended the funeral, but stayed in the shadows,” Lorenzo reluctantly began, “I can still see her clearly standing in the dark forest, wearing her hooded black cloak to conceal herself. At the end, Tati pushed her hood back just as she did that day in the courtroom, revealing herself to Father one last time, beaming at him with tears streaming down her face before touching her fingers to her lips and blowing him a kiss. She looked at me and smiled before blowing me a kiss as well—and while I knew what Father wanted me to do, I couldn’t do it—I couldn’t stop her before she disappeared—I couldn’t let go of Mother’s ring.”

“Father!” Alastor harshly admonished, “After everything Auntie did—what they meant to one another! How could you do that?”

“I wasn’t proud of it, Alastor,” Lorenzo shamefully admitted, his eyes on the table, unable to look at us, “The at-times selfish and unfeeling me that you highly dislike showed through that day.”

Of course, afterwards, Lorenzo would see her often, a nagging feeling of guilt haunting him, knowing that he had refused his father’s last wish. Even after Alastor was born, Lorenzo couldn’t bring himself to let it go. It wasn’t until Mother saved his life—as well as the lives of Soren, Horacio, and Umar—that Lorenzo finally had a revelation...

“It’s amazing what goes through one’s mind when you come close to death,” Lorenzo softly contemplated out loud, the wrinkles in his forehead deepening in the seriousness of his thoughts, “You reflect on everything—the past—the present—the future that you are fortunate to still have and be a part of—all three are such a special gift! And that’s when I realized Tati had selflessly loved, protected, and gifted both Father and I repeatedly in our past and present, and would never hesitate to do so in the future, never asking for anything in return. And in return, I had selfishly wronged her and Father by not doing as he wished.”

Taking in a deep breath, Lorenzo exhaled it out slowly, his furrowed brow releasing as he smiled again, “I took the ring to Tati the next day and shamefully confessed everything to her. But as always, with Tati, she is forgiving and always quick with a quote—immediately reciting her favorite about timing before beaming at me and kissing me on the cheek, wanting only to alleviate my guilt and distress over it all.”

Tilting his head back, Lorenzo looked up at the sky then, thoughtfully telling us, “The smile on her face was indeed exquisite when she put that ring on her finger. Gazing down at it with so much love and tenderness—every ounce of adoration she held for Father expressed in them as tears fell down her cheeks just as they had fallen at his funeral. I have no doubt we both still miss him...every day.”

Bringing his head back down, the Lorenzo of old came back, making us laugh again as he cleared his throat before hardening his tone, “And that is as emotional as you will ever see this Alpha get—ever!”   Looking over at Soren, he chuckled, “And all of it thanks to the pint-sized pixie!”

Just as the humored reactions rang out, we heard Madeline and Raven gasp, just as Lorenzo and Soren’s expressions instantly fell rigid—all of them jumping up out of their chairs, causing me to blurt out in panic, “What’s happened?”

Raven and Talon were rushing towards the clearing behind me with Madeline, Soren, and Lorenzo on their heels as Madeline breathed out, “Everyone is fine, but there was an incident—just stay calm.”

“If they are all fine, why do you guys look like that? And why do I still have no Beast link?” Tink accusingly shouted out, her eyes wild.

“Someone get a chair ready for Auntie, please,” Raven calmly requested, though no one at the table was calm after her request, especially Horacio, who leapt up from his chair at the same time I did, angrily spatting out my exact thought, “Something happened to Tati?”

Tink’s face went completely crimson as she stood up and seethed, “Since I know it was her, where exactly is this prison of Frieda’s? I may not be able to kill her, but I can still cause a world of hurt!”

Nicholas and Mother finally appeared—Nicholas had his arm supportively around her as I took in the sight of Mother’s injured head and bruised neck, frantically rushing towards her, “Mother? Are you alright?”

My aunts called out to her as everyone worriedly came in closer while Mother sweetly stated, “Honestly, I’m fine, really. Nicholas will explain momentarily.”  

Horacio immediately pulled out an empty chair for Mother to sit in, taking a step back to give us room, but standing as close as possible, his vexed eyes dark with fury as Tink wildly looked all around, desperately asking, “Where is Beast? Why isn’t he here?”

As she sat down, Mother looked up at Nicholas, worriedly asking, “Where is my sweet Beast? Please tell me I didn’t leave him!”

“You didn’t, Auntie,” Nicholas kindly assured her as Talon began examining Mother’s injuries, nodding to Raven, who flicked her finger out, “He wanted to get something for you first.”

Just then, Beast appeared behind us, immediately barreled into by Tink, who jumped up, throwing her arms around his neck, chastising him in utter relief, “Alright, big guy! You and I have to talk about this blocking thing! I was already going nuts! How could you forget to unblock me?”

Beast silently grinned, his mammoth arms wrapping around her, holding Mother’s favorite blanket in his hand as he kissed Tink tenderly, sheepishly apologizing, “Sorry...love you.”

Setting Tink back on the ground, Beast gently took her hand in his before walking up to Mother’s chair, letting go of Tink’s hand to bend down and gently place the blanket around Mother as she smiled at him warmly, cupping his face in her hand as she kissed his cheek, “Always my protective gentle giant. Thank you, Beast!”  Winking at him, she lovingly urged, “But do try not to send my Tink into such a panic next time, hmmmm?” 

Beast grinned and nodded, immediately turning back to his beloved Tink, who smiled at him brightly, nodding in appreciation of his caring gesture before taking his hand in hers again as he bent down to receive another tender kiss from her.

“She’s right—forgiven or not, it was a bad move, Beastie-boy,” Carson unevenly admonished as he attempted humor, while his heavily concerned gaze was on Mother, “Tink’s already ready to kill and I’m right behind her, along with everyone else—I don’t think any of us are going to like what we are about to hear!”

**********

I have always considered myself incredibly fortunate for the people in my life...and hated the fact that Amelia’s influence affected every one of my relationships after my ordeal with her...but I was even more grateful for them now—especially after hearing the news that had me infuriated, but not in the dark place Amelia had once put me in—because of the people in my life, many of whom were comforting me and keeping me focused on our mission...

As my Goddess held my hand tightly to calm me, my Mother softly echoed in my mind, Always remember, people who fly into a rage always make a bad landing. Stay calm, my Jace. We will figure this out and we will face Amelia—together.

I looked over to find Mother’s loving gaze on me, winking as she reached out and squeezed my other hand. Out of my peripheral, I saw Horacio sitting in a chair that he placed closely beside Mother, watching her intently with a softened, yet still deeply concerned look in his eyes. 

Not long after, Raven and Nicholas distracted me, sending the same words—we will fight this together—and we would—Amelia would not get into my head this time and would not harm any of them, including Mattias and Guntur...had she been smart, Amelia would have just stayed hidden after her feigned death...

“You rarely make mistakes, Nicholas,” Lorenzo stoically comforted, as Nicholas dishearteningly finished, “None of us are perfect, so don’t take this too hard. At least we know who we are dealing with now and Tati rid us of a long-sought-after witch with ease, although I could have done without the injury...if only we could figure out how to finally rid ourselves of Frieda.”

“He’s right, my boy,” Soren gruffly concurred, “now we just have to find Amelia—and get our boys back.”

His aged eyes sparkling as he turned his attention to Mother, Soren delightedly grinned, “Wicked move using those damn words against her after all these years, Tati! I won’t lie, I wish I had been there to see it and her face under your spell!”

Aunt Reina sadly exhaled out, “I wish I had seen it as well, but do hate you had to sacrifice one of your favorite necklaces to do it, Tati! You loved your Believe necklace!”

Mother gave us all a playful grin, slowly drawling out, “I didn’t lose my favorite necklace. I simply pulled another page from Frieda’s book...”  Reaching inside her pink coat, Mother pulled her favorite long heavily beaded necklace out from under it, holding up the small potion bottle as she laughed out softly, flashing her eyes wide in her humored state as she sent us into a roll of laughter with her words, “Frieda’s was a replica!”

Aunt Persephone giggled out loudly, “Ohhhh, Tati! You can be quite wicked when you want to be! Brilliantly done, Sister!”

“Thank you!” Mother proudly snapped back in a perky tone, “I wasn’t about to let Frieda destroy the original of my favorite bauble and had originally planned to reveal my deception, but then decided not to stick around for her reaction afterwards. I had quite enough of her reminiscing mind games. I’ll just let her stew about it alone.”

Her mood dramatically turned as her eyes turned troubled, staring off into nothing as she rubbed her forehead with her glowing fingers, “Now I just need to get rid of this headache, so I can work on zeroing in on our problematic witch, who is definitely on my most-wanted list—for a multitude of reasons.”

“You’ve done quite a bit today already, Tati,” Lorenzo softly replied, “Take care of you for a moment, please. We can talk more about plans for Amelia later—I trust your visions—we will find the boys safe.”

“Don’t distress yourself, Mother, as Auntie says, all will be well,” Nicholas lovingly called out, sending our gazes toward Luna, whose expression was filled with overwhelming emotion as she stared at Mother, tears brimming in her eyes.

Mother locked gazes with Luna, her eyes widening with realization instead of humor before slowly narrowing them as she turned her attention to Priscilla, one of her eyebrows lifting as she warningly inquired, “Why do I get the feeling there was more revealed in my absence than I expected—or wanted?”

“You should have told me, Tati,” Luna brokenly said, tears falling down her face.

“A-Auntie?” Nicholas suddenly and incredulously broke in, obviously informed about the revelation by Madeline, “You created the potion for Mother?”

“You knew about the potion?” Alastor shockingly questioned, gawking at Nicholas before looking over at Priscilla and Lorenzo, scrutinizing them, “I didn’t know! Why didn’t I know? I had no idea!”

Still staring at Priscilla, who knowingly grinned at Mother, a soft grin widened across her face as she turned back to Luna, affectionately telling her, “Because it wasn’t necessary. Besides, if I’m truthful with both Aruna and Priscilla, it was honestly for my own selfish reasons.”

Mother’s grin changed into a bright smile as she peered over at Nicholas and Alastor, tenderly stating, “You two remind me daily of the best potions I’ve ever created, bringing lifelong love and joy into my life from the day each of you were born!”  

Immediately after, Mother pressed her fingers back on her head, closing her eyes as she reluctantly sighed out, “So, were there any other surprise revelations I should be aware of?”

Her eyes instantly popped open, both brows lifting as her full focus came to rest on Alastor, who humorously gazed back at her with a mischievous grin. A moment later, her jaw locked as she pursed her lips, ever so slightly moving her cross expression to Lorenzo and Soren. Bringing her hand out slightly to the side of her head, Mother twirled tiny streams of green between her fingers, dauntingly drawling out in a sarcastic tone, dramatically enunciating her last three words, “I take intimidating as hell as a compliment, but pint-sized pixie?”

“That was traitorous, Alastor! And for the record, was meant endearingly!” Soren guffawed as he leaned forward to glare at him while we all snickered in response.

“Blame Mother and Father, Soren,” Alastor satisfyingly cooed out, “They’re the ones who didn’t tell me about the potion that helped bring me into this world. I am forever and lovingly faithful to my Winged Angel!”

Mother instantly went teary-eyed at Alastor’s words, her mouth gaped open in wonder. Swallowing hard to hold back her own emotions, she breathlessly stated in awe, “You sounded exactly like him just now—your grandfather.”

Alastor’s eyes softened as they silently locked gazes for a moment, the unconditional love and adoration flowing between them felt by everyone at the table as a tear slowly rolled down Mother’s cheek. Slowly bringing her right hand down, she covered it with her left, her fingers gently grazing across her treasured emerald ring, her voice reflecting one of deep earnest reverie as she said, “Be very proud that you are so much like him, Alastor. Your grandfather was the greatest of men and so very proud of you, even before you were born.”

A warm smile crossed her face as she dreamily continued, “I loved him so very dearly—I still do and always will—with my whole heart! And I miss him—always. It was because of your grandfather’s love for me that I knew where I would always belong—with all of you. And I am so very grateful that I still see him in your handsome face and that I carry him with me always both in his gift...and in my heart. And thank you—it’s been a long time since I’ve heard Soloman’s pet name for me...he put every ounce of love he held for me in those words the last time we said goodbye—one of the many memories I am forever grateful was returned.”

***********

I continued to worry about Mother, who was looking incredibly exhausted and wouldn’t eat anything despite us trying to coax her otherwise. I had planned on going upstairs with her to keep an eye on her for a bit, but my aunts asked if they could have a moment with me privately. Mother quietly requested that I talk with them, that it was important to Aunt Persephone and Aunt Reina to say what was weighing heavily on their hearts and it was important to her that I heard their heartfelt words. 

Besides, Mother had requested a few moments with Mahan, who graciously said he would escort her back to her room and sit with her for a while—surprising both Horacio and I based on his expression—with Mother saying she would see me in the morning for our coffee chat, kissing me on the cheek before they left.

Standing off to the side, I looked down at my aunts, who appeared incredibly anxious and fearful as they gazed up at me, shifting uncomfortably, causing Aunt Reina to cautiously ask in a desperate tone, “Is it difficult to be near us now, Jace? We understand if it is, you know. If you need time—”

The words flew out of my mouth in a harsh whisper, interrupting her, “How could you not believe her? How could you not believe any of them? She was all alone in the middle of nowhere with no one! She was eight years old—with no one! Two years! In those two years, didn't you see it? Aunties! There were so many red flags! So many times—”

“You are asking the same questions your aunt and I have asked ourselves countless times over the years, Jace,” Aunt Persephone pleadingly interrupted, “Hating ourselves for all the mistakes we made because of the dark place Reina and I allowed ourselves to drown in and consume us. We lost who we were in that sea of black! That wasn’t us—not the real us! And we both know that if it weren’t for your mother, we would have been lost forever. And even that was unfair to Tati!”

Aunt Reina tearfully continued, “Tati was a child who in the end became an adult far too young because of us. We robbed her of her childhood and by the time we were all together again, it was too late—what she went through that she won’t talk about—that she continues to protect us from—it changed her too. That’s one of the many reasons it bothers her so badly—what you and the girls went through so young in our absence. All she ever wanted was to protect you and give you the life she didn’t have—to love all of you—it’s what we all wanted, Jace.”

Their words hit home—I did know the dark place—I drowned in it...and it consumed me, especially after Amelia—I was saved too...by my Luna—Aruna—who worked just as tirelessly to save me as Mother did with my aunts. Folding my arms hard on my chest, I irritatingly sighed out, “Seems I may have inherited that trait from you two.”

Laying her slender hand gently on my arm, Aunt Persephone lovingly stated, “We know—and your aunt and I apologize for that, believe me. Amelia has caused harm to our entire family, Jace, just like Frieda, especially where you and your mother are concerned.”

Aunt Reina’s tone filled with hope as she placed her hand on my other arm, gently stating, “But this time can be different—if we each remember who we are and believe in one another. Keep the doors shut on our dark place. Facing whatever comes together as one. Persephone and I just hope that our past transgressions haven’t caused too much damage and can eventually be forgiven by all of you—especially you.”

Shifting my gaze to the ground, I quietly told them, “Just because I’m angry and disappointed, it doesn’t mean I stopped loving either of you.”

“Good,” Aunt Persephone breathed out in relief, “Because we love you more than you will ever know and, like Reina said, we understand if you need time.”  

Extending out her free hand that was clasped shut, Aunt Persephone slowly unrolled her fingers to expose my grandfather’s gold-roped necklace as she devotedly breathed out, “In the meantime, we all decided—your mother included—that you should have this.” 

My mouth fell open looking down at the shiny treasure in my aunt's hand, my chest constricting with emotion as I choked out, “I-I can’t. You just got it back—it means so much to you both.”

“You mean so much to us both,” Aunt Reina sweetly replied, “Besides, your grandfather would want you to have it. He never took it off, so like your mother’s butterflies with Tink, when you wear it, it will remind us of him and hopefully give you a connection with him as well. We have no doubt that he is so proud of his grandson, Jace!”

Glancing between them before looking back down at their gift, I replied with deep heartfelt sincerity, “Thank you, both. I will always wear it in honor of him."

They both beamed at me as Aunt Persephone unclasped the necklace before she and Aunt Reina secured it around my neck. Placing her hand gently on the center of my chest, Aunt Persephone’s fingers came to rest on top of the shiny gold rope as she tearfully breathed out, “You inherited a trait from him, as well, you know—your keen tracking abilities? While he was a warlock, that was his specialty. That is what makes you the perfect Delta for the Firebird Phoenix. Your own special form of integrated sorcery if I do say so myself!”

Aunt Reina happily interjected, “Wolf and warlock! The perfect combination!”

Weaving my arms around them both, I pulled them tight against my chest, “I do love you very much, aunties! Though I can’t choose favorites between you...I’m afraid mother gets that distinction.”

“We can accept that, Jace,” Aunt Reina giggled, “As long as you promise that one day, you and Constance will give your aunties a great-niece that is just like her grandmother for us to love and adore! We could all do with another Tatiana!”