Her Broken Spell

Chapter 1

It had been almost one year since Dionne regained her consciousness from half a century of slumber. One year full of physical and mental therapy and she only regained her ability to move but not her memories. Adjusting to the advancements of this era was not really hard for her since she had no past to compare her present to.

A lot of her questions were still unanswered, but she chose to take on her second chance in life one step at a time. Now, she had to learn everything almost from scratch.

It was a good thing that Dionne was treated as one of the Huxley's, Irina's family, which had seven main members. Now, she was the eighth.

"You're just in time. Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you sit with the rest of the family?" said Von, the head of the household of the manor. He was also a member of the family, his copper colored hair and light green eyes were very similar to Irina's. .

"I will do just that. Thank you, Von," she agreed and proceeded to the dining area.

The dining room was one of the biggest rooms in Irina's manor and it was located on the second landing of the middle hall. Its walls were lined with oak cabinets that housed precious antique cutlery. Three huge chandeliers dangled high above the thirty-seater long table which was placed in the center of the room.

"Dionne! We're glad you could make it to dinner," greeted Annette.

The woman was cheery but she was also very business-like, especially in how she carries herself. Her short black hair was always kept in neat fashion and her bluish gray eyes were friendly yet calculative.

"We thought that you couldn't join us again. We barely see you nowadays," the rowdy one, Theodore, added.

"Yeah. Honestly, we miss your face. I'm so sick of seeing Theo's face all the time," teased Jugger, the one whose rowdiness was at par with Theodore's.

The two men were inseparable, good thing that their appearances were very distinct to differentiate them. Theodore had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes; Jugger had brown hair and gray eyes.

"And you thought that we're not sick of looking at your face? Why are you even wearing that stupid glasses? It's not like you have an eye problem," Theodore snickered back.

"This is fashion. Spell it, F-A-S-H-I-O-N. Someone like you wouldn't understand," Jugger replied as he rolled his eyes.

The two men bickered and teased each other. Dionne was not surprised to be greeted by the two stubborn heads. She just proceeded to her assigned seat beside Annette and caught up with everything that they missed out on each other's lives. All the while, the two men were seated in front of Dionne, still arguing like children.

Though the table can accommodate thirty people at the same time, it was rarely full. Right now, only four people were about to eat dinner, or so Dionne thought.

"Stop it, both of you or I'll make sure that you'd have eye defects by the end of this dinner," Irina's unmistakable icy tone cut off Theodore and Jugger's childish quarrel.

Dionne saw that Irina was not alone. Von was tailing behind her and the healer, Karyl, entered the kitchen. Maids followed then immediately set the table for everyone. Von took his seat beside the men while Karyl seated beside Dionne.

"I won't be joining the dinner tonight. Jugger, Theodore," Irina called for the two while she stood beside her chair at the head of the table.

"Yes, ma'am!" the two men replied, gone were the playful tone they had earlier.

"Pack supplies for one week then meet me at the garage in two hours," she commanded.

Sometimes, Irina would need to take someone with her when she was on business trips. It could be any member of the family and tonight, it was Jugger and Theodore.

Dionne could not help but ask, "Are you in a hurry to leave again? But you just came back yesterday."

"Yes, that means that you are to help Annette with The House," Irina instructed.

When Irina had to go away, it was Annette who was left in charge of the right wing of the mansion or what they call The House.

"Of course," she replied since she was used to Irina's commanding tone. That did not mean that Irina was a bad person, rather just a person who always meant business, she thought.

After Irina relayed the message and left, the air in the room seemed to be lighter. Dinner was filled with easy chatter.

"Whoo! I thought she'd stay for dinner. Thank the gods she didn't!" Theodore exclaimed in relief.

"Hey, if it wasn't for your bickering, Irina wouldn't be in such a foul mood," Annette protested.

"Uh-huh. Sure. When was the last time you saw her smile? And I don't mean her forced smile that contorts her face, " Jugger asked.

"We all know when, so kindly drop it boys," Von insisted. If there was anyone that could slightly tame the two, it would be Von. Von mostly stayed in the manor to cook for everyone, including the staff and the guests. But that was only his hobby. His main job was to maintain the left wing of the manor.

Both acted as if zipping their lips, but then Theodore talked again, "So, I haven't seen you for a long time Dionne. How have you been?"

"I just did my usual routine. I was just helping around and continuing my therapy," Dionne answered.

"You know, you shouldn't hang out with Irina a lot. Her iciness might rub on you," Jugger commented.

"I don't think so! Irina is on the coldest level of ice. Dionne is still adjusting which explains why she's so..." Theodore paused and acted as if he was thinking for the perfect term.

"...monotone!" Theodore said. "Bland?" Jugger suggested at the same time Theodore did.

"Theo, Jug, it's not good to judge people," Karyl could not help but to react.

"Good thing we're not people then," Theodore whispered but Karyl still heard him.

"I'm not judging, swear! I just want to say that we can make Dee's world more colorful," Jugger explained while Theodore nodded in agreement.

It was true that most of the household staff felt uncomfortable talking to Dionne. She was quiet most of the time and only spoke when asked or when needed. Many would comment that she was adopting Irina's demeanor. After all, it was Irina who made sure that she was adjusting well so she spent lots of time with the woman. It was Irina who paid for therapies and it was her who taught Dionne most of the inner workings of The House.

Even after some time, it was still unconventional for her to think of Irina as her guardian. Yes, Irina was a mother figure to Dionne but the red-haired woman looks like a twenty-five year old business woman. So, Dionne settled for seeing Irina as an older sister.

"Sorry, Dee. Did I offend you?" Jugger asked.

"Of course we did, i***t," Theodore interrupted before she could even answer.

"No, it is fine. I would be glad to receive extra training from you, Jugger and Theodore," Dionne answered.

"Training?" Jugger shook his head. "In our words, we call it having fun! We'll go and travel. Let's leave Annette alone to deal with The House," Jugger dramatically exclaimed.

"Sure. Go ahead and spend money. I'll be happy to stay here and make some," Annette replied drily.

"Money this. Money that. Whatever, Annette. We'll just invite Ghandi with us," Jugger said.

"Speaking of Ghandi, where the heck is that guy?" Theodore asked.

Ghandi was another member of the family who often accompanies Irina to business trips. He was one of the strongest and skillful in terms of fighting skills, hence he was the head of security of the manor.

"My husband's here in the manor. He was in the left wing earlier," Karyl said knowingly.

"Oh! It's his time to feed," Theodore added in realization.

Feed.

Dionne was surprised when she first learned that the left wing was kept for private matters including feeding while the right wing was used to make business and to entertain the guests of The House.

Here she was eating dinner with creatures that could be having her as their dinner only if she were human. But she was human, wasn't she? But how was it possible for her to live and not depreciate after fifty years? Nobody knew of the answer.

Dionne was still an enigma to herself and also to her companions — the family of vampires.