Awaken

Chapter 6

“What do you remember your mother telling you about her?” Cals's mom asked.

“Arisa was psychic. She knew what was going to happen before it happens. Arisa also knew the past.  She was the only one out of them all who knew the truth and knew that Adam wasn’t the reason the mother died. It was Ava.” Cal’s mom stared at me listening to every word. She nodded at me, wanting me to continue. “Ava was the oldest and she had no gift. She was jealous of all her siblings and became enraged when Adam was born. Her jealousy caused her to go crazy and kill her mother right after giving birth. Her father knew what Ava had done and saw the monster she became. She turned everyone against Adam because she compelled them. Arisa knew it all and reached out to Adam but he had every gift so he knew as well. He embraced his future because he saw what came in the end.”

“Us. He saw us.” Cal finished. “Mom, you never told me this part of the story.”

“That is because I never heard it myself.” I stared at her in confusion “Your mother knew more than all of us so it makes sense that you would know the full story.”

“What was she like? My mother?” I asked, wondering about the woman who I felt like I never knew. Cal’s mom gave me a sad look before she spoke.

“There isn’t much to say about her, at least from me anyways. I didn’t know her like my husband or Charles.”

“Do you remember anything from when you were younger besides the story? Were there any relatives that came around?”

          “We never had company besides Charles and Alex. I went to school and friends would come over but nobody else.” As I spoke I realized that mom never mentioned anything about her family, about our family. They were just as much a secret as my father. Tears formed in my eyes as I began to think about how I was alone.

“There’s someone who knew your mother and father.” Cal said it so quietly, as if someone were listening to us. “She left the Institute after your parents did. Rumor has it that she had the gift that Arisa had.”

“There is a reason we don’t talk about her.” His mom scolded him

“The only reason you won’t talk about her is because Charles told you false stories.” Cal rolled his eyes and his mother pursed her lips.

“If you start this argument again Malachi, I will not stand for it.”

“The only thing I am saying is that if anyone can help Mal with finding answers with all these secrets then maybe it should be the person who knew her parents the best. I’m sorry if that person isn’t Charles.”

“Charles was around when her father wasn’t. If anyone knows Emily more it would be him and not her.”

“Charles was too busy trying to take Callum’s spot instead of being a friend and you know that.”

“Don’t make false allegations against him based on something you don’t understand, Cal.” His mother was almost screaming.

“If he cared about Emily then he wouldn’t have convinced her to keep Mal a secret from the Council. You and I both know that Charles didn’t tell Fae she was even born.” As if on a que, a woman with auburn hair flashed in my mind. She was laughing and smiling sitting next to what seemed like a younger version of my mother. Her pale skin made her stand out even more than her hair and her eyes were the color of the bluest oceans. I knew I had seen her before, but I didn’t know where. All of a sudden, my eyesight went blurry.

“Emily, you and I both know that Callum likes you more than her. You also know that you are a Laken. No girl can have a higher title than you.”

“The only reason you are talking to me like this is because you saw my future again, didn’t you?” Emily laughed nervously.

“Even without my gift, we already know our future.” She sighed, looking away in the distance. “I don’t want to marry Charles. I’m not ready for what will come.” Fae began to sniffle as Emily wrapped her arm around the crying friend. “I will never see him. What kind of mother will never see her son.”

“You said that it was for a reason that Charles takes him, right?” Fae nodded. Emily shifted uncomfortably. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it as if thinking of the right thing to say. She sighed after a few moments and asked anyways.

“What is she like? Does she look like me? Or her father? Does mother know about her?” Fae shook her head.

“I know my future because I don’t have a choice. Arisa told me in my dreams not to share the future of those I hold close to my heart. Emily, I’m so sorry.” She seemed hurt for a moment and then smiled.

“It’s okay. I already know that she will look like me. I know she will be strong like me too. She has to. Laken bloodlines prove we are the strongest.” Her and Fae began to laugh hysterically.  

“You don’t know anything about this and I suggest that you mind your own business.” I fell back into listening to Cal argue with his mother.

“You think I don’t know what goes on behind the closed doors. I know everything. The way Alex talks about his mother, he has no idea does he?”

“Stay out of it!” Cal’s mother was screaming now.

“I know her.” Those three words seemed enough to stop the arguing completely. Cal’s mother sighed and shook her head, looking away from her son. “She’s Auntie Fae.”

“Fae and your mother were very close. That is how the two families were for generations if I am being honest. It is no surprise to me that you know who she is.”

“I mean I know who she is. I never had the chance to meet her. Mom has pictures with her in them all over the house.” I stopped myself. “Well, used to have them.”

We were all quiet for a minute until Cal’s mom spoke again. “The woman who did this, Gail, has been out for revenge against the High Countess since she was crowned. Some say it’s because of her and your father, others say it’s more.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

"There have been rumors that the family Gail came from, the Prescott family, were the ones who started a civil war between the Guardians. Every house of Title was forced to choose sides. Innocent men, women, and children were mysteriously murdered for reasons unknown."

"What does this have to do with my parents?" I asked.

"Your father discovered that majority of the innocent lives taken were those of people who didn't carry any hint of a gift." She answered.

"And my mother?"

Before she got the chance to answer my question, there was a knock on the door. Cal and his mother stood in front of me as the door opened. Alex walked in first, followed by another girl. She was small and skinny with black hair and blue eyes. Something about her was oddly familiar but I couldn’t understand why. She looked at me and smiled.