Legion of Loch Ness

Chapter One

The thunder rumbled and shook the house. Victoria Pex was startled awake from her deep sleep by the impact of the storm outside. Unlike most people, under normal circumstances, the sound of a storm soothed Victoria. But once she remembered that it had been the day of her grandmother's funeral, the heavy melancholy returned. She couldn't believe her grandmother was gone. Victoria didn't know how she would go on without grandma's wit, her subtle sarcasm, and her unquestioning love and pride in Victoria. She truly had lost her best friend and the only person who knew the real Victoria Pex, all her dark secrets, all her insecurities and fears, and loved her despite everything. From now on, she would have to pretend to be the Victoria Pex everyone else knew her as.

Victoria raised her arm and stared at the ring she had inherited from grandma on her finger. It was entirely too big for her and far too grand. But today, having it on her finger made her feel closer to grandma. The stones on the ring glistened in the semi-darkness. It was one giant sapphire surrounded by tiny diamonds. The ring itself was a few hundred years old. It had been passed down in the family for centuries. Victoria had been touched that grandma had picked her to be its new owner. She knew her mother had been displeased when the will had been read. Victoria thought it was amusing that her grandmother had left everyone with this last surprise after she was gone.

"I am going to miss you so much, Grandma. I feel so alone without you," Victoria whispered to the ring, thinking back to the funeral this morning. It had been a very small and private event. Grandma had been buried in the family cemetery at their estate, and her parents had gone out of their way to keep news of the funeral out of the media's attention. The only attendees had been her parents, Victoria, her estranged Aunt Elizabeth with her husband and two daughters, and Victoria's boyfriend, Noah.

Her aunt and her family had been as stiff and uncomfortable as they'd always been when interacting with her family. Everyone had waited for the hearing of grandma's will, but once her last wishes had been spoken, Aunt Elizabeth and her family had wasted no time in leaving. The only comfort she had found was in her aunt's warm embrace when she had said goodbye to them. Oddly enough, despite hardly ever meeting them, Victoria missed them. Her father's family lived continents away, and apart from grandma, Aunt Elizabeth and her daughters were Victoria's only family. And they had been in such a rush to leave. They lived in California and had only stayed in Chicago for the few hours that were required to pay their final respects. While they had clearly been uncomfortable interacting with her family, there had been a rare warmth in their attitude towards each other. When grandma's body was being lowered to the grave, Aunt Elizabeth had wavered in her step, and her husband's arm had automatically wrapped around her waist to support her. Her two daughters had also come closer to her, squeezing her hands and whispering comforting words. Victoria had then looked over to her own parents standing apart, still and proper as always. She had felt a moment of envy toward her cousins, wondering what her own life would have been like if she had received such unwavering love. It was in that wistful moment that she had felt her own body being pulled back into strong arms and looked up and smiled into Noah's slate-grey eyes. His presence had been the only thing that had made the day bearable.

Grandma, of course, had had the last laugh even after her death. She had bequeathed her vast wealth to local charities, only leaving the ring to Victoria and the matching earrings and necklace to Aunt Elizabeth's daughters, Emilia and Arabella. Remembering this final act of anger from her grandmother, Victoria smiled. She knew she had been disappointed in both of her daughters and that this was her last way of showing them her displeasure. Her grandmother had, in fact, seemed cold and arrogant to almost everyone except her. With Victoria, she had been warm and loving and always understanding. She had filled Victoria's otherwise incredibly lonely childhood with visions of fairy tales, mermaids, and strong princesses that could overcome any obstacle and rescue those around them. Victoria left her bed and stood in front of her mirror to peer at her reflection. While her features and coloring were nothing like grandma's had been, she noted the stubborn set of her chin, the determined gleam in her eyes, and knew that she would be just fine. Somehow, she would overcome whatever obstacles came her way. "I'm going to make you proud, grandma," she vowed. "I promise."