The Protected Luna

Got A Secret, Can You Keep It?

Artemis

When we arrived at Celestial Moon we went straight to Kennedy's house and I ran the doorbell twice. Seconds after Kennedy opened it as though she were sitting right outside the door waiting for me.
"Thank Goddess you're here, I was beginning to worry," Kennedy exhaled a sigh of relief and pulled me into a hug which I returned.

"It's nice to see you too Kenny, where's Kai and Aunt Selena?" I asked when we were led into the living room.
"Mom went to her yoga class. She'll be home in another hour or so," she said. "And Kai is upstairs doing some pack work."

"Where's the pendant?" I inquired, not wasting any time. "I don't want to delay in bringing it back to Crimson Blood, especially since Deirdre and her son Uriel are there. If I don't bring the pendant back soon Deirdre will give me hell when I get back."

"Deirdre? As in Deirdre Lovelace? The Queen of Golden Sun and Dimitri's former mother-in-law?" Kennedy asked shockingly.
I visibly cringed at the words 'Dimitri's former mother-in-law'. It only served as a reminder of the nightmare I'd rather forget.

"Follow me, the pendant is in our study. Grandma kept it safely tucked away in a vault," Kennedy said as she walked out of the living room with Bria, Lana, Everice and I trailing behind. We walked up a flight of stairs and down a carpeted hallway, made a right turn and Kennedy opened a cherry coloured wooden door.

The moment she did, an automatic light switched on, illuminating the spacious study. I took in the interior of the room, amazed at how organized everything was. A white leather sofa was in the corner against dark grey walls and adjacent to the bookcase was a large desk with a black swivel chair and a window behind it.

"Do you know the code to get into the vault?" I asked as we moved silently across the laminate floors and to the vault which was cleverly hidden behind a picture frame of Grandma, Aunt Selena, Uncle Varun, Kai and Kennedy herself.

I felt a pang in my chest as I took in the ecstatic looks on their faces, the pure joy radiating off of them as they smiled for the camera. If only my mother hadn't been so detached and toxic, she could've been in that picture too, she could have been there with her mother, sister and her family.

Sure Aunt Selena and my mother were half-sisters, sharing the same mother but having different fathers, but they were from the same womb, of the same blood, they should've been together, not apart. I could understand how my mother could be so cold, so poison and so full of hatred to push her own mother away.

Shunning away from those thoughts I redirected my attention to the photo. Judging by their attire I could tell they were at some prestigious event. The men were wearing suits and the women were wearing floor length dresses that reached their ankles.

Grandma's was sky blue, Aunt Selena's was peach and Kennedy's was white. It resembled a wedding gown with all the embroidery and designs that made her look like a queen.

In a way I guess she was.

Considering that Grandma is the Queen of Celestial Moon it would stand to reason that Aunt Selena would inherit the title when Grandma steps down. And when the time was right, Kennedy will become the Queen of Celestial Moon.

At least that's how I presumed it to be.

"Artemis time is running out, open the vault,"

I looked back at Kennedy with a slightly disoriented look in my eyes. Then when my gaze landed on the vault I realized I had just been staring into space for the past five minutes.
"Open the vault Kennedy, let's see the pendant," I said.
"Not me, you. You have to open the vault," she told me.