Disappearance of Roselei Hawthorne

Chapter Fifteen

"Glad we finally got away." Vulcan huffed. "Is everyone alright?"

"I'm fine, just... a little out of breath." Celty whined as she rubbed her aching legs. "We should be safe here for now. I doubt he'd follow us into the forest."

"So uh... Auntie Lillia, who is that?" Kallen asked, pointing to StellaLuna.

"Kallen," Lillia smiled, "this is StellaLuna Genesis. She was one of your mother's friends."

"R-really? She was in my mother's party?" Kallen's eyes widened.

"No, just a friend." StellaLuna corrected. "We grew up together, and we also were in the same class at the Grand Witch University."

"Well, its nice to meet you." Kallen shook her hand nervously. "My name is Kallen."

"I know. Lillia told me about you. I still can't believe Rosie had a kid. Who's your father, anyway?" StellaLuna wondered aloud.

"Er..." Kallen glanced towards Lillia, who's face had lost a bit of color.

"He passed away before Kallen was born." Lillia explained quickly. She then quickly changed the topic of the conversation. "Say, its getting to be about lunchtime, isn't it? How about I go look around for something to eat? A forest like this is probably full of tasty fruits and berries."

"Sure, sounds good." StellaLuna, who had taken notice of Lillia's strange behavior, nodded awkwardly.

"I'll be back soon. Gideon? Would you like to accompany me?"

"Yes, I think that's for the best." Gideon said as he stood up and joined Lillia. The two of them walked off and disappeared into the sea of trees that made up the forest surrounding them.

"Something tells me your father didn't 'pass away' before you were born... isn't that right?" StellaLuna turned to Kallen once Lillia and Gideon had left.

"I don't know." Kallen sighed. "Whenever I asked about my dad growing up, that's what she would tell me. Then she would change the subject. I don't know anything about him, other than the fact that just mentioning him makes my aunt get all weird."

"StellaLuna, was it?" Vulcan began. "You knew Kallen's mother, didn't you? Was there anyone in her life who could have possibly been Kallen's father?"

"Hmm..." She scratched her chin in thought. "No, not really. I mean, there were three boys in her party, but none of them were really interested in her like that. I mean, I know Ramiel really liked her back in our school days... but she didn't like him that way."

"Maybe your dad was a nobleman." Celty suggested. "Maybe Roselei kept her pregnancy a secret because it could have caused some sort of international outcry."

"I doubt it." Kallen chuckled at the thought. "Auntie Lillia always said my mother hated noblemen."

"Yeah, but Lillia also said that she hated the After-Frost family. But now she's all buddy-buddy with Gideon." Celty pointed out.

"Wait, Gideon is an After-Frost?" StellaLuna asked, surprised. "I guess that explains why Gabriel was chasing you. Gideon is his son, isn't he?"

"Yeah, that's right." Kallen nodded. "But Gideon renounced his family name when he joined us on our journey. I guess Gabriel has been tracking him down ever since."

"And what's the story behind you two?" StellaLuna asked, gesturing to Celty and Vulcan. "A dragon-born and a water spirit. That must be quite the tale."

"We met Vulcan at the grand colosseum. We freed him, and then he decided to join us." Kallen explained. "And we met Celty at BearClaw island."

"It's nice to meet you." Celty said.