RISE

2 - Family Meeting

Author's Note:

The image at the top is the family tree. I hope you can see it clearly and it's easy to understand. Each generation has a different colored background; pink is Aaron's grandparents and great aunt and uncle. Purple is Aaron's parents, aunts, and uncles. Blue is Aaron and his cousins. The ones with red outlines are the ones that are considered for the deal payment thing. Then the turquiose ones are Aaron's cousins' children (I think technically the cousins from Aaron's great aunt and uncle are second cousins, their children are second cousins once removed, and Aaron's first cousins' children are first cousins once removed, or something like that. I'm not smart of this subject, so I hope the visual helps).

Most of the people here aren't directly referenced or even named in the story, but I wanted a clear map of how everyone was related to each other. It's not really important to memorize it or anything.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!

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Aaron scheduled a flight for that evening, packed up all his things, and spent several hours saying goodbye to Eduardo. He told Eduardo that there was a family emergency. Eduardo didn't buy it at first, but he could see how stressed Aaron was, and how disappointed he was to be leaving. They agreed that Aaron would get in touch with him if things were settled soon, but if not, they would leave things where they were. Aaron allowed himself to focus on his disappointment that his time with Eduardo was being cut short, but on the plane, he started panicking.

He couldn't believe it, really. Maybe it was all a joke, or a trick to get him to come home early, and he could storm off and fly back to Brazil and see if Eduardo had snatched up another tourist yet. The family talked about it often enough, it was agreed that if the demon queen ever called for her payment, all of the unmarried cousins over the age of eighteen would come together to decide who would be offered.

Aaron had discussed with his cousins privately what they would do if this happened in their lifetimes, usually at family gatherings and in a joking manner, but they all seemed to be in agreement that the fairest option would be that they all volunteer and let the demon queen decide which one she wanted. Aaron hoped they would still honor that, and they wouldn't have to fall apart fighting over who it would be.

Aaron chewed on his fingernails as he thought - what if it was real? What if he had only a few more days, or a few more hours, of his life? No one in the family knew exactly what being "given" to a demon entailed. Would he just cease to exist? Or would he be his eternal slave? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

The family was meeting at his grandfather's estate where they had their holidays and other important family events. Aaron was the last to arrive, and found the family fidgeting anxiously in the foyer. He spotted his cousins that were underage peeking through an upstairs doorway, worried for their older family members. His aunts and uncles clutched each other in fear, and his married cousins who had come to show their support attempted to comfort their terrified siblings. Aaron's parents rushed forward to embrace him. His mother, Isabela, whispered encouragement in his ear, confident that it wouldn't be him, so there was no need to be afraid, but Aaron looked at his cousins and couldn't imagine any of them being sent off to a demon.

Amelia was the youngest, recently turned eighteen, and she sat between her parents hyperventilating and crying. Aaron was surprised to see her there; although he knew she was old enough, she always seemed so young to him. Hayden and Tyler, 20-year-old twins, and their older sister Sascha stood together talking quietly, also crying. Maybelle paced anxiously, wringing her hands together, and her younger sister Natalie sat on the staircase looking angry. Avery, the oldest of the group, leaned against a wall, staring off into the distance. Meredith sat with an equally vacant expression, both of them looking resigned. Aaron figured they each thought that it would be them chosen - Avery because he was the oldest, and Meredith because she had always been the strongest of them, always willing to do physical labor or make sacrifices for others, especially her younger sister, Syble, who was absent. Aaron expected she and her husband refrained from coming because of their infant daughter.