A Beautiful New Wonderland

~{14}~

Godiva:

Mom drops me and the rest of us off at our school, while Leon goes to his special school. Leon has autism, and thus needs to go to a special school where its all hands on deck kind of learning. He does well, for being in second grade, but Mom hopes he'll get good enough to where he could do middle school like a normal boy. I don't see it happening, and neither do the rest of us, even Dad. We all go to a Middle school and high school blended building, with the middle schoolers in the basement and first floor and the highschoolers on the second and third floors. We all go our separate ways, with me being 14, I was in 8th grade, just like Queenie and Halo, and Slav. Axel was a freshman, and Abe was a sophomore. As Axel and Abe go upstairs, we all have a group hug before parting. It was how we always started our day, and it helped us feel connected. We part ways, and go to homeroom, which I had with Slav, but Queenie and Halo were in a different classroom. In walks Katie, and she beelines it to my desk. I roll my eyes and scowl. 

" Nice dress, where did you get it? Goodwill?" 

" No, actually, my mother made it from ethically sourced cotton and silk. Unlike your mother, mine has talent in sewing. It's why my parents are still married happily, because she can keep her shit pulled together." 

The room echoed with snickers and sounds of jovial scorn at her, and she huffed at me. 

" Well, I saw a strange guy with your Dad this morning when I was getting dropped off. Who's is he?" 

" My Uncle Vlad. He's an old friend of my parents from overseas and is here on a working visa to be our nanny and housekeeper, since my parents have jobs and we, their kids, have a busy schedule. They needed an extra pair of hands." 

" Oh really? He looks weird." 

" He's Theistic Luciferian, Romanian, and he's gothic, so of course he'd look weird to an American like us, not to mention he's old as fuck. What of it?"

" I thought your family was Catholic, Diva." 

" It is, Klarkson, but my mother isn't, and technically neither am I. I just go to make Dad happy, and it keeps Abe off my ass. Besides, they're all old friends, so why should it matter if they're all different? Being different is good, healthy even. Now, are you done this little pissing contest or are we still gonna have issues, Katie?" 

" I hope come time for the Pageant, you get food poisoning." 

" At least it'd make me skinny. I'm a very healthy weight for my age and build, are you, or are you still an anorexic begging for Mommies attention?"

I saw the tears, but I didn't care, and I got tired of her bullshit. She sits down with a pout and flip of the bird, before the teacher comes in with the bell. As he sits down, I get a rather off vibe from him, like something is different today. He looks sick, tired, and not his usual sunny cheery self. He drinks from his travel mug, and I can't help but feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and judging from Slav, he feels the same. 

" Ok kids, homeroom today is going to be a quiet one. New rule, no open windows, meaning the blinds stay down. You can play on your phones if you like, just please, be quiet." 

I get on my phone, and take the bathroom pass. I call Dad, maybe he will know what to do.

" Hey kiddo, bit early to try the 'I'm sick' excuse-" 

" Dad, my homeroom teacher is super fucking weird this morning." 

" Language, and what do you mean? Mr. Kennedy is a nice guy." 

" He's drinking from a travel mug, which he never does, he's made a new rule to not open the blinds, and he looks sick, tired, and horrible, like a college kid during cram week." 

" Yikes. His eyes, did they look different?" 

" A bit, actually. They looked unpolished, if that makes sense. Normally they're a bright grey, but now they look dull, lifeless, off. He's giving zombie vibes." 

" Godiva, get you and your siblings home, now. I'll explain when you get here. Don't be scared, you aren't in trouble, just get all six of you home. I'm gonna call the front office, explain we have a family emergency, and that you kids are leaving." 

" Ok. Will do." 

I hang up and go back in, grabbing my stuff and gave Slav the 'lets go' glare. 

" Where are you two going?"

Mr. Kennedy got almost in my face, his posturing was possessive, an it scared me, but I knew how to hide that fear. He moved so fast it didn't feel real, I hadn't even heard him.  

" Dad called and said there was a family emergency. All of us are to report home."

Those grey eyes looked rusty, angry, hostile...predatory, before he moved and relented on us. 

" Fine, you two can leave."

We leave, his breath smelled like the workshop classroom where they messed with wood and metal. We get outside, and I see Uncle Vlad and Dad with my brothers and sisters, all of them piling into the car with my little brother in the backseat already picked up and buckled into his booster seat. 

" Dad, what's going on?" 

" We will explain at home. I called your Mom and she said she'll be there waiting for us." 

" Daddy, I'm scared." 

" I know, Leon, I know."

" Alexander, they deserve the truth, at least a bit of it now." 

" No, Vlad, not until we are back home. I don't what has eyes and ears and what is safe. At least at the house there's wards and protections in place." 

" Understood." 

We pile in and leave, and once we were home, I saw Mom packing up the secondary van we had, the one for long car trips.

" Are you all safe and sound?" 

" Yes, Alice. Vlad, go help the kids pack. We're moving." 

" Where to?! Why?" 

" We will explain later, Abe, I promise, just pack and move your asses! We are on a time crunch, we can't miss our plane." 

" I called Her, and she's giving us back the old place, with new staff and the like. We are getting a private jet back, and I did inform her of Vlad's return, and she asked if we were open for business again. I told her thats up to you two, not just me." 

" We can discuss that later. Diva, go pack, now!" 

I rush off to my room, pack up all the easy stuff to take on a plane, and grabbed my carry on from when I did pageants. It had all of my airport stuff, including my bath and body supplies in full stock. I pack a few of my newer dresses and one new tiara. Once I was sure I had everything I needed, I brought it out to Uncle Vlad, who carried it off with two more cases, one for Abe, and one for Slav.

" Any idea of what's going on?" 

" Nope, but I'm just happy to get out of the Presidential testing today." 

" Of course you would be, Slav." 

We get outside, and see Mom signal to round up and load up. We do, in record time, I might add, and are on the road to the airport. 

" Now, I think I speak for all of us when I say, what the fuck is going on?!" 

" Abe, language, and truth be told, I'll explain everything once on the jet. I, along with your Dad and Uncle Vlad, we have a rather sorted past, one that is regretfully biting all of us in the ass. We had moved in the hopes of settling down and having peace, but it seems we had that peace for a bit too long in karma's eyes. We noticed the town was going to hell, and stuck by it in the hopes of maybe it passing, but the longer we stuck around, the longer it got hostile and unsafe. We're moving to the place where I met your Father and Uncle Vlad, and we'll be living there from now on." 

" Where's that, exactly?" 

" Kids, we are moving to England, where you finally get to meet your Godmother, Her Majesty, The Queen."