Hades' Apprentice [[ON HOLD]]

3) My four brothers

****Go back to part 1 for pics of her 4 brothers*****

Someone pulled the cover from my face, making me groan in protest.

    The light flowing down from the bulb on the ceiling immediately assaulted my eyes, making my headache grow.

"Get out of bed. Everyone is waiting for you at the table." Castor acknowledged as he towered over my bed. His black eyes were holding the discipline spark, letting me know that I may be in for punishment if I dared keep them waiting.

Annoyed, I made a few small kicks from under the covers but Castor only rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

    "You have two minutes." His words rang in my bedroom while he walked out.

A little introduction; my name is Melanie Harred, seventeen and in high school. I live with four older brothers, starting from the eldest, Loki, Castor, Orm, and Axle.

Loki is a bit of a party animal, he has the brightest blue eyes and the sweetest smile ever, making all the girls he comes across throw themselves at him. His black hair compliments his pale complexion very nicely.

Castor, acts as the eldest since Loki doesn't take much of the responsibilities around the house. He's like a father figure in my mind even though he's only thirty-one.
    He is the tallest of my brothers, with shoulder-length brownish hair and a pair of black eyes that possess an intimidating aura when he is mad.

Orm, my favorite of them all. A college student and a part-timer at the local KFC outlet. And boy do I love chicken.
Orm is a little different, he never goes out to parties or clubs. He just loves reading, painting, and taking me out when I want to.
He possesses the most kind brown eyes that girls cannot look away from.

Last but not least, Axle, the family troublemaker. With at least ten tattoos all over his upper body, he loves being the bad boy on the streets. He has been arrested more times than I can remember, gang fights, club fights, love triangles(he's always the intruder). Even with such trouble-causing skills, he's the best cook amongst all of us, putting my cooking to shame.

With all their strengths and shortcomings, I would never ask for any other family. They had raised me for sixteen years after whoever gave birth to me abandoned me when I was only one.

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      Seven sixteen PM, the clock on the hallway wall read as I dragged my feet from the bedrooms.
The smell of roasted chicken made its way to me, it filled up my nostrils, and every cell in me started popping with life. My mouth harbored the drool like a pool while my feet gained momentum and almost ran for the dining area.

As soon as I dashed before the table, my brothers darted their heads at me. All offered the same smirk knowing my weakness... chicken.

      And there it was, lying in the middle of the table on a platter. It was pure golden and shimmered with all the deliciousness in the world. They had sprinkled coriander on top of the juicy meat, a sight that made my knees weaken and my headache disappear.

      "And the cat left the room," Orm teased.

"I was totally going to join you for dinner."

   "Oh, we know that," Loki smirked slyly. He patted the empty seat next to him and I dashed to sit on it.

Axle chuckled from the other side of the table. His eyes laughing at me.

   I raised my folded fist to threaten him when Loki engulfed it using his large hand. "You can beat him up later."

His physical strength was unparalleled, which made me retreat immediately while plastering a 'you-win' grin.

There was life as we ate, as we shared about our day. Loki and Castor talked about work, Orm talked about his coming graduation and Axle was all about a cooking competition he had participated in. The results would be out on the weekend, so he invited all of us to go.

   When it was my turn, I talked about everything except for...Mr Aldric.

******3rd POV*****

Castor studied Melanie in silence as she narrated about school. He saw the hesitation in her eyes and decided to do what he always did when she wasn't being open...dive into her mind.

    He stared hard at his little sister while she went on blabbering.
But immediately he infiltrated her protective barrier, a second alien barrier thrust him out of her mind. He had not anticipated the attack and hence hadn't prepared a defense.

The force of the thrust weakened his body for a few seconds.

    "Castor!" Melanie cried hysterically. "You're bleeding."

He gazed down to inspect where he was bleeding, only to see drops of red liquid fall one after the other on his food.

The others expressed their concern in frowns, but Melanie couldn't sit and watch her brother nosebleed. She grabbed a serviette from the box closest to her and jumped off of her seat before running around the table.

   "Here," she said kneeling next to him. "Are you not feeling well? Do you need a doc-"

"He's fine. He's fine," Loki interjected getting up from his chair.

He held Melanie's arm and urged her to stand. "Finish up your dinner. I'll take him to his room."

  But Melanie was not having any of that. Castor was like the head of their family, he always looked out for her and took care of her when she was sick. Now that Castor was showing a sign of weakness, she felt it was her turn to take care of him.

       "I'll help him," she offered.

Her words shocked them. But not more than the look on her face... determination.

  Castor immediately felt a sense of pride. He smiled at the little girl they had all raised. She was all grown up now. Grown into this sensible and mature lady.

    "Let her," he stated, directing towards Loki.

Loki nodded and stepped aside. Along with the other two, they watched Melanie take Castor away with her shoulder touched under his for support.

     "Wow!" Axle exclaimed looking back at his plate. He stabbed a piece of broccoli and stuffed it in his mouth, before gazing up to meet his brothers' disappointed stares. "What?"

Orm shook his head and also rose from his chair.

   When they turned to follow Melanie and Castor, Axle materialized in front of them.

"Mel will not like you two being there."

   "We talked about you being careful with...you know what!" Loki hissed, throwing a glance at the hallway in case Melanie ran back.

"Pf! Relax. She's busy wetting a towel to-" Loki's scowl only got dense to his power abuse.

    "Calm down everyone. Castor is fine. We'll talk to him once Mel leaves his room," Orm suggested.

His words seemed to take effect, Axle turned his attention back to his food and Loki sat down.