The Animals Have Come to Play (Completed) (unedited)

The Ability to See the Future

(Chapter 20: The Ability to See the Future)

You'd think I would have gotten used to these large estates. From spending time at Leander's and Cynric's, and even Circe, whose place was large, it should have conditioned me and made me immune to surprise and awe. That is until we pulled through a gate and came across a building that rivaled the size of the Buckingham Palace. I stepped out of the car once Leander pulled up in front of the colossal house. He insisted on not bothering John when we left for Maine.

"Jesus Christ! What does your friend do?" I asked, gaping. Cynric closed the front passenger side door, looking up at the building as well.

"Benedict manages mulitple companies all over the world," Cynric answered, grimacing towards me.

"You don't seem too happy to be here," Leander observed as he made his away around the car and starting towards the front door. Cynric and I followed suit.

"I'm sure a topic I'm not keen on will be brought up," Cynric muttered under his breath. I glanced at him curiously, but didn't say anything. Cynric stepped forward, grabbing an ornate door knocker and giving it a few taps. A deep echo followed after each hit. Soon the door was opened, showing a younger looking man in a tailcoat.

"Good day to you all, welcome to the Veilan estate," he greeted quickly before rushing off. Stepping inside, we could see staff of all sorts rushing here and there in what looked like preparations of something large.

"Wait, Veilan?!" Leander exclaimed, flinching in horror towards Cynric. "You know the Veilan household?" Cynric sent Leander a bemused look.

"Yes? What did you expect? We are the second ruling family after all."

"The Veilan household...?" I asked in confusion. Both boys turned to look at me.

"Why do you sound so confused?! The Veilan's are none other than the first ruling family!" Leander replied with an exasperated tone. I gestured my hands in front of my face.

"I've been kept out of this whole Pureblood business, remember?" I reminded Leander, raising my eyebrow in an unamused fashion. At that moment, an older man wearing a similar tailcoat to the boy who opened the door stopped in front of us, a guarded gaze scrutinizing us.

"Can I help you three?" the man asked. His eyes flitted over to Cynric for the first time. Shock overtook his expression.

"Mister Nanik! What a pleasant surprise! What business brings you here?" the butler asked, bowing a few times.

"We are here to see Benedict." The butler bowed again, beckoning for us to follow him.

"Yes, of course. Of course!" As we walked through the hallways, we passed many staff member bustling by, carrying things from fabrics to lights.

"What's going on? Why is everyone in a hurry?" I asked the butler.

"The young miss is having a birthday ball tonight." He sent Cynric a side glance. "I figured you were here for that." Cynric shook his head, and he didn't enlighten us as to why he would had been there in the first place. I sent Leander a questioning look, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

Soon we stopped in front of a large set of mahogany color double doors. The butler rapped his knuckles on the door, straightening his back as he waited for a response.

"Yes?" bellowed a voice from the other side.

"Master, you have company," the butler answered back. The door was silent for a bit.

"Let them in," replied the same baritone voice after a bit. The butler swung both the doors open at the same time. Cynric reached for his exposed necklace, tucking it in as we entered the room.

A large dark wood desk sat directly in the middle of the room. Behind the desk, was a man I would guess was in his late 20s. His head was shaved, but his jaw sported a trimmed, but bushy red beard. Benedict unclasped his hands, a large grin stretching across his face.

"Ah, Cynric! What brings you here with your..." he trailed off, glancing at Leander and I behind him. "...companions?" We stepped farther into the room, taking the seats on the other side of Benedict's desk.

"You see, this is Ariadne, daughter of the fourth ruling family." Cynric gestured to me. I gave an awkward, closed mouth smile when Benedict's blue eyes flitted towards me for a moment. "We have a problem. You see, Ariadne's pendant has gone missing, and I was wondering if you could shed some insight on the situation." Benedict's fingers interlaced once again as he contemplated Cynric's words. After a while of staring, he spoke again.

"Your sister misses you, you know?" Benedict admonished. Sister?! Since when did Cynric have a sister?! I glanced over to Leander, but he didn't seem surprised by the news.

"Has she? Time seems to have slipped by; it has been a while, has it not? How is she? And my niece, Lily?" Benedict smiled fondly as he leaned back in his seat. His necklace gleamed in the light, showing off three swirls meeting in the middle, centering a milky white stone.

"Her and Lily are doing well. Lily turned five a few weeks ago. Myeong is pregnant with our second child." Cynric sent the beaming man a thin-lipped smile.

"Congratulations. Has Lily shown any signs of abilities yet?" Cynric asked. I could hear a slight impatience edging into his voice. Benedict shook his head in response.

"No, not yet. But, we hope she will fairly soon." Cynric nodded his head politely before shifting in his seat to a more imposing position.

"About the matter at hand, would you care to show Ariadne the part of her future we seek?" Benedict nodded before slowly standing from his seat, straightening his jacket. So, he can see the future? I wonder what his downside is.

"Very well. Ariadne, you may become uncomfortable during this. That is natural. Just try and stay relaxed." I nodded as he made his way to my side of the desk. I gripped the my arm rests tightly, the sound of the nails scraping against the wood grains. Benedict paused briefly.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt." With that, he stopped behind my seat. I felt a comforting pat on my leg from Leander. "Please don't touch her. It can mess up the results." Leander retracted his hand, sending a look Benedict's way. There was a throat clearing before Benedict rested two fingers on each of my temples.

"Please close your eyes. It makes things less weird for the people outside this when our eyes roll back." I did as asked, the world dulling into the bare red of the back of my eyelids.

Then everything went pitch black.

~~~~~

This is technically late... Sorry :p

So, I'm entering this story and my other story, Utopia, into the Wattys, and I don't really know how this thing works xD