Thrones of Astoria - HEAVY EDITING-

Chapter 2

Ashton Star has waited 17 years for Claire Thorn's first daughter to become his. She is currently 14 years old. He was always watching her, but she could never see him. Every day he questions when he should make his visit to the Thorn family. He knows that all the kids were blessed with Claire's red hair. A part of Ashton hopes that his cousin doesn't make a visit to him any time soon. He fears that his brother might wish to take his prize.

He sat in his old black car waiting for his special redhead to walk out of school with a big smile on her face. She stepped out of the school doors and ran to the blue SUV that was parked outside. He was unsure of the other redhead who was driving. It wasn't Peter Thorn because he had dirty blonde hair. The blue SUV drove off and Ashton had decided to follow it. He could see that the girl was laughing and smiling. A small part of him was jealous of why she was with this unknown boy who was in the car with her.

The blue SUV had pulled into the driveway of his favorite redhead's house. They both climbed out of the car and entered the house. Ashton realized that today may be the day that he takes his girl with him. He was parked directly across from the house and could see that Claire was handing out snacks to her kids. There's no part of him that feels guilty for taking this young girl away from her family.

Ashton had stepped out of his car. His suit fitted perfectly, and his shoes were expensive. He headed towards the quiet Thorn home, located in Ohio. He stepped up to the door and rang the doorbell. He looked and realized that there were red and white roses planted around the cute house. The door had slowly opened and in front of him was a short, young redhead. She had big pretty green eyes.

"You're not my daddy." She greeted with a frown.

Ashton glanced down at the young girl, "No, but I'm here to see your mother and him."

"Mommy!" The girl called for her mother rather loudly.

Another redhead had appeared and was looking down at the young girl. She quickly looked up at the tall man who stood outside. She was unsure of who he was and what he was doing there. Footsteps were heard and Mrs. Thorn had appeared in the picture. Once she saw who their guest was, her eyes were wide with worry.

"Oh, uh, Mr. Star, please come in." She held back her fear as she let him inside her home.

He walked through the doorway, "I must say, you have a beautiful home, and your girls have your looks."

"Everyone says that, but they have their father's eyes." She gave him a fake smile.

"A good combination." Ashton gave her a smirk as he looked at the youngest daughter running around following her older sister.

"Astoria! Please play with me!" She yelled.

"You know I have homework, Aurora." She had said to her younger sibling. "Maybe later."

"Please! Caleb locked himself in his room and won't play with me." Aurora confessed, accidentally revealing what her brother did. "Oh, oops."

"What? He knows that he's breaking one of our rules in this house!" Their mother gasped.

"He's probably on Facetime with his girlfriend," Astoria said as she sat down at the kitchen counter.

"Girls, please keep our guest entertained while I go give your brother a lecture. Your dad should be home very soon." Mrs. Thorn said as she stormed upstairs.

"Let me guess, your brother is going through his rebel phase." Ashton had sat down next to Astoria.

"He's a big pain in the ass for my parents, but he'll do anything for me." She smiled as she texted one of her friends.

"How old is he?" Ashton asked her.

"17," Astoria answered.

He thought for a moment, "And how old are you?"

"I'm 14."

Everyone turned their heads towards the stairs after they heard a door slam and footsteps coming down the stairs. Caleb stormed down the stairs with his mother following behind very calmly, almost too calm. She sent him into the living room with him rolling his eyes.

"Sorry about that. Mr. Star, is there something we can help you with?" Mrs. Thorn asked him as she started folding towels.

"I think this subject would be better to have you and your husband with." He said with a serious tone.

"Is this about the thing from 17 years ago?" She asked quietly.

Mr. Star nodded and noticed that Claire went pale. "Your debt is due."

"Mom, what is he talking about?" Astoria's full attention went to her mother.

Mr. Thorn stated as he dropped his work bags, "We really need to talk."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Astoria asked with concern in her voice.

"It's best for us to sit down about it." Mrs. Thorn said, attempting to hide her sadness.

"Mom, answer the question." Caleb joined.

Frustrated, she revealed, "I couldn't get pregnant, so I got desperate!"

"What did you do?" The oldest questioned. "Mom, what did you do?"

"We went to see Mr. Ashton Star. He practices magic, he helped us." Peter added.

"And now their debt to me is due." He looked at Astoria.

"A human being is not debt!" Caleb yelled once he put the pieces together. "You went to one of those freaks."

"Don't be disrespectful, son." His father warned.

"The deal with him was for him to get the firstborn daughter." Their mother had a tear going down her face.

"He is not getting my sister!" Caleb said, being protective.

"Don't be so sure about that." Mr. Star spoke up, his voice calm.

"Mom, don't make me go with him." Astoria looked at her mom and pleaded.

Their father sighed before speaking, "It's not our choice. If we could stop this we would, but a deal is a deal. For all we know, he could kill you because of breaking the deal."

"Don't make me go," She begged. "Mom, please!"

"If I were you, I'd start packing." Claire put a hand on her daughter's right shoulder.

"What exactly are you going to tell people? Say that she died? Say that's missing or ran away from home? Maybe even private school!" Caleb panicked.

"To your world, she will be forgotten. They've already stopped thinking about her already. The only people that know of her are all of you." Mr. Star said. "Eventually you will forget, her home will be with me on Civitas Amissa."

"Astoria, you must go." Her mom said. "I can't do anything to stop him."

"You don't have to worry about packing. My sisters already have clothing for you." Mr. Bates spoke up.

"That's not creepy at all." Caleb defended his sister.

Astoria crossed her arms, "If I am leaving, I want my own things. I want my memories."

"I'm afraid we must hurry home. My younger sister will start to worry." Mr. Star looked at the family with dark eyes. "Besides, the traffic in the city is awful during this hour."

"Fine, whatever. You just have to promise me that my family will forever be safe." Astoria stared at him.

"A promise with me is always sealed," Mr. Star said, looking down at her. "And a debt is always collected."