The Best Present (An ACOTAR fanfiction)

Chapter 33

"It's really you," Rhys said softly.

"What? Who is she?" Karshia asked. Rhys cleared his throat and began to tell the story.

"When we were young, before my sister and mother were killed, my sister, Adira fell in love. She really loved this guy she met. He wasn't Illyrian or related to a High Lord. He lived in Velaris and his name was Sawyer. He was an author. He was a really nice male. Within six months of their dating, four of which had been in secret, Adira came to me, telling me she was pregnant. I was shocked. I helped her keep it a secret from both our parents for about 3 months, until her belly was beginning to show. I told her she would have to tell them. One day when they were in particularly good spirits, she did. Mother was shocked, and didn't exactly approve, but she didn't demand her to get rid of the babe. Father went ballistic. He already didn't approve of her relationship with a commoner, and now she had gotten pregnant? He tried to make her get rid of the baby, but she cried and pleaded and refused. Father unwillingly didn't press more on the matter, but said that she would have to pay the price. A month later, she went her Sawyer's home, and found him laying on the ground, dead. There was no blood or anything gruesome, except for the fact that her boyfriend's body was just laying in the doorway. She came home and I comforted her as she cried for days. I never told her that I had seen Father come back from a trip to town, the night he died. Father returned suspiciously happy and kept muttering, 'The price will be paid.' I didn't know what it meant until Adira came back, traumatized. A few months later, exactly on her due date, she gave birth to a baby girl. The girl was very sick, probably because of Adira's trauma. We weren't sure if she was going to survive. Adira begged me to try and save her, so I had to place a spell on her, which kept her asleep and healing for as long as she needed," Rhys paused. Mor stood with her mouth hanging open. Karshia had wide eyes, and one tear had dripped out of my eye, as well as Diana's. "That was about a month before Adira and Mother were killed." Rhys trailed off upon seeing a look of realization pass on Catalina's face.

"I'm the girl. I had been asleep for five hundred years?" Catalina muttered. Rhys nodded. "What happened? I had a family until I was nine. Who were they?"

"As you know, I was...away for 50 years," Rhys said, choosing the word 'away' very carefully. "A family found you, and they decided to raise you, not having any children of their own. They came to Amren, who was running Velaris at the time, and told her about you. Amren didn't know who you were, and so she agreed. When I returned, Amren told me, and I was shocked. I watched them with you one day, when you were about eight and I knew you were safe." We were all silent. Rhys cleared his throat, seeming to have more to say.

"I should have kept checking up on you. You were on the streets for three goddamn years, and I never bothered to see if you were okay. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry, Catalina." Rhys finished, crying softly. I made to comfort him, but Catalina moved.

"Hey, Uncle," she said softly but slightly roughly, looking at Rhys. "That is not your fault. Absolutely not your fault. You were away, like you said. After that you had so much on your mind because of the war. I do not blame you and I will not allow you to blame yourself."

"It doesn't matter that I had stuff on my mind. You are my sister's daughter. My beloved sister who I've spent so much time mourning. I should have thought to check on you."

"No, Uncle. I said it already. It is not your fault. Never your fault. I survived. I survived just fine. And I will not allow you to blame yourself, ever." She wrapped her arms around him, tears silently falling down her face. Rhys slumped slightly, pulling her close and releasing a shaky breath. He pulled back and looked at her face.

"You look exactly like her. Gorgeous," Rhys said, smiling very faintly. Tears were pouring out of all of our eyes now. He continued hugging her for a bit longer, rocking slightly.

"Rhys, how did you not recognize her when you first saw her? And how is Diana not older than she really is?" Karshia asked. They were valid questions.

"I thought she looked familiar, but I thought that Catalina still lived with her adopted parents. I didn't know that they had passed away. And Diana, well apparently my aunt had kids very late in her life. She had already gone into hiding, as a florist in town, as she loved flowers. But my cousin, Diana's mother, was 300 years younger than me, and she also waited to have kids until she found the right male," Rhys said. Rhys carefully returned the scroll to the librarian, and we winnowed back to the townhouse. We walked into the sitting room and were pounced on with questions.

"Which High Lord are they related to?"

"Who are their parents?"

"Did you figure it out?" I couldn't tell whose voice was whose. Rhys held up his hand.

"Yes, we figured out. They're both related to me." Rhys proceeded to explain both the girls' stories and their parents. Everyone was thoroughly astonished. Everyone had similar reactions to ours. With that business handled, I asked a few more questions about our battle plan.

"Guys, I was wondering. How are we going to guard so many areas with just the few of us? Because I'm definitely not feeding every Illyrian soldier my blood," I finished.

"Yeah, well let's just come up with a plan and go in shifts. Mor, since they are coming from behind your house, we can have someone at your house with you at all times. Az's spies can continue flying over the city, and we will have to feed them some blood as well because as it is, we're stretched thin. Besides, Mor, Lucien, and Diana can also donate as well as us," Rhys said.

"Why can't I donate blood? I have High Lord blood as well," Catalina argued.

"Because you just got poisoned, and as your mother, I won't allow it. There may be a little poison left in you, and we don't want to pass it on. Besides, your body need everything it has to expel any remaining poison," Mor said.

"Fine," Catalina grumbled. Rhys cleared his throat and continued.

"Azriel and Cassian, you are going to shift between guarding the townhouse and keeping an eye out for any flares. Amren and Varian, you will guard Amren's flat, and only leave in case of an emergency. Lucien and Raelia, I may have to ask you to camp out at the KidsKare house for a few days. They're going to need a lot of protection, since the Illyrian soldiers I placed there will now be no help. Nesta and Elain, I'm going to ask you to please stay here. We can teach you some basic skills if you'd like."

"Um, Rhys? I've been training with Cassian for more than a year at this point. I can fight pretty well, so if you need me, I'll be there," Nesta said. I had nearly forgotten. That was how Nesta and Cassian had gotten together. Of course she could fight.

"Right. You can train Elain then. I am still going to ask you to stay here, but you can guard the townhouse, and we will call on you in emergencies. Feyre, Astria, Cayden, and I will stay in our house. If I am needed you can always call on me. I suggest going out and buying whatever you need, because this may be the last time for while when you can safely do that," Rhys finished his assignments. Amren, Lucien, Mor, Karshia, Diana, Catalina, Rhys, Astria, Cayden, and I left the townhouse, getting a list from Elain about what they needed. We brought groceries and other items for ourselves and for them, before Mor and family winnowed home, and Amren went back to her flat where Varian was waiting. We dropped off the goods for the townhouse and Raelia came out with two boxes of things for she and Lucien while they stayed in the KidsKare House. We showed them to their room, slightly distanced from the other kids rooms before bidding them goodnight and retiring in our own house.

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