Don't be afraid, darling ✔[COMPLETED]

Chapter 27: New faces

"Is she alive?"

An unknown voice entered my ears as I tried to gain consciousness. The voice was tinkly and lyrical, but very much male. 

Another unknown voice reprimanded him, "Of course she is, you dung head! I just checked her pulse." This one was sharp and authoritative and very much female.

I was lying on my back on what felt like a bed. The very soft, silken bedspread and the velvety pillow made me want to go to sleep forever.
The male voice spoke again, "She's really beautiful, don't you think?"

Were they talking about me?

The female voice softened slightly, "Yes, she is. Cassian wouldn't have settled for any less."
I used all my willpower not to blush.

 
Unable to hold back my curiosity any longer, I opened my eyes and a bright light blinded me.
Shielding my eyes with my hands, I gingerly sat up. 

The male voice said brightly from my right, "Oh look! She's awake."

The female voice snapped, "Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Darren." After my eyes got used to the light, I squinted to my right to focus on the mysterious speaker.

He was a guy of around my age, dressed in a white Tshirt and black jeans. He had messy, chocolate brown hair and deep set jade eyes. His face was boyish and mischievous, like a naughty little cousin you find yourself babysitting on weekends for extra pocket money. His smile was wide and warm and the dimple that appeared on his right cheek was too cute. 

On the other hand, the girl sitting on my left was more solemn looking. She was dressed in a black high neck sweater and black leggings. She was definitely a bit older than me and seriously beautiful. Her long, perfectly wavy raven hair shone in the light and her intelligent sky blue eyes scrutinized me carefully. Her face was older and sterner. I was a teeny bit in awe of her.

Her face suddenly broke into a sweet smile as she took both my hands in hers, "I'm so glad you're awake, Kiara. We've been worried that you wouldn't make it. I'm Mel DeLaney. So nice to meet you." She shook my hands vigorously. 

I nodded, slightly disconcerted, "Y-yes. Nice to meet you too. I'm Kiara Carlyle."

"We know! Ally told us!" Beamed the boy as he wrenched my hands from Mel's bruising grip and yanked them up and down like a waterpump. 

"I'm Darren DeLaney. Mel's younger brother. We've been SO impatient to meet you."

I looked at him confused, "Where did you hear about me? This is the first time I'm hearing about you."

Thankfully, Darren let go of my arm and grinned cheekily, "Ally has been chattering about you non stop ever since she met you. She's made you out to be an absolute heavenly being. So we wanted to see your heroism ourselves."

Mel's smile widened, "Yeah, she just wouldn't shut up." She put on a sqeaky, high pitched voice, in a bad imitation of Curly, "Kiara's an absolute sweetheart... she's perfect for Cass... she is so smart and... what was that term she used, Darren?"

"Funky" chuckled her brother, "Well, we're so relieved you survived the portal travel."

I rubbed my head, stumped, "Portal- what?"
Mel glared at her brother, "Why do you find it necessary to confuse her as soon as she regains consciousness? Let her at least be fully awake."
Darren raised his palms up, apologetically, "Sorry, sorry. Kiara, you should freshen up and dress. I'll arrange for some food. Don't worry, Cass won't be able to reach you here."
On that cheerful note, he got up, and left the room.
Mel sighed, "That clown doesn't have a single serious bone in his body. As the older sibling, I'm always expected to keep him in line. SO irritating."
I looked around the room for the first time.
I was in a large, grandly furnished bedroom. Spotless, cream walls and furry beige carpet on the wooden floor. Two french windows were curtained with light, muslin white curtains. A large, teak dressing table with a giant, gold edged mirror stood oposite the bed. A single portrait of a lady in her early forties hung on one of the walls. Her intelligent sky blue eyes, wavy black hair and warm, dimpled smile made it clear that she was the DeLaneys' mother.
An opulent crystal chandelier provided the bright light that had almost blinded me. The bed itself was a king sized, two feet deep mattressed and feathery down covered affair. I almost got lost in it. The wooden headboard was carved with weird symbols I couldn't recognize.
An elaborate Chinese lampshade glowed softly on the bedside table.
Mel gently took my hand, "Come on, Kiara. Let me show you to the bathroom and then I'll lend you some clothes."
I nodded gratefully at the prospect of a nice wash and fresh clothes as I was only in my pyjamas.
She took me to a door other than the one Darren had departed from.
I breathed in sharply af the sight of the awesome bathroom.
Marble marble everywhere!
The sink, floor, walls, even the bathtub were made of marble. The taps had multicoloured jewels set into their handles. The sink and bathtub were beautifully carved with weird symbols. It was softly lit with a single lamp hanging from the ceiling.
Basically, I loved it.
A blissful thirty minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom, all clean and fresh. Not only had I 'freshened up', but I had soaked in the fantastic bathtub for as long as I could remember. I came out wearing a towel, and looked around the empty room for some new clothes.
Mel walked in and smirked at me, "Well, you took even longer in the bathroom than Darren. And I thought he drowned in the bathtub!"
I blushed. I hadn't really meant to take so long.
"But I must say, it did you good. You look fresh." She smiled kindly.
I smiled back sheepishly, "Uhh.. do you know where I could find some clothes?" I was starting to shiver in my towel.
She slapped her forehead, "My bad! I totally forgot to give you these clothes." She pointed to a large stack of neatly folded clothes on the bed.
As I rifled through the clothes, Mel said apologetically, "Sorry about the limited choice, but these were the only ones among mine that I thought would fit and suit you."
The clothes were mostly all black or dark hued. A pair of black skinny jeans, a dark blue full sleeved tee, a chocolate brown silk skirt and other classy stuff. I finally picked out a black silk skirt that reached just above my knees, a dark pink chiffon full sleeved top, sheer black stockings and a pair of black leather ankle length block heeled boots with the cutest red laces and little beads around the top.
Mel looked me up and down appreciatingly, "I must say, you've got style, girl."
I winked, "Of course I do! Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift ask me for fashion advice."
She laughed as she hooked her arm through mine, "Come on. Let's get you something to eat."
She led me out of the room, down two corridors and a staircase, all every bit as majestic as the Mantzari mansion, if not more.
We finally entered the dining room, or rather, the dining hall. The walls were the same shades of cream and beige. Large, floor to ceiling windows with light muslin curtains were wide open, offering a beautiful view of the forest outside. A mahogany table large enough to seat the entire town of Oakwood stood in the centre of the room with beautifully carved wooden chairs arranged around it.
Darren waved at us from near the head of the table, "Hey, Kiara! Mel! Over here!"
Mel rolled her eyes, "Thanks for telling us you are in the same room as us, Darren. We never would have been able to locate you otherwise.", but pulled me along towards him. There was a middle aged man dressed in a crisp black silk shirt, seated at the head of the table. He had deep blue eyes and light brown hair like Darren's. He must have been related to the DeLaneys as I could see a bit of them in him. His sharp jaw was covered with a light stubble and he sported a faint moustache. His eyes crinkled up when he smiled and his brown hair was streaked with a tiny bit of grey.
He smiled widely on seeing me and put down his glass of orange juice down, "Kiara Carlyle! At last, we meet. Welcome to the House of Avyanna. I am Uncle Ash."
Well, I was expecting something more... royal than 'Uncle Ash'.
Nevertheless, I smiled politely and shook his hand, "Well, thanks for having me, Uncle Ash."
He gestured for me and Mel to sit down, "Not at all! It's a real pleasure to have a Celeste in the House of Avyanna."
I was stumped for the third time that day, "To have a what the House of what?"
He simply waved a hand to a lady in a maid's uniform as Mel groaned, "Sara, bring in the breakfast. And Kiara, you don't know what you are?"
I shook my head like an idiot.
Uncle Ash clicked his tongue, "Tsk tsk, poor child. Let me tell you. You my dear, are a Celeste. It means you have the power to draw strength from the stars and other heavenly bodies. A Celeste is a mortal being who can understand the real significance of the planets and the stars."
I scratched my head, "Like an astronomer?"
"Not quite. You can not only draw in power from the heavenly bodies, but you can interpret their positions in the universe and decipher hidden prophecies."
"Prophecies?!" I stared at him, dumbstruck, "So now I'm an astrologer?"
Darren burst out laughing as Mel smacked his head, but tried to hide a smile herself.
Uncle Ash shook his head while trying to stop his guffaws, "No dear. You see, the heavenly bodies hold so many secrets, so much power. They move around in the solar system for a reason. They try to warn, to inform mankind of what is going to happen. But since they are unable to, they form patterns in the sky to give us a hint. You, my child, are capable of understanding those hints. You closer to them than any other creature on earth."
I sat back, pretty much blown away, "How do you know this and why did I never realize it?"
This time, it was Mel who answered, "Kiara, Uncle Ash is the head sorcessor of the House of Avyanna. It's his job to recognize young ignorant sorcessors, possessors, celestes and others. He is the one who recognized the Mantzari siblings to be sorcessors and sorceress. And as for why you didn't realize it... well, none of us did realize what we were until Uncle Ash told us."
I could... draw strength from the stars and? That was pretty cool! And prophecies? Even cooler!
"You're an actual Celeste? Wow, I thought they were incredibly rare!" Said Darren, wide eyed.
Uncle Ash nodded, "They are. Kiara must be the first in several centuries."
Again, wow.
Some more ladies dressed in maid's uniforms entered with large platters.
I suddenly realized how hungry I was at the sight of the chocolate fudge pancakes, berry cobbler waffles, scrambled eggs with swiss cheese, and bacon crackers.
Uncle Ash smiled indulgently, "Children, please begin."
Darren dived in with his fork, "You don't need to tell me twice!"
Mel looked at him in disgust, "Glutton! Watch it, you're spraying the rest of us with your breakfast."
Darren shrugged and continued shovelling food in his face.
Uncle Ash chuckled, "Now, now, let's not get things ugly at the breakfast table, Melliane."
Melliane?
"Thanks a lot, Uncle Aeschylus!" Mel snarled, looking mortified.
Aeschylus?
I decided to risk getting my head sawn off, "Umm.. guys, are those your real names?"
Uncle Ash, whose smile had vanished and was replaced by cross look directed at Mel, answered me, "Yes, Kiara. Those are our real names. Apparently, my birth name is quite an unpronouncible joke in the 21st century. And Mel is pretty embarrassed about revealing her full name to her peers."
"And for good reason." Supplied Darren, swallowing a mouthful of pancake.
Right at that moment, Mel shot out her arm in Darren's direction, who was too occupied with his pancake to notice.
Immediately, he spat out the contents of his mouth onto his plate, retching and gagging. On looking more closely, I realized the pancake in his mouth had turned into raw flour, egg, milk and some bits of cacao beans.
"Returning objects to their natural state. My niece's specialty." Informed Uncle Ash, amused.
"You could have waited for Sara to cook those things for you before gobbling them down, Darren! Anyone would think you have been starved for the last few centuries!" Said Mel smugly.
Darren cursed, as I burst out laughing, "You'll regret this!" He began to extend his arm in Mel's direction, but Uncle Ash flicked two fingers and Darren's arm slammed onto the table, not moving.
"No sorcery at the breakfast table." He stated serenely.
"No fair! She started it!" Wailed Darren. Mel stuck out her tongue at him and winked at me.
Hmmm... these people were nuts. And I loved them!
I took a bit of waffle and almost died of pleasure, "This is amazing! As good as my mom's. And I've never given that compliment to anyone before!"
Mel laughed, "Well, Sara is quite an awesome cook. Anyway, hey Uncle Ash, when did Ally say she'll be back?"
Uncle Ash frowned, "As far as I remember, she said that she would be back after cooling things down a bit. I think that's going to take a while. Cassian is homicidal when he is angry."
That made me lose all my appetite, "He's that bad?"
"Not all bad. Cassian Mantzari himself is not that sadistic. It's thanks to his grandfather that he is what he is today." Said Uncle Ash kindly.
Darren snorted at the mention of Cassian's grandfather, "Nathaniel Mantzari. Monsters and demons in the underworld should take lessons from him. That guy alone completely destroyed poor Cass."
Nathaniel Mantzari had destroyed Cassian? What was he talking about?
"He taught Cass to be cruel. Sadistic. To make people fear him. He was a bit of a psychopath. He was taken by the mad obsession that the Mantzaris were made to be the ultimate commander of all magical beings. When I say commander, I mean he wanted Cass to draw in powers from all other magical beings and use it to dominate, manipulate and torture his victims into submission."
Till now, I had been thinking that Cassian was cruel. But his grandfather was the ultimate definition of cruel! I thought about the times I had been scared of what he had done. That had been forced out of him?
"Cassian's grandfather sounds like a total...." I couldn't finish my thoughts about him.
"... evil bastard? Yes, we know Kiara." Finished Mel for me, sadly.

Mellianne DeLaney

Darren DeLaney

Aeschylus DeLaney
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Author's note
Hey you awesome people! How did you like the new characters? Tell me in the comments. Trust me, I had to do some major digging to find these tongue twisting names (especially Aeschylus!) 😅😅😅
I didn't use the terms 'witch' and 'wizard' as they would've been too Harry Potter-ish. Do tell me if 'sorcessor' was the correct choice!
Please vote, share and comment.
Thanks and buh bye bye!!!
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