The New Life

Chapter Twenty-One

21 VA Fanfic TNB Sequel_Chapter Twenty-One

I did not see great-grandmother. It was late last night when we finally reached home; that was what my cousins and parents said. Considering that I've never even been to this house, I can't think of it as a home, yet. Mom was surprisingly very attached to this home as well.

Not only Grandmother had been up waiting for our arrival, my three other aunts- Aunt Karolina, Aunt Sonja and Aunt Viktoria were up as well. Besides them, it was as if the whole village had been waiting. Lots of people littered around the house belonging to the Belikovs, talking and laughing.

Mom spotted my amazement and smiled, told me to get use to it before walking over to a couple and started talking to them. That couple were a Moroi woman and Dhampir man couple, which surprised me very much. It wasn't unheard of back in Court, but very rare.

I felt my RGs come up to me while I stared in wonder at the wonderful sight of  homely family reunion. My cousins had joined their parents- my aunts and grandmother, my parents had a few friends gathering around them, and there were laughter and joy radiating through the whole area. It was wonderful to watch.

When my RGs were all behind me, it was as if someone had called for order. The chattering stopped and eyes all turned to me. There was a minute of silence while we all just stared at each other. Chad and Macon, being the closest to me, moved in even closer.

"Dawn, come here." My dad said, breaking the silence. Turning back to grandmother, he let out a string of Russian words, causing my grandmother's smile to widen even more. 

Slowly, I moved forward, towards the both of them. When I was a few feet from her, I looked hesitantly towards my mom, who nodded encouragingly. I knew what my parents want me to do.

"Grandmother." I greeted.

Tears sprang into her eyes as she cried out loud happily and flung herself onto me, hugging me tightly. Almost as if it was instincts, my arms wrapped themselves around her as well. The feeling was good; never had I had felt such motherly love before, and I embraced it. Sure, my mother, compared to many other Dhampir or Moroi moms, was one of the best mom I know. However, she is still a Guardian, and Guardians are known for guarding their emotions.

This feeling is different. It is nothing I had felt before; warmth, love and affection. I didn't imagine it was possible for these feelings to occur for a stranger, but apparently, it does for grandmother. As long as they were family, it doesn't matter if we've just met.

Suddenly, I felt more bodies and arms wrapping themselves around us. Pulling back slightly I realized it was three other women, whom later I found out were my three aunts. Like grandmother, I sensed their joy in the hug. Whether it was because they finally met me or my cousins were finally home or was it that they finally saw Dad after so many years, I don't know. Their happiness was enough to cover anything that moment.

After the hugging ceased, I found another cousin waiting for me- Zoya and her husband, whom very surprisingly, is a Moroi. Moroi men usually don't marry dhampir women, even if they had knocked them up. Here, in Baia, nobody even blink an eye at that.

Mom was the only one besides my RG groupies to notice my surprise. Being brought up with Court rules and social standards, almost every one of the RGs except Leo and Colt, and astonishingly, Mom were the only ones who weren't amazed by these couples. 

I was brought into the house and given a tour by my cousins. Which rooms belongs to who and how the house layouts were. The house was homely, just like my grandmother and my aunts, fitting them just right.

Right now, sitting around the bonfire with hundreds of other people I am sure have no family relations with us, I studied my surrounding people. Although they were Dhampirs, they hadn't kneeled and make a big fuss about having me here. Instead, I was attacked by curious eyes, which lowered immediately when I looked over.