Untangling Aella

Chapter Twenty

Happy New Year! May 2015 be a prosperous year for you :) with love, all the way from Whangarei, New Zealand!

I began writing this chapter on my flight over here and wanted you gift you with more information on Ella's parentage.

This one is for all my awesome readers! Thanks so much! Your votes really mean the world to me and your comments even more so.

Here it is!!

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Chapter Twenty

I shook myself out of my stupor and gazed at him. Far from the gentle looking man in the photo I had on my heart, safer than in any book and close enough for me to take in his features every night before I went to bed.

Everyone in the court hall were all silent, just as stunned as I was and appeared to be wondering what the next move would be.

I began to shake my head, vigorously throwing my head side to side and starting to hyperventilate.

"N-n-no!" I said in a tear clogged voice far too fragile to be mine, "there's just no way that, that bastard standing in front of me could be him! You aren't him! You aren't Theo!"

Ari too was in a state of shock, looking between Aegeus and Theseus in amazement.

"We care not what her heritage is! We all know that she is an Amazon and that should not detract from our judgement for her actions. As far as we are concerned she is guilty!" Shouted an irate Tantalus, veins popping from his neck.

"Now, now," Aegeus started, calmly waving his arms, "we have all had enough with the interrogation for now. My granddaughter shall not be questioned further."

That only seemed to make this Tantalus more enraged. He stormed towards us with raised arms.

"Come now, Aegeus! There's no way proceedings can be stopped now! We all know this!" Tantalus continued on his tirade, trying to rouse those who were still in a state of shock.

"Silence!" Aegeus bellowed fiercely that a shockwave knocked us back slightly. Whoa, now I know where I get it from. "That will be all, I'm taking my granddaughter our of here." He looked at me and beckoned me to follow him.

I felt quite shy but he held out his old weathered hand and I grasped it, escorted out of the law court by my grandfather.

I didn't know where he was taking me nor was I paying attention, instead I was pondering my predicament.

I found myself in a sort of a lounge room and as Aegeus closed the door after us, the sound of it clicking in place was enough to make me coherent.

I looked up at him and fear tears shimmering on my lids again. I began to shake my head at him.

"He isn't my dad," I said quivering, wiping away the moisture. "He isn't the man my mother could ever love; surely she would've told me! It isn't him"

"He is, child," Aegeus said gently, nothing but tenderness in tone which calmed me somewhat.

"How can you know this for sure?" I replied back, needing to find clarity.

He paused for a while and then exhaled slightly. His eyes went far away as he looked away from me, almost as if he were reliving what he was about to tell me.

"My son is very much the same image of Ari now; he was a trickster, he laughed freely, he was kind to all he encountered and he was a strong man. He was the apple of my eye, my greatest joy and I thought that in this life he was my greatest achievement.