The Legend of the Blue Eyes (23 page)

Arianna listened as the sound of grinding
metal brought her attention to the windows, where they were slowly
being covered. Outside the front door, she could hear the same
metal noise grinding.

“We’re locked in a box,” she commented,
walking to the stairs that led to her grandfather’s apartment, only
to find the entrance was also covered with a metal plate. Arianna
listened through the barriers. The clicking of heels and shuffling
of feet told her everyone was working as normal. Arianna sat in the
living room and waited.

“It seems so. I’m going to get some sleep,”
Turner said, turning to walk away. Pausing, he turned back. “Are
you tired?” Arianna replied with a head shake. She continued to sit
and listen to the house around her. “If you get tired or hungry,
just come wake me up. Don’t worry about everything so much. Devin
will be fine.” Arianna nodded as she continued to search the house
for him.

Listening through the entire house Arianna
heard Paul and Michael Seeger finally show up. Her grandfather
greeted them as he would an old friend though Arianna knew
differently from his emotions.

“Please come this come this way to the
dining room. After such a long trip, you must be hungry,” Lord
Randolph said, as they began to walk down the hallway.

“Will your granddaughter be joining us?”
Paul asked.

“She was still tired from her exciting
weekend, choosing a custodian and all,” Lord Randolph added with a
smirk.

“And what a good choice. The Winter boy is
from such a prestigious family. You must be proud,” Paul added.
Arianna listened as his heartbeat changed. He was lying again.
Arianna heard the moving of chairs as they all sat down at the
table. “So, out of all the proposals she must have received, her
first choice was Turner?”

“Oh no, I didn’t give her any of the
proposals. Turner goes to school with her. It seems he proposed
himself over the weekend,” Lord Randolph explained. “I don’t think
she should be bothered with such things right now. She only just
turned. She has plenty of time to make decisions about such a large
commitment.”

“That is true. She does have plenty of
time,” Paul added.

As the meal finished, Lord Randolph stood
and finally asked the question Arianna wanted to know. “What brings
you here so early? The council meeting isn’t for another two
weeks.”

“I’ve been thinking of enrolling Michael
here in school,” Paul lied. “I think it would give him the
opportunity to broaden his learning, since we spend so much focus
on purebred teachings.”

“Then, you are not here to propose a merging
of our two families?” Lord Randolph added.

“Shouldn’t we leave that to the kids?” Paul
added. “Although, I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea,” he said,
finally telling the truth.

“Actually, I don’t think Arianna should
marry anyone for at least ten or sixteen years. She will have
enough pressure learning everything she needs to know to run the
clans.” The anger was building in her grandfather.

“I agree completely, but you have to
remember, you won’t be around forever. And there are always
traditions to keep. Wouldn’t you rather know she’s going to be
taken care of?” Paul added.

“She has her PPU and Turner. They will make
sure she’s happy. Also, I don’t think her father’s family will let
her be unhappy, even if I’m not here.” Lord Randolph was on the
brink of snapping at his guests.

“About that, you’ve never said who her
father is. Rumor has it, he isn’t a dearg-dul,” Paul added, trying
his luck to get an answer. He had watched with his own PPU as
Arianna was carried out of the train into the sunlight without a
problem.

“Well, he isn’t much of anything anymore,”
Lord Randolph replied.

Paul waited, but there was no explanation.
“Well, we should head to bed. It was a long trip down, and we had
so much to discuss with Devin. Thank you for the wonderful meal.”
Arianna listened to Paul and his son talking quietly as they walked
away down the hallway.

The rustling in the adjacent room caught
Arianna’s attention. She knew immediately who it was. Shuffling
into the room, pulling something on wheels, Devin joined Lord
Randolph.

“Seems he’s being a bit more cautious than I
expected,” Lord Randolph said to Devin. “You must have given him a
stern lecture.”

“I just told him the truth. Maybe a bit
bluntly,” Devin replied. Arianna could sense the humor in Devin’s
voice. Though he his heartbeat was weak, he was better than when
she had left him downstairs. “Are they still talking nicely?” Devin
asked.

“They are out of range of my hearing,” Lord
Randolph replied. “As are we.”

Arianna turned her attention back to Paul
and Michael. Still talking in hushed tones, the conversation had
changed.

“You should have said more,” Paul scolded
Michael. “You need to sound as if you are really interested in
her.”

“Why? Don’t you just want to get her blood?”
Michael asked.

“Stupid child,” he replied, slapping
Michael. “Don’t you see how Lord Randolph is playing? He’s neither
allowing anyone near her, nor is he going to make her marry anyone.
The old man has finally lost it. He’s letting a sixteen-year-old
make decisions about her own life. How stupid can he get? It’ll be
so much easier to convince her to like you than it would be to get
his permission.” Michael didn’t reply.

Arianna caught herself yawning as she
listened. She was using too much blood by listening at such
lengths, but it was now a little clearer as to why they were being
so cautious. As the metal panel between the rooms began to move,
Arianna quickly turned to find Molina walking up the staircase with
Lord Randolph close behind.

“Still awake?” he asked nicely, as if the
dinner had just been a great evening between friends.

“I slept most of the way home, and have been
sleeping most of the past two days. How much sleep can one person
get?” she asked. She carefully assessed her grandfather, trying to
see a hint of the frustration she just heard.

“Quite a lot until you get used to your new
life,” Molina replied. “Is Turner asleep now?”

“Yes,” Arianna replied. Lord Randolph didn’t
seem worried at the least.

“Don’t wake him until you are all ready to
leave,” Lord Randolph added.

“Leave?” Arianna questioned.

“Yes,” Lord Randolph replied. “Devin said
you’re a bit homesick. I didn’t think it through too much when I
brought you here. I should have known you would miss your home. So,
we figured out a schedule that will hopefully work. When everyone
heads to bed here at the manor on Sunday night, you and your team
will fly back to Lilly and Dean’s place. You then can stay there
Monday through Wednesday before coming back here. I’ve arranged for
you to have your classes there as well. There are two private
tutors that will teach you at school while your classmates take
their normal classes.”

Arianna hugged her grandfather. He had
thought of everything.

“Don’t thank me,” he added. “This was
Devin’s plan. I just agreed with him.”

“Either way,” Arianna added, hugging him
again. “I get to go home.”

Not waiting for the car to stop, Arianna
bolted from her ride as it pulled in front of the diner. She walked
around back, into the alley, and through the only open door to the
diner. She stopped in the kitchen surprised to find Dean cleaning
and cutting vegetables so early in the morning. Also surprised to
see Arianna, Dean immediately put down everything and hurried over
to her.

“Where’s Auntie?” Arianna asked, as he
hugged her tight. “Doesn’t she do the morning prep?”

“Not since we returned,” Dean replied,
finally putting Arianna down. “What are you doing here, kiddo?”

“Devin talked to Grandpa, and he said I can
spend Monday through Wednesday with you and Aunt Lilly, if you
still want me,” Arianna quickly added.

“Of course we do,” Dean patted her head like
always. “Maybe this will help Lilly.”

“Help her?” Arianna questioned.

“She should be up by now,” he replied. “You
better go say hello. If she finds you down here without greeting
her, she’ll be mad at me.” Arianna nodded, and ran back out the
door to the stairway.

Arianna hurried to climb the stairs to the
second floor. She wanted to surprise her aunt. It was only 5:30 in
the morning, so she opened the door quietly. Arianna walked into
the living room of her old apartment. The light in the kitchen
caught her attention. Slowly, she crept into the kitchen doorway.
Aunt Lilly sat at the table, still in her pajamas, staring off to
the other side of the room. Tears trickled down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Arianna asked, concerned, no
longer wanting to surprise her.

“Ari?” Lilly replied, turning to Arianna in
the doorway. “Is it really you?”

“Who else would it be, silly,” Arianna
hurried over and hugged Lilly. Lilly relaxed into her arms. “Uncle
Dean said if I didn’t get up here now he’d be in trouble.” Lilly
grasped Arianna, still unsure if her eyes were correct.

“But you should be with your grandfather,”
Lilly responded.

“It’s okay. I get to come home now from
Monday to Wednesday. I was getting a bit homesick, and this was the
solution,” Arianna replied, wanting to let go, but knowing Lilly
would not.

Lilly continued to hold onto Arianna. Her
tears gradually turned from sadness to happiness. “You didn’t run
away,” Lilly prodded, finally letting Arianna back a few
inches.

“No, she didn’t,” Devin replied from the
doorway. “She tried to last week, but her uncle keeps pretty good
tabs on her.”

Lilly looked over to Devin. “This is really
real? She can stay here part of the week, every week?” She
questioned Devin as if he had the authority to say no.

“Yes, Lord Randolph only wants to see
Arianna happy,” Devin replied. “She can stay here three days a
week, as long as we stay with her.” Devin pointed to himself and
Turner standing behind him.

“Of course, anything,” Lilly replied.

Arianna yawned, and stretched after her aunt
let go of her. “I think I should get a nap in before I go to
school.”

“Of course, you flew here just this
morning?” Lilly asked, her chipper self slowly returning.

“Yep, on a private plane,” Arianna replied.
She knew that everyone flew on the same plane to get to her
grandfather’s home the first time, but Arianna wasn’t awake and had
no memory of it. Arianna walked to her bedroom door, which was
closed. Carefully opening the door, Arianna found her room exactly
as she had left it, with her closet empty.

“It’s good to be home,” she said, as she
plopped down on her bed. It even smelled like home.

“I didn’t move anything,” Lilly explained
from the doorway. “I guess a part of me was hoping you’d come
home.” Arianna grinned. “I’m sorry we only have one couch,” Lilly
said to the two boys standing behind her. “I hate to make one of
you sleep on the floor.”

“That’s okay,” Arianna said cutting her aunt
off. “I normally sleep with one of them every night.”

Lilly’s mouth hung open in shock. “I raised
you better than…” she began to get angry, but Devin cut her
off.

“She means she literally sleeps with one of
us. Since she changed, her hearing has increased tremendously.
Night humans are attracted to the sound of a beating heart.” Devin
explained from behind her. Lilly cringed at the word. “We found the
only way she can sleep is by listening to a heart beating to block
out additional sounds.”

“Oh,” Lilly replied, her anger subsiding
slightly.

“What did you think I meant?” Arianna
asked.

“Well, you said you were sleeping with
them,” Lilly replied, blushing.

Arianna playfully hit her aunt. “You think
I’m that type of girl?”

“Turner, you stay here with her,” Devin
directed. “I need to go talk to Molina about all the
arrangements.”

Turner remained frozen in the doorway.
Arianna hurried over to him and grabbed his hand, dragging him into
the room while Devin headed back to the open apartment doorway
where Molina stood.

“Aunt Lilly, you’ve already met Devin, but I
don’t know if you’ve met Turner. This is Turner Winter,” Arianna
introduced him. “He goes to my school back at grandfather’s
place.”

Lilly eyed the tall, good-looking boy.
Nodding, she replied, “I can see it. You’re Lord Winter’s son,
correct?”

“Yes, I am his youngest son,” Turner
replied. Arianna smiled as Turner sat uncomfortably under Aunt
Lilly’s gaze. There weren’t many places he could go without people
knowing his father and older brother.

“Well, you better get to sleep,” Lilly said,
turning from Arianna and Turner to leave the room. “You don’t have
much time, since school starts in a few hours.”