ARIA
“Busy?” aunt Cassidy knocks on my door and opens it without permission, holding a little box with a bow in her hands.
“It’s not my birthday yet,” I grin at her and stretch my hands in a give-me-this-as-fast-as-you-can motion.
“You know me,” she chuckles, “I always want to be the first to congratulate you! Because you are my favourite!”
She whispers this last time. But I know it’s true. Cass is the only one who at least remotely can relate to what I am going through. She is a witch, but her power almost equals zero. She can do only basic spells, nothing major. None of the elements submit to her. For a witch, this is the same as for a normal person to be deaf, blind, and not being able to walk at the same time! But she managed to get through all that and use whatever life has given her. She has vast theoretical knowledge and thanks to that she can create powerful magical artifacts. Her artifacts are magical objects that can do anything from protecting someone to destroying the enemy. No one in the whole world currently is as good as she. Sometimes she needs the help of other witches to charge the objects, but everyone is happy to work for her. It’s considered a great honour to even be considered to be her assistant. So, yes, she is doing great.
But because of her ordeal, she is the one who gets me the most. And she has a soft spot for me because I remind her of herself in my age.
“I wonder what this is!” I snort, knowing very well that it must be another artifact for my protection. She gives me a lot of those. And I need them all. She has given me the ring that I used to protect myself from Marissa and Cloe a few days before.
Most of the artifacts she gives to me look like jewellery. And she always makes sure that they all match each other.
I open the box and gasp with delight. There is the most beautiful set in rose gold – a bracelet, a ring, a pendant, and a pair of earrings. No stones or anything, but they are not required here. This is something that one can wear every day without looking a stupid show-off. And yet all the pieces are intricate and delicate at the same time. They look like little flames of fire and it looks beautiful. Especially the earrings. When I will put them on it’ll look like flames are going up from my earlobe to the helix.
“Cass!” I smile, “It’s gorgeous! I love it! Thank you so much!”
“You are welcome,” she giggles, “So, as you may guess, these are connected to the magic of fire. With the ring, you’ll be able to hit your opponents with a fire blast. Not a huge one, but quite strong. The bracelet will create a protective fire circle around you, the pendant… well, use this last and really if you have two. It’s kind of a bomb. Only you can activate it. And the earrings… Well, I played with these a bit. With the right one, you can change your hair colour to fiery red.”
“Wow, really?” my jaw drops to the floor. I’ve been begging her to make me something to create an illusion of any sort for years! And she always said no!
“Really,” she chuckles, “And the left one can turn your hair black.”
“I love you, I love you, I love you!” I jump up to give her the biggest hug.
“Love you too, sweetie,” she says, “Just remember to keep all those a secret. Use it only if you need it for..”
“Protection!” I grin, “I know, I know…”
“That’s my girl,” she smiles, “Ok, I am going to leave you now. You have about half an hour to get ready for dinner. I’ve heard Elle bought you two beautiful dresses for today and tomorrow.”
“She sure did!” I chuckle. Aunt Elle is a shopaholic. None of us has to bother much with shopping as she is the one buying most of our clothes. Luckily, she has great taste and knows what we all like. So it’s like having your own personal shopper. And a perfect one at that.
For today’s family dinner I choose a pretty ivory off-shoulder dress with guipure lace and a tiered skirt. It’s light and playful and looks just perfect for the occasion.
I do light natural makeup and put a couple of pearl clips on one side of my hair. I put on a golden chain with a baroque pearl on and decide that it’s enough jewellery, leaving just a few artifact rings on me.
I twirl around the mirror, happy with what I see.
“You look pretty!” Sienna, my little sister walks into the room, “Have you seen the warlock?! Cute, right?! I mean, he is not as cute as Hunter! No one is as cute as him! But he looks decent as well. Don’t you think?”
Straight to the point. My 9-yeat-old sister is a chatterbox. And yes, she has a crush on Hunter-freaking-Forrester of all the people! I don’t tell her what an asshole he is because… because it’s nice to be a child and believe that the world is perfect. And she is still at that stage. I am not going to be the one to show her how ugly a person can be on the outside. At least not yet…
“Yeah, they are both very cute,” I force a smile.
“You wear make-up?!” she almost yells, “Wow! You are really trying hard! Are you in love with him? Are you in love with Lex?”
“No!” I scream so loud that the walls could shake, “No way! Please, don’t say anything like this!”
That little angel suddenly smiles a devilish smile and runs away, screaming, “Muuuuum! I think Aria loves Lex!”
“You little brat!” I grit through my teeth. Seriously! Why would she say that?! So, I spend about three to four hours pampering myself today and getting ready to look my best. Even put on sexy lingerie. But, hey, it’s for me! It has absolutely nothing to do with Lex. Or any other guy for that matter. I just want to look good for me. As the famous ad says – because I deserve this!
“What’s that with you liking Lex?” Kieran appears suddenly at my door, hands crossed on his chest.
“Do you even remember that you are supposed to be my little brother and not the big one?” I roll my eyes at him.
“Do you like him?” he furrows his brows, “You do look better than usual.”
“Jesus!” I snort, “You sound like I usually wear rugs and don’t even bother to brush my hair. It’s my birthday tonight, Elle bought me this dress… And honestly, haven’t you seen what this monster was doing to me this whole week? I am not masochistic enough to like someone like that!”
“Uh-huh,” he says somehow hesitant, “Meet you downstairs.”
Honestly, what is wrong with all of them today? It’s not a house, it’s some kind of circus! For the first time ever I am starting to miss school…
I wait a few good minutes before going downstairs. Somehow I want to be the last one to arrive.
I go down the stairs slowly in my high heels that I don’t wear too often. Suddenly I stop when I notice Lex at the bottom of the stairs. He is walking back and forth and it looks like he is hesitating before going into the dining room. He notices me and freezes, looking at me as if… as if he has seen something… I don’t know what. But his lips part in surprise and I think that he likes what he sees.
“Hi!” I give him an awkward wave, continuing to go down until I am right next to him.
“Hi,” he mumbles, “You look…different today. I mean you look…good. Incredible.”
“Thanks,” I blush, “Alexander Kingston who stutters is probably the best compliment a girl could get. But what are you doing here?”
“I…” he starts talking but loud laughter breaks out of the dining room and soon I hear uncle Connor’s voice. All makes sense now. Connor is Lex’s father and Lex hates him. I don’t even know when was the last time they have seen each other.
“It’s ok,” I slide my hand under his arm and pull him slightly towards the door, “Your dad doesn’t bite. Mine does!”
We walk in together and everyone becomes silent, looking at the two of us.
“Look who I found on the way here!” I smile and squeeze his arm lightly.
“Evening,” Lex greets everyone dryly.
“Happy birthday, pumpkin!” uncle Conner jumps to his feet and comes to us, “Son, it’s so nice to see you…”
“Where do you usually sit?” the warlock ignores his father deliberately and I show him to the two empty chairs. And why two? Usually, Kieran sits next to me, but this time he is on a completely opposite side of the table.
I take my seat next to my Dad, who is at the head of the table (and my mum is opposite of him). Lex helps me with my chair and then lands right next to me. Well, this is unexpected.
From the corner of my eye, I see my mum grin and know that it is not a coincidence! Honestly, woman, you are overestimating our friendship. I am not sure we can even be called friends.
“So, Lex, tell us how you have been doing?” Connor takes his place next to my mother since my dad cannot stand him.
“Well, Connor, I’ve been doing absolutely fine,” the warlock next to me grits through his teeth, “Not thanks to you though.’
“I know,” uncle sighs, “I am in great debt to you for all I have…”
“On the contrary,” Alexander interjects, “We owe each other nothing. But let’s not ruin this beautiful celebration. Aria deserves a quiet and peaceful evening.”
“You are right,” Connors smiles sadly and makes a gesture showing that he zips his mouth from now on.
The evening is quite delightful, until Sienna and the twins start making trouble since they are all too tired. And aunt Elle takes all the kids away. Connor jokes a lot and my Dad growls at most of them, showing off his dominance. They still don’t like each other too much.
Lex is quiet for most of the evening. Suddenly, one of the maids opens the door and speaks sheepishly, “Your Majesty, we have guests.”
“At this hour?” my father raises his brow, “Who dares to…”
“I apologize for intruding, my King,” in walks Hunter’s dad. And the asshole is right behind him.
This is going to be a freaking long night…
Aksara