A Thief's Treasure (9 page)

I moved and looked around.
 
It had everything that we had in our other place sans all the magical
artifacts
.
 
It was interesting and felt kind of like home, but at the same time it didn’t due to the fact that we were being hunted.
 
I went over to a couch and sat on it.
 
Darren was next to me and for a moment I felt at peace.
 
I opened my eyes and looked at him, my thoughts apparent.
 
He was reading everything and after he did he gave me a big hug.

“It’s okay Alyssa.
 
I’m here for you and I won’t let anything happen.
 
I swear by it,” he voiced.
 
I hugged him tightly and started to cry again.
 
I didn’t know how to take all of this so the only thing I could do was cry.
 
Anthony and Eliza walked away, giving us space while I voiced my emotions.
 
I could hear Eliza in the kitchen making some tea and she brought it over to us.
 
We broke away for a moment and I grabbed my tea, sipping it like a small child.

“We’re safe for now Alyssa.
 
There’s a huge protection seal around this place, so you’ll be fine,” he stated.

“I-I know. I just can’t believe the best thing that has ever happened to me is now gone,” I replied.

“It’s not all gone sweetie.
 
I’m here and both my parents are alive and so are yours.
 
It’ll all be okay, I promise,” he said warmly.
 
I gave him another hug and we sat there in each other’s arms for a moment.
 
I don’t know what was coming over me but I felt like he was my protector now.
 
I know Anthony was the head of the family, but he was the one who genuinely cared for my well-being and would do anything to save me.
 

After a minute there was a small knock on the rug.
 
Darren walked over and opened it.
 
I assumed it was just going to be some people that Anthony was going to do business with but what it really was came as a shock to me to say the least.
 
My parents came out of there one-by-one, both of them shaking the dust off their outfits.
 
They turned to me and gave me a warm smile, and at that moment I couldn’t help bursting into tears again.
 
I ran over to them and gave them a giant hug, tears rolling down my face as I embraced them warmly for the first time ever.

Chapter Eleven

We stood there and I hugged both of them tightly.
 
It was like I was finally coming alive, that I finally had the truth in front of my face.
 
After a few minutes I broke away and looked at them, excitement apparent on my face.
 
My mom had the same brown hair as me along with my hazel eyes.
 
She had a petite frame similar to my shortness and she had a nice and sweet smile on her face.
 
My father looked like me as well, with a gruff texture to his face along with a tall and lanky body.
 
He looked to be about forty and my mom about the same.
 
I knew they were way older than that; they just used a lot of their alchemy in order to help make them look younger.

“Oh my god, you’re alive,” my mother exclaimed.
 
She held me even tighter in her arms.

“I sure am mom.
 
I’m even gladder that you’re alive as well, I’ve missed you all these years,” I replied.

“We have too.
 
Seeing pictures of you was nothing like seeing the real thing and we’ve been waiting for the day that you’ve realized it and now it’s finally here,” my father stated.

“It sure is.
 
Why don’t we go to the dining room?
 
I’m sure Eliza has some food ready for us, and I would love to have my first dinner with my folks since I was a baby,” I said.

“Sounds great,” my mother replied happily.
 
We walked in and Darren followed me.
 
Sure enough Eliza had the entire set up to include my parents and there was enough Chicken Alfredo for all of us and then some.
 
The table was all ready for us and I couldn’t wait to eat.
 
My mouth was nearly salivating but I know I had some questions to ask first.

We sat down at the table and Darren was next to me.
 
Immediately I felt a sense of reassurance course through me when he was by me and I knew that what he had mentioned earlier was the truth.
 
We started to dig in and I felt like it was the apt time to finally ask what had been bothering me for so long.

“So mom, dad, why do you guys live in a palace now?
 
We didn’t live in one when I was a baby, and you told me I wasn’t royalty from the beginning?” I asked.

My mother put down her fork for a moment and smiled.
 
“Well we all are.
 
We’re part of one of the strongest alchemic clans in the world.
 
Your father and I don’t live with Eliza and Anthony because of safety purposes, but we all are part of a very large and powerful clan.
 
There are about fifty of us, and the only things higher than us are the Alchemic Council.
 
That is why we had to separate; if we all lived together there would be no stopping of the attacks and we were sure they would wipe us out so for the sake of our protection we decided to live in different areas.
 
As for the castles…well one part of the clan had to be pretentious and after a heated game of rock, paper, scissors about 20 years ago my husband and I won and we were ordered to live in that castle.
 
It was nice, but we didn’t want anyone to come after you so that’s why we had to keep you hidden with your foster parents.
 
They’re on our side as well, and from the shadows we were able to help control your upbringing.
 
That’s why you never got away with anything, because we didn’t want you to as well,” my mother teased.

“I thought so.
 
So are we all royalty?”

“We all are.
 
We are some of the most important people on Earth and that’s why we had to protect you.
 
You are actually in my bloodline and my ancestor was able to save the planet about fifty years ago by opening the Great Rune and defeating a horde of
Karakan’s
men.
 
You may have heard of Stalingrad in World War II.
 
That was actually my mother defending Russia from the pervasion of
Karakan’s
demons.
 
It was a big sacrifice but she saved the world.
 
Since then we all have that power, but it’s been the strongest in you so far.
 
You’re the key to our clan and the alchemic world’s survival, and we wanted to keep you safe.
 
That’s why we’ve made the sacrifices that we did.
 
Im
sorry that we lied to you, but hopefully we can make up for it the rest of your life,” my mother said reassuringly.

I was shocked; I couldn’t believe how much they cared for me and that they did all of this to protect me.
 
I almost wanted to cry but I kept my composure.
 
“Wow I can’t believe it.
 
Thank you for caring about me.
 
I really appreciate it.
 
I know you did it for the benefit of both of us and even though it was hard I can live on.
 
I love both of you and I always will.
 
So what happened at the palace though?”

“We got attacked.
 
They threw bombs at us and we had to retreat.
 
We took what we could salvage, but that wasn’t a whole lot.
 
We were lucky to get out alive at all; we had to walk about five floors to get to the secret exit to the tunnels.
 
I’m happy we made it out though because I would hate to lose you,” my father replied.

“I’m happy you guys made it too.
 
And I’m glad I can finally live my life with my parents around and in my life.
 
I love both of you and I thank my stars that you both are safe,” I stated.
 
Eliza and Anthony watched in awe and Darren looked at me with concern.
 
He placed his hand in mine and immediately I felt a surge of energy course through me.
 
Even though it was just a simple touch it was very powerful, like the catalyst in the body.
 
I didn’t know why but I felt even more relaxed now despite the electricity going between our hands.

The rest of the dinner was pretty standard.
 
My parents asked about my life with Eliza and Anthony and I told them it was excellent.
 
They asked me what I had learned in the three months I was there, and I started to rattle some of the things from the books.
 
They were impressed to say the least, and a nod of approval was present in both their eyes and my pseudo-parent’s eyes as well.
 
They asked me about how school was and other things and it was almost like having dinner with my parents like any other day.
 
I knew it was far from any other day though so I didn’t take it for granted.
 
We talked about what they had been up to as well and apparently my dad was a successful businessman and my mother was an actress in various indie films along with being a writer.
 
It was very interesting and definitely did explain how they could afford such a place.
 
They may have been from old money, but they definitely had some extra for themselves as well.

My other family listened intently as we talked, smiles present on their faces.
 
They were happy I was finally reunited and to be honest I was happy I could make them happy as well.
 
After what seemed like an hour we finished our dinner and Eliza took the plates.
 
My mother and I started to clean up the dishes and I looked at Darren out of the corner of my eye.
 
He was playing some game on his phone, sneaking looks at me while he did so.
 
I know he was doing it and a small flush was present.
 
I ignored it for the moment however and continued to dry the dishes.
 
I was going to ask him about that later.
 

Once we finished Eliza was at the foot of another set of stairs opposite to another set on the right-hand side.
 
“Okay we’ll take the right side of the cave and you guys can have the left.
 
If Alyssa wants to she can have the room on the end of her parent’s side in order to stay close to them.
 
It’s her discretion though; if she wants to be around us she can as well,” Eliza instructed.

I thought about it for a moment before responding.
 
“I’ll probably take the one away from everyone.
 
I kind of have some things to settle in my mind and I kind of want to be alone.”

“It’s fine
hun
.
 
I was instructing everyone else.
 
We have extra clothes in there for this occasion and if you need anything we will be happy to attempt to get it for you,” Eliza stated warmly.

“Thank you.
 
You’re amazing I hope you know that.
 
Darren doesn’t realize how much of a kick-ass mother you really are,” I replied.
 
I gave her a big hug and then went upstairs. The hallway was long but I was separated by another vacant room between mine and my parent’s.
 
It looked a lot like my room at my old place, but it was a little smaller and without the TV.
 
There was still a small sitting area along with a desk and bookshelf and a giant bed that looked like it was calling my name.
 
I stripped down to my underwear and pulled on some sweats to cover the rest of my body.
 
I felt like it was getting late and I could feel the exhaustion looming over me.
 
I started to pass out, my mind and body both satisfied and happy that I was able to finally reach the two people I have wanted to since I was a baby.
 
I could hear a small murmur downstairs, but I knew that nothing was bad.
 
Nothing else was going to be bad and I knew that if anything did happen I had the friends and family that would be there for me.
 
I fell asleep easily for once, and there was nothing that was hindering me from finally being satisfied and happy.