ALEKS

I needn’t have worried about any sort of modest dress code because when I opened the door, Lanthe was smiling brightly at me. It took everything in me not to react to her appearance. She looked even more stunning than she did when I last saw her. Her thick mane of hair which had been purple a day or so before was now purple with what looked to be gold strands braided into some of the tufts before forming one very long braid. Somehow she looked even paler than before and it made her look mythical. Her nose was even more delicate up close and a small stud earing decorated her left nostril. Her lashes looked impossibly long and she was taller in general. She was also wearing tight, army-green cut-off jean shorts, a black baggy t-shirt and sparkly Nike high-tops. Her pale hand had dainty fingers which had long nails and multiple rings and bracelets attached to it. I couldn’t help but think that if Aphrodite had made it to the modern times, she would be Lanthe.

“Did I pass the inspection?” she teased, surprisingly a laugh out of me when she twirled for me.

“You really did.” I responded with a chuckle, grateful that her nice attitude hadn’t just been pretend. I’d known many people who reeled you into their territories with smiles and kind words but turned into vicious snakes the next second. My mother was one of those people.

“You look spectacular. I always knew my son had great taste. I’m even more convinced now since he managed to bag a babe like you.” Lanthe’s smile was both teasing and genuine. I was in no way new to compliments but somehow, coming from Lanthe, they made me a bit bashful so I didn’t answer.

“How about you finish up here and then come to the next room over so we can talk. The kids already ate and Leukas is showing them around the house. I’ll ask the chef to make something for us while we talk. Do you have any allergies?

“No.” I responded.

“Perfect then. See you in a while.” Lanthe gave me another dazzling smile before walking off. Despite being done dressing up, I still closed the door in a panic. I was nervous. This talk that we were going to have would surely determine my fate. And Lanthe would be heading it I wasn’t sure if I would have preferred Jason to be the one I dealt with, after all, better the devil you know and all. I knew next to nothing about Lanthe except that she was extremely gorgeous and had the bluest and cleverest eyes.

The box of chocolates on the couch caught my eye and I walked over it and picked it up with a smile. A small note with simple hearts inside where attached to the transparent container which showed various shapes of different chocolates. I wasn’t a fan of chocolate myself but my children loved it so I kept them at the side table of the bed before strolling out towards the room Lanthe had directed me to. Despite being the next room over, it was a bit of a walk because of the huge sizes of the rooms.

I knocked gently when I got to a sky blue door and Lanthe answered the door, a replica of baby Adrian dozing on her arms. I would have guessed the baby was at least three years old, and he smiled at me shyly as Lanthe ushered me into the room and closed the door behind us. She must have noticed my look of wonder because she smiled again and motioned to the child who was watching me with a healthy dose of curiosity while laying his head on her shoulder as she lulled him.

“This is my son, Arsen Benedikt Hyades. We call him Bené.” Lanthe explained, motioning to the cute child. “And Bené, this is our special friend, Aleks. She’ll be staying with us for a while. Say hi.” Lanthe encouraged the child who shyly clutched her top and further hid himself around her. He was too cute.

“Oh my god.” I exclaimed in amazement. He was like the male and baby version of his mother. I had never seen a more beautiful male baby.

Lanthe laughed softly at whatever she saw on my face. “I know; the Hyades babies look exactly alike. Leukas looked exactly like this. Atlas and Jase too.”

“Atlas?” I asked absently, my eyes following Lanthe as she moved around what I soon noticed to be the most epic room for a kid that I had ever seen. It was forest-themed and the cot was made out like a log surrounded by strong sturdy vines. Besides the cot, a rocking chair had been shapes into a smiling, soft looking panda. The room was less windowed than mine but some sun shined through the windows even though the room remained darker. The floor beneath us was made of tiles resembling a forest ground complete with dirt and twigs and insect designs. The walls were painted a soft green and the lights-bulbs were giant leaves. The ceiling though was a cartoon version of a sky, with puffy clouds, a smiling sun and a friendly-looking moon. The door to the currently open big closet was depicted into a waterfall. Everything in the room was creative, exciting and very well done, so much that I almost missed when Lanthe concluded her sentence.

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“……Leukas’ twin brother.” She said, sticking a panda pacifier into Bené’s small mouth. His eyes were already closing and Lanthe was lovingly muttering to him as she walked slowly around the room.

“Leukas has a twin?” I asked, shocked. I never knew about that and the fact bothered me. I had met his sister once but I had never heard about a brother.

“Yes. The Hyades usually come in pairs” Lanthe laughed, giving his cute and sleepy son a small kiss. I might have cooed a little because Lanthe laughed quietly and promised I’d meet Bené properly when he wasn’t so sleepy.

******

Lanthe led me through Bené’s huge closet. The closet was surprisingly well lit, coolly conditioned and a pristine white in color. It looked like a ‘Toddlers r Us’ store and was filled to the core with various little clothes of all colors, small designer shoes and boots, little backpacks, some other toddler accessories and just about anything a small child could ever want or need to wear. The far left side of the room had a huge and fancy-looking, blue changing table. There was also a small shelf filled with different snacks that only a child could find absolute delight in; boxes of juice, colorful lollipops, packets of cheese puffs, and some more practical accessories like sippy cups and plates. There was also a small refrigerator and a kettle. Lanthe led us out of the closet, straight into a lift, and soon we were going upwards. The lift opened into a balcony of where I figured was the top part of the house. The view was absolutely breathtaking.

From up there, I could see the front of the house. The mansion was obviously bigger than I had suspected because it was a very long way down. At the front, beside the main entrance, was what, from up here, looked like a large pond that received water from a small waterfall that originated from…oh... Right beside me. The balcony we were in was completely blue and furnished with two long couches and a small table. Outside the small box we were in though came the sound of water, and yes, the waterfall came from somewhere there. At the front of the house, five big cars, a big swimming pool, some shrubs and hedges and the big and long paved driveway that led all the way to the water. The city was also visible from where we were. I could see tall buildings, this time the snow was absent, cars, boats in the sea, small dots of people moving about and large glowing billboards.

“Wow! Where are we?” I couldn’t help but comment. Lanthe simply smiled before motioning to the couch. She grabbed a jug of juice from another mini fridge and produced some glasses before filling them up and one over to me in question. I received it graciously, I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was, and took a generous gulp. She smiled again. She was evidently always smiling.

“I hope it’s fine that we’re drinking this. I’m pregnant and Jason will lose his absolute shit if he sees me drinking or anyone within three feet of me doing the same. I swear when I’m pregnant that man goes out of his way to drive me fucking bananas.” She said before taking a swift drink of her juice. I chocked on my spit and put my glass down when I heard her swear. She did not look like the swearing type. Not at all.

This time she downright laughed. “Close your mouth Aleks, just because my son isn’t inclined to swear and my husband acts pretentious all the time doesn’t mean I don’t swear. These people grew up filthy rich, I had to swear and scratch for every single bite of food till I was fifteen. Then I head to work very hard for it.”

“Really?” I asked. Lanthe was so pretty, perfect and refined. I would have bet my last dollar that she had been born rich.

This time she simply nodded but didn’t offer any more, I sure as hell wasn’t to ask, so, for a while we just drank juice and watched the view.

“To answer your question, this is The Kingdom of Abattohn; the Northeastern Kingdom of Azzuire. Some call it the land of gold, and others refer to it as ‘A place not to be entered’. It is a country in a location that is hard to quite explain, one that pays lots of money to keep it as secretive and as hidden as it is. We do not partake in any international trade because the less people know about us the better. Jason is the ruler here, he is referred to as the Supreme, I’m his Prima, and this place has some of the most advanced technology you’ll ever see. Everyone is family here and the only way anyone can enter this fold and be considered a citizen is through marriage.” Lanthe stood from the couch and sighed before looking towards the distant city silently for a while.

“We find ourselves in a particularly sticky situation with the recent developments in Leukas’ life, because, only a few months ago he committed to a marriage with someone else. She and Leukas grew up together and they decided to get married, and we agreed because their union will be beneficial to everyone involved and well, it was supposed to be fate. They were supposed to be meant to be.” I couldn’t help my blank expression when I looked at Lanthe. She looked nervous and she was babbling, as if I deserved any explanations or justifications. As if I was anyone at all to Leukas.

“Well, uhm, it’s all become a bit complicated now because as per our agreement with the girl’s family, Leukas would not have any children between now and three months from now, that’s when the wedding is scheduled. This ……development is something that we need to address accordingly because the kids will have to be recognized as Hyades.”

Her eyes were sad when they looked at me; pitiful even. Did she see how my heart had frozen at the word ’engaged’? Had she heard the remaining shards of my heart break? Had she seen my long collapsed world burn to ashes?