***
Elly was amazed at how many people were at the luncheon. The children had been at the mansion now for over a week, and they hadn't met more than a handful of people. Elly guessed there were easily a hundred guests wandering around the main floor enjoying the festivities. She wasn't sure where they had all been hiding, or if they had all just arrived the day earlier, but the mansion was now full of life of all ages.
"Elly," she heard her older brother yell her name from close by.
"Hello," Elly answered. She walked over to Hunter, Alistair, and the girl she saw earlier.
"This is my cousin, Olivia Lee-Kay," Alistair told her.
"Just call me Liv," she corrected with a pleasant smile. Liv was twelve, and the daughter of one of the most respected figures in the estate, Abram Williams Winters. She was tall and slender; her father always told her she had blossomed a bit too early into a beautiful young woman for his taste. She was often mistaken for being much older than she really was, though she hated it when people made reference to it. Liv shared Alistair's blonde hair and soft blue eyes. Elly thought they could easily pass as brother and sister.
"It's very nice to meet you," she reached her hand out and shook Elly's softly. "You're brother told me you'd been hurt. Are you okay?"
"Oh yes, I'm feeling much better. I don't remember too much of it anyway."
"Um, Liv," Hunter interrupted, "can I get you some more punch?"
Elly shot her brother an annoyed look for butting in, and he returned it with a slight sympathetic shrug.
"Sure, thank you." Liv smiled back, handing Hunter her Styrofoam cup.
"C'mon, Alistair, follow me." Hunter pulled his new friend away from the girls.
"How come you didn't tell me?" Hunter leaned in closer to Alistair and whispered as he nervously poured two plastic cups full of fruit punch.
"Umm… tell you what?" Alistair asked, a bit puzzled over the accusation. "Are you going to pour me one too?"
"That your cousin was a girl!" Hunter poured a third glass and handed it to him a bit forcefully, spilling a little bit of punch onto the floor.
"What do you mean? So what? She's a girl," Alistair stated. He could tell that Hunter was a bit edgy.
"I mean… c'mon… I just would have liked to have known. You know, err… been prepared."
"You're being weird," Alistair replied bluntly. "Be prepared for what? Is that why you've barely said anything since my dad introduced you to her?"
"Well, no, that's not why…" Hunter's face turned red. Liv was undoubtedly pretty, even beautiful in Hunter's eyes. He had had crushes before, but he never spoke a word to any of them. Nor did he dare tell any of his friends or family in lieu of the embarrassment. Now he had been cornered in an awkward situation where he was forced to try and make small talk with a pretty girl. Instead, he just stood there laughing over every small joke and fiddling with his sweaty hands behind his back.
Hunter knew that Alistair didn't understand, or put him in that position on purpose. He just wished he had known he would be forced to speak with a pretty girl; he would have had all night to practice what to say, or at least that was his excuse.
"You're brother is pretty quiet." Liv pulled out an open seat at a nearby table for Elly and her to sit.
"Uh… he is?" Elly was shocked. Her brother was known for having the gift of gab. He would never shut up around the house.
"He seems nice though. Is he just shy?"
"Ha, no," Elly joked. "My brother is a loud mouth."
"My dad told me what happened. I'm really sorry about your parents."
"Oh…" Elly didn't know how to respond when someone brought up her parents, so she quickly changing the subject. "Who's your dad?"
"Right over there, and it looks like he's arguing with my uncle again." Liv pointed across the room where a tall, tanned, muscular man with thin, balding hair that was pulled tightly back into a ponytail stood. He seemed to be having a heated conversation with Dominick. Her father's name was Abram. He was in his mid-forties, a bit older than Elly's parents. His face curled up and scowled intensely as he pointed his finger in Dominick's face.
"You're an insult!" Abram's voice cut through the murmurs of the crowd, causing the party to come to a sudden halt. Everyone turned their attention to the quarrel now on display.
"Right!" Dominick yelled back in a mocking fashion. "I'm the insult? Because you were lucky enough to be born eight years before me and blessed by the bloodline," he yelled back.
"You're an insult for betraying the Seekers. You're nothing but a damn sell out!" Abram got into his younger cousin's face. The two stood nose to nose, both men's eyes wild with anger.
"I was never a Seeker! Remember?" Dominick shot back heatedly. He stared into Abram's eyes with a jealous rage. "Seekers are only for the chosen, remember? So your precious little secret society can go to hell!"
"How dare you insult our family?" Abram clenched his fist.
Ben had shot through the growing crowd and grabbed his older cousin's arm to prevent him throwing a punch. He nearly didn't make it, as Abram had already pulled back ready to let his fists finish the conversation. Patricia had also now made her way into the midst of the dispute, wedging herself between the two men.
"Both of you stop it! Act like adults!" Patricia barked, her face filled with embarrassment. "Dominick, don't you have a job to do?" she asked.
"This isn't over, Abram, not by a long shot. I'm not your little lackey anymore." Dominick turned his back and stormed out, pushing aside anyone in his way.
"Calm down, cuz, it's not worth it. Let him go," Ben attempted to cool down Abram's flaring rage.
"I'm… I'm sorry." It took Abram a second to realize the scene he had caused. "Sometimes my anger… it gets the better of me."
"Please, everyone, enjoy the party. I assure you, everything is fine," Patricia said loudly for all to hear. "We will speak later, Abram," she whispered.
"What was all that about?" Hunter handed Liv her drink.
"Oh my God… I'm so embarrassed." Liv hid her face in her hands.
"It's okay," Elly said, smiling. "It wasn't that big of a fight. I doubt most people even noticed." Elly knew that was a lie. The entire party had stopped and turned its attention to the quarrel, and now that it had ceased, the gossip began. At least they weren't talking about Elly anymore.
"That's not true, everyone grouped around them. It was so childish!" she barked.
"Children." Margot and Patricia made their way over to them with Uncle Joe and Benjamin following closely behind. "Are you guys okay?" asked Margot.
"Just embarrassed," Liv answered.
"I'm sure your father is sorry, Liv," her Uncle Ben replied. "I'm sure you know the history between your father and his cousin. There's a lot of bad blood with our family and Dominick. I'm surprised Professor Calenstine even hired him."
"He didn't have to act that way in front of everyone in the mansion." Liv's eyes filled with tears.
"Come now, dear, come with me. You're going to smear your makeup," said Patricia. "It's going to be all right, I'll make sure to yell at your father for you," Patricia joked.
Patricia parted with Liv, leaving the group behind while they finished eating their brunch. Hunter had felt a sense of relief now that Liv had left with Ms. Ellingbee, although he felt terrible for how upset she had been. At least now he didn't have to over-think everything he said.
"What was that fight about anyway?" Elly asked. "Dominick saved us from that monster; he can't be a bad person."
"Well, there's a bit more to it than that, very complicated, maybe we can fill you kids in later," answered Ben.
"Interesting day so far." Uncle Joe took a seat next to Margot. "Wonder what's going to happen next?"
"Oh my!" Margot's face lit up with a giant smile. Her whole demeanor suddenly changed. Her face promptly turned red and her eyes watered up.
Joe looked confused, unable to figure out the sudden change in her mood when she finally spo
ke.
"He came?" She got up quickly from the table, her hands trembling with excitement.
"Who came?" asked Joe quietly.
"He did," Ben said, pointing over Joe's shoulder.
A charming young man had just entered the mansion doors. Joe was a bit confused. He wondered how Margot and the man knew each other. The man was sharply handsome wearing a stylish white tuxedo and a dark velvet red vest. He was the sort of person who walked into a room and drew all the attention, easily captivating others purely through his presence. He smiled and nodded as an usher took his jacket and scarf. The handsome man's eyes darted through the party, looking for Margot. Once their eyes met, they both took off toward one another. Joe sat by and watched as the beautiful Margot flew into the man's arm. He swung her elegantly around before deeply kissing her in front of everyone.
"That my friend Sebastian," answered Ben. "Sorry, I thought she would have told you"
"Sebastian? A boyfriend?" asked Joe.
"Well, a fiancé actually," Ben replied.
"A fiancé, really? That's so neat!" Elly was excited.
"What's wrong, Uncle Joey, you look sad," said Hunter.
"No… of course not," Joe replied, a little taken aback at the sight. "Nothing to be sad about, right?" He turned away from the sight and forced a smile.
"C'mon, bud, let's go grab a drink," said Ben as he patted his friend sympathetically on the back. Uncle Joe nodded and stood up without saying a word to the kids.
"I need a stiff one," Joe said plainly.
"We'll see about that," Ben answered before looking back towards the children. "We'll be back soon," he noted.
"Okay," said Alistair.
"Uncle Joe seemed sad," Hunter stated, finishing off the last sip of his punch.
"I think he has a crush on Margot," Alistair answered. "He seemed pretty sad when she jumped into that man's arms and kissed him."
"He shouldn't be sad-weddings are fun," Elly added.
"I guess…" said Hunter, "unless the person you like is marrying a stranger."
"Sssh, she's coming," Alistair whispered.
Margot and the handsome man named Sebastian held hands as they made their way over to the children's table. Margot was enthusiastic about the sudden arrival of her fiancé, and her emotions got the best of her. Hunter noticed that Sebastian was much taller than he had thought from afar.
"Children, where did Joe and Ben go? I wanted to introduce everyone to Sebastian Bell," said Margot.
"Umm… well, they just left," Hunter said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Oh…" Margot looked disappointed. "Well, Sebastian, this is Hunter, Elly, and Alistair. Kids, this is Sebastian. He surprised me today by showing up."
"Hi, kids, I've heard a lot about you." Sebastian's voice was deep and strangely alluring.
"Hi!" Elly caught herself staring into his mysterious grey eyes.
"Well, aren't you the prettiest girl in the room." Sebastian smiled. "If Margot isn't too jealous, would you honor me with a dance?"
"Oh, well of course not," replied Margot.
"After you, my dear." Sebastian held out his hand to Elly, who turned bright red.
"I don't know how to dance…"
"Well, Sebastian's a great teacher," Margot added.
"Okay then." Elly stood up and was quickly whisked away by Sebastian onto the dance floor.
"Margot, we didn't know you had a boyfriend," Hunter said.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess with everything going on, I just didn't think of it." Margot didn't quite know what to say. "He's been on a trip overseas for months now. He completely surprised me. I didn't expect him home for another month."
"Oh, okay," Hunter replied.
The rest of the brunch was a bit uneventful, which was okay with Hunter and Alistair, who both spent the rest of the quiet afternoon alone wondering about the big mysterious ‘Orientation' dinner later that evening. Hunter was ready for some real answers and was excited to finally meet his elusive new guardian, Professor Calenstine. Once the dust settled and the brunch withered away to a few lingering guests picking at the crumbs and leftovers from the buffet table, the children decided to make their way back to their room and eagerly await the ‘Orientation.'