Chapter 2
Horace had never dreamed like this before. He was surrounded entirely by blackness and faint shapes, no sound or light in any part of his vision. He squinted at the shapes, which were starting to move slightly. There were about three of them, all of them appearing humanoid. He faintly recognized the faint buzzing in his ears as low whispers. He sighed in relief as the image before him cleared and then gasped, his eyes wide. The four figures were of a married couple and their sons, a small boy about 6 years old with slicked back black hair, merry hazel eyes, and square glasses that just barely sat on the edge of his nose. The other looked like an older, ten year old copy of the boy, but his hair was a light brown and curly, like his mother's. The four of them were sitting around a table eating breakfast. The little boy was happily spooning globs of a yellow liquid into his mouth, content.
"Hugh Frederick Apiston, if you eat that entire jar of honey by yourself you're going to get a horrid stomach ache!" the woman scolded in a thick Irish accent, the flowers on the table beginning to wilt as she grew annoyed. I gasped and my eyes widened. This was Hugh's past? It must've been. I blinked and chuckled softly as the young Hugh pouted and folded his arms across his chest, the spoon dripping golden honey onto the table from its position in his hands.
"But mum," he whined, his British accent emphasizing his reluctance, "it's so good! Please can I keep eating it?" he said almost begging. Mrs. Apiston shook her head, a slight smile spreading across her features. Hugh sighed and put the cap back on the jar, getting up and waddling over to a cupboard and sticking the jar inside. The older boy sniggered and turned back to his toast. Hugh plopped back into his chair and scowled at him, sticking out his tongue. A lone bee flew out of his mouth and straight for the boy's face.
"Take that, Liam!" Hugh sneered at the boy, apparently Liam shrieked and swatted wildly at the bee. Hugh gasped as Liam took off one of his shoes and swatted at the bee again, a slight smirk on his lips. Hugh screeched as the shoe came down on top of the bee with a loud smack.
"You killed him, Liam! You killed Henry! He wasn't going to hurt you or anything! And you killed him!" Hugh cried, his lip quivering. The bee's wing twitched feebly and Hugh sniffed, gently picking up the bee and setting it in his palm. He looked up at Liam with round, begging, imploring, and tear filled eyes. A silent conversation seemed to occur between the two when Liam snickered and shook his head, turning away from his brother. Hugh started to cry silently and stroked the bee with his finger as gently as he could. Mr. Apiston sighed and set down his morning paper, glaring sternly at Hugh's older brother. Horace shook his head in amazement. They acted as if Hugh's peculiarity was normal.
"Liam, fix Hugh's bee," he commanded, his eye twitching slightly and a gentle wind starting to pick up around him. Liam shook his head and pushed his glasses up his nose, clearly annoyed. "No. He has hundreds more, why should I? Besides, he was going to sting me!" Liam retorted. Hugh growled angrily and shook his head vigorously, shoving his hands in Liam's face.
"That's a lie and you know it! Henry wouldn't sting unless he absolutely has to! He's one if my sweetest friends! And besides, I wouldn't have let him if he wanted too! All of my bees know about your allergies!" Hugh exclaimed, and he started to sniffle again. "Please fix him... He was my first bee," Hugh said softly. Liam shifted uncomfortably and tried to avoid Hugh's heartbroken eyes. Eventually he sighed and took the bed from Hugh, setting in his palm. He closed his eyes and the bee glowed briefly before flying off of his hand and landing on the tip of his nose. Liam swallowed and seemed to hold his breath as the bee sat there. Hugh giggled and opened his mouth for Henry to fly back into. When that was done, he smiled.
"That's Henry's way of saying he likes you!" Hugh said triumphantly, making Horace chuckle a bit. Liam rolled his eyes and stared at the table, but a satisfied smile could be seen. Mrs. Apiston smiled at the two boys affectionately before the scene faded. Horace was once again in the darkness.
To say Horace was surprised was an understatement. He was honestly in complete and utter shock. Hugh had never, ever talked about his family, which didn't surprise him much, but what really shocked him was that the entire family seemed to have peculiarities! Liam obviously had the ability to heal. Mrs. Apiston must have had the ability to manipulate plants since the flowers wilted when she grew annoyed, and the same for Mr. Apiston, but with wind. As Millard had stated numerous times in the past, it was extremely rare for two peculiars to have a peculiar child, let alone two! Horace shook his head in amazement, waiting for the next part of his vision.
