Chapter Nine
A New Family
"My daughter?" Vaughn repeated.
"Dear, who's at the door?" a shrill female voice called from inside the house. A skinny woman in a full light blue skirt with blond hair piled into a tight, pulling her glittering gray eyes back. She put her small hand on Vaughn's arm, a gold band glittering on her ring finger.
"Apparently, my daughter," Vaughn told her, his voice snide and cruel. The woman laughed, her voice catty and mean.
"Sir Vaughn, I promise I am," Celeste insisted. "I'm Calista's daughter. I have a letter from her that states that you are my father."
"Calista?" Vaughn repeated. "We never had a child."
"Who's Calista?" the woman wondered, not jealous, merely curious.
"An old girl who thought she was in love with me," Vaughn replied. "I stopped seeing her, though, when I discovered she practiced the magical arts."
"You mean you left her because she was a sorceress?" Celeste asked.
"I don't converse with people who deal with the Devil's arts," Vaughn snapped. "And if you really are my daughter you'll understand that."
"Here," Celeste offered and pulled the folded paper out of her mother's bag at her waist. "This is the letter. I was hoping that when you realized I was your daughter I could stay with you, be a family, and find out who I am."
Vaughn took it in his large meaty hands and quickly scanned it, his eyes narrowing as he read further. When he finally looked up he whispered to his wife and they conversed quickly and quietly. When they parted Celeste could swear her heart was frozen with fear. If her father wouldn't take her where could she go?
"Your name. Celeste, isn't it?" Vaughn finally asked.
"Yes," Celeste answered.
"Calista gave it to you?" Vaughn continued.
"Yes," Celeste said again.
"I don't like it," Vaughn said. "It's a sorceress's name. And I will not have a sorceress in my home."
"Uh….Then what would like my name to be?" the black haired girl wondered.
"What about Della," the woman suggested, smiling at her husband. "You always said if we had a daughter then we'd name her Della."
"Alright," Celeste, now Della, replied. "Della it is."
"It'll do," Vaughn sighed. "Now, listen Della. We have three sons, all under the age of eight and we need a nanny. If you'd like to stay here you'll have to do that."
"Sure," Della agreed, pushing a white streak of hair behind her ear, ready to agree to anything as long as she could stay.
"And don't expect us to tell the whole kingdom you're my daughter," Vaughn added. "That will have to stay a secret. If anyone knew my reputation will be ruined."
"I understand," Della replied.
"Well, then, come on in," Vaughn sighed and opened the door wider, letting Della walk into the lavish manor and into her new life.
Vaughn introduced Della to his wife, Trinity, and then showed her to a dusty room that used to belong to one of their maids before he'd fired her. The room was no bigger than a broom closet and had a thin mattress with an old gray blanket. A thin window on the one wall let in a few beams of silver moon light. Trinity told her to go to sleep and that she would meet the boys tomorrow. Grateful and happy, though she was a little concerned about the room since she had been hoping for something else, she laid down and fell asleep, dreaming about the possibilities of her future.
"The boys sleep up here," Trinity told Della as they climbed up the stairs of one of the three towers. She had gotten a nice sleep, despite the conditions. "You'll spend most of your time up here as well, watching little Riley. He's only a few months old. Avery, my eight year old boy, will spend most of his time outside with his father. And Koby, he's five, will come and go. Any questions?"
"I don't think so," Della replied.
"Wonderful," Trinity said. "The servants will be running errands throughout the manor. Pay them no mind. If they ask, say you're our new nanny. If any of them start to get too nosey, let me know. Vaughn doesn't want anyone finding out who you really are.
"I don't even know that is," Della thought, her hand brushing the dust from the stone wall as she climbed up the endless staircase.
"Is there going to be any time for me to get know my fath- Vaughn?" Della asked, stumbling over the correction.
"Maybe later," Trinity replied, not really caring, as they reached the wooden door that led to the boy's room. "For now, just take care of my boys."
"Will do," Della promised, though she felt let down. She really wanted to know her father, learn what made them the same.
"Boys!" Trinity called as she walked into the room. It was circular, with two beds and a crib in the back. Tall shelves flanked one wall and a fireplace sat on the other side, a few coals still smoldering. A colorful rug covered the stone floor and windows let in bright early morning sunlight.
A tall boy, about the height of Trinity's stomach, ran forward and embraced his mother. His hair was dirty blond and his eyes were gray, but young and bright. He had a smile that was missing a few teeth and chubby cheeks. Della felt her knees buckle when she saw the dark circle around his irises. It just hit that these three boys she was going to be watching were her half-brothers. They were her family.
"Mummy, Avery took my sword!" another boy, this one smaller with darker hair and eyes, howled from his seat on the floor near the fireplace, his hand hovering over the coals to warm them. He was clearly the five year old, Koby. Della noticed that the boy clinging to his mother's leg, Avery, did indeed have a small wooden sword in his fat fist.
"Well then, you'll have to take it back from him," Trinity told her son and went over to a crib in the back of the room, pushing Avery away. "As your father says, a man takes what he wants."
Della frowned. That didn't seem like good parenting or advice.
"Then give it back!" Koby yelled at Avery. He stood up and ran forward. Avery rolled his eyes and whacked his brother with the wooden sword while their mother pulled a baby with light blond hair and glittering gray eyes out of the crib. He was small, much smaller than he should have been.
"Della," Trinity called and she walked forward. "This is little Riley. Take very good care of him."
"I will," Della assured her and took the baby in her arms. He blinked at her lazily then closed his eyes, seeking sleep.
"Boys," Trinity said and her two sons who were fighting on the floor looked up. "This is Della. She's your new nanny."
"Hello," they both greeted then went back to fighting for the wooden sword.
Trinity sighed at their antics then quickly left the room, vanishing back down the stairs. Della watched the two boys fight and, after a few moments, couldn't take it anymore. She put Riley back in his crib then walked over to the quarrelling boys.
"Hey!" they exclaimed as Della plucked the sword from them and put it on a high shelf.
"Give it back or I'll tell Mummy!" Avery demanded, his pasty face red with anger. Della just shook head and sat down on the ground.
"Now why would you do that when I can give you something better?" she asked.
"What can you give us?" Koby wondered, toddling towards her. "You're poor."
"Maybe," Della replied. "But I wasn't always. Let's go outside and I promise you'll like it."
The two boys glanced at each other before they nodded. Della smiled, picked up Riley, and together they descended the long long staircase.
"So the rules of horseshoes are simple," Della told them. She had taken the boys to their gardens and found their stables which had plenty of horse shoes and a peg for her to use. She remembered when she went to the Tri-Kingdom picnic that all the princes of Enchancia really liked the game flying horseshoes. But since Della's father didn't have any of those, she made due with what she had.
She had drawn a line in the dirt and stuck the peg in the ground. Then she went over the rules with the boys and gave them each three horseshoes. They threw them and had fun, laughing and mocking each other as they missed, while Della watched from the sidelines, holding and playing with baby Riley.
For about an hour they played, the sun warming their skin. The boys even let Della take a few turns, though she was horrible at it. For once in her life, she began to understand the love of siblings. She did really enjoy her time with her half-brothers. They were starting to feel like real brothers.
But then Vaughn came storming around the manor, a dark green tunic and helmet on, sword in its hilt at his hip. His face was red with anger and his dark eyes were narrowed.
"Avery!" he barked. "You missed training!"
The little boy jumped, still holding a horseshoe he'd been about to throw, and turned to his father, small limbs trembling.
"The servants have been looking all over the manor for you and you're in the garden playing some party game?" Vaughn roared. Avery took a step back. Koby dropped to all fours and crawled over to Della, digging his face into her skirt. Watching her brothers, trembling and afraid, Della decided she needed to step in.
"It's my fault," she told her father, standing up. She passed Riley to Koby who held him clumsily. Then Della walked over and put a hand on Avery's shoulder, pulling him behind her. "I didn't know he had training and the boys were getting restless so I took them outside. If anyone is to blame, I am. And I apologize."
Vaughn looked like he was debating kicking her out of his house. But after a while he just shook his head.
"Just because you've dropped into our lives, girl, doesn't mean you can change how we do things around here," he exclaimed. "Avery has training with me every morning from eight to eleven on the weekends when he's not at school at the Junior Knights Academy. Then in afternoon Koby, and Avery if it's the weekend, both have training with me from one to six. No exceptions!"
"I'm sorry," Della apologized again. "It won't happen again."
"It better not," Vaughn growled and Della didn't miss the flexing of his fists. Then Vaughn grabbed Avery's arm and pulled him away, towards training. Della noticed how the bright light faded from his grey eyes and his head hung low, sad and depressed.
Koby stood up and carried Riley over to Della who had started to fuss. She cradled him in her arms, trying to calm him down, while Koby hid in her skirt again.
"It'll be alright," Della assured both the boys. She crouched down so she could look at Koby. "Why don't we go do something else?"
"Like what?" Koby asked.
"Hmm," she thought. "How about we look for something. Some little boys I knew loved looking in gardens for little green snakes." The memory of the princes of Enchancia covered in dirt, holding a small green squirming snake while Ruby screamed brought a smile to Della's face.
"Okay," Koby agreed and he and Della ran into the garden, searching under bushes and stones, the fear and sadness gone from the little boy.
By lunchtime Koby had found two green garden snakes which he proudly showed his mother at the dining hall, a grand room with brown walls and a wooden table for the family and guests to dine at. She just about fainted when Koby dropped the snakes on the white table cloth.
"Get those vile things out of here!" she screeched. Della dashed forward and grabbed them, though doing so made her squirm. She slipped them in her pockets, promising to Koby they'd be safe, then tried to calm Trinity down with the smelling salts a servant had brought.
After everyone had calmed down Trinity sent Della to the servants' quarters to eat lunch. A little shocked and offended, she left, passing Vaughn and Avery in the halls. Both were sweating and Avery had a black eye.
"What happened?" Della gasped and was instantly at her brother's side, examining it. There were also little cuts all over his face, red with drips of blood, that she hadn't noticed before.
"Oh, the boy just needs to get quicker on his feet," Vaughn muttered. "Now run along, girl. You have things to do after lunch."
"Sir Vaughn, may I talk with you for a moment?" Della requested, staying where she was. "Alone?"
"No," Vaughn replied, glaring at her. "Now run along."
Della frowned and glanced at Avery who was gesturing for her to leave, his gray eyes wide with fear. Della sighed, kissed her brother's bruise, and whispered get well wishes in his ear. Then she dashed to the dusty servants' quarters for a lunch of chicken broth and stale bread.
The next morning Della made the long climb up to the boys' room as fast as she could. At dinner, after training with their father, both Koby and Avery had been bruised up. Della had used every salve and medicine she could find in the house to help with their pain and swelling. As she had, she'd noticed scars all over the boys that she hadn't seen before. Now she was worried that they'd get further injured today.
But when she came to the room she found Avery and Koby standing over the crib, their eyes concerned as their youngest brother cried. Worried, Della walked up to them.
"What's wrong?" she asked the boys. Koby's dark eyes never left his blond brother but Avery turned to her, his missing tooth smile nowhere to be found.
"Riley isn't feeling well. He kept crying last night and now he's really hot," he told her. Della sucked in a deep breath and felt the baby's skin. It was definitely feverish. Worry began to knot her stomach. Riley was already a small child and he was very young. Fevers could be dangerous, perhaps even deadly.
"Avery, Koby," Della said, her voice shaking slightly. "Go find your parents. Tell them I sent you." The boys hesitated. "Now!"
They dashed out of the room, tripping over their feet, spurred on by their nanny's worry. For what felt like forever, Della paced the circular room, listening to Riley's cries.
Finally, Vaughn and Trinity arrived, led by their sons. Vaughn looked angry but Trinity looked merely curious. Avery and Koby both ran over to Della as soon as they entered the room.
"What's going on?" Trinity asked.
"Riley has a fever," Della told them, slowly and carefully. Trinity instantly became worried and dashed over to her son who was still crying. Vaughn's fingers curled into fists and he glared at Della.
"How did this happen?" he demanded.
"I don't know," Della admitted.
"I think you do!" Vaughn yelled, beginning to pace. "Ever since you knocked on our door, our sons have suffered! First Avery is late for his training and you tell Koby to stop being a man! Now Riley's sick! You're a plague on this house, a mistake!"
The words cut deep into Della's heart. Was that truly all she was?
"No, I promise I didn't mean it," Della whimpered, tears in her eyes. Avery and Koby took her hands, trying to offer comfort to the first person who showed them kindness. Vaughn noticed this and stormed forward while his wife tried to comfort her baby.
"Get away from my sons!" he roared and pushed Della and the boys apart. The boys stumbled to the floor while Della fell into the fireplace, the smoldering coals and tiny flames sending zips of pain up her nerves. She quickly leapt out and beat the flames before she was burned too badly. But now the dress she had took from the palace was charred and blackened and parts of her skin were pink with burns. The boys crawled backwards so their backs were pressed against a shelf, their eyes watching Della with fear.
"Vaughn…." Trinity started. But he just spun and glared at her so she stepped back, cradling a crying Riley against her chest.
"Now fix my son!" Vaughn ordered Della, spinning back to her.
"I can't," she told him. "He needs a doctor."
"Fine!" Vaughn exclaimed and left, storming down the stairs. Trinity placed Riley in his crib, still crying, and followed her husband. Then Della dashed over and began to look Avery and Koby over for injuries.
"Are you two okay?" she asked them.
"We're fine," Avery replied.
"You're hurt," Koby exclaimed, pointing at the shiny pink burns on her skin. Della quickly covered them with her dress, adjusting herself so they couldn't' be seen.
"I'll be fine," Della assured them. The boys nodded and Koby smile slightly. But Della was worried. For the first time, she realized the full power of her father and what her brothers had been living with for years.
