Aiden and Evangeline walked together, down the dirt path, through the woods, talking as they did, as they were heading back to the cabin.
"You're going to like my mom. She's super nice, but she can be very scary when she gets angry. But, her jambalaya is to die for! She says it's an old family recipe."
"She sounds wonderful," Evangeline replied. Aiden smiled.
"She is!"
"But, I do have one question though. So far you only talked about your mother, but not your father," Evangeline asked. "Do you have one?" Aiden's eyes widen before stopping.
"Oh, um, my dad? Hmm," Aiden thought for a moment, scratching his head. "Well, I know he likes music, like I do. He liked Jazz and old classical music the same as me. I also favored some of the late 80's music. From what I can remember, he was kind of dorky and weird and tells really bad dad jokes. My mom said that my magic came from him."
"Does he still live you and your mom?" Evangeline asked.
"No, he left when I was six," Aiden sighed, sadly. Evangeline's glanced over at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to open any old wounds," she said, concerned. She frowned, angrily. "But, I can't believe that your father would just up and leave you both like that! That jerk!" Aiden's eyes widen.
"No, no, no! You've got the wrong idea!" he answered, shaking his head and laughed. "When I said that he left, I meant that he passed on." Evangeline's eyes widen as her cheeks turned red, completely embarrassed.
"Oh, you mean he's up there!" she pointed out. Aiden nodded.
"It's just been me and my mom for now. It's been kind of hard for the two of us. Sometimes late at night, I can hear my mom crying. On others, she would wake up screaming like she's having a bad nightmare. She tries to hide it but I know that she's not happy. So, I have to be strong for the both of us."
"Aiden, I-...there's something that I need to tell you-" Evangeline tried to say but Aiden interrupted her.
"We're here!" he shouted and ran up the stairs, opening the door.
Evangeline followed him, walking inside. As Aiden shut the door, Evangeline took a look around the cabin. There were a couple of chairs near a fireplace while a headpiece of a buck rested above it. On the mantle, were a couple of family photos. Some were of Anna's parent's, other's were of her and Aiden together, pictures of him as a baby, and Alastor with his mom. Evangeline saw a picture sitting by itself on a table and walked over to it, picking it up. It had Anna, Alastor and Aiden together in it. From what she had seen, this was the only picture of them all together.
"Mom! Mom! Look what I found!" Aiden called out, excitedly. He noticed that Michael wasn't around anywhere. He assumed that he must have left. He sighed, disappointed, pouting. He was really looking forward to doing his shadow show too! Evangeline saw Anna walked out of the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Aiden until she noticed Evangeline. She walked over to them.
"You're a bit too young to start bringing ladies home, Aiden," Anna teased, pulling on her son's big ears. Aiden blushed, his ears turning red.
"Mom!" he brushed her hand away stepping over to Evangeline introducing her to his mother. "This is Evangeline!"
"Evangeline?" Anna said. "That's a pretty and unusual name." She turned to Evangeline, looking at her.
"Do your parents know that you're here, Evangeline? I'm sure that they are probably worried, especially this late."
"I don't have parents," Anna's eyes widen in surprise then turned concerned. Was this girl a runaway and she doesn't want her to know? Or did something happen? She hummed.
"Well, you can stay here until we figure something out." Aiden and Evangeline's eyes widen in shock.
"Really, mama?!" Aiden asked, happily. Anna nodded, smiling.
"Yes, and you're just in time to help!" she said. "Go up stairs and wash up then you can help cut some of the vegetables."
Aiden took Evangeline's hand and ran upstairs, leaving his mother. Anna smiled as she watched them go up then walked back into the kitchen to place out the vegetables on the table. Aiden lead Evangeline into his room and walked into the bathroom to wash his hands. Evangeline looked around his room as he did. Strangely enough, there was a bunk bed in the corner of the room. The wall papers had a forest theme and deer on them. There was a desk that had some drawings and sketches of animals and that Aiden drew, some taped to the wall. There were some instruments, like a guitar and keyboard lying on the floor, as well as some clothes and shoes.
Beside her was a shelf that was filled with stuffed animals and wierd dolls that looked hand made. One was a man wearing a white suit and top hat with curly blond hair and red rosy cheeks. Beside him, was a woman with long flowing curly blond hair with horns on the top of her head, wearing a black dress. Another was a woman with wavy blond hair with rosy cheeks wearing a white shirt and black suspenders and bow tie. Beside her was a another woman with light grey hair covering one of her eye and a pink x, wearing a grey tank top and skirt and striped stockings.
Next to them, was one that looked like spider, wearing a pink and white striped suit. Beside him, was a black and white cat wearing a black top hat with a card on it, with red wings who had poker designs on them. Last, was a woman that looked like a cyclops with fiery red hair and a dress with a black poodle on it. Sitting next to her, was a a man that looked like a fish with black hair wearing a black buttoned lab coat.
However, there were two that drew her attention. Sitting in the middle, there were two mini voo doo dolls. One was a female who had light tan and brown hair and on the top of her head were ears shaped like a deer and she was also wearing Anna's shirt. The other one as a male who had blood red hair, with black tips and deer ears on the top of his head, the same color and style. He was also wearing a red pinstriped suit and monocle. Aiden came out of the bathroom to see Evangeline staring at his collection, mostly at the two dolls that looked like his parents.
"Oh, those are my favorite! My mom made those when I was born," he told her.
"Hey kids, last chance to help out with dinner!" Anna called out, downstairs. Aiden's eyes widen.
"Wait! Don't start yet!" he shouted.
Evangeline and him came down stairs, meeting Anna in the kitchen. She was stirring a pot and pointed at the table.
"The ingredients are over there, get to chopping!" she told them. Aiden and Evangeline walked over and sat down, picking up their knives and started to cut the vegetables. Evangeline stared at the tomato in front of her and tried to slice it but was struggling to hold it while she did so. Aiden noticed that she was having a bit of trouble.
"Like this!" he showed her how to do so. Evangeline nodded. As they finished cutting up the vegetables, Evangeline noticed that Aiden's were perfectly sliced and chopped up, while hers were uneven and mashed.
"You're really good at this," Aiden smiled.
"I've been doing this for years," he told her. "I guess it's sort of a talent!"
Anna smiled as she walked over to the table carrying the pot with jambalaya.
"Okay, go ahead and add the vegetables to it," she told them. Aiden and Evangeline tossed their pieces into the pot while Anna stirred it until it was done. She walked over to a cupboard and opened it placing out the plates. One for Aiden, Evangeline and herself. She poured some of the jambalaya into the plates and sat down. Aiden immediately was slurping down his food and munching down on the shrimp, while Evangeline was staring at hers. Anna noticed that she wasn't eating.
"Try it!" she assured her. "I promise that it's good!"
Evangeline took her spoon and took a small sip from it. She felt a multitude of flavors hit her tongue. It had a spicy, sweet, but also a robust taste to it. She immediately helped herself to some more.
"See, I told you!" Anna smiled and chuckled.
"It's so good!" Evangeline answered.
"I'm glad that you liked it," Anna told her "It was Alastor's mother's-"
Suddenly, Anna was interrupted when there was a knock on the door. The three of them, turned towards it, confused.
"Who could that be so late in the evening?" Anna wondered as she got up and walked over to the front door, opening it.
"Yes, can I help you-!"
Her eyes widened in shock then turning into horror and gasped.
"N-no..." she said, fearfully, backing away. Cold steely eyes stared back into hers, piercing right through her soul. "It can't be..."
Standing in front of her, was Gabriel and another angel.