Chapter 19

After Amara had picked up the inner scouts, she called Serena to let her and the others know that they were on their way. Serena quickly fixed Kacy's dress and hair before taking her into her bedroom. Everyone took a seat around the room and waited. Amara knocked on the door and then entered.
"Welcome back, Amara," said Michelle with a smile.
"I'm glad to see that smile's back," said Amara as she held the door open for the inner scouts. "Sorry about earlier."
"It's okay," said Michelle.
"Hey guys," said Serena, once she saw the scouts. "I'm glad that you all could make it."
"Of course we made it," said Mina, wearing a pale orange halter-top dress that fell below her knees and a pair of black high heals. "We wanted to hang out with our friends and meet Kacy."
"Well take a seat and I'll get her," said Serena as she hurried to her daughter's bedroom.
Mina, Raye, and Amy sat down on the loveseat while Lita stood behind Amy. Raye was wearing a blood red tank top with a knee long black skirt and a pair of black high heals. Amy was wearing a thin strapped black dress that just barely brushed her knees along with a pair of black Mary Jane's. Lita was wearing a green tie back halter-top dress that landed in the middle of her thighs with a pair of dark green high heals with straps that wrapped around her ankles.
The door to Kacy's room opened and Serena slowly exited the room holding the small child in her arms. Kacy looked around the room with a wide and bright smile on her face. Serena set the small child on the floor with her hand on shoulder.
"Go on introduce yourself," said Serena.
Kacy looked at her mother and then at her father. Darien nodded with approval. She quickly looked about the room at the outer scouts and the four Zodiac scouts that were standing by the window. After a moment, Kacy stepped forward and looked at the inner scouts.
"My name is Kacy Emilie Shields," she said with a curtsy. "Thank you for coming here tonight to meet me."
The room fell silent. Raye's face went from surprised to angry while the others' remained on surprised. Kacy looked at her parents and then at the inner scouts. She could feel the tension in the air and it disturbed her greatly, but she knew that her parents had kept her a secret from their friends for a long time.
Kacy walked over to the inner scouts and looked at them. "Please don't be mad at my mommy and daddy," the small child said putting her hands together. "They didn't mean to keep me a secret from you all. They were just afraid of what would happen."
"Kacy, come here please," said Serena.
Her daughter turned to go back to her mother when Mina grabbed her wrist. The small child turned around and looked at the young lady's face. Mina carefully picked Kacy up and gave her a hug.
"Oh, Kacy," said Mina. "You are so sweet. We could never hate your mother and father for what they did. It will take us a while to understand why they did what they did, but we still love them. Well maybe not Raye."
Everyone looked at Raye and held their breath. She was a deep red color and the expression on her face was that of murder. Then a small smile crept across her face. The air went still and felt sticky.
"She's adorable," said Raye with a smile. "Looks just like you two."
"Thanks, Raye," said Serena. "I bet she would love to get to know her Aunt Raye and everyone else."
"How about we set something up for tomorrow," said Mina.
"Not tomorrow, unless you want to watch her tomorrow," said Serena. "Darien and I are taking a day off from her to relax and enjoy each other."
"We were going to leave her with Hotaru," said Michelle, "but she's got music lessons tomorrow."
"We'd love to watch her," said Raye and Mina together.
"Now I'm afraid," said Kei.
"Don't worry," said Amy. "These two are just like children themselves."
"We're going to have to play the parents, Amy," said Lita. "Again."
"We can handle them," Amy said looking up at her lover. "We always have."
"True," said Lita.
"Well everyone, enjoy the party," said Serena.
For the rest of the night everyone enjoyed himself or herself. The inner scouts and the Zodiac scouts seemed to be getting along until Raye brought up the subject of her father. Michelle and Alex stalked away to the window and looked at the night sky while Lyne and Kei argued.
"Look, Raye," said Kei. "Your lucky to have even one parent alive."
"What does that mean?" spat Raye.
"None of the Zodiac scouts have parents, Raye," said Serena calmly. "They have all been orphaned by one thing or another. Some of them have had it harder than the others, but they all live in harmony with each other."
"Whoa," said Mina. "I've never heard you speak like that, Serena."
"You learn patience when you have a child," said Serena with a smile. "There's never been a need to yell or get upset with Kacy since she was born. So I've learned to take on a calm and collective approach to things."
Suddenly there was a crashing noise and the room went black. Mina held Kacy close to her body until the lights came back on. There in the middle of the floor was a black orb floating three feet from the ground. The top opened and a small hallow gram picture of a young man appeared.
The young man had jet-black hair that reached the middle of his back. His eyes were hard as ice as he turned towards Serena and Darien. A cold and cruel smile crept across the young man's face as he looked at Serena.