Chapter 1: Returning Home

Zachary Goode's POV:

Going home was always bittersweet. Actually, it was more bitter than sweet. The only difference this time, though, was that I was going home for good.

I was no longer going to be attending Blackthorne Academy. I had dropped out, one of the last in the group to leave school.

If you're reading this then somehow you miraculously got a hold of this journal. For this journal, you could say, is not meant to ever be seen or at least not anytime soon. It simply is meant to be a life story written down about what has happened, what really, truthfully happened. Not the cover ups or the lies that spread around, but the truth of what really goes on behind the closed gates of Mallbury Lane.

* * *

"Zach, your back!" Keira shouted from the top of the staircase as soon as I opened the front door.

Harper, to my slight surprise, came up from behind and stood next to her. That, of course, didn't last for long as Keira raced down the staircase at full speed ramming straight into me. I backed up slightly from her impact.

"Geez Keira, you don't have to tackle me." I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around her. The only person in the group I would ever think twice about whenever I would leave.

We hugged for eleven seconds precisely while Harper started making her descent down the stairs.

"At least not yet, I don't," Keira remarked when we broke away. I just shook my head in response. "Besides I wasn't standing there at the airport waiting for your arrival like usual, so I have to make sure that you don't possibly think I forgot about you or something."

"Keira you know you don't have to go all the way to the airport just to see me. I'm fine with you waiting here, at home," I replied. She shrugged with her gaze locked to the floor.

Ever since I had started the academy Keira, and Keira only, would always be there waiting for me to get off the plane. And while I certainly enjoyed seeing her as soon as I could I knew that it was somewhat of a hassle in getting all the way down there (considering she doesn't have a valid, legal driver's license) and then having to wait.

However, it was only after her statement that I realized this was the first time she hadn't been at the airport waiting for me.

I instantly knew that something was going on. What could have possibly held her back from going to the airport like always?

Before I could even start my questions or accusations Harper decided to fill me in. "There was a meeting for all generations." Keira turned to give her a sharp stare, but Harper only ignored her. Taking her last step on the staircase she added, "About you." Then she walked off without a second thought, very Harper-like.

I looked down at Keira. Her eyes were instantly hiding behind her bangs.

"What about me?" I asked concerned.

She turned her head up towards me and looked slightly angry. "About your relationship with Cameron Morgan, Zach. The one Marvin spotted you with, the one you protected."

I inwardly groaned I had almost forgotten about Marvin. I had foolishly hoped that he wouldn't do anything. That he would simply keep what he saw unspoken. As if that would ever happen, and with Marvin of all people, the one who wants me gone the most. Or maybe that was Craig. They all start to blur into one after awhile.

"He called for the meeting Zach and it doesn't look good. Especially since Merry and I were the only ones who were on your side. Everyone else was against you," Keira said looking more worried than angry now. Then on second thought she added, "Excluding Harper." That one was an instant given.

Before I had a chance to speak in response a third voice came into the picture. "Cordelia, I think it's time you go see Elicia and allow Robert to finish unpacking," our father stated. He was standing a good distance away, at the entrance of the kitchen with his arms crossed, and his face showing no emotions. "And I would like to speak to you Robert, soon," he said it more as an order than a request.

Keira nodded and whispered, barely moving her lips, "Be careful." She walked towards our father as I headed up the stairs with my luggage. Dreading every step I took, as if each step symbolically meant I was getting deeper and deeper into a life I never asked for. A life I never wanted.

* * *

Keira Goode's POV:

I passed my father while heading towards the training room.

"Cordelia." I grimaced at my real name. "I think it would be best for you not to speak with Robert for the next few days. There are some issues that need to be cleared up," my father spoke with an underling in his tone.

I only nodded and continued to walk on. I knew what he meant, what the underlying message was. Stay away from your brother while we decide whether or not we're going to kill him for his 'disloyalty.' Whether or not he's even worth keeping around?

I wanted to think that they would never actually kill him due to his lineage, which gave him an instant status of power. However, I knew better than to hope or want anything anymore. Hopes and wishes can only bring you down here. The best thing to do in our situation is to take action, immediate action.

Standing in the training room I spotted Harper settled in already while Elicia was sharpening a sword. The sword shined in the light and I saw our symbol gleaming quite brightly.

"All the way in Cordelia," Elicia ordered without a glance in my direction.

I walked up beside her and she looked down at me. She raised her eyebrow in a millisecond having already made her assessment. Then she turned her gaze over to Harper. "Eleanor would you mind grabbing the AR-15, I think it's time for target practice."

Mentally, I started preparing myself. With Elicia you never knew what kind of target she would produce.

* * *

Zachary Goode's POV:

I had only just finished putting everything away when my father was at the door.

"I assume Cordelia has already filled you in on the present issue," he said sounding professional rather than fatherly. He waited for my response.

"If it is about my involvement with Cameron Morgan, then yes she has," I replied, bracing myself for the events that would soon unfold from this.

Only…he smiled. My father was actually smiling, sort of. It wasn't a normal smile, but considering who my father was it was indeed a smile.

"I don't understand, you're happy?" I must be in a dream. This just cannot be real. After what Keira told me, how can this be possible?

"In a way, it shows you're dedicated to the group. After all you are the one who has gotten close to the target of interest. Your close enough that she trusts you," my father said as I realized what he was saying.

"Cordelia said that everyone was against me though, in the meeting."

He sighed and shook his head. "Cordelia hasn't always seen things quite so clearly Robert. She inherits that from your mother. And while it's true we were debating on your loyalty, no one was against you or for you. We were taking in the facts for what they were without choosing a side. I can see how Cordelia can mistake that for taking sides, but it simply is an exaggeration."

"I see. And Marvin?" I asked. I knew that while my sister can exaggerate at times I also knew my father could lie, smoothly and easily like second nature.

"In a way Marvin's impressed," he replied and walked out.

I stared after him wishing that I was a mind-reader for once. That I could finally know for sure what was going on through his mind, what he actually had planned.

All I knew for now was that this was the Circle of Cavan, the perfect place for lies and deceit. And I was Robert Cornelius Gates, brother of Cordelia Roberta Gates and the late Lauren Christiana Gates, son of Rodney and Camille Gates, and decadent of Isaac Cavan, the founder of the Circle of Cavan. Everything I would give up in a heartbeat if I could.

A/N: Review so I can know whether or not to continue the story and I might just send you a sneak peak of Chapter 2.