Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to moi. Simple as that.
Dinner.
Some people call it supper, some call it an evening meal. To those people, it's a time to catch up with their families on their lives.
Ha-ha, yeah, not with this family.
For us, it was usually full of insults, taunts, and other things in that category. Not that I was expecting anything different. I was hoping for just a silence or maybe a compliment or two on the food, not a whole DNA change.
Earlier that evening…
"Dan! Help me with dinner!" I yelled through the game room door.
"Wait, one second! I'm almost done with level-erg…I'm coming." I smiled. Dan probably just lost. He opened the door.
"Let me guess, you just died." I said, and he frowned, which made me grin even more.
"Oh, shut up. You don't even know how to play." Dan grumbled.
"Better than dying every two seconds," I reminded him.
"I do not die every two seconds! That's Hamilton for you though." He said.
"Whatever, let's help Fiske with making Dinner," I said.
"Do I have to?" Dan whined.
"Yes!" I insisted. "Now come on before he gets angry."
"Fine,"
"Good, follow me." He trudged behind me the whole way to the kitchen.
"We have arrived." Dan said as we entered through the kitchen doorway.
"Great, now help me with this pasta." Fiske said, gesturing to a large pot.
"Alright, I'll-" Suddenly, Jonah burst through the door, panting.
"I didn't know you guys had a dog!" Jonah said and Dan and I looked at each other. This can't be good.
"Uh, Jonah?" He turned his gaze to me. "We don't have a dog." I told him.
"But there was one, a really big one!" He insisted.
"Where was it?" I asked.
"The doorbell rang, so I decided to be polite and open the door. No one was there, except a huge dog!" He said in one breath and I smiled.
"I might have an idea who that was," I said and Jonah just looked flat out confused. "Oh, come on, I'll show you. Dan, can you stay in the kitchen to help?" Dan was about to protest, but I walked out of the room.
"So…who is it?" Jonah asked.
"You'll find out soon enough." I told him and we walked to the door. I opened it and my suspicions were correct. There stood the Starlings with a large canine at Ted's side.
"Hey guys!" I said and I saw Jonah eye the dog warily.
"I see you've met Katherine." Ned and Ted said in synchronization.
"Katherine?" I asked.
"It's a girl?" Jonah said, disbelieving.
I ignored Jonah, "Why do you guys have a dog?"
"Well, even though I can see light and dark, Sinead insists that I have her." Ted said, reaching down to pet the dog.
"I just care about your well being!" Sinead put away her phone and defended herself.
"Well, thanks for that," Ted rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, where's our room?" Sinead asked.
"Third floor, second room on the right, you will be staying next to Jonah."I told them, and Jonah groaned.
"But-" He began.
"Would you like to sleep outside?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in the process.
"No, ma'am," He said, and I smiled.
"What's so bad about us?" Sinead asked, putting a hand on her hip.
"Uh…"
"Save it, I don't want to hear the gibberish you speak." Sinead said.
"You know I only talk like that in front of my fans." Jonah said. Ned, Ted, and Katherine walked past me.
"I really don't want to hear this." Ned whispered to me as he walked by. I laughed slightly and got in line behind him.
"And don't even get me started on your clothes!" I heard Sinead say as I walked out the door. Then I remembered something.
"Oh, crap!" Ned looked at me strangely, but I didn't care. I ran as fast as I could to the kitchen.
Smack! I ran right into someone. Great job, Amy.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said.
"No, I should have watched where I was going." I looked up at Ian.
"O-Ok, I have to go find Dan." I told him and he nodded.
"Good luck, love!" He called after me.
"Yea, don't call me that!" I heard him chuckle and I continued expedition kitchen.
Finally, I reached the kitchen and I sighed in relief. The place was not on fire and Fiske was not tied to a chair. Then I realized that there were strands of pasta all over the walls.
"Dan!" I yelled at him.
"The pastas done when it sticks to the wall, right?" He gave an innocent smile.
"Where's Fiske?" I asked.
"He had to take a pee." Dan said casually, and I rolled my eyes.
"Wait till he sees this," I smiled at the thought.
"Sees what?" Fiske walked in the room and his eyes widened. "What in the-"
"Amy did it!" Dan shouted, pointing at me.
"What? No I didn't! I just walked in here!" I protested.
"You suck at lying."Dan said.
"I'm not lying!" I argued.
"Whatever, I have to go take a pee." Dan walked out of the room.
"I'll help you get these off the wall." I said, grabbing a wad of noodles next to me.
"Thanks, but I better go see if the rest of the family broke anything. I'll be back in a minute." He smiled and left.
That left me all alone scraping pasta off the wall. Before I knew it, I was humming while I cleaned. Great, now I felt like Snow White or something. I thought for a second. Why not try to make this fun? And from there I was singing, dancing, and don't forget peeling noodles.
"If I could be your angel (your angel, your angel)
Protect you from the pain (from the pain, oh)
I'll keep you safe from danger (from danger, from danger)
You'll never hurt again (no more)"
I sang part of my favorite song.
"Wow, I didn't know you sang." I jumped and the pasta I was currently holding dropped out of my hand.
"I-I d-don't s-s-sing." I stuttered miserably. Jonah just smiled.
"You're actually very good. I try to hook you up with someone." He said.
"No Jonah, you don't have to do that. I could never do that and you know that." I smiled politely. "Thanks for the offer."
"If you change your mind, call me." He said and walked away.
I slapped my head. What was I thinking? Fine, whatever, I'll just go back to scraping noodles. I realized that I was almost done and smiled. Finally!
"Hey Amy- oh, you're almost done. I'm sorry I took so long. Natalie did break something. A window, to be exact. She got mad because Ian forgot to remind her to bring her favorite pair of shoes, so she took a pair of his and threw them out the window." Fiske said.
"Wow, it's quite a family we've got." I stated.
"Tell me about it," Fiske plopped down in a chair and sighed. "If Dan already used up a whole box of pasta, I guess I'll have to make another one."
"I can help if you want me to." I offered.
"No, it's fine. You already cleaned up the mess your brother made." He said, and I smiled. I was off the hook. "Now, would you mind gathering everyone in the living room for me? It's almost time." I didn't argue and ran out of the room, desperate to get everyone together as soon as possible.
The first place I looked was the game room. I had to admit. I had hit the jackpot. Dan, Jonah, Hamilton, Reagan, Madison, and Alistair were all in there.
"Hey guys! Go to the living room while I get the rest of the family. Thanks!" I didn't wait for a response and dashed away for the others. Once I had gotten them in the same room, they all turned their attention to me.
"Why did you bring us here?" Natalie asked, looking at her nails.
"I think it's time for Fiske's announcement," I told them and they began whispering among themselves. Dan walked over to where I was standing.
"What do you think it is?" He asked.
"I honestly have no idea," I said, shrugging. Then Fiske walked into the room.
"I see you've gathered everyone." He said to me. I nodded in response. "I think it would best if we ate first."
I could tell some people looked disappointed, mad even, but they followed Fiske into the dining room where plates of food already sat.
"Please pick a seat, I have to retrieve something." Dan and I looked at each other. It had to do with the announcement. I was sure of it.
"I want to sit here!" Reagan called, throwing herself onto a chair.
"Hey, I wanted that chair!" Madison shouted at her.
"Too bad!" I rolled my eyes as the argument wore on.
I ended up next to Dan and Alistair. Ian was across from me with Natalie at his right side and Jonah to his left. The Holt children sat at the end of the table and the Starling triplets were opposite from them. We ate in silence, waiting for Fiske to return. I saw some glances thrown about the room. They weren't happy ones, either. Finally, Fiske returned with a rather large case. He set it down on the table and I noticed that all eyes were drawn to the case on the table.
"You may finish your dinner if you'd like to," Fiske said and only the Holts picked up their forks and began eating.
Fiske caught my eye and nodded. This was what would change my life, all of our lives. Bite by bite, the Holts finished eating. Surprisingly, they ate very slowly much to my displeasure. I wanted to know what was in that steel case.
"I think it's time to reveal what I have been hiding for much too long…" He put his hand on the case and it opened with the hiss of released air.
Everyone stood up to get a better view, including me. Inside lay a gleaming silver shield. Not just any shield, it was the Cahill crest. Each branch had its symbol with the appropriate color.
"Hmm…" I turned my attention to Ian, who was thinking out loud. "Now what exactly does it do?"
"If you would just put your hand on the Lucian symbol, it will explain everything." Fiske told him.
Ian looked reluctant, but gently rested his hand on the two snakes.
"Good, now get a mental picture of the Lucian crest in your head," Fiske instructed. Ian closed his eyes and began to think.
Suddenly, Ian's coffee-toned skin began to turn into scales. His amber eyes flew open in shock.
Then they were replaced by the eyes of snake.
A/N: Ha! I bet you didn't see that one coming! And if you did, well, I can't surprise you anymore. Simple as that. I hope you enjoyed the newest addition! And for those who didn't, just bugger off! Jeez, people these days…
~Nataliya
Wow, that was a long chapter.