conference room was full of people. Abraham,
Israel, and Providence were in their seats to Efia’s left and
Pleasant, Rachel and Eliza were to her right. Sitting on a lower dais
directly in front of them, however, were six additional people. All
of them had my chocolate brown eyes and varying degrees of brown and
light brown skin. And the most unnerving thing of all was that they
were all smiling at me. You know the saying ‘like a kid in a
candy store’? Well, I knew what the candy felt like.
There were four high
backed chairs sitting in the center of the room facing the double
dais. They were elaborately carved with Calla Lilies adorning the
middle of the back. The legs of the chairs met the polished floor
with the claws of some type of large cat. The carvings were so
painstakingly done that I would not have been surprised if the claws
came to life and moved. Zander and Jordan were standing near the four
chairs as we approached. Veronica remained outside but Tabitha took a
seat in what looked like a jury box along one of the walls. She
smiled encouragingly at me from her seat and I tried to relax.
Chloe took my hand and
led me to my chair where we waited to be addressed. Efia and 6 other
people stood, waiting for the room to quiet. They allowed the room to
quiet down before one woman stepped down and walked toward us. She
was intercepted by a Steward with 4 regalia stoles draped over his
arms. I watched as this woman placed them on Zander and Jordan,
kissing each cheek as she was done. They were black and adorned with
red Calla Lilies on one side and an SC on the other. She walked
passed me and placed a stole on Chloe’s shoulders, kissed her
and stepped back. I met her gaze head on and took a deep breath.
Whatever fate that awaited me would not find me on my knees.
“ Hi,
Cheyenne. My name is Amelia and I am your grandmother a few times
removed. Welcome to the family.”
With that, she placed
the stole on my shoulders and kissed both of my cheeks. The dais
erupted in applause and Amelia wrapped her arms around me in the
warmest hug I had received in a long time. Tentatively, I returned
the hug even though my nerves were shot. Having a Vampire's mouth
that close to my neck wasn't something I had ever been prepared for.
The noise died down and
Amelia returned to her seat on the dais. I noticed that my siblings
had all taken their seats and I was the only person still standing.
As I backed toward my chair, Efia stopped me with a raised hand as
she stood. She took the steps from her chair to the conference room
floor in long elegant strides and began to pace about. From her
profile, I knew that she was preparing to speak; but, for some reason
hesitated. When she reached Zander’s chair, she stopped and
turned around.
“ Cheyenne
St. Clair,” she began with a voice thick with emotion. “Today
you will be invited into a world unlike any you have ever known. In
less than three months you will be 18 and even more vulnerable than
you are now, but the choice is still your own.”
Efia looked into my
eyes and raised an eyebrow. Before that moment, that look might have
intimidated me, but I found it hard to separate her from the girl on
the ship and the slave on the plantation. All I really wanted to do
was give Efia a hug and tell her that everything would be okay. It
was quite the strange sensation to want to protect someone who I had
seen bite someone’s neck.
Deciding to throw
caution to the wind, however, and believing that things couldn’t
get any worse, I walked straight up to Efia, tilted my head slightly
in an awkward bow type gesture and wrapped her in a hug. There was a
silence in the room so loud that I thought everyone had left. I
started to pull away just as Efia slowly raised her arms to return my
hug. We stood there for a few more seconds and then she backed away.
Her eyes were wet with unshed tears and she cleared her throat before
speaking.
“ If
you accept our invitation, your Embrace will be
Israel, and Providence were in their seats to Efia’s left and
Pleasant, Rachel and Eliza were to her right. Sitting on a lower dais
directly in front of them, however, were six additional people. All
of them had my chocolate brown eyes and varying degrees of brown and
light brown skin. And the most unnerving thing of all was that they
were all smiling at me. You know the saying ‘like a kid in a
candy store’? Well, I knew what the candy felt like.
There were four high
backed chairs sitting in the center of the room facing the double
dais. They were elaborately carved with Calla Lilies adorning the
middle of the back. The legs of the chairs met the polished floor
with the claws of some type of large cat. The carvings were so
painstakingly done that I would not have been surprised if the claws
came to life and moved. Zander and Jordan were standing near the four
chairs as we approached. Veronica remained outside but Tabitha took a
seat in what looked like a jury box along one of the walls. She
smiled encouragingly at me from her seat and I tried to relax.
Chloe took my hand and
led me to my chair where we waited to be addressed. Efia and 6 other
people stood, waiting for the room to quiet. They allowed the room to
quiet down before one woman stepped down and walked toward us. She
was intercepted by a Steward with 4 regalia stoles draped over his
arms. I watched as this woman placed them on Zander and Jordan,
kissing each cheek as she was done. They were black and adorned with
red Calla Lilies on one side and an SC on the other. She walked
passed me and placed a stole on Chloe’s shoulders, kissed her
and stepped back. I met her gaze head on and took a deep breath.
Whatever fate that awaited me would not find me on my knees.
“ Hi,
Cheyenne. My name is Amelia and I am your grandmother a few times
removed. Welcome to the family.”
With that, she placed
the stole on my shoulders and kissed both of my cheeks. The dais
erupted in applause and Amelia wrapped her arms around me in the
warmest hug I had received in a long time. Tentatively, I returned
the hug even though my nerves were shot. Having a Vampire's mouth
that close to my neck wasn't something I had ever been prepared for.
The noise died down and
Amelia returned to her seat on the dais. I noticed that my siblings
had all taken their seats and I was the only person still standing.
As I backed toward my chair, Efia stopped me with a raised hand as
she stood. She took the steps from her chair to the conference room
floor in long elegant strides and began to pace about. From her
profile, I knew that she was preparing to speak; but, for some reason
hesitated. When she reached Zander’s chair, she stopped and
turned around.
“ Cheyenne
St. Clair,” she began with a voice thick with emotion. “Today
you will be invited into a world unlike any you have ever known. In
less than three months you will be 18 and even more vulnerable than
you are now, but the choice is still your own.”
Efia looked into my
eyes and raised an eyebrow. Before that moment, that look might have
intimidated me, but I found it hard to separate her from the girl on
the ship and the slave on the plantation. All I really wanted to do
was give Efia a hug and tell her that everything would be okay. It
was quite the strange sensation to want to protect someone who I had
seen bite someone’s neck.
Deciding to throw
caution to the wind, however, and believing that things couldn’t
get any worse, I walked straight up to Efia, tilted my head slightly
in an awkward bow type gesture and wrapped her in a hug. There was a
silence in the room so loud that I thought everyone had left. I
started to pull away just as Efia slowly raised her arms to return my
hug. We stood there for a few more seconds and then she backed away.
Her eyes were wet with unshed tears and she cleared her throat before
speaking.
“ If
you accept our invitation, your Embrace will be
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