Chapter 8

SEBASTIAN

The sun shone through the gaps of the curtains, the rays illuminating the previously dark room. I turn my head to my left, greeting a face with numbers...a clock, it's a clock. Acknowledging 7:35 reading I pull myself out of bed and trudge to the kitchen.

After preparing my breakfast, I sit on my sofa and turn the TV on.

'A local criminal had escaped from Bourne Prison last night at approximately 10:42 and once again Laude Security and Phoenix Universum have worked together to catch him and restrain him. He will be imprisoned in the white block of Bourne Prison as of lunchtime today. That's all for this morning, tune in again at twelve. This is Mandy Keegan on Perspective news, good day.'

I yawned and stretched. Even though it's a Saturday, I still wake up early, a habit of mine. I wash the bowl before getting ready. As I stepped out into the cool air of the early morning, the birds sang loudly, their song shattering the silence. It was the day before the banquet.

I just reach the gate when a sleek, black car pulls up in front of me, so polished that I can see my face staring back at me. The window rolls down and I see a familiar face before me.

"Good morning brother." He greets, his smirk mocking me. I can feel the annoyance rising within me.

"Do you have so much free time now that you decide to stalk me? Wow, never knew you loved me that much Jackson." I teased, smirking back.

"Yeah, only you. Whatever, just get in, we need to talk." He unlocks the car door, lightly punching me in the shoulder when I get in.

He rolls up the window and begins to drive. "Long time no see, I missed you and your silence."

"My silence? That was when I was younger. You missing me? Have you hit your head? Were you abducted by aliens?" I question, poking his head.

He tries to bat my hand away, eventually succeeding, and he lets out a deep laugh. "You're my brother, why wouldn't I miss you? I graduated two years ago, so I don't really see you around now that you live in the academy apartments. Mother misses you a lot, she watches all your videos when you were younger, like that one where you had to play a fairy in the Sleeping Beauty play."

"No, not that one! That still exists? Those were bad times." I chuckle, shaking my head in embarrassment, "Yeah, I miss her a lot too. I probably should have called huh."

"Yeah, she's constantly depressed! You were a mama's boy after all." He answered. "Life at home without you is extremely dull. Even dad misses you." He snickers.

"Really?" I blurted, I stare at Jackson as if he's lost his mind (which he probably has.)

"Oh yeah. On one hand, it's funny but on the other hand, he freaks out when mum breaks down and they end up cuddling on the couch for a couple hours." He admits.

We pull up to familiar black gates that tower over us, passing them and nearing the mansion I hadn't seen since last year. When we reach the door, it bursts open, a petite woman sprinting towards me with her arms wide open.

"Sebastian! My dear, you came home, I missed you so much." She squeezes me in her hug, her voice loud in my ear, full of emotion.

"Hey mum, how are you?" I hug back, missing the warmth I grew up to.

"I'm all good, now that you're here. Ah, you're more handsome than when I last saw you. Have you grown taller?" She holds my face gently, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"I've only been away since I began university. My first year is almost over so I should be back for summer before the second year." I reply, placing a kiss on her cheek and walking beside her, Jackson in tow.

"Oh, you know what mothers are like, we miss our children even if we haven't seen them in a few hours." She replies.

"No that's just you mum." I chuckle along with her laughter.

We walk up the grand staircase and down the hallway on the left, coming towards the same, massive doors that I knew too well. The door yawned open as my mother pushed, a man sitting at a luxurious oak table. His hair streaked with grey and the wrinkles around his eyes deepen, as do the lines around his mouth as he releases a smile. He stands, edging around the table and starting towards us.

"My boy, you've come home!" His arms open wide, beckoning me in, "How is university? Have you got a girlfriend yet?" He pats me on the back, winking at me when I'm released from the hug.

"Hello, dad. University is fine, I've made new friends and I'm handling the workload just fine. No comment on the girlfriend, but sorry, no wedding anytime soon." I joke, smiling brightly.

"But you didn't say no! There's still a chance." He bellows, smiling brightly at my mother who is smiling just as brightly.

"Don't be too hopeful dad, we all know Sebastian is a very eligible bachelor." Jackson teases, taking a seat on one of the chairs, my mother taking a seat beside him.

"I know, he takes after me." My father comments, earning a small giggle from mother. "Now, I need to talk to you about the Heart's upcoming banquet. Until recently, you were to accompany Rachel down the staircase, that's been changed to another folk. Any certain reason for that?"

"It's a long story. Rachel confessed that she had a crush on me, I told I had a, um, anyway, we fell out." I answered, taking a seat in front of his desk. I could feel my mother and brother's gazes from my left.

"Hold on, is this the CD?" Jackson asks, his eyes lighting up. I look at him confused, furrowing my eyebrows.

"What?" I mumble. He makes an archery motion, as if he were shooting an arrow, then it clicked. "How did you know?" I gasp, my eyes widen. His only response was a delicate smile, one I was not used to seeing on my brother.

"Wait, CD? You too?" My mother burst out.

"CD? What is that?" My father questions, perplexed.

"Cupid's Database honey, remember Katie Evans, the girl who set us up."

"Ah, yes, she was a lovely girl. Always kind and-"

"Wait, hold up!" I wave my hands around silencing them. "You were all set up by the Cupid's Database?" Receiving three nods in return.

"Must run in the family. I heard Katie and her daughters are going to be at the banquet, dear. It'll be nice to catch up with her won't it." My mother smiles widely, standing and reaching for Jackson's hand. "We're going to leave and let you two talk for a while." She drags an unhappy Jackson out, the door clicking closed.

We sit in silence for a couple minutes, me staring at my father as he smiles slyly in return.

"Would you like to tell me about you and mum?" I hinted.

He releases a heavy sigh. "Your mother and I, we were in university. It was Katie's last year as Cupid before her sister took over, we were her last. Your mother was nineteen and in her first year of university, I was twenty-two and in my third year of university. Your mother wrote in about wanting love and, you know how much of a romantic your mother is. Katie had a hunch, she contacted me, taking me through a process and she had already thought up a plan just in case."

"Just in case what?" I ask, cutting in.

"In case I needed a little push. Her hunch was right and she didn't need the plan at all. I began to court your mother, she was taking a course in fashion, I was taking a course in art so we were in the same building for our lectures. My final piece for my exam is the one currently hanging at the top of the grand staircase."

"The one of mother? You painted that?" He nodded in response, a bright and proud smile on his face.

"I had just gotten a new Polaroid camera and she looked stunning, everything was perfect. She was sitting on the window ledge, reading during lunch. She always avoided the dining hall since there were so many people there and opted the quiet route." He chuckled, his eyes glistening with nostalgia.

"I got the highest mark in the year and my painted was displayed at the art exhibition the day after I received the mark. Your mother's work was one in the top five in her class and she was there that night."

"What did she say when she saw the painting?" I asked.

"She didn't say anything. She cried."

"She cried?" I exclaimed, earning a nod in response.

"I chased after her and confessed." He laughed, "I guess it worked, she married me."

I gawked, my mouth hanging open. Cupid's Database, Audrey's mother was responsible for my parents' marriage, probably my brother's recent happiness and my situation. Audrey's family was responsible for making us happy?

"I understand your situation, if this is the work of the Cupid's Database, we should honour them by along going with it. I will be there to see Jackson's work, as well as your mother. I would like to meet with Katie and her daughters, I believe the youngest is the current head yes?" He takes a sip of his tea, which I didn't see until now.

"Yes." I nod, watching the corners of his lips turn up into a smile. The atmosphere is interrupted by the ring of my phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Audrey, are you at your family mansion?" She asks, her voice soft even over the phone.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Ignoring my question, she blurts, "Put me on speaker." Giving her the 'okay' she begins, "Hello Mr King, how are you, it's Audrey Parkinson, Katie Evan's youngest daughter."

With a bright smile, my father replies, "Hello Audrey, how are you? It's nice to get to talk to one of Katie's children, how is she?"

"I'm great, my mother is really busy with the banquet tomorrow. I guess you've received the letter with the change of plans that I sent you." She answers joyfully. What letter?

"Yes, I did. Thank you for notifying me, the King family will do our best to follow along, after all, we all are in debt to the Cupid's Database." He laughs softly.

"You'll have to tell me your story, I've heard a lot about my mother's work but she always put your story off saying she's saving the best to last." Her soft laughter making me smile.

"I'll make sure to tell you tomorrow night, I would like to thank you for taking care of my son, he's an energetic one. I can't imagine what you have to go through." He jokes, despite my protests and occasional 'hey'.

"You raised him, Mr King, you should know that he's not that bad." She laughs at another one of my 'hey's of protest. "I have to go now, remember to do your best. It was lovely speaking to you."

"And you too, we all will make sure to do our best, goodbye now Audrey."

"Goodbye Mr King." She piped before ending the call.

"She seems like a lovely girl." He laughs as I roll my eyes, "Go get settled in, I'll see you at dinner."

I glanced at each of the paintings as I walked down the hallway, stopping at the one taking up most of the wall, the one of my mother. Everything was bright, my mother sat on a window seat in the academy library, in a light pink dress, with a book in her hand. Her blue eyes glistened as the sun streamed through the window behind her. Her blonde hair shone like a halo on her head and a small smile graced her features. She looked happy.

Twenty-seven years later and my mother is still the same, the same soft smile, the same bright blue eyes and, although it paled a little with age, the same blonde hair that shone like a halo.

I look at the massive painting one last time before making my way to my room. The mansion has remained the same since I can remember, the light blue and gold wallpaper, the same pale green and cream carpet my brother and I would have competitions to see who could roll down the hall faster whilst trying to avoid the same vases in between the wide, spacious windows.

I enter my room, a feeling of nostalgia washing over me. After throwing myself onto the bed that I missed dearly, I hear a small knock on the door.

"It's me," Jackson mumbles, slipping into my room and sitting on the edge of my bad beside me.

"So, what's your story? For Cupid's Database, I mean." I murmur, my voice slightly muffled by the duvet.

"My story. Has Audrey resigned as Cupid yet?" He ponders.

My ears perk up at her name, lifting my head up to meet his gaze. "You know Audrey?" I ask, sitting up straight.

"Heck yeah. I was her first." He states. "Case! Gosh, I'm not some pervert who's into minors." He exclaims at my glare.

Giving him my full attention, he continues, "She was fourteen and had just taken over as Cupid. Her sister gave her me as her first case, to test her. Little did Margo know, it only took her a week and a half to finish the case. I was in my second year of university when she was assigned to me."

"Is that a good thing?" I ask.

"Oh yeah. There's a reason she's held so highly, she's on the same level as her mother. Think about it, if Audrey is as important as her mother, who started the company, there's a reason. She's the only one to be able to solve a case in under a month, the time it took for mum and dad to get together. Being the golden cupid means you must have an eye for love if you want it to go smoothly in such a short period of time. Plus, she hasn't had a failure yet." He gushed, his eyes shone with excitement.

A knock interrupted us, a maid to tell us that dinner was ready. As we sat down at the table that night, dinner was filled with joy and laughter, and it all began with Katie Evans.

AUDREY

As I ended the call with my mother, I sighed in relief.

"Everything's up and running. We have to make sure this works. The King family is in and will be doing their best to go along with the plan." I state, sitting beside Libby on my sofa.

Margo looked at me worriedly, taking a sip from her mug. "You need to relax. You're working too much, you barely get enough sleep thanks to dad and I don't want the incident from two years ago to happen again. Mother was so worried, we all were." She spoke softly, not even hiding her fear.

"I'm fine, I was fine, I was just tired."

"You were in the hospital!" She shouted, her voice wavering with anger. "You fainted due to over-exhaustion, poor eating habits and an unidentified problem that you won't tell us about. Look, we are worried and we don't, I don't want to see you in the bed with drips in your arms and an oxygen mask on your face."

I rubbed my eyes before hugging them both, "I'm going to bed. I'll see you both tomorrow at ten, get a good sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow." I walk towards my room, leaving them of the sofas.

"Audrey." I pause, turning to see both Libby and Margo staring at me.

Libby spoke first, "Have a good sleep, let's hope you have sweet dreams."

Then Margo, "Sweet dreams sis, I love you." She murmured quietly with a small smile.

"Goodnight, I love you too, both of you." I smile in return before entering my room. After a few minutes, I hear the clicking of the lock on my door.

I close my eyes and let the darkness come.