Chapter Twelve

♦Cyril's POV♦

I appear in my room to see mom sitting defeated on my sofa, beside the fire place.

I move closer to her and feel a stab of guilt, pain and a lot of sadness.

"Cyril." She calls softly.

'Why was she making me do this?' I blink, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but here.

She wasn't the same woman who showed me endless love, the first five years of my life. She was different, cold and tired.

I just stare back at her, not seeing the steely soulless eyes I see during meals or the icy stare she gives my sisters, but I'm staring into teary depressed eyes.

"I don't want her to hate me, it's bad enough that Selena does but I know you don't." She says, her voice unsteady.

And now she's breaking down.

"Cyril, I need your help?" She adds, hitting the nail right on the head.

"Mom..." I like calling her that, its makes me feel like I know her.  "I know you aren't what everyone thinks you are but don't you think we are hurting her, even more?" I ask, already obliging. "I know you love her."

"Of course I do son," her voice cracks into a whisper. " I do but just think of what will happen if she finds out the truth, I know I'm not alright but even insanity can't justify what I did." She ends on a painful sob.

"Alright mother, I'll do it."

 It hurts me to say this words.

For more than ten years I've done it more than a dozen times, now it's feels absolutely normal. Selena's words hunts me like a plague, but I dismiss it.

I'm positive I'll have my mother back, she'll be alright and she'll change.

I look up to ask her when all this is going to be over but as usual she's gone.

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I step out of the bathroom, towel around my waist and all. I'm thinking, this 'Princely' life would have been perfect if my mom were not just a step out her mind.

I slip into a grey vest and cotton pants, I'd rather that to silk - makes me look like a girl.

And suddenly the door flies open. Selena.

"I could have been naked you know."

"You're my brother." She shrugs.

"Well, you could have knocked." I insist, glaring at her.

"Your door looks perfectly fine, you could have locked it." She's snaps, sitting on a couch.

"That's why it's my room, my privacy, my..."

" I didn't come here to bicker around with you." She cuts in, impatiently.

"Oh. Then why have you graced me with your presence, oh..."

She interrupts again.

"You're going to do it again, aren't you?" She asks, completely throwing me off.

"Selena, I'm trying to help." I say, sitting on my bed.

"Help? She's brainwashing you." Selena says almost desperately.

"Selena." I growl. "You don't understand her."

She lets out a sardonic laugh and stands up from the couch.

"Understand you say?" She asks, one brow raised. "Despiertate Cyril, wake up." She snaps her fingers.

"Selena, she's your mom." I say pleadingly.

"And September's too." She says coldly, before storming out leaving the door open.

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Selena's room lights are out but I know she's not asleep, I rest my left hip on her vanity table and I mentally switch on the lights.

 "Go away." I hear her muffled voice from under her pillow.

I ignore that's and go to sit on her bed and remove her pillow.

"What?" She says, glaring at me.

"Selena, she doesn't mean any harm." I say, lying down and using my elbows to support my head.

 "I've lost count on how many times you said that." She said that drily.

"I mean it?" I insist. "It's just the stress of giving birth, you know." I say, maybe hoping she'll understand.

"Giving birth? Cyril are you mad?" She asks, staring at me like I've lost it.

"Yes. She went through a lot." I say

"Are you serious Cyril? Mrs. Mistletoe has five children, Mrs. Nyx's has three kids. None of their mother's are nuts." Selena nearly yells.

"Mother's different, Selena." I say, rolling in eyes. "You don't know her."

"Of course, I never knew her Cyril. You got all the love and as soon as we popped out, her brain took a nose - dive." She laughs without humour.

"No, no, no, no, you're getting it all wrong, she used to be a much different person. And I... Well the thing is..." I ruffle my hair and sit up.

"Few months before mom gave birth to you guys she disappeared, and..."

"Whoa, I never heard that side of the story before." Selena interrupts, eyes wide. "Wait a sec," she says before I can continue and disappears.

 Moments later, she's back with a tub of ice cream.

"Play." She says annoyingly, like I some sort of movie player.

I swallow my irritation - because I've got to get her to believe me. It will make me feel more human, with what I'm doing to my baby sister.

" well, she came back months later with four months old twins in her arms." I stop at this point to let it sink in.

"Wh-Why," she stammers in confusion, finally remembering to lick the melting ice cream on her spoon.

"I'm not sure, she refuses to talk about what happened but what I could gather was, her babies we are in danger. You don't know what she went through to keep you safe." I say softly, watching Selena's face crumple.

"Then, she should have just let Ember and I die, its would have been better than our hell of a life." She answers coldly, vanishing again.

"Shit!" I curse, not bothering to wait for her because I know she'd probably go down to our private beach and cry over ice cream.

"Great," I mutter, vanishing to my bed.

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Lavinia's POV

Talking to Cyril makes me feel annoyed and irritated that I have to use this method.

I roll from one end to the other of our extra - extra large, King sized, four poster bed. William isn't on his side of the bed again, his attendance to sleeping  beside me, had worsened.

I couldn't remember when last he spent an entire night with me.

Unable to bear myself anymore, I pull on jeans and a loose cotton shirt, my hair in a ponytail.

Passing through the front of the floor length mirror, I pause to study my reflection - A sad smile graces my face as I imagine my children's expressions if they see me dressed this way. Even William would have a fit.

"Oh well," I say to myself, "there's a lot they don't know about me."

Flashing to Williams study, I see him hunched over his laptop busy trying to save the woman he loves - but...

 He doesn't understand.

His beautifully chiseled features still takes my breath away, but I'm not sure he believes that anymore.

Ghosting out of the white washed Mansion, I let my heart lead me to a place I can be myself.

Moving with the speed of light, I decide to stop a few paces before my destination, deciding instead to walk there.

I stop immediately and land in the middle of a dark Forest, a spry old woman waiting patiently for me.

"I was expecting you." She says, turning around to lead the way to her home. "Come." She has a weird accent probably from years of reciting spells.

"Eileen." I acknowledge, following her. "How did you know I was coming?" I ask, still thrown off by her intuition.

"I'm a witch, Lavina." She answers dryly, "It comes with the job description."

We stop at a thick gathering of trees, and I watch as she walks to the biggest tree in the middle, and moves a branch.

A door opens like some sort of super spy movie - what, I still watch those - or used to.

We briskly walk through, and come to a huge mansion that still takes my breath away, everytime for sixteen years.

I mean you'd think a witch would live in a hut or an Igloo, or whatever it is they live in, just not this posh mansion.

She walked in quickly, sitting herself and I and gets down to business, magicking a routine glass of blood in my hand.

"The Beast is awakening," She begins, her voice not showing her age.

"It can't penetrate your barriers." I say boldly, totally believing it.

My heart drops when she begins to cackle, mockingly - is that also part of the job description?

"My powers are nothing compared to the Beast slightest whims. And yet, you still leave her unprepared." She accuses, her tone ominous.

"If I let her get prepared..." I trail off at this point.

"We don't know that for sure," Eileen bargains with me.

"Eileen, I'm doing nothing but waiting for the Beast to go back to sleep."

 She cackles again - seriously!

"That's a good one. She applauds cackling again, and I'm a step away from offering to teach her how to laugh.

"The beast awakens for a reason," She says her voice suddenly cold and emotionless.

 I suppress a shiver.

"And it never goes back to sleep until it  has accomplished that reason." She concludes, patting her red bun.

" I hate her." I say softly with suppressed fury.

"No you don't," Eileen replies me, her ancient wisdom filled, nut brown eyes peering into my soul. "You hate that you're backed into a tight corner. You hate the Beast. You hate the prophecy. Hell! You might even hate me, but you do not hate your child."

When I don't say anything, she sighs, probably wondering why I'm so stubborn.

"The Beast is not who you think it is and it's coming for her." She concludes getting up. "And you might want to ask your mom, about the Council's plan." She adds, even as I start to vanish.