Young Guardian Trilogy by Lady Adellandra Dratianos (the lemonade war series .TXT) 📖

the drugs activating in my bloodstream.
I tried to stay awake long enough to see the look on my daughter’s face to her new step-brothers.
Within a few minutes, our whole crowd of family came in, which included Derrick’s brothers and sister.
“Where are the babies?” Derrick’s sister Kendra asked, searching.
“The nurses took them away.”
“I think Ariana tired them out.” Derrick teased me, and I smiled. “By the way, you have twin nephews.”
Kendra clapped her hands. “That’s wonderful, Derrick! I’m so happy for you!”
“She always was the sucker for babies.” Derrick teased his sister, sneaking a smile at me.
Mother came to both sides of our beds. “Well, I see my prophecy came true.”
“What’s that, Mother Woods?” Derrick asked.
“I knew one of my twin daughters would have a pair of her own!” Mother cried, kissing us both.
I began to feel tired, and immediately fell asleep despite the commotion.
“Let’s go and leave them to rest.” I heard my Father’s voice announce, and everyone listened.
That’s when I faded out of earshot and in my own little Dream Realm.
I was so very happy now. I had my own little family: Derrick, Kelly, Aaron, Aimee, Bradley Allen, and now my twin sons, Andrew and Mark-Antony. Luna had hers: Shane, her son Caleb, our birth-family, the Woods’ and us.
Life had just begun, and I couldn’t be any happier.
Story #1:
New Challenges

A month later, it was again time to register Kelly and Bradley Allen in school. While Aimee watched the twins, Aaron and I went down to the Academy. To my surprise, the Academy was now renamed to Hill View Elementary.
“I guess that’s what we get for being gone so long, huh?” Aaron smiled.
I laughed.
We made our way to the principal’s office, and found the same kind woman sitting in as secretary.
She looked up once hearing us come in. “Why, hello Miss Woods! Pleasure to see you again!”
“Pleasure’s all mine, but the name is Reading now. Derrick and I have married.” I told her. I turned to Aaron and Bradley. “This is Aaron Schmidt, Kelly’s father, and my step-son, Bradley Allen. We want to register the children in school.”
“Certainly.” She grinned at Kelly, then back at me. “Which last name will Kelly be using? Last I knew she was using your own.”
“Reading.” I told her. “And Bradley is Schmidt.”
Aaron stared at us, and then smiled. He let me take control of registrations, only talking once the secretary or principal questioned about Bradley.
When we were finished, Aaron and the children followed me to the car.
“Wow,” he breathed. “I never knew.”
I laughed, starting the engine. I waited until we were on the main road to question him. “Never knew what?”
“I never knew you could take charge so well.” Aaron replied. “Did you ever think of joining the PTA with Aimee and me?”
I thought about it. “Sure, why not?”
“The next meeting, the first of the school year, is a week before school starts. Think you can make it?” Aaron asked me.
“Depends. Day or night?”
“Day.”
“Good.” I told him. “I’m starting my teaching and psychology classes at Hill View University next week. They’re held at night. So, between the PTA, school, and the twins, I’ll be pretty busy.”
“What about the kids?” Aaron asked. “Will Derrick be home to take care of them?”
I shook my head. “He and Shane have been accepted as Cadets in the Ray County Police Force. I talked to Aimee and she’s agreed to watch the twins and Kelly while I took the classes.”
Aaron grinned. “You sound all grown-up.”
“So do you.” I complimented. “I mean, all four of us: Luna, Aimee, you and I: are twenty-one-years-old you know. We’re no longer kids, Aaron. We have lives of our own, and kids to boot.”
“Yeah, you have three!” Aaron laughed, winking at the kids in the backseat. Kelly and Bradley giggled.
We arrived home in no time. I let Aaron take the kids next door to play while I found out whose car was in the driveway. I didn’t recognize the coupe until I walked in the door.
Immediately, I was bombarded by Kendra Reading, Derrick’s only sister.
She hugged me. “Ariana! You’re home!”
I laughed, pulling away from my excited sister-in-law’s grasp. “Did you miss me?” I teased her.
Derrick came in and kissed me, smiling. “Where’s Kelly?”
“Next door with Aaron and Bradley.” I told him, putting the car keys on the rack. “He and I just registered the kids in school. He suggested I join the PTA. Maybe you can join me?”
Derrick took a breath, looking at his sister.
I looked at the two of them, confused. “What did I say?”
I heard Kendra gulp, fidgeting with her bracelets.
“I’m not sure you want to be a part of it, Ariana.” She said quietly.
I was concerned. “Is it because I’m a young mother?”
Now Derrick gulped. “No, it’s because of your family. For years, the Woods’ have been shunned by Hill View society. No one’s sure why, or who started the rumors, but it’s thought you practice evil devil-worshiping magic.”
I laughed out loud. “Me? Into devil worship? Come on, you don’t actually believe that, do you?”
They didn’t say anything.
“Well?” I prodded.
Derrick sighed and held me, kissing my lips. “Don’t worry so much about it, okay. It’s not that important.”
“Not that–.” I spat, pulling away from him. “Derrick, my whole life, I’ve wanted to be accepted into a society. Now that I know where I’m from, and who I am, I believe it’s important to be accepted into the Hill View community! I would think it would be just as important to you.”
“Go to the meeting.” Kendra spoke up. “You’ll see what we’re talking about.”
I heard the twins’ crying from the nursery, and turned to tend to my sons. “I don’t want to argue the matter right now. My sons need me.” I huffed.
As I fed my twin sons, I wondered what they meant. Derrick and Kendra have been born and raised here, I wasn’t. They knew how harsh the people of Hill View could be – I don’t. Not yet, anyway. Even Aaron and Aimee knew more than I did about my own city.
I had a hard time getting little Mark-Antony to sleep after he drank the entire bottle. I sang him a lullaby I made up when I was a little girl, and he fell right to sleep in the crib. As for his twin, Andrew, he fell asleep in my arms.
They were both so precious. Kelly and Bradley loved to help me with them. My little family was perfect.
Thing was – there was still something harboring in my soul that told me something was extremely wrong. I never knew how to explain it, and I still don’t. My thoughts, which were always of love, happiness, and belonging, began to change. My dark past had been haunting my dreams again – and the images always woke me up in the middle of the night, tears in my eyes. The anger in my system bubbled inside, just thinking about the many families I used to be sold to and a slave of.
Derrick comforted my thoughts at night, and seemed to forget about it in the morning. Neither he nor I, nor any of my family knew what to do about it. I tried to talk to Mother, but she wouldn’t budge on the subject, claiming nothing was wrong.
Somehow, I didn’t believe her.

II

“Hey, you.” I heard Aimee’s voice call from the living room the next day. I was washing my hands from changing the twins’ diapers when I heard her come in.
“In the bathroom, Aimee.” I replied.
She found me and stood in the doorway.
“Since when do you call me ‘hey, you?’” I grinned.
Aimee shrugged, smiling. She saw the tired look on my face and asked. “The boys keeping you up all night?”
“Not really. Andrew is a sound sleeper already. He’s the perfect baby.” I told her. “As for Mark-Antony, I have a feeling he’s always going to keep me on my toes.”
Aimee giggled. “If the boys aren’t the problem, what is?”
Once I turned the water off, I turned to her. “My crazy dreams. Or should I call them nightmares?”
Aimee looked interested. “Nightmares? You haven’t had nightmares since we were kids, and that was way before either of us met Katherine and Lord Guardian.”
I nodded. “Right. My past is coming up on me again. I keep asking Mother if she knows what to do, but she claims it’s normal. I don’t believe her.”
“Neither would I.” Aimee said.
She followed me to the kitchen, where she helped me start dinner for the entire family. Tonight, we’d have the actual banquet with the Readings, and I would meet my new family for the first time, besides Kendra.
“So, did you want me to look after them at the banquet tonight?” Aimee asked anxiously.
I looked at her and laughed. “You love your nephews, don’t you?”
She smiled. “I also love my niece, and son. I’ve always felt like a mother to the other orphans at the Home, so I guess that’s my calling. Baby-sitting.”
“I think it’s called ‘day-care’ or ‘parenting.’” I teased her. “And the answer is ‘yes,’ I would love your help. You are our Over-Seer, you know.”
Aimee grinned at that. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
“Think you can use the Unicorn Magic to see what’s going on?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “It’s worth a try.” She took my hand in hers and closed her eyes.
“Concentrate on the Magic, Aimee.” I whispered. “Remember what I taught you.”
Aimee opened her eyes and gave me a smirk. “Yes, Mother. I remember, just shut up and let me do my job.”
I smiled at that, watching her face. I could feel the Magic from her system on my hands. It was warm and comforting. After a moment, she snatched it back in alarm.
“Amethyst?” I asked. “What did you see?”
She looked at me, puzzled. “Nothingness. Dark, angry, hurting nothingness.” She stared at me, and gasped. “Ariana, have you looked at the color of your eyes lately?”
“They’re silver-blue, the color of a Mystic’s Magic. So?”
Aimee shook her head. “No, they’re not. Go in the bathroom and look.”
I was afraid, at first. What did Aimee see that I couldn’t?
When I looked, I stared hard at my reflection.
My eyes...the color scared me. Dark, black, and hollow.
That’s when I saw it. A vision of my younger self, being beaten by Mrs. Gertrude.
Aimee had to tap me awake from the vision.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to have any visions?” She asked, concerned.
“I’m not, simply because I’m Earthbound.” I told her, not really believing my own words.
“What happened? What did you see?” She dared to whisper.
“It was the first time I’d used any kind of power.” I told her, going into a daze as I remembered. “I had made a lamp fall off the end table, not knowing what I was doing. Unfortunately, she was watching, and used her switch to beat me.”
The emotions from back then were coming up on me again, and I knelt to the floor, crying. Aimee held me while the tears flowed. It hurt so much then, and it hurt now just thinking about it.
Oh, Lord O’Dell. Why are you doing this to me?
I never noticed when Luna came in, with Caleb in a carrier. As soon as she saw us, on the floor and bawling, she knelt down to our level. “What happened to her?”
Aimee didn’t answer, because she was looking at Luna’s eyes. I watched them.
“You