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

attention. The twins were two, Kelly was nine and Bradley was ten. Luna was twenty-three with me, Aaron, Aimee. Shane was already twenty-five and Derrick twenty-four.
The Dark Magic was slowly going away, and we’d conquered our own fears and anxieties. The years were flying – fast. I was getting into a strong routine, and loving it.

It took me a whole week to get enough courage in order to waltz back to the Hill Crest Orphanage. It was Saturday, with Derrick and Shane watching the children while Aimee, Aaron, and I confronted Mrs. Gertrude.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Ariana?” Aaron asked me, wrapping an arm around my waist.
“Wasn’t growing up with her enough for you?” Aimee grilled, scowling. Her arms were folded under her breasts.
“Yes, I want to do this.” I told Aaron, and then turned to his twin. “And yes, it was enough for me. She came pleading for me to help her keep the orphanage.”
“Why you?”
I shrugged at Aimee. “That I have yet to learn.”
When we reached the doors, I remembered my Oracle Children. I smiled; glad they were safe with Sharon at Adams’ Grove Farms. Aaron held my hand, hoping to give me strength against our old Mistress.
I gave each of them a look before we entered.
A little boy, about five, came up to us. “Are you here for Granny?”
His big green eyes looked up at me with interest and delight.
“Granny?” I asked, looking at Aimee and Aaron. “Mrs. Gertrude, I bet.” I turned back to the boy. “Yes. Where is she?”
The boy pointed in the direction of her office, a few feet away.
“Here goes it.” I told them.
I knocked on the door, hearing a soft “Come in.”
I pushed the heavy door open. I saw Mrs. Gertrude packing some boxes with paperwork.
“Mrs. Gertrude?” I said softly, being careful not to interrupt her.
She ignored me, sifting through a pile of old photos in her hands. She stopped at one, staring at it with a smile on her lips.
“You know, you three were my favorites.” Mrs. Gertrude announced.
“Excuse me?” Aaron asked. “Favorites?”
“If we were your favorites, why beat us for being kids?” Aimee cried.
Mrs. Gertrude sighed, finally looking at us. “It’s all I knew at the time.”
“All you knew?” I asked. “That’s what you told me, but I still don’t understand.”
Mrs. Gertrude shook her head. “The only way I knew how to show affection was to abuse. My father did it to me, and I didn’t know anything else.”
Aimee’s hard face turned soft as she unfolded her arms. “You were beaten as a child?”
“It was long ago, Amethyst, but the memories still haunt me.” Helen Gertrude’s eyes began to tear. She began to shake and each of us dared to walk closer to her. She was weak now, but we didn’t use it to our own advantage.
She continued. “What I did to you was inexcusable, and down-right wrong. I apologize profusely for it now. I know now it was wrong, and I should have been able to handle it better.”
“How did you become a Mistress than?” Aaron asked gently. I could see his necklace, the same one I gave him through the Crusade, was glowing a bright orange, just enough for my Mystic’s trained eye to see.
It meant the Dark Magic was banished from it, and he was slowly learning his Unicorn Magic. From who, I didn’t know, but I knew he would be fine in the end. Once Kelly had returned, the Dark Magic slowly began to disappear.
I listened to Mrs. Gertrude’s explanation.
“My father owned the house in Shore Point, leaving it to me in his will. Once I met Gerald Gertrude, marrying him, he and I found we couldn’t have children of our own. His brilliant idea was to open a haven for children who were thrown in the foster-care system.” She began, sitting at her desk. We sat across from her, listening to her story.
“Well, I didn’t know what to expect. Gerald was always the fancy entrepreneur, wanting to run his own business. Always the money-mogul, I’ll tell you that.”
“Why did you murder him?” Aimee wanted to know.
“I didn’t. His bookie did – who also threatened my life if I didn’t do as he told me. Gerald hadn’t known just how much hot water he was in with his money-making schemes.” Mrs. Gertrude said.
“If you did, why didn’t you stop it?” Aimee asked.
“I couldn’t, not knowing how.” Mrs. Gertrude replied. She stood, brushing her skirt to straighten it. “Now, what can I do for you children?”
We were still children to her. How awkward?
“How can we help you keep the orphanage?” Aaron asked, giving up the fight.
She stared at us. “You three actually want to help me? After all I’ve done to you in the past?”
“Mrs. Gertrude, I don’t hate you for it.” I told her. “If what you’re saying is true, which I can sense it is, and your apologies are sincere, I’ll help you.”
“You just have to tell us how.” Aimee supplied.
To my surprise, she hugged me. “Thank you, Ariana Moon.” She pulled back. “You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”
“I’m Ariana Reading now.”
“Married to a famous Hill View Reading?” Mrs. Gertrude teased, smiling. That was the first time I’d seen her smile sincerely – ever. “My congratulations to you.”
“Thank you.” I said. “Now, down to business.”
For the next hour, we sat and discussed how we were going to help her keep Hill Crest. The trouble with the bookies was still haunting her, making her fear for her life. She feared for the children as well.
“What we need is a lawyer.” Aimee announced. “In order to get those bookies back at their own game.”
“I agree.” I smiled, thinking of someone I was now close to. “May I use the phone?” I asked Mrs. Gertrude.
She nodded and I called none other than my mother. Mother came within twenty minutes, with us telling her the problem.
“A bookie, Helen?” Mother supplied. “How long have you been dealing with them?”
“Long before Gerald’s death.” Mrs. Gertrude told her.
Aimee, Aaron and I left on that statement, knowing my mother would handle it better than myself.
Story #3:
Sincere Apologies

We drove home in silence until Aimee said. “Do you think she’s telling the truth?”
She was sitting in the backseat, and I nodded, looking in the rearview mirror. “I can sense it, Aim. I’m almost sure she is.”
“Almost?” Aaron asked. “You don’t sound too convinced.”
“This is the thing. Yes, she’s telling the truth about her past and the bookies. I believe her apologies are sincere, too.”
“Did you sense anything else from her?” Aimee asked.
“She’s afraid.” I told the twins. “Afraid to lose what all she’s gained. Money, house, and even her life. Those bookies must have her running ragged doing things for them.”
“How did Matthew Steven fit into all this?” Aaron asked. “Wasn’t he her pet?”
“You got it.” I confirmed. “She told me he was also her grandson.”
“That still doesn’t explain how he fit in.” Aimee supplied.
We pulled into the drive to see a brand-new red Buick parked in front of the house. Immediately, I gulped, sensing Adrienne Whitehead.
“What’s she doing here?” I mumbled.
I saw the twins look at each other.
“Dare I ask who?” Aaron whispered in my ear.
I was afraid of what he might say or do if I told him. “Promise me you won’t get mad?”
Aaron paused before nodding slowly. “Go ahead.”
“Adrienne.” I told him.
He held his breath as we walked into the house.
As he set eyes on her, he announced rudely. “Come to make more trouble, Adrienne?”
“Aaron!” Aimee and I chorused.
Aimee took him aside and I greeted Adrienne. “Don’t mind him, Adrienne. What can I do for you?”
“I want to apologize for my behavior, and to see what I can do to make it up to you.” Adrienne looked as if she’d gone through hell herself. Her daughter Veronica was playing a game with Kelly, Bradley, and the twins Kymm and Carrie at the kitchen table.
“Nothing.” I told her. “You kidnapped Aaron’s and my daughter, Derrick’s own step-daughter, leaving us worried sick about her.”
“I sent you a note.”
“That note was written with hatred in your pen.” I said. Where did that come from?
“Why all the hatred, Adrienne?” I heard Derrick’s voice behind her, and looked up to see him scowling at her with hurt in his eyes. “What did we ever do to you?”
“Was it just to get attention?” I asked, thinking of what my husband had told me last year.
“No, Ariana, I assure you it weren’t for attention.” Adrienne said, sitting down on the couch.
Derrick sat beside her. I stood above her, arms crossed. Somehow, all the anger from Kelly’s kidnapping came back to me, and my Earthly Protectors’ Pendant showed it. I tried to be as forgiving with Adrienne as I had with Caroline and Mrs. Gertrude, but it wasn’t the same. I’d known both of them long before Adrienne, and knew their auras by heart, especially Mrs. Gertrude. Somehow, it wasn’t the same.
“What was it, then?” I demanded.
She looked at her lap briefly before meeting my eyes. “I was jealous. When Derrick ran off long ago, I thought it were my own fault, and began to think of how I treated him.” She explained, tucking her blond hair behind her ears.
“Why kidnap my step-daughter, Addie?” Derrick wanted to know.
“You were so happy while I was so miserable.”
I huffed. “You were miserable? What do you think your actions did to Derrick and me? Not to mention Aaron and Aimee! You made us a nervous wreck – against each other in every way possible! Explain that!”
Derrick gave me a warning look. “Ariana...” He said.
“No, Derrick. It’s okay.” Adrienne told him. “I was miserable because I couldn’t find the father of my daughter. I was jealous you were happy without me, so I had to do something. Kelly already knew me, so she trusted me.”
“That is, until you took her to the Catz mansion.” I said.
“Did she tell you that?”
I shook my head, ready to spook her out. “The Catz twins themselves told me she was there.”
Adrienne gasped, just as I expected.
“The next time you decide to do something like that, make sure the place isn’t haunted, first!” I said seriously, and then smiled at the thought.
“I just apologized to you guys! I told you my reasons and everything. Don’t tell me you’re still bitter!”
“I’m not bitter, Adrienne.” I told her.
“Neither am I.” Derrick echoed.
“I just want to know, since nobody got hurt or anything, if we could start over.”
“Why would you want to?” Aaron’s voice piped angrily.
“What did I just tell you?” Aimee cried, warning him.
Aaron waved a hand at her, silently telling her to never mind. “Tell me, Ariana. Why would you want to start over with her?”
Adrienne was in stitches, staring at me.
“As I told Caroline, and I always follow my own advice – Forgiveness is Devine.” I replied, smiling at the four of them. When Kelly came into the room, I hugged her.
“No one was hurt, were they Kelly?” I asked my daughter.
“No Momma.” Kelly supplied, shaking her head.
“In the end, everything was fine, right?” Adrienne supplied.
“Right.” Derrick and I chorused, with Kelly nodding her head.
I held my hand out. “Clean slate?”
Adrienne smiled, taking it. “Clean slate.”
“What about you, Aaron?” I asked him. “Care to give her another chance?”
At first, he just