Night Lullaby by Char Marie Adles (read after TXT) 📖

He laughed then. “Yes fly, your mother loved to fly when she was younger.”
“Will it hurt?” I pointed at his wings. “The wings growing in for the first time?”
He looked as if he were choosing his words carefully as if not to scare me.
“Only a little,” he said.
“And how do you retract them?”
He paused and flexed his wings and they slowly pulled back into his back.
“Whoa,” I said.
“I think its best if you take a bath and go to bed. We can talk more in the morning.”
I nodded and the doors opened and a woman walked in. she bowed to me and said, “Right this way Young Mistress.” In a daze I told my grandfather good night, took an old-fashioned bath in a marble tub, and went to sleep in a giant old canopy bed.
“This has been one wild day,” I muttered before I drifted into sleep to the sound of soft rain.


Chapter Three
What?!


I woke up to the sounds of soft rain still tapping on the large with widow took up more then half of the wall of my room. It was in one of the towers carved out of the mountain. I pulled back the covers of the bed and walked across the long room to the window. I stared out and found myself amazed.
Surly you would have though you would be able to see the road and the gate into the forest, even the fence, but there was nothing. Nothing but thick ancient forest. Everything looked so small from up here. But you couldn’t see anything but forest and other mountains in the distance where the way to the city was suppose to be. It was as if I had crossed over into another world. And believe me It was breathtaking. It looked like nothing else I had seen before. No words could say how different or how beautiful it was.
The sun was raising and it seemed so perfect it could be real. Pinks and gold painted the skies.
My breath caught as a small little bird no bigger then my smallest finger, with wings a neon yellow and a body of neon pink and red, flew by and stopped to look at me through the glass. As it paused it blinked and chirped. And with a flip of it long it was gone.
I stepped back and laughed. “I could swear that thing smiled at me,” I muttered.
I stepped away from the window and spun around looking at the room as it passed in flashes of color.
“It’s so big!” I exclaimed. “The whole apartment me and mom lived in could fit in here twice! No three times!”
I fell laughing to the ground and felt a tear slip down my cheek.
“Mom, Grandpa…thank you,” I whispered, rubbing it away.
There was a knock on the door. I got up and went to answer it.
When I opened the door and maid bowed.
“Good morning Young Mistress,” she said.
She was the same one fro last night. She was young about my age and pretty. She long short red hair the color of a flame, and eyes a blue so light they were almost transparent. She was thin to and small, and had a good sized chest. Not to small nor to big like mine. She was wearing a funny looking maid outfit and cap.
“You’re the same one from last night,” I said with a small.
She nodded. “Yes, Young Mistress.”
“Oh stop it. Call me Fira,” I said grinning now, “I’m not really into the whole title thing, and I’m no the rich one. That’s my grandpa. Who are you?”
She was grinning too. “I’m Mira. A fire witch, though not a good one. I was hired to be your maid.”
“Forget about it. I don’t need a maid, but would you like to be friends?”
“Yes!” she said, her eyes lighted up. “I’ve never had a friend before!”
“I had one; a small boy was I was little to, but not anymore. It’s nice to meet you Mira.”
“Oh yes, you too. You best get dressed, the Master has called for you.” she said.
“Ok go tell him I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Will do,” she aid as she ran down the hall. I closed the door and went to my suit case. I chose a black tank top and a pair of short shorts. I dressed quickly and brushed out my hair and put on my make up.
I left my room and stared at the hallway. To say it was long was an understatement.
“Umm…” which way do I go?
“Young Miss, are you lost?”
I sighed in relief and turned around. A lady in her late forties with silver blue hair smiled at me. But that’s not what surprised me it was that she only came up to my knee and had beautiful silver wings.
I tried no the stare.
“Yes, I don’t know what room to go to. You see I was suppose to meet my grandfather the Master and-”
“Oh!” she said. “Give me your hand then.”
I did and then suddenly we were in the office room again.
I saw grandfather, but he saw the lady first.
“Oh Jackie!-” before he could say anything more she patted my hand, smiled at me, turned and gave him a sour look and disappeared in a flash of silver light.
I turned to grandfather. “What was that all about?”
“That would be Jackie. She as old as this place and was the first servant here. She doesn’t like me. She’s never liked another person, besides your mother, of course.”
I shook my head. People. No, demons.
“Come in my dear. We have much to talk about.” he said with a wide smile. It was the same smile mom had. It feels as if you had your own personal sun to keep you warm and wrap its arms around you.
I smiled back, “Thanks.” I sat in the same chair I had last night and he did the same.
He sat back and looked over my face. “You really do look like her. I could swear you were her when she was younger. The only thing different is your coloring. It your father’s.”
“Mom never looked a day older then seventeen. When I got older people though we were twins. Guess I know why now. So I guess I’m no longer in France am I?”
“You looked out the window?”
I nodded.
“Well to answer your question, no. You’re in our world. It’s next to the human world. It’s what humans call a rift in space and time. But it nothing of what they think. This world was made by Magic as was theirs, but the Magic in their world is gone. Did you never know anything of this world were you were born?” he asked, staring at my intently.
“Well I guess I had some idea. I’ve always had dreams of my childhood, but I thought them nothing more then dreams. And mom though me Magic to. But I though it was just like what the humans,” I shook my head, it was already starting, “what people though was just witches.”
“Well you see not everyone who lives in this world is a demon or Eros. Witches live here to though they are nothing of what humans think. Oh and I should tell you everyone is very free about their true from. Of course each one has a human form, but they don’t use them much in this world.”
“I found that out this morning.” I said with a frown.
He laughed. “Oh Fira you are just like your mother!”
I smiled. “I’ve never been told that before.”
He stopped laughed, but he chuckled once. “I have something to talk to you about, ok?”
“Go ahead and shoot. After everything you’re doing for my I know I could never repay you.”
“Well first of all since you are the last family member I have you are the heiress of everything I have, and that means you get everything when I retire. And then there you need to go to school. Plus, everyone knows about you, but since they’ve never saw you but a few times when you were little, and on top of that you’re my heir, you will be very…popular. Since people haven’t seen you they will do what ever it takes to know you.”
I sat there, my hanging out like a half-wit. Then all I could think of was, “But I already finished school.”
He eyes widened in surprise. “You finished but you’re only fifteen!”
“Yeah, I was a bit smart.”
Then it hit me. Heiress!
He shook his head. “Well our school is a bit different then human schools.”
I couldn’t really talk. I nodded and cleared my throat.
“Well grandpa I was wondering if I have to work while I’m here,” I asked.
“For heaven sakes, no, my child,” he gasped as if the idea where surprising.
“Well then I would love to go to school, for you see I never when to school where I was with people my own age. It would be fun. Plus my birthday is in a month. I’ll be sixteen.”
He smiled. “The perfect age to start…” he said to himself. He said it so low I almost didn’t hear it.
What his he planning? I wondered.
“Good then I will have your stuff ready so you can start in a few days. The schools have dorms, but you can still live here. When your wings grow in you can fly here when ever you want. Oh and don’t tell anyone your wings haven’t come in yet. A crow demon that is born without wings is looked down upon, and a half human one as well. Understand?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said listening carefully. I didn’t know this world anymore so I needed to know all I could about it.
“Good. As one of the two most powerful families it’s your job, to know everyone you can. But I warn you now that there are some men who want you for your position, so be on the look out. I wish I didn’t have to put all this on you.” he said with a sigh.
I waved it away. “I don’t care as long as I get to be with you. Family is family no matter what.” I said with a firm nod.
“Like I said just like you mother.”
“Thank you, grandpa,” I said springing out