“Come in at your own risk.”
Freya scoffed, unable to help herself, when she heard what the new girl said as she stepped into the sitting room.
Come in at your own risk? If only the girl knew what she was, she would be holding her tongue. But that was by the way. They were here for something important.
“You never told us your name, now that I think of it..” She muttered, as she and the others stepped into the large empty sitting room.
“My name is Akila. Follow me, the rest are this way.” The girl gestured to a passageway which looked wide enough like the one at the pack house.
They followed her through the snake-like passageway till they burst out in a smaller compound, with a raffia shade at the far end.
From the entrance, the group could see Esther and her clique, talking about something wildly, although Esther for the most part looked in between, at odds, like her mind was stretched between two dimensions; her mind wasn’t a hundred percent involved in what her friends were talking about.
Esther started when she saw the group, her eyes darting tro and fro, causing her friends to take a pause in their chatter.
“Well, I see that she has seen you guys. We don’t want trouble…I hope it doesn’t come to that..”‘ Akila mentioned, clamping her hands together, like she wanted to plead, but rather she rubbed the smooth surfaces together like one would if preparing to fight, if pleased with preparing with fight.
Freya chuckled, before giving her a nod, and moving toward the group of five. Akila followed behind the group.
“Hello Esther…” Melvina greeted, through gritted teeth when they came to stop at the shade.
Esther kept mute, choosing rather to calculate her options, than reply to the woman who had so much similarities to her Aunt.
“Aren’t you going to say something? You are really going to pretend that you don’t know us, or what?” Clem asked, taking a seat on one of the benches, sending a message to the surprised clique that he and the rest wouldn’t be leaving until they got answers.
“Who are you people?” The girl with purple and green dyed hair spoke.
Freya remembered her from the memory she had snatched when she had held Esther’s scarf. She had been among those that had tried to bully Emma at the cafe. She smiled at the beautiful memory.
“I think you know that. I’m sure that Esther has told us who we are, and what she has done. From what I can see, you lot are close like that. Isn’t that right?” Anthony inquired, having joined the others in taking a seat, his arms folded across his chest, his entire eyes on Esther, not for once straying to the others.
Esther shifted under his gaze. She was still crushing on him.
“Esther, I really don’t have time to play catch up, or play along the lines. There isn’t much time for that. We need you to talk. We know that you worked with Leonarya to crash Derek’s party. Yet, we are not here to berate you for that. We just want to know why-we don’t want to assume-and we want to help you in some way, if of course you would help us, or give us something to help with.” Freya spoke, when she saw no forthcoming talks from Esther after Anthony’s inquiry.
She was beginning to think that the clique weren’t going to make it easy for them, especially since Esther still refused to talk. If she hadn’t seen Esther talking with her friends earlier, she would have thought that she was dumb.
“You have to talk, Esther, or else you will leave us no choice, but to do it the hard way..” Freya continued. She would do anything at this point to stop Leonarya and her allies, who were trying to bring doom to the earth, and who had already caused an untold sorrow to her family.
At her words, the clique with Esther laughed.
“You don’t rate us, really. Or you wouldn’t have just threatened our friend.”
Freya relaxed, letting her back rest to the raffian soft wall, after hearing another in the clique sputter.
They didn’t rate them? Did they know her?
Esther would have at least if she had stayed for the meeting that had occurred in the hall, but she hadn’t been around. Freya was actually sorry for them. She hoped they wouldn’t cross her. She just needed answers.
Esther must have read the alarming relaxation on Freya’s face, and following her guts this time around, she decided to speak. If push comes to shove, then she and her friends would fight. She would never apologize for trying to save her aunt. There hadn’t been another option.
“You are right. I worked with Leonarya, but that was only to save my Aunt.”
Clem and Lent chuckled hearing this, stopping only when Melvina glared at them. Esther was beginning to talk, they didn’t want her folding up now-the glare seemed to say.
“I understand that. But do you think Leonarya is trustworthy? Do you think that she would have released your aunt? As far as I am concerned, she would only keep stringing you along, using you as a puppet. Is that how you want to live your life?” Freya inquired, clasping her hands on her thighs as she met Esther’s stare head on.
“And how would you know that?” Esther huffed, even though her gut which she had disregarded those few days ago when she had betrayed the wolf pack, was agreeing with Freya’s statement.
“Because she had been my mother at one time, before I had found my real mother. I know her more than you can ever imagine. I know she would never release your aunt. She would rather kill you, then kill your aunt.”
Esther shuddered at the reply, her eyes raking the figure who looked so much like her aunt’s obsession, Emma. Does that mean that they had found Emma’s mother?
A lot surely had happened since she had run from the packhouse that night. But would they trust her again?
“Esther, you can return with us…we understand your reasons, and have already factored that in. We really need your help at the moment…we..” Freya was still talking, when the guy who had been quiet for so long, looking so solemn and out of place, spoke up, cutting her off mid sentence.
“Sorry, but Esther won’t be going anywhere. I think you all should leave.”
**
“It still looks the same..” Sheila muttered, when she and the others stopped by her house.
She sighed deeply, before climbing the low steps and stopping at the door, memories warring within her. Memories that brought tears to her eyes.
She started, when Lucille tapped her softly in the arm.
Inhaling deeply, she shook herself as if to reactivate her senses, before opening the door, hoping there would be no reason to fight here.