6.The Unwelcome Guests

In the palace of Ardna Chirig, 

The loud horn of the car awakens the deep slumber of Akshara. The car horn was blown three times repeatedly in three different frequencies, the horn sound reached the ears of Akshara and soon her brain decoded the sound. She opened her grape-eyes suddenly with a wide smile and uttered, “Uncle Bruz….” 

She bounced from her bed, scrambled to the door, suddenly halted to move backwards to have a look at her in the mirror. She combed her curly hair with her fingers and adjusted her dress, rushed to the door.

Akshara quickly took her stairway murmuring to herself, as her room was located upstairs, "Why, there are so many staircases. Axe, you are a moron to get your room on the second floor. Nic warned me about the leg pain of climbing stairs. I should have taken notice of her words. Why did he come so earlier before Halloween? I know it’s for me."

Akshara hopped to the living room and saw a man with broad shoulders and thick lower jawbones with dark eyes looked around the living room and said, “Darling…. I’m home.” 

On hearing those words, Akshara rushed herself and doesn’t mind her words, “I’m coming, I’m coming, Uncle Bruz. Up here, LOOK…” her voice faded when her eyes laid on an additional person attended with him. Is he HIS family? Akshara questioned herself. 

“Is this your Darling, Dad?” a man with an impressive figure with amber eyes with a slightly hoarse voice came back with a sigh, “Indeed, she is a Darling.”

"DAD, is he calling Uncle Bruz as Dad, which means he is Karen Redclaws," Akshara's mind worked fast to locate his identity who looked three years older to her. “Karen… is that you. Never thought you would grow into such a man” 

Karen replied in a much-excited tone, “I too never thought you will be classy and sexy.”

On hearing his words, Akshara’s eyes widely opened, and sighed a little, rolled her eyes, and thought to herself that he is no longer the boy who played with her a decade ago rather he was a man of his age. Uncle Bruz turned his head to give him a look and said, “Karen, mind your language. She is not used to it. She is unexposed to the outside world”

“I’ll make that exposure… Is that ok, Darling?” Karen flirted with a wide grin.

Akshara threw a sudden reply, “Call me as Axe, everyone calls me, Axe. The only person Uncle is allowed to call me as Darling”

“Axe! Indeed sharp Axe you are,” murmured Karen while feasting his eyes on the young and beauty of the girl who stood before him.

Akshara turned her eyes towards her Uncle Bruz and said with a frown, “Uncle, don’t blame me by chance I hurt him.”

Karen too replied to his dad without breaking his eyes on her, “Dad, I will be pleased, if I am hurt by your darling.”

Uncle Bruz replied, “Both of you stop arguing. Karen, don’t be rude to my darling. She is like your little sister.”

The word SISTER shocked Karen and replied immediately, “No dad, I can’t take her as my little sister. May I take her as my friend?”

“Anything! Karen. Don’t be rude to her,” Uncle Bruz replied to his son in a considerate tone.

Puzzled, Karen asked, “Why do you care that much for her, Dad?”

“Unexpected visitors in my palace” an ominous tone gained the attention of everyone, all looked in the direction of the voice come from. A majestic woman in black with wrinkles all over her body wearing a big golden amulet of the dragon made her presence in the living room where everyone was standing. 

Mrs Blackfire indeed looked like a witch in her appearance; everyone except Akshara has no guts to talk against her. Mrs Blackfire appointed wintergreen couples to look over all her house activities including cleaning, cooking, washing, taking care of Akshara. 

“Why I am not acknowledged before…” she gave an evil look towards Wintergreen, who has been traumatized from her look been standing at the entrance of the kitchen. 

“Pardon them, it’s not their fault,” Uncle Bruz came forward to plead for them.

“Alabruz, Don’t plead for them. Do you forget, you are ALPHA?” and gave a scanning look to Karen and asked, “Is he Beta?”

Akshara interrupted and said, “Oh Nic, he is not Beta. He is Uncle Bruz’s son Karen. Don’t you remember him?”

“My memory serves me well, Axe. Help Wintergreens to prepare breakfast. They have been starving, to travel such a long-distance”, said Mrs Blackfire and went inside her room.

Mrs Blackfire stopped and talked on her shoulders, “Alabruz, can I have a word with you?”

Uncle Bruz followed her silently. Akshara went with Wintergreens to the kitchen. 

Karen followed Akshara blindly and was immersed in his thoughts in her curly hair and wondering how much she had grown in these many years. Oh my god, look at her flocks, it’s indeed entangling my heart in the uncombed flocks. I have seen many girls; no one has the magnetic pull in the eyes as she does.

Akshara suddenly stopped and turned back to question him, “Why are you following me”

Karen stammered for his words and finally answered, “You never asked my likes and dislikes”

Akshara folded her hands under her chest and asked with a raised eyebrow, “Why should I?”

Karen felt the magnetic pull in her eyes were powerful and replied hardly, “Because you are preparing breakfast for me and you are supposed to ask your guest what they like and serve them with gratitude.”

Akshara gave him a displeasure look, “Am I?”

“Yes, Axe” replied Karen with a grin.

Akshara was annoyed to ask him and asked him with grinding her teeth, “Quickly, tell me what you like. I’ll make Nuraz buy and Deny will prepare it”

Karen put his hands in his pocket and leaned towards Akshara. She to avoid his closeness, moved back and gave him her sharp look. Karen asked with a mischievous smile, “What will you offer, Axe?” 

“Anything in Ardna Chirig”, Akshara replied boldly.

He moved even closer to her and request, “Will you offer what I like?”

“Of-course! Karen. Because Nic told so.”

“I like you, Axe”