Jewels of Nature

CHAPTER 7

"It's just... Complicated..." Carl hesitated to give a clear answer. He looked closely at the twins, wondering if it was okay to reveal the truth. Inwardly shaking his head, he decided to leave the burden to his father. Let him deal with it, Carl thought grudgingly.

"Fine," Adria replies, a little hurt that Carl was shutting himself from her. He always told her the truth, and never hid anything from her. For the first time in years, she noticed Carl was uncomfortable. He was always at ease when he was with them. Always. But now, he looked uncomfortable and hesitant. She hid her deductions and smiled, to let Carl know that she was fine.

Carl sighed in relief, seeing Adria smile. She wasn't hurt by his off-hand tone, Thank God, he thought.

"But-" Felix was stubborn to get an answer from Carl. "Felix..." Adria stared him right in the eye, and silently told him to leave it, and that they would get the answer another time, just not now. Felix suppressed a scowl and let the subject go.

"So, how was your birthday? It was yesterday right?" Carl quickly changed the topic, and smiled confidently, trying to hide his nervousness. Both Adria and Felix were surprised. "You remember? It's been years!" Adria exclaimed. "Of course I do, how could I ever forget your birthday? I'm quite offended in fact, that you thought that I would forget such an important day. If my flight weren't late, I would have arrived earlier. Then we could have had a blast, like the old days." Carl replied.

"You're here now, that's enough of a gift Carl... We really did miss you, we had so much fun when we were young... Sometimes, I just remember those times, and smile at the idiots that we were." Adria said while genuinely smiling. "Felix and I may have been idiots, but you never were one Ade. You always kept us grounded, thank God for that. I don't know how many times Father wanted to kick me out of the house for one of my pranks, but you always covered for both of us. I never did thank you for that did I?" Carl said while grinning.

Felix rolled his eyes," That's 'cause you were always ungrateful Carl, I always thanked Ade for getting your father off my case." Adria and Carl glanced at each other and burst into laughter.

Noticing that Carl was fidgeting, and frowning slightly, Adria knew she couldn't put it off any longer. "Carl, are you sure that you are okay?" Adria silently pleaded with her gaze for Carl, to tell the truth, this time, and not omit it. Carl met her gaze, and silently cursed himself for making an incorrect assumption from her smile earlier. She was hurt that he lied. Omission of the truth is a lie after all. He decided to tell them everything. It was better that they heard it from him than anyone else.

"No Ade, I'm not," Carl replied. "Is uncle Albert okay? Is that why you're worried? Do you need to get back soon?" Adria asked cautiously, knowing that this was a dangerous subject. Carl scoffed. "Of course he's fine. Fit as a fiddle. That isn't the problem." Adria silently egged him on.

Carl glanced around the room. "When is the maid arriving? Do you have a cook?" He asked. Adria blushed while Felix glared at Carl. "If you hadn't noticed, we're not living in a mansion Carl, we don't have either. We've been looking after ourselves ever since we left." Felix replied in a measured voice. Carl seethed. "This is how that bastard has been treating you. A respectable principal perhaps, but a son of a bitch on the inside," The twins didn't reply, but that was answer enough. Carl raged around the room," I knew dad might have thought of him as a friend, but I suppose birds of a feather-" "Uncle Albert is nothing like that monster! He doesn't manipulate you or blackmails you. He's nothing like that devil spawn." Adria quietly glared at the carpet after she said these lines, controlling her voice so that she didn't shout.

Silence.

"Well then, it's a good thing that Dad resumed guardianship. Dad was always your guardian, but till now, he just let his 'friend' look after you, rather than assuming that responsibility himself. Maybe he came to his senses, I don't know. I'm just glad that he did." Carl broke the silence and grinned. Adria and Felix gaped at him. "But how is he going to that all the way from Switzerland?" Adria asked, sure of his reply. Carl grinned at her, reading her mind," 'Cause you're going to be there too, duh" he smirked.

"Why the sudden change of scenery?" Felix asked in a calm voice, trying to control his elation. Adria grinned broadly when she heard Carl's good news. They were finally going to leave this wretched place. "It's just, a long story. You're 16 now, and that means that you are old enough for some responsibility." Carl winced. "Responsibility? What do you mean?" Felix asked, confused. "My father wanted to explain and offer all the details, my job was to just bring you guys home-" Carl replied hesitantly.

"No, no way is he going to explain everything. He- he treats me like a five-year-old!" Felix shouted while Adria suppressed a smile. "To be fair, you did act like one back then..."Carl smirked at Felix's red face.

"Carl, can you stop avoiding the subject and just tell us what the hell is going on?" Adria asked Carl in a serious tone.

Carl sighed, knowing the time had come," I'll tell you everything. A story about our ancestors. Especially yours. This is the story about the Habilite."