(The New) Power of the 8 Elements: Part One

Chapter Seven: Adoption

"Neither the society nor the adopter wants to confront the agony of the mother from whose arms that same child was taken." - Margaret McDonald Lawrence
8 YEARS AGO
LUCIFER

"I'm sure they're a splendid family," the orphanage caretaker said.

The chauffeur drove unnaturally slowly to the house of the family that wanted to adopt me. I wasn't a fool. The caretaker had forced them to adopt because either she couldn't handle having a dark one at her orphanage, or she felt somewhat sympathetic that no one wanted to adopt me. I never knew my real parents, but I assumed them to be really European otherwise they wouldn't have left me with a ton of tailcoats. I said nothing the entire drive there. I had never met them before, and neither had the caretaker. A part of me did not trust them at all. They could be criminals. They could be abusive. They could be any kind of awful.

"Joseph, you're so quiet. Why?"

I said nothing for a bit before I corrected her. "It's Lucifer."

"Hm?"

"It's Lucifer."

"Oh, come on. You were sent to the orphanage as a Joseph."

"I want you to call me Lucifer. I don't like Joseph."

"You shouldn't hate your own name?"

"I never said I hated it. I just don't like it."

The caretaker seemed too confused, so I decided not to expand upon what I had said anymore.

"Ah, here we are." She looked out the window. "You can stop, Burch." She gestured to the chauffeur in the front who pulled up at the side of a dark mansion that looked to come straight out of a horror movie. "I'll get your bags, Joseph." She opened the car door and stepped outside to get to the trunk.

I rolled my eyes. "It's Lucifer." I unbuckled, and Mr. Burch turned around.

"Good luck, little boy," he said.

"Danke," I responded without making eye contact.

He smiled and unlocked my side of the car door. I hesitatingly walked out to find the family standing at the monumental sized gate. Three people stood—what appeared to be a mother, father, and a kid who seemed to be too tall for his age. The caretaker dragged the bags to the gate and stood next to me with a pleasant smile on her face.

"I'm so glad you decided to adopt him."

"Wasn't their decision," I remind myself.

"He's been at the orphanage, homeless for a long time."

"Why use the word homeless? Sounds like I'm penniless."

"I'm sure that he won't be a problem at all."

"It wasn't my decision," the woman said, giving a slow and annoyed look at her husband.

"Where's the paperwork?" He said.

"Oh, it's right here." The caretaker handed him all the files.

"You can go inside," he said, gesturing to me and his wife and eldest child.

The caretaker nodded at me to do as she said as if I wasn't capable of following directions. I followed the wife and apparently my new older brother into the house.

"Thrax, you can show him to your room," The wife said. "Until we find a place in the house for him to stay. You two shall share the bed or sleep on the floor if you're that petty."

The oldest child, Thrax, scoffed.

"Don't bother me. I'll be preparing dinner." She left the room.

"Well, looks like I'll be your new roomie," Thrax said.

"Looks like I will."

"In case you didn't know, I'm Thrax."

"Lucifer."

"I know. I'm not so keen on sharing the house with someone else, just so you know."

"Well, I'm not so keen on being adopted."

"Huh." He said. He walked upstairs, and I walked after him. His room was very regal for a kid who looked no older than me.

"Why are you so tall?" I asked.

"I'm a virus. Viruses are supposed to be tall."

"Why would they adopt a virus?"

"Beats me. We're pretty revolting creatures, aren't we?"

"I meant no offense. I was just confused."

Thrax jumped into his bed and pulled his long hair out from underneath him to where it lay on his pillows.

"Neptune and Proteus are strange, but they're kind of okay as long as you do what they say."

"Are they strict?"

"Yeah, but I don't really do what they say. Feel free to obey them if you want, but I'm not looking forward to following directions just because some new European fellow turned up on my doorstep."

"You must hate most people."

"I hate everybody. Welcome to the family, jack*ss."