Pernicious Family

Chapter 11

Lex"s POV

Lex woke up really early. She got her self ready and got her spinning gloves. The gloves are made with the finest hand ground fibres she could make, then treated with a special wash so that things do not stick to the gloves.

Lex takes all the seed pods that she has to the spinning room. She grabs one of the carry baskets from that room and puts it in the hall with a note.

Please place any empty Thornberry seed pods in this basket.

Easily splitting the seed pods in half due to all the fibres growing in the same direction, Lex tosses them into the wash drum.

While the pods rinse Lex back blows the bellows for the drying station, clearing out the dust and webs to the outside.

Lex puts the clean pods in the drying station and rewashes the ones that need it. She then dusts and wipes the rocks and drums for the grinding station.

Checking the pods Lex finds only one in any condition for hand grinding. Putting that one aside, she places the rest of the dry pods in the drum with rocks and spins it letting it rotate back and forth on its ropes.

Lex tests the spinnging wheel and sets the tension for the thread.

Lex slides the stop bar against the drum and pulls out the loose fibres, and the pods that are near loose. She hand grinds the near ones and starts the drum spinning again.

Lex attaches the guild thread and starts the spinning wheel. She quickly gets a thread about 30 cm long. She disconnects the thread from the wheel and tests its strength. Finding it good but not the best she resets the tension on the wheel and seals the ends of the first test thread with a drop of her blood.

"What are you doing?". A female voice behind Lex asks.

Lex holds up the thread.

"I see that you are spinning. You should be in your room eating your breakfast." The lady's ice blue eyes staring at Lex's face.

Lex shrugged and stuffed the thread into her pocket. She then signalled for the lady to lead the way.

Lex opens the door to her room and the lady sets a covered tray on her table. After putting down the tray the lady takes off her mask and places hangs it off her belt. The metallic stitching around the collar of her turtle neck is more intricate than Xan's.

The face above the collar looks familiar, and Lex knows that she can trust her. Her blue black hair is in a pixie cut. Her almond shaped ice blue eyes were both warm and calculating, and her thin lips were neither smiling nor scowling.

Lex signalled for the lady to pick her seat first. Lex sat in one if the other seats. The lady pulled the cover off the tray and revealed two plates. They each took one and started to eat.

"Thomas came to me this morning saying my daughter Raven sent him to find me because when Raven tried to bring your breakfast the door was locked and you were not responding to her knocks. Apparently she was very worried. " The lady stated. "There are three problems with that statement. My daughter has stated that she would rather you starve, then her bring you breakfast. Two she has not been silent about how much she wishes for your death. And third my daughter was still in her bed fast asleep until I woke her twenty minutes ago. " The lady pauses.

"So why do you think he lied?".

Lex wrote He loves her. Thomas cares very deeply for your daughter and wants to keep her out of trouble.

"That is it? He is not trying to keep her away from you?"

Do not worry I will not seduce your daughter.

"Like you did my son."

Lex choked on her drink and blushed.

Hay, I resemble that comment.  Xan is her son, and Raven is his sister that explains a few things.  I thought that she was upset because I took her place in his heart.  Not that she was worried that her brother is being lead around by his penis.

"You resent that comment?"

Let's say it was mutual.

"My son has not showed any interest in males nor females since....." The lady blinks. "Give me a second I have to check on something." She gets up and leaves the room, leaving the door open.

Lex finishes her breakfast, stacks her things neatly on the tray, then goes into the bathroom to wash her hands.  She puts her regular gloves back on and walks into her room.

Opon entering her room Lex sees Raven standing in the middle of the room.  "I see Thomas shared breakfast with you.  Did he also rat me out to my mother?  I should just kill you now and get it over with.  You have ruined my life, changing everything."  Raven runs at Lex brandishing a dagger.  

Lex reaches into her pocket and gets the thread out.  She wraps it around the blade of the dagger and pulls, the blade snaps off. In the scuffle Lex retains the pommel of the dagger, the blade, string and her right glove end up in a corner.  I am so thank full for all that play fighting Xander and I did when we were very little.   Lex uses the take down that Xander and she made, to finish she pulls Raven over her knee, she wraps Raven's hair around her right fist then pulls the hair to expose her throat, Lex ran the pommel of the dagger across Raven's jugular and then knees her in the back to knock her forward and away.  Lex took the ready stance while Raven regains her balance.  

"Enough!!"  shouted a voice behind Lex.  The door slams shut.  Lex turns around and see the lady from before standing infront of the door to the hallway.  Lex feels malicious movement behind her so she dodges to the side and ducks.   The lady strides into the room, grabs Raven by the shoulder, twists Raven around and pushes her so that Raven lands on her but.   The lady grabs Ravens hair and shears it off at the base of her skull throwing the severed hair into the fire.  The way she moves, it looks so familiar.    Xanders mom, she moved like that on more than one occasion correcting Xander or I.  That means the fetus that was barely surviving is Raven.  

 "How could you.  You have broke the rules of hospitality.  And even worse you were bested by someone that is not the family.  Disgraceful.  I think you might have to relearn the basics with the little ones again."  

Lex got between the lady and Raven just in time to receive the smack across the face instead of Raven.  The lady stood there with her hand in the air looking stunned.

Raven jumped up and ran out the door.  Slamming it behind her.