The Girl with an Owl

Chapter 15

The first one to reach Ajana was a little boy with big innocent eyes who didn't seem to be able to stop jumping around from excitement.

"She looks funny," was the first thing he said.

"Where are her wings?" he added.

As he said that, he started flapping his wings showing off their beauty.

They were dark blue and magnificent, but Ajana couldn't focus on that, she was much too offended by his comment to do that.

"Now, now, what did we say about that? Just because someone is different, it doesn't mean they look funny." Cassie said in a stern voice.

"I am sorry," he said and seemed genuinely repentant for his words.

"That's okay," Ajana answered.

The moment she said that he was back to his chipper ways, and he surprised Ajana by running towards her and flying into her embrace.

Luckily for him, for the first time since she could remember, Ajana managed to catch something, in that case, someone.

It was unnerving for her to see someone place so much trust in a complete stranger. On the one side, it was cute. On the other, it was a bit unnerving.

After finally putting the little devil down, which he barely allowed, he introduced himself.

"I am Walnut! I will be your new brother!" He said, with enthusiasm, which she didn't share.

"I am sorry. Walnut is too young, so he doesn't really understand why you are staying with us. He still thinks you are his new sister. Don't mind him, he is only four, so he sees the world in his own special way." Cassie said.

"This is my husband, Zephyr." She said, pointing towards the dark-haired fairy who was trying to coax a little girl from behind his back.

Upon hearing his name, Zephyr raised his head and smiled in Ajana's direction.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I was supposed to introduce you to my daughter. However, I am not sure where she has disappeared to," he said.

Then he proceeded to theatrically look around high above the head of the golden-haired little girl hiding behind his back.

Soon enough, a sweet little giggle was heard, and the voice behind Zephyr's back said: "I am right here, daddy."

"Oh, there you are, my little princess. I didn't see you there." He said, gently nudging her forward.

She stepped forth, her pink dress swaying as she slowly took a few steps towards Ajana.

"My name is Nectarine. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said as she elegantly curtsied.

"I am Ajana. It's a pleasure to meet you, too." Ajana said, unsure of what she should do or say.

She was secretly glad that the girl wasn't as friendly as her brother who was holding on to Ajana's leg without any intention of ever letting go.

Maybe the reason the girl was different from her brother was the fact that she was a bit older. Ajana had noticed before that the older the children got, the more embarrassed they were when meeting new people.

"Why don't we go inside instead of just standing around," Zephyr said, moving energetically towards the house.

Ajana could see where the little boy was getting the energy from. Still, that didn't make it any easier for her to follow the boy. He kept pulling her by the hand towards the magnificent house, and she had no choice but to follow.