Raya's Heritage Chapter Three

Raya had never ridden in a limo before, but she found the experience pleasant enough, especially on an hour long ride with four siblings, two parents, and a tall, posh Englishman. It was plenty big enough to accommodate all of them. Again, there was a place for snacks, but this time, Mom and Dad took a firm hold on their kids and told them they could only have one drink each. Bruce and Ryan attempted to negotiate for another one as soon as their sodas were gone, but they were unsuccessful. Raya and Julia didn’t even try.

To keep them occupied, Dad initiated them all in a guessing game. Raya had a feeling that he was at a loss on what to do, having always been the one driving before, but she gave him points for the game. The goal was to come up with the most obscure object and then the others would have to guess what it was. There were a couple rules: you have to ask yes or no questions and whatever your object was had to actually exist at some point in history. There were no limits on questions. For the first part, Connor talked shop with Mr. White about baseball. The business man seemed to be as big a fan as Connor was, if not bigger. But towards the end, Connor managed to convince Mr. White to join in. They collaborated – their object was a ticket stub – and almost won, too, but they lost to Julia, who used a paperclip. No one could guess it; she ended up having to tell them in the end.

The game stopped when the car suddenly passed through an opening in a stone and wrought iron fence. As the black gate closed behind them, Raya made sure that she got a view at one of the windows. Her siblings crowded at her back. The gravel road lined with trees seemed to be a-typical of any rich person’s estate, but it still had the same effect. The Colt kids gaped in awe at the long driveway that snaked up a small hill before curving around in front of a huge mansion house. Though it was far too small to be a real castle, the stonework reminded Raya of castles she’d seen in books. The front door was actually two very large dark wood doors set on a long, smooth gray stone porch only accessible by a few stone steps. Raya tried to count the windows on the front of the house, but lost count around eleven because the limousine dipped down before heading back up. Eleven bedrooms and all at the front of the house.

“Whoa,” Bruce said in her ear.

Raya nodded.

The limo came to a stop perfectly in front of the stone steps. Raya knew because the first thing she did when she got out was check. She wondered how long the driver had had to practice before he had mastered that trick. As the rest of her family got out of the limo and stretched, the front doors opened and a balding man stepped out, followed by a tall woman with long, silky black hair.

“Melissa!” the man said, swinging his arms open.

Mom smiled weakly. “Chad!”

Brother and sister embraced, holding each other for a long time before Chadwick let his sister go. To Raya’s surprise, there were tears in her uncle’s eyes. He sniffled, blinked them away and smiled broadly.

“How have you been?” he questioned her. “Are you alright? I wasn’t sure that you were going to make it, especially after-“

“How could I not come?” Mom said, interrupting him before he could say anything more. “We fought constantly, but she was my mother, Chad.”

“O-of course,” Chad stuttered. “I was just…oh, never mind. I’m just glad you’re here.”

The hugged again, quicker this time, and then Chad pulled away to greet the woman who had followed him down the steps.

“You remember Renee?” he asked.

“We only met briefly,” Renee said, her face turning a deep shade of red. Her voice was almost melodic, like she could be a singer, but there was something exotic about it, as well. Raya realized that she was French. She hadn’t remembered that from before, but as Renee said, it was only briefly that they’d met.

“Of course I remember you,” Mom said graciously. “We met, if only the once before you and Chad flew to England.”

“Thank you for remembering me,” Loraine said and offered a hand.

Mom shook it. Dad cleared his throat.

“Um, we’ve had a long drive,” he said. “Do you mind…?”

“Of course, I’m sorry,” Uncle Chad said. “I know what you mean. I wish mom had put in a landing field somewhere on the property like I told her she should. It’s not like she didn’t have the space.” He shrugged. “Well, come on in, and we’ll get you settled. Carsen?”

Raya watched wide eyed as a tall man with graying black hair descended the steps. He was wearing a black coat, white shirt and gray vest on top of gray pants. His tie was fixed perfectly and his white gloves were spotless. Grandma Therisson had a butler. Somehow, Raya wasn’t surprised.

Beside her, Julia bit her lip to keep from laughing. Raya could only imagine her brothers doing the same. She might have, too, but as he approached the car, the butler fixed her with a cold stare.

His eyes are really black, Raya thought.

“Welcome to Therisson Estate,” he said as he gave a little bow to Dad. His accent was thicker than Mr. White’s. “Your rooms have been prepared. They’re on the second floor on the right side. If you have trouble finding it, ask me or one of the staff. We’ll take care of your bags.”

“The family’s in the library. You won’t believe how much Heather has changed. And her kids! My goodness. They’re all so tall,” Uncle Chad said, taking Renee’s arm and leading them all into the house.

Raya was the last to go in, but as she followed her sister, she realized that she had forgotten her phone in the limousine. She turned back only to run straight into the butler who was coming up the steps with two bags under his arm.

“I-I’m sorry,” Raya mumbled.

“That’s quite alright, Miss Colt,” Carsen said.

Up close, Raya realized that he wasn’t as old as he first seemed. He couldn’t have been more than fifty. He might have been handsome, too, if he didn’t frown so much. His black eyes stared down at her as if weighing her up.

Creepy, Raya thought.

“Can I assist you in any manner?” he asked her.

“I just forgot my phone,” she said. “I’ll go get it.”

She danced around him before he could offer to get it himself and went into the limo. She looked around the black interior and noticed a bright red thing in one of the cup holders. She grabbed her cell and climbed out of the car.

Walking into the mansion was like walking through a portal back in time. The doors opened into a grand foyer. There were stairs on both sides of the room that led up to a balcony and, Raya was pretty sure, the halls for some of the rooms she had noticed on the outside. Everything followed the theme of a castle, dark yet warm at the same time. The walls were a soft gold accented by the dark wood on the staircases and the doors. The floors were marble, off-white or almost gold bordered in dark brown. The stairs framed double doors with a suit of armor on either side. Along the left wall ran a glass case that featured some cool look weapons, including war axes, long knives, swords, and even a bow. There were two more suits of armor on either side of the case, another beside the front door, and one more beside the right staircase.

Grandma sure did like knights, thought Raya. I wonder where everyone is.

She realized that going back to the limo had caused her to be separated from the rest of her family. Uncle Chad had told them that the others were in library, but there was no telling where exactly the library was. Not in this mansion. She really hoped that she wouldn’t have to ask Carsen where it was. The old butler was a creepy guy.

She was about to start opening doors when she heard voices coming from one of the rooms on the right. Raised voices. She stepped forward cautiously and opened the door. Inside, her mother was standing toe to toe with another woman. She looked a lot like Mom, except that her hair was lighter and her eyes were a rich brown with a furious light in them. She was yelling at Mom.

“I can’t believe you had the gall to come back here!” she said venomously. “After everything you did to Mother!”

“It was her fault!” Mom protested. “I told her I didn’t…It wasn’t what I wanted.”

“Who cares what you wanted?” the woman cried. “You drove her into a depression when you left, you know. Oh, she hid it well, but I knew that you’d done irreparable damage to her!”

“Any damage done was self-inflicted!”

Raya slipped in silently behind her sister and nudged her.

“What’s going on?” she whispered.

“Raya! Where did you disappear to?” Julia scolded.

“I forgot my phone in the limo. What’s going on?” she repeated.

Julia looked worried as she explained. “Mom came in here and Uncle Chad was waving his arms around, talking about the house because Dad had asked a question when that woman just stood up and started shrieking at her.”

“Any idea why?”

“Actually, yeah.”

Raya jumped but realized it was just Bruce.

“What?”

“That woman? That’s Mom’s sister, Heather,” he supplied.

“How do you know?” Julia taunted.

“Because I asked one of our cousins, duh,” he rolled his eyes.

“Oh,” Julia bit her lip. “Which one?”

“That little one in the corner.”

He gestured towards a little boy about five or six with black hair, presumably from the gentleman sitting in the armchair with the alarmed looked on his face, and his mother’s rich brown eyes. He was standing in the corner with two more kids, an older boy dressed in a suit and tie that looked an older version of his brother, and a tall girl with a small mouth, curly brown hair and mellow green eyes. The green eyes must have come from the Therisson side of the family. She was very beautiful, especially in the green dress she was wearing, which made her eyes pop out. Raya was surprised to find herself a little jealous of the beautiful girl. She was obviously rich to afford anything like that dress, but even with money, she doubted she could ever make herself look like that.

As Raya stared at who she now knew were her cousins, the girl turned to her. She sneered heavily, ruining the picture.

Rude much? Raya thought as she frowned at her.

“Self-inflicted!” the woman gave what sounded to be a cross between a shriek and a squawk. “You did it to her! It’s why she ran herself into the ground without a possible heir! Who do you think is going to run Therisson Inc. now that she is dead? Him?”

She pointed to Mr. White, who had been drinking tea during the whole encounter. He looked up startled, nearly dropping his cup.

“Now, ladies, I rather not be dragged into this,” he protested.

“Shut up, Harold!” Aunt Heather hissed.

White bowed his head and fell silent.

“I can’t believe you came back here!” Heather growled, sounding as feral as any wildcat. “You should leave. You are ruining everything, all over again!”

She stomped out of the room. For a moment, her husband still sat in his arm chair, looking apologetic and wanting to say something. With a quick bark from his wife, he stood in a hurry, smiled sadly at Mom, and ushered his kids out of the room after their mother. Mom bowed her head as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Dad took her in his arms.

“I’m so sorry, Melissa,” Chad said. “I had no idea she would railroad you like that.”

“It’s not your fault, Chadwick,” Mom said.

“Do you think we can…retire to our room now?” Dad asked.

“Of course,” Uncle Chad went over to the fireplace and pulled a red rope.

In almost an instant, a young woman dressed in a black dress with a white apron in the front appeared at the door Raya had entered by.

“Nadine will take you to your room,” said Uncle Chad. “Just follow her.”

Dad nodded in thanks and led a still crying Mom out of the room. As he passed Raya, Julia and Bruce, he said, “I don’t want this debacle to ruin your fun here. Explore the estate, but don’t go too far. Your brother’s already out there. Be back by supper at least, alright?”

“You don’t have to worry about us, Dad,” Julia said. “We’ll be fine. Right guys?”

Raya and Bruce nodded.

“Don’t worry, Dad,” Connor said, coming up behind them. “I’ll watch out for them.

“Alright,” Dad said. “Don’t break anything.”

After he and Mom were gone, Julia sagged and sat down on one of the couches. Now the only people who were left in the room were Mr. White, Uncle Chad, his girlfriend Renee, and the Colt kids. For a long moment, there was only silence. Then Uncle Chad cleared his throat.

“Well, that wasn’t the reunion I hoped for,” he said.

Julia frowned. She stood up and stepped in front of her uncle. Uncle Chad was no longer someone that any of them knew well anymore. He’d been a package in the mail and a voice on the phone for the past 6 years. But Julia was very determined. She poked him in the chest.

“Alright, Uncle Chad,” she said. “What just happened?”

Uncle Chad frowned. “What do you mean?”

Julia rolled her eyes. “Really? I mean, what just happened here. Right now. Why did that wom- I mean Aunt Heather – why did she and Mom almost start a fistfight?”

Chadwick looked back and forth between the Colt siblings. “Your mother never told you?”

Julia shook her head.

“Told us what?” Connor asked.

Uncle Chad sighed and placed his hands on his hips.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you,” he said. “If your mother never did…well, it’s not my place to say anything.”

“Uncle Chad,” Connor said in a reasoning voice. “Come on. Our mother just left this room crying. You’ve got to help us out. What happened?”

“Kids, really, I can’t-“

“Uncle Chad, please!” Raya pleaded.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes wide with regret. “I can’t tell you if your mother never did. It was private affair between her and your grandmother. Heck, I don’t even know that much about it myself. Came home one day and Melissa was up and gone. She and Mom had had a pretty big fight. Evidence of it was all around the place. You wouldn’t believe how big a mess they made. 14,000 dollars all down the drain, I’ll tell you that.”

“So you don’t even know,” Bruce sighed.

“Sorry, guys. I don’t. If you want to know, you’re going to have to ask your mother. And if you do find out, don’t forget to clue me in.”

At that, he walked out of the room. The Colt siblings watched him go, perplexed.