Legacy Heir: The Ash Academy Series Page 4

  They met up with Sky and Skit an hour later and headed to a coffee shop to meet Ava’s parents.

  “Is it bad that I am really nervous about meeting Ava’s parents?” Billy confessed. He was the only member of the group who hadn’t met them yet and was feeling understandably worried about making a good impression on the Legacy Holders of the Black family. They had a reputation for dark power, and for using it to murder Demetri’s parents, which made them seem terrifying. Even though Billy knew it wasn’t actually true, he was still intimidated at the thought of meeting such powerful individuals.

  “You have nothing to worry about, her mum’s really cool and her dad is super quiet,” Sky summed up Ava’s parents so easily, hooking her arm around Billy’s and gave him a comforting squeeze as they entered the café.

  The room they found themselves in was deceptively large compared to the small shop front visible from the street. The furniture was utilitarian and a modern colour palette of muted whites and greys. Ava thought it would have been the most unremarkable coffee shop she had ever been in, if it wasn’t for all the cats.

  Ava’s mum had enthused about the cat café after hearing about it from one of her sisters, a place to enjoy a coffee and a cuddle with a tabby or two. It’ll be fun, she had said and arranged to meet there without taking a vote on it. Ava hadn’t quite appreciated how many cats there would be and how they would be everywhere. She practically leapt into Demetri’s arms when one particularly friendly feline started rubbing itself against her leg.

  “What the….” Demetri exclaimed, looking around in horror at all the cats.

  There was a loud meow and more than a few hisses as Ava’s mum tried to make her way through a sea of cats to get to her daughter.

  “Darling, we’re over here. Come in all of you. Isn’t this such fun?” She gushed, gesturing wildly to all the cats around them. She completely missed the looks from Ava and her friends.

  Dutifully, they fixed grins on their faces and followed Ava’s mum to the table. Greetings and introductions were made when they finally reached Ava’s dad. Ava’s father wrapped her up in a massive hug and she couldn’t help but laugh at how out of place he looked.

  “Seriously Dad, you have to start speaking up for yourself, otherwise she’s going to keep taking you to crazy places like this.” Ava’s father nodded distractedly at his daughter’s wise words, as he watched a fat tortoiseshell edging closer and closer to him.

  “When Ava said we were meeting at the Cat Café, I thought it was just the name, I didn’t realise there would be actual cats,” said an incredulous Demetri who was looking as uncomfortable and out of place as Ava’s father.

  Sky caught Ava’s eye and they both struggled to keep their laughter in at the obvious discomfort of the male members of their party. Skit, however, seemed fine and was positively enjoying himself, even bending down to stroke a particularly cute long-haired tabby. The other three men in the group were looking around warily, eyeing the prowling felines as if they were going to attack.

  Demetri was concentrating fully on a huge cat that was lazily making its way towards them. Unbeknownst to him, a kitten had climbed up on the sofa behind him. The kitten sauntered along the back of the sofa behind them and casually brushed up against Demetri’s face. The legendary white Legacy Holder shrieked and jumped five feet in the air.

  “Holy Crap!” he shouted, circling around completely unsettling all the cats around them.

  His massive overreaction was the final straw and Sky and Ava collapsed into hysterics. The gales of laughter did nothing to ease his discomfort, as he continued to freak out at the growing number of whiskered beasts prowling around him.

  “You can’t be serious! These things are malicious,” Demetri cried petulantly at the continuing laughter.

  “Mate, you’re going to have to hand in your man card soon if you don’t stop screaming at kittens like a girl,” Skit said laughing.

  “This is just wrong,” Demetri complained, surveying the nearly empty café. Clearly the rest of the Gifted community had the good sense to stay clear of the madness.

  “Welcome my dears, lovely to see you.” A very short lady appeared seemingly out of thin air with a poof. She smiled warmly to the group. Seeing Demetri’s obvious discomfort, she chuckled, and picked up the closest cat. It was the largest cat Ava had ever seen.

  She walked purposefully towards Demetri, cat in hand. Demetri immediately backed away but soon found himself stopped by a table with nowhere else to go. The little lady stared at Demetri who was mesmerised by her amber eyes, the exact same shade as the eyes of the cat in her arms. The unusual colouring seemed totally out of place, making her look other-worldly.

  Without breaking eye contact she deposited the large white cat in Demetri’s arms who reflexively caught the cat. Slowly, it turned its huge white face to fix Demetri with a superior stare. The cat blinked and turned away dismissively, clearly Demetri hadn’t measured up to his expectations.

  “This place is absolutely darling,” Ava’s mum gushed to the owner.

  “Yeah, I never even knew there was such a thing as a cat café, but now I do, I think it's brilliant,” Sky enthused as well. The café owner introduced herself as Matilda and started introducing all the cats in between taking orders.

  Ava was listening to the conversation with half an ear whilst watching Demetri struggle with the large white cat he was trying to put on the floor. Every time he bent down or reached out to deposit the cat somewhere, the cat would extend his claws threateningly.

  After a while Demetri gave up and sunk back onto the sofa next to Ava, cat still in arms. Ava’s dad gave Demetri a pitying look of solidarity that seemed to be man code for, ‘I feel your pain but I’m not going to do anything about it for fear of getting stuck with a cat myself’.

  “Demetri dear, how have you been doing?” Ava’s Mum asked with a meaningful look. Giving Demetri just the opening he wanted to discuss what was no doubt going to be an awkward conversation.

  “I have been okay Mrs Black. I have done a lot of thinking and I wanted to…” He faltered and looked anxiously between Ava’s Mum and Dad, only to be cut off by Ava’s Mum waving her hand.

  “None of that with the Mrs Black. I am Lillian, or if you want you can call me Mum,” she said with a wink and a look to Ava.

  Ava buried her face in her hands in embarrassment and Ava’s Dad barked out at his wife. Not wanting to think about Ava’s relationship with a boy.

  “Ok, uhhh.” Demetri stuttered thrown by Lillian’s interruption.

  “I have just been thinking about how it’s time to reveal the truth to the rest of the Gifted community about my parents. They should know the circumstances of your exile and that it really should have been me and my family.” His words had silenced everyone around the table, although no-one was surprised.

  Lillian looked at her husband with a nod and Horace turned to the table with a sigh.

  “You can’t tell them,” he said simply, and then turned to his wife as if his decree was the end of the subject. Unfortunately, Demetri wasn’t willing to let it go that easily.

  “With all due respect sir, people deserve to know the truth. Your family deserves respect. People should stop blaming you for a crime that my parents committed.” Demetri sat up straighter as he spoke to Ava’s dad, refusing to show any doubt in his decision.

  “The dye has been cast. People have spent many years feeling one way about us. Telling the truth would just make them hate you as well. They will come up with another reason to justify their hatred towards us in order to further their own agendas,” Horace explained to Demetri, somewhat bewildered by this boy’s determination to tell the truth.

  “I know I can’t erase the past, but I can do better for the future. I want to lead my house with honesty and integrity. I can’t do that if I am lying about who my parents were. If I have gained popularity under false pretences, then I am not worthy of my position,”

&nbs
p; Demetri tried to explain, frustrated that Ava’s dad was being so difficult and everyone around the table seemed to be against him telling the truth.

  “Demetri, no-one is questioning your integrity,” Ava said quietly, placing a comforting hand on his knee.

  “I am. I question my integrity if I don’t come clean. My whole life I have known this horrible secret and it has tainted me. I want to be free of it,” Demetri argued back, looking around at the gathering of his closest friends, imploring them to understand.

  “Did it ever occur to you that more people know about it than they let on?” Lillian said soberly to Demetri.

  “What do you mean?” Ava interjected, before Demetri got the chance.

  “Though it wasn’t common knowledge, Declan and Jessica’s actions were noticed by all the Legacy Holders,” Lillian explained quietly.

  “How can that be? All the Legacy Holders, and their heirs, have sought me out, wanting to be my friend, or have an influence in my life,” Demetri asked, confused by the words of Ava’s mother. He had never stopped to think that anyone else knew, apart from the few people he had told, and of course the Black family.

  “They knew. I believe the reason for their actions, and for blaming me, has more to do with how they could benefit from the situation. If they blamed the Black family it effectively removes me from the picture, meaning they could get their claws into you and be more likely to raise their social standing. The Legacy Holders were aware we were already trying to separate ourselves from the decietful politics of our society.” Horace shook his head sadly as he explained himself to the group of idealistic youngsters before him.

  Ava was surprised at her father’s words. In all their conversations leading up to this meeting he had never mentioned this before. It was also one of the longest speeches she had ever heard from her usually introverted father.

  The impact of his words shook the young adults at the table as the implications of his speech sunk in and the effect this would have on their lives.

  “If they knew, that means the majority of the houses were using you as a scapegoat, not to better their people, but to better themselves,” Billy asked disgusted.

  “Yes. I believe that was their motivation,” Horace said seriously, looking around the group pityingly, as he revealed more truths than anyone their age should have to deal with. He still struggled with the bitter pill of how corrupt their politics had become, and he hated that this was the legacy that he was leaving his daughter and her friends.

  “Wait, so do you think that some of the people at our school knew? They still treated Ava like a villain whilst knowing that was not the case?” Sky asked the table, struggling to get her head around all the information they were being given, and how this had impacted them.

  “We believe that they didn’t tell their children for the most part,” Lillian spoke up, hopeful that she was correct in this guess.

  “Obviously, we can’t know for sure what parents have told their children or how many people have actually heard and believed the truth. I think the important thing to understand here, is that people knew. I believe there will be a time when Demetri can come forward and tell the whole world the truth, but I don’t think now is that time.” Lillian finished with a nod from her husband and a nod from Ava, who agreed with her mother.

  Demetri had stayed silent throughout the conversation digesting the information that had been revealed. His head felt like it was going to explode, he was struggling to hold on to one train of thought as he bounced between the many interactions he had had with different people. Everything that had happened, every kind word or deed he had received seemed to have an ulterior motive now. He had always known that his position meant that people would try and impress him or use him for their own gains. This, however, was on a whole new level. It felt like the whole world was conspiring to manipulate him.

  The rest of the table carried on talking, asking about different individuals and whether they thought they knew. Ava could see that Demetri wasn’t listening, stuck in his own head.

  “We knew.” She whispered in his ear, leaning over to stroke the cat that Demetri was stroking subconsciously. Slowly, he looked up at her, a questioning expression on his face. She smiled reassuringly at him.

  “We knew that things needed to change. We knew that the Gifted community was so focused on fighting itself that all it was doing was harming us. These political games and manipulations are not something new,” she said quietly, as the whole table became silent at her words.

  “You’re right. It makes sense looking back. I’m surprised I didn’t see it. The private smiles or the little comments which didn’t make sense at the time, and now do. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. It was right there in front of me, and I didn’t see it,” Demetri said, frustrated at his blindness.

  He always thought he saw their world and community for what it was but realised now, that he had missed something monumental. It made him question what else he had missed.

  “So, what do we do now?” he asked Ava’s parents. They seemed so composed and regal, he felt himself aspiring to be like them.

  “You have six months left at school, you focus on that. All these problems will still be there when you finish school,” Ava’s Dad said gruffly.

  “There is something we can do now,” Ava said quietly, at everyone’s questioning looks she carried on.

  “Well, including Demetri and myself, there are six Legacy Heirs attending Ash Academy. Maybe it’s time we all sat down together and discussed what we want to achieve in our future positions of power.” Ava looked at her parents to see pride on her father’s face, and concern on her mother’s.

  “I never thought of that,” Demetri said, whilst nodding at Ava’s suggestion.

  “Plus, whilst we are in school, we can start discussing with people in general, about how they feel about change. Find out what we can realistically do to make a world for the Gifted where every member feels safe and heard.” Ava carried on, growing in confidence as she spoke. She knew her mother’s look of worry stemmed from wanting to protect Ava from the politics of their world, but she couldn’t protect Ava from her legacy.

  “We will probably meet a lot of resistance, but we can start with people our age, who are less set in their ways. Then tackle the older generation who have more to benefit from keeping the status quo,” Sky added. Her use of the term ‘we’ was not lost on Ava and Demetri. Even though they are the Legacy Holders, they knew that their friends at the table would stand by them in the challenges that were on the horizon.

  “You kids be safe. I know you want to make changes and you want to make life better for the other Gifted, but people will go to great lengths to protect the status quo, especially if it is benefitting them,” Lillian said, fretting about the spark she saw in everyone’s eye around the table. Worrying that their passion would make them blind to the dangers they might face.

  “Mum, I promise we will be safe. The more knowledge we have, the safer we will be, because we will know when we have to protect ourselves,” Ava said calmly, smiling at her mother.

  The group stayed in the café, strategising and planning the upcoming changes they were about to make to the world. All the while cat after cat trotted towards them and settled down. When it was time for them to part ways Billy started laughing heartily. Looking round to see what Billy was laughing at, everyone joined in. They were all so focused on their conversation that they hadn’t realised they were surrounded by cats and Demetri was quite literally the centre of their attentions. He was besieged by cats of all shape, size and colour. They were lying as close as they could get to him, without touching.

  Matilda, the café owner, poofed in front of the group. Skit was fascinated, he had the Gift of teleportation as well but hadn’t finessed it nearly as much as this small lady. Earlier, he had bombarded her with a million questions. She had given him a few tips which had made him glow, as if she had handed him the secret.

>   “I see they have chosen you,” the woman said cryptically, looking at the cats surrounding Demetri.

  Looking down, Demetri was bewildered by all the cats. However, he was calmer now and was no longer afraid of his feline friends. They seemed to be aware of everything, their sharp eyes following every little movement but at the same time, they were all so relaxed.

  “They can see what a softy he is,” Ava said giggling at the contradiction that was the large muscled Demetri, surrounded by small fluffy kitties.

  “They have been unsettled for a long time,” the owner said thoughtfully, picking up the cat closest to her.

  “I guess they have found peace near you.” The owner carried on, absently stroking the cat in her arms.

  Everyone around the table, who were at different stages of getting ready to leave, stopped and looked at Matilda pondering her abstract words.

  “I feel that too,” Ava whispered to herself looking at Demetri, who was close enough to have heard her and smiled as her words warmed him.

  “Cats are very intuitive creatures. They see what Norms and Gifted alike cannot. Them coming to you like this is a sign. You are destined to lead, people will come to you for protection and to make them feel safe,” she said whilst looking at the cat in her arms.

  “The world you want to create. I want to live in. You will need the strength of many people behind you, and when the time comes, call on me. It would be an honour to serve you by any means you deem necessary.” The woman finished by bending on one knee as if pledging herself to Demetri.

  “Your words of support and loyalty honour me. Please rise,” Demetri said humbly, standing up and putting the big white cat down on the sofa. The cat went willingly, falling straight back to sleep as Demetri approached the woman.

  “I have no illusions that supporting us will not always be the easiest path to take, but I promise you that so long as I breathe, I will work to make our community of the Gifted a place where people feel safe and valued.”