9 Chapter 9: The Galaxious Family
They arrived to their first stop at a village nearby and Thalia stepped out then said, "sir, I shall be back soon once I've retrieved the items".
"Okay", answered Josh.
He wasn't exactly sure how to act and since his voice sounded younger than his fake age he avoided saying a lot. Ariana was used to dressing older than her real age and already knew how to make her voice sound like one of a adult.
She quickly made her way to a small house and knocked on the door. It creaked open and there stood a old man who quickly said, "Thalia?"
"Yes".
"Then come in".
She stepped into the home which was nice and cozy. There were portraits of people and scenery on the wall and the seats looked soft and comfy.
The two stood inside the living room and started talking.
"Sorry for disturbing you so early in the morning", apologized Thalia.
"There's no need to worry, your family has helped me out so much in the past years. It is the least I could do", replied the old man.
"Thank you".
"Anyway I should probably get the package for you so that way you can get on your way, the quicker Black Assassin gets caught the quicker we can all fall asleep in peace. Now anyway help yourself to the tea on the table. I'll be back soon".
Despite his looks he was actually quite fast and returned with a parcel and handed it to her. Inside the parcel should be some vials containing fairy tears and usually she would get hers shipped to the Roses base but these tears were special. They are real tears of sadness.
The normal fairy tears that are shipped out are ones made out of laughter or happiness but real tears of sadness is incredibly rare and the only people who can get them are those who have practiced potion making for twenty-two years and have earned a title in the world of potions. Since she hasn't practiced potion making for twenty-two years she could only get them from others and she knew someone who was able to get a lot of them each year.
The old man handed her the parcel and said, "be careful with them, wouldn't want them to break now do we".
"Thank you very much. I hope the relationship between you and the Galaxious family will last until the the world disappears into oblivion", said Ariana.
"Stay safe on this trip".
"I shall try my best".
"Typical for a member of your family, goodbye".
"Goodbye".
Ariana put the parcel into her infinity bag and exited the home which actually has a underground labyrinth hidden underneath but that's for another story.
She swiftly made her way to the carriage and quickly stopped at a store that always stayed open and got something for Josh to eat.
Once she arrived at carriage she told the driver to start moving and soon they were on the path to the Galaxious's mansion.
On the way there Trevor/Josh asked her about what she got but she said that she will tell him once they're at the last destination. She handed him a bag of snacks since she knew he rushed through breakfast and did not eat properly. Ariana was used to not eating for days and she already had a good breakfast in the morning while he was still sleeping so she was fine.
After a few minutes the carriage stopped at the gate and Thalia/Ariana got a card out of her bag and passed it to the gatekeeper. "I see", said the gatekeeper and opened the gate.
The mansion is surrounded by a force field and the only way in and out is the gate and the secret passageways; only members of the family know where they are. The Galaxious family is a duke family that has history dating back to the start of time. They're known for being incredibly knowledgeable in practically everything and has access to knowledge that even even the King can't obtain. Because of this every one of the members have gone on to become powerful magicians in various things and got their surname from being knowledgeable in many things, being some of the best magicians, having a history dated back to the start of time and their galaxy eyes that can't be imitated.
Ariana changed her eyes and style to pink so that way the story of her being a dedicated member of the Roses sounded a bit more believable. To stay true to the family she decided to keep the galaxy style for The Rose.
Thalia/Ariana stepped out of the carriage and asked his highness if he wanted to join her inside. "Wait I can come inside?" Asked Josh.
"Yes, they already know about the disguises and the mansion is safe for us to talk about anything", answered Thalia.
"Okay then".
He too stepped out of the carriage and Thalia was greeted by the butler of the mansion. The two were led inside to the half of the mansion which is of limits to everyone except for those who have permission. One half of the mansion is like a normal mansion without magic while the other half is filled with libraries, practice rooms, labs and many more. That half is the half where only members of the Galaxious duke family, the butler and those who have permission are allowed to enter. Those who have permission is the special employees of the Galaxious Group whose work is done in that half of the mansion. The other people who have permission are the Celeste Royal Family and their closest allies.
Josh had been to the magical side before when the Galaxious family were hosting their annual party, since he had never been in the other half he was interested in seeing what the place is like. As Sebastian guided them through place Trevor/Josh saw people in uniforms with the Galaxious crest on it. They walked past rooms to see people training, reading, sitting with a stack of papers and more.
After a few minutes of walking in the giant mansion they finally arrived at a resting room with the crest of the Galaxious family on it. The butler knocked on the door and opened it.
Inside looked like a normal lounge and there sat Ariana/Rosetta's family, her mother Sophia, her father Alfred and her elder brother, the heir Claude.
"Good morning your highness and you too Ariana. I haven't seen you in a long time. I've only seen you through your work recently", said Alfred.
"Good morning your highness. My dear Ariana I know you're busy but this mother wants to see her daughter at least once in a while", said Sophia as she walked up to Rosetta and hugged her.
"It's nice to have you here your highness. Ariana please do communicate with us in person and not through work", said Claude as he shook his head.
He is two years older than her and is currently enrolled in a magical academy for nobles. He knows about her true identity as The Rose including her mother, father and their butler.
Josh felt excluded since they seemed to only care about Ariana and ignored his presence, but apparently they haven't seen her in a long time so it's understandable. "I know I know but right now I'm only here to get a certain book and some documents", said Ariana.
"Can't you stay a little while longer", asked Sophia.
"I'm afraid not".
"Okay then. Well Alfred and Claude needs to talk to Ariana in private so Prince Josh, why don't you sit down and have a little something to eat", offered Sophia.
"Okay then", replied Josh.
"See you soon", said Ariana as she left with her brother and father.
Once the door closed Sophia immediately said, "your highness, how has Ariana been in the past few days? Has she been sleeping and eating well? How has she been?"
"Uh, well..."
-Meanwhile with Ariana, her brother and father-
The three of them entered Alfred's study and locked the door. "So Rosetta, have you told the Prince about your true identity?" Questioned Alfred.
"No, I don't plan on telling him", answered Rosetta.
"Do you want to go to a magical academy?" Asked Claude.
"It's not needed", replied Rosetta.
"Well I tried. It's just easier to protect you if you went to the same academy as me", said Claude.
"But don't you graduate next year?"
"Yes but one year is good enough for me, I'm sure you'll be able to handle yourself afterwards".
"Did you forget I'm The Rose and I'm not like the other ladies of this house who are only prodigies in 'ladylike' stuff".
"We know but we can't help but be protective of you even though you're The Rose", said Alfred as he looked at his daughter who was disguised as another person.
He still couldn't believe it when she first told him about everything and things became painful when she moved away at such a young age. They had to do a lot when she created the fake identity Pink Rose and he felt bad when giving her work when she already had so much on her plate, but she said she wanted to do as much as she can to help out the family.
"Well anyway I've got what you need over here", said Alfred while walking to his desk and got a book. "Remember to return this once you're finished with it", he said as he handed it to her. "And here are the papers with our newest information on Black Assassin", he added as he handed her a folder.
"Thank you very much father", said Rosetta as she put them into her bag.
"Well you should probably get going and try to catch Black Assassin. Be safe sister", said Claude as he gave her a big hug.
"We'll see you and Josh out the door", said Alfred. "But first there is something I have to tell you".
-With Josh and Sophia-
"That girl, still asleep while it's noon and skipping breakfast and lunch. I really wish she'd stop doing that", sighed Sophia.
"Well she is a busy person and she probably has something else to eat when she skips meals", said Josh.
"I just hope she isn't using magic supplements. Those aren't any good for you if you have too many".
"Let's hope not".
"Well besides that what do you think of Ariana?"
"Well she is great, kind and caring person. Despite having all of that power she doesn't act like as if she is better than all of us and-".
"Sorry but I meant as a love interest".
"Wait what?!" Shouted Josh as his face turned pink.
"If you have feelings for her then you should be careful of heartbreak. I can't promise that she'll stay with you. I really wish though that she'll find someone, I don't want her to stay alone forever", frowned Sophia.
Sophia is the only daughter of the Great General. She is talented in the arts and is a prodigy in healing but retired when she got married. She was in the top ten of the best healers internationally so when she announced she was retiring it really hit everyone. She sometimes does jobs when she is bored but not as much as she used to. She is also considered one of the most beautiful and if not the most beautiful and with her being the wife of Alfred Galaxious makes her worth as big as the Queens. She tends to use this power when getting revenge for her lower class friends. As the second most powerful female in the kingdom she is not a person to mess with.
Even the Prince was a little bit scared of her since he was afraid of accidentally ruining his mother's friendship with her and she would use this to lower the Royal Family's status (yes they have that much power). The Galaxious family is loyal to them but at the same time they also play by their own rules and do what they think is right. That's why in the past the Royal Family had been staying as close to them as they can in case of a rebellion, but later on they proved they wouldn't rebel but they still kept a close relationship. 'Perhaps that's why Ariana became his tutor', thought Josh.
They had never actually met when they were younger and the first time he saw her was at the annual party the Galaxious family hosted so he wasn't really sure of what to think.
Sophia saw his frown and said, "I wonder why we've never arranged for playdates for the two of you despite our close friendship. We found that when she was younger she preferred to stay on the magical side of the house instead of playing with the other girls".
"Really? I always thought of her as the type who loved being with others", said Josh with shock.
"Well when she met The Rose she changed completely. It was big but we accepted it and moved on".
They then heard the door open and saw Ariana, Alfred and Claude enter the room.
"Well we've got to get going now", said Ariana.
"Okay", replied Josh.
They walked to the carriage and said their goodbyes and went to their next stop.
In the carriage Ariana thought about what her father said. If Black Assassin is the new leader of Black Lilac then with two supreme, evil powers working together, it will be harder to beat him so when she gets back she will have to consider getting the Roses, the Galaxious Group and the Royal Family to start working together .
