Chapter 9

There were sixteen people seated at the table. I assume they're all Morningstars. I'd be the eighteenth Morningstar in the room. They all looked different. Obviously, we have diverse ethnicities. They all looked superior, but the man sitting at the edge of the table was different. He had a different aura—he's darker and more sinister-like. Something about his eyes, I guess. 

"She's got humor," the man said, smiling like a Cheshire cat. He has dark, curly hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. He was dressed in black armor, making him look more intimidating. He gestured for me to come forward and I did so. He got up from his chair and circled me. 

The same woman who first commented then said, "She's like a lamb."

"A lamb ready for the slaughter," said the woman sitting next to her. "She looks nothing like what we thought she'd be. She's supposed to be terrifyingly gifted beyond us. She must be a mistake."

"She's no mistake," argued Amihan, "She is the eighteenth Morningstar. She's immortal like us."

"I'm Azrael," the man introduced himself, reaching his hand out for me. He grabbed mine, pulled me closer, and shook it firmly. His cheshire smile never left his face seeming creepier than I initially thought. "I am the first dark immortal. We were aware of your existence for quite a while now. We wanted to respect your wishes of "living life your way" for a while. I must say that I'm surprised it only took you seven years to live life," he continued, "Forgive those two. They were expecting some superhuman girl; not reality."

"Just to be clear, I never asked of any of this. I didn't even know anything about this life until I was frozen in this body," I explained, "So, I never learned any "gifts" when I was a girl."

"Oh, but you did," Azrael countered, placing his hand over his chin. "You could cast spells. From what I hear you're also a dreamer—a child gifted with the power to see the past, present, and future. If you ever master that, you'll be the most powerful Morningstar alive."

"I just want to know what it is I have to do here," I said, "I don't know much about you or our family history. I don't know much about the Dark Oaths either. So, tell me… When I pledge myself as a member of this organization, what do you expect from me?" Frankly, I didn't care about what they expected. I just need to appear as though I am loyal and committed to their cause. Once I'm on top, Amihan's head will roll and I'm putting an end to this war.

The same woman who first commented on me got up and made her way towards me. She was much taller than me and she had blonde hair and a pair of hazel eyes. She was slender and had sharp features. Her dress was blood-red and she was adorned with diamonds from head to toe. She looked nothing like innocent. She reminds me of a wolf ready to pounce whilst on the hunt for food. She caressed my cheek with one hand and spun me with the other. "You've got a lot to learn about our family history before you could actually pledge, little girl," she says, dragging me to the chair at the other end of the table and sitting me down. She then shifted her gaze back to Azrael and said, "Go on love. Continue. There's no need to stand when everyone else is seated."

Azrael smiled, going back to his seat. "Very well," he continues, "I formed our organization because no one else was willing to fight back against the oppression our people were facing. I was there when the hunting first started. I saw everything… the unnecessary bloodshed… They were a group of people dressed in white and they fancied themselves as the White Veils. They claim to be immortals, but instead of having demon blood in them, they have angels. They banded together to hunt down every dark creature they could find. When I saw all the cruelty, that's when I thought enough was enough. We weren't doing anything wrong. We didn't ask to be made this way. Why must we suffer for consequences we didn't make? So I started this organization. I was the only Morningstar then, but there were plenty of folks with demon blood. Even vampires were willing to join us for their sakes."

"And you became the Brady bunch?" slipped out my mouth. At least I earned a laugh from Azrael. That was better than the glares I received from most women in the room.

"I will not bore you with the long story," Azrael says, "But you must know who the Brady bunch are." He pointed at himself, saying, "As you already know, I'm Azrael Morningstar. I'm from the Holy Land." He then pointed at a girl with lighter curly brown hair and eyes almost identical to his. "This is Eden, from my origin as well." He then moved over to a woman with black hair and a pair of blue eyes. "This is Regina, from Rome. Well, from the Roman Empire before the fall." Moving on to a man with olive skin, dark eyes, and dark hair, he introduced, "This is Atlas. He's from Greece." Pointing at another man who had sharper features, brown hair, and dark eyes, he says, "This is Karim, Egyptian." Then to the woman who wore the red dress, he says, "This is Elizabeth, from England." Moving to the one sitting next to Elizabeth, he continues, "The other blonde is Anne, another English woman." Turning to a man with blonde hair and green eyes, he introduced, "This is Timothee, from France." Then to a man with slightly darker skin brown hair and blue eyes, he says, "This is Felipe from Spain." Moving on to a redhead with blue eyes, he says, "This is Catalyna, another Spanish person." Turning over to another fair man with green eyes and blonde hair, he continues, "This is Henry from France." Then to another blonde with green eyes, he says, "Rose Anne, England." Then, to a man with brown hair and blue eyes, he says, "Another Englishman, Charles." Moving on to a man with red hair and hazel eyes, he says, "This is Juan, Spain." Pointing at Amihan, he says, "Well, you already know the precolonial woman sitting beside you." He then turns to a woman that had curly, black hair and brown eyes. "That's your colonial girl, Maria Alejandra." And lastly, to a woman with long straight hair and fox-like eyes, he says, "That's Miyuki."

Those were a lot of people to remember. I don't think I'll ever get used to them. 

"Well?" Azrael says, "What do you say?"

"Hello?" I asked, feeling rather confused. What did they expect me to say? It's not like we're actually going to be the Brady bunch. We're not one big happy family. That's something that could only ever happen in fiction. 

Karim laughed along with the men who for some reason found me funny. I don't. 

"What our leader means to say is welcome to the family," said Catalyna, "Don't worry. We're not bad people. We're blood. We look out for each other. Now, what you need to know is that you're expected to have big responsibilities. Those include leading defense and attacks against the enemy—the White Veil. Going on missions is of course part of it, too. And, as a Morningstar, you're expected to be a leader; not a follower. You call the shots on the other members outside our family."

"Aren't there other immortals?" I asked, "What if they start a rebellion?"

The blonde, Elizabeth, smirked. "No one would dare defy us," she states, "We're superior."

"In your eyes," I replied, "You don't hold the brains of the other members. You never know if they respect you or is waiting for the right opportunity to break the House of Morningstar."

"Silence!" Elizabeth hissed, "How dare you suggest that? That's treasonous!"

"Stand down, Elizabeth," Azrael ordered, "Not everyone thinks of things like that. It's quite refreshing. I suppose that means we've become to confident in our power."

"Perhaps," I agreed. "Anyway, can we go to the part where I start my training and other shit? Cause I have a business to run and I'm not really "dying" to become a part of this."

"I get what you mean," says Juan, "When I was younger, all I wanted was to explore the seven seas and raid pirates. That was all I wanted to do. My training and missions were quite heavy and so I had to give up what I loved." He sighed, recalling his past. "But hey, we're in a modern world. I'm sure you can balance your life the way you please. We're not at all strict like the enemy."

"I understand you run hotels and other forms of luxury," said Regina, "Do you grant family discounts?"

Elizabeth groaned, "Let's stay on topic."

Azrael obliged, saying, "You'll start training on Monday. It would be hard and rigorous, but worth it. By the end, you'll be far more skilled than any defense force in the world. You'll become the ultimate soldier. As for your personal life, you can have a week off every two weeks."

"What?" all sixteen of them gasped. 

"I'm a modern man," Azrael replied, "Let the girl have a life." He smiled at me. "Consider it my welcome gift as the newest member of the Morningstar House." He then raised his cup, saying, "Welcome home, Aubrey Morningstar." 

And that was that. Who would've thought that I—a person rarely picked for anything—is part of one of the most ancient Houses in the world. I, Aubrey Adelaide Chu Gomez, am actually Aubrey Adelaide Morningstar.