12 Kaur Ancestry

"You alright?" Dimitri asks with worried eyes, tilting his head. I love the absence of color in his eyes, very dark brown, almost black in the naked eye.

"I was named after her," I say thoughtfully.

"Surprisingly yes." He shrugs, putting his hands in his pockets. He leans on the wall, observing me closely. "Does it matter?"

I shake my head no.

"Don't put it to the heart, sweetcakes. Your mom sure has her reasons. Meredith isn't that bad either if you try to get to know her well. I should know."

"Okay, I'll try," I assure him, still feeling a bit shocked. The irony of it is that I always hated my second name, Iris.

"Great! Let's go, sweetcakes, almost time."

The halls are empty and give an isolated vibe like it is not used to having visitors. They probably do not go down here often.

If my memory serves me right, this is the 5th floor underground. Creepy. There is a double door with golden engraves at the end of the hallway. The door is made of stone, rather wide, and stood up the ceiling. Strangely though, it has no knob.

The more you go deeper, the more the structure turns modern, almost like it is a normal part of the house than a secret government headquarters. Except they do not have windows. Artificial light illuminates the place quite lively.

"Where are we?" I ask. We stop in front of the double doors.

"The famous hall, Ceteris Paribus (all other things being equal), since 15th century. It is a historic place because you can never enter the doors unless either you are part of the royal council or a vampire in execution." He explains, worry crossing his eyes. He had been calm all this time, yet there is a strange aura around him, a whiff of uneasiness.

"What am I then of the two? I am certainly not part of the royal council." I blurt, feeling confused with his revelations.

"You are the exception." He winks. “You will be surprised.”

'I don't like surprises,' I want to say but ended up saying, "Okay."

Dimitri expertly traces the engraving on the surface of the double doors in slow motion. I watch as his fingertips dance in a slow rhythm, a pattern perhaps. I felt the hunger to touch it too but he stops me with his free hand right before the tip of my fingers feel its roughness.

Weird symbols are etched perfectly and magnificently inked with what looks like gold. Two onyx stones lay in replace of a knob, adding beauty to it. It looks similar to an Egyptian hieroglyphic, wistfully and skillfully engraved to a stone that serves as a door.

A sound of cracking came from the inside and the two stones shine. The light catches up with each cut, creating a myriad of small lights flickering everywhere. A voice booms from the inside, an old hoarse voice of a man.

"State your name."

"Chief Enforcer Royalty, Dimitri Shaw Trevor, and Amber Iris Walsh Taylor." He speaks in a loud voice.

"Hmm...I know nothing of this Amber Iris." His tone gets quieter as he regards my name. He coughs but muffles it as the sound grows faint. He must be that old.

"Daughter of Maria Audra Kaur Walsh. Direct heiress of Kaur ancestry." Goosebumps crawl on my skin at his mention of my mom's surname. How did he know? I never told him. What ancestry was he talking about?

"That, I know of." Says the other voice inside.

Scrapping stones against the cold tile bounces through the walls. The double door gradually, revealing a rather frail man with cold black eyes.

He is tall, almost touching the ceiling, and too thin that the coat he is wearing appeared too heavy for him to wear. He is holding a quill pen and notebook, writing something in it as he observes us under his thick round glasses. He has prey eyes, cold and intimidating.

"It says here you came with Meredith Knight, correct?" He asks, in the same tone as before.

Dimitri nods. "Good evening, Fred."

"Night is not as good as it was the days of youth." His shoulders slump, even more, muttering about something in a low voice. "Please seat at the usual Dimitri. And you, Miss Amber...hmmm."

His stare is bothering me as he narrows his eyes in slits, eyeing me up and down. "Could you really be Maria's daughter?"

"Yes. How d-do you...know her?" I am starting to wonder why everyone seems to know my mom yet I do not know anyone here.

"Your eyes." He says in awe. "Magnificent."

Now that he is in front of me, my thoughts are confirmed. He is that old, timeworn face and his hands are quivering.

"Maria was someone dear to me. I wonder if..." He hesitates. "Maybe not."

"Ah Fred, I think we should get going." Dimitri intervenes, patting the man on his shoulder, who did not even blink as he continue staring at me with open curiosity.

"Very well. You shall." He says afterward. "You can sit on the 'first equal Miss Amber."