Unfair Accusations

"That poor child." Darcy said. She sat down at the table with her husband. She felt an anger. That girl was severely abused mentally. She couldn't even look at a person straight on.

"I know, but she is not our child and there isn't much we can do."

"Rubbish, how can you say that?"

"What would you like to do?" Jeremiah asked. "She'd probably feel worse if someone took her from her family. She'd look at it like she really wasn't good enough for them." As much as you'd want to do something. Sometimes you caused more harm than good.

"Oh I hate people. And Aaryn is going to take her sister for Malachi? He could find one much better, like that girl." Jeremiah laughed.

"Please, that child would die of fright in his presence. Malachi alone would probably make her catatonic with his sharp words. You think she could handle such a domineering personality?" Darcy laughed this time too.

"You know what I meant." Jeremiah gave a sigh and touched his chest. After Ariel ran out he'd told Darcy what he thought he felt. What the girl had done. She was gifted, one of the rare few. Maybe the Standish were more like the Ventos than they first thought.

"That's quite a talent to have. She was fast and efficient about it too. For one so young, it's amazing." Darcy nodded her agreement. If they were right she had healed him with a touch. What a miracle of a gift.

"To be gifted that way. So rare, and most would shun it." They both looked up as the door opened. Lord Vento was standing there. He moved into the room.

"Who was that girl just now? I saw her running down the stairs a moment ago."

"That would be Ariel Standish." Jeremiah said putting his hands on the table. "It would seem that her parents are not very fond of her and keep her hidden. They told her to wait in the servant area." Lord Vento frowned. Why had they not said anything?

"They have two daughters?" He said looking suddenly wary. He glanced back at the door. He didn't like being lied too. However he turned back to the couple, he'd come to see them first. He was concerned about Jeremiah and that he wasn't seeing to his health.

"It would seem so." Darcy said.

"I'll talk with them later. But I came to see you and your health problem. That you refuse to have checked." Jeremiah and his family were more like family to him and his son than not. Since losing Malachi's mother there was just a void that he never felt was filled. These two however made it feel less. They were extended family. Malachi was very fond of them too.

"There is no health problem." Jeremiah said darkly. "Why can't anyone listen. Shouldn't you be sitting in your study being dark and depressing?" This brought a rare smile to Vento's face.

"Dark and depressing? I highly doubt I'm depressing. That seems to be Malachi's detail as of late. Teenage brooding." There was a bit of laughter.

"Oh yes you are." Darcy however corrected. "And Malachi, moping about all the time. It's gotten worse over the last few years." She said with a tight lip. Normally other's criticizing him he would tell off. With them it was different, they were like family to him.

"Moping? Do you not train your woman Jeremiah, she should learn respect." Malachi stated appearing in the door way. Jeremiah laughed and smiled.

"Young man you should learn to hold your tongue when talking to a lady." Vento warned to his son. Though he knew that Malachi was just joking with them. Darcy wasn't offended.

"Trust me, she is untrainable." Jeremiah commented. Darcy gave a rather loud puff of air, but stood up. She rolled her eyes ignoring them.

"Are either of you hungry."

"No." They both said and she sighed again.

"I came to see to you. You foolish old man. Your health needs to be checked." Malachi spoke up just like his father.

"I said I'm fine. You think you'd be happy I wasn't requesting anything of you. All those powerful diplomats and rich men you see too. I think you'd appreciate my denial."

"I take care of my own. You're far more deserving than most I deal with. My hope is that they destroy each other one day and I will not have to worry about it. Now stop your bitching old man." He said and moved over toward Jeremiah.

"Old man?" Vento shrugged.

"Stubborn old man." Malachi added once more. "Just as stubborn as someone else I know and demanding too." Vento gave his son an annoyed look.

"Actually it seems that someone beat you to it." Darcy pipped in as Vento reached Jeremiah. Even without touching him, he realized that there was no sickness in him anymore. The scent was gone. That made him shocked. That just wasn't possible.

"How's this? Did you miraculously develop an ability?" Vento asked sarcastically. "Or did you suck up that pride of yours and see a doctor behind my back?"

"Neither." Jeremiah said looking sullen. "Some people just don't know how to mind their own business."

"Ah don't listen to him." Darcy stated smiling. "It was that girl Ariel, she wanted to do it for him because he was nice to her earlier."

"Who's Ariel?" Malachi asked lost. Vento however spoke first before answering Malachi.

"She healed him? She didn't look tired nor worn from healing." He noted. Jeremiah's lungs had been getting steadily worse. Over the past week he'd collapsed a few times wheezing. However he hid it well and most didn't even know. That was until Vento had come upon him in the hall yesterday.

"The Standish's have a younger daughter." Darcy answered for Malachi.

"Oh." Malachi said not interested at all.

"Well she did it, saw it with my own eyes." Vento was curious about this younger daughter. Why had she not been with her family when they had their meeting? What were they hiding her for? If she could heal what else could she do? None of the Standish smelled of wolf. Their family had long ago lost the ability. Was the girl just psychic? A lot of questions came to mind and the Standish were starting to annoy him with their hidden agendas.

"Don't go charging down there after them." Jeremiah said. "You'd just cause the girl more problems. From the sounds of things they offered you the daughter they thought was their best."

"I don't really care about bothering them. They did not do as I asked."

"You wanted them to give you a daughter?" Darcy questioned unhappily.

"I'm sure she isn't much better than her sister." Malachi commented.

"You'd be surprised. I feel badly for this young girl." Jeremiah said.

"Doesn't really matter. I have who I was told I'm stuck with. Someone I can't feel anything for. Spoiled, selfish." Malachi said angrily and Vento gave a sigh. He wasn't in the mood to argue with his son right now.

"Well no one just develops emotions a day after." Darcy said with a laugh. He just looked at her.

"I am glad that you are well." Malachi told Jeremiah as he too had come up to make sure that he was okay. He turned leaving them and the room. He wasn't in the mood to talk with them anymore. They couldn't understand what it was like in his head.

None of them were marrying some person for a power play. He heard his father leaving as well coming behind him and following him down the stairs. Malachi bit his tongue to not turn and shout at him again. Just because he agreed to do it, did not mean he was happy about it.

"You know that thinking positively will make it better. Just get to know her, perhaps it will be better than either of us think." Malachi rolled his eyes.

"You get to know her."

"Your snide attitude is starting to get on my nerves. We've all made sacrifices Malachi, making the best of it will get you through it." Vento warned his son. Malachi might be a young adult now, but that did not mean he would tolerate disrespect.

"I'll try." He said coldly.

"That's better." Vento said moving to go down the next set of stairs. Malachi moved to go on down the hall. His room was up here and his father's as well but he wasn't heading to bed yet. He had a bit more to do. The two of them stopped as they heard the voices then. Even though they were muffled, both had superb hearing. Obviously neither of them had been born truly human.

"Can't you follow a simple order!" This voice both knew was Mr. Standish. Vento just stood on the stairs listening, Malachi up above. It sounded like it was coming from a room just down the hall. He wasn't going to interfere with this obvious family dispute. Though both listened.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't seen. I just talked to the man servant and his wife." You could hear the tremble and fear in the young voice.

"You're so stupid Ariel. Did he ask you to come up there? Did you let him touch you or do things?" This was Mrs. Standish and Vento felt an anger on Jeremiah's behalf. He would never do such a thing to any woman let alone this young girl. If he had, Vento would have lost trust in him and probably tossed him out.

"No mother! I swear. I just wanted to thank him for helping me unload our things." There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh. It sounded like the girl might have stumbled back and knocked into something. This didn't fit how they had seemed before. They definitely didn't treat the other daughter this way. Natasha was clearly spoiled beyond anyone he'd ever met.

"You lying little wench." Her mother said, the sound of someone being slapped came again. For the first time that he could remember in a long time, he felt the need to intervene in a family matter not his own. The girl was being treated unjustly and unfairly. Malachi had come down the stairs a bit but Vento waved at him to stop and stay.

"Courtney don't." Came Mr Standish's voice though it too was disgusted. Him telling his wife to stop kept Vento where he was. He made a note to watch these people more closely in the future. They were a devious lot.

"Don't? She's ruined, a waste!" Came her overly loud whisper. "I don't want a fourteen year old whore for a daughter."

"I swear, nothing happened like that! Please believe me, I'm sorry. I didn't want them to think that I was ungrateful. I thought it would make you look bad." Vento came all the way down the stairs to the hallway, light spilled out of the girls room. She made a painful sound. He had a feeling that one of them had taken a fistful of her hair.

"Look bad? With you going to man's room in the middle of the night, sneaking around?"

"I didn't want to wake anyone. His wife was there." She sounded like she was in tears.

"Clean this up and don't leave your room. We'll deal with you later, it was a mistake to have you." Mr. Standish said. It sounded like she might have hit the floor again. Vento reached the door as the two came out, closing it. They both turned looking shocked to see him coming up to them.

"Lord Vento, I'm sorry if we were being loud. Our daughter, she is clumsy and knocked over a lamp in her room." Mr. Standish said and his wife stood next to him looking a bit embarrassed.

"The daughter that you forgot to mention that you had?" He said looking at the door. He could hear very soft sobs coming from it. He found that it touched something in him. This girl was mentally and physically abused rather severely he could see. He also heard Malach's disgust but he was still out of sight and the Standish didn't hear the sound.

"She is rather a disappointment, and you asked us for our daughter's hand. Natasha is what you need, Ariel is… rather difficult. Something you wouldn't need to deal with." His blue eyes met theirs, and they both held a nervous air.

"I don't like being lied to. I heard what you have accused your daughter of doing. I have just spoken with him and his wife, the girl was not touched. I find it rather angering you would believe that I would allow my staff to do as they pleased with a fourteen year old child." He barely contained his anger.

At this the two of them looked uncomfortable and looked away from him, but Mr. Standish spoke.

"No we don't think that, I'm sure that all of your staff are loyal and well behaved."

"Yet you would believe that your daughter would sleep with one of them? Or worse that my most trusted servant would rape her?" Vento snapped angrily. The two of them realized that this was dangerous water they needed to steer out of.

"No! No! I'm sorry, it's just she was out of bed and admitted going to a man's room. We…"

"I think we are done talking. Your family should retire to your rooms and stay there. Just because we said that we agreed on the marriage doesn't mean I can't go back on the deal. Strip you of what you have been given because of me." The two of them paled, but said nothing else they nodded and then went down the hall to their rooms.

Vento turned looking at the door to the girl's room. The sobs had stopped, and the sound of glass being picked up came to him. He thought a moment and glanced at the two other doors that held her family in them. He wondered what was so bad about this child. In the morning he would speak with her to see. Vento moved on for now.