"How are you a Flameworth? Aren't you a fraud?" Kiara asked a shocking question.
Silence filled the room.
'this is why I hate these gatherings, wasn't this supposed to be about welcoming the Patriarch? Goddamit!!' James thought to himself, he had an internal turmoil while keeping a cool and straight expression in reality.
Charles let out a scoff.
"That means you doubt your patriarch. He gave me the name Charles and recognized me as a Flameworth, hell I even completed the ritual every Flameworth must complete." Charles chucked as he said this.
"That... How do you explain your black, obsidian like hair then?" Kiara retorted, she didn't want to lose the argument, even when she knew she was wrong, it was no longer a matter of right or wrong, it was the battle of her pride against the pure fact of a four years old kid.
"Is she dense?" Charles pointed his finger to Kiara as he turned to look at Alexander who was watching the two of them quietly.
Alexander's eyes widened with shock as he heard the question.
"Hahaha, you always manage to somehow crack me up Charles!" Alexander laughed out loud as he wiped off little tears off his eyes with his fingers.
"Forgive Kiara, she is a bit... Slow witted, at times. You are a Flameworth, no one can deny your bloodline." Alex said in a cool and calm manner.
Charles turned to look at Kiara with a smug expression on his face.
Kiara frowned.
'i won't lose next time kid! Humph'! She thought to herself as she glared at Charles, almost burning a hole through his forehead with her glare.
'This is supposed to be my elder sister? She's like a female version of Teke.' Charles smiled as he thought.
"Where is the Matriarch?" Alex finally broke the silence, they had been eating for about thirty minutes without a single cough heard in the room.
"Oh! She went to Burgon, she had to deal with her old man's rantings again, but I believe mother will be back home by tomorrow, she did tell me to extend her greetings to you." Jiley said as he munched on his food, his voice muffled due to the presence of food gurgled in his mouth, a disrespectful attitude to put on while talking to the Patriarch, but Alexander was used to Jiley's shenanigans.
"Hmmm" Alex's expression remained unreadable.
"Meet me after we're done here Charles. I have something... Important to share with you." Alex told Charles strictly.
"I will make be there unfailing, Alexander." Charles replied firmly to Alex.
Jiley paused from eating his food and turned to look at Charles.
Kiara stopped eating and stared at Charles, shifting her gaze slightly to Alex to see his reaction.
'he's....'
'he's smiling?'
Both Jiley and Kiara were surprised to see Alexander's reaction to Charles calling his First name without fear.
A suspicious grin curled on Alexander's lips.
"Good." Alex disappeared with his flames.
"So that's it? That's the greeting? Boring! I'm out of here, I'm gonna go get some booze!!" Jiley stood up to leave as Alex vanished with his mysterious flames once more.
Everybody was used to it at this point so it was no longer a surprise to them.
Charles made sure to finish his food before leaving, not like the rest of them who left without finishing their foods because they claimed to be busy, Charles wanted to grow a healthy body.
"But there's something about the way that kid glared at me before he left." Charles said as he remembered the deadly glare James shot at him just before he walked out of the door.
'Jealousy? Maybe anger? What for? Des he want acknowledgement from his daddy and angry because he couldn't get it but the very same daddy is inviting me over to share something with me? Ha! Kids.' Charles almost burst into laughter before he stood up and walked out the door.
He had reached the room door of Alex and was about to knock when Alex opened the door and came out.
'he detected my presence? He must have some crazy senses, wow.' Charles thought as Alex locked his door.
"Follow me." Alex said coldly, his voice sounded like he didn't care if Charles followed him or not but his body language said something different.
'why are you so complex Alex?' Charles thought as he looked directly at Alex's poker face.
"Where to?" Charles asked to break the silence as he followed Alex, walking slowly behind him.
"We are going to the deepest parts of this mansion that has existed for generations, a chamber that only the Patriarch has access to." Alex said, his voice showing no hint of emotion, but his tone low and bold.
'that's the type of place he's taking me to? What for?' Charles started thinking. 'what could he possibly want to talk about?' He asked himself.
When they arrived at the entrance, after going down different pathways and dark and eery stairs that lead to the entrance of where they were supposed to go, Charles was bewildered.
They met a large stone door, the door had an intricate pattern on it, a pattern that was open in a tube like shape, like it was waiting for it's real piece to fit in, it was just like those children toys were they had to put the alphabet A in the hole meant for A and put B in the hole meant for B, except this one, there was no piece to fill it with.
This door was towering, a sight to behold, it gave off the sense of something ancient.
Charles recognized the pattern immediately.
'it's just like the stone replica of that darn phoenix!'
Alex removed the hand glove on his right hand, Charles was surprised because he had never seen Alex remove his hand gloves before.
Alex took a small bite of his thumb and poured his blood in the Phoenix pattern.
Charles was bewildered, his eyes widened in surprise, shock and awe at the same time.
Not because of the fact that Alex poured blood on a stone wall like some kind of Juju, but because of the facth that Alex's blood was... Unique, his blood wasn't blood at all, it was.. Lava! Something Charles had only seen in Volcanoes.
'How on earth is he a human??!'
END OF CHAPTER