The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 (2 page)

After several hours of labor, Melissa and
Cassy came screaming and kicking into the world, and they had been
fighting ever since.

Steve looked at his two beautiful daughters
and felt his heart overflow with love. “You two will have a day
when you’ll need each other. I know how much you each want to be
your
own
person, but you also need
to cherish the strength you both share.”

Cassy looked at Melissa and rolled her eyes.
“I’d like her more if she wasn’t such a Diva. She never likes to
have fun. All she wants to do is
shop
and do her stupid nails.”

Melissa looked at Cassy with a look of utter
disgust on her face. “I’d rather be a Diva than a social zero like
you.” Melissa stuck out her tongue, and then laughed at the angry
glare on Cassy’s face.

“Girls, stop it right now! You both are old
enough to stop acting like two spoiled brats. I want you to promise
me that you’ll behave yourselves while at your great-grandmother’s
house. The last thing she needs is to put up with a couple of
arguing teenagers,” Donna said in a loud voice.

O
f course, this brought
both girls to full
attention,
as
they realized that they had pushed the subject too far.

“
I’m being
good, Mom,” Aaron said with an angelic tone in his voice as he took
the last bite of his pizza.

Donna looked at her sweet son and had to
admit that at least he
was not
misbehaving
. “Yes, you are. See girls, you need to learn how
to behave like your brother.”

Both girls turned and glared at their
brother, both rolling their eyes. Aaron looked back at them with a
mischievous look on his face.
Of course,
this caused each girl to stick out her tongue at him
.

“Mom, they stuck their tongue out at me,”
Aaron cried out, as he tried to hide his joy at upsetting them.

“Girls, I want you two to behave yourselves.
Okay, everyone is finished eating so go take your baths and
go to bed
. Tomorrow is going to be
a long day,” Donna said trying to hide her
own
amusement.

The three children got up from the table
without saying a word, but as they walked down the hall toward
their bedrooms; Steve and Donna could hear them arguing.

“It’s your fault!”

“No, it’s yours!”

“I get to take my bath first.”

“No, I get to go first this time.”

Steve and Donna looked at each other and it
was at that moment that they realized how much they would miss the
children in spite of all the fighting.

Everyone was up and rushing around the house
trying to get ready to leave. Both girls had finished dressing and
were waiting in the living
room
while Aaron sat at the kitchen table still eating his
breakfast.

“Aaron, you need to hurry.
Mr. Saunders will be here in an hour, so get up and go
get dressed,” Donna groaned. She then closed her last suitcase and
set it by the front door for Steve to take out to the
car.

“My, you two look
lovely
this morning.” Donna felt her heart fill with
pride, as she turned to look at the girls.

Donna was amazed how much the girls looked
like their great-grandmother did at their age with their long brown
hair and deep chocolate brown eyes. Donna did have to admit that
even though the girls looked alike, they had
entirely
different personalities.

Of the two
daughters
, Melissa had always acted more prim and proper.
She always made sure she brushed her hair and put it up into a
ponytail. She also made sure her clothes always matched and were in
style. Cassy, on the other hand, did not seem to care about her
appearance. She was happiest in an old pair of jeans and an
over-sized tee shirt. As for her hair, she kept it in braids, so
she did not have to brush it all the time. Even though the girls
looked alike, they could not have been more different.

“Mom, he’s here,” Aaron announced as he ran
to the living room.

“Aaron, go get me a comb from the bathroom.
Your hair is a mess,” Donna said sternly,
as she walked to the front door.

“Oh, Mom…” Aaron groaned.

“Stop arguing, now go comb your hair.”

Donna opened the front door just as Mr.
Saunders was about to ring the doorbell.

“Good morning, Mrs. Moore; are the children
ready?” Mr. Saunders was a dashing man in his mid-sixties. Donna
had always liked him, so she was glad that he had come to get the
children.

“Good morning, Mr. Saunders, it’s nice to
see you again. The girls are ready, but Aaron still needs to comb
his
hair.
”

“
Excellent
,
Ma’am. I’ll take the luggage out to the limousine.” Mr. Saunders
reached for the suitcases sitting by the front door.

“That’s not necessary. Steve can do that,”
but no sooner had the protest left her lips than Mr. Saunders
picked up the suitcases.

“That won’t be necessary. I will take care
of this,” he said dismissively.

Donna watched him carry the three suitcases
out to the truck of the limousine and put them inside. Once he
finished, he came back to the house and stood by the front
door.

“Okay, I guess that’s the best your hair is
going to look today,” Donna said to Aaron after she had finished
combing his hair. She knew that he was old enough to do it himself,
but she still enjoyed feeling needed.

Donna looked at the three of them and
realized how much she would miss them.

“Steve, the
children,
are leaving,” Donna shouted down the hallway to
the bedrooms.

“Okay, don’t let them leave until I get my
goodbye kisses,” Steve said as he walked into the living room.

Aaron ran up to this father and wrapped his
arms around Steve’s neck. “I love you, Dad. I’m going to miss
you.”

“I love you too, Aaron. I want you to
promise me that you’ll behave yourself and just
have fun
.” Steve held Aaron in a tight hug, not
wanting to let him go.

“I will Dad,” Aaron said, as he returned the
hug.

After a few moments, Aaron tried to pull
away, “Dad, you’re crushing me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Steve laughed as he
released Aaron.

Steve looked at his son and realized that he
was growing so quickly. It was difficult to imagine that they were
now young adults, and their time of needing their parents for
everything would soon end.

“Come on, they need to get going,” Donna
said with a tear in her eye.

As they walked outside, all three children
had their eyes light up with surprise.

“Wow, we get to ride in a limousine, cool,”
Aaron shouted as he ran toward the long, black car parked in front
of their house.

“I wish Jennifer
was
here to see this,” Melissa laughed as she ran to the
car.

“I get to ride shotgun,” Cassy giggled as
she ran to the passenger door.

Mr. Saunders stopped her as the driver
opened the back door. “Miss Cassandra, we will sit in the back with
your sister and brother.”

Cassy stopped and looked up at Mr. Saunders.
She wanted to
protest
but thought
better of it after seeing the stern look on his face.

“Yes, Sir,” she said as she climbed in the
back with Aaron and Melissa.

Once the children were in their places, Mr.
Saunders turned to Steve and Donna. “I’m sure the children will be
no trouble.”

Steve looked
in
the backseat and wondered how Donna’s grandmother
would ever be able to handle two sixteen-year-old girls and one
rambunctious thirteen-year-old boy. “I hope so,” Steven grinned
nervously.

Mr. Saunders noticed the worried expression
on Steve’s face. “You have nothing to fear. You two go have a
lovely vacation and I will return the children to you next
week.”

Steve looked at Donna and saw the look of
relief on her face. “Thank you, Mr. Saunders.”

Before Mr. Saunders got in the backseat of
the limousine with the children, Steve and Donna leaned down and
looked inside. “Goodbye, and have a good time,” they said in
unison.

“Goodbye,” the children all said.

Once Mr. Saunders got in the back, the
driver closed the door then returned to the driver’s seat.

As Steve and Donna stood on the sidewalk,
watching the long, black limousine pull out on the street and drive
away; they wondered what adventures lay ahead for them.

Donna turned to Steve and said, “Well, we
need to get to the port. We wouldn’t want to miss the ship.”

The flight on the private jet was quite
exciting for Melissa, Cassy, and Aaron. They had flown on an
airplane once before, but it was not as lush as this one.

Aaron was thrilled when Mr. Saunders had
showed him the laptop computer with several games he could play
during the flight.
Melissa had spent most
of the flight talking to her friends on the private telephone while
Cassy spent her time in the cockpit having the pilot explain the
purpose of each button and switch on the console.

“Children, it’s time to take your seats and
secure your seatbelts. We will be landing soon.” Mr. Saunders
walked over to Aaron and took the laptop computer away from him,
and returned it to the secure drawer for
safe keeping
.

“Ah, man, I was almost done with that
level,” Aaron whined.

“I’m sure you will have the opportunity to
complete that level on the flight home,” Mr. Saunders said as he
locked the drawer holding the computer.

“Wow, is that great-grandmother’s house?”
Melissa said excitedly as she pointed out of the window at the
large mansion
overlooking
the
Atlantic Ocean.

“Yes, it is. Now, please sit, Miss Melissa,”
Mr. Saunders said in a stern tone.

“Dang, it’s big like a castle,” Cassy
grinned. Cassy was amazed at the large stone mansion with what
appeared to be a tall tower facing out over the ocean. She had
always had faint memories of visiting her great-grandmother in the
big castle years ago, but she had come to believe that it was
nothing more than the memories of a small child.

“This is really cool. She does live in a
castle,” Cassy giggled softly.

“Yes, it is, Miss Cassandra. Now, please sit,”
Mr. Saunders said as he checked each child’s seatbelt, before
taking his own seat.

The Wilham estate overlooked the Atlantic
Ocean, on one of the many small islands dotting the Maine
coastline. The family had settled on the island nearly two-hundred
years ago when the first of the
Wilham’s
decided to come to America. James Wilham had
started the family business with one small fishing boat, but over
the years, his business grew into one of the largest fleets in the
area. He had built the sprawling mansion on the east side of the
island
so that his wife could
always watch for him to return from his time at sea.

The joys and pains of life had filled the
house over the years, from the births of children to the death of
loved ones. Abigail Wilham was born on a cold winter’s night in the
old house. She had come into the world crying and ready to face
whatever life had ahead of her.
Her
parents had loved her dearly and had plans for their lives, but on
a warm summer’s eve, they both died in an automobile accident on
their way home from an outing in the city.

O
f course,
this had devastated Abigail, as her parents were her world, but
with time and the love of her grandfather, she had learned to laugh
again.

Thomas Wilham traveled the world because of
his business, so each time he would return home it was a grand
affair. The house servants would always prepare a special meal with
all the grandeur a little girl would desire. The table was set with
the finest china and crystal, the soft glow of candles filled the
room, and Abigail would dress in a beautiful
gown
while her Grandfather donned his best
tuxedo with tails.