Eyes of Temperance
Prologue
“ 'Your family will be cursed, for your cruelty!' said the beautiful gypsy witch. 'Only the girl with changing eyes can save your family.' the gypsy strode forward, and pointed at your many many times great-grandfather's heart. 'One of your sons will fall in love, with the girl of changing eyes... Eventually. Until that day comes, every person bearing your blood will die an early death. Because of your cruelty!' And then the gypsy, twirled around, and was gone.”
Pierce Elder grinned happily. “That's my favorite bed-time story,” he told his mother.
“Yeah, I know.” Mary-Ann Elder smiled as she ruffled her young sons hair. So that's why you chose it for your eighth birthday. But, remember it is a true story. Your father told me so.” He rolled his eyes before he yawned. “Now come on! Under the blankets!” Mary-Ann's smiled faded as she tucked her son in. “Good night, honey.”
“Good night, mommy.” His eyes fluttered closed as she kissed his forehead.
Back in the kitchen, Mary-Ann's husband was clearing away the remains of wrapping paper, and birthday card envelopes from the table.
“You got out of cleaning duty!” Declan Elder tsked at her. “How often must you use our child to get out of cleaning duty?” He wagged a finger at her.
She smiled reluctantly. “Oh, I suppose until our child stops wanting bedtime stories. But who knows... Maybe we'll have another child to help me get out of cleaning duty.” She glanced down and her smiled fell. “He asked for The Story. And he doesn't believe it's true.” Her voice broke as tears suddenly spilled over. “He rolled his eyes when I said it was true. He used to at least believe it was true, in the way kids believe in everything else. He still believes in Santa, and the Easter Bunny, and the flipping Tooth Fairy. But he doesn't believe in The Story.”
“Aw, Jeysus. Mary-Ann, why did you tell it? You should of just chosen another story.” He came around the counter to turn her and wrap his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest as he rubbed her back. “Maybe it's just his generation. None of my brothers, or me, ever stopped believing in The Story.” His Irish accent came out when he was worried, or sad. You could hear it now. “Maybe it's a sign that he'll be the one to find the girl with changing eyes. That he'll be the one to fall in love.” He drew back as Mary-Ann's sobs slowed. He gave her a weak smile as he wiped the tears from her face.
“Do you re-really think that he-he could b-be the one to fall in love with the girl, the girl with changing eyes?”
“You never know. Come on, let's go to bed. Maybe we could talk about this other child that you're planning on. And hopefully the plan will include me.” She gave a watery laugh as she nodded and let him lead her to bed.
Chapter One
Temperance Aurick glared at her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom she shared with her twin brother. Except that he wasn't her twin. Because he had normal eyes, eyes that did not change color. At fifteen, she hated the fact that she loved being different; but that the most different thing about herself was something she had no control of.
“MOM! Can I please get colored contacts!?” She yelled out, though she didn't even know if her mother was home or not. “One stupid, solid color. That never changes.” She said to herself. She squeezed her eyes shut, and snapped them open. “Damn,” she whispered. They were the same as before.
Her older brother Adrian swung into the bathroom, through her twins door with Thomas, her twin, on his heels. “Mom left with baby Bridget like, twenty minutes ago.” He informed her, naming their baby sister. “I'm in charge.” he added with a cheeky grin. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his ankles, while Thomas hopped up to sit on the bathroom counter.
“Temp, I think the mirror is already worn out. We've only lived here a week, and seriously, you've spent practically the whole time trying to see your eyes change.” He scooted back to have enough room to bring one leg up, and hooked an arm around his raised knee.
Adrian laughed. “Yeah, Temp. He,” he pointed at Thomas with his thumb, ”Has had to use the hall bathroom. Which, by the way, is supposed to be all mine. So, it's annoying.”
Temperance glared at her brothers. “You're guys, you wouldn't understand. And Adrian,” she smiled sweetly when he looked at her. “I'm a girl. Thom will probably use your bathroom more then he'll use this one.”
Thom grinned as his older brother groaned. The he said, “I don't even get why you have such a problem with the whole eyes changing color... thing... anyway.”
Temperance glared at her twin. “You just don't understand.” And she whirled around to slam into her room. She locked the door as she heard her brothers start to move to stop her. Her stereo and its massive speaker had been the first thing she had unpacked. She went to it as she thought to herself, They don't know, no one knows. She repeated the litany to herself until she felt the pounding beat of Voodoo by Black Sabbath. She automatically smiled and whispered, “Ronnie James Dio... in honor of.”
She turned away from her speakers to flop onto her unmade bed. Adrian and Thomas didn't know about the other part of her eyes, because she never told anybody. Hell, she didn't even write it in her journal. It was more then just her not being able to control the color of her eyes. It was that she could feel things, emotions around her. And she just heard things, about what people were thinking. It freaked her out, when she first heard people's thoughts. The emotions she felt when she was five, and she never really had a problem with them. And ten years later, she could mostly control how strongly she felt what was around her.
But the thoughts had only come to her two years ago. She never heard her brothers or her parents; she had to try to hear them. And she didn't really want to hear them. But in large groups of people, like at school rallies or assembles it overwhelms her. In class she was okay, she had figured out quickly how to quiet the voices. But she still heard a lot, and some of the thoughts she heard were down right frightening. She knew things about people she never would have imagined.
She turned toward the opened packing boxes that held her belongings. “Better now then later,” she sighed, and stood to start putting things away.
#
“Pierce honey, do you want any dinner?” Mary-Ann asked her son as he came through the back door into the kitchen.
“No. Already ate.” He kept walking but ruffled his little brother Cody’s hair.
“Hey Pierce! And Decla!!” Cody dropped his pencil and fell to his knees to hug the giant Rottweiler female. Pierce smiled briefly and grabbed a bag of pretzels and medium sized box of dog treats.
“Thanks for these,” he said to his mother. Pierce walked around the table and looked down at the homework his eight year old brother was working on. “Long division already, huh? If you need help, just come on down after dinner.”
“Okay! Can Decla stay up here until Mom is done making dinner?”
“Yeah, just remember to send her down before Mom serves, otherwise she’ll think she can eat too.”
Pierce ruffled Cody’s hair again and walked out of the kitchen. “Mom, why does Pierce always stay in the basement? Why doesn’t he ever come up and be around us?” Cody got up and hopped back on to his chair. Decla laid her head on his lap.
“Well, honey, I don’t really know. He’s a teenager, and I think he just likes having a place that’s all his. And he has all that homework he does… Why don’t you ask him while he’s helping with your homework?” Mary-Ann flipped the chicken in the pan over. “Do you want some salad or some mixed veggies with your chicken, Cody?”
“Salad, I guess. Extra croutons!” He laughed and rubbed Decla’s head. “I’ll ask him when he’s helping me. Do you need any help?”
“No, thank you honey. Just finish up that problem and set the table.” Cody nodded and set to work on the math problem.
#
Pierce slammed his English book shut and rested his forehead on his open palms. His left hand fell to the handle of the middle drawer of his desk. He opened it and with both hands, shifted piles of paper aside.
He pulled out a thin, blue-framed photograph of a hugely grinning man with a shiny green bow on his head. He held it with both hands as he stood and moved to the small couch by the basement stairs. He laid out on it, studying the man in photograph, his father who had died the day after the photo was taken; the day after his birthday. And despite the pile of homework on his desk, and the knowledge that his little brother wold be down with all his homework in less then an hour, he fell asleep.
#
"Mom, why can't we go home yet?" now eight year old Pierce asked as he tugged on his mother's sleeve.
"We can't go because your dad and I still have one more birthday present to get for you." She crouched down and held his shoulders. "How about you, go across the monkey bars, go down the slide twice, climb up the pole, then go across the monkey bars twice again. Then, I'll get you ice cream." He grinned widely and took off running for the play set at the park.
Mary-Ann watched her son play, following her instructions on what to do, then he did it again. Almost an hour later he came panting back to ask her about his father. He still hadn't texted to say he was on his way home.
"How about we go grocery shopping, you pick anything you want, and we go get ice cream?"
"Do we have to go grocery shopping?" he puffed out his bottom lip.
"If you want and extra birthday treat. I did say anything, remember."
He pursed his lips side to side, his face the most somber expression of indecicivness. "Okay, I guess. Can we get the pictures you took last night to the photo center? I wanna see 'em!"
"Of course we can." She pulled open the car door for him to clamber inside. She pulled out her cell phone to call Declan as he buckled himself in quickly. "Ha-lo?" he said when he answered the call.
"Declan. Are you on your way back home yet? I am running out of excuses as to why we can't go home and..." she trailed off when she heard car horns blaring, and then quiet woofing. "Is there traffic? Is that her?"
"Aye, she was louder before, then the traffic and the horns started up. She's huddled up in the box now. I forgot to call, I'm sorry," he apologized quickly. "I'll be home in a half hour, so be there in forty-five or so. I should be able to get her settled by then."
"Okay, be careful. He'll be so excited... It was such a good idea, Declan. I'll let you get back to the road. I love you."
"I love you too, Mary-Ann." she could hear the smile in his voice before he ended the call. She got into the car and started driving to the grocery store. Pierce watched out the window and happily thumping his hands against his knees to his own little beat.
Mary-Ann wasn't exactly sure what she bought, she just went through the motions. Pierce didn't notice, happily skipping beside her grocery cart; humming, and occasionally throwing in a clap or two, to his own little constant beat.
#
The woman with pixie short red hair looked up from the desk, wide eyes blinking from behind bright blue cats eye glasses, when the jingle bells rang out. "Oh, oh, oh you must be the Auricks! Adrian the senior, Temperance the junior, and Thomas the sophomore." she clapped suddenly.
Adrian glanced at his siblings, a bemused look of wonder on his face. "Uh, yeah. Our parents told us we were to just come here when we got here..."
"oh, yes. Your student guides are here... Oh, we don't get many new students!" She stood and turned to hurriedly knock four times on a door, name plated PRINCIPAL in bright yellow letters. Then just as hurriedly, entered.
"Well that was interesting," Thomas remarked as he dropped into a chair.
"To say the least." Temperance adds as she falls sideways into the chair besides Thomas', kicking her feet up to rest them on his lap.
Adrian nodded his head frantically. "Do you guys always have to sit?"
"You may be a trè elegant senior, brother dear, but we are not."
"An elegant senior? Yeah-"
"What do you mean Elder isn't here yet?! He promised, his mother promised he'd actually be here! You'd think he'd be more willing to show a kid around school then clean, again!" Adrian, Temperance and Thomas quieted instantly.
"Holy shiiip. If that's the principal shouting, I'm going to be in deep shipped." Thomas whispered. There was a loud bang.
"Fine, go bring me Blair!"
The red-haired woman scurried out of the office. She gasped sharply and almost fell over when she saw them.
"Um, please excuse me." she said and once again rushed out of the room, this time into the empty hall.
"Who do you think Blair is?" Temperance asked after a few moments. Thomas glanced at her, then looked back at a vase of slightly wilted flowers.
"Maybe..."
"A PYSCHO MURDER SADIST!" Adrian jumped forward and shouted, waving his arms around.
Thomas hadn't twitched and their sister dropped the pen she had been twirling. "Geez, Adrian! So, so not flucking elegant!"
"Hey, whoever said seniors were elegant was dead freaking wrong."
They lapsed into silence; listening to to the somehow ominous ticking of the purple and bright yellow wall clock. About ten minutes later, the red haired lady again come through the door, at her apperently usual hurried pace. She had just opened the princapals office when the hall door banged open.
Temperance raised her brows and took in old, beat up black boots, bright but faded blue tights, teal short shorts, and a faded pink leopard top. She had a beat up leather vest, foax fur arm warmers, and a patched together messenger bag. She was wearing orange lipstick, and her nails were a chipped yellow. The door swung and hit the toe of her boot to bouce back. Her head swivled to look at Adrian, then at Thomas and Temperance. "Her name is Claire, she probably hasn't introduced herself." She had a deep femenine voice, and then she reshouldered her bag and charged forward into the office beyond.
Adrian stared after her, mouth slightly agape. "Ship, man. Didja see her lipstick?" Thomas asked with a snort.
Temperance shruged. "I liked her aviators and her boots." She sighed. "I guess that was that Blair person."
They sat for another minute in silence, Adrian still looking at the door to the inner office. Then Claire the red-haired office lady, came out to say, "Principal Barnes will see you now." Thomas stood and he and Adrian moved to pull Temperance up. Her brothers filed in first, and she nodded her thanks to Claire. There were two neatly dressed students standing side by side, their hands clasped before them. Blair was sitting atop a bookshelf, making faces at the two neat students. But their attention was immediately drawn to the large, beefy man behind the large desk in the back right corner of the office, who was glaring at Blair.
He looked over at the three siblings, losing his hard expression. "Hello. Welcome to Jaxton Tree High School. I am your principal, Timothy Barnes." He patted a stack of papers before gesturing to the other students. "These will be your student guides. And these are your introductory packets, made by students, for students, about our extracurricular activities; sports, clubs, and the like." He beckoned them forward, and one by one, handed them the packets. "Jonathan Nathan, is a senior who is part of the Key Club and will be," he glanced down at the open files on his desk, "Adrian's guide. Taylor Nye is a sophomore, also part of Key Club, and she will show you around, Thomas." He hesitated, and gave Blair a long look. "This is McVeigh Blair, a junior. She will show Temperance around."
"Yeah! It would have been Pierce, but he ditched again. So you're stuck with me." McVeigh winked hugely. "I don't bite hard, though, so you are totally good." She smiled, a wide, fake grin.
Temperance smirked, and looked toward Principal Barnes. He was glaring at McVeigh again, before turning and smiling weakly, apologetically, at Temperance. "Well." he said shortly. "You all should get going. Don't want to miss your Home Room." And the two Key Club students started toward the door, Thomas following, pulling Adrian along. Temperance watched as McVeigh slid off the bookcase and knocked on the principal's desk.
"I do this, and I get a week and a half of my detentions knocked off, right? I wanna be fuckin' sure Barney."
"Miss Blair. It is Principal Barnes." He glared harshly, Temperance believing easily now that he was the one who shouted earlier. "Yes, a full school day escorting Miss Aurick and you will get seven days off of your month and a half of detentions. Now please, go do what you are told." They glared at each other, then McVeigh knocked on his desk again. She whirled abruptly and grabbed Temperance by the hand to drag her out.
McVeigh went straight past Claire into the outer hall, and Temperance's brothers were already going down two different hall. Adrian glanced back and gave her a half wave. She opened her mouth to say something, but McVeigh just looked back at her and continued down her path. "We are skipping the last ten minutes of home room. Because it is a stupid waste of the first half hour of school. The only reason I even came to it today is because I knew Pierce would ditch, and I'm next on the list for tour duties. So boo for him, yay for me."
"So who is Pierce?" she asked cautiously, starting to try to pull her arm out of the other girl's firm grip. She didn't really care about skipping her first home room. It wasn't like she did it regularly, but she was no stranger to skipping classes.
"A junior. He ditches a lot. We both get detention a lot. Detention at this school is cleaning. I swear he cleans like everyday. Or, he should. He doesn't really ever bother." She released her hand. "Usually he just hangs out with his dog.... He's gotten in trouble for having her on campus before."
"So you friends- or whatever?" Temperance interrupted her stream of consciences. She shifted her small backpack and pulled down her sweatshirt.
"Pierce doesn't really have friends. I mean when he's here he hangs with us- the outcast-y rebel badass nerd type people like- but we don't really know him, you know."