chapter v. crowned with laurels

(act two)

ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀᴜʀᴇɴᴄɪᴀ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ

ᴊᴇʀɪᴄʜᴏ, ᴠᴇʀᴍᴏɴᴛ

05465

Dear Miss L/N,

We are so pleased to have reached you at last. The following contents of this letter may come as a shock to you, but we're committed to making this process as easy and comfortable as possible.

You have recently been discovered as a part of the Laurencia bloodline, one of the most respected in the world of outcasts. Considering you have never consciously interacted with this side of your background, we fully understand if this doesn't sound believable, and may take some time to adjust to.

We assure you that everything in this letter is of the purest truth, we have no malicious intention.

More will be explained at your arrival, along with details for your adoption.

Unfortunately, our discovery of your connection to our family means your current situation as a normal is no longer considered safe.

We wish you safe travels.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. Laurencia

The words sank through your eyes and down to your stomach, where they sat there uncomfortably like vomit. Was this all a big prank? Did your mother know?

That was how to felt the first time you read it. You thought that the more times you'd read it, the easier it would all be to understand. You'd feel better. You'll look at all of this like it was no big deal.

But you couldn't. By the time you were driving away from camp in a car you didn't recognise, you still hadn't managed to rid yourself of the simmering pot of overwhelm that clouded your mind.

The driver had tried to make you feel better. From the backseat you could see a glimpse of his sympathetic glances as he asked about the camp.

"You made any friends?"

Ouch. Already bringing that one up, huh?

"Yep." You resisted opening the letter again to reread the words you couldn't decipher.

The driver looked at you through the rear view mirror, his eyes softening when he saw you grimacing at the envelope.

"It's gonna be okay, kiddo." His voice had lowered, but still sent a sudden wave of comfort into the car. You wondering if he knew these people, if he knew they weren't so bad.

Looking back up through your eyebrows, you saw the road in front of you. The ribbons of trees surrounding the car blended into blue and lulled your eyes to a peaceful sleep.

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐒 and tall pillars made every single movement heard with the click of marble.

The winding staircase lead any wandering eyes up to the ornamented ceiling that looped in differing heights.

You awakened just as the car approached the the large metal gate. Body pressed up against the side of the door, your face had rested on the glass as your eyes slowly flickered open from their sleep.

The first thing they caught onto was the chilling atmosphere.

The manor was shrouded in a layer of darkness, the warm light from the windows was the only sense of life. It resembled the feeling of a picture book, every detail perfectly threading into the atmosphere.

The car bumped along the path of rough pebbles and through the multiple underpasses. Only glimpses of the estate could be seen through the ocean of trees that drowned the property in a damp mass of leaves.

And that's how you ended up in front of your new parents.

They were tall and polished like two little fashion dolls, but they held this familiar warmth that seemed to ease all the tension of the house.

Mrs. Laurencia was the first to approach you, enthused at meeting her new daughter. She was dressed in a shade of deep, royal blue and was wrapped from her ears to her neck in arrangements of gold.

She beamed at you with a sense of care that had never graced your own mother's features.

Mr. Laurencia stood firm and proud, but his suit lacked the sharp steeliness of profession, and in your eyes, made him look rather like a grandfather instead.

He shook your hand with a knowing smile, just as if he was giving you your first loan of pocket money.

The driver passed your luggage to the butler so you could follow the pair to the adjoining room, supposedly the main office.

Armfuls of paperwork were in stacks on the desk.

"We are so glad to finally meet you Y/N, we trust that getting here wasn't too hard?" Mrs. Laurencia's smooth voice confirmed with an upturned brow. Your head nodded hesitantly.

"Unfortunately, you won't be able to meet any of your other siblings just yet. They are currently very busy with schoolwork and their duties."

"But I'm sure you'll get along with them just fine." Another consoling smile. "We won't keep you in here long, there's just a few formalities to cover first."

"Taking you in as an official member of this family means a lot of paperwork and contracts, including one you'll have to sign yourself. You won't need to sign it until your initiation ceremony tomorrow, but we are willing to give you the chance to look over it now."

A man with slicked hair suddenly appeared, sliding a sheet of text-filled paper towards you. Yawn. This is why you don't read.

"I'm sorry, my what?"

"Imitation ceremony, honey. It's tradition in the family." Your new mother explained.

"Yes, we have been on a... mission of sorts." Your new father began, "We're committed to discovering the lost descendants of our family and bringing them back together to restore our power as outcasts."

"When..." The Laurencia woman hesitated, wondering if should reveal such information so soon. She gulped.

"When Joseph Crackstone prolifically hunted the outcasts in the 1600's, the Laurencia family was broken into pieces. Some were killed or kidnapped, others were orphaned or married off into regular families. Many relatives don't even know that they're of outcast descent, much like yo-"

"Me." You interrupted. This was too much to wrap your head around. What was an outcast? Who's Joseph Crackstone? Is all of this even real?

Less than a day before you were living (mostly) at peace in Chippewa with Wednesday. You had no worries, no responsibilities, just the ignorant bliss of knowing that at the end of summer your mother will come pick you up in her old Cadillac and take you home to the house you're familiar with and bring you the tin of your favourite hot chocolate and then tuck you in to the bed you have warmed for 13 years.

Now you were glancing down at a contract, trying to read all the different agreements in front of you at once. Your head hurt from the pressure of your held-back, stress induced tears.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. I know this is so much to take in so soon. You must be exhausted after your journey."

Mr. Laurencia ushered over a young woman in uniform. "Darla, would you please show Y/N to her bedroom? She will need her rest for tomorrow."

"Of course, Sir." You picked up the sheet as you were guided out of the room by Darla's slender, cold hands.

Once you had left, Ms. Laurencia clenched her husband's arm and furrowed her brows.

They didn't speak, instead they both silently hoped together that they were doing the right thing.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌 had been a blur of workers that morning, as they hastily decorated and prepared it for the ceremony.

The hall was soon undoubtedly bursting with arrangements of the most fragrant daffodils, the symbol of new beginning. Streamers of sheer, shimmery fabric coated the room, leading up the platform where you now sat.

Only a few hours before you were sitting up in your new bed, unable to sleep again. Instead of being able to look over Wednesday's shoulder to read her book, you were forced to read your contract.

13 years old and you were expected to have a signature to sign your life way to a family you've only known for less than 24 hours.

One of the agreements stood out to you.

"Signer agrees to execute all of their duties with responsibility and integrity."

Okay, what?

You couldn't even understand half the vocabulary in the sentence, let alone what they meant by "duties".

Guess you'd have to wait and find out.

None of your siblings batted an eyelid at you. They had seen everyone's ceremony, including their own.

Looking at the twenty kids in front of you, all of different ages, heights, appearances, it made you wonder how you were ever meant to have a family bond with any of them.

They all stood in respect, synchronised like soldiers, when the Laurencia parents entered. Behind them trailed a meek little boy, no more than 10, carrying a wreath of some sort with extreme caution.

As they reached the platform, you noticed that it was no wreath. It was a crown of golden leaves weaved together into a ring.

You sat on your chair uncomfortably as they started the very long array of speeches. You eyes the crown wearily, not knowing what you were getting you're self into.

You mentally blacked out for a while, and when you came back to the present your name was already scrawled on the page.

"We now officially accept Y/N Laurencia as a member of our family, by crowning her with the offical Laurels."

The wreath was placed atop your head. Your mother squeezed your shoulder comfortingly. You caught a glimpse of yourself in a nearby mirror.

You looked like an angel.

And you knew nothing would ever be the same again.

(un-edited chapter)