Introductions
It was raining cats and dogs when the car finally pulled up. Glancing at the sky Anastasia winced and ran the two steps from the front stoop to the car door. The driveway was covered but still, with the wind she felt a few drops and knew it could get a lot worse. Reaching for the door handle she was surprised when a large hand beat her to it. She looked up, and up, up, up, into an unfamiliar face. The man looked continental, maybe Ruxian, and was as big as a boulder, seams of his suit straining against his muscles as he bent over to open the door for her. When she didn’t get in he turned to look at her, revealing a long, purple scar that stretched across the left half of his face. Controlling her expression Anastasia smiled politely at him and settled into her seat. Anastasia didn’t know know all of her father’s staff, but surely she would remember this man if she’d seen him before.
Closing her door after ensuring she, her bag, and clothing were all tucked away, the large man made his way smoothly to the driver’s seat and ducked in. The car creaked and Anastasia stifled a smile, glancing up to find his eyes on her through the rearview. They were expressionless, but Anastasia couldn’t shake the feeling that he was annoyed to have caught her laughing at him. He didn’t say anything though, just peeled away from the house and started down the familiar route to school. Anastasia tucked herself more comfortably into the seat and turned her face towards the window. It was really pouring now. Wondering what they were going to do for gym Anastasia popped her headphones out of her bag and plugged them into her phone.
“Would you like to listen to something?” the man in the front seat asked in a voice like the rumble of thunder.
It was so unexpected even his soft tone made Anastasia jump.
“Oh, sorry, I was just going to listen back to one of my lectures.”
“You can stream it through the speakers if you want,” he said, eyes flickering to her in the rearview and then away again. They were grey, she realized, not blue or brown or any color she’d ever seen before, and piercing. His face was expressionless but his eyes, Anastasia wondered if he knew how expressive they could be.
“Oh, okay, thank you,” she said.
“It’s your car,” he muttered as Anastasia tapped through her phone settings to connect to the car’s bluetooth.
“Braeden, Mr. Conoway doesn’t like to listen to it, it makes him too sleepy,” she mumbled as the speakers began to broadcast the static of her recording. She turned the sound down and settled back again to listen. The lecture was from a few weeks ago but Anastasia liked to prep for her tests early and midterm was coming. The drive wasn’t long but she sped up the lecture and they’d listened to most of it before the car turned into the school parking lot. Anastasia reached forward and put a hand on the man’s shoulder, surprised when he stiffened.
“Oh, sorry,” she snatched her hand back, “I was just going to ask if you could circle around back.”
He nodded, doing as she asked without comment. They bypassed the busy school entrance, students in bright raincoats shouting and laughing through the rain, some even throwing mud at each other as they raced up the steps. One or two glanced at the car as it passed and Anastasia ducked her head. Behind the school was quieter, a couple of kids in black hoodies passing a cigarette between them, one or two hunched figures making their way from the various neighborhood paths to the back entrance. The car slid to a stop under a tree off to the side and Anastasia let out a breath.
“Thank you. Will you be picking me up this afternoon?” she asked, shrugging into her backpack and pulling up her hood.
The man nodded. She smiled faintly and saw him glance at her through the rearview.
“Well, thank you for the ride. Um, see you later I guess.” She was halfway out the door when she turned and ducked her head back in. “Sorry, what’s your name?”
“Zaxa,” he said, deep voice almost disappearing in the soft wash of rainfall, “Zaxa Tormod.”
Anastasia nodded, smiling a little. “I’m Anastasia. Nice to meet you Zaxa. I hope you have a good day.” He nodded back to her and waited until she’d closed the door and was halfway up the back steps to drive away.
Inside Anastasia took off her hood and shook out her hair, waving her arms a bit to shake off at least the top layer of water. She heard loud voices approaching and looked up to see the track team coming down the stairs. Anastasia spotted two familiar faces among them and smiled, waiting for the majority of the team to pass before falling in with her brothers. Red hair plastered to his scalp with a mixture of rain and sweat, Casey attempted to sling an arm around Anastasia’s shoulders. She ducked and he pouted but Gregoir, black hair similarly damp, caught Casey’s wrist when he tried it again.
“Leave her alone.”
Anastasia shot her older brother a grateful look. Casey was less than one year older than Anastasia, but they couldn’t be more different. She was closer with Gregoir, one year Casey’s senior, and their eldest brother Eric, off on family business somewhere for the past few months.
“How was practice?” she asked.
“The usual,” Casey shrugged, raising a hand to high-five a friend passing them in the hall. “Did you meet the new guy?”
Anastasia glanced around but no one seemed like they were paying attention. “Yeah he drove me in.”
“He’s huuuuuuge,” Casey said, “I thought Marek was joking when he said he looked like he could lift the car but like, I can definitely see it.”
Marek, their second eldest brother, was also off with Eric, and Anastasia’s usual driver Braeden Conoway.
“You talked to him?” Anastasia said, surprised.
Casey winced, glancing at Gregoir who was glaring at him. “Yeah, sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Is everything, okay?” Anastasia asked. Her family was close but, they didn’t usually reach out while they were working.
“Everyone’s fine,” Gregoir reassured her quietly, “they had a hiccup but they’re sorting it out.”
Anastasia assessed her brother’s face. He seemed worried, but calm, so she guessed he was telling the truth. Sighing Anastasia decided she’d have to wait to find out more. They’d reached the gym so Anastasia bid her brothers goodbye to shower and change and headed off to her first class. She spotted Selah loitering by the door and hooked her arm through the other girl’s, surprising her.
“Oh my god, Ana, hey!” Selah greeted her, squeezing Anastasia to her side in a one-armed hug. “I was waiting for you, did you go around back?”
“Yeah,” Anastasia replied, “when did you get here?”
“I came in with the boys,” she said, propelling them into the classroom and towards their seats. “Management starts like, thirty minutes after track practice so it’s easier if I just come with them.”
Anastasia nodded. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Selah wasn’t related to the Avisheys by blood, but she and Anastasia, the eldest daughter of the family, were as close as sisters. Selah’s family had worked for Anastasia’s for generations, and lived in the mansion so they carpooled when they could. Selah’s mother Selene managed the Avishey household and Selah was training to do the same for Eric when he took over, so she took extra household and economic management classes in the mornings. Wondering what was going on that had Marek talking to Casey while on the job, Anastasia almost asked Selah but the bell rang so she swallowed her questions, and her worries, resolved to track the information down later.
