Chapter 17 New Family

I saw a young man, with long white hair directly looking at me. I felt weird putting it in perspective. I had green eyes with a tint of whiteness; a pointy nose with a well-proportioned face. I looked good, if I say so, myself, girlish because of the long hair. This world does have Poliosis, which is when a person is born with or develops a patch of white or gray hair while otherwise maintaining their natural hair color. It was still rare, but it would be hard to blend in.

I stopped my train of thought and looked out the window; it was still dark, so I went to sleep. I decided on other main languages to learn next. It would come in handy if I met new people.

The next morning I was introduced to Arthur's Nephew. He would be responsible for me directly. His name is Oscar and he was about the same age as my father. He was a thin man with a happy face, but his serious expression was scary.

In the morning, when I opened my eyes, I saw him, holding a towel in one hand, and toiletries in the other, just looking at me with a serious face. That seriously scared me. It took me a full hour to convince him to not do this from today onward.

The next few days were uneventful. I went and toured the whole estate with my parents. I tried delicious dishes, which were very tasty. I wanted to learn cooking instantly; it piqued my interest but denied access to the kitchen. I fought hard, but was defeated by my mother's worrysome eyes.

Grandpa Kenneth would tell me about basic family situations. I learned about some history and politics. He was just mumbling different things after meals, he teached me without any expectations, not caring about whether I would understand or not. But when I gave him my positive understanding, he became excited.

I learned about Rothchild family legacy, how the house was founded by Mayer Amschel Rothschild and his five sons. Mayor and his sons became international bankers, establishing branches in London, Paris, Vienna, and Naples by the 1820s. In addition to banking and finance, the Rothschild businesses have encompassed mining, energy, real estate, and winemaking. From the early 19th century the family has been known for its considerable charitable activities, particularly in the arts and education.

He was very proud, and would always, have numerous family exploits with gutso.

Great-uncle Donald would interject out a session and take me to his workplace located at the east wing of the mansion. Seeing my interest in books, he would show me his collection along with his works in literature. I was a bookworm to the core, so it was thrilling to see mountain upon mountain of books. It became my favorite pass-time which would easily shave a few hours off my day. Uncle Donald happily obliged to accompany me and showed me his favorite books. It was basically his second home.

Great-aunt Patricia would often invade his territory on the premise of my rest. She along with grandma Margaret would often drink tea in the evenings, they would tell me about different influential families present around the world, specially in Britain and the USA. They also told me about Father, Robert, and Mother, Laura's past escapades. Mother was there at that time, when they started discussing stories about their love. She quickly peeled me off from grandmother's lap to take me away to do an "important" thing. Everyone started laughing to see my mother be embarrassed.

One particular evening, Uncle Peter took me out to a training ground on the premise that I could learn some self-defense. I happily agreed, I had never seen anyone fight before; it was a totally new experience.

Many family guards would spend considerable time here to improve and learn from others through sparring. I watch them trying to learn some moves; it could be helpful in future; listening to Grandpa Kenneth history lessons were definitely a factor. Although he never explicitly stated anything about death, I could guess the meaning of "unnatural" passed away meaning.

While I was enjoying the sparing, a distinct female voice called out to me, " Little brother, you should not teach violence. You have always been a knuckle-head. Samuel needs a rest for a few more weeks. "

" Don't say that sister Mary, he was enjoying himself. Look at his happy face." Peter added.

"Yeah, you can bet, if anything happens to Samue, your face will be plastered permanently by sister Laura. She strictly ordered Samuel to rest for the whole year, just to make sure he recovered." Aunt Mary said.

"Come, Samuel spend some time with your sister, okay? Your hair looks ruffled, come; I will comb it and make pretty braids. It will go nicely with your long hair." She added.

" But Aun--, sister Mary, I am a boy, I dont want to look like a girl. " I just avoided a huge blunder and corrected myself by lightening fast.

" We know but others don't know it, we will take many pictures and try some "new" clothes. You can become a model easily." She added.

I was dreading inside and ran like never before to escape my demise as a boy.

The next morning, a call came from the Moore family about the funeral reception. The atmosphere got gloomy. My parents agreed to attend the funeral and I wanted to see Hannah so badly. She must be lonely, missing her sister. I promised myself to play with her in the coming days to ease some of the burdens.

It was funeral day; we all put on all black attire, smart black or dark suits, white long-sleeved shirt with a collar, plain black tie and polished black shoes. Oscar took care of it the day before. We all came down, to see Old John already standing beside the car. We got in and headed toward Tottenham Cemetery.