Once Zaira spoke, Acura did not say another word but continued to fold her arms and looked annoyed. Everything about this relationship is odd. How can they have been in the same house and Acura's mother all of a sudden decides to bring home someone who Acura has never met and tell her he is her older brother, this is a very large red flag for Acura. The reaction is more than natural.
This is the craziest thing about the situation for Assad, where his new mother has gotten him a new family, without his consent. How long had Zaira's mother and her discussed this project of adoption and when were the papers finalized?
While this answer is not worth the time to post for future reference, it must still be answered in an appropriate manner at this time. The issue that lies at this moment is that this person will now have to refer to this complete stranger that they have had no interaction with whatsoever, as "mother".
Assad took a deep breath to remind him of the pain he was going through at this moment in time.
"Zaire, Miss," asked Assad.
Zaira turned and grinned at Assad as she approached, "my son, you must refer to me as your mother, since you belong to the Amore Clan".
'Of course you would want me to refer to you as such'
"Okay, Mother," Assad said, barely able to say that word.
Zaira's smile beamed even more brightly than she would if she were a proud mother.
"So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about, son?" she asked.
Assad cleared his throat.
"Now that the introductions are finished can you now let me go back to providing security for Miss Vonessia?"
Zaire smiled at Assad and walked over to him. She placed her hand on Assad's shoulder and said:
"As You Wish, My Boy."
After hearing these words from Zaire, Assad felt the fear he had just before return again, plus another bead of sweat began to slide down his forehead. He lowered his head quickly.
"Excuse Me..."
Without waiting for any response from Zaire, Assad turned away from her. Although he controlled his speed, he felt as if he had moved a little too quickly. Assad's actions became more controlled as he walked toward Vonessia and Sévon, finally being able to let his breath out the second he reached them. Zaire remained where she was with the faintest of smiles still on her face.
From the corner of his eye, Sévon immediately noticed the moment Assad drew near. He had gone from expressing concern for his safety, to pure relief upon seeing him once again.
He raises one of his eyebrows slightly and asked,
"How was the family?" with nonchalant indifference.
Once Assad was next to Sévon, he exhaled quietly again while running his hand through his hair.
"I can tell you opted for a quiet family gathering rather than meeting a gaggle of relatives. I Mét 2."
Still seated, Vonessia looked to her side as she grinned with delight.
"You will get used to them."
Assad stared blankly at Vonessia as he processed her words in his mind.
"Used to them?"
Vonessia had turned completely towards him now.
"After the auction tonight you will meet with the Clan Head." She spoke in a relaxed tone.
Assad was frozen, his eyes went wide, "Who am I meeting?"
The impact of her words hit him hard.
Sévon leaned back slightly, looking between the two.
"Not going to lie, you really thought this all out well, Ms. V." Sévon had a slight grin.
Vonessia did not respond right away. Her eyes were fixed off in the distance, appearing to be something deep in thought.
"Every human should know what it is like to be loved by a family." She spoke softly.
There was a brief pause. She then slightly shifted her eyes to look at Assad.
"That means you as well."
The weight of the words filled the air around the three of them, and no one else spoke.
After a moment, it became completely quiet between the two of them.
Then the lights dimmed again, and conversations throughout the room slowly began to stop. The curtains started to come open, and the stage came back alive, just like it did the last time. Arnid moved forward with his normal confident grin and arms stretched out.
"AND WE ARE BACK!"
"I trust everyone appreciated the brief break you just received because... from this point forward..."
He hesitated. A grin creased his lips.
"...it is going to be even... more entertaining..."
He rubbed his palms together; it was evident that he had some great enthusiasm!
Arnid snapped his fingers together, signaling for the auction to continue. As one piece after another was passed onto the auction block, many items began. These included valuable relics and rare items. Weapons steeped in history were sold, with people bidding all over the room like fireflies in the night. The numbers rose and the fortunes exchanged in an instant.
Everything appeared to go very well. Until Arnid's smile began to fade.
"Now we have something a little more… disturbing." He said, as he lowered his voice and smiled a little bit.
As the lights dimmed from behind the curtain, an object gradually came into view. The object was resting on a pedestal that was made of black marble, raised slightly above the top of that pedestal. It was a long, crooked staff that had apparently been made through natural processes, and was solidified with a large piece of polished obsidian fused to it in a way that gave the impression that it had come to life.
At the top of this staff, there was a circle of jagged prongs with a long and heavy piece of crystal that floated above the prongs in such a way that it appeared weightless.
Arnid raised his hand toward the staff, displaying it to the crowd and saying, "Behold! The Whispering Staff of Judgment!"
The crowd immediately felt their bodies begin to tremble with fear.
As he began to slowly pace back and forth, Arnid said, "This cursed tool will not only attack the body; it will judge the soul of a person." He touched the side of his head lightly.
Once activated, the staff puts the victim through a spiritual test where their sins, remorse and even concealed truths will be made manifest in front of the staff's creator. The staff's creator will pass judgement based upon what the staff has seen or heard from the victim.
He paused while his grin grew more pronounced.
The punishment may range from losing your mind to being completely annihilated.
The sound of silence reverberated back across the hall and then Arnid clapped his hands together once.
The bidding starts at 200,000 Ciza.
Bidders began offering progressively higher amounts of Ciza; 250,000, 300,000, 400,000 Ciza.
The numbers continued to rise rapidly; at one point bidder number 17 increased the price to 700,000, then bidder number 3 raised his bid to 800,000.
The two parties bid back and forth between 17 and 3.
When bidder number 3 called out "1 million" the room went silent.
Bidder number 3 then requested "1.1 million" and subsequently "1.2 million."
Before bidder #3 made his final offer of "1.3 million" there was an awkward moment before bidder 17 could respond.
Arnid's grin grew wider.
"Going once," he shouted.
"Going twice," he shouted.
He brought his hand down hard onto the podium.
"SOLD to bidder number 3."
Applause erupted throughout the hall as a year's worth of jackpot money was now gone forever.
Assad stood at the back of the room with his arms folded and his attention focused solely on the staff.
"This is very dangerous," he thought to himself.