Chapter 12
Enid felt a bit guilty this morning; Daisy came to her about what she found in Clara's keepsake box. Looking through the box at the pictures brought back so many memories it was almost too painful to look at them all.
The love letters she also knew about, she was there with Clara when she wrote them. They were best friends, of course, she knew everything.
She knew it would only be a matter of time before things would start coming out; she couldn't bring herself to tell Daisy about the truth of her parentage before the funeral.
It would only make things worse; she felt her decision to wait till after the funeral and grief had died down a little to tell Daisy the truth. Perhaps her father will decide to come out of hiding now that she is an adult.
Truth be told, she wasn't so sure she wanted shifters and vampires in Daisy's world; perhaps it would be better if she just returned to her life in New York as she was before.
She saw how Noah looked at Daisy though she knew it was already too late for her to return to her everyday life.
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Daisy was so confused as she was getting ready for the last time she would ever see her Aunt again. The funeral was in three hours, and she just looked at the black dress she had put down on the bed.
She didn't want to put it on; Aunt Clara always said she looked best in blue. She wanted to wear blue one last time for her Aunt. She went to the closet where she put her things and found the royal blue sleeveless dress.
Tears stung her eyes as she remembered that this dress was the last thing that her Aunt had given her. It was on her birthday last year.
She snuck out early this morning to find her Aunts favorite flower; she found some on the edge of the property, forget-me-nots.
Enid didn't answer any questions about the box of letters and photos. She did confirm that Micheal was Aunt Clara's boyfriend but would say nothing more after that. Finally, she just got tired of trying to pry open that door and gave up for the time being.
She put her hair up like her Aunt had always liked it, arranging a few forget-me-nots into the style, and slipped into the blue dress. She didn't care if anyone thought that it was not appropriate.
There was a knock on the door; Noah called from the other side. She went and let him in. He looked very handsome in his dark suit. She wished that someday he would show up to her door looking that handsome.
Sighing, she realized that this was not the proper time or thinking for today, and she felt a little guilty about it. She should only be thinking about Aunt Clara.
He stared at her for a little while, smiling at her.
"I know this is not the right thing to say to someone when they are going to a funeral, but you look beautiful, Daisy. May I ask why you are wearing blue?"
"I am wearing blue because Aunt Clara always liked me to wear blue she said it was my best color. This is the last present I received from her on my birthday last year."
He reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"It is time to go."
He held out his arm to her, and they walked down and out to the driveway; Enid was there waiting for them. Enid got into the back seat as Noah held the passenger side door open for her. Once inside, he went around and got behind the wheel.
It was a misty day, not a dark rainy day but not a dry clear day either; the air was cool and the sky grey. It was perfect for how she was feeling.
They rode to the funeral in silence, Noah reached over and held her hand in comfort, and she was grateful for his presence. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to keep it together this long without his help.
The funeral was being held in the only Chaple in Millersville. They were let in first before anyone else was allowed inside.
Daisy walked slowly down the aisle. Her legs felt heavy as she approached the coffin to see her Aunt Clara one last time. The tears in her eyes wouldn't behave, and they were falling freely down her face.
She brought out a small bouquet of forget-me-nots and placed them under her hands. She wanted to hug her; she looked like she was sleeping and needed waking.
Knowing that it was not so that this is the sleep of forever, her mind understood, but she knew that her heart never would.
All she could hear and see was her Aunt Clara's smiling face and laughter. All she wanted at this moment was to be able to see her smile one more time. Hug her one more time.
Noah came up to her and held her; he put a white rose next to the forget me not's. Enid came from the other side of Daisy and placed a small handmade wreath of white Gerber daisies.
Daisy wanted to reach out and touch her, but she knew that it wouldn't be the same; the warmth of life had left, and her body would feel different now with the embalming. She didn't want that to be attached to her last memory of her.
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People were coming in now to say goodbye; most if not all were townspeople that Aunt Clara had known, friends and old school friends.
Enid greeted most of them as they came to pay their respects. Everyone was looking at Daisy; some came up to her to say how sorry they were. She couldn't talk, so she just nodded her head.
Soon they will all be in a procession taking Aunt Clara to her final resting place in the woodland grove cemetery. The preacher came in and stood next to the coffin and said a blessing for her.
It was then that Enid saw the slight shadow movement in the front of the chapel; she knew that it was Micheal coming to say goodbye. She watched. If she didn't know what to look for, she would have never known he was there.
He left as quickly as he came. Enid let out a sigh of relief. Now wasn't the time for Micheal to meet his daughter.
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He watched in the shadows of the trees, waiting for when the discovery would be made. He was only being nice to his first victim, The other lady was her friend, and she deserved to go to her funeral.
He didn't dare get too close. He sensed the shifter, but more importantly, he felt another Vampire, much older than any he had to ever deal with. Whoever the older vampire was, he could blend in without the shifter knowing about him.
Getting a little impatient because his masterpiece had not been found yet, he decided it was too dangerous to stay.
It didn't matter anyway. All he had to do was either buy the local newspaper or go online; it wasn't the same as in-person but staying and risking being discovered was not what he wanted. He was just getting started.
Turning into the mist, he floated his way into the forest undiscovered and unseen by anyone.
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Still holding Daisy, Noah led her to a sofa off to the side to let her rest before more people would come in. She leaned into him as he wrapped her in his arms to let her cry.
Noah and Raja hated that their little mate was so sad, they understood, but they still hated it; Raja wanted to come out and curl himself around her and growl at anyone who would come near her. Noah wanted to do the same thing.
The best they could do was be there for her, her lighthouse in the storm. There was no taking away this pain. Only time could help with that. He could also feel waves of loneliness coming off of her.
She was truly alone now in the world for all reasoning to her. He wasn't going to let her feel that way for long; She had him and Raja now. No more will he ever let her feel alone after this day.
He had to admit Enid did a fantastic job arranging the funeral. The flowers were beautiful. She even set up a card box and a registry. Any money received was going to Aunt Clara's favorite charity.
The only thing on his mind was getting Daisy through this and then safe and sound back home. No more crying in sorrow for her, not for a long time anyway. He will spoil her rotten until she is done with the initially hard part of the grief.
Perhaps take her away to some tropical island for a bit of vacation. Staying around here couldn't be easy with all the reminders lurking around every corner.
He scanned the room as Raja was sniffing for any unusual scents. That was when he picked up a very odd scent. It was coming from the balcony of the chapel. Oh, god, it smelled like death and chemicals.
He gently let Enid have a turn at holding Daisy as he went silently up the back stairs that led to the chapel. He didn't want anyone to notice him just in case there was something nasty up there.
He would not let something like this ruin an already sad day for his mate. What could it be, though? The smell was bizarre. Perhaps an animal got inside and died?
Once he reached the top, there were eight chairs for the choir, and in the center chair, in the light of the stained glass window, sat the mutilated dead body of a woman in a red dress.