Irresistible

Chapter 11

As Alec ushered Jade into the room where she was to meet the order, she couldn't help but notice that the walls here were made of a much darker stone than that of the Great Hall. The room was dimly lit by torches, and the whole setting felt a little eerie to Jade and she felt her skin start to crawl. Empty chairs lined the walls on each side of the room, and up ahead, she could see a long table surrounded by tall backed chairs, where shadowed figures sat and conversed in whispered tones. As Jade approached the table silence fell and then a very familiar male voice rang out across the room.

"Jade, we are so glad to see that you are well. Naturally, we were all greatly concerned when we heard of the attack and the injuries you sustained." He finished explaining and Jade was momentarily too stunned to respond. Professor Hickes was one of the members of The Order?! Then Jade looked around the table and realized that she recognized most of the members, there was only one face that was unfamiliar to her.

"We are aware that seeing most of us here must come as quite a shock for you; Please take a seat, and allow us to set matters straight."

Jade dropped her gaze to the empty chair that sat at the foot of the table and for a long moment, she thought she would much rather flee the room than sit with the very people who had lied to her all her life. She didn't want to face this. To have to face the fact once again that her whole life has been one big fat lie. But she was no coward she thought to herself and straightened her shoulders. She would face this head-on, she decided, and so she sat.

Feeling rather sick to her stomach she looked up at the people seated at the table around her. There were six of them in all. As far as she could see, they were all wearing the same black robes with an elaborately embroidered dragon on the left side of the chest, and they were all staring at her, with varying expressions she noticed.

At the head of the table sat Professor Hicks. She could see that he had dispensed with the jacket he normally wore, in favor of the black robe. Madam Mundane with her white, short hair awkwardly hanging over her full, wide face sat on Hicks's left; she was gripping her wand in her hands and looked kind of forbidding. On Hicks's right, Jade was very surprised to see Sarah Sutherland, Blake's Aunt. Her long dishwater blonde hair framed her fine, charming face. She was beaming at Jade, clearly happy to see her. The other members of the order were made up of Jade's Grandmother, Blake's father Isaac, and lastly sat the most peculiar-looking fellow Jade had ever laid her eyes on. He had light blue hair that clumsily fell over his long, wild-looking face. Dark stubble marred his cheekbones and his startling red eyes held an odd expression Jade could not read. But if she had to take a guess she would swear he was amused.

"Jade," started Hicks. "We have much to answer for — I'm afraid — but let us begin with saying that each of us present has sworn an oath to restore you to the throne and we have worked tirelessly over the years to ensure that when the time was right you would be ready to do what you must. We felt that it was necessary for your safety to keep you in the dark until now. Do you understand our position?" he called across the table. "Yes, sir, I do. But I will not pretend to be happy about it," she answered and Hick's flashed that pearly white smile the girls in her class had practically swooned over. His perfectly groomed black hair gleamed in the torchlight and she could see why the other girls in her class had crushes on him. He was a very handsome man.

The other members of the order were muttering. Some looked annoyed, others slightly apologetic and she could see that the blue-haired gentleman was now openly grinning. "We appreciate your honesty Jade; we are truly sorry for the need to deceive you but we stand by our decision," said Hicks cheerfully. "However, from this point forward it is no longer necessary to keep up the pretense. You will no longer be kept in the dark on important matters, it's time for you to reclaim the throne and liberate the people of Petram. The Order will naturally assist you in any way that we can." he finished and Jade felt like smirking, did they really expect her to trust them?!