Mythshaper

Chapter 05: Aunts

My frown deepened at the unabashed declaration. The older woman looked close to Mum’s age, with a clear facial resemblance, softened only by a brighter shade of red hair. The younger girl, on the other hand, had muddy brown locks, braided boldly on one side, with an imperious adolescent face. If you ask me, she looked nothing like the older woman or my mum.

“You’re my aunts?” I asked, trying to mask my eagerness with scepticism. “So I’m supposed to invite you in and serve tea now, is that it?”

“I don’t drink tea,” said the haughty girl.

I ignored her. “If you’re my aunts,” I pressed, “why have I never even heard your names?”

“I didn’t know you existed a couple of weeks ago, either,” she sputtered. The older woman shot her a pointed look, silencing her before she could say more.

How exciting, I thought. Two strangers showed up claiming to be my aunts and expecting me to open the door for them.

No, I hadn’t ruled out the possibility that they could be my mother’s sisters, but the rules of the house needed to be taken seriously. I didn’t know them as my aunts, but I did know them as strangers—and this house did not welcome strangers. At least when Mum was out.

“Why are you smiling like a dolt?” asked the girl. “Open the damn door! Do you have any idea how far we travelled to this mud-splattered village?”

“I wonder how far that is,” I said, tilting my head. “Perhaps from the spirit realm?”

The supposed aunts—or perhaps fae—exchanged another look. The younger one bristled, and the older one bit back a grin.

My expression hardened.