Emily by Storm Jk Page A

done?’
    Eric moved closer to her and spoke softly. ‘Em, this is not your fault. We should have been truthful to you from the start, it is for you to forgive us.’ He looked up at Vladimir. ‘Vlad, I think it’s time to tell Emily about our lives in Czech Republic’ He took out his pocket watch and handed it to Vladimir. Vladimir opened the old pocket watch and saw the picture of Dusana and then his mother. Seeing Valeskia’s face again upset him. He missed his mother, she was often in his thoughts, and while he knew that Eric had the watch, Vladimir had never asked to see it. The memories of his mother were not happy, their life together had been so hard. But she had taught him how to be strong and how to protect himself and Eric. The need for security and power had come from her and was the motivation behind his law firm.
    Money was the ultimate protector, or so he had thought. He had made millions to try and protect Eric and then Emily. Looking at Eric, his life mate, Vladimir remembered the first time he had met Eric. In a way they had been brought up as brothers, but the bond was stronger than that. Vladimir had loved Eric from the first moment he laid eyes on him as a child. As his mother had wanted to protect Dusana Eric Mother, so Vladimir had felt about Eric. When Emily came into their lives Vladimir had been grateful when Eric and Emily had finally become lovers. Emily gave Eric the affection that Vladimir could not and while Vladimir had worshipped his mother, she hadn’t been able to show him or Eric affection. He knew that she loved them; he saw her work day and night to ensure that they were safe. Whenever Valeskia sensed they were in danger, they would grab the packs that were always ready and leave, never looking back.
    Eric had started doing carvings at the age of seven and would pack away his favourite pieces until his pack was so heavy he couldn ’t carry it. Valeskia scolded him until Vladimir had swapped his lighter pack with Eric. As a teenager, Vladimir was strong; Eric’s pack didn’t slow him down. He knew how important Eric’s carvings were to him and Vladimir went to great lengths to make Eric’s life as good as it could be, living the way that they had to.
    Returning his thoughts to the present, Vladimir, standing besides Applejacks said, ‘I will tell you the story of how my mother met my father, how Eric and I came to be and finally, how we became the monsters that we are now. Then you will understand the danger that we bring to you and we will need to make some hard decisions.’ He whispered, ‘I will start with my mother,’ then more loudly he said, ‘this is the story she told me.’
     

Chapter 11
    It was a spring day and Valeskia lifted her face up to the sun, shutting her eyes against the glare as the warmth spread through her body. She lived in a small village with her father, who owned the local laundry. Most of the work came from a large manor close to the village, which was owned by the Lord Von Weller.
    At fifteen Valeskia was tall, she looked older than her years but that was mostly due to the seriousness in which she carried herself. Valeskia’s mother had died when Valeskia was six but her father had insisted on providing her with the very best education he could. While there were no formal schools in the little village, Valeskia’s father would buy or borrow books for her to read. His hope was for her to become a teacher, as it would be an easier life than cleaning clothes in a hot laundry.
    Valeskia had proved to have an ear for languages, and from time to time the wealthy families would hire a specialist tutor who Valeskia ’s father would then approach to hire them with the money he saved. From a young age, Valeskia helped her father in the laundry and had taken over the deliveries after he fell and broke his leg the previous summer.
    On this particular day she arrived at the Von Weller manor and had presented herself at the staff entrance around the back.