Macha's Journey

Zian groaned. The pain was intense and moving his upper torso hurt, causing him to take shallow breaths. Aierim"s pretty face entered his vision, and he tried to suck up his agony. He did not want her to view him as weak.

Since the manticore flew off and made no move to return, Aeson hurried over to inspect Zian. The wound did not appear critical, so he ran to Castel to help him staunch the bleeding in his wound. The party regrouped and Aeson healed the most serious wounds.

Macha and Palila were still healthy, so they kept watch, ensuring the group remained safe. Right now they were vulnerable and everyone worried something else might come for them.

While everyone was being healed, Aierim gathered firewood because they would not travel any further today. The group"s injuries had been too great and Aeson would require a lot of rest before everyone was fully healed.

When she got back, she spotted Zian sitting by himself. She remembered Macha"s conversation with her earlier and made her way to him. When he glanced at her, she gave a little wave. "How"s your shoulder?"

As Macha started the fire, she saw Aierim and Zian talking. A wide smile spread across her lips and she thought about how cute the two of them looked together.

Seeing them caused her to think of Tyr and how much she missed him. They had been traveling for almost two weeks now and she wished she could have gone with him to visit his mother.

It made her sad that Tyr had been adamant about her staying behind this time. He had claimed it was not a trip for pleasure, but to go over the many businesses that the Valois family owned. In the end, she only agreed to stay behind because he swore she would be a distraction.

****

The dinner table had the aura of a cold war for the past two weeks. Tyr and his mother had been engaged in a stalemate. Neither one wanted to yield to the other.

The tension between them left the servants on edge because He technically paid their salary, but Hrod was their boss. They were scared to serve the mother and son while they bickered in case they decided to push their anger onto the staff.

Hrod peered at her son. She could not believe how ungrateful and stubborn he was. Never in their history did he dare threaten to ruin the family. While he dallied Fenrir, he would go decades without speaking to her, but he never turned his back on being a Valois. Now, because of Macha, he blackmailed her, stating he would change his last name and denounce being her son.

The thought of how extreme Tyr was being caused her to pick up her dinner plate and throw it across the room. "You would forsake your family over this? Over some woman?" Her blood boiled, and she wanted to slap Macha.

Tyr took a bite of the chicken breast wrapped in bacon. Seeing his mother like this made the food taste better. For the first four days, he tried asking nicely for Hrod to forgive him for firing Ullr. After that, he begged for her to accept the woman he loved, but she refused. He then threatened to ruin the countless businesses they owned, but Hrod laughed at him. She dared him to put thousands of people into debt and cause innocent children to starve. Today he finally said he would remove himself from the family records. That seemed to get her attention.

A look of satisfaction swept across Tyr"s face. His voice was low when he replied, "She isn"t some woman. Macha is the woman I love. You either need to recognize that or I don"t want you in my life at all. I don"t want to be part of a family that cannot love her and accept her the way I do." He did not know why this concept was so difficult for his mother to grasp.

After her outburst, Hrod paled at the notion of her son renouncing the family. He was the only male heir, the only person who would carry on the Valois name. Years ago, she promised her husband to never push Tyr too far. Hymir warned her that their boy was too independent and intelligent to be led around for his entire life.

She closed her eyes and calmed her breathing. Right now she was not acting like a woman from her station. For a moment, she forgot who she was. Tilting her chin into the air she asked, "What do you hope to gain from keeping my approval? You never needed it for that Fenrir. Why do you need it for Macha?"

Tyr showed his mother the most tender look she had ever seen him make. It had been fleeting and only in his eyes for a second, but she still caught it. He put his fork down and stated, "I don"t need it for myself. I want it for Macha."

This made Hrod nervous. Her son grew too serious about this woman. She raised her eyebrow and gave him a glare full of contempt. "I find her lacking in every way. She could never uphold the Valois name."

Tyr saw his mother snub her nose at him with defiance. He snorted, "I never said anything about marriage, but you bring up a good point. If you feel she cannot uphold the Valois name, then I SHOULD just change my name. That way I would not have to worry about Macha upholding anything, but my love for her."

Hrod narrowed her eyes. She gritted her teeth, "Fine. I shall stay my tongue. Do whatever you want. Don"t blame me when you realize how unfitting she is." She took a deep breath to keep her temper under control. If her husband were still alive, Tyr would never have talked to her like this.

Upon hearing Hrod"s words, Tyr calmed down. In a polite voice, he responded, "Thank you, mother. I knew you would see how much I care about her. In the future, I KNOW you will show her more love than you show me." The war had finally ended and he could go home to Macha. It had taken him a little over two weeks, but he succeeded.

As they ate their dinner, Tyr"s anger eased. Now that they settled this argument, he could finally see Macha again. The excitement of seeing her left his mind clouded.

His mood continued to be so good that during the various light conversations they had, he promised to send his mother the chocolates that Macha brought last time. Hrod mentioned they were delicious and without thinking, he offered to ship her some from time to time.

When Hrod heard Tyr say he would send her the sweets, she had been surprised. She wondered if it had been because she conceded to his demand.

Her son was not manipulative, so she did not suspect that there was any reason behind him offering to send her chocolates beyond him wanting to give them to her. In her eyes, he always acted too simple-minded so she could take his promises at face value.

Now she wanted to test if his compliant att.i.tude was because of her continued acceptance of Macha.

Hrod smiled sweetly, "I must confess, the baku tea Macha brought last time tasted quite good. I can tell she went to an excellent shop for it."

Tyr had never seen his mother smile. She possessed a pretty smile but left him feeling uneasy. He remembered how protective Macha had been about the tea. "If you want, I can ask her to send you more. Did it help?"

Her son was too easy to read. "That would be nice. Yes, it did help. Tell her I said thank you." Hrod considered how all she needed to do was mention Macha and Tyr would be pliant. The notion almost induced laughter out of her. For hundreds of years, she tried to figure out how to easily control him. She would never have imagined it was as simple as this.

Hearing his mother request him to relay a thank you made him glad. He wondered why his mother did not act like a decent person all the time. "I will. I have business to attend to in the city, so I will leave tomorrow. When I get back, I"ll see about the chocolates and tea for you. Is there anything else you want?"

Hrod shook her head and grinned. The ability to control her son"s mood was the greatest gift she could have hoped for.