A new dawn rose, the day of his awakening pa.s.sed. Last night, behind the cover of the night sky; he and his daughter made up. Everything was back to normal – or so what he thought. Even after sixteen years, things and old habits don"t change that easily. "Who is this so early in the morning," he sighed. No one was present inside the room; it was only Eira and him who slept. Without realizing it, during the night; Eira sneaked in bed with him. Yes, she had missed her father so much, young as he may be, she had missed him.
"My chest, it"s so b.l.o.o.d.y heavy." He woke up fully, "Eira…" He shook her gently trying to wake her up. "Hey Eira," the same process was repeated five more times until she let out a grunt. "MY NOSE, EIRA WAKE UP NOW." She had shoved her fingers whom at the end bared long and sharp nails into his nose; it bled.
"Morning father," she mumbled nonchalantly. "Morning, and it"s good to see your old habits don"t change." A gentle smile was seen through the blood that flowed profusely; the wound was deeper than he thought. In his dazed state, coming from the hallway that led into the throne room; footsteps got closer.
"Morning master," the first one to poke her face inside was Fenrir. Following her, the silver guardians in from eldest to youngest. After them, Millicent and finally Undrar.
"Eira, what are you doing so early in bed with the master?" Fenrir said while leaning closer on the now bright red face.
"Knock it off Fenrir; she"s his daughter after all, and lord Staxius is an honorable man." Sarcastically her gaze now cold switched from Eira to Staxius. "d.a.m.n Millicent you"ve grown bolder over the years. " He returned her cold gaze with one that was freezing.
"I hope you guys haven"t come all this way just to greet me. You"re the new leaders of a new province – shouldn"t you be worried about more pressing matters?"
*Cough, cough,* Undrar cleared her throat before speaking, "Don"t get us wrong, but we"ve missed
you. This visit isn"t purely for that reason, we have to decide what to do next, and who better to lead us than our master, brother."
"You little…" He scowled, Undrar mockingly winked.
Time went by, everyone had breakfast; most of Staxius"s time was lost in him speaking and taking care of his now fully-grown daughter. Eira hadn"t let go of her father"s arm since morning, she changed or rather, reverted to how she was. The misunderstanding about how Undrar called Staxius brother and her as daughter was explained rather hastily. Eira to that fact didn"t care, her dad was back.
It was now afternoon, the sun shone brightly outside as opposed to the cold air brewing inside the
strategical meeting room. Staxius was put on the leader"s seat eagerly by everyone else. They forced
him to a.s.sume that position; while it legally belonged to Millicent. Thus, a large discussion followed.
Sat around a circular table adorned with maps and secret pieces of information about villages, town,
and other places of interest; Staxius began. The silver guardians sat on his left side, while the others on his right. They all went around the table; the number of people fitted the size perfectly; Eira was present as well.
"Let me ask you one question, why have I been put to seat at the leader"s chair?"
"Isn"t it obvious, you were and still are our master." Adelana quickly replied.
"I don"t understand your obsession, I was gone for sixteen years. I can"t possibly hope to just come
back and lead everything; for all I know, you may have gotten a new leader somewhere. Someone more powerful and more intelligent than I." The memories from the fight with the princess continued to vex him.
"…" Everyone remained silent – he took them by surprise.
"Besides, I"ve lost my status as a n.o.ble. Undrar is the head of the house – question regarding that matter should be sent to her."
"So, you"re just running away?" Undrar slammed the table and rose up.
"WHO DO YOU THINK IS RUNNING AWAY." A dark mist shot out of him – so thick, momentarily no one could breathe.
"Brother, you"re indeed running away. Like the fight with the paladin, the fight with the hydra and other fights where you were defeated, you always end up releasing all your burdens on someone else and leave." A tear ran down her cheek. "YOU ALWAYS CHOOSE TO DIE RATHER THAN FACE THE
FACT THAT I ADMIRE YOU."
"…" That display of emotion stumped him, he was left speechless as was everyone else. Saying what
needed to be done, Undrar threw the dragon crest back at him. "You"re still the head of the house, idiot." She smiled.
"You"re the idiot, sister. " He facepalmed, this was beyond ridiculous.
"What do you guys wish from me?"
"Become once again our leader," Annet spoke out. A unanimous yes was heard through the room. Even Millicent agreed, her thirst for power vanished long ago.
"What"s the current situation about the n.o.bles supporting your ascension to the position of d.u.c.h.ess?" Staxius asked sternly, his eyes changed – back to the fearless and emotionless leader they adored.
"Well… it"s bad, every single one of them was corrupt, they fled to the capital. Now, Dorchester is in bad shape, we haven"t got any villagers nor settlements for the remaining inhabitants to live. More than ninety percent of them were killed during that crusade. And the financial aspect is G.o.d awful." Millicent completed her report.
"Alright, I"ve grasped the situation. I"ll help."
"Millicent extended her hand, the d.u.c.h.ess"s crest shone brightly."
"No." He slapped her hand. "I don"t want to take the place of Duke, that is rightfully yours – have you already forgotten the promise I made? Well you might have, I swore to make you ruler of this province and that I shall."
"But how will you be our leader if your not the duke?" Fenrir asked.
"Who says a duke has to be the leader?" He smirked. "This is perfect, Millicent you will be acting ruler for I know that you"re more than capable. Leave all the politics, financial and boring stuff in my hands, after all, you did say I was your leader, right?"
"B-but w-what about us?" Ayleth whispered. "You silver guardians are to stay right here and help Millicent rule Dorchester."
"What about you?" Undrar asked.
"It"s a secret." He pulled out his tongue. "Joking aside, what we need now is allies and people who are willing to help us make Dorchester a good place to live. We need to take our independency, that conniving princess will intervene at some point; we need to make preparation for that first."
"If that is so, let us accompany you." Adelana insisted.
"Absolutely not, I"m going alone – I shall discover the country of Hidros once more."
"What about me," Eira tugged his battered suit jacket. "You going to leave me again?"
"Aren"t you going to Claireville academy soon?"
"Yes… but I don"t want to, I rather stay by your side."
"I know, but you still need to become stronger, for my sake."
"Excuse me, master, isn"t it better for Eira to train under you? I mean, you"re the strongest mage as well as a fighter we know, plus, Eira uses the same style as you." Adelana intervened.
"Brother, take care of your daughter for once in your life, I"ve already raised her for G.o.d knows how long," Undrar added.
"Eira, what do you want, study at Claireville academy or under me?"
"Under you, father," She smiled.
"It is settled then, I and Eira shall leave tomorrow at daybreak. With this, this meeting is adjourned."
Everyone left, they all smiled uncontrollably, "Millicent, come take a walk with me."
Soon after, Staxius and Millicent went outside, the sky was clear for the exception of thin clouds here and there. They walked along the walls of the castle; it was only yesterday that the fight for this castle took place. The bodies were gone, blood as well; but the presence of death loomed like a shadow attached to an object. They stared out to where Krigi used to stand. Most of the countryside was destroyed by spells and gunfire. Dorchester looked even worse than Staxius remembered.
The subtle wind grew strong, "do you have something on your mind?" Milicent broke the ice.
"Yes, are you ok with this? I mean with me being your leader and all, I thought you wanted power but here I come stealing it right beneath you."
"As I"ve said countless times, I don"t desire power any longer, I"ve got things more precious than that. Staxius, the silver guardians, Eira and Millicent we all stuck together when you died. To be
honest, when your body froze, everyone died. Mentally, they broke, we were left clueless and without a will to go on. Alyson wanted revenge, Annet hid, Adelana could not let go of that crystal. Ayleth and Ancret both insulted you out of frustration. It was then that Undrar and Adelana who managed to wake up decided to take everything in hand. Fenrir ran off - she only returned to us after five months, bathed in blood. So, you see, our lives were turned upside down. But your dying words gave us a new quest, the quest to fulfill your quest. And we did so, for sixteen years, we fought repeatedly, the paladin fought by us upon hearing your name. He died in the process, but thanks to him, we overthrew Dorchester after sixteen long years. Kreston took us in as mercenaries and treated us well, food and shelter and a good place for Eira to study and grow. Despite that, those years were hard on us, we had each other and got through it. We truly became a family, so you see, I don"t care about being d.u.c.h.ess, that was your quest and yours alone, I just want to be with everyone else."
"Thanks for that Millicent, you"ve cleared my doubts."
"No problem," she smiled.
"Can I ask a favor?"
"What is it?"
"I want a hug…" She didn"t reply and went for the hug, she felt warm, a mother figure.
"What happened to you? The Staxius of old never asked for hugs." She whispered.
"I don"t know really, I… I"m confused myself, but I promise to come back stronger, I need to protect your, no never mind, our family."
The wind had gotten colder, and after their little chat, both headed inside where everyone awaited. It didn"t show at first, but they were all hungover. Everyone sat in the throne room which became like a living room. In the left corner, you had a library brought in by Ayleth and Annet. In the right corner, you had a small kitchen which worked as a bar for Adelana. Alyson and Eira practiced on their swordsmans.h.i.+p even though that sort of activity was meant for outdoors. Undrar watched television, technology had advanced – as usual, propaganda from the royal family played loop on end, but she figured out a way to tap into the foreign network. Fenrir, on the other hand, ate whatever Adelana cooked. The gold and diamond throne chair was sold, instead a large table with chairs was added. This supposed throne room where n.o.bles of other nations would meet with their ruler changed, it was more familiar and friendly.
Garsley castle was no longer a torture chamber for women, but a haven for anyone who sought shelter. Messengers were sent out, as per Staxius"s orders for any remaining survivor to come to the castle, its charity and a way to build trust among the ruler and her people.
"This place changed for the better in one day, I hope this peace stays forever. I don"t believe it, my personality has changed quite a bit, normally I"d use dark arts to get what I wanted but this time, it happened naturally. Is this charisma? Who knows, my goal now is to make Dorchester the most powerful province in Hidros; princess Gallienne – I"ve come back for my revenge, you better watch out."
The day went by without any difficulties, everyone bonded; they caught up on lost time. The silver guardians were now permanently stationed at the castle, their duty was now to protect Dorchester and not the Haggard name. Soon, a new adventure would begin.