May Death Do Us Part

254 Chapter 254 : Invites...

“Is everything set for our departure?”

The lycan general walked towards the silver haired alpha and bowed respectfully. “Everything is ready as per your instructions alpha Edron, we leave at your command.”

“Excellent.”

Edron was about to mount his horse when the sound of the palace doors swinging open caught his attention. He turned around only to find his wife dressed for travel and walking towards him hastily.

“Layla?” The alpha walked towards his wife and blocked her path. “What is this? What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing Edron? I’m coming with you to look for our son.”

The alpha turned to look at his men before gently pulling his wife aside. “Darling you’re causing a scene, you know very well that you cannot come with us. This journey is not one for a woman, especially not the Luna of the pack.”

“Edron my son is out there alone, what kind of mother would I be if I did not go to his aid.” The stubborn woman tried to walk around her husband but the man blocked her path once again. “Let me pass Edron.”

“I cannot,” the alpha replied gently, “you are letting your feeling get the best of you, calm down and think logically for a minute.”

.....

“I am thinking logically! All his life I have taken the backseat as his mother, not once have I ever done anything to earn the title of ‘parent’ in Elric’s life. Just this once I’d like to show him that he is not alone, please Edron, let me be there when he needs me for once.”

The man gently pulled his wife into his arms and buried his face in her soft dark hair. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have never know he was still alive to begin with.” Edron pulled back slightly and planted a kiss on his wife’s forehead. “Stay here and make this old lonely house worthy of his arrival, the rest you can leave to me.”

“But-”

Layla’s words were silenced by her husband’s lips pressing against hers.

“I promise I will bring him home safe and sound,” Edron whispered while giving his Luna a reassuring smile. “The journey ahead is long and burdensome, Elric would never forgive me if I allowed you to travel with us.”

Lyla felt frustrated, she hated not being able to do anything to be there for her son. From the day he was born she had never shown him the love of a mother and it troubled her heart deeply. Even after the incident with Melissa, Layla had not been able to console her son, and she felt incredibly guilty about it. She needed him to know that she loved him more than anything, she needed him to know that even if the entire world was against him, she would be for him, because that was what mothers did, they loved their children unconditionally.

“Alright,” Layla finally conceded. She looked up at her husband misty eyed. “If you do not return with our son Edron, I set this entire place on fire.”

Edron smiled before pulling his wife into his embrace a second time, “I would not expect any other reaction my love.”

*

“Darling?”

Clovis pulled the letter from his line of view and smiled when he saw his beautiful wife, Darla crowned princess of the dwarve kingdom of Lenora, standing at the doorway of his study.

“You seem troubled,” the green eyed woman spoke. “Is that another letter from my father? Is he threatening to chop your cock off again?”

Clovis chuckled at his wife’s words, they were funny because they were true. He had in fact received the occasional letter from king Dvalin, threatening to cut different body parts off his body and feeding them to one beast or the other. Clovis concluded that it was his father in law’s way of checking up in him.

“In as much as I love hearing from your father my love, this letter in particular is not from him.”

The woman walked towards her husband and took a seat on his lap. “Is it from Jeffrey and Roland then? I haven’t heard from them in a while. I especially miss Isabella, such a beautiful and bright little girl, I’d very much love to see her again.”

Clovis wrapped his arms around the woman on his laps and tilted the letter in his hand upwards so she could read it. “It isn’t from them either,” Clovis replied, “it is an invitation to a party.”

“A party? Well why are you brooding over an invitation to a party? Shouldn’t you be a little.. well I don’t know.. excited?”

“I should be,” Clovis mumbled, “it has been a long time since I’ve had time for parties, getting Meria back on its feet has not been easy. However, this is not just any party my love.” The lycan king trailed his finger across the letter to show his wife, “it’s Eira’s birthday party, Melissa and Gareth’s daughter will be turning seventeen in a few days.”

“Oh my..”

Darla now knew why her husband was indifferent about the invitation. Even though Meria and Gavaria as kingdoms were allied, there was always a bit of awkwardness that lingered between the two ruling families for various reasons. They opted to not intertwine their lives, in order to avoid unnecessary contact. Even when Eira was born, Clovis and his wife had only met the girl once, during which he was introduced as a close family friend.

“Do you think there is a particular reason we have been invited to attend?” Darla questioned, “I mean, Gareth seemed to be adamant about keeping the history between his family and ours a secrete from his daughter. Has he maybe had a change of heart?”

“I’m not sure,” Clovis responded. “And if he has, why now? What good will come from involving the children in the tainted happenings of the past?” He tossed the letter on the table in front of him, before proceeding to rubbing his wife’s protruding belly. “Elric is gone and the rivalry is over, there is no need for our families to become more acquainted than we already are.”

“So I’m assuming you will not attend?”

“I will think about it,” Clovis responded, “I still have a few days to decide.”

*

Gavin slowly creaked open the large wooden door of his father’s study and walked in. It always took him a while to adjust to the almost non existent lighting in there, so he had to walk slowly and carefully so as not to accidentally kick or topple over the many jars and vials that littered the room.

“Father? Father are you in here?”

“Stop where you are!” A voice blared across the study, making Gavin freeze in his tracks. “Don’t come any closer, I will come to you.”

From the looming darkness, an elderly looking man with raven black hair and deep brown eyes appeared. Despite his old age, Renly did not look a day over thirty five. After his father had ‘died’, he married Theodora and the two moved to the castle of Le Brouillard where he took over his father’s work.

Renly had discovered and created many things over the years, many of which he had used to save countless lives of different beings all over the continent. Many called him a man of medicine, some a necromancer, but Renly preferred to refer to himself as an alchemist.

One of Renly’s greate achievements thus far, was his invention of a serum that he called ‘the fountain of youth’. It was a special elixir that slowed down the aging process in humans, so much so, that without any external forces, one could live to be over three hundred years old.

“Have you created another elixir father?” Gavin asked the man who was pulling off some sort of mask from his mouth. “Is this the day you finally create something that will blow our house clean off this hill. Mother will not be pleased if the smell of elixirs lingers to the dinning area again.”

Renly chuckled before patting his son on the shoulder. “Well then it’s a good thing I have you to keep me in check. At my age I may mix up the wrong potions and boom! The end of my marriage.”

Gavin rolled his eyes before handing his father a small rolled up parchment. “This came for you by raven,” he explained, “it’s absurd to think that someone hopes to pull you away from your work to attend some stupid party.”

Renly read the invite carefully and gasped, “this is from the elf king of Gavaria.. what a surprise.”

“I’ve only ever heard you speak of him passively,” Gavin pointed out as he put on his own mask and a pair of leather gloves. “Why would he invite you to his daughter’s birthday as if you are best friends or something?”

Renly shoved the parchment into his pocket and turned to his son, “that is what I’m going to find out.” He pulled of his gloves off and rushed towards the exit, “I must speak with your mother, keep the boiler from blowing up the house for me will you.. I will be right back!”

“Wait what?!” Gavin watched his father disappear down the hallway and sighed. This man was going to be the death of all of them one day.