Elric and Dorian carried their sister from their mother and left the room. They knew that both of them were about to discuss the usual adult stuff.
Silence filled the office; the only noise you could hear was the never-ending tic-toc, tic-toc sound coming from the grandfather clock at the corner of the office. The place felt so stuffy and tense. Theranor had been waiting for a response, but Viera kept looking at her reflection on the teacup.
The patience of Theranor was to be praised. He just sat there for about five minutes straight with a gentle smile, his hands joined against each other, waiting for Viera to open up.
"Lord Deren visited today," she finally broke the ice.
"Did he do anything to you?" he said in a calm tone, still keeping his demeanor. But inside he was a bit tense; he never really liked Deren.
"No, nothing happened. Thanks for worrying." A faint smile finally found its way to her face. "He said he would bestow the family name on Dorian on Tasha's birthday, and he will quit trying to be the family's head."
"Wow," he said in shock. "That's a lot to process."
"I just can't shake this feeling that he's up to something," she paused. "Ever since my husband... ever since my..." She stopped for a second, her voice shaking, tears surrounding her eyes. The teacup in her hand kept shaking as her hands trembled uncontrollably.
Theranor just kept looking at her with a gentle smile. Maybe that was his way of reassurance. Maybe that was his way of making people feel safe.
"Ever since my husband died, Deren has tried all sorts of things to become the head, and I think he might do something crazy on Tasha's birthday. I don't want him close to my boys. He scares me."
"You are doing so great, Viera, and I hope you can see that. Ever since Derick left, you have stood up to Deren for more than a year now, and that is pretty tough, and for the next six years before Elric becomes the head, I can't assure you it will go smoothly; it might even be worse." He paused for a moment. "Even after, I want you to stay strong despite how hard or painful it may be. To stand firm, protect your children, and make Elric a great leader that you can be proud of." He took a long deep breath. "But if you want, I could come to Tasha's party, if it makes you feel any safer?"
"You will? Thank you, thank you so much," she said.
"You're welcome. Anything I can do to help." He paused for a while, standing up from his chair. He went to Viera's side and bowed.
"No, no, what is this for?" Viera asked as she got up, startled by the sudden gesture.
"I apologize about Dorian. My incompetence put him in danger yet again," he said. "I will make sure to do my best to ensure his safety."
Viera got closer to him and lifted him up.
"There is no need for this. I may be worried about his condition, but I know you are doing the best you can to keep him safe, so thank you."
"[Baam]" The huge door was pushed open, and Elric came falling face-first on the floor.
"Didn't I tell you boys to excuse us? Were you eavesdropping?"
"Umm...no," Elric said as he calmly gestured his hands like he was trying to soothe a wild beast. His mom was not wearing an "I am happy" face right now.
"You were eavesdropping, weren't you?"
"Dorian, I think she is onto us," he looked both ways. "Save yourself, run for your lifeeeeee!"
XXX
The next morning in the classroom, the boys were being taught magical and martial arts. Dorian was eagerly studying, but that was kind of the opposite for Elric, who was dozing away.
"Elric! Elric! Elric!" the teacher called him and gave up when he saw that he was not going to get up by just calling his name. He walked down the aisle to where Elric's seat was and raised his palm a little above Elric's face.
"Now, to demonstrate, you don't have to say the full incantation as you were taught previously. As of now, some of you mages should be good enough to perform a spell by just reciting the incantation in your mind, and then your magic circle will appear and your spell executed. Now for your level, maybe naming your spell and saying it out loud will help. This is for those that have learned how to perform spells but want to do it without reciting incantation. But very soon all of you will be capable of performing spells even without incantation." He paused, looked around, and put his fingers on his lips, shushing the class. He wanted everywhere silent like a graveyard.
"Ssssh, we are now going to experiment." Very well, everyone tried to stay quiet and watched with enthusiasm. Some of the children were giggling as they waited in anticipation to see what happened.
"Water fall." A light blue magic circle formed on his palm, and then from it came a stream of water pouring straight on Elric's face.
"A-yah!" Elric shouted. He was fully awake now.
"Are you awake now, Elric?" he asked. He continued pouring the water despite the fact that Elric had woken up.
"Yes, yes, yes, please stop it, ugh, the water, it's cold," he said, protesting.
"Hmm, are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm me. I'm pretty sure I know when I'm awake, so please stop," he begged, freezing.
"Ok, I think you have had enough," he removed his hand. "In our next class, we will focus on the practical. Any questions?" Nobody answered, and he glanced through the room. "Then I guess we are done. Class dismissed."
Ah, finally, this was what everyone wanted to hear—it was break time, the only meaningful time there was in school. I mean, who even likes school anyway? All the students arranged their books, while some just abandoned them. What's the need? No one was going to steal them anyway. It was break time, time to run, play, go to the library, to do fun stuff.
As everyone stormed outside, Mia held Dorian back. Dorian and Elric were going to their usual practice spot before Mia interrupted.
"Hey, Mia, how are you... you doing?" Elric greeted with cheeks as red as apples. He stammered a little; he was nervous.
"Hi," Dorian waved.
"Um, um, can I borrow Dorian for a moment?" she asked calmly. Her eyes were on the floor while she held her dress tightly. Her face was also red, but not as much as Elric's.
"Sure, sure, sure, anything for you," Elric responded very optimistically.
"Ok," Dorian replied.
She held Dorian by the hand without laying a gaze on either of them, and it was quite obvious.
"Slow down," Dorian said as she dragged him to the edge of the class.
***
Meanwhile, Deren was at his house. It was not as impressive as the main Vaelthrone estate or as big, but it was a very nice comfortable place.
Deren sat on the balcony holding a glass of wine with a woman resting on his lap.
"Ahh," he exclaimed out loud after taking a sip. "This is really good wine." He complimented. "The fall of the great Vaelthrone home, what better place to celebrate it than a little girl's party?"