Chapter 8: The Grandchildren's Embrace

As the family elders and retainers dispersed from the courtyard, Lady Elara began her breakfast. This time, when the meals were brought, Mistress Glynnis stood at the doorway and did not let the servants enter. She served her mistress herself. She was determined to guard the young lady and ensure no one else saw her injuries.

Elara watched the busy Mistress Glynnis, her mind drifting to her own childhood. She couldn't recall if she had a trusted servant when she was thirteen. She had never needed to think about such things. When her father was alive, she had no worries. After his death, when she went to Tarim to marry Lord Kaelan, the Blackwood household had provided everything she needed. She had never known hardship or sadness. Her life was smooth, a tranquil current that carried her until the very end.

Elara smiled faintly at the memory.

"My Lady," Glynnis said softly from the side, a note of warning in her voice.

Elara's mind snapped back to the present. She sat down at the table and carefully pulled the black cloth from her face just enough to eat. Glynnis bowed her head and stepped back, standing guard at the door.

There were two kinds of servants by Lady Elara’s side: those who had followed her from the Swordfall Marches, and those assigned by the Thorne family. Glynnis was one of the latter. Elara seemed like a spoiled and arrogant young lady, but those who knew her discovered she was not truly ill-tempered. All the servants had to do was care for her and play with her. This was not a difficult task.

Elara had never had favorites. She simply did not need to. If a servant was not to her liking, she would simply have them replaced. She had no lack of help and no need to trust anyone. As the daughter of Lord Anson Thorne, she only needed to be happy herself, and by extension, make her father happy.

But Lord Anson was gone now. A child without parents is like a weed. Glynnis knew this from experience. After her own parents died, her relatives took over their house and land. They lied that she was lost, but in truth, they sold her. She was lucky to have been sold into the Thorne household.

Glynnis watched her surroundings with a mixture of vigilance and sorrow. The servants waited in the courtyard, but it was not as quiet as it had been. There was low chattering and the movement of maids and footmen. Some even dared to peek into the room. Not all kindness resides within the manor walls. Especially when the two children, Lady Elara and Lord Kael, sat on so much wealth.

The Thorne manor was vast, with each of the four brothers having his own courtyard. The Grand Matron also had her own courtyard for her grandchildren, where they ate, dressed, and studied under her care.

When Lord Cassian led Lord Kael to the Grand Matron's hall, it was already crowded. Wives, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren were there, all anxious. The Grand Matron had been in a state of distress since the news of Elara's disappearance.

"My darling," the Grand Matron cried, embracing Lord Kael and stroking his shoulders. "You have been so frightened!"

Kael leaned against her, patting her back. "I am sorry I worried you, Grandmother."

Lady Seraphina stepped forward to comfort them. "Now that he is home, Mother, do not cry. Kael, you must be hungry."

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The Grand Matron stopped crying. "How could you have not eaten yet?"

"We arrived in the middle of the night," Kael explained. "My sister and I were talking, and we went to bed late. We only just woke up."

The Grand Matron immediately ordered a feast to be laid out. "My Kael must be starving!"

"I was not hungry before," Kael said, rubbing his belly with a shy grin. "But now I truly am."

"That is because you were running on pure adrenaline," Lady Regina, wife of Lord Galen, said gently.

"It's not just that he wasn't hungry," Lady Lyra, wife of Lord Alaric, added, bending down to inspect Kael's face. "Look at the dark circles under his eyes."

Kael looked at his grandmother. "You must have been starving, too, Grandmother. Your eyes are red, too."

The Grand Matron began to weep again.

"It's all over now," Lady Seraphina said gently. "You are all home. There's no need to worry. Eat well and sleep well."

Lady Clarice, a thoughtful girl, walked to the side and asked a maid a few questions. She then returned to her grandmother's side. "Grandmother, Lady Elara is also eating. She has had two extra bowls of rice. We are all starving! Everyone is starving!"

Lady Gwynn smiled quietly, and Lady Serena nodded in agreement. "Grandmother, I'm hungry too!"

The young girl’s chatter filled the room, and the Grand Matron's tears turned into a smile. "Alright, alright. Sit down, all of you, and eat."

The grandchildren and great-grandchildren sat at the Grand Matron’s table. The three wives were free to eat at a separate table. "I never knew Kael was so eloquent," Lady Regina said with a chuckle. "When he used to come here, he was always so quiet, just following Elara."

He had no need to speak. With their father, Lord Anson, alive, it didn't matter what Kael said or did. His father had spoken for him.

"He's a young man now," Lady Lyra said. "With his father gone, he has to take on the family's mantle. He is learning to be a man."

Lady Seraphina turned to look at the other table, where the Grand Matron was doting on Kael, pressing him to eat more. "Slow down, there's plenty more," she said, wiping a speck of rice from his lip. "What happened to your sister? Was House Blackwood disrespectful to her?"

Everyone at both tables held their breath, their ears straining. The mystery of Elara's disappearance had plagued them for days. Now they were about to get an answer.

Kael swallowed a mouthful of rice. He shook his head. "No," he said, his voice quiet. "My sister was just homesick."

Homesick? Was it that simple?

Kael took a large spoonful of rice. "She was afraid."

Afraid?

"Actually," he said, looking down at his spoon, his voice muffled, "I was scared, too. With Father gone, and my sister about to leave, I was all alone in the Swordfall Marches. I... I wanted to run away, too."

The Grand Matron let out a fresh wail and pulled Kael into her embrace. The three wives abandoned their food and rushed to comfort her. This time, it was harder to calm her. She summoned her sons, Lord Cassian, Lord Galen, and Lord Alaric, and scolded them mercilessly. "Elara is only thirteen, and Kael is only ten! They are still children! One was sent away to be married, the other thrown into the Marches! Now that their father is gone, are you uncles dead as well?" she demanded. "They will not leave this house. I'd like to see who dares try to force them out!"

Lord Cassian was able to return to his quarters only after nightfall. Though it had been another exhausting day, he felt better than he had in a long time.

"So it was that simple?" he said, frowning. "She was homesick?"

Lady Seraphina smiled. "It's not that she was unwilling to say, my love. It's that she didn't know whom she could trust."

Lord Cassian looked at her, his brow furrowed. "That's nonsense. We are family."

"Not to them," Lady Seraphina said gently. "They grew up far away from us. Children do not bond with strangers."

Lord Cassian nodded. He could not argue with that. "So she was homesick and ran away, and then got lost and was frightened?"

"Exactly," Lady Seraphina confirmed. "And then she got lost on the road and was nearly killed in the rockslide, which frightened her even more."

That made perfect sense. Elara had never traveled before, and the driver, Master Bramwell, was from the Marches and unfamiliar with the terrain. It was a simple story, and it explained everything. The past was no longer important; what mattered was the present.

"I see," Lord Cassian said. "That is good. This fright will make them closer to us." He paused. "But they cannot stay here."

Their closeness was one thing; their place in the world was another.