Chapter 16 - Apologies

Valdoc

No one dared look up.

Valdoc paced around the table, his seldom used war room now occupied by seven individuals other than himself. Only his father-in-law held his head high, the man lazily reclined in his chair as he absently fiddled with a figurine of a Leocrep.

Every other person he passed flinched as though they were to be struck by his errant fist. He was tempted out of spite, but stayed his hand.

King’s shouldn’t rule through fear, as his father used to say. Ironic when that’s exactly what his father had done.

But Valdoc wasn’t the same man.

His presence was intimidating, especially with the pure talent he had in manipulating Auris. It gave his existence a weight that pressured others unlike most you’d be able to find within his Kingdom. But he didn’t prefer to use that to his advantage.

Valdoc was all for allowing those under him to grow and prosper of their own accord. He nurtured, not oppressed. Some things, like the Mother’s gifted ritual and the examinations he held were for the greater good.

Valdoc wasn’t a vile ruler. He just took the necessary measures to ensure the safety of his Kingdom and its ruling family.

He stopped behind the Patriarch of the Graven Duchy. The man, Ferrand, shrunk beneath Valdoc’s attention.

“Still no word from your son?”

“None, Sovereign.”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t sought refuge among his own family.” Valdoc mused as he resumed his pacing.

Ferrand glanced up, “It’s been a while since we’ve made contact, Sovereign.”

So deferential. It made sense, considering Ferrand’s treacherous bastard aided in the girl’s escape.

His father-in-law put down the figurine, “What of House Night? The Court Advisor played a part in it as well, no?”

“The Oathbound have checked the house on multiple occasions and the House Patriarch has been questioned to no avail, Patriarch Leon.” Milo interjected from his position in the corner of the room.

“And you’ve checked there yourself, Milo?” Valdoc’s father-in-law, Charles Leon, shot back.

“I made an attempt, but an old acquaintance stopped me from entering while I was on the street.”

Valdoc raised his brows, causing Milo to continue with a purpose.

“It was the Flower, Sovereign. We had an…altercation at his shop. He found me approaching House Night and recommended I leave his sight before he found a reason to make me leave in…other ways.”

Valdoc suppressed the annoyance from showing on his face.

Milo hesitated a moment before gaining confidence as he turned towards the Patriarch of Prime House Moltenham, “Your nephew was there…at his shop.”

Lynal responded with a grunt.

It wasn’t a shock to Valdoc the man wouldn’t care much. Lynal and his brother had never gotten along. When his brother had fallen to his own son, Lynal had gone to the funeral, spat on the corpse and walked away.

Since then, his nephew had gone into hiding. Most likely due to the fear of reprisal by other Moltenhams.

Valdoc roved his eyes over the other members of the room.

It seemed none of the other two Prime House Patriarchs had anything to contribute.

Yanerolas of House Mercat paid no attention to Valdoc’s gaze. Presumably, the man had other business to attend to, what with all the constant meetings he had residing over the trade market within the Kingdom.

Prae of House Struce himself kept glancing around with nervous eyes. In a different time, Valdoc would have assumed the man was in on whatever plot Aerowyn was scheming up based off the nervous fidgeting. Now though, it was probably due to his House’s diminishing standing within the city.

It was hard to keep a House ruling over construction high in the pecking order when there was not much to build anymore. They could expand the city, but what was the point? There was no large influx of new individuals looking to settle down within the capital. Just as many people left to settle down in the outlying cities as there were coming into Primlon.

Valdoc didn’t want to attempt to expand the Kingdom either. There was nothing to gain on that front either. Not with those savages and beasts prowling around, ready to snap up the first human they see.

Everything was as it should be.

Stagnant.

Turning his scrutiny back to the war room, he came back to Charles' signature way of approaching things.

“We could just search House Night’s premises without the patriarch’s permission. He can’t stop a search authorized by the crown.” Charles voiced.

Valdoc waved the idea off, “Absolutely not. For starters, I’m not my father. More pressing, what will happen if we just start performing unsanctioned intrusions on the homes of all Houses? How do you think that will affect my reputation with the people? There are other avenues we can explore.”

Charles grunted in response, but didn’t say anything further.

After a moment, an idea snuck into Valdoc’s head.

“The House must have some sort of staffing, surely they can be of assistance.”

The patriarchs all nodded their agreement with Valdoc’s statement.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Milo, look through the archives, see what you can find on the current staffing of House Night. The rest of you can use whatever political influence to assist in looking for the girl. Deploy your own House sentries, if you must. I want to know where she came from, who her friends were, anything you can find. Do not limit yourselves to the Heights. I want all three districts teeming with eyes. Should you fail, you’ll be answering to the Slayers.”

The finality of Valdoc’s decree rang through the room. A couple of the presiding members fearfully stole a glance at the two sentries adorned in all black that were hovering in the shadows of the room. Yet no one moved, as was proper.

“Dismissed.” Valdoc commanded.

The room filled with the screeching of chairs against the floor as the patriarchs stood. Slight bows were directed towards Valdoc before each individual filed out.

He could only hope they found the girl before long.

***

Iris

The new cycle had started. Iris could feel the change in the air the instant she woke up that morning. With it came the seasonal rain that would bring about new life to the environment.

It meant bad times for those in the Reaches. The tiered city allowed for the water accumulated in the higher districts to flow down to the Reaches. It was there that the ground leveled out. The gutter system within the Reaches wasn’t maintained as much, and the sewage was bound to leak out into the streets as the water collected and rose. This usually meant a growth in the sick population as nearly every corner turned into an unhygienic slum of waste. Iris had seen it happen time and again in her short life.

Today’s weather was particularly dreary. The blue of the sky was absent, now filled with gray clouds that screamed their delight through torrential rain and rolling thunder.

Colin’s demeanor had also changed with the weather. It was as if the shift in climate soothed him.

Iris could see it on his face as he sat around the perimeter of the courtyard underneath the cover of the angled roof.

She’d found him here after taking a stroll through the residence to quench her boredom, the walls feeling closer than ever throughout her stay.

He hadn’t taken notice of her presence, and she’d almost left him be. Thinking about what happened during yesterday’s ordeal stopped her.

Her brain told her to leave and let him mope, but her heart said otherwise.

She walked up and stopped a few paces away.

“Thank you.”

The words escaped from her mouth before her mind could catch up.

If Colin had heard her, he didn’t show it.

“I want to apologize, as well.” Iris said, hesitantly.

What was she doing? She wasn’t the one that should be apologizing!

”Listen…I know you’re going through a rough time. I can’t say I’m able to understand exactly what you’re experiencing, but I’m not daft. The thing is, I also know you’re not daft either. You do realize this entire…thing puts a strain on everyone, don’t you?” She said, waving her arms around in frustration.

”Sto—“

”I’m not finished,” she interrupted, “Walter does nothing but sit in his study and stare out the window as he awaits the next questioning band of Oathbound. Aerowyn is doing his best to maintain a positive outlook on our situation, and even goes so far as to call in long-term favors in the hopes of fixing me. I’m losing my mind from being cooped up in this overly grand yet minimalistic house that Aerowyn and Walter so gratefully allow us to stay in!

“You’re dealing with stuff, as are we all. Just stop letting your dreary sense of self loathing hamper the relationships in this house that we so desperately need to cling on to.”

The words came as a torrent of pent up frustration that had managed to build to a staggering degree in just a few days. A part of Iris felt some social-bound need to be embarrassed by her outburst. That part was summarily squashed by the more dominating part, the part screaming that Colin deserved every chastising comment thrown his way.

Iris could feel a vein or two throbbing on her forehead and neck from the tirade she had just unleashed on the still unresponsive man. She wasn’t sure if the lack of a response should rile her or appease her roiling emotions.

The faraway look glazing across Colin’s features gave her some measure of solace to the last few days. Now that her mission of telling off Colin was complete, Iris turned and thundered back inside, leaving the young and irritating man to his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Iris dealt with her own plaguing question.

What kind of apology was that?

All she had wanted was to show her appreciation for his help before she’d buried a blade into herself. Before she’d known it, it had transformed into an apology. That had lasted all of one breath before she’d presumed the role of a lecturing mother.

Back inside, Iris saw Aerowyn sitting at one of the chairs of the dining room table, staring at her with a mixture of respect and worry. Not sure what to say, she stood there and waited for him to speak first, knowing her boiling thoughts would only result in impatient words towards the man that had shown her only kindness and patience the last few days.

Aerowyn took in her expression before he spoke, “I overheard what you said to Colin.”

“It w—”

“As you’ve done with Colin, I would also like to extend a heartfelt apology towards you.”

That wasn’t what she was expecting, stopping her train of thought completely.

“For what?” She asked.

“I’ve not thought about things from your perspective, so to say. For a while now, you’ve been cooped up in this house, unsure if a new day will be the one we are found and brought back to the palace. While I’ve also had these thoughts, I did not realize the toll it would take on you…or Colin, for that matter. For that, I am sorry.”

He stood up and walked to the window, looking to where Iris knew Colin was still sitting.

“He worries about his family. Worries about his place within that family now that he’s committed such treason.” He turned his head to look at her, “As I’ve tried to see things from your perspective, I ask that you provide him the same consideration.”

Aerowyn turned and walked past her, leaving her to think over his words.

“Tomorrow.” She said.

She heard him stop behind her.

“I’m going to try again tomorrow. I understand we are all tense, and so I want to do my part as well. I’ll use tonight to clear my head, then tomorrow…” Iris left the left unspoken.

“If I may give one last piece of advice then, Iris. Do not try to forget. Sometimes, acceptance is the only path forward.”

His fading footsteps were the only goodbye she received.

***

That night, Iris lay in bed, hesitant to think about the man she’d killed in cold blood. Aerowyn’s last words echoed through her. As much as she didn’t want to come to terms with it, she knew he was right.

From what she could predict, this wouldn’t be the last time she would have to end a life if she wanted to remain out of the King’s grasp. Knowing that, she slowly allowed the persistent thoughts to invade her mind—the feel of the blade as it sliced through flesh, the sound of a disconnected head impacting the floor.

Tears flowed down Iris’ face as she relived the moment in all its injustice.

With it, she reminded herself that it wasn’t her fault for the man’s death. Sure, she’d been the one to swing the sword. But what choice did she have? The King had demanded it, and her refusal would have only led to her own demise.

A large part of her knew she’d been like a rabid animal backed into a corner. She would fight with all she had left for her survival. The weakness that she had shown in the palace came from the shock of her fluctuating circumstances. First, she was snatched up and thrown into a cell. Then came the mysterious stranger that brought her to the palace for the best meal of her life before telling her she was going to be brought before the King and Queen just to act as executioner to someone she’d never met.

It was that weakness Iris was ready to be rid of. Never again would she let herself be caught off guard, and she would do her utmost to become strong. Strong enough to cast off whatever shackles people tried to bind her with.

So she allowed the tears to soak into the pillow below her; allowed the guilt to wrack her senses as she came to terms with what she’d been forced to do.

Tomorrow would be the day Iris would try the Mother’s Milk again, and nothing was going to stop her from succeeding.