CHAPTER 19

As the Tyrrith family was in turmoil, the Theandor family was the opposite. They were in bliss, because Daelyn had been able to make some friends. They hadn’t expected it to be this easy for him to make friends, and they certainly hadn’t expected that they would perform such a play with each other.

However, they still had some concerns. They had yet to conceive a punishment for Ania, as they had decided to discuss the punishment later with Celeria, because of the playdate.

While both Grey and Lyvia wanted to do it as soon as possible, Celeria had other thoughts.

“Today was already an anomaly in itself, so let’s not burden the children anymore, okay? I will come to your house tomorrow, with both Ania and Ayda. Also, I would rather have Dalarius know what happened, and have him agree on the punishment. I understand your anger, but I would not like my children to be punished too harsh, and without the knowledge of my husband.”

They reluctantly agreed, as they understood her sentiment. After their quick discussion, both the families went home, and had a nice and uneventful evening.

The Theandor’s played with little Daelyn to calm him, gave him his favourite food, and they even played a board game with the three of them. He fell into a long and deep sleep only seconds after they had put him to bed, and they realized that the day had been exhausting. The morning had been tiresome with Orthrus and that three headed chimera, and the Tyrrith family only made it harder on them and Daelyn in the afternoon. They followed Daelyn’s example, went to bed, and quickly drifted into sleep, marking the end of a pleasant and uneventful evening.

The Vitafius family had a different evening. The father was quite late, which was quite common as his guard duty took up a lot of his time, which led to Celeria interrogating both of the children.

She interrogated little Ayda about the conflict between Daelyn and Minos, and asked her why she saw Daelyn as a monster. It was quite hard questioning her as the little girl was a bit traumatized from Daelyn’s performance, and Lyvia’s tone. While Celeria did not like pushing her child like this, she did not hesitate to, she wanted get to the bottom of this.

Celeria had pried all the information little Ayda could give, before she burst into tears and started stammering every word that came out of her mouth, Celeria picked her up and started rocking her, calming her, and letting the exhaustion of the day do its magic on her. As little Ayda drifted into sleep, Celeria put her to bed, before returning to the living room and facing Ania.

Ania was sitting at the wooden dining table, looking on with a stern expression as it was clear that she would not budge at anything her mother said.

So, instead of trying to pry information from the young girl, Celeria waited for her husband to come home. She really wanted to understand why Ania thought that Daelyn was a monster, and why she attacked him!

However, she knew that Ania would not talk to her, as she saw anything related to the guards as her husband’s domain, and would only listen to him and him only. She was saddened by this, because she would love to talk to Ania about guard duties, as she had been an adventurer for quite a bit of time, before she married Dalarius.

However, Ania only saw Dalarius as a true fighter as he had been a guardsmen for more than three decades. While this is not a lot, Ania was still fascinated by it, and was very absorbed by the guardsmen. Going as far as joining them on their patrols, with or without their permission.

She chuckled as she recalled the uproar it had caused amongst the guards. They had tried every trick in the book to stop Ania from following them, from simply telling her no, to ignoring her, to having one guard watch her in the guardhouse after they caught her, and even trying to bribe her with candy.

Sadly for them, none of these options worked. In the end, they gave in and let her join one of the more secure patrols. They did encounter some combat, and she performed great. They had given her a supporting role, and she excelled at distracting enemies or firing at their weak spots with her arrows. The guards gave in, and let her join the occasional patrol, but she would not be allowed to go on more dangerous patrols, or exterminations.

As Celeria was lost in the memories of past, she did not notice Ania trying to sneak away to her room.

Ania was told to sit on the chair and wait for her father, but she would rather go to her room, and actually have some fun reading, or practising with her sword.

However, before she was even halfway to her room, she was picked up from behind. She was held up high in the air, and for a second she feared that the demon had returned, but she suddenly heard a deep laugh.

“Hahaha, was my little girl trying to sneak away.”

As her body was directed towards the man that had picked her up, her expression changed from fear to joy as she saw her father.

“Daddy! You’re back!” Said Ania with a smile and a happy tone.

As Celeria heard her daughter and her husband, she quickly walked over with a pouting face.

“Dalarius, what did I say about entering through the windows, or the roof?”

Dalarius turned to face his wife, with a fearful and nervous expression.

“H-hey Celeria, how was your day, and how was the playdate?”

Celeria looked at him with a cute yet angered face, until he brought up the playdate. Her expression changed from pouting to a serious one, filled with concern.

With a cold an reasoning tone, she said: “Dalarius, we need to talk. Today, we had the playdate, and before the playdate we went to pick up Daelyn Theandor, right?”

Dalarius was taken aback by her seriousness, and said with an understanding yet soft tone: “Yes, and?”

Celeria continued wither her cold and reasoning tone: “Well, it was quite interesting picking him up, because he is a human. The two girls were quite scared at him being a human, and Ayda even cried a little as she saw him at first.”

She paused, and allowed Dalarius to take the story in. He smiled a little at his daughter’s fear of Daelyn, however his expression changed after hearing the last part of the story.

Celeria continued once again: “While Ayda’s was afraid of Daelyn, Ania had a different reaction. She saw him as a literal monster, unsheathed a  concealed knife, which she got from the guards, and stabbed him. She was even aiming for the head!”

Dalarius’ expression turned to a cold and serious one as he heard the last part of the story. He quickly turned to Ania, and said with a tone that reflected his expression: “Go to your room. We will discuss this with you later.”

Ania was quite shocked at her father’s expression and tone. She tried to rid the world of a monster, what did she do wrong? She had taken the advice some of the guardsmen had given her, and put it to good use. In the past, father had praised her for such actions, but now, he was angry.

Despite her confusion, she did not voice it, and quickly went to her room. She was quite nervous as she did not know why her father would be mad, and she did not know what kind of punishment she would get. She had never gotten very harsh punishment, because of her good behaviour and because of her achievements at the guards. She hoped her father wouldn’t punish her too harsh, and support her.

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However, in the living room, the conversation was heading in the opposite direction that Ania had hoped for.

Dalarius was silent as Celeria told the story in detail. After he had heard everything, he was lost in thought for a moment, before sighing and replying with a defeated tone: “So, you’re saying that she and Ayda saw Daelyn as a monster, were both scared of him, and Ania tried to stab him because he was a monster, according to her.”

“Yes.”

“And Ania saw Daelyn as a monster, because Minos had told her during training sessions that all humans are monsters, and she did not doubt him. She believed his stories, and believed that all humans are monsters.”

“Yes.”

“And she attacked him without warning, because she had picked up some advice from the guards. They said that attacking a surmountable threat immediately is the best solution.”

“Yes, and that is also how she got the advice to carry a concealed weapon, at all times.”

Dalarius groaned, as he rubbed his eyes, before turning his attention back to Celeria.

“So, what is her punishment?”

Celeria was taken aback, and said with a soft voice: “It hasn’t been decided yet.”

Now Dalarius was taken aback, and said with an astonished and loud voice: “What? Why isn’t there one yet? We need to teach her proper manners! We are her parents for Eleanor’s sake!”

Celeria had regained her composure, and calmed her husband with a soft tone: “I know, I know, but we also need to have the Theandors approve of it, since their child got stabbed. Don’t give me the ‘I will punish her correctly!’ speech. We both know that you go soft on her because of her reputations with the guards.”

Dalarius’ face contorted at hearing this, and as he was about to retort, he was interrupted.

“Either way, we can’t leave them out of the discussion. So, I was going back to the Theandor house tomorrow to discuss the punishment with Lyvia.”

Dalarius calmed down, and agreed with Celeria. He understood the need to discuss the punishment with the Theandor family, since he understood their situation. If someone assaults your child with a knife, you want them to receive the proper punishment.

However, before he could walk away, Celeria ended with one last sentence: “Oh, and the part I told you about that healing process, it is to be kept secret. Lyvia will tell us more about it tomorrow, but I can’t let it be leaked, we weren’t even supposed to find out, until Ania stabbed him.”

Dalarius was a bit shocked at this, and replied with a confused tone: “But, why? Such power would be appreciated, and he must hold great potential with such an early awakening. So, why would they want to hide it?”

Celeria sighed a bit, and looked at her husband. He may be a wonderful guard, but he wasn’t very clever when it came to social intrigue.

“Darling, think about it. He most likely has a blood affinity, and he may be a blood warlock. How would a human blood warlock be received by the community, and the Tyrrith family in particular? They would skin him alive, potential or not, he would be killed. Actually, they would want to kill him specifically because of his potential.”

Dalarius listened to his wife very intently, and understood that he had been a buffoon. He had been alive for close to two centuries, and he still was a complete idiot. He turned towards his wife with a smile of his face, and a relieved tone.

“Thanks Eleanor that I married you, otherwise I would have killed that child indirectly.”

Celeria snickered, before saying: “I have saved you more than once, don’t pretend that this is the first mistake I prevented. Well, wash up, and get ready for tomorrow.”

“About that, I wish to join you guys.”

Celeria’s was surprised at the proposition for a second, before she understood his intentions, and replied to him with a mocking tone.

“Don’t think you can lighten her punishment, dear. You said it yourself, we need to teach her manners.” She said with a sharp and mischievous tone.

“That wasn’t my intention. I want to apologise to Lyvia and Grey, and especially to Daelyn for Ania’s behaviour. I wish to join the discussion to make sure that she get the punishment she deserves.” He said with a stern and calm voice.

Celeria was taken aback for a moment, before complying to his wishes.

“Okay, but you’re going to have to get up early. It’s quite a walk to the Theandor house with two children, and I don’t wish to spend the beginning of the afternoon there. I have a busy schedule.”

Dalarius smiled, before saying with a soft and understanding voice: “I know.”

After their discussion, they called the girls in and told them of their plans. Both Ania and Ayda were shocked at this turn of events.

Ayda was shocked since she did not want to go back to the monster’s lair. She had been afraid of Daelyn ever since she first saw him, and his regenerative capabilities certainly did not help that.

Ania was also shocked, but she was shocked that they would discuss the punishment with the Theandor family. She was shocked that she would be punished for stabbing the little creature, and she could not help but voice her confusion.

“But, w-why am I being punished? I-I tried to kill a monster! That is only natural, right?” She said with a nervous and broken tone.

Dalarius looked upon his daughter, before saying with a cold tone: “You did not stab a monster, you stabbed a human.”

Ania could not hold herself in anymore, and voiced her emotions: “What’s the difference! From the stories Minos told, humans seem worse than monsters! Defiling and maiming everything they come across!”

Before she could continue, her father interrupted her. With a loud voice, he said to her: “Humans are not monsters. If it weren’t for those ‘monsters’ you wouldn’t have been born, your mother and I would have never met, and I would have been dead. I don’t know what you heard from Minos about humans, but realize that dark elves have done similar if not the same things.”

Ania was surprised at his completely serious tone, she was shocked as he disregarded her views of humans with each word, and she was astonished at his claims.

She said with a meak voice: “I-is that true?”

Her father replied immediately with a stern and cold voice: “Yes, it is true. Humans have done much for us, and may have saved the forest itself on some rare occasions. They have brought both merit and horror to the forest, just like we have brought both horror and merit upon their lands through the millennia. I hope you understand one thing Ania, there is not one race that is truly good or bad, there are individuals who are good or bad, branding a race because of an individual is insane.”

Ania looked upon her father with a confused expression.

Before they could continue their conversation, Celeria cut in.

“Now, now. We’re going to the Theandors tomorrow if you like it or not. Now get ready to go to bed, because we’re setting off early, okay?”

The two girls obediently complied and went to bed.

As Celeria and Dalarius were about to go to sleep, Dalarius voiced one of his worries.

“How could Minos have misrepresented humans so much that she would think of little Daelyn as a monster? She must have heard some wicked things.”

Celeria smiled before saying with a calming tone: “I don’t know what she might have heard, but it is up to us to change her view. We need to show her that there are good and bad people, no good or bad races. If she understands that, we will have succeeded.”

Dalarius could only smile as he heard his wife’s thoughts. He knew she was right, however he couldn’t think of a possible way. As he kept contemplating, it became later and later in the evening. He suddenly returned to reality after spending a part of the evening lost in thought, trying to think of a solution to this, but he could not find one. He sighed, he knew Celeria would be able to handle this one quite easily. She had always been quite good with words, and knew how to sway people.

He remembered how he had first met her. She had used her qualities, and her ripe body to sway him into helping her with a request she had picked up from the adventurer guild. She had manipulated him into doing all the work, while she sat on a nearby rock and enjoyed the scenery.

As they had returned, he had been asked by his comrades about the hunt with her, and as he described it, the veterans had laughed at him. They had recognised what had happened, and could not help but fall to the ground, as they couldn’t hold their laughter.

After several minutes of seeing the veteran guards laughing, Dalarius had finally realized what had happened, and quickly chased after the woman. He was furious that she had made use of him, and he was going to give her a piece of his mind, until he finally found her.

As he found her, she was surrounded by a small kobold tribe. She was battling them, and as Dalarius arrived he was about to support her, as he noticed her fighting style. It was mesmerizing.

She used a thin thread made from some kind of cloth to slash the kobolds surrounding her, bind them, and secure a perimeter for herself as she used some basic magic. She was able to keep those kobolds at bay because of her thread laced with mana, and she could deal damage to them with her spells.

However, the spells or casting weren’t as impressive as the thread by far. The thread seemed to wave to her will as she moved her right hand like an conductor directing an orchestra. He could not help but be fascinated as the thread moved to slay the kobolds with upmost grace, as she bound, sliced, and diced the little creatures.

After seeing this, he had quickly resigned from the guard, and he followed her, intent on joining her.

With those final thoughts, he fell to sleep. He dreamed of the days of adventuring in which he had chased after his wife, and in which they had slain countless monsters, resulting in their present strength.

As the morning sun arose, so did the three families, they started their routine morning ritual, unbeknownst to the change that would happen in their daily lives.