Chapter 533: The Usurper
Grabbing hold of the strange cloak of flowers, Feli brushed her hand across its white petals, before wrapping Blossom over her husband’s shoulders. She stared at Stryg’s reflection in the mirror in front of them. He seemed so different from the wide-eyed goblin she had first met in the Merry Crescent three years ago. He was hardly recognizable, save for his lilac eyes; they still seemed to draw her in if she stared too long.
Some part of her mourned the loss of the small Sylvan goblin who had walked into her life. Now he was even a tad taller than her and whatever starry-eyed innocence he once carried had been buried by a mountain of grim responsibility. Though she supposed he was always like that. Always taking on more responsibility than he had to.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“...Nothing.” Feli leaned her head on his back and wrapped her arms around his waist. “It’s just— you’ve grown…”
“Do you not like it?” he asked softly.
“Your height never bothered me, Stryg. Your ego on the other hand…”
“I don’t have an ego.”
“Everyone has an ego. Yours is just hidden behind a quiet pretty face and only comes out with a pair of fangs and claws.”
“Huh.”
“Mm.”
Stryg gazed at himself in the mirror, his eyes wandering away, deep in thought. “Do you think— Would it bother you if I was taller?”
“No one resents a little more height,” she smirked playfully.
“What if I was like, I don’t know, twice as tall?”
“Twice as— Stryg, you’re not a giant.”
“Right, of course not, but if I was something like a giant.”
“Is this one of those stupid questions I hear at the tavern? Like if I was turned into a toad by an evil mage would you still love me?”
“No, of course not. …But say I was turned into an owl—”
“Stryg.”
“Sorry, yeah, forget about it.”
“...Are we safe here?” Feli whispered, her expression turning somber. “Those savages are still out there and Undergrowth’s armies too… Are we going to be alright?”
He turned around and caressed her cheek. “I’ll make sure of it, even if I have to kill every single Valley tribesman and Undergrowth soldier to do it.”
Feli closed her eyes and kissed him on the lips, “Just stay alive, promise me that.”
“I promise,” he whispered. “I have to go.”
“When will you be back?”
“Tonight.”
“Should I wait for you for dinner?”
“Uh, no. Lord Katag invited me to have dinner at his place tonight.”
Feli stepped back from his embrace, “Is this about your ‘fiancé’ Miss Elena Katag?”
“Something like that. I’d invite you, but I get the feeling you’d rather not go.”
She nodded. “You’d be right, I think it’d be best if your first wife doesn’t interfere with the plans of the Lord of a Great House and his daughter.”
“Oh, I thought you’d be a lot more angry.”
“Why would I be angry? You are an Ebon Aspirant. These things are to be expected. It’s not like I haven’t caught you with your tongue in another’s woman’s mouth before.”
“I feel like you're angry.”
Feli crossed her arms. “I’m saying I’m understanding of high society’s expectations, not that I like them. And I’m aware of your people’s proclivity to ‘open relationships.’ You should be grateful to have a wife like me.”
“I am.”
“You’d do well to remind me of it once in a while.”
“I will. Once this is all over let’s go somewhere, just you and me.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?”
“If I did, would you say yes?”
“Mm, you’ll have to be convincing.”
“Watch me.” He smirked and walked out of the bedroom.
“I’ll be waiting,” she laughed.
Stryg found Rhian drinking a glass of wine next to the fire. “Rhian, it’s time to go.”
“Aye, aye, Captain!” said the centaur before downing the rest of the glass.
At the mention of Captain, Holo’s confident grin flitted through his mind’s eye. Stryg sighed, “It’s chieftain.”
Rhian followed him out the door. “What difference does it make? Stryg is Stryg.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Yeah, yeah I guess I am,” he said thoughtfully.
~~~
Elise Veres strode down the garden paths connecting the Veres and Gale manors. Lynette Gale walked beside her and a retinue of loyal battlemages followed behind them.
A pair of guardsmen stood relaxed at the Gales’ front door. They spotted Elise from a distance and jumped to their feet. One of the two scrambled to open the door and ran inside.
The remaining guardsman stood at attention and bowed his head as Elise and her retinue neared. “L-Lady Veres, good afternoon.”
“Move out of the way,” ordered Elise.
“I—I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” the guard said shakily.
Lynette drew her sword. “Are you disobeying our Lady’s direct command?”
The soldier paled, “Uh…”
Lynette rushed forward in a flash. The tip of her blade hovered over the guardsman's throat. “Speak up.”
The man swallowed hard, blood trickling down his neck.
The front door suddenly creaked open and the previous guard who had run inside walked out. Behind him stood an imposing vampire, tall, broad shouldered, and with a trimmed salt-and-pepper beard.
“My doorsman is not disobeying Lady Elise’s command, he is simply obeying mine,” said Gian.
“Are you telling me that you ordered your guards to bar me from entering the Gale Manor?” asked Elise with a raised eyebrow.
“Not at all, I ordered them to bar anyone from entering, on account of recent events. We can’t be too safe, wouldn’t you agree?”
Elise narrowed her scarlet eyes. “I would not, Uncle.”
“The guard meant no offense, you may let him go, Lynette,” said Gian.
Lynette glanced at Elise for approval. She gave a subtle nod and Lynette withdrew her blade.
“Thank you.” Gian ordered his men to leave with a small wave of his hand. “Now, how may I be of service, Lady Elise?”
“Do not play coy with me, Uncle,” she growled. “There was a city council meeting this morning. I informed the council by porter that I was going to arrive late, so imagine my surprise when I heard that not only did you and Gale appear in my stead, you brought a false claimant with you. The boy sat in my seat! You desecrated the seat of House Veres! The seat of my father, and my grandfather!”
“And the seat of your great-grandfather and his father,” Gian added without missing a beat. “And before them a slew of others vying to control the Veres throne, each barely managing to hold it for a few years before they were slain by another usurper, until none were left of the main line. I remember well, I was there, child.”
He stepped forward, his stance shifting ever so slightly, and turned his gaze on Elise and Lynette. Despite all her years of training, Lynette felt fear of the one-armed man. But Elise held no fear, only anger.
“And yet even after all that spilt blood, you choose to prop up a false claimant to usurp my throne?” Elise hissed. “All because he is an Ebon Aspirant. I heard what Gale called him, the Ebon Prince. Is this your plan, Uncle? To prop this backwater hybrid as ‘Lord Veres’ so that he may one day rule Hollow Shade as the Ebon Lords of the past? Even though he is clearly not one of us!?” She laughed bitterly, “Or do you plan on marrying me off to him? Is that it?”
“Is that the conclusion you’ve come to?” Gian asked calmly.
“Is it? Perhaps. It’s difficult to tell what you’re thinking anymore,” Elise scowled “You once told me that you would always be loyal to the rightful ruler of House Veres. I trusted you, despite your betrayal. I accepted that you went against my orders and helped Callum escape because he too was a Veres, he was family, as were you.”
Elise balled her fists and looked him over with pain in her eyes. “I trusted you against my instincts, because I believed you would always put family first. And yet you stand here so brazenly after stabbing me in the back. Is this how the honorable Gian of House Gale, Sword Paragon of the Realm, honors his oaths? By proclaiming a false claimant?”
Gian glanced up at the sun and squinted, pulling his thick hood over his pale skin. “...I have lived over 300 summers. I was there when the Schism destroyed the Realm Bridges. I was here when Hollow Shade was little more than the Ebon Tower and the walls that protected it.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is that before I found your great-great grandfather in a ‘backwater’ village, before the last of the Veres main bloodline died out due to infighting, there was a woman; the greatest leader our Houses had seen in centuries. The Blue Rose of Veres.”
Elise wrinkled her brow, then her eyes widened in dreaded realization.
Lynette didn’t notice the change in her ward’s demeanor. “What does the Bane of Lunis have to do with this?”
“She had a name,” said Gian, a hint of steel in his voice.
“Stryga,” Elise whispered.
“And does that name sound familiar to you?” he asked.
Lynette frowned, “Stryga…?”
Elise looked up slowly and met the old vampire’s gaze, “She was your sister…”
“She was, though we did not share the same father. Mine was the Lord of the Great House of Gale. Whereas hers was a mageborn drow from the Northern Lands.”
“She was a hybrid. A vampire-drow hybrid.” Elise shook her head with a small scoff, “I should have noticed it sooner. The last wielder of Krikolm and the one who suddenly disappeared, throwing our Houses into chaos. Stryga Veres.”
Lynette abruptly stiffened in comprehension, “Wait! Stryga? As in—!? Then that boy is—!”
“Stryg is the heir of the Blue Rose and the rightful ruler of House Veres,” said Gian.
Elise scoffed with a bittersweet smile, “I guess you always were loyal to your family. It’s just that I was never truly a part of it in your eyes. The lesser blood of a cadet branch could never compete with the pristine main bloodline. It all makes sense now. Why Gale wasn’t with Carmilla at the valley, but with the Hollow Shade students at Undergrowth. Not even Carmilla mattered. No one did in your eyes.”
Lynette slowly looked around and stepped closer to Elise. “My lady, we’re surrounded,” she whispered.
“I’m aware.” Elise glanced pointedly at the Gale swordmasters creeping up from the garden’s shadows, slowly surrounding her and her retinue. “How long, Uncle? How long did you know about this Stryg? How long were you planning to betray me?”
“…When your father passed away, I was going to announce Stryg’s identity when he returned to Hollow Shade, but you in your desire for power took matters into your own hands and murdered your siblings. You left me no choice but to act behind your back.”
“So what now? Are you going to kill me here in broad daylight?” Elise scoffed, “Even I wouldn’t stoop so low. But I guess that’s all I have ever been to you, a lowly pretender.”
“I loved you, Elise,” Gian whispered, his gaze softening. “As I loved your father and your siblings. As I still love you. I would never harm you.”
“Then why are you here?” Elise gestured to the other Gales, “Why are they all here? Why stand in my way? To protect the true heir from me? Is he not an Ebon Aspirant? The greatest magical prodigy of our generation? Victor of the Undergrowth Tourney of Mages? What does he have to fear of me? Why doesn’t he face me himself?”
“...Your anger is justifiable, but it is dangerous to all those around you. I suggest you go back to your chambers and take time to reflect on the paths that lie before you. You still have a bright future ahead of you and a place here, if you so desire.”
Elise furrowed her brow, “He’s not here, is he? Stryg isn’t even in that mansion! Then why are you—?” She narrowed her eyes, “There is another, isn’t there? Why else would so many Gale swordsmen be left behind when their lord has left? Who are you hiding, Uncle?”
Gale’s expression remained as unreadable as stone. “When you have calmed down and come to terms with your new position, come speak with me. Until then, leave Gale Manor.”
Elise clenched her jaw then gradually relaxed her posture and brushed her dark hair back. She turned to leave, but paused, “I look forward to speaking with my distant cousin and whomever else you are hiding behind those doors.”