Chapter Five:

A Spectacular Balancing Act

Dmitri

A day after the ball, we were handed our official Cavalry licenses and shipped off to The East. Gerard requested help dealing with some pesky West Soldiers who were intent on blowing up the parliament building, and Andrew felt this would be a great introductory mission for us to go on. Following a week to completely excavate the group, and another three to flush out their remaining teams, we were finally cleared to go home. Our team had done flawless, and Andrew assured a nice day off and a glass of his best wine were waiting for us when we returned.

“Martha, watch your left!”

“Three more coming over the hillside!”

“Mike, grab the archers! Gwen, take down the last three with Dmitri!”

“On it!” Gwen’s blade slashed through the neck of a West Soldier, who clutched his gaping throat desperately before falling to his knees. Michael flung three knives consecutively into the trees above us, striking the two archers in the chest perfectly. They fell to the ground, where the knives crunched into their hearts, and were dead moments later.

Martha shot arrow after arrow into the brush to take out stragglers that tried to dart back towards their camp; they hit the ground one by one, their weak yelps the last sounds we heard before the leaves stopped rustling from their running. Stefan raced ahead to make sure they were dead, while Michael reloaded his deck with more of his tiny and lethal knives.

I darted through the grove as fast as I could and emerged from behind the two remaining soldiers headed towards Gwen. I whipped out a combat knife and my sword, then jumped behind them and sliced their throats simultaneously. The two hit the ground with a thud, twitched painfully, then fell still. I wiped sweat from my forehead and scoffed once, putting my hands on my hips playfully. “Little bastards were quick! I almost lost track of the smaller one!”

“You, lose track of someone? Hardly,” Gwen teased as she punched my arm.

“Hard to believe, but I am a human, and even I, the great slayer of West Soldiers, make mistakes,” I snickered teasingly.

“You’re also a narcissistic asshole!” Stefan called, making Gwen and I laugh as he rolled his eyes. He gasped abruptly, crying Gwen’s name as running sound behind us.

Gwen simply turned, backflipped out of the way, grabbed the last soldier’s neck, and slammed his face into a fence post that impaled him automatically. I whistled in awe, making her wink sexily to me. “Keep it in your pants, kiddo.”

“You know which of my buttons to push, Ms. Lee.”

“Can you two save it for tonight? I would like to see my bed before I'm fifty.” Martha joked as she stuffed her bow into Lola’s saddle.

“I’d like to see Dmitri naked in mine,” Gwen whispered to me, which made a dorky horse-like giggle spew from my lips as she wagged her eyebrows.

“Let’s head out, guys! Andrew is expecting us back by sunset!” Michael called as he mounted Rusty, who neighed powerfully. I jumped on Archimedes and snapped the reins, nodding to the girls who took off after Michael.

It took us about two hours to get home, and when we finally hit the bridge, our fellow soldiers cheers erupted through the castle grounds. Jordan was on guard, and raced down the steps of the main towers to clap a hand on Michael and I’s shoulders excitedly. “Welcome home, young Cavalry! How are your first mission?!”

“We definitely got some much needed action, that’s for sure,” I replied, pulling my sword from Archimedes’ saddle and propping it up behind my neck. I looped both arms over it and casually walked inside as Jordan rambled question to me about The East.

The royal family heard the commotion and emerged from Andrew’s office, smiles illuminating their faces at the sight of us. “Welcome home ladies and gentlemen! Long time no see; how was The East?” Andrew chimed as he came over to warmly greet us.

“Good, at least, it is now. Gerard sends his regards, and asked we deliver this to you,” Stefan handed Andrew the packet of documents he had been tasked to deliver, which made Andrew roll his eyes with a sigh.

“I take it everything went smoothly?” Cerelia asked as she kissed each of us.

“Incredibly; we funneled out as many soldiers as we could. I’ll tell ya, though, I don’t know how those Cavalry haven’t killed themselves yet. Five mile runs every morning; even Zachary isn’t that cruel.” Martha laughed.

“I can up the number if you’d like?” He taunted as he clapped his hand with Gwen’s then hugged her shoulders proudly.

“Um, no, thank you,” I laughed as he winked to me.

“Well, you’re all just in time for a much deserved dinner. Why don’t you get changed and join us in the dining room?” Andrew offered.

“Sounds good! We’ve been living off ration packs for weeks, and if I see one more barbeque cutlet dinner I might rip my intestines out.” Gwen laughed as she spun to walk upstairs.

I playfully checked her butt out as she did, which made Martha smack my chest, “You are such a pervert, you know that?”

“I own fifty percent real estate on that property,” I teased.

“Oh how I miss the days when you were a virgin,” she giggled as we went upstairs.

“I don’t!” Gwen called from their bedroom; Martha and I exploded in laughter with a shared eye roll at her comment.

╬

Dinner was already alive when I opened the doors to the dining hall, changed, showered, and smiling. Wine glasses clanked, and rolls flew through the air as the Cavalry conversed with my family, who had joined them at the table. “There’s our boy; took you long enough!” Andrew chimed, waving from his seat at the head of the table and making Mom look up in awe.

She gently extended her arm to hug my waist with a gleaming smile, “Welcome home, mon cherie; I’m so glad to see you back.”

“It’s good to be back, Maman…” she illuminated when I used her nickname, and welcomed my kiss to her hair before I rounded her chair to find a seat.

“Did you get caught up on the porn, mate?!” Michael blurted, slapping my back.

“Quiet, you gross little urchin,” I spat as I backhanded him. Mom spit a hysterical giggle that Gwen and Andrew joined in with.

“Ooo, I'm so scared!”

“I will stab you in the crotch if you don’t can it.”

“Try me, pip squeak.”

“Boys!” Andrew warned as I swan dived him with a fork, but as soon as we disappeared under the table, he began making bets with Stefan over who would win.

“You overcooked Baby Chicken!”

“I’ll peck your eyes out!” We screamed back and forth, slamming one another to the floor and kicking up the rug and chairs around us.

“All right, all right, you two…” Stefan threw Michael into a chair to break us up, smacking his head as I crawled up into mine while making feral growling sounds.

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“Look at you, you little cellar dweller!” Martha exclaimed.

“Would you idiots let me eat!” I roared, whipping my plate forward so I could rapidly cut my chicken with a demonic side eye at Martha, who kept trying to steal some potatoes off the plate when I wasn’t looking.

“So, did you all enjoy your time in The East?” Riley cooed, putting his chin in his hand and smiling handsomely to the five of us.

“Very much; it’s an interesting country,” Gwen tried.

“I fucking hate it,” I sniffed, which made Andrew, Cerelia, and Mom howl laughter.

“Did I ask you?” Riley teased.

“Oh, Zachary, did you find time for me to run remedials at the air base?” Martha asked.

“Why don’t you ask the hog with the roll down his throat, since I put him in charge of schedules…” he snorted to Riley.

“Piss off,” he grumbled, “To answer your question, Martha,” he said, smacking Zachary in the chest so he’d choke on a piece of chicken, “I freed Wednesday morning. You and Thomas will head down while Zachary and I get the others started on their fitness exams.”

“I can’t wait to bench press a hundred pounds again…” I drunkenly mumbled.

“Why are you talking like that?” Riley giggled.

I slammed my hand on the table, “Like what?!”

“All slurred!”

“He’s got a low tolerance,” Andrew snickered as I finished the glass of wine in my hand.

“I do not,” I hiccupped loudly between words, “Have a low terleonce…”

“Terleonce!?” Stefan screamed obnoxiously. I stuck my tongue out at him, but he smacked my jaw, which made me bite it loud enough for everyone to scream in disgust. “OH, MY GOD, I’M SO SORRY!” He screamed, throwing his arms around me as I moaned in pain.

“Tell Dad you fell down the stairs, I didn’t push you, ok!” Andrew said to the table, who burst into hysterical laughter.

“It hurts…!” I bawled as he rubbed my back in circles.

Stefan scrambled to keep me from getting upset, “I didn’t think you’d bite it that hard!?”

“I taste blood,” I said, sticking my swollen tongue out. Riley dry heaved as blood spilled down my cheek, “Ha-ha, cool…!” I cried like a mesmerized toddler.

“Dmitri, get a damn napkin!” Gwen screamed as she rushed around the table to shove one into my mouth while simultaneously scolding Stefan.

“Where would we be without The Cavalry!” The soldiers chanted, toasting.

“Oh my lord, I’m surrounded by baboons!” Andrew sobbed in defeat.

Stefan and I continued to giggle; I flopped into his lap with a groan. “I drank too much!”

“You’re extremely close to my dick right now I hope you know.” He joked, poking my cheek repeatedly to try and keep me awake.

“Wouldn’t be the first time!” Michael called.

“Excuse me!” I squeaked in anger as I popped up to glare at him, but all I succeeded in doing is smacking my head on the lip of the table.

“Ok, enough wine for you…?” Gwen sang, plucking the glass up.

“I’m an adult!” I bawled as I tried to snatch the glass back.

“With the mind of a child,” Michael added, just to keep revving me up.

I jabbed my finger into his temple, “Says the toddler!”

“Boys, please!” Ramah yelled, though he cracked a smile at our playful fighting.

“I can see everyone is very close?” Mom giggled as I slammed my elbow into Michael’s chest, making him spit hard.

“In the sense of wild animals, yes.” Cerelia sighed happily.

“Have you decided what your assigning everyone to for training?” Gwen asked calmly as Michael and I strangled one another behind my mother.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I did. We’re going to start handing out assignments tomorrow, so long as the monkeys can make it through the night.” Zachary snorted as he gestured to us.

“On the contrary!” I popped up behind Gwen, who giggled at my disheveled hair, “We are more than ready to get back out on the battlefield!” I cried as she patted my curls down, snorting when they frizzed back up.

“UNGUARD YOU SWINE!” Michael screamed, coming from under the table with his butter knife high in the air.

“DIE, YOU FILTHY ANIMAL!” I echoed back, whipping around to catch his free-falling hand. He tried to stab me, but I grabbed his throat and slammed him down on the table, ripping a knife up and laughing like a maniac over him.

He screamed bloody murder as everyone cried laughter, while Gwen plucked the knife away and tossed me into my seat. “You win, you win!” He cried dramatically into Slane’s arms.

“You are an absolute donut,” Gwen laughed out as I kissed her cheek repeatedly.

“Yes, but you love me!” I squeaked as I nuzzled my nose into her hair.

“Do I? Do I really?” She asked, narrowing her eyes playfully.

“I need more wine!” Martha howled, slamming her head down on the table and causing more laughter to erupt through the castle.

“There is something wrong with you three,” Andrew sighed as Stefan took over for Michael and tried to wedge a fork into my neck with a demonic cackle.

“Savages! Savages!” The boys and I cheered like lunatics.

“Glad you said it first,” Gwen giggled, “Their like dogs; you have to exercise them tremendously or they’ll never calm down.”

“Can someone please tie them to a chair before they hurt themselves or someone else?” Ramah moaned as I choked slammed Stefan into the floor.

“Alright you three, settle down, settle down; we’re at the dinner table?” Cerelia reminded in a true motherly tone, which immediately took effect.

“Sorry, your majesty…” we whined, plopping into our seats as she giggled adorably.

“Anyway…” Zachary snorted, “To answer your question, Gwenevere, we’ll make sure to fill you all in at tomorrow’s meeting. We have a big line up ahead for the beginning of the year.”

“Gotta love Saturday,” she teased as Atticus entered the room with a big stack of letters.

“Mail call! Stefan, Martha, Dmitri…”

“Bills, bills, bills, debt collection, that subscription we don’t talk about…” I joked, which made everyone laugh as I sifted through the numerous letters. In the middle of the pile was a thick and formal envelope, with nothing but my name, the castle’s address, and a red wax stamp on its surface. I placed the other letters aside and popped it open with a butter knife, then pulled loose the thick parchment inside.

Everyone had begun discussing how everything was going with my mother and brother, so no one noticed the small crisis that was taking place on my side of the room. The letter was dated January 14th, just a week or so after we had left for The East. The handwriting on the page was as familiar to me as my own voice, and I knew automatically who had sent the invitation without having to read a single word on the neatly pressed parchment.

Dmitri,

I take it you have recovered well from your last, visit, since you were finally inaugurated as a Cavalry. Congratulations on the achievement; I honestly mean that. I understand that you, Riley, and Morgan all reside in The North Kingdom, which makes this a much easier task than I presently thought.

I am requesting all three of your presence for a formal Mortimer Family Meeting. Not as King, not as an enemy, but as your brother. I would like for the five of us to finally lay our cards down on the table, and truly have a family discussion for the first time in many years. You can decline my invitation if you please, but I do believe you’ll be too interested to say no. Levi will be attending as well, so it will be a good time for you to get some things off your chest.

I have arranged for the meeting to take place in The Peace Zone on February 5th. The Committee has agreed to this on the condition we are monitored the entire time, and that we are there as a family, and not as enemies in combat. There are no royal statuses involved in this; I will hold nothing you say or do over your head. I hope to see you on the fifth.

-Alexei

I slid a hand over my mouth as my eyes widened, and every ounce of breath was vacuumed from my lungs. I reread the note again just to make sure I wasn’t absolutely insane, and when I was sure it was real, my hands began to tremble violently. Gwen was the first to notice something was wrong and tilted her head at me from across the table. “Dmitri? Everything ok, love?” She chirped, which made everyone turn to me.

“Far from…” I croaked.

“What’s wrong?” Andrew snapped seriously.

“Alexei requested a family meeting between he, Riley, Morgan, Levi, and I… For tomorrow…?” I stammered in horror.

“Tomorrow!? When did that letter come?!” Cerelia roared.

“The fourteenth…? Right after I left for The East…?” I barely was able to say before I began to violently cough and clung to my throat. Anxiety reached up my body and swallowed my vocal cords, enough that I simply could not respond further.

“Please tell me your joking?” Riley begged.

“What are you going to do?” Zachary asked Morgan, Riley and I, but no one answered him. I had no reply to the dozens of questions that erupted around the table, and my terror was so real that everyone in the room could feel it radiating from me. My mother and brother were dead silent as well, and my aunt and uncle couldn’t find any words that would help make the situation better for us.