Conviction, page 2
Still, he couldn’t delay things very long and with one final thought on how he wanted to handle things, Xeal entered the room. As he entered, he was greeted by the sight of Kate, Aalin, Gale, Luna, Selene, Enye, Dyllis, Mari, Lingxin, Eira, Daisy, Violet and Queen Aila Lorafir all chatting peacefully. At the same time, both Princess Bianca and Lorena stood to the side in their maid attire, looking like they were unsure as to why they had been called there. Finally, Zylah was relaxing off to the side like she was about to watch a good show and Xeal didn’t care enough to tell her to leave, as he figured she had watched many such meetings in the past without anyone knowing. The only reason Xeal even knew that she was there was due to him using his advanced senses to scan the room before closing the doors and speaking.
“Aila, if you could ensure that none outside this room will be able to hear us, I would appreciate it.”
“You sound like your talks with Victor didn’t go well,” commented Enye as Queen Aila Lorafir cast her spell.
“They went well enough, but before we get into all of that we should speak to Bianca and Lorena so they can step out after.”
“We are just pleased to get any time with you at all,” commented Lorena with a curtsy.
“Yes, even if it seems like you wish that whatever the reason for it has you upset,” added Princess Bianca as she joined Lorena in curtsying.
“I am not upset with either of you, as this time it isn’t your or your families’ actions that have me annoyed. Rather it is my brother-in-law’s actions that are to blame. First, Lorena, if you will accept it, once things have calmed down and the military governor is ready to transition power, you will become the steward of Paidhia’s former capital until I choose one of my sons to become the marquess there. In fact, I may just have you use the waters of youth and have you marry the child I choose to solve a few issues.”
“Xeal, that will not be accepted,” interjected Gale with a raised eyebrow. “You may be happy to marry Aila, but we will not have you set any of our sons up to marry a woman around twice their age.”
“You are forgetting that our children will live well past 100 years,” replied Xeal. “If he waits-”
“Xeal, just assume that we will not allow you to have any of our children marry Bianca or Lorena,” cut in Lingxin, with a smile that told Xeal to drop it or he would regret it.
“Sorry, just thinking out loud as I try and navigate the mess that I have before me. Anyways, Bianca, I would like for you and I to go speak with your father in an attempt to ensure he doesn’t do anything stupid. The issue being that I want to be clear with you that he will likely expect that I am announcing my intention to marry you and I will not be doing any such thing.”
“Xeal, my father will not take such a deception well,” cautioned Princess Bianca. “I will do as you like, but I can’t see that doing anything but causing more issues.”
“Hold on, what was that about me becoming a steward?” interrupted Lorena as she finally registered everything after Xeal tossing out the idea of her marrying one of his sons. “And I will not simply let you determine who I marry unless you are the one you choose to be my husband. As far as I am concerned, I am free from all the baggage that being a princess brought with it and who says that I even want to become a steward of anything!?”
“Oh, so you don’t wish to act as Lingxin, Mari and I do in Hardt Burgh and be Xeal’s voice in a part of his lands?” asked Enye with a smile. “And here I would have thought that you would want to have a reason to meet with Xeal regularly over the next few years.”
“I didn’t say that I didn’t want to do it,” corrected Lorena. “Just that there is a lot to consider and I wish to be able to choose for myself.”
“Good,” commented Enye. “Now, Bianca, will you go along with whatever Xeal decides regarding visiting your father?”
“Yes, though I would hope he understands that my father is likely more dangerous than a cornered drake right now.”
“Fair enough. Now, Xeal, is that all you wished for them to be here for?” asked Enye with a raised eyebrow.
“Almost. Lorena, Bianca, I am sorry that you both must deal with having your emotions played with for a while longer. I just hope that when everything is over that you won’t hate me for it and are able to move on with your lives. Also, Zylah, if you stay past the two of them leaving, I am going to assume your intent is to drink the waters of youth and try and become my bride as well.”
“You know, that doesn’t sound so bad,” commented Zylah as she became visible for all to see. “I miss when you couldn’t see through my tricks, but I suppose I should retreat before I have the scariest group of women to ever marry one man trying to kill me. After all, something tells me that I wouldn’t be a good fit for this group.”
Xeal just held his tongue as Zylah, Lorena and Princess Bianca left and Enye started to speak at him rather than to him.
“Honestly, you act as if you aren’t going to end up marrying both of them and if you keep teasing master like that, she might just chase you out of spite. Xeal, how is it that you can say that you don’t want more brides, yet it is so clear that you are almost subconsciously reaching out to others who could join our number?!”
“There is a reason we control just who can get close to him,” commented Kate. “He doesn’t have it in him to truly shut anyone out, unless it is clear that not doing so would cost him all of us and we have agreed that he can marry more once he reaches level 300.”
“Never thought I would have a reason not to reach level 300,” retorted Xeal. “Regardless, I apologize if my comment towards Zylah was anything but me letting her know that I knew she was here.”
“That’s just it, she knows you know,” replied Enye. “It is a game to her now and when you acknowledge her presence, she sees it as her winning.”
“Well that’s annoying. However, we have other things to address.”
“Xeal, you needn’t worry about any of us wishing for our sons to become a marquess,” interjected Mari. “If such things mattered to us, it would be a simple matter to make it a reality somewhere in this world.”
“Honestly, it is a bit disappointing that you even worried about such a thing,” added Lingxin. “Though with how Victor thrust it upon you, it is clear that you haven’t taken any time to think about it before meeting with us, which is a good thing.”
“I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind having my son with Xeal fill the role,” commented Queen Aila Lorafir. “Or we could have one of Eira, Daisy, or Violet’s sons do so. Really, it could be used to really expand what would be considered normal by the humans and work to more fully integrate all the races.”
“Not going to say that I don’t agree with that logic,” stated Kate. “But do we really wish for any of our children to be the ones to trailblaze that path, especially when it will be a more hostile environment than normal? I actually side with the thought of setting things up for Bianca to become Habia’s capital’s steward, and eventually letting Xeal marry both her and Lorena to establish the houses there. At least that would likely lead to the best results, assuming that the populace responds positively to both of their rule. When it comes to the emotional side of things, I can see why Xeal worried about all of us fighting over the details, only not in the way he might have expected.”
“Alright, it seems that I can put that to the side for now. That just leaves me going to Habia with Bianca.”
“That is simple,” commented Kate. “Her father is expecting that you will announce your intent to marry her, so just state that Lorena has become the steward of her old home and you hope for Bianca to do the same if Nium wins the war. Then, hint at that you intend to consider having them each give birth to the son who will inherit the city from them. Though if her father surrenders, I suppose it would be his son who would have a claim to be the marquess of the region, unless Victor intends to move him to another territory.”
“Kate, what do you see the odds of me marrying Lorena and Bianca as?”
“Xeal, the odds of you marrying one or the other is 0%, as you will not do that to the one you don’t marry. As for you marrying both of them, 25% as that is the odds that they both succeed as stewards and manage to get to a place where you no longer have any significant amount of pity for them. It is that very pity that you currently feel that will make you first admire them for reaching that point and then find yourself attracted to them. At that point Enye will likely be more than happy to consent to them joining us, as you will have long reached level 300 and the time constraints that we all live with currently will be significantly less.”
“Is that how all of you feel on the matter?” asked Xeal and to his surprise the room was filled with nods as he felt like all of this had been planned out before he arrived. “Alright, it seems that my wives have spoken and I know what I need to do. Kate, will you make sure all the details with occupying Paidhia are taken care of on our end?”
“We already have Taya on it and Ivy is doing a great job supporting her.”
“Okay, seems like I suddenly have a bit of extra free time and I would hate for it to be stolen by paperwork-”
Xeal didn’t even need to finish his sentence, before the meeting shifted into a relaxing gathering for them all to enjoy. Although, like everything it seemed to end too soon, as it was once again time to log out before long as Xeal and the others retired to Queen Aila Lorafir’s room for the night.
(*****)
Evening March 19 to Evening April 1, 2269 & ED Year 9 Days 8-48.
With things in ED seeming to be in a holding pattern for Alex, between the fall of Paidhia and the preparations for the full force invasion of Habia, he took the opportunity to be more present in reality. This was particularly convenient as it not only allowed him to enjoy celebrating Nicole’s birthday on the 24th, but also Evan’s, Nadia’s, Aidan’s and Nova’s first birthdays on the 28th. This even included a visit from Lydia, as Ava and Mia had agreed that she would be at least allowed to be present for major life events for their children as long as she didn’t break trust further.
So it was that Alex found himself smiling as rather than their relaxed day of swimming that was normal for Sunday mornings, the gym was set up for the party on the 28th. This included plenty of things to interest all of the older four kids and the four now one-year olds, as well as the adults who were present. Alex found himself enjoying the sights of Fred and Amanda with their one-month-old and Jacob caring for his and Sofie’s one-month-old, as Anna waddled around at 39 weeks pregnant as well. He found it rather comical that half the room was expecting her to go into labor before the day was out and how she was annoyed at it, as she didn’t want her child to share a birthday with four of Alex’s kids.
Still, it was the smile on Ava’s and Mia’s faces as they played with their children and chatted happily with everyone, that made Alex smile the most. With the guests, including Aniya and several others of those who had been at the Halloween party, the late morning party that stretched into midafternoon seemed to be a hit. Though Alex remained in the background for the most part, as he still found exchanging polite greetings the most he was interested in doing with any of them. It wasn’t that they weren’t nice, or that he even thought that they wanted something from him, he just didn’t feel as if he wished to put in the effort of being more than acquaintances with any of them. It was just after lunch as Alex was thinking about this, that he found himself joined by Lydia as she started to speak to him.
“You know, I never thought that I would get to be a grandma when I walked away all those years ago. I mean, I hoped that my girls would each find a nice man and have the life that I never did, but I didn’t see myself ever getting to do more than read a letter about their lives from Mama every once in a while.”
“You’re welcome, I guess. Though you should be saying that to Ava and Mia, not me.”
“I have and I will likely say it dozens of more times before I stop, if I ever do. I just still don’t know how to process everything that has happened since learning about all of this.”
“Is there a purpose to this talk, or are you just trying to discreetly interrogate your daughters’ husband?”
“Isn’t that a purpose of its own? But no, I am not trying to interrogate you. I am trying to build a relationship with you. Even if you seem less than willing to open yourself to anyone but the five ladies who are sharing your heart.”
“Is it such a terrible thing to focus on those who truly matter with what limited time that we have?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean that building other relationships should be ignored when convenient, though with how busy your life is, I doubt that you have any time for maintaining any but a few.”
“Are you hoping to be among those few?”
“No, I am at best an occasional visit, but I hope to not be relegated to being entirely estranged from you either.”
“I am sorry, but I tolerate you for Ava and Mia’s sake. But even if you manage to get into their good graces one day, I will still be wary of you. It is the same for anything that I can see wounding my family if not handled carefully.”
“So, I am just a ticking timebomb to you?”
“Until I feel like the situation around you has been completely defused, yes, that is how I view you and I will treat you as such for a while after it seems everything is fine. Though at the very least you are better than Kate’s ex-family and I worry less about you than Nicole’s extended family.”
“At least you don’t hold any of that against your wives,” commented Lydia, while her ability to control her emotions seemed to be at her limit.
“I am married to them, not their families. I also know that all of us would cut ties with anyone if not doing so would threaten what we have.”
Lydia just looked at Alex and sighed as she let quiet descend on them, collecting herself while the noises of the party floated over. A few minutes later, Alex found himself being dragged into the middle of things as it was time for him to fulfill his duties as a father and help out with a few of the games. These saw Alex paired with Nova as he helped her play, as all of the other kids had an adult helping them as they matched shapes to holes while racing to finish first. While it was a simple game, Alex saw all the kids under three who were present loving it, as they all fought to get the treat for being the first one done. Though, after each round the winner was ushered off to another activity and the remaining kids went at it again until they had all won, as a few adults played while purposely losing.
By the time Alex was free again, it was already clean-up time, and they were bidding their guests farewell and getting ready for dinner before it would be time to log into ED once more. While Ava and Mia were still all smiles, he could tell that they wanted to know what Lydia had spoken with him on and so he slipped away with them for a few minutes as he let them know. While neither of them seemed upset about it, they did give Alex a look like he was helpless, before deciding to just leave it be for the moment as they rejoined the others.
The rest of that night was spent just enjoying some time as a family before Alex needed to return to his one-hour breaks twice a day. Even so, the ten days that he had been able to take a bit more time off had been spent well in his mind, as he had gotten two dates in with each of his wives and even made time for a few group events. It had also felt good to get some time in to practice aikido and kendo with everyone, but it was time for one last sprint before it would be time to change the pace up, hopefully for good.
Like this Alex resumed being a ghost from the 29th to the 1st of April, other than a few kisses here and there. What little time he did take away from basic self-care was spent with his children, as was his usual while on that schedule. Though even the six of them were less happy than normal after getting to enjoy the increased presence he had had. As it turned out, they really didn’t appreciate their jungle gym leaving before they were bored of playing with it.
In ED, Xeal focused on grinding and even found some time to run a few dungeons for fun, while keeping tabs on the information that was coming in each day. So far, the permanent transition of power from Paidhia to Nium was only meeting minor resistance, as most prominent nobles were currently awaiting judgment. In the meantime, those who had surrendered and in doing so secured their house’s future heirs, were being reassigned territory that would become their new holdings. Many of them were complaining about how they should be allowed to remain in the region they knew, but King Victor would hear none of it. With the situation surrounding the demonic weapons, he had decided that a bit of chaos was needed to hopefully expose any lingering links in the supply chain that remained. That and there were just too many regions that had no lords who surrendered and others that it seemed every lord surrendered. As such he wished to spread the former Paidhia nobles out, to avoid them ever being able to band together and revolt.
As for the fates of the royal court and family of Paidhia, most of them were going to be put to death due to the crime of allowing demonic weapons to be spread in their lands. The only mercy being that only those who held enough authority to have made a difference being condemned, so long as they fully cooperated with the investigation into the weapons’ origins that was ongoing. For this reason, no executions had been scheduled, and besides the king and crown prince both being guaranteed to be executed, the rest of the royal family were only on the list of those who might be executed. The same could be said for the generals and other advisors of Paidhia’s royal court, as most of the assistance they had were in a gray zone of a sort, while the heads were set for execution.
