Realm of Monsters

Chapter 747: Farewell Part 1

The sun had set and the last light of the evening was trailing across the orange-hued sky by the time Stryg finished telling his story to Feli. As for her, she listened with quiet focus, asking a few relevant questions here and there for clarity’s sake.

“I’m leaving the Ebon Realm, possibly with a worse war than the one I just stopped. And I don’t even know if Tauri’s coming back. …Or if you’re angry at me too for leaving,” Stryg said the last few words in a whisper.

Feli didn’t respond right away. She got up from the divan where she had been lying and grabbed a bottle of wine from the bedroom before returning to the balcony with two glasses. Stryg watched her move from his seat at the edge of the divan, anxiety simmering in his chest.

She poured him a cup and offered it to him. “Drink.”

“It wouldn’t help.”

“Drink it anyway.”

He grabbed the glass and took a sip. “It’s good.”

“I know. Maeve and I just bought the winery and the land where the grapes are grown. We’re going to make a fortune,” Feli said with a proud grin.

“Is that so? I’m glad,” Stryg gave a half-hearted smile.

She poured herself a cup and downed the whole glass, then sighed with satisfaction. “Yeah… I always knew this day would come. I’d be lying if I said I was surprised. You always talked about traveling and seeing more of the world. Looking back at it all, it makes sense. You’re the son of Stjerne.”

“You don’t—seem very angry.”

“Why would I be? We both knew you would leave Hollow Shade to travel.”

“And that you wouldn’t,” he said aloud, the part she left unspoken.

Feli sat back down on the divan and shrugged. “What can I say? I like the comforts of civilization and not so much the delicacies of walking on muddy trails for hours on end. I’m happy waking up in my soft bed and going downstairs to eat at a table lined with culinary delights made by the best cooks in all the realm. If you told me I had to stay here for the rest of my life, I’d be fine. Whereas you, my little blue goblin, can’t sit still for longer than a few moments.”

“It’s only been a few months, but I already miss the forest,” Stryg admitted with a half-chuckle.

“See! That’s what I mean. You were never meant to stay in this small corner of the world. You’re a baby whale in a small pond. You need open seas.”

“What about you?”

“My home has always been here, in Hollow Shade. And thanks to Maeve, I’m finally able to see my dreams come true.”

“I take it the merchant partnership is going well?” He felt bad even asking the question. He had been gone for only a few weeks, but even before that he had been too busy dealing with the repercussions of becoming the head of House Veres. And before that he had been in Vulture Woods, rallying the tribes to fight in a war against Marek and Caligo.

“Very.” She smirked, unaware of his line of thinking. “You’d be surprised how much merchants value the safety of their caravans and wares when the entire valley is a battlefield. Thanks to my husband being the Lord of Veres, Lord Gian offered one of the finest battalions of the Veres army to help guard my business ventures. Maeve has been teaching me a lot about her businesses. I am officially her protege and right-hand. Soon, we’ll be one of the wealthiest merchants in all the realm, just you wait.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’m sorry I won’t be here to see it happen sooner.”

“It’s okay.” She nudged his shoulder with her own. “In another life, I might have been bothered, but this was the relationship we’ve always had. It’s what I signed up for. Our lives are very different, Stryg. You were always in the academy of magic, learning arcane secrets and dueling nobles. While I was working in a tavern or learning how to become a merchant and running my own business.”

Feli grabbed his hand, “I will always cherish our moments together, but I am okay not waking up next to you every morning, so long as we see each other every so often. A lot of people aren’t like that, sure. We’re different and that’s why we work. It’s not a bad thing.”

“You’re really not mad, are you?”

“Well, maybe a little,” she wiggled her hand back and forth. “But when the man you love is leaving to save the realm and everyone in it, it’s kind of hard to complain about it.”

“You can complain. I don’t think I’m going to be gone for only a few weeks this time,” he admitted.

Her expression grew somber. “Yeah, I got that feeling when you were telling me about Tauri’s reaction. Obviously, I’d prefer it if you’d be back sooner than later, but I also know why you’re doing this. Tauri will too, you just have to give her some time.”

“I don’t think time will fix this. She wasn’t just angry, Feli. She looked hurt. Betrayed even. I don’t know what to do.”

“Duh, of course she did.”

“What?” Stryg blinked.

“Sometimes I forget how clueless you can be about our ways.” Feli looked at him sympathetically. “Tauri had a whole vision of what your life together would look like. And you ruined that with your little announcement. She must be furious.”

“But you’re not?” he asked, mildly confused.

“No. I’m a commoner and I went into this relationship knowing it would be a distant one. I never expected to live the life of a married noblewoman. Tauri is different. She is not only a noble, but the daughter of a Ruling House. She is practically a princess. Since the moment Tauri was born, she was raised with certain expectations of who she must be and what her life would be like.”

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“I’m not sure I follow.”

Feli rolled her eyes. “Look, Tauri grew up going to balls and dining with ladies and lords. She expected to live in Hollow Shade her whole life. Her family is here. Her friends are here. Then you come along.”

“And I changed those expectations?”

“Pfft. Not at all. You’re the Lord of Veres. A match between someone like you and her is nothing strange, rather, expected. If you are to be king, Tauri is to be your queen, your partner in the world of nobility. You never dissuaded her from that idea, in fact, you might have encouraged it.”

Stryg frowned. “How did I encourage it? I never told anyone what the plans for my life would be like.”

“You didn’t step aside and give up the Veres throne to Elise. No, you chose to become the head of this House. That comes with responsibilities, the kind that are life-long.”

“I guess… I just didn’t…”

“Think it all the way through. Yeah, you tend to do that. Tauri believed she was going to be Lady Veres and rule by your side. Even if you didn’t become king, she would still be the lady of this House. She prepared herself for that and all the responsibilities it entailed. She didn’t prepare herself to be traveling across the realms like some wanderer.”

“I guess I can see why she’s mad,” he mumbled.

“Yay. Now he sees it,” Feli gave a little clap.

“So what do I do now?”

“Give her some time. Let her make her own decisions and support them, whatever they may be.”

“When did you become so wise?” He gave her a side-eye.

“When I started drinking.” She took another sip of wine.

He laughed.

“My lord? You have guests,” Gale called out with a knock on the door.

“Come in. We’re on the balcony,” Stryg said.

The bedroom door opened with a loud creak and a few moments later, Gale appeared in the balcony doorway, alongside two unexpected guests.

“We came as soon as I heard the news. I didn’t want you to leave without giving Kamilo a chance to see his uncle and aunt.” Nora held up her baby son in her arms.

Kamilo had a sleepy face, then his purple eyes lit up when he saw Stryg. He reached out with his pudgy hands and cried out eagerly. He didn’t wait for long. Stryg swept him out of his mother’s arms and carried Kamilo in a twirl, making the latter laugh in delight.

“I missed you, Little One.” Stryg hugged him as gently as he could.

“He missed you, too,” Nora smiled warmly.

“You both have to come to the party tomorrow,” Stryg said.

“Party?” Nora asked, but Stryg was already absorbed with playing with Kamilo.

“Lord Katag is throwing a lavish ball for Stryg tomorrow evening.” Feli got up and greeted Nora with a hug.

“I see. Is it alright if Kamilo comes? Not a lot of people like it when a baby starts crying in the middle of a ball,” Nora said.

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Gale gestured to Stryg, who had cast a powerful yet gentle wind spell around Kamilo. The baby giggled as he freely floated around the balcony. A small tendril of shadows was wrapped around Kamilo’s waist just in case a gust of wind blew him too far.

“He loves it when Stryg makes him fly,” Nora said.

“I know, he always wants me to make him fly, too, but I’m not a Yellow mage,” Gale grumbled.

Nora laughed, “I know the feeling.”

“And I get the feeling Stryg won’t attend that party if you and Kamilo aren't there,” Feli said.

“In that case, we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Nora said.

“Then how about joining us for dinner tonight? We can all catch up. I know Plum has been dying to hear about what happened on your trip firsthand,” Feli said.

“If I’m not intruding?” Nora said.

“Please, you’re family,” Gale answered before Feli could. “You will never be intruding. Plus, it’s not every decade that a new Gale child is born. The family would love to see you and Kamilo more.”

“Exactly,” Feli nodded in agreement.

“Well, if you insist,” Nora said.

“Always,” Feli said.

“Okay, that’s enough playing with Kamilo. It’s Auntie’s turn,” Gale marched over to Stryg.

“No, he’s mine,” Stryg pulled Kamilo close and growled like a wolf protecting his cub.

“I get a turn to play with him, too,” Gale insisted.

“Never!” Stryg tied Kamilo to his back with shadows, then clambered onto the roof on all fours. Kamilo laughed the entire way up.

“Get back here!” Gale leaped onto the roof and chased after him.

~~~

“I’m stuffed,” Plum lay on the grass of the Veres gardens, limbs spread in contentment.

“There you are,” Stryg leaped off the carefully curated paved path and onto the grass patch where Plum had taken as her own personal hiding spot in the gardens.

“Stryg? How do you always find me?” Plum asked.

“I know your scent,” he wiggled his button nose as if to prove a point.

“I forgot you’re like a bloodhound.”

“More like a wolf.”

“Eh, debatable.” Plum patted the grass next to her. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

Stryg joined her and stared up at the stars. “You disappeared so quickly after dinner, I thought something might be wrong.”

“I’m just not much a fan of larger gatherings. I much prefer quiet places.”

“Like the library?”

“Or like here.”

“How are you holding up in the manor?” Stryg asked. Plum had been welcomed into the Veres manor ever since she had returned with him from their journey in Vulture Woods and Evenfall.

“It’s the best. I get to eat as much food as I like and the servants bring me all the books I could ever want. I’m never leaving this place,” she cracked an evil laugh.

“Good to know. You’ll always be welcome here,” Stryg said.

“Are you just saying that because you’re leaving and you don’t know if you’ll be back any time soon, or at all?” Plum asked.

She was always sharper than Stryg and he loved that about her, though he sometimes hated it too, like right now.

“I just want to make sure everyone is okay before I leave,” Stryg said.

“...Some days are harder than others. Sometimes I think about my parents and what they’d think of me now if they could see me now, a lowborn girl living in the Veres manor, treated by everyday folk as a hero who rode into battle atop a Frost Wolf.”

“They’d be proud.”

“I hope so,” Plum wiped a tear away and sniffed. “Yeah, I guess you could say I’m okay. I’m treated like a princess here and I get to visit Blueberry everyday. It’s nice.”

“You’ve been spending time with Blueberry? I was under the impression he didn’t like anyone but me coming near his space.”

“You’re not the only exception anymore, buddy. Elise and I visit him at least twice a day.”

“Elise? Really?” Stryg had a difficult time picturing that.

“She’s not as scary as you think once you get to know her.”

“That’s what I like about you, Plum. You always see the good in people. My mother will need that insight when she rules.”

“What?”

He turned his head to look at her. “Plumela, hero of Hollow Shade, I’d like you to be the queen’s advisor.”

“Fuck no.”