Road to Reunion

Cain had detached himself from the councilmen and was watching them converse with the duke from a distance. His two knights stood near him, gold helmets covering their faces.

Yerenica's steps faltered slightly as she noticed how intently Cain was observing the duke. His expression was just as difficult to read as the latter's, but Yerenica was able to pick up a hint of displeasure swirling in the depths of his cold blue eyes. Was he more affected by the duke's blatant display of power than he had let on? Yerenica supposed so.

The two knights' attention turned to her the minute she came near the king. Stopping at a distance she hoped was enough to avoid offending him, Yerenica curtsied in greeting before tilting her head up.

"Your Majesty." She spoke in a soft voice, mouth feeling dry with the sudden attention on her. The entire room, which had been abuzz with light conversation only a few seconds ago, was now deadly silent. Every pair of eyes were on Yerenica, watching their exchange with unbridled intrigue. Their gazes felt like sharp knives stabbing her back, and Yerenica felt bouts of anxiety and self-consciousness bloom in her chest.

[Am I an exotic animal on display?]

As she frowned and straightened up, Yerenica felt a sudden chill go down her spine. Through all of the stares directed at her, she felt one particularly assertive gaze locked on her, unyielding and insisting. Yerenica tilted her head back to find the overwhelming source of scrutiny, and another shiver went down her back as her eyes met those of Luciel Wisteria.

Gold eyes swept over her face, drinking in every feature slowly. Despite how attentively he was assessing her, his expression still remained stoic. She had no idea what he was thinking, and that left her with a prickly feeling of unease.

For a split second, Yerenica was sure she saw his eyebrows pull together in a displeased frown, but it was gone so quickly that she was sure she had imagined it. Unable to stand any more of his powerful gaze, she turned away quickly.

"Lady Achernar." Cain's voice sounded far-off, as if it was reaching her through a cloud of thick fog, "I see you received my invitation."

"Yes, I…" Yerenica trailed off as his words sunk in. Feeling sobered up from whatever trance she had been in, she raised her chin to look up at him, "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty? Did you say it was your invitation?"

"I did."

"It was not… from Her Majesty?"

"No."

"I see…" Yerenica murmured hesitantly.

[Why would he send me an invitation? Does this have something to do with Minerva after all?]

"Forgive me for asking, but may I know why? We are both aware of the position I am in, as well as the circumstances surrounding it."

"Indeed we are." Cain grinned, appearing to be more and more amused with each word that left her mouth.

The smile was replaced by an impatient frown as he glanced around him. As if a silent order had been issued, every pair of eyes which had previously been watching their interaction like starved beasts turned away quickly. Conversations continued to flow through the ballroom once more, and the first few notes of a simple melody began to play in the background.

Yerenica felt thankful for the privacy. No longer did she have those piercing gold eyes watching her, making her feel tense. From her peripheral vision, she saw that the duke had retreated to the sidelines with his male knight as soon as the music had begun. It was a clear sign that he would not be dancing with anyone.

"Well, Lady Achernar," Cain continued the conversation smoothly, "I suppose you can think of you being here as an extension of invitation to another event. One that would be most rude of me unless I were to ask for your attendance in person."

[Another event? What does he mean by that?]

"I apologize, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid I'm not following your words very well."

"Yes, I suppose there is no use in beating around the bush. Very well, let me be direct then." Cain tilted his head to the side, strands of his blonde hair falling gently over his forehead. A small smile graced his lips, yet it did not quite reach his eyes.

"Meet me in a fortnight at the Western Palace for dinner, Lady Achernar."

Yerenica blinked, feeling completely disorientated. His sudden and unexpected words had thrown her off, and she had to take a minute to pull herself together. Out of everything she could have expected him to say, this was something Yerenica would have never even guessed.

[Why does the king want to have dinner with me? Does this have something to do with Minerva after all? Is she unwell? Did something bad happen to her?] A myriad of questions flew through her mind, each one darker than the last.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, I do not mean to be rude, but what could we possibly discuss over dinner?" The words trembled as they came out of her lips, and Yerenica's chest tightened with anxiety, hoping that he wouldn't give her the answer she was expecting.

"I'm sure you must already be aware. The two of us have only one thing in common, after all."

[Just as I feared.] Yerenica clenched her fists, her heart pounding uncontrollably against her chest.

"D-did something happen to Minerva?"

"Are you worried about your sister?" Cain asked, a trace of slight amusement in his voice, "How touching. Worry not, she will be joining us as well."

"Minerva will?" Yerenica's eyes widened at his words.

[She will also be present? Does that mean…] Yerenica swallowed, throat feeling thick from the sudden flurry of emotions that ran through her. [I will be able to see her? After five long years, we will finally be able to meet each other again?]

Cain had whisked Minerva away only a few days after his marriage to Valeria. That was around five years ago. Ever since then, their only form of communication had been the one-sided letters Minerva sent each month. And while Yerenica was grateful for the letters, she couldn't help but dislike the fact that she couldn't write back to her. She couldn't tell Minerva about how far she had come, nor the accomplishments she had garnered. At the very least, she couldn't even tell her that their father was on his deathbed.

[A simple dinner is not enough for us to catch up on everything that has happened in the last five years… but it's still something. Rather, it's the most I can ask for in this situation.] Yerenica felt her eyes sting and blinked away the tears quickly, not wanting to get emotional in public. She cleared her throat and looked up at Cain, eyes still misty.

"I accept your invitation for dinner. Thank you, Your Majesty." Yerenica bowed in gratitude, voice wavering slightly as she spoke.

"A beige carriage will be waiting for you on the night of the dinner. I advise you not to worry, my knights will make sure you will not be seen." Cain glanced at something behind her briefly before he added, "You are to come alone."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"I look forward to our dinner, Lady Achernar. Let us enjoy ourselves to the fullest." Cain grinned, a flash of excitement passing through his eyes. Before Yerenica could reply, he had excused himself and stepped away, his knights following him close behind as he made his way to the councilmen.

[That was the most animated I've seen him all night.] Yerenica thought, recalling the look in his eyes as he spoke his parting words. [Was this something he had been looking forward to for a while, then?]

Yerenica did not get any more time to ponder on the thought, as someone had called out her name. She turned back to see Kirin making his way towards her, a folded cloth in his hands.

"My lady. The carriage is waiting outside." He unraveled the teal cloth and held it up, "The night is getting colder. I have prepared a shawl in case you might catch a fever."

"Thank you." Yerenica said as she draped the shawl around her, grateful for the warmth the soft cloth provided. "Tell me Kirin, when are the reports from Count Eldridge coming?"

"In three weeks' time."

"Write him a letter and tell him to send it next week by the latest."

"Yes, my lady."

The cold breeze brushed past her as soon as they stepped outside, making goosebumps form on her skin. Yerenica shivered and pulled the shawl tighter around her body as they walked down the stairs. If she had taken a second to look over her shoulder one last time before leaving the ballroom, she would have seen the Duke of Wisteria staring after her, an unreadable expression on his face.

From where he stood, Luciel Wisteria could clearly see her leave the ballroom. Her upper body was now covered with a teal shawl, hiding her face from view, but he could still recall her snow white hair and green eyes in his mind vividly. She was undeniably gorgeous, and undeniably an Achernar.

"Interesting." Luciel muttered to himself. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would encounter an Achernar at a ball thrown by the Sirius Family. He was aware that times had changed and none of the three families had the same relations as they did before, but seeing such a drastic change with his own two eyes still left an unexplainably bitter taste in his mouth.

"What is?" The man standing next to him asked, glancing around warily.

"The witch."

"Witch? Oh, you mean that white-haired woman?" Ares grinned, his sharp canines coming into view, "That was a surprise. Didn't expect the Achernar bloodline to have made it this far."

"They're a surprisingly tenacious bunch." Luciel replied dryly.

"Ha. Figures." Ares snorted. He was about to add something else when they heard small steps coming up from behind. On reflex, his hand flew to his waist, moving to grab a sword which wasn't there.

"Calm down, you bloodthirsty hound." The scarlet-haired woman glared at him as he straightened up.

"Aella." He returned her glare with one of his own, the grisly scar on his face making him appear more sinister than intended, "Fuck, stop creeping around everywhere."

"Creeping around?" Her eyebrow twitched with irritation, "How about you stop being so high strung all the damn time? This isn't a battlefield, it's a ball."

"Hosted by the Sirius Family, so what's the fucking difference?" Ares snapped in a low voice, sending a murderous glare at a knight standing a few feet away from them, "They've been eyeing me like they wanna start a fight since the moment we came in."

"And who would blame them? Your appearance lives up to your title of mad dog."

"Are you forgetting that's a title we both share, sister?" Ares hissed, losing his composure by the second. Both their faces turned dark as they glowered at each other with open hostility, ready to pounce at any second.

"Enough." Luciel spoke, making them whip their heads to him, "Do not start another one of your childish fights here. Aella, did you get what we need?"

"Of course, Your Grace." Aella replied, turning away from her brother, "The Krokus spy was in the designated location. I have the documents with me." She tapped a finger lightly on her chest.

"Good." Luciel nodded, getting the indication. "Jerome will be arriving shortly. We will leave once he does. We have no reason to stay here any longer than necessary."

"Yes, Your Grace." The reply came without any protest as the two of them resumed their position beside him with neutral faces, earlier spat forgotten.

Ares and Aella did not get along with each other, but they were two of Wisteria's best warriors, and Luciel's most trusted knights. Their undying dedication and loyalty to the young duke was what kept them from tearing each other apart. If he asked them to chop off their own hands for him, they would do so within the blink of an eye. They were completely devoted to him, for he was their leader, and the true king of Celosias.