Divided Opinions

"No!" One of the two younger family leaders exclaimed. "We can not afford to house so many ruts for such a long duration."

The other one nodded in agreement.

"I agree with Sir Victor." One of the older men also agreed. "We have our resources stretched thin as it is. We cannot protect such a large number of ruts."

"Sir Lutein." Irene softly spoke. "We need to protect the week, or another tragedy will soon happen."

Sir Lutein shook his head vigorously. "Sirs Victor and Cedric may be young, but they have a point, Lady Irene. We may be powerful, but we can not keep an eye on such a large number of ruts. If you wish to protect them, please do so, but you can not as this of us."

Sir Cedric nodded. "I agree."

"Silence!" It was none other than Lord Ruthvic who spoke up. "My daughter was murdered!" He shouted. "I have suffered a great loss at the hands of this murderer, and if you do not heed Lady Irene's warnings, you will do the same."

"They have proven they are capable of killing a pureblood!" Someone else shouted. "That means accursed blood!" A wave of nodding followed those words. "The bats!" Someone else exclaimed. "They must have some left, even after all these years. They killed Ava!"

Irene clenched her fists. This had devolved into chaos too quickly.

"Silence!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "I was not asking you to follow my words. I was telling you to!"

Her words were followed by a deadly silence as all family leaders looked at her, wide eyed. Not even her mother had told them such a thing before.

"We will protect the ruts." She continued. "Each family will be responsible of the ruts that are their relatives. Me and my sister will take in all other ruts. Those who have nowhere else to go." She raised her chin. "Now, here is a list." She tapped on the small pile of documents on the desk. "All ruts are accounted for and assigned to their respective families. Each family will be responsible of about two dozen ruts."

"What about you, Lady Irene?" It was one of the younger leaders. Cedric was the one speaking.

"I will take in the remaining forty three." She stated. "If any of you fail to protect one of the ruts, you will be held responsible."

"But-" Victor tried to protest, but one of the older men stopped him.

"Thank you." Irene smiled, then cleared her throat. "As I was saying, you will be held responsible. My mother had warned each and every one of the purebloods in your families, they did not listen. I warned you also, when I took upon the mantle of the Matriarch, and yet my words were also ignored."

She let her words sink in for a short moment. "Now, you and the members of your families will need to take responsibility. We still do not know the identity of the murderer, so we can not act rashly. We will act carefully and deliberately. Do not disappoint me."

She tapped on the papers on the desk. "Take the sheet with your family name on it. Come to me if you have any questions." She stood up and walked to the back of the hall, where a statue of a woman stood tall.

She glanced over her shoulder as murmurs filled the room. Curious about what was being said, she closed her eyes and tried to listen.

"This is ridiculous. We can't take care of two dozen people! They are just ruts, who cares?" It was a young voice.

"Do not question the Matriarch. Know your place, Cedric." Lord Ruthvic's voice warned the young leader. "Ava was only two years younger than you. It could have been you who died as well. Do as you are told and leave the questioning to those who know what's at stake."

"I know perfectly well, thank you." The younger man snapped back. "I don't need the senile to tell me what I know or don't know."

Irene's eyes widened. That kid was rude, and quite a fool as well. Lord Ruthvic was centuries old, and almost as powerful as Irene. Everyone knew it to be a horrible idea to get on his bad side.

"Lady Irene?" A young woman's voice startled her. She opened her eyes and looked to her side, where a blonde woman stood. She wore a simple woollen dress, she looked nothing like the other family leaders.

"My mother is ill," She said with a kind, low voice. "Thus, I had to come in her place. She has the moon sickness."

Irene's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, please deliver my best wishes to her." She touched over her heart. The Moon sickness was one of the few things that could be lethal to a pureblood.

"Thank you." The young woman smiled. "Since she and her brothers are my only family, I fear for her quite a lot." She then cleared her throat. "But this is not what I came here for. You are a busy person, and forty three half bloods are quite many to protect. Me and my brothers would like to help you."

Irene short her a confused look. "Aside from the ruts that are your family's offsprings?" She asked, surprised. Such generosity was unseen among the pureblood.

The woman shook her head. "We never had any relationship with humans, not once over the last millennia." She joined her hands. "We would like to do our part still. Ava was a dear friend of mine. I am no warrior, but my brothers are. They can protect many."

Irene finally smiled. "In that case, I will gladly accept your help."