Family Reunion

Naomi furrowed her brows. "Huh? I thought faes were the jovial type. Richard practically becomes one of them by simply being happy," she stated

"Long story short, their race only feared one thing, me," Richard quipped with a smug smile

Ronald chuckled. "Well, not exactly you, but you as another, peculiar race. We all know that you Immortals can take the form and abilities of other races, as long as you meet the right requirements," he muttered

"Yeah, physical contact or energy signature," Naomi said with an intrigued look

"Precisely, but this particular race we needed to tame, only feared the Phantoms, who were basically extinct. And knowing that Richard isn't like the rest of you, I figured I reach out to him. And he agreed to help as long as we helped him develop control and discover his potential to unlock other extinct races," he stated

"And so, I became a phantom, helped them put the faes at bay. And since then, I receive certain... resources and sometimes help them fight bad guys, for the fun of it. I'm like a dormant agent," Richard added with a smirk

"Well, good for you, Chad. But can we please stop talking about work! I'm getting bored, and hungry," Aurelie clicked in frustration

"Huh, only Winter calls me Chad," Richard retorted

Aurelie frowned and looked at Richard coldly. "Well, she isn't here. Is she?" she muttered

"Oh, I see what's happening," Naomi said and faced Aurelie. "Aurelie, honey. Are you upset that Winter didn't show up?"

Aurelie crossed her arms and her frown deepened. "She promised she would come, it's not fair. I thought she was my best friend," she mumbled

"Aw, cheer up now. I'm sure she had a perfectly good reason to miss this, she'll definitely make it up to you. That's certain," Naomi assured, trying to cheer Aurelie up, with Ronald and Michael also saying a few words of comfort.

While Richard rolled his eyes and sighed in exhaustion. "What a drama queen," he thought. But almost as if she had heard his thoughts, Naomi shot him a warning gaze, caused him to smile awkwardly.

Then suddenly, a man entered the hall. He looked to be in his late 50s, sporting a curly white hair with grey beard. He was putting on a customary butler outfit, and carried an aura of discipline and officiality around him. He walked up to the table and raised his head high in a comical way.

Aurelie giggled at the sight of the man's actions, her previous sour mood completely gone. She stared at the entrance in anticipation and excitement, already knowing what was going to happen next, unlimited the rest seated.

"Ladies and gents, de Ambroise and Corsaires," the man began, his tone and energy in contrast to his looks. "I give you, Marie-jeanne de la Ambroise, the red queen, mistress of the hunt, mother of vampires and queen of Solnon," he announced, his voice reverberating through the entire hall.

Then following his announcement, a woman walked in. She was sporting a black gown, with silver heels, adorning herself with a gold necklace and bracelet, that added to her charm.

"Really, Leo? Simply opening the doors would have been just fine, we're not in Solnon. There are no need for introductions," Marie-jeanne sighed and took her seat beside Aurelie, who was holding back from laughing.

"Forgive me, my queen. I didn't mean to disgrace you," the old man, now known as Leo, bowed in repentance

Marie-jeanne waved her hands in dismissal. "It's fine, it's fine. You may leave us now," she said with a smile. Leo bowed one more time, before leaving the dining hall, closing the large doors behind him.

Just then Aurelie burst into laughter, she couldn't hold it anymore. "He's probably been watching too much game of thrones, but you should have seen the look on your face. I bet you felt really embarrassed, didn't you, mum?" she snickered

"Heh, what's this? Laughing at the woman who carried you in her belly for nine decades, I'm so heartbroken," Marie-jeanne muttered, feigning an act of sorrow. And damn, she was good at it.

Naomi, Richard, Michael and Ronald could only watch in awe as Aurelie continued to tease her mother, without thinking about any consequences. But what they didn't know was that, today was Aurelie's day and that meant she could do whatever she liked, including taunting her strict, poor mother, who could do nothing about it. Afterall, she was the one who made the rule.

"You never cease an opportunity to taunt poor mother. Do you, sister?" Ronald chuckled. He knew about the privileges of having a special day, only it was reserved for Aurelie and Aurelie alone. Even if it were his birthday or wedding, he dared not try this.

"Ofcourse not, it's the only time I get to actually say those words to her without any repercussions," Aurelie replied, staring at her mother deeply, thinking of more words to shoot at her.

"Alright, Aurelie. You can tease me all you want later. For now, let's begin, shall we?" Marie-jeanne muttered with a wry smile, hoping her daughter would concur.

Aurelie nodded. "Sure, okay," she agreed, then shifted her gaze to Naomi, and scoffed. Naomi clearly understood what the scoff was meant to be. It was about earlier when she had said Aurelie couldn't start the dinner without her mum, that she wouldn't dare. But now, Naomi was beginning to think otherwise.

Marie-jeanne sighed in relief. "Alright then, let's begin with a toast," she muttered and opened the bottle of champagne in front of her. She poured some of it's contents in a glass and stood up. "Well, I don't have much to say... Actually I do but, I know you all must be starving, so I'll make it quick," she began

The rest of them seated also opened their bottle of champagnes and poured some into their glass. Richard was the most excited during this moment, he was basically screaming "Finally!" in his mind.

"So I know it's been a very long time since we all got together like this, and that you all have been really apart from each other ever since, both by distance and relationship. But I thank you all for 'Finally' deciding to acknowledge my invitation, cause to be honest, I've missed you all so much. So, a toast to the good times we've had together, the good times 'I hope' we would have together and to my very special daughter, whose finally a vampire lord. To Aurelie!" Marie-jeanne declared, before raising her glass in the air to conclude her toast

"To Aurelie!" They all chorused and raised their glasses as well, before each taking a sip from it. And so, another party began. One that was meant for family only, one meant to restore the bonds between a once parted family. And even though they still had a plenty amount of members, who were either dead, lost or just not available. The ones present would carry on the family's legacy and glory.