The Rules of Blood-Volume Two ; Chapter 86 (302) - A Favor for a Friend
Blanc met Fiamma’s eyes with calm resolve but offered no reply to her venom.
Instead, he slid the box toward her, rose to his feet, and turned away. Midway back to Velakia and Sera, he stopped.
“Daughter,” he called, “Will the Order walk with us?”
“Of course,” the Daughter answered, her red eyes regaining their focus. “I will join you soon.”
“Very well,” Blanc nodded, resuming his departure. “Let’s go.”
Without another word, Sera, Velakia, Tahreni, and Lendros fell in behind him.
Together, they left the Grand Hall of Blood Seraph, heading straight for their wing in silence.
Inside the common room, Velakia broke the silence first.
“What now?” she asked.
“We prepare to leave,” Blanc said firmly. “Sera, pack properly, clothes, essentials, whatever you may need. Velakia, take Lendros and Tahreni and gather all your belongings. I’ll do the same, before preparing to receive the Daughter.”
“Sure,” Velakia nodded, kissed Blanc quickly, and turned to face Tahreni and Lendros, “Cu enim iah.”
[Translated from Iskahese]
“Come with me,” Velakia said towards the two as she faced them.
“Princess,” the two nodded, falling in line behind her as they left the common room, heading straight to Velakia’s room.
“Help me pack things up,” she said as she entered, grabbing her backpack and putting it on the bed.
“Before that,” said Tahreni, her back straight, “May I ask a question?”
“What?” Velakia sighed, “Is it about the Daughter?”
“Daughter?” Lendros muttered, “What a weird thing to call that old witch.”
“Stop your nonsense, Lendros,” Tahreni clicked her tongue, “But Princess, we cannot allow such… things in our Kingdom.”
“Blanc said he will handle it, so let me see what he can do before I start worrying,” Velakia explained, “But times change either way, Tahreni, and if we do not adapt, we die.”
“Bringing witches to our shore surely isn’t the way forward, Princess,” Lendros kneeled, “Forgive me, but I do not trust your lover enough to handle this matter.”
“I fear I have to agree with him, Velakia,” Tahreni kneeled as well, “How could Blanc handle such a thing? How can he make sure these Daughters do not just turn all our people into chunks of meat?”
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Velakia sighed, thinking on the matter.
Her protectors were right to fear. Blanc feared what he saw too, so how can he calm down such a rough sea? How can he promise that what happened today will not happen again, this time in their home?
She rushed because of love. She made a promise that she had found she regretted because of love. But she also believed what she said earlier.
Times change, and the Daughters have the potential to better their people’s lives if they are allies.
She saw the value in them.
If a Daughter kept a boyard in check, or turned him into minced meat if he planned something unforgivable, that was also a useful thing.
An opportunity she also got because of love, and all the circumstances that brought her and Blanc together.
What to do?
she wondered to herself.
In the common room, Blanc was lost in his own thoughts as he counted all their supplies, reliving the scenes inside the Grand Hall.
It made sense to listen to the Daughter’s warnings from the day prior, but this…
Annoying the Order, or become useless to them? Will he meet the same fate otherwise?
There were too many questions swirling in Blanc’s head. It was a hurricane born out of terror.
And he needed reassurance, not only for himself, but for Velakia. For his wives. For his unborn children. For his Blood. For the Empire.
He once more was reminded of his lack of strength.
No matter how much Raw Vita he had in his body, it still meant nothing in terms of strength.
What he needed Raw Vita for most was the Bloodshard.
And he was still a long way from it.
And even then, choosing a poor True Vita meant it could be all for naught.
But will a good True Vita ever save him if he ever was against a Daughter? Will the best True Vita there is be able to handle the Sanguinarch Order if it ever came to it?
He did not know.
And that… made Blanc afraid.
As such thoughts made his sanity slowly question its integrity, he heard footsteps approaching.
He unsheathed his knife and waited, just in case.
But soon sheathed it once the smell of the person approaching reached his nose before they even reached to knock at the door.
“Come in, Daughter,” Blanc said, moving towards the couch, “The door is open.”
“Thank you, Lord Blanc,” said the Daughter as she opened the door, “Quite the keen senses.”
“Not keen enough, I’m afraid,” Blanc sighed, sitting down on the couch, “Please sit, I’ve prepared tea beforehand.”
“The events of today seem to have put you on edge,” the Daughter mentioned as she approached, this time, not sitting in front of Blanc, but beside him, “Are you frightened of us now, Lord Blanc? Frightened that one day that lump of meat will be you or one you hold dear?”
“It would be foolish not to,” Blanc muttered, pouring tea, “You speak of friendship, yet I do not know anything about the Order, really.”
“Nobody really does,” the Daughter shook her head, “Just as nobody knows everything there is about the person next to them.”
Blanc exhaled, pushing the cup of tea near the Daughter, “I do hate riddles and half-answers. But what I am trying to ask is what will stop you from turning me into pieces when you lose interest in me or what you think I can offer you?”
“Do you think of us as some hidden evil, Lord Blanc?” the Daughter asked.
“Not a hidden evil, per se, but neither a hidden good,” Blanc replied, honestly, “But even a child can understand the Order has its own interests, and after witnessing what I witnessed, I cannot help but wonder what will happen if one day our interests do not align even if the sky were to fall on our head.”
“Even the Order is guilty of the sin of having its own interests, but who does not?” the Daughter asked, “But if such a day ever were to come, I am sure we can do a small favor for our friend, instead of… fighting against each other.”
.
!
Volume Two ; Chapter 86 (302) - A Favor for a Friend
Comments