The day of the trial has come faster than expected. And Amadeo followed Baldwin’s orders to dress up well and to get his hair done properly. Now, Amadeo stood straight next to his new father in his best posture, well dressed and his mind tightly closed. And he could feel the velvet-like strokes on his mind as Baldwin spoke. Amadeo couldn’t tell which one of the family members tried to pry into his mind, but he could feel that one or some tried to be subtle about it. But Amadeo stood his ground. His walls had gotten stronger since he was here. In Rome, he practiced his skills for survival, but in Sept Tours, he trained his skills for acceptance and to make Baldwin proud. Amadeo wanted to become useful, and despite all the training in combat and swordfighting, Amadeo knew that his biggest weapon was his mind. And Baldwin practiced that with him too.
For a split second, Amadeo broke eye contact to look over his shoulder at Baldwin. With the soothing hands on his shoulders, he turned his head back to look at the council. All muscles in the body of the young vampire were tense, and his tension only increased when his father left to sit on the empty chair, and Philippe’s strong voice echoed through the room. Without any sign of fear or hesitation, Amadeo stepped forward as he had been told to. He stopped at a respectful distance and kept his amber-coloured eyes on the Patriarch. Only when he was told to convince the council of his strength, Amadeo bowed his head a little bit.
❝First of all, I want to thank you, Sieur, and your family for the hospitality and the trust you put into me for allowing me to stay in your lovely home for these ten days. And I do hope that I didn’t interrupt someone’s peace. If I did, I apologize.❞ For a split second, he looked over to Matthew, who always seemed apprehensive about him, but maybe it was not directed toward Amadeo but Baldwin. This was something the fledgling couldn’t know. ❝My Maker did not teach me how to fight; he did not teach me war. He was a scholar, and so I came here to this place with the education of a scholar. No words of mine can convince you of my strengths and the worth to the family. I can tell you now that I never lacked the will to survive and that I never lacked loyalty, but what do words matter when I can just lie through my teeth to get a place here I might not even deserve. I will not beg or plead; I will give you all something else to base your decision on, something I cannot lie about.❞
Amadeo focused on Philippe’s eyes. And suddenly, Amadeo’s pupils dilated and swallowed his orange-amber colour. He could feel the pressing urge of some of the family members to protect their patriarch. Even though it was no more than the flinch of a muscle, Amadeo grasped the hooks he could find and forced the family members to stay seated. Even if they wanted to pounce at him to stop him, they wouldn’t be able to do so. For mere seconds, he looked at them, then his gaze lingered on Philippe again. The Patriarch was ancient and powerful. Amadeo had never seen someone as old as him, and the hook to his mind was almost non-existent. There was a tiny one, almost invisible, but Amadeo could feel it. His mind grasped onto the very fragile little hook and within a mere second, he pulled Philippe’s mind into his own. He wouldn’t invade Philippe’s mind; there wasn’t even an attempt to do so. Amadeo let Philippe into his most vulnerable region of himself. The walls around Amadeo’s mind were still up so that no other family member could see the things he was now showing the Patriarch. Amadeo brought Philippe to his twelve-year-old mortal self. Arun, who was sold to slavers on a ship. Physically abused, prepared to be a body slave. He showed Philippe the fragments of his three-year torture, shipped and sold from one pleasure house to the other, abused by more men than the mortal mind could count. Young Arun seemed to disassociate, refused to speak, but the boy never cried. He brought Philippe to Venice when Marius came to the Venetian brothel where the young Arun had refused to eat for days, but his body fought hard for survival. He showed Philippe the family he once had, the fatal fever the boy now called Amadeo suffered, and how his body once again refused to die and healed when Marius giving him vampiric blood to overcome this sickness. Happiness lasted for a couple of years until a reckless affair with a red-haired Earl of Harlech, who, in his obsession to get Amadeo to himself, slaughtered two innocent children in the Palazzo. Amadeo, who got himself between the raging Lord and his innocent brothers, fought a man much taller and broader than him. Amadeo got injured by daggers. A deep cut on his cheek was the most prominent. Amadeo let Philippe feel the pain; he let the Patriarch see how he won the swordfight against the Lord with a strong will to protect his family. And with that, the rest of his story followed: the poison that killed his body, his turning, the few months of being a newborn vampire, the invasion of the Roman coven, his attempts to fight and protect his family just to be thrown into the fire with them, his abduction and the torture and starvation in Rome. Philippe saw the incident of a vampire throwing the ashes of innocent children in Amadeo’s face and how Amadeo ripped the head off so swiftly. He saw Santino and his rat-whispering abilities, the underground coven; he saw everything Amadeo saw until Baldwin rescued him. Philippe even saw their first few nights together before Amadeo let go of the hook and guided Philippe’s mind out of his own. At the same time, he released the grasp on some other family members and his eyes got back to normal. Keeping vampires so much older than him on their seats by force and leading Philippe through his mind has taken a toll on Amadeo’s strength, but he still stood tall and straight.
❝I have no secrets from you anymore, Sieur. This is me with all my strength, flaws, and wrongdoings. But I do swear that my loyalty to family has never wavered. And I give my life to protect those I swear loyalty to. No matter which decision you will rule out, I will accept and bow my head. And yet, I will never regret showing you everything and putting my trust in you. Because I know, Sieur, your verdict will be made for your family. ❞
After saying those words, he remained silent so the family could speak their verdict. Amadeo’s eyes moved from Baldwin to Philippe’s wife. Ysabeau’s verdict surprised him even though he didn’t show it, but with Matthew’s consent, Amadeo couldn’t quite hide the surprise in his eyes. One by one, they consented, and by the end Philippe stood in front of Amadeo.
❝Yes, Sieur. I will obey your orders. My life is dedicated to keeping the family safe. Thank you, Sieur.❞ Amadeo bowed his head politely, but he kept his strength until everyone but Baldwin had left. This was when all the tension fell from his shoulders. He nearly ran over to Baldwin and crashed into him. Amadeo held onto Baldwin’s garments while his knees started trembling a little. He strained his body, and now that tension was gone, he could feel it. His head was throbbing, and a small trail of blood ran out of his left nostril, but it didn’t matter.
❝Thank you, father. For now, I am just relieved that I am allowed to stay and that I did not bring shame and disappointment to your doorstep. I was certain that Matthew does not want me here and that some of the others will follow him.❞ Amadeo sighed softly and quickly told Baldwin what he did when all the others only watched Amadeo staring down Philippe with black eyes. ❝I was worried I couldn't show him my mind in private. But I’m glad it worked.❞ Amadeo wiped his nose with the back of his hand and smiled up at Baldwin. He felt so dizzy. His head felt like exploding but he wanted to keep it together. ❝I vow to you that from now on, I will officially be your obedient son. I want to make you proud. You risked it all for me.❞
