Legacy, Chapter 4: Greetings and Beginnings
Seriously need a different name for this chapter. It doesn’t quite capture the essence of what’s going on. Except it does. Except it doesn’t. Except.... Blech.
Anyway, in this chapter (and the one to follow) everything starts to come together. People who need to meet, meet. Conflicts that need to be set up are set up. Etc, etc.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. And regardless, I hope this chapter of Legacy makes your day a bit brighter.
Ignoring the oppressive silence as best as she was able, Damaera gazed out the window nearest her. Velestri Manor should be visible any time. As she finished the thought, the peaks of a large, rambling roof appeared over the treetops. Shortly after, the carriage turned to pass between two wide open gates; the intricate scrollwork held her attention until Rain gasped.
“I didn't realize it would be so large.” The girl's voice sounded small in the enclosed space. Her elder sister squeezed her hand in comfort.
“Nonsense. The Velestris are an old line dating back to the Thunian Empire. Their home reflects their lineage's age.” Enrich dismissed his daughter's concern.
That doesn't help her feel better. Damaera studied the imposing edifice of weathered stone. Three stories above ground, two wings could be seen branching off the main entry with a forest disappearing into the eastern distance and orchards, vineyards, and farms to the west. “On the plus side,” she smiled at her sister, “there's bound to be a place for all your books.”
Veronique perked up. “True. Even the books we've had to place in your father's study or in the back parlor would fit here.”
“Do you think I'll be able to bring them all?” Rain squeezed Damaera's hand before letting go. “That would be nice, to have them all in one place.”
The elder sister's smile turned mischievous. “Of course you can. You'll be living here after all.” Damaera leaned in closer as the carriage slowed to a stop. She waited until her father disembarked and reached for her mother. Her smile then turned coldly threatening, “And if you can't, I'll have a nice chat with Lord Velestri.”
“Damaera!” Rain's scandalized exclamation pulled their parents' attention.
“Come along, girls. We're already late; let's not keep our hosts waiting.” Madam Lacenore gestured for her daughters to follow while her husband reached in and handed them out of the carriage.
Keeping the girls between himself and the carriage to avoid any curious eyes, Ernich leaned close so as not to be overheard. “Remember what I said. Mind your manners.” He looked sternly at Rain. “That means no magic, or mention of magic, from you.” Then he glowered at Damaera. “And that means you will mind your tongue and remember your purpose here.” He stepped back and gestured the ladies of his family ahead of him to the door.
Rain looked down and nodded dejectedly before following. She kept her eyes locked on the ground until she heard Damaera rush to catch up with her.
Damaera, infuriated all over again, whispered to her sister, “Don't listen to him, Rain. Your magic is a gift, and anyo—!”
“Just stop, D.” Voice thickened with tears, the younger stopped the older before she could get started. “Not now. I just want this party to go smoothly.”
The half-elf drew a deep breath and breathed it out in a steady exhale to calm her temper. When she could speak again, she promised, “For you? Anything.”
“Thanks, D.” Blue eyes cleared of their melancholy once Damaera made her pledge to Rain. She never breaks a promise.
“Let's go.” Gently, Damaera led Rain to the door. Once this party is over, all bets are off. And Light save the Velestri family, or mine, if they think to hurt my sister in any way.
Once the Lacenore family entered and were announced, the older couple left the girls to mingle with their peers. Veronique explained and admonished in one breath. “We're going to greet Lord Velestri; we'll find you once that's done. Behave.”
Damaera rolled her eyes at her parents' departing backs. “What shall we do while they monopolize your groom's time?” She scanned the room in an attempt to find the food and drink that was always part and parcel to events like this. I need to eat soon.
“I don't know.” Rain's bright blue eyes widened. Uh-oh. She grabbed her sister's hand and started walking. “You haven't eaten since last night; let's find the refreshments.” Damaera happily followed her sister's lead.
The refreshments table was stocked with everything a nobleman or noblewoman could possibly desire to please their palate. Consequently, it held absolutely nothing Damaera wanted. “What are these things?” She poked what looked like bread pieces with a long-handled fork placed on the bread's serving plate. Who needs a fork for bread?
Rain sighed, exasperated. We've been here for ten minutes. I thought she was hungry. She grabbed the fork from her sister's hand and placed a couple of pieces on her sister's plate. “Don't be a food snob, D.” Scooping some dip onto the plate, she continued, “This is a late morning event. That means the food is prepared and presented as snacks, not meal courses.”
“I'm not a food snob!” Damaera scanned the people around them, then surreptitiously smelled the dip. “This is green, Rain. I thought green food was bad unless it was leafy.”
“Damaera!” The younger sister drawled her sister's name in vexed amusement. “Just eat it.”
“Fine.” The half-elf girl picked a bite up with her fingers and dabbed it gently into the dip. “If this is disgusting, I'm going to faint dramatically right here.”
“Of course you will. Everything you do is dramatic.” The younger sister's deadpan tone contrasted with the smile starting to turn up the corners of her mouth.
Nibbling daintily at her food, Damaera groaned in surprise. “This is really good!” She noticed Rain's smile. “Shush. How was I supposed to know green meant good here?”
A raspy soprano answered the older girl; the voice most definitely did not belong to the younger sister. “If you bothered to attend these gatherings with your parents and sister, Miss Lacenore the Elven, you'd know.” Two years Damaera's junior, Melissandra Schrader and her group of hangers-on often took it upon themselves to make the half-elf as miserable as possible during the social functions she couldn't escape. Despite the event being held in the younger Lacenore daughter's honor, this function was no different.
Rain closed her eyes in defeat. I thought we'd avoided her! The younger sister shivered as she noticed how the youngest son of Lord and Lady Schrader, Yves Schrader, gazed at her sister as if she was his to possess. Then he licked his lips, and she gagged. Ew! That's disgusting! She waited in torn desperation for her sister's reaction. Part of Rain wanted her sister to unleash her temper on the young adults around them, especially the Schraders. Another part knew Damaera would do no such thing because she'd promised no more conflict today. Isa 'Rain' Lacenore waited anxiously to see what would happen.
I promised Rain. Fighting her temper and the urge to pull her dagger on the Schrader's son—dress be damned—Damaera opted to beat the group at their own subtly derogatory game. Her demeanor turned just mocking enough to be insulting. “Hello, Melissandra. I'd say it was nice to see you again, but my mother taught me not to lie.” She casually nibbled some more at her bread and dip. Ok, maybe not so subtle.
Miss Melissandra Schrader had approached looking to provoke a fight, and she had enough experience interacting with the half-elf to know just how to strike. The brunette turned glacier blue eyes to the gaggle of young ladies and gentlemen who sought to follow her lead, finding her own sense of power in turn. Shrugging as if she hadn't expected Damaera's verbal riposte to amount to much and that even her low expectations hadn't been met, she asked her sycophants, “What can you expect from the spawn of elves?” Tittering laughter from the surrounding young nobility dug the rhetorical knife deeper.
Damaera stiffened at the other woman's blatantly bigoted remark before forcing herself to relax again. I'll show you what to expect from elf-bloods! The older Lacenore ran her sharp gaze from the top of Melissandra Schrader's head to the bottom of her shoes and back again in a scathing inspection that brought an indignant flush to the other woman's cheeks.
Smirking, Damaera looked to her younger sister. “Didn't we see that same style of dress on Monique Marraquette last week?” She looked back to the second daughter of Lord and Lady Schrader before continuing with a distinct bite. “I must say, the design has much more flair with bold colors.” She nonchalantly swept a hand along her skirts drawing attention to its color, the boldest of any garment in the group. Maybe Mother's choice wasn't so off after all. Then she turned away with a triumphant smile knowing she'd hit where it would hurt most: the other woman's vanity; her dress was pastel pink.
In a fit of pique, Melissandra stepped forward and attempted to grab Damaera by her arm. The half-elf evaded her easily. She stared menacingly until the human woman backed down. “C'mon, Rain. I'm sure Mother and Father are looking for you.” The older sister took her younger sister by the hand and led her away.
Unbeknownst to any of them, a young maid who had been replacing a sweets tray on the table witnessed the entire thing. She made her way over to Bedivere. “Sir, there was an incident involving my lord's fiancee and her sister.” At his raised brows, she relayed the entire series of events leaving out only the elder sister's contempt for the food. Nodding, the old castelain waved her back to her duties.
Bedivere scanned the crowd looking for the leader of the Velestri family. Finding Lord Verad standing with Lord Aluan and the Lacenore girls' parents, he approached and waited to get the elder brother's attention; he got the younger brother's instead. “Excuse me, my lord.” He gestured for Aluan to step away for a moment.
“What is it, Bedivere?” Aluan kept his gaze on Verad and Ernich and his wife. Something is off about them. He'd been trying to solve that puzzle for most of the fifteen minutes since they'd arrived. The younger Velestri had barely noticed Bedivere's arrival because he'd been so focused on ferreting out what bothered him about the Lacenore parents.
“The young ladies had an encounter with the Schrader siblings.”
That got Aluan's attention. “What kind of encounter?”
“Nothing the half-elf girl couldn't handle, but I thought it was better to let Lord Verad know sooner than later.” The elderly castelain sniffed softly. “Master Schrader was rather indiscreet in his admiration of the elder Miss Lacenore's person while Miss Schrader attempted to get physical. Miss Laccenore ignored the boy, evaded the girl, stared her down, then drew her sister away.”
Both Schraders? Black brows twitched towards Aluan's hairline. And Yves was his usual disgusting self. The brows came crashing back down into a formidable scowl before disappearing.
Bedivere recognized the brief change in expression for the amazement and revulsion it represented. “Perhaps if Lord Verad meets with his fiancee and her sister, the Schraders will find something else with which to amuse themselves.”
Nodding, the younger brother stepped back in to the conversation the castelain had pulled him from while Bedivere returned to his duties. Veronique was just excusing herself and her husband to mingle with the other guests. Both noblemen said the appropriate pleasantries before the Lacenores entered the crowd.
Touching Verad's elbow, Aluan indicated they should step back toward the wall behind them where there were less people. Once there, and he was certain no one was paying attention to them, he warned, “We have a problem.”
Verad shifted his gaze from the guests in front of them to his brother. “What kind of problem?”
“Apparently, Melissandra and Yves have decided the Lacenore sisters are fair game.” Aluan kept scanning the area around them.
“How so?” Green eyes hardened. I never wanted to marry, but the contract's signed. I'll be damned if I let Melissandra's pettiness make this situation more awkward or difficult than it needs to be.
“You know Yves.” At the taller man's curt nod, the younger continued, “And Melissandra has carried a torch for you since she was at least seventeen.”
“Like that was ever going to happen.” Verad murmur barely reached Aluan's ears.
Lord Aluan shrugged indifferently. He speaks the truth. The Schraders don't have the lineage we need. He turned the situation relayed to him by Bedivere over in his mind. What could possibly have attracted Melissandra to the half-elf daughter?
“What happened?” The older man looked at the younger questioningly. It's not like Aluan to withhold important information from me. Cocking his head to the side, he asked, “Was Isa the target?”
“What? No.” Pulling himself from his thoughts, Aluan explained, “It was the half-elf, Damaera. Isa seemed to be caught in the crossfire.” He continued as Verad sighed in relief, “Melissandra made some crude comments about elf-blooded children, and Damaera essentially played on her vanity to provoke her into a physical reaction.” Aluan shook his head slightly. The girl is clever. Melissandra rarely makes mistakes like that, and she never backs down.
Verad felt he was on tenterhooks waiting to find out how the situation resolved. “Well, what happened? A fight hasn't broken out so I trust nothing came of it.”
“Nothing came of it. Isa's sister intimidated Melissandra, Yves, and their usual clique into backing down.” Finally catching sight of Ernich and Veronique with two young women he assumed were their daughters, Aluan focused Verad's attention on the Lacenore sisters.
Lord Verad shook his head. The half-elf girl is far more brash than I expected. Catching his brother's gesture, he saw the Lacenores near the door of the ballroom-cum-reception room. As he watched, the parents left the sisters alone again. “I'll introduce myself. That should be enough to warn the Schrader siblings off.” His younger brother nodded in agreement. I hope Isa's nothing like her sister.
The groom-to-be strode away. Where are the Schr—….There they are. Verad made certain to pause and adjust his cuffs in Yves' and Melissandra's lines of sight to catch their attention before continuing on to the petite blond he was engaged to.
The half-elf sister became aware of him first. She's ethereally beautiful. He caught his steps just before he would've stumbled. That would've ended badly. Her green eyes completed a quick inspection of him from his head to his toes before glaring at him in warning. I should really introduce her to Aluan. Oil and water and all that. The idea brought him more amusement than it probably should have. Verad saw his private amusement did not sit well with the older sister.
“This is a beautiful home, D. I mean I know it's creepy, and so big...”
A pleasant alto chattering away nervously pulled him from fantasies of watching his infuriatingly calm brother losing his shit because of the daring, headstrong woman before him. Verad arched a brow slightly in query. If she's waiting for me to interrupt her sister, she'll be waiting a long time.
After a moment, D, as her sister called her, apparently decided he passed her test; she nudged the platinum blond beside her. “Rain.” She watched him watch her sister.
As beautiful as Damaera was, due in no small part to the robustness of her elven heritage—half-elf children had become a rarity since the elves left centuries ago, Isa Lacenore took his breath away.
Rain stumbled to a halt in mid-sentence, much to her sister's amusement. A tall, handsome man with black hair and green eyes stood before them. He spoke before she could recover.
“Good morning. I'm glad you arrived; we were beginning to worry.”