23| A Gloomy Family History

Lori walked into the room, leaving the door open behind her.

“Ah…” Mel sighed in relief, her hand on her chest as she tried to calm her rapid-beating heart. “You scared me.”

Lori chuckled, her arms crossed across her chest. “There is nothing to be afraid of. It’s alright.”

Mel smiled, unsure why she had been scared in the first place. This chamber was unlocked so there was nothing wrong with going through the rooms in her own house. But a part of her had been worried Bjorn had been the one walking in. It then occurred to her that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to confront him about the night before.

Lori inspected the portraits and Mel broke the silence. “How did you know I was here?”

Mel considered the underground manor was big, and she was very certain she had walked around for quite a long time even if it had sometimes been in circles. There were also occasions where she had gotten lost before she wound up here. But for Lori to pinpoint where she was…

“Oh! It’s nothing much,” Lori answered, coming to stand beside Mel. “I just left Annie a while ago and she said you were somewhere within the manor. She also mentioned something about Bjorn and I had the feeling you were coming here to see him. It was only a guess, but I was certain of it when I could smell your scent in this wing.”

*‘Scent?’* Mel was puzzled. Then, it hit her. *‘Oh, that makes sense for a beast kin.’*

They went silent, eyeing the work of art amongst other masterpieces.

Mel faced the portrait. “How did you meet him?”

“Born? Well, to start with, I wasn’t born in Grime. I was little when my father and I moved here from Gershan, a neighbouring clan. Father married the previous head’s sister, I met Bjorn and we soon became friends.

"He and Dov were already close before my arrival so I became acquainted with both of them… My father and stepmother ended up passing away and Dov’s family took me in.”

Mel opened her mouth to offer her condolences but Lori shook her head with a small smile. “It’s alright. That was many years ago.”

Lori’s smile faded as she eyed Bjorn’s father in the picture, an unreadable expression taking root on her features.

“What was he like?” Mel proceeded to ask, oddly curious about the former head.

Lori paused in thought before speaking. “It’s hard to say. As a clan leader, he was alright. He did the best for his people and took very good care of the clan, but at the same time, he was very rigid, and he had a certain way of doing things. I have no say against his ways, but I didn’t exactly like it.”

She shrugged and then continued, “Bjorn never really liked his father. He just stayed with him for his brother and because of his mother. I don’t know how she was able to cope with him either. Well, his father wasn’t that bad, but for some reason, I couldn’t stand him.” She sighed.

Mel itched to ask about her circumstances and what the Grime clan had in dealings with Urn, but she had a feeling that Lori would tell her what Eustace did; that she should ask Bjorn. Or would Lori tell her that? She was the complete opposite of the reserved Eustace, so maybe—just maybe Lori would tell her everything. If not everything, some parts of it at least.

“Were you—were you here when…” Mel shook her head and took a deep breath, steadying herself as she got the words out properly. She looked up to meet Lori’s gaze. “Do you know why I am wedded to Bjorn?”

“Erm...” Lori nervously averted her eyes. “In a sense, yes. But if you’re asking about what happened that led to the agreement between Grime and Urn, no, I do not know anything about that. Dov doesn’t know either. Only Bjorn knows and he wouldn’t say anything about that time. We stopped asking him over a decade ago. Wasn’t a topic that he was convenient with.”

Mel felt a little dazed at the way Lori casually summed up half of her life. She recalled Annie telling her Lori was in her mid-thirties and she was just reminded how odd it was for her to have a friend this old. Then again, the beat kin lived quite longer than Sprites.

Mel scratched her neck. “My father said he took something from the clan, something very important.”

Lori’s brows creased as her face morphed into a quizzical frown. A light tinge of worry swept through Mel. Maybe Lori did know something? “I don’t know. I never heard any of that.” Mel relaxed and Lori continued, “I do not remember much since I was quite young, but I firmly believe nothing was stolen.

"The only things I know sacred to the clan are the crystal pool and the quiet cavern. Those can’t be taken and even if they happened to be desecrated, there would have been such chaos that no villager would be able to forget.”

It was Mel’s turn to be confused. Had her father lied to her? Why? But something had to have happened for her family to not even be able to attend the ceremony.

Lori spoke up, “If something happened, I don’t believe it was that serious… I could ask—I have tried when I was younger, but most of the older ones aren’t really approaching when it comes to the subject.” Lori looked sadly at Mel. “I am really sorry to leave you in the dark.”

“I understand.” Mel smiled weakly, her eyes returning to the portrait, a slight suspicion tugging at her insides. She stared fixedly at the other boy in the picture. “That is his brother?”

Lori looked at him. “Jacob. Bjorn’s little brother…” She paused and reached forward, running her fingertips across Jacob’s face. She cast a forlorn look at the painting and retracted her hand. “I only knew him for a while. It was sad. He passed away.”

Mel stared at Jacob in silence, the boy’s doe-eyed gaze penetrating hers with an innocent look that filled her with guilt.

*‘Wait, why am I even feeling like this? I didn’t do anything.’*

“I would like to step out.” Mel faced Lori. “Do you want to remain here?”

“Oh. No. I came looking for you.” She smiled, closing her eyes as a nervous chuckle escaped her afterwards. “Bjorn may not even be pleased to see us here.”

Mel straightened. “What?”

But she had met the door open.

“Oh.” Lori opened her eyes, glancing down at Mel. “It’s just a hunch, but yes, we should leave.”

The two women walked out of the chamber and Lori closed the door behind them. She took a few steps forward and stopped when she noticed Mel lingering behind.

“Mel?” Lori softly called out.

“Oh, sorry.” Mel flinched as though snapping out of a daze and met up with Lori. “Do you think that might be why Bjorn dislikes me?”

“What?” Lori blinked, astounded. Why would Mel think that?

“It’s…” Mel paused. Would it be convenient for her to discuss such private matters with Lori? Or maybe Annie would be a better fit. She and Lori were around the same age after all, but Lori probably had more experience, being the married one.

She thought back to her slight argument with Annie and her mood soured, she didn’t feel like discussing this properly with her yet, and Lori knew more about Grime’s customs either way.

“I feel...” Mel continued. “What if his—Jacob’s death had to do with something my father did? Born must—”

“Shush, shush, shush.” Lori was in front of Mel in two large steps, a gentle finger against Mel’s lips, stopping the young woman from going any further. Mel startled and Lori sighed. “Forgive me, but enough of that. This is just the first morning of your wedding and it’s off to a sour start.”

*‘Oh, the irony.’* Mel smiled bitterly and lowered her gaze.

“Enough about this gloomy subject,” Lori hooked her arm through Mel’s and they walked slowly. “I am sure you had a wonderful night with Bjorn.”

Mel stopped walking, pulling Lori to a stop.

“Mel?”

“That is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about,” Mel whispered, removing her arm from Lori’s hold. She wrapped her arms around herself. “Bjorn… we didn’t do anything.” Her voice grew lower with each word and a worried frown coursed Mel’s features.

Lori’s eyes widened. “You didn’t consummate your union?” she asked, perplexed.

Mel looked down, a sour taste in her mouth. Now that she had voiced it out, the annoyance she felt when she woke up that morning returned.

Mel wrapped her arms around herself and walked past Lori, stopping a few steps ahead of her. “I—” She looked back up to face Lori and paused when Lori visibly stiffened.

A dim shadow loomed over Mel from behind and her fingers dug into her arms as Bjorn’s deep voice resonated within the hallway.

“What are you doing here?”

Mel couldn’t exactly pinpoint why, but her irritation soared. She was his wife. She could be anywhere in ‘their’ residence now. What kind of silly question was that? Or was it the fact that he was nonchalantly asking her such a thing after disregarding her presence in the bed-chamber?

Her lips twisted in a frown and she stepped back to turn and face Bjorn. “My lord, there is something I have to discuss with you.”