Vanessa's Father
POV: Alexandra
Vanessa stared at him with her mouth slightly agape, she probably did not know what to think of the news she had just received. She looked over at me, “You knew?” I sighed, “I found out, yes. I encouraged him to tell you. On several occasions might I add. I just didn’t think it was my place to tell you. I hope you aren't mad.” She shook her head, “No, no. Not mad, just surprised that he would confide that in you specifically.” She looked back at the man who just confessed to being her father, “I had been trying to find out for a long time who you were. No one knew except my mother and her father. What took you so long to tell me though? I would think that would have been your first order of business coming back.” He sighed, “I thought, perhaps, you would be angry with me for leaving you to grow up without me. I told your mother that if something should ever happen to me that she should seek out my adopted father, Darren. I was happy to see that she did that and Darren took good care of her. I always knew the Batiste family would bring you into their family should you need it. It was honestly the best advice I could give anyone.” She nodded, “I think I can understand your reasoning but I’m honestly so glad to know my father didn’t abandon me completely. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever meet my father before one of us passed away. She looked around the room, “So, does this mean I’m a princess?” He smiled at her gently, “It does but even if I wasn’t the King of Witches, you’d still be my princess.” She got up and hugged him, “Thank you for telling me. Truly.” He stood up and wrapped his arms around her, “No need to thank me, my dear. I wanted to be in your life no matter what but I’m glad we know each other as father and daughter.”
My uncle cleared his throat, “I suppose that means, sir, that I must do what a gentleman should and ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage. We have been making plans to get married very soon but I don’t want to proceed if I don’t have your blessing.” I stared at my uncle with my eyes wide open, “You’d remain single if Mordred says no? Isn’t that rather archaic now?” Talon shook his head, “Of course, I would love to marry Vanessa but I don’t want to hurt another man if he doesn’t feel she’s in good hands with me.” Mordred chuckled and shook his head, “You need not worry about that Talon. I know for a fact that Alexandra adores you and that says everything I need to know about you. You have my blessing.” Talon looked over at me, “You adore me?” I shrugged, “Well yeah and a lot of it lies in how you treat Vanessa. You’re kind, considerate and loving with her. You always put her first in everything. That is admirable. I also know that you were brave in trying to save our King, Lucien’s father.” Modred nodded, “For those very reasons, you have my blessing…as long as I can escort my beautiful daughter down the aisle.” She hugged him again, “It was going to be Reggie but now that I know you will be there…of course you will give me away.” He pecked the top of her head and stroked her hair, “That being said I do have a gift for each of you gathered here today.” I looked up at him confused and he smiled back at me, “You, as well, Alexandra. Humor me, I know you’ve already received something from but do not fret. It will not be another heirloom. I know you had reservations about that last time.”
He waved his hand and the doors opened and five servants stepped in with wrapped packages. Each servant took a place behind each guest. Modred gestured for the servant behind Lucy to step forward, “Miss Lucy, I understand that you are likely a beast tamer and you have a rabbit familiar as a gift from your soul grandfather. This should help in building your relationship with her.” The servant set the gift in front of Lucy. She opened it to reveal a small collar with a golden bell at the end, “What is it Uncle Mordred?” He smiled, “It is a collar for her. This will boost her powers should you need her some day to keep you safe. It allows her to grow large and boosts her already natural powers. This can also allow her to read your mind which comes in handy should you need her and you cannot call for her. Psychic connection is huge when building a relationship.” He gave me a knowing look and I just sighed. I wasn’t some beast that he had to tame. He nudged me, “Of course you aren’t, dear one. You are more than almost anything in this world to me.” I looked over at Vaness knowing he meant that she was everything to him. Lucy hopped down from her chair and ran over to Mordred and hugged him. He swept her up in his arms and sat down with her on his lap. She kissed him on the cheek, “Thank you Uncle Mordred.” He smiled down at her, “You’re very welcome, sweet girl.”
He looked over at the servant behind Talon, “I hear that you are trying to get back into the Citadel. Is that right?” Talon shook his head, “I think my days of being a soldier are over. I have done some awful things and I don’t think I deserve to serve Vellum.” Mordred smiled, “I think I had figured that one out. On that note, I do hope you will accept my gift. A man needs to have an occupation to feel like he is worthy of his own life.” He gestured for the servant behind him and he laid the small rectangular gift in front of Talon. Talon opened it and inside the box was a ribbon and medal. He looked up at Mordred confused, “What is this?” Mordred smiled, “I am essentially asking you to be my personal guard. As you are going to be my son-in-law, you will be the King Consort of Witches some day. You will need to observe the politics of House of Dark and the witches. What better way to do that than to be by my side.” Talon looked over at Vanessa, “What about Vanessa…wouldn’t she need to know more than me?” Mordred patted Vanessa’s hand on the table, “I know Vanessa is a clever girl and has dealt with witch politics her whole life. The consort needs to be an advisor of sorts. You will need to know a few things and this would set you up for that role.” Talon nodded, “If it benefits Vanessa, I will accept this.” Mordred smiled, “You two can either choose to move here with me or I can come retrieve you from Blackwood daily. You can discuss and get back to me.” Vanessa nodded, “Yeah, I think we do need to make a decision together. Thank you for not demanding an answer about that now.” He smiled at her, “It’s your life, my dear. I wouldn’t want to upend your life like that. You’ve lived it well so far that I don’t think it’s fair for me to throw a wrench in that. On that note.”
He gestured for the servant behind her to bring over the large gift and I knew exactly what it was. He smiled, “I don’t think I need to explain this one. You’ll know exactly what it is when you open it.” She opened it to the grimoire that Modred had shown me before and asked if I thought this would be a good gift for Vanessa. She placed a trembling hand to her mouth and tears began to flow, “This is the most amazing gift I have ever received. I’m so happy, father.” Mordred was taken back from her declaration but probably more so that she called him father. He looked away from her but I saw the blush on his face as he looked at me, “You’re welcome, my dear.” He cleared his throat and regained his composure, “Now then young Ashton. The son we didn’t know existed. You have completed the other half of Alexandra since we found out about you. I would like you to know that you are also recognized by House of Dark as my family and therefore a prince of Lasparia.” The servant placed the small gift in front of him. He opened it and inside was a ring with a constellation insignia, he looked up at Modred, “What’s the constellation?” Modred looked at me then at Ashton, “It is the constellation Gemini. You see, here in Vellum, we witches place a lot of emphasis on the stars and constellations. By having this insignia, any witch that is under my rule will know that you rule the Gemini power. That ring is imbued with the power of the stars Castor and Pollux.” He stared at the insignia for a while before he looked up at Mordred, “Isn’t the Gemini the twin constellation?” Mordred nodded, “It is known for the stars Pollux and Castor, one shining brighter than the other. I think for you two, you both shine brightly so it really isn’t quite accurate.”
Ashton shook his head, “No, I think you’re wrong there, Mordred.” Mordred leaned toward the table, “Oh really? Do tell why you think I am wrong.” Ashton looked at me, “Alexandra is the bright star Pollux, she’s the hope of Vellum and, it seems, Seely as well. I am not as bright but that doesn’t mean I’m of no importance. I think Castor supports his twin star just as I do.” Mordred pursed his lips, “That’s an interesting take but let me ask you this…have you ever spoken to Grand Pretre about your future?” Ashton shook his head, “I haven’t had an occasion to do so, no.” He smirked at Ashton, “Hmm, I think you should. Perhaps Alexandra can set that up for you. It seems that she needs to go see her herself.” He raised an eyebrow at me, “I think you’ll probably see her soon though…if not tomorrow.” I looked at him, “How do you know? Are you also an oracle?” He threw his head back and chuckled, “No, but I do have someone who can see these things.” I crossed my arms across my chest, “Of course you do and I’m guessing my brother has significance to House of Dark. Am I right?” He smirked, “Very astute but I think you should talk to her about it. She can tell you more than I can. We only know that much. I’m curious to see what it is.” I sighed, “Look, she won’t tell me everything either. It goes against the rules.” He set Lucy down, “Why don’t you go back to your seat, sweet child? I would like to speak with your mama now.” She scurried over to her seat and sat down and started playing with the bell on the gift that Modred had given her.
He gave no argument against what I had said; he merely waved at the servant behind me, “Your gift, dear one, benefits everyone at this table. This is perhaps more the safety of all of Vellum. I don’t know exactly how but I’m told that this is absolutely something I need to give you for your destiny.” The servant placed the gift in front of me but Mordred placed his hand over the gift, “Before you open that, I do have a question for you. I know about your conversation with Lucien. I think you aren’t being honest with yourself. I just want to tell you that. We can discuss later if you want but that boy up there…you shouldn’t discount him. It might help you later on to forge a strong bond with him. You have a solid foundation but you could stand to spend a little more time with him. In that vein, I have set up for you two to have dinner tomorrow night outside of the House of Dark. Also that gift, it will likely restore what was lost to him if my theory on your sun god powers are right.” He took his hand away from the gift and I looked up at him, “You won’t interfere with Vanessa’s life but you want to interfere with mine?” He shook his head, “I’m not interfering per se but in some capacity, your relationship with the siblings from Seely will play a big role in your future. It isn’t a love bond I ask you to seek but I ask you to seek something more than just being on acquaintance terms with him. You may think you’re friends right now but I guarantee you have not had enough time with him. Trust me on this, dear one. I think this benefits you as well, though I’m not entirely sure how.” He nodded at the gift, “Please open it.” I picked up the small package and unwrapped it. It was a small ring box. I opened the lid to show another ring with a constellation. I looked at him, “I thought you said no heirlooms, this looks like an heirloom. What constellation is it anyhow?” He smiled, “The constellation insignias are not heirlooms, they are powers royalty have the right to give to those they deem worthy. It is merely a temporary title of sorts. This constellation is called Ophiucus. This is the constellation that contains the sun.”
