The Envoy's Daughter
My mother had always let me sleep on days when I had no school but today, apparently, was different. She burst into my room and opened the curtains on my windows. I groaned as the sunlight hit my face, “Vampires don’t like sunlight mother!” My mother crossed the room to stand at my bedside and crossed her arms and crooked her eyebrow, “Xan, that is very much a human myth. Obviously that man didn’t go over what exactly is wrong with human lore. You’re still woefully ignorant.” I slowly rose my head up from my pillow and raised my arm over my head to stretch. As I yawned, I said, “Give Daddy a break, he had a lot to push on me last night and I’m not even sure I really have processed it all honestly. Is there something wrong with me that I didn’t freak out right away?” My mother took the stern look off her face to chuckle, “Likely the old man’s doing, I don’t think it’s worn off yet. If I know you, you’ll freak out sooner or later. I just hope it is before we are set to receive the Envoy’s daughter. We don’t need you shrieking about the house like the Vellinian Banshees when she arrives.” She said this as I was wiping sleep from eyes, “Hold up. Vellinian Banshees? That’s a thing? And what time are we expecting this guest?” The stern look reappeared on her face, “We’re expecting her around noon today and yes, Xan it does. I can see we’re going to have to somewhat educate you on Vellum before we send you off to school there.” I swung my legs out of bed but slumped over, “Anyhow, I will try to schedule my freak out at a convenient time so as not to embarrass the family. Wouldn’t want to explain to some random girl coming here that I just learned I was a vampire or anything. Wait, I’m a vampire! What the hell!” My mother sat next to me on the bed and swung her arm around me and placed the other hand on my shoulder, “There it is. I’m here, little rose. I mostly showed up thinking it was bound to happen sooner or later.” She held me as all the revelations of the night before had flashed through my mind, I don’t know when the tears came but they came fast and hard. Through my sobs I asked, “Why is this happening to me? I didn’t ask to be special!” My mother cooed in my ear, kissed my cheek and wiped away the tears. She had a tender side that I’m not sure came out to many people, mother came off as a hardened badass. That being said, she was always there to be the tender shoulder to cry on and the cheerleader to root me on when I need it. We clashed a lot because my mouth gets me into trouble with her but at the end of the day the woman is my mother and a mother will always be soft with her child when they’re upset...at least in my case.
It then dawned on me that she was complicit in the withholding and deceit and I wasn’t ready to be with anyone who, at that moment, I felt betrayed me. I know, it seems petty but think about how your whole life is a lie and the people who made it that way are the ones who are supposed to be straight with you even if the truth hurts. At that point, I didn’t understand the parts of the conversation last night that they had done all of what they did to protect me. At that moment the pain I had and the denial of the reasons they did it, I shoved my mother away from me and ran out of my room, down the stairs and out to the swing that was mounted on the large tree in front of the manor. This was always my place to think, the place I almost always went when I had fights with my father. I sat there running through all that was revealed to me the night before, rolling it within my head over and over. I must’ve sat there for hours and had been really in my head because I didn’t hear the gates open or see the girl walk up to me. She nervously cleared her throat, “Hi, I’m Jesslynne but you can call me Jess. You must be The Batiste. Are you okay? You look awfully sad.” As she said this, she gently placed her hand on my shoulder. I looked up to find a short slender girl, she had platinum blonde straight hair and deep blue eyes almost like the depth of the blue ocean. I tried to smile at her, “Oh you know, I just learned what I truly am last night and I’m not exactly processing it well. My name is Alexandra but you can call me Xan. You must be the Envoy’s daughter.” I held out my hand to shake hers but when she grabbed it she didn’t shake it. She turned my hand and placed her forehead on it. I looked at her confused, “Forgive me, I forget my dad told me that you likely don’t know about Vellum customs. Since you have been officially recognized as the heir to the Duchy, it is customary to either place one’s forehead or lips on the back of the hand of the future Duchess. It shows respect and is sort of like a wish for a blessing from The Batiste.” I nodded, “Oh okay, so is there anything I must do to bestow the blessing?” She smiled at me, “Oh yes, The Batiste will then need to say something like ‘my well wishes’ or some such thing. You can probably observe when I do this with your father. Speaking of which, I will need to speak with Duke Reginald when I arrive inside. I know this seems impertinent but could you please show me the way?” Her voice was quite and mousy which goes against what I ever thought a lycan would sound like. Her arrival sort of put me at ease with the revelation because I could feel within me that she would become my first true friend.
I hopped off the swing walked forward and turned to smile at her, “Oh it isn’t impertinent. I’m not used to the customs of our world so I am likely not get offended. You’ll find that father isn’t so stiff either but word of warning around my mother. She is everything by the book, militant almost.” She nodded and then I turned around to lead her inside where we found ourselves in front of the study. I could hear my father, mother and grandfather talking as I rose my hand to knock. My hand froze in the air as I heard mention of my name. My mother was speaking, “We need to talk about Xan, the glamour wore off that dad placed on her last night. She shoved me and ran outside. I let her have her space but she needs to get it together before the Kellen girl gets here.” My father spoke next, “Talia, please be reasonable Xan has grown up her entire life believing she was human. It’s likely she feels like we betrayed her for now. If I know my baby girl, she will eventually see that everything we did was for her own protection.” It was at that point that I felt it would be best to knock on the door so that Jess would not hear about why they protected me. I heard my father say sternly, “Come in Xan.” As I opened the door, I could see my father leaning against a bookshelf my mother with her hands on the settee and my grandfather in his chair by the fireplace imbibing in a small glass of Scotch. I gestured to Jess who had filed into the room beside me, “Father, Mother, Grandfather, this is Jesslynne Kellen, daughter to the Envoy as you have expected.” My mother turned with shock on her face that I was able to introduce a guest properly. She was likely expecting a snarky comment as usual but I wanted to lull her into a false sense of security before unleashing my revenge. Jess crossed the room to my father who held his hand out to her and she in turn repeated the gesture that she had done to me earlier. My father spoke, “My best of wishes upon you and your house.”
With that she relaxed and smiled, “I was told to see you directly, Your Grace. My father has a report to you and asks if it would be not improper if I should give it to you verbally.” My father gestured to the settee and sat on his chair by the fire, “I will hear it but please excuse me first.” My father then announced, “I will need the room.” With that my mother and grandfather motioned to leave the room, I guess it was my queue to go as well. I turned to leave when father said, “Xan, you may stay. As of last night, you are in training of sorts to become Duchess. You will be receiving all reports that I receive from now on along with my responses. Please sit in your grandfather’s chair.” I walked across the room from the door and sat in the chair. It felt weird because of my eighteen years of life, I had never been allowed to sit in either of the chairs by the fire. “These are chairs of honor and our thrones within our home,” they both would say. That meaning now dawned on me, they were dukes in a foreign land that they had control over. These were technically their thrones and now one of them sort of belonged to me. This made me feel powerful as I sat down as gracefully and regally as possible. My father looked at me amused, knowing the meaning of why I was acting such a way. He spoke again, “I can see you got over it rather quickly Xan. Falling into your role with grace and dignity? But to the matter at hand.”
He turned to Jess, “Ms. Kellen, please give your report from your father.” She shifted nervously in her seat and then fiddled with the edge of her shirt. Observing this, I spoke, “Are you okay Jess? You seem to be getting paler by the minute.” She sighed, “Well, I’m not sure if what I’m about to say will be well received and I hate to be the bearer of the news that my father has entrusted of me to deliver.” I leaned forward and patted her shoulder, “My father is very patient so please take your time and breathe.” Father got out of his seat and crossed the room to the mini bar, “Ms. Kellen, would you like a drink? I believe this might ease your mind if you can feel a little more at home here. After all, I don’t expect you to remain formal your entire summer here.” Jess furrowed her brow, “Your Grace, as much as I appreciate the gesture. I don’t drink alcohol.” I giggled, “Jess, daddy is offering a glass of water or a soda. He’s well aware of the customs here.” She blushed, “Oh! My apologies Your Grace, I don’t mean to offend you. I would love a Pepsi if you have one.” He nodded, “Those are Xan’s favorites so we keep a steady stock of them in this house. I’m not offended either. I can see you are very nervous but please be at ease. Living on Terre for so long, we here at Blackwood are very laid back...well except for Talia. I warn you about her, if she weren’t a Pyrio I would wonder if she was a demon. The woman is passionate.” I giggled again, “You say passionate, I say eternally pissed off. I’ve already warned her.” Father came back to his chair holding two glasses of iced soda and handed them to both of us and turned on his heel to go grab his glass of Scotch. As father settled into his chair, he asked, “Now Jess, I believe Xan called you, please let us know in your own times what it is that you have to report. She took a large gulp of the drink, sighed and opened her mouth, “Well, Your Grace, it’s about the negotiations with the President...”
