Elliot and Allan used hot water to wash up and unwind after a long day at work.
Allan went to the kitchen to help his wife, while Elliot, as usual, sat in a chair reading documents regarding the village, since he is the acting lord of the village. The village itself was a modest but important trading post on the river's edge, with a handful of farms and a bustling weekly market. As acting lord, Elliot had to oversee disputes among villagers, manage the harvests, and ensure the safety of the trade routes, responsibilities that often weighed heavily on his mind.
"Where are the kids, anyway?" Elliot asked, looking around, "Usually Asha and Jon are running wild through the kitchen by now."
"Jon and Luke are upstairs; Leon and the Trio are not home yet," Emma replied, laying down the last set of wooden bowls on the long table.
Just as they were talking about Leon, he entered by kicking the door.
"Leon." Marie was about to scold him for opening the door with his foot.
She saw it—and so did everyone else in the hall. Leon was holding Asha and Herold like stray cats, while Helga sat on his head, tugging his hair. "Big brother is a horse huraa hurra"
Leon dropped Asha and Herold as if tossing a bag; he carefully set Helga down.
"I brought the wild beasts back," Leon grunted, rubbing his scalp where Helga had been mercilessly tugging.
Marie's scolding expression melted into a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. "Leon! You can't just carry them like that and don't kick the door!"
"They were trying to empty my purse, completely ignoring the dinner," dusting off his shirt. "I had to drag Herold and Asha by their collars, or they'd still be waling around market."
"These two were trying to empty my purse and completely ignoring dinner," Leon grumbled, dusting off his shirt. "I had to drag Herold and Asha by their collars, or they'd still be wandering around the market."
Asha hit the floor with a soft thud, immediately rolling to her feet with a bright grin, completely unbothered by the rough transit. "Leon's fast! But he's a terrible horse," she declared, trying to breeze past her mother toward the dining table.
Nip.
With practiced precision, her mother caught her by the ear, pulling her back. Asha's eyes widened for a fleeting second, a flush spreading across her cheeks as she bit down on a grin, trying to mask her embarrassment behind a defiant tilt of her chin. "Why do you torment that poor guy? You know you are eighteen now. At your age, I was already married to your father! Look at you, teaming up with a twelve-year-old and an eight-year-old to pick on this naive guy who's going to become your husband."
Leon paused mid-stretch. "Asha's getting married? To whom? Who's the lucky guy who has to suffer—I mean, who's marrying her?"
As the words left Leon's mouth, the entire hall fell dead silent. Every single pair of eyes turned slowly to fixate on him.
Luke stepped forward, walking over to Leon with a look of profound, solemn pity in his eyes. He gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Brother... the guy is you."
The room went still. Leon's jaw dropped, his eyes went wide, and in that single, horrifying moment of realization... his soul visibly left his body.
The silence stretched so thin you could hear the soup boiling on the stove.
Leon stood frozen like a statue, his mind frantically rewinding through every childhood conversation, every joke, every suspicious nod between their parents over the years.
"Wait." Leon's voice cracked, dropping into pure panic. He blinked rapidly, looking around the room for anyone to tell him it was a terrible prank. "Wait, what? Me? Since when?!"
"Since you were five and she was three, son," Allan said casually, taking his seat at the head of the table and unceremoniously serving himself a generous scoop of stew. "We made the arrangement. Thought you knew."
"Nobody told me!" Leon practically squeaked, clutching his chest.
Asha was still held firmly by her ear. She kicked at the floor, crossing her arms defensively. "Oh, please! Like I'm thrilled about it either! Like who would marry a sloth"
"Sloth, who are you calling a witch?" Leon shot back, pointing a finger at her. "And you just tried to rob me at the market!"
From the corner of the room, Elliot slowly flipped a page of his documents, not even bothering to look up. "Look at the bright side, Leon. As the acting lord, I can confirm the marriage contract is legally binding. Plus, her mother promises to throw in two goats and a milk cow. Solid trade."
"I am not a trade item!" Asha protested, twisting away from her mother's grip.
"You are if you keep spending Leon's copper on baked goods," Marie countered smoothly, giving Asha's shoulder a stern pat before pointing toward the washbasin. "Now go wash your hands, both of you. You can debate your impending doom over dinner."
Herold, still sprawled lazily near the doorway, chuckled softly from the floor. "Congratulations, big brother. You get to spend the rest of your life with your beloved witch"
Leon gave a hollow, defeated laugh, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Luke... tell me I'm dreaming."
Luke patted Leon's shoulder once more, giving it a sympathetic squeeze. "I'd love to, brother. But if you try to run, Mom will just track you down with the hounds. Just eat your stew."
Leon slumped into a wooden chair at the long table, the full weight of his sudden reveal of his betrothal settling heavily on his shoulders. He glanced across the table at Asha, who was currently splashing water at the washbasin with unnecessary vigor, sticking her tongue out at him the second she caught him looking.
A witch indeed, Leon thought bitterly, pulling his bowl of stew toward him with a deep, long-suffering sigh. Dinner was going to be a very long affair.
As the wooden spoons began scraping against the bowls, the tension in the hall slowly dissolved into the cozy warmth of mealtime—though Leon still stared into his stew as if searching for answers at the bottom of the bowl.
As the wooden spoons began scraping against the bowls, the tension in the hall slowly dissolved into the cozy warmth of mealtime—though Leon still stared into his stew as if searching for answers at the bottom of the bowl.
"So," Allan broke the silence, tearing off a thick chunk of crusty bread. "When do you reckon we should set the date, Elliot? I think it would be better after Leon attends the Royal Academy's entrance exam"
The sudden mention of the Royal Academy made every one in the table silent. Then Allan opened his mouth again, " Leon, as you wished you I decided to send you to attend the Royal Academy's entrance exam"