"That stupid, inconsiderate prick!" Lunivette couldn't stand the thought of seeing that man again. Orion... Where the hell did the innocent little boy go that she remembers from all those years ago?
Oh, wait, she knows.
Long gone and now carved by death and destruction himself; that's where the little boy went to.
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." Her fingers ran through her hair, and she paced around the store. There were so many questions running through her mind, she didn't know which trail to follow first.
How was this possible?
Why now, after all this time?
What would happen to the bakery? To Asena and Lyra? To her brother?
That stupid, arrogant man!
Lunivette had to pause her thinking as they were now entering ideas that could mean treason if she spoke them aloud. There wasn't anything that she could do to avoid seeing Orion the next day, but there was something about what he said as he was leaving that never quit replaying itself. What exactly did he mean by there's much to learn about her new home?
She scoffed at the arrogance he had, already making it seem like she was gonna go with him. Still, though, the overall message was there, and no matter how hard she tried, her curiosity was winning this battle. And she knew just the person who could answer her questions.
Hopefully.
Grabbing the letter, she took off down the road, opposite of the inn. The sea breeze carried her to the portside, and she kept her pace quick. Small groups of people gathered around various buildings and light posts, with the occasional courtesan on a doorway or gazing out a window, humming a soft tune. Counting down the houses, she made one final turn towards the Naval training grounds.
Three. Two. One.
It was the second-to-last house before the gate, and Lunivette jumped for joy when she saw a light on in the bay window. Naval Commander Alderon Montclair. He was known throughout the village as a hometown hero and was part of the same chain of command as Lunivette's father before his passing. When her mother had passed, the last thing she was told was to keep her brother safe and stay with her father and the naval fleet. She still remembers the first time she met the commander:
It was during the rainy season, and on that particular day, the rain had been nonstop for almost a week. She had just closed the bakery early to take care of her younger brother when the door opened, and the gentleman walked in with a somber look. Lunivette didn't need to ask who it was, as the year prior, she had lost her mother and was all too familiar with the look in his eyes. The only thing that made this man different from the ones before was the red marks that covered half of the man's face and hid behind an eye patch.
"Hi sweetie, is your mommy here?" He had knelt to her level and tried to have a soothing voice.
"No, mommy went to sleep, and when she didn't wake up, they took her away." Lunivette watched the man with a curious gaze. "I'm a big girl, though, you can tell me. My brother is still too small to really talk on his own."
The man took in the sight of the girl covered in flour with dried batter sticking to her hair. "Your daddy is going to be your mommy, little one. They will be in a faraway place, but I told them that I would care for you. Do you want to get your brother and live with me?"
Lunivette stood outside the door for a while, replaying the day Alderon took them into his care. It was a peaceful time, and that was around the same time the taunting came to an end. Apparently, being under the care of the surviving commander and the daughter of the late war hero of the Water Dragon campaign did wonders to improve her life a bit. She knocked twice on the handle when the head butler, Valorn, opened the door.
"Good evening, Miss. Wildinghem. Are you looking for Sir Montclair? He's in the study down the hall."
"Thank you, Mr. James."
Making her way through the empty hall, she took in various portraits of herself and her younger brother, which showed them aging through the years. The last one before the hall was of the two of them, her sitting on a chair in clothing that didn't seem like hers, with her brother standing to the side. Even at the ripe age of twelve, he was taller by a hair if that. That was the last time, though, they had a portrait done as he left the next year to join the academy to be a royal knight. What would it take to turn back time?
Entering the study, Lunivette took in the sight of the man who took her in, staring out the window with a pipe in hand. He looked tired, with the weight of the world on his shoulders and no one else to help him. She knew he could see her in the reflection, so there was no need to try sneak up on him like she did the past.
"Not gonna try and fool me, Lunivette? You wound my old heart." He placed a hand on his chest and wiped a non-existent tear from the patch.
"I could if you want to, commander." Lunivette laughed at the dramatics of the old man and took a seat in one of the chairs. "I actually have something to discuss with you regarding Duke Orion."
The mention of the duke caused Alderon to heave a heavy sigh. Seems like he was also aware of Orion's presence.
"Ah, yes. He's been making rounds at the training grounds and causing a ruckus with the younger knights in training." Alderon sat in the chair opposite of Lunivette and eyed the letter in her hand. "I have a feeling I know what you are here for."
She nodded slowly and slid the letter to him. "I want to know more about my family and why now. I know my mother, and I have the looks of the ancient mages from the Ivorian Duchy, and I know that I have magic within me; you've seen it before we agreed I never use it." Lunivette took a deep breath and sighed. "What does the duke want with me?"
Alderon kept his silence for a moment, and she could see the thoughts going through his head. Whatever it was, she had a feeling it went far beyond what she knew and was in place long before she was born.
"You are correct, on both you and your mother having the same appearance as the ancient mages." Alderon paused before he continued. "She was the only daughter of the High Mage in the Ivorian territory."
The door opened with James carrying a tray of tea. A faint, comforting scent of apples drifted from the kettle and filled the study- softly sweet, warm, and barely spiced. It was one of Lunivette's favorites besides a hot cocoa with gingerbread spices. James was rather quick, and once the drinks were on the table, he made his leave, and it was just them once again.
"They still exist? The Ivorian mages?" That caught her attention, especially now that she knows who her mother was, who she is.
"Yes, they are very much alive. When I sailed with your father, he told me stories about the Ivorian mages and how your mother was connected to the royal family and the former emperor of Ivor when it was still its own empire." Alderon smiled at whatever memory he thought of when he mentioned her father. "The biggest thing that I still remember to this day, and is part of the reason why I took you and Kaelar in, was because of your mother's gift and the old Ivorian laws. When your mother fled Ivor and married your father, she failed to mention that she was supposed to marry the former emperor, as his wife had passed during childbirth to the current grand duke. It was one of the oldest traditions in Ivor- should the empress pass, the firstborn daughter of the High Mage shall take her place. What wasn't spoken until she was pregnant with you," Alderon paused and took a long drink, "was why she fled the empire. She revealed that during the wedding ceremony of the emperor and empress, there was a vision of a High Mage's daughter and an Ivorian knight bringing peace to the land and bringing the end of the dark mages. While the girl looked like your mother, she knew it was her daughter and the child of the emperor and empress. So when the empress gave birth to a boy, your mother fled."
Lunivette nodded along to what Aldeorn was telling her. This was everything she needed to know, minus what the letter was actually going to tell her. If anything, this would make it easier to process the demand of that prick and what to do with the bakery.
"By the time the High Mages, Ivorian council, and the former emperor found your mother, she had already been married to your father and was pregnant with you. It was then agreed that you two would get married once the time came."
The pieces were starting to rearrange themselves in Lunivette's mind. When he first met her all those years ago, it most likely wasn't out of convenience. It was planned, and either they both didn't know it, or she had been played a fool and has been all these years.
She stewed in her mind about all the ways she could reject the idea. There had to be some way to avoid it. Tearing open the letter, she skimmed it to see if there was a clause or something in there that he offered.
Dear wife, By decree and ancient customs..... half remembered from vows....
Traditions were set in advance... ensured it would be upheld...
The arrangement must be upheld... I will accompany you back....
There was no way out of it. It didn't matter that they were kids; it was something that she had no say in, even before she was born. Her grip loosened on the letter, and she didn't know what to do. Her bakery, what was she gonna do with it? Lyra and Asena? They were her rock when she couldn't come here. Kaelar, her brother? What would he think when he came back?
"Mr. Montclair, do you know how Kaelar is doing? He hasn't written to me since he left, and I don't want to leave without letting him know where I will be." She needed to know how he was. If he were doing well and could stay with Alderon when he comes back, it would be one less thing to worry about.
"Ah, yes, that little rascal." Alderon's eyes lit up at the mention of her brother. "He's doing well. From what my buddies at the training facility in Edoril say, he's been placed with the group for imperial knight training."
Alderon started boasting about how he helped raise Kaelar and that he should have been with the naval group that came through to begin their last two years of training, not with the imperial group. He quickly followed it up with how the imperial knights are higher-ranked than the other knights and were held to a higher standard, so he couldn't complain too much.
Lunivette only laughed at how dramatic he was over her brother. She was convinced that if anyone saw how he was acting, you would have thought that Kaelar was he blood son and not her brother. After finishing the tea and saying her goodbyes to Alderon and to Mr.James, Lunivetter knew what she had to do with Orion and the bakery.