Bitten Ch. 07

Rhys showed up to the palace the next day dressed semi-formally, as expected for meeting with the King and Queen. Sylvae was with him, along with Tierney, but it was mostly to let Tierney connect to her vampyric side more and because Sylvae wanted to see the palace herbiary to see if there were differences here with what Rhys' family could offer her. Nikodemus was the first to volunteer to take her to the herbiary while the other royal children other than Nik, Vasile, and Viktoria, took Tierney off to play around the gardens with them.

Viktoria didn't stay with them. She went off to her own rooms to enjoy some quiet time, and Rhys followed Vasile into a room where they could sit down and have some privacy. Rhys was trying not to look nervous but he was failing that. His face was paler than it normally was and he seemed antsy, as if he had too much energy to burn off and hadn't been allowed to do so.

"I'm sorry again for the interruption last night," Rhys said once they had sat down. "It was bad timing but it was necessary to get my family to safety."

The monarchs waved that off, though their words softened the gesture. "Please, family emergencies happen, and this one was deadlier than most," Veronika said while Vortigern followed up with "You're practically family, Ambassador."

Rhys had been nodding along to what Veronika said, but he looked at the King in shock once his brain caught up with what Vortigern had said. "I am?" he asked, clearly surprised and unsure, his eyes shifting over to Vasile to see if he was just as surprised. Vasile was indeed surprised, but not that his father admitted Rhys' importance so much as admitting it in this setting. He shrugged in response to Rhys' look and looked unsure of how to proceed.

Rhys cleared his throat, turning back to the King. "I appreciate that, Your Majesty, though I know this is definitely a, um, bump in the road for your plans for the heir. This certainly complicates any political marriage you were planning. Not that I'm going to apologize for it."

Veronika bristled at Rhys' response, but Vortigern simply nodded to acknowledge him, placing a restraining hand on his wife before she could launch into an angry tirade that she may regret. "Truly our plans, such as they were, for the kingdom amount to nothing in the face of a blood-bond and are impossible to enforce if Vasile is not on board. In fact, that is what we've asked you two here to discuss," he said.

Rhys raised his eyebrows at that, unsure how to respond to that. It was true that a blood-bond changed everything. Even if they could make a state marriage, it would be difficult to find someone okay with Rhys having such a high importance in Vasile's life and heart. He knew that marriages like his parents' worked all the time as he had seen plenty of them in Fyrie, but it came with open trust and communication, and vampyres could be more secretive and fickle.

First, Rhys looked at the Queen, having recognized her anger and said, "I'm truly not trying to upset either of you. I knew back in school that you liked that I had created a friendship with your children, but didn't want it getting too close. I tried my best to walk that line carefully, and I was truly heartbroken when I left and Vasile seemed to not even care about keeping up with each other."

At this, the King looked guiltily at his wife, clearly embarrassed. Neither of them interrupted Rhys, but he could tell that someone had been operating without the other's knowledge in this. What Rhys didn't know was which one was responsible, though he had his ideas.

"I came back here planning to keep a wide berth from him; I just wanted to keep him alive and safe. I could love him from afar. I really only sought him out after I was told by someone else that Vasile had written to me constantly, and felt the same way. I know it probably wasn't the right choice for my career, but I couldn't bring myself to not make sure before I turned away from him forever.

"You two were lucky that your bond formed after marriage," Rhys explained, letting his own pain show on his face, which was something everyone there knew he didn't do often around those in vampyre society. "To form that bond, but never know for sure until recently, and deny it for over a decade is nothing short of torture."

As Rhys had talked, Vasile's parents had both gotten increasingly more chagrined. It was clear to him that he was no longer speaking to the king and queen of the vampyres but to parents who had tried too hard to do what they felt was best for their son. He wasn't sure that a few moments of humility was sufficient to make up for a decade of unrequited love, but they were all among the long-lived, so he was sure that eventually the sting would fade.

Rhys and Vasile allowed the silence after Rhys finished speaking to stretch out for several minutes as the monarchs' faces went through a whole range of emotions. Rhys turned his eyes over to his love, knowing that the rest needed to come from him. Rhys was part of this discussion, but parents and child needed to speak through it as well. Rhys' pain only went so far; they needed to know how this had affected their son.

Vasile nodded as if he had heard Rhys' thoughts, taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders. His parents focused on him as soon as he began to move, their posture clearly demonstrating that he had their complete attention. He opened his mouth to speak with nothing really planned to say for the first time in his life: no witty one-liners, no calming words to soften the blow or deflect the subject to spare his parents. "I... recently found my letters to Rhys in my room. To say I was devastated would be underselling it by a long shot," he began.

"I was led to believe that he didn't care to read or respond to my letters after the time we spent in university together and I'm certain you only endorsed his Ambassadorship to ensure that he wouldn't be near me. It's pretty upsetting to realize that your parents view you as a child when you've been recognized as - and treated as - an adult for more than a century. We should have been having this discussion ten years ago.

"I understand the importance of being the Heir and the responsibilities that go along with it and I am more than capable of making my own decisions for what I feel are the needs of the realm. All of this makes me feel like you don't trust my judgement and if that's the case, why am I training to be the Heir in the first place?" he asked, finally winding down. He fell silent after his question, half-expecting that they wouldn't respond.

Rhys decided to ignore what normal decorum would say in this instance and reached over to take Vasile's hand in comfort and solidarity. It was a small gesture, but a clear one. They stood together, as any good partner would, in good times and bad. It was a gesture that echoed in everything Rhys had done up until now; how he had rushed back to Arcasias, which he had run away from, with only the information that Vasile was in danger. How he came to risk his own life to save their son's.

Vasile's glance at him and squeeze of his hand told Rhys all he needed to know that his feelings were returned as they both waited defiantly for what the king and queen would say next. They shared a look of solidarity of their own before the king spoke. "Well, it would seem that we have been found out. We did not intend to cause the two of you the harm that we have, but instead meant to give an infatuation time to cool off. For that harm, we apologize," he said, while Veronika nodded along with him.

"Had we known that the two of you were destined to be blood-bound," Vortigern continued, "I would hope that we would have tried to accommodate, but that is speculation. We have made no secret that we were determined to prepare you to rule in our place someday, but what we have not told you is that..." Here he faltered, looking over to Veronika for support. She reached over and took his hand much the same way that Rhys had taken Vasile's a bit ago. The king nodded and straightened his own shoulders before saying, "We intend to retire and give the throne to you as soon as you are ready."

Vasile looked stunned by this revelation, staring silently at the floor between them for a few moments, his hand still gripping Rhys' as if he were trying not to drown. Rhys felt cold all over at the revelation. While the coronation couldn't happen before Vasile's 200th birthday, that meant everything else was going to move ahead faster than they had imagined, which included whatever state marriage they were arranging. All of it felt suffocating to Rhys, so he couldn't imagine how it might feel to Vasile.

Rhys finally cleared his throat, because Vasile seemed too shocked to respond. "So, what does that mean then?"

The queen cleared her throat, glancing at her husband before answering. "Well, we were attempting to arrange meetings for Vasile with various eligible parties, but that doesn't seem realistic now. There's no denying a blood bond, so any official marriage wouldn't hold the weight it would need to if you decided to go public," she said somberly. "So really the question we have for you two is: where can we go from here?"

Rhys was silent, mostly because while he knew what he wanted to happen, he wasn't the main person it affected going forward. Yes, he was part of the equation, but even if he married the King, Rhys wasn't the one ruling. So Rhys looked to Vasile to see what he thought.

Vasile looked up finally, a decision plain in his eyes and by the set of his jaw, not one he felt his parents would like. "I'm marrying Rhys. Openly. After the coronation. After your retirement, if I have to wait for you to do so before the marriage will be allowed to happen. We haven't really discussed it, but that's how I feel. I think the time for marriages of state had its purpose but today's world no longer requires it. Besides, I think it would be a wise move toward repairing some of the division in Avanær," he said.

Rhys was slowly nodding his head as he considered the last thing Vasile said. "This racism has been what caused these coups. More openly accepting that mixed marriages happen more than we like to admit is a way forward. A prince or even king marrying someone he loves, despite their heritage or perhaps even because of it, isn't a bad sign to send."

The king and queen seemed to ponder that for several moments. Vasile could tell that his father didn't like what he and Rhys had had to say, but was begrudgingly considering it. His mother was beaming with pride, leading Vasile to believe that she had been involved in returning his letters to him. It led Rhys to the same conclusion, though he was a little surprised by it. With the Queen on their side though, it was only a matter of time before the King agreed.

Rhys looked over at Vasile now though, his eyes shining with love, hope, and unshed tears. It felt like it had taken them a lifetime to get to this point, but this was all he had ever wanted since he first met Vasile. He really wanted to kiss Vasile, but he held himself back, not wanting to upset his future father-in-law. The king interrupted Rhys' daydreams of openly showing his affection, however. "We shall give this matter some consideration and reconvene in a fortnight's time, if that suits you two?" He phrased it like a question, but everyone present knew it wasn't, so Rhys and Vasile nodded politely, stood, and left the room, both of them struggling to do so at a casual speed.

They were barely past the closing door before they kissed each other with equal fervor. As their lips touched, though, Vasile heard his mother begin to say something to her husband that nearly made him lose focus on his lover: "Who returned his letters, Vortigern?" Before Vasile could hear more, the heavy door closed, effectively cutting off all sound from the room. Could it be that his mother hadn't returned the letters after all?

Rhys looked back toward the now closed door, considering the same thing. They'd have to do some more checking into that, but right now, Rhys stepped closer to Vasile, putting his arm around his love, and using his magic to teleport them back to Vasile's rooms. Vasile had to admit that traveling that way was both amazing and terrifying. As soon as they were alone, Rhys kissed Vasile again, pressing their bodies up against each other. Vasile quickly lost track of his observations about teleporting as he focused on more urgent concerns, like the sudden tightness in the crotch of his pants.

Rhys backed them up until they had made it to the bed, and then fell back onto it and pulled Vasile down on top of him. He loved the feel of Vasile's weight on top of him. Vasile could feel the evidence of Rhys' own arousal against his pelvis now. Being with Vasile even just like this, kissing and rubbing up against each other, proved that they had been right when they had been in school that if they were intimate, they never would have been able to part from each other.

Vasile's thoughts were along the same lines, though he wondered if the blood bond was a significant factor in making this experience more intense or if he would have felt like this about Rhys even if they hadn't confirmed their attraction on a spiritual level. Both of their bodies were so sensitive, and every touch seemed to make them shiver in pleasure. They had their shirts off, though neither remembered removing them, and their hands were all over each other, exploring the tight muscles and sensitive areas of each others' chest when the door opened.

Rhys growled, "Again?!" exasperatedly while Vasile practically leapt toward the foyer, furious.

His violet eyes were dark with barely restrained lust and a level of anger he hadn't felt in his century and a half of life. He came to a stop rather abruptly, however, when he saw that it was Viktoria standing respectfully in the doorway with Virmarus. "Sorry to," here she cleared her throat daintily, "disturb you, Brother. This... person insisted that he speak with the Ambassador immediately."

Rhys could already catch the cedar and woodsy scent that he had always recognized as Virmarus', so he grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on. When he followed Vasile into the front room, he said, "Have none of you royalty learned to knock on doors?" Here, he demonstrated on a wall. "See? Not that hard."

Viktoria glanced coolly down at their crotches and back up to meet Rhys' eyes. "No, but I see something appears to be," she said before turning and leaving the room.

Vasile would have blushed in response but she was already leaving and he remembered his shirt in the bedroom. He looked apologetically to Rhys and ducked back in to put his shirt on, leaving Rhys and Virmarus in the foyer. Rhys had put his hands down to cover himself, and Virmarus just grinned at him as if the discomfort his subordinate was showing was amusing.

"What, pray tell, could be so important at this time to come all the way back to the palace?" Rhys asked him, his tone full of annoyance.

Virmarus chuckled at that, not taking any disrespect from Rhys' emotional display. "Forgive the intrusion, but we aren't quite done with everything yet, as you should well know. We're sending in people to try and clean up the rebels in Fyrie, but we've caught a snag in that plan. Did you know your cousin was finishing talking out everything with a young lady's parents for their betrothal?"

Rhys' annoyed countenance went away at that as he looked like he knew what Virmarus was talking about. "Yes, Cyran had mentioned that he was proposing to Lady Leora. They were simply finalizing everything between the parents and then they would be announcing it. Why?"

Virmarus fixed him with a look that said the situation was bad, and it didn't take much for Rhys to figure out what it meant. If they wanted to have leverage over the heir of Rhys' family, then going for his almost-betrothed is a great way to do that. He didn't bother to ask how they knew. They had been doing their own spy work over time. Instead, Rhys swore under his breath at the realization that this meant Leora was in danger and that Cyran would lose his mind once he knew.

Vasile emerged from his bedchamber, shirt back in place and his face drying from splashing cold water on it in an attempt to cool off. He found Virmarus roughly in the same spot, but Rhys had leaned back against the wall, looking tired but with that look on his face that Vasile recognized as him coming up with a plan. Vasile's hopeful look evaporated as he nodded his understanding of what that meant. "A spy's work is never done, eh?" he said.

Rhys gave him an apologetic look as he straightened back up. "Something like that, yeah. If it makes you feel any better, I plan to give up the spy life once this is all done."

"Such a waste of good skills," Virmarus commented, which earned him a glare from Rhys.

Vasile ignored Virmarus for the moment, focusing on leaving a lasting impression on Rhys as he prepared to leave. He approached his love where he stood against the wall and leaned into him, the scent that was simply Vasile's flooding Rhys' senses as he kissed him soundly. Rhys reacted by putting his arms around Vasile's shoulders while he kissed him back. Virmarus looked away from them, deciding to give them a moment.

When Vasile slowly pulled back from the kiss, Rhys murmured, "You make it really difficult to leave."

"That was the idea," Vasile responded with a sultry wink and backing away regretfully.

"I will be back before you know it," Rhys told him and then walked over to Virmarus. Then he remembered something. "Oh, we need to get Sylvae and Tierney back home. I mean, Sylvae I could leave with Nik and she'd be fine, I'm sure, but Tierney is still just little. I mean, she'd have a blast all day with the others, but..."

Virmarus nodded his head at that before he got a smirk and looked over at Vasile. "We can take her home, but you know, Your Highness, you may want to get to know little Tierney better if you hope for her to live here with you eventually. Her daddy and her are a package deal, after all."

Vasile smiled at that. "I plan to get to know her, but I feel as if she would be more comfortable if our first time hanging out was with her father present," he said.

Rhys smirked at Virmarus. "I told you he was too smart for you to trick." Then he looked at Vasile. "That's a good plan. She can be shy in the beginning, but she blossoms in the right atmosphere."

"I'm just making sure he's right for you," Virmarus replied with a shrug. "Surely his highness here can't blame me after watching you basically in pain the entire time I've known you over him."

"I'm sorry," Rhys mouthed to Vasile.

Vasile smiled wickedly. "Maybe I'm a sadist, and maybe Rhys enjoys that in our relationship," he said.

"Okay, enough, both of you," Rhys said, his cheeks turning red.

Virmarus laughed though as Rhys pulled him out of the room and off to find Sylvae and Tierney. It didn't take long to get them both and head back to the house, especially since all four of them could teleport. Of course, Sylvae had argued that she could stay and look at more of the garden, but one comment about how she might need to be there for her brother stopped her cold.

"I'm sorry, Nik," she told him quietly as she put her bag back around her shoulders. "We'll have to pick up this conversation another time. My family has already been uprooted from our home, and if my brother has bad news coming, I would hate to not be there for him during it."

Nikodemus sighed regretfully, nodding his understanding. "You will be missed, melda nestoril," he said quietly, calling her beloved healer in Elvish, as he bent over her hand in gentlemanly fashion. "Return as soon as you are able, please."

She smiled at him and stepped up onto her tiptoes to kiss on him the cheek before she turned back to Rhys to show that she was ready. Rhys had picked Tierney up into his arms and once Sylvae reached them, she turned around and smiled at Nik before the four of them disappeared. On the other side, back in Rhys' home, Tierney giggled like she usually did when they teleported. She had always thought it was fun.

To say that Cyran would lose his mind might have been an understatement, Rhys realized once everything had been laid out to his cousin and the rest of the family. Virmarus even had photo evidence that she was in the rebels' clutches, and they were demanding the King and Prince return and give themselves as captives instead of her. Cyran was ready to leave immediately, and it took Rhys, Sylvae, and their brother Elaro, to stop him.

"You can't just give in to their demands," Rhys told him. "It will just get you dead with no real guarantee that she will be safe."

"You don't understand, Rhys!" Cyran cried, though he stopped fighting them as he sank down onto one of the chairs. "If she dies, I die."

Sylvae glanced over at Rhys, because she knew well enough about him and Vasile now. Rhys let out a sigh and looked down at his cousin. "Actually, I do understand, better than you could possibly know. But that's exactly why you can't just go and give yourself to them. If the feelings between you two are true, and I believe you that they are, then she will feel the same way about you dying. Except it will be so much worse for her, Cyran, because they won't actually let her go once you're dead. They'll punish her for having wanted you."

Rhys looked over at Virmarus, which caused the others to look at him as well. Virmarus gave a tight smile, one that held no real mirth or joy in it. "I'm sure it feels like this group of rebels have been around for a short while, just quickly coming to power, but that's not true. This type of racism runs deep, and their plans have been long and well thought out. There have been attempts in the past, but you probably didn't put them together with the group. They always let a single person fall when the attempts failed, often duping someone they considered expendable into taking on that role." It was clear that he meant hapless half-breeds caught up in their plots.

King Deldrich seemed to be thinking about past incidents, but the others looked at Virmarus in silence. He closed his eyes. "You know, they used to be okay with just torturing or killing half-breeds, but now they think if they get rid of the temptation between races, then no more half-breeds will exist.

"Of course, each culture used to deal with them differently. Now there are some basic laws in place to protect us, but most of the time we were killed at birth. The were-communities would leave the babies in clearings, giving them to the Gods. Of course, most of the time they would die of the elements or get eaten by animals. Vampyres used to use them as blood sacrifices, so to speak. Drain the half-breeds dry and feed the nobility on the blood. Humans would outcast them as they got older and they realized what they were."

Virmarus opened his eyes again, looking sad, but then he turned to Cyran now, recognizing that he was the next one to rule and the one with more power going forward. "The fae are the only ones who would accept them, and I don't even mean the ones who were born fae. I'm sure you, as future King, know the two types of changelings."

Cyran nodded his head. "The original type were just half-fae, usually born to humans, but connected to their fae side all the same. The others were children taken into Fyrie and given fae food to make them ours."

Virmarus chuckled, though it wasn't truly out of it being something funny. "Humans hate that, too. So many superstitions. Not to say the fae are exactly safe to them, not all of us anyway, but the idea that we would feed them our food to bind them to us is... not untrue, but not the whole story."

Rhys had a brief memory come to mind of Vasile standing in line at school for food as they were talking about the best blood to have. He remembered how alarmed Vasile had been when Rhys commented about how he would probably like the food of the fair folk. Of course, he hadn't known Rhys was fae at the time, so it had amused him how worried Vasile had been. It felt like a lifetime ago.

Deldrich looked over at his nephew, his stomach turning at the thought of the vampyres killing him as a baby. No matter how angry he had been at his sister for leaving, he loved her and he had always welcomed Rhys into his home as if he was another child of his own. "So what do we do?" he asked in the resulting silence from Virmarus' words.

"For the bigger picture, we have work to do. For now, though, don't respond to them," Virmarus explained. "They'll give you time to come up with a decision, and while they do that, we'll strike. What are you thinking, Draven?"

"They will expect that if you're going to react and try to take them out, you'd send an army," Rhys explained. "They'll be ready for it, probably happily expecting it. So for that reason, we can't go that direction. If we send a very small group in, though, and take them out one by one, by the time they realize what we're doing, it will already be too late."

"And as part of the Caimaer line, you can get us in," Virmarus said once he realized what Rhys was saying.

"And what, we just sit here and do nothing?" Cyran asked, clearly upset that he couldn't do anything to fix things. "And how can you promise her safety in all of this?"

"Whoever gets to her first will bring her right back here, to safety," Rhys explained. "I promise, Cyran. In order for this to work, though, you need to stay here."

"You know, perhaps having someone who is in maybe not the exact same situation but similar one might help Cyran stay calmer," Sylvae pointed out and then looked at Rhys pointedly.

Rhys caught on and nodded his head before he went over to his bag and pulled out the communication device. Virmarus looked sideways at Rhys, as he hadn't been sure giving one to the prince was such a great idea, but it was Rhys' device to make that decision with. Rhys went into the other room and typed in the number for the communicator Vasile had. He just hoped he was near it when he pressed the button to call.

The one in Vasile's room started going off, the same way it had the first time Rhys had called it. Vasile, much wiser in the ways of technology now, picked up the device, pushed the green button, and put it up to his head - upside down. "Hello?" he said into the receiver.

Rhys heard him as if from a great distance and rolled his eyes, a smile spreading across his face despite his annoyance. He told Vasile to turn the communicator the other way around and waited for him to do that. Once he did, Rhys said, "So, my cousin is having a hard time with this whole 'sit on his hands and do nothing' while Virmarus and I take care of things. Sylvae thinks you might be able to help a bit, if you and Nik might be willing to make a discreet visit here."

Vasile considered that, nodding along to what Rhys was saying. Eventually he realized that Rhys still couldn't hear him nod and sighed, exasperated with himself. "I'm certain Nik will be up for it, particularly if it means the chance to schmooze Sylvae some more. I'll gather him up and we'll make our way over," he said into the phone, hanging up as soon as he finished talking to do just that.

Rhys smiled and went back into the room. They had halted the major discussion to wait, which Cyran knew, and it was a tense half hour while they waited for the two vampyre princes to show up. Rhys gave out a sigh of relief when he heard the doorbell, and he hurried to answer it.

"I am glad to see you both," he said as he opened the door and waited for them to come in. It took him a moment to realize that they were waiting for an invitation, so he rolled his eyes and smiled as he did so. He realized, now, that neither prince had ever been over to his home, so this was new territory, but he didn't hate it. He led them into the living room where the others were.

Sylvae brightened when they came in, and got out of the seat that was near Cyran's before she motioned to it for Vasile. Only once he was seated did she say, "Now, dear brother, perhaps no one can truly understand exactly what you are going through here, but Prince Vasile will also be waiting uncomfortably for the one he loves to come back from the same palace. So perhaps you two can lean on each other."

Cyran stared at his sister for a moment, before looking at the prince in confusion. He turned his eyes back to his sister and then looked over at Rhys as if he would answer the many questions on his face for Cyran. Rhys just pointed to himself, and then understanding finally dawned on the heir apparent of the Cairmaer line's face.

"Wait, you two are...? Really?" Cyran asked like he couldn't quite believe it.

"It's a very poorly kept secret," Marius told him.

"I never made it a secret!" Rhys cried. "Well, except to Vasile himself, apparently."

Vasile shot him an irritated look before responding. "We are a very polite species and do not presume interest where we may be mistaken," he temporized.

Nik laughed - a rich, deep, belly laugh. When he recovered, tears appearing at the corners of his emerald green eyes, he clapped his brother on the shoulder and said, "That is a distinctly personal perspective, dear brother, and not often one shared by the rest of our family, let alone our species."

Even Cyran managed to laugh from that, seeming to finally accept that what his sister and Rhys were telling him were the truth. It did help a little to know someone else would understand most of what he was going through. Virmarus seemed pleased with how it had calmed the Prince down as well, as he nodded his head at Rhys.

"Quick thinking, Your Highness," he said to Sylvae. "Thank you."

"I did it for my brother, not for you," she replied coolly.

"Alright, enough," Rhys told them both before Virmarus could respond back.

"Just because you are friends with him doesn't mean I have to be," Sylvae told her cousin, not bothering to look at Virmarus as she went and sat down next to Nik.

Rhys let out a sigh and shook his head at them. "He is one of the few people who is going to help here, so at least show him some respect."

"Well, it does beg a good question, cousin," Elaro piped up now, though he didn't really want to cause more trouble for Rhys. "Why are we putting our trust and respect into a man who is quite openly anti-royalty?"

"Ah, no," Virmarus replied before Rhys did. "I am not anti-royalty. I have nothing against any of you personally. I am anti-monarchy. There is a difference."

"And that difference is?" Deldrich asked him.

"The monarchy itself is not just about the royals. You play your part, for sure, but it's about an imbalance in power. The monarchy claims that certain people are naturally born into a higher position. Those people, therefore, having been born higher deserve more respect than others born in lower positions," Virmarus explained.

"Here, for example, young Rhys was born of a marriage that the monarchy does not recognize. He was also not born a full vampyre, and both of these things, completely out of his control, mean he is lower than others in this very room who are related to him. If the monarchy had recognized his parents' marriage, he should have been the next Duke. But he's not, is he? They were married before you were born, weren't they?"

Rhys nodded his head before any of his parents could answer. "About three months before my conception, based on photos and stories. It was a private ceremony, but it is recognized in Fyrie. Just not in Arcasias."

"He is fourth in line for the throne with us," Cyran pointed out. "So we do recognize him as what he is. Our cousin is royalty just as much as we are."

"But he wasn't raised around it until later," Virmarus pointed out. "He gets no title, he's been bullied by vampyres in school all his life when he did go to it, and he's been in love with the heir to the throne here for over a decade and you don't see anyone celebrating that or announcing a wedding, do you? Can't claim it's human homophobia either because vampyres are almost never straight."

At that he shrugged his shoulders, but it was clear the whole thing bothered Virmarus. He turned back to Elaro though and added, "So I have no actual issues with you as people. I have problems with the institution itself, and that change rarely happens, and when it does, it comes at a snail's pace. I will absolutely fight for your right to live full lives though."

Vasile and Nik had kept their peace during the conversation, though they made it clear that they were listening in. Vasile was content to listen more before getting involved, but Nik, as always with him, was more than happy to wade into the fray. "So what would your ideal society look like, Virmarus?" he asked with an arched eyebrow, his posture suggesting that he was willing to listen, though his tone disagreed slightly with that impression.

Virmarus gave Nik a polite smile as he considered that, his head tilted slightly. "I'm not sure an ideal is possible, honestly. If you ask me what I think Avanær should do though, I'd say that each country that makes up the continent should band together and make a council that will represent all peoples. Elected officials who will make sure that everyone is taken care of and no one falls through the cracks.

"Have a full vampyre, full human, full elves, full were-creatures, but also a variety of half-breeds as well. And I don't mean a council full of just nobles either. Yes, some nobles should be there, but it would be better if we included a similar split of middle class and poorer people as well.

"With a council in place, the royal families can be part of decisions, but the council can overrule them if what they are doing isn't best for the realm. Likewise, the ruling figures can step in if they feel they need to. In the end, both the ruling figure heads and the council would need to compromise and work together moving forward. This would also help with some of this racism as we work together to better co-mingle as a group, and laws can be passed to protect people like myself and Rhys."

"And me!" Tierney cried as she came into the room proper, and Rhys turned around to look at her with an expression that said he hadn't wanted her to hear any of this but should have known she might snoop.

Rhys scooped her up into his arms and kissed her on the cheek. "Yes, you as well, my dear. Weren't you napping?"

"You guys are loud," Tierney replied matter of factly, as if that settled everything.

"Actually, she might be helpful," Virmarus commented as he came up to stand next to Rhys and look at Tierney. "You should probably stay out of the adult conversation, but can I at least ask you what you think of living here in Arcasias?"

Tierney scrunched up her nose and eyes at that before she glanced over at Vasile and Nik, her face taking on a troubled expression like she'd hate to hurt them. When Rhys told her that she could speak plainly and honestly, though, she looked back at her dad and nodded before saying, "I like some of the food, and I love being around our family. And most of the royal family is nice and they have an cool garden to play in. But the noble kids are jerks. The only kids who have been nice to me are the ones we've met at playgrounds instead of the school. I miss Haven where everyone liked each other and they were all nice."

Vasile spoke up, standing and moving over closer to the group as he did so, "I'm sorry that the school kids are mean to you, Tierney. People fear what they don't understand sometimes and their response to that fear tells you a lot about the environment they are growing up in. We're talking about ways to make that better for everyone, but it's going to take time and bravery to weather the tough road ahead." He met her eyes while he talked, treating her as an equal. As he finished, though, something occurred to him and he looked around at the rest of the adults. "That reminds me, I've never liked calling people of mixed lineage 'half-breeds'. Surely there's a better way to refer to such individuals that would help to encourage understanding and work toward ending this racism," he asked, addressing everyone present.

"I've always disliked it as well," Marius agreed. "But I've never been able to come up with a better option other than just calling them what they are. Like Rhys being a fae dhampyr."

"Well, you come from two distinct races of people," Sylvae said thoughtfully. "Which would make you biracial, or multiracial if you came from more than two."

Vasile nodded his agreement with Sylvae. "I agree but it feels almost clinical to say it that way, do you know what I mean?" he asked, clearly struggling to come up with a better answer himself. "We don't have to solve all of the world's problems tonight, but I would like you all to think on it, please."

"My dad's side always called me a mutt, but that's not exactly kind," Virmarus commented sadly. It was clear by the expression on his face that he didn't think much of that side of the family either.

"A mutt?" Tierney asked.

Virmarus gave her a kind smile, though it wasn't really a happy one. "A dog who you can't tell the breed of because it's mixed with too many things."

"Why would they be so mean to you?" Tierney asked him, clearly upset by this.

"They didn't like my dad's choice of mate," Virmarus explained to her. "They didn't like my mother - still don't, even in her death - and so they never liked me."

Tierney frowned at that, snuggling her head onto Rhys' shoulder for comfort before she said, "I don't like your family."

"I'm not a fan of them either," Virmarus agreed.

"Not all of us who are dual-blooded get good families," Rhys explained to his daughter.

Vasile nodded at that. "And not all of us who got good families are dual-blooded," he responded.

Tierney smiled at Vasile. "I d0 like your family. Well, most of it. Viktoria is... cold."

Rhys looked at Vasile with a frown. He was glad that Tierney liked the people who might become her family as well, but he wasn't sure what to do with her comment about Viktoria. She wasn't wrong, but he didn't know how to help her with it.

Virmarus piped up though. "Sometimes big families have people of all types. She just might like her space. Plus royal families aren't always raised to all be personable and kind. Just polite. But all of the rest of the siblings being so kind and warm is a testament to good parenting."

Vasile eyed Virmarus askance but answered both his comment and Tierney's concern. "My sister has always been a bit cold and distant. It's a bit of liking her space but it's also just kind of part of her overall demeanor that she hasn't put any effort into trying to improve," he said.

Tierney listened to them both, still with her head on Rhys' shoulder. Finally she gave a small nod to tell them she understood. Eventually, Seraphina came over and held out her arms to Tierney. "Why don't we go get a snack? I heard the cook made some cake earlier, and I for one would like something sweet while your dad does his job."

"Ooh, yes, cake!" Tierney replied and practically jumped into Seraphina's arms. Rhys gave her a quiet thank you while she just smiled and carried the little girl out of the room.

"Did someone say cake?" Nikodemus asked excitedly, looking over at Sylvae with a wink. Sylvae giggled while Alavara said she would go and get some to bring back to the room for everyone.

Virmarus checked his watch. The sun would be going down soon, which was the perfect time for them to strike at the wood elf palace. Rhys noticed him looking and went over to a couple of bags that were kept in the corner. He quickly traded out the more formal clothing he had been wearing for meeting the monarchs for more casual but military style black clothes. He quickly stashed away all of his daggers where they needed to go as Virmarus armed himself as well.

Vasile caught Nik's eye and motioned with his head before leading him back over by the man they were brought here to babysit. Nik pulled away from Sylvae's side reluctantly and followed his brother back over to the sitting area while the strike team readied themselves.

Virmarus looked at one of his communicators before telling Rhys, "Eowyn will meet us there and come from the east wing. She'll enter with Leonard from the help side."

"Perfect," Rhys said as he pulled some leather gloves on to protect his hands. "You and I will begin behind the walls. Whoever finds Lady Leora, they will bring her back here first and foremost."

"Then we take out the rest of the rebels," Virmarus agreed. He turned back to the others in the room then, his eyes on Cyran to start but fell on Vasile by the end. "I promise we will do everything in our power to bring back your beloved safely."

Rhys came over to Vasile and kissed him soundly but way too briefly for either of them. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Just help keep Cyran calm. We cannot let him give himself up to them or go to the palace. They'll kill him if he does."

The grim set of Vasile's jaw was all the answer Rhys needed as he pulled away to rejoin the rest of the strike team. Rhys turned back around once he was standing next to Virmarus, looking back over at his family, all who were looking at him with worry and hope. His eyes stopped on Vasile's before he put his hand up on Virmarus' broad shoulder and the two of them vanished.