a gorgeous white by Heather_anare

259: Showing off

The room is filled with murmurs and silent thinking. The windows were shut, curtains drawn, but the darkness receds against the overwhelming warm light of the chandelier hanging at the center of the domed ceiling painted plainly yet elegantly. The clatter of feet could be heard echoing throughout the hall, and voices gathered around the U-shaped table of stone.

There were chairs, but only a few were seated. Specifically those who possessed higher status, leaders, and chiefs. They were divided. A few were from foreign clans from lands afar. The Morfaers, winged creatures of the beast clans. The Veresyahs, their magnificent antlers, and horns would make one gape and lost in their allure. Sairens, a royal clan of the merfolk. Their skin and features were breathtaking as their powers. And a few of Bramscath, the hidden dwarves who had just unearthed a few years after the birth of Kron.

Truthfully, each of them did not feel at ease under foreign gazes directed to them. However, for the sake of the alliance, they will have to endure it. At these times, they would need all the help they could get.

Sitting at the second seat away from the center seat of the table, a particular man silently swept his eyes across the room. His golden eyes were calm as he tries to remember each of the people around him. But he was old, and his memory was hazy. He could not remember those who were unworthy in his eyes. With a sigh, he leaned back and kneaded his forehead.

"Lord Hendrick..."

The man paused. His gaze turned to the person who approached him. Lord Hendrick exhaled a breath. He recognized the person all too well. There was guilt embedded deep into his soul. It was too much for him to bear, but he forced himself to smile.

"Lord Maxille." He addressed with a nod. He tried to sound as sincere as possible, as gentle, as kind as he could. It was almost laughable.

The man is wearing a dark blue cape. The crest of his family pinned his cape together under his left shoulder. Lord Maxille Fraunces looked magnificent, as he always does. But everyone knows the ruthless darkness inside the man.

For Lord Hendrick, it was the first time Maxille had initiated to speak to him. He was surprised, but he didn't show it.

Maxille revealed a smile as he beckoned for someone behind him. It was Emlen, his younger brother, more ferocious on the battlefield but cold and calm when he trods the land like an ordinary man. The two brothers stood by each other's side. They looked wary and protective of each other. But they were always like this for the past years. It was no longer strange.

"My Lord..." Emlen addressed.

"Please, be at ease." Lord Hendrick smiled. Once again, he recalled a memory-the day when the news of their youngest brother's death, it was a horrific event. Lord Hendrick recalled Emlen's anguished cries as he struggles to charge towards the gates of his home. The land was cracked, shattering. But he couldn't move forward, for the others held him back. They were restraining him from charging to his death. And Maxille, the look in his eyes was as if he had lost his soul. Like an empty shell.

They had lost their mother and their little brother. No one could imagine the pain inside them. Clawing and tearing their souls into shreds. Lord Hedrick's mind shifted to Lord Dontae Fraunces...

He furrowed his brows. Mind slowly aching.

"Are you unwell?" Maxille asked as he walked to the seat next to him. His steps were slow, and Emlen followed after him without complaint. The young man's eyes were observing the creatures with them. He looked bored, as if there was nothing that could catch his interest. Emlen only wanted to finish the assembly quickly so he could visit his little brother.