Beyond Human: Queen's Shadow Series

44.) The family coming together

June 1st, 1954

~~~Lilith

As I get up from my king-sized mattress, I find myself, stretching my back. Today was not just any day, today was the masquerade, the masquerade which would take place from 7 am until 5 am. The masquerade was more than just a party, it was more than just vampires getting together. It was essentially a summit, a summit of the world's royal affairs, a summit I had not attended in almost 15 years.

It was time for the world to meet my son and it was time for my son to be established even further. As I look at the time, I see that the sun isn't up yet. These 24 hours were going to be quite busy and I had to make sure everyone was well-rested before we got started. This was going to be a busy day. On top of that, I needed to spend some much-needed time with my children to get them all up to speed. My first person to visit today was going to have to be Lucian.

He just came back today and he was also one of the only children who did not actively say if he was or was not participating. It's then that I get ready to leave, I was not dressed yet but I had looked at the clothes I had decided to wear and I smiled a slight smile, no one would expect this of me but this was the first time I allowed myself to wear something so different.

As I got ready to leave and go talk to Lucian, I heard him say telepathically, 'Mother. I know you're coming. Just give me a moment to get myself together.' It was then that I realized Lucian was drunk but how much did he drink for him to be like this? Probably more than he should have was all I could think. "Lucian, we don't have time for you to entertain yourself like this."

Lucian was hurt by what Apollos said, but what could Apollos have said to drive him into this anger? Was it because Apollos asked him questions about the blue blood or was it because Apollos simply stated the truth to him? I could never be too sure. As I went to Lucian's room, I could smell the odor of fornication, what did he do? It was then that three women walked out of the way, looking paler than usual and smiling wider than a clown.

As they left the room, I saw Lucian opening the door, completely exposed. Once he opened the door, all I could say was, "Cover yourself, Lucian," keeping my eyes level and focused on that slight smile he had. 'Lucian, stop being pretentious and get ready." 'And what if I don't want to go?' "Well, then you don't have to. You're a grown man and I don't have to take care of you but if you don't show up, what would that say about you especially if word gets out that you were indulging yourself with other women while your twin sister was at the ball?"

It was then that his eyes shifted to anger as he said, 'You know I'm still going to go. I'm just saying what if I don't want to go? You weren't going to drag me out?' "I don't have much I can say. I understand you're going through a lot Lucian and I understand that Apollos can be angering sometimes." 'Sometimes?' "Sometimes he asks all the right questions and every time he asks, it reminds me of how much I could've done. So then why are you really angry?"

"I'm angry because I played a part in a lot of the confusion in the kingdom and maybe I want to do more to prove that I can do better.' Anger and sadness consumed him and it was then that moment that I wrapped my tall son in a hug and said to him, "Lucian, you've been doing your best your whole life. What happened with the aristocrats was not your fault. They were greedy and they took advantage of one of my children's kindness. That doesn't make you a bad person, Lucian. If anything, it makes you better than most people. You admitted to all of the mistakes you made early on, but that doesn't make you a bad man. It makes you better than most."

After that, he hugged me and said, 'Thank you, Mom. I'll be getting ready soon.' Blood-drunk as he was, all my children got sentimental when they were drunk. Lucian never really forgave himself for the mess that unfolded and I can see why he couldn't, not after he learned what they tried to do, not after he learned how much was at stake almost 50 years ago. Now that he was taken care of, it was time for me to move towards Fu-guan.