A Wolf's Kiss

Chapter XIV - A Humble Request

PSA: the rumors are true, Morbius will be appearing in the next chapter.

Gerolf was unsure of how to feel. His body ached to be at home, as did his heart. When the heavy, wooden doors of Stonegate swung open, Gerolf couldn't have been happier. For weeks he longed for the smiling faces of his three children, and warmth of his wife, Lady Fyona. When he finally saw them among the crowd of faces... Gerolf felt he was the happiest man alive. But in the back of his mind, he knew that in a few nights his home would be under attack...

Soon the King would arrive in the North, and he would again be in Gerolf's own home. It hadn't been so long that the King had stayed in Stonegate, but Gerolf already felt his stomach twisting into a knot. Gerolf and King Baritheos had grown up together, they had been friend's since boyhood, they were practically brothers. In fact, when the rebellion had been a success Gerolf found it very difficult to call his childhood friend, a man he considered a brother, King. Even this many years later, still it didn't feel right. Gerolf imagined that Baritheos probably felt a similar way.

He could couldn't help but imagine the look on the King's face when he explained what happened at the Crownhold. He couldn't wait to till his stories of hideous monsters fighting alongside the Berserkers, or of the the small boy who wielded a flaming sword. Baritheos would not be shocked, no he would laugh. But then Gerolf would show him the proof he needed. The Lord of Stonegate had ordered a single one of those monsters, Death Walkers as Ceres of Terrastella called them, be taken alive and forced down into the dungeons of the castle for the King to examine.

Gerolf could see the shock on all the faces of his subjects as his soldiers dragged the monster through the city in chains. It let out a horrible scream that was impossible to miss, all of the residents looked at it baffled, and yet they seemed to forget about it the moment it was out of sight. They were too excited to greet their returned loved ones.

He embraced his oldest son, Gustav, first. He was a man now, 18 years old... every time that Gerolf looked at him, he saw in him a perfect combination of himself and his wife. Gustav was tall, handsome, and commanding in his appearance, like Gerolf. But Gustav had his mother's spirit. In his heart, he was more gentle, but he was passionate in everything he did.

"Father!" The young man called out as he wrapped his arms around the older man. "I thought I may never see you again..."

Gerolf chuckled. "Ah... no, I crawled my way back home."

Next, he saw his daughter. Erika, almost the spitting image of her mother. She had come into her own as a woman, but she was still as innocent as a little girl. She was so incredibly beautiful... and she knew it, too. Erika's only dream, as far as Gerolf knew, was to be a Queen. She had girlish aspirations of a marrying a handsome, mighty man and raising his noble children...

Gerolf knew that she would not like the husband he had chosen for her, but it was a decision he made with a heavy heart. He had only done it to keep her safe... after all, Chief Jagur hadn't even heard the proposal... and Ceres of Terrastella would certainly complicate things.

Gerolf hugged his daughter without another thought, and her cheeks were moist with trails of tears.

"It is nothing to worry my daughter... I am returned home now." He whispered into her ear.

Finally, there was little Otto. Gerolf's other son, and youngest child. Otto ran up to his father a sobbing mess, and immediately wrapped his entire body around Gerolf's leg. The boy couldn't even stop crying to speak.

Gerolf couldn't help but find the child humorous, and ruffled his youngest son's brown hair.

The crying boy still wouldn't let go of his father's leg. Gerolf ignored him, and looked up at his wife. Their eyes met, and he felt his heart skip a beat. Even twenty years later, she was still as beautiful as the day he saw her first.