Giles' Keeper

Chapter 14

Oh my heavens. Giles takes his seat at the head of the table, keeping me to his right, with a small smile and a squeeze of my hand he goes straight to making out plates. "Nesta my dear, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Lennon, Giles' mother." A sweet woman introduces herself, brushing her midnight hair back over her shoulder with the sweetest lopsided smile I've ever seen.

"It's a pleasure to meet ma'am." Queen? Ex-Queen? Mrs. Wingrove? How do I even introduce myself to these people? She releases a twinkling, fairy-like laugh as she shakes her head with a delicate blush. Her pale green eyes sparkle with her smile as she waves her hand in front of her, dismissing me. Did I do it wrong? Giles hand rests on my leg as he takes a bite, inhaling his food.

"Nonsense my dear, you are a part of the family, call me Lennon." She smiles as an older replica of Giles smiles sweetly at her, squeezing her hand affectionately.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Nesta, thank you for joining our meal." The man pauses, before he bows his head politely. "Forgive me, I'm Draven, that one's father." He offers a teasing wink to Giles who grunts, waving a hand as he reaches for what I can guess is an ale of sorts.

"Thank you for having me." My heart feels as if it's in my throat as Giles nods to my plate and my stomach snarls again in hunger making me blush fiercely.

"Eat my sweet, the shift has taken a lot out of you." He murmurs gently with a tender squeeze of my leg, his hold possessive. A blond headed woman nods in a friendly manner as she chews through a bite of bread with a gentle smile.

"Don't be frightened by yer appetite, it's normal fer you to be starved." She offers nodding, her hair a mass of braids tied back by an elegant blue ribbon. Cora waves her hand to the fiery eyed man. Ozul was it?

"You'll only have to worry if you can keep up with this one, plate for plate, ale for ale." Ozul looks at her with a small smirk, patting his belly, distracting me from the pressure. I hope they keep up their banter, I feel as if I'm about to puke. I take a bit of bread, the flavor explodes of fresh herbs and butter. This is so extravagant.

"I'm a growing boy with a growing appetite, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I spend a lot of time moving- can you say the same?" He arches a brow as he stares at her over the rim of his glass, earning an eye roll.

"Get off of the high horse mighty knight, you'll deflate your head with how massive your ego is. You need to be a toad to be humbled." She scoffs, drinking from her glass delicately.

"Ozul, give her a break." A man with a melodic voice hums, shaking his head at the pair before he looks to Cora with a much gentler reprimanding glance. "And you don't need to poke the toad." He joins in on teasing the youngest brother who shakes his head at the pair.

"I'm the best brother, Ozul, it's nice to meet you Nesta." Ozul offers me a simple nod and a raised glass in meeting. No wonder Cora thinks he should be a toad. He is a handsome man, built strong, with wide shoulders, and a capable mind. I'm sure he has ladies falling at his feet.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well." The man who chastised them offers a simple, if not shy smile.

"I'm Corban, it's nice to meet you Nesta- I heard you were a curious soul?" He questions making me shrug with a small smile towards the table.

"Right now, I'd say more bewildered than curious. I feel as if I'm off lost in the woods." I offer honestly. Very undeserving and lost. Sitting amongst royalty makes me feel like I've wandered into the wrong home and their generosity keeps me here, not a welcome. Yet none of them have been unwelcoming to me.