The Estate Of No Man's Land

Chapter 1: In The Name Of Charity

-Flash Back to the Landerson charity event for the Nelson Children's Asylum-

Eris huffed and puffed as his mother picked at his hair and adjusted the sleeves of his suit. His mouth was curved in an expression of disgust as his mother licked her fingers and rubbed at his brows. "Mother...please...stop", he squirmed away from her, nearly falling down the steps of the Mirose Estate grand entry. Before he could take a full tumble his mother caught him and continued her smothering.

"Give it a rest Leah the boy looks fine." Eris's father spoke dully from behind the two. He looked at his watch and sighed deeply, once again they were late to an important event because his wife was attempting to perfect their son's appearance.

Leah tisked a few times and moved her son from side to side before releasing him and letting out a deep breath. "It will have to do...oh stop fidgeting Eris. Honestly, we only ask you to attend these events with us once every other month, the least you could do is pretend to be happy." Leah pulled a pocket mirror from her purse and checked her own face, she was extra careful to ensure that her cherry red lipstick hadn't stained her teeth.

Eris rolled his eyes at his mother, "It's boring, no one else brings their kids to these ridiculous charity balls. It's all for show anyways." Leah glared at her son causing him to roll his eyes again, he yielded when she snapped her mirror shut and took a step down towards him. "Fine...I'll say hello to people. I promise. Just don't expect me to eat snails again."

"That happened once Eris y-"

The older man cleared his throat and threw his hands up looking between his family and the door at the top of the staircase. It had taken approximately 10 minutes to walk from the bottom of the steps up to the halfway point, he was getting frustrated. "The boy is right Leah, these things are boring and just for show. He's a child, he should be at home finger painting and eating glue while a baby-sitter sends nudes to her boyfriend from the other room."

Eris sniggered at his fathers's remark, earning him a quick smack to the back of the head from his mother. The woman focused her eyes onto her husband, she pointed her finger at him "Your son has a name, use it. He won't be a boy forever Henry'' She turned and looked sadly at her young son, "Eris, you are not like other children. You belong to a society that will chew you up and spit you out if you don't stay ahead of the game. Attending these events is important for your future, something I'm sure your father would agree with." She looked pointedly at her husband, her mouth twitching in a way to dare him to challenge her.

The man cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly from where he stood. "Oh yes, of course of course. You have a lot of responsibilities, people knowing who you are is very important indeed. Now that we have established that, can we please go inside?"

Henry Cavarnie held his hand out for his wife to take, Leah accepted the hand and walked with her husband up the steps of the massive estate, their 8 year old son following behind them.

Eris was smart for his age, well rounded, and wise. While he'd much rather eat glue than attend any more of these charity balls, he was fully aware that eating glue was just a joke and the reality was much bleaker. He wasn't just some rich kid, or just some entitled kid. He was Eris Cavarnie, chosen by the Council of Kiyon to take on the Margo name and estate once he reached the proper age for marriage. Margo was one of the highest of Kiyon society, one of the most established estates and power. It was a gift that he had to respect and honor, or risk losing.

He played his part, as he had promised his mother. He smiled, said hello to those who spoke to him, answered the same questions over and over again, and shook the dry hands of the older people in the room; fighting off every cringe that threatened to escape as women grabbed him and kissed or pinched at his cheeks. When the music started he let out a deep breath knowing it was finally an appropriate time to escape. Making the excuse that he had to use the restroom he ventured off from his mother and father. Before he could leave the ballroom, he had one mission.