Prelude (Underworld Lucian Fanfiction)

90 - Chapter XC: An Insurmountable Disaster

Fifteen minutes later.

Naturally for those watching from afar, hell was a place of angelic serenity. A kind of dance occurring as the Northerners and Southerners returned to their table, brimming with unspent energy. A great deal of whispering and beckoning. Like tightrope walkers attempting to pass one another while crossing a lake of fire. Lucian and his council nowhere to be seen...but a missive delivered to Lord Erling, who rose sullenly from his seat, appearing to have words with one of his advisors before retiring from the hall...

...and for Reinette, it truly felt both angelic and serene without Erling the heir at her side. Like her lungs were no longer in a vice. But her relief short-lived, for he returned soon after, his face now hidden by a different mask. Barren and without the scars. The change soon followed by the lycan-master and his Council associates, who returned to their seats. Relaxed. Their ease of conversation seeming uncomfortably loud at first. Until the sound began to spread. Giving license then for the merriment to continue. That all should be joyful for the blessings that came when dining in the Great Hall.

A place where all was right in the world...

...because the Council had deemed it so. And so it became right. Every lesson from Rena holding her upright. Stiff...and guarded. Willing herself to feel as little as possible so she might be done with it. The hours that stood between dinner and the final gong. The moment when she could breathe...and bathe...and rid herself of his presence. Her cranium blissfully off Erling's list of topics for the evening. But the subject of his conversation having switched without mercy onto new targets. Like he had been watching them for weeks, preparing for this moment. First Sabine...and then Rena. Brazenly picking at them like wounds, while keeping within the boundaries of political discourse.

For it was all...officially...above board.

His confusion regarding the recent closure of the docks. His concern over how such illicit activities could have occurred in a green zone...and whether there had been an incident of some kind. The vague responses enough to shift him away like a wasp, only for the boy to settle on another topic...

...this time his pride in how quickly his sister, Freyja, had finished her studies. Followed by a casual inquiry into whether Sabine had chosen a particular subject for her thesis...and then oh no, his apologies upon realising he had misunderstood the situation. How unfortunate it was that Sabine's offer to resume her studies at the University of Edinburgh, let alone any lycan-affiliated institution, had been rescinded in the past year.

How awful.

He then turned in his seat, expressing curiosity now as to where exactly Benoit had originated. Vendée, he said, as though trying to place the locale. Was there not a massacre in that area some centuries ago? And she herself was unaware of the connection, for it was surprising even to her when the wasp turned, looking towards where Rena was standing and asked if Rena—who originated in France, did they say—had also some connection to Vendée...

...and this was the only point when a barrier was raised. Lucian, seeming oblivious to the insults, but for once—in that horrific conversation—immediately shutting down the query before it could go further. As though there were lines...and then there were lines. And this one...was a very...specific line. Something he would not allow anyone to cross.

His tactic subtle but effective.

Completely ignoring Erling, the lycan-master asked Benoit if he'd caught anything during the last hunt. And by the casual nature of his tone, it was an engaging subject, not just for Benoit, but an entire line of men who—apparently—had been having some difficulty hunting over the past week. Like hearing boys argue amongst themselves, determining that the problem had nothing to do with their abilities, but rather the unfair environment in which they'd found themselves. And where most had been listening to Erling, a majority were now discussing the antics of this creature they were all trying to track. Not a stag as one would assume, but a smaller thing.