Descendants of the Kings (Book 2)

Ch 52: Leave it for tomorrow

A/N: Back to Ella's POV!

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All was quiet in the forest. A steady, yet gentle snowfall only broken by the hum of the wind and the occasional murmur of a critter.

Two crackling pops, almost simultaneous, interrupted the silence. A group of six elves emerged from within the cocoon of magic.

"Well, that was a fucking shit show," Val said, breaking the silence they'd been submerged in for the past couple of minutes.

Ella, finally letting her shoulders drop after several hours of tension, smiled dryly. "Eloquently put."

"It wasn't that terrible," Briar patted her arm commiseratingly. Ella gave her a look, and Briar corrected, "Well, it could have been worse?"

"I appreciate your positivity, but it was a mess. I'm sorry you all had to witness that," Ella said, massaging her temples. "And thank you all for putting up with it."

"Our last family dinner ended with our father lobbing fine porcelain at our heads and saying we were as worthless as troll droppings. At least in this meeting, we got something useful," Val said cheerfully.

"We got something useful out of that dinner too," Blaise commented. "He was so upset that it's been a year and a half and he still hasn't made an attempt to invite us back. A success, if you ask me."

"Congratulations on your efforts paying off," Aedion drawled. "Considering all of the family meetings I've attended have ended in bloodshed, I consider this one rather tame in comparison."

"Our family isn't violent but that's because we ignore each other," Briar said brightly. "As they say, you can't have fights if everyone is too busy to acknowledge each other's existence."

"No comment on that," Gidden muttered.

Ella cracked a small, tired smile. "Well, I'm glad I haven't traumatised you with my family feuds."

"It might not have been pleasant, but I don't think anyone expected that," Gidden said. "We were able to form an alliance and compare notes. The way I see it, that's everything we were hoping for."

"And don't forget the best part," Val said, slinging an arm around Ella's shoulders. "Now we have fresh gossip!"

"Oh, gossip," Briar clapped in delight. "Are we going to discuss? Because I have strong opinions."

"They are going to discuss," Gidden said, clapping Briar on the shoulder. "We need to get back home."

Briar turned to him with an outraged gape. "You can't be serious."

"Bee, we've been gone for the entire day. I wasn't even on patrol duty today. If someone notices we're both gone, it'll be hard to brush it off as a coincidence," Gidden said apologetically. "We can't have anyone looking too closely."

"I hate when you're right," Briar pouted, slumping.

"We'll get to gossip later on," Ella said, clasping her hand. "In fact, I was hoping you'd want to come by later on."

That piqued Briar's interest. "Oh?"

"Remember I mentioned I have new ladies in wait? Well, one of them is demanding I take etiquette lessons. The Nerea Solstice ball is coming up and she insists I am woefully unprepared." Ella sighed and gave Briar her most convincing pout. "I was hoping you'd want to keep me company. Perhaps give me a few pointers so I don't make an utter fool of myself."

"If I must," Briar sighed, though it was clear she was pleased. "Though I should warn you, no amount of lessons can prepare you for the depravity of that ball." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "It is a cesspit, I tell you."