Lunar

Chapter 8: Summoned

Darry's footsteps echoed in the hall as he walked to the library where he had been summoned to meet his parents.

What did they want? Was Elle going to be there? Several thoughts ran through his mind. Elle was the one to tell him to go -she had grabbed him during Naddy's training- so she should be there, right?

He came to a stop at the door to his left and it creaked slightly as it opened- he should probably get someone to oil it. He walked in and found his parents and Elle sitting on chairs in front of a fire waiting for him, his mother put her book down and beckoned him over.

As soon as he had sat down, his father started talking to -rather lecturing- him
"Darius Roseheart, son, it has been brought to my attention by your lovely sister here that you have taken a liking to this Naddy. I must remind you that she is not royal so I will not allow you to marry her. You know that already so I would like to tell you that it is cruel to lead a girl on. She may be a marama and have a higher standing in the social hierarchy than us but she is not a royal and a royal always marries a royal, as is tradition. Aricia and Ethan may have been an exception but look what happened to them, they're dead! That should be reason enough not to marry this girl, she may be nice but she is not royal. And need I remind you, you should both be focusing on your studies, not each other! Nadira is important and can not be distracted from her studies, especially not by her mentor. That is all"

Darry was shocked that Elle knew he liked Naddy, he had hidden it so well, but he was even more shocked that she had told their parents. It wasn't like her. Was she jealous of Naddy or something? Jealousy does crazy things to a person, but why would she be jealous of Naddy? Darry wasn't just shocked though, he was also annoyed and grumpy, but after years of practice he was able to control himself and reply calmly

"Relax father, I promise I will not let my feelings for Nadira interfere with her training. I don't believe she knows of my feelings towards her as I've done well in controlling my emotions, Elle only figured it out because she is my sister,"

The king bowed his head "Very well, in that case I have nothing left to say, you are all free to leave. I am going to meet with some people as I have an important matter to discuss with them quickly before we all head to the gym for a birthday, Good bye,"
And with that King Phillipe left the room.

Queen Anastasia rushed to her son and gave him a hug, Darry stiffened then relaxed and hugged his mother, she had no control over his father and was not to blame.

"I'm sorry baby," she said ", your father just won't except non-royals. I believe he fears you will be killed if you marry one due to what happened to poor Aricia and Ethan. If there was a way to change his mind I would, you know I would baby, but your father is only trying to protect you, he's doing what he believes is right. I know you have come of age to marry and we hope you will so you can be king and have a beautiful wife by your side. I hope you can find love in one of the other royal families' eligible brides," Queen Anastasia dried her eyes and left the room, leaving Darry alone with Eloise.

For a while neither of them spoke. Elle was the one to finally break the silence
"I am sorry Darry, but she's not a royal,"

Darry grumpily ignored her, still she carried on "I don't mean to cause you grief, you're my brother. But you need to marry a royal not some pretty, mysterious, attention-grabbing chic who steals you away from me,"

Suddenly Darry knew why she had done it, "Elle, Naddy didn't steal me away from you. I was told by Mum and Dad to be her mentor so I am, I'm sorry I haven't been spending as much time with you but what you did was hurtful, I hid my emotions and you were the only one who knew me well enough to read them. I'm not going to forgive you for a while yet but I do promise I will spend more time with you if you stop hating Naddy so much. I believe you'll actually really like her if you give her a chance, she seems like someone who would have been best friends with you if you had met under different circumstances,"