Blood and Roses

Chapter 14

Stella

I woke up to the sound of gunfire.

"Dad," I said instinctively, running down the stairs. Mom and Dad stood next to each other, Mom in the volleyball shirt and shorts I'd seen her wear so many times already and Dad in a rumpled suit, tie loose and shirt untucked. Dad held his rapier, Mom her swords.

"What's going on?" one of the advisors said, coming up the stairs.

"We're experiencing some slight concerns," Mom said breezily. "It'll be over soon enough. You need not worry."

"I need not worry?" the advisor said, scandalized. "I need not worry? The castle is being destroyed, Your Majesty."

"Yes," Mom said with a grin. "And? I assume you're doing all you can to keep them from destroying the castle, are you not?"

The advisor opened his mouth like a fish before shutting it again, apparently reminded of who he was talking to.

"I can't keep you from coming," Mom said, touching my shoulders on her way by. "I wasn't the best parent to you, but I hope that now I can fix our relationship."

"Right now?" I said, imagining Mom dodging bullets while telling me all the things that I imagined a mom would tell me. The idea was laughable--Mom wasn't that kind of Mom. Then again, she was my mom.

"You're right," Mom said. "We should get going."

"Before Geneva destroys the entire castle?" Dad said.

Mom rolled her eyes, running in the direction of the gunfire.

If I was reasonable--if anyone else had been my parents--I would've stayed, but when I saw Mom and Dad's receding backs I dutifully followed them, thinking about what Mom said. So what if they wouldn't teach me weapons magic? Magic wasn't anything. That was what I learned more than anything else from Mom.

"Where are you going?" Tami said. She stood in front of Mom and Dad for a moment before she thought better of herself and stepped aside, falling into step behind Mom. "At least take me with you."

"I don't have to do everything on my own," Mom reminded Tami. It sounded like she'd been doing it for years, reminding Tami that she was capable enough to take care of yourself.

"Yes, but you need someone to watch your back," Tami said, jerking her chin in Dad's direction, "and he doesn't count--no offense, Wren."

"None taken," Dad said, his eyes fixated on the chaos in front of them. 

The battle was taking place in the next room. Most the wall had burned away, leaving a circular sized entrance around the size of the massive throne room doors. The inside wasn't in much better shape. The columns that had supported the high ceiling were now broken, slashed by someone angry with a sword. Here and there, the marble floor had been blasted away by powerful exploding spells. The tapestries around the room were in flames. The treasured legacy of the Venus kingdom was in tatters.

But when I looked at Mom and Dad, if they were surprised by the destruction that was unfolding around us, they didn't let it on. Dad even looked faintly bored and Mom blocked a yawn.

"We got out of bed for this bullshit?" Mom said.

The battles around the room ceased, the crowd parting to let Geneva walk through.

"Oh, granddaughter, it's been a long time," Geneva said with a gilded smile, her true intentions festering underneath. "I was beginning to think you'd never come. And then I realized my little demonstration here was just what I needed."