The Cobra's Gaze and Bite [Cobra Commander x OC]

Entry 09 : In Grief

Entry 09 : In Grief

17 | 2115 | A | MAY | 22

Fourteen months.

That was how long it took for my inheritance to be brought up again.

I had been away on a trip touring Normandy with Lucille and Flavie Beauchêne, the latter of whom was Comtesse as she was married to Arthur's elder brother Bastien. Flavie was less outgoing than her sister-in-law, but I learned quickly that she had backbone nonetheless and had no reservations about being firm and putting her foot down when it was needed. We got along well on that point, and I was glad to make a fast friend in her during the trip. However, our trip had been cut short with a single phone call from Armand to Flavie. The call had not been made directly to myself since Armand had wanted either Lucille or Flavie, who had picked up first, to break the news of my grandfather's death to me.

He had a heart attack when reading in the library, and though he had been immediately rushed to the hospital he didn't make it.

That had been three weeks ago, and I still remember going into a pale state of shock. My mind had known what my ears were hearing from Flavie, but in the suspension of perception my shock had put me in couldn't quite believe them. I had only known my grandfather for barely over a year and now he was gone. I thought I would still have a few more years but that would never be the case for my grandfather and I. Now, I sat in the living room meeting with other mourners after the funeral, receiving their condolences. I spoke very few words with them, mostly nodding and simply thinking over my own thoughts throughout.

It had been a well-put-together funeral for my grandfather: Full military honors, a lengthy procession, and - to my surprise - a rather large crowd of mourners. More interestingly, as I noticed throughout the proceedings, many weren't natively French and dressed in the full military regalia of other countries. My grandfather had told me quite a few things about his illustrious and exciting military career, though I noticed when he talked more lightly and vaguely during more than a few of his stories. I knew that he had done quite a bit of traveling throughout his career, but he never really mentioned making a lot of friends or friendly acquaintances. Certainly not enough for this turnout for his funeral.

And, not unexpectedly, my father was conspicuously absent from the proceedings despite the many people who did arrive for a final goodbye to my grandfather. It looked like even I wasn't enough to come back for, and I made this the moment that, like my grandfather had nearly two decades ago, estranged me from my father. Of course, he wouldn't be inheriting anything though I doubted he would show even if he had been left something. However, Adrian Lacroix was better at leaving things behind.

The paperwork would be finalized in a few days, but other than that my inheritance was written in stone. Glancing around the room, it was easy to spot those whose grief was as sincere as mine. Inspecting a little deeper, however, and I found those whose grief was a mask to hide the jealousy and greed they had against me. This was no surprise for me, as I had expected this to appear in this wake for my grandfather and something Armand further warned me about. As he had told me: I was a pretty-looking stranger to many who ran in the social circles of elite society, and I essentially appeared from nowhere and so seemed like a charming upstart. Now here I was, a Comtesse at nineteen and inheritor of everything under the Lacroix name. Several individuals and even entire families would not like that.

Even though gaining a substantial inheritance seemed like a fairytale and the end to all troubles, one had to remember that this was not how reality truly worked and that with greater status came greater troubles.

I had only just begun to note those individuals who were unhappy with my sudden elevation in status for future reference when someone approached me with a sure, military-type presence. Turning my head to get a better look at this person, I not only noted that it was a man, older but not nearly as old as my grandfather had been though definitely starting to grey, and dressed in his full military honors. Picking out that detail, my eyes widened a little as I then saw it was the decorated military attire for a general from the United States. Once he was closer I stood, wanting to greet him on more even ground, and I didn't get the chance to read the name on his heavily-starched jacket before he offered his hand and introduced himself, solving that matter.