Sun Room, Summer Kilevov Residence, Calesu Province
Saturday evenings were when the Kilevovs would convene as a family to converse about anything that came to mind. Occasionally soft music would fill the confines if the room, but it was never anything intense - just background noise. The soft undulations blended in with the rest of the room - old stained glass on the windows echoing past glories, coupled with dozens of regular paned glass windows to let the cool sea air into the wood and stone edifices.
It was a relatively peaceful evening. Though those inside of the room were restless. It was unusual to find such restlessness, however. After all, the Kilevovs had little to be upset about. Their family was not in power, sure, but they were still wealthy, extremely wealthy for a Vekaiyun family. They had overall good health, and their opinions still held weight. Well, some did.
“The Kilevovs are nothing more than ancient relics,” an older vulpine lady remarked. “We are faded like a woven Provinsk rug that was left out in the sun for far too long. We are like a great tree that is marked to be cut down by loggers. We are like a beautiful ancient book that has been defaced by barbarians. Our days, like the golden days of Vekaiyu, are long behind us.”
“All I’m saying is it’s a chance,” Daszo said. “I don’t want to do it. But maybe someone else here does.”
“Ikrisia picked you, for she knows your line is weak,” a very old vulpine male said. “She is setting you up, Daszo, and is prepared to wipe our family line from existence.”
“If it is to be wiped, then do it quickly!” the lady from before spoke. “We are at peace. We pose no threat.”
“Calm yourself, Kira my dear. Remember your stress.”
“I’m not weak,” Daszo replied. He remembered how much Ikrisia’s comments from earlier angered him. He wanted them to hold no truth. “And you wouldn’t say that if my father Islo was here.”
“Islo is on holiday, dear,” a middle-aged female vulpine reminded. “Oh, how wonderful it must be in Adevi this time of the year. The vineyards must be ripe with the finest Vekaiyun grapes!”
“Indeed, Yva,” a middle-aged male vulpine agreed. “I would love to take you some time this summer, but honestly I would miss the gardens far too much. The hired hands have really outdone themselves this year. I could paint all through the daylight if I wanted.”
“Your paintings are wonderful, my dear,” Kira said. “It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the continent sees your beautiful brush strokes. Don’t you agree, Kaslo?”
“He has a wonderful talent,” the older vulpine, Kaslo, replied warmly.
“Are we going to sit and talk about paint and flowers, or are we going to consider this offer?” Daszo interjected.
“We have already considered it,” Kaslo said. “The matter is closed. We Kilevovs will not meddle in the affairs of the hostile government that overthrew us some thirty years ago who we to this day do not recognize.”
“But how will we be able to do anything if we refuse to talk to them?” Leina, a fourteen-year old vulpine female asked. It was no secret among the Kilevovs and the Vekaiyun government itself that she was probably their best hope of re-gaining the throne. But she wasn’t really like a Kilevov. Daszo liked that.
“Do not worry about the details, young Leina. The ship will right itself in due time.”
Leina looked at Daszo, then to the congregation. “May I speak my mind?”
Kaslo arched an eyebrow. “It is uncharacteristic.”
“I don’t like how this conversation is going,” Kira added.
“I think Daszo should take the offer,” Leina suggested. “I… I think he’s intelligent and strong. And I think it would be great if a Kilevov could rule over a former enemy.”
“It’s a smokesreen!” another older vulpine male exclaimed. “Ikrisia is trying to divide us and dilute our rich blood even further!”
“She is a cold-hearted woman, that Ikrisia is,” Yuso Ismeliku, (uncredited) Count of Eldura (in abeyance) added. While not a Kivlevov, it was well-known Yuso would be next in line for the throne had it not been for Leina. After all, the Ismelikus were one of nine royal families in Vekaiyu, and had a small right to the throne, should it ever fall back to the monarchy again. It was his plan to court Ikrisia about two years ago, but of course that fell through. “She is merely using this as a tactic to cause in-fighting. Could you imagine? A human of the royalty? Ruling?”
“Oh it’s not just that Yuso,” Kaslo barked. “You Ismelikus always think on a small scale. It’s the fact that she had the audacity and the gall to ask Daszo without even consulting any one of us. Her birth records may remain hidden, but I am willing to put a handsome bet on her line being a poor wretch!”
“Poor wretch indeed!” Kira added.
“It’s better than sitting here and rotting,” Leina muttered as more voices joined in to agree with the older members.
“Excuse me? Young lady?” Kaslo held up a hand and everyone silenced. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
“Come here, please.”
Leina bit her lip and stood from her wooden chair. She walked up to the patriarch and stood in front of him. A backhand from his wrinkly, bony hand soon followed. It had enough force behind it to knock her off her feet. In the background, Daszo moved his his seat, but was wise enough to maintain composure.
“I will not have a young troublemaker make a mockery of my family! Next in line or not, you will know your place, young lady!”
“Yes sir,” she concurred.
“Your parents, my son and his wife, may have perished. But that is no excuse for dishonoring everyone in this room. Retire to your room, young lady. Do away with your presence!”
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
Daszo could see through her light-gray fur that her cheeks were red. She had been crying, probably for a long time. “Sorry for getting you in trouble.”
“It’s my fault, really.”
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.” She turned on a light (luckily the residence had power) and let Daszo enter the room.
“It’s not right what they do to you. Vekaiyu’s nothing like that anymore. They’re really just relics.”
“Relics don’t make you feel sick.”
“Sure they do. But it’s because they’re sick. And jealous. They know their chances of running Vekaiyu are through. So they take it out on us.”
“Sometimes I just wish I was… somewhere else. I don’t like it here. I miss my parents. I miss Eldura.”
Daszo sat down on the bed next to her. “I hear you. Remember when you first came back?”
“Yeah. It was three years ago. Ikrisia took me out of Warre and helped get me back into Vekaiyu. Then the family came. It was kind of scary. Then you helped me.”
“Aye. I showed you around. Told you the best hiding spots from when my cousins played hide-and-go-seek in the gardens. And the best places to swim. And how to not feel so isolated here. Leina, if you ever run into trouble, you know you can talk to me. Right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Pinky swear?”
She smiled a little and extended her pinky finger. She wrapped her bony digit around the human’s. “Pinky swear.” Just like old times. It gave her hope that their little alliance wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Time. She frowned. “Are you going to Dveria?”
“I don’t know,” Daszo confessed. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“If you do, take me with you. It’d be unbearable here with just those old people.”
He smiled. “You’d have to learn Durric. It’s a dirty language, I’m told.”
“I can learn it.”
Daszo laughed. “Of course you can.”
“Daszo?”
“Yeah?”
“Does growing up get easier or harder?”
He paused. “You remember when we watched that blacksmith make a medieval Vekaiyun longsword?” He watched as she nodded. “It’s like that. The fires are hot, the hammer is hard, but with each strike and each turn in the fire, you are annealed and get stronger. When you get stronger, you become more useful. That’s why things have to be hard. The good people go through the hard times and make something out of it.”
“I understand.”
“Hang in there, kid. At the rate you’re going you’ll be Vekaiyun steel one day.”