Giles' Keeper

Oh my heavens. Giles takes his seat at the head of the table, keeping me to his right, with a small smile and a squeeze of my hand he goes straight to making out plates. “Nesta my dear, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Lennon, Giles’ mother.” A sweet woman introduces herself, brushing her midnight hair back over her shoulder with the sweetest lopsided smile I’ve ever seen.

“It’s a pleasure to meet ma’am.” Queen? Ex-Queen? Mrs. Wingrove? How do I even introduce myself to these people? She releases a twinkling, fairy-like laugh as she shakes her head with a delicate blush. Her pale green eyes sparkle with her smile as she waves her hand in front of her, dismissing me. Did I do it wrong? Giles hand rests on my leg as he takes a bite, inhaling his food.

“Nonsense my dear, you are a part of the family, call me Lennon.” She smiles as an older replica of Giles smiles sweetly at her, squeezing her hand affectionately.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Nesta, thank you for joining our meal.” The man pauses, before he bows his head politely. “Forgive me, I’m Draven, that one’s father.” He offers a teasing wink to Giles who grunts, waving a hand as he reaches for what I can guess is an ale of sorts.

“Thank you for having me.” My heart feels as if it’s in my throat as Giles nods to my plate and my stomach snarls again in hunger making me blush fiercely.

“Eat my sweet, the shift has taken a lot out of you.” He murmurs gently with a tender squeeze of my leg, his hold possessive. A blond headed woman nods in a friendly manner as she chews through a bite of bread with a gentle smile.

“Don’t be frightened by yer appetite, it’s normal fer you to be starved.” She offers nodding, her hair a mass of braids tied back by an elegant blue ribbon. Cora waves her hand to the fiery eyed man. Ozul was it?

“You’ll only have to worry if you can keep up with this one, plate for plate, ale for ale.” Ozul looks at her with a small smirk, patting his belly, distracting me from the pressure. I hope they keep up their banter, I feel as if I’m about to puke. I take a bit of bread, the flavor explodes of fresh herbs and butter. This is so extravagant.

“I’m a growing boy with a growing appetite, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I spend a lot of time moving- can you say the same?” He arches a brow as he stares at her over the rim of his glass, earning an eye roll.

“Get off of the high horse mighty knight, you’ll deflate your head with how massive your ego is. You need to be a toad to be humbled.” She scoffs, drinking from her glass delicately.

“Ozul, give her a break.” A man with a melodic voice hums, shaking his head at the pair before he looks to Cora with a much gentler reprimanding glance. “And you don’t need to poke the toad.” He joins in on teasing the youngest brother who shakes his head at the pair.

“I’m the best brother, Ozul, it’s nice to meet you Nesta.” Ozul offers me a simple nod and a raised glass in meeting. No wonder Cora thinks he should be a toad. He is a handsome man, built strong, with wide shoulders, and a capable mind. I’m sure he has ladies falling at his feet.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” The man who chastised them offers a simple, if not shy smile.

“I’m Corban, it’s nice to meet you Nesta- I heard you were a curious soul?” He questions making me shrug with a small smile towards the table.

“Right now, I’d say more bewildered than curious. I feel as if I’m off lost in the woods.” I offer honestly. Very undeserving and lost. Sitting amongst royalty makes me feel like I’ve wandered into the wrong home and their generosity keeps me here, not a welcome. Yet none of them have been unwelcoming to me.

“The transition can be hard, I’m Reznor.” The man sitting next to Jezebel offers, his arm placed over the back of her chair as he lounges back.

“It’s been a shock.” I agree, earning an understanding nod from Jezebel.

“Aye, it was a startle fer me too. You’ll get used to it.” She offers. I wonder where she’s from, her accent is new to me.

“What’s the story?” Ozul asks, making me turn to stare at him in confusion before he clarifies. “How’d you get him to change? His lazy rear wasn’t working for it.” Giles growls as he stares at his brother pointedly.

“Don’t go there Ozul.” He growls, making Draven frown.

“Boys- don’t start a war over our meal. Save the fight for the field.” Ozul smirks at that with a shrug.

“I’d be happy to battle you on the field, I’ve gotten better.”

“Ozul, I’m not interested in a battle right now.” Giles grunts, making Ozul laugh.

“Of course- you want your mate in the worst way possible.” Ozul teases, making me blush as Lennon tsks at her son, shaking her head in disappointment.

“That is not proper talk at the table Ozul.” He is a rowdy man.

“If you must know, my father had a legacy of his own.” I start feeling as if I need to prove myself to him, like this is a test. Maybe it is. Ozul meets my eyes in a bold stare.

“Did he know?” He questions in almost a bored tone.

“My father betrayed Giles- he brought a mob to kill Giles.” Ozul’s brow arch in an aristocratic way as he tilts his head.

“So he fought back and took you?” Giles growls, leaning back in his chair as I stare at him. The table sits still in wait, of the tension brewing it makes me sit taller, stiffening my spine.

“No- I stood between the mob and Giles.” Ozul’s lips barely lift as if amused or maybe impressed. “Papa tried to incite a mob to kill Giles, and me by default. I fought back.” I stare at Ozul as a rush of emotions threatens to choke me again. I hate seeing that night. The sounds of the howling wind and screams nearly deafen me. Giles places his hand over mine, only then do I hear his low, threatening growl.

“Nesta was shot twice in her efforts. You would’ve been proud to lead her Ozul, she was a valiant fighter- even against her own blood.” Lennon gasps as she holds a hand to her mouth in shock, Ozul on the other hand offers a serene smile.

“She sounds competent then. Did you spill blood yourself?” Giles growls in confirmation. Corban shakes his head, tossing his napkin over his plate with a queasy glance.

“Can we not count our kills? Some of us don’t enjoy death- not all of us are bloodthirsty mongrols.” Corban drinks his water as if to quell the unease.

“What of your father? Did he try to harm you?” Cora stares at me in confusion, leaning forward as if to learn more. I shake my head with a shaky breath of my own, turning my hand to hold onto Giles for strength.

“No, he brought a mob to kill Giles, to try to save me from him. Papa, didn’t want me to be harmed.” Cora snorts as Reznor shakes his head in amusement.

“Clearly de man was nay smart.” Jezebel speaks the thoughts the two were thinking aloud.

“Nesta watched her father die not long ago- drop the conversation.” Giles growls with finality as I close my eyes, to try and gather myself. Please, don’t be a fool and start to weep. Not now.

“I’m sorry for you loss Nesta.” Lennon offers softly, making me shake my head as I attempt to put up a brave face.

“Papa made his decisions and he befell the consequences.” I can only imagine how his actions affected Giles.

“Nobel of you to see it that way.” Ozul speaks up with a nod, it almost sounds like a compliment. Cora glances at him and shakes her head as she leans her elbows on the table earning a tsk from her mother. She automatically removes her elbows as if it’s a mindless correction.

“Tell me about yourself Giles hasn’t offered much in the way of information.” Giles snorts as he makes a second plate.

“Pardon me, I was more concerned about her life.” Giles looks towards my plate with a small frown. “Eat, you need food.” He murmurs, releasing my hand only to place his back on my thigh again. The command makes me secretly giddy as I pick up my fork, thinking over Cora’s request.

“I’m not very interesting I’m afraid.” I start by shaking my head with a shy shrug. Nothing compared to you folks anyway. “I grew up on my family farm in a small village, we used to have a good farm by the towns means anyhow.” Cora’s eyes glitter as she leans forward.

“Where were you? What area?” I have to frown, unsure of the question.

“A small village that went by Craiova, it’s in Wallachia. It’s a few hours flight from here.” She smiles as she looks towards Giles.

“What was it like? Was it a beautiful area? Different?” Giles shrugs his shoulders as he finishes his bite, giving me a pointed look to keep eating.

“Of course it was different to here, it’s human.” He answers simply, Cora leans forward more, intent on learning.

“Cora, being in the human world is nothing like Alodias- we mean nothing, there, we are nothing more than a mythic being that hides in the shadows. It’s not easy to be banished from Alodias.” Reznor admonishes his sister with a frown of his own.

“It’s not something you want to see Cora- the world out there is filled with hardships. Be grateful you’ll never experience it.” Draven shakes his head at his daughter’s curiosity of the unknown. What is that about? Cora huffs as she leans back in her chair.

“Is it so bad I want to learn about differences?” She mutters earning a stare from Ozul, Corban on the other hand frowns.

“Well- of course it’s not. Differences are important, no one is from the same cloth. Just, Alodias is a safe place, the human world faces many hardships, I’m sure Nesta can tell you about the downfalls.” Corban offers in a way to appease both sides of the argument. Cora glances at me with a frown.

“I can’t say it’s all bad- but that’s all I’ve ever known.” What am I defending? “It’s different from here, but not the important parts. Family is still family.” Cora shakes her head before stabbing at her plate blandly.

“What do you want to know Cora?” Giles asks calmly, having finished his meal, he leans back in his chair, watching her.

“Nevermind.” She dismisses them all with a bitter tone, slinking back in her chair with a hidden expression.

“What did you have on your farm Nesta? Were you able to grow a lot?” Corban asks with a shy polite smile.

“Some years were plentiful for Papa and I- enough wealth to share with the village. Other’s we barely survived. Winters could be harsh where we lived.” Corban nods with a curious smile.

“Did you have pets?” He asks as if it’s a question that’s fascinated him.

“We had a horse, Mable- the sweetest horse I’ve ever met. Other than that we had our meat animals while things were good.” He frowned at the mention of meat animals before nodding in understanding.

“What about crops? You must’ve lived off of them mostly.” He tries again, making Ozul snort into his cup.

“Corb- the real world can’t rely on the magic you have. Crops aren’t plentiful enough to eat alone. You are lucky.” Giles nods.

“The grounds here are plentiful, you’ll manage your crop fascination if you grow your own food. But be weary- humans will rob you blind if they are starved enough.” Giles warns his younger brother with a pointed stare.