3053 A Matter of Choice (Part 1)
"Aside from my grandfather and Narso, no one cared about me. Full-blooded Nidhoggs avoided me back when I was a hybrid. Even after I discarded my human life force, it changed nothing." Bodya said.
"To them, I was a dumb toddler who at twenty years of age struggled with things that they had mastered as hatchlings. I considered myself an adult man while they treated me like a child. Two decades are nothing for a lesser Leviathan.
"The Nidhoggs wouldn't consider me an adult before I hit my first century of life but I couldn't live like that for another eighty years so I left. After learning what they have done to my Granpa, I'm more than sure of my choice.
"I don't want to keep seeking the approval of people who just share my blood. I want to give us a chance and try to be accepted by your family. If you'll have me, of course."
"Yes, I do. I'll marry you." She said with the sweetest voice and eyes watery from joy.
'I was just asking to stop with the casual dating and get serious, not proposing!' Bodya went from his usual ashen to deathly pale as he desperately searched for a way to clear the misunderstanding without hurting Tista's feelings.
"You bought that!" Her straight face crumbled as she burst out laughing. "I can't believe I managed to pull it off so easily. The look on your face was priceless. It was like a toad had jumped down your throat!"
"This is not funny!" His face turned to a dull shade of red as she slapped her knees in hilarity. "I can eat toads for breakfast but you know I can't take on your brother. He would break my spine like a twig right now if our roles were reversed."
"Don't worry, Lith might still do that." Tista wiped off her tears and tried to be serious. "First you moped around for weeks, barely talking to me, and then you disappeared without saying anything.
"Did you really expect that you could just waltz back and pretend nothing happened?"
"You are right, I'm sorry." Bodya scratched his head in embarra.s.sment. "Just to be clear, I was asking you to move our relations.h.i.+p from casual to serious. And for the record, I still think the prank was uncalled for."
"My answers are yes and we'll have to agree to disagree." Tista shrugged.
They had started catching up when Lith arrived to check on the disturbance. They were too close to the tower for his comfort.
"Bodya, what are you doing here?" His voice was cold and his expression stern.
"He just came back from Jiera and apologized to me." Tista said with a big smile on her face. "We are still together, don't worry."
"Congratulations." It was a single word but it managed to express the full scope of Lith's annoyance as he stared at the Nidhogg like he wanted to kill him.
"Look, I get it." Bodya raised his palms. "I acted like a jerk and deserved a lesson. Message received. There's no point pus.h.i.+ng the joke too far."
"What joke?" Lith's frown remained and became worse when Tista told him they weren't casual anymore.
Bodya experienced his first mile in Senton's shoes and he didn't like it one bit.
***
Verhen Mansion, Solus' tower a few days later.
"I am banished from death." Lith growled, sitting on the comfortable chair of his home office.
"Ba?" Elysia asked.
"Yes, banished. Kicked out. Expelled." He replied. "Also, apparently I'm banished from my own house as well."
"Dya!" She giggled while crawling toward Lith, happy to spend the morning with him after a while.
With Kelia moving in the Mansion, the women of the Verhen family had made giving her a room of her own their mission. The more Kelia opened up about her past, the more tears flowed and Lith's relatives circled around her like a pack of mama bears.
They wanted to give her a place that felt like a real home rather than a spartan dorm with recreational facilities like the academy. It required colorful tapestries, bedsheets, carpets, and more pillows than Lith had ever seen.
And that without taking into account stuffed animals, small pieces of jewelry, shoes, and clothes. Sure, the Empress was the one funding Kelia's lifestyle but Lith still frowned seeing the bills for what he considered useless junk.
Instead of laughing at his shocked expressions like usual, Kamila had reprimanded him for ruining the moment. When Elina, Rena, Tista, Selia, and even Solus had taken her side, Lith had opted for a tactical retreat to the tower.
"Yes, I too am happy to be with you, sweetie." Lith picked up the baby girl with a sigh. "I'm, just bored. Do you think I'm in the wrong here?"
She had started to crawl at the six months mark like clockwork, for the surprise of no one. Elysia already walked, flew, and moved quite well in her other forms, using her little tail as training wheels.
Everyone in the family was ready to bet that if not for her stumpy body, she would probably be walking already.
"La!" The Dragon scales let Lith know that Elysia had no idea what he was talking about but she loved him.
"I love you too, baby girl." He tickled her, enjoying her laughter. "Maybe I'm not in the wrong but for sure I'm a hypocrite."
He could only sigh while looking at Elysia's enchanted clothes, toys, crib, and every piece he had crafted for her that alone was worth more than everything the Empress was buying for Kelia combined.
"You know what, let's divine your future." In an attempt to brush off his blatant character flaw, Lith decided to follow an ancient Earth ritual.
He put Elysia down on the ground and conjured several items in front of her. Toy weapons to symbolize the way of the warrior, toy books and quills for the way of the scholar, and s.h.i.+ny coins of different precious metals for the way of the n.o.ble.
"Take your pick." Lith walked back to his chair. "Soldier, mage, or Royal Court. Which-"
When he turned around, he saw Elysia ignoring everything and following him as fast as she could.
"Dya!" She tugged at his pants.
"Did you just choose me?" Lith was already shocked by the outcome and when the Dragon scales confirmed his a.s.sumption, he felt his heart swell with joy.
Elysia didn't care for any of those things, she just wanted to be in her father's arms.
"Thank you, sweetie." Lith sat on the ground and fulfilled her wish. "I promise that I'll always be by your side. I will never let-"
The ground shook and the sky rumbled as black clouds ama.s.sed above the Verhen Mansion. At first, Lith thought it was just natural phenomenon but then he felt his body br.i.m.m.i.n.g with energy for no apparent reason.
The intensity of the vibrations in the ground remained constant even after several seconds and the frequency of the thunders followed a pattern too precise to be natural.
When Lith lowered his gaze, he found himself in his Tiamat form with his wings unfurled and mystical Flames of all kinds erupting from his body.