VII

Adrian looked at the official sitting in front of him, he was an old man, with a balding pate and grey eyes that shifted back and forth between a paper on his desk and Adrian. According to the placard on his door his name was Mr. Yalan. ”So, let me get this straight, Mr. VonTori, you wish to remove yourself from a noble family?” He glanced up at Adrian a look of incredulity on his face.

“Yes,” Adrian nodded, this was perhaps the fourth or fifth time he had answered this question, and he was starting to get rather irritated, Isi rested her hand on his forearm and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Is it really that hard to believe?” Adrian ground out.

“Well if I am being honest then yes, it is indeed hard to believe.” He leaned back in his chair and straightened his bloodred necktie. His hand reached up and stroked his chin, it was a wonder he didn't draw blood seeing as it was so sharp. Adrian was not used to seeing men like him, sure he had been around nobles, but the vast majority of people he interacted with on a daily basis were either soldier or had at one point been soldiers. The sole exception to that was the workcamps, but with situations that rough you either got tough or you died. “I have been working this position for over thirty years now,” he sighed and leaned back looking at Adrian. “Not once has a request such as this come up, now don't get me wrong I am sure there is some sort of contingency the thing is I am just going to have to look for it.”

“Contingency?” Adrian asked.

“Yes, as a military man you should know the meaning of those words, am I correct?” Adrian chose to let that comment slide and said nothing allowing him to say his piece. “I suppose this is something like adoption in reverse, I have no idea why you would want to do this,” he glanced at Isi and shook his head. “No idea at all, it is not something a sane person would do...”

“Is it wise to insult a mage like that?” Adrian asked, his hand slipping slightly down towards his pocket, “especially one who as you said may not be the sanest of individuals.”

“You don't scare me Mr. VonTori,” he scoffed, making sure to use his current the last name. “And if you want me to accomplish this correctly then you will give me time, time and money,” he smirked.

“How much time?” Adrian sighed, he had caved in so fast it was not funny. He had to work hard to ignore Isi’s giggle.

“I will get my understudies on it right away, but there will be a lot of legal documents to work through, and many many laws to check and uncheck, if we are lucky I will simply be able to reverse engineer the adoption form and simply mirror it exactly, so I would say a day or two?”

“That is fine, I'll delay my departure to make sure this is properly handled.”

“For the record, I still think you are insane...”

“Noted, is there anything else you need from me?” Adrian asked he felt his stomach drop when the official started laughing.

“Don't think you can simply pile this paperwork on me and leave, oh no no no, you will have forms to fill out and read and agree to, there is much for you to do, so I suggest you get very comfortable, you are about to become very well acquainted with this pen.” as if to punctuate his words he slapped a pen down on the table and slid it and a small mountain of paperwork over towards Adrian. “Let us get started shall we?” he smiled as Adrian felt something die inside of him...

***

“That is probably not the best of ideas,” Adrianus sighed, leaning back in his chair, his hand reaching out and taking the cup that had been placed there in front of him. He reached out and picked it up, examining the cup so he didn't have to look at his dinner partner for the evening. The cup was of fine make, elegant blown glass as clear as a quick flowing mountain stream. “I think he needs time to come to terms with the situation, then perhaps you can approach him, but don't expect to ever get back the level of friendship and camaraderie you once had.” he glanced up at Emilia, who was sitting there across the table, her hands folded in her lap, looking down. As he spoke her face fell. She was taking this all pretty hard, and while it was indeed due to his son’s miraculous return from the dead that had brought all of this to the surface he was willing to bet the reason she was filling so bad at the moment was because she had always harbored some guilt over her actions, and in Adrianus’s opinion she was right to feel guilty.

“Grandpa,” He smiled and glanced over at the little boy, he looked exactly like Janus and Adrian had when they were little, and just like them, he was an extremely perceptive child. At the age of three, he had been quite the talkative child and could even read some sentences but now? Well, he was almost seven and he understood much more now. “Who we talking about?”

“Your uncle, the person you are named after, he is back.”

“Is he?” his grandson seemed to be thinking. “I’ve heard a lot about him, do you think I can meet him?”

“At some point, I don’t think you will this time but perhaps next time he is back from his job,” He didn't think his son would go so far as to doing anything bad in little Adrian’s presence, but he didn't wish to risk it until he had cooled down. Servants brought out the food, placing it on the table and spreading it out so that everyone had a plate of food. Tonight’s dinner was cold chicken, cooked and then chilled served with cheese and grapes, served with a mug of spiced wine. Adrianus reached forward and cut off a slice of the chicken, he would have to commend the chef, he had done an excellent job that much was for sure…

There was a knock at the door, and before he could tell the person to either enter or leave them alone the door opened and the one person he really didn't want in his household at the moment. Adrian walked in like he owned the place and looked around at the people at the table, his eyes catching on the small child for the briefest of moments. Before he nodded to himself.”Sorry to barge in like this father,” Adrian said walking over to an empty chair and pulling it out, Adrianus watched as the savage woman that had followed Adrian home came out of the doorway and sat in the chair he had presented and Adrian took his own seat next to her. “We have few things to discuss.”

“Oh?” Adrianus asked, making sure to keep his face blank, his son didn't seem too angry at the moment, perhaps he had matured in the time he had been away? He looked more carefully at his son’s eyes, there didn't seem to be any malice in them… “And what are we discussing?” he didn't want the Savage at his table, but his son seemed rather fond of the girl, and he decided to let it lie for now.

“Well, first you will be happy to note I have chosen an assignment,” he slid the folder over and Adrianus picked it up, flipping it open to look at the orders. At first, he was rather taken aback, he honestly didn't think his son would want to go to such a hell hole as this, but then he noticed where it was located and how close to the border of Kurtz it was, it didn't take long for him to put two and two together.

“I see,” he nodded, he could respect this choice, after all, it was better for a man to face his enemies than to run from them, and he had no doubt that the Kurtz empire had made an enemy of his son. “And what is the second thing? You did say we had things to discuss, I don't suppose it was just this?”

“No, the second thing is this,” Adrian reached down and grabbed the savage’s hand in his own and laid it on the table, their finger’s interlaced, but that was not what caught Adrianus’s attention, no that honor went to the two golden bands clasped about their wrists, each inset with a purple amethyst.

Adrianus’s face first drained of all color, though the lack of color soon was rectified as a deep red crept back into it, his eyes bulging in anger and a temple throbbing. “Come on Adrian, let's go,” Emilia whispered, grabbing her son by the hand.

“But mama I am hungry!” the child protested. She scooped him up and rested him on her hip before grabbing a plate of food and quickly rushing out of the room. As soon as the door clicked shut Adrianus spoke.

“Are you doing this to spite me, son? Because if so it is in rather poor taste...” the words were soft, almost kind, but there was something there, something dark and foreboding.

“No, I am not, I would have done this regardless of your feelings on the subject, don't get me wrong right now I am relishing the look on your face but it has no bearing on my decision.”

“I will not allow my grandchildren to be half savages!” he roared, slamming his fists down on the table and surging upright, knocking his chair over. Neither Adrian nor his Savage whore so much as flinched.

“That is another issue,” Adrian calmly slid a single paper across the table, careful to avoid the spilled wine. It was a rather important looking document, complete with a gold leaf border. “As of today they will not be your grandchildren, I am forming my own family, it has been formally recognized.”

The court of Helheim formally recognize Adrian Nashoba as a member of the royal-

Adrianus stopped reading after that, he simply clenched his fist, messing up the official-looking document without even really realizing it. “Get out of my house,” he growled, “I do not wish to see you or your savage whore again in my residence!”

Adrian stood up slowly his face stony, “Call my fiance a whore again General, and we will have an issue.”

“Get out!” this time it was a roar, and despite the anger directed at him Adrian simply stood slowly, taking that woman’s hand and helping her to stand. Slowly as if there was not a care in the world for the two of them they made their way out of the hall, only to have Adria pause at the doorway and look at the back of his father. He was still standing there, trembling in a rage, as he leaned over the table.

“You are invited to the wedding general, it has yet to be decided when the date will be, perhaps after I get back from my current assignment,” his father said nothing, Adrian sighed to himself, he had known there would be no good way for this to go, but he only slightly regret it. “If it is any consolation father, Isi is much more powerful in the arcane arts than Emilia ever could have been,” his father didn't respond to that either. With a shrug, he left the dining hall.

“Ish waliki taron?” Isi asked, but Adrian just stood there, eyes closed as he took in a deep breath.

“I don’t know Isi, this was much harder than I thought it would have been,” he opened his eyes and looked over at her. She simply stared at him, before she started down the hall, pulling him along by the hand. “Where are we going?” he asked as she pulled him along and back out of the household. The VonTori household here in the city of Helheim was if he was being honest more grand than the family home back in Irkstead, but that was hardly surprising seeing as his father no, not his father anymore, the General had need to host people here, so the apartment was grander by far as there was a lot of posturing to be done here. “Isi, wait,” he stopped, gripping her hand and pulling her up short. She looked at him as he turned and walked with her down the right hall instead of heading toward the door as she had wanted. At the far end of the hallway two people were talking, one a woman, the other a young man. Adrian didn't go into the room he simply propped himself against the frame of the door and listened.

“-ecase I am your mother and I said so! Honestly, you are just like your father! You never listen!” Emilia hissed in frustration. Adrian smiled, she was not wrong, Janus was a bit of a rebellious soul, it had caused many fights between the two brothers in the past. He sighed realizing he could not bring himself to confront her, slowly he stepped back, he was not prepared to do this, perhaps he would never be able to do so… with quiet footsteps, he fell back and rejoined Isi in the hallway leading out…