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Chapter 43 - Grafted
Luella
I had never been so relieved in my whole life. The fires that we saw while we were on the ship had been extinguished. The palace courtyard was a mess, but everything else was in order, if you could call several dead bodies littering the ground in order.
Metheus and his people fought valiantly, killing all the witches and warlocks who attacked them. His men cleaned outside while Rowali, Francilia, Fuza, and I entered the palace.
Fuza burst into tears as we entered. She was overwhelmed with emotion, kneeling on the floor and kissing it. Rowali burst out laughing at her nurse’s extreme display of gratitude. She muttered something about the floor being “dusty and extra dirty from the boots of witches from the Touch.” Metheus approached me and took the luggage I was dragging, carrying it with ease. He smiled at me. I tried to read all the emotions on his face, but it was quickly back to being aloof.
“Metheus!” cried Rowali, crashing on her brother’s chest.
“Rowali,” he murmured, kissing her on top of her head.
“I think I am a medium like Mother, Metheus,” she gushed.
Metheus turned to me, his eyes filled with concern and a little bit of annoyance. I felt like he would tell me exactly what he was feeling later on in the privacy of our room. The joy that I felt turned into apprehension.
“That is wonderful, Rowali,” Metheus responded to his sister.
“Then, I can help you with the coming war,” she said.
“There will be no war,” he said through gritted teeth.
We were walking up the steps now, towards our chambers.
“Do you think it is over, Metheus? Are those all the witch enemies?” she asked, her eyes bright and hopeful. I remembered that those eyes had been dull with grief for months. Now, they were bright, almost on fire.
“I – I do not know, Rowali,” Metheus answered, finding it hard to lie to his little sister. “But if there will be war, I will not let you fight.”
“Not let me fight? I know you are the king now, Metheus, but you cannot stop me from doing what I want to do!” she yelled, stomping one foot on the ground.
While Rowali was starting to look like a young lady, she was still very much a sheltered child at almost fourteen. She was fortunate enough to have Metheus as her brother. He would not force her to marry anyone if she did not want to.
“You feel like that now. Well, let us see when the enemies are here,” Metheus said drily.
“Oh, you will see what I can do, Metheus!”
“I have no doubt I will see what you can do, but maybe you should show me tomorrow?” he relented.
“Really? Why tomorrow?”
“You just got here. Clean up, eat some supper, and rest. Tomorrow, you can meet with the Seers and Lucia from the Coven. They will help you tap into your powers. Nevertheless, I still believe that you are not ready to fight. Not as a medium. You need to learn how to fight with a sword or a bow and arrow and perhaps cast spells. However, let us face it. You may not have the powers of a witch,” he sighed heavily.
He knew he had just said all the wrong words. However, he was Metheus. He would say what he meant or not say anything at all.
Rowali pouted and became sullenly quiet. She and her nurse entered her room to get ready. Francilia had gone to her room to wash. Meanwhile, Metheus and I continued our sad little march toward our room. He was so quiet.
When inside our room, he closed the door gently behind us. He rested my luggage on the floor. Then, we quietly proceeded to the tub to wash. It was not as thrilling as it sounded, cleaning up naked in front of my husband as he cleaned up himself.
“Join me, Metheus,” I said, immersed in the tub.
I sounded pitiful, pleading. My husband was unhappy with my decision to return to Arrowspear.
“If I join you there, we will never get to supper,” he managed to jest, making me smile.
Still, he was quiet for the rest of the time, not even looking at me. Once dressed, we joined everyone else for supper. I could only imagine that Rowali and I shared the same long faces. Then again, most of the dinner guests looked like they were at a funeral. The recent attack reminded us that the enemies wanted to do everyone harm.
After the meal, a conversation with the witches informed me about everything else that happened in Prozeus and Tarkus. It was suddenly clear why half of the Seers were staying at the palace. The rest were gone. Therefore, they needed a place of refuge to regroup while also helping prepare for future attacks.
