May Death Do Us Part

295 Chapter 295 : He is on the list

A smile tugged the corners of Eira’s lips when she heard the sounds of her mother’s footsteps getting louder and louder as Melissa marched towards her daughter’s room. From how heavy they sounded, Eira could tell that the queen had seen the final list of suitors and was not happy with it, but of course this was to be expected.

The door swung open and an irrited Melissa marched to where Eira was sitting, in front of her dressing mirror where she was adjusting her armor in readiness to go train with her uncle and her cousins.

“Eira Burchard what is the meaning of this?!”

The red haired princess turned to face her mother, a rather smug smile still curving her face. She looked at the rolled up paper her mother was waving at her and scoffed.

“Well it looks like a sheet of parchment,” Eira responded, making her mother even more furious. “But I assume you are referring to what is on that sheet of parchment, in which case you’ll have to be a little more specific.”

Melissa rolled out the parchment and glared angrily at her daughter. “Don’t try to be smart with me Eira, you know exactly what I am talking about! Why in the gods good names is Isabella’s name doing on the list of suitors?! What kind of games are the two of you playing?!”

Eira grabbed her dagger and secured it on the belt of her armor before standing up straight, her eyes fixated on her angry mother.

“You know what your problem is mother?” Eira spoke in a calm tone, “you are turning into what grandma Tauriel was all those years back.”

Melissa felt a sharp pain in her chest after hearing her daughter’s words. “How dare you speak with such insolence? Eira I am your mother!”

.....

“And just because you are my mother does not mean you own me,” the princess responded, “I am my one person. You have a problem with letting things run the way in which they are meant to if they do not align with your plans. And you know why, because you are too stubborn to let go of the hurt caused to you in the past.”

Eira walked towards her mother and placed a gentle hand in her shoulder. “I’ve done what you wanted, I am soon to be married just like you wanted, it may not be exactly how you wanted it, but it is going to happen, is that not enough?”

The princess pulled her hand away and walked passed the queen who was still incredibly furious. “Heal mother, you’ll find peace if you let go of the past. And maybe then, small things like Isabella’s name being on my list of worthy suitors will not affect you so.”

With those words, Eira walked out of the room, leaving her mother unable to determine what emotions she was feeling. Is this how it was like for Estel when she fell in love with Aiden? Was she really turning into Tauriel? Or was her daughter merely being stubborn.

Eira walked down the hallway feeling better than she had felt all month, she decided she was finally going to start speaking her mind and taking control of her own destiny. No one was going to take control of her fate, not her mother nor her father.

She snapped her fingers and a guard ran to her with a helmet in hand.

“Lord Gareth, prince Damien and Sir Zhelimir are waiting for you in the royal training grounds your grace,” the guard told the princess as he handed her her headgear.

“Thank you,” Eira responded. “And have you called for lord Maxim? He is to help train me as well, ensure he understands why I am inviting him here.”

The guard quickly bowed, “of course your grace, he will be here momentarily.”

*

Bertram watched Maxim as he walked into the parlor dressed in armor and smiled at him.

“This is good news,” the elderly elven man spoke. “The princess asked for you personally to join her at the royal palace, it means she has taken quite the liking to you.”

“I don’t want to get my hopes too high,” Maxim chuckled sheepishly, “I mean, I am told it is only to help her master her elven abilities.”

“Regardless, she asked for you and no other elf, forgetting all of the elven generals she probably knows.” Bertram walked to Maxim and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “As long as you are getting closer to her, it is a win. She’s learning to trust you and enjoys your company, before you know it she will reciprocate the feelings you have for her.”

The handsome elf smiled sheepishly and nervously scratched the back of his head. “Yes.. umm feelings.”

Gods, it was like the further he went down this path, the more the guilt he felt was building up. Maxim was starting to doubt if he was going to be able to complete his mission, because if he was being honest, the royal family did not deserve the hate that Ronda was throwing at them, they were generally good people. But at the same time, Ronda was a scary woman, crossing her may prove to be very dangerous.

“Well go on now,” Bertram spoke excitedly as he pushed Maxim towards the door. “The royal carraige is already outside, you wouldn’t want to keep your possible future bride waiting now do you?”

*

At Ivan’s manor, the dark haired elf sat in the study with his wife Elena, his daughter Janis, and his son Jacob as they waited for their butler to return with the poster that contained the final list of suitors, from the town.

Jacob was the one who was the most uneasy, because in all honesty, he knew how broken he would be if his name was not on that list. But that was impossible, he and Eira had a special bond, they had shared a moment at her birthday ball so there was no way she could have left him out. If there was anyone qualified enough to be her husband, it was him.

Ivan, Elena, and Janis on the other hand worried because they did know how Jacob would react if he wasn’t on the list. Because considering how self destructive he had been behaving the last few days he had been banned from the palace, they knew that all he needed was a little shove and he would lose his mind completely.

When the large double doors of the study swung open and the guard who had gone to fetch the poster entered and took a knee, no one had to be told to stand. Their anxiety alone was enough of a push to get them on their feet.

“I have the list my lord,” the guard spoke.

And without waiting to hear another word, Ivan walked over and took the parchment from the guard’s hands. He preferred he be the first to see wether his son’s name was there or not, so he could better diffuse the situation.

Unrolling the parchment was one of the hardest tasks Ivan had ever done in a while, and reading through the list of names proved even harder. But finally, after seconds of enduring the thudding of his heart against his chest, he saw it, Jacobs’s name on the third last slot.

“He’s on the list,” Ivan spoke with a shaky sigh of relief.

“What?” Elena responded in shock. She walked up to her husband and took the parchment from him so she could see for herself. And indeed, Jacob’s name was there, oh thank the gods, this could buy them more time to get their son the necessary help that he needed before it was too late. Because without question, Jacob would not be the man that Eira would choose for a husband. Even his name being on the list, Elena suspected it was all her daughter’s doing.

Janis had become awfully close to the young knight Zhelimir over the last few days, and she may have asked him to convince Eira to add Jacob to the list. Elena understood that her daughter was only being a caring sister, but she was worried that Janis might end up jeopardizing her relationship with the young knight if she kept using him to keep Jacob happy.

“Why are you all surprised?” Jacob asked his family as he sat back down in his chair. “You act as if there was ever any doubt of me making it onto the list. I told you that Eira and I are meant to be, you need not doubt our future together.”

Ivan looked at his son, and once again sorrow and worry filled his eyes. Maybe he should not have passed that comment all those years ago when he called Eira ‘Jacob’s future wife’. Maybe he would have saved his son from this self destructive obsessive abyss in which he was falling into. Ivan hoped it was not too late to save him, because nothing good was going to come out of this, that was for sure.