COR TOWER
XASEAH THEOLHEIM COR
"You want me to do what?" I asked with a cold tone.
Asha looked a little uncomfortable asking me this considering I've been avoiding this for quite a while. But for her to ask me to do it, it means it was really urgent.
And I understood the urgency, with what we've discovered about her babies, Asha would have to channel all attention to herself, and push every other thing aside. It's been two days yet, we've not even been able to tell Kael about it due to how tirelessly he's been working. But doing this was something I'm not ready for.
"You want me to look after children? I know vampires kids mature faster, but do I really have to be their nanny? I'm better served being by your side, or at least hunting or training with the other vampires." I complained to her with a resolute gaze.
"You're right, but this is a crucial point for all of us. We can't rule if our people have no impression of us. I know you don't like this kind of things, but you're their leader's woman. They have to see you care for them, and mingle with them, so that their respect for us will grow bigger and beyond what it currently is." Asha explained.
"But why is this so necessary? Aren't we doing just fine already? Kael has been working tirelessly to unseal them, why do we have to create any other bond when there's more than enough from Kael's actions?"
I really didn't get it. Politics was not my thing, I rather punch a face and move on to the next unfortunate jaw in sight. I preferred to be honest, and I know I'm not so great with kids.
In fact the knowledge that the twins will be born in five months scares me so much because I knew I also had to be their mother. I just wanted everything that I had to do to be straightforward. Now all this has completely thrown me off the rails.
"I know you don't like things like politics or manipulation, but if you don't do so, all Kael would become is a figure head, and the bloodline elders would be the ones to truly hold power." Asha explained. I looked at her with a confused expression as I asked.
"Is that such a bad thing? Doesn't that mean that they do all the work and Kael gets to rest?"
"If our husband is a figure head, it means everything he's worked for, or built would be taken away. He could just as easily be replaced, or forced to make a decision that would hurt him and his loved ones. I know Malek and Farina has sworn an oath to Kael, but a majority of the people have not, and due to the circumstances surrounding his ownership of the blue district, he has to take care of them, whether they take the oath or not. However the bloodline elders have had power right from the start, and them being here, regardless of the reason, will have the attention of all the vampires placed on them. You of all people know how ordinary vampires view the elders. We need to impose an image of ourselves to the people, for them to remember who it is that's struggling for them, if not, no matter what we achieve, we're going to end up tearing ourselves apart before we get anywhere."
"But Malek and Farina are loyal to Kael, the swore to serve him. They can't betray him can they?"
"No Asha they can't. But the true power of any leader lies in the hands of his people. And right now the people are more loyal to Malek and Farina than they are to Kael. Kael has only been here for seven months, the elders have been around for thousands of years. No matter how you look at it, Kael's an outsider, and he has made a lot of noise ever since he got here, even to the point where they are consequences to normal vampires. It will take time and effort for them to trust him, but if we don't make that effort, Kael will never ever, have any true power. We don't need them to just trust him, we need them to love him. And we can start by making them love us, and the key to their hearts, will be through their children."
If I didn't know Asha better, I would have been terrified of her. Even now, caught under the currents of the ocean that is motherhood, she still had the guts to scheme against people and their children.
I know she would never hurt them, but the level of ruthlessness in Asha, has me doubting if there's no length she wouldn't go to keep Kael safe. But she was right, the best way to get to the other vampires is through their children, and not just that, doing this would be like killing two birds with one stone.
Because this was we can secure future generations of vampires, and have them be loyal based on their experience, rather than choosing to because it's the only way to survive. I looked up at Asha and sighed as I said to her.
"I'll do it. But I'm not wearing a dress!"
"thank you, and yes you're wearing a dress, there's no room for negotiation. You have to look the part of a mother. And when you have more time to yourself, you can craft yourself a new and better battle gear. I think it's time you stopped running away from your ether smith class. It's not going to kill you. You should stop....."
"Would you look at the time. I have to go meet those kids, anyway Asha take it easy, and have lots of rest, bye!" and then I ran away.
Our discussion was already edging into a dangerous waters, there were parts of my past I was not yet ready to face. If I should have my way, I would rather keep it all buried, but too many things are coming to light, and every help and advantage we have has to be exploited to the fullest. But I wasn't ready. Anyway I had to leave, I do have a meeting.
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When I saw his diminutive figure coming closer I couldn't help but run towards him, lift him up into the air and spin the old dwarf for all he was worth as I hugged the life out of him. I could hear him screaming and complaining, but I didn't care, my grandfather has been gone for quite a while, and in the time that he has been gone, I was so worried and scared.
Every once in a while I would have thoughts of him lying dead in a ditch somewhere, or being a victim of bandits, or even the stupid politics of the pit itself. But he was back, and judging from the massive truck behind him, he came back with quite a lot of things.
"If you're quite done granddaughter, Put. Me. Down!" he muttered with a wheezing out of breath voice.
I dropped him and took a step back to get a better look at my grandfather; he was cleaner than I remembered. His beard was trimmed, and his hair neatly cut. He was even wearing a suit, he really looked the part of a traveling merchant, and I know he had come here dressed to impress. The old man was still a show off.
"I bid you a warm welcome grandfather, how was your trip." I asked him in dwarven tongue. But he replied me back in the common tongue.
"Are you seriously being formal and respectful right now? Who are you and what have you done with my rude night elf of a granddaughter."
We smiled and laughed as I hugged him again. I missed him, I really did. My grandfather was the only other link I had left to my old life, to my parents, and to my grandmother. And I knew it was only a matter of time before he leaves for good, even now I could hear how weak his heart was, it scared me a lot. But I didn't let it show, I had to be strong for him.
I explained to him everything that has happened and changed with the tower since he was gone, told him about the problems we were facing now, and the options we have put in place to solve it. His truck of goods followed behind us, being driven by a human who was probably hired for the job, the guy looked absolutely terrified.
My grandfather had many stories of his own to tell me, the outside world had changed quite a bit, and the council of light was on the brink of war with a coalition of colony planets that were resisting their rule.
There has been assassination attacks carried out on most of the major families and rulers within the council, and while each of the assassinations were thwarted, there has been really high casualties and the people were in a state of tension right now. He was able to make contact with some of the followers of the house of Cor, getting information about the current state of affairs.
Kael was supposed to inherit his family fortune once he gets to twenty three, which should be three years from now, his sentence as a vampire will last anything from five to ten years before he's released.
But if he's unable to return at the appointed time to claim his title and inheritance, the other noble families will share up everything that has belonged to his family for thousands of yeas like a pack of hyenas. As of this moment they were being patient, but the public's opinion of the Cor family was in complete shambles.
Apart from the charge of mingling with vampires, and the fact that he was now one, the recent assassination and terrorist attacks on the ruling bodies of Shearath has seen the assets and lives of every single major power touched, except for one, and that was the assets of the house of Cor.
Of course the nobles would know this was a scheme, in fact it could even be theirs. But the public and common people wouldn't know any better, it was only a matter of time before everything that should belong to Kael would fall under siege to angry mobs. Whatever's left, the nobles will take.
I felt anxious, things outside were not any better than it was inside the pit. We had to get out of here, it was the only way Kael can get back what's rightfully his. Because at the rate things were going now, he's going to lose his name, without even having a chance to fight for it.
It was at this point that I truly understood where Asha was coming from. She knew there was a bigger battle to fight out there, than what's going on Inside the pit, and as such, she couldn't allow any seed of rebellion or dissatisfaction to grow among the people that are supposed to follow Kael.
It was never just about the bloodline elders, it was about the council outside the pit, a council that could tear any form of rebellion apart of we were even a little bit loose at the seams that bound us together.
Kael might be fighting for the freedom of the vampires, a better life, but Asha; Asha was fighting for his own freedom. And right now that fight has become my own.