"Leira.....and Yoni?"
"Yes. My In-laws whom you had wrongly imprisoned. Hand them over"
"Yoni and Leira are traitors your excellency. They weren't wrongly imprisoned" one of the elders argued.
"Oh~~Then what was their offense?"
"They stole a sacred artifact and ran away"
"Is that so? Then their debt is paid. Unless you want me to wipe out your whole kingdom just to rescue them by myself"
"No, we daren't do that. Bring those two out right now" The chief elder ordered.
After an hour, the two were brought before the crowd at the gate. Yoni thought they were finally going to be executed, or worse, their son had been found so he stirred his long dead and locked magix into activation. It remained static and he grit his teeth in anticipation.
"Don't worry too much Yoni, it's going to be alright. I feel it" Leira croaked.
The two were led to stand beside the elders. Kohra looked at Lesker.
"Are they the one?"
Lesker fell to the ground on his knees, tears streaming from his eyes.
"Mother, father"
"Lesker...?" Leira said in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. No, she dared not believe it. It was really her son.
"Lesker, my son" She pushed her tired body and ran forward to embrace him. A golden thread sneaked from the hand of the Elder that had imprisoned them, wanting to pull her back but Kohra immediately stopped him, cutting his hand off in the process. As he cried out in anguish, Leira embraced her son, Yoni right behind her.
"You're alive...You're alive...You're really alive"
"Yes mother, I am alive"
"My dear son, it's been too long. I hope you would forgive us. We're so so sorry"
"Don't worry about it father. I forgave you two a long time ago"
Lesker looked at his wife and smiled. Ever since he met and fell in love with her, he forgave his parents wholeheartedly. They too were victims after all. It wasn't fair for them to continue to suffer after all they had done just for him to live on.
"Now that our reunion is complete, I would bid you all farewell. I leave with the last warning. If any of you lay a hand on my family, well, just wait and see what I would do"
A tempest blew by and blinded everyone. When they looked towards the gate again, the four were long gone.
------------------------------------
"Your highness, you're finally back. Oh, thank goodness. I was about to lose it with Kohra's occasional mood swings. Please don't ever leave like that again" Jeir wailed as she saw Lesker.
"Oi! Get up and get the servants to prepare a place befitting for my In-laws" Kohra said, kicking her.
"In-laws? You ddn't abduct them?"
"Say that again, Jeir"
"No, of course not your majesty. Right away your majesty"
Jeir ran off like her butt was on fire while Lesker laughed. Kohra harrumphed and went to check on the children. Lesker followed her after he ordered a servant to lead his parents to where they could rest while their rooms were being prepared.
"Hey darlings, I'm back" Kohra said with a wide smile.
"Momma!" The toddlers yelled happily and jumped at their mother. She held them all in their hands and hugged them tightly. Her face, as compared to recent times, was as soft as it could ever be, holding affections for the ones who were dearest to her.
"Momma, is that poppa?" Reyina said, pointing behind her. Kohra glanced back and saw Lesker nervously standing there.
"Yes. That's your scum....I mean poppa"
"Poppa!"
They flew out of her hands and onto Lesker. They fussed around and played with him while he laughed heartily.
"Children are so forgiving. They have forgotten he abandoned them"
"I said I was sorry"
"And I should forgive you, just like that"
"What should I do to make you forgive me?"
Kohra remembered what he said in the pavilion and smirked. Her form changed and she was the male Kohra once again.
"Satisfy me in this form and I'll see what I can do about it"
"Right now?" Lesker asked, his eyes bulging.
"Not right now! Do I look like a brute?"
"Well....."
"Shut up. We have to attend to your parents first. Take the triplets to meet them"
"Yes ma'am. Sir?"
"Get out!"
Chased out, the four wandered the hallway.
"Poppa?"
"Yes, Reyol?"
"Was that momma? or Poppa?"
"He is still your momma, just more impatient"
"What does impatient mean, poppa?"
"Hmm, how do I explain this...."
--------------
Dinner came quickly and the whole family was seated at the table. They had more additions like Britta, Anak, Kitari, Jeir, Anak's child, and Kohra's children. The table was rowdy because of the children but Britta was able to restore order almost immediately.
"May I say something?" Kitari asks after catching the attention of the whole table. She glanced at Kohra. The latter gave her a nod and she nodded back.
"I just want to say I'm thankful that our family is back together. In the past, this place used to be deserted but now that the table is full, I cannot stress the fact that I am endlessly happy, enough. So, I'm making a toast. To us, to our family"
"To family" the table cheered and drank from their cups.
"Lesker, how does it feel like to have your family back together?" Kitari asked with a gentle smile.
"It feels wonderful. I finally feel complete"
"Good for you beloved of the cosmos" Anak commented.
"Thank you, former dragon emperor"
"Hey! Don't call me that!"
"I have a name too, Anak"
"Children of nowadays, so rude"
"It is you who is rude, Anak. Do not speak while you eat or have you lived too long in the wild that you have forgotten basic table manners?" Kohra said, feeding Reyol.
"Hun?! What did you say?!"
"ANAK!!" Britta called out, hitting his head.
"What did I do?" Anak asked pitifully.
"It's a family dinner so for the love of cosmos, please stay civil. You too Kohra"
"I'm making no promises" Kohra replied with a shrug.
Leira and Yoni looked at their interaction and how happy the atmosphere was despite the fact that they were arguing.
"Is it always this boisterous?" Leira asked Lesker.
"Yup, always total chaos. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. We invited Kohra's father but he couldn't make it. You'll get to meet him soon enough"
"This is a very strange kingdom. Did you grow up here in the palace?"
"No, I was brought here to be the prince consort to the Queen. I can tell you all that happened later, including how I became the deity of knowledge, okay?"
"Okay"
"Eat up, Leira, Yoni. I made sure they prepared the best just for my In-laws" Kitari said.
"Thank you" the two said sincerely. And thus the dinner continued with a happy and lovely atmosphere.