--Vincenzo POV--
"Enzo! Vincenzo!"
Damn it, this is earlier than I would have liked.
"What is this nonsense I hear about you returning home with a mage!? A mage!" What were these workers doing? It seems that as of late they've been gossiping more than working, I'll have to have a word with Beatrice about it.
"Well... Stop massaging your forehead and tell me if it's true?" My fingers stopped rubbing my forehead and I tilted my head up to see my mother standing at the door of my study, her arms crossed and a frown on her face.
"It's true," I confirmed, getting out of my seat. "See for yourself," I mumbled, gesturing my head to the open balcony door where Eleanora was currently situated.
"See what?" My mother asked curiously.
"The mage that you're talking about, Eleanora," I sighed and turned my head to the balcony doors to see the said mage already returning to the room.
"Nora, meet my mother- the previous Queen of Lysandra and mother, meet Eleanora- you already know a lot about her from all the stories you've read about her," I introduced them both before sitting back on my chair.
"Hello, nice to meet you," Nora said and I smiled at myself before going back to reading the document placed in front of me on the desk.
"E-E-Eleanora... a-as in... that Eleanora...?" If mother was stuttering this much then she must definitely have been at a loss for words, the last time she was speechless was when Charlotte announced that she was getting married to a peasant.
Yes, I remember that entertaining day and I don't think I'll be forgetting it anytime soon. Mother was at a loss for words when Charlotte said she was getting married, father had gotten his sword out to spill some blood, I congratulated her and Silas was sleeping at the time.
It all turned out fine though, no blood was spilt and Lucien is no longer an ordinary patissier who lived in Viaseth but rather a prince who's married to a princess and living in the palace.
"Son, are you sure this isn't a scam? Sure, this lady is beautiful and she fits the description of Eleanora the mage almost too well but you never know. I gave birth to a handsome man and there are crazy women in the world, I know for sure,"
I rolled my eyes at her but didn't look away from my paper.
"Yes, she's real... and she can prove it. I saw for myself, she can create fire with a click of her fingers and she was able to tame Amadeus with a single smile," I glanced away from my paper to catch my mother's expression before going back to my work.
"So... you're real?" Mother asked Nora.
"I believe so," Nora said.
"But- But... Where were you all these years? You've really not aged at all if you've been alive since Atticus's time, you don't look a day over 18... Wow," I gulped back my chuckle and covered my mouth with my hand to hide the smile on my face.
"I was in the sword since Atticus died, I'm immortal until the day I'm set free and that's why I don't age. Also, I'm an entire year over 18- I was 19 years of age when I was sealed in the sword," Nora kindly answered the questions in order.
"Actually, talking about the sword- where is it?" I realised and set the paper down before spinning my head around my office in search of the said sword but found nothing.
Where did I put it?
I looked at Nora's face to see if she was mad but she didn't seem fazed which only further confused me. I really don't know where the sword is.
"So is the legend true? Is my son your wielder now?" Mother asked while stepping closer to Nora to observe her properly.
"Yes," Nora nodded and my mother giggled, covering her mouth.
"Isn't that lovely? You can finally be free! And don't worry, I'll make sure to let you live a nice comfortable life here in Lysandra-"
"I'm not free," Nora cut my mother off.
"What? Y-You're not? Why not?" Mum said, baffled.
"Because I've not been set free yet,"
Oh no.
As if hearing my thoughts, my mum turned her head to glare at me.
Wait for it.
"Vincenzo St Andre Octavius! Is this how I raised you to be!?" There you have it.
"I'm planning on setting her free soon... just after she helps me catch Alpheus," I quickly said before she could get any angrier.
"Forget Alpheus! There are other ways to catch him! You have to set Eleanora free! This poor girl!" I turned to look at a surprised Nora who clearly wasn't used to any of this happening but unfortunately, I was.
"If I set her free now, she's not going to be as strong so she won't be able to help me in catching Alpheus-"
"Why should she have to help with catching Alpheus? It isn't her business-" She had a point but I still wasn't willing to let Nora free, not yet.
"-Has anyone seen the sword? You know... the one that Eleanora was sleeping in for 300 years?" I quickly changed the subject and mother finally stopped speaking but that didn't mean the glare was gone.
"Achilles!" I jumped at Eleanora's sudden shout and sent her a questioning look.
She had her arm outstretched in front of her with a neutral look on her face that gave nothing away about what she was feeling but as if hearing her shout, I felt my eyes widen when I saw the sword fly through the open balcony doors and into her hands.
"Here it is," She said, spinning the blade around so it was facing her and the handle towards me. Damn, that was cool.
"Thanks," I said, taking the sword from her. "How can you do that?" I asked soon after.
"I'm linked to the sword and you can do it too for as long as you're the wielder of it," She explained without a beat as if she were expecting the question and I hummed in response looking down at the sword which sat in my hand.
"Well, anyway... Mother, you've met Nora so if that's all then I'm quite busy so I'll see you at dinner with the rest of the family, goodbye," I said with a fake smile, already waving her off through the door and she rolled her eyes at me but listened nonetheless.
"Goodness, how did I raise you?" She mumbled to herself. "Silas and Charlotte seem to have turned out fine but where did I go wrong with you?-" I tuned her voice out since this was just pure offensive.
"Silas is terrified of everything, Charlotte doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut and I'm an amazing King- I think you've got things the wrong way round mother," I mumbled, glaring down at the pretty lady who chuckled.
She didn't say anything else but waved before spinning around and walking off, humming to herself and I sighed.
My mother was a pretty lady with light brown hair and bright amazonian green eyes and despite her age, she looked a lot younger than she actually was but I looked nothing like her since I got my looks from my father.
Black hair and grey eyes, unlike Silas and Charlotte who got a mix of mother and father, I only got my father's appearance but I'm not complaining since I'm the best-looking sibling.
Silas is my older brother and the head of my knights, he didn't want to be King and gave up the throne so I was next in line.
Charlotte is my twin sister but I was older by a few hours and she got married last year to Lucien, a patissier she met in Viaseth. They dated in secret for a few months before deciding to get married and no one was against it, surprisingly since he wasn't of royal blood.
"I thought you had work to do?" Nora said and I coughed, realising that I was simply stood by the door and lost in my thoughts.
"Yes, let's go," I gestured with my head and she followed me out of the office.
...