[GIDEON]
The night was quiet in Acrod, with everyone else trying to come to terms with the fact that they had all felt the presence of the beast of the midlands. He may not have walked right into Acrod, but his growls had ripped through the midlands, like a warning to the future perpetrators.
The wolves were worried that the beast would come back to their home, and especially for Ulrike who had been the one to scare the children. They all knew the rule, and no one had ever survived the beast.
He was known for his ruthlessness and yet somehow, today, he had let Ulrike free. Sure, he had gotten some pretty good hits on Ulrike, but he had left him alive, something that had never been heard of, since the first beast attack in the midlands.
"You need to learn to control your anger young man."
That was the voice of a woman who had had enough of the tantrums thrown by her adoptive son, Gideon. She knew Gideon was never going to be on good terms with the king of Udrad, but the least the kid could do was to let everything sail smoothly.
They had a beast to deal with and yet Gideon had decided to pick fights with the worst of them all, or maybe this is what he had wanted all along. To stir chaos and make people remember that he was there with them.
"He started it!" Gideon said angrily and Criselda just stood there with him, openly staring at her son, wondering whether he had grown an extra empty brain in that head of his. The kid had always been intelligent, but all it took to set him off was the lycan King and that wasn't something good.
The only thing Criselda never understood was what Gideon was always thinking of.
One moment he was all lovey-dovey and smiley, while the next, he was like a predator who had just one prey, the king of lycans, King Eddison Stitt of Udrad kingdom. His battle with this king was something that needed more explanation, but today, Gideon needed to calm the fuck down.
"Started it? Seriously? What are you? Five? four? Or maybe three? Fuck, Gideon, what the hell am I missing here? We came for the fucking peace talks and here you are, angry as always, ready to burn the very ground the stupid lycan stands on!
"We need to sort the issue of the beast, or should I remind you why we are here, huh? Maybe I should just spank your ass with my sandals so you can use your fucking brain! Think, child. Think. We can't solve anything if we keep adding on more chaos!
"Goodness, one of these days, you will be the end of me you little brat," Criselda angrily ranted, but Gideon wasn't about to budge. She knew Gideon had every right to be angry at the king, but this wasn't how they were to deal with Eddison.
Not when the whole of the midlands was still on the lookout for the beast of the midlands.
She understood his pain, and where he was coming from, but they had worked so hard to even get to this point and if Gideon continued being irrational, all of this would be blown to bits, and that that wasn't what they both wanted.
There were different ways to solve their issues, only this time, and here in Acrod, they had to be the listeners, and chip in when necessary.
"Look at him, Criselda. He's just sitting there like he didn't just—" Gideon said angrily as he pointed back to the conference room.
The two witches of Greroth were currently outside the conference room and next to the guest rooms that had ben slotted for them to take a rest in. Thsi was the farthest they could go without being suspicious.
Gideon was fuming, and clearly wasn't about to clam down any time soon, though that would be for the benefit of everyone.
"I know. I know son. But we can't achieve anything if your anger ruins everything now, can we?" Criselda said to Gideon, ignoring the fact that the little ingrate had called her using her name. That was never an issue though, besides, it wasn't like the world had pressed pause.
Having a raging witch with her was hectic and especially if that witch was always angry, but hey, she had already taken him in. This was her son, no matter what happened to him or what he did. She could only hope that he used his brain cells more often.
"I hate him y'know. If I could, I would eliminate him here and now. He makes me want to stab him over and over just to see whether he always feels pain. Or maybe I can try the X-formula with him. his man pisses me off more than I piss myself off, and I do that, a lot.
"If only there weren't any stupid accords. one day I will get my hands on him, and not even the whole of Udrad will be enough to stop me," Gideon said, his tone so cold and murderous that even Criselda was worried and scared of him, not that she would show him that.
Gideon was dangerous right now, and it wasn't just to the people around him, but also to himself.
His anger and short temper were things that Criselda had learned to deal with over the years, but it would be hard making someone understand that as they stood out here, they were not fighting, instead, they were trying to resolve their issues as a family.
"Gideon—" Criselda called him defeatedly. She didn't know what else to calm him down, because the only things that could calm him down, weren't found at this time of the night. It didn't help that the moonlight made them look like spies.
They needed to get a hold of themselves before they became the source of new rumors. Everyone knew Criselda and Gideon were just like a mother and son, so there was nothing that could happen between them.
However, that didn't stop the rumors from spreading, about how the witches were suspicious.
But the witches in question didn't even seem bothered by the whole fiasco. it was like they were in their own world. A world that once used to be bright, a world that they had all grown to love, and yet, it was this very world that would make them villains to others. But such was life.
They had no control over so many things, and just had to live and adapt. After a while of staring at each other, Gideon finally broke his silence.
"I'm sorry."