Everyone from my family, plus Silva and Menas, were already seated when Blasius and I finally arrived at my makeshift home. I avoided eye contact with my sister as the embarrassment was still swirled around my head from remembering what she saw us doing just moments ago.
"The blacksmith and his wife said they'd be more than willing to supply us with weapons. Their eldest sons have already started working. They'll be working near constantly until we have enough weapons supplied," my dad explained, "and we talked to some of the local hunters who would be willing to give tips on how to use the weapons for anyone willing to participate."
"Also, they've provided us with the community center specifically for training," my mother held up a large set of silver keys hanging from a key ring. "We can do it all together—everyone from our town, plus the Elves that were found, and whoever else that we could find to help."
"What kind of training would they be providing?" Menas inquired.
"Whatever we need," my father answered. "How to use a range of close-range and far-range weapons, hand-to-hand combat in case anything goes wrong, we could have a little teaching center for basic first aid skills."
Blasius crossed his arms, looking perplexed, "I don't like the idea of being all together. You never know who could be lying about wanting to help just to put us in danger again. That was the reason we agreed not to tell them about us."
"We can have the humans train there and everyone else here, me included, so no one knows we escaped," I suggested. "My parents can train there and then come teach here what they learned."
My parents exchanged glances between the two of them, seemingly having a silent conversation. The room was quiet as everyone watched their exchange, expecting what would come next.
"We made a rash decision," my father began, "to help our daughter and her friends."
"You told them," Blasius deduced, before they could even get the words out. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.
"I thought it was best that they know why we wanted to take action all of a sudden. Before then, we had never discussed concrete plans of overthrowing the King, the conversation had always been small ideas. I felt it was for the best."
Blasius's eyes snapped open as he placed two clenched fists on the table in front of him. "What was 'for the best' was keeping her escape a secret. Humans are so two-faced, you never know who will be out to get us because of what you did!"
"It was for my daughter! I wanted the people from the town to have a reason to fight!"
"The only one thinking of your daughter right now is me. They could have followed you here and she could be in trouble as we speak," Blasius spat.
"Men, we should calm do—" my mother interjected, but my father had more to say.
"Regardless, I already made the decision, so we should take the opportunity to train together. It will only make us stronger and in the end, it will guarantee Amicia is safe as long as the King is gone."
Blasius shook his head, "That's not how this works. I ... I need some time to think about this."
Without hesitation, Blasius pushed his chair back and left the house through the main entrance. From that moment, everything was silent. I looked around at the other members of the conversation to see wide eyes, uncomfortably looking down at the table. The air was thick with awkwardness and no one knew how to recover from the argument that had just taken place between my father and Blaze.
"Well," Silva chimed in, her usual chipper attitude dampened by the situation, "Menas and I will go check on him."
I watched as they left the room, wishing I was the one that would have went to comfort Blasius. It was a difficult decision to make though, was I supposed to show loyalty to my blood or my bond? How could I do both of those at the same time?
"I'm sorry for that," I finally muttered, "he only wants what is best for us. I didn't know it would cause an issue."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," my father responded, "him and I may have different ways of going about this scenario, but we want the same end goal: your safety. I respect him for that, and for fighting for what he believes in rather than yielding to my decisions. He seems like a good man."
I nodded rapidly. He was a good man, and I'm glad my father could see that in him. The last thing I wanted was for the two of them to have a negative relationship. My family was so important to me, but so was Blasius.
"I agree. An admirable gentleman," my mother complimented. She looked at me with a twinkle in her eye, and momentarily I wondered if she heard about what was going on between him and I just moments ago in the abandoned house.
"I think I have some business I need to attend to." My dad stood up from his seat at the table and before heading to the door, he winked and said, "I'm going to have a private chat with that young man."
My eyes widened and I could only wonder about the subject matter of their conversation. Despite the fact that they disagreed and seemed angry in the moment, enough to leave the air tense, I wasn't upset about the situation that unfolded. In fact, I was happy. Not that they argued, but about the way my family talked about Blasius. Despite a disagreement, they seemed to be fond of him and I hoped that they'd accept him. After all, if everything goes well, we would be together forever.
I heard a chair scraping against the floor and it brought me out of my thoughts. All three of my sisters left the room and made their way upstairs, and my mother left to the kitchen. I stayed seated though, having way too much on my mind to be able to work through anything important if I were to get up.
My mind was still on the conversation my dad was having with Blasius. I looked out of the sole window in the room trying to find them, but to no avail. I wanted badly to eavesdrop on them. Was my father apologizing? Were they strategizing? Or perhaps, was there something more to their conversation? Could they be discussing me?
I shook my head. Not as an answer to my question, but I knew I'd never find out by sitting at the table. And maybe it was better left a secret anyway.
Things were looking up for both my relationship with Blasius and our plans to take out the King. A shiver ran down my spine as I was the last to stand up from the table. Somehow, I felt empowered and worried all at the same time. Could our luck remain? I only hoped.