She followed the butler down the long corridors. Her footsteps were muffled by a thick, fluffy carpet that had been laid in the corridors and rooms. The walls had been covered with polished cherry wood up to a height of 1.5m at the bottom and then covered with silky red wallpaper. Fine flames and floral patterns had been worked into this, clearly indicating the powers that were indigenous to this family. Her heart contracted painfully and she swallowed hard. Sheena released her fleeting gaze from the patterns. She hadn't known how much she had missed this.
And then she stepped in front of the large double doors that led to her grandfather's office. It was made of polished dark wood and Sheena hesitated for a moment, but then she knocked, took a deep breath and when the invitation to enter sounded, the butler opened the door for her and she stepped into the room. Her grandfather's study was cut far larger than her soon-to-be ex-husband's. The floor was covered with expensive wooden parquet and, as in the rest of the house, the walls were covered with cherry wood and silk wallpaper. Opposite her was a large, heavy desk and the wall behind it had floor-to-ceiling windows so that the whole room was optimally lit. On the left side of the wall, ceiling-high shelves had been built in, almost overflowing with books, and on the right side, another double door led to an adjoining room. She knew that the room next door was her grandmother's study, only that she usually only read. Now, too, both double doors were open, revealing a room flooded with light. Elegant, rather dainty-looking furniture, polished parquet flooring, cream-coloured light fabrics emphasised the feminine touch of the room, but she could not see her grandmother, although she was probably lying on one of the chaise longues.
Her eyes settled on her grandfather, briefly flitting over the neat stacks of papers on his desk. He didn't look up as he went through the many papers piled on the tabletop, reaching for a coffee cup and drinking as he read. Then, without looking up, he pointed with the cup to the chair in front of the desk.
"Sit down, Sheena," he said and she immediately complied. Sheena knew that she would need the help of her family if she wanted to divorce Leister, and to come at her grandfather with stupid or insolent remarks would be rather counterproductive. He put the document aside and looked at her. Ruby red eyes were fixed on her. He had grown old in the last few years. She could still remember the thick red hair he had had when she was little. But by now it was much older. Wrinkles criss-crossed the older man's tanned skin and the once deep, dark red of his hair had become paler and numerous white strands ran through the though still voluminous head of hair. He had always been tall, easily measuring 1.98m and had a broad and well-toned build. She almost giggled when she thought about how her grandfather had always had problems finding a good tailor who didn't cut his suits too tight. And even now you could see that very strength in his body. Despite his 95 years, he was by no means an old man. He had aged well.
"So, what brings you back to us?" he asked, and Sheena couldn't quite blame him. She hadn't spoken up in a while and she swallowed. She crossed her legs and clasped her hands on her knees.
"Sir ..." she began, but was immediately interrupted.
"Grandpa."
"Grandpa," she began again, "you were right. He cheated on me and he's asking for a divorce," she then added and the thought alone sent pain and anger through her heart and guts.
"With whom?"
"One of the maids was ..."
" Do you want me to take care of her?" he asked, interrupting her. Anger burned in his eyes and she saw his hands clench into fists. Sheena smiled as pain jerked through her heart again. She felt her eyes begin to burn, but she blinked the tears away. It still hurt in spite of everything.
"I've already taken care of this bitch," she said, shaking her head slightly, and her grandfather calmed down considerably, if only superficially. Then he nodded slightly.
"All right, we'll take care of the divorce," a female voice said, and Sheena's head jerked towards the source of the voice. Her grandmother Astha Levyn was standing in the doorway to her study. Her grandmother was slender and small, had put on weight over the decades and her petite, elfin figure had become a more rounded stature. However, this in no way diminished her impressive appearance. She was paler than her husband, had hip-length, now rose-coloured hair that fell in thick curls over her shoulders. Her eyes shimmered a bright ruby red. Unlike her husband, she had fewer wrinkles and she wore an elegant black suit. A touch of make-up made her skin glow, but it was left so natural that you hardly noticed it if you didn't know it. Only her eyes were highlighted with dark red eyeliner. She put her hands on her hips and then came to the desk with a slightly swaying walk.
"Hello Granny," Sheena said and she felt tears begin to gather in her eyes again. Her throat tightened and a tremor gripped her body. Her grandmother's gaze grew warm and soft as she came to her. Sheena straightened in her chair, was grabbed by the arm, pulled up and into a firm, powerful embrace.
"Oh my sweet girl," she said softly and now the first tears fell. Sheena returned the hug and clung to her grandmother as sobs erupted from her and she howled like a little girl. She couldn't stop and buried her face in her grandmother's neck. She had always been there for her. More than her own mother and her Granny's hugs were what sustained her when things didn't go her way. When she felt like she was suffocating. She heard her grandfather growl loudly, heard his quick footsteps and then she felt her grandfather pull them both into a tight hug. Her grandfather's enormous heat penetrated her clothes and drove away the cold that had settled inside her since Leister's words. She heaved a sob and her crying intensified as someone gently stroked her head. She loosened one arm around her grandmother and wrapped it around her grandfather's waist, though she could never hug him completely. She clung to her grandparents and cried out the pain of Leister's betrayal and the failure of their love.
A good 20 minutes later, they sat down again. Her grandmother handed her a handkerchief and a hand mirror and she wiped away the black smears of mascara and eyeliner.
"I certainly hope you're staying?" her grandfather Henry asked and she nodded with a smile. Just then there was a knock on the room door and a maid entered the study. She pushed a serving trolley into the room, fixed a cup of tea for everyone and placed a plate of sandwiches on the desk, pushing her master slightly to one side. Then she curtsied and left the room again, though she also left the serving trolley behind. Sheena's lips twitched. Cherry was a very special person and she was one of the few staff who could afford to behave like that. She was one of the older domestic servants and had been working for the Levyn family for almost 30 years. Sheena turned the cup in her hands and took a sip of the hot tea. Then she nodded.
"Yes, I will stay and I will go for divorce. I don't plan to stay with someone like that," she said and took another sip. The heat of the tea spread through her and the fruity taste of strawberries spread across her tongue. Her grandfather had brought a chair for his wife, so she sat next to her. Her grandmother handed her a smaller plate with sandwiches on it. She shook her head slightly, but the look on Astha's face became stern and Sheena hurried to accept the offered food.
She bit into it and sighed softly. Strawberry sandwiches. Cherry knew exactly what she had needed. Strawberry tea and strawberry sandwiches. Leister had always insisted on Earl Grey. Generally, he had insisted that there were no kinds of sweets in the house. Yet she loved sweets. It wasn't as if she was gaining any great weight.
Because of her fire magic, she had a much higher metabolism, as did the rest of her family, so they always ate much more than other mages of their rank. She could eat whatever she wanted and that had earned her more than one disapproving look from his family. As ice mages, they were very careful not to eat too much.
Then, as she literally devoured the sandwiches, Sheena blinked down at her plate. She must have been very hungry after all and there was a piece of chocolate cake held in front of her nose. Her eyes widened and her mouth watered. Her gaze slid up the tanned fingers, followed the arm stuck in the suit and fixed on her grandfather's smiling face. Tears came to her eyes again, but she swallowed them and accepted the plate with a silent thank you. The dark chocolate literally melted on her tongue and she groaned softly as she could almost hear her soul sighing blissfully.
"Please don't tell me you didn't get a cake at his place then," her grandmother said and Sheena sighed as she continued to eat her cake, shrugging her shoulders.
"That lousy, ice-cold ass-face," her grandmother hissed and Sheena's eyes widened in shock as she stared at her Granny. Her cake fork almost fell out of her hand. Astha Levyn was not known for mouthing swear words. Her grandfather laughed softly as he pulled a mobile phone out of his pocket and called someone.
"Well ... his family pays a lot of attention to diet and ..."
"Vegetables?" her grandmother asked, anger burning in her eyes.
"Yep. Exclusively," Sheena said, wondering if maybe she shouldn't have mentioned that. Her eyes darted back to Henry, her grandfather. She didn't know who he was calling, but in the current situation it could really only be two people. The family lawyer, or the head of security for the family. The former to get the divorce rolling immediately and the latter to set in motion the mobilisation of House Levyn's private army.
"Good afternoon, Howard," her grandfather said, his voice sounding friendly and controlled. Sheena shoved another piece of cake into her mouth as a grin spread across her lips. Her senses rejoiced as they took in the full taste of chocolate, cream, fluffy pastry and butter as well as sugar. Six years of abstinence clearly had after-effects.
"Please get a divorce between our Sheena and Leister Jamesson. No, now! He cheated on her and then has the audacity to demand a divorce," her grandfather growled and the heat in the room suddenly rose. Sheena let the two bags, with the documents fly from the entrance of the room to the desk and pointed at them with her fork. Then she reached for the teacup she had placed on the serving trolley and took a sip, putting it back. Her grandmother immediately rose and took a searching look inside the bags and then flicked her husband against the shoulder to get his attention. She pulled out one of the files and showed it to him.
"She seems to have taken files from his study," he then added. This time a broad, proud grin spread across his lips.
"'Course she's smart. She's a Levyn and MY granddaughter. She was just in love. If anyone is stupid here, it's that bungler of a Jamesson," he said, nodding after a moment.
"Yes, I agree with that. They should pay Sheena 500 quadrillion a year," he said and Sheena almost choked on her cake. She looked up at her grandfather with wide eyes and then she saw the diabolical grin on her grandparents' features. She knew that the Jamesson family could never raise that kind of money. They were not poor, but if she remembered correctly, they were only 20 million rich. The grin on Sheena's lips matched that of her grandparents. Leister would still look around. She giggled. Oh how she would enjoy his crying face.