Alicia packed her equipment to be transferred to her father's official residence. She had been in the hospital for three days since she woke up. After being declared recovered, she was allowed to leave the hospital.
While putting her clothes into the bag, the previous matter still stuck in the girl's mind. It seemed that Alicia would speak her mind when Donar came to fetch her.
At last, the father came to the room to help carry the girl's equipment. "Let me carry the bag, Alicia," he said. Gilmore, Nadine, and Leith were already outside with their luggage.
"Papa," Alicia called Donar. "Can we talk for a moment first?"
"Hm? Why, hen? We can talk as we walk, can we not?"
"Talking in the hallway is too distracting. Too many people would look at me, let alone approach me or something."
"Well, that makes sense. I hope we don't keep the others waiting too long."
They walked over to the nearest couch.
"After weighing my thoughts in my waking and sleep, I've come to a decision to accept the dinner invitation."
"Alicia...." A slight smile appeared on her father's mien. "That's the glad tidings, hen."
"I… do miss my family. But I don't want to collaborate with their cause right away. Rather, I want to resolve our family feud in my own way," Alicia uttered firmly.
Donar did not seem to be bothered by that. "Wow, 𝘢𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, Miss. I love your approach."
"Papa… don't have a problem with that?"
"On the contrary. Your thinking is discerning. Did you think I would hand over Orb if I found it first? Even I would never incite you to use Orb for the benefit of the family. Albeit I do really want our family to return to how it used to be, but not in such a way." Donar took a deep breath before continuing. "Influencing Camelot's reign, they must be joking. Being part of an elite wizarding family is an honor, indeed. But they cannot be without flaws either. Their hunger for power nature. That's what we have to correct about them all."
Alicia felt a little relieved. "Papa, how do you think they will react if I said such a statement?"
"I guess you've guessed it," Donar shrugged. "But whatever the reaction will be, Alicia, embrace yourself. Try to be as peaceful as possible. We stay or go home, but there will be no magic duel inside the villa."
"Aye, tell that to Alasdair and the others," replied Alicia then continued with a small laugh with her father.
"Oh, they'll find it hard to accept that," said the father. "But let's just hope they use their common sense later."
***
The long, awaited day had finally arrived. As Donar's carriage passes through the gates, a boundless garden wall revealed with all its ornamentals--dozens of bushes shaped like horses (for some reason they're obsessed with horses), huts and gazebos scattered like resting points, and rare floras planted freely without fear of someone might steal it.
Of course, no one wanted to steal those rare plants for full of magic might and deadly poison they were. Midnight Clover that blinds eyes, Asididum with high melting acid nectar, Xixin that steals mana, and many more. People often mistook the yard of Villa Alasdair as the most beautiful botanical garden there was in Eidyn, when it was rather a minefield protecting the mansion.
Donar and Leith left the engine carriage like gallant gentlemen in flamboyant red suits. Alicia was also present wearing a scarlet dress that was not too gaudy, but still appeared sumptuous. Perfect for not making her a fashion show highlight, yet still setting her apart from the maids. A mysterious figure, a hidden gem. The short sleeves on her dress complemented the hanging round glasses between her eyes and the empty space—She hated it when anything insinuated her eyes, including contact lenses—making her elegance multiplied in her own unique way and less like a bookworm in the library aisle.
A number of carriages were parked neatly, but Alica barely saw any other Crimsonmane besides the maids who were tending the garden. Most of the maids were new folks, whom she did not remember meeting as a child. The girl was foreign in their eyes as well, as they froze, dropping their utensils.
Who's yon lassie? Another Crimsonmane? murmured mostly inward. They stared closely at the princess as if they saw a giant rubellite, so beautiful when reflected by the ray of sun. It was only with a gentle wave and a bashful smile from Alicia that their stupefying curse was lifted and they hurried back to work.
But that did not mean there were not any intimate faces. A rather short person wearing a black tuxedo came down the stairs and greeted the family. "The Donar family. Welcome back. Thank you for accepting Lord Alasdair's invitation," the person said softly.
"No problem, Whucksmire," Donar replied. "Look at those workers, it looks like the feast will be bigger than the patriarch's anniversary."
"All this… because of the achievements by," Whucksmire cleared his throat, "your daughter, My Lord Donar. What happened to your daughter, and the previous battle really impressed the members of the Crimsonmane."
"Whucksmire…? Is that you?" Alicia, who had been left behind from looking around, greeted the dwarf who happened to be an old butler who had served the House Crimsonmane for most of his life.
"Divine Mercy…, is that her…?" the butler asked for Donar's confirmation to make sure his eyes were not biased.
"I don't have another daughter, Whucksmire," Donar joked.
Alicia approached Whucksmire with a warm smile. To her, Whucksmire could be compared to Aunt Mandy at Trinketshore. The kind servant. His voice was as soft as a feather, coupled with his now aged appearance, every sound coming out of his mouth resembled advice from heaven.
"Oh, Alicia, I don't know if it's a curse or a gift, not seeing you grow for ten years with my own eyes makes my little heart despondent. But all the heartaches disappear when I see the angel herself approaching me," said Whucksmire with a big smile. "Look at you, much taller than I am now. So graceful, you're an Elf more than a human."
"And you look older, Whucksmire," Alicia lightly said, and they burst out laughing. "But you haven't run out of poetic words yet, it seems. Be careful Whucksmire, people these days might think you're weird if you keep talking like that."
"Oh, I don't care. I'm old! It's weird! That's the Whucksmire you remember," he replied with a big smile.
After a pause of laughter, said the dwarf again, "Very well then, 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 and gentlemen, instead of us getting carried away in endless nostalgic talks, let me take you inside. I guarantee they will be just as surprised when they see Miss Alicia."
"Well, here's the thrilling part," Alicia muttered.
They walked towards the villa. Alicia observed her surroundings again. The garden was still as colorful as her memory used to be. The villa was well-maintained, as if it had not been touched by civilisation since she abandon the place. Not a single color in the building became dull. Dozens of gargoyles were staring with intent down the earth and up the sky while perching on the rows of horse statues on the roof. Yes, all the gargoyles lived, with the patriarch as the source of power.
They entered the villa's interior. In an instant, all of Alicia's old memories, good and bad, happiness and trauma, flashed back into the girl's mind. For a moment, she began to reconsider her decision to return to the mansion of the elite wizarding family. Several Crimsonmanes who were waiting at the lounge turned their heads in disbelief. Alicia Crimsonmane, the wielder of Divine Grace was here, and witnessed how she had grown! Alicia herself tried to hide her nervousness by walking and looking straight ahead, which in fact, saw more people passing by and staring at her in awe.
Finally, they arrived at the main hall, where the big family gathered. As the butler had promised, all eyes immediately turned to the girl. The young men blushed without knowing. They all whispered in surprise. And bemused.
One of the relatives approached the patriarch with his back to the 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦. "Donar and his family are here." Alasdair was excited and turned to find them. When he caught sight of the family Donar and saw his slightly blushing granddaughter, Alasdair was petrified, almost like he had a stroke.
The same thing happened to Alicia when her vision found her grandfather. They stared at each other for a moment. Trembling, Alasdair approached Alicia, until close enough that the patriarch had to lower his head slightly so he could see the face of his dear granddaughter.
His body shook. His mind was still trying to process whether this was real. Then he hugged Alicia tightly. Alicia gasped, she tried to glance at her father. Donar implied a sign that everything should be fine
A kind of sob was heard from Grandfather Alasdair. Alicia, not knowing what happened, slowly returned her grandfather's embrace. "Uh… hello, Grandfather. It's been a while."
"For the sake of Silent Divine, this is real," murmured the grandfather. "Day and night, my heart is troubled when I have to expel you from our people. Losing you, losing Ailsa. I don't even know why I'm alive anymore. But behold, you have returned. You proved that we were wrong. We are as stupid as humans are. The Silent Divine chooses you. You are indeed special after all, you are still… a Crimsonmane."
Alicia was still speechless. Her feelings should still be nervous. But the grandfather's warm caress was so obvious. The same sensation when she was rocked by the same person when she was young. From the look in her eyes, she melted.
"How was your life in that forgotten little town? Was your life comfortable? Did you eat enough? Did you make good friends there?
"Q-quite fun, actually."
"But you still felt out of place there, didn't you? Don't worry anymore, my granddaughter, you're home now. Welcome home."
The grandfather immediately continued by whispering to Alicia. "𝘕𝘰𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘦."
Alicia was surprised. Almost unstoppable her tears were. Alasdair really welcomed his granddaughter home. Determined, Alicia shook her head to hold back the tears, so she would not look weird yet dramatic in front of a big family akin to watching a soap opera. She replied softly. "𝘜𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵, 𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘴" []