"A lot of people don't know this, but my great grandfather united the lands that make up this kingdom," Laura said after joining us in the sitting room of the gigantic house.
She had apparently dealt with the frost troll in the time it took us to make our way to the manor. She told us to go inside the house and she would join us after her shrine visit. She was now sitting in front of us as the old woman, only now her eyes were their natural color.
"I didn't know Lord Elren was a Delmoore," Bella said.
"Oh, he wasn't. He also wasn't my great grandfather," Laura said and flashed that welcoming smile of hers.
"Wait, then who are you talking about? And why is Lord Elren given credit for founding the kingdom?" Bella asked. She leaned forward as she spoke.
"Maybe you're just confused, you know this is Elrenhal right? The kingdom founded by lord Elren about 600 years ago?" Teresa said, she spoke slowly and loudly.
"Yes, dear I know where I am, and if you ever speak to me like a simpleton again, I promise I'll turn into something so scary you'll beg me to become the phoenix," She said and locked eyes with Teresa.
"Old lady, I've faced far worse things than you can possibly imagine. Nothing you can become can scare or surprise me," Teresa said and returned the glare.
The two of them stared at each other for what felt like hours. It was only actually a few seconds, but the entire time I felt like the air around us was thickening.
"I like you," Laura said and smiled again.
"Yeah, you're not so bad yourself," Teresa said and grinned.
After they both smiled, I felt my hands unclench.
"Lord Elren did found the kingdom. He didn't unite the lands though. He was my great grandfather Hallis' general. Once Hallis defeated everyone that opposed his way of life, he walked away from the military forever," Laura said and shrugged.
"You can't just vaguely say something like that! You just told us that the greatest hero in the history of this kingdom was a fraud. We need more information!" Bella said, she gripped the sofa we sat on as she spoke.
"Well, I never said he was a fraud. He did fight side by side with Hallis, he just wasn't the great conqueror that he came to be known as. He was simply a soldier following his commander's orders. He honestly did deserve to inherit the land that Hallis didn't want or care for. He founded the kingdom, organized it, and ruled over it as best he could. Until he died peacefully in his sleep as an old man," Laura said.
"So, what about Hallis, what's his story?" I asked, Teresa had laid her head on my shoulder, I guess long stories made her sleepy.
"Now his story is the reason we are here today. Hallis was a young soldier. He was 16 when he fell for a slave girl. Apparently, they had both been captured by the tribal army and put to work. They weren't from the same village, but they were both children searching for something, or someone to make them feel safe, and they found each other. They would sneak off into the woods and spend hours alone together, as often as they could," she said.
The rest of us listened intently, even Teresa sat back up.
"Her name was Delma and she dreamed of nothing more than settling down with Hallis and starting a family. Hallis wanted exactly the same thing. He saved any bit of gold he could get his hands on in the hopes of one day buying her freedom. We don't know if his plan would have worked because fate had other plans for him. The tribal king they served was well known for his sexual appetites. When he sent Hallis to fetch Delma for him one night, everything changed," she said.
"Don't stop there, love stories about overcoming adversity are my weakness!" Teresa said, her eyes bulged as she waited to hear more.
"Well, naturally Hallis and Delma ran away that night. They didn't have any possessions, so all they had to sustain them was each other. That may have been enough if it weren't for the army chasing them. The tribal king had plans for them that involved doing unspeakable things to Delma while Hallis watched, then killing them both. They outran the army for weeks, but eventually they were captured," she said and paused again.
We waited patiently as she drank from her cup.
"Sorry, long stories dry my throat. So, they were caught and pinned down in the woods. The tribal king climbed on top of Delma and slowly cut her clothing off of her. He was making a show of it, he wanted to see the helplessness on Hallis' face as he violated her. Hallis prayed to any god that would listen to help them. While he prayed Delma reached out and touched his outreached hand. When their hands touched Delma turned into a sword," Laura said.
"I'm sorry, what just happened," I said, before I could stop myself.
"Eros himself intervened. He transformed her into what's known in my family as The Lover's Blade. A weapon so powerful that it gave Hallis the power to slay every obstacle that came between him and Delma's happiness. He cut down his tribal king and any soldier that tried to avenge him. When the other tribal kings found out what happened and tried to capture him and his growing army, he cut them down as well. When there was no one to oppose him and Delma they lived their dream in peace," she said and smiled.
"Is that the sword, those guys were trying to get Elias to give them?" Bella asked as if she had just solved a mystery.
"Yes, the exact sword," Laura said.
"Oh, that's amazing, wouldn't you like to be my weapon?" I asked Teresa.
"Don't ever call me a weapon," she said with cold hatred in her eyes.
"Wait, how did he end up with it? Wasn't he your husband? Are you secretly Delma as well?" Bella asked in rapid succession.
"That's the thing, the kind of love-based magic that caused her to become The Lover's blade doesn't just wear off. It passed on to their first child and traveled down through our family until I inherited it," Laura said.
"Oh, so you're the blade holder, which is how Elias was able to use it. But what happened after those guys captured him? Also how were they able to capture you?" Teresa asked anxiously.
"My poor, sweet Eli went to the market to get me something for a fever I was suffering. They showed up moments after he left. The only catch to our gift is that we have to have physical contact for the transformation to happen. Dumb luck, or good timing on their part is what overcame us," she said with sadness in her eyes.
"What happened after that?" Bella asked.
"Well, I obviously couldn't produce the sword for them, so to punish us they locked us away. Him in that damn container, me they threw in a dungeon and forgot about me," she said as a tear fell from her face to the floor.
"Why didn't you just use your magic?" I asked.
"It turns out my magic is completely bound to Eli. Once he was sealed away, I was useless, protecting him was my only job and I couldn't do it when he needed me the most," she said, and silence fell between us.