A Beast's Tale

Chapter 9

I rarely ate dinner with my brothers, but I did so tonight. Leon's faction would have to get involved if it got to the point of war. Clavis, Nokto, and even Luke were good at reading people, but I should evaluate the others' reactions as well. Especially Leon's. If I got him on my side, the rest would follow.

"Where are Yves and Licht?" Clavis asked as everybody filled their plates. All the rest were present and accounted for.

"They went to a cafe in town," Leon answered.

"A cafe? After all that baking last night?" Nokto asked.

"That letter from Obsidian is really messing with Yves," Jin grumbled.

"Oh, good, he did tell you guys," Luke said. "So, we can talk about now."

"Yeah, he filled us in after Chevalier got it out of him," Leon confirmed. "Can't have his own faction in the dark about something everybody in Chevalier's faction knows about," he added, glancing at me.

"It is a matter of foreign affairs," I reminded Leon coolly.

"Can you believe Gilbert, calling Yves 'cousin?'" Luke complained.

"The term is technically correct, and Gilbert is known for his ability to get under people's skin," I commented.

"Do you think he's really stupid enough to come to the goodwill gala?" Leon asked.

I shrugged. "If he does, he'll have a very good reason that is far from stupid."

"I don't like it," Jin said. "This is supposed to be our annual goodwill gala with Benitoite. We weren't even expecting Benitoite to send their own prince, and now Gilbert's coming? Obsidian hasn't even made an effort to talk to us for the past ten years."

"And Yves still isn't over that," Nokto commented. "He can't forgive himself for freezing up on the battlefield."

"He was only sixteen," Leon reminded Nokto.

"And Licht and I were only fifteen," Nokto said vehemently, his crimson eyes flashing. "It was our first time at war, too, but at least we were able to fight."

"You aren't half-Obsidianite. Yves had to kill his own people," Leon said, narrowing his amber eyes. "That's a lot to ask from an inexperienced kid."

"And he did kill them," I added.

"Only the leftovers you and Leon tossed at him," Clavis said.

"It can't have been that bad," Luke interjected. "Was it?"

"Bloodstained Rose Day was worse than bad," Jin said. "Yes, Yves froze, and yes, Chevalier and Leon had to watch out for him, but we always watch out for each other on the battlefield."

"We wouldn't have lost as much ground if Yves hadn't been distracting our two best fighters," Nokto said bitterly.

"Yes, we would have," I snapped. "Obsidian threw everything they had at us. With or without Yves, we were fighting a losing battle."

"The only thing that saved us was reinforcements from Benitoite," Leon added glumly.

"Hence the importance of the goodwill gala," I continued. "And, even if Gilbert comes, Yves will be in attendance this time."

"Getting a little worked up about this, aren't you, Chev?" Clavis commented.

"Yves is one of us. When it comes to Obsidian, we stand together, or we don't stand at all," I said firmly.

"Here, here!" Jin said approvingly, raising a glass.

"Benitoite won't like Yves being there," Nokto reminded us.