The Keepers' Evil: The Shattered Star

1: You must be lonely

A handshake was a practiced performance of the fittest. A handshake was a token of respect amongst the pure. A handshake was a level of superiority that Gabriel had been taught to assume. A handshake was repeated until everyone had been seated, it had an etiquette as though it was a language itself. A handshake meant more when the guests were in your home, it had to be firmer and stronger, it had to display which blood ran through your veins.

Gabriel was who the eyes of the Selwyn's guests sought for. He was the image of his family, the boy whose name rang against the metal of the crest, the figure of perfection that his father had raised him to be. Gabriel shook the hands that entered his home, a grip strong enough to earn him a smile or a small pat to his shoulder, a reputation respectable enough to be given such a job.

He had seen a lot of these faces before, their familiar features striking a silent, secret, game of guess who in his mind. Gabriel tried not to let his eyes squint as he watched the rather random selection of expressions take their seats at the mile long table in his front room, his mind desperately trying to entertain himself with the mental amusement whilst he was to stick to his posture against the front door until every seat was full. Gabriel could often tell who was who by their choice of seat; whilst those close to his father knew to take their chair beside the head of the table, those who were new to the Selwyn's invitations chose wisely to sulk to the opposite end.

It was times like this, where he had the rare moment to take a step back, to notice himself within the space he had been groomed to appreciate, that he forced himself to respect the craft that his father had put in to give him the life he stood before. Gabriel looked down to his shoes that had never not been slick with shine, the sable black of his suit blending him seamlessly with the surroundings he had perhaps taken for granted. His eyes blinked to the marbled floor, the dark green swirls and inky walls just another plot to add to the darkness his family represented. But it was the table that screamed who they were, the table that headed twenty with seats to spare, the table that depicted status.

"Gabriel, come and sit down, that should be all." His father nodded from across the room, beckoning him towards them with a flicker of his fingers. Gabriel often took mental notes, distantly questioning with a curiosity he had been firmly told he wasn't allowed. He was an inquisitive soul, captivated by what the world left as outliers. There were three seats directly opposite where his rehearsed placement was beside his mother, three empty seats that didn't quite fit with the normality of the thrice-weekly meetings. Empty chairs meant empty loyalties.

His father always sat silently for a moment or two, and Gabriel had always noticed this where others hadn't. He supposed it was to admire those sat before him, like it was a ritualistic realisation of the power he held. It was no secret that his father was the wealthiest, the strongest, a weapon, within the branding that labelled them a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. He knew that it was a game to be won, because losing was a death sentence.

"Thank you all for joining me this evening," his father cleared his throat with a delicate exhale that followed, his hands clasping together onto the pristine black wood before them all. The silence that brewed from the simple welcome from his father's tongue was a respect that Gabriel could only imagine. His relationship with the darker bliss of his family was a complex one at that; sometimes it scared him, sometimes he wanted the gentle and the kind, but sometimes he revelled in the nobility his name gave him, and the mess that came consequently.

"I'd like to share some important advancements with the Selwyn business with you," he continued with a small smirk towards Gabriel, one that he had learnt came with the pride he felt over his son's obedience, his willingness to fit into the mould of the pureblood life. It had been a long time coming, Gabriel's step into the family business, but his age was no longer a barrier, his ability to succeed past his father a door into money, status, power.