Hellhounds of Providence

Budding Thorns

The advanced magic lessons were taking more of my time than I thought, and before I knew it over a month had passed since I last saw Olivia! I'm learning a lot in such a short amount of time, but I don't have free time anymore. Thankfully, Lucus gave me a week-long break so I could accompany my mother to another social gathering in Wortrest as a reward for my effort. When we arrived, some of the other Ladies gave me cautious looks, and some of their children seemed nervous as I passed, but no one said anything, so I didn't care. They can gossip all they want, because I know Olivia won't be swayed by their petty words.

"Where do you think you're going?" Speaking of petty, Derik stopped me in the hall as I attempted to make my way to the garden where I was told Olivia was. He was wearing a knight's uniform fitted for his age that looked too pristine to belong to a real knight. Ever since the Ritual of Legitimacy, Derik has been cold and sometimes actively hostile toward me. Whatever his problem with me was, he stood in my way with his arms crossed and seemed to have no intention of letting me pass without speaking his piece.

"Greetings, Lord Derik." I still followed basic courtesy so that he couldn't chastise me about it. "I am on my way to the garden."

"You keep walking around someone else's home as if you own the place." Despite both he and Adam being eleven years old, Derik was nowhere near as mature. "If you're going somewhere, you must be accompanied by a servant." His eyes narrowed, and he muttered, "Lowly bastards should be watched."

"Do you doubt Elder Arkin, Lord Derik?" Did he still think I somehow convinced Olivia to lie about her vision and attempt to use his family to prove a false legitimacy?

"That showy display of a ritual was proof of the lie since it's meant to be a gentle affair; I looked it up in a book! It's obvious Arkin put on a show at my father's behest because our mothers are childhood friends! You and your mother may have convinced them to go along with this charade, but I won't let you tarnish the Ordrin name!" He never let it go, but he only called me out like this when Olivia and their parents weren't around. Why couldn't more older kids be like Adam? I noticed a familiar face approaching from behind Derik, so I decided to get some payback on him for insulting my mother.

"Coward," I muttered without moving my lips.

"What did you say!?" Derik took an aggressive step towards me and grabbed the collar of my dress.

"Derik!" A young woman who looked Derik's age and was wearing a dress the same shade of blue as the Ordrin family crest stood behind him. Her hair was as blue as the sky and was held in a braided ponytail that went down to her waist, and her eyes were a shimmering yellow that glared at Derik with a cold stare.

"Vivian..." Vivian Winchester, the daughter of Count Winchester, a childhood friend of both Derik and Adam, and as of a few months ago, was now Derik's fiancé. Despite both of them being eleven years old, Vivian was prided as being wise beyond her years and was often called Derik's better half by some of the older Ladies who frequented these gatherings. "This doesn't concern you." Needless to say, this put a damper on their relationship.

"How could it not when my fiancé is so openly holding a child half his age by the neck?" Vivian countered and gestured with her eyes to the maids, who were peeking around the corner down the hall.

"...Tch." Derik clicked his tongue in annoyance and released me. This was the fourth dress he'd ruined by stretching the seams around the neck. "Go straight to the garden, and don't cause trouble!" he said before storming off down the hall.

"Once again, I apologize for Derik's actions, Lady Felswore." Vivian was neither friendly nor hostile toward me; she was professional. She was Derik's fiancé and would become the next Duchess of Holst, which was a position she never took for granted, so she couldn't stand by and watch while her fiancé bullied children.