There’s no fair or unfair in battle.
( There is only victory or in your case, defeat. )
The day had finally come. And admittedly, Vandrad wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel.
He supposed that was normal -- he figured that anyone meeting someone who had known their father longer would create quite the flurry of different feelings and emotions. Even he, who had done everything in his power to harden himself against fluttering sensations, was not impervious against it. He supposed, in a way, he was excited. He was finally getting the chance to meet Mythal, the adoptive son of his father Gren. It was also his first introduction to Serilda Sinclair, the Field Marshall of the Rune Knights and Mythal’s fiance. It was a large step in the direction of discovering more about himself, though that wasn’t necessarily guaranteed.
As far as Vandrad knew, Gren had never learned about his legitimate son’s birth. There was no reason then for Mythal to have even a slight suspicion that the Prince of Bellum was related to him. On the face of things, it more seemed like they were just meeting to truly embrace the fact that one another existed. But for Vandrad, it was much more than that. He’d come to Fiore because he’d heard rumors that Gren was still alive. Sightings of his movement and brief physical descriptions that seemed to hint towards his survival were frequent enough to warrant investigation. Unfortunately his mother had held out in telling him all the details until the trails had cooled off but that didn’t mean there wasn’t evidence to find. Mercury had drummed up a good amount of it but truthfully, if Gren was still operating, Vandrad had a feeling that Mythal would know about it. As the Director of the Rune Knights, it seemed impossible that he wouldn’t have heard the stories and investigated them himself.
The Prince imagined it wouldn’t be an easy topic to broach. One couldn’t just walk up and say “Hi, my name is Vandrad du Wolff, Gren’s my father, where the hell is he?” And as much as Vandrad wished he could do it that simply -- and he did greatly -- he knew that would resolve nothing. No, unfortunately it seemed like he would have to call upon the practices and mannerisms he’d been taught within the court. Serilda was, after all, royalty in Fiore and that meant that there was a common denominator between the two of them. He could use that to establish a familiarity, a sense of respect and from there, he would be able to build. It was going to be hard enough proving that he was truly related to Gren without any birth records; his grandmother had forced Themesycia to have the pregnancy quietly and then forge adoption papers.
He imagined he would feel better once Mercury was by his side or, at the very least, more confident. They were in a place of… flux, that he couldn’t quite describe. After the earth-shattering revelation of her being an alien had come to light, they had culminated all the swirling emotions and tension in another night of passionate coitus. It had been the secondary awareness on his part that he was, in fact, in love with Mercury that had prompted his making a move on her… again. The next day she had returned to form, taking several hours to look over his advancements and offering him technical advice on improvements and changes. She’d even allowed him the opportunity to look over Mercy, her gunblade, to better understand how it operated. The knowledge that she was from another world and possessed equipment with alien materials was exciting as an engineer and thrilling as a man of action. He’d longed to stay at Silver Wolf longer with her but his own duties and responsibilities had called him back.
But since then, things had been different in a very good way. The playfulness between them was far more intimate than it had been before. While no exchange of words had passed between them, they were acting, for all intents and purposes, like they were a couple. It was oddly satisfying, having finally revealed to her his past and come to grips with his own feelings for his own sake. Though he wasn’t quite prepared to tell her, he was more than ready to show her just how much he desired her throughout the day, as many of their training sessions had found a way to go… a bit off course. As far as he was concerned, they were still doing a form of exercise.
Normally he would have suggested that they meet at either Silver Wolf or Fairy Tail and head to Era together. But considering that kind of travel would involve going past the Rune Knight headquarters anyways, it seemed a bit foolish. It was decided the best course was to meet outside of the main complex and head in from there. It wasn’t like it was a normal mission for the two of them -- they didn’t have to form a plan or prepare any kind of strategy. It was simply talking… but frankly, that was more irksome than fighting half a dozen demon creatures anyday.
He had parked himself near the gate, dressed in a higher fashion than he was used to. He’d taken his mother’s advice and opted to go in something a bit more formal, adding a black-button down shirt and gray vest to the black slacks over his legs. He’d even broken out the glasses that he kept for more formal occasions. The matriarch of the du Wolff clan had offered herself to join him in meeting Mythal, if her presence was needed to bring him ease. But he could tell that she had very little interest in coming to Fiore. Perhaps a part of her still felt guilty over everything that had happened with Gren. He’d given her ease and explained that Mercury would be there with him. Plus it would be hard to disguise a distinguished duchess from Bellum -- it was trial enough to keep his own place a secret for the time being.
Frankly, even he felt that the time for secrecy was wearing out. He’d met a number of people that had come to Fiore from across the world and had been welcomed. The only difference he’d see to his daily life would be certain people that felt they had to treat him like a royal and that would only last only long enough for him to tell them to knock it off. It was something he would have to consider more seriously after this meeting.
Once Mercury had arrived and joined him, he gave her a soft nod. "I know this goes without saying but… I appreciate you coming with me,” he told her gently, the only moment of emotional weakness he was willing to show that day. He reinforced his readiness with a sharp inhale and another nod to her, this one bearing a small, casual smirk. Then he’d walk up to the gate, where the guards stood ready. They’d already been watching him, though Vandrad had taken the time to inform them he was waiting for a member of Silver Wolf and he was the Fairy Tail appointment. "My partner is here. We’re ready for our meeting.”
marzia at shine & gs.
![Senior [500]](https://i.imgur.com/Nmfn8cD.png)
![Novice [250]](https://i.imgur.com/lrYlde6.png)
