Welldark B2 Ch. 07.5

"The offer is appreciated, but it would be unbecoming of my task to prove myself," Aclysia reminded her.

Sybille sighed and shook her head. "Always so serious, your mother and her children," she said and then smirked again.

"Maybe you're not serious enough?" suggested the blonde, fox-eared woman who sat just a few metres away. Tomoe was the smallest of the Anomalia, standing at a mere 1,60 metres. Her figure was slender and alluring, with medium-sized breasts and thighs that were on almost full display beyond the exceedingly short skirt of her own kimono. Her nine tails were currently fused into one, for ease of sitting. She was the 3 of the Anomalia.

"Not sure if I can take that from you, you little trickster," Sybille responded immediately. "How many pockets did you want for your next dress again?"

"All of them," Tomoe responded and licked her lips, green eyes reflecting schemes that were as inconsequential as they were brilliant.

Opposite of the conversation, a woman with nearly black, blueish skin sighed. Zemerina ran a hand through her silky, white hair. The drow, 2 and therefore weakest of the Anomalia, wore her hair much in the same fashion as Derilea did, albeit that was where the likeness stopped. Zemerina had longer, pointier ears than the half elf or any of her children. Her eyes were the silver of spider thread and her lips were as black as the night. Busty and with long, slender legs, she was a different kind of looker. Her arms were crossed. "If you rearrange my records again, Tomoe, I'll be mad."

"Like you don't appreciate an afternoon of sorting your records for the fiftieth time this year," the fox-eared woman joked.

Aclysia let the conversation continue. Her family was as it always was: lively. Some of her anolias she got along with splendidly, others she felt like she barely knew, but they were all her family. One after the other, she greeted all of them, whether that was verbally or not. For a little bit, she played with her youngest sibling. Some people she had talked to expressed that they found it weird that Aclysia had a brother 18 years her junior. As one who had full-blooded sisters 200 years her senior, the half elf did not share such thoughts. This was the only family she had ever known.

The laughter around the table let her know it was a good one.

"Everyone is here," Taurus said and handed his son over to the child's mother. Velma carried him back to her seat, where a smaller, higher chair had been placed to allow them to sit together. Aclysia was afforded a place next to her mother.

That placement alone made her nervous. Typically, the Anomalia seated itself in the ranking of the power, with the older children sitting away from their mothers. To be placed among the Anomalia was either a sign of concern or disapproval. In either case, it was an awkward position to be in.

Aclysia surrendered to the position and awaited the inevitable. Her father made eye contact with Gregory and the butler hurried off into a side room. "What did you prepare today?" Aurustius asked his Queen. Even though Gregory was the head butler, Derilea was still the lead cook in the household. Her obligations were many and cleaning was simply not in her time budget, but her mother refused to let go of this aspect of her duties.

"On... recommendation of Gregory, I went with a soup," Aclysia's mother responded with an annoyed undertone.

"No knives, I see," Merliona remarked passively and closed the book with a loud thud, placing it on the ample space of the table. "Soup is a good choice."

'Why is there such a fixation on the meal today?' Aclysia wondered, but stayed silent while Gregory and two additional butlers brought in the lunch. Quietly she sorted her thoughts. All the things she wanted to say to her father had been swept away by the moment. They slowly trickled back in, while the meal began and conversation around them took a casual tone.

"What will our response to Malodictus be?" Merliona asked, between perfectionist movements. The angel refused to sit in any way other than perfectly straight, moving the spoon up and down, without letting a single drop pearl off her utensil.

"Annihilate him," Derilea responded immediately, her voice as sharp as a freshly whet dagger. "How dare he provide such a headache for Master?"

"What did he do?" Aclysia investigated. "I have been informed he's a minor god who has been invading the surrounding void."

"An apt summary, daughter, and an outright violation of the agreements that keep the Cosmic Universities safe from the meddling of creatures our students are not ready for," Derilea responded. "To destroy this annoyance completely will send the necessary message."

"An overreaction," Arustius responded in his rumbling voice. "He's a young god, not wise to the way the universe works yet. Follow the diplomatic path."

Derilea took two breaths to get her rage under control. "Fine," she said, releasing her remaining distaste through that one word. "Merliona, can I continue to lean on you in this endeavour?"

"I am the most suited for it," the angel responded in her usual calm demeanour.

"Besides, you might end up annihilating him after all, if he says the wrong thing," Valia, the demon, added in an amused tone.

Derilea did not honour that with a response. Everyone knew there was a risk of this. Aclysia had never seen a more dangerous or beautiful woman than her mother. Someone that badmouthed her father was someone in danger. Such affronts to her Master could not be abided and as the 10 and Queen of the Anomalia, she had the power to obliterate most obstacles.

Aclysia fully agreed to her mother's approach, which gave her the surge of urgency to address the topic weighing most heavily on her mind.

"Father, you made my Karitas bleed." The hissed words caused the chatter around the table to stop and be replaced with silence. Aclysia caught an amused undercurrent, especially in the way her anolias exchanged glances and gave her mother barely suppressed smirks. The anger inside her was whipped up further and she clenched the spoon in her hand, wondering how well it would serve as a throwing weapon.

"I did," her father responded sternly.

Before Aclysia knew it, she had rammed the head of the spoon into the tabletop. The metal bent, leaving the wood with only a mild scratch. It joined the hundreds others that the long usage had caused. "Why do you take it upon yourself to hurt my darling?" the half elf demanded to know. "Why impose your ridiculous test?!"

"Aclysia, you will address your father with respect!" Derilea responded in the exact same, maidly infuriated tone.

"Alright, alright, settle down," Sybille raised her voice immediately. "Deri, be quiet for a moment, you know how this ends otherwise."

On recommendation of the Anomalia's Ace, the Queen pressed her lips together until the last bit of pink had been drained from them. Aclysia forcefully relaxed her jaw when she realized she had been grinding her teeth. Her eyes were focused entirely on her father, until Sybille entered her field of vision.

The human woman fished the bend spoon from Aclysia's hand and put it out of the reach of the maid. "It is admirable that you and your sisters get this protective of your chosen Masters," the seamstress said softly. "Truth be told, you all come after your mother to a scary degree when it comes to these things."

"They learn by example," Tomoe weighed in. "What other choice do they have?"

Velma laughed, while whipping some soup off her child's face. "Did all of your kids turn out tricksters?"

"Fair point," the nine-tailed fox woman surrendered.

"Cease your distractions, anolias," Aclysia hissed, fingers drumming on the tabletop. "I have not been provided a response as to why an inconvenience of my Master is either justified or required. My choice has been made, his choice has been made, what right do you have to interfere?"

"The right of the family," Sybille responded plainly. "You got it wrong. Arustius has not placed an absolute condition on you joining Karitas' Anomalia."

"Father may as well have," Aclysia disagreed immediately. "My Karitas is one to take words seriously, he is a good man. It is part of what makes him worthy of my love."

"What about you, hm? Would you ignore your father's wishes so flagrantly and just run into the arms of a man you fancy against his recommendations?" Sybille poked Aclysia's nose. "Come on, Sia, you know that's not true."

Aclysia took a deep breath and tried to wrestle down her anger. She failed to diminish it and yet succeeded in putting a blanket of control on top. "This only furthers my point. Neither I nor Karitas would be comfortable with consummating our relationship without the approval of father."

"At least you retain a minimum of respect," Derilea weighed in. "Be thankful that your oddity of a chosen Master is accepted at all."

Aclysia outright growled at her mother. She could have never imagined doing so, but there she was. Derilea in return only appeared upset, not surprised. Her elegantly swung eyebrows pulled together. "You will not deride the good name of my Karitas, mother."

"I will-"

"Deri, please," Sybille interrupted again. "Every time. You know how this ends every single time when you argue with your daughters. Can we not buy new chairs this once?"

"A couple of replaced chairs are a minor sacrifice compared to insubordination," Derilea hissed.

"Mom, why're they fightin'?" the babbled words of the three-year-old cut into the tense and amused mood of the room.

"Love, honey, they're fighting because of love," Velma responded. "Maybe you'll understand when you're older."

Aclysia and her mother stared at each other and simultaneously directed their eyes at their laps. For nearly half a minute, Aclysia did nothing but watch her fingers, as she went through various unproductive gestures. "I've been dreaming of a man worthy of serving for so long."

"We know, Sia," Sybille assured her. "Very serve-happy genes you have."

"You have followed the path of your sisters," Aurora weighed in, her voice slow and elegant, almost songlike. It was as elegant as her icey appearance. "You are blessed that you found him so soon, yet cursed that this may lead to him falling short of Arustius' expectations -- for the time being."

"It's not a good or a bad thing, that you're the way you are," Anna, the minotaur woman, joined and scratched the back of her head. "We've simply experienced the drawbacks of your obsession before."

"It is good to be committed to one's Master, my darling daughter," Derilea spoke, with a soft tone this time. "Entirely appropriate to make sure annoyances around him are dealt with..." Foreheads wrinkled and anolias sighed. Aclysia ignored all of that and listened to the wise words of her mother. "...any of our daughters are protected by our concerns. With you and your sisters, we must take particular care. Nothing would hurt me more than knowing that the depth of your servitude is wasted on one who nearly feigns the part of the worthy Master. I trust your judgement, Aclysia, but can you allow your father to verify?"

Aclysia turned her gaze back to her father, the anger in her heart finally calmed. "...honoured father, I kindly request that you inform me of your intentions?"

Arustius pushed the empty bowl of soup away from him and folded his hands. "Your mother said all I could say," he informed her.

"I wish to hear it from you," Aclysia requested and pouted. She could see the will of her father crumble away immediately. At a young age, she had learned that there was a particular look that she could give that would make him give her anything she desired. Seldomly, she had used it, content as she was. The knowledge remained.

Taurus shifted around uncomfortably. A mountain of a man, capable of breaking most gods over his knee, brought to his figurative knees by a pair of green eyes and a slightly pushed forwards lower lip. "Karitas is a worthwhile young man." These words alone made Aclysia smile. "I sense potential in him -- and laziness. A man like him... men like us work the hardest when we want to impress a woman we care about."

Aclysia exhaled slowly and reached for the spoon. "I thank you for your explanation, father," she said and resumed her meal. After she had been handed a new spoon.

"Do you truly love this Karitas enough to call him your Master already?" Derilea asked softly.

Nodding, the maid took a sip. Even lukewarm the soup was delicious. "At times he babbles or speaks with little sense. You speak true that he is lazy at times, but he is animated at others. He knows much and shares with no condescension. Most importantly, when he observes me, I know that all I could do, he would react to. He would catch me if I stumbled, wipe away my tears before the first one has fallen, and embrace me when I desire his warmth." Aclysia smiled, showing her pearly white teeth. "Is it not natural to fall completely to desire such a man to be my Master? He can care for himself and that makes caring for him all the more rewarding."

"Truly, you are my daughter," Derilea said approvingly.