New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Rodney couldn't grasp what was happening right before his very eyes. This woman before him, who had never looked at him affectionately, was now telling him she was proud of him?

This same woman who had banished him from the family because he lacked magical talent? The woman who had treated him like less than nothing?

'There has to be a reason for her actions. A scheme. Something. She would never treat me well without a reason.'

While Rodney's thoughts scrambled around in his head, Selena looked at him with sorrow. She could guess his thoughts, even without having to read them.

Of course, she knew he was right. She had been a terrible mother.

All for the sake of her house's prosperity. Such were the ways of Themiscus' high society.

But the truth was different. She had never forgiven herself for banishing him.

Even Ulrick knew her true feelings had always been hidden. He had so often found her crying alone in her chambers, in the days following the banishment.

In the beginning, she had no such intention. But when the tormenting had started between her children, and Rodney never gained the ability to fight back, she couldn't think of another way.

And defending him openly would have caused internal strife, and a whiplash on the Lorhens. She hadn't banished him from hatred.

She had banished him so the torment would stop. In truth, Selena had always trusted her son would grow up to be great.

When he was born, and they found out that his mana lobe, which was already formed, a rare thing even in Themiscan society, was calcified, she had looked for solutions everywhere.

Selena had even called for a seer to predict Rodney's future, hoping that the situation would remedy itself. That was how she found out Rodney would someday be a great warrior and one of humanity's stalwarts.

But his magic had never come back to him over the years. Making him an outcast in his own home.

Hearing her husband hear that Rodney had died today had made her realize that her choices concerning her firstborn had been wrong all along. Even if sending him away was the safe path, she should have defended him more and supported him after he left.

Instead, she had left her baby to fend for himself in a cruel world, leaving him with the thought that she did not love him.

Thinking about this, Selena could feel tears streaming down her face.

Rodney noticed this, and his mouth dropped.

"Mother… Why are you crying?" Rodney asked, his voice cracking.

With a soft sob, she looked at her eldest son and asked, "Will you ever forgive me?"

***

In another manor of Themiscus, the Casovan manor, house to the head Matriarch's family, another situation altogether was happening.

In a meeting room not unlike the one Rodney was in, along with his father, mother, and half-sister, the head Matriarch was meeting with representatives of five different families.

"Head Matriarch! You cannot be seriously letting him go after he threatened our leading cast so easily! This is a scandal!" A young woman with fiery red hair exclaimed.

"The representative of the Lagans is right! We can't let them go scot-free! This is an affront to our glorious kingdom and its venerable founder! They must be punished!" another woman growled, her purple eyes glowing with disdain.

The commotion only rose as the women tried talking over each other until a loud bang interrupted their screaming.

*Bang!*

"Enough! Contain yourselves, ladies. You are still in the presence of our highest council member. Don't you dare forget that."

Edelbart looked at the women, who all theoretically held more power than him, in their everyday society, and scoffed at their scowls. This was his turf, his house.

They might wield enough power to make him bend outside of these walls. But not inside.

The women all looked at him with disgust.

"Head Matriarch, when will you tame that rowdy dog of yours? How dare he bare his teeth at us?"

But the woman immediately regretted her words, as a sudden shove of telekinesis slammed her into her seat, the pressure mounting to the point where she was suffocating.

Already, she was clawing at her throat, desperate to get some air into her lungs.

"Watch your words, child. He may be a man, but he still is my husband, and Guardian, as well as our kingdom's most powerful and respected warrior. Who are you, to call him a dog? You, who are only fresh out of diapers only a few decades back. Talk to him like this again, and your head will roll, be it by my hand, or his."

The woman was turning blue, her eyes bulging, as she nodded her head in panic.

Releasing her spell, the head Matriarch watched as the woman collapsed on the table, gasping for air frantically.

"Now. As I was saying earlier. I know how your Matriarchs feel about this already. But what else are we to do? Go to war?

"I don't think you realize what you are asking of this kingdom. None of you, or your mistresses, have seen war. You have no idea the toll it takes on a country. No idea the toll it takes on its people.

"Go back home. Tell your mistresses to pipe down. We can take our revenge in the Inter-Alliance Military Exercises. Until then, you are not to touch a hair on the envoys of Stellar Woodlands. Understood?"

The women reluctantly nodded, too scared to speak back after what had just happened.

The head Matriarch rarely snapped. But her wrath was not something anyone could take on.

As they teleported away, going back to their respective manors, the Head Matriarch sighed heavily, sinking in her chair.

As much as she had looked dignified and powerful until now, she now looked weak and tired.

Her Guardian, Edelbart, walked beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She delicately caressed it.

"When was the last time the Council agreed on matters completely? Decades? Centuries, maybe? I don't remember. I'm tired, Edelbart," she said, sighing again.

Her husband leaned down, kissing her forehead.

Edelbart was not her first husband, as the woman was much older than people thought she was. And men in Themiscus, although they lived long, did not live as long as the women.

This was due to the balance of power. But he knew she had long outlived her peers.

It was no wonder she was tired. For her to even live this long was a testament to her true power.

"Maybe it's time to retire? Leave your place to someone else who's younger?"

She chuckled lightly, almost causing her to cough.

"And leave the country in a state of near war? Over my dead body. These women are too rash. They have forgotten the true values of Themiscus.

"I wish our founder would come here and educate them as she did the last generation. They would see the err in their ways. But that is wishful thinking. Let us just go rest. I am tired."

"Very well, my love," Edelbart said, helping her up and walking her to her chambers.

'I only hope your statement doesn't turn out true. So many of these young and feisty witches would love to trample on your grave…'