"What is broken can be reforged."~ Riven, The Exile (Original Hypermobile Champ)
This is not the chapter they will be meeting. It is unfortunately another setup chapter. One I should have written before they reached Freljord. But without this chapter the upcoming portion of the story would not feel as fluent. Even though you wouldn't have the mystery element, it will make sense. I suppose I will be planning the next arc better (Which is the Ruined King arc after you guys voted for it.)
And this upcoming part of the story is still under constant changes. Since I have dropped different ideas throughout the story, some of them can come into play without any issues. Because of that I'm still choosing the optimal option.
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"JAMES!" She called. Her voice in a hurry and her steps echoing through the hallway.
A couple maid exited the rooms they were cleaning and approached her in worry, "Milady is there anything you require?"
She looked at the two of them and answered in a rushed voice, "My son... Where is he?" Her hands were clutching her chest and her voice breathless.
"Master James?" The closest maid replied, "Master James was walking toward the greenhouse."
Without another word, she ran in that direction. The maids looked at her take off and decided to follow her. It was their job to serve the masters of the house and it would not be appropriate of them to ignore their plight.
Not when they had taken care of them much better than any of the other houses.
Alarm bells rang in her head. Her son was going THERE. She need to stop him.
As she ran she couldn't help but think of her husband. Anger flowed through her. But she could not act upon it. She could never do that. Who would she take it on?
Her son?
Her servants?
The house itself?
The country?
It was fruitless. None of them deserved to face her anger. Not when the person who was supposed to face the anger would never do so again.
It was his decision to follow the prince into battle. His decision to follow them into the Argent. His decision to face a warband of Noxians alone so that the rest of them could make it out safely. His decision to make sure every member of the warband perished under his blade before he fell.
His decision to fall.
HIS DECISION TO FALL.
So, why did she hate him so?
Why did she hate him when he had done the right thing?
There a quite a few things. And it was something that grew further each day she woke up. Everything that could go wrong since his death was going wrong. The other noble families realized the problems they were having and chose to ignore them entirely. But it wouldn't last.
She was doing a good enough job of staving them off but it would get worse as time went on. Her education on Ladyship had left her woefully underprepared for the work of a Lord.
She was out of her depth in both her responsibilities as a Lady and as a mother.
Why did he have to leave her and their child?
Why did she have to wake up every morning alone?
Why did he have to leave them to handle the so called "Gift"?
Shouldn't he have realized what would happen to his son after his passing? The child who was barely ten years old. The child who would now grow up without ever seeing his father.
Her son had already started to display different behavior from normal. It had started from before news of his death had reached her. Probably from the moment he had passed the "Gift" had moved on to her son.
James had become reclusive from that moment on. His smile fading as the days passed. He had become the shell of the boy he had used to be. Gone were the enthusiasm and excitement. All replaced with a need to see what was beyond the door of the armory.
The "Gift" was calling to him.
Just as it had called his father.
Just as it had called the men before him.
Her eyes widened in shock and fear as she reached the greenhouse. Her son wasn't there. She looked down the hallway. The armory. She bolted in its direction. Hoping. Praying that her son hadn't managed to get inside.
Her worst fears came true however. The doors to the armory were open. Not fully but just enough to let a child slip through.
She shoved herself through the gap and looked in the direction of the "Gift", dreading what she might spot.
The item was hooked up high on the wall.
Unreachable by normal means. One needed a ladder to even get close enough.
"JAMES!" She screeched.
Her son was there.
Climbing the walls.
He looked down at her, face pale and in obvious fear.
She slowed down considerably as she reached the wall, her voice softening, "James.... my baby... come down from there." She coaxed him, "Lets do something fun instead. You can eat all the candy you want..... Just.." She paused, "Just come down."
James hesitated for a moment before suddenly looking up at the item.
"Don't listen to it James." She said as she saw this. "Listen to mummy. Please listen to mummy."
A few seconds later, James did exactly that. He slid down the wall and landed on the ground.
She grabbed her son in a hug and checked for anything that might have affected her son. After confirming his wellbeing, she pulled away and looked into his eyes. "James." She placed a hand on his cheek lovingly. "My son." Her voice took on a serious tone. "That shield must never be touched. It was gifted to our family a long time ago on the condition that we must keep it safe and leave it be. It was your father's responsibility. It is mine now. And eventually.... one day.... it would be yours. Do you hear me now?" She asked.
James nodded into her mother's hand.
"You must never climb to it again..... never touch it...." She placed her other hand on his face. It was a loving act but her eyes carried seriousness the son couldn't disobey.
But he had to say it. "But mama, the voice inside... it cries to me..... It sounds so sad.."
She pulled him into a hug. "All the more reason not to touch it son." She whispered in his ear, "Anything that has lived this long and kept untouched is done so for a reason. And this reason is anything but happy or fun. It is a danger. To us and our people." She looked into his eyes once more as she pulled away. "As the next Lord Fortis, it is your duty to protect your people. It is what makes us different from the other creatures who call themselves nobles."
Her son nodded but his eyes flitted to the shield once more.
She noticed it, "Fight it my son. Fight it like all those before you."
She then ushered her son out of the armory but not before giving the wall a look.
Her son had climbed that.
The finger imprints on the wall were proof of it.
His strength was developing.
The effects from the "Gift" would only grow from now.
Her husband, his father was also strong. Beyond strong. Inhumanly strong. His strength kept the vultures away. They were circling now and it was only some time before they broke their promises of leaving a widow and her child alone.
She needed to stall.
Stall until her son grew old enough to take on the burdens of lordship.
As they exited, she noticed the indents on the door. One that fit her child's hands. She exhaled a shaky breath.
Turning to the maids who had waited outside for her, She spoke, "Bolt these doors shut. Chain them. Lock them. No one should be able to get in."\
The maids looked shocked.
It wasn't an ask but an order.
Their lady had never given them an order before.
"Y....Yes Milady." They bowed and moved out of the way as she closed the door with her son in her arms.
"I apologize for sounding harsh but this is a very sensitive matter. See that it is done." Her parting words to the maids had them scrambling to have the room completely sealed.
She led her son to the kitchens, got him some sweets and led to his room.
"I have something to take care of James. I will be back as soon as it is done." She told him as she left him and moved to her husband's study.
Reaching into one of the glass cabinets she pulled out some of the strongest alcohol she could find and poured it into a glass.
She sipped it as she stared at the chair he had sat on. She could see him there, giving her the smile that displayed that one teeth that didn't quite matchup with the rest of them.
"Leon Fortis, you unforgivable bastard...." She muttered as she took another sip.
Her vision blurred and she hands started to shake. "How could you do this?" Tears dropped from her face and into the glass that was in her hands. "How am I going to handle all of this?"
It was over a year and a half since his passing but the pain never lessened. "Come back.... I miss you..." Her voice had reduced to sobs, "I love you.... Please..."
As she sat there grieving her husband, a sharp knock echoed through the room.
Quickly wiping her eyes dry, she stood up. "What is it?" She called, her voice hard in an effort to hide her feeling.
"Milady you have to be present for the meeting today. There has been word of war." Her butler's voice answered curtly.
War?
Her hands shook more. Everything was falling apart.
Once more she looked toward the chair. Her husband smiling from the desk.
She closed her eyes, composing herself. A moment later she downed the glass as her hands stopped shaking.
It was time for a performance. The performance of a woman who was strong enough to face the world for her son and dead husband.
Her eyes grew cold and sharp, "Ready my carriage. I will be down in a moment."
A moment. That was all she would need to make herself look presentable.
Lady Erin Fortis would hold on for her family.
For her son.