BXBX NOVEL Chapter 34 - 34 Russell Family
Chapter 34: Russell Family
As softly as he could, he asked her;
"And your family?"
"My father\'s death took a serious toll on my mother. She virtually worshipped him. So when he passsed, it was like a part of her died too. At first, we all thought it was just a phase, and she would eventually snap out of it. . ."
Nora poured another cup;
". . .but she was the one who had snapped. Her health began to detoriate badly. Even though she was barely thirty, she grew so frail, she became a shadow of herself. We spent a fortune trying to get her to recover. Healers from far and wide were called in."
She sipped.
"But nothing worked. Until, one white haired old man from the east came."
"And he healed her?"
"Not quite. But he did the next best thing, he told us the cure was. And part of it was–"
"The Lightning Fox\'s fur."
"–precisely! The fur is a necessary ingredient for the making of the special mix. Up until today, the creature has been evading our best hunters. And you just happend to–"
DONG! DONG! DONG!!
Nexus\' head swiveled at the loud interruption. It was the church bells, ringing loudly and powerfully as if they were just a building away.
Nora got up immediately from the head of the table, urgency in her eyes;
"My apologies, but I need to go right now."
Nexus got up apprehensively;
"Is there a trouble?"
"No. It\'s my mother. I need to attend to her right away."
Nexus eased back; "Anything I can do to help?"
"No. It\'s just time for her evening medications. I need to be there personally."
She started to take a step towards an exit on the left side of the hall;
"Make yourself comfortable. I\'ll be back shortly."
She strutted out. The echo of her footsteps continued to wane as she proceeded farther away from them. Until she finally disappeared behind the dark door.
"I\'ve seen this Crest before."
Crystal\'s disruptive voice tore through the silence, nearly causing Nexus to jump in shock.
Shit, he had completely forgotten about the succubus.
He turned sharply in the direction of her voice. And there she was, at the far end of the great hall, backing him as she faced the wall, intently looking at something there. She mumbled those words again;
"I\'m pretty sure I\'ve seen it before..."
He took a couple of tentative steps towards her; "Crystal, what are you doing?"
"Pardon me my lord," She turned right around to face him; "I was just examining these shields on display. . ."
"And what about them?"
"Well, for starters, its the crest on them. Its definitely been long since I saw the symbol, but there\'s no mistakening it." She straightened up;
"Lord Nexus. I believe this family is none other than the Russell family."
He blinked, waiting for further information; "Is that supposed to mean something?"
"Pardon me m\'lord, I keep forgetting that you\'re not a local. The Russell family name is well known in these parts. They were once a powerful and illustrous clan that frolicked with the ruling class."
"I\'m sensing something went terribly wrong."
She nodded vehemently; "That was in the old days. When the ruling patriarch of the clan died, the clan collapsed with him."
Nexus winced; "Collapsed is a pretty strong word isn\'t it?"
"I\'m afraid not m\'lord. The household began to decline. They got farther and farther out of the public\'s eye, until they became a thing of the past. For a long time, no one saw or heard anything notable from them."
She turned back to the shield, and gazed upon in a dedicated stare; "This is the first time I\'m seeing this sigil in a really long time."
He walked up to her, and stood by her side. In the light of the fire, they both gazed at the shield together like it was a work of art.
"What do you know about the mother?" he finally asked.
"Nothing much m\'lord. There was some chatter going about that she went nuts after the death of her husband. But it was weak news at the time."
Nexus pulled away from the shield and glanced at the next one. They were all equidistant to each other, like art pieces at a museum. Each one hung proudly with the inlaid spears, serving as a powerful reminder of the days of old.
Time passed in that hall.
The coals at the hearth began to glow in dazzling colors. Crickets chirped away noisily in the night, while a comfortable silence reigned in the background.
Before long, while Nexus and Crystal sat at the table bored, a strong scent began to waft into the room. It was strong, potent, and had the earthy scent of really powerful herbs being brewed together.
It came from the entrance to the left. And before long, the dissident vapour began to saturate the entire hall, sneaking their way into their nostrils, and seeping into the very pores on their skin. The occasional blasts of wind that came through the windows, only helped to spread the scent even more.
Nexus could no longer ignore it;
"What in the hell is this scent so late in the night?"
"I think I can perceive a little bit of nightshade, and some cauilflower in it."
"Huh?"
"If I\'m not mistaken, I believe this might be the herbs being prepared for the sick mistress of the house."
"I see they wasted no time at all. The fox fur should probably be in the mix by now already. Wow, this is some really strong stuff."
"Yes m\'lord. Strong afflictions often need strong medications. . ." her nose twitched; "This particular medication has a lot of unknowns in it. So I\'m guessing her condition must be pretty severe."
Nexus eyes sunk sympathetically; "Poor woman. . ."
They were both still conversing when another door to their right swung open wildly. Swaying with anticipation, they both got to their feet, and trained their eyes in the direction of the intrusion.
Their eyes registered the outline of a girl. At first, they both thought it was Nora. But as the footsteps of the girl came pounding, even before they saw her face, they knew it was not her.
The first thing that screamed about the girl was her fiery red hair.
It crowned her head in vicious bangs, bouncing even as she bounced. The next thing was her height. She was tall. Really tall. She was clad in a dress that was not too tight. But it was short enough to reveal a pair of perfectly proportioned legs. The impressive form of this girl continued to hasten towards them. There was no lack of passion in the way she walked. She strutted with energetic purpose. Not a single step spelled weakness
The closer she got, the clearer her facial features became. Nexus saw it- the stunning red head was as pretty as she was tall.
But on that pretty freckled face was a set of contemptuous eyes. They blazed in their sockets. Not in an angry pissed off way, but in a way that seemed to permanently say \'I am better than all of you, eat dust.\' Her chin was up so high, he wondered if it ever came down.
Nexus recognized that look. His vocabulary called it \'Condescension.\'
She stopped just a few feet ahead of them, glaring at the duo as if she could not believe that creatures like them were in her presence.
The encounter was so awkward, and so uncomfortable, that Crystal had to do something to break the ice;
"A pleasant evening to you madam."
Crystal instantly wished she had not done that.
The girl did not even as much as glance in her direction.
Crystal\'s greeting hung in the air, suspended awkwardly, having been refused to be acknowledged by the receipient.
The succubus was embarassed to helplessness. Her face flushed with shame as a sob rose quickly at the back of her throat. She forced it down with all her might, wishing she had just kept silent.
Completely ignoring Crystal as though she was not even there, the girl\'s chin clenched even tighter, and focused her gaze on Nexus. It was the opposite of a look of acknowledgement. Having already concluded that Crystal was nothing, the girl\'s lofty eyes trailed over Nexus- from his head, to his torso, and finally to his feet, analyzing from a distance, trying to see if anything about him was worth the effort of her time.