The Thirty-Day Trial

Chapter Two: The Angelsin Family

After their get-together with the king and their friends, King Rankin offered for them to stay in the palace. Rumwyn accepted the invitation along with Grant and Grylow. Ivor declined, stating that he had some projects to attend to. Similarly, Nyx and Gaige declined as well, since they had rented a room.

The next day, they decided to finally give Nyx’s family their long overdue visit. Gaige was not excited but agreed regardless.

“Here, let me fix your collar,” Nyx said, and approached her husband to help him get dressed.

“My love, I could be the most well-dressed man in the entire kingdom and your father would still hate me,” Gaige said with a huff, but let her fuss over him.

Nyx clicked her tongue. “He doesn’t hate you. He just doesn’t find your lack of manners charming.”

“I don’t remember offending him,” Gaige said and stood still as Nyx now tried to fix his hair. All Gaige could remember was his previous visits ending in total disaster when it came to Nyx’s old home. “Purposely, that is.”

“Well, there’s a time when you broke into our ancestral tomb when you’re not supposed to,” Nyx replied with a smile. “It’s rude to disturb the resting place of one’s family ancestors, you know.”

“That was an accident,” Gaige pouted. “Your family manor was so damn huge I got lost inside. I didn’t even know it was a tomb. It looked like an indoor park.”

“Dear. Our ancestral tomb is at the very back of our castle. You have to go through the grand hall, the music hall, the ballroom, and many other rooms to get there. How did you manage to bypass all that?” Nyx asked.

“I don’t know. I told you I got lost,” Gaige leveled her with a stare that she found endearingly stubborn.

“Right,” she said and shook her head. “You also got lost when you wandered to the restricted area of my family’s archive?”

“How am I supposed to know that was restricted?”

“It was written in bold red characters,” Nyx replied.

“My love, I can’t read runes. “

She laughed and hugged her husband. That little incident had triggered the protective spells in their archive that turned into full-on chaos and sent her family, especially her father, into a panic.

She knew in her heart that adjusting to her old family took a lot on Gaige’s part.

“I need a map of your family estate and please mark the places I’m not supposed to go,” Gaige said as he hugged her tight. Even though he was now married to Nyx, he was still considered an outsider in Nyx’s family for his lack of skill in Divergent Arts.

“Or you can try to appeal to my family’s old traditional sense and maybe they will give you access to our home’s restricted areas,” she said playfully.

The frown on Gaige’s face screamed the word no.

**~

Eion Point Manor. It was located east of the capital and two hours away from it.

According to the legend, the land where the Manor stands was the place where the once united world of the Universe was broken into three realms. The celestials went to heaven, the demons were cast out to the underworld, and the humans were stuck on the material plane.

This very legend was used by the Angelsin Family to explain their celestial and demonic heritage. Having the blood of all three realms, celestial, demonic, and human, in their veins made them one of the most powerful families in the land. Powerful enough to challenge the royal family several times in the course of history and it remained a noble family virtually unpunished.

Nyx peeked her head out of the carriage window and watched her old home come into view. The bright red roof of the manor was a sharp contrast to the light blue of the sky and the green of the forest it was surrounded by.

The ancient grey bricks of her old home stood as proudly as she remembered. Having stood the test of time, Eion Point Manor had never once failed the Angelsin Family. Even in the times when her ancestors challenged the Royal family, the manor protected them. Acting as a fortress against any attempt of attack.

The manor was never invaded.

When the weathered gates of the outer walls came into view, Nyx couldn’t help the feeling of extreme nostalgia that flowed through her. How she missed the feel of ancient spells wrought all throughout the estate. The powerful thrum of magic flowed freely within their walls, offering protection and comfort.

And most of all, she missed her family.

As much as she loved their humble cottage in the woods of the small town of Watergrove, Eion Point was her childhood home. Where her family lived. This place would always have a special place in her heart.

“We’re almost there,” she said to Gaige as she rearranged herself back to her seat. Gaige was sitting in front of her.

Gaige sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” she asked.

“I know you missed your family,” Gaige said with a sad tone.

“Didn’t you say we’re on our honeymoon?”

“That excuse worked for the first two months of our marriage. Even you have to admit that, after six months, it has become more like I’m being selfish for keeping you just to myself,” Gaige said.

“Was that your intention?”

“Of course not,” he said, looking a bit offended.

She gave him a small loving smile. “I know. Besides, it’s not like we’re not busy. Building our own home took too much of our time, but I’m happy with the result.”

“You are?” he asked with a bit of hesitation.

“Of course!” she said excitedly. “After months of fixing, renovating, and designing our cottage, I’m extremely satisfied with how it turned out. We have our own room, we have enough space for our future children, and I have my very own garden. It’s the result of our combined efforts.”

Gaige looked at her with such a tender expression she felt like turning into a pile of goo. Gods above, she really loved this man.

She took his hand and ran her thumb across his rough palm. Months of doing carpentry and other manual labor left the most recent marks on his skin.

“It’s the place I will proudly show to my family and say: look, this is our home,” she said with all the sincerity that she had in her heart.

She heard Gaige take a sharp breath and the next thing she knew, he grabbed her and kissed her intensely.

“Have I mentioned how much I love you?” Gaige asked.

“Not in the past hour. You better make up for it,” she said, and grabbed his collar to pull him into another kiss.

**~

“Oh, dear. You look so travel-worn,” Lady Myrtle, Nyx’s mother, said as she surveyed their rumpled appearance. She was the one who welcomed them upon their arrival. “Rough road along the way?”

“Right. The roads are rather challenging,” Nyx agreed and shared a conspiratory glance and smile at Gaige. “Isn’t it, dear?”

“Yes, my love,” Gaige said, refusing to answer her smile. Instead, he tried to school his expression into a more neutral one. “Thank you for having us over, Lady Myrtle.”

“Nonsense! Of course, you are always welcome here. Besides, shouldn’t you be calling me Mother or something equal to that now?” Lady Myrtle said, smiling at Gaige.

Gaige gave her mother a soft smile. “Apologies, mother.”

“Come, come. Why don’t you go to your room first to freshen up? Your room is always ready for the two of you, Nyx,” Lady Myrtle said as she ushered them inside. “Your father will be returning before lunch. I’m sure he will be pleasantly surprised that his daughter and son-in-law decided to give us a surprise visit!”

Nyx happily agreed with her mother, while Gaige just smiled wryly.

When her father and brothers arrived before lunchtime, Nyx excitedly met them at the entrance hall and hugged them.

“Dad! Seth! Hale!” she called out happily.

“Nyx! You’re here!” Hale, the youngest among the siblings, exclaimed and hugged his older sister tightly.

“Welcome home, sis,” Seth, her younger brother and also the heir of their family, said, then kissed her cheek as he hugged her.

“My baby girl is back,” her father, Zane Lord Eion, embraced her, which lasted longer than her siblings’ hug.

“Did you bring your husband with you?” Hale asked, which made their father scowl a little.

“Yes. He’s here,” she replied. Then she took her father’s hand and caressed it in a placating manner. “He is in the waiting room with Mom. I just couldn’t wait to see you all, that's why I’m here.”

Her father gave her hand a small squeeze. “Well, good thing your mother is keeping an eye on him. We wouldn’t want him to accidentally activate any other defensive spell here now, do we?”

“Dad…” she said in a whining tone.

“Fine. I’ll play nice,” her father said and led them to the waiting room.

Her brothers snickered behind them.

Seth and Hale greeted Gaige happily, asking her husband how they were in Watergrove and if they would need any help.

Gaige replied cordially and told her brothers that their cottage had recently been completed.

True to her father’s words, her father indeed played nice with Gaige, which she appreciated. Gaige also made sure not to accidentally step on her father’s toes, so the lunch went well.

By afternoon, they all gathered in a room in the west wing of their manor. Seth was playing the piano for them. His blond hair similar to their mother’s, caught the afternoon light, giving him a bright golden glow. His dark blue eyes would close from time to time as he played with the keys. Hale, on the other hand, was playing a game of chess with her husband. Their youngest brother inherited their father’s dark tresses just like Nyx's. However, his eyes were from their mother's with their dark blue hue.

Her parents were seated on a couch, with her mother doing embroidery and her father reading some reports. Nyx was seated beside her husband observing him as he played against her brother.

“How long would you be staying here, Sis?” Hale asked out of nowhere after he placed his knight in a defensive position.

“We’ll stay for a few days,” Nyx replied.

“Just for a few days?” Seth asked as he continued to play the piano. “Why not stay longer?”

“Well, we probably could,” Nyx eyed Gaige to see his reaction. Upon seeing him smile at her she happily added. “That would depend on how much time it will take us to complete the King’s request.”

“A request from the King?” Hale stared back at her.

Nyx made an affirmative sound. “His Highness wants us to check recently discovered ruins with unknown runes. He wants me to help translate them.”

“Is it the one located Northeast of the capital?” His father asked, joining the conversation.

“Yes,” Nyx answered. “We’ll go there tomorrow. Can I use our archive once I get a copy of those runes?”

“Of course,” her father said. “I’m also interested in those runes. It’s been a while since I translated some.”

It was a known secret that one of her father’s hobbies was translating and interpreting runes. His personal collection of books on the topic was huge and he even wrote books regarding it. It also happened to be their favorite bonding activity as father and daughter.

“Great! Maybe we should really stay here longer. Right, dear?” She then turned to her husband.

“Yes, my love,” he agreed.

Nyx was really happy that her father and husband seem to be tentatively starting to breach that gap that existed between them. The scandal her marriage to a commoner caused and all the politics involved soured the relationship between her father and husband. Seeing them trying to understand each other really made her feel that they were on the right path.