Dominique's POV:
…
I slowly opened my eyes. I was in a bed in some room I've never been before, the curtains were open and sun was already shining high above the ground. I was lying down, I didn't move. My head was empty of any thoughts whatsoever. I couldn't quite comprehend what was going on. I was just lying in bed and staring at the ceiling for minutes.
Maybe after half an hour of lying in bed thoughtlessly, turning from one side to another, my brain finally turned on. The memories were blurry and surprisingly I was calm. I eventually got up and made my way to the doors. The room itself was smaller than mine, but still was very alike with it.
After entering the corridor, I walked to the big spacious entrance hall with stairs down to the first floor on the sides and balcony in the middle, overlooking the hall. The mansion itself was quite exquisite and decorated, but not too much and a bit less than mine. Fancy furniture and high-quality carpets were everywhere. The balcony had an elegant balustrade all around the edge as well as the stairs. There I finally met a maid. She was probably doing the laundry, judging by the big basket in her hands.
She was a brunette with pointy ears, meaning that she was an elf. She looked young and had a very beautiful face. She was wearing pretty standard maid's clothes. Her wavy hair was tied up in a high ponytail to not get in her way. After I made my way to the stairs and started going down, she noticed me. For a brief moment she seemed to have been surprised, but I wasn't sure in what I saw since she got over herself quickly and calmly greeted me:
"Good morning, young master. How do you feel? Is everything alright? Would you maybe like something?"
I had a ton of questions, but I had no idea who she is and where was my "uncle": "I am fine, where am I? Who are you? And where is my "uncle"?"
"I am happy to hear that. You are in lord Kaiser's mansion and I am the head maid of this place, my name is Charlotte Amanys." She made a curtsy. She was elegant and sophisticated, it almost didn't look like she was just a maid, her manners were very impressive.
"Your uncle is not in the mansion right now, but he should come back soon. May I offer offer young master a meal, while he is waiting for the lord? I assume that young master Dominique is hungry after such a long time."
"Yeah, I would like to eat something, my stomach is killing me." It didn't seem to be a trap or something like that, so I assumed it to be safe here, but I still wasn't out of questions, at least I have to wait for Kaiser's return.
"Understood, I will immediately get the food ready. For the time being, you can have a walk outside in the garden or have a rest in your room. Feel free to ask anyone about anything. We are at your service, young master Dominique."
…
I chose to have a walk outside, since I was in no mood for lying in bed for now. The territory was vast, but still smaller than at my home and there was a big garden where fruits and vegetables were grown, unlike in the garden at home, yet it still had a bunch of flowers all over the place and it was neat and well maintained.
After about half an hour of the walk, I was informed that the food was ready and I instantly went to the dining room with another maid, who came looking for me. She was but another elven girl, this time even younger than Charlotte.
Dining room was well-sized to the mansion and well-decorated, just like the whole manor. The meal was a chicken with baked potato and grilled vegetables along with fruit juice.
"Young master, is everything to your liking?" Charlotte asked, standing next to me.
"Yes, it is really tasty, I like it."
"I am delighted to hear this! This meal was specially prepared for young master to be easy on stomach, healthy and nutritious. It also uses all the vegetables and fruits from our garden." She seemed really proud and happy telling me all this and it made me feel even better.
But then, when my feelings improved, I suddenly felt pain in my chest, rapid, sharp, squeezing pain. Emotions started to kick in, as if there was a wall, a dam blocking them before. I grabbed my chest in pain and fell down from my chair, Charlotte started panicking and called for someone.
It seemed that right this instant Kaiser came back and after a minute or so, he came here and helped me. Then I lost consciousness and woke up already in the room I first have woken up.
It was still day and there was no one in the room. I didn't waste much time and went out to look for my "uncle". I sensed him downstairs in the dining room and headed there. He didn't hide his presence at all, so it really easy to find him, that can't be said about the maids, though, since they either didn't have any mana, or hid well enough for me to not sense them.
Anyway, I made my way to the dining room. When I was close to the doors, I started hearing that they were talking, or more like Kaiser was talking and others were listening. After entering the room, I saw Charlotte and 3 more maids standing next to my "uncle" near the table, while he was eating and talking at the same at.
"I am glad to hear that nothing unexpected happened in my absence for all these years. You all already know what to do, so there is only one more thing to tell you. Our new guest – he is my nephew, Cecilia and William's son, his name is Dominique. You should all know how to treat him, so that's all. Do you have to say anything, Domi?"
I just entered and was still standing in the middle of the room. His question surprised me for a second: "Ah, eh… my name is Dominique, as my uncle said, it's nice to meet you. I don't have anything more to say."
"Nice to meet you, young master Dominique!" All four maids simultaneously said and bowed slightly. Then Charlotte said first: "My name is Charlotte, we have already met, young master." She turned her head to the other three: "Now you all should introduce yourselves."
The closet to the head maid started first: "Yes, lady Charlotte. Greetings, young master, my name is Lily, I am at your service." She made a curtsy, it was elegant but not like Charlotte's, it had something unique to it. Lily had blonde hair, azure eyes and beautiful face. I would say every one of them was really beautiful and they were just servants.
Then the third proceeded, she was the one, who accompanied me to the dining room previously: "Greetings, young master Dominique, I am Mary and I am at your service." She repeated what her colleague did and made a curtsy as well. Mary was a brunette, pretty much like Charlotte, and had brown eyes that perfectly complemented her hair.
Then the last girl talked, she looked more reserved and shyer, or maybe nonchalant? I wasn't really sure what it was, but anyway: "Greeting, young master, my name is Violet, I am at your servic- ahh." She also made a curtsy, but slipped and fell down. Her words sounded forced and voice was a bit devoid of emotions, unlike previous girls. After she got up she apologised: "I am sorry…" Her face turned visibly red and this time the words didn't sound that forced.
What's more interesting is that all of them were elves and besides Charlotte, everyone was about the same age. Kaiser's face showed slight smile and after putting a slice of meat in his mouth he said:
"Good, Domi, come here, have a sit. Everyone else can go, I have to talk with Domi." After that, all 4 maids left the room and we were alone at the table.
I hesitated to speak first, since I had many questions, but my heart beating faster and faster. After a while, Kaiser spoke first: "You don't have to worry, Domi. I am sure you have a great many questions to me and I promise to answer them. But first I want to know how do you feel?"
"I… I am better. Who are you really? I don't know any uncle Kaiser." I made a bald move, but this question has been bothering me for a while now.
"Oh, I thought Cecilia told you about me at least a few times in the past, but anyway, I am glad you asked it straight away and didn't hesitate. I am Kaiser Veilstar, your Mum's older brother. I hadn't visited you for years because I was on a mission that took me nearly a decade to finish."
"Ah, yeah, I remember my Mum told me about some uncle on a long mission, right. So, it was you?" After his words, puzzle in my head finally completed. My Mum really did tell me about her older brother and I was long looking forward to meeting him. Mum told me many stories about him.
"Haha *he smiled*, so she did tell about me. That's good." But after his words the smile faded away. And so did my excitement as the memories of my Mum started popping up like they were sealed before. Then, I asked my next question without realising it.
"Uncle Kaiser… what happened… to my parents…?" Before I even finished my question, I lost my voice, as if I had a lump in my throat. Tears came to my eyes and heart started to hurt.
Uncle hesitated for a moment, then he answered: "They… are gone… I am sorry, I couldn't do anything." Even through the tears I could see pain in his eyes and his voice, but it didn't matter for me now. I started crying, even more memories of Mum and Dad started flashing before me, all those moments: games we played together in the living room, Dad catching me in our garden, training me with a wooden sword, our trips to the cities, cosy evenings in the winter near the fireplace and hot teas, tea times with my Mum…
Tears were flowing, heart hurt like never before, screams were heard all over the building, my mana, that finally somewhat restored started bursting out uncontrolably in every direction like waves, destroying table, chairs and all the furniture around, damaging walls. The rest I couldn't remember.