"Is this supposed to be a jest, Lord Elion?" asked Lucien, looking slightly disgusted at the sight of Blanc.
He was not the only one present who thought the same, as Celine looked shocked to see the state the man who entered was in.
Neither were Fiamma and her son, however they looked more curious by this sudden change than disturbed.
"No, my Lord Lucien. Let me present to you my second son, Blanc of Blood Denegis, son of my wife Mera," spoke Elion.
Rude, thought Blanc, walking as nobly and as straight as he could, yet the limp and the clothes he was in did not help.
But it took him longer than expected to skin the lynx and get back to his current condition, so there was no helping it, for as soon as he saw the carriages in front, he knew he didn't have time to either change or bathe.
"Once again, I apologize for my disturbing sight, but the gift I thought of was more difficult to acquire than I thought, as you can see."
Lucien raised from his chair while walking towards Blanc, "And what is this gift you speak of so highly, if you do not mind me asking."
"Not in the slightest, Lord Maroux. Before that, though, if you would forgive me, may I ask for the name of your daughter?"
Lady Celine of Blood Maroux was a few feet away from Blanc's eyes. He was glad to see that his mother did not lie when praising her. She was his age, perhaps a bit older.
Yet her wheat blonde hair and blue eyes that reminded him of sapphires were the first things he noticed.
That, and her wonderful body overall. He could not help watching her while he asked the question to her father.
"Of course, forgive me," Lord Lucien smiled, yet clearly not amused by it, "May I present my firstborn daughter, Celine of Blood Maroux."
"I'm honored, Lord Maroux, for indulging my selfish question." Blanc bowed deeply before turning to Celine.
"Lady Celine, forgive my current state. After I present you the gift, I will take my leave to wash and dress properly, as a man who may soon become your husband should."
"Leave the flattery, Lord Blanc, get to the point," replied Celine, not impressed by his paradoxical attire and speech.
"As my Lady wishes," bowed Blanc, in front of her.
As all this unfolded, the others watched with deep curiosity, or, in the case of Blood Denegis, with mounting worry.
Their son and brother, Blanc, stood before them, and even the gentle sipping of tea and wine had ceased.
All eyes were fixed on the sack slung over his shoulder, made from a rough cloth none of them remembered seeing on him before, wondering anxiously what he was about to reveal.
As he took it down from his shoulder and laid it at the feet of Lady Celine and Lord Lucien, he began unwrapping it, piece by piece.
Both Lucien's and Celine's eyes widened as they caught sight of the three objects hidden within the cloth.
The first was the pelt of a lynx. The back was a deep, earthy brown. The color of soil, bark, and all things that age with dignity.
Black spots were scattered across it, countless, and each was unique in shape and size. Wild stars thrown across a muddied sky.
And the belly, oh, the belly... It was white as river foam under moonlight, so soft it seemed barely real under the fingertips of Celine and Lucien, who were beyond captivated by its beauty as they dragged their fingers over it.
"This is wonderful, Blanc," said Lucien, returning to his feet, "Is this a gift that you, yourself, hunted?"
"Indeed it is, my Lord Maroux, I-"
"Call me Lucien, I would allow it," smiled Lucien, this time, the smile actually appearing real.
"Very well, uh, Lucien," started Blanc, not sure if it was alright to call the Patriarch of a Crownbound Blood by his first name, but he went along with his request, "The beast was put to rest less than four hours ago. Between then and now, I skinned it myself and came back. But made a quick stop at a butcher to ensure the quality of the pelt and make quick changes to it, since my work was not perfect as I skinned it right after battle and after harvesting its Raw Vita."
"Can you prove that?" asked Celine, now back to her feet as well, as she watched Blanc intensely, her interest clearly rising.
"Uh, yes," replied Blanc, kneeling next to the pelt, "here, you can see the wound that killed it, a swift stab in the neck with this knife," he explained as he showed the part of the pelt where the wound was, as well as the knife he killed it with, clearly dirty with blood.
"Thank you, but I meant the Mark of the lynx. You said you have harvested its Raw Vita, so forgive me if I asked you to show me," spoke Celine.
"Ah, not at all, my Lady. You can see it for yourself," Blanc said, lifting his forearm for all to see, where the outline of many spots covered his skin. "The beast wasn't the only one that got wounded. My clothes suffered too, and so did my arm. The wound the Lynx gave me was healed by the Mark when it appeared, and since the sleeve was ruined by its teeth, I wouldn't have been able to hide it anyway."
"Fascinating," Lucien muttered, studying the Mark on his forearm.
"This gift is yours to take, Lady Celine, even if we get engaged or not," spoke Blanc.
"I am honored by such a wonderful gift, Lord Blanc, I'll treasure it whatever the outcome of tonight may be," said Celine, smiling.
And the second gift, even though not as eye-catching as the first, was two string necklaces, with a tooth at the end of each one.
"And these," Blanc said, smiling as he turned his face toward her, "I prepared in case tonight goes well. The string is only temporary. It can be replaced with something finer if you wish. But if we are to be engaged, I would like us both to wear one."
Celine just watched, searching either for truths or perhaps lies hidden behind his eyes, or if the smile he wore was a trap, but she couldn't find anything, not even her words.
"Lord Elion," spoke Lucien.
"My Lord Lucien?" replied Elion, raising to his feet, his demeanor more confident after he witnessed what his son brought, "You have quite the splendid son, I see no reason refusing such a marriage."
"I am honored by your praise," Elion bowed.
"Lady Mera, Lady Auren, splendid work you did raising your son. A woman can only hope her son will be just the same," smiled Fiamma while caressing her son's hair, who had a slight look of jealousy as he watched Blanc.
"Lady Fiamma, your praise alone made everything worth it," said Mera, bowing gracefully. Auren joined her a moment later, both women beaming with pride.
"Now I must ask you to forgive me, my Lords and Ladies, for a few minutes while I go and change my clothes into something more proper for the occasion," Blanc said, interrupting the praise-throwing competition happening at the table.
"Go, my son. You will find us here," nodded Elion with a smile.
With a nod and a quick look around at his family, who either smiled back or nodded in agreement, Blanc took his leave from the main hall, happy with the sudden idea that came to him after the fight which proved to be beyond effective.
For better or worse, this is the best outcome I could get, thought Blanc, as he climbed the stairs.
The day made itself from one of the worst he's ever had to one of the best, considering everything that happened. The alliance with Blood Maroux was nothing but assured with this. Yet he couldn't get complacent.
The reason he ran away into the forest was still as real as the reason alliances had to be made. The Iron Line was coming, and he was still not as strong as he wished to be.
Proof of that was the fact that he could not harvest True Vita yet.
If he were to try that now, he would die, consumed from the inside by the soul of the creature. He was not ready yet. His body was not ready yet.
No Bloodshard yet formed in his heart to be able to harvest True Vita. It will still take a lot of killing beasts to be able to form one.
And even if he had one. There wasn't a creature holding True Vita at least hundreds of miles from here.
And the High Monarch was dead, to be able to agree to his request to hunt one.
Many things were still missing. In him, and all around him. He cursed them all in his mind. Yet, he knew no amount of cursing could change that, nor postpone the arrival of four million soldiers at their doorstep.
As he entered his room to grab better clothes for the occasion, the only thing he hoped for was that the alliance offered to them by Sera's marriage would also go well, even though he didn't like the boy his sister was to be engaged with for some reason.
"War is close, now… Let's get married," he muttered as he headed for the bath.