FULL NOVELXO Chapter 1: Summons
Part I
The sound of a knock upon a heavy wooden door rings in the foyer of the Manor. Its echoing sound disturbs the peaceful tranquility that had once settled throughout the grand home.
Slowly a greying, but well-fit and sharp dressed butler approaches the door, flanked by two maids. The right side of the grand wooden double door slowly opens to reveal a smaller man, carrying a satchel, being dressed in a loose but ornate black outfit.
He bows to the older gentleman, “Good day Sir, I bring forth a message for the Lady of the House.”
The butler nods, but looks warily at the courier, “I shall receive the message and bring it to her Ladyship.”
The courier nods and reaches into his satchel, pulling out a sealed letter and hands it to the butler. The greying man nods, slowly taking the letter from him, “I thank you for you service sir, and I pray you safe journeys.”
The courier dipped his head into a bow, “Blessings be upon your Mistress and her household,” he then slowly takes a few steps back and vanishes against the wind.
The butler takes a look at the letter, seeing the name of his Mistress and on the back, the wax seal of the “Court”. The gentleman nods, knowing his Mistress will want to see it as quickly as possible. He turns and makes his way deeper into the Manor.
The Manor stood alit by the soft bright light of a late-summer’s afternoon sun. Its gentle light gives the house a golden hue against all that it touches. Anyone would be hard-pressed to not feel the urge to find a quiet place and close their eyes for a quick nap.
The butler comes upon the parlor, seeing his Mistress sitting on a couch which papers and envelopes strewn about upon a large coffee table. He levies a soft knock upon the glass door.
The woman looks up from her work to see her servant standing there, motioning him to enter. “Forgive my intrusion, my Lady, but a courier arrived today with a letter from the Court.”
The woman smiles softly, “No need for forgiveness my old friend,” she then sighed softly, “well, let us see what dire need they have that demands my attention.” The butler nods and walks over to his mistress, placing the letter into her waiting hand.
The woman takes an opener and slices open the wax seal, pulling out its contents. She leans back into her seat as she begins to slowly read the letter. After a few moments she lets out a long and heavy sigh.
The butler looks to her, “My Lady?”
The woman shakes her head as she lowers the letter into her lap, “After over thirty years, they finally managed to find a matter that actually calls for me to be there.” She places the letter onto the table and rubs her eyes, “Well this will be a rather “fun” experience.”
The woman gently rises from her seat and brushes off her long flowing skirt. Her gaze pans around the parlor, “Do you by chance know where my daughter is?”
The butler shook his head, “Not since this morning.”
The woman folds her arms as she begins to think, “She is bound to be somewhere around here,” turning to her servant, “thank you for bringing this to me.”
The butler bowed, “I always live to serve you, my Lady.” The woman smiled to him, slowly walking out of the parlor and into the Manor in search of her daughter.
The woman wandered through the hallways and corridors of her home, turning up towards the staircase in the foyer, and quietly ascended the stairs towards the second floor. As she walked down the corridors, the sun softly shone through the windows.
She then turns her attention to look upon the wide breath of the vast fields that lied just beyond her doorsteps, with a near-endless forest to the left, and resting beneath the bordering hills further out laid the large shimmering lake. She smiles softly as she knew that these were the lands that her daughter had long come to love as her home.
The mother then eyed the first possible location of her daughter, the library. For the longest stretch of time, the library had been one of her daughter’s favorite places to come and study.
The woman smiled, remembering how often she would find the child sitting at a desk with multiple books lying opened. The furious sounds of scribbling would echo gently throughout the room as she took down notes on whatever subject had garnered her devotion.
The woman softly opened the door, hoping to instantly see the child at a desk, only to find her not there. The woman became puzzled as she walked into the library. Her attention was then captured as a large shadow was cast upon her as she turned to see a large bearded sphinx landing beside her, furling his wings.
“Afternoon, Professor,” greeted the woman.
The sphinx softly bowed his head to her, “Good afternoon, my Lady. How may this humble librarian be of service to you?”
The woman gazed at an empty desk and then turned back towards the sphinx, “Have you seen my daughter today?”
The sphinx shook his head, “Sadly I have not, which is odd for the little scholar.”
The woman nodded, “Thank you, Professor.”
A gentle grin rose upon the sphinx’s face, “Has the little scholar gotten herself into mischief again?”
She chuckled tenderly, “Not this time.”
The sphinx’s grin grew even wider as he nodded to her. She gave the sphinx a soft bow of the head, turning to leave the library. She spun down the corridor, heading for the child’s room.
When she came up her daughter’s room, she knocked softly on the door. Silence was her only response, so again she knocked on the wooden double door, “Sweetheart, are you there? It’s your Mother.” The woman sighed softly. She must have her headphones on again, she thought.
The child’s mother slowly opened the door and entered the bedroom. The door swung open to reveal a quiet and empty room.
As she scanned the room, the woman folded her arms, still wondering where her daughter could be. She then walked over the balcony, seeing that the curtains had been opened, allowing for the sun to shine into the room.
“My Lady?”
The woman turned to see a tall, bundled auburn haired woman with wolf-like ears and bushy tail, which wrapped around the front of her maid’s uniform. Feathers adorned her wrists as she stared at her mistress.
Accompanying her were two other maids. One was younger than the first and adorned with long rust colored hair, the other appeared slightly younger still and sported long black hair which had been tied into twin tails which rested against the sides of her face.
The woman looked to the maids, “Have you by chance seen my daughter?”
The eldest of the maids shook her head, “I have not, my Lady. At least not since this morning, after she ate her lunch.”
The rust-colored hair maid nodded in agreement, “I saw her earlier while I was in the garage, fixing one of the cars.”
The woman held her fingers to her lips, tapping them softly, “Where on earth could that child be? She wouldn’t be in the conservatory. Seeing how we didn’t have our lessons today.”
The black-haired maid perked up, “I saw her walking towards the forest a little over a couple hours ago.”
The woman looked back towards the balcony windows, granting her a clear view of the forest off in the distance. “I don’t see her sister flying,” spoke the woman. She then smiled gently, “Which leaves only one other possibility.” The woman turned to the maids, “Thank you.” The trio of maids bowed softly to their mistress as she left the bedroom.
The woman walked back down the stairs and headed through the first floor towards to the backdoor, passing by the parlor. The glass and wood door then opened as she drew closer to it, stepping out into the outdoors.
The winds slowly picked up as she stepped onto the well-worn path. The sounds of grass blowing against the winds hummed around her as she walked in between rows of growing grass.
The sun shone warmly upon her with every step she took, with the clouds rolling above her ever so slowly. The area gave off a soft golden glow as the day slowly dragged on.
Her gaze quickly turned to see flocks of sheep grazing in the wide open meadows, being watched over by kobold shepherds. A wide grin grew across her face as she eyes two little children running around in the fields, chasing one another.
Their little tails wagged furiously as she assumed that her daughter must’ve played with them at some point during her journey into the forest. The little pups had long since come to see her daughter as their elder sister, a role the child happily and gleefully accepted.
The kobolds all turned to the woman, giving her a respectful bow. The woman nodded, waving to them as she continued her walk.
As she neared the borders of the forest, she could hear the sounds of trees as their branches swayed against the wind. Her long black hair blew softly against her as the winds howled through the forest, entering into it. The forest was a mixed of shadow and light as the sun filtered between the myriad of branches and leaves.
Trees of pine, oak, and ash littered throughout the forest, filling the air with a wondrous bouquet of aromas. It was quiet as she walked further and further in, aside from the sounds of animals as they scurried about the trees and forest floor.
The woman then eyed a lone deer as it munched on a patch of grass. She couldn’t help but grin, as the thoughts of her daughter or even her sister hunting the animal.
The trees shifted as the sight of dryads came into view, peering out from behind trees. The forest dwellers all greeted their mistress with a bow. The woman smiled as she nodded to them. She then heard the sounds of rushing water, smiling even more, knowing that her daughter was close by.
The woman meandered through a series of trees and roots as she came upon a clearing within the forest. The sound of rushing water turned her gaze as she eyed a small stream flowing to her right. The sound of softly skirting leaves turned her attention to a large willow tree.
A soft smile stretched across her face as she eyed a young kitsune, lying curled up beneath its shade. The child lied sleeping upon a red blanket, surrounded by several books and open notepads. The girl’s strawberry blonde hair draped across her face with the child’s long bushy tail curled under her legs.
The woman shook her head as she quietly approached the sleeping child. Her eyes then looked up to see that her daughter was resting curled up into the side of a massive two-tailed black wolf, which also had curled itself around the child. The wolf raised his head to the woman. She bowed her head to him, at which the wolf did the same.
She knelt beside the child, gently brushing hair from her face. “You silly little girl,” whispered the woman, smiling tenderly, and gently poked the child’s cheek with her finger. The young girl swatted away the annoyance.
The woman smiled, again poking her daughter’s cheek. This time the child groaned and grumbled, again, swatting away what had annoyed her.
The woman’s smile then turned into a devious grin as she leaned over her daughter and gently blew into the child’s large fox ear. The child winced and coiled tightly into a ball, quickly folding her ears to shield them.
“Rachel!” sleepily whined the young kitsune as she slowly began to wake up.
Her mother smiled, “Time to wake up, my darling.”
The girl stubbornly refused to wake up as she pulled her tail around her. The woman grinned even more, before lifting an ear, and blowing into it once more. The child yelped, coiling even tighter. Finally relenting, she opened her eyes, seeing her mother leaning over her.
The mother smiled broadly, “There’s my beautiful little girl.”
The child groaned as she sat up, stroking her ear, “You know how sensitive those are Rachel. Not cool. And I was having such an amazing dream to boot.”
Rachel grinned even more, “How else was I to rouse from your slumber. my precious Aria?”
The girl glared up towards her mother, before sighing and shaking her head before turning towards the wolf, her bonded companion, “Why didn’t you tell me she was coming?”
The great wolf curled his lips into his version of a grin, “Because I did not want to spoil your mother’s fun.”
Aria grumbled at the wolf, “You suck sometimes, you know that, Fenris?”
The wolf broke into a wolfish laughter, sounding like a series of barks and growls, wagging his tails. She sighed, shaking her head before turning her gaze back towards her mother, who too was laughing.
The child again sighed, “And I was having such a nice dream,” whimpering softly and rubbing her eyes, “okay…so what’s up?”
Her mother nodded, “I received a letter from the Court, asking that I attend to the forthcoming meeting.”
The girl tilted her head, “Okay…so what? You usually just ignore them right?”
Her mother nodded, “Normally I would have, but this time I can’t. They finally have an issue that in their words, ’demands my unique perspective’.”
The child then sat cross-legged as she stared up at her mother, gripping the tops of her high-laced boots, “So you’re leaving for the Massif Central region of France then right?”
Rachel chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief, “Now how do you know where the Court of Mele’vari’o is headquartered?”
Aria grinned, swishing her tail from side to side, “While you were away last November, I saw an article in a paper about a large castle in the region. When I asked Sebastian about it, he told me it was where the Court has based.”
Her mother chuckled once more, “You never cease to amaze me, my dear.” The young kitsune giggled, grinning broadly.
Aria then looked up at her mother, “So when are you leaving?”
Rachel shook her head and smiled, “The proper question you should be asking is ’When are we leaving?’”
The girl tilted her head, “What do you mean?”
Her mother reached over and stroked her hair, “I told you that there would certain obligations you would have to fulfill when you became my child.”
Aria stared at her mother, “I thought you were talking about the Coven.”
The woman leaned in closer, “With you becoming my daughter, you will have to go with me and attend the meeting.”
The girl looked at her mother, “Care to explain?”
Her mother brushed some hair the girl’s face, “All children of Court members are obligated to attend with their parents, in order to witness how proceedings are conducted. This is done so they able to learn about the politics of the Court, so that one day they may take their parent’s places when the time arises.”
The young girl tilted her head, “But aren’t some of the members immortal?”
Rachel nodded, “That is true my love. And yet the tradition remains all the same.” Her daughter sighed, pulling her legs into her chest, wrapping her arms around them.
Her mother smiled, stroking the top of young kitsune’s head, “Believe me when I say that I never wanted to you to become involved with the Court. It was one of the many reasons I tried to keep you as hidden away from it as much as possible.”
Aria sighed into her knees, staring off into the distance, “So I’m guessing ‘he’ will be there right?”
Her mother wrapped her arms around her tiny body, pulling her closely to her, “I’m afraid so my love. But you needn’t worry about him. You are my child now; therefore neither he nor his children can touch you in any way.”
Aria nodded, “Okay, so back to the earlier question. When do we leave then?”
Rachel smiled, kissing the young girl’s head, “Tomorrow.”
The girl rocked a little, “How long are we going to be there?”
Her mother chuckled, “So full of questions, it feels as though I were standing before an inquiry. And to answer your last question, just for a few of days at the most.”
Aria smirked, gazing up into her eyes, “Okay then.”
Rachel smiled, “You do remember your lessons on courtly behavior correct?”
Aria nodded, “I remember,” pulling her tail into her lap and hugging it.
Her mother smiled as she watched her daughter pamper her tail. “Now, for one final lesson before we leave, something else I should have informed you of.” Aria nodded as her ears perked up.
“There are rules within the castle. The first being that you must attend being in your natural state. Meaning you will have to be human while we are there.”
The girl sighed as she ran her fingers through the soft fur of her tail. “The second rule is that weapons are not allowed within the castle walls.”
Aria nodded, “That shouldn’t be too hard of a rule to follow.”
Rachel smiled, “Now for the final rule. Magic is not allowed, unless your life is in grave danger.”
The girl looked to her mother, “Okay…but I can take Fenris right? He’s clearly not a weapon, of sorts,” winking at the wolf, who then swatted the child’s back with one of his tails, causing her to giggle. “And since I can’t use magic, surely he can,” continued the child.
Rachel smiled, “Familiars are allowed within the castle, but very few shall be present.”
The girl nodded, leaning over to the massive wolf, and stroking his dark soft fur. The wolf shifted his body to her, wagging his tails.
Rachel then looked to the wolf, “I would however suggest that if Fenris were to appear within the halls of the castle, that he would take the guise of the normal wolf.”
Aria turned back to her mother, “Why’s that?”
Her mother reached over to stroke the wolf’s fur, “Let’s just say I wish to avoid any issues that could arise if the revelation of an Uldulvan wolf were to be made public.”
The young kitsune hugged the wolf even tighter, nodding. The wolf in turn began to lick the child’s face, causing her to giggle softly.
Rachel slowly rose to her feet, “Shall we return to the Manor and prepare for our trip?”
Aria nodded and she rolled onto her knees and began to gather up her books, stuffing them into her satchel, and folding up the blanket. Rising to her feet, Aria brushed off leaves that had fallen onto her shorts and vest. Rachel smiled as she looked over her daughter, seeing the wonderful child before her.
The young kitsune them hoisted the bag over her shoulder, gripping the strap, “Ready.” Her mother nodded and hugged her before the three of them the left the secret glen, with the wolf walking close beside his bonded child.