The Lost Life of Laraine

Chapter 48

I should have stayed in bed. 

Sitting between my Grandfather and Uncle, I felt the weight of all the eyes of my entire extended family all on me. My father was noticeably absent, seeing how his chair was empty. The help didn't even set a placement for him. 

My extended family weren't even trying to hide their curiosity, not even breaking eye contact as they ate.

I felt like I wasn't even tasting the food as I was shoveling it in my mouth. I'm sure it was delicious, but I fear it might come back up later tonight. 

"How big was the dragon?!" My sister suddenly screamed, startling almost everyone considering how many silverware clanged into the delicate plates. 

"Um," I didn't know how to measure it, lifting my hands and gauging some rough estimate, "Its eye was about this large." 

"Wow, that's bigger than my head," Delphone gaped, going back to her food like she didn't just hear the most exciting thing of her night. 

"It's impressive," Lord Creed muttered, eating his food at a moderate and methodical pace, "You have accomplished quite a lot in such a sort time." 

"Thank you Lord Creed," I replied, awkwardly, playing around with my last few bits of food. It wasn't ladylike to do so, but I was too tired to uphold the millions of high-class rules I was supposed to follow. 

"Lord?" Delphone giggled, "Just call him Uncle Creed like we all do." 

I didn't know how to respond, stuck between my adorable little sister and the intense gaze of my relatives. So I just cleared my throat, taking my last bite and trying to avoid the topic. 

"It's fine," Creed looked to me, his silver eyes were cold but somehow warm at the same time. He too, like me, was a bit different from the family, sharing only the reddish hair our bloodline has, "Laraine can refer to me however she's comfortable with." 

"Thank you," I found minor comfort in this, finally tasting the remnants of my dinner. It was delicious. 

I never really spoke to my uncle, but he never was outright rude to me like the rest of my family. He seemed to just treat me like the staff, barely acknowledging my existence while not encouraging my suffering. 

"I heard you brought back parts of the dragon," Norven, who was usually ever so quiet, pipped up from the other side of the table. He was barely younger than Thresh but seemed to be completely erased from the family accomplishments. He wasn't top of his class, neither in education nor in swordsmanship, but instead locks himself in his study for hours on end. 

"Yes, just some teeth," I looked briefly to my grandfather to see if he would protest the topic of this conversation. A macabre topic for the dinner table. 

"I heard they can be used in a lot of strong potions." 

"I've heard that too," I nodded, noticing the glint of excitement in my cousin, "I intend to run some experiments on them while I'm here." 

"Amazing," Norven gaped, "I heard the more ancient the dragon the more potent their teeth, do you know how old this one was?" 

"Ancient," I shrugged, unsure the actual age, "The teeth were more of a gift so I wasn't able to check myself." 

"But didn't you slay the dragon?" Kerris suddenly asked, and I felt like I was being interrogated by my cousins. 

"Yes, how do you not know how old it was? Surely you were close enough to tell," Jerris sneered, no doubt holding back his snickering alongside his brother. 

"I was busy fighting for my life and the life of my team," I answered simply, "It was our teamwork that slayed the dragon." 

Scoffing, the twins didn't seem to have further questions, but they shared knowing looks and went back to eating but it seemed more like they were pushing around their food into organized piles. One twin had the the food divided into sections making sure the meat didn't touch the veggies and the other twin seemed to organize everything by color. 

I can see why Howell calls them creepy.

"Could I have some of the teeth?" Norven asked which I felt like my stomach drop. 

If I said no, will I immediately lose the favor I suddenly have with my family? 

If I said yes, will I be at fault for supplying this wannabe-alchemist with priceless supplies? 

According to the servants' gossip, Norven has been taking small animals and doing vary tests on them. Apparently experimenting with the darker sides of alchemy which I have seen the consequences of first hand.  

Experiencing the dragon's carnage made my body go cold, but seeing the aftermath of a merciless and heartless dark alchemist was a different level of cruelty. It showed me a different side of humanity I did not want to be a part of.

It was one of the first times I dug a grave for a child. 

"Sorry," I started, quickly glancing around the table to see if I should make a break for it, "It was a gift from the kingdom of Val'Soran and I'm not at liberty to give it away." 

"If it's a gift to you, you can regift it," Norven snapped back, surprising me from how bold he is. Judging by his facial expressions he was completely serious. 

"I cannot," I stayed firm. 

"Just give him one," My Aunt Nora pipped up, seemingly irritated that I refused her only child. 

"Dragon teeth are very precious, I can't just give one away," I fought back, my inner child was cowering slightly in terror but I sat up straighter, gripping my silverware till my knuckles were white. 

"Do you not trust me?" Norven asked, acting like I just told him his most precious pet died. His posture was that of a toddler about to throw a tantrum. 

"Oh please, you're being dramatic," Nora scoffed, looking to her father in annoyance, "Father, say something!" 

"Enough! She said no," Thresh snapped, causing both Nora and Norven to jump in surprise, "We all know Norven is an incompetent idiot who wouldn't know the first thing about handling dragon teeth." 

That seemed to shut them up.

In the silence, the servants decided it was the perfect time to serve dessert, quickly taking our plates and silverware and immediately presented a deep brown ice cream topped with delicate berries and chocolate. 

"Chocolate ice cream," my grandfather frowned, "I thought I had asked for chocolate cake." 

The servants who served him looked like they were about to drop dead. 

Before anyone could react, I took the biggest scoop of the ice cream, shoving in my mouth and made a quite dramatic "Mmmmm," ignoring the suddenly tingling in my head as I tried to eat the creamy, cold, goodness, "I've never had ice cream like this!" Though my mouth was still quite full so I wasn't sure what my grandfather could understand. 

Seemingly satisfied, my grandfather brushed them off and took his spoon, giving me a small smile before helping himself. 

Taking a deep breath, I continued to shovel the ice cream into my mouth. It was a common treat in Val'Soran that was brought here about 50 years ago and arguably perfected.

And as soon as the ice cream was done, I excused myself, almost running back to the safety of my room.