Daughter of Vengeance

Chapter 1 - Banquet

The atmosphere in the room was electric. Far too much time had passed since the family had gathered in this way. Many of them had changed subtly over the years, although Alexander was hard pressed to recall how. It had been over a decade since they had welcomed him to this special feast and the memory was still vibrant in his mind.

The passing years had been kind to him since that memorable day. He found a new career that gave him the peace of mind he could only have imagined before. He worked hard, walked his dog through the great sprawling parks, and took long naps on Sunday afternoons.

Life was quite good, he thought to himself.

This brought his mind back to the reason for this banquet.

His son had taken a different path than Alex had, though in his own way, he had emulated his fathers' life. The lad had always been something of a lone wolf, and as such, took great pride in puzzling out all of life's mysteries on his own. That being said, there were many people who thought of him often and the help he had given them when they needed it the most.

Recently, the boy had seen his twenty-third birthday and accomplished something Alex was very proud of. He'd found a girl who completed his life, and they were now expecting their first child. Of course, in his son's estimation, nothing was ready for the baby. His job as the Duke's personal blacksmith wasn't good enough, there was far too little gold in the bank; he didn't even have enough horses or a large enough carriage for his new family.

Alex chuckled as he watched Michael fret and worry about all of the things he felt weren't ready. Dawn, his young bride, was more than ready, she also watched his anxiety with poorly concealed humor. Though no matter how many times Alex watched her ease his son's mind, the lad was hell bent on his self-deprecation.

While the dangers weren't extinct, most of them were quite far away from the sleepy town his son lived in. The dragons had long been silent, content to stay in their lairs and leave the towns in peace. No wars were brewing, all of the revolts had been dealt with, and the new Duke enjoyed visiting all of his holdings and ensuring his people were in good health. Even the warlocks were content to ply their trades and leave the larger ambitions to the politicians and the court of the King.

From time to time he would drop in and share a moment with Michael. The boy was so wrapped up in his own trials and tribulations that he didn't always know he was there. Alex didn't mind, though. What was important was that he was there, not the level of acknowledgement he received.

At any rate, all of those concerns and stresses were behind them now, or would be soon, as more family piled into the banquet room. Alex took a moment and looked around the room, enjoying the fact that the family was back together and recalling with fondness his own banquet. His parents walked in, followed closely by Alex's older brother. He smiled, remembering their first meeting a decade ago.

Alex's parents had given birth to a son before he and his sister had been born, though they had lost him to a strange illness only a few days later. It had been heartbreaking for the pair of them and they had waited years before having another child because of the pain. In the time Alex had been here, though, he and his brother had become quite close and shared many confidences.

Family, cousins, and old friends entered the room, each one milling about the room catching up with each other. The tables were gathered at the far end of the room, arranged in a large open rectangle so that everyone could see and talk to one another. Each table was loaded to the breaking point with all of his sons' favorite foods. They groaned under the weight of pots of beet soup, mashed potatoes and steaks. Platters of steamed vegetables and corn on the cob sent steaming vapors up around them, filling the room with an enticing aroma.