NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: Heading Off (1)
"Will we be taking the Warp Portal?" Brayden asked in a whining voice that did not match his age. "It's a seven hour journey to Tris from here and I do not want to be stuck in the same carriage as him for that long." The 'him' that Brayden was referring to was clear as day even without him giving a name.
"Of course we are taking the Portal," Cedric answered on their father's behalf.
"Cedric is right. Did he not already inform you of this? He asked me if you three could take it a few days ago." replied the Count. He was dressed in a navy-blue suit with a salmon-colored frock.
Adrien gave a small, indiscriminate nod of his head. Nadeline had been right, Cedric really had asked the Count to send them to the Academy by way of the Warp Portal.
A sour taste filled Adrien's mouth. Nadeline had found that information out almost as soon as it had happened, so how come Brayden was so unaware of it? Adrien knew that his second eldest brother wasn't the brightest, but he couldn't be that stupid, could he?
Brayden had been behind most of the unsavory incidents that had happened to the Original Adrien, and some of them were pretty ingenious. Did that mean that he wasn't the one who had thought of them?
Adrien's gaze drifted over to Cedric. Was Cedric the one behind them? Was his indifferent brother the main reason for most of the pain that the Original Adrien had suffered through at the hands of Brayden and the servants?
"You boys should be enjoying your time together while you are all still young," the Countess chided. "You are family, and most importantly, you are brothers. You should be getting along with each other and looking out for each other."
The Countess, who was usually away most of the time, had been present for the past two weeks. She had been forcing the three boys to enjoy tea-time with her while trying to keep the Count away. The good thing was that tea-time only happened twice a week since Adrien was still suffering from his injuries.
Caleb, the Head Butler, loaded the back of the carriage up with their luggage cases before strapping them down. "They're all tied down, Sir," he reported to the Count.
"Good," was the Count's immediate reply, his gaze focused on his sons.
The Countess, who was wearing a lilac-colored skirt, and a lilac and gold-embroidery jacket, gave each boy a hug. "If anything happens, write to me and I'll be there."
The Count nodded. "Remember to use your family name if you need to, but do not cause anything that will tarnish it." His stern gaze was focused on Brayden and Adrien when he spoke, making it clear on who he thought needed to heed that warning.
The three of them boarded the carriage after that. The twins' personal maids stayed behind because the Count did not wish to spend the money that it would take to send two carriages to the capital by use of the Warp Portal. It was fine though, the Academy provided their own on-site servants and maids to help acclimate the students since most of those who attended that school were of noble lineage.
Cedric and Brayden sat in the cushioned bench across from Adrien, both looking like they had eaten something sour.
Ignoring them, Adrien pulled out an anthropology book from his bag. Settling into the seat to make himself comfortable, he began reading.
I really need to find a bookstore. I'm gonna fry my brain by doing all this tedious reading. I need a good romance or fantasy novel to help cool my tired brain down.
* * * *
The Count and Countess watched as the carriage drove off, leaving their property. The Count was the first one to head back into the manor, the Countess following along behind him.
In the two weeks that his wife had decided to stay, she had been distant and cold to him. He had a feeling that she was angry with him but had yet to give voice to her emotions since the boys had been home. Now that they were gone, he was expecting her to confront him.
"Edward," came Teressa's sharp voice. "We need to talk." She picked up her stride until she was in front of him, leading him to the closest receiving room.
The Count followed after his wife, only sitting when she did. There was no tea and snacks to help break the mood between them.
"You must be upset over what happened to Adrien," the Count guessed aloud when his wife showed no signs of talking first.
"At least you know. You went too far this time." Her vibrant light colored eyes narrowed a frosty look onto him.
"I know," the Count breathed out. He had taken Adrien to the cellar where he had Caleb whip the boy for his stubborn disobedience. The Count realized after the fact that he may have been too harsh on the boy, even if he was just trying to toughen the boy up and force his head out of the clouds.
"No you don't. After Nadeline and I patched him up, I called for Alfred to check on Adrien after he had passed out." Alfred was their family doctor. He didn't live on the property but he resided close enough that they could call upon him at any time during the day, and even during the night, and the man would be there in under twenty minutes. "He needed stitches on head, the marks on his back will leave permanent scars, and he had internal bleeding. We were able to stop the bleeding by giving him a Healing Potion, but that was all it could fix since that was the worst injury he suffered from," the Countess listed with a sharp, angry voice.
Healing Potions were homemade remedies that doctors concocted to help speed up the healing process. Once they were made, they were then imbued with the Healing properties of the Light Element. They were great for small cuts and bruises, but if there was a more severe injury among them, then that would be all that the potion could heal since its miraculous healing properties were so weak. Healing Potions were hard to come by because the Healing power was the rarest form of Light Magic.
"That wasn't all," the Countess continued, her tone turning frostier with every word. "The blow to his head was so severe that he suffers from temporary memory loss. Do you know how hard it was for me when my own son asked who I was?" The Countess demanded, tears pricking her eyes as she was awash with a new wave of anger.
Guilt slammed into the Count. He knew that he had been harsh on the boy, but he didn't know that he had been suffering to that extent. He had been wondering why Adrien kept making frequent trips to their personal library, it was to fill in the gaps in his knowledge.
The Count lowered his head onto his steeples fingers. "I didn't know," he mumbled through his guilt. "It won't happen again." And he truly meant to abide by those words. Now that the Count of Vespa was showing an interest in Adrien, Edward no longer had to worry over his youngest's future as much.
"It better not. Adrien is too precious to be treated like some common street dog."
The Count's heart sank even lower. His wife cared about all of her children, but hearing her refer to Adrien as being precious made him believe that Teressa loved the man who fathered that child more than him.
He opened his mouth, wanting to ask about Adrien's father, to find out who truly had Teressa's heart, but the words wouldn't come out. He was too afraid to hear the answer.