After the encounter with the dragons, Leon felt ready for just about anything. A promise of another meeting with Jennifyr, at least, might be the in he needed with the Great Dragons.
For the moment, however, Miuna had called for reinforcements, and he would be a terrible friend if he refused the call. Clad in the armor of a confident smile, four beautiful wives at his side, and a calm, but solid, twelfth-tier aura, Leon advanced rapidly to Miuna’s position. Obstacles appeared in his way, most often mages wanting to exchange a few words with him now that he was no longer engaged with the dragons, but he bypassed them with a rapid, purposeful pace and a look in his eye that deterred further contact. Most people were too preoccupied with the departure of the dragons and the arrival of Bennu and Deianira to pay him much mind, anyway.
As the host of the ball, understated though it was, it was only right for the new arrivals to greet Miuna first, especially since by her custom and position, she didn’t initiate greetings. However, in what Leon suspected was a deliberate snub, Deianira took her time greeting and chatting with other mages on the way to Miuna, her attendant remaining with her, still holding onto the hem of her long dress. Bennu, however, moved on, the confident smile of a man who had everything and knew it gracing his lips. He didn’t waste much time, speaking no more than a few words—mostly promises to talk again in just a moment—to anyone who called out to him as he passed.
Despite being a member of a Divine Beast Clan, Leon noted that Bennu seemed to be on excellent terms with just about everyone in the room; greetings came naturally even if he didn’t linger with anyone, and the good-natured vibe he was giving off seemed completely genuine. If Leon hadn’t been told about Bennu’s loud declaration regarding his mother, he felt like even he might’ve been easily charmed by the Phoenix.
’He could still be a good guy,’ Leon found himself thinking as he and his family neared Miuna’s raised platform. ‘Maybe his declaration came from a place of love, not arrogance?’
Bennu beat him to Miuna, with Deianira remaining about halfway across the ballroom still.
“Bennu-of-the-Flaming-Wind,” Miuna said from behind her palanquin’s nearly opaque screen. “It has been too long.”
“Some might say not long enough after how I humiliated myself the last time we spoke,” Bennu replied, his voice smooth and comfortingly deep, his face finding some way that Leon hadn’t thought possible to become even more amiable than it already was.
“My hand is not so easily won,” Miuna stated, her voice tinged with amusement. “Especially not by a man who is so easily taken by another.”
“Ah, no matter how old I become, I will never escape the foolishness of my youth,” Bennu said. “Though I hope you do not take offense for my wandering heart, I was determined to be a good and honorable husband to you, if you’d accepted. Your gentle rejection was the best thing to ever happen to me, as it led me to my true love…” He trailed off, his nearly-gold eyes turning in Leon’s direction as he and his family came walking up from behind.
“Leon,” Miuna greeted warmly. “Thank you for coming. Bennu, I hope you don’t take offense; I invited Leon over, wanting to introduce him to you and Deianira.”
For the briefest of moments, Bennu had worn an exceedingly judgmental look when his eyes met Leon’s, as if he could hardly fathom that someone had actually interrupted him when he was with Miuna. But in the wake of Miuna’s words, his face relaxed back into the natural smile he’d worn since entering the ballroom.
“Aah, the Storm Lord whose name has been on everyone’s lips,” Bennu said as he extended an arm to Leon, which Leon took, Elise momentarily relinquishing his arm to allow. “I had hoped to meet you at some point, but I hadn’t expected it to be so soon!”
“Likewise,” Leon smoothly replied as he and the Phoenix released each other’s arms and Leon introduced the rest of his family. He couldn’t help but evaluate Bennu based on that brief contact; Bennu was strong, his muscle clearly not all for show. More than that, his hand was rough and bore the distinctive calluses from extensive weapon training.
‘No innocent dove, this one…’
When the introductions were finally completed, Bennu said, “When I was still but a boy, before I’d even awakened my blood, my father told me ancient stories of all the greatest beasts of yore. Few captured my attention quite like the Thunderbird. Indeed, only stories of my own great Ancestor exceeded those of yours in my young mind.”
“I have heard much of the Phoenix, as well,” Leon said. “Our Clans are traditional allies, if the stories I heard were accurate.”
“Then allow me to lend them credence,” said Bennu with an enthusiastic smile. “The first Bennu—child and heir of the Phoenix herself, and my namesake—was a legendary friend and ally of the Thunderbird, as was the Thunderbird to him. Countless battles did they fight at each other’s side, and even after the Primal Age came to its dramatic conclusion, my Clan has not intermarried with any other nearly so much as it has with yours. I believe our Clans have shared more than two hundred marriages in the past ten Reconstitution cycles alone!”
“You know what that sounds like?” asked Leon leadingly, Bennu pausing with a hint of trepidation creeping into his demeanor. “It sounds like we’re practically family, doesn’t it?”
Bennu threw his head back and laughed boisterously. “Yes!” he cried. “Yes, it does! Ah, Leon—and Princess Miuna—if I had any idea that you two would be fulfilling a dream I’ve held for four hundred years, I would’ve prepared something much greater!”
“There’s no need for any of that,” Miuna stated. “I believe Despot Leon dislikes such formalities, doesn’t he?”
The weight of her twelfth-tier gaze fell upon him, but Leon weathered it easily. “That is true, I much prefer more casual greetings than those that stand too much on ceremony.”
“That may be so,” Bennu replied, “but I cannot tell you how depressed it made me when my father first told me that the Thunderbirds were all gone. Those of us from feathered backgrounds ought to stick together, don’t you think?”
Leon found himself liking the Phoenix heir the more he spoke, and though he supposed the amiability could be faked, he didn’t think it was. Unfortunately, the true reason why Miuna had called him over finally decided to slink over, her silvery voice chiming in as she joined them before Miuna’s palanquin.
“Bennu, darling, what has gotten you so worked up? I’m sure I would be able to hear you even if I had opted to stay home!”
A soft snort of amusement was expelled from Bennu’s nose as he replied, “Deianira, I ask you again to refrain from calling me ‘darling’. My heart already belongs to another, and there shall it stay! Never to stray!” He raised a fist to his chest, closed his eyes, and nodded with the kind of determination that, had he been speaking of anyone other than Leon’s mother, he would’ve respected highly.
As it was, part of Leon still respected it, but it only made his stomach drop faster; Bennu had made a fantastic impression on him, but that didn’t mean that he wanted the man for a father-in-law.
“Please,” Deianira sniped, “that dragon bitch is too busy inviting strange men into her bed to bother with a good man like you. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was already a mother many times over by now…”
Bennu’s expression turned, his smile fading slightly. “Be careful, my friend; you speak of the woman I intend to make my wife.”
“Bennu,” Miuna interjected, “Deianira is far too much of a hypocrite to restrain herself; just because she accepts a thousand men into her bed every day, she assumes that all other women do, too.”
“Dear Miuna,” the daughter of the Sun King sneered, “still playing the part of the mysterious maiden, I see. You maintain this act even though I imagine you’ve filled your palace with a thousand men, yourself! You speak of hypocrisy from your little virgin cage, when I can’t imagine you haven’t felt a man’s embrace yet. Like, say, little Leon, here?”
Deianira turned her gaze on Leon, who bore it unflinchingly.
“How many times have you had her, Leon of House Raime? How many times has she spread her ‘inviolable’ legs for you? Let alone for anyone else whom she can sneak into her bed?”
“She is a friend,” Leon said warningly. “Choose your words more carefully.”
“Oh yeah,” the Sun Princess said with a knowing smirk. “You’ve definitely tasted the Ocean’s most forbidden fish. I shouldn’t be surprised, though; rotten fish does tend to attract flies…”
“Your opinion is worthless to me,” Leon bluntly said, stunning Deianira into momentary silence. “A woman who walks in here with what looks like a slave is hardly one to speak on these matters. That being said, continuing to besmirch the dignity of myself, my family, and my friends will have consequences, I assure you.”
He backed his words up with a quick pulse of killing intent, and he internally smirked when Deianira took an involuntary step back.
“Ha!” Bennu exclaimed. “Deianira, my friend, I love you, but you should learn to restrain yourself a little more.”
“Temperance is a virtue unknown in her world,” Miuna stated.
“If ‘temperance’ means I miss out on cuties like Khenall here, then I want nothing to do with it,” Deianira said as she waved her attendant forward. The short, thin, boyish man complied, keeping his mistress’s dress in his hands and his eyes fixed on the floor. “What a find he was,” Deianira continued as she reached out and ran a finger down his jawline. “So cute, and such a rare one, too! He has two bloodlines, Miuna. Did you know that? And he belongs entirely to me.”
“You overestimate the rarity of such things,” Miuna said. “Leon, here, has two bloodlines, as well.”
He’d known it was coming, but it still hit him hard and fast, and Leon endured the sudden interest from Bennu and the glare from Deianira stoically, though his every instinct screamed at him to snarl and avoid such attention.
“More than blood of the Thunderbird…?” Bennu whispered. His eyes suddenly seemed to come alive with flames dancing in his irises, and he excitedly asked, “What else? I hadn’t heard anything about that! No, wait, let me guess… Your aura feels warm… And it would have to be something worthy of the Thunderbird’s blood; nothing else would do… Is it… Ho-Oh? The Feathered Queen of a Thousand Suns?”
“Your first guess is an extinct bloodline?” Deianira said.
“The Thunderbird was thought extinct, too,” the Phoenix heir shot back.
Deianira shrugged, then asked Leon, “What is it? Do not make a woman of my stature wait; if you have a second bloodline, then tell me now.”
“No,” Leon stated, eliciting a sharp glare from the woman for his immediate rejection. “I’m sure it’ll come out in time, but for the moment, I’ll be playing this card close to the chest.”
“Then you admit that it’s a lie,” Deianira said. “That’s an interesting play, Miuna; telling such a lie just to try and get back at me for having a prize that you will never have. And we all know why: my father is simply that much stronger than yours! He rules a Land united, whereas yours struggles to maintain control over a single Ocean out of hundreds!”
“Moderate your words,” Leon said calmly. “You may regret them later.”
“Regrets are for those who are wrong,” Deianira stated. “You could prove me wrong here and now, and yet you haven’t! The Thunderbird Clan is not what it’s thought to be, is it?”
Leon’s golden eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare as Deianira continued in that vein, but Elise squeezing his arm alerted him to just how quiet the rest of the ballroom had become. Everyone was listening, even if some were polite enough not to make it obvious. From Strategoi to the few Basileis and Anakes present, all could hear Deianira’s words, and the responses they were receiving…
While he liked to imagine himself immune to such scrutiny, Leon started to feel obligated to do something to shut the Sun Princess up. He could easily conjure black fire and shut that mouth immediately, and the longer the Sun Princess’ tirade went on, the more tempted he was to do so.
[Restrain yourself,] the Thunderbird whispered into his mind, announcing her presence with the same statement. [You showed your power well enough earlier; you have nothing more to prove to this woman. Her display reflects only upon herself, not on you.]
[Such words coming from you?] Leon asked in faux surprise. [I would’ve thought you’d be more on the side of ‘any insult is an excuse for violence’ rather than ‘be quiet and let them make a fool of themselves’…]
[Challenge her if you’re insulted, I’d support you in that.]
Leon decided against doing so, at least for the moment. [Let’s see how she behaves going forward…]
Responding to Deianira, Bennu warned, “You’re crossing lines, Deia.”
Deianira stared at him, unfazed, for several seconds, until her façade finally cracked and she grinned like she’d been caught doing something harmless, but naughty. “Ooh, fine! For you, my darling Bennu, I’ll restrain my criticism. I hope that in return, you’ll show the same courtesy.”
“Great!” Bennu exclaimed before anyone else could get a word in. “Then let’s set aside any unpleasantness and return to what matters here: spending time with friends, and making new friends! Princess, your invitations are always a delight to receive! And Leon, it was a great pleasure to meet you. Deia, come with me, I’d like to speak…”
Deianira smiled glowingly and teased, “Is this where you finally set aside that torch you’ve been holding for that stuck-up bitch and finally take me, as you were always meant to?”
“You shouldn’t say such things in front of your concubines,” Bennu said as he let Deianira take his arm before steering her away from Miuna and Leon.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about him!” Deianira replied as she stole a glance over her shoulder at her dual bloodline attendant. “He’s been properly housebroken, he knows how this works…”
Leon sighed as they gained more distance, trying his best to tune them out. He was almost gratified to hear Bennu pushing back against Deianira’s harsher words, but it was a strange thing to see someone so pleasant be so friendly with someone so bitchy.
“What a cunt,” Cassandra growled lowly, her voice not carrying far beyond the dais, leaving only the rest of Leon’s family, Miuna, and her closest attendants within hearing range.
“Yes,” Miuna sighed. “That could’ve gone worse, though; at least Deianira hasn’t yet caused a fight. She takes certain pleasure in inciting violence…”
“I can imagine,” Elise said. “Some like to see people fighting over their attention. Others want to feel powerful or in control. I wonder at Anushirawan’s child-rearing skills if his only child has turned out this way, though…”
“The ways of Kings are not for us to know,” Miuna stated. “Or so my father likes to say. If power makes right, then the Elemental Kings, as the strongest, are the most right, and beyond the judgment of others.”
“Everyone can be judged,” Leon said. “And so far, I’m judging that you’ve undersold just how unpleasant that woman is. I was close to challenging her myself, if only to shut her up.”
“If you did that,” Miuna replied, “I think you’d find the Sun King himself darkening your door within the day. You could be forced to retract your challenge.”
Leon shrugged while Valeria said, “I’d just beat her here.”
Cassandra grinned, a brutal glint in her eye. “Agreed, sister.”
“Please don’t,” Miuna asked. “But… thank you, all of you. Dealing with her is difficult at the best of times, and having someone else around to help is… more comfort than I can describe. For the time, though, I’d be a bit circumspect; I think she might’ve taken some personal offense and might try something underhanded…”
“She didn’t seem like a fighter,” Leon stated.
“She isn’t,” Miuna confirmed. “But she knows plenty of people who are. Just keep your heads on a swivel.”
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Elise replied.
“Any advice on dealing with dragons?” Valeria asked after a pause.
After Leon told Miuna about his brief exchange with Jennifyr and Varon, Miuna said, “That Jennifyr extended an invitation is promising. Treat with her honestly, but only be open if you feel she’s worth the risk.”
Leon nodded, absorbing the advice, brief though it was. As they spoke, another handful of Lords arrived, so Leon and his family left the dais to allow them to properly greet Miuna. They rejoined the rest of the ball, spending a few more hours mingling with the various Lords present, some of them familiar faces—including Damini, who ignored them completely, and whom Leon was happy to treat in kind—but most of them new. Thankfully, Bennu helped to keep Deianira far away from them, but he still whispered a few words to Leon, hoping for a meeting later of their own, which Leon was mixed on accepting.
On the one hand, Bennu was openly courting his mother, and from what Jennifyr had said, he was the jealous sort. On the other hand, Leon was no suitor, and Bennu seemed a pleasant sort. He wasn’t sure how the Phoenix heir might take the knowledge that he was Serana’s son, though, which only added further doubt.
‘This would all be so much easier if he were just an asshole,’ he thought.
In the end, he wound up tentatively accepting, with them both promising to stay in touch at least until the end of the Games.
With little more excitement, Leon and his family lingered until fatigue set in, then said their goodbyes to Miuna and departed. The ball had been reasonably productive as far as Leon was concerned, but it left him with the looming problem of a private meeting with Jennifyr. Still, he was hopeful, and he could almost feel how close he was coming to meeting his mother…
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