Chapter 151: The Noir Family

 

  The guards shifted their feet and sighed. It had been a long night in the cold. For all the magic House Noir boasted, no spell seemed to stop the winter storms from showering the guards with endless snow. The storm was already in full bloom when they had started their shift last night and it was still going strong way into the early hours of dawn.

  The two guards were stationed at the Noir mansion’s front gate. They wrapped their cloaks around themselves tightly, not that it helped. The cold seeped into their metal plate armor all the same. It had been hours since they last felt their toes or fingers.

  Usually, they would have standing torches next to the gate to keep them warm. However, they had been caught drinking one night by one of Lord Noir’s messengers. Their lord had been surprisingly forgiving, that is, he didn’t outright kill them. Instead, Elzri Noir decided to keep his guards cold and miserable for the rest of winter.

  The guards leaned on their spears and glanced down the empty snowy street. No one was out this early in the morning, especially not in a storm. Who were they supposed to guard against? The wind?

  “Damn, it’s cold,” one of the guards shivered.

  “At least we’re almost done,” yawned the other guard.

  He glanced to his left, the street was empty. He did a double-take. A figure cloaked in white, sitting on a beautiful centaur stood in front of him. The guards jumped back in surprise and raised their spears. Despite their cold hands, they were still expert warriors and they would die before letting an intruder inside the mansion.

  “Stand back!”

  The centaur glanced up at her rider. “Mistress?” Ruby asked.

  “Stay where you are,” the rider patted her centaur’s back. The white hood swerved over to the guards, “Get out of my way.”

  “Dismount and show yourself,” the guard gripped his spear tight.

  “If you make me stay out here in this bloody snow for one more second I promise you the cold will be the least of your worries.” The figure raised their hood.

  The guards immediately dropped their spears and kneeled. “Young Mistress, welcome home.”

  “Open the gate,” Loh shooed them away.

  The guards quickly got up and pushed the gate open.

  Loh stared at the large white and black mansion sitting on the hill in the distance, House Noir’s main residence in Hollow Shade. She had grown up in that obscenely large house. How many years had it been since she had lived there? How many hundreds of galas had her mother thrown since she left?

  Loh had been too busy to attend even two or three parties a year back when she was training under her grandfather. In those days, her mother, Dolores, held back on throwing parties since they would “distract” Loh from her studies. And still, Dolores would throw parties almost every other weekend. It was a wonder Loh’s parents hadn’t died of alcohol poisoning by now.

  The Noir mansion was one of the largest and most extravagant homes in all of Hollow Shade. Aristocrats from all over the city would kill for an invitation to a party thrown by Dolores Noir.

  Loh’s grandfather, Elzri, had once told her that the Noir residence and all its lavish belongings would one day be hers. That one day, everyone’s eyes would be only on her. Loh hated this place.

    She grumbled a curse under her breath.

“Mistress?” Ruby glanced questioningly.

  It had been some time since Loh had taken her for a ride. Ruby noticed Loh wasn’t her usual self ever since she had returned to Hollow Shade last night.

  “Here we go,” Loh sighed.

~~~

  “Young Mistress, the lord is still sleeping,” the maid barred the luxurious doors with her hands.

  “Don’t worry, my grandfather is an early riser,” Loh winked.

  “Please, forgive my impudence. The Master asked not to be disturbed,” the maid bowed profusely.

  “I see, I see,” Loh nodded. “Too bad I don’t care.”

  She flicked her hand, black tendrils shot out from her shadow, grabbed the maid, and threw her aside. The servant screamed in surprise as she was flung away.

  “Rise and shine, old man,” Loh kicked the door open.

  Contrary to the lavish doors, Elzri’s bedroom was sparsely decorated. Save for the large bed, there was only a small table and a single wardrobe in the room. The room was dark, there were no candles lit. Red curtains covered two tall windows that overlooked a balcony. Morning light spilled from a crack in the tall curtains.

  Elzri laid on his bed, a beautiful vampiress rested on his pale grey chest. A silk blanket haphazardly covered their legs. To Loh’s dismay, both of them were naked.

  Loh’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.

  “Loh,” Elzri said calmly. “You appear uninjured, good.”

  He stood up and walked leisurely over to his wardrobe. Loh stared dumbfounded at her lithe naked grandfather for a brief shocking moment. She looked away in horror.

  The vampiress drew the blanket close and did her best to cover herself. She bowed gently, “Good morning, Miss Loh.”

  “You're his secretary aren’t you?” Loh said in recognition. “Wow, I thought you were just a random fling. But you’re still actually sleeping with the old man. How much does that secretary job pay exactly?”

  The vampiress bit her lip, “I was his lover before I became his secretary.”

  Loh crossed her arms, “How much is he paying you? Or is he blackmailing you? Does he have your family?”

  “No such thing. I am with Lord Noir because I want to be,” she smiled.

  Loh shook her head in disbelief, “Sure you are. Because a beauty like you would definitely be with a dark elf 60 years older than herself.”

  “Elzri is more than meets the eye,” she said in a quiet yet resolute voice.

  “Enlighten me,” Loh rolled her eyes.

  “I am certain you would not understand.”

  “Try me.”

  “Loh,” Elzri said softly.

  Loh raised her hand to her face to cover her grandfather’s half-naked appearance before turning to him, “What?”

  “Be quiet.”

  The words were simple and short, yet they cut through Loh’s ego like a cold serrated blade. Loh stayed silent as Elzri finished dressing. The vampiress sauntered up from the bed with the blanket wrapped around herself like a toga. She walked over to the wardrobe and helped put a white jacket over Elzri’s shoulders. The Noir’s insignia, a black flame, sat snugly on the jacket’s back.

  “Thank you, Lily,” Elzri said smoothly.

  “My pleasure,” she smiled brightly.

  Uh, um, what the fuck is this? Loh thought incredulously.

  “Shall I have the maids prepare breakfast for three?” Lily asked.

  “No, I don’t plan on staying that long,” Loh shook her head.

  “Three will be perfect and make sure to add extra sugar in the third teacup,” Elzri tied his grey hair in a simple ponytail.

  “Of course,” Lily nodded.

  “I don’t like a lot of sugar in my tea,” Loh frowned.

  “Hm,” Elzri walked out into the hall.

  Loh glanced at Lily for a brief moment, then chased after her grandfather.

  “We need to talk,” Loh caught up to him.

  “Obviously, why else would you visit after all this time? I assume it has something to do with the attack on Mora Castle.”

  “How did you know about the attack? We just arrived at the docks last night.”

  “Sailors have loose tongues and my spies have astute ears. Now, stop wasting my time with useless questions.”

  Loh jogged forward and blocked his path. “Here’s a question for you. Who the hell is Holo?”

  Elzri sidestepped her and kept walking, “How should I know?”

  Loh stared at him as he walked by, “What? What do you mean?”

  “You come here and throw out a random name and expect me to give you some relevant explanation? Please, stop wasting my time already.”

  Loh ran after him, “I fought an arch-mage and I alm-”

  Elzri gripped her arm tightly, “A Valley tribe has an arch-mage?”

  “And a large army. I saw several hundred raiders at least,” Loh nodded.

  “It is unheard of for a Valley tribe to have so many warriors, let alone an arch-mage,” Elzri knitted his eyebrows in thought.

  “It wasn’t just any tribe, it was the Cairn Tribe. I heard one of the raiders say, Lord Marek,” Loh gritted her teeth.

  “The ones who killed your brother. This just became more complicated,” Elzri sighed.

  “You don’t know the half of it. The arch-mage almost killed me, but he didn’t. When he realized who I was, he healed all my injuries. Then he told me to find Holo at all costs. The arch-mage said you would know and explain everything. So who is this Holo person?”

  Elzri stared out one of the hallway windows and into the snowy courtyard beyond. “The name sounds vaguely familiar, but I can’t recall where it came from.”

  “How do you not know? You’re an arch-mage for crying out loud. Where’s the brilliant mind that memorized every orange spell in the magic academy? How can you not remember someone’s name?” Loh groaned.

  “I only remember what is important and clearly this Holo person is not,” Elzri said coldly.

  “Figures, I can’t believe I expected more from you,” Loh turned away.

  “Why did the arch-mage want you to find Holo?”

  “I don’t know, honestly. Something about Unildyr and some monster finding something. It was pretty vague stuff.”

  “Unildyr? I am unfamiliar with that name. What of this monster? Did it have a name?”

  Loh squinted, “Ugh, something about a monster in the shadows, I think? Or the night? Darkness, maybe?”

  “The Monster in the Dark,” he said quietly.

  “Yeah, that was it. Wait, you know about it?”

  Elzri mumbled quietly to himself.

  “What? What is it?” Loh asked.

  “Holo...” he tasted the word on his tongue. “Holo The Tall. I remember now.”

  “You know who Holo is?” Loh asked excitedly.

  “Are you certain this arch-mage said Holo?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And this arch-mage saved you?”

  “Yeah, he helped me escape from the castle.”

  “Follow me,” Elzri walked quickly through the hall.

  Loh hurried to catch up, “What’s going on? Do you know Holo or not?”

  “Not exactly. When I was a child my father used to read stories to my siblings and me by the fireplace after dinner. Most were fanciful tales about the heroics of one mage or another. All the stories had one thing in common, they all ended with the heroine or hero saving the day. Every story was the same, all except for one.”

  “And which one was that?”

  “The tale of our founder, Noir.”

  “Noir? Didn’t he die a horrible drunk? Fell off a balcony? I mean what kind of arch-mage goes out like that?” Loh shook her head.

  “So the records say. But that was 700 years ago, history has a funny way of changing the further you look back,” he said grimly.

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “My father told me a different story about our founder.”

  “I’m listening,” Loh said resolutely.

  “Noir was the 5th son of a small merchant family. He had no prospects and he was set to inherit nothing. His life didn’t seem promising. Until one day, a tall mysterious figure approached him. They called themselves, Holo.”

  “They? Wait, Holo is a character from 700 years ago? Is there more than one Holo? Is it a title?”

  “My father often told stories from memory instead of reading it from a book. He also drank a lot. He often mixed the pronouns in his story. I can’t remember if Holo was supposed to actually be a man or a woman. Perhaps Holo was a title or rank? Possibly something else, I’m not sure. Which is why we’re heading to our family’s personal library to get the story book and find out the exact details.”

  “I see… So, anything else you can tell me about our founder’s story?” Loh asked.

  “My memory of the story is a tad hazy, but I remember the story fairly well for the most part. Holo told Noir that he was a mageborn and he had great talent for magic. Noir wasn’t sure what to believe, he had never seen Holo before, nor anyone as tall as Holo, but since he had nothing to lose he became Holo’s apprentice. It was said that Holo taught Noir the secrets of the Realms and he became a mage so powerful that even the ebon lords were wary of him.”

  “And so Noir founded our Named House?” Loh guessed.

  “Yes. Noir was quite the powerful mage, but he still did not rival the power of an ebon lord in other ways, politically, financially, or in military numbers. Yet Noir was in love with one of the wives of an Ebon Lady.”

  “Wife? She loved women?”

  “Yes, Noir was in love with a woman who could never return his affections. Still, Noir craved her. Sound Familiar?”

  Loh frowned, “Just get on with the story.”

  “Well, for all Noir’s power he could not have the woman of his dreams, Rose. Holo told him to forget Rose and to find someone else to spend his life with. But Noir was obsessed, he could not let Rose go. And so enters the villain of our story, the Monster in the Dark.”

  “What kind of monster is it anyway?”

  “I don’t know. It took many different forms, from a dog to an old lady. It could disguise itself with ease with no one the wiser. The Monster appeared to Noir as a powerful frost giant. After a friendly conversation, It promised Noir that It could help him win Rose’s affection. All Noir had to do was help the Monster with an unseen favor when the time came. Noir, not knowing of the Monster’s true identity, agreed.”

  Loh nodded, “I heard a similar story back when I was traveling in Dusk Valley.”

  “You heard of the Monster in the Dark?” Elzri asked, surprised.

  “Yeah, we were exchanging stories around the fire. I didn’t think much of it at the time. It doesn’t really matter. Please, continue.”

  Elzri stared at her for a moment in silence, “...We’ll talk more about that later. After Noir’s agreement, the Monster disappeared. A day later the ebon lady died and her castle was burned down. Her widow, Rose, was nowhere to be found.”

  Elzri continued, “Noir found Rose knocking at his door a few nights later, in the middle of a storm. Rose had walked the entire way from her burned-down castle to Noir’s home, barefoot. With teary eyes, she told him that she loved him and that she would die if she wasn’t with him. Now, how truthful her words were, Noir did not know, nor did he care. All he cared about was that he now had the woman of his dreams in his arms.”

  “Rose Noir, I remember. The mother of the Noir family line,” Loh placed a finger to her lips. “Wait, didn’t she...?”

  Elzri nodded, “I told you, this story doesn’t end well.”