Meredith Whitefyre nee Rockwell, the dutiful and beautiful matriarch of the Whitefyre grand duchy. A woman who hated the children her son made from the women she didn’t specifically choose for him, meaning she hated all the children not of the first wife. Seemingly, this hatred is as a result of the rules she grew up with as a Rockwell, but it is well known in the family that the hatred actually comes from the fact that her father preferred some of his hidden mistress’s children over her. 

“Solis Whitefyre.” She addressed me stiffly, purposefully using the wrong surname. My eyes twitched as I looked at her, before turning to face my father without replying to her. 

‘I’ve been too mellow, and it shows because they feel like they can just do whatever they want.’

I had long surpassed my father and I think he instinctively knew. After reaching the 6th circle, he just stopped advancing, not to even talk about aura. So this was him testing the limits he had over me. 

“How long are you going to ignore me?” My grandmother raised her voice slightly. 

I looked in her direction at that. A small magical circle manifested in front of me and she stiffened up with her mouth snapped shut as I magically had her paralyzed. 

“You really should watch the tone you take with me.” I said to her before I looked back at my father and he sighed.

“So it’s reached that point in our relationship? The point where you declare your independence from house Whitefyre, from me.” He asked as I looked at him in askance. 

“You know as well as I do that whatever parental relationship you had with me, with any of your children for that matter, was always duty bound. And it was apparent, to me at least.” I leaned back in my chair. 

“So allow me to be bold enough to say we have no relationship apart from staying out of each other’s way.” I stated as he frowned slightly. 

“You never tried to build that relationship with me, as well. Your sibling on the other hand saw it fit to come to me regularly and-”

“They had their mothers instructing them to do so, probably, and I couldn’t care less. I knew from a young age that I would have to divest from the grand duchy one day, I just never expected it to be this way.” He stood silently at that for a few seconds, before sighing deeply. 

“You know my father never showed even the slightest attention to me.” He started as I raised my brows at him. 

“I was raised completely by my mother till adulthood before he even considered it adequate to communicate with me. We-” I cut him off. 

“I don’t think you telling me that will have the effect you want it to. I know, already, that my grandfather is a selfish man who will only communicate with people who can do something for him or who he finds interesting. I know my grandmother is a controlling woman who wants things to always go her way with an opportunistic streak underneath it all and I know you shut yourself down emotionally to protect yourself from your childhood trauma. But I just don’t care. I don’t care whatever disadvantages you had that made you how you are. You are what you are, and you have control over that.” The room was silent for a bit before I leaned forward and continued. 

“Whatever your circumstances were in the past made you what you are now, and that is fine. Understandable, even. But don’t expect the people you disregarded to be suddenly open to you now. When we speak next, please forgo the  emotions and get to the point. Now then.” I gestured to my grandmother, removing the paralysis spell in effect from her. She staggered slightly and panted heavily. 

“What do you want?” She continued panting for a while before she finally regained some of her composure. 

“You stupid boy. You are just a bastard from your whore mother and yet you have the audacity to use magic on me? Your father should have never allowed you in the main house nor should you have been raised with the luxuries you have. I should have had you whipped when you were a child, but your father is too soft. You-” 

“Do you want me to kill her?” I asked in my fathers direction while he just stood there silently. 

“-What!? Alister! Your cretin of a bastard child is-” 

‘Alright, I’ve allowed enough.’ 

I pointed in her direction and a magic circle bloomed in front of my finger. Another manifested above her head and she fell to her knees. My father looked to be about to say something but for the first time, I let him feel the might of my aura. He buckled under the pressure that suddenly appeared in the room and I knew that as he looked at me, my eyes were glowing. 

“You will take her from my sight.” I increased the magic pressuring her and she fell flat on the ground and screamed in pain while my father remained paralyzed. 

“She will never appear before me again, is that clear?” I looked him dead in the eye. He frowned slightly.

“You know she will never forgive this, yes? And she will have her brother do all he can to-”

“I’m prepared for anyone.” I narrowed my eyes and looked in her direction. I raised my hand and gestured and the pressure released. 

“Leave.” He carried her and left the building.