Gerald was getting ready to pull her chair out for her when Blaine waved him off, informing him he would do it. Gerald then stood behind Blaine's chair to help him instead.
Soon, the meal was being presented. Each dish was small, but they were served a full 15-course meal. It took them two hours to finish eating, but it was a magical evening as the food and scenery cast a spell on the couple. The night was beautiful, the dishes were cleared away. Soon, soft music was playing from somewhere unseen.
Kyle switched out with Blaine and rose from his seat. He knelt before her, "I know this is decided already, but you deserve perfection." He gazed deeply into her eyes, "Lana Plantwell, I knew the moment I saw you, I needed to make you mine. Not only has your beauty captivated me, but your talent, your intellect, and your bravery. I would be lost without your love. Would you do this ruffian the honor of becoming my wife?"
Lana chuckled, "I would be honored to spend the rest of my life with the most amazing ruffian in existence. I don't think there is a limit to my love for you, and I'm looking forward to experiencing the challenges of life with you."
Kyle smiled and placed a ring on her finger. It was too big, but as soon as it was seated on her finger, it shrank down to the correct size. Lana looked at Kyle with wide eyes.
"Half the treasure, or so, is jewelry from a time when magic was commonplace. Everything from that time automatically resizes to the wearer."
Lana's eyes went wider, "so I wasn't going crazy when a necklace became a bit shorter earlier?"
Kyle chuckled, "nope. It was scaling to fit you correctly." He smiled, then nodded to her ring. "don't lose that…" Then he chuckled because her face showed a bit of panic. They exchanged a passionate kiss, then he switched with Blaine.
Blaine stood and offered his hand to her. She looked into his eyes, gave him her hand, and soon they were swaying to the music. She didn't know the steps, but he was good at leading her.
The candles flickered. The stars twinkled. The music captivated them. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly, and it grew in intensity. Soon, he had picked her up and taken her to the swinging circular bed that hung in the corner. At a point they couldn't recall, the curtains were closed, and the couple was left to their own intimacy for the remainder of the night. Kent was used to this by now. He simply curled up in Mom's hair and went to sleep.
They awakened the next morning to the clinking sound of breakfast being served. Blaine smiled at the smell of coffee, and Lana got excited about the smell of bacon.
The couple ate breakfast in silence while holding hands. Gerald watched from a distance. If it appeared their glasses or cups were down to half, he sent in a refill. His family had served the Abel Family for generations. While they maintained that each member of the family had a different ability, learned from books in the library, another thing they maintained was the desire for things to return to the honorable ways before Barica Abel murdered her parents in a lustful fit of rage. She never married, never took a partner, but children started showing up every 8 years. Her power kept the servants from running. The presence of innocent lives made them want to do their very best.
In Gerald's eyes, Blaine and Kyle returning with such news was a blessing. If the soon-to-be-Missus is truly the reason the tyrant is dead, he was going to make sure she felt like a queen at all times while at home.
Gerald watched as the couple both waived, refusing further service, and readied themselves to leave the table. The Missus made sure her little beast was safely sitting on her shoulder. He would need to make sure they remembered little Kent when they designed her wedding dress. He couldn't believe it was only a week to prepare for such an event. The house would be pure chaos for the next week. But this was one servant who was looking forward to that level of joy once again gracing these halls.
Gerald quickly posted himself near the door. A servant ran to his side, presenting him with two robes. They had stayed out all night and might want to cover their disheveled appearance.
"Master Blaine, Mistress Lana, I trust breakfast was to your liking?" Gerald bowed to them and asked courteously.
Lana chuckled. Blaine smiled down at her, then glanced at Gerald, "everything was perfect. Better than perfect. I would say the atmosphere around here has improved 100-fold." Blaine continued walking as he spoke, indicating this was going to be a talk-as-you-walk conversation.
Gerald stood upon that realization but kept his head slightly bowed, "that is thanks to you, Master. I wanted to report that your request for the remains has been carried out. The rest of the family spent the evening in the dining room … airing their… grievances, if you may. I'm sorry to report we will be needing more dinnerware. We scarcely had anything left to eat on or drink out of this morning."
Blaine chuckled, "even the fine china?"
Gerald went pale, "Oh no, Master! That was boxed by your grandmother and is in the treasure room."
Blaine smiled broadly, "It sounds like it should be unboxed and used for our wedding reception. What do you think?"
Gerald's face brightened, "very good, Master! Will you be needing anything else this morning?"
Blaine smiled. Gerald had always been kind to him, even snuck him cookies when he was a child and the others weren't looking.
"We are going to go shower and clean up. Lana would like a demonstration of our training, fighting only, no abilities. Could you get us some volunteers? In addition to that, Lana and Kyle discussed the need for counseling. Every member of the household, including staff, is to receive it. I'm getting it at school, so you don't need to worry about me."
Gerald bowed once more, "consider both matters done, Master." Then he was gone, as though he had never been there, off to carry out the task requested of him.
Lana chuckled, "I've never seen people act like this! Is it always like this?"
Blaine smiled, "Gerald is the head, so he is more talkative and ensures the others follow proper decorum. The others won't talk to you much, but they might smile or ask if they can do anything for you. Right now, we have more servants than family members. They hid on the bottom floor while we fought the Walkers. They were ordered to. It was a good thing because they would all have died. I think it's also one of the reasons they have remained loyal. While grandmother was a terror, she also always made sure they had everything they needed."
Lana nodded. Blaine opened the door to his room. She didn't even realize they had arrived. Every corridor looked the same. How do people figure out their way around here? Lana didn't think she would ever figure it out.
Blaine had her go in first so he could lock the door behind him. Not all the servants had keys, so normally, if the door was locked, that would be a do not disturb indication. While they were not allowed intimacy in their rooms, often they would practice with an ability they copied and didn't want to be distracted. This was strictly enforced. Though Barica never killed any of the servants, many wished they had died for such trivial infractions.
The couple showered and then dressed quickly. They wanted to get back to school as quickly as they could. Dobin and their friends would be worried. Though Chekof, who she now knew was truly named Aiden, had been sent home with his brother and he'd get time with his wife, Lana hoped he'd return to school. His mission to save his brother was complete, but they still had one more outing if everything worked out.
Every hour not spent at the school was another hour of worry for her brother Dobin and their friends. No one knew what kind of reception she would get from Blaine's family. Dobin was not going to relax. He needed to hug his sister, and Blaine fully understood.
On the way to the training room, they met Gerald, who wanted to inform them that there were three volunteers eager to show their growth in Blaine's absence.
"May I ask who the volunteers are?"
"Your brother Jasper, Little Toni, and Tanisha, Master."
Blaine rolled his eyes when he heard Little Toni. He was 9 years old and really looked up to Blaine to the point it was annoying. He was the survivor of the last tournament. That also meant there was one batch of kids on the island. They would be trained and educated, but not forced to murder their friends under the guise of a friendly tournament. One of the ugly secrets that was unveiled at the company was that Barica had each of these children listed as genetic property since they were all products of research by Abel Genetics. In the eyes of the world, they would have allowed her to continue by law.
As they walked into the room, Lana noticed once again, everyone had blond hair and blue eyes. Lana wasn't an idiot about genetics and knew that to get these results, adjustments had to have been made. Lana gasped as she had a thought, was Barica trying to breed a clone of her father?