Six days later, Varin and Soria entered the Palace. "How is your mother?" That was Kasian's first question when he saw the two. "Mother didn't have to see or hear unpleasant things for a few days. She's better." Varin replied.
"Is she just pretending?" Palari asked. She's now fully healed but clearly still hadn't learnt her lesson. "My mother stopped my niece from killing you the last time, but she won't stop me if I act. Do you wish to make that bet?" Soria glared at her and Palari tensed.
Lyria was about to retort but Melire grabbed her arm tightly. "Let us sign the treaty before Yalki gets completely destroyed by its idiotic Queen." Varin said. Kasian stood, walked over to the sisters and handed her his pen.
Varin took it and signed the treaty. Soria pressed Ojun's insignia next to the signature. The two stood up. "There is a banquet tonight. If you wish to attend." Kasian said. When they didn't answer, Kasian tried again. "Give my regards to your mother."
Soria looked at him. "We will attend." Kasian nodded and watched the sister leave the room. "Lyria Grazie. I will no longer warn you." Kasian said as he turned to look at her. "Palari, I will not plead for your life on behalf of your sister again. If the two of you don't get your act together, your fates will not be in my hands but in the hands of Ojun."
*********************************************************************************************
Rain and Kain avoided their mother from the night her screams filled the air. They didn't inform the other about their decision; they did it on their own and only realized they were doing the same thing three days later.
They didn't speak; in fact, they started making it increasingly clear that they were avoiding the house. The children weren't affected; they spent more time with their mothers and grandmother.
Opal didn't go looking for them either, she gave them whatever space they believed they needed due to the illusions they conceived.
When the carriage left for the Palace on the sixth day, they returned home after sleeping elsewhere the night before. They hadn't expected to run into their mother in the garden.
The children were running around in the snow while she sat watching them silently in the pavilion. Opal didn't move or look in their direction even though she knew that they were there.
The children reacted first. They ran up to their fathers' pushing and pulling them towards the pavilion. "Mother." They bowed as they greeted her. Opal nodded and stood up.
"You've been outside long enough, let's go in and warm up." She said to the children before walking past her sons. "Mother." Kain called out to her. "What?" She was cold like the snow surrounding her.
When they didn't say anything, she walked off without looking back. Varin and Soria returned just in time for lunch. When they entered the dining room, Opal wasn't there but their husbands were.
"Where's mother?" Soria asked. "Father and Uncle made grandmother lose her appetite. She's returned to her courtyard." Sera answered while sending a glare to her father and uncle who sat silently.
"Follow us out." Varin looked at her husband. Rain nodded and stood up. He and Kain followed the two to a side room. "Divorce. Mother and the children are with us. You go out and do whatever you want." Varin said as soon as the doors closed.
"That will never happen." Rain replied immediately. "Really? I thought you and my husband didn't want this family anymore. I thought you didn't want mother anymore. Otherwise, what could you have been possibly thinking, disappearing for six days! In another Kingdom no less? What else were we supposed to think?" Soria glared at Kain.
"That's not it. We just-." Varin scoffed. "You better not tell me that it's because of a nonexistent conversation you never had with mother. That better not be what you were about to say." They remained silent.
"Divorce." Soria said. "No." Kain protested. "Do you not know the pain your avoidance caused Mother? Her hair turned completely white that night. The next day, Mother almost stopped communicating and where were you? Outside, avoiding whatever you think is going to happen. You were being cowards!"
"Despite being confused, mother stabilized us. The children stabilized her. You two are normally the most attentive to mother but since we've gotten here you two have been the most distracted. If you had a feeling this would've happened, we could've stayed home!"
The doors pushed open and Opal stepped in. "Varin, Soria." She stepped around her sons. "I'm fine." She told them. "I hope mother ignores you like you have been doing to her." Soria glared at her husband. "Alright. Go eat lunch." She gently pushed them out the door.
Kain grabbed Opal's arm. "Mother." Opal looked at him. "What? No longer afraid?" she asked, pulling away from him. "We knew the chance was slim, but we took it anyway. It seemed like everything was going well. A few more days and we would leave and never come back. But when it actually happened..."
Rain approached her, his eyes read as he tried to hold back his tears. "It would've happened eventually, but we wanted you to ourselves for a few more years. Was that wrong?" He asked.
"We knew what you would do. We knew that we would be blamed. We don't care. We've barely had you for ten years. A mere ten years. It wasn't even you completely, but we didn't care. It was you. Now, we can't keep you to ourselves anymore. No one will allow it." Kain grabbed his mother's shoulders.
"Don't do anything. Okay? Let's leave tonight. We don't have to go to the banquet. We can leave tonight. We can leave right now." He was pleading. "Let's leave now. We can pack up everything. The children, the servants. Everything can be packed and we can leave in the hour. Okay?" Rain was also pleading her.
They both had tears in their eyes. Opal didn't say anything. The men dropped to their knees in front of her. Opal held her breath and didn't dare to look down at them. "Mother, please. Please." They kowtowed to her three times. Opal moved around them quickly and left the room.
"Mother!" They screamed after her, but Opal didn't stop running until she got into her room. She sat on the edge of the bed, clutching her chest. Dasa silently appeared at Opal's door and listened as her Master silently cried in pain.