"What the fuck do you mean by your new home?" Miyanna demanded, taking a step towards Blanc, before Celine's sword touched her neck, a sharp reminder of Miyanna's current position.
Blanc took a step forward as well. Though she was tall, he was still towering over her in both height and strength.
"It means what I say it means. This is our new home." Blanc said coldly.
"And what of me then? Where am I supposed to go? I have nothing else," Miyanna cried out.
Blanc shrugged, "Consider yourself lucky I don't kill you where you stand. Go inside, take your things, and get. the fuck. out."
Miyanna did not say anything, she just kept staring into his gray eyes, afoot apart from each other. She did not move. Just kept staring. Not intimidated by Blanc.
As this game of who would blink first was taking place, Celine intervened between the two.
"I suggest we talk some more before making a decision," she said.
"What do you mean?" Blanc asked Celine, "She cannot be trusted."
Celine approached him, whispering in his ear after dragging him near the entrance of the cave, "We cannot just throw her out. We can find out more about who she is. And what if she is just a commoner fleeing the war? Isn't she part of your Blood's Domain?"
"What if she plans on sniffing us out or telling our enemies? What if she is part of the Iron Line? She may hurt someone. I suggest we kill her." Blanc replied.
"Why are you so eager to kill her?" Celine asked, not convinced by his words.
"I am not," Blanc began, "But I will not put either you or Kael and Lune in danger. We do not know her. And an unknown variable now might come back to bite us later."
"Give me a week, let me make her trust me, and let me find out who she is. If your intuition is right, I will gut her myself." Celine muttered, "Trust me on this, alright, love?"
Blanc thought for a moment before sighing and nodding to her, "So be it. But if she touches a single hair on Kael or Lune's head, I will use her skull as a wine glass."
"Thank you," she offered him a kiss before returning to the twins and Miyanna, who were watching their conversation, tense and confused.
Celine approached Miyanna, looking her in her eyes, a cold shiver running down Miyanna's spine as Celine and her sapphire colored eyes studied her.
"You can stay here. But there are rules that you need to follow. If you do not follow them, you will die," Celine explained coldly, every word steady and harsh.
"What rules?" Miyanna asked, narrowing her eyes.
"First rule is that you will not leave the cave alone. Be it day or night." Celine replied.
"What if I want to grab water?" Miyanna questioned, annoyed.
"It will be brought to the cave," Blanc replied.
"The Second Rule is that you will keep your distance from them," Celine said, pointing towards Kael and Lune, who kept silent until now, as they watched, "If you do not follow the rules, for every time you touch them, you will lose a finger."
Miyanna sighed, "Why would I want to touch them? Who are they anyway? Who are you all, actually? Noble Bloods?"
"Third and final Rule," said Blanc, approaching her, "Do not ask stupid questions that will get you killed."
"So let me get this straight," Miyanna began, "You come at me, threaten my life, take over MY OWN place, not allow me to go outside whenever I want, and you tell me whatever the fuck am I allowed or not to do or say?"
"Yes," nodded Celine, "Any other questions, or should we head inside?"
"Tsk. By the fucking Vita… Fine, let's head inside," muttered Miyanna as she passed all four, entering the cave.
As they made their way inside, Celine, Lune, and Kael began quickly exploring the cave.
It was breathtaking, especially for the twins, who weren't focused on the technicalities of this new home but on the colors of the walls. Deep blues and light browns blended in a way that drew gasps of wonder from them, sounds that, for a moment, transported Blanc back to a time when he barely understood their cries and hardships.
Now, that innocence had mostly vanished from his younger siblings' faces. Their honest, pure smiles felt like a memory stolen from a past that had been taken from them.
Oh… how he wished he could give that back as he watched them run around. And how furious it made him feel.
Not at the twins. But at the bastards who had stolen it from them. Their smiles.
Whatever those fleeting smiles they had managed to show over the past few days were, they couldn't compare to the pure joy they were showing now.
"Brother, brother," Kael ran towards him, a hopeful look in his eyes, "Is there a toilet?"
Blanc blinked for a few moments before he burst out laughing, suddenly forgetting all his anger, "Yes, there is. Look there. See that small tunnel? Take Lune and go see what's there?"
Kael gave a sharp nod before turning around and running towards his sister, before grabbing her and sprinting into the small tunnel.
Seconds later, two yelps, followed by laughter, then a few sounds of wandering came out of the hallway before they came bursting out yelling.
"Such a cool toilet! We've never had one with a river below, not even at the house!" screamed Lune, rejoicing in the novelty of the toilet.
"Is it really that cool?" Blanc asked, tilting his head.
"Way cooler than a hole in the forest," Kael giggled.
"Want to see something even cooler?" Blanc asked them.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" they both exclaimed.
"How cool do you think it would be?" Blanc grinned.
"Cooler than the toilet?" Kael guessed.
"Way cooler." Blanc replied with a nod, "Go grab Celine, let's all see something cool together."
With a nod from the two, they went and grabbed Celine, who was busy with the rooms. They came out dragging her, laughing like crazy before she said something to the two, and let go of them as she entered another room, having Miyanna come out as well, before they started walking towards Blanc.
"Why is she here?" Blanc asked, clearly annoyed.
"We can't just all leave the entrance empty and allow her to just leave, now, can we?" Celine asked, with a smile.
"True enough," Blanc shrugged, getting to his feet.
"But I was not leaving, I don't care anymore," Miyanna argued back.
"We'll see, now move," Celine added, pushing her gently.
But the twins already forgot about Miyanna, the danger she posed, or her existence at this point.
The toilet was more of a presence in their eyes than a commoner they did not know anything about. They did not care about her, but they surely cared about what Blanc was about to show them.
"Well? What is cooler?" Lune asked, hopeful for a sight able to meet her and her twin's expectations.
"Follow me," Blanc smiled, moving the wooden plank and showing the cabinets.
"That's it?" asked Kael, clearly disappointed. "Plates and forks?"
"Cease your impatience, little ones. How about checking what I have here, before complaining?" Blanc suggested.
A second later, both were where Blanc stood, able to see the pair of hidden stairs, leading down.
"Stairs!" both yelled at once. "Where do they lead?"
"Go and check it out," Blanc said, letting the twins and the ladies take the lead as he followed shortly behind, curious to see their reaction to the natural bath hidden underground.
To call them amazed would be an understatement; even Celine was stunned. No shouts escaped them, only soft laughter, followed by tears from Kael and Lune. Whether tears of joy or of grief, no one could say for certain. But tears, nonetheless.
The tears flowed like rivers, finally breaking through a long‑held dam, and they didn't stop, dragging out of him ragged cries he hadn't even known he could make.
But he didn't care.
He let it all out, every fracture of his heart, until nothing remained.
He had never seen anyone so excited over a toilet or cried so hard over a place where they could finally bathe. Yet his heart, shattered by the events of the past week, had left him raw, guarded, and fiercely protective of those he cared about.
He was ready to kill if he had to. Ready to strip himself bare, sacrifice anything, as long as it kept all of them safe.
He would gladly give his life to have all his family back, laughing or talking about stupid, unimportant stuff.
But seeing these two rejoice over a toilet or cry over a bath finally broke the thread he was holding onto. A thread he only managed to keep track of this far, only because of Celine.
A Celine who was watching him, crying from the entrance of the cave. Wiping the singular tear that she felt on her cheek. Not wanting another person present to see.
That person was Miyanna, whom she brought with her back to the surface as she was planning to check on Blanc. Not knowing he was in such a rough mental state.
"Will you not comfort him?" Miyanna asked casually, lacking any type of pity for the man.
"No," she sighed, "That battle of his is already lost."
"Why is he crying then?" Miyanna questioned with curious interest, her bronze eyes locked on him.
"Those tears are not for him. But for others." Celine replied, shaking her head as she turned on her heel, walking back into the cave, "Come now. Leave the questions and let's let him be."
Miyanna's eyes lingered on him for a little while longer before she headed back inside as well.