"Ely you shouldn't harass the weak." Shargein said as he licked the baby girl's face. "It's what a bully does."
"Ba!" Too tired and hungry to explain herself, Elysia touched the Wyrmling with the Dragon Scales and let them do the talking.
"It's still your fault." Shargein tilted his head. "You are strong, and your dad was here. Nothing could happen."
"bbe." With her stomach full and her head clear, Elysia wasn't so sure she had done the right thing anymore.
"Here we are." Kamila entered the room with a Warp Steps, recognizing the closed door as a request for privacy. "How is our little tyrant doing?"
Her voice was calm, but Elysia knew that when her mother scowled, she was in big trouble.
"Well, are you proud of yourself, young lady? First, you attacked our guests, and then you attacked your mother." Kamila said. "What did we say about Mirror Magic? What if soone got hurt?"
The idea of injuring her mother hit Elysia like a bucket of cold water.
"So-y, Mama! So-y!" She started to cry, suddenly afraid of herself and her own powers.
"You better be, young lady." Kamila took the baby girl in her arms to reassure her, and was saddened when she couldn't reply to the warm touch of Elysia's Dragon Scales.
"I forgive you, this ti, but you must rember that when Mommy restrains you, she does it for your own good. Are we clear?"
"Yah, Mama." Elysia nodded like a frenzied parrot. "So-y, Mama."
"You seem to have everything under control, and I don't want to intrude." Ryman had stepped through the Warp Gate right after Kamila and had been looking around for sothing to do. "If you don't need , I'd leave."
"Actually, I could use your help with sothing." Lith gestured for his friend to co and sit on a nearby chair. "Ral needs a godparent. Soone who can help and take care of him in case sothing happens to . Soone like you."
"?" Protector furrowed his brows, and when Lith handed Ral to him, Ryman adjusted the baby in the crook of his massive arm. "I'm not a Divine Beast, an Abomination, or even a human. What can I possibly teach Ral?
"Soone like Xenagrosh, Erghak, Faluel, Nalrond, or even the Master would be much better suited for the role."
"Lith disagrees, and after talking at length about it, I do too." Kamila sighed. "Zoreth is already Ely's godmother, so she'll be part of the kids' life anyway. Also, she's a woman, and there are things Ral won't feel comfortable talking with her."
"The Master and Erghak are also out." Lith chid in. "There are too many family secrets they ignore, and we can't trust them to put our family above their own. Erghak and the Master can never know about Solus' origin or the tower.
"It would be too dangerous."
"What about Faluel and Nalrond?" Protector asked. "She's a woman, but she's also kind and wise. She helped us all a lot, and she's a great friend. As for Nalrond, after struggling so much with his twin natures for years, he would be a great advisor."
"Sorry, but while Faluel may be a great friend, she has a terrible track record as a mother." Kamila snorted. "She hasn't been able to hold a relationship or raise her own children properly. I don't see why she should do better with Ral."
"Nalrond, instead, has too much on his plate already and has zero experience as a ntor." Lith said. "Sure, he knows about most of my secrets, but I can't cross my fingers and hope he'll be ready when Ral needs him.
"You instead, took good care of even back when you were still a magical beast. I was no child, and there was no official relationship between us, but you acted as my godfather, and you did one heck of a job at it, Protector.
"You managed to quell my anger, to teach what I needed about magic and how to restrain my most violent impulses. If sothing bad happens and Ral is even remotely like , he'll need you to protect the world from him, not the other way around.
"Most importantly, Ral will need you to protect him from himself. You've done it for in the past, and I trust you to do it again for Ral."
Protector remained silent for a bit, mulling over Lith's request as he played with the baby boy in his arms. Ral was innocent like Lith had never been, and as pure as fresh snow at dawn.
Yet that sa trusting nature made him vulnerable to betrayal and pain, and when soone or sothing tainted that purity for their own petty gain, the snow was likely to be replaced by a fiery inferno.
"It will be my honor to be Ral's godfather." Protector said. "I'll teach him everything he needs to know about his father, even your remote past on you-know-where if necessary to keep him from making your sa mistakes."
"Thanks, Ryman." Lith nodded. "I also expect you to teach Ral English and help him to beco fluent with it. It's my family's secret code."
"More like nonsense." Protector snorted. "Between the too many silent letters and the arbitrary pronunciation of most words, it's hard to follow. Don't get started on all the things that are written differently yet are pronounced the sa way.
"Like, [ball, bowl, and bawl]! What kind of madman ca up with a language like that?"
"It is what it is." Lith chuckled. "Ral, from today onwards, Ryman is your godfather."
"Dya?" Raldarak asked.
"Sort of." Lith replied, having no idea how to express the concept without upsetting the baby. "He's for you what Auntie Zoreth is for Elysia. You have to listen to him, okay?"
Raldarak turned towards his sister, who shrugged. To her, the only difference between Zoreth and the rest of her aunts was that Elysia had the Shadow Dragon wrapped around her little finger.
It was so easy to get a sweet or an extra snack from Aunt Zoreth that Elysia almost felt guilty.
Almost.
"Ay." Raldarak nodded.
"Rember that this is just a contingency asure, Lith." Protector said while rubbing his beard against the baby's cheek, making him giggle. "You have a long life ahead of you, and I expect you to outlive ."
"Because I'm Lilia's and Leran's godfather and you want to take care of them now that they Awakened?" Lith asked.
"No, because if I bring another kid ho, Selia is going to kill ." Protector replied.
***
The breaks allowed the Royal Gala to continue without further problems, but it also delayed the rest of the evening's events quite a bit.
When her turn finally arrived, Lochra Silverwing's patience had already begun to run thin.
"It's about ti." She grumbled. "All those stupid nobles should have stayed ho and been content with a hologram of Raldarak rather than wasting everyone's ti with their boring and grubby presence."
The First Magus wore a golden dress that left her arms and neck exposed. It also emphasized her silver hair, from which she had removed all elental streaks to go unnoticed.
Moreover, she had turned her eyes ocean blue after removing their prismatic light.
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