Chapter 8: The Truth and a Little More
"Well now Talina, you definitely get from your mother", Lord Dryxo once again thought to himself, amused at the sight he just witnessed.
"F-Father, I -," Talina stuttered in shock at the sight of her father.
"Sir I didn't –," Kazok failed to form a sentence to explain away his behavior.
"SILENCE! Both of you!", Lord Drxyo replied, feigning anger at what had just occurred.
"Young man, you will wait for me in my study while I deal with my daughter", Lord Dryxo said in a venomous tone, once more feigning anger, slightly amused because Kazok and Talina had no idea what was in store for them.
"Sir please, I never meant to cause you offense", Kazok tried to reason with the angry Lord.
"I will not tell you again young man and if I must, you will leave here immediately", Lord Dryxo replied haughtily and narrowed his eyes dangerously at the young man, stepping aside so the young man could pass.
"Y-yes Sir", Kazok winced at the venom in Lord Dryxo's voice, not daring to look at Talina lest he cause her to get into more trouble. He headed silently with his head held high towards Lord Dryxo's Study.
"As for you young lady, I will deal with you later!" Lord Dryxo said in an angry and haughty tone to Talina. "You WILL go to the kitchen and help your mother set the table and help her with anything else she asks while I deal with that young man."
"Please Father, I beg you. Don't hurt him! I'm the one who kissed him first and it should be me who's punished!" Talina practically begged her father, hurt and sadness in her voice.
Keeping his composure and not allowing the surprise he had in store for these two to be ruined, Lord Dryxo once more replied to his daughter in angry tone,"Talina, what did I say? Go now, or else I will ban the young man from ever stepping foot in this village once more!
"Y-yes Father!" Talina angrily spat at her father, storming past him towards the kitchens.
Regret and sadness gripping his heart for treating his daughter this way, Lord Dryxo took a drink from his glass and headed for the study.
Upon entering the study, Lord Dryxo found an anxious Kazok pacing back n fourth in front of the fireplace.
Kazok stopped pacing back and forth as he saw Lord Dryxo entered the study," Sir please, I'm so sorry for any offense I may have cause you and lady Dryxo. I know I should've come to you first to ask to court your daughter," Kazok quickly blurted out in an apologetic manner.
"Haha! Boy, be quiet and sit down!" Lord Dryxo laughed at the young man, greatly amused at how this was all turning out.
Embarrassed and confused as to why Lord Dryxo found his apology so funny, he still quickly did as he was told and sat down in the chair as ordered.
"Sir, a-am I in trouble for kissing Talina?" Kazok cautiously but curiously asked Talina's father.
Walking over to the boy and sitting down in the chair next to him, Lord Dryxo took a drag off his pipe before replying to the young man's question.
"No Kazok, you're not in trouble for kissing Talina. Quite the contrary", Lord Dryxo replied and noted the surprise on the young man's face with some small amusement.
"Now I want you to listen to everything very carefully because I don't like repeating myself, do you understand?", Lord Dryxo asked dryly.
"Yes sir", Kazok replied, nodding his understanding.
"Both you and Talina are actually betrothed, part of an arranged marriage between two old child hood friends. One being who was a complete idiot and made a big mistake during the last Tournament of Grue", Lord Dryxo told the shocked young man and let out a small laugh at Kazok's stunned face.
"Your father, Gildan and I were old friends and each other's only rivals. We always tried to best each other when it came to our martial prowess in weapons and hand to hand combat. Sadly we were always evenly skilled until the day came for the Tournament of Grue. That's when I learned your father was actually going easy on me the entire time during our training, I'm the idiot who made the big mistake just so you know", Lord Dryxo said aloud and taking a pull from his whiskey glass to wet his throat.
"What happened if you don't mind me asking sir? My mother only told me he was a soldier who joined the Grue Army to fight Scorpius' armies far away from here. I don't really know much about him other than his name." Kazok was now listening intently to every word the Lord was saying to him.
"Yes your father was indeed a soldier who helped fight against Scorpius, but he wasn't just any soldier son. He was actually the champion of our people, The Magna Defender himself." Lord Dryxo said with great pride and sadness in his voice and let news about Kazok's father sink in.
Shock, pride, anguish, and love filled Kazok's heart as when he heard who his father really was. Not only the son of Gildan de Valen a Soldier of Grue, but the son of his people's greatest warrior, The Magna Defender.
Choking back tears but fighting to keep his composure, Kazok quietly asked", Sir, the Tournament of Grue is being held soon. D-Does that mean my father is dead now?"
Turning his head away from the young man and taking in a deep breath he returned to look the young man in his eyes."Yes son, I'm afraid so and if I may say, he'd be greatly proud of you today. I see everything that made Gildan our greatest warrior inside you and that's not all", Lord Dryxo quietly told Kazok.
"What do you mean sir?" Kazok asked Lord Dryxo quietly through a pain filled voice