The tension in the Ravenfoot-Teomes House felt so strong that it was almost unbearable to be inside. Te'ijal and Galahad were having one of their lengthier spats. Galahad hadn't spoken to Te'ijal in days, going out of his way to ignore her whenever she tried to address him. He would still talk to Cer'iq, but never Te'ijal.

As you can imagine, it was starting to get worrisome to Cer'iq. Over the last few days, he had been attempting to spend as much time as he could outside, but there was only so much time you could spend playing in the snow, even for half-vampire mage with an abundance of imagination. He still had to eat and sleep, things that required him to enter the house for.

Peeking his head through the door, Cer'iq stopped for a moment to try and detect where his parents were. He could hear the faint sound of book pages turning coming from the living room, leading him to believe that was where his father was. He didn't hear or sense his mother anywhere.

With that, he determined it was safe and slipped inside, shutting the door behind him as he kicked his snowy boots off and started towards the kitchen. Their kitchen was quite small compared to your average kitchen, but considering it was used by a family of vampires, out of which only one member ate actual food, it suited them well enough.

Cer'iq got to work as soon as he reached his destination. Pulling open the cupboards, he grabbed a loaf of bread and a jar of fruit preserve, laying it out on the counter-top to prepare what he wanted for lunch; a fruit sandwich, which just so happened to be one of his favorites. Everything tasted better with fruit in Cer'iq's mind … Well, almost everything. He had tried adding fruit preserve to his vegetables once. He shuddered at the mere memory.

Once his jam sandwich was completed, he cleaned up the remaining bread and fruit preserve like his mother and father had taught him to do before finally seating himself at the table and sinking his teeth in.

Unfortunately, he had only gotten two bites in before he heard voices coming from the living room.

"This act of yours is getting out of hand, Crumpet," he heard his mother say. "How much longer do you intend to ignore me?"

No reply came for the first couple of minutes, not until the sound of a book slamming shut sounded.

"Give me back my book!" his father exclaimed.

"Not until you tell me what is wrong," Te'ijal insisted. "What is it that has you so deliciously angry with me?"

Cer'iq tried to focus on eating his sandwich and drown the voices out, even going so far as to clamp his hands over his ears, but it was no use in the end. He cursed his ears for being able to hear so well. If only he had been born with human ears. Then he wouldn't be having this problem, or so he thought.

"Do you honestly think that I like living next across the street from your brother?" Galahad asked.

"We shared a house with him in Ghed'ahre for three-hundred-years," Te'ijal replied. "How is this any different? If anything, I think it's better. We don't have to worry about cleaning up after him anymore. He now has a wife to pick up his underpants for him."

Cer'iq found the remark about Uncle Gyendal's underpants to be quite amusing, but apparently his father did not.

"You know what I mean! Did you honestly think I would be alright with the fact that you just up and decided to turn him back into a vampire without even consulting me?"

"Look Crumpet, I know that the two of you don't get along, but he is my brother and I cannot bear the thought of losing him. Even if he hadn't asked me to do it, I probably still would have turned him. You of all people should know how I feel about letting those I care about die."

"So you would have turned him against his own will, just like you did with me?!" Galahad roared. "And to think that I believed you might have changed since. You're still the same Demon Spawn that you always were."

Cer'iq froze in his seat, the sandwich in his hand slipping out of his grasp and falling onto the table. He had heard his parents call each other many interesting things over the years. 'Crumpet' and 'Lamb' were usually his mother's go-to terms of endearment, while his father usually preferred to stick with 'Wife' or, if he was feeling particularly affectionate, he would call her 'My Love'. This was definitely a name he had never heard either of them use before.

Demon Spawn … The name echoed over and over inside his head. He wasn't stupid by any means necessary. Most people told him he was too smart for his age. He knew that this wasn't a good name to call someone. In fact, it was a horrible name. He had heard enough stories of his parents adventures to know that demons were evil. His father had told him so himself. To hear that his father had basically just called his mother a demon … It hurt him to put it mildly.

Unable to bear being in the house for a moment longer, Cer'iq sprang into action, jumping from his seat and breaking out into a run at vampiric speed. All he knew was that he had to get away from the house for a while, as well as his father.

"Cer'iq!"

"Cer'iq, wait!"

He heard his parents call after him, but he just kept on running.

They were fast catching up with him, but he managed to make it back to the door, yanking it open so hard that he nearly ripped it off its hinges. Unfortunately, in his urgency to get out, he failed to take notice of the mailman on the other side of the door, that is until he smacked right into him, causing the two of them to collapse to the ground.

"Woah there!" exclaimed the mailman. "What's the rush, lad? Is there a fire somewhere?"

Seeing the very-much-human mailman, Te'ijal quickly ducked behind the door to avoid being seen. Such was the routine whenever unfamiliar humans entered the snow covered village. Not many humans dared to venture so far north, but there were a couple who stopped by from time to time; a mailman and a travelling merchant.

"Are you alright?" Galahad asked, helping both back to their feet. "I'm sorry my son ran into you. He was in a hurry to go play with his cousins."

Cer'iq glared at his father, silently communicating, "That's not true and you know it!"

The mailman waved it off. "Don't worry. It happens all the time." Reaching into his mail bag, he pulled out a creamy white envelope, handing it to Galahad. "I've got a letter here for you all the way from Thais."

"Thank you."

And with his job done, the mailman took his leave.

The letter managed to grab Cer'iq's attention, allowing him to temporarily forget about his earlier escape attempt. Glancing over at his father, he watched as he pried open the all too familiar Pendragon seal and began to read what was written inside.

"What does it say, Crumpet?" Te'ijal asked, coming out of her hiding place.

Cer'iq was wondering the same thing. Why would the Pendragon's be sending them a letter? Especially after what had happened only a few weeks ago. The slight reddish tint in his eyes still served as proof of the crime he had nearly committed.

"It's from Edward. He apologizes for overreacting and welcomes us back…" he broke off as he continued reading. A few moments later, his eyes widened dramatically. "Thais is under attack! He has requested for us to come and help him defend the city from the army of monsters that is slowly closing in on them!"

Tearing the letter from her husband's grasp, Te'ijal quickly skimmed through it before ripping it in half.

"What did you do that for?!"

"Why should we help them? Edward made it very clear that he didn't want us around. He's a fool if he thinks he can treat us like that and then expect us to come running to his aid at the first sign of trouble," Te'ijal argued.

Galahad opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off.

"I couldn't agree with you more, dear sister," Gyendal added, coming up to them with Mel close behind. "Let the humans fight their own battles."

"I see you received a letter as well," Te'ijal pointed out, eyes trained on the identical letter in Mel's hand.

Mel nodded. "I imagine mine was a bit different from yours, without the apology. Edward explained a bit more of the situation. Apparently a hoard of monsters just showed up out of nowhere. And they're not your average monsters. They're about ten times stronger, and have already taken the lives of at least a dozen helpless citizens."

Cer'iq stepped away from the arguing adults, going to meet his twin cousins who had wandered out after their parents. They were a bit younger than him, only five years old, but they were fun to play with. The three of them had grown considerably close, especially in the last few days since they had moved to Thornkeep. They had served as a distraction from the chaos at home. Unfortunately, it seemed that the chaos was being spread to their parents as well.

"We cannot ignore his plea for help simply because of a disagreement," Galahad insisted.

"Then explain why you've been ignoring me for the past days?" Te'ijal retorted.

Galahad faltered for a moment, but not long enough to be swayed. "That is a completely different issue and off topic. This is about Edward and his kingdom, not the two of us."

Cer'iq let out a sigh, shaking his head. He was starting to wonder if they would ever stop arguing.

"I know Edward can be annoying at times, but he's still our friend, and if you won't do it for his sake, then at least do it his ancestor's," Mel reasoned. "Didn't you make a promise to Rhen or something, to look out for her descendants?"

Te'ijal groaned, running a hand down her face. "I'm starting to regret ever making that promise," she muttered. After a few more moments, she finally gave in. "Fine, but what are we supposed to do with the children? Surely Edward doesn't expect us to just bring them along."

Cer'iq turned to look at both of his cousins. His mother was right. They weren't prepared to face such a battle. Uma and Nox were far too young to fight, and none of them were fully trained in magic yet. He had only just begun to learn how to control his own magic. Besides, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go back to Thais. He wasn't ready to face them yet, though he wasn't sure if he'd ever be ready.

"We could leave them with the Oracle in Aveyond," Galahad suggested. "They would be safe there."

Gyendal scoffed. "Do you honestly expect a senile old woman to take care of three of the most powerful children in the world? Aveyond would be nothing but ashes by the time you returned."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Gyendal insisted. "You can leave them with me. I am probably the only one capable of keeping them under control as well as safe."

Mel turned to him in surprise. "You're not coming with us?"

Gyendal shook his head. "I am no hero, lamb, nor do I desire to be one. And besides, my disguise as Lars VIII no longer works. I am a vampire now. There would be too many questions asked."

Galahad looked as if he was about to protest, but Te'ijal didn't let him. "Then it is settled. We shall go and save the day while Gyendal looks after the children. He can portal directly to us or to Aveyond if something unforeseen happens."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, though a bit begrudgingly on Galahad's part.

The group separated temporarily, heading back to their respective homes to prepare before meeting up again at the edge of the village. When they returned, they were all decked out in their battle gear; Galahad in his full armor, Te'ijal with her bow and quiver of arrows, and Mel with her staff. They were ready to go.

Cer'iq managed to hug his mother goodbye, but merely waved and returned to his uncle and cousins' sides when it came to saying goodbye to his father. Galahad gave his son a sad look, making Cer'iq feel a bit guilty, but he was soon distracted as he was tasked with keeping his fair-haired cousin under control. Uma wasn't too happy about her mother leaving and started crying and screaming for her not to go.

"We shouldn't be gone for too long," Mel said as she gave her husband a quick peck on the lips.

"Stay safe, lamb."

And then, with a final glance back at the children, Mel summoned a portal, a skill she had learned from Gyendal, and then they were gone.