"Would someone please tell me what the fuck happened?" The Emperor had never used Discordia to call a meeting with his sons, but the news he got from the Word Bearers Legion was very…concerning to say the least and required immediate attention. "Why is Lorgar down a First Captain?"
Most of the Primarch's were either just as confused as he was, or, in the case of Perturabo and Konrad, were dead silent. Lorgar was not present on the account of Magnus knocking him out and Nekona forcing him to a "R day" when she couldn't get a straight answer out of him.
"Seriously, guys!" Nekona said with just as much concern her father felt. "He was gabbing in gibberish he was so mad! What set him off?"
"Yeah…" Perturabo was about to speak when Konrad stopped him.
"I had a vision concerning Erebus some months back…"
Two months earlier…
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Perturabo asked his pale brother. "You saw Erebus…assault our sister in your vision?"
"Yes, brother," Konrad said with no hesitation at all. "And I'm telling you this so you can discuss this with Lorgar."
"Why me? Why not bring it up with Lorgar since the diddler's his First Captain?"
"Because he will listen to you better. He would just brush me off as being paranoid."
He wanted to argue, but he remembered the few times Konrad tried to warn Lorgar about his visions and was summarily ignored…and then get bit in the arse for not heeding his brother's warnings.
"Okay, I'll talk to him, but if he doesn't do anything about it, I just might shoot the bastard myself anyway."
Current day…
"So then that lead to Lorgar launching an investigation on Erebus after you brought this up with him," Guilliman summarized correctly.
"Yep, and he uncovered just how much of a sick fuck the bastard was," Perturabo added. "Konrad and I just finished reading the report another Word Bearer sent us just before Lorgar flew off the rails."
"Send me a copy of that report," the Emperor commanded, and got to hear the man-child of the group hesitate to follow an order for the first time.
"Uh…You sure about this, Father?" The Iron Lord sounded very uncomfortable about this. "What Lorgar found…Well, you saw those reports."
"We all need to know, Pert," Lion said firmly and the rest agreed with the First Primarch.
The Emperor heard Perturabo sigh and received the report, and then he understood why Lorgar violently tortured Erebus to death. His sons and daughter all expressed their disgust and horror upon learning what crimes the late First Captain of the Word Bearers had committed.
"I have an urge to give Alesia an extra big hug," Vulkan said, clearly shaken by what he read and the Emperor couldn't blame him since he himself felt the urge to go check his youngest child and never let her out of his sight for the next century.
"Can I sic my wolves on his acolytes?" Asked Russ in the most serious tone any of them heard from him.
"They're being held in lock-up according to the latest report," Gulliman said, trying to stay level headed. "Also, this is Lorgar's Legion that's being affected here—"
"And yet there were recordable indications that Erebus was lusting after the Imperial Princess," their father interjected, "and his acolytes were participating in these abominable acts. Their fate is out of Lorgar's hands now."
Alesia noticed Kithes be extra protective of her the entire day. She was sure her nanny had noticed too, but kept silent about it.
"It's almost hard to believe you'll be a year old next week, my Lady," Sylla said while watching the Princess crawl around the nursery. "You're growing so fast!"
That was no exaggeration, Alesia was bigger than a normal baby at her age and was the size of a two year old now. She knew her new father did something to her if his history was anything to go by along with factoring in Erda's regular visits.
The nursery door swung open and Alesia was scooped up in her father's massive arms before she could react. Her father hugged her tightly and she felt him almost sigh.
"My Lord!" Sylla bowed to the Emperor, surprised to see him. "Is everything alright?"
"I…I just needed to check on my daughter," the titan said, clearly shaken by something.
Alesia let out a coo and gave him a baby version of a hug.
What happened, big guy? She asked psychically, letting him feel her concern through their psychic link. He had never shown this much emotion around her before, even when he'd visit her alone and just talk with her about the most mundane topics. Did something happen to Uncle Malcador or the Primarchs?
I…I'll tell you later. And when did you start calling Malcador 'Uncle'?
She showed him a memory of the recent prank she and the Sigilite pulled off. Their target had originally been Alpharius, but Rogal Dorn had been the one to open the box and get a face full of glitter.
So you two were the reason why Dorn was infected with the arts and crafts herpes. He held back a smile, but Alesia knew his mood had improved from seeing that memory. He's still finding glitter in his armor.
She just babbled in baby talk and tried to pat his back, which was impossible because he was a giant meat slab and she was just a teeny tiny baby still.
"Oh, my Lady is the most adorable baby in the galaxy!" She heard her nanny whisper to herself.
Alesia felt her baby conscious express a desire to babble more, and she allowed it, even if it was to get more attention from the adults around her.
"Da..da…Dada…" The word came out of her mouth before she even realized and surprised everyone. Her baby self was in full control now, but Alesia figured this interaction would prove beneficial in the long run, even if she couldn't communicate psychically. "Dada!"
"Oh my! She spoke her first word!" Sylla exclaimed. "And you got to whiteness this milestone, my Lord!"
"She will be running around before we know it," Kithes commented unprompted.
"Ki…Ki…" Her baby self was craving more attention now, and Alesia could not pass this opportunity up. She encouraged her baby self with, Call him Kitten! "Kitten…?"
The Emperor snorted, his face contorted from the restraint he was applying while Sylla giggled at the Custodes expense.
"My lady, my name is Kithes," her guard tried to correct her, even breaking his name down to make it easier for her to learn.
"Kitten!"
"Kithes."
She just repeated the word 'kitten' many times until her father was chuckling at his daughter's antics.
"Looks like you are now Kitten to her," the Emperor said with a grin.
"I am not engraving that in my armor!" Kithes protested.
"You know the tradition, Kithes, and your charge has decided to bestow a name upon you. Consider it an honor you hold such importance in her heart."
Now she was starting to feel bad about this prank. She didn't think the Emperor would encourage this, let alone subtly order the man to follow the tradition of engraving earned names and titles into the inside of his armor. Her baby self saw no issue, just focused on getting more attention hearing her father's laugh. She decided to get her baby self to give Sylla a nickname and succeeded in shifting the attention off of Kithes.
"Na…Nana…" Alesia shifted around to look at her nanny when she spoke. "Nana."
"Oh? Are you giving me a name, my Lady?" Her nanny inquired.
"Nana."
"You honor me, my Lady!" Sylla gave her the biggest smile she'd seen on the woman yet.
Two weeks later…
"Russ, son, I'm not sure this is a good idea."
"It'll be good for her to have a friend to grow up with, and a wolf is the most loyal of companions to be raised with."
"They are Fenrisian wolves, Russ. They will get big."
"Big protectors!"
The wolves in question, four pups no older than a Terran month, were sniffing and rubbing up against Alesia who was sat on the floor of a grand reception hall giggling and petting the pups. It was her first birthday, and the residents of the Imperial Palace were celebrating this milestone by throwing a grand ball. She had received many gifts from many affluent figures in the Imperium, ranging from dresses she would later grow into to flora specimen, yet her siblings gave the most thoughtful gifts yet.
The Primarchs had gone out of their way to return to Terra for their sister without any prompt from anyone, and she would treasure each of their gifts for the rest of her life. Lion gave her a luxurious blanket made from Cadian lion fur; it was easily the one gift she'd use the most. Angron, Fulgrim and Ferrus had put their heads together to set up a holo terminal that could play ancient films (she wanted to hug each of them to death for this) and even had an entire library ready for her to choose from. Magnus, Horus and Lorgar presented her a massive collection of tomes from all over the Imperium, most of which she'd have to wait a few years to hold due to how big they got. Nekona, Perturabo—and surprisingly—Konrad and Mortarion gave her plush dolls that had to be pried out of her grip. Corvus and Kahn both presented her saplings of trees from their home worlds. Alpharius (this was really Omegon, but no one else besides herself and the Emperor were aware of this) and Rogal had set up a little hide away space in her nursery that looked like a miniature tent, but covered up the real hiding space beneath the floor and remained secret for security's sake. Robute, Vulkan and Sanguinius each gave her puzzle toys that she solved in a matter of two minutes each and then restarted the puzzles. Lastly, Russ brought out the wolf cubs, much to her nanny's dismay and the Emperor's concern.
"See! They're already getting along!" The Wolf King pointed out. "They will never leave her side!"
While Alesia absolutely adored the puppies, she had a feeling this was a response to whatever happened earlier this month. She still had no idea what made her father and Kithes on edge, but things appear to have calmed down somewhat.
Their father shook his head and sighed, knowing these wolves were hers now until the day they died.
"Do they have names?"
"The small male is Loki, the other male is Thorin, the brown female is Astrid and the grey female is Frigg. They're all from different litters, so it's safe for them to eventually have pups."
Alesia was glad her brother had thought that far ahead, and she doubted their father thought the same.