AN: As a clarification since it's been asked. Vorthr is the Realm word for a specific kind of student. It only applies to someone who has a Guide, and only in reference to that Guide. So in Fred and George's case, Fred is Gideon's Vorthr, but he is NOT Laric's, even though Laric teaches both Fred and George and is basically babysitting them at the moment. George is Laric's Vorthr, and Harry is Ash's Vorthr. While a single Guide may have charge of all three of them for a time, only that Guide's specific student is referred to as his/her Vorthr.
The group finally made it to an older part of the city, where the crowd was much thinner. As Harry looked around, he realized it looked like the area Pepper lived in. The homes here were all huge and ornate, all of them were old, and most had vast grounds surrounding them. Gideon led them towards one of the larger buildings. It was a good 8 stories tall, and built like some of the palaces Harry had seen in the calendars his Aunt Petunia had liked to put up. The walls were a dark grey stone, with carvings and statues all over. A long and wide staircase of a lighter grey stone led up to imposing double doors. There were two Warriors standing there, the one on the left had a large sword in his hand. The one on the right had a bow and arrows. Both came to immediate attention as the group approached. Gideon led the way, stopping a few stairs down from the landing.
"We are here at the request of the Lord of the Shadow. My name is Gideon Reed, this is my Third, Laric Winters." He motioned to Laric, who inclined his head. "Our Vorthr, Fred and George," the Twins waved cheerfully. "And the Vorthr of a friend, Harry and his mate Fionn." Harry nodded silently to the Warrior Guards, Fionn tucked into his side, did the same.
The guards seemed to relax once they heard the names. "You are expected Heir Shadow. The Lord is waiting for you in his apartments." The guard with the sword spoke, his tone deferential, as his partner bowed and opened the door to them.
Gideon nodded to them and led the way inside, ignoring the amusement on Laric's face and the stares of Fred and George. Harry was just as surprised as the twins, Gideon was the Lord of the Shadow's Heir?! That had never been mentioned, he wondered why. He would have thought that Ash at least would have mentioned it when she told them Gideon was the Lord's nephew.
The inside of the building was just as ornate as the outside. Everything was done in shades of grey, with white or black accents scattered around. Gideon led them without pausing, Harry guessed he had been here many times. Another wide stone staircase lay ahead of them, the runner was a thick black with silver swirls that looked like smoke in the design. Each landing had it's own set of Warrior Guards who bowed to Gideon with their right hand over their hearts. Gideon would nod silently to them and pass on upwards, by the time they reached the 8th floor he looked slightly annoyed and shot a glare or two towards Laric who had laughter in his eyes.
The hallway they turned onto was long, with only a few doors. At the very end were a set of double doors with a single Warrior standing in front of them. Though, lounged might be a better term. As Harry got closer, he could see the Shadow Demon Warrior was shorter than Gideon, only 5'10" perhaps. He had auburn hair worn in the usual Warrior braids, but they were tied together by a leather thong just at the base of his head. He had dark blue eyes, and more freckles than Harry had ever seen. They covered his face and neck, as well as his arms and hands. There was scarcely any skin that he could see that didn't have a scattering of freckles covering it. A scar ran across his face, running from just under the inside corner of his left eye, across his nose and halfway down his right cheek. The nose itself appeared as though it had been broken more than once and not set quite right. His wings were a dark purple, so dark they almost appeared solid black instead of the purple and black they actually were. As they stopped in front of him, he straightened up with a smile.
"Gideon! It's been a while since you came to see our Lord. Still looking well I see. And Laric." He nodded at Laric before turning his attention back to Gideon. "Who are your friends?"
"These are Laric and my Vorthr, Fred and George." He motioned to the twins who waved again. "Harry is the Vorthr of a friend, Uncle Damien asked to meet him. And this is Fionn, his mate. This is Nikolas, he is the Captain of the Shadow Guard."
Harry smiled and inclined his head to Nikolas as he had seen Laric do on many occasions. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Nikolas nodded, an easy smile on his face. "Nice to meet you as well young one." Turning back to Gideon, he reached out and clasped their right arms together. "Always a pleasure seeing you Gideon, I wish we had more time to chat but I'm sure your Uncle would like to see you." Slowly releasing his grip his fingers trailed down Gideon's arm lightly before he reached behind himself to open the doors for them.
Harry's eyes narrowed slightly, not sure he liked the way Nikolas touched Gideon, but he wasn't sure why it bothered him exactly either. Laric didn't look any happier, but he couldn't tell if it was because Nikolas had basically ignored Laric, or because he had touched Gideon. Shaking his head slightly, he followed the others into the room and then stopped dead. The room was enormous! Everything was done in shades of black and grey, even the walls and ceiling were swirled with the colors. Plush rugs were scattered about the room, covering the black marble floors and helping to give a warmth to the room.
Ahead of them was a large fireplace with a fire crackling merrily in the grate. Breakfast was set out on the coffee table in front of the fire, and various couches and chairs were arranged in a semi-circle facing the fireplace. In one of the tall chairs, a Shadow Demon sat, though he didn't look anything like what Harry had been expecting. He had short, dark blonde hair and light grey eyes. The eyes reminded him of Gideon, and they had a bit of the same facial structure, both had high cheekbones and a slightly square jaw. But while Gideon was built like a Warrior, all broad shoulders and muscle, the Lord of the Shadow was built more like Fionn. Willowy and slender, narrow waisted, small almost delicate hands. His wings were a very pale purple that stood out against the black blotches.
As he stood to greet them, Harry sensed movement. Looking quickly towards his right, he saw another Shadow Warrior watching the group closely, with yet another one standing almost hidden by a screen off to their left. Harry was about to worry, when he realized they must be guards for the Lord of the Shadow. Silly to think he wouldn't have any in the room with him, even while visiting with his nephew. Turning his attention back to said Lord, he watched as Gideon was pulled into a hug and fussed over.
"Do I really have to issue formal requests to see my own nephew? You used to come and visit me without them Gideon." He looked up at his nephew with his arms crossed.
"That was before you decided to declare me your Heir without asking me if I agreed Uncle."
"If I had asked, you would have said no! But you are the best one to take over from me when I get bored of my duties. None of my children have the right temperament. Can you see Almaya as the Lady of the Shadow?" He snorted. "Or heavens forbid Nirdue!"
"I do not qualify to be your Heir Uncle. I am not mated. Nor do I wish to take up your duties. I have enough of my own to see to." Gideon's voice was filled with somewhat fond exasperation.
"You are not mated now, but I am also not ready to retire. By the time I am ready, you may have finally decided to get a mate. But enough of this, introduce me." The Lord of the Shadow walked back towards the fireplace and dropped gracefully back into the chair he had been sitting in when they arrived.
With a long-suffering sigh, and a glare at Laric who was trying not to laugh, Gideon pointed at everyone in turn. "This is Fred, my Vorthr. That is George, Fred's twin and Laric's Vorthr. Harry and his mate Fionn. Though I still don't understand why you wished to meet Harry, he isn't my Vorthr, nor is he a Shadow Demon." The Lord merely waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. Gideon rolled his eyes. "And this, is my Uncle Damien. Lord of the Shadow."
Fred and George put their right hands over their hearts and bowed, they had presumably been instructed to do so that morning. Harry quickly copied them, Fionn doing so as well.
Lord Damien gestured to what looked like a large footstool that was placed to the left of the chair he sat in. "Harry, come and sit with me. I have many questions for you, it has been a long while since I last spoke to one who was raised in the Mortal Realm."
Harry hesitantly approached and sat where he was directed, after his meltdown earlier he didn't really wish to be separated from Fionn, even by so small a space as a different chair. But he could hardly refuse the Lord of the Shadow either. As he sat, he saw Fred move to put Fionn between himself and George, on the couch nearest where Harry and Lord Damien were. Gideon took the chair across from his Uncle, with Laric on a similar seat to Harry's between Gideon and Fred. Plates were passed around, and soon filled and the room was quiet for a little while as everyone ate.
"So you are a Wizard as well as a Fire Demon? And you were living in the Mortal Realm?" Harry looked up to see Lord Damien's grey eyes staring straight at him and he quickly swallowed the food he was eating.
"Yes... my Lord?" He had no idea how he was supposed to address the Lord of the Shadow, and suddenly wished he had thought to ask this before they had gotten here and been introduced.
"And you have already found yourself a mate. That's very good, are you looking to add to your mateship? Or are you happy with just one for now?"
"Uncle!"
"What? It's just a question Gideon."
"You're meddling! Nothing is ever a simple question with you. Leave Harry alone, he doesn't need you sticking your nose in his life like you do mine."
Lord Damien huffed and leaned back in his chair. "I can see chatting will be wasted on you this morning. Have you heard about the threat to Lady Annalise's daughter?"
"Yes Uncle, I heard about it this morning right after receiving your summons. It doesn't make sense though, why would the Shadow kidnap a child? They usually steal items, not people."
"I'm sure I don't know, but if they actually dare, they will finally be caught and dealt with as they should be. Keep an ear out for me, will you? I've promised Lady Annalise to inform her if I hear of anything."
"Of course Uncle, you know I will. I'm sorry, but we really do have things we need to get done this morning." Gideon stood and hugged his uncle again before taking a step back. "I promise to visit you more often, if you promise to stop meddling."
Lord Damien laughed and shook his head. "Now where would the fun be in that?"
As they left Lord Damien's rooms, Harry could feel Nikolas' eyes following them down the hall. He wasn't sure exactly what the Lord of the Shadow had been up to during their brief conversation, but Gideon seemed to have followed it and objected to something. They were halfway down the grand staircase before Laric spoke.
"He's interested in you Gideon, had you noticed?"
Gideon paused mid-step and looked at Laric before continuing on down the stairs. "Who? My Uncle? It's hard not to notice he's interested. Though I would call it 'meddling' more than interest."
"Nikolas. The way he watches you, and speaks to you, you are the Heir whether you like it or not, but he treats you differently even from that status."
Gideon shook his head, they had now reached the main doors leading out of the building. "I don't see it Laric. I certainly don't encourage that sort of attention from anyone, I have too many constraints on my time as it is."
Laric shrugged, then reached out to smack the back of Fred's head. "Just mentioning in case you decided you were interested." He grinned.
"Oi! What was that for?" Fred rubbed the back of his head and glared at Laric.
"Adding your tricks to one of the main water supplies in this area is not one of your better ideas." Laric said dryly.
"Main water supply? Er, oops? I mean, I didn't drop anything in the water."
"Only because I smacked you first."
"As entertaining as this isn't, I do have somewhere I need to be. Behave Fred, or I'll teach Laric more things to annoy you with." Gideon stared at his Vorthr a moment and then walked off into the crowd.
AN: Thanks as always to my beta, Nicky Noodle.