The Sickness

Some hours later, Jean grudgingly detached from Celezar's side in his bed and kissed his sleeping children goodbye for what was likely the rest of the day. Celezar saw him off with a mouthful of a kiss, and he left to the summoning of his mother to the dining room feeling wistful for his little family the moment he left their presence.

He arrived back in the manor's foyer in time to see Hugh entering the dining room. Walking down the staircase, he glanced at the foyer door to see a servant standing at the ready.

The dining room was a massive space with a single, long, rectangular table at the lower end. It wasn't any more lavishly decorated than it always was, with blue drapes along the windows and heated oils in choice spots to give the room a delightful smell.

Jean heard his mother greet Hugh, and when he entered, she immediately noticed him. She sat in the small living space with Tristan and made a soft, pleased sound. "Good morning, Jean-Luc," she said, watching after him. He felt her eyes appraising him but dismissed it, moving to join Hugh and Ulrich and sit in his usual spot.

"Mother," he greeted.

"Hyacinth's boat just arrived. They will be here soon," she informed.

He nodded, looking around at his family. They were all dressed in a casually-formal manner. The youngest of them, Camille, was in her mother's arms. Mirabelle was talking with Tristan, standing against his chair, and Ulrich and Luke inclined their heads at him from their places at the table. His teenage niece Matilda gazed at him curiously, unaccustomed to seeing him so soon.

Artie only sighed from where he sat between Ulrich and Luke. He and Jean exchanged glances, and Jean gave him a small shrug. He then glanced at Vivian, Elaine's younger twin, as her older sister moved to sit beside her.

Everyone's here, he thought, watching Friedrich move to Gwendolyn's side to talk to her.

And more were on their way.

After around twenty minutes, he heard the faint sound of a carriage pulling up to the manor. By then, everyone was sitting at the table, talking and speculating. None of them knew what to expect. It was exciting, in its ways. Jean decided to siphon their energies instead of focusing on all the ways the day could go wrong.

The drone of voices were heard in the foyer followed by the excited voices of children Jean guessed were between ages 16 and 6. Impressive. He estimated there were five.

The voices hushed the closer they came to the dining room door. Several people in the room visibly braced themselves.

The first to enter was a woman who appeared to be in her middle ages, a cordial expression adorning her face. Telltale blond locks reached her neck, and her sapphire eyes widened upon seeing everyone. "Gwen!" she cried. "You never said the family had grown to be so large!"

Following behind her was a tall man with long platinum blond hair held in a low ponytail. He was clean-shaven with a long face, and appeared somewhat older than Hyacinth. Behind him entered five children of varying ages, the oldest looking to be about Matilda's age.

Gwendolyn stood from her chair, prompting all the men at the table to do the same. "Hyacinth. It's been some time."

The sisters approached each other and hugged, though Hyacinth seemed far happier than Gwendolyn. The older sister wore a smile, but it was a steady one, one Jean was intimately familiar with. She was on guard.

Moving apart, Hyacinth's eyes went to Jean and his siblings. "Oh, my. Look at how handsome you are, now! You were all so skinny and cute back then..."

Tristan and Ulrich's wives turned mischievous smiles on their husbands, who each wore expressions of slight embarrassment and calm tolerance. Their children giggled. Jean only cracked a minute smile at his brothers' expense.

He noticed how his aunt's gaze scanned him with a look of awe and concern, no doubt because of his scars. She then realized she was staring and looked back at her husband, moving aside with a large smile. "Gwen, this is my husband, Oren."

The man stepped forward. When Gwendolyn held out her hand, he took it and placed his other hand atop it reverently with a nod. "Madam. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." She took her hand back. She then turned to her nephews and nieces.

Noticing, the eldest child stepped forward. "Hello, Auntie. My name is Cyril." He beckoned to his younger siblings, all of whom looked shy. "My siblings, Darien, Märien, Tal, and Wil."

"Very nice. You are so young..." She looked at her sister.

"Yes, we are very fortunate," said Oren.

Gwendolyn nodded. "Have you eaten, yet?" she asked.

He gave a small shake of his head and glanced at his wife.

"I know how this family works," his wife said, beaming widely.

"Yes." Gwendolyn beckoned to the banquet. "Lunch is ready."

This brought her nieces and nephews out of their stupor. They all turned their gazes to the table, oohing softly.

"Very good." Hyacinth took her husband's hand, ushering her shy children to sit at the table. They obeyed, with Cyril the most animated and fearless of the bunch. It oddly reminded Jean of inhuman children...

His uncle met his eyes the second after this thought came to mind followed by a brief, barely noticeable nod of his head.

While he returned the slight acknowledgement, Jean internally groaned.

This was going to go swimmingly.

Everyone followed, but he and his brothers lingered. Ulrich glanced at his older siblings. "Fun," he whispered.

Jean made a soft sound of agreement.

Tristan huffed, "Now, now..."

His younger brothers gave him looks of doubt. Together, they followed after their family to enter the dining room.

Instead of sitting at their usual spots, they switched up to make up for Hyacinth's family. Tristan sat at his mother's second left as she sat at the head of the table. Jean sat to the left of Tristan's family, and across him was Ulrich and his. Taking up most of the space to the right of Gwendolyn was her sister and her sister's family.

While sitting, Jean took a moment to glance around the table. He couldn't recall ever seeing so many of their seats occupied before. He then caught sight of Hyacinth's daughter, Märien, staring at him. He gave a small smile, and she blushed before looking down at the table.

After everyone sat, Gwendolyn rang a small bell from between her fingers. Not five seconds later, several servants entered from a door at the far end of the room. They all carried plates of food and brought them to each member of the family, sitting them between their utensils. As this was a formal event, Jean expected a three-course meal.

The first plate of food consisted of what could only be an appetizer, small pinwheel rolls stuffed with spinach and cheese. Not every roll was the same, as some also had slight sprinkles of what looked like sausage. His plate had some, to his delight. A large plate of the appetizer alternate, cucumber wraps with what Jean smelled was fish in it, was placed at the center of the table.

For the first several minutes, all went well. Conversation largely consisted of small talk, compliments on the food and other little things. The awkward atmosphere had completely eased, but despite this, Jean didn't talk at all. It wasn't for any particular reason, he simply had nothing to say.

"Jean?"

Halting, a roll just inches from his mouth, he glanced up at his aunt. He lowered his fork and focused on her.

"How is it, leading the family Hunters?"

He observed her curious expression. She seemed genuinely interested, not just asking to make him talk. He slightly tilted his head to the side. As conversation thankfully lessened around the table, he responded, "It's alright. It's had its ups and downs in the past twelve years."

Her reaction was just as he expected it would be. First her eyes widened in surprise upon hearing his voice, then she calmed and simply nodded at his words. "Nothing too extreme, I hope?"

There wasn't a response to the question at first. He stared off at the table, thinking of everything that had happened in the past twelve years. Losing his men, nearly losing Celezar, nearly dying more than a handful of times, the incident with the Entity...

She seemed to realize exactly what she was asking and held out her hand. "Wait...I apologize. That was careless of me..."

His gaze lowered even further. "It's alright. Most of us are still around."

Her lips pursed and her expression dropped. "That's...good to hear."

Saving them from the somber conversation, Gwendolyn sighed. "It would be nice if he started a family..."

Closing his eyes, he made a face but said nothing.

"Mother, really," said Tristan, surprisingly coming to Jean's rescue. "Some people like being single."

"Yeah," said Luke with a scrunched face. "I don't wanna have a family, either."

While Ulrich nearly choked on his food, half the table softly laughed. "Why are you even thinking about starting one?" Ulrich incredulously demanded once he could speak again.

The boy gave his father an innocent blink. "I'm not."

Ulrich didn't seem to believe that for a second, narrowing his eyes at his smiling son.

Gwendolyn didn't look pleased either. "You're too young to consider that now. Jean-Luc has no such excuse."

Jean technically had plenty of valid excuses. Instead of partaking in the conversation he remained silent, returning to eating. The topic would die, he hoped.

Unfortunately, it seemed even his aunt was in on this. "You haven't found anyone, Jean?" she asked.

He stiffly shook his head. It was a shame he couldn't even mention Caden.

Hyacinth looked sad, then suddenly perked up. "Would you like for me to help you? I know plenty of good contenders."

Again, he closed his eyes, his eyebrow twitching. "No, thank you."

"About that..."

He felt the atmosphere shift again, prompting him to open his eyes and look at his mother.

Gwendolyn's expression was calm and patient, but he knew that look. "You never did tell me how you and Oren met," she said to her sister.

Both Hyacinth and her husband smiled. "Well, there's not much to say. We were at a Convergence and were paired up to work with one another," she explained.

Jean's hidden eye twitched.

Gwendolyn placed her hands on the table, eyes narrowing dangerously. "You still go to those heretical gatherings?"

Hyacinth almost rolled her eyes. "Gwen, it's nothing of the sort. There has been a stronger inhuman presence over the past few years, but--"

Jean softly sighed as the dark gaze of his mother turned onto his aunt. "Hyacinth," she said dangerously, "have you forgotten our creed?"

The startled blinking of sapphire eyes gave Jean the implication his aunt had, indeed, forgotten.

He hadn't heard of Convergence in decades. They were magic-user gatherings that occurred in different parts of the country, and each country had their own variant. Jean was only familiar with the ones that occurred in Clovure, but not in great detail.

"What are you doing, attending such events?" Gwendolyn continued.

"Doing what one does at a Convergence." Hyacinth leaned back in her chair, her voice confused. Beside her, her husband was somber and solemn. "Speaking of the affairs of magic-users, speaking of ways to keep the bloodlines strong."

"And that is how you met this man?"

Jean slightly winced as Oren blinked before looking his mother in the eye.

Hyacinth also didn't take this slight very well. "Yes, sister. 'This man' is a magic-user, as well," she stated.

To Oren, Gwendolyn demanded, "What is the name of your family?"

"Reves, Madam," the man replied evenly.

"Never heard of them."

He searched her face. "It would be impossible for you to know every magic-user, Madam."

"Where are you from?"

"My family migrated from England some years ago. We're well-known there, if you wish to look into it."

Gwendolyn sat back in her chair and took a sip of water. "Very well. We will."

"Gwen, why are you being so difficult? What in the world happened to make you paranoid?" Hyacinth asked, frowning deeply.

"In this day and age of inhuman masquerading as humans, there is no such thing as being worked up," Gwendolyn snapped.

Beside her, Oren looked between the sisters. His eyes then drifted to Jean and his brothers as the sisters continued.

Jean stared back, his good eye hidden behind his hair. There was something about this man that was...different. Jean was quite familiar with it, but no matter how much he sensed for it...there was nothing precise. That left him with only two possibilities. Either Oren was perfectly human or he was a powerful inhuman. A considerably powerful inhuman.

If Oren was inhuman, the next question was...did Hyacinth know? If she didn't...

Jean's eyes narrowed and his upper lip twitched. If she didn't know, this was going to be a devastating visit, which brought about another question. What would he do if the worst happened?

Focusing on finishing his dinner so he could leave the unbearable atmosphere and the sister to their own debates and problems, he would have to do his job.

His eyes met the hazel gaze staring at him that oddly reminded him of someone. He just couldn't put a face to whom.

* * *

After the awkward lunch, to make matters worse, things returned to an awkward normalcy, as if what happened at the dinner table never occurred. Jean wanted nothing to do with it, excusing himself from participating in the act as everyone moved to the patio. Instead, he caught Oren's eye and beckoned him over with his head.

The man blinked curiously, then followed him to a large library room before the patio. Jean didn't bother sitting down and wasn't expecting Oren to do the same.

He was right when the older man only closed the door behind him and stood a respectable few feet away, his hands behind his back. "How may I help you, Jean-Luc?"

Turning from the window where the rest of their family was visible from between the blinds, Jean scanned him from head to toe. "What do you really want?"

The man smiled. "Couldn't I ask you the same question? It seems you are mated to an incredibly powerful being."

Jean narrowed his eyes, both unsurprised and yet impressed the man didn't bother to hide his inhumanity. "I'm loyal to my family. As loyal as I can be as an inhuman," he added, though he wasn't sure why. "But you...I know nothing about you. As leader of the family's hunters, it'd be foolish if I didn't do my job."

"And what is that job?" The hazel eyes flashed.

Jean pushed his coat aside, revealing Ringe. "To eliminate all threats."

Oren merely nodded. "I see. Very admirable. I imagine your family doesn't know what you are. It must be difficult to lie to them every day..." Briefly, the bright gaze glanced away. "I, too, am loyal to my family, my family with Hyacinth."

"Does she know?" Jean didn't lower his hand.

"Yes." A small, sad smile pulled at Oren's lips. "I admit...I initially meant to court her with the intention of merely producing powerful offspring. I don't think even you understand how powerful your blood is. Your bloodline is the only purely, almost basic human kind that can summon Elevates. Only the Sages of old were ever able to do that, yet they were not quite a...'basic' human bloodline."

"So then, what happened?"

Oren sighed and shook his head, as if he didn't understand. "I'm not sure if she ever knew my intentions, but she was smitten by me. I took advantage of that. As time went on, however, she...endeared herself to me. I realized what I was doing was wrong, that I shouldn't care what sort of offspring we produce. I would love them equally, because they would be a product of her and myself." He waved a hand over his body. "I am a goblyn."

Slightly raising his head, Jean paused. "In human form?"

"This is merely a powerful glamour. I do not have a human form."

Jean readjusted his sight. In a few seconds, he saw past the illusion. The creature that stood before him was the same height as before, standing at 6'3'', but he bore greenish skin and was even more beautiful. His eyes were oval-shaped, giving a pointed stare that was unnerving and keen, and they shone a magnificent green. His most obvious inhuman feature were his long ears that were at least nine inches long, his claws and his tail, which unwound from his waist and flicked in the air. It was flesh-colored with tufts at the end that reminded Jean of a horse's tail.

"This is my first time meeting a goblyn. You look like an elf." Jean lowered his hand from his side, then pulled his coat to hide his weapons.

"I doubt I'm the first goblyn you've met. It's easy for us to blend in." Oren inclined his head. "As for an elven appearance, yes, their species is a cousin to mine."

Adjusting his sight so he didn't see past the glamour, Jean sighed. "Fine. You shouldn't have come here, Oren."

Platinum brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"It's dangerous." Jean looked back out the window, but didn't move from his stance. "My family is...ill. There's a sickness in us that prevents us from being who we should be. Who we used to be. Once, as I'm sure you know, we were respectable to humans and inhumans alike, whether they be friend or foe. We were humble, but proud to be hunters for the greater good of both inhuman and human worlds. We were powerful, learning from all species to add to our arsenal of powerful magics.

"But now...we're nothing more than trigger-happy psychopaths who would kill anyone who disagrees with us, if we were given less than half a chance. We've enslaved inhumans, bound them to our blood, and kill that very same blood if they so much as touch an inhuman with kind intentions." Jean looked his uncle in the eye. "You shouldn't be here. It's too fucking dangerous, and the last thing I need is to be caught between being forced to kill your children to protect my identity or to protect them at the cost of my identity."

This caught Oren's full attention, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "That wouldn't happen."

"It's not that I don't want to believe you, but it's still a situation I'd rather avoid at all costs." Jean gave a heavy sigh. "Please. Take your family and leave."

The goblyn shook his head. "And I refuse to. I will not run away like a injured animal before I've been wounded, let alone from a human."

"That's your inhuman pride speaking and quite frankly, it means nothing." Ignoring the glare given to him, Jean looked out the window again. It seemed his mother and aunt were still talking. Hyacinth was animated, irritated.

Oren seemed to notice the scene, but he remained quiet for a few minutes. "I thank Æser Hyacinth isn't like that."

Jean went silent in thought. His eyes narrowed deeply. "She isn't the kind to blabber secrets, is she?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm worried she might out you."

The sigh Oren made didn't ease Jean's worries. "She might. She has always wanted to tell her sister about me..."

"Why the hell would she do that?"

"Because it means a lot to her. I'm furthermore a fey--"

"That's not going to matter."

"Why?"

Exasperated, Jean turned a glowing blue glare on his uncle. "Because my mother has killed her own family for lesser reasons!" At the look of shock and confusion on Oren's face, he growled, "My mother killed her younger brother thirty years ago merely because he befriended an inhuman. Quite frankly, I don't remember what kind of inhuman. But it was an inhuman and specified as such. Not as an Infernal, not as a fey, merely not human. I also know enough about the fey to know not all of you are exactly friendly.

"And what about goblyns? Look at your true form. You have claws. I daresay you have pointed teeth. In your ways, you are dangerous, powerful. To many, you would be considered scary, with your beautiful appearance nothing more than an illusion to lure people in. That is how my family thinks. Everything is an illusion, nothing is face-value, nothing else is possible. Everything is evil. Now, for the love of Creation, get the fuck out of here. I won't warn you again."

With that, Jean strode out of the room. He didn't return to the patio, going through the manor to return to his suite. As he stormed through, he idly wondered why he said all of that. He didn't have to, let alone show some of his inhumanity while doing it. His eyes were no longer glowing, but he was still softly growling. It rumbled angrily in his throat, and he caught some of the servants looking at him with concern apparent on their faces.

Upon entering his suite, he covered his face with his hands while resting against his door.

"Jean?"

"I'm alright," he called softly, his voice barely carrying. As he heard Celezar approach, he took a moment to think.

There were three things he believed could happen before the end of the night and possibly the next few days.

One, his aunt gave his uncle's identity away and all hell broke loose. Two, some sort of accident resulted in his uncle or cousins' identities being given away. Or three...Oren willingly, and likely carelessly, gave himself away.

No matter which scenario, it resulted in Jean being called to aid in eliminating his aunt, uncle, and cousins. The other possibilities were mistakes possibly caused by some unforeseeable force, but he wasn't sure how realistic that would be.

These, however...

These were possible.

"What bothers you, love?" Celezar asked, slowly nearing.

Looking up, Jean observed his mate. Dressed in what was likely a faux sleeveless shirt and baggy black pants, Celezar looked positively fuckable. Instead of bothering to explain, with a sigh, Jean brought his mate into his mind while moving into his open arms.

"Ah..." Celezar exhaled wearily. "I see."

Scoffing, Jean nuzzled against him. "Crae, I want to go home. I hate being here more than I thought possible." As Celezar began to rock them side to side, he wrapped his arms around him, holding him almost desperately with his eyes closed. "I don't know what to do, Zarryel."

His mate hummed. "Still want to retire?"

He nodded.

"Then, I support you, love."

He blinked in surprise, then his lips spread into a slow smile.

"You're so strong...having dealt with a double-life for five years." A breathy exhale, suggestive and reverent, spilled from Celezar's lips. "Gods, I love you..."

Eyelids fluttering, Jean took a moment to inhale his mate's sweet yet earthy smell. Raising his head, he met waiting lips in a tender kiss.

A sudden presence nearing his suite brought them out of their moment. He frowned, looking toward his door. He and Celezar exchanged glances, though his expression was more intense than the hybrid's. It was a human.

Exhaling, he parted from his mate and turned to face the door with a deepening frown. In moments, he recognized his aunt nearing hastily, bringing his brows even closer. Creation, what did she want? Uneasy, he waited until she knocked several quick times before opening the door.

He had to take a step back to prevent the woman from practically jumping at him. "Jean!" Hyacinth pushed him inside the foyer and closed the door behind her. She spun around to face him with sparkling eyes. "You're inhuman!" she almost squealed.

Cold dread washed through his body. His teeth clenched, as did his hands at his sides. Damn you, Oren... "You weren't supposed to know," he said between clenched teeth.

She waved a hand more dismissively than with sympathy. "Oren meant well."

"It doesn't matter," he gritted out.

Behind him, Celezar softly growled, bringing her attention to the hybrid. "Oh, my! I didn't see y--"

"I didn't want you to, but guess it's pointless now," he scoffed.

Practically rolling his eyes, Jean moved from his aunt while rubbing his forehead. His aunt gushed, and he could almost see her bouncing on her toes as she barely suppressed another squeal.

"A devil hybrid!" she cried.

Once more, Jean passed his mate a look, this one withered and pleading. Celezar only shrugged rather helplessly if not with irritation.

Nearing them, she giggled, "And he's so handsome! I'm happy for you, Jean--"

"This is nothing to celebrate over!" he barked, his hoarse voice making him sound harsher than he intended--maybe. He sensed her flinch back. "You. Were not. Supposed. To know. No one in this damn family was supposed to find out!" He turned on his heel and ran his fingers through his hair.

She appeared hurt. "Now, wait, Jean--"

"No." He looked into her eyes, narrowing his own. "I ought to have Celezar erase your memories..."

Her brow crinkled in a deep frown. "Goodness! What in the world are you so worried about?"

He almost sputtered. "Have you forgotten who I am? Do you really think this family knows what I am?" When she visibly tried to come up with an answer, he growled, "This is an inhuman-hunting family. I am the leader of this family's inhuman hunters."

"There are plenty of inhuman hunters who are inhuman themselves," she tried to reason.

"Do you not know your own sister? She'd have me killed if she found out!"

She gasped, coming to place her hand on his arm. "No, I don't believe that! You're her son!"

He took his arm away, all but glowering at her with pain in the depths of his eyes. "You don't know, do you...? What she did? What she'd do in a heartbeat to me?"

"Know...what?"

"What were you told about Uncle Alfred's death?"

"He was...killed in action."

At the hesitance in her voice, he sighed heavily, weary from having to recall the memory. "No. Nothing of the sort. Nothing even close to that..." His gaze went to the ceiling. "Mother found out...he had befriended an inhuman. I don't know, and never did know, the details any more than that. She had him brought to the Cellar chambers with Grandmother Leigh, Grandfather Kaarlo, my father, Friedrich, and me and my brothers. She was there, too, of course..."

His aunt was deathly silent. He could see the realization steadily form on her face, but he was going to continue anyway.

"Before my eyes...my six-year-old eyes...she killed him. Creator, did she kill him. She had tried to make him confess what he did was wrong. When he didn't, she butchered him. And everyone else just watched. She wanted to do it with her own hands. Worst thing was...she was so calm. Righteous. She really believed she was doing the right thing..."

"No..."

He looked away, staring at the wall aimlessly. "I'll never forget the words she spoke to my brothers and me that day, after the deed was done. She told us to never repeat his mistake--"

"No!"

His eyes darted to her, but Celezar appeared between them, and she froze with her arm raised to slap someone--to slap Jean.

She was in tears, horror and devastation clouding her face, but she was otherwise unfazed by Celezar's abrupt movement.

"What do you think she would do if she found out I was inhuman? That you are married to an inhuman?" Jean continued, avoiding her teary eyes and reddened face.

"You are wrong!" she screamed, hands tight at her sides. "Gwen didn't kill Al. She didn't! She wouldn't...!"

He was surprisingly calm, his emotions steady if not wearily so. "Why do you think that?"

"Because she's a sister, a mother! They don't do things like that!" She sobbed, holding her hand over her mouth, and shook her head in denial.

He heaved a sigh, looking away once more. It made him uncomfortable to see her like this. "You needed to know. It's your right to know. But what will you do, now? You should leave here."

"Why the hell would I do that!?" she all but screamed.

He huffed, peeved by her sudden anger. "To protect your children!" His voice couldn't raise very high, but he tried. "You shouldn't take the chance to do anything foolish."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oren is more than powerful enough to protect us."

His heart jumped to his throat when she spun around to near the door. Moving quick, he grabbed her arm before she could open it. "Aunt Hyacinth, please."

She turned a terribly irate glare onto him. "Let. Me. Go."

"No. Do you really want to fight against her?"

"Is that an actual question?" She began to shake him off her, but he didn't give. "I need to know the answer to this from her, directly."

"You don't fucking believe me?" He did let her go, but she didn't continue forward. "Why in the Nine HELLS would I lie?!"

She only shook her head, beginning to cry again. Much to his abated relief, she seemed to understand that she couldn't do anything about her current situation.

A sudden growl from Celezar startled him. "Don't even think about it."

He frowned when she closed her eyes and turned away. She was likely thinking of something foolish. "Aunt Hyacinth. I truly don't want anything to happen to you or your family. Promise you won't do anything, but not for me."

"I can't Jean," she whispered, holding her arms to her chest. The tears were still flowing down her cheeks. "I just can't..."

Celezar softly sighed. "We could leave instead..." He sounded hesitant.

Covering his face with his hands, emitting an emotionally pained groan, Jean turned his back on her. "Fine. Fine! Do what you want. I'm too fucking tired for this shit..."

Upon hearing the door open, he shut his eyes. It swiftly closed, and he leaned against his mate for support the moment he heard the click.

"God-fucking-dammit," he whispered. "Why do I even bother..."