The Crown's Entrapment

At Keen Manor, Silver Crescent Pack Territory

Clara gave Gilas a respectable distance as they made their way to Keen Manor. It was yet another day that she agreed to go with him to have dinner with his mother, and a part of her was honestly looking forward to spending time with the woman. She was a sweet lady, and Clara just didn’t understand why his family functioned this way.

“It seems we arrived early,” Gilas commented as they reached the gates, the servants dutifully opening the way for them as they entered. “We’ll have to wait till well beyond sunset for dinner.”

“That’s fine by me,” Clara promptly nodded.

Silently, the two entered the manor proper. Again, the servants gave them the customary welcome as they went through the hallways. Eventually, they reached the living room, where Lady Shila was quick to greet them as she stood up from her seat.

“Son! Lady Clara! You’re both earlier than expected,” Lady Shila eagerly greeted as she gave them each a warm hug. “Dinner won’t be starting till a few hours from now. What brought this on?”

“I guess we just lost track of time,” Gilas cooly responded. “Either way, we’re here now, so we might as well wait.”

“Oh, that’s more than fine, dear,” Lady Shila smiled. She then turned to her as she warmly nodded, “You too, Lady Clara. Feel free to relax in here as you may please.”

Clara could only blink as she found herself nodding, not finding it in herself to even try to decline the offer. She could tell the older woman was more than happy with their current arrangement. Even now, her radiant smile told of someone that was sorely missing her son.

“Thank you,” Clara said as she sat down.

“It’s no problem, dear,” Lady Shila smiled. “Is there anything you two might like? Some tea, perhaps?”

“Oh, there’s no need to impose,” Clara politely declined. “Please don’t mind me.”

To her own chagrin, however, Lady Shila visibly flinched, her warm smile faltering only slightly before nodding. “Very well, Lady Clara.”

Blinking, the guilt in her chest only grew as she watched the older lady take her seat, her eyes clearly waiting for either of them to request something of her. This was… This was wrong…

“Mother, why don’t you take Clara here on a tour around the manor?”

Clara couldn’t help but take a small gasp at Gilas’s request. She didn’t know how to respond, but it was clear that his words did much as Lady Shila beamed brightly at the idea.

“Oh, I would love to do so,” the older woman almost cheered as she then looked at Clara. “What do you say, Lady Clara? Care to have a look around while we wait?”

The younger of the two held her tongue as she gave Gilas a quick glance. From there, she knew that he was just trying to lighten up his mother’s spirits.

“Very well,” Clara gratefully nodded. “I’ll let you lead the way, Lady Shila.”

“Excellent.”

Standing up, Clara just knew that the older woman was ecstatic at having something else to do than sit quietly in a room. It was both heartwarming in pitiful, seeing just how lonely the woman seemed to be.

Knowing that, how could she ever refuse?

Making their way through the manor, Clara kept her silence, simply allowing the older woman to speak as they went through all of the major rooms and hallways inside the manor. The younger of the two always gave her own input, of course, making sure that Lady Shila knew that she still was a captive audience to her tour.

“And this is the main foyer,” Lady Shila eagerly pointed out. “I’m sure you’ve seen it a few times already since you first visited, but it’s still a grandiose area nonetheless.”

“On that, I can agree,” Clara nodded. “It’s rather large, isn’t it.”

“Of course,” the older woman nodded in assent. “Bigger is better, after all. And for Nasser, better was the least one should strive for.”

Clara blinked at the sudden change in tone. Looking around, she noticed that only a few of the servants were around, giving them a decent modicum of privacy as they went along with the tour.

“I suppose there’s a story to that?” Clara cautiously poked, hoping that the older woman would manage to get rid of some of the weight on her chest somehow.

“I wouldn’t want to impose, Lady Clara,” Lady Shila flashed a pained smile. “But if you’ll let this old woman talk her mouth off, then I suppose we can do so while we walk.”

Clara nodded, allowing the older woman to take the lead once more as they rounded the next corner.

“Gilas had a hard time growing. His father always insisted that he not grow up as a failure. That he should always strive for greatness despite all odds,” Lady Shila began, her tone taking on a slightly wistful tone. “As a result, he grew up being highly competitive, always doing his best to be the son his father wanted him to be.”

Clara kept silent, taking in the Lady’s words as she continued.

“It was… It was painful to watch, my son saying that he should be strong despite not being a pureblooded werewolf,” the lady of the house sighed, her pain showing through the tone of her words. “I felt like a failure for somehow not being good enough… That I was the reason why he wasn’t the strongest out there…”

“I… I see…”

There were no other words that Clara could come up with that match the two words she just uttered. She… She just didn’t know what to say.

“You’re always grabbing my son’s gaze, you know.”

Before Clara was done recovering from her perceived slight, Lady Shila had given her yet another curveball of a sentence. She couldn’t help but stop on her feet, her gaze never leaving the older woman as she stared at her in surprise.

“Huh?”