Chapter 19: Chapter 18: Bound, Tied And Wrapped

The Mother of Demons stood, shaking off the last remnants of her fear and rectifying the cracks that had formed in her human form, like merging her six arms back into two and hiding her tail and horns, which had began to grow out.

When she was presentable again, she stroked her patients heads one more time each then without looking at them simply said “Squidge, Levi, guard them with your lives.” She then turned and gestured for everyone to leave the room.

As the door hissed behind her she adopted Leanna’s voice. “Door, switch to silent mode and full lock-down.” The door locked up completely and a thin glow eminated from the entire back wall.

“Mum, what the bloody hell just happened to our babies!?” Leanna demanded.

“I cannot say. He’ll kill me without even bothering to come here in person.” She clicked her fingers. “Just gone.”

“With a wave of his hand?” Leanna growled, putting pieces together.

“So you know, vaguely at least. Look, put simply they are either in apocalyptic danger or the most blessed children in existence.”

“That doesn’t make us feel better Mum!”

“I’m not trying to make you feel better. I’m trying to keep you all alive. Do not get involved in any way that those two, or maybe one day he, asks you to. Be happy, you just got your wish and I’m putting carnage on the back bench for a while. Your siblings can enjoy it without me.”

“Half-siblings. Fine though, if you can’t s- wait, what do you mean you’re putting it on the back bench?”

“Simple dear, I will enjoy a peaceful afternoon and evening here, get to know my grandson and his betrothed better, try and make amends with my black-sheep daughter and get to know everyone else here. Problem?”

“We-”

“If there is let me make this clear, the stakes are so high now I will slaughter every member of the committee personally and watch this system crash.” It was no idle threat, she used humans to make her daughters, but she was now following a more important duty, “Be a better grandmother”, which was an order not a desire.

“What the hell? M-Mum what is wro- Sorry, this is all a bit much.”

“I get it, the big bad Mother of Demons is acting strange. Do you want to know the horror I sensed those children had grasped when I arrived? There is always something scarier than anything you have seen before.”

With those words the mothers, bar Lillim, turned their thoughts to their children who were enjoying the most peaceful rest they had ever experienced.

An hour later, they awoke at the same time, despite the terror trauma which had been dug up before it was even fully buried, the first decent sleep they had since it happened help it feel more distant.

“Did she really speak to him?”

“Most likely, I can’t see anything else making her act like that. I feel pretty good though.”

“Me too. She really plays grandma well when she wants to.” Klaire chuckled lightly.

“She won’t tolerate rudeness though, we should go say thank you.”

Suddenly the door hissed open and there she stood. “No need to thank me, now come, we need to talk.”

She turned and left leaving the two of them unsure if they were still dreaming. Then Squidge and Levi nudge them to start moving before she returned, to terrified to even speak.

When they walked into the kitchen everyone was sat around the island in silence, then Lillim nodded to two empty seats, which they filled immediately.

“I will be joining your household Carl. Daniel and Darren will not, it is far too dangerous. I tried to convince these two to leave but the boy is an idiot beyond compare and the girl is so infatuated with the pair of you she seems more succubi than gnome, I quite like her.

I have been filled in on everything. I am under no delusion you will be restricted to ten members indefinitely and as a result no one else will be joining until after I speak to another and the girl passes her Howling.”

“Grandma, there are two I need.”

“Who? Make your case, you are patriarch, I will listen.”

“A beast supplier named Noah, can get any animal I might need. He’s waiting for the invite as we speak.”

“Yes, that is wise, one who knows beasts better and can source them for you is a must to sure up your new home. The second?”

“A keeper, Blaine, I think he is waiting to, if I have someone good at caring for them and understanding their needs I can get beasts and have them ready rather than scrambling at the last minute.”

“You surprise me, two good choices from a hu-… Apologies, old habits are hard to break.”

“Trust me, no offence, I can be just as stupid, I appreciate your guidance.”

“Now Klaire. Do you love my grandson with everything you hold dear?”

“Yes. I won’t let you question that as some test.”

“Good, consider yourselves married.”

“,,,” The two of them stared at her then the ring on her finger shattered and reformed into a wedding band.

“You nearly killed yourself Carl, you shouldn’t toy with things you don’t understand.”

“What d-”

“You bound yourself to the vague promise you would marry when reunited, the clock was nearly at zero. When these ladies told me the story, I knew I had to act, I couldn’t break it but I could fulfil the promise.”

“Wait… We’re married? Somehow this doesn’t feel genuine.” Carl said before he was tackled to ground by a very excited Klaire.

“Calm down. Klaire, you have to give him a band to seal it it, have mine, it belonged to my husband before I became the Mother of Dem-” Lillim found herself a bit shell shocked by how quickly the ring was snatched from her hand.

Klaire was shaking so much she nearly broke Carl’s finger sliding the ring on. “Hold still… There! We’re really married!”

[ RING OF THE FIRST MARRIAGE EQUIPPED… ]

[ WEARING THIS RING MAKES YOUR MATRIMONY BINDING IN THE EYES OF THE GODS ]

[ SYSTEM NOTICE : WEDDING GIFT RECEIVED ]

[ SYSTEM NOTICE : WEDDING GIFT RECEIVED ]

[ SYSTEM NOTICE : WEDDING GIFT RECEIVED ]

“Klaire are you getting this?”

“I-I-I-I’m not sure… My system is patching. What are you getting?”

“Not that, I got that the ring of the first marriage makes our matrimony binding in the eyes of the gods and three wedding gifts…”

“Well open them!” Klaire yelled with a little too much enthusiasm and howled a little.

“I don’t know how! This isn’t a video game where I just pause and check the inven-…”

[ SYSTEM NOTICE : WEDDING GIFTS STORED IN ARMLET INVENTORY ]

“What is it?… They were in your inventory weren’t they?”

“Shut up patchy, how are you even talking right now?”

“Not sure, can’t see but feel fine in general. What did we get?”

The adults all laughed, even Lillim with a sense of bitter-sweetness, at the two having the weirdest wedding reception ever.

“Right, got them, let’s wait until you can see though.”

“Ugh! Fine, dick” Carl wasn’t mad, just very, very confused.

“Oh! I forgot, you’re old enough to drink all of you and this is a wedding reception, which means we need a toast.” The sudden excitement and joy in Lillim’s voice seemed entirely unnatural.

“Oh wow…” The quiet excitement in Klaire’s face and voice was enrapturing. “I got a whole new build. It’s mostly the same except it’s called “Neo Starlight” now, I have that DIV stat you do, oh and I got gifts too, so your’s must be for you but I don’t ha-… My system says y…”

[SYSTEM NOTICE : KLAIRE’S GIFTS ADDED TO INVENTORY ]

“I have them in my inventory? Yeah it told me.” Carl sighed as he retrieved them and handed them over.

“Ooooo. Okay, we each pick a box and open it at the same time, then we pick a box for the other to open, then we open each other’s box.” Klaire was acting like she used to on our birthday.

They moved to the table with their gifts so everyone could see properly and the excitement building was palpable.

Carl’s three were strange, one an almost cartoon-ish box wrapped in sky blue paper with a metallic red bow, the other a tube about ten centimetres long and an inch thick and the third was in the kind of package you’d usually find socks in.

Klaire’s were more uniform but two relatively small and the other about fifteen-by-fifteen centimetres.

“Here, toast first…” Lillim interrupted as she placed glasses down and poured a red liquid to half-way, then she held her own up when everyone else had theirs. “Congratulations to the happy couple, it may be sooner than they thought and far from their imagining, but they are far from imagining themselves so I find it rather fitting,” That was the first time that anyone not obsessed with slaughter, torture and general murder laughed at something she said.

Then Leanna stood. “Kids, we love you very much and we don’t want you to grow up, but you have and done so better than any of us hoped.”

Alisha. “Carl, raising you was the joy of my life, thank you for calling me “Mum” and Klaire I hope you experience that joy yourself when you’re both ready.”

Danielle. “Klaire, if you come back from the Howling broken after all this, I’m going to serve Carl up to Lydia and Alysse and serves you right.”

Leanna. “Whatever you two do, wherever you go, whatever you see, hear feel and experience. whatever you do, come back to us alive, well and happy. Thank you for being my son Carl and thank you for being my neice until the photo incident Klaire and thank you for being my daughter-in-law.”

Gillian…

“Gillian, sit down or I break your legs” Klaire said making him fold himself up on his stool.

Now…

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