302 Now And Always

The Countess took a deep breath, she was at peace. She had seen her son, and he was very much alive and well. Before Countess Lyra could take a step forward, she felt someone rush up and hugged her. 

When she looked down, it was Lycster, her son. He hugged her tightly, burying his face into her belly. The boy had grown so much in the years she had not seen him. How much more will he grow?

Will he eventually be as tall as his late father?

-If only you can see him now.- she said to herself as she ruffled his hair. 

She subconsciously touched the pendant she wore around her neck and noticed the glimmer from the ring around her finger. Countess Lyra bent down to meet her son at eye level. 

She handed both pieces of jewellery to him. 

"It's not much, but it's something to remember us by," she whispered to him before kissing him gently on the forehead. 

"You can stay in Timbretune with us. I'm sure Vy would be alright with that," Lycster urged her. 

Vy nodded in agreement, "We've got more than enough space here for you to live with us, Countess Lyra."

The Countess quickly shook her head, her right hand touching her wrist. Oh how much she wished she could take up their offer and live here with her son. The son she had purposefully neglected out of fear. 

"I would love to, but I can't. I must return to Wickerhem Estate in two days," she confessed. 

"You could always visit us! And we can keep in contact through letters," Lycster suggested. 

"Maybe," the Countess replied. 

For the rest of the day, Vy was stuck in her office in the Bureau wading through the mountain of paperwork that needed her attention. Caster was by her side the entire time, making sure she was properly informed and everything was done right. 

"I think the Wickerhems are hiding something," Vy explained. 

"They definitely do seem a little strange," he added. 

"Right? That was what I thought so too," just as she finished her sentence, there was a knock on the door. 

A messenger delivered in a black coloured envelope with the symbol of a set of lips embossed on the envelope. Vy received it with thanks and quickly opened it to review its content.

The letter was just the information she needed to unveil more information about the Wickerhems. Vy and Lycster were going to have a meal with the Countess later on in the evening. 

As she read the information presented to her, Vy knew she had to confront the Countess about them. She would eventually also want to tell Lycster the truth. 

"Caster, could you please get Countess Lyra to come and see me immediately?"

"Yes, milady," Caster did as he was instructed. 

"You were looking for me?" the Countess asked with a quizzed yet nervous look on her face. 

Vy got up from behind her desk and invited Lyra to take a seat on the sofa. She sent Caster out of the room before she began to talk. 

"What do you plan on doing when you get back to Wickerhem Estate?" Vy asked without beating about the bush. 

There was no point in going round in circles. It was best for them to talk about it right off the bat. 

Countess Lyra, however, was on the defensive, "Miss Blackfire, I don't have the obligation to tell you what I intend on doing or not doing. It is simply none of your business."

Vy folded her arms. Aether remained coiled in her wrist, listening in on their conversation. 

"You're right. It was none of my business. Until it involved my younger brother, Lycster, who also happens to be your son. His troubles are my troubles. His worries are my worries," Vy explained.

Vy held the black envelope in her fingers as she continued to speak, "I did a little inquest for more information about your family and I have to say that I found some very interesting details."

The information Vy uncovered, included the fact that Countess Lyra's late husband had died by being burnt at the pyre, the same as her firstborn daughter. Vy received confirmation that the Wickerhems were preparing to burn the next member of their family for the ritual. 

She knew Lycster was chosen to be the next to be sacrificed. 

"Since you seemingly agreed to have Lycster stay here with me, I would like to know what you intend to do next," Vy asked. 

"If kidnaping of any form was to occur, I can assure you that I will do everything in my power to get my brother back safely. And I mean it when I say everything," Vy warned. 

"No! That's not it! I…" saying it out loud terrified the Countess. 

She knew the fate that awaited her. The fate that she had chosen. She had long come to accept it. Who wasn't terrified of death? She was the biggest coward of them all. 

"I will find a replacement," she finally said. 

"A replacement?" Vy echoed the Countess's words with disbelief. 

"Yes,"

"And where are you going to find one?"

"I… that is none of your business,"

"Well Countess Lyra, if you're intending on kidnapping another child I think it would be very much my business," Vy raised her voice. 

"No that's not what I meant…"

"Then what did you mean?"

"I…I…" the words were stuck in her throat, but she could not bring herself to say it. 

She feared that the moment she said it out loud, she would lose all the courage she tried so hard to build to face the music. Vy was not a fool either. The Countess was so reluctant to divulge her true plans that she started to put the pieces together herself. 

"You plan to take your son's place?"

She did not need to say anything. The expression on her face spoke on her behalf. Vy sighed as she took a sip of her tea. 

"Is there no other way?" Vy asked. 

Countess Lyra shook her head. 

Vy put more pieces of the puzzle together. Countess Lyra had come looking for Lycster, not because she wanted to bring him back to be burnt. She came to say her final goodbyes. 

The night Lycster's sister asked him to run away, was all part of the plan for him to be the one that got away. They did not expect him to witness the burning. His family had hoped he would live on carefree. 

"Your husband died on the pyre to protect his children?" Vy asked further. 

The Countess nodded her head, "They wanted to get rid of us. It was clearly rigged. When the time came, he never said a word or discussed it with me."

It was if he had made up his mind on the spot. 

She turned to Vy and begged, "Please don't tell Lycster about this. He… he's too young. He does not need to know."

Vy shook her head, "I will not keep this from him. It isn't right."

"But he's just a boy!"

"He needs to know. If not, he would never be at peace."

The Countess sighed, "Then at the very least, grant me one request,"

"Anything," Vy promised. 

"Only tell him after I leave. And don't let him come after me."