248 Raina's Mother

I didn't think of it like that." Clovis admitted suddenly feeling rather thoughtless. "I care about her. I could give her the attention she deserves… I just don't know if I could give her my whole heart." Clovis tried to reason aloud. He knew he could show her affection and care, but love?

That bitch had twisted his heart so much that he didn't know if he could do it again. All he could think of was the night she turned her back on him, showing him the ring and asking him to pretend they never met. What she had done to their child…

"If it was before that bloody woman came into my life…" he cursed aloud rubbing his temples in exasperation. The tension there was starting to form a headache. Moon tilted her head.

"Who?" Moon asked, unable to restrain her curiosity. As a familiar it was normal to know everything about your Master, but as Kyera… it felt strange to ask such personal questions.

"Raina's mother. That thing caused so much havoc I don't know if I can love again." Clovis explained, remembering she wasn't around for that. He rolled over again letting himself rest against her back, enjoying the furr.

"You can't blame the dead for death." Moon whispered feeling him against her furry side. Most people she would have backed off but this felt comfortable and innocent. There was  no reason to be too defensive in this position.

A sharp, barking laugh surprised her from her thoughts. "No. You can't. However you can blame the living for abandoning your child to die. You can also blame the living for making such lies necessary." Clovis replied his voice ice cold. Moon looked back at him curiously.

"Lies?" Moon asked honestly just wanting to let him get it out. It was fairly clear he needed to talk. She didn't mind being the ear he poured himself out to.

"My love resting in peace is not Raina's mother. Her mother was my lover before I married. She was pregnant, I was excited and preparing to marry her. Then she disappeared." Clovis began to explain and just couldn't stop despite Moons obvious surprise. "i thought something bad had happened and waited as long as I could but my father arranged a marriage for me. I thought she was never coming back so I agreed. It was the best decision I ever made." he sifjed, sitting up a bit to look at the tigress beside him but then away at the  cool crystal water.

"She appeared again months later no longer pregnant and informed me I had no chance to be Emperor and she would be marrying my brother. I asked her about our child and I found out she ABANDONED Her in a small village with a family who couldn't feed themselves much less a baby." the fire and anger was starting to surface in his tone. It found a match in the angry tiger heart beside him, she wanted to pace, but knew he was comfortable.

"Malnourished is putting it nicely. She had not been fed barely at all from what I could tell. She would have died there had I not gone after her. I had just lost my wife to sickness and I claimed she died in childbirth and brought home my little girl."  Clovis finished the story and glanced up at the palace behind where his daughter now slept peacefully.

"Why lie? She was the one in the wrong. You could have sought justice." Moon asked honestly her anger clouding her judgement. Clovis chuckled darkly.

"I wanted to. I wanted to see her whipped bloody to be honest with you. Abandoning a baby relying on you for a chance to live… even if i did something wrong it wasnt Raina's fault." Clovis replied, "And thst is also why I didn't. It wasn't Rains's fault. That child believing her mother died is better than asking why her mother didn't love her. Being taunted by other children because her mother left her to die. That's not the life I wanted for her. That's why I have to become Emperor. I have to make damn sure no one will EVER make her suffer again." Clovis explained as he fiddled with a rope on the ground. Je glanced down to realize it was odd for a rope to be tossed out here. Then he looked down, in his hands was the silver tip of a tiger tail. Beside him Moon waited patiently for him to let go.

"Well… I guess you caught me by the tail. What's next?" Moon teased and Clovis chuckled lightly.