The Noblesse and his Love

Chapter 44

*Rai-Lin*

Raizel's power came forth, flowing up to the tomb. It responded to his power. Then, the former Lord appeared in all his glory. Tears pricked my eyes, and I felt Raizel lay his hand over mine.

The former Lord began to speak. "You are finally here, Cadis Etrama di Raizel. How long did it take for my spirit to appear to you? 100 or 200 years? Maybe over a thousand years. It doesn't matter. The time doesn't matter. What matters is that you are safe. I'm sure you were quite surprised, Rai-Lin too, to see the Ragnarök when you went home..." The Lord continued to talk.

I part of me wished that I could join my old friends, but then I remembered my little brothers standing behind me, Lazark and Rael, who had just gotten me back, Frankie, who would be lost without me, and Raizel, my dear Raizel. I didn't want to put him through what I had been through needlessly.

"Cadis Etrama di Raizel, I want you to tell Rai-Lin if she is not here with you, which I'm sure she is, that I and the former family leaders thank her for all that she sacrificed. I know that blocking the minds of every noble was hard for her since we were her family, especially young Lazark and Rael Kertia. We thank her for protecting our children, watching over them when we could not."

A tear dropped down my face as I muttered, "You're welcome, my Lord. I would do it all over again if I had to." Even though he couldn't hear me

The Lord continued undisturbed. "Cadis Etrama de Raziel, please look after my daughter and the children. One last thing," He smiled. "Don't join me too quickly. Enjoy." With that, the casket was destroyed.

I looked at Raizel, clutching his arm to me. His face was a mask of sorrow. "Be strong," I whispered. He pulled me to him in a hug, in which I rubbed my hand up and down his back.

We were pulled out of our hug by the Lord approaching. She offered Raizel her place as the Lord. "I refuse," Raziel said. "You are the Lord. That is where you belong. I'm...a Noblesse," He looked down at me with adoration. "This is where I belong." Raizel and Frankie left the room. I stayed behind because I still needed to give everyone their memories back.

I stood back as the Lord debated on what to do with Ragnarök. I watched as she threw the sword into the tomb. The former Lord appeared again, this time with a message just for her. I let out a watery laugh as the former Lord gave his daughter advice about boys. The former Lord always was a funny man. I missed him very much.

The current Lord approached me. "Rai-Lin, my father said you blocked our minds. Is there any way to unblock them? We'd like to remember you."

I inclined my head. "Of course, there is. I've already done it to Lazark and Rael. I will now commence doing it to each of you, though it must be done individually. I will begin with you if you'd like." She nodded her head.

Right before I was going to unblock her mind, I noticed Karius with a beaten Regis over his shoulder. "Excuse me for a second, Lord. I will unblock your mind in just a moment," I stalked over to Karius and smacked him upside the head hard enough he winced. "Just what do you think you are doing, beating up a kid so badly? I ought to kick your butt into next week."

Karius shuddered. "I'm sorry, Rai-Lin. I didn't want to hurt him."

"Oh, you are lucky I like you, and that you've sheltered me for so long. Lay Regis down nicely," I ordered. Karius did as I asked. I healed Regis of his wounds, hearing a sharp intake of breath from the Lord.

Regis shot up, looking around in terror. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, Regis. All is well. Gechutel and Seira are safe. Gechutel," I looked at the older man. "Fill him in." Gechutel grumbled at being told what to do but walked over to us nonetheless.

I sauntered back up to the Lord, trying to hide the wobble in my steps. "Now, back to what I was about to do."

The Lord looked at me in concern. "Are you alright? You were covered in quite a lot of blood earlier."

"Oh, that was nothing. Rael and I just got into a little fight before I could restore his memories. He's very dedicated to protecting Lukedonia," I smiled a little. The Lord hummed. "Shall we begin?" I got another nod.

Over the next few minutes, I swept everyone's blocks back. They had blinked for a few moments before greeting me with a smile. I had smiled back before moving onto the next person. It was only as I finished that I heard the banging.

Everyone was looking at the blue barrier I had put up. Banging echoed from inside it. "Oops," I giggled. "I forgot about them. They're going to kill me." I waved me hand and the barrier dropped.

My little brothers came stalking out, and man, were they angry. I hid behind Lazark. "Save me."

Lazark, the traitor, moved out of the way. "You got yourself into this mess, Aunt."

I sent him a glare. "You are so gonna pay for that later," I said right before I was tackled.

The Lord started forward only to stop as she heard my laughter. The boys were tickling me. I kicked and thrashed, but they were relentless. "I yield. I yield," I cried.

They finally got off me. I winced as I got to my feet, looking down to see my front covered with blood again. Their eyes followed mine. Tao clapped his hand over his mouth, at a loss for words, M was clenching his fists, and Takio was staring at me in horror. I rolled my eyes. "Don't look so horror stricken. It's just a little blood, and if it's anyone's fault, it's Lazark's because he failed to protect me."

Lazark let out an indignant, "Hey!"

The Lord stepped forward. "Rai-Lin, who are these three?"

"These are my little brothers, Tao; Takio; and M," I said grandly. "Raizel and I took them in after we found out they were experimented on against their will. They live with us." I swayed a little, feeling a tad bit lightheaded, nothing too serious.

I found myself scooped up in Lazark's arms. "Come, Aunt, you need to rest. Transporting us all here could not have been an easy task." He began to carry me away.

I waved my hand. "I'm fine. It's more keeping the barrier up that exhausted me."

"Should have let them out sooner instead of forgetting about them," Lazark teased.

"Shut up. I'm still older than you."

He chuckled. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing," I said cheerfully. "I just wanted to rub it in your face. Now, let me down. I can walk."

"I don't think so."

"Lazark Kertia, put me down this instant, or so help me, I will use my power on you." I stared at him.

His eye twitched. "You wouldn't."

"Try me," I challenged. He quickly set me down. "Now, come to the mansion with me. I'm sure Raizel would like to see you."