Lilly POV.
Slowly, I came back to the present as the ever present smell of wood and steel That lingered around the Ironblood manner drifted into my nose.
I used the scent to ground me as I got out of bed.
I was just about to go and take a bath before cultivating again, when a knock came at my door.
Turning my head towards it, I glared at the wood with enough intensity, I'm surprised that it didn't kill whoever was on the other side.
Finally, realizing I couldn't just not answer, what if it was important, I finally spoke.
"Who is it?"
"Miss, Leon has sent you a message, he wants to meet you in the dining room in exactly 3 hours."
One part of my mind was currently questioning "what the fuck does he want to talk about?"
While another was thinking something along the lines of "who does he think he is to order me to go anywhere?"
Realizing the maid was still waiting for a response. I spoke "tell him I will be there.'
It didn't matter how I felt about being ordered, we had to show unified Front to the outsiders around us.
"Remember, you can't trust anyone. You can delegate task of minor importance to others, but when it really matters, the only person you can depend on is yourself."
They were words my father had told me a long time ago, and they had stuck with me for the simple fact they told me just why he was so alone.
Even among the oldest Ironblood, he wasn't particularly liked, he had only been accepted as patriarch simply because there was no one else in the iron bloodline strong enough to challenge him for it, and even now people challenged his authority where they could afford it.
Shaking off, my strangely gloomy thoughts, I pushed open the door to my bathroom as I looked around.
The floors were made of silvery gray marble, and the mirror that took up an entire wall showed me just how grimy my skin had become after cultivation.
The loose pair of pants and shirt I normally wore for cultivation were wrinkled, as if I had slept in them, then again, considering how still I had to sit for cultivation, I might as well have.
Raking my fingers through my hair, my eyes locked on the tub. Making my way over to it I quickly turned the knob, allowing water to begin to flow into the tub, wasting no time I quickly activated the heating enchantments surrounding set up.
I had integrated my talent for enchantments in my everyday life so deeply, I didn't know what I would do without them, even my sword had a few enchantments to both make the blade faster and sharper, I hadn't been able to manage any combat enchantments just yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time.
Taking my mind of my magnificent progress, I focused back on the tub, which was filled to about just the right amount.
Turning off the water, I watched as steam floated up from the tub, for any normal human, this temperature would have been able to boil them alive, but with my second ring, constitution, it wasn't much of a problem.
Quickly, stripping down, I slipped into the water.
For a while, I just sat there, my eyes closed, feeling attention slowly go out of my muscles.
Even though I have been home for a week or so, the tension of battle was taking much longer to fade than I thought.
Finally opening my eyes, I reached for one of the several bottles sitting on the tub's edge, grabbing a black bottle with the image of a white rose on it, I quickly squeezed some of the liquid into my hand before running my fingers through my hair.
I let out a content sigh, I had been tense the entire last week I was back, the very site of steel made My hand instinctively reach fOR my sword, and my ether begins to circulate, as if I was going to release a spell.
It would feel better if it was someone else washing my hair but after one of those maids, tried to ruin my fun, I didn't bother keeping one.
Part of my good mood was soiled as I remembered the day.
It hadn't been anything too drastic, I was just playing with my little brother as always.
Even though it was nearly 5 years ago, I couldn't remember it like it was yesterday, the smell of blood and desperation, the whispers of pain he tried to suppress, and most delicious of all the fear in his eyes when he looked at me.
I had been showing him the way of the sword, my mind flashback to the exact moments when I begin to hate those damn maids.
Third person POV.
Five years earlier.
"Is that all you have?"
The barely 4 foot tall child didn't answer, he just swung with more Determination, but no matter how hard he swung or how much he wished for his blade to block his sisters even once, it was all futile.
"You're just pathetic, this shows why you're not father's favorite."
"D don't say that, father likes everyone equally."
The words were abruptly scream, someone trying to hold an illusion together that had shattered long ago, someone who was trying to live a dream, just to realize it was the furthest from reality.
If you believe that I think your brain is even smaller than your talent for the sword."
Throughout this entire terrible imitation of a fight, Lily hadn't moved her feet.
They were both standing in one of them many empty rooms of the Ironblood estate, and Ray held a piece of would that was barely shaped like a sword, while Lily held A genuine steel training blade.
The two year gap Lily had on him normally wouldn't have been a problem, but Lily had awakened soon after having her element checked.
It had been a shock for the clan, she had a bright yellow, the color symbolizing in affinity with lightning, and a high one at that.
After that she had been pushed directly into training, training for all things that the patriarch seem as useful, which obviously included sword practice.
So superior skill matched with superior speed and strength along with a strange sadistic tendency to beat the ever living shit out of a certain silver eyed child led to this.
"I don't see how he keeps falling for the same trick over and over again."
Lily thought, as she looked at her little brother, trying his hardest to hit her in the head with the thing that could barely even be called a stick he held in his hand.
She sidestepped with casual ease, then wielding, the practice sword in her hand with the effortlessness of someone who had done it too many times, she slammed the blade into his ribs.
It wasn't sharpened, but the practice sword being made out of steel and her first ring strength combined to send Ray flying across the room before slamming into a wall.
The thump his body made when it hit the wall had sound as if the whole damn floor has shook.
Looking around quickly, Lily make sure no one have seen what she had did.
Know one seemed to have heard anything, considering the door of the room was still completely closed.
After she confirmed this, Lily just stared in fascination as her brother rived around on the ground.
He didn't let out a scream, not because it didn't hurt, but because the blow had knocked all the wind from his lungs.
Considering how he was clutching one side of his ribs with both hands, Lily thought The blow must have ripped through his shirt and broken skin, and considering the crack she had heard right before he was sent flying through the air, she suspected it had broken more than just skin.
Now only nearly silent whimpers came from his mouth.
Moving closer, Lily watched as Panic flashed in his unnaturally Bright silver eyes before tears of both pain and fear began to Poor down his face.
Squatting beside him, she wiped the tears from his face before licking the same fingers she used to do so.
"Oh don't cry, little brother, one day you'll become strong enough that training won't hurt so much."
That was a lie, and Lily would make sure it stayed that way.
She would've never allow this little brother of hers to ever become stronger than her.
"But maybe I should let him think he became stronger than me? Then when I crush your spirit again, the hopelessness on his face was just to be delightful."
Lily thought, chewing on the index finger. She had just used to wipe the tears from his face.
Her attention was taken up by a sound from behind her, it was akin to a piece of wood, dropping to the ground, and turning, she realized why.
Standing not 10 feet away at the currently open door of the room they have been using for training, a made stood, a broom that she had probably been holding just a second before lay on the ground at her feet.
Frowning Lily began to get to her feet, but as if the maid knew what was coming next, she turned and bolted. Present time.
Lily POV.
It hadn't been difficult to convince the guards who the maid had went to blab to that it had been that very same made to hurt that worm of a brother I had wasn't particularly difficult.
Actually, I'm not even entirely sure if they believe me, they just saw no disadvantages in blaming the maid for the mini wounds, both old and new that covered my little brother.
If they said they found her, they could make an example out of the maid to show that even the weakest of the Ironbloods or protective, besides, even if they knew for sure that it wasn't her, who would dare to contradict in Ironblood?
The last person who had done so had been tortured until they thought left was right and up was down with such certainty that even 10 years later, he was never the same.
Sitting down the sponge I have been using, to scrub the dirt off my skin, I realized the water had at some point become lukewarm.
Quickly getting out of the tub I dried off, even as i turned to the closet I had in the bathroom.
Why I had a closet in the bathroom, even I wasn't entirely sure, but it damn sure came in handy, especially when I forgot to grab clothes beforehand.
Pulling out a pair of loose red pants, and a short sleeve, black shirt, I quickly put them on before going to sit back on my bed.
Remembering about Leon and his, order, for me to be at the dining area in three hours, my eyes straight to the clock on my nightstand.
"Two hours and 27 minutes, that should be just enough time for me too, cultivate a bit longer."
Getting back in A cross legged position, I started cultivating and slowly forgot about any time constraints.
I was in a ether trans, something that happened when your senses, taste, smell, site, hearing, and even touch were all focused on the ether running through your body.
This was nearly impossible in the first and second ring, so how had I achieved it?
Easy, because I was a genius.
Yet I wasn't dwelling on any of that at the moment, the only thing I was thinking about was the ether, and as I focused harder on it, ideas for inscriptions began to slowly form.
I say begin because not even a second after they begin to slowly manifest in whatever half dream state I was currently in, a very loud, very rude knock came at my door.
My eyes snapped open, flashing with annoyance.
"If I kill whoever's at the door, just how mad would father be? No I don't have to kill them entirely, maybe just a little bit, maybe just cut off a few fingers, or maybe chopped their ear off with a rusty dull ax. Yes, that sounds like the bare minimum I should deal out for such a Offense."
I thought as my murderous gaze locked on the door.
My voice carried none of the calm it should have as I spoke.
"What."
The word cracked through the air like it was a whip.
"Sorry to disturb you miss, but Leon has requested for your presence in the dining area."
The made before had been a woman, yet this one was most likely, a man, or a woman with a shockingly deep voice.
Yet something told me that the man currently at the door was a guard, a guard specifically sent by Leon.
"What the fuck does he think he's doing? Does HE intend to make this guard somehow drag me to the dining area if I don't come willingly?"
The very thought made lightning crackle between my fingers.
"tell him I'll be there when it's time."
"Ma'am?"
I had just closed my eyes and was about to start back cultivating, so the timid inquiry by the guard nearly caused me to raise my hand and shoot a lightning bolt directly through the door and into his skull, OK I didn't actually have that kind of precision, but the thought was there.
"What do you want?"
At this point, the words were nothing more than a hiss between my teeth.
"It's it's already time."
His words were barely more than a squeak, yet my unnatural hearing picked up on his words.
Frowning, I looked to my nightstand, and my eyes bugged out at what I saw.
The maid had told me Leon had wanted me in the dining area at 1:15, yet now it was going on 6;50.
Rolling out of the bed, I spoke to the guard as I quickly change clothes and did my hair.
"Tell him I will be there in a moment."
I don't know how I manage it, but in less than 10 minutes, I had swapped clothes, I was now standing in a bright Silver and red dress.
It was the shade of blood and was with silver overlapping serpent like designs, running up the arms around the collar, and around The him, the overlapping designs converged at a point at my back where I knew the silver, great sword of the Ironblood crest shown proudly.
For shoes, I just chose red heels, it wasn't like I was going to a goddamn ball, the only reason I have bothered to throw on a dress is because the clothes I have been wearing before didn't exactly inspire respect, but these did.
Tying my hair up into a braid, I opened my door before walking down to the dining area.
I didn't know what Leon had to say, but I hope there was good news.
There has been nothing but radio silence from the side of the battlefield since I had to come back to the Ironblood manor.
Yet something within me told me, whatever he would say would change everything.
And not for the better.