Chapter 14: ~Grandmother's stories~

When they saw the woman, they just knelt in front of her. Her serious face showed tranquility just as her voice conveyed peace.

Her white hair and emerald orbs played with the wind, and her large white robe with golden details were no exception to her. She seemed to have stepped out of a fairy tale, her perfect skin and few expression marks on her did not clearly give her exact age but...what she did know, was that she was Lady Fray, my grandmother. maternal.

—Don't worry, Lady Fray—. I spoke while she gave her a bow that made her smile slightly at me.

— Oh, my little Nathaniel. Five years without seeing you and now that you return to the Frays... you are quite a man—with that same expression of tranquility, she approached me to take my hands and without hesitation ask me: —What brings you here?

—Grandma, I am here to find more information about the puppets, the past of the Fray family and the Castelias, and most importantly... about Madame Hester—I responded, trying to hide my nervousness, since Alepoú had informed me that My grandmother didn't like people's insecurity when looking for answers.

When my grandmother heard my answer, she just closed her eyes and let out a sigh. For a few moments I thought she wouldn't tell me anything regarding those topics, but... When I saw that she had made a sign to her two puppets, I realized that my intuition had failed.

She just turned her back on me and, still without losing that tone full of tranquility, she spoke with all the authority she had as the leader of the family:— Let's go home and I'll tell you everything, only... I don't want to. Tell your parents that I told you about the past that must remain buried.

I just nodded silently, to which she just motioned for me to follow her as she began to walk. The road was filled with silence, and that made me uncomfortable, well, that was until my grandmother cleared her throat to start speaking.

— The puppets were created by Madame Hester, a woman who was long-lived and full of vitality. Its function is the protection of its creator or whoever gives it their blood to seal the pact, they are only made when there is a strong enemy—he said and then turned to look at me.—each puppet has a strength when it comes to fighting, and that It depends on the animal you choose.

— Alepoú told me about that, but... my question is, why did he create them? — I asked him when I saw how Alepoú, Ulric and Cardenal positioned themselves next to us.

— She's a great woman—. she replied, turning around and starting to walk, causing me to follow her again with our puppets.— There's no doubt about that. But unfortunately, human envy is so great that he cannot help but try to hurt or destroy what he cannot possess. Madame Hester made the seven main puppets of her when her youth was threatened by the tribe she once helped.

Her words fell silent and immediately she began to trace a rune on the ground with her foot. When it finished, it shone and in front of us appeared the great house of the Frays, a place that was decorated with the same colors that were on my grandmother's tunic. I was about to talk about her to ask her a question, but seeing that she was looking over her shoulder at me, I allowed her to continue.

—Eileen or Madame Hester as we currently know her, she was threatened by envy and fear. And everything, for love—he mentioned this last thing and the bell of the hacienda began to resonate through the place, causing Cardenal, Ulric and Alepoú to bow.—Humans had condemned witches and sorcerers to live apart and used. for the hypocritical good of society....

—Madame Hester fell in love with a man who lacked magic, but her love was his undoing. They burned her beloved's house believing that our benefactor was there but... unfortunately, they took from that woman what she treasured most—. complemented the voice of an older man who appeared a few seconds after the bell stopped ringing in that place. .

Like my grandmother, his lack of expressions of age made him seem like a not very old man. But in comparison, my grandfather still had his crimson hair. His pale skin and silver orbs gave him a divine appearance, lacking a beard and with his expression showing sadness, he went down the steps to get to where we were.

—I didn't hate them, and I loved them so much. Until the tribe of witches and sorcerers was devastated by the fire that their beloved humans themselves created. Out of sadness and to preserve the memory of his fallen companions, he made use of the ritual to create guardians, a spell that his teacher had passed on to him a few days before falling due to burning envy - he continued and immediately hugged my grandmother, but from that look Sadly, a rain began to fall that ran down his cheeks. He was crying.

— After so many tragedies, he began to travel and learn more about the world. Walking away and keeping his great secret hidden from people lacking magical ability, to avoid the same tragedy. And now, her knowledge is in our library along with thousands of documents—. added my grandmother, who with her thumbs began to wipe my grandfather's tears.

— Nathaniel—. my grandfather called me.— All this must be secret, the world is still a place full of malice and if they found out about the information we guard... they would use it for evil like the Castelia.

Attracted by the last name, I only approached my grandfather to take him by the hand and bow and then tell him:— I want to unearth the truth, and bring justice and peace to the Frays. And... fulfill that damn tradition to get away from those crazy people and return to you Lady and Count Fray. Your legacy will be saved and passed on to future generations if you allow me to learn from you.