Chapter 24: A dinner at the madhouse

A few hours later the family was gathered around the table. The Clades had only a couple of servants and at the moment only one maid was charged with setting up dinner. Both Ciaran and Camille were helping her out with her duties.

From the Colonel to Liam and now to Ciaran there was a great distaste for acting superior to others. They each taught their children to treat people in accordance with their abilities not the circumstances of their birth.

The boy had nothing against this arrangement, as it allowed him to be close to the commoners and as such he got to ask them questions about the rest of the City. His family had no qualms whit teaching him how to fight politics and stuff most dangerous, as long as he was a grabbing distance from them. This had let Ciaran to have somewhat of a sheltered life.

He knew some noble children and quite a few children of his father's employees but other than those, he had a lack of viable sources of friendship.

His brother Rayon on the other hand had a different problem. Because he was born with a body stronger than most, he had been taken in by the military just before this school year started. He was put in a training camp after school, and had a lot of friends, most of which at least four years older than him. As such he picked up a tendency to view most of his friends as his older siblings. The fact that he had been fraternizing with Ciaran and Clara for most of his life didn't help much either.

Rayon's day started by waking up early and going to the nearest military base, where the early morning drills were being run. Then, one of the soldiers would take him to school, and after school, they would pick him up for more drills. Naturally, his training was a lot laxer than his fellow cadets but it played a part in why the kid was falling behind in class.

Usually, a soldier would bring him home for dinner in the evening, but today the boy came home with a special entourage. Liam himself had gone to pick him up and they had taken a good long walk home to allow the man to get as much information out of the boy as he could.

Now that all six members of the family were sitting at the dinner table, there was an eerie silence roaming their dining room. Liam had greeted his parents and his wife but had ignored his son until now.

"So how was work today dad, learn anything interesting?" Ciaran asked.

The boy knew his dad wasn't angry, if he was there would have had a talk in private, away from his potential allies. The silent treatment was just for preparation. Waiting until everyone is assembled and the servants had all gathered was the real reason his dad had abstained from giving him the talk. This was his stage and he needed an audience, Ciaran understood that better than most.

"Well everything was going smoothly, I was preparing for my next expedition to the Desert, but then I heard your school had a massive cook-out. Grilled children with a side of smoked pages of priceless knowledge. Know anything about that? "His father asked in mock anger. One eyebrow raised, his chin resting on his fist.

"Yeah, I was planning it for so long. Got the ingredients fresh and everything. There was a little mix-up, but other than that everything was perfect. Not that it could ever taste as good as your food Sir." He said and nodded to the chef.

Most of the servants were used to this. The family's theatrics could drive a normal person mad, but none of them could be said to be normal people. The weakest person here was the maid and she was a Tier four Warrior. Most were on at least Tier five, and all of them had criminal records. Most sane people wouldn't want them anywhere near their children, let alone allow them to serve them food. But then again, sanity was not a commodity in this house, not by any stretch of the imagination.

The chef smiled with his teeth and nodded as a thank you for the compliment.

"Of course, that's a given. I scoured this whole continent for the best of the best professionals. When It comes to food one must do his best to provide. But what was it that caused you to suffer son? O what could have brought the quality of your meal down?" The man slammed his hands down and asked, this time the anger on his face seemed real and genuine.

"Father, you would not believe this. My team had been cut in half. That wench of a teacher even took my brother away. I was left with half my staff, most of them disloyal dregs. But then I remembered, remembered your lessons about utilizing what you have, not what you want to have, and I – " Ciaran too had stood up. With clearly crocodile tears in his eyes, his right hand to his heart he tried to play their game when his grandmother couldn't take it anymore.

"ENOGH, both of you! We are not gathered here to clown around. Liam, I know your brain is undeveloped but please act your age. And Ciaran stop indulging him or we are going to be here all night." She said as she troughs two slices of tomatoes at them.

Liam was able to catch it in his mouth and clapped like a seal, while Ciaran let it hit him. Then he used his two fingers to pinch it and ate it. Then with grace and elegance, he wiped his face clean with a napkin.

"Shame on you grandma. Wasting food is a sin. From my father's journal that I wasn't supposed to read I know that the tribe nearest to us may be fine, but even they can't waste food like this. There is a famine in the Desert you know."

"Ciaran, that is my private journal. If you know about those then you are about three whole months ahead of schedule." His dad sat down and said with a sense of pride in his voice.

"O I haven't gone that far, read it today in the Library." Said the boy.

"That, let's stick to that ok. Enough out of both of you." Edith said, veins popping out on her head.

"Stop teasing grandma boys, or her visits would become even less regular." Camille scolded.

"Yes, Mom/Dear."

While the family was bantering with each other, the staff was staying on the side. The maid, who had been hired just four months ago had not yet been exposed to the true nature of this house.

"Are they always like that?" She whispered to the head butler.

"No of course not. When they are in front of normal people they keep the pretense of normality. And usually, when they are alone the Madam does not stop then until the old fossil doesn't start throwing whole plates full of food. This must truly be serious." He answered and looked at Rayon.

"In this whole house that poor boy is the only one who still has a shred of common sense left. Nothing a few more years of army drills and the Clade's family life won't heal." He and the rest of the staff laughed.

'Great, I escaped death row just to become a maid at a madhouse.' She thought.

"Ok then son, please tell us about your day. Be as boring as possible for the sake of the elderly." Liam said.

"Actually I am kind of getting used to it, so don't mind me and-" The Colonel was trying to say, but his wife's glare stopped him. The kick under the table helped too.

"Yes, serious now boy. Give us all of the information." He said, trying to sound serious and smothered a laugh, less he has to forsake sleep on his own bed for a while.

"Well, the day started normally. I walked to school with mom and then had a Geography lesson. I showed my class how much I have learned from dad and they were all in awe." He started, but after another tomato to the face, he decided to cut to the important bits.

"Then we walked outside and went into the Maze. I had previously established that it was a sentient being, a bored one at that, so we made a deal. I pass the Trials, which he made a lot harder by the way, even broke two of my limbs on the last, and he gives a pass to my whole class. The Maze was unusually generous and passed the whole Year, even two."

"The rest is history, lost my boys, got my girls to set the floor one on fire, and went on up."

At this point of the story, the maid was instructed to take Rayon to bed, lest he is incriminated with his brother.

"Then I learned that magic exists and you have all kept secrets from me. Ouch, by the way, I was expecting more from my family. And then I was caught by what I believed to be a 'childlover', the kind mom keeps warning us about."

"She turned up to be cool though, and we vibed before my teacher came and pulled me out by the ear. And then mom came." The boy said, and the silence in the room became deafening.

"Yeah, I believe that was all." He said with a cheerful smile, while the temperature in the room plummeted below subzero.