Page 23 of Forging Bonds: Part One

"He would have liked you guys," Sully says with a fond smile.

"Before we go," Van starts as he watches Sully closely. "My parents are royalty?"

Sully grins, "Yep the King and Queen of the Water Kingdom in Trieneliea. I have no idea why they choose not to tell you, but since you already know, and I'm not under a damn silencing spell, I can confirm that yes, they're royalty, and yes, that means that you are too. In fact, anyone who is from the old world and recognizes you will use a certain level of respect with you, which is more than they will give to others."

Evander frowns and starts to shake his head in disagreement, but River interrupts, "Dude, I've noticed that. It's only happened a couple of times, and I'm pretty sure only with the water supes, but it has definitely happened."

"I've noticed it too, but why wouldn't they refer to him with his title? Why didn't anyone ever refer to Calia and Eamon by their titles?" Doc asks.

Sully smiles, "Because they choose not to be referred to with them. In Trieneliea no one referred to them as king and queen unless there was an official ball in which the royals from the other realms were in attendance, and then they were referred to by their titles."

My eyebrows rise, "I had absolutely no idea. I know that they garnered a lot of respect, but I thought that was just because they were the leaders at the compound."

Sully nods, "Their people are spread wide and far now, a lot are here in the Earth Realm, but many went to Kealiaquafeoul." He looks at Evander, "That's ruled by your grandparents."

"Wait, what?" Van asks. "I remember going there when we were kids, really little before Neith showed up, and I don't remember anything that would have told me that they were royalty either. I know I was young, but I think I would have remembered words like king and queen being thrown around."

Sully shrugs, "Your parents didn't want you to know that you were a prince, and technically speaking, the next ruler of their lands in Trieneliea."

"I, what!" Van exclaims.

"Dude, what did you think that it meant?" Reed asks with his eyebrow raised.

"Well, yeah, I mean technically, I knew that, but it hadn't actually really occurred to me," Van explains with a furrow between his eyebrows. His eyes widen in panic, "Shit does that mean I have to rule here? I mean, they're still in charge of the water supes here, right?"

Sully nods and then explains before Van can lose it even more, "Yes, they are still rulers, although not in the same way that they were in Trieneliea because of the way that the Earth Realm works. Eventually, you might have to take up the helm, but your parents are still really young and have a couple of centuries left yet."

Evander's expression fills with so much relief that it's almost comical, but to be completely honest, I get it. I think I would feel the exact same way if I were in his situation. Being in charge of a whole species? Actually, it's not a species, is it? It's all water supernaturals, which means hundreds, possibly thousands of species of water supernaturals. Yeah, no thank you. I'm good.

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about it for a long time, I guess," Evander says. "Besides, ruling here somehow seems a hell of a lot less scary than ruling over a kingdom in Trieneliea, and the gates are closed to Trieneliea, so I won't have to worry about ruling there."

"They'll open again," Sully says firmly.

There is absolutely no doubt in his voice, and it makes me wonder if he knows something or if he is going on pure hope that he will be able to see his wife again.

"I'll deal with it when that happens then," Van replies, looking unsure.

Sully chuckles, "Don't worry. I have a feeling that by the time that you take over, it won't seem as scary or as impossible for you as it does right now. After all, you're going to be well over a hundred by that point. That's a lot of life experience that you're going to have."

"True," he agrees.

"Besides, you'll have us, and we could totally help you rule," River replies.

Doc chuckles, "I'm not sure how good we would be at it, but we would be there for you regardless of whether we're helpful or not."

"Thanks, guys," Van chuckles.

Despite knowing that supernaturals live for a lot longer than humans and having been around supernaturals for the majority of my life, it still shocks me when they talk about how long they live. I think it's because I have always been acutely aware that I am human, and therefore, they are all going to outlive me. Not only that, but they are also going to still look young and healthy when I'm an old woman. If I'm being completely honest, I didn't let myself think about it if I could help it since it upset me too much.

Now though, I don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm a supernatural, we may not know what kind yet, but all supes live longer than humans.

Huh.

I think I may come back to that revelation at a later date. I've got enough to think about at the moment without throwing new shit that I've got to think about into the mix as well, and that one is a big one. I have denied myself a lot of things that I have desperately wanted because I am human and don't live for very long compared to supes. Having that changed makes me acutely aware of the things that I have missed out on, and some of those things, I now won't ever get a chance to experience. I swallow thickly, trying to get rid of the knot of emotion in my throat.

Yeah, that revelation can wait until later for me to deal with.

"Alright, we really should get going," Ransom says.

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