Chapter 26 STANDSTILL (1)
WILLA’S POV
As my mind whirred with a million possibilities of why Grandpa wanted to talk to us as soon as he arrived from the parley, I followed Mom and William into Grandpa’s capacious study. It was well-lit and with shelves upon shelves that exposed his thirst for knowledge.
“Good that you’re finally here,” Grandpa said from where he sat on a large leather wingback chair that was behind his dark mahogany desk.
He slowly rose from his seat and walked over to the couch set, where Dad was already comfortably seated with a cup of tea in hand.
Mom, knowing her place was always beside Dad, sat down next to him in a matter of seconds. Grandpa occupied the lone armchair that stood at the head of the glass center table, while William and I claimed the couch across from the one our parents had taken.
“Tea?” William asked me, gesturing at the porcelain teapot.
“No, thank you,” I replied softly.
I still had to meet with a healer again to know more about my growing baby’s health, the tonics I must drink, and every single dos and don'ts I must follow to ensure that I could safely deliver a healthy little pup several months from now. And tea could be a drink that was not good for me at the moment.
William’s gaze fleetingly dropped to my belly, which still didn’t betray my pregnancy. It was then that I realized how I had unconsciously placed a protective hand on my abdomen just because of the invitation for a drink he had offered.
He arched an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling lightly in amusement.
“Protective already?” He teased in a whisper.
I furtively stomped on his foot, making him nearly drop the teapot as he poured himself a cuppa.
“Settle down, children,” Dad said in a chiding tone, but he was only directing his warning glare at William.
“Dad, we are twenty-one already. ADULTS.”
“And?” Dad answered, his lips hovering just above the rim of his teacup. “The two of you are still my children. Any further arguments?”
Dad’s words warmed me considerably. He hadn’t talked to me at all since he learned of my pregnancy, and for days I had thought that he was too angry and too disappointed to even consider me his daughter anymore.
Next to me, William settled more comfortably on the couch, leaning his back against the backrest and resting his right ankle on his left knee. “You have to let it go, Dad. Willa’s pregnant and leaving, and soon enough, I will be too. It’s inevitable.”
But Dad didn’t dignify William’s remark with a response, pretending he didn’t hear him at all. Instead, he turned to Grandpa and said, “Is there a pressing matter we must address, Father? Is it about the parley?”
“Ah, yes… It is.”
Grandpa paused and eyed William for a moment, and it was enough to make my brother put his leg down and in a proper manner that was fitting for a man his age and background.
“The parley went well to a certain degree,” Grandpa finally said, making everyone in the room sit firmly and straight in eagerness to know more. “But it didn’t end the war.”
“Oh,” I mumbled, deflating a little.
Grandpa’s keen eyes noticed my reaction, and his gaze stayed on me as he went on to say, “But there is still hope. We will be reconvening again in a fortnight.”
The shrewdness and intensity in the way he was looking at me gave me the feeling that he already knew about Gallahan. Either he had figured it out on his own upon meeting Gallahan, or Gallahan had told him himself. Either way, I was a hundred percent certain that Grandpa knew.
I mustered all my will to maintain my composure under his scrutiny, and I was saved when Mom asked in a hopeful voice, “So the negotiations didn’t completely fall through?”
Grandpa withdrew his stare from me and finally addressed the room at large. “There were just a few things that we were not able to settle. Neither of the parties was willing to bend to the other, and we were left at a standstill. We each offered compromises to further discuss with our respective people. So the League must meet with the representatives of the seven human kingdoms that are still autonomous to this day.”
“Then we must convene with everybody immediately,” Dad chimed in. “It will take a very long while before everybody will reach a consensus about the matter.”
“Quite right, Wendell,” Grandpa said with a nod. “We must send out missives to the council members of the League and to the ambassadors of the human kingdoms as soon as we are done here. The parley will re-commence in two weeks' time to see if anything has changed or if there are other compromises each side might be willing to take. We only have two chances left of ending this war and liberating those kingdoms that had fallen under the Alpha King’s tyrannical domain. I just hope our efforts will bear fruit.”
“It will, Grandpa,” William assured.
Grandpa’s eyes landed back on me again as he answered, “Pray that it really will.”
“Would that be all, Father?” Dad asked, putting down his emptied teacup on the table. “Or is there anything else you would like to discuss? I have noticed you have been looking at Willa quite frequently.”
“Yes. Yes. There is something else, and it indeed has something to do with Willa.”