Dom was left alone in the meeting room with Lady Camilla Mordred and Lady Annabel Howard. Jessica had shared a look of worry with him as she left, where as the other two hadn't built a relationship with Dom yet so left the room without looking back. The doors were soon slammed shut by the guards outside and Dom looked up at the two domineering women.
"You can leave as well Annabel." Camilla said to her colleague in a serious tone.
"I can yes, but I am not sure if I want to leave my mentee with you." Annabel replied with a smile, "You can have quite the intimidating aura at times."
"I am not going to bite my own Nephew am I!" Camilla snapped back with a role of her eyes. Dom's eyes pinged open at the statement, completely caught by surprise and his mind trying to understand what she meant.
"Very well, Dominic if I don't speak with you later, I will see you back on the Shepherd in a few days." Annabel explained kindly, before leaving the room as well, the guards slamming shut behind her.
Camilla waited for a few seconds before speaking, whilst Dom looked at her both confused and a little intimidated. She took a seat beside him and put her hand on his knee, giving a squeeze and a reassuring smile now appearing on her once intimidating face.
"You have grown so much." Camilla commented looking at Dom with a kind look, "Thankfully you have your mother in you, I had a real dislike for her personality and blunt attitude, but she was much more preferable to my stinking cousin."
"Cousin?" Dom asked, confused by how the demeanour of this woman had changed and the words that she was saying.
"Your father is my cousin, or half cousin anyway. We share the same Grandmother Lady Katherine Mordred, or she was a Mordred before she met your Great Grandfather here at the Hundred Peaks. My Grandfather Lord Mordred died young doing his duty and my Grandmother remarried in to the Lazarus family. Your Grandfather and my father were Half Brothers" Camilla replied, unloading a lot of information to Dom who sat there realising that he wasn't alone after all.
"I thought I was the last one in the family left?" Dom stated, his face a combination of shock and excitement.
"You are the last of your family, there are no more of your Lazarus line left, or at least in the primary line." Camilla explained in a mellow tone. "It is a similar situation in my Mordred Line, as like your father, all of the others of my generation have died doing their duty, leaving only you, my daughter and I left."
"Why haven't I seen you before?" Dom questioned, shocked again at the revelations. He had a cousin and an aunt, even if they were a generation removed.
"You had when you was but a young toddler." She explained, her tone flickering between kind and harsh as she reminisced about the past. "I was the chief advisor to King Medici and was based in the Western Kingdoms. My Husband was a valiant General, vital to the Western Kingdoms and had actually trained your mother himself when she was raising through the ranks as a favour to your father."
"What happened?" Dom asked as she paused for a few seconds, collecting her thoughts.
"I loved your father, we were cousins but we were brought up together like siblings. The three of us, your father, my brother George and myself were never apart. Granny wouldn't have allowed that." Camilla continued. "George was on a special quest from the Hidden Peaks and disappeared over thirty years ago in the Southern Empires, leaving myself and your father behind. We stayed close, my daughter was born, then you were born and we both had amazing roles in the Western Kingdoms."
"What changed?" Dom asked, as Camilla spoke about things, but never answered his actual question. However he was learning things he wasn't aware off, that he had important family and that he had an uncle that disappeared, things that were never mentioned to him in his youth. He still didn't remember Camilla but she did feel familiar.
"Your father changed, he had these strange ideas and ideals. He started to become more and more insular. He loved you and your mother, but he slowly changed. I protected my own family by staying away. Eventually he betrayed the Western Kingdoms and left you and your mother alone, not that she survived for long on her own. I wasn't very fond of her, but she was an impressive woman nevertheless." Camilla explained, "I am sorry for your loss, and I am sorry you have been alone for so long. It didn't feel right to come and take you away when I had already left your life, but I have always been there from a distance."
"Is that why I was admitted to the Military Academy Twenty Six?" Dom asked wondering if Camilla had been pulling string in the back. Were his successes his alone, or did she have a hand in them from the background. His mind wondered if that was why he had been put in groups with much more prestigious students than the other War Hero Orphans.
"Your mother earnt that spot through her own actions, I did request you be put in Twenty Six and not one of the other major Academies as I know some of the parents there and they owe me favours. Most people do. I have never had to do anything though, you have succeeded on your own and I haven't wanted to interrupt your own life choices. Your father had too much pressure put on him from the Lazarus family name, where as you were able to just be you." Camilla replied, squeezing Dom's knee again, a caring smile on her face. "I am proud of the man you are becoming, your place here was secured before your birth, as was your fathers and his fathers. The Lazarus family has deep ties to the Isles of Britainy, as does my Mordred name. However, your spot at Central was earnt by yourself."
Dom was going to reply, but Camilla's tone changed and the caring face left and the sternness from earlier returned. She let go of his knee and stood up again, looking down on him.
"Now that you are a student of the Peaks, you will be treated like a student here. I expect the best from you, as the only male left in the family it is key that you do well." She explained seriously. "I will protect you from a distance and help you get the best opportunities, but do not fail us, you are the last Lazarus after all. I do this, not for your father or your mother, or even my parents, but for Granny. She would be disappointed if both the Lazarus and Mordred lines both disappeared under my watch. Now, before you leave, do you have any questions?"
"Lots!" Dom exclaimed, realising he was a little loud, he apologised and began asking. "Will I meet my cousin, your daughter?"
"Some day I hope, she is currently on her own quest for the Hidden Peaks, but I hope you get chance to meet before the year is out. It is important we build back our family." Camilla explained, before continuing. "Lady Annabel knows you are my nephew, as do many of those in high positions. I would however act as if we are student and teacher when we are not alone. It does not bode well if your peers think you are getting ahead due to familial ties."
"Can you tell me more about my father? My memories of him are fuzzy at best." Dom asked politely, still feeling the shock of all of this information.
"I can, but another time perhaps. You must leave and get ready for the celebrations." She replied, "There are a few long days ahead, I hope we get time to speak in private again."
As she said that, the doors opened and Dom was directed to leave by the guards that waited at the doors. Dom looked at Camilla one more time, the stern look now back on her face as she turned and left through a side door. Dom headed towards the main entrance and the guard directed him to follow the blue arrows to room five hundred and one where he would be staying for the night. He passed Dom a key and then explained that he should follow the blue arrows to the end of the corridor and then head up the stairs to the fifth floor, where he would find room five hundred and one.
Dom followed the corridor and then began his way up the stairs. His mind full of questions and confusion. As he approached the third floor, he could hear two people talking loudly, he recognised the voices as Annabel Howard and Captain Kelly. Part of him felt like he should continue walking up the stairs, but his body didn't seem to listen to his mind.
"Any news?" Annabel asked, visible frustration in her voice.
"Nothing my Lady, The Commander thinks it may be happening." Captain Kelly responded, his tone respectful and measured. "The search hasn't had any success as of yet."
"It can't be happening, we are not ready yet." Annabel replied back angrily, "We have so much left to prepare. All of the pieces are not in place yet, and those that are aren't at the level they need to be."
"I will speak with the Commander, but there is little we can do, it is out of our control." Captain Kelly explained. They both suddenly stopped talking and Dom realised he had probably stood there too long, quickly making his way up the rest of the stairs to the fifth floor.
He quickly opened the door to the room with the key, entering in to a small hotel sized room. There was an ensuite bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink to the left. In the main room was a large double bed, with a desk opposite it and a window at the end. Dom felt it was bigger than his room at the Academy, but there he had the shared living space with Andrew, Kai and Horacio. Lay on his bed was a suit version of the clothes he currently wore, and he decided to take a quick shower before changing.
His mind was trying to piece together what Camilla had explained, the shock of having some surviving family had completely changed his outlook, knowing he wasn't alone in the world. The other part of his mind wondered what Annabel and Captain Kelly had been discussing, but realised it could be about anything and it most likely didn't impact him.
....
Dom was soon changed and ready to head downstairs to the Welcoming Ceremony, he followed the corridor and stairs back to the meeting room, and was greeted by his fellow blue striped students. Jessica and Roger were in conversation and Dom quickly headed towards the two of them.
"Here, have a drink." Roger said in a friendly tone as he noticed Dom's arrival, passing Dom a glass of fresh apple juice, squeezed from apples grown in the farmlands that surrounded Buxton.
"Everything ok?" Jessica asked Dom, only one of three students who knew that Dom was kept behind even further. His mind still putting things together.
"Yeah, thanks for asking." Dom replied honestly, before blurring the truth partially. "We were just discussing some of the things I did back at the Academy."
"I can't believe you both have special arrangements." Roger complained to them, "I finally meet some people with similar interests to myself and have to now meet new people instead!"
"I am sure most of those here will have similar interests." Jessica replied, trying to comfort him.
The three continued to speak for a few minutes, before a guard entered and asked the whole group to follow him to the Welcoming Ceremony. They passed through several wide corridors, before exiting the castle through a rear exit. Behind the castle was a lush gardens, full of fountains, statues and decorative mosaics. They walked down a central path with well maintained flowers all across the sides of it, soon arriving at a gated wall at the rear of the garden. Dom had wanted to look around the garden more, specifically at the statues of the Heroes of the Isles of Britainy.
The gate swung open, the other side of it hard to see through the thick trees that were blocking the view behind the wall. They passed through the gate under the canopy of the trees, before light greeted them again, illuminating the giant building behind the castle.