We explained the whole situation to my mum. She sat there and listened to the entire thing, looking deep in thought the entire time. She never interrupted, never questioned anything, never passed comment… she just sat there… thinking. Then she started laughing.
Indira: “Honestly… nothing is ever simple with you people.”
She certainly has a point. Things have most definitely escalated. This was originally supposed to be a brief trip to drop off a mask to the prince… then it turned into a kidnapping… with the murder of a different prince… and now an entire kingdom has collapsed and we have a prince in a cocoon in our kitchen… just… for fuck’s sake.
Damecus: “Madame, that is an understatement.”
Indira: “…and what exactly do you all plan to do next?”
Nomius came down the stairs holding some clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. The sounds of Tadwick splashing about, laughing, and screaming could probably be heard on the moon… at least he’s having fun.
Dwynfel: “Well… umm… that’s the thing…”
Nomius suddenly came charging out of the bathroom, narrowly missing his head on the doorframe. He bounded over to the table with a look of anger.
Nomius: [Signing] “Boy… scarred… who?”
Dwynfel: “Don’t worry… he is very much dead.”
I reached into my pack, removed Nomius’ axe, and handed it to him.
Dwynfel: “Here’s your axe back by the way.”
Nomius gave me a thumbs up and went to walk back to the bathroom, but Damecus stopped him.
Damecus: “Wait! It is done.”
He removed the skull from his belt and handed it over to Nomius. Nomius looked at Damecus with more emotion than I have ever seen either of them show before. For a moment I thought Nomius was going to cry. Nomius and Damecus both presented one hand… they clasped them together tightly and stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. Then they let go and Nomius disappeared off to the bathroom.
Indira: “What was that about?”
Damecus: “Justice.”
Dwynfel: “It’s a long story.
Indira: “Fair enough… you were saying. What exactly do you intend to do now?”
Dwynfel: “Umm… I kinda… haven’t thought that far ahead… but for now… I was kinda hoping that we could all just kind of… stay here…”
My mother rolled her eyes and placed her head in her palm.
Indira: “Here we go again. Dwynfel, this is a farm… not some kind of hostel for wayward boys.”
Dwynfel: “I know that… I do… but…”
Indira: “But what, Dwyn? I got the extra bedrooms to house workers to help with the farm work. Not to fill with children.”
She has a point. Tadwick and Alexi are hardly a substitute for actual farmhands.
Dwynfel: “I know… but Derek has loads of knowledge… and Nomius does the work of like four human workers… and in a few years the boys will be big enough to be useful around the farm… hell… Tadwick has already been learning how to milk the cows.”
Indira: “Milking the cows… badly, I might add… does not make up for the time that I have to spend educating him, teaching him how to behave, and all the other delightful things that parents have to deal with.”
Dwynfel: “Yeah… but… he loves you… he really does… he calls you grandma.”
Kiyui: “Guess that makes you dad then, doesn’t it.”
Dwynfel: “Which makes you mum…”
Kiyui: “Aww…. We’re a little family.”
Indira: “Sweet though this is…”
Dwynfel: “Honestly mum… Alexi is no bother… he’s incredibly well behaved. He is already very well educated… he can already read… he will be no bother… plus… it gives Tadwick a friend to play with.”
I can see my mother is starting to come round to the idea. I know she likes to be logical and plan things through… but she won’t turn away children in need.
Indira: “…and what about the cocooned prince? What do we do with him? When he emerges, what is he going to want to do? Is he going to want to reclaim his kingdom? Is he going to be a gibbering wreck? He lost his entire family, hell, almost everybody that he knew. Only the gods know what state he’s going to be in.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
That’s a good point… that is a really good point.
Dwynfel: “I know mum… but we aren’t going to know until he comes out. He may be fine… and if he has a portion of Flora’s magic in him then he should be able to help the crops grow like Flora did. He may be the biggest asset to the farm that we have.”
Indira: “Assuming he isn’t a complete emotional wreck with severe post-traumatic-stress.”
Dwynfel: “Flora said that he won’t retain his memories… so he won’t remember all the stuff he did to everyone in the castle.”
Indira: “He may not remember, but he’ll know. We can’t keep it from him. Just knowing that will be traumatic enough.”
Kiyui: “…and when it comes time for him to deal with that, we’ll be here for him. We can’t just give up on him because some awful things, beyond his control, have happened to him.”
My mother sighed deeply and sat back in her chair.
Indira: “I know that… and I never said that I would. I just need everyone to be prepared. I have experience with emotionally damaged children. Things are not easy with them. You don’t just remove them from the problem and they become magically fixed. Especially when they are as old as he is. This shit is going to be with him his entire life. You people need to be ready to deal with this forever. His issues could take the form of violence… depression… addiction… severely self-destructive behaviour. You know this all too well, Dwynfel.”
She glanced at the scars on her arms, then at me, then sighed.
Indira: “I’m not just talking about the prince here. Alexi has been through fuck knows what. Gods, being well behaved at his age isn’t a healthy sign. He should be pushing boundaries. Tadwick as well, he’s not dealing with his issues, he’s ignoring them. He doesn’t talk about what he went through, he blocks it out. All three of them are going to have a collection of issues that they aren’t just going to grow out of.”
She leaned forward in her chair… placing her elbows on the table and clasping her hands before looking me dead in the eyes.
Indira: “I’m getting old, Dwynfel. I’m not going to be around forever. You need to be prepared to be here for these boys when I am not. I’m happy to look after them here, and gods, Nomius is an amazing help. The adventuring that you do brings in good money now, and that’s great, but if anything happens to me, you need to be prepared to give that up, run this farm, and look after those boys.”
Shit… is she ill? Does she know something… she isn’t that old… humans can live for ages yet… why is she suddenly so concerned that she’ll die.
Dwynfel: “Mum… there’s… there’s nothing wrong… is there? Like… health wise… or anything?”
Indira: “Oh don’t look so worried. I’m fine. I have a good few years left in me. People are living way longer than they used to, longevity spells and all that. Even so, all it takes is a stray illness and people my age can be taken away in an instant. I pray that won’t happen, but it is always a possibility. You need to be prepared for that. You seem to keep expanding this family. And that is lovely… honestly… I have loved having Tadwick here. Grandkids are not something I ever expected to have. But you need to be prepared for the day that I can’t look after them for you. If I die ten years from now, you will have two teenagers and a young adult to contend with… assuming he ever comes out of that cocoon. All with their own sets of issues. Hell, look at all the insane shit you’ve been though, and you’re not even sixteen yet.”
She most definitely has a point… particularly recently, my life has been a tad complicated… and I certainly have my fair share of emotional issues. If I didn’t have the support that I have, I would probably be dead by now.
Dwynfel: “Okay, mum. I swear… that I will be here for these kids. I will continue to earn money through the adventuring… but I will spend more time on the farm… and if anything happens to you, I will give up the adventuring entirely and take over the farm fully. These boys need to know that they have a family around them that love them and support them. I promise you that.”
Kiyui placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed slightly.
Kiyui: “You won’t be alone in this, Dwyn. I love Tadwick. I love you. We’re already a family. We can handle a couple more. We’ve got this.”
He smiled at me with his sweet smile. That smile always fills me with warmth. I honestly think that we can do this. Between me, my mum, him, and Nomius… we can do right by these boys. None of us are related by blood… and gods know we are we all deeply fucked up in our own ways… but somehow… we are a family… and I truly… genuinely… believe that we can make this work.
