As I stared down into the small room I had to fight that rising feeling of excitement in my chest. For years I had said I hated my parents for leaving as I was with grandpa. Yet as I stared over that railing, a part of me wanted to tackle them in a hug. Dad was older, his glasses the same as he wore that familiar smile I remembered from when I was a kid and he was calling me over to eat dinner after playing in the yard. Mom's face showed small wrinkles that were hidden well by makeup, and to someone meeting her for the first time would be invisible, but I remember her face from when I was little, how she would laugh with dad and dance as dinner cooked over the fireplace. They had been perfect for each other in the way only finding one's soulmate could make. However as my eyes drifted over to Canna and Abel I felt that ember of resentment in my chest again. It wasn't directed towards either of them, they were just kids, however that small voice in the back of my brain whispered in my ear saying.
They had me, if they wanted kids so bad, why did they leave me behind.
As I made my way down the stairs I saw Selene who meet my eyes with a worried look. She was worried for me, something that was rather reassuring in a strange way as I sat down at the table.
"And you must be Aiden, I'm Damian Hallowcreek, and this is my wife, Patricia."
I stared at the extended hand to shake for a moment before taking it, meeting my dad's eyes.
"Dang, they sure are invested in this whole no first son bit, that's for sure."
Will said bitterly in my head. My eyes drifted over to my mom who stared at me for a moment too long before her eyes widened and she said.
"Oh, Damian, can you believe it? He has the same brand of glasses you do, what a coincidence. You wouldn't happen to have been my Hopestone recently, would you?"
I took a moment before I said.
"I uh, I was in town just a few weeks ago and got a pair."
The mood at the table seemed to dip towards awkwardness as I sat down and Selene nudged me slightly as if to say she was here for me. Maybe sensing the mood and knowing how quickly a mood can go stale, my father spoke.
"Dang, loss of the first match must have hit y'all hard, if it will help cheer y'all up, I heard about you working with Selene here to make medicine for her condition, and I wanted to see if I could help get some stuff, you were missing some tools for it, right Ms. Selene?"
Selene nodded as she said.
"Y-Yes, Aiden has the recipe, and from what we saw your s- I mean someone in your family runs an alchemist shop in Hopestone, so you might have heard some of these terms."
At this point mom spoke up and with a small chuckle said.
"Well, my father stoic was an alchemist, sadly however we heard he left town, though he gave the shop to a protégé he had been training, so it's in good hands."
I felt a twinge in my chest as Will said.
"Protégé, fucking protégé, as yes because god forbid they have a SON THEY LEFT BEHIND, least they can do is say we exist."
I bit my tongue to avoid speaking as I felt Selene grab my hand in what I can only assume was a gesture meant to ground me.
"R-Really now, that's wonderful. Lets go get that list from upstairs, Ill come too so we can talk about what we need to get most."
She didn't give me time to response as she quickly pulled me up the stairs and as soon as we were out of sight Selene stopped and turned to me.
"A-Are those your parents?"
I nodded as I stared back down the hall we had just walked as Selene turned to begin walking.
"I-I'm telling them to just leave the quest reward, what they are doing is cruel, and I'm not just going to-."
I grabbed her left arm before she left, its purple colored skin rough, but solid in a way that felt oddly securing at the moment.
"No, we are this close to getting you a cure. The whole reason you have traveled across 2 kingdoms with us, I can't ask you to give that up."
"Good, because you don't have to ask, were giving it up."
She tried to pull away but I held her as I pulled her to face me.
"Its just two minutes of listening to them talk, I can handle that much, so lets just do this, that way I don't have to feel so guilty about your illness, and you don't have to live with it longer than you need to."
Selene seemed to take a moment to think before she turned back and said.
"F-Fine, but only as long as needed."
She seemed to fidget for a moment, almost as if unsure if she should head down first or if I should before she suddenly gave me a tight hug as she began to lead me down the stairs.
It might have been because with my parents arrival and dismissal of my existence, I was in shambled emotionally, but that small gesture was solidifying in a way I couldn't describe. As we sat back down I pulled out my notebook and said.
"So the potion I'm making for her is one that needs a silver reflux coil and a runic strainer in order to work. I have the other tools, but I'm missing those."
My father nodded as he looked over at the recipe and began to mumble the herb names to himself in that way he always did when he was speed reading before sliding my notebook back over to me. He looked up at me and said.
"I think we can provide both of those, but I do have a small favor to ask."
I felt Selene tense as if to stand up but I grabbed her hand under the table to stop her as I asked.
"Depends what it is."
Damian chuckled and leaned back as he said.
"Its nothing big, I just wanted to know if you had heard anything about my father in law, I know he left the shop to his protege and that lazy Peridot girl, but he stopped sending letters a few years back and we haven't seen him since we left to start our business, so we were curious if anyone in town would know."
There was a moment where I stayed silent as I looked down slightly, forcing my face to stay neutral as I said.
"Not that anyone in town heard, he had gone looking for you two and hasn't been back."
They nodded as dad turned to mom who had a worried look on her face and quietly said.
"It should be fine; I can have the scryer try to find him when we get back home."
They gave us a small bag that had our gold and item from the quest rewards as Selene and I headed upstairs. She turned towards our rooms however she paused. As she turned back I realized I was holding a part of her shirt. She looked up at me, her height slightly shorter than mine with a curious look as I wasn't sure what to say. Will didn't wait as he spoke through me and said.
"Can, can we get another hug."
She turned with a sympathetic expression as she hugged me, her rough arm slowly going up and down on my back as she whispered.
"Its ok, you don't have to be strong right now, you can crumble."
It was like her words were a command as I felt strength leave my knees as I hugged her back with an almost desperate strength, my face was buried in her shoulder as my back was wracked with sobs. The silent question of why didn't they want me hung in the air as for a moment, Selene held me together.