All of that fight happened under 6 minutes.
Vladimir remained still for a couple of seconds and then flew towards the Lovrian border.
It didn't take long for him to arrive at the Schatten estate.
**********
Schatten estate
As I continued eating my food and listened to Athelstan's complaints and Asa talking about them leaving in a few months for the Schatten training camp, since they were already eight years old and would only come back home after four years.
The doors of the dining room opened, and my father stepped in. He was wearing a black outfit with a black trench coat on top.
Athelstan's eyes lit up when he saw him "Welcome back, father!" He said
"Good evening, everyone", he said and then kissed mom, causing the 4 of us kids to cringe and reply together with an "ew".
Grandma just laughed at our reactions.
"Dad, Grandma said that you were at our borders fighting a monster. Did you defeat it?" I asked
"And was it strong uncle?" Asa asked
"Yes, I did. What kind of example would I be for you guys if I didn't defeat it? And yes, it was strong but not enough to cause me trouble," He replied with a proud voice.
Leon smiled and muttered, "Uncle is so cool, I wonder if one day I'll reach that level."
"I believe you guys one day will be strong like me and even might surpass me, so keep working ", he replied
I wish to be as strong as my dad and lead a peaceful life. The fact that I have to train a lot to achieve that strength seems like hell and boring, but I don't want to be weak either, so I'll keep pushing. Vladislav thought while clenching his hands into fists.
"So, how was your first training today, boys? Sorry for missing it," he apologized.
"It's okay, Dad, you had to deal with an urgent issue, so it's fine, and about the training, it was hard and challenging, but I believe that we'll get used to it. Hell, my body is all sore. Uncle Jian really pushed us to our limits," I replied as I touched my sore arms.
Athelstan said, "Uncle Jian is a demon; he made me run two more kilometers because I called him a demon, and now my body is all sore, even my butt hurts."
"Pff-" I choked on my drink at his last sentence.
Asa laughed at him, and I couldn't help but laugh too.
"You see, Dad, Vlad is laughing because he only has to run 1 km", he pointed at me.
Mom patted Athelstan's head, and then my dad said, "Don't worry, I'll talk to your uncle to increase the distance by 2 kilometers on his training tomorrow since it seems like he has a lot of energy to laugh"
My mother nodded with him.
At hearing that statement, my face paled, shit, I should have just kept quiet.
I tried to complain " da-" but he interrupted me and said with a smile "If you complain, I'll increase it to five"
I opened my mouth again to speak, but nothing came out, so I closed it. I glared at Athelstan, who was smiling with a 'when-you-argue-with-your-sibling-and-your-parents-take-your-side' face.
Privileges of being the last born. I clicked my tongue.
We finished eating, and then I bid everyone goodnight and went to my room.
"Finally, I'm going to get some sleep after all that training ", he said while yawning.
The moment he entered the blankets, sleep enveloped him, and he fell deep asleep.
Next day
I was running through the forest with Athelstan on my shoulder; we were both injured, though Athelstan was in a much worse condition than I was. He was missing an arm, and he was barely conscious.
I stopped next to a tree and laid him against it. I ripped my shirt and wrapped it around his amputated arm.
"It's all going to be alright, help is coming, so hang in there", I said
"You know...I'm not gonna make it, I already lost too much blood, plus we are too far into the forest, they'd take hours to find us before he finds us," he replied weakly and coughed blood.
"Please don't die on me, Athelstan, please.." I held him in my arms, and tears started running down my cheeks
"It was the only way, I hope you forgive me one day", he spoke softly.
"Why are you apologizing?" I asked, mid-sobs, but never got a reply. His heart had already stopped beating. I looked at him, his eyes had no spark of life.
"No... no.. no, don't leave me!" I screamed as I held his body close and tightly.
My vision spun and suddenly turned black.
And then I woke up.
"Athelstan—!"
I sat on the bed, my body all drenched in sweat, my lips were dry and heavy breaths came out of them. I then felt something running down my cheeks.
I touched my cheek and felt it. They were tears.
I looked out my window and saw that it was already morning.
I got out of bed, walked into the bathroom and washed my face.
I looked into the mirror. Red eyes stared back into mine, my black hair was a mess, and my eyes were swollen from crying.
It was just a nightmare. I sighed and looked at my trembling hands as if I could still see Athelstan's blood on them.
"Why would I dream about such a thing?" He muttered
"It's bizarre, thankfully it was just a nightmare", I sighed.
He removed his clothes, got into the bathtub and closed his eyes.
It was very realistic, but thinking about it won't take me anywhere.
After washing up, he dressed up and got out to eat breakfast. After seeing that Athelstan was fine, he finally calmed down.
After that, he changed into his training outfit and began training with Uncle Jian.
He was told that he now had to run 3km, and I just groaned in response and started running.
Athelstan just laughed, but then he stopped after Uncle Jian slapped him on the back, and that made him laugh, allowing me to forget about that nightmare.
After the training, I walked into the garden and then walked up the hill towards the color-changing tree, which was now red, when just last week it had been white. Now the peak looked reddish.
He walked in between the red lilies, and he saw her—his grandma. She was lying against the tree.
He walked towards her.
"Hey, Grandma."
"Hello, my child, come sit with me", she tapped on the ground with her hand.
He then sat down with her under the tree.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked as she looked at the flowers.
"Yes, Grandma, and very peaceful too," I agreed
We stayed quiet for a couple of minutes. It wasn't an awkward silence; it was warm and familiar.
Then she broke the silence.
"I saw earlier during breakfast that you were bothered by something. What's wrong?" She asked
"I had a weird nightmare today, Grandma", I answered.
"Aw, I'm so sorry, little Vlad. You're young, so you will often get nightmares, so it's nothing wrong. You'll get used to it when you grow up"
"Come on, lay your head on my lap so I can sing you a song," she said
I lay my head on her lap. She then started humming a song while her hand caressed my hair. I felt her warm hand touching my face, and all my thoughts about the nightmare disappeared.
I closed my eyes.
Whoosh—
He felt the soft breeze of the wind touching his skin; he felt refreshed.
As he continued to hear his grandma sing, he slowly fell into slumber.