With his prize secured in a basket from Lucy, Lan made the remaining trip to the village, where he found his reception far different from what he had expected.
Those who saw him would first look surprised at the new face in the village, but for some, realisation of who he was would set in, followed by disbelief.
‘Can’t be him, right?’ Lan heard someone say behind him.
‘Yeah, must be a relative.’ Another said, although not sounding too sure.
Overall, Lan was in danger of getting through without causing a scene when he almost walked into a small woman. Lan stopped just as the woman saw him and jumped back, frowning at him before her eyes grew wider in time with Lan’s.
Miss Tolly had been friends with Lan’s mother since they were children. The short, dark-haired woman had been the second person to hold Lan as a baby and had declared herself his aunt, and she had always been one of the people who had taken his sudden distancing personally.
As the smaller woman stared fuming at him, it looked like she would say something as she frowned at him before it turned into a look of realisation and then anger.
‘Did you use your mother’s hairpin money to do this to yourself?’ she asked in a steady voice that did nothing to hide the look in her eyes that Lan was sure could start fires if she tried hard enough, which compared to the last time they had met, was an improvement.
Lan was about to deny it… Before realising it was technically accurate instead, Lan sighed.
‘You mean this one?’ Lan said, reaching into the chest and retrieving his mother’s hairpin. Outside of his mother and father, if there was one person who could recognise the hairpin she had watched his mother get. It was Miss Tolly. First, she watched in surprise as he reached into the air, his hand disappearing, but her jaw dropped as his hand returned with the platinum and Lapis pin gripped between his finger and thumb.
‘Why… How do you have that?’ she breathed as all her anger melted away.
‘With everything I have messed up, it is about time I start making some of it right. As for how,’ Lan smiled, ‘that’s a long story.’
‘You didn’t steal it, did you?’ Miss Tolly asked, getting a conspiratorial look on her face. And Lan had to admit that was far more believable than the truth.
‘It would be pretty stupid of me to steal something I plan on giving back to its original owner.’ Lan sighed. ‘Speaking of which, have you seen my mother today?’ Lan asked as Miss Tolly continued to stare at him, unsure what to think or believe.
‘What? No, not today,’ she breathed as she continued staring at him.
‘Hmm, okay,’ if that was the case, they were most likely home. ‘Well, I guess that I will be going then.’ Lan said as he started past her, the sudden motion of which seemed to snap her back to herself.
‘Wait!’ she spun, ‘Is this really you? Are you really back?’ she asked, and Lan knew what she meant.
‘Yeah,’ he smiled. ‘I’m back.’ As Lan turned to leave, he thought he saw tears welling in her eyes. But knowing her, it was better to act like he hadn’t seen that, which he knew he had guessed right when she wiped her eyes and stormed back inside after frowning at someone who came to help her.
Making his way up the hill to his home, Lan was surprised not to hear any sound coming from his father’s workshop, and as he reached the door, it sounded like no one was home. Which was odd. At this time of day, the two of them had always been home.
Luckily, his key still worked, so he could get in and look around. The house was empty, but nothing seemed out of place.
Lan thought about leaving and returning later when he remembered the writ for the hairpin. It could wait, but with some time, Lan wanted to know just how much interest that woman had charged his mother.
Heading into the kitchen, Lan found the small red wooden box where his mother kept money and other valuables in the hidden compartment under the basin, where he knew she would have placed the writ.
Opening it, Lan found that his guess had been right. Laying in the box was a small rolled-up bit of red paper.
Unrolling it, Lan found that the old crone had charged two golds interest for the three lent.
‘Over fifty per cent interest…’ Lan said, feeling his blood start to boil, and on top of that, she had tried to weasel another gold out of him.
But as Lan was in the middle of reconsidering not reporting her, he heard the floorboards creek.
‘You aren’t going to find anything in there.’ Lan heard a soft yet firm voice say. Freezing with the writ in his hand, Lan turned and saw Maya, Silas's betrothed. Clearly, Lawrence and the others had spread the stories about what he had done with the coin his mother had given him, and it had reached her as she looked at him with barely contained distaste.
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‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t think that anyone was home,’ Lan said, immediately realising that didn’t help his case. ‘That… didn’t come out right.’ he said quickly as she frowned and stepped forward, which turned out to be a worrying proposition despite being a great deal smaller than him.
'Silas is in the main workshop and your father and mother are at the market,' she said taking a step closer. As a blacksmith's daughter, she would have more strength than he did without using the shackle, and he didn’t think fighting Silas’s future wife would endear him to his brother any more than he was. ‘I meant to say I just need this piece of paper.’ Lan raised the writ.
‘Why?’ she demanded as she took another step into the kitchen, ‘are you going to try and sell that too?’ she asked, and Lan wasn’t sure if it was a joke or that was how low an opinion she had of him.
‘No… It's just that it’s not worth much when I have this.’ Lan said as he raised the hairpin.
Maya quickly glanced at the hairpin and back to him as if he would bolt before what she saw hit her, and her head snapped back.
‘Huh?’ She asked as she visibly deflated, ‘how did you?’
‘How else?’ Lan shrugged, ‘I stole it.’ he said, watching as her dumbfounded expression turned to one of horror, but before she could ask him, Lan smirked, and Maya embarrassingly turned away.
‘Sorry for thinking that you were here to steal something…’ she apologised.
‘Apology accepted. And I am happy that you cared enough to be angry,’ Lan said, meaning it, ‘and I am glad Silus was able to find someone like you.’
‘Thank you.’ She said, pressing her fingertips together.
‘You’re welcome, although I don’t think my approval means much as it is.’ Lan shrugged. ‘You still have it.’
‘It does,’ she smiled before noticing the basket that Lan had left on the table. ‘What’s that?’ she asked, and as in the form of an answer, Lan gestured for her to open it, which Maya did after a moment before looking up at Lan.
‘The box is for my mother.’ Lan shrugged.
‘Oh?…’ Maya looked down again. ‘And the sweet rolls?’
At this, Lan smiled, ‘Those are for my father.’ Getting the confused look that he was expecting, Lan laughed. ‘He says he doesn’t like sweets but secretly loves sweet rolls. Don’t tell him I said this, but when I was a boy, and there were any around. I would sneak some to him, which I started after catching him eating one in his workshop.’ Lan said, smiling even though it hurt to think of those days.
‘Really?’ She asked with a look that said that was the oddest thing he had said so far.
‘Yeah,’ Lan laughed, ‘I was going to get something for Silas. But he wasn’t allowed to eat sweets last, I remembered,’ With his younger brother's softer disposition, it was deemed best not to give him too much sugar. However, a small part of Lan wondered if it wasn’t his parents’ attempt to prevent him from becoming as wild as he had been. ‘If you don’t mind, would you buy whatever it is he likes? I think he would throw it at me if I were to try anyway.’ Lan asked, reaching for some coins.
‘Maple bars.’ Maya said, raising a hand to stop him. ‘And you would rather he throw it at me than at you?’ she asked as, for a moment, a hint of humour that her outward personality did not show shone through.
‘Oh, absolutely I would.’ Lan shot back without a moment's hesitation or shame, enough to make her laugh, and after a moment, he joined her, which made Lan happier than he had thought.
He had believed that he would never get to laugh in this house again. Being proven wrong felt good.
After a moment, Lan looked at Maya. Maple bars?’ he asked incredulously, getting a smile from his future sister.
‘On our first meeting, I bought one for him, and now he gets one every chance he can.’ Maya giggled
‘We are a sentimental lot, aren’t we?’ Lan smiled.
‘I don’t know. I think it’s one of the Cross’s best qualities.’ Maya smiled back, but before Lan could say anything.
The door slammed open, feet pounding across the hallway in a heartbeat as Lan’s mother all but threw herself through the doorway, just managing to brace herself with a hand.
For a moment, both Lan and his mother just looked at each other. Before Lan could think of what to say, he realised he hadn’t even thought of what he would say.
And he wouldn’t think of anything as his mind went blank as tears welled up in his mother's eyes, the worry in them melting away as her eyes took on a warm, resolute light.
‘Uh, hi Mom…’ was all Lan managed to say before his mother’s arms wrapped around him. If his suddenly showing up or his new appearance fazed her, Lan’s mother didn’t let it bother her for long as she held him in a firm yet gentle embrace.
After a moment, she moved back to get a better look at her son before cupping his cheek in her hand. ‘Welcome home, my sweet.’ Lan’s mother said with a smile that didn’t need to shroud any pain, just joy at seeing him.
And Lan realised that he didn’t need to think of what to say as he had always known it. ‘Glad to be home.’
After a moment, Lan's mother laughed and hugged him again, ‘it’s so good to see you.’
‘It’s good to see you too, Mom.’ Lan said, hugging her back. ‘Sorry for showing up out of the blue.’
‘Don’t be silly, my sweet, this is still your home, just don’t leave for so long next time.’ She added, holding her son a little tighter.
‘I was only gone for a week this time.’ Lan said in a soft voice. Had it only been that long? It felt like a lifetime to him.
‘A week too many. I have waited long enough to have you back.’ She smiled. ‘But what happened to you?’ she asked, taking his face in both hands. ‘You look so pretty now.’
‘Mom…’ Lan managed, stopping short of adding a “not you too”.
‘But you also remind me of your father at your age.’ She soothed. ‘Did your new “job” do this to you.’
‘Something like that.’ Lan said as he took his mother’s hands off his face and put them together before opening them to form a bowl. ‘Before that, I think it’s about time I returned this.’ Lan said as he placed the hairpin in his mother's hands.
Lan had never seen his mother be lost for words, but as she tried to stop her hands from trembling, she could only look up at him.
‘How?’ her voice shook as she managed to form the word.
‘My new job gave me an unexpected bonus.’
‘Why?’ she asked, stifling a laugh as her eyes welled up, ‘You should have kept the coin.’
‘I know how much it means to you, yet you sold it for me. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me, but there was no way that I could ever let anyone else have it.’
‘You silly son of mine,’ she laughed, wiping her eyes. ‘You’re tall as a Goliath now, but you are still just my little terror.’ She hugged him again before stepping back and setting her hair with her pin. ‘How does it look?’ she smiled as she turned her head.
Nothing he did or achieved was a candle to that sight, as all of it, all the blood and sweat he had shed, being able to see his mother smile like she used to, made all he had been through worth it.
For a moment, all the years of pain vanished as Lan felt the same pride he had the day he had found his Tome.
The Razerwolves and goblins seemed like trivial obstacles to return some of the joy he had let be taken away. One that he was more than glad to have done and knew he would have to do again in the days to come.
‘It looks great Mom.’
[Personal Quest Complete]