Chapter 3

Before you ask, no. The whole story is not going to be all about the parents. Its hard to have an age progression story without the huge role of parents, but very soon it will be more about Aiden. Please be patient, and on that note... enjoy (:

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In a certain wooden nursery deep within a forest of the tallest trees...

Aiden sat in the kitchen covering his ears as he heard his mother screaming from the room next door. He was crying as he didnt understand what was going on. Alejana had been weak and frail, and so Quinton rushed to get the doctor. When they came running through the door, the doctor completely ignored Aiden as he ran straight to the room where his 'ill' mother is. Quinton quickly followed suit, but not before stopping and placing his hand on Aidens head.

"Is mama gonna be okay?" (Aiden)

"O-of course, Aiden. She is just a little under the weather... but pretty soon you are going to have another playmate... so smile" (Quinton)

Aiden didn't have time to be happy about what he was just told, for he had noticed something odd. Although he was still a toddler, halfway between the ages 1 and 2, his memory and powers of observation were stronger than adults. He had what could be called a photographic memory on steroids. As his father talked to him and told him that everything was okay, he could not help but think that his eyes and smile were... different.

His father frequently smiled when he was at home, and Aiden had realized this. But the smile that he held on his face now seemed... fake. His eyes were looking straight at Aiden, but rather than bursting with confidence like normal, they seemed distant. They seemed to show regret, and sorrow. Although his father had been trying to reassure and comfort Aiden, he had only ended up making him even more worried. Normally, someone at Aiden's age wouldn't even be understand the conversation, so it never crossed Quinton's mind that his son would see through his act. It's not as if he didn't know his son was smart, but he wasn't even two years old. No father would think that their one and a half year old could understand them this well.

As he heard more screaming, he quickly gave his son one last pat on the head and followed behind the doctor. After hearing the doctor yelling 'push' and his mother's screaming intensify for what seemed like an eternity, suddenly everything got quiet. He could hear tired sighs and a baby crying from the other room. His sister was born.

***

Due to complications during childbirth, Alejana has not been the same. The doctor and his healing magic kept her blood pressure down, and it was no doubt that without him she would not be alive, but her body has been weak and she can not do much without the help of others. Seeing his mother in such a state, Aiden knew that he would have to work hard in the future in order to protect his defenseless mother.

Although his mother's body was not as strong as it used to be, her will and determination became even stronger. She tried to do everything on her own, so much so that Quinton had to forcefully take things from her in fear that she would overwork herself to death. The doctor makes frequent visits in order to cast some kind of curing spell, but there has not been any notable signs of change.

In regards of his new sister, she is perfectly healthy. Although Aiden feels lonely whenever his mother pays attention to the baby, his worries are blown away when he looks at the child. Much like Alejana and Quinton, she has blonde hair... yet she has Quinton's gray eyes as opposed to Alejana's bright blue. The eyes are not dark like Quinton's, but they are lighter and more calming, and they reminded him more of heavy clouds.

Although Alejana obviously had to pay more attention to the newborn, she did not neglect Aiden. Whenever she could she would sit with both of them, and now that she always seemed more tired, she would take naps with both of them. Unlike Aiden, who in everyone's eyes is abnormal, the newborn cries very frequently. Although it is hard to rest, it pleases Alejana. All healthy babies cry, and to be honest it is more reassuring as opposed to a silent child that only cried when it wanted food or a change.

They decided to name her Hana, based off of Alejana's name. Although the spelling was different, the sound of Jana in Alejana has the same Haa-Naa sound. Considering that Alejana was on deaths door when giving birth, they were all relieved to find out that Hana was a perfectly healthy elfling.

Hana began walking at the normal elf age of two, and she also began talking around roughly the same time. Aiden was now three years old, yet he looked a little older due to the fact that he was taller than most human children. His height looked no different than an elf three year old, who were typically taller and skinnier than humans. 

Going back to the topic of Hana, she spoke her first words a little before her second birthday. Much to the despair of Quinton, her first words were Mama as well, although a little while later she said Papa just as frequently. She addresses Aiden as 'Den-den,"melting the hearts of the parents every time they hear it.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

***

"Quinton, honey? Will you go to the store for me? I have to watch over the daycare kids but we are running low on milk and diapers." (Alejana)

"Papa, can I go?" (Aiden)

Hearing Aiden say this, Alejana felt a little dejected. Although Aiden didn't frequently play with the other kids at the daycare, he normally spent the day shadowing his mother and clinging to her pant legs. She had grown accustomed to the daily routine of the cute boy clinging to her.

"You don't want to stay here with your mother?" (Alejana)

"Uhmmm... but I want to see the village. I hardly get to see it." (Aiden)

"Fine, you can go. I'll miss youuuu." (Alejana)

While waving him goodbye as he held onto Quinton's pant leg, Aiden turned around and waved back. Just as they approached the door, Hana waddled over and tugged on Aiden's shirt.

"Den-den." (Hana)

"Did you want to come too?" (Quinton)

While smiling, Quinton picked both of the children up and walked out the door. With a baby in each hand, he could only laugh. He had always been a delinquent and a troublemaker when he was younger, and he never saw himself having a family like this. As they passed by a few of the guards who he used to be buddies with, they could only laugh at him. Taking the friendly ridicule with open arms, Quinton could not imagine any other scenario that could make him as happy as his current life.

***

When Aiden turned five years old, he was put into schooling. At the daycare, he didn't often play with the other kids and always stuck to his mother, and the other children were jealous of him. All of the children loved Alejana, and just the fact that Aiden had her as a mother was enough to be jealous. So as one would expect, with jealousy coupled with the fact that he was 'human', the school life wasn't exactly normal for Aiden.

Although there was no direct bullying, he was almost an outcast. Of course, not everyone went to his daycare, so there were quite a few students who did not ignore him. However, since a lot of them did ignore him, the others didn't have much of a choice other than to do it as well. Out of his class, about 80% ignored him, while about 50% went to his daycare. The other 20% that didn't ignore him were children who either didn't go to his daycare or they did but they just didn't feel jealous.

Since Aiden had a photographic memory coupled with just being smart in general, school came easy to him. However, Aiden's personality could probably best be described as 'laid back' or 'mildly listless'. It wasn't like he was totally lazy, it was just if given the choice to play or nap, he would chose nap. If given the choice for a calming rainstorm or a bright and hot day, he would choose the rain storm. 

Due to this fact, it was hard to approach Aiden in school. He was always looking either out the window or had his head down, and when spoken to he would give short replies. He passed all of his tests with amazing scores, yet he fell behind in homework due to the lack of motivation. Due to this, although he deserved the number one spot in his grade, he was considered average. Although the teacher's all knew that he was smarter than any other child, they could not give him credit for empty assignments that he did not bother to do.

At home, he was asked

"What are you doing, falling behind in school? How hard is it to trace your own name or write the alphabet?" (Alejana)

"I understand the material. What's the point? In the future, it's not like the scores will matter. Nobody looks at them outside of school, the scores are only there for placements that mean nothing." (Aiden)

Although Aiden was right, and there were no colleges or jobs that actually cared about scores other than tests, Alejana was still upset. If you had the potential, why would you not try for number one? Don't most kids his age want to be 'the best' and better yet, what five year old kid looks that far ahead?

She was about to protest and scold him more, but she noticed that he was slowly nodding off to sleep. The pitter patter of the rain always put him to sleep, and his head slowly bobbed up and down until he finally fell asleep sitting up straight on the couch. His silky light blue hair, which was on the verge of being called white, fell down over his eyes as he was completely out. Hana, who was sitting on the couch next to him, waved her hand in front of his face. After confirming that he was asleep, she smiled as she rested her head on his lap and nodded off herself.

Watching the scene take place before her, Alejana could only let loose a sigh of defeat as she went into the kitchen and began preparations for dinner.