Gadalik finished his morning routine, leaving the bathroom and heading for the staircase. Passing his adoptive-parents' room, he hesitated when he heard the mention of his name.
“You've been a parent longer than me… Did Gadalik ever give you trouble like this when he was young?” Gale was saying.
“No, never!” Glacia exclaimed. “I mean, when he was ten, he had an issue sneaking out of his room if it involved seeing a ghost outside… But whenever we did argue, it never escalated that much. We always made up within the hour. And he has never–ever–said that he hated me!”
Gale acknowledged her with a hum. “I suppose Adya got that attitude from us, then, huh?” he laughed, as if trying to lighten the mood. In all seriousness, he added, “Give the girl a break… She just found out that her family could have been royalty. This is big news for a six-year-old. It's no wonder she feels like we betrayed her…”
“But to say she hates me? To say she'd prefer to have a prince as a father instead of you? She even said that Gadalik wasn't her brother–after he helped raise her! We have been nothing but loving to her all her life, and this is how she's treating us?”
“She's just a kid, Glacia… Younger than Gadalik was when you adopted him. I'm sure she didn't understand what she was saying.”
“But it still hurt, Gale. And the worst part is: she thinks she's in the right! She doesn't understand a thing about how terrible my parents were. The first thing I did, when I was old enough, was start my own boat rental service to make my own money so I wouldn't have to rely on theirs. The money they left me is…tainted by their memory. Sometimes I wish I didn't have it at all.”
“Of course Adya doesn't understand that. She's a child. All she knows is that we have the money and are purposefully living middle-class despite it.”
“...Are you siding with her?”
“N-No…! I'm just saying that we should see things from her point of view, too.”
There was silence for a moment.
“Were we too hard on her…?” Glacia finally asked.
“...I don't know,” Gale admitted. “I was expecting this behavior from her as a teenager. I wasn't prepared to handle it so soon. At least teenagers are old enough to comprehend things if we sit down and talk to them, right? But Adya’s still a little kid. I-I don't really know how we can explain this in a way she’ll understand. I don't think she's learning anything by being grounded.”
“Yeah… It's been a couple days and she still seems sore at us.”
“I'll try talking to her after we eat,” he decided.
The bedroom door opened and Gadalik panicked and resumed walking toward the stairs, but it was too late.
“Gadalik? Is everything alright, bud?” His father stopped him.
“Y-Yeah,” he stammered.
“I've been meaning to talk to you, actually. Do you have a moment?”
The younger male gulped uncomfortably. “Uh, sure...”
“I don't think it was appropriate to tell Adya about Glacia’s past when you did. You can see why, now, can't you?”
His striped blue eyes looked away. “I'm sorry… I didn't know she would react like this.”
“True… But it also wasn't your story to tell, Gadalik. You're an adult. I expected you to know better.”
His words cut deep. “I'm sorry,” he said again. “This whole mess is my fault…”
“I do appreciate you trying to fix the situation after the fact. And…I'm not mad at you. But I need you to understand that what you do affects everyone in this house, not just you. So next time you do something, especially involving Adya, you need to make sure that everyone else is okay with that first.”
“I…I understand that now.”
There was a brief pause, the silence allowing their conversation to sink in.
“I'm going to make breakfast,” Gale finally spoke. “Join us when you're ready.”
The younger man watched him descend the stairs. The tension in the air had been thick for the past two days. They used to be such a close-knit family, laughing and learning together. He never imagined how much damage one story could cause.
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“Gadalik, are you still there?” his mother called. “Come here. I need to ask you something.”
He braced himself for a scolding as he entered. To his surprise she patted the side of the bed for him to sit, and he obliged.
“Are you…happy, being here?”
“What? Of course I am,” he assured her. “I’m an adult, and I have my own house from my biological parents. If I weren't happy here, I'd leave.”
“But…would you rather live more…luxuriously? Like…a bigger house, the latest technology, and servants–”
“A TV would be nice, but I'm already saving up for one. Mom… If you're asking me if I agree with Adya about how we should be living in the upper class: the choice is not up to me, or her. What you spend–or don't spend–that money on is your choice.”
“But that's just it,” she cried, her voice breaking. “I don't know if I'm making the right choice by you two anymore…!”
“H-Hey! You and Dad provide us with everything we need. But most importantly, you love us. And genuine love is something that money can't buy.”
“But…Adya…”
“She'll come around. I promise.”
“...Thanks, big guy.”
They hugged.
“Breakfast is ready,” Gale announced.
Everyone gathered at the table where a hearty meal awaited them. Adya came out of her room, still in her pajamas, her pale blue-violet hair unbrushed.
Glacia looked at Gale for an explanation.
“She didn't let me in,” he said, glancing away with shame.
Adya noticed, and Gadalik thought he saw a hint of remorse in her magenta irises, but she said nothing as she took a seat and picked absently at her plate.
“Adya, dear, your father worked hard making this food for us. Don't play with it,” Glacia said.
“He wouldn't have had to, if we had servants,” the little girl muttered under her breath.
“What did you say?” Glacia confronted her sternly.
The two locked eyes. “It's your fault Dad had to make this. You could hire servants but you choose not to.”
“Adya, I don't mind cooking,” Gale awkwardly defended his wife.
She glared at him, now. “Why are you on her side? She’s using you for all the housework!”
“There are no sides,” Gadalik spoke up. “We’re a family. We all contribute in our own ways.”
Adya opened her mouth to argue, then shut it and got to her feet.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to my room,” she muttered. “I don't want to fight anymore.”
“Adya, come back and eat,” Gale said. “Nobody's fighting. We just want to talk.”
She hesitated, then turned to face them. “I just don't understand why Mom hates us…”
“Me…? Hate you…? But you're the one who said you hated me,” Glacia reminded her.
“Because you hated us first…!”
“Adya, I love you. I love this family. Why would you ever think I didn't?”
“Because you never spend money on us…! You never buy us things we want, like a TV! I always thought they cost too much, but now I know you just don't care about us!”
“There’s more to love and care than money…” Gale said calmly.
“But what is she using the money for, if she's not spending it on us? What's more important to her than us?”
“She isn't spending that money on anything, except the bills if Gadalik and I ever fall short.”
Adya crossed her arms. “I don't believe that. Why wouldn't she spend it?”
There was an awkward silence.
“Well?” she pressed.
“Remember that story I told you?” Gadalik spoke. “The one about Glacia's parents?”
“...Yeah?”
“Remember how I told you they…didn't take care of their kingdom? How they abandoned Glacia when she was young?”
“Yeah… They sounded like bad guys.”
“Y-yes! They were bad guys. And that's why, uh…” He looked to his parents, unsure if he had the right to tell her story. Glacia nodded.
“That's why what?” Adya prompted.
“That's why Mom doesn't use the money. When she sees that money, it just reminds her of how bad her parents were,” he continued.
“I don't get it. Mom’s parents left her the money, so it's not their money anymore. They're, uh, gone. I don't see why Mom thinks about them when it comes to her money.”
Glacia didn't know what to say; she seemed to be searching for a way to explain how trauma worked.
I can try, Gadalik thought. “Let's put it this way. Remember when we were out exploring, and you saw those passion fruit flowers? You loved them, didn't you?”
“Yeah! And then a bee got mad at me for picking the flower. It stung me!”
“Exactly. Ever since then, you were scared to pick flowers, weren't you? Because every time you saw them, you remembered the pain of being stung by the bee.”
Adya made the connection. “That's different. Bees are still everywhere! Her parents aren't. Why is she still hurt by them?”
This is harder than I thought…
“Regardless of her reasons for not spending the money, your mother loves you very much,” Gale switched the topic to the original point. “She plays with you, takes you out to sightsee, and helps teach you. All of that is easy to overlook, but they are acts of love that money can't buy.”
For once, Adya seemed at a loss for an argument. “I…didn't have those things after being grounded.”
“And how did not having them make you feel?”
“...Bad. I missed them.” Her eyes watered. “I miss spending time with everyone…!”
“You want to spend time with us?” Glacia confirmed. “So…you love us…?”
“Of course I do!”
“Even though we don't overspend on you?”
She opened her mouth to argue, then thought it over. “Yeah. I guess…we've loved each other all this time without spending the money…so it…isn’t really needed…”
“Adya…”
“Y-Yeah…?”
“...You're ungrounded.”
She sniffled, staring at her mother as if expecting this to be a joke. Then she started crying with relief.
Everyone gathered around her in a hug until she calmed down. Afterward, they finally began to actually eat.
Glacia seemed to drift into thought as they all brought the empty dishes to the sink, and Gale started washing them.
Gadalik noticed. “Mom? You okay?”
“Adya…had a point,” she confessed. “My parents have been gone for over twenty-seven years… Why am I still sore at them?”
“I mean… They've put you through a lot. Your feelings toward them are valid.”
“Even so… Why am I still letting their memory hurt me when it comes to spending that money? It isn't theirs anymore. It… It’s mine.”
“Mom…”
“Gale? Kids?” Glacia raised her voice to be heard. When she got their attention, she announced, “We're getting a TV.”