One year after the events of his first memory, Ras’s father died from his illness. Souhait had seen how it transpired from his memories. Ras had started smelling something rather foul and when he had called for his father, there wasn’t a response; the only thing he was aware of was that the smell came from him.

However, despite living in a basement, the response to finding his corpse was rather swift. He had remembered someone opening the door and disposing of the corpse while the young Ras, nine at the time, was sobbing and pleading to not take his father away. He assumed that there was a hidden camera with a night vision filter that had been observing them in a corner with the owner of the house observing them–he never knew if there was such a camera, but he held that assumption high because the day when his father was taken away was the day he had met Stellar Alhague.

Ras’s first thoughts of the outside world was that it was bright and rather blurry. Staying in the dark for so long had weakened his vision that he had to squint. The first place he was taken to as soon as he got out was in a kitchen where Stellar handed him an omelet. The young boy squinted at it before sniffing it. It smelled like the meals he had met in the basement with his father, so he figured out that the meals were safe to eat.

Stellar, a woman with silver eyes and blonde curly hair styled in a pixie cut, was sitting across from him. When he made eye contact with her, she smiled at him. “Eat up.”

He squinted nervously, grabbed the fork and ate the food as he was hungry; the ketchup dressed on the omelet had a similar shade of red as her lipstick. Souhait noticed a loving expression on her face as she watched him eat.

When he finished, the woman ordered a butler to take it away. She then grabbed a napkin and stood up from her seat. She walked over to Ras, knelt down and wiped ketchup off of his lips.

“Do you know who I am?” She asked with that same loving expression.

“No.” Ras had to avert his gaze because she was a stranger to him and her presence made him nervous.

“I’m Stellar Alhague, your mother.”

The boy was exasperated at the sudden reveal. Souhait found it understandable as this boy had lived with his father his entire life and always believed he was his family. It was hard for a young boy to take all of this in. He sensed zero love between the boy and the mother.

Ras only had his head down. “I didn’t know I had a mother…”

“Well, you do now.”

“Is this your house?”

“It is.”

“If I am your son, why did you make Dad and me live in the basement?”

“Well, it’s a little complicated for a child like you to understand.” She then placed a hand on his shoulder. “But don’t worry. You can live here with me now.”

And that was what he did for a year.. He had to adjust to this new but abrupt lifestyle. He got glasses so he’d stop squinting. He learned how to read books more advanced than the picture books he had read; he was still allowed to keep his old picture books. He attended school. He learned how to use technological devices; Souhait found it hilarious with how fascinated he was when trying to operate a television and a computer. Most of all, he learned how to bond with Stellar. While he still has yet to see her as a mother, he still learned to trust and respect her as a guardian.

One day, during winter break, Stellar and Ras were eating dinner together when the former brought up something. “Hey, Ras, do you want to go on vacation with me next week?”

Ras swallowed his food before asking, “To where?”

“A city called Sirius.”

“Where is that?”

“It’s on Eternally.”

Ras raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that place shrouded by a blizzard? How can there be a city there?”

“Ah, but there is. Want to come along? There is someone I’d like you to meet when we get there.”

Ras looked at Stellar. He knew she’d never lie to him, but he still found it impossible that a city resided in a blizzard. Yet, there was still curiosity about him wanting to visit such a place, so he accepted her request.

One week later, Ras found himself on a ferry towards Sirius. The sight of the Emerald Sea fascinated him with how green it was. He leaned forward to see his reflection in the shining sea.

“You’re gonna fall.” Stellar retorted as she pulled him back.

“Stellar, do you think we’ll get to see the Despair Emerald Whale?” He looked very eager.

She raised an eyebrow. “The what?”

“I read about it in a book! They say that there’s a whale called the Despair Emerald Whale that lives deep in the Emerald Sea. It’s apparently not a real whale, but an illusion created from despair. Does that mean someone has to be in despair in order to see it?”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Sternly, Stellar crossed her arms. “There will not be any despair when I am around. And that whale mumbo-jumbo is just a myth. It doesn’t exist.”

Ras pouted. “You’re no fun.”

He then became silent as he took in the sight in front of him. Souhait could feel a gentle breeze and the smell of seawater lingering about, a pleasant smell. He was amazed that the world outside of the basement was beautiful. He was just sad that his father couldn’t be with him to see it.

I wish you could see this, Dad…

He shook his head at the thought of his father. He had made a promise to himself to not think about his deceased father when he decided to live with Stellar. He then glanced at her. His own mother was a woman of mysteries. While there was a lot that he knew, there was still a lot he didn’t know about her. Even after a year, he still had yet to receive an answer about why he and his father lived in her basement. Asking about this only caused her to dodge the question, so he stopped asking altogether. She would answer general questions, but skimp over personal ones, particularly about herself.

“Stellar, just who are we meeting?”

“An acquaintance. I usually go visit her once a year.”

Ras hummed. “What does she do?”

“She’s the mayor of Sirius. She runs the city.”

“A mayor? That’s so cool!”

Stellar chuckled at his enthusiasm. “She has a daughter around your age, if I recall. I hope you two can get along.”

Even if he hadn’t seen this memory back in the Contract Room, Souhait could easily tell that Stellar’s kindness towards her son was filled with ulterior motives. She had planned on trying to get her son to marry the mayor’s daughter for political and business purposes. He could tell she still liked him as a son genuinely, but he didn’t like how that love came with such motives.

The young Ras did not seem too keen on the idea. “I don’t know if I can get along with her. I don’t have any friends at school since they all think I’m weird.”

Stellar placed a hand on his shoulder. “Well, try to get along with her. If you do, maybe you can learn how to befriend others.”

Ras looked away as he meekly held her hand. “Alright. I’ll try…”

The ferry ride took about a day and a half. When it reached their destination, Ras was amazed by the sight of a glass dome encasing a large city. The blizzard did pelt the glass, but it wasn’t affected by it at all. The sight reminded Ras of a snow globe. Souhait observed the dome and felt a sense of pride knowing that he was one of the reasons the pristine glass had nicks as of recent events.

The ferry had docked and the mother and son duo were escorted to a fancy car where they were taken to the Leonis manor. This had reminded Souhait of how Nova was taken to the manor; it was a similar method. The only difference was that the centermost city was not as heavily guarded as it was twenty years ago–in fact, there wasn’t that much security. He even wondered why there needed to be security there in the first place if the place was isolated.

When the car stopped, Ras got out of the car and marveled at the Leonis manor. It was a large four-storied brick mansion in the middle of a field of pristine ice. It stood out as houses in Ilacier were mainly made of incandescent ice. The area was surrounded by a lot of ice pillars, which made both the young Ras and Souhait wonder what sort of purpose they served. The only sort of decoration that the manor had was a rocking chair on the front porch. Other than that, the manor was surprisingly empty in the front. The manor looked like an oddly placed house on a skating rink.

There were two soldiers guarding the gate. When Stellar revealed herself, they saluted and ordered someone to let her in. When they reached the house, a woman with caramel colored skin slammed the door open and rushed to hug Stellar. “You’re here!”

“It’s really nice to see you again after a year, Carina.”

Carina giggled. When she went inside, she was greeted by two other people, an adult woman and a young girl around Ras’s age.

“You remember my sister, Margaret, right?”

“Of course.”

Margaret greeted her gracefully. Souhait noticed how green her eyes were and how neat she had tied her blond hair back. Despite being sisters, they looked nothing alike. Margaret had a tan complexion, sandy blonde hair and green eyes while Carina’s caramel skin tone was accentuated with her pale blue eyes and platinum blond hair.

“You remember my daughter, Mebsuta, right?”

“I do.”

Carina turned to Mebsuta. “Meb, say hi to Ms. Stellar and her son Ras.”

Mebsuta, who was basically a younger version of Carina with the same hair, eyes and skin color, stared straight at Ras. She approached him, diminishing his personal space each step she took. “I’m Mesbuta.” She said confidently. “Nice to meet you.”

Ras took a few steps back. “I’m Ras. Nice to meet you.” He reached a hand out for a handshake.

Mebsuta stared at the hand as she grabbed it and took it to her lips to kiss it, causing Ras to yelp. He was beet red with what just transpired as he immediately pulled his hand out of hers and caressed it as if it had been injured.

“What did you do?”

Mebsuta giggled. “Why are you so red?”

“You just kissed my hand!”

She became confused. “You don’t like it? Boys usually like it when I do this to them.”

Ras was quick to hide behind Stellar. She apologized in her stead. “Sorry about that, Meb. Ras is a little shy.”

Mebsuta just chuckled. “Boys should get all shy just from a peck on the hand! You’re so weird.” She kept laughing.

The adult Ras bursted out laughing at the memory. “Was I that shy when I was a kid? What was I doing being all coy from a kiss on the hand?”

The way he was laughing was how Mebsuta was laughing at his younger self. Souahit wondered if it was due to her influence. While the young Ras was wary of Mebsuta at the time, the adult Ras seemed to feel warmth when he saw the memory of the younger version of his wife. His laughs eventually died down as he looked at her longingly.

“I miss you…” He whispered so softly.

Souhait pondered, His wish is definitely related to his wife.

He then got the medicinal tablets from his hands. Three remained, which then became two as he took the third one and bit it.