POV: Ajax's Mother

Eating breakfast with my whole family is always my favorite time of the day. I love waking up and seeing my lovely husband sleeping right next to me. Seeing his face completely relaxed without a care in the world; It's a constant reminder of why I love him. Heading over to the kitchen, I grab some logs and put them into the iron stove to slowly drive away the morning chill. As I was warming my hands by the fire, I feel a sudden weight pressing around my shoulders and neck. Turning around I see my husband's smiling face as he was hugging me from behind.

“Good Morning.” He said slowly.

He pulled me deeper into his embrace. His embrace was warm and welcoming. Not wanting to spoil this moment, I just snuggled deeper into his embrace and enjoyed myself. After a few minutes he pulled himself away from me.

“Today I am going to start Ajax's Training." He said.

“ I know you have explained this before, but why does Ajax need to do muscle training?” I asked.

“It's a secret that not many people know, but when you push your body to it's limits and then practice a breathing method your body will be able to absorb more mana, thus making you advance ranks faster.” He replied gently.

“ I understand that, but won't the limit training be very painful? He could start to resent you.” I said worriedly.

“ I am willing to shoulder that burden if it can increase his chances of surviving and having a happy life. You should know as well as I do that this world is ruled by the strong and those without strength will never be able to protect anything they hold dear.” His voice was serious when he said this.

“ I know that dear, but is this necessary? There has to be another way!” I said in desperation.  

“ If there is another way, I can't see it.” He replied wearily.

“But dear. . ." I start one last time.

“tap...tap..tap..” A noise interrupts me before I could say more.

“We will finish this conversation when it is just us." He quickly said.

“Mama, good morning!” My daughter said happily as she walked into the room.

“ I will wake up Ajax, and we will do some light exercise before breakfast.” My husband said as he headed off to Ajax's room.

“Remember that this conversation is not finished.” I quickly replied before he made it out of the room.

I once again returned my attention back to the stove and began to cook up some breakfast. Forty minutes later the room had the aroma of eggs and meat wafting around every corner. Putting the food on the small four-person table, I walked over to the only window in the room and saw David making Ajax run laps around the house before coming to breakfast. Heading back to the table I grabbed Delia, my daughter, and put her into my lap. I finally got myself comfortable on the wooden chair when the door opened and David walked in. He quickly joined us with our meal.

“How well did Ajax take the training this morning?” I inquired as we ate at the table.

“He did surprisingly well, he didn't complain at all, but I could tell he wasn't that happy with it either.” David replied with some astonishment in his voice.

“That is surprising. I would have thought that he would have complained some more, it has always been hard to get him to do things in the morning all he likes to do is sleep.” I agreed equally astonished.

“I don't know why either, but it was a pleasant surprise." He proudly replied.

After that comment we lapsed into a comfortable silence as we just enjoyed the food and each other's company until the silence was broken by the creaking of the front door.  

“You better hurry up or your breakfast will go cold.” I kindly told Ajax as he walked in the front door.

The room  again covered by a silence that was only broken by the occasional sounds of silverware clanking.

“Ajax when I get home from working in the forage, we are going to continue your training.” David said breaking the silence as he walked towards me. After giving me and Delia kisses he grabbed his forging hammer by the front door and walked out leaving only the three of us at the table.

“Ajax you better hurry down to the chief’s house, you have school today.” I said as I noticed that he was almost done with his meal. As he was walking to the door Delia Struggled in my lap wanting to run to him. Picking her off my lap and setting her on to the ground she rushed and grabbed his leg from behind. Watching Ajax comfort his little sister I couldn't stop how proud I was of him. He will turn out to be a very kind man I quickly thought to myself. He gently picked her up and handed her to me before heading out the front door. Now it was just me and Delia left in the house.

Looking down I could see that Delia was still sad that Ajax left so to cheer her up I made a deal with her. “If you help me clean up, I will take you over to Sara's house to see if she can play.”

"Yea!!! Sara's house, Sara's house!” She yelled as she ran back to the table.

When we reached Sara's house, Delia could barely contain her excitement. She dashed in front of me and knocked on the door with all her strength. The door opened shortly after the loud pounding and a little girl the same age as Delia opened the door. She had long brown hair and was a little bit taller then Delia. Standing behind her was a woman that looked like a older version of the little girl.

“Come on in.” The older lady greeted us as she led us into her house. Before I could even take two steps into the house, Delia and Sara scurried off to Sara's room to play.

“Ha ha ha ha it makes me laugh every time I see how much they love playing together. Just a few seconds ago Sara was crying, but now she is laughing and playing.”  

“ I agree. Delia was crying that Ajax was leaving, but the moment I mentioned Shara she did a complete flip and was super excited.” I replied

“ Oh, where are my manners? Come in and have a seat I will make us something to drink." She said still smiling over the antics of children.

Walking farther into the room there was table and three chairs next to the stone oven. I walked over and sat myself down in one of the chairs.

“Did you hear what the traders were talking about yesterday when they came to sell their wares?” Sara's mom said as she was pouring us something to drink.

“No I haven’t, what did they say?” I inquired back.

“They were saying that over the past year, entire villages have all mysteriously died. So far, no one has been able to find the cause. There was no wounds on their bodies and no one could detect any poison on them. It has the whole kingdom in an uproar. Some people are saying that it could be a plot from a rival kingdom. But I think it could be a new type of mysterious beast. The only problem is that the affected villages are comply random, they are scattered all over the kingdom not in just one place. But who knows it could be a fast moving mysterious beast?” She said in full gossip mode.

Hearing this news, I couldn't help but feel a little fearful about what could be causing all these deaths. My body did an involuntary shudder. “Let's talk about something more cheerful.” I said trying to change the topic to something less worrisome. Me and Sara's mother continued to chat while the kids played. Looking out the window, I noticed that it would soon be time for Ajax to return.

“Look's like I have to go, it was nice visiting with you.” I said to Sara's mother as I got up from the chair. Raising my voice so it could be heard in the adjacent room, “Delia say goodbye to Sara, we have to go. Ajax will be coming home soon.” Delia soon emerged from where she was playing and joined me as we walked out the front door to our house.

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Once we arrived at our house, Delia ran to her room to play by herself. I walked over to our old iron stove and once again put some wood in it. As I was preparing lunch for Ajax to return home, I wondered how he would do with his training. He had David's and my blood in him so he should be very talented. How should I explain his talent? I know, I will just say he is just a one in a million chance and once he gets older we will tell him the truth about me and David I reasoned.  

Breaking me out of my thoughts I hear Delia calling to Ajax. It looks like Ajax just came home as I  put the finished meal on the table. I quickly tell Ajax that lunch is ready. Not long after, I see him walking into the room with Delia on his shoulders. Seeing how well he gets along with Delia, I couldn’t help but feel like we raised such a great child. He is the best older brother I have ever seen, he is always patient and nice to his little sister. Not long into the meal I asked the question that has been bothering ever since he left.  

“So, how did it go?” Once I asked that question, I could see that something was wrong. He did not look at me when he answered. Instead he looked down and mumbled that everything went okay. Hearing his response I KNEW that something was wrong. Did he and Renyolds get into a fight again? Is someone hurting my child? I will hunt down anyone that dares to hurt my precious child! For a brief moment my eye's shined with killing intent. Before Ajax could notice the look in my eye, I calmed myself down and asked again. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.” This reply made my heart tremble, what could have possible happened that could cause my happy child to be so down?

“Ajax, it would make your mother happy if you look at me when I talk to you. So please, look at me, I am always willing to listen to any problems you have and I will try to make them better.” Any person who dares to hurt my child will face my full wrath!

Ajax looked up from where he was looking. I could tell right away that he was recently crying. I quickly embraced him into a tight hug. I could feel his small body shaking as he cried in my arms. Who made my child cry like this! His head will roll and his family will shortly follow after!!! When his body stopped shaking, I once again asked him what was wrong. He replied that he was unable to sense manna and that he was worried that we would no longer love him if he couldn't cultivate. To help comfort him I told him that it doesn't matter if he can cultivate or not he is my child and that I would always love him. I also told him that maybe he just needed more time to sense mana than other children. After this his face clearly brightened and he quickly left the house to practice sensing mana.

Watching him run out the front door I couldn't help but feel sad. I know that my words are empty. I will always love him and that is the truth, but I know that if he could not sense mana during the class than most likely he will never be able to sense mana. Reclining more in the chair I let out a deep breath.  

Why could Ajax not feel mana with both me and his father's blood in him? He should be very talented with magic. Why couldn't it be what I was thinking and someone was bothering him. If It was, I could actually do something and make things better, but how can I help him sense mana? That is impossible to change. I guess me and David will have a long discussion when he gets back home. I once again release a tired sigh. Today was supposed to be a happy day so why did it turn out like this?

For this whole ordeal Delia stayed quiet, maybe she somehow knew that she shouldn’t do anything. But once Ajax left she looked at me and asked “Is Ajax going to be okay?”  

This simple and innocent question took me out of my thoughts. Picking her up and setting her on my lap I quietly said “I don't know, I don't know.”

David walked home while whistling a tune. It was a fast paced song that made one want to dance. Pushing open the door expecting to see a joyous Ajax and a similarly happy Sahara, instead when he pushed opened the door there seemed to be a weight in the air. Walking farthing into the house he saw his wife sitting near the table with puffy eyes looking off into empty space. Quickly rushing over to his wife, David grabbed her shoulders and gave her a soft shake.

“What's wrong? Dear, what happened?!” He anxiously called.

A soft whisper escaped Sahara's lips. “Ajax can't sense mana.”

These four words shook David to his very core. If Ajax could not sense mana, then he would never be able to cultivate. That means that for his whole life he would be looked down on and used by the strong. Not willing to accept what he heard he, shook Sahara a little bit harder.  

"What did you say?" He whispered horsely.

“Ajax can't sense mana.” Sahara's hollow voice stated again.

This time David was prepared for it, but he still couldn't help but feel the weight those four words represented. Reeling backwards, David fell into one of the other chairs, and put his face in his hands and cried silently to himself. When the tears would no longer flow, he got up and walked over to his wife, Sahara, and gave her a big hug.  

“Everything is going to be alright.” He stated with as much confidence as he could.

Hearing these words, Shara seemed to pull herself together and came back to her normal self.  

Hearing David's comforting words and feeling secure in his embrace, I was like a ship returning to harbor from a long voyage, safe and secure. Pulling myself out of his warm embrace, I told him about what Ajax told me today. After hearing all this I could see that David did not want to believe it, but he knew that I said was true.  

“What do you think could have caused this? We are both very talented.” I questioned David.  

“I don't know. Maybe the gods are punishing me for what I did in the past?” David replied saying the second part more to himself than to me. Hearing what he said I snapped back at him.

“You did what you had to do to survive. You can't be blamed for any of that. Don't blame yourself, you are not the only person who has done things they are not proud of!” I heatedly replied.

Quickly standing up, I decided it was time to start dinner. “David would you mind helping me make some dinner? I think that having a good meal would make us all more happy." I finished in a much more calm voice.

In a small room sat five guys dressed in all black talking quietly amongst themselves.  

“This is the right place, right?” The leader said to the other four.

“Yes, according to the report, he is living in a small house just a little out of town.” One of them answered.

“Good, good, it has been ten years since he left us. Who would have thought we would have found him in this small backwater place? Everyone get ready. We will head out shorty”

It has been ten years since we have last meet, David, I hope you are prepared for what is it to come, because this is all your fault. The leader venomously thought to himself as he followed the rest of the group out of the room.