ASHLYN

“Now if I can get some wine,” Emi said, wiping her arms with a towel before sinking onto the couch. “I won’t even say no to some cheap ale.”

“I have a house rule against alcohol,” Ashlyn stifled a laugh. “And smoking.”

Emi snorted. “Mighty noble of you to make up some rules like that, since you do neither.”

Ashlyn smiled, and for a moment, it felt like she was back in the old days when the two of them could talk without any reservations. “I would have given you a pass, but there’s nothing unfortunate to drink in the house.”

“How you spend out here alone like this, I’d never know,” her younger sister said, shaking her head.

Arilyn and Rosalyn were fast asleep after hours of playing around, and Ashlyn had finally finished tidying the house. She sank onto the couch beside Emelyn, thankful for her help with the cleaning. They had spent the afternoon together, but neither had brought up the heavier topics then.

“If you are staying for another night,” she proposed, “I might not be against the idea of brewing something nasty for now. Only have to make sure the children are not close.”

“Never imagined I’d see this day,” Emelyn said, nudging against her shoulder. “You, settling down, raising a family all by yourself. You were so wild and feisty.”

“Nor did I,” Ashlyn said. “But raising a child changes you... My little pumpkin is so sweet. He makes it all worth it.”

“I hope so,” her sister chimed, patting her lap and inviting her to lie down. Just like old times. “He’s so adorable, and so darn curious... Solas, he asks so many questions.”

Ashlyn gave in too easily, laying her leg over the head of the couch, her head nestled on Emi’s lap. Her sister brushed a clumsy finger through her locks, nuzzling slowly. “He usually finds the answer to his question on his own,” she murmured. “Only asks when he couldn’t find them... or if he’s overly excited about something, which is everything concerning a Magus.”

“It’s not a problem, far from it,” Emelyn said. “I’d say it is a defining characteristic of excellence. Curiosity.”

Ashlyn stared at her in silent contemplation.

“Don’t give me that look,” her sister snorted. “You wouldn’t have taught him meditation at such an early age or given him the cube if you thought he’d be average.”

“He learned to meditate on his own,” she sighed.

“Really… How?”

“Said he imitated watching me, and one day it began to make sense to him.”

Emelyn’s brushing fingers froze, the magus in her beginning to calculate what it could entail in raw talent. “Ash, this is really... With meditation, he’s already half-prepared for spellcrafts.”

“I know,” she whispered, her lips pressed into a thin line. Perhaps the simplicity of living in a village with little to no distraction had led him to be so earnest in it, but that didn’t explain all of it. There were hardly any kids as diligent as her pumpkin. “It’s not just meditation... he can sense essence... read and write. He has already filled up a dozen notebooks.”

It might sound like the ability to read and write was minuscule compared to the ability to sense essence. But essence came naturally to many gifted individuals.

“Well, having Focus and Cognition could help one develop their mind sooner.”

True, there was no shortage of kids who were a bit smarter for their age. A bit, because a few points in this and that attribute could never be a better teacher than first-hand experience. Then there were also those the Spell was partial to.

“What worries you?” Emi asked, squeezing her palms.

What worries her? Well, she could name a dozen. Ignoring the antagonistic relationship she had with her mother before cutting herself off from everything, I worry I’ll repeat the same mistakes with Arilyn. That he’ll hate me and will cut ties with me like I did.

All those chaotic thoughts gripped her heart, and yet she didn’t bring herself to voice her concern to her sister—the person she was once closest to all her life.

“I worry the Spell is stealing my little boy’s childhood from him,” she sighed with a heavy heart.

“You remember Nero,” her sister said, reading her expression and her aura. “Of course, you do… He turned out to grow up pretty well, even with all the interference. I’m sure you have nothing to fear.”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Her heart jumped as the face of a young boy resurfaced in her mind. A boy, a genius with talents like no other, the youngest to advance to the Prestigious Class. Like Arilyn, Nero was born with a gift, one that bloomed at an early age. Unfortunately, too many people tried to mould him to their liking, forced him through gruelling training when he needed pampering, and left him with nobody to turn to.

Ashlyn would never let anyone, perhaps even her own family, shape her little boy. Emelyn was closest to her heart, and even then, she had deliberated for months before inviting her.

“You are exhausted, Sister,” Emi murmured, massaging her head. “You are trying to play all the roles you can for Arilyn while also doing everything else...”

“It isn’t bad,” she said, letting out a slow breath.

“I know, but all these years, you’ve been raising him alone.”

Ashlyn could feel the question brewing at the tip of Emi’s tongue—questions she had dodged for years.

“What of his father?” Emelyn asked. “Where is he? Even our father was never...”

She didn’t complete the sentence, but Ashlyn knew what her younger sister was getting at. Surprisingly, she wasn’t angry... Perhaps she would have been if it was Ashlyn of a decade ago... she didn’t have the same fire in her anymore.

Ashlyn traced her finger over the left side of her ribcage, reaching for the old scar there. Even covered under her clothes, she could still feel it.

“Honestly, I don’t even know where he is currently,” she said, her breath hitching. “If even alive...”

“Oh, Ash...”

“Don’t.” Ashlyn sat up, a brittle smile on her lips. “I chose knowing it all.”

“But,” Emi sighed, “doesn’t Arilyn need his father?”

Ashlyn groaned. She had to bring that up.

“Sometimes I wonder if you like being alone,” her sister said. “You ran away from home, fighting Mother… then that whole thing at the Olympus, and you left your job and everything to disappear completely for years… Sometimes I feel you don’t need us… you don’t want us.”

“Emi, you know it’s not like that…”

“I know, and I still feel that way…” She bit her lip. “ Can you imagine how hard it is for Rose? Like you, she doesn’t express much, but I know how much she misses her eldest sister.”

Ashlyn parted her lips to say something, but she found no words that would excuse her absence. Perhaps she could give a valid explanation, perhaps she could blame her mother, but she couldn’t change the fact that she was absent while their little sister grew.

In the end, All of her valid reasons would be nothing more than hollow excuses to Rosalyn.

“I’m sorry for not being a filial elder sister to you two,” she finally said, kissing Emilyn’s palm. Now all I hope is that I don’t become an even worse mother to Arilyn.

Emilyn shook her head. “When I first told Rose about coming here, she said she didn’t want to come… However, on the day of the journey, she silently showed up hours before time.”

“That really sounds like our Little Goblin,” she chuckled.

“She idolizes you.”

Ashlyn furrowed her brows.

“Gosh! You’ve made it so hard now,” Emi said, exhaling deeply. “I was hoping you’d come with us—to live together.”

Ashlyn cocked her head up.

“You have done all you could alone to raise him,” Emilyn continued. “Let us… let me do my part as an aunt.”

“Emi,” Ashlyn opened her mouth, yet couldn’t find the words. “I…”

“You’re still going to be stubborn,” Emilyn said, reading her expression.

“I cannot leave,” she said, biting her lip. “Not yet. I still have work to do.”

Her sister only stared at her with a pained expression. A deep-rooted guilt resurfaced within Ashlyn’s heart. She closed her eyes before they could break into tears.

This is where we agreed to unite. This is where he’ll return to if he’s still alive… I cannot leave. Not yet.

“I’m sorry, Emi, but—”

“It’s alright," her sister said, her lips pressed to a thin line. " I guess I was hopeful for nothing…”

“I promise to visit you and Rose,” Ashlyn said, but the damage was already done. “Just give me a little more time to make it to you… Let Arilyn have a normal childhood, with no pressure and expectations weighing on his little shoulders…”

And let me cling to the little hope I have of him returning…

“We’ll come to you, Emi… when this little world is not enough for Arilyn… when I cannot give him everything…”

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EMILYN

Rose awoke a little later than usual and then had to wipe clean her made-up moustache and beard—her little nephew’s handiwork—pushing their return journey to be delayed. But Ashlyn did note her little sister’s sullen expression.

Rose didn’t want to leave, but it couldn’t be helped.

She had training to attend, and it was the same for Emilyn—the difference being that she would be the one giving the said training.

“Can’t you just teach her here?” asked her little nephew. His face still bore the moustache, though Rose’s hand hadn’t been as creative as his, but it did match his bright red hair.

“I could,” she said, kneeling down to wrap him in a hug. “But that will make the rest of the students miss the training.”

Arilyn pouted sullenly, wrinkling his moustache. “Aunt Emi, will you teach me magic when I grow up?”

“Of course, sweet child. But make sure you learn everything you can from your mum before you’re ready.”

He nodded eagerly. Then, mischief sparkled in his eyes. “Aunt Emi, I have a grave question. One last one, I promise,” he asked with all the seriousness a child could muster. “Mum calls me Pumpkin, and she calls the brat—uh, Rose—Little Goblin. What nickname did Mum give you?”

Emilyn smiled, amused. “She calls me ‘Emi,’ of course.”

He made a face, feeling a little cheated.

“How about this?” she laughed, pulling his cheeks playfully. “I’ll tell you what I used to call your mum when we were younger.”

Her nephew perked up.

She grinned and leaned in close, whispering in his ear, “Chipmunk.”

Arilyn couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Don’t tell her I told you that.”

“I promise,” he giggled.

On the other side, Rose clung to Ash, crying like she didn’t want to let go.

“Please… don’t leave me!” Rosalyn sobbed, wrapping her arms around her as tightly as she could. “We just reunited, and now we’re parting again…”

“I’m not leaving you, Little Goblin,” Ash said softly, nuzzling Rosalyn’s brown hair. “I’ll keep in touch, and I’ll even visit you when you feel lonely. But soon, you’ll be busy at the academy, with all your classes and training… and the boys.”

Rosalyn snorted, snot bubbling out of her nose.

“Train well, little sister,” their eldest sister said, patting her head. “And don’t forget to have fun.”

“I will,” Rosalyn mumbled through her tears. “I won’t.”

After wiping away her tears and snot, Rosalyn finally let go of Mum and turned to face Arilyn.

“I’ll show you an even greater spell next time I visit,” she told him.

“I’ll be waiting.”