Alex and Silvers waited a long minute as the class left the room. A minute that, like all moments after a particularly emotionally charged moment, lasted far longer than it should’ve.
“So…” Alex began before pausing to take a deep breath; anger was no longer radiating from his every pore. He was now as placid as a lake on a windless night.
“You have alienated the last person that had an iota of love for you,” Silvers body tensed at these words. He was still yet to turn away from his gaze over Port Staine.
“Tell me, now you stand atop this tower looking down on all beneath you, down on everything you sacrificed for… tell me this… Was it worth it?” Silvers did not answer, only resting his hands on the balcony railing.
“Was it worth having no one who will want to remember you? Do you want to die the ultimate death… the final death? Do you want no one to mourn you when you finally pass?” Silvers still did not respond.
“I hope so… because to sacrifice love for power will end with you having neither.”
For the first time since he had stepped onto the balcony, Silvers turned back to face Alex. The man’s icy visage was nowhere to be seen; he had tears quietly rolling down his cheeks.
“Yes,” was his only response as he looked at Alex with a gaze that spoke so much more.
“It was worth it… is that what you want me to say?!” Alex retreated back a half step. In all his years, he had never known SIlvers ever to raise his voice, let alone show a modicum of emotion.
“Do you think I wouldn’t trade the world for those I love?”
“You have a strange way of showing it!”
“You’d know so much from your high horse, wouldn’t you? You who wouldn’t know why I have done what I did.”
“Then enlighten me. Help me understand why you would throw away the last good thing you have in your empty life!”
“You want to know?!” Silvers snarled as his entire form grew by a couple of feet, fur sprouting all over him. Now in his fully transformed wolfen form, Silvers towered over Alex.
“I know the world of diplomacy, human,” he snarled in a bestial tone, his long canine tongue struggling to keep up with his words. The word only being so silent it wasn’t even said despite its place in the statement.
“I know how to read people… I know what lies in their hearts!”
“And what you saw in Maxwell was not to your liking?!” Alex’s anger rose back to the surface as the two men’s aura met in a clash of overwhelming power. The intensity was such had anyone been on the same floor, their heart would have undoubtedly stopped.
“What I saw in that boy was what I saw in his mother… I… I…” Silvers form reverted back to his humanoid form as he fell to his knees.
“I can’t let it be corrupted again. I only knew the way my father raised me… But I chose not to treat Celes that way. I let him have all the freedom I was denied… it was all too late; I saw what a twisted monster he had become… But he was still my son…” Silvers raised his gaze to burn his hatred into Alex, the man responsible for his son's death.
“So when it came to Maxwell… I made sure not to give him any chance to become like Celes… but as he grew, I saw he was no better than a golem… Unable to be!”
“Why not let him play with other children, then? I know you controlled that.”
“Spies, sycophants, the lot of them. The only genuine people were the Rabbiton family. They were what I wished I could be…”
“So you carted off your parenting to a subordinate?”
“Cowardly, I know… Alexander, I am broken. The same pressure that makes diamonds also makes dust. I am dust that shines like a diamond.”
“So why did you do what you did then?” Alex asked, genuinely confused. He would never hesitate a second if he had to sacrifice every part of himself for his loved ones and suffer for eternity. He would even commit atrocities to keep his loved ones safe.
“Because I know he would be better off without me. I don’t know how to be a father. I dare say a lunatic like yourself would do a better job… I only know how to be a diplomat. Someone who must be strict and unmovable.”
“So you let him go?”
“It’s what’s best for him…” Silvers slumped against his desk, his head down, avoiding eye contact.
“Go ahead… strike me… I know you want to…”
“To quote your far braver and stronger son… No. I may be skilled at causing harm… but with you… you aren’t even worth the mana it would take to scratch you… You are just a coward who isn’t facing his responsibilities. You are just palming them onto others. No matter what I could do, you are hurting yourself far worse than I could ever achieve… Silvers, I will look after Maxwell… I will ensure he can stand on his own two feet despite your failings…”
“Why? He isn’t a relative… you have no blood relation.”
“Blood is thicker than water,” Alex’s simple reply stumped Silvers enough to get him to look up at the teacher.
“You know the origin of that saying?” Silvers shook his head.
“The original saying is ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb’. Its real meaning is the bonds we make matter more than those we are born into. It is why I treat my students like family. It is why my friends mean so much to me. My familial bonds were all but severed when I was young, and to see someone like you throw that away sickens me. So I will do what you obviously cannot do.”
With his last words given, Alex spun on his heel and walked towards the door. Pausing just as he reached out towards the door handle to look at Silvers.
“I can tell your son has a heart too big for him… I’m sure, given enough time, he may one day forgive you… the question is if that day ever comes, will you actually be worthy of it?” Alex turned back to the door only for it to swing open and slam into his face.
“Arghh!” Alex groaned as he grasped his face.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“My apologies, my lord, I was unaware someone was behind the door!!” Bak Stah’Ber said as he shuffled into the room.
“I saw the children had left and assumed the meeting was over… Can I get you some ice… gods it's already starting to swell…”
“No…” Alex said, holding up a hand to stop Bak Stah’Ber. “I need to go look after those kids… you deal with that thing.”
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June 17th, year 024 Angels Descent
It had been a couple of days since the meeting with Maxwell’s father, and he was still locked away in his room in the Elementals compound dorm building. The class had made a few efforts to get him to come out, but they had collectively decided to let him have some alone time to come to terms with what had happened.
Maxwell spent most of his time in his room, sitting in bed, staring into space till a light knock at the door broke Maxwell from his latest stupor.
“Come in.”
“Hey, Maxwell,” Alex said as he entered, carrying a tray with a pie on it.
“Hello, sir,” Maxwell replied in a monotone.
“I thought now you’ve had a few days to decompress; we could chat?”
“About what?”
“About when we do return to the Academy. Now I have a suggestion; feel free to say no. But what would you say to me adopting you?”
“Adopt… me?” Maxwell repeated, confused why his teacher would suggest such a thing.
“Maxwell… I see all my students like family… if it would help you, I honestly have no qualms about making it official. You’d also not have to worry about tuition as families of teachers get a free ride.”
Maxwell audibly swallowed as he had not even begun to assess what he was going to do about school, let alone the tuition, which would be absurd for him to afford.
“You could even leave my family registry after graduating if you truly want to strike out on your own… Just remember, whatever you choose , I am in your corner. I am nothing like that coward who drove you away.”
“DON’T TALK ABOUT MY FATHER LIKE THAT!!!” Maxwell snarled equally surprised and confused by why he had snapped at his teacher.
“Sorry, sir…”
“You don’t have anything to apologise for, Maxwell. He is still your father regardless of what he has done…”
“I have another pie for you,” Alex said, awkwardly changing the subject to one less emotionally charged.
“Another one?” Maxwell muttered, looking at the near dozen pie trays stacked on the table of his room.
Since that day, Kline’s parents had made an effort to come over and comfort Maxwell in their own way. These visits had the unexpected result of Rosy and Emily becoming best friends immediately. Both women had gone off on a baking rampage, resulting in double-digit pies every day.
Even the Boris twins, who were well known for being gluttonous to the local restaurants, had been unable to put a real dent in the baked goods.
“They want you to keep eating. You need energy to mope about. You know… I know how you feel,” Alex began before trailing off.
“About pies?”
“No about your father.”
“All due respect, sir, you don’t.”
“You know what… you’re right. I don’t know… but I can empathise… I can understand the pain of losing loved ones. That pain in your heart that feels like it will never be filled.” Maxwell looked up at his teacher, his eyes already beginning to water as his lower lip trembled.
“It's ok to cry, Maxwell… it’s ok to cry,” Alex said soothingly as he pulled Maxwell in for a side hug. Maxwell’s shoulders began to shake as he let out quiet sobs.
“I’ve lost the last of my family.”
“Maxwell, you’d do well not to lie to yourself like that… You have plenty of family. People who care about you more than anything.”
“You mean my friends?”
“Maxwell, a family isn’t who you’re born into but who you grow close to. Look at me, the people downstairs are my family, and I don’t share a drop of blood with them. You have the same as me; you have Frank and Emily, who think of you as their other son. You have Kline, who, in his own way, sees you as a brother. You have Bea and Gunter, who follow your lead, and Daisy, someone who will call you out when you need it. You even have Tasha who… well, I’ll let her lead with that one… But you have so many people in this building alone who care about you the way a family should.”
“What if I made a mistake, though… what if the road I chose was wrong?” Maxwell asked as he looked up at his teacher, pain and hesitation clear on his face.
“You have chosen a path you know not what is ahead of you. There may be footfalls; you may stumble, and you may even fall flat on your face. But you have people who will be there to help you back up. People who will walk that road with you.”
“Maxwell, you don’t need to decide right here and now… you don’t need to charge ahead before you can see the path… if you don’t want to be adopted, I will speak with Sloth and get you a scholarship. Now shall we go downstairs and eat some dinner? I heard it is, Honkdra and pancakes.”
Maxwell weakly nodded as he placed the pie on the table and followed Alex out of the room and downstairs to the dining area. Partly in the hope of stopping the dynamic duo from baking more pies. The aroma permeated the entire building and was far too tempting already.
Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, he could see the rest of his classmates sitting around the table. Tasha was the first to rise to welcome him back, rapidly approaching him. Expecting the hug, Maxwell opened his arms only to feel a sharp pain as Tasha slapped him across each cheek.
“What was that for?!!”
“For making me worried about you… you idiot!”
Rubbing his cheeks, Maxwell looked around the room. He could see everyone had clearly been worried about him. He had spent days moping in his room, and they didn’t know how to approach him about what had happened.
“I’m sorry for making you worry…” was all he could mutter.
“Fine!! You can make it up to me by taking me to one of the sweets stalls we walked past the other day.”
“Oh, sure, we can get the others.”
“No, I didn’t say the others… I said me… You made me worried… so just you and me to get sweets!” Maxwell could only weakly nod in agreement, thankful for her slapping his cheeks. Otherwise, everyone would see how clearly red they had started to go.
“Maxy!!!” Emily cried out as she ran up behind the stunned teenager are squeezed him in a tight hug.
“Alex, I told you… Pies fix everything!!!”
“Thank you for the pies Mrs Rabbiton.”
“Maxy, I’ve told you to call me Emily… Frank has given that man a piece of his mind… don’t worry; we will help look after you.”
“Thank you…”
“Dinners ready!” Rosy said as she brought out a platter piled high with meat, followed closely behind by Haddy carrying a stack of pancakes and vegetable strips. Everyone settled into their seats and began to enjoy their meal just as Alex spoke up.
“By the way, guys, we have gotten booked in for transport to Hades seat in four days. So sweets will have to be done before that.” Tasha and Maxwell nodded in acknowledgement as the majority of gazes turned to Daisy.
“SO what do your parents do?” Bea asked.
“They are just accountants… nothing as extraordinary as you guys.”
“Hopefully, there won’t be any drama then… nothing interesting happens with accountants,” Maxwell said with a weak grin.
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–HADES SEAT–
It was late at night in the Capital of the Shadow Empire, and several cloaked figures were moving swiftly through the streets. Their target was a small manor house on the outskirts of the city—the residence of the Haemont family.
“So, is it a total family wipeout?” One of the cloaked figures asked the one with a red band on his arm.
“No, just the patriarch and matriarch of the family…” the figure replied as the figures all drew sharp knives from under their cloaks.
“Serves them right… they should’ve known better than to look into those accounts,” the first figure said with a snicker that sounded like scrap metal in a pipe.