They’d spoken with the woman, after giving her the letters. At least in Oria’s eyes, they barely did so much as hint towards what they’d come from—but the woman must’ve known either way. She’d looked right at Oria and said, “Make sure you know where you’re going from here. There’s a whole new, unfamiliar world out there—find your place in it, and make it so you never regret your decision.”
She kept thinking about it as Caenum slowly led the way to his parents’ house. But, the longer she considered it, the more anxious it made her. Should she have a better plan than to stay with him? There was a sense of familiarity about Fleyw Bresh, but it was foreign, too—she couldn’t find herself completely uneasy in these new lands, yet she couldn’t be comfortable, either. The longer she dwelled on those words, the more detached she felt from everything else around her.
So, she simply told herself she’d take things one step at a time. First and foremost, she was going to make sure Caenum reunited with his parents.
“This… is where they live,” he said, slowly, stopping near the door. He went to knock, but hesitated—though what he said wasn’t really what was on his mind. “You might not understand them at first, but I’ll try to get them to speak the Old Tongue for you.”
He was still for a moment later, but it turns out he didn’t need to knock at all. The door swung open, revealing a man and woman that must’ve been his parents. At first, it seemed like they didn’t want to believe what they were seeing, then they both hugged him. They said things—asked questions—she couldn’t understand. While they all but dragged him inside, he said something to them, the only words she understood being Oria and Idkor.
They looked at her, blinked in unison, then donned soft smiles. Caenum’s mother stepped towards Oria and gestured inside. “Well, then, there’s no use in her being a stranger. Come inside, dear—we’ll get some snacks ready for both of you.”
“Thank you…” was the most Oria could manage. She followed Caenum’s mother to their living room and, after another prompting motion, sat down on the couch.
While Caenum’s mother went into a different room—the kitchen, most likely—his father stayed with the two of them. His voice was serious, but it would be wrong to say there was no care in it whatsoever. And what he said was simple: “We thought you were dead.”
Caenum’s eyes immediately went down to the floor. “I think I should be.”
“That isn’t what I meant—I’m certain you know that, too.”
“Either way, I don’t see what makes me the special one. The others were a part of it, too. They didn’t find someone to help them—they probably didn’t even survive a trip back to shore. Yet I did, somehow…”
Caenum’s mother came back with what looked to be some baked pastries and water, setting them on the table in front of them. She was thoughtful when she remarked, “Maybe there’s something Orestis has planned for you—something that made Daphni allow you safe passage. You’ve made it here and back again, after all. Things like that aren’t often coincidences.”
“I did, but what about the others? Why do I get the happy ending when none of them did?”
Caenum’s father shook his head slowly. “Let’s just try to stay calm. We may never understand Orestis’s plans. Just tell us everything that happened, if you can. I’d like to hear the complete story behind this new friend of yours.”
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Not without a lack of hesitation, Caenum started the story from when he and his friends left the shore of Fleyw Bresh. The details he told them was the same thing he’d told her. Then, he explained how he met Oria, and the things she’d done to help him. She interjected, when she felt it fitting, to point out she didn’t mind helping and how she felt it all to be the will of Orestis; somewhat unfortunately, she could see the growing admiration and thankfulness they had for her, and humbling herself changed none of it.
When the story ended, they were left in a moment of silence. Then, Caenum’s mother brought all of her attention to Oria, and smiled. “Thank you. I understand the situation you must’ve been put in and, no matter how much you try to convince us otherwise, we all know what you gave up. You could’ve just as easily sent him to the officials to deal with in the same way they do all outsiders.”
“No, I don’t think I ever could’ve managed it.” Oria, still, tried everything she could to make it seem less significant. She didn’t think it nearly as special as they were making it out to be—she didn’t want too much emphasis to be placed on her own actions. “If I had… I don’t believe Sachiel would allow me the mercy of forgetting. I couldn’t leave someone alone like that, no matter my circumstances, and no matter theirs.”
“That doesn’t change the sacrifices you’ve made for us,” Caenum’s father pointed out. “We’re grateful for that. Please, stay as long as you want—or, however long you need. We’ll be more than willing to accommodate you and make sure you know what’s expected of you here. You’ll probably find it a bit unusual compared to what you’re used to, but it shouldn’t be completely new, either. Not like if you’d landed in Seothia.”
“I’m… beginning to realize that. Thank you. I’ll be sure to take you up on that offer, though… I hope I won’t be a burden for too long…”
Caenum shook his head. “You deserve this more than I do. I know, you… kind of risked your life for me, even if it never seemed to get that serious. What kind of people would know that, but give you nothing in return for it? Don’t say it’s a big deal. We all know it is.”
She opened her mouth to argue, though ultimately she decided to say something else. “Alright, I’ll take you up on your offer. So long as you understand that none of this was your fault. You deserve to be here, to be happy, just as much as I do. Let’s leave the past in the past.”
Both of his parents nodded.
He looked surprised, for a moment, before nodding as well. “I’ll try.”
“I’d say you’re probably both tired, and that you both want to get some rest, but… we need to share this with the church,” Caenum’s father remarked. “Oria, you don’t know any of our modern tongue, do you? Or—I suppose you must know it as the language of the humans, or the Fleyw Bresh.”
She shook her head. “Merchants know practical terms, and the sailors may be fluent. But the nobility are never expected to mingle with your people. To learn a part of the humans’ ways would be to abandon yet another part of ourselves.”
“You can go on ahead, dear,” Caenum’s mother said, looking at her husband. “Get the church to bring another fairy who could hold a conversation with her. It gives the two of them some time to rest, too—to relax before they have to answer any more questions.”
He nodded and moved towards the door. “I’ll try to explain what I can to them. I know they won’t make too much of a scene out of it if I ask them not to.”
Once he left, Caenum perked up at a different thought. “Hey, when we get this all sorted out, maybe I could show you around! Get you comfortable.”
“That sounds like it would be a lovely idea,” Caenum’s mother said with a smile. “You know, in another week and a half, the town’s going to be holding a festival. If we can get you more comfortable around others—even just some fairy friends of ours—I’m sure they’d all be overjoyed to meet you.” She paused. “If it won’t be too much at once, that is.”
Oria shook her head. “No, no, I like the sound of that. Sooner or later—and I much prefer sooner—I need to understand what life will be like here. And, though I’ve still barely been here… I have the same kind of confidence I had when I first found Caenum. This is the right decision and I’m ready to see it through until the end—with all of you, I’m hopeful for what the future might hold.”