I woke the next morning with the sun, the first rays of dawn drifted lazily through the wind ruffled curtains. Loud pops and cracks filled the room as I stretched, joints loosened, and muscles relaxed from my dreamless sleep. I reached out to my left and felt around for Rebecca, who had spent the night yesterday.

  We knew what a martial class meant for us and our future. I’d be leaving Twin Oak by tomorrow afternoon at the latest and we’d wanted to spend some time together before that happened. Helena slept at the foot of the bed in the hand-me-down cradle mom had kept from when I was a kid.

  Rebecca wasn’t there when I checked, so with a groan, I extricated myself from the blankets, underclothes frazzled in the same way I’m sure my hair was and went to Helena’s cradle. I gently wormed my arms under her and carefully I brought her up to my bare chest. Worried that even the slightest slip in control and I’d accidentally hurt her. Every woman in my life from Selena to Rebecca had told me I wouldn’t, but just the thought of my actions hurting her sent a spike of fear into my heart.

  Helena now cradled against my chest, her tiny form fit so perfectly the Grace Mother must have designed it that way. I made my way back to bed, propped up a pillow and got comfortable, back against the headboard and feet splayed out across the entire bed.

  I spent some time just studying my daughter’s features, trying to commit them to memory before I left. She had my nose, but was blessed with the rest of her mother’s delicate features. I stroked the tuft of soot black hair she had, another gift from my side of the family, with my thumb. Helena stirred as I stroked her hair. Chubby arms reached aimlessly for something to hold, still half asleep.

  I brought my hand down and reached out a finger, which she grabbed with all her tiny might, and dragged back to her chest. I’m unsure how long we spent like that, her gently cradled in my arms while she held onto my finger in the early morning silence. Eventually Helena woke and eyelids lifted blearily from irises of purple and gold, the mark of those blessed by the Grace Mother. She just stared for a minute as she tried to overcome the chains of sleep. Smiling down at her, I sang as she fully woke. What I sang to her wasn’t an actual song, just some nonsense rhymes about the cycle of the sun and moon.

  I stopped singing once Helena came fully wake, bright eyes drank in the room’s features before she stared up at me and did what I had done only minutes prior, study the features of my face. Her purple and gold stared up into my gold and purple eyes. I watched her search for something in my eyes and for a tense moment; I thought she might cry. Yet, whatever she found in my eyes must’ve been to her liking because she wiggled closer to me, closed her eyes, and made contented noises as she fell back asleep. I leaned down and kissed her forehead.

  We stayed like that for a time; and at some point I must have cried because when I heard my bedroom door creak open, I was wiping away tears.

  I cast my eyes towards the door and spotted Rebecca as she made an attempt at stealth. She’d carefully opened the door and kept her eyes focused on the floor to watch where she placed her lead feet. It was sweet, but she made a terrible sneak.

  “You’re about as quiet as an equarrel matriarch, babe.” I said, and tried to project a confidence I didn’t feel.

  She let out a sigh and opened the creaky door all the way, and strode into the room with a serenity I envied but pulled up short when she caught sight of me and Helena on the bed.

  “Bran, what happened?” She asked, voice tense, and posture rigid.

  I tried to respond, but a pit had opened in my stomach and an invisible hand had my throat in a death grip. I sat in silence, my mouth moved, but I couldn’t produce any words. My vision blurred as tears pooled in the corners of my eyes. I looked down at my daughter and held her tighter to me before I looked back at Rebecca and fought through the hand at my throat.

  “I don’t want to leave her.” I croaked. My voice caught on the last word and pooled tears spilt down my face.

  Rebecca rushed to the edge of the bed, still shorter than I was, seated upright in bed, and pulled me into a hug with Helena between us. She didn’t speak, just held me; her head rested in the crook of my neck.

  “I don’t want to leave.” I repeated, voice small, like I was a kid apologizing to a trainer for some mistake on the martial grounds again. “I don’t want to leave.”

  “I know.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Something snapped with those words and I sobbed, full-bodied, uncontrollable tears. I was helpless to stop. There was no judgement in her words. She wouldn’t resent me if I stayed. Yet, it wasn’t the acceptance that broke my control; it was the resignation in her voice.

  We both knew what I wanted wasn’t possible. The Grace Mother made me her chosen me as a child not because of my potential for rulership, but for my potential in battle. I was her weapon, and she had pointed me outside the Emerald Ocean. She had bidden me to win glory in her name; to spread her name and faith through glorious feats in battle.

  Once I had gotten myself under control, Rebecca pulled away from the hug.

  “Bran, we both know you can’t stay.” I just nodded and looked to Helena, scared my words would fail me and I’d weep again. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be a part of her life.”

  “I spoke to Rose, and she agreed that it’d be for the best if you came home once a season.” She saw the objection in my eyes and put her hand on my chin. “We aren’t saying you can’t come back more than that. In fact, I’m sure everyone would love it if you came back as often as possible. But if that isn’t possible, we all want you back at least once a season.”

  I steeled myself. It was ungraceful of me to weep like a child. This was just another obstacle for me to break through.

  “I’d like that, but I want to keep more in contact with Helena and you. Maybe we can exchange letters. I could write one every day, like a journal of sorts. That way Helena will know that even if I’m not always around, I’m always thinking of her.”

  Rebecca rested a hand on the arm I held Helena with.

  “I’d like that Bran and I know Helena will too once she’s old enough to read, but how would we do it? There isn’t enough velum in the entire cult for daily letters.”

  “I don’t know Becca.” I replied, more petulantly than I wanted. “Maybe I’ll buy some soapstone from Dale and carve my letters into that.”

  “Be reasonable Bran. You want to send her daily tablets?” she asked, irritatingly amused.

  “Grace Mother’s eyes Rebecca, I don’t know. But I will not have my daughter think her father isn’t around because he doesn’t care. No child should think that.” My voiced threatened to catch again, and I took another breath to calm myself.

  Rebecca sighed and cupped my fac to bring it level with hers for a deep kiss. When she broke the kiss, I was red as edderoot and she was completely calm. I envied that control. She only had five winters on me, but she ruled her emotions far better.

  “I still think it’s silly to carve your letters in stone, but if that’s what you need to do; them Helena and I will be overjoyed to receive them.”

  “Thank you.”

  Rebecca stared up into my eyes for a long moment, her hands still on my cheeks, before she smiled and pulled back.

  “C’mon, breakfast is ready. I think Rose has some things she wants to go over before you leave.”

  I got up from the bed, Helena still in my arms. She’d barely stirred during the conversation. Her only movement was to squeeze my finger tighter when I tried to pull my hand away from her. We left the room after a brief check in the mirror to ensure Selena wouldn't have a problem with my appearance.

  ~***~

  The breakfast nook was my favorite room in the house. Barely large enough to hold the small circular table at its center. The cramped space wasn’t claustrophobic, however, instead the room felt cozy. A feeling helped by the second of two glass windows in the house. The orange tinted opaque window cast a glow across the room, not unlike a fireplace, and gave it a sense of warmth that was all too often missing from the house. Seated at one of the four chairs, mom was already halfway through a bowl of porridge when we arrived.

  “Bran.” Mom spoke, not looking up from the food. “It’s barely past dawn. I hope you didn’t disturb my little sapling’s rest to bring her out here.”

  “I didn’t, just wanted to hold her while I still can.” Mom paused, and chewed over my words before she gestured for Rebecca and me to take a seat.

  As soon as we took a chair, Selena and Pinera rushed in from a side room with bowls of porridge already prepared.

  “Were they just waiting for us?” Rebecca asked.

  “Perks.” Mom said in response. When I looked at Rebecca for her reaction, she had the same amusement as my mom spread across her features.

  Silence took the room, and as I used that time to eat, I carefully extricated my finger from Helena’s grip.

  The porridge was good. A spice I was sure was cinnamon, and something I couldn’t identify mingled to create a sweet and slightly spicy taste. My bowl was empty sooner than I would have liked and failed to sate the appetite my frame demanded. I kept myself to a single bowl, however; the harvest had just ended and Decay was soon to arrive. I wouldn’t use up more of our food storage than required before I left.

  “Mom.” I said. My voice caused her to look up from her own food. “There is something I must confess to my [High Priestess] before I leave.”

  She nodded solemnly to me, and all amusement and geniality vanished from her. The [High Priestess of Weeping Grace] was all that remained. A woman who had almost single-handedly grown the faith past its humble origins into one of the premier powers of the Emerald Ocean.

  “What is it you must confess, child?” She spoke in the High Grace Chant. Her words aligned the rhythm of Renewal.

  “When the System offered me my classes, it did so as a clearing of trees.” [High Priestess] Rose’s eyes gained a hint of understanding, but she didn’t speak. “[Priest of Weeping Grace] presented itself as a lesser form of the Grace Mother’s true form.”

  Rebecca gasped when I finished and I winced, worried the sharp noise would wake Helena. Her face remained peaceful, however, and she didn’t still from her sleep.

  “It’s good you brought this to me.” Her gaze shifted to mine, and I could tell she expected some kind of flinch when she did so. “In the hours since the System presented you with this false idol, have you, in any way, attempted to recreate or praise it?”

  “No ma’am.” I said, gaze locked onto hers.

  “Do you have any intention of doing so now or in the future?”

  “No ma’am.”

  She reached out and gently tapped my cheek with the tightly controlled strength of a woman who could tear my skull from my spine with a twitch. When she pulled back her hand, I was looking at my mother instead of the [High Priestess] who stood briefly to give me a quick kiss on the forehead.

  “You have done no wrong, Bran. We cannot change how the System depicts the classes offered to us. Still, I’m glad you brought this to me rather than let it eat at you.”

  Helena stirred; our conversation having finally woken her. She looked around, in that unfocused way babies do, and cried. Before I could react, Rebecca stood and took Helena from my arms. She held Helena’s head to her chest and let her hear her mother’s heartbeat while she asked rhetorical questions about what was wrong.

  “Excuse me [High Priestess] I believe she needs to be changed.”

  “I’ll handle it.” I said as I rose and almost bumped my head against the ceiling.

  “No Bran, you still have some things to work out with Rose, I believe.”

  “She’s right Bran, sit, my grandbaby will be fine. We still have some details to discuss before you leave.”

  I relented and sat back down with a sigh. Reluctantly, I looked away from my baby so mom and I could go over the finer details of the trip to Woodsedge and the start of my career as an adventurer.

  Patreon where up to 15 chapters ahead of Royal Road are available already incase you don't want to wait for tomorrow!