27

Christian had spells that could heal me, but they needed time. He cast healing spells on both of us. The pain from the injuries subsided slowly. We talked.

    “What did your Mom say when you told her you don’t measure up?” Christian asked me.

    “How do you know I told her?”

    “Because you’re close enough. I think you would have told her.”

    “I did.”

    “And?”

    “She told me that I do have talents. Dad told me I have nothing to worry about. My friends complimented me.”

    I complimented all of them sometimes.

    “Dad and the other dwarves always assured me that I shouldn’t feel like I wasn’t good enough for my parents,” Christian shared. “Dad told me they were lucky to have me. All of them taught me something about the things they like to do.”

    “You have a hard time believing them when they tell you you’re great, even though you want to,” I guessed.

    “Yeah, I guess I wanted confirmation.”

    “Me too. Speaking of Mom, there is something I have been wondering.”

    “What?”

    “What is going on with Eileen?”

    “What do you mean?”

    “If she did ruin my parents’ marriage, why?”

    “You said it had something to do with wanting to be a mother.”

    “Can’t you scry?”

    Christian was very good with magic because he practiced all the time to become more powerful. Partly, because he loved magic.

    Christian scried.

    I waited until he was done.He looked up.

    “Eileen used to have a family,” he said.

    “What happened to them?”

    “She loved her husband and she was constantly planning outings for the two of them.”

    He wouldn’t have been able to know that, if he hadn’t practiced enough to become powerful.

    “She was more invested in her first marriage,” Christian said. “But she wanted to be a mother. But she was mean, which was why she was never able to bond with her kids. They stopped wanting to bond with her after a while.”

    “Sounds familiar.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “She doesn’t understand compassion. She doesn’t understand why I want to help people. One time, I got hurt helping people and because she thought it was a bad idea, she didn’t say anything to make me feel better.”

    “Sounds like what I saw in the crystal ball.”

    “What happened after that?”

    “Her husband took the kids and got a divorce.”

    Eileen had shown more interest in me than Dad. Maybe the reason she wanted to marry Dad was so she could have another chance at being a mother. She messed it up before she tried to kill me and Mom. It did seem like she felt bad about messing up as a mother.

    Christian held me and listened as I told him how I felt.