Daniel's Early Days

Ch. 19 Confessions-Before Daniel became a powerful Mage, he was just a boy. Follow Daniel from the beginning as he receives his powers, embarks on many adventures, and learns what true power really is

Daniel’s father opened his mouth to say something, but his wife cut him off with a look. Instead, she turned to Daniel and waited. It was now painfully obvious that she knew he was keeping something from them.

“I snuck into the forest,” Daniel blurted out.

“You did, when?” his father asked in confusion.

“This morning; when Gram’s spell exploded,” he explained. He couldn’t help but cringe at the reprisal he knew was coming.

“How did you get past my wards?”

“I used my magic.” He then proceeded to explain how he had stumbled upon a way around the ward. Starting with the magic lesson from his father, calling up his magic led to Daniel experimenting with employing his magic to toss apples around, resulting with an apple flying right through the ward and into the forest. This gave Daniel an ingenious idea; what he liked to call a “light bulb moment”. It wasn’t a matter of hurling his magic at the barrier, it was keeping the magic inside. So, he experimented with calling up his magic and holding it in instead of releasing it. With enough buildup and ample pressure, Daniel pushed right through the resistant barrier.

“Wow,” his father said under his breath. Daniel’s mother turned to him and treated him to a scathing look. “Well, it is rather impressive,” his father said, holding up his hands in a warding gesture. Her face softened considerably.

“It is,” she admitted reluctantly. “Daniel, although we are…impressed by your problem solving skills, we are disappointed that you deliberately broke the rule about entering the forest.” She gave her husband a pointed look.

“Yes, we are disappointed you broke the rule. On the other hand, we are pleased that you chose to come clean and confess your transgression, aren’t we hon?” He moved to his wife’s side, and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

“Yes,” she acknowledged. “That was the right thing to do.”

“There’s more,” Daniel began hesitantly. “I met a…creature.”

“What kind of creature?” his mother demanded. She stepped forward to initiate her interrogation.

“A goblin,” he admitted with a grimace. Daniel felt extremely guilty; he felt lower than the floor. He disobeyed his parents, and the consequences were coming back to follow him around, literally. Now, his parents were involved, and it was all his fault. “Actually, he said he was a hobgoblin.”

“You spoke with him?”

“Yes, but only for a minute,” he assured her, trying to downplay the severity of the situation. Daniel treated her to his widest, most innocent eyes hoping she still trusted him and would take him at his word.

“Tell us what he said. Do not leave anything out.”

“Not much really. He said his name was Kobo.” His parents shared another look, and Daniel had a feeling that they had heard that name before. After it became clear they were not going to offer any information on what that name meant to them, he continued.

“He was pretty adamant that he was a hobgoblin, not a goblin, and…”

“And?” his father prodded.

“Well, he said he has been watching me.”

His parents shared a look of concern. “I’ll take care of it,” his father said softly to his wife.  He spun on his heel, and quickly slipped back into the trees.

“Inside,” his mother ordered.

“But, Dad…” Daniel protested.

“Will be just fine; he knows how to take care of himself.”

Hanging his head, Daniel sulked inside, his mother close on his heels.

 “You never told me that your parents had forbidden you to enter the forest,” Pearl admonished him.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel mumbled. He didn’t think that he could feel any worse than he did, until this moment. Apparently, it wasn’t enough to disappoint his parents, but now he could feel the disappointment rolling off of Pearl in waves.

   Smells of his grandmother’s homemade pizza wafted over them as they entered the kitchen. She was peeking in the oven when they came in, but she looked up when she heard their entrance. Understanding dawned on her face, and she nodded to her daughter-in-law before she left the room.

“Sit,” his mother ordered.

Daniel slumped into his chair, prepared for a lecture. Daniel had gotten in his fair share of trouble before, but this was worse than anything he had ever done. Entering the forest was strictly prohibited, and his parents had stressed on many occasions the seriousness of breaking this rule.

His mother slipped into the chair next to him, and sighed heavily. Instead of starting in on his disobedience, she surprised Daniel. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“You’re sorry, why?” Daniel was bewildered. He had broken the rules and his mother was apologizing to him, but why?

“We should have been upfront with you. Your father wanted to tell you, but I thought you were too young. I realize now that I was wrong. You need to know the truth.”