Chapter Four- Truths

Aeryn learns about his mother, a woman he barely knows except for a small photograph he received as a child...

               Aeryn's body felt numb as he held the picture in his hand. Margaret sat down in a chair across from him, setting a small tray with two mugs and a pitcher of hot tea on the table. Aeryn never looked up from the picture in his hands.
           

                He'd seen a picture of his mother only once before now. She'd sent it to him in a birthday card when he was little. It had been small and slightly faded, no bigger then the type you would find in a locket. But this picture was so much more. It had his mother in full color. She had the same blonde hair as him, something he must have taken from her rather than the dark hair of his father. Her eyes were a beautiful, sharp blue. Intelligent, sparkling eyes that matched the happy smile she had on her face. She was dressed in a sort of uniform, a button up coat and matching pants, mostly green with some white trimmings and gold buttons. Her arm was interlocked with another woman, slightly younger. He looked up as he recognized her as being the same woman in front of him. 
           

"Yes, we're sisters." Aeryn swallowed hard, his head spinning. This was all too much to handle at one time. But, if this was her sister then...His eyes widened.
           

"Wait! If you're sisters then you have to know where she's at. Can I meet her? Where does she live? What does she do?" He would have kept on with the questions, but she simply held up a hand to silence him. He snapped his jaw shut. She let out a long sigh, taking a sip from her tea. 
           

"I wish I could tell you all that. I don't know. I haven't spoken to my sister in over six years." Aeryn blinked. He wanted to ask what kind of sister could just shut herself off from her sibling for that long. But he already knew the answer. The same kind of person that could leave her son and never see them again. His hand clenched into a fist and he shook his head. Margaret let out a soft sigh.

"No, you don't understand. I can see why you're upset, but I know there's a reason. If Loreli's chosen to shut herself off from us then its got to be for a good reason. Your father knows this, it’s just sad that you've had to go so long without a mother to take care of you. But Loreli would never abandon her family without a reason." 
She drifted off, looking at the picture herself. She carefully picked it up, walking back to the shelf in the living room and setting it down. Her hand drifted over the frame for a moment before she returned to sit down across from Aeryn. He had his head lowered. It was swarming with all these emotions. His dad had to know he'd find out about this. In fact, it was probably why he'd sent him to Margaret first. 
           

"What about my dad? How long did you know him?" Margaret smiled, taking a short sip of her tea. She gestured to the other cup and Aeryn slowly picked it up, taking a sip. But he never took his eyes off the other woman. 
           

"Oh, for several months at least. Almost a year. He was a good friend of my husband, Robert. They were both obsessed with magic, you see? All three of them, actually. But your dad and Robert would spend whole nights in that office, going over magical theory and history and whatnot. It all gave me a headache." Margaret said with a slight wave of her hand, taking another drink of her tea. But Aeryn was suddenly confused. 
           

"My dad was an Arcaeni?" Aeryn couldn't wrap his mind around this one. That couldn't be right. His father was just a carpenter, a handy man. He'd never done anything magical his entire life. How could he have been an Arcaeni and Aeryn never have known? But Margaret shook her head. 
           

"Oh no, not your father. Your father was a simply a math fiend. But him and Robert were obsessed with trying to find a "solid, unbendable magical formula" or something. Like I said, I didn't understand a word of it." 
           

"But if my father wasn't an Arcaeni, then how did he know your husband?" Aeryn asked. 
           

"Well they both attended the Academy together. Its a shame Daniel didn't finish, he was quite smart. Him and Loreli were such a great couple, too. Your father would come over all the time and help fix stuff around the shop for me. He was quite the handy man." Aeryn almost smiled at that. So this was the same person after all. He listened intently as she continued her conversation. "And when Loreli got pregnant..." She trailed off, smiling at Aeryn. "...they even moved in together. But neither of them could afford a real marriage at the time. All his money went to classes and she was still struggling to work her way up the ranks of the Militant at the time. It wasn't until shortly after she had you that she got the promotion. The next thing I know your father had suddenly packed up and left with you and Loreli stopped coming over as much. She'd call here and there, but it wasn't the same. And then...around when Robert died..." Aeryn felt his heart tug as he saw the look in her eyes. For some reason it had never clicked that her husband was probably dead. Once again he felt numb. "...she stopped getting in contact with me completely. That was about six years ago." 
           

Aeryn didn't...couldn't...say anything. He looked at his empty cup of tea, trying to process everything he'd learned. All he understood is that no one could get in contact with his mother. She'd left all of them alone, even her own sister...her own son. He hated this woman! How could she do that to all the people that loved her! All for some sort of promotion? Aeryn may have left to join the Arcaeni, but he wasn’t doing it for himself. He had to do it. For his dad’s sake.

His hand was shaking and he was forced to sit the cup down. He paused as suddenly Margaret, sat her hand on his clenched fist. He looked up, seeing the look of pity in her eyes. Aeryn took in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out.
           

"It’s been a long day for you. I'll show you to where you'll be staying." And with that she stood up, walking to the end of the room. She stopped, turning to look back at him expectantly. With a sigh he stood up, following her out of the room and up the stairs. The stairway led to a small hallway with three doors. The one at the end was open and he could see what must have been Margaret's bedroom. But she stopped at the one at the opposite end of the hall. Slowly, she opened the door and turned on the light, stepping through to let him pass.
           

The room was a small office. There was a couch and a few chairs and all of the walls were lined with bookshelves and filing cabinets. The floor was hardwood with a large, ornate rug filling up most of the space in the center. At the end of the room was a large wooden desk, behind which was a large leather chair and a square window with heavy curtains that matched the center rug. She gestured to the couch. It was rather large, and there was already a small folded stack of linens on it with a pillow. He walked over to it, pausing to turn around and look back at her. 
           

"Its not much, but--" 
           

"Its perfect, Mar...Aunt Margaret." She smiled at the last part. There was a moment of silence between the two before she nodded, exiting the room and closing the door behind her. He listened as her footsteps faded to the end of the hall and he heard her door close. Looking at the blanket he wondered if he'd even be able to sleep tonight. There was so much to think about, so much he wanted to know. But as a long yawn crept up on him, he quickly unfolded the blanket and laid on the couch. Within moments he was fast asleep...



Author's Note

All criticism is appreciated ^^