Disclaimer: I do not own Sorcerous Stabber Orphen. There. I said it.
A Twist of Fate
By: Esuna
"You better take responsibility, you stupid sorcerer!"
"Take WHAT responsibility? I didn't do anything!" cried an astonished Orphen.
Cleao looked incredulous. "Didn't do anything? Then explain why our clothes are scattered all over the floor!"
Orphen snapped his jaw shut at the remark.
"Hmph! You sneaky, filthy, impudent, good-for-nothing – "
"Go on, keep that list going!" he dared as he cracked his knuckles against the other hand.
"Oh? You think that'll scare me? Well think again, jerk!"
Orphen grunted out loud.
"Well?"
"Well WHAT? You were the one who landed on my bed! I should be telling you to get out of my room!"
"You know I have this habit of sleep-walking! But you-you…! Ugh, just LOOK at us!" she cried as she pulled the covers higher in order to shield her bare body.
"So what will you have me do then, Cleao?"
She smiled a little. "Marry me! That's what!"
"NO WAY!" Orphen snapped at once.
"Oh YES way!"
"No way in HELL I'll marry someone like you!" he spat.
Cleao was taken aback. "How can you say that?"
"I'll say whatever I want, brat!"
She felt her eyes stinging with tears now but she refused to cry in front of him.
"I can't believe this happened to me!" Orphen rambled on. "Of all the women in this planet, why did it have to be you? Damn it, I swear I'll never touch anything alcoholic again! EVER!"
Orphen…did you really mean it?
0-0-0-0-0
"You come back here! Right now!"
The boy freaked out when his mother gave chase. There was no way in hell he was going to eat that stew! The last time he ate it, his stomach felt funky all day and he thought he saw tentacles coming out of his mother's head. When she made stew for him again, he made a cruel joke to his friend and said that his mother makes the BEST stew in the world and so, his friend agreed to exchange his lunch with him. In the end, his friend turned green in the face and fainted right on the spot! White foam came out of his mouth too! He refused to end up like THAT…
"Mama, stop! I don't wanna eat it no more!"
He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him but knew that his mother would probably out-run him in the end. After all, she had long slender legs that could carry her in an instant and also, she had always been a good runner from the start!
"You get back here! Do you hear me? Right this instant!" She waved a fist at him and sped up.
"Nooooo!" he bellowed just as he hopped over a huge tree trunk.
He heard his mother screech in surprise as she tripped over that thick knot. A loud "thud" could be heard from behind. The boy swung his head over one shoulder in order to see his mother lying face first on the mossy ground. Even in that position, she was still waving her fist at him.
0-0-0-0-0
GRRRRRRRR…
"Oh shoosh! I know you're hungry," the boy scolded his tummy.
URRRRRRR…?
He sighed.
"What am I going to do? I'm starving but I don't wanna go back!"
ERRRRRRR…!
"Mama's stew will incinerate you!" he reasoned.
GRRR.
"Now that sounds a little better," the boy replied.
He dragged his tired feet along the forest's trail and rubbed his stomach as he felt the acid burning inside it.
0-0-0-0-0
"I smell something GOOD!" the boy beamed delightedly to himself.
He had been walking around the forest in circles for the past hour, contemplating whether he should go home yet. But now, just now, he smelled something nice coming from the east side. Maybe he could… No, no. He shouldn't. But he was so hungry and the smell was just too addicting!
Without even thinking, his feet had already begun moving on its own…towards the source of smell…
0-0-0-0-0
"Get back here, kid!" the man cried as he sprinted after him.
The boy took another huge bite of the drumstick that he managed to steal as he ran for his life.
"Don't make me use MAGIC on you!"
…Magic? Noooo waaayyy!
"You wouldn't!" the boy taunted.
"Try me!"
The boy glanced over his shoulder. There was something about that sinister smile and those mocking wine-coloured eyes of his that suggested he WOULD do it. Even if it meant his opponent was only a five year old kid! How low can he get?
"In that case," the boy decided as he suddenly whirled around, "take THIS!"
He hurled the entire drumstick at the sorcerer and lucky for him, it hit the guy squarely in the face! BINGO!
"Hehehehehehehe!"
As the greasy drumstick slid off his face, he growled, "Damn brat! I'll get you and hang you upside down to a tree!"
0-0-0-0-0
"La-la-la-la-la-la!" the boy sang happily to himself as he skipped along the trail in the forest. "I avoided Mama's killer stew AND ate tasty meat from that no-brain sorcerer!" He laughed out loud. "And they couldn't even catch me either!"
"YOU THINK SO!" two voices boomed at once.
Before the boy knew it, he was tackled down to the ground with a startled "Aaaahhhh!"
He looked up in time to see his scary mother and that no-good sorcerer hover angrily over him. However, the scowl on their faces disappeared at once as they turned to realize something. Their gazes locked at once. They were staring at one another in complete silence and with a mix of shock and disbelief. The two adults still had the poor boy pinned firmly down to the trail. Why were they staring at each other like that? Did they know each other from before?
"I finally found you…Cleao," the man whispered at last.
0-0-0-0-0
True to his words, the sorcerer hung the boy upside down to a tree just outside their cabin.
"Get me down right now you awful, AWFUL man! You hear me? I want down NOW!"
0-0-0-0-0
"Hmm…I should've gagged him," the sorcerer inquired as he sat across from the blond beauty in the main room. "Cleao, who is that kid? You know him?"
She hesitated. "…Yes. He's my…son," she finally replied.
His eyes widened at that statement as he literally jumped out of his chair. "WHAT?" The kid didn't look a thing like her! Other than the fact that he inherited her lovely blue eyes and her feisty personality. The kid had dark brown hair instead of blond. But he had a lot of good complexions in that he would grow into a handsome young man one day.
"Tell me," he said calmly. "Why did you leave that day? I'd never thought you would actually do it but you did. And when I confronted your family about it, they refused to let me know of your whereabouts. I spent five years looking for you. But I know I'm too late. You're already married and have a kid now."
…Married, huh?
"So who's the lucky guy?"
…Lucky? How ironic…
Cleao smiled sadly to herself as she riveted her gaze elsewhere. "It would have been that filthy, impudent, good-for-nothing sorcerer of five years ago."
He stiffened at that remark. It was supposed to be HIM? So…she never married…all because of him? Did that also mean she spent five long years waiting for him? And what about the child? Now wait a minute… Things were beginning to make sense now. Five years ago…and on that one particular night… Then the child… The child! Was that the reason she left? At the sudden realization, he stepped over to her, wanting to hold her in his arms.
"No! Stay where you are, Orphen!" She hugged herself as she remembered those words he had sputtered to her.
"No way in HELL I'll marry someone like you!"
"Of all the women in this planet, why did it have to be you?"
"I-I'm sorry," Orphen finally whispered. Just how could he make amends for these five wasted years? How…?
"Forget it," Cleao dismissed softly. She was no longer angry but sad. "You'd best be on your way now." She marched straight for the door and opened it for him.
"Mama! Mama! Let me down! Let me down! Mama! Mama?" the boy could be heard crying from a distance.
Instead of stepping out of the cabin, Orphen walked over to the door only to push it closed again.
"You stupid sorcerer!" the boy could be heard faintly.
With his hand still on the door, Orphen stooped close to Cleao, overwhelming her. She tried to step back but felt the wall behind her already. He finally pulled her into an embrace as his strong arms tightened around her slender figure.
"I'm sorry," he repeated against her neck, "I truly am. I didn't mean what I said that day. I was just confused, frustrated, and angry with myself. I shouldn't have let things go too far."
Cleao said nothing.
"You know," he continued, "I got this thing after I realized you were gone." He pulled back from her as he fumbled inside the front pocket of his cool jacket to pull out a shiny, silver band.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. Yeah, right! Orphen, - a cold, insensitive jerk - got her a RING?
He took her hand and slid the band on her finger. It fit perfectly!
"W-Wha…?" she fumbled in shock.
He grinned at her. "It's been with me for five years already. I've been meaning to give it to you one day. It really kept me going in my search for you. Thanks to this thing here, I finally found you. And I can finally put it on your finger."
"You idiot," she choked out through tears.
Orphen smiled again as he brushed away her tears with a hand. "What's his name?"
"Huh?"
He sighed. "That little runt."
Cleao smiled a little. "Ah. His name's Ki."
"Hmm…Ki…Krylancelo…Ki…"
"That's why I named him Ki," she explained softly as she stepped past him in order to open the door again.
"Mama! Mamaaaa!" the boy bellowed.
Orphen stood next to Cleao by the door and slid an arm around her shoulders, making the boy widen his eyes in shock.
"A part of parenting is to get along with your kid," she said good-humouredly.
He smiled wickedly. "I know, Cleao, I know…"
0-0-0-0-0
The blood was rushing uncomfortably to his head but it didn't bother him too much as he was in for a real shock!
That sorcerer had his arm around his mother as they stood by the cabin door, smiling at him.
Strangely enough though, his heart felt complete at the sight of this couple.
It felt good.