There might be some aspects of romance or at least some flirting on Sel's part, and in return, but it will not be a big deal.

Sel soon came to learn the juggling girl's name was Maya. That was all he had learned. After a week of steady work, he had not been partnered with her once. His first meal had also gone well. No one died, and he only suffered a small cut to his finger.

He had also found himself on the receiving end of Levali's attention. One afternoon as he and several other young men guarded the walls, she brought them all hot drinks. As he sipped, not fond of spiced wine but thankful for the heat, she asked him something personal.

"You do not have to answer if you choose not to, I just found myself curious. I notice you travel with your father. But what of your mother?"

"I don't have a mother," he answered quickly.

She laughed behind her hand then apologized. "Everyone has a mother," she pointed out.

Sel hung his head to hide the sudden color on his cheeks. "I should have picked my words better. I don't know anything about her, other than I was named for her."

"Really? What was her name?"

"Selyne."

"What a lovely name." Sel did not know how to respond, so he stayed silent. She had smiled at him before turning her attention elsewhere.

The conversation had been short, but it stayed with him. After being relieved of duty, he slipped back inside and shook freshly fallen snow from his hair. It was getting colder. Though the offer to join some of the other guards was extended to him, he excused himself and went to the room he shared with Ike and Soren.

Neither were around. If he remembered correctly, he had been half asleep that morning as Ike told him where they were, both would be on guard duty on the other side of the castle. With a heavy sigh, he fell onto his bed. Soren had left out a book for him to study. He picked it up with a sigh and began to thumb through it. Soren kept him on his studies, even at his age while Ike trained him in combat. It had been that way since he was very young, and a cross Soren was somehow worse than an angry Ike.

Sel soon lost track of time. Though his book lay open across his lap, he found himself staring at the same page or reading the same paragraph over and over again without taking it in. Just as he decided to put it away, the door opened.

"You missed dinner," Ike told him. "I made sure to save you some."

Though Sel said, "I'm not hungry," it was a lie and he accepted the plate without a word. He took a bit, winced, but swallowed. "It tastes like nothing! How can it taste like nothing?"

Ike laughed, but it was Soren who replied. "This coming from the boy who burns nearly everything."

"I think that was Maya's doing," Ike told him. "We've had worse," he added.

"Yeah," Sel said through a mouthful of meat pie, "mine."

Ike smiled fondly and said, "I don't understand it. Your mother could cook very well, how can you be the complete opposite of her in that regard?"

Sel slowly lowered his fork. That was the first time in a very long time, longer than he could remember, that Ike had mentioned his mother. Should he try to ask more questions, since Ike had so easily brought her up? Or should he stay silent and wait to see what else might come?

The small window that had been opened quickly snapped shut as Soren asked how long he had been reading. "Not long," he said as he pushed away his half eaten meal. He had fully lost his appetite. "I couldn't stay focused on it," he added.

Ike's expression became concerned. "Are you feeling unwell?" He reached out to check if Sel had a fever but Sel shrugged away from him.

"Just a lot on my mind," he admitted. He muttered an "excuse me" as he got up and shoved past Ike and out the door.

He was not surprised to hear the muffled sound of heels behind him. Soren seized his wrist and managed to shove him into an empty room and shut the door. It was completely empty. Sel sneezed at the dust they kicked up before turning to Soren. "Damn it, Soren, what is it?" he demanded.

"I'm not going to stand for it, Sel. Ike is your father, and you need to start treating him as such. He's worried about you. He puts you first, and he would do anything for you. Stop behaving like a child and keeping things to yourself."

"He does the same to me," Sel said. He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to stare down Soren, a difficult thing to do in the dusty room.

"Like what?"

"My mother. Who was she? What was she like? I know nothing of her. He talks so easily about her one minute, and the next he completely shuts me out. Was she some whore?" he asked. "Is that it? Is he embarrassed of her?"

Soren sighed. It was not his place, and he had often found himself berating Ike for the same reason Sel was upset. But someone had to say something. "She was an innkeeper. And a good woman," he admitted. "She made Ike happy." He chose his words carefully. It was hard to answer Sel's questions without knowing what Ike did and did not want his son to know.

"Her inn should by rights be yours," Soren continued, "but I do not think you would want to run it. Or if it is still standing."

Sel shook his head. He would never be able to settle down and become a humble innkeeper. Nothing felt right unless he had a sword in his hand. He learned that lesson long ago. "What happened to her?"

"That's for Ike to tell you."

Soren was about to leave, his hand rested on the door, when Sel said, "So I'll never know."

Soren took a deep breath to keep from lashing out at Sel. "It is hard for Ike to talk about, but, if it will help get the two of you acting like father and son again, I will try to convince him to tell you everything."