Ah! Another chapter to this prequel! Enjoy it lots!
Onwards!
Finding Ranya
Chapter 2: Family
Shion's eyes widened.
"Wait, wait, wait. This 'Baldr' guy is my grandfather?! And he saved Mom's life?!" He squacked, almost dropping the journal. Then, Shion pouted. "Father never tells me anything."
The purple-haired boy shook his head and refocused on the contents of the journal.
The next two pages were covered in childish scribbles and unrecognizable drawings. It took Shion a moment to realize that it wasn't his mother's artwork. He turned to the next page and smiled softly at the drawing.
It was a family portrait.
'Baldr, Esla, Sin, and Me'. The label said.
"So this is grandfather and grandmother." Shion mused as he looked over the roughly drawn sketch. He didn't think that his mother would be using her coloring tools for a while since there was a limit. Then, his eyes landed on his father. "Whoa, Father was tiny. Even Mom was bigger than him."
As if his mother had foretold Shion's reaction, a note at the corner read:
'Sin, you were really tiny. I think you were small enough for me to pick you up! Mother let me pick you up from time to time after a year or so. I guess six was the age to trust little girls with even littler boys. That, and you were toddling around everywhere when you turned three. You even sneaked onto Dad's fishing boat once when he wasn't looking. Mother couldn't keep an eye on you and the household duties, so she let me babysit you! We played a lot outside. I even let you draw on my journal. Yes, Sin. That masterpiece before this page was your own work. Ah, you were such a cute kid.'
"…Babysit?" Shion wondered aloud. "Why would grandmother–? Wait. Doesn't it say here that she was five? …And Father was only two, according to grandfather at that time." His hands flew onto his head in surprise at the realization. "Mom was older than Father?! And they grew up together?"
Everything suddenly made sense.
"So that's why Father hardly talked about her." Shion marveled. "She must've little brother-zonedhim too many times to count. Poor Father." For an infamous womanizer, that would be something that must've been hard for Sinbad to confess to anyone, especially to his son.
Unbeknownst to Shion as he reeled at the revelation, the wind that came from his open window turned the next page, revealing a page with a flower pressed in between the pages.
And, as always, there was a note from his mother that accompanied the piece of memory.
'Sin, do you remember this? You gave it to me as a gift on the anniversary Dad brought me home.'
"I'm home!"
Ranya bounded into the small house with a wide smile on her face. Her knees and cheeks were slightly dirty from her recent game with the other village boys. Though the people in the village were slightly cautious of her at first because of the color of her hair, but when it was made clear that she was no citizen of Reim.
Ranya's blonde was far lighter than the usual gold color of the average Reim citizen, strangely enough. It was a shade that no one in the village had ever seen before.
(When the children became bold enough to play with her, they explored their curiosity by tugging and pulling at her hair, much to Ranya's dismay.)
But Ranya quickly was able to befriend some of the children with her bright smiles and creative games. She played more with boys than girls since she preferred mock-fights with sticks over playing with dolls.
Which brought her back to her current, dirty state
(Ranya didn't mind. She had been victorious and that was all that mattered.)
"Ran-ya home! Ran-ya home!"
At the high squeal, Ranya whirled around to catch the tiny figure. A light-heavy weight barreled into her body and Ranya had to double back slightly to properly catch the person without falling. Despite having the wind knocked out of her, Ranya beamed and ruffled the figure's hair. "Yes, Sin." She laughed. "Ranya is home."
This little boy was Sinbad, her little brother. Ranya knew from the moment she laid eyes on his tiny body and purple hair that he was someone who she needed to protect. So, since then, Ranya became something like a bodyguard to little Sin whenever she was home. Baldr had assured her that she didn't need to go that far, but Ranya was stubborn in her self-appointed duty in making sure that the younger child was safe and happy. Esla didn't mind. She especially didn't mind when Ranya saved Sin from nearly burning himself when he crawled too close to a boiling pot. Since then, Ranya's duty as Sinbad's keeper became official.
"Ran-ya! Up!"
Ranya sighed. "Aren't you a bit too old for that kind of thing? You can walk on your own now, Sin."
Wide golden eyes blinked right back up at Ranya.
"No." Ranya responded firmly, trying to struggle against the power of the younger boy's watery eyes. "I'm not falling for that again, Sin. You need to learn to walk on your own. Mother says that I shouldn't spoil you anymore."
Sinbad's lips trembled.
"You're supposed to be a big boy now, Sin." Ranya repeated, resolve crumbling bit by bit at the heartbroken expression on the younger boy's face.
Sinbad began to sniffle pitifully.
"Sin…no, please don't cry…" Ranya begged before finally caving in. "Okay, fine. You win. But you have to walk on your own next time, okay?"
Sinbad's tearful expression was immediately replaced with a wide smile.
"Yay! Yay!" He cheered as he tugged on Ranya's arms impatiently to be picked up. With a wink, Ranya had the smaller boy in her arms. She carried him even deeper inside the house. "Mother, I'm home!"
Esla looked up from cooking dinner to greet Ranya. "Welcome back, Ranya." Her smile immediately turned to a frown when her eyes landed on the dirt on Ranya's skin. "Oh Ranya, you're all dirty! Were you playing with the boys again?" At her sheepish nod, Esla crossed her arms. "Didn't I tell you that rolling around the dirt with other boys isn't a good image for a young woman?"
Ranya nodded shamefacedly. "Sorry."
Esla's eyes softened. "Well, I suppose it's fine since you're still a child. But make sure to clean off all that dirt before helping me with dinner. Your father is coming home soon."
"Yes!"
Ranya brightened and set Sinbad down to follow her mother's request, much to his displeasure.
"No! Ran-ya! Up!" He demanded petulantly, making grabbing motions to her receding form. "Up!"
"Not now, Sin." She said distractedly as she wandered over to the water pump. "I need to wash all the dirt off. You should too." The six-year-old added with a considering look at Sinbad's sticky hands.
When he made a face at the mention of "washing", Ranya quickly disarmed his reluctance with a "I'll let you draw in my journal today".
Sinbad and Ranya were clean in no time.
Ranya helped Esla in preparing dinner as Sinbad drew little pictures that only he understood and recognized. Since she was only six, Ranya was warned away from the boiling water and the knife. Instead, she was in charge of washing the fruits and vegetables and keeping an eye on the stew.
"Mother, the stew is ready." Ranya alerted as Baldr hobbled into the house with his new catch.
"Daddy~!" Sinbad cheered, completely abandoning his little drawing project to tackle his father.
"Welcome back!" Esla and Ranya chimed. The young blonde bounded over to the man. Baldr knelt down and ruffled Ranya's hair fondly. "Did you have fun today, little lady?"
"Yeah! I beat all the boys in a swordfight today!" She boasted. "They didn't stand a chance against my skills and speed! That'll teach them for calling me a weak, little girl!"
"Yay, Ran-ya!" Sinbad cheered.
Baldr nodded with a grin. "You sure taught them." Then, he backtracked when he saw the expression on his wife's face. "I-I-I mean, you shouldn't go too hard on them, Ranya. Boys don't really like strong girls."
"Then all boys are stupid. Except Sin." Ranya concluded.
Baldr appeared pleased when she said that.
Esla, not as much
"Ranya!"
"Hush, dear. She's only a child. This is just a phase. Now, why don't we sit down and eat? The food smells delicious. And oh," Baldr smiled down at surrogate daughter, "Happy Birthday, little lady."
Ranya only knew her name. Even her age was slightly doubted but Ranya accepted what she got. Baldr decided to make the anniversary of their meeting to be her birthday.
Today was that day.
It turned out that Baldr stayed out later than usual to prepare a small gift to Ranya.
It had been a bracelet, carefully hand-woven with the material that Baldr's nets were made out of. Small pieces of metal beads were strung together to give the jewelry a certain shining affect to it. Though it was no golden bracelet, it was a priceless gift that Ranya would cherish for years until it became too small to fit her wrist.
Ranya smiled brightly as she put the gift onto her wrist.
"Thanks, Dad! It's the best gift ever!"
Beside her, Sinbad pouted.
"Sin? Don't you have something to give to your sister?" Baldr asked.
He turned away huffily. "Ran-ya likes Daddy's better."
"Well, how would you know that if you don't show her what you got for her?" Baldr asked sensibly. Esla nodded in agreement at his side. "Go on, Sin. Give Ranya your present."
Sinbad shyly handed Ranya his present.
It was a small flower. Though the gift seemed simple, in their village, flowers were rare. For a three-year-old to find something like this required a lot of exploring and searching.
Ranya squealed and hugged her brother. "Thanks, Sin! It's the best! I'll keep it with me forever!"
Baldr smiled broadly at his son as if to say 'See? What did I tell you?' Sinbad giggled happily and wrapped his chubby arms around his sister. "Happy Birthday, Ran-ya!" He crowed loudly.
"Now, let's eat. We don't want the food that your mother made to get cold, do we?"
That small house was more of a home to me than all those beautiful palaces and kingdoms I visited during my travels. Unfortunately, that even includes Sindria Palace.
Now, Sin. Don't pout. Sindria is amazing. But it isn't quite like our childhood home, right? I find myself missing Mother's homemade meals. I find myself missing those days when everyone shared the same bed and when our feasts were fruits and fish.
Your parents raised me as if I was their own.
What I would give to go back to that time.
And here it closes. This is where I'll leave this chapter off for now.
Thanks for reading!
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