Chapter 11: Farewell

"WHAT?! But..I don't w-wana leave Mommy!" a look of horror came over the child's face. "Tonight! I can't leave tonight! School starts in two weeks! What about Mommy, and Nigel and Arthur?!"

He frantically paced the room. "Cathan! Stop! You are being childish!"

Little Cathan stared at his father, shocked. He'd never been that harsh with him, even when he kicked a soccer ball through the window of the family van. He didn't know it, but the mentality of the crusader was returning to him. He'd been in reserve from the Crusaders for six years, to raise Cathan. But now, he was ready to return to where he truly wanted to be.

"You will pack your bags and you will come with me tonight. You must. You can't deny your destiny." Jacques turned and left the room. When Little Cathan heard him go out the front door, he rushed to Marie's room. They stared at each other for a second, then the little boy ran to her and the cuddled and cried for what seemed hours.

The moon shone brightly over the house where Little Cathan was grabbing the last of his things. "Meet me outside. And hurry." With a kiss, Jacques said goodbye to his wife and infant son and turned out the open front door. "We'll return every other month for a visit." Dream Cathan sniffled in disgust from the corner where he watched. They never visited except for Christmas. And even with that, he hadn't been home in over three years.

He glared at his dream father. "Some dad, taking me away from mom, my baby brother, my best friend, my life!" he thought angrily.

Once Jacques left, Little Cathan ran teary eyed into his mother's arms. "Momma! I don't wana go! Please! Stop Daddy!" His tears spilled onto Marie's dress. Hers fell too. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I will see you s-soon. Be a strong man. Can you do that for me?" Their wet eyes met. Marie stared at the emerald green underneath the red. That's all she could see. "I will, mom. For you." He turned and hugged baby Nigel. "Bye Nigey. I love you." The baby raised his arms up to his brother. "Kay-tan!" Little Cathan and Marie gasped. "His first word! Oh mom!"

"Cathan! Hurry up! Let's go!" Jacques sounded impatient. "I love you mom."

"I love you to Cathan," At that, the boy ran out the door, bags in hand, eyes in front. Dream Cathan looked at his mother, tears in his eyes too. "I love you mom." He said. Surprisingly, Marie looked at him. "I will always love you, no matter what you are supposed to be." Cathan hugged his mother for the first time in years, even if she was only a figment of his imagination. It felt just as real.

When Little Cathan and Jacques were a good distance from the house, Dream Cathan caught up, unnoticed. Little Cathan looked back. His warm house was only a yellow dot. Suddenly, something rustled in the forest. Arthur looked at him. "I'm sorry Arty." Little Cathan whispered, pulling on the crusader's mask his father had given him. Arthur cast his glance aside, but looked one last time at his best friend before turning back into the forest. Jacques kept his eyes forward, a cape on his back and a mask on his face. "When we arrive at the academy, you will no longer address me as your father. I am a very high ranked Crusader. You will address me as Patron from now on."

Dream Cathan left them at that point. He didn't want watch the little boy be trained into the accomplished, yet miserable teenager he was today. He turned to follow Arthur into the forest instead. After following for ten minutes, he found the satyr in a clearing, huddled down on his knees. "Arthur?" Dream Cathan called, not knowing if the creature could hear him or not. Yet Arthur turned his head and looked at him, a single tear rolling down his cheek. "I miss you Cathan." Was all he said. "Arthur! I'm sorry! I wish I could come back, but there's no hope. I am a crusader now."

Arthur shook his head. "No you're not. You're different. I know you don't hate us. Look to your heart, not your eyes. I know you can stop the Crusaders' plot. You must stop the prophecy from coming true. We need you Cathan." At that, the goat-boy disappeared into the brush. "Wait! What prophesy! Come back! Arthur…" He was stopped mid-sentence by a shadow behind him. "Forget him Cathan. You are one of us." The Patron towered above him. "Come with me Cathan…Cathan.. Cathan.. CATHAN!"

He woke with a start to find Nigel's face staring straight down at him. "Finally, you're awake! Get up! Patron just called us. Big mission!" Nigel ran out of the room and within minutes, so did Cathan, fully armed and in uniform. As he ran down the dark hallway, he got lost in his thoughts. "A prophecy? What prophecy? I've never heard of a prophecy. Was that all a dream or was Arthur really trying to contact me?" He shook his head, clearing his mind. No time to think now. When Patron called, nobody dared to be late.

(Author's note: Ok, we're done with Cathan's dreams for a while. Thanks for bearing with me here! Now we'll get back to Moni and Jake. But our Crusader friend may be showing up a bit more now! Thanks for reading! Chapter 12 is coming soon!)