A/N: Hello! I have returned. I have no excuses. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Mina was glad to get her stitches out once Corric was satisfied she had healed enough. Even though she had only had them for a short period of time, they had been irritating. When he finished removing them, Corric sent her to the storage room for an inventory check. Things had quieted down a bit the past week, so they weren't as swamped as they were before. This meant it was time to work on getting things reorganized. Mina had already cleaned Corric's office, which received a mixed response from him of gratitude, embarrassment, and annoyance when he saw that she had moved everything from where he had put it. He had assigned her the storage room as her own space to work with and leave his stuff alone.
Mina looked around at the mess in front of her. It had no resemblance to the storage room she had organized before, as Corric had destroyed it again, throwing her whole system out of order. She sighed and got to work, putting everything back where it belonged.
Later in the day, Corric left on a house call to treat a child that had come down with Kirsan fever, leaving Mina alone in the infirmary. Her organizational work was interrupted by the sound of someone entering the infirmary. She stood up from her place on the floor and left the storage room to investigate. When she entered the main room, she came upon Sora limping across the room, searching for assistance.
"Hello Sora, can I help you?" Mina asked the young woman, smiling at her.
Sora scowled at Mina's question and looked past her in the direction of Corric's office.
"Is Corric here? I hurt my knee during training and need a brace of some kind."
Mina's smile faltered at her dismissal. She wasn't sure if she had done something to offend the younger woman or if she was simply in a mood. Although, with Sora you could never tell.
"He's not here right now. I can help you with that. Why don't you have a seat on the examination table, and I'll take a look at it."
Sora huffed in annoyance before following Mina's direction, wincing as she pushed himself up onto the table. Mina pulled a chair up beside her and sat down before rolling up Sora's pant leg to look at her knee. Gently feeling her knee cap and the tendons surrounding it, she looked up to watch Sora's face for signs of discomfort. Seeing no reaction, Mina shifted Sora's leg, straightening and bending her knee. Sora whimpered and twitched away from Mina's grasp.
"Yeah, it seems like you sprained your knee. If you wear a brace while walking and rest it for a week or so, it should heal easily. I'll give you a brace and some medication for the pain. You can come back in a week and have Corric look at it before you return to training to make sure it has healed completely."
Mina stood from her chair and walked back into the storage room to retrieve the brace for Sora. She stopped at the medication cabinet and grabbed a small bottle on her way back, handing it to Sora when she returned to her side before moving to help her put the brace on.
"How did you do this to yourself? Did you have a misstep while running, or did someone knock you down while training?" she asked as she worked.
Sora scoffed at her question, rolling her eyes.
"Something like that. Apparently, my performance has not been up to people's standards since I returned from Atlantis."
Mina glanced up at her with raised brows.
"According to who? I've always been led to believe that you are exceptionally skilled for your age."
Sora looked away, anger mixed with shame and embarrassment on her face.
"Ask anyone; I've lost my edge. I'm not good enough for anyone's expectations. It's always 'Why don't you work harder?' 'Why don't you do something useful to help your people?' 'Why can't you be more like Mina?'"
Her face turned back towards Mina with the last statement, resentment burning in her eyes.
"I'm not good enough because I'm not you," she said, pain seeping into her voice.
Mina finished her work and looked at the young woman before her with pity.
"Sora, I'm nothing like you. I started later in my life and have accomplished very little. You are only 20 years old, and you are one of the greatest fighters and marksman the Genii have. There's no comparison, nor is there a need to make one."
"Then why does everyone want me to be you? Cowen and Kolya think I'm a failure because I was captured by the Atlanteans. Ladon doesn't think I'm worth his time. Even my own cousin likes you better!" Sora yelled, tears welling up in her eyes.
Mina sighed as Sora pushed off the table and limped as fast as she could out of the infirmary, wiping at her face as she went. She nearly ran into a returning Corric as she rushed through the door, not acknowledging his presence as she continued on her way out. He called after her, but was met with silence. Turning to Mina, he raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
Mina stood from her chair and moved to return the pain medication bottle to the cabinet that Sora had discarded in her outburst.
"It seems that Sora has struggled since her return from captivity, and people have been pointing it out to her. Her failures have been compared to my advancements, leaving her feeling rejected."
"What? It's only reasonable that she'd stumble a bit after being away for so long, but I can't believe that it would be this bad. Who's been doing this?"
"She mentioned Cowen, Ladon, and my husband specifically. Also, her cousin? She said even they have a higher opinion of me than her. I'm not sure what she meant by that."
Corric sighed and sat down on the chair Mina had vacated, rubbing his hand through his dark hair.
"She's talking about me. She never had any siblings, so she's always been rather possessive of attention, never really learning to share. The feeling that others have abandoned her, her recent failures, and the death of her father have pushed her into this irrational fear that our friendship is a threat to her relationship with me."
Mina took a minute to process what Corric was saying. She hadn't been aware that he and Sora were cousins, especially ones with a close relationship. There was little physical resemblance, and they had very different temperaments. Where Sora was headstrong and quick to anger, Corric was calm and compassionate. Her petit and muscular form was nothing like his taller lean form. His warm brown skin and dark hair were nothing like her freckled complexion and fiery red hair. The only similarities were their brown eyes, thick curls, and strong work ethic.
Having no cousins of her own, Mina had no example to compare them to. Drawing from her relationship with her siblings, Mina's pity for Sora increased as she thought about how she would feel if their relationship was in jeopardy due to other people taking their place.
"I can't imagine the pain Sora must be feeling from this. I didn't even know the two of you were related," Mina said, sitting on the edge of her desk.
"Not a lot of people do. My mother and her father were siblings. My father was not Genii, and his relationship with my mother was brief. I lived with him for the first 15 years of my life before he died, and I came to live here with my mother. Sora was only 3 when I moved here, so she latched onto me as an older sibling figure. I'm her only remaining family."
"Maybe you should go find her. It seems like she could use some support right now. I'll talk to Acastus about it. I know he can get a bit harsh at times. There isn't much we can do about Cowen, but hopefully, things will return to normal with time, and she can recover from this setback. By that time, he may forget she was ever lacking in his eyes."
Corric nodded and stood to leave again, pausing at the door.
"I'm sorry she lashed out at you, Mina. Her problems are not your fault."
Mina gave him a small smile, shaking her head.
"I understand where she's coming from in some small way. It's not easy to succeed when it feels like no one believes in you. She's strong. She'll pull through this. I'm not too bothered about it anyways. She's never been too fond of me, and I don't expect that to change anytime soon. I can deal with it."
He gave her a wave before leaving her alone again in the infirmary. Mina stood from her desk and returned to the storage room to complete her original task.
Once Mina finished her work, she closed up the infirmary for the evening. She imagined that Corric would likely return once he had comforted Sora, always ready to do more work.
Mina began her trek home her eyes pointed downward as her thoughts lingered on the encounter with Sora. As she turned the corner at the end of the hall, she nearly ran into someone. Apologizing profusely, she looked up and saw that it was Alaina.
"Mina! Just the person I was looking for!" Alaina said with enthusiasm.
"Well, you found me. What can I do for you?"
Alaina turned and gestured down the hall so they could walk together. As they walked, she told Mina about some upcoming plans.
"Callistair and I are leaving the day after tomorrow and going away for a few days. Our anniversary is approaching, and we wanted a chance to get away from everything and have some time alone together. That's a hard feat when you have an almost 10-month old demanding all of your attention."
Mina chuckled at that statement. They had enjoyed a few afternoons together the past few months, rekindling their childhood friendship. In that time, Lowell had started walking and was quick to get into mischief, driving Alaina up a wall.
"I would imagine that would be the case. I'm assuming you are coming to me in search of someone to watch him?"
Alaina glanced at her with a hopeful expression.
"I wouldn't ask if I had another option. As you're likely aware, my whole family is away visiting friends. Callistair's sister is sick, so I've run out of options. I would hate to have to cancel our trip, as we've been looking forward to it."
"Kenna is sick?" Mina asked. "It's amazing everything hasn't come crashing down around us without her there to help Cowen with his paperwork."
Alaina smiled at Mina's joke, stepping aside so Mina could ascend the narrow staircase to the surface, closely following up after her.
"It's nothing serious, but I would rather not expose Lowell if I don't have to."
"I understand that. I'll talk it over with Acastus tonight and let you know tomorrow."
"Thank you, Mina. It will only be for an afternoon and overnight. My parents and sister will be returning the following day so they can take him off your hands. I know it will be your day off, but I would be so grateful for your help."
"That sounds like it would be manageable. I'm sure it won't be a problem, Alaina."
Alaina stopped and hugged Mina before thanking her again and walking off in the direction of her own home. Mina finished her walk home, smiling at the idea of spending an afternoon with Lowell. She had developed a fondness for the boy, and his presence brought up fond memories of watching Thali grow up. It helped scratch the itch to have a child of her own, which she was grateful for. With her current schedule, she didn't have much time to dedicate to caring for a child, so it was almost a good thing to put that dream on the back burner for now. The thought of how much he had grown and the reason behind Alaina's request brought a realization to the front of her mind. Her own anniversary was nearing as well. She made a mental note to talk to Acastus about that as well.
When she reached her home, Mina was pleased to find her husband sitting in his chair. He hadn't been around as much lately, always working or going off-world for various reasons. It was nice to have him home for once. He looked up from his book at her entrance.
"Hey," she said, crossing the room to give him a light peck on the lips, "I'm glad you're home. I have some things to talk to you about."
He smiled up at her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to sit on the arm of his chair.
"Is that the only reason you are glad to see me?" he asked.
Mina rolled her eyes at him and leaned her head against his.
"No, of course not. I also have missed you. Between my schedule and your constant busyness, we haven't had much time together."
"I am sorry about that," he said sincerely, "we haven't had time to continue your training either. We'll have to make some time to spend together. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Mina went through her mental checklist of things to talk about, trying to decide which topic to discuss first.
"Well, first of all, we may have a guest for an afternoon a few days from now if you're up to it. Alaina asked if we, or rather if I, would be open to watching Lowell for the afternoon and overnight the day after tomorrow. She and Callistair are going away for a few days."
"What did you tell her?" Kolya asked.
"I told her that I would talk to you about it and get back to her. I figured you would be alright with it, but I still wanted to ask you anyways."
Kolya's expression faltered a bit as he thought over the idea of having a small child in their home. It amused Mina to watch him go through it in his mind. She didn't imagine he had much experience with children.
"I'll mostly be taking care of him, so you wouldn't have to worry too much about it," she offered encouragingly.
Kolya nodded, and his smile returned.
"Why not? I'm sure it will be fine."
Mina turned and placed a kiss on his temple.
"Thank you, Acastus. Alaina will be very grateful to hear that. She was concerned that they would have to cancel their trip."
"Why are they going away anyways?" he asked.
"It's their anniversary, and they wanted to spend some time together without a small human demanding every minute of their attention," Mina said, "which brings me to the second thing I wanted to talk to you about."
Kolya made a humming noise of inquiry, prompting her to continue.
"If my figuring is correct, our own anniversary is approaching as well. I'm not sure as to what the exact date is, but I know it's soon."
Kolya pulled away from her and turned his head to look at her.
"Is it really? I can't believe it's been a year already."
Mina nodded and moved to stand from the chair's arm, but was stopped by her husband's firm grip on her waist. She turned to look at him quizzically, but was surprised when she suddenly found herself falling into his lap. She let out a small yelp, followed by a giggle. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, pulling her closer to him. After a moment, he pulled back and looked directly into her eyes.
"It seems like it was not that long ago that I was standing up in that hall, waiting for a wife I never thought I would have."
Mina raised her eyebrows at him and smirked.
"And are you happy with what you got?" she asked.
He narrowed his eyes at her, bringing out another giggle.
"What do you think?"
A/N: Please review!