Part 1- the angel son
Soren… Claudia…
Lissa thought about her children often. Every night she found herself wondering how they were, what they were doing, how they looked like. All this time she convinced herself that leaving them was for their safety, but every time she thought of them she felt like a bad mother… especially because she hadn't seen them in over ten years…
She liked to imagine the day they would contact her again, she dreamed they would invite her for one of their weddings, or they would introduce her to a grandchild. Maybe they would just want to invite her over for tea…
When she imagined seeing them again, it was never like this.
Her thoughts raced in her head as the carriage arrived at Katolis...
"As you know, madam, we need you to be present in your daughter's trial. Claudia would be judged as an adult, but she's not jet 21, so a parent must be present in the trial for the procedure to be legal" she nodded, understanding her situation.
"You would have limited contact with your daughter before the trial, only one visit would be allowed '' limited contact… she wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. She wasn't looking forward to seeing her… not like this… but jet, she was eager to hug both, Soren and Claudia.
"What about my son, Soren? Would I be able to see him?" The Knight nodded
"Yes, all his crimes were acquitted due to the nature of his actions by King Ezran's generosity, '' she nodded. Of course Soren chose the path of good, his heart has always been noble and sincere, ever since he was a little kid…
…
"Look mon '' Soren screamed running towards her, opening his palm, much too close to her face, to show her something. She moved his hand farther from her face to look at the object
"It's a really pretty rock" she told him, but her six year old son smirked
"This is not just a rock! I took it away from a boy that was going to throw it down the balcony, it seems fun, but could have hit someone! I told him not to do it! I choose good! Just like you told me to!" Her heart filled up with warmth, he was so cute with his blond hair and his red little nose, so small and jet trying so hard to be the knight in shiny armor
"I'm really proud of you my love, you're a good person, I know you will always choose good, because you have a big caring heart" she finished giving him a kiss on the forehead
"Just wait until dad finds out! He's gonna be so proud of me mom!"
...
"Mom"
she didn't recognize his voice, it was low and raspy. It made her feel even more guilty… he was just a kid when she left.
he went straight to her with his arms open and he embraced her into a hug.
"I missed you '' he said, putting his strong arms around her. She did the same. Without even realizing it she was crying in his arms
"Soren!" She parted their hug to look at her son. He was a few inches taller than her, his hair was as blond as hers, and he had the same innocent smirk he had when he was toddler. His jaw was more defined, he had a little bit of a beard, his eyes were bright blue, and she couldn't help but notice how much he looked like Viren… tears started to flow off her eyes and she embraced him again.
"Son… you're so handsome"
…
"You look so handsome," she said, straightening up his wooden sword. The uniform was a bit big for him, but he would grow in to it.
"Just wait mom! I'm going to be the best knight" he exclaimed. She smiled at him. Soren went straight to his sister screaming
"Look! I'm gonna be a knight'' little Claudia closed her book and clapped in joy
"Awesome Soren, can I play with your sword?" Lisa laughed softly at Soren expresion
"No Claudia! Swords are weapons! Only skilled men should handle them"
"But that's a toy sword" Claudia exclaimed
"Is not! Mom tell her is not!" It wasn't a toy sword, it was a practice sword required for training infants in the knights academy.
"Is not a toy sword" she declared
"Ha!" Soren yelled
…
"The first trial is on Wednesday'' Soren said, placing the cup of tea in front of her. It felt weird being back in her old house, it seemed so familiar, yet so distant, things were not the same as when she left, the house was a lot messier, it seemed like every inch was covered with a thin coat of dust and books were everywhere.
"They will let us see her tomorrow"
"Have you talked to her?" She asked, Soren shook his head
"No, the last time we saw each other was when I left her with father at the battle field" , the mention of Viren engried her a little.
"Do you know what happend?" She asked, he nodded
"She brought him back to life" his words cut through her like a knife. Her expresión changed and Soren could see the horror in her eyes
"I'm not sure what that means, but she did something to me with dark magic, the doctors said I was not gonna be able to walk again but whatever she did fixed me and look! I'm fine!" he stood up to show her how he could walk, he beneded his knees a few times to make his point clear
"I'm sure she meant no wrong, she just wanted to save dad like she saved me" he finished. The knot in her neck grew tighter. Her daughter had committed the greatest sin…
"Her hair" she said, Soren looked at her puzzled
"When she saved you, did her hair change?" He nodded
"Yeah, a withe streak appeared on her hair, I have to say it was quite stylish"
...
"He was gonna lose his arm if I didn't do anything!" He yelled, but Lissa couldn't take it, Viren had taken it to far
"I know what that withe streak means, I know what you did! You interfered with nature! You monster"
"Monster? I saved him! He could have died!" Viren yelled. Her eyes involuntarily landed in the dark magic and alchemy books that laid on the table and the small notebook by them.
"I can't believe this is what you're teaching our daughter" he left out a deep sight
"I know what you're thinking and it's not like that!" He walked closer to her, instinctively she flinched, but Viren placed a hand on her shoulder and embraced her in a hug
"Don't be afraid, I only did it because it was a life or death situation, but it's different with Claudia, I just wanna ensure she has a great future".
She wanted to believe him, but part of her felt like allowing this could be a big mistake...
…
"Here are some clean sheets, sorry if its a little messy, I've been really busy these past weeks" said Soren scratching the back of his head. They decided that it was best for Lissa to sleep in his room while Soren would temporary stay in Claudia's. Lissa just didn't want to stay in her old room she shared with Viren and she still felt like she wasn't ready to face Claudia, so her room was out of the question.
"Thank you son," she said, smiling at him. Soren smiled back
"Goodnight mom! Whatever you need I'm here"
"Thank you Soren"
He left the room and for a second she couldn't help but look around, it was messy, pieces of armor were everywhere and the place was a bit dusty. On his desk she found something that caught her attention. A single book, something that definitely did not belong in Sorens room. She walked closer. The title read -The mythical techniques of alchemy performed with Dark Magic- she noticed it had a bookmark that led her to page 786 where a subtitle said -healing and giving life back- her hands started to shake… Why would Soren have this? Was he trying to understand the means of his sister's actions?
For a moment she wanted to forget about the book, but her curiosity got the best of her. As she inspected the information she realized that on the sides of the page there were some notes, it was definitely not Soren's handwriting, and it wasnt Vire's either…
She could recognise that handwriting everywhere. It was Claudia's…
…
"This is so boring" Soren exclaimed
Claudia laughed at her brother's protest. Both of her children were sitting at the kitchen table doing their calligraphy exercises while Viren fixed himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen. Lissa walked to them to see their progress. Soren's was always messy, letters thrown on the page with no care, some of them were even backwards… but what could you expect of a seven-year-old who only had knights and swords in his mind?
"How am I doing mom?" Asked Soren
"You're doing fine, you just need a bit more practice, but it's looking good! Keep it up!" He smiled brightly at her and resumed his work. She glanced over to her daughter's notebook.
Claudia was a completely different story. Her writing was meticulous and very delicate, it was impressive for a child her age, it almost looked like an adult's, so much so that her teacher was giving her work amed for kids twice her age. But little Calidia was a perfectionist… a bit to much for a five year old
"Arrrrh I can't get the curve of the cursive f just like the book" she said, erasing angrly. This would often happen with her, if she couldn't get it perfect she would get frustrated. So as a good mother, she tried to encourage her girl
"Its okay Claudia, you're doing an amazing job don't be so hard on yourself" just as she finished, Viren interrupted
"Don't listen to your mother, being strict with oneself is the key of perfection and success"
...
The pages of the book were a bit yellow, it was old and it looked very used, as if the pages were read more than a thousand times each. Some phrases of the book were underlined, some were scraped, but the one that caught her attention was one that was circled in red:
"the law of equal exchange is basic in alchemy and it applies to the process of healing and giving life, to get what one wants, it needs to give something of equal worth"
Lissa traced her fingers under the lines, reading them a couple times, her mind raced with thoughts, trying to understand the words in the pages. then her eyes landed on one of her daughters notes that laid directly under the phrase, it was a small paragraph written in red ink in pristine handwriting… without hesitation Lissa started to read
"Equal exchange: to heal you'll need something in exchange. To my understanding, to heal humans you can use a lesser life. The life of an animal would be ideal, something small like a rabbit for a smaller injury, but something bigger like a board or a deer for more life threatening injuries".
A lesser life like the life on an animal, those words chilled lissa's bones, it was a weird insight on the twisted way her daughter saw life… she continued reading the notes
"To bring someone back to life you'll need to give a life for a life… that's the key to success. A human for a human"
Those last words were too much, tears ran down her eyes as she turned the book shut… How did her little girl turn into a monster even worse than her father? What did Viren do to her?
But then the wave of realization hit her, this was all her fault, she was the one that left her with a monster.
She closed her eyes and threw herself in the bed. She didn't sleep that night…