Hello again. I didn't mean to take this long with this chapter, but the computer that had all my story stuff went wacko. We had to send it in to get fixed and it took a long time. Then state exams decided to crash in. TT
But anyway, I'm back now, with an actual plotline to follow, so here we go.
WildfireDreams: Well, I'm glad Ivan is one of your favorites, because you won't be seeing much of anyone else. ; I hope you enjoyed your cookie!
Damiens Demon: Thanks for the reviews! I'm updating now; please don't hurt me!
Disclaimer: Golden Sun isn't mine. What else is new? I have heard there's going to be a Golden Sun for the Gamecube, though.
Chapter Three: Kalay
"Ivan? Ivan, where are you?"
Ivan looked down from his perch atop his bookshelf to see Layana entering through the doorway below. Sticking a finger into his book, he leaned over to put himself in view. "Up here, Mom."
Layana, startled, looked up, then frowned slightly when she saw where Ivan sat. "Are you sure that's safe?" she asked, eyeing the wooden bookshelf standing against the wall. "You could fall."
"I won't," Ivan replied, making a face. "I do this all the time." To prove his point, he swung his legs over the edge of the bookshelf and dropped lightly to the floor of his room.
Layana winced. "You still make me nervous. What are you reading?"
Ivan smiled and turned the cover of his book toward her. He was glad that at least his parents took him seriously. Most of the citizens of Kalay assumed he was too young to be reading books; but just because he was nine didn't mean he was unintelligent. He read more than most of the older kids in town.
"The Secrets of the Western Sea," Layana read. She frowned slightly, and a strange look passed across her face that Ivan didn't recognize. "Your... your father used to be interested in that book too, back when..."
Ivan waited, but Layana didn't continue. "Back when what, Mom?"
Layana started, as if coming out of a trance, then shook her head slightly. "It's nothing, Ivan. Don't worry about it." He opened his mouth, but she quickly cut him off. "Why don't you go outside for a while? Your dad should be coming back soon - you can tell me when he gets here." Seeing Ivan's unconvinced look, she gave him a gentle push toward the door. "Go on."
Ivan hesitated, but sighed and plodded out of the room. There was no sense in arguing with Layana when she got like this. His mother had a will like stone. He smirked as he descended the palace stairs. And she told him not to be stubborn.
Pausing outside the palace doors, Ivan looked up at the sky and enjoyed the wind blowing through his hair. Following the breeze's path, he turned to look up at the palace, a majestic silhouette against the sky. His parents had made so much money with their silk trading that Hammet had finally been able to achieve his dream of founding a city - Kalay. Sometimes Ivan wondered how his father had become so successful as a merchant. Just luck, he supposed.
Nodding to the guard outside the doors, Ivan continued down the steps and into the main part of town. Even though it was his fourth year living in Kalay, he always felt a little awkward entering or leaving the palace. Luxury and riches - it all seemed so far away from him. Sometimes he felt like he really didn't belong here. The son of a rich and successful merchant - it just didn't seem like who he was meant to be.
To make matters worse, a lot of the other kids in town envied him for his status. Ivan didn't really understand it, but he had already been victim to several not-so-friendly encounters with the older kids. Luckily, he was fast on his feet, and was usually able to use his agility to escape the bullies.
Now in the town square, Ivan looked around for a place to sit and enjoy the breeze. Spotting the inn's high roof, he headed that way. No one spoke to him as he passed through the inn's main room and up the ladder. People tended to see him as unapproachable. Just because he was Hammet's son. It got lonely sometimes.
He found a spot near the edge of the roof and sat, leaning back and relaxing. The winds were picking up slightly, sending ripples through the leaves of the trees and whispering as they went. Ivan watched the breeze swirl through the sky. His parents said they couldn't see the wind. He found that so strange. He always knew what the wind was doing - it was constantly in the back of his mind.
On days like this, when the winds blew steadily through clear skies, the wind in the air seemed to join with one within him. Ivan felt every inch of his body pulsing with the rhythm of its dance, longing to spiral through the sky along with it. It was like a wind in his mind, that changed with his emotions. When he was calm, it was a gentle breeze. When he got angry or upset, it was a raging tempest. Sometimes it wanted to break loose.
Gripped by a sudden impulse, Ivan reached a hand into the air. He concentrated on the breezes around him. Slowly, deliberately, he moved his hand through the air, focusing hard. He thought he caught a flash of purple light, and for an instant, it felt like-
"Um... Excuse me..." A voice broke through Ivan's thoughts. He dropped his hand and turned his head, brushing some hair out of his eyes, and caught sight of two children standing near the ladder. A girl who looked to be about ten or eleven stood in front. Slightly behind her, clutching his sister's arm tightly, was a younger boy, no more than five or six. They looked slightly familiar - Ivan had seen them around town once or twice, but had never really gotten to know them. He had given up on having friends a long time ago.
"What is it?" he asked. They didn't seem like they were going to do anything to him, but he was ready to shoot right back down that ladder the instant they got mean.
The girl fidgeted, looking uncomfortable and a little nervous. Ivan didn't know why, as she was at least a year older than him. He hated it when the other kids were afraid of him - but at least it was better than being bullied. "Well, the other kids were talking, and they said... Well, you live with Master Hammet and Lady Layana, but... I was wondering, who are your parents, Ivan?"
Ivan gave her a blank look. "What do you mean?"
She blushed deeply and shrank back, looking unsure. Ivan wondered if someone else had put her up to this.
"You know, your real parents," her brother supplied, poking his head around her arm. "Hammet and the Lady aren't your real parents."
Ivan turned away, looking over the rooftops. "Is that really so important?" he asked softly. Hammet had talked to him about how he was adopted. He hadn't told him who his real parents were, and Ivan hadn't thought it mattered. But did it?
The boy's eyes widened. "Yeah, it's important. I mean... sure, they act like your parents... but it's not really the same, is it?"
His sister looked mortified, and clamped a hand over the boy's mouth. "Don't be so rude!" she commanded, shooting a terrified glance in Ivan's direction.
Ivan winced. This was disgusting - what was she so terrified of? Surely she didn't think he'd - do anything to them - did she? "Look, I've gotta go." Not bothering to wait for an answer, Ivan brushed past the siblings and descended the ladder. He could still feel their intense stares on his back.
What was so dangerous about him? What could Ivan, the nine-year-old boy from Kalay, possibly do to hurt them? He wasn't strong, and he certainly wasn't bigger than them. He had always been small. Why did other people see him as a threat?
As he made his way back to the palace, the boy's words echoed in his mind. Sure, they act like your parents... but it's not really the same, is it?
Not the same...
He felt strange. Surely he wasn't letting those kids get to him. But something about what they had said rang true. He was close to Hammet and Layana, but there was still something separating them. He didn't feel like he could share everything with them, or say whatever he felt. Wasn't that what a true family was?
Would he have a different relationship with his family if he still lived with his birth parents? Who were they? It seemed most of Kalay knew more about his past than he did. Now anger flared inside him - anger laced with fear. His inner wind built into a small tornado. Did his parents not trust him? Was that it?
Pounding up the stairs toward the palace, he saw his father's wagon was stationed outside. He must have come home while he was out. A mix of sadness and anger washed over him. That wasn't his father's wagon - it was Master Hammet's wagon. Hammet had come home.
He doubted his father ever would.
Ivan ran through the palace in a daze, thoughts circling through his head, neverending. This was his home. Is it my home? This was his family. Is it my family? These were his parents. Are they my parents?
Are they? Are they?
"Who are my parents?" he blurted out.
Hammet looked up from his seat next to Layana on the bed. When he caught sight of Ivan, wide-eyed, leaning against the doorframe, he frowned.
"Ivan, whatever are you talking about, son?"
Ivan scowled. Suddenly he was angry. This issue had always been in the back of his mind, the tension building, and now... "That's just it," he said menacingly. "I'm not your son. Who are my real parents?" Hammet and Layana exchanged glances. Ivan sighed and dropped his head. In a softer voice he pleaded, "Please. I want to know."
Layana looked uneasy, shifting slightly before she gave an answer. "Ivan, we've been over this. We found you outside Vault. We never met your parents. We don't know who they are." Ivan frowned. Something was wrong. What were they really thinking?
What are they thinking?
Suddenly a strange feeling came over him, and he felt as if he was looking right through the couple on the bed.
What if he finds out? He can't know...
I feel awful keeping this from him... But if we tell him...
Ivan gasped, staring wide-eyed at the people he had called his parents. "You're lying to me," he whispered disbelievingly. "All this time, you've been lying to me?" His parents were silent, and he felt hot tears slipping down his cheeks.
"I hate you," he choked out. Then he ran.
As his footfalls retreated towards his room, Layana looked to her husband and sighed deeply.
"I knew this would happen."
"Ivan?" Hammet cautiously pushed the door to Ivan's room open. It was evening now, but Ivan still sat on the bed, his back facing the door. He didn't make a sound as Hammet walked over.
Suddenly, Ivan whirled around to face him. The anger in his usually gentle face was alarming. "You could have told me the truth. Why are you hiding things from me? Why did you have to lie?" His voice wavered, and he seemed to be on the verge of tears again.
"Ivan..." Hammet stretched out a hand toward him. When his son shrank back, he sighed and stooped to Ivan's level. "I'm sorry." Ivan, startled, looked up. "I know we must seem like awful people to you right now. But I promise, we're trying to do what's best for you."
"How would you know what's best for me?" Ivan mumbled. "You're not even my dad. You're like a complete strang-"
"Ivan." Hammet's voice was firmer now. "Just try to understand." He paused, looking for a minute at his son's tear-stained face. "You're a special boy. There are things in your future that are... important. More important even than finding your parents."
Ivan stared blankly back at him. "Like what?"
"You'll find out. For now, it's best we not discuss it. It your parents were here, it's what they would have said too."
"You knew them?," Ivan's features were still as expressionless as ever, but his voice betrayed his eagerness. "You do know who they are. Why can't you tell me?"
Hammet sighed deeply, not meeting his son's eyes. This conversation was not going well. Had he already told him too much? "You'll find out," he repeated. "Don't worry, son. You'll understand someday."
Anger stirred again in Ivan's eyes, and he turned away. "Please don't call me that."
Hammet just stared at Ivan's back, not wanting to comprehend what he had heard. "A-All right. Good night... Ivan."
"Good night, Hammet."
So, yeah. R&R. You've - already read, but... ah, whatever. I'm not making any promises for next time because I probably won't be able to keep them. My main focus for now is getting to the Jupiter Lighthouse in my current TLA game! I miss the good old GS1 party.
Has anyone else had problems with certain symbols disappearing? All my little faces are like, dead. Underscores no longer seem to register, and asterisks aren't showing up, either. And those... whateveryoucallems... that make up the eyes in all the faces. Y'know what I'm talking about? I suspect it may have something to do with this weird new quick edit thing.
Please review. Pretty please? I implore you. (Isn't that a cool word? )