Time stands still,
when days of innocence,
are falling for the night.
I love you girl,
I always will.
I swear I'm there for you,
till the day I'll die-
"You and I"-The Scorpions
Family Life
As the ink strikes the paper from the pen I look over my shoulder to view my wife and children. Maria's trying to prepare something for them, while Lysander and Alcander continue to pound away at her knees.
Since my life as an adventurer has officially come to end (perhaps it did technically did the moment I said "I do" four years ago) I am now devoting all the time I can to my family. Whenever I am not out hunting with Richter, running through my woods in wolf form, or having a few drinks at the tavern, I am always with my family.
During the week Maria and I often take our sons to the park so they can play with other children. Both of us believe that this is one of the best ways Lysander and Alcander can improve their social skills, just as my mother thought it would with me. The park always provides the occasional humor for me. I often catch a glance at how some of the old timers look at me when I sit with my children or carry them. They look at me as though 'I'm just a young father.' Yet little do they know that I could have played with their ancestors, if they lived in the village below the Castle.
Ever since her experiences in Castle Dracula, Maria has grown more and more religious. Not in a fanatical way that rams religion down my throat, but in a manner that involves attending church on Sundays.
Every Sunday morning, Maria wakes at the brink of dawn. She is quickly out of bed and dresses herself for church. Then she goes to the boys' rooms to dress them in their church attire; and if she has enough time, she will literally drag me out of the bed and force me to dress myself and accompany them.
While I have never been anti-religious (although I have been upset at the Church a few times) I have never had much interest to go to church. The Mass to me is boring, and I do not think that my children enjoy it much either. Lysander usually falls asleep on my lap, and Alcander would probably start crying if it was not for a baby bottle or pacifier to quiet him.
Ironically, my children are the key factors that determine whether or not I go to church, especially Alcander. If Alcander fights Maria when she tries to change his diaper it usually results in me not having to attend church. I used to lie in bed and pray silently to God, asking Him to let Alcander struggle, but every time I said that prayer Maria would be dragging me out of bed. I suppose that it was foolish to ask a divine being to let me skip attending His house of worship.
I would love to have some more children. Especially, a little girl, two boys are quite enough for me. But it does not appear that will happen any time soon. Maria has made it explicitly clear that she does not want any more children. She tells me that the responsibilities that come with young children have been too much for her over the last four years. She would just like to wake up one day where she does not have a screaming baby to take care of. I rarely (if ever) washed, fed, or changed Lysander; and I do even less with Alcander. I suppose that if I helped Maria out more with her motherly duties that she would be more inclined to give me the daughter I would love to have.