Homecoming

Chapter 25

There trip to Luin was long, longer then any other trip they had been on. While Kratos like Syt and his family he missed having peaceful moments. They had no reverence for the quiet, they were distressed by it. All of them, down to the children, felt they had to talk all the time to fill up the silences. It was a bit of a relief and that they came to Luin. At the sight of the city Syt's eyes widened. A sea faring man he had lived in dread that there destination would have no access to the water. The lake wasn't exactly an ocean, but it was something, and if did sport many fish. Kratos chuckled, and the men went off a ways to spent one last evening together. To split a flask, as Syt put it, though all knew that it would be Syt doing most of the drinking. Anna and Issia spent the last day together cooking and watching the children play. Lloyd knew, he understood that soon he wouldn't have any playmates his age, and seemed determined to get as much out of the day as he could. Syt's brood did not understand, thought one was a good two years older then Lloyd, they were not as hardened to the facts of travel as was the Aurion's child.

They had been on the road a good two months, all of it in the winter, and handled in easy stages. Kratos would disappear every night to hunt, or so he claimed. Anna a bit wiser to Kratos' ways knew that there were a great deal less brigands when they left a land, and what rations he came back with came from those dead men. She hated it, but they had had that fight early on in the journey. There was not enough resources to feed eight mouths, not with just one skilled hunter in their party.

So Anna said nothing, and helped Issia cook the last of their food. They would be splitting up soon, the winter storms were coming in hard now. Issia's family would be going to Luin, and Anna's... After much inner turmoil Anna had told Kratos that they could stay with her family for a week, then go back to PalmaCosta.

"A week at the most..." Anna had sighed. "We wont be welcome any longer then that, and we will have to pay them to stay that long anyways."

"Pay?" Kratos sounded shocked. "Why would we have to pay your family?"

"Because, they wont take us in otherwise. I'm disgraced in their eyes, I left, abandoned my duties to find adventure. Oh I found it.." She had smiled, shook her head. "Got captured by the Desians after freeing some of their captives. My sense of justice made me leave home Kratos. Remember that."

Kratos leaned against a tree while Syt took a swig from the wine flask. Anna's foreboding words played in his mind. Absently he took the flask when Syt offered it, took a sip, and felt a vile taste enter his mouth that had nothing to do with the alcohol. Anna's cryptic warning worried him, normally blunt and headstrong her evasiveness was worrying him more then he cared to admit. Kratos sighed, rolled the liquor on his tongue, and swallowed. Nothing was strong enough to get him drunk anymore, he was immune to the effects of drink, and that was something he missed, sometimes.
"There are times when a man wishes to be drunk, it help deal with pain."

"Huh, first words you spoke since we got done reminici' an' all." Syt blinked owlishly.

"Are you drunk?" Kratos' eyes narrowed, a dangerous sign.

"Nah, I'm not drunk..." Syt blinked, swayed a little.

"Really?" Kratos lifted the flask, it was almost gone, and he could count the mouthfuls that he had consumed on one hand and come back with three fingers. "You look it. Stand up."

Syt did so, or rather he tried and fell.

"Bloody Hell man, I knew this was a mistake... Alright, I am going to sober you up, and I am going to use mana to do it." Power flickered in the seraphim's hands. "Anna can just be ticked with me, rather just her then everyone being mad at me at once."

"Hmm whatcha gunna do?"

"Teach you the values of moderation. I should warn you, you are going to experience a hangover, withdrawal, and all the other effects of your folly all at once. But at least you'll be sober."

Anna cocked her head to the side. She could have sworn she heard Syt crying out in pain. Before she could worry though, both men came back into the clearing. Syt was wincing with every step, clutching his gut as if in pain. Issia dropped what she was doing and ran to her husband, the children all went after her to tend to the fisherman. Kratos drifted in her direction, and slid a new flask into their packs.

"What did you do to him?" Anna hissed over the food. Syt looked horrible, he was pale and shaking.

"He was drunk, I dealt with it."

"By what, holding a sword to his throat?"

"No." He wiggled his fingers meaningfully and Anna snorted.

"My God, we need you to go to every chapel, the way he looks he'll never touch a flask again."

"Heh, that is good then. He tends to go a little overboard with the drinking."

"And what did you slip into our packs just now."

"A bit of wine I picked up on the way back."

"Syt's wine?"
"Yes. I do not think he will want it though."

"You, Mr. Aurion are evil!"

"Anna, I am a representative of the greater good cloaked in mortal flesh and blood, there is no way I could possibly be ev-"

Anna tossed a snowball at him and Kratos decided the food looked done enough. War was declared when he slipped behind her and poured snow down her back. She pelted him with snowballs, he returned fire, and soon the children joined them. The picture-esk clearing was a tromped up mess by the time Issia called them all over for dinner. She scolded Anna for leaving the food to play, and Anna smiled and endured the older woman's lecture with grace. She was not defiant, but the twinkle in the young woman's eyes was defiance enough.

"You Ms. Aurion are not serious about important matters! What example will you be setting for your child on what to expect from a woman?"

"The best I can."

Annoyed Issia rolled her eyes, gave more of her well meaning lecture, then seeing it wasn't making a impact fed them all.

That morning was a bit sad, Syt embraced the Seraphim, wished him luck in his travels, and to look him up if he needed anything at all. Syt even went so far as to tell him that even if Kratos' time of need came, and Syt wasn't alive, that his family would do what they could. In so saying he bound his decedents to the Aurion families fate. Kratos promised to keep an eye out for the Syt's bloodline, to protect them as much as he could. He also warned that he was not all powerful, his vision not omni-
present, and Syt told him he'd take whatever Kratos could offer.

Anna and Issia hugged each other. Tears fell from both women's eyes, words of kindness and advice from the lips. Anna then handed over a small booklet that she had composed while they had traveled together. It was a recipe booklet that the children could read to their mother so that her cooking would improve. In a way it was Anna's gift to the whole Syt family.

The children cried, well the Syt children cried. Lloyd had cried that last night with his parents. He knew they were leaving, he was losing his playmates, and having his spat of tears already done, he appeared to be the strong one. Lloyd promised them he'd visit when the came through Luin again, and Anna smiled sadly knowing that they'd in all probability never come back. After it carried on for long enough the parents took their respective offspring, and went their separate ways.

Lloyd sighed, snuggled with his parents, but seemed listless the next day. His sense of budding adventure dulled. Anna was concerned, worried Lloyd was getting ill from traveling through the snow. Kratos though understood, he had gone through this too as a youngster, though Lloyd separation from his friends hadn't been as traumatic as his own.
"Do not worry, he will get over it."

"But what's wrong?"

"He is lonely, that is all. He misses his friends, certainly you know what that was like and went through it when you left home."

"I didn't..." Anna sighed looked away. "I never had any friends."

Baffled Kratos tried to press more information out of her, but she gave him the look and after his first attempt gave it up.

They paused on the top of a hill, looked down at the small series of squat almost militant buildings made of wood and stone. Steam wafted up from one of them, and the winter chilled wind picked it up and sent the taste of meat and something far less pleasant towards them. Lloyd sneezed, and Noishe made a gaging sound. Anna sighed, looked down at the buildings and swallowed. She was trembling ever so slightly, but she looked at Lloyd and gathered enough courage to speak.

"This is where I was raised Kratos, this is the factory that I was born in." she pointed to the few buildings that weren't exuding smoke. "Those are the colts, where the rest of my family go to bed every night, the rest of the buildings are work stations." There was, strangely a kind of cabin in the front, it seemed homely enough on it's own, but wreathed in smoke and with those crude buildings behind it it gained a strange sur-realness to itself. Seeing his what his gaze was locked on, Anna grimaced. "That's Mother's house, where she entertains the guests. We have to go there, and talk to her to see if we can stay the night. Just, whatever happens, try to keep your temper in check. This isn't going to be pleasant."

"Anna, you are worrying me, be more specific."

"I left in disgrace, they wont be happy to see me, and Mother is a petty tyrant. If I'm not with Lloyd you stay with him, don't let Mother alone with him for any length of time. She'll work him in the factories."

"He is three, how can any humane person expect a child to work at that age!" Kratos felt his blood simmer with anger.

"I never said Mother was humane Kratos.

The seraphim swallowed his anger, took a deep breath, and wished a bit selfishly he could hold Lloyd, draw calm and strength from their child. Lloyd's eyes just went from one parent to the other, a baffled look on his face. Anna shifted him a bit, closed her eyes, then began the decent down the hill. Kratos kept pace with Anna, and moved the more perilous objects out of her way. It scared him that she refused to open her eyes as they went down the hill, for some reason it scared the hell out of him.

At the door of the cabin Anna knocked. There was a long pause, and Kratos shifted his sword around nervously. Old instincts were roused not only by Anna's tenseness but just something in the air. And the vile smell that hung over this place had nothing to do with it. The door opened, a comely young man with Anna's eyes opened the door, stared at Anna in total shock. there was a tense moment, then the man who had some of Anna's features, but a sullen face, took a step back and let them in.

"You know where to go." the man looked at Kratos, then to Anna. "Strangers aren't welcome, only family can come in, you know the rule." Kratos snarled, his hand slipped to his weapon's hilt.

"That's enough Kratos! This man is my husband, he is part of the family, and if Mother has an issue with it she can talk to me about it."

"You haven't changed a bit, Anna." The sullen eyes slid over to Lloyd, measured him. "That runt yours?"

"This is my son, Lloyd. And if you call him runt one more time, like you call your own children, I swear Philip you wont live very long. If Kratos doesn't skin you alive I will."

"No use to 'um unless their working."

"That's your small minded opinion."

"Heh, you'd think if your husband had any brain in him he'd of beat that attitude out of you by now."

"I'm not here to trade insults with you Philp, come on Kratos, lets get this over with."

Kratos shivered with rage, but kept pace with Anna. His silence was heavy, the air around him crackled with tension, and Anna suddenly spun on him. Startled he froze.

"It's going to get worse from here, much worse... Please hold onto Lloyd."

Kratos took their son, who looked baffled by everything that was going on. he'd never seen his father angry before, never had seen his mommy angry before, and he was fast becoming scared.

"Shh..." Kratos rocked Lloyd, and the youngest Aurion settled down, some of the fear left his face.

"If only someone would do that for me." Anna's lips trembled, and Kratos could taste her fear. "Gods, why did I agree to this..."

"We can go back, there is still time to find shelter from the storm. There are caves nearby..."

"No, we do this, for one night at least we endure this, then we leave in the morning."
"Anna..."

"Kratos, hush." She licked her lips, took a deep breath. "We go here, up the stairs."

Kratos sighed, held onto Lloyd and climbed the stairs. He noted, with some disgust, that the stair way was not lit with candles, there was even no place to put candles, it was as if who ever lived at the top liked it dark. Or rather didn't think that paying for candles was worth the effort. At the simple un-ornament door Anna paused, leaned against the frame and took a deep breath. She then rapped on the door, an age worn voice from the other side crooned for them to come in. Anna went into the sparse room first, looked at the leather covered chairs arranged by the fire dully. It was all one massive room that served as living quarters. A stove, a bed, he spotted those in the inky blackness that pooled in the corners of the rooms. There was only one source of light, and that came from the fire. He looked to the largest leather coated chair, and saw a blanket wrapped figure regarding him. The scorn in those shrunken black eyes, made Kratos stiffen. They slid from him to Anna. Then from the bowl that sat in the figures lap a spoon came out, lifted by a scarred hand. It pointed to the two chairs closer to the fire, then went back to it's bed of soup.

"Mother, this is my husband, Kratos Aurion."

"Mercenary." The voice was shrill, grating, and the seraphim felt his Son flinch in his arms. He didn't blame him, it did hurt to listen to it. "Not a tanner."

"Sorry Mother, all of the tanners were taken." At Anna's glib tone the blanket wrapped figure shuddered.

"None of your lip child. You left, and then you married below your station? Why are you here?"

"The storms are fast behind us, we were hoping to spend the night here, perhaps the week..."

"No."

"She is your flesh and blood, you would turn her away, for what some error committed almost five years ago?"

"It's not your place to speak boy!"

Kratos shivered, his eyes narrowed. Anna went to him, gripped his shoulder, muttered in his ear in the Angelic language to calm down.

"Hmm think your better then me learning how to talk in a fancy language do you?"

"No Mother..." Anna swallowed. "It is the language that my husband speaks natively, I only learned it to fulfill my duties as an obedient wife. We converse in it, because he finds more ease in it."

"You've obviously learned a few things..." the spoon dipped int the bowl, and disappeared into the crones mouth. "Tell me child, what are her duties of a wife to her husband?"
"A woman must obey a man in all things. She must defer to him in all situations. He is her only concern, his wants and needs are to come first, the child's second, and her own last of all."

"You remember that, I am surprised... I recall once long ago how you had the nerve to tell me that was garbage. That a woman and man were equal. Tell me do you live by these rules, do you set yourself to them?"

"No." Kratos hissed. "She would not be the woman I love if she did, nor would she be if she lied to you to get us shelter for the night."

The old woman's eyes widened in surprise at his rage filled voice, then narrowed.

"Well it seems you found some young puppy who shares your ideals Anna. May you have each other, and the storm take you both. You can leave the boy here if you want, we will take care of him."

"No, there would be no way in Hell I'd leave Lloyd with you for a minute, much less forever. We were just on our way out, I don't know why I bothered to try..."

"Because you are stupid." The old woman snapped, then went back to her meal.

Kratos had had enough. He stood in one motion, his hand went to his sword. Bloody murder was on his face. Anna stood in front of him, protecting the hag with her body. Then she yalped, clutched her back, and sank to her knees. The old woman's hands were wrapped around a cane, it was raised as she considered making another strike.

"Remember the first edict child, a man's will is surpream. Never get in his way, ever."

The cane descended.

Kratos was faster, with a hand he reached out, caught the weapon before it connected. It cracked in his hand, numbed it, but he still held on, stood with his son in on hand, protecting his wife. With a snarl he wrenched the weapon out of the hags hands, and threw it into the fire. He then ignored the woman's shrill screams, and helped Anna to her feet. She looked at him, ashamed and in pain.

"We never should have come here, Kratos, I'm sorry."

The door bust open, two men with swords came into the room. Kratos snarled an oath, pulled Anna behind him, and handed her Lloyd. He then stood whipped his blade around as the two men came forward.

"Philp, Frank, please don't fight him!"

They didn't respond, only came at Kratos in a charge.

"Kratos these are my brothers, don't kill them, please!"
Cursing in Angelic Kratos changed tactics. Struck with the flat of his blade though he hungered to lash out with the sharp. It was a quick ugly fight, both men lay on the floor nursing broken bones and a few scratches, but nothing life threatening. Kratos considered them, considered finishing them, then he considered the woman who obviously ruled over then with an iron fist. Life would be much more painful to these two then Hell, or any death he could hand out. It wasn't for mercy he spared them, but spite.

The old woman cackled, it was an ugly sound, a insane chittering.

"You think because he defended you he'll honestly keep you? Autumn thought much the same, she came back with her man to mock me, to mock all of us! Oh he defended her, bleed for her just like your man." Kratos flexed his fingers, tried to ignore the tingling of his blood on his hand. "And he left her, abandoned her for some other pretty thing that swished her skirts."

"Let's go Kratos..." Anna turned her back on the woman who had given birth to her.

"You order him around, you think he'll stay? He'll leave you after the boy's old enough to tend himself. But then he's a Merc. those types, they like to leave things well tended, kill there women folk they do!"

"Don't give her what she want Kratos... please, let's go..."

There were tears in Anna's eyes, as she pleaded with him.

"No, do not beg my love, do not look at me and beg." He kissed her gently on the forehead. "Let us leave this Hell hole behind us."

She smiled through her tears, and they walked off, never looking back or paying heed to the shrill ravings of the woman behind them.