Soren closed the door
to his office and waved good morning to Jill. "Do you need the key
to the convoy?" Jill shook her head and held up a silver copy of
Soren's master key. She bowed a little and walked off. Soren smiled
softly and closed his eyes. Has it been a month or two? I've completely lost track of time.
Soren ran his fingers over the dusty banister. He blew his fingers and stared at his robes. Soren leaped onto the railing and slid all the way down. Kaethe would have loved to slide down such a long handrail. Everything always came back to Kaethe. Soren sighed and looked around.
Mist was busy in the kitchen cooking up a storm with some tips from Oscar. Soren watched her intently and grabbed a spice off the shelf. He added a dash of paprika, and smirked when Mist turned around. "I was going to do that!"
Oscar smiled at Soren and commented, "Well, at least he's developed a sense of taste."
Soren crossed his arms and sneered. Oscar held up his hands and grinned. "I beg your pardon?" Oscar and Mist laughed as Mist stirred the stew. Soren waved good-bye and left the kitchen. He walked out to the courtyard and saw Volke sparring with Sothe.
Sothe lunged forth and aimed for Volke's throat. Volke deflected his attempt and punched Sothe in the stomach. The young thief stumbled back, but leapt up ready for more. Volke glanced up and acknowledged Soren's presence. Soren waved and continued walking through the courtyard.
Lounging under a leafy tree was Stefan. Soren walked up to him and said, "Good morning, Stefan."
"Ah, hello. Isn't it nice to be young and carefree? Before you seemed as if ants were in your robes all the time." Stefan chuckled as Soren stuck his tongue out. "Oh, I guess Vandal hasn't told you. Go look for Shinon."
Soren cocked an eyebrow, but Stefan ushered him back into the castle and told him to go to the front. Soren grumbled and started walking to the entrance. He spun around and caught Ike following him. "Commander?"
"I just wanted to meet the woman who changed you so much."
Soren stared at the ground. "She died."
Ike laughed and pointed towards the infirmary. Soren curiously walked towards it. Rhys was standing beside a bed with his staff over a patient. Rolf was sitting in a chair calmly whereas Shinon was pacing back and forth impatiently. Shinon tapped his foot and asked, "Well? Is she all right or not?"
Rolf grinned and hummed in a sing-song voice, "I never knew you worried about people, Uncle Shinon. Why the sudden change and in a girl?"
Shinon glared at Rolf and Rhys quietly added, "There was a time Shinon and Gatrie worried about Titania. Rolf, why don't you go help Mist?" Rolf shrugged and started for the kitchen.
Soren sat down in Rolf's seat and glanced at Shinon. "Thank you."
Shinon rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, whatever."
Soren heard a few grumbles and stood up. He walked over to the side of the bed and waited. The patient had bandages all around her face and arms. "Funny thing about necromancy is, you can create an image of yourself upon a skeleton. Wah, Soren! I wanted the first thing I saw again to be you! Soren, Soren, Soren!"
Soren shook his head and muttered, "You're embarrassing yourself Kaethe. Shinon's here too, you know?"
Kaethe blinked and stated, "Oh. That's nice and all, but… Soren!" Soren moaned to himself as Kaethe went on and on about how much she loved him. Normally mothers weren't this doting… were they? Soren watched as Shinon left the infirmary with a snort. Heh, he must be torn. Kaethe can be so insensitive when it comes to me. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing... right?
Soren returned his attention upon Kaethe and asked, "Why do you have all those bandages?"
"I got a tattoo!"
"You what…?"
Kaethe asked Rhys to remove her bandages. Soren watched and Kaethe pointed at her forehead. She had a symbol similar to his but a flame scorched through her symbol. "I'm sorry you waited so long for me."
Soren walked closer and hugged Kaethe. Quietly he whispered, "What would I do without my mother?"
Kaethe shyly asked, "Soren…?"
"You knew my parents. Tell me about them. As they were your godparents, you're like mine…" Rhys left the room respectfully and closed the door.
Kaethe blinked and bonked Soren on the head. "No."
Soren scowled and insisted, "Why not?"
"You have to see Zyan one more time before I do anything for you."
Soren's eyes widened. "Uh-! I nearly forgot about… All right then. I shall agree to your terms." Soren grew silent. He looked at the bed sheets and then at Kaethe. "You scared me half to death, and I put on a waterworks display for the whole group. Kaethe. Honestly…"
Kaethe smiled her gentle motherly smile, and Soren melted in an instant. Of all the people he knew, Soren had never found one who could disobey their own mother.
