Reynold's POV:
I couldn’t believe it.
My son. My son was gone.
“NOOOO!” “NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.”
Durden had to hold me back before I jumped off the cliff myself to save my son.
I knew it was too late. I knew what could’ve happened had already happened but I couldn’t just stand still and not do anything.
“Let me go! My son! He could still be alive. Let me save my son! Please.”
Durden wasn’t budging and Adam came to hold me back too.
“Please Rey. You have to hold it together. There’s no easy way to tell you this but it’s not possible for him to survive that fall.” The always playful and lax Adam had a solemn look on his face and couldn’t even meet my eyes.
“Adam is right. Pull yourself together. Your wife needs you Rey.” Durden also mutters.
They’re right. They’re absolutely right. Yet. Why is my body not listening to me? Why can’t I go comfort my wife.
“AAAAHHHHHHH!!!” I break down before everything goes black.
I wake up to see Helen holding a wet towel over my head.
“You’re finally awake.” She says, with a sympathetic smile that lacks emotion.
I just get up and bury my face in my hands.
“This isn’t a dream is it? Please tell me I’m going to wake up to see my boy playing with Jasmine and Adam.”
“…”
“I’m sorry…” is the only thing she manages to say before she starts sniffling as well.
Durden comes into the tent and faces me.
“Reynolds. I can’t begin to imagine how much it must hurt for you, but right now, your wife needs you. She’s blaming herself Rey. She thinks you hate her for losing your child.” He says, his red eyes evident that he himself was having a hard time.
“…”
*SMACK*
“Reynolds! We had to stop Alice from killing herself! This isn’t the time to be fucking moping! Get off your sorry ass and take care of the one that’s alive!” He growls.
This is the first time I’ve seen the composed Durden this angry.
I nod, a little stunned, and go to the tent my wife is.
I see my wife curled up under a blanket with Angela by her side, patting her gently.
I give a meaningful gaze at Angela. She just nods, excusing herself out of the tent.
“…Alice”
“…”
“Honey. Can I see my wife’s beautiful face?”
“…child” I faintly hear her mumble.
“What was that honey?” I say, patting her back.
“I killed our child!” She bolts up and turns to face me.
“I killed our son Reynolds. It was my fault! I-if I wasn’t there, he could’ve dodged that. He could’ve lived. He sacrificed himself to save me *sniff* it was my fault.”
I grab my wife and hold her tight, softly kissing the top of her head over and over.
I shut my eyes tighter, keeping myself from crying as she continues sobbing in my chest.
We just sat like this for a while until her sobs turned into whimpers.
*Hic*
“You don’t hate me?” I barely hear her whisper.
“How could I ever hate you? Alice. I love you and I always will.”
*Hic* *Hic*
“…I miss him so much Rey.” She sobs again at this point.
I clench my jaws, willing myself to stay strong in front of my wife.
“I-I know honey. I miss him too.”
The rest of the journey was a slow and arduous one. Not physically. No. I feel like even the wild animals knew of our emotional torment as they steered clear of us. Our group just went on in silence. Any of Adam’s attempts at trying to lighten up the mood all but failed. Even the cheerful Angela kept a solemn face throughout the rest of the journey.
Alice and I fell asleep together last night together in each other’s arms. I managed to console her and it helped me as well. I needed an excuse. I was the one that sent Arthur to protect Alice. I keep trying to find people to blame but the ones that are actually at fault are already dead. Revenge was already taken. Now all I’m left with is this feeling of emptiness and regret. The only thing keeping me going is our unborn child. For that child, my child, I had to endure. I won’t make the same mistake I did with Arthur. He was only a child but I sent him off to protect my wife against fighters and even a mage. I had no one to blame but myself.
We arrived in Xyrus through the teleportation gate with no further complications; as though God was mocking us by saying we’ve been through enough. The Twin Horns were supposed to separate from my wife and I from here.
“You guys sure you’ll be okay?” Adam gives a helpless look.
Durden adds in, saying, “We don’t mind staying with you guys for a couple more days. I know you originally came to this city for Arthur but…” He never finished the sentence.
“It’s okay. You guys have your agenda. Alice and I have all of our basic necessities and money to live off of for a couple of weeks. Keep your guys’ positions updated in Guild Hall.” I wave them off.
“Will do. Take care guys. We’ll see each other soon.” Durden replies.
The girls all give Alice a warm hug before saying their goodbyes to her. After they leave, I turn to my wife and give her a serious look.
“Alice, what do you say about living here from now on?”
Giving me a confused look, she replies, “What about our home in Ashber? We just got it all fixed up. A lot of our stuff is still there.”
I shake my head at this. “I think it’ll be better for us to have a fresh new surrounding. Our home in Ashber has too many memories of Art. I don’t think we’ll be able to get over it if we stay there. We’ll hire some merchants to deliver some of our stuff from Ashber here to us.”
She looks down and thinks for a little bit before nodding. Then she adds, “What about a job? How will we afford to live here? This is a very expensive neighborhood Rey.”
I throw in a smile that just seems so rare these days. “I know an old friend that lives here. He’s asked me to be his guard a couple of times a few years back and we still keep in touch. He’s a fairly renown noble in this area and his manor is huge. I’m sure he’ll have a place for us to stay. They’re good people Alice.”
She looks a little doubtful at first but after getting a ride to the manor and hugging my old friend, her uncertainty vanishes.
“Rey! My old pal! What brings you to this little city?” A thin bespectacled man in a suit exclaims as he lets go of me.
Vincent Helstea. Around 1.7 meters in height with a thin frame for a body, he was a man of brains, not brawn. Vincent was a normal human but a very successful one at that. The Helstea House had been in the trading business for centuries. While their family was on the decline for a few generations, Vincent single-handedly brought his family’s asset to a new height after building the first Helstea Auction House in Xyrus and later building several auction houses within neighboring cities. We met when he was on one of his trips to a more remote city to build an Auction House when he ran into trouble with bandits. I was there with him at that time, fulfilling the escort mission that the Guild assigned me. After saving him, we hit it off pretty well.
The maid that answered the door left after she saw Vincent hugging me. Soon after, his wife and daughter came out as well, curious as to what all the commotion is about.
“Tabitha! Meet my dear friend Reynolds and his wife Alice! Alice, Reynolds, this is my wife Tabitha and this here is my lovely daughter, Lilia.” Vincent exclaims while picking up her daughter. She seems to be the around the same age as Art was, with lovely hazel eyes that remind me of a kitten and long brown hair, braided. She’ll grow up to be a beautiful young lady.
I greet myself, “Tabitha! It’s great to finally meet you. Vince has told me so many great things about you during our trip together to Eksire City. What a cute daughter you guys have.”
After my wife introduced herself and exchanged pleasantries with Tabitha, Vincent urged us into the living room to get comfortable.
“So what brings you here Rey. Last time you sent me a letter, you said you got yourself settled all the way up in Ashber.” He says, handing Alice and me a glass of wine.
I took a deep breath out and told them the story.
*Clank*
“I had no idea. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Vincent manages to mutter. His wife has her mouth covered with her hands. “I wouldn’t know what to do if I lost Lilia. Is there anything I can do for you?”
I scratch my cheek and ask, “You asked me a couple times to teach your Auction House’s guards a thing or two about magic. Is that offer still up in the air? I don’t want to stay here for free Vince, but I don’t want my wife to go back to the old house in Ashber where Arthur was born and raised in.”
At that, a big grin appeared on Vincent. “You know, we could actually really use someone like you right now! We just renovated our Heltea Auction House so it can accommodate three times as many people. With that, we got a fresh new batch of Augmenter recruits that need some guidance. I think you’ll be perfect for it. Can you handle it?” He winks at me.
I just chuckle and nod, shaking the hand that he put out, sealing the deal.
I didn’t start working for the first couple of days. Alice and I got ourselves situated in the left wing of the manor. Vincent was pretty lenient, saying we could have a couple of rooms, in case we want any more future babies. I just slapped his butt at that and he runs off grinning. Alice and Tabitha hit it off really well. I was worried she’d be lonely when I started working but Tabitha has a lot of free time as well and just takes care of Lilia so having Alice around really brightened up her day. Once work started, I was busy training the new recruits. These mages were not the most talented, but they were willing to work hard. After pounding the essentials into their head, I feel like they’ll make a pretty solid team of guards. Of course, all of the elite mages, both Conjurers and Augmenters, are attending school at Xyrus Academy. So the ones that don’t want to be Adventurers end up being hired by rich nobles, like Vincent, as guards, which is much safer.
It’s been a couple of months now since Alice and I settled down in Xyrus. We’ve grown accustomed to the city life. Alice’s belly seems to be getting bigger by the day and, while she still has nightmares about losing Arthur, having Tabitha around really helped. Just getting back home, I’m welcomed by the delicious smell of beef stew. Vincent and Tabitha have gone out on a date while Alice promised to watch over Lilia with the maids, so it was just the two of us having dinner tonight.
“This beef stew looks amazing Alice. What’s the special occasion today?” I grin at her.
She smiles softly and just replies, “It’s been a while since I’ve cooked for you. I hope you enjoy it. This used to be Art’s favorite dish.”
Her face turns downcast and before I get the chance to console her…
Hi Mom, hi Dad. It’s me, your son Arthur…
My mind blanks. This is Art’s voice. No. I’m hearing things. I look at Alice while the voice continues to talk in my head. Her face is in distraught as she’s looking around. Is she hearing voices too?
…Again, I’m alive and well mom, dad. I managed to survive the fall off the cliff…
What is going on? My son is alive? Kingdom of Elenoir? Illness?
…It may take a couple of months or even years for me to be able to go back but just be sure that I WILL be going back home. I love you guys *sniff* so much and I miss you. Stay safe, and dad, make sure to keep mom and my baby sibling safe. Mom *sniff*, please make sure dad doesn’t get into trouble. Your son, Art.
I look at my wife again.
“You just heard the voice now too right Rey?” She manages to cry out.
“Y-yeah. I just heard Art’s voice.” I reply, still dazed.
*Crash*
“He’s alive! Honey! Our baby is alive! Oh my goodness!” Alice falls on her knees and just weeps, a smile that tells me her tears are from joy.
Hell, I’m crying right now. My son is alive. “Our son is alive!!!” I madly laugh.
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