Mystic Quest

Chapter 26

“So we are going to see your parents?”

Emerys almost crossed his eyes as Aurora's face became quite close to his, big questioning eyes mesmerizing him until he remembered she had asked something.

“Er-Ah-Yes! T-This my birth town.”

Aurora grinned brightly. “That's great! I bet you really loved having the festival every year, right?”

Emerys just nodded, hoping to somehow stop the blush on his cheeks. Spotting the matching redness of Aurora's cheeks didn't help, however. And of course, the rest of the group was of no help. No, they were better off trying to hold back fond giggles.

Since Aurora had joined the group mere minutes ago, the magician and the Valkyria had been unable to prevent their eyes from finding each other. Questions of what they intended to do had lead to Emerys admitting they were taking a small break before their final battle, and that they were going to his parents' home.

Talking of said home, Emerys stopped suddenly. It made his friends stop too, some almost bumping into him, but no one said anything as they spotted a nice little house with a middle aged woman tending to the flowers in her garden.

The way Emerys starred at her, each and every member of the group knew right away this was his mother. As if sensing the eyes on her, the woman raised her head. Her eyes widened in disbelief as they landed on the magician. Emerys raised his hand and made a small wave, smiling faintly.

“Emerys!”

The woman simply rushed toward her son, Emerys stepping forward before he found himself with an armful of his mother. It felt good to be able to hold her into his arms, after all these months away from home. Tears gathered into both mother and son eyes, but somehow they didn't fell. Unseen by the happy duo, three of Emerys' friends did let one or two tear fell, both by the touching display; and the memory of their own family. And the last two kept their eyes on the duo, pretending not to notice the reaction of these three.

Emerys and his mother finally parted, and the woman touched her son's cheek tenderly. “I feel like you grew up since the last time I saw you.”

Emerys blushed. “Ah well, I did travel a lot, mom.”

His mother smiled fondly. “You are happier too.” Her eyes went to the small group waiting patiently behind her son, then back to Emerys with a certain knowledge.

The magician nodded. “They are my friends.” He grinned. “Let's go see dad and then I will explain?”

He turned sideways at his question, checking with a look if his friends were happy with that. A thumb up from Yuna, a nod from Myrdryn, two beams from Solarys and Lyria, and a fond smile from Aurora were all agreements he needed, the last one making him blush again.

Emerys glanced back at his mother, and coughed slightly at the raised eyebrow and her pointed look on his cheeks.

Oh boy...

Nothing was said to him however, as his mother only turned back toward their home and led the way. She commented that his father would be surprised too, and then murmured to herself about what they could make for diner. Emerys told her about how they would stay a bit at Festivae, hoping to enjoy the festival.

Silence fell as they entered the living room to be greeted by a man. The group stayed behind once again as Emerys and his mother slowly came to the man. The woman coughed faintly, attracting the attention of her husband.

Like his wife, his eyes stopped on his son with wide disbelief. Then he marched to Emerys, tapping his back happily as soon as he could before pushing his son against his chest in a one-armed hug.

“Son! About time you came back! And wait-am I seeing beautiful young ladies?”

“Emmet!”

“Aw don't worry Rysa, you know I have only eyes for you!”

The interaction made Emerys roll his eyes in habit, while his friends bit back laughter. Somehow, they could see how Emerys' personality formed. Emmet finally let go of his son, Rysa going to his side as they watched expectantly the unknown youngsters into their home.

“So you are Emerys' parents? I'm Aurora! I just joined the group!”

It didn't escape Emmet's notice that her gaze shifted slightly to his son. Interesting.

“If we're talking about recently arrived, I'm Myrdryn and I've been with them for no more than a day.”

It made Solarys giggle, how the dragon said this. It also made eyes turn on her, and she took upon herself to finish the presentations. “I'm Solarys, this is Yuna and this is Lyria. We've been with your son for months!”

A bark came, Noriran nosing Solarys' hand with a look suspiciously like a pout. “Oh! Sorry dear! This is Noriran, he's Lyria's wolf.”

Rysa made a small startled sound, as the white wolf had been mostly hidden by his mistress. “My, you have quite a rare friend.”

Lyria chuckled. “I know. But I wouldn't exchange him for the world.”

“And me?” Myrdryn couldn't help but ask with a teasing tone.

“Same. Though you don't run around on four legs. Unless I don't know something.”

That made everyone laugh, even Myrdryn as he tried to keep a pout on his face. The fondness in the angel's gaze, however, was not missed by her best friend. He knew what she really meant, like she knew he didn't need to ask about their closeness.

“Well, now that we got this done, I'm starving!” Emerys exclaimed.

“You really don't change, son.” His parents said in perfect synchronization.

Emerys coughed and blushed, somehow feeling shy between his parents' fond looks and the amused but equally found ones of his friends. He thought to himself, if he could live like this forever; it would be perfect.

The looming knowledge of their journey was still here however, and Emerys knew the subject would be something he would have to share soon with his parents. Hopefully, they would not worry too much about him. Hopefully.

Not that much luck, of course.

“You are going to what?” Emmet exclaimed in a startled squeak.

“I think he said he is going to fight against the demon King, dear.” Rysa commented, the blankness of her voice a blatant sign she had yet to truly accept the fact.

The group of heroes put down their forks, having known the moment Emerys had coughed to attract attention and started mentioning there was another reason for him being around this part of the world that this would not go quite well.

“Do you really need to..?” Emmet whispered.

Emerys nodded. “Even if they are rare, everyone knows how a prophecy works. If they chose someone, it is because they are the only one who can fulfil it.”

Rysa gave her son a searching look. “But you said you are going to fight it. Not kill it.”

Emerys glanced down as he understood that his mother wanted him to confirm what she had already guessed. “That's because the prophecy has two outcomes... Either we kill it, or we... d-die trying.”

It made his parents gasp. It was exactly as they had feared. They wanted to protest, to try and convince their son not to do this. Hell, to try and convince each and every one of them not to. But the fact was...

Emmet and Rysa understood. If they had been the one chosen, they would have accepted it, and done everything to bring the good outcome to pass.

“... Let's finish to eat. It's going to become cold.” Aurora murmured in a gentle voice. “We need to get settled before we can start enjoying the festival. Aren't we here for that?”

The distraction as well as the reminder of their plan to relax now before the final battle was welcomed by all. They nodded and dug back into their plates, conversations starting again soon. It was somehow light, about families and places visited, about adventures. It didn't stop Emerys from giving Aurora a look full of gratitude, soft on the edges, that made her smile gently back with kind eyes.

It didn't stop Emerys' parents from noticing either. They exchanged a subtle look, smiling faintly. They needed to talk with their son.

This was too good to pass up.

To be continued...