Cassidy's Point of View

Reed Family Homestead

Working in the kitchen to get ready for dinner was a nightly routine. Unless we were heading over to Arthur’s that is. Austin loved visiting and being a part of all the hubbub. The front door opened without a knock, so I expected Austin, but it was Arthur. I looked at him in surprise as he just moved to the table and sat down with a grunt.

“Rough day?” I asked him with a smile.

“It was a day.” He told me.

“You okay?”

He nodded. “As good as I can be.”

I snorted at that as I went back to making dinner. “So, problems with Lucia or someone else?”

The man huffed. “A little bit of everything.”

“Want ta talk about it?”

“Not really.”

I nodded. “Alright. Well, ya know where the cups are if ya need somethin ta-“

“You want to know what I don’t understand?”

“Oh, okay.” I replied softly. “Guess you’re not thirsty.”

“How all this happened.” Arthur stated.

“Ah’m need ya ta be a little more specific.”

I watched as he tapped the table. “Elincia might be pregnant at any given time.”

Blinking, one of my brows rose. “Okay. Ya knew that, though.”

“Yeah, but knowing what you do now, can you really not understand why that is a horrifying thought?”

“Ya mean cause of your strange form?” He nodded. “Ah don’t see why that matters.”

“Does it not concern you that there might be multiple people like me roaming around with my abilities?”

I shrugged. “Not really. Ya whine a lot, but Ah think most of us can agree that there are worse things out there.” Arthur groaned in frustration. “Besides, Lucia is a perfect example of-“ I stopped as I noticed his downhearted gaze shift to the floor. “Your not convinced she’s yours, are ya?”

His teeth grit as I watched the muscles in his jaw flex. “No.” He left out in a whispered in restrained rage.

“…” Well, what do you say to that? “Somethin happen that changed your stance on her?”

“Of course not. The other option is not acceptable. Moving forward, Lucia will be known as my daughter regardless of what the truth may be.” He then crossed his arms angrily as his muscles tightened. “I hope she is mine, and part of me still thinks she is, but my mind wasn’t in the right place when I declared that Lucia was my daughter.”

“Does she know this?”

He nodded. “She does…”

Moving back to the stove, I replied. “Then what’s the problem? Ya clearly care about her.”

Arthur was quiet for a moment before he answered. “Maybe I’m just overthinking things.”

“Maybe.”

“I just want to do what’s right…”

Moving some potatoes to the sink, I responded as I grabbed a knife. “Come over here and help me.” Glancing over my shoulder revealed him rolling his eyes as het got to his feet. “Think ya can peel these?” He nodded and got to work. “Ah can tell that Elincia bothers ya. Even Lucia bothers ya.”

He sighed. “I just feel lost. There’s so much going on that I need to deal with. Not just Lucia, and Elincia, but everything. Having kids in this world, with it on the brink of war, is something that terrifies me.” Arthur told me softly. “For so long I’ve wanted…” He trailed off. “After what happened to Lucia, I’m not convinced I won’t fail them as I did her. Thana, that mysterious male High Elf, and so many more might aim for them.”

“Ah understand why ya might be hesitant. Especially after what happened with my grandpa, and Ayda’s dad. After Alwin and Lucia’s capture, Ah’m hesitant about the future as well. That bein said, ya’ve been protectin us this entire time ta the best of your abilities. Things have happened outta of your control. Aint nothin ya can do about that.” My hands went to his shoulder, and he looked at me. “But havin kids won’t be so bad. Austin is still a kid. He’s the only family Ah got.” Then he nudged him with my hip. “Besides you, of course.”

He snorted at that. “What about Rennal?”

A smile came to my lips. “Ah’m working on making her family.” My hand went back to work as I spoke. “Have ya tried talkin ta Elincia or Lucia about any of this?”

Arthur was quiet for a moment as his hands worked. “What would I say?”

“Fair enough.” Was my weak reply.

The man looked like he wanted to say something else, but there was a sudden wind that blew the windows open. I flinched at that. However, Arthur seemed to be expecting it. When the front door opened, Austin came running in.