Finding Grace: The Guardian Chronicles Book One

Chapter 25. Family Ties*

Chapter 25. Look After You by the Fray

Evan watched as Emil went to the trunk she'd been in front of when he had arrived the previous night. She watched as he glanced at the stack of newspapers, feeling a swell of sadness at the loss his parents must have suffered when he disappeared. He stacked all of the books on top of the microscope box after he put it away. Then he returned the newspapers and closed the trunk. This one was too sad. It seemed to be a memorial to his life that no one wanted to remember anymore.

"You work quickly!" she said as she came to stand by Emil.

"Have you been in this trunk before? It was my mother's," he said as he moved to the trunk which had been in his parents' room when he was a child. It was not locked and he opened it easily. He leaned over and began going through the piles of old quilts and remnants from his childhood.

"Yes, since it was unlocked. Emil, tell me about your family. What were they like?" Evan asked.

"Do you really want to know?" he replied, uncertainty in his voice.

She nodded and looked at him expectantly.

"Alright. I haven't told anyone about them except Tourneau." He moved to lean against one of the trunks and angled his head so he could look into her eyes. A soft smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "Of course I will start with my mother. She was a saint, at least in my eyes. She was always so loving and compassionate. I think she tried to make up for my father's distance. All of the things in this trunk, she made them. She was always busy sewing or knitting or doing something with her hands.

"She had three sons, so she didn't spend much time on herself. Since she didn't have any daughters, she told us she would put all of her efforts into making our home beautiful."

He lifted one of the quilts out and spread it in front of them. He stroked his hand gently over the delicate patchwork fabric.

"For instance, this was the quilt that covered my parent's bed. You've seen the one that was on my bed. It is the one you have on your couch and curl up in," Emil said with a glint in his eyes. "These other things in here...my christening gown, the other quilts, the clothes, she made them all."

As he reached further into the bottom of the trunk, he came upon small clothes, which looked as if they had never been worn. Then he pulled out a neatly folded dress and held it up.

"This is my mother's wedding gown," he said quietly, looking up at her. "I have only seen this in pictures when I was young. I never had occasion to look at it before. I do not know who these small clothes were for. They appear not to have been worn."

Emil could only guess that she had begun preparation for the future child Emil and his new wife would have. The long buried anguish over his losses arose in his chest, but he was pulled back to the present when Evan moved.

Evan reached forward and ran her hand over the dress, "The lacework is so intricate."

"That was one of her specialties. She won many prizes for it at fairs and the like," he said, his broad smile not trying to hide the pride he held for her. He impulsively held it out in front of Evan, measuring it against her.

"You are much taller than my mother. It would never do for you," he said, taking in the several inches of her legs that were exposed beneath the hem of the dress.

"It doesn't matter, I'll never wear a wedding dress anyway," Evan said looking away from him quickly, trying to hide the yearning she felt as the thought of never being a bride made her choke up.

He carefully folded the gown and placed it back in its wrapping, then back in the trunk. He then folded the quilt and placed it over the small, unused clothes.