I reread this book...and I realized just how underrated this father/son relationship is.
"Shigeru...' Horace managed one word, then, choked with emotion, he stepped back from the older man's embrace, his head lowered, his cheeks running with tears.
Shigeru patted the muscular arm. 'Parting is hard, Kurokuma. But you and I will always be together. Just look into your mind and heart and you'll find me there. I will never forget you. I will never forget that I owe you everything.'
'I...I don't...' Horace could manage no more, but Shigeru knew what he was trying to say.
'I wish you could stay with us, my son. But your own country and your own king need you.'
Horace nodded, overwhelmed by the sense of conflicting loyalties. Shigeru couldn't have picked a more compelling form of address than to call Horace 'son'. Horace had grown up an orphan, deprived of a father's love and guidance from an early age.
Excerpt From
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
John Flanagan
YOU ARE READING
Ranger's Apprentice: Tales Untold
FanfictionYou've heard of their adventures, of the wars, of their accomplishments. You know where they've traveled. But what about the parts you don't see? The parts of their lives that have been untold?
