"There you are!" their mother exclaimed when the boys arrived home at last. She leapt from her chair, Hollenmere Herald still in hand, hugging them close.
"We're fighting," Oliver told her at once.
"I know," she said, pulling away and showing them the headline of the print: HOLLENMERE DECLARES WAR.
"No," Reid said, shaking his head. "We're fighting."
Their mother looked between them, confused, as if she had not heard Reid properly. "Sorry?"
"Because of what happened in Gladeshire," Oliver explained delicately, "the squires and the pages are going, too."
Adaline slumped back down into the kitchen chair, and slowly, she unraveled. At first she simply stared out the opposite window numbly, mouth open as her sons' words washed over her. But soon her eyes flooded with tears and she covered her face with her hand, struggling to suppress sobs.
Her reaction certainly wasn't unwarranted, but Reid still found it alarming. Oliver and Reid stood behind her, observing cautiously.
"You're only twelve!" she burst at last.
"Nearly thirteen," Oliver mentioned with half a grin, patting his mother on the shoulder.
She huffed and rolled her eyes, reminding Reid of Aunt Laureline. Oliver was taken aback by her reaction, so Reid slipped into the chair beside her to try his hand at comforting her.
"Mum," he said softly, putting his hand over hers. "You know we have to do this. We promised we would when we started training. We can't go back on that."
She looked back at him, unconvinced, eyes still streaming.
"But isn't there something you could do here to help?" she asked with all the hope of a small child.
It made Reid uncomfortable to see his mother acting so vulnerable. He shook his head as Oliver patted her on the back again.
"No," Reid said firmly but kindly. "They need us, Mum. We have to go."
She paused for a moment, wiping her eyes and sniffling. Finally she nodded.
"When do you leave?"
"We find out tomorrow," Reid answered, squeezing her hand. "Soon."
She took Reid's face in her hands and held it there, studying his features.
"You look so like your father."
Reid smiled as she pulled both boys close once more.
YOU ARE READING
The Breton Boys
FantasyAll twelve-year-old Reid Breton wants is to fit in at the exclusive school for boys where he was abandoned as a baby. Easier said than done when you're a poor orphan surrounded by rich kids and a headmistress with a grudge. So when Oliver, the twi...
