The Breton Boys

Chapter Eight: Agate and Emerald | 2

"Reid, you've got to eat something," his mother begged the next morning. "This is going to be your last hot meal for a while."

This did not make him feel any better, and it showed in his face.

"I didn't mean -"

"It's okay."

Reid forced a whole chunk of bread into his mouth and chewed it slowly until he was able to swallow.

"Let's go upstairs," his mother said.

As with Oliver, she pulled the blue glass box from the bookshelf before leading Reid up the staircase. As he followed behind, Reid found himself imagining a scenario in which his mother told him that he didn't have to do it - that no one would notice if he stayed behind, safe at home. But he knew that she wouldn't. And part of him was glad for that, because he didn't think he would have the strength to go if not for her confidence in him and his abilities.

They sat on the edge of the quilted, wooden bed in his mother's room, and she opened the glass box between them.

It was full to the brim with colorful, smooth gems, like the one Adaline had given Oliver on their father's birthday, all different sizes and varieties of stones.

"Maybe agate?" she said, pulling a mottled brown and red rock from the pile and placing it in Reid's palm. "For strength. How does that feel?"

Reid weighed the agate in his hand, waiting for something to happen. His mother looked unsatisfied and hastily replaced the agate with a larger stone marked with golden striations.

"Tiger's eye, for bravery and luck."

Reid squeezed the stone in his fist and shook his head. "What did Oliver take?" he asked.

"He took an emerald, but don't worry about that. You're not Oliver."

"I like the agate."

Adaline pressed the stone into his hand.

"Just slip that in your pocket and remember it's there. It'll keep you safe and strong if you let it."

Despite feeling well adjusted to most of Hollenmere's customs, Reid still didn't quite understand their fixation with stones. Still, with the bit of agate in his pocket, he had to admit that he did feel stronger, even if only a little.

Reid's mother smiled sadly and sighed, glancing out the window behind her and turning back.

"I never told you about the night you were taken," she said, as if she felt guilty or selfish for having withheld the details of the event for so long.

Reid shook his head and his mother took a deep, steadying breath.

"You were only six months old...sleeping, just there..." She waved her hand towards the space between the far side of the bed and the wall. "Oliver was on my side. I liked having you in here with us when you were just born, even though we had the nursery. It was easier that way, and I liked that we all slept together every night, as a family.

"It was the second month of autumn. We weren't worried...we were on the second floor." She paused and swallowed. "But your father woke me and the window was open and I knew something wasn't right. He looked so remorseful...so horrified. He told me...he said that you were gone. I refused to believe it. But I could see that you weren't in your cradle. He was telling the truth. And part of me died. No one ever comes back once they're taken."

Reid's chest constricted and ached as his mother began to weep. The thought that he had had a life in Hollenmere before he was taken had never struck him as forcefully as it did now. The fact that everything changed when he was snatched from this very room as a helpless baby was a lot to wrap his mind around. What if Oliver had been sleeping by the window that night instead of him? His first twelve years could have been so different.

"But he promised me," his mother continued, drying her eyes on her dress sleeve. "He swore he would bring you home."

Reid just stared at her and smiled weakly, breathing proof that his father had kept his word. She returned the look with understanding, nodding as tears welled anew in her eyes.

"Don't forget what you're fighting for, Reid," his mother said. "She did this to you, but you're not defenseless now like you were then. You've already undermined her power in a way that no else ever has. You can do it again. And you will. Do you understand that? You will."

Reid ran his thumb over the agate in his pocket, and the words seemed to tumble automatically from his lips.

"I will."

A/N: And now Reid is off to war, too. What do you think his experience will be like? Will he see battle? How will he fare? Let me know your thoughts with a comment! Thank you for reading. :)