"Vivian, don't be like this! I'm your mother!"
A woman sobbed pitifully in front of me, and sister clutched my hand tightly.
"Ha! Scram, you crazy woman! You abandoned me when I was born! You don't deserve to be my mother!"
Sister's sharp nails dug into my palms, but I still held her hand, wanting to provide some support. "
No! Vivian, I was forced to! There wasn't any money to raise you. You would have starved to death!"
"So you threw me in the river? If brother didn't see me, I would have drowned!"
"No...no..." The woman's voice trailed off.
"You just came to find me because you need money, right?" My little sister was a genius. She somehow managed to find a money-making job at the age of 13 and made enough income to provide for our family. Everyone in the village heard about it. I guess that's why sister's birth mother came to find us.
"No way! I'm not a saint. My brothers and grandparents were the ones who raised me up even though I was abandoned. I hate you, so please leave!"
"But Vivian! You're my daughter! I love you!"
"Save that for someone who cares." Sister held my hand and walked away. Although she didn't say it, I knew she was sad.
"Hey, little sis. Don't be sad. You know I'll support you."
"You're joking, right? Stupid brother, you're blind as a bat and stutters in front of strangers."
"Ouch! My heart! Who're you calling a bat?"
"You."
"...Well, if I am, you'll be the bat's sister."
"I don't see why that's a problem." Although she said that emotionlessly, she still twisted the flesh on my arm.
"Ouch! Stop pinching! My skin is going to fall off!"
"No!"
I woke up in total darkness, feeling nauseated and weak to the core. Where am I? The last thing I saw was my parents, so they should've brought me home. But, I don't recall our home having a room without windows. "Mother? Father?" Was I kidnapped? But who would be crazy enough to kidnap the heir of the Bedivere family? And how did they get past my family? No, now's not the time to think about this. I tried to calm down and listen to my surroundings.
Quiet...quiet...sniffle...quie...wait, did I hear someone sniffle?
"Who's there?" I called out. Using the bed as a support, I tried to get up, but was immediately stopped.
"No! Don't get up Augie!" Instinctively, I laid back down again. And then, I realized who it was.
"Mom? You were here all along?"
"Y-yes..." Her voice shook as she pretended to be cheerful.
"Mom, what's wrong? Are you okay? Why is it so dark in here?" My voice became hurried as I began to feel anxiety rising. Did we get kidnapped after all?
"N-nothing's wrong, I'm f-fine...Augustus!" Mother stopped trying to comfort me and cried out. I could feel her body embrace mine, and her hand rubbing my hair in circular motions.
"I-I'm so sorry! I was a bad mother...I promised your mother to protect you..."
"Mom? What are you talking about? I'm fine!" I exclaimed, reaching out to hug her. "Is this about the ritual? Did the knights discover it? I know what I did was illegal, but I'm sure they won't kill our entire family for it! Don't cry..." I patted her back gently until she finally got herself back together and answered my worries.
"No, dear, no one found out about it. It's, it's not about the family...it's about..." Her shoulders began to shake again and her words became garbled.
"Mom?" I patted her back soothingly.
"Sylvia, dear, let me say it." There was the sound of the door opening and closing, and Dad's voice sounded in the room.
"Dad? What's going on?" I tried to turn my head to where his voice sounded. Mom was still shaking, and I felt the tension rise. Did something go wrong with the ritual? Was Rian okay? I felt his hand grasp mine.
"Augustus, I want you to be brave when you hear this. You have to remember that no matter what happens, you will always be the heir of this family." Dad's voice was solemn, and I could feel the strength he was holding my hand with. It was as if he wanted to give some of that strength to me too.
"Of course I will, I'm Augustus Bedivere after all!" I tried to sound confident, though my mind was spinning in different directions. Wasn't this about Rian? Why were we talking about heirs?
"That's my son..." Dad sounded proud, but also sad for a moment. Then, he began. "Augustus, the ritual was successful. More than successful. Rian can now grow up safely. If he never tries to use his powers, the seal will hold until his death." A smile crept up my face. My plans succeeded! Rian can grow up happily now.
"But," Father continued. "That success comes with a price. Your sight. This is your room, Augustus. Remember? You loved the sun so much that we changed your ceiling to glass so that the sun will always shine into your room. Right now, it's midday." He paused, and I understood what he meant.
"So I can't see anymore?" I heaved a sigh in relief. When I was going through the ritual, I had no idea what I'll lose: an arm, a leg, both? But it was just my sight. I couldn't see in my last life, but I still enjoyed my life. There's no reason I can't in this life, at least I was able to see how those lovely colors and sceneries for the first five years of my life. But if I told mom and dad that, they might think of me as overly mature, so I opt to comfort them instead. "That's okay, at least I can still hear and smell! And it wasn't for nothing, now I have a cute younger brother! It was a good deal and I don't regret it!"
But contrary to my expectations, dad fell silent and mom began sobbing again. "Mom, don't cry, I'm really not hurting. I'm sorry for running away on my own, but I just wanted a brother very much." I comforted mother in my softest tone, though I didn't understand why they were so sad. Since Rian was mom and dad's true child, and he can live now, why aren't they happy? Dad heaved a sigh.
"But that's not all, Augie. The ritual also took away your power. Your veins are practically empty of mana, and the burden on them makes it almost impossible to ever regain those veins again. That means you won't be able to use your powers, possibly for the rest of your life." "Your decision almost caused you your life. Severe harm against a mana vein could have caused you to explode, or rupture your internal organs. You're alive only because me and your godfather worked together for five days to heal you up." His voice was bitter with defeat and pain.
I lowered my head. "I'm sorry, father. I know I caused you and godfather a lot of trouble. I wouldn't have done it if I had another choice."
"Is that all?" Father asked.
"Yes." As far as I knew, I didn't implicate anyone else in the ritual.
"You!" I could imagine father's face changing colors again from his tone. "Augustus Bedivere! How can you not realize that by going out without guards, you are putting yourself in great danger? You are the heir of Bedivere! Yes, Rian is our child, but you are too!"
"You have no idea how worried your mother and I was. How can you not care about your own safety? Your mother's mental health wasn't the best after giving birth to that child, and she almost went crazy when she heard you were missing! Why can't you understand that you are the most important person to us? If you had died, I would have tore the whole city apart!"
"But I didn't." I cut in, trying to calm him down. "You lost your vision! Do you understand how vulnerable that makes you?" "but—" Don't talk back. I should've known that with your personality, you would never allow your brother to die. But do you realize...do you realize how much fear we felt when we saw you falling on the ground with blood all over you?" Dad's voice went from impassioned to pained, and I could almost feel the desperateness he had felt at that moment.
"I-I'm sorry," Although I still don't quite understand, I know that letting parents see their child covered in blood is not a good idea. They've given me a happy childhood, while I, in return, gave them a nightmare. But still...
"However, I don't regret it. Father, as you said, I'm the heir of Bedivere. That means I have the responsibility to save everyone on this land, especially if he's my brother. If I can't even save my younger brother, how can I save everyone else out there? I'm sorry for making you and mother feel like that, but it was something I have to do. Otherwise, I might as well give up the Bedivere name altogether!"
"You!"
"Augie!"
Dad and mom's voices both sounded up at the same time. But before they were able to chide me on anything, a third voice chimed in.
"That's my godson!"
"Godfather!" I shouted, joyful that someone was finally on my side. Godfather's hand rubbed me on the head before addressing mom and dad.
"Sylvia, Gared, don't be too hard on him. Of course, he probably shouldn't have put himself in danger, but it was for a noble cause. And of course, he succeeded. Isn't this a cause for celebration? Be proud! Your son did something grown-ups couldn't do."
"Devin!" Father growled. "Don't interrupt when I'm trying to teach Augustus! And I haven't forgiven you for helping him!"
"Aw come on now, what's the use of getting angry at an old man like me?" Devin put his hands up. "I apologized, didn't I?"
"Well you're not forgiven! Come, let's duel this out outside!"
"No!!! I'm old and your punches are painful!!!"
"You don't get a choice!"
And that's how the everything was resolved, and I began my relaxing period of recuperation.