The rest of week passed by pretty mellow. I didn't have another problem and sparring with Colin was actually fun. We were evenly match and we both got to take each other down. For me, it wasn't just one sided, constant beatdowns from Rhaeya anymore. I mean, I still didn't let her heal me, so she did still feel guilty anymore. I'd noticed that even when she tried to hide it. I'm not completely heartless even though I enjoy beating on Colin.
"Well, what's today's score?" I asked Colin as the bell rang and we both dropped our guard.
He shrugged. "I think it's three for three. Not consecutively."
"Damn it." I rolled my neck and sighed. "I need to work harder."
"Work me any harder and I'll be a stain on the floor soon enough."
I chuckled at his morbid complaint before walking away. "See you tomorrow, Colin."
"Tomorrow's Friday." He threw his arms out. "I get two day's reprieve from you."
I rolled my eyes at his drama as I picked my bag up. It felt nice to have finally made a proper friend in the Gym. He joined me as I was leaving.
"So, any plans for the weekend?"
I shrugged. "Maybe. My guardian will be coming early and I wanted to spend some time with him. Promised my friends some pool time as well. Two seminars to prepare for. A lot, actually. What about you?"
He shrugged, pushing open the door. "Nothing much." Stepping outside, he held it open for me. I resisted the urge to cock an eyebrow. "There's homework. Maybe I'll go for paintball with some friends."
"Oh, paintball." I sighed, nostalgia filled me. "It's been a while."
"You should join us. A few of my friend's girlfriends also tag along sometimes."
I would have wondered if this was a date he was asking me out on if I hadn't spotted Mich.
"Maybe." I replied distractedly. "Hey, see you later. My guardian is here."
"Oh, okay." Didn't hear if he said bye or not but I was already walking towards Mich. He had his eyes on me, his face was blank and I realised he was leaning against Eric's car. Neither Eric, nor Flo had shown up yet.
"Hey." He spoke softly when I approached him.
"When did you come back?" I decided to forego the greeting.
"This morning. Told you I'd be back early." He followed it with a weak smile.
I scanned his figure. He seemed freshly showered. A simple pair of jeans and a jacket over his favorite shirt. I checked around and sure enough, he was attracting glances. "You walked here?"
"Yeah. How else would I come here?"
The two of us shared a tense silence before he sighed. "I have a lot to tell you... you and... your brother." He was careful with saying Wafi's name out in the open. "You should call him over."
I nodded as I pulled my phone out. "Dinner?"
"I'll cook. You deserve a break."
I tried to ignore the warm fuzzies breaking out within me because I was trying to be angry at him, but he was still my guardian. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist. He seemed caught by surprise but slowly closed his own around me.
"Don't get me wrong." I spoke into his shoulder, as I enjoyed the contact. "I'm still angry with you. I've just missed you a lot. The house is very big and lonely."
"I... I missed you too." He pulled back. "I did get you something."
My lips twitched with the hint of a smile and I rolled my eyes as I stepped away. "I didn't ask for anything."
"Mich!" I heard Eric excitedly cry out from behind me. "I can't believe it's you!"
"Hey! Eric!" Mich laughed as he held out his arms for a hearty hug with Eric. They both laughed and back slapped each other as Flo came to stand beside me.
Mich pulled back and grinned at her. "You must be Florence?"
Flo blushed. Goddamn you, Mich. "Call me Flo. It's so nice to finally meet you."
"Call me Mich." Mich grinned at her, holding out his hand. Flo shook it and then the four of us piled into the car.
Flo took shotgun as usual and I sat behind with Mich. He was lively with my friends. I enjoyed it. I was genuinely happy to see Mich after so long. The state I'd left him in had weighed on me a few times. But it felt good to see he was okay. It was probably just a facade for my friends but I genuinely felt bad for leaving him like that.
"Mich, you're home this weekend, right?" Eric asked as he stopped in front of the house.
Mich nodded. "Yea. Why?"
"We're planning to come over for a pool party. Join us."
Mich grinned at Eric. "Sure. Get the pizza."
"You're paying for it, old man." Eric retorted as Flo and I chuckled.
Exchanging goodbyes, Eric finally zoomed away. Mich seemed in good spirits and I wasn't ready to spoil it. It felt good being normal again, even if it was only for a while.
"I've missed this." He said softly as we stepped inside the house. I turned to look at him. He had a smile aimed at the floor. "I've missed just the two of us, being able to talk freely, nothing wrong between us."
I nodded. "Me too." A sigh left me. "Coming here was a bad idea."
"I wanted you to find your brother. I would have told you all you know now eventually... but you've never been a patient one."
"Sorry." I shrugged. "After all Wafi told me that day... I just wanted to clear a few things."
"It's okay." Mich patted my shoulder. "I understand... What all did he tell you?"
"I'll tell you over something to eat."
He chuckled as he turned to the kitchen. "I'll get to it. Sit at the counter and tell me everything. Also, call Wafi for dinner, or whatever he can make it to."
"Okay." I nodded slowly. "Give me a few then. I'll call him, keep my stuff and be right there."
Mich smiled at me as he walked away. For some reason, he looked like he'd aged ten years in the days since I'd left him in the restaurant basement. Pushing the thought out of my mind, I decided to call the number that had texted me apologies, and left me several missed calls and voice messages for the past few days.
I got his voicemail this time. Karma is a bi-
"You've reached Wafi. Leave a message after the tone and I'll get back to whenever I can."
I sighed at the tone. Pretty sure that made it into the message. "Hey, Wafi. It's me. Mich is home and he's got something to tell us. You should call me and tell me when's the soonest you can c-"
"Fiera?!" I got cut off by a panting Wafi. "Wh-I'm so sorry. I didn't know about you and Christopher, I swear to god. I'll ma-"
"Wafi-"
"-ke it up to you. He tol-"
"Wafi-"
"-d me everything that had happened. He can be me-"
"Wafi!" I had to yell to make him shut up. "I'm not calling about the Christopher thing, we'll talk about that later." Audible gulp. "I called to tell you that Mich is home and he's got stuff to tell us."
"What?" Wafi sounded confused. "What does he have to tell us? I've asked him before. He doesn't know anything."
I frowned. "No. Wafi, Mich is our godfather."
He laughed. Apparently he found this funny. "Yeah, right. To be our godfather, he would have to know our parents."
"And he does."
There was a long pause. I knew he was still on the line by his breathing. "But... he told me he doesn't know anything."
"Well, he does." I rubbed my face as I started climbing the stairs. "Come over for dinner if you're free. He said he'll explain everything to the two of us."
"Okay... Okay..." He seemed to be still taking it in. "I'll be there in an hour. I was just working out. I have to shower."
"Take your time." I dumped my bag and kicked my shoes off. "I have to shower as well. And eat lunch."
"I'll be there as fast as I can." He said before there was a click.
I frowned at my phone. "Well, bye. I'll see you later, brother." I mumbled angrily at it.
True to his word, Wafi's car pulled up to our house an hour later. I had just showered, on Mich's demand, and was eating chicken strips he had been preparing since the morning. It was a way to make me forgive him faster.
Licking my fingers, I wiped them on my shorts as I opened the door. Wafi towered over me, an unreadable expression on his face. I frowned, my welcome smile droppes. "Wafi? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He replied curtly. "Where's Mich?"
I stepped aside to let him in and pointed at the kitchen. No sooner had I done that, that Wafi whooshed past me. I hurriedly closed the door and ran after him in time to see him tap Mich's shoulder.
Mich, who was cutting vegetables, turned to Wafi with a smile on his face.
Wafi apparently didn't share the same sentiment because he greeted Mich with a harsh punch to his face.
My eyes widened as the punch connected. Mich's face twisted in pain as did his body with the impact. I screamed. In anger, or fear. I don't remember whose name, but I screamed. Then I ran, my hand rose, fire bloomed out of it as Wafi twisted, surprise in his eyes. He managed to block my shot, but I used the distraction to slip in between the two as Mich stumbled away. As he turned back towards me, my hand rose, knuckles connecting squarely with his lower jaw.
Sharp pain ran through my hand as crusted over scabs broke open. Wafi rose a bit with the force of my punch, but got his balance back and just stumbled away a bit. I tried to calm my breathing. Mich groaned behind me, and Wafi cradled his jaw in front of me.
"What did you do that for?!" The two of us yelled at each other at the same time.
I pressed my lips together as Wafi sneered and straightened. "Why did you punch me?!"
"Because you punched Mich!" I snapped. "You better have a good reason, or there's more where that came from."
Wafi scoffed. "Right, like you can take me on."
"Right, like you can get yourself to attack me." I mocked in the same tone.
He watched me for a moment. I was right in front of Mich with my guard raised before. "You're right. I can't attack you." His tensed shoulders fell.
I wasn't completely convinced. I straightened, but my body was still on guard. "Why did you attack Mich?"
"He lied to me!" Wafi hissed and threw his hands out.
"Get in the line!" I growled back. "He's lied to me for sixteen years, I'm not going around punching him."
"It's alright. It's alright." I heard Mich speak up from behind me. "I'm alright, too. I deserve it anyway."
"From me, not Wafi." I turned my head to look at him. His lip was split and there seemed to be a shiner forming on the right cheekbone.
"Well, thanks." He threw at me sarcastically. Opening and closing his jaw as he stood up, he turned to spit blood into the sink. "What a punch. Atleast I still had the muscle memory to roll with it or I would have cracked my head somewhere."
I sighed and turned back to look at Wafi, who still seemed pissed at Mich. "Go and sit on the dining table."
"Bu-"
"I said..." I paused for emphasis. "Go. And sit."
Wafi threw another angry glance at Mich before he stomped away to take a seat beside my probably cooled chicken strips. I watching him seethe for a moment before I pulled a pack of frozen peas out of the freezer.
"Here." I held them out. Mich threw me a grateful look before taking it and pressing it to his growing bruise. "Stay here. I'll tell you when the coast is clear."
"You mean, when he's calmed down enough not to punch me again?" He muttered into the packet.
"Same difference." I replied as I turned towards my brother.
Wafi raised his head to look at me as I pulled out a chair to face him. "I... went to meet Mich after our talk last Saturday."
"You said we'd wait."
"I wanted answers."
"So do I."
"I wanted some other answers." I leaned forward. "You have to understand. Mich has been in my life since I remember. He's the only family I've ever had up till now. I had to hear it first. I had to know so I... so I could take my time with it."
"And?" Wafi cocked an eyebrow. "What did he tell you? Because when I asked if he knew anything about me or our parents, he straight up denied it."
"He's been doing that to me for sixteen years. This is your first time."
Wafi watched my face before eyes flickered between Mich and me. "And you've already forgiven him?"
I shifted uneasily. "It's a temporary truce. He's still family to me. He said he'd explain the rest when the two of us were present."
"Well, we are now." Wafi shrugged. "What's stopping him?"
I rolled my eyes. "How about the fact that you punched him?"
"Fair enough." Wafi closed his eyes and raised a hand to rub his face. "Sorry... about hitting him. I'm a bit jet lagged from a meeting in Japan yesterday... or was it this morning?"
"Apologize to Mich." I leaned back, satisfied at having defused a bomb. "I'm not the one you punched."
He sighed and looked up. I turned to look at Mich who was still behind the kitchen counter, watching our exchange with a bag of cold peas held to his face. "Is the coast clear?" He mumbled through a swelling face.
I glanced at Wafi who finally spoke. Grudgingly. "Sorry, Mich. I shouldn't have hit you."
"It's okay." Mich gave a painful smile. "I was expecting Fiera to punch me, but you did it instead. Sibling teamwork."
I grimaced as Wafi chuckled. "Whatever. Now, will you tell us what happened?"
Mich nodded and stepped out from behind the counter. I got up from my chair and took my earlier seat, so I could eat. Had to slap Wafi's hand away from it. Mich took the chair I had occupied and pulled it a little away from the table. Probably in the likely scenario one of us wanted to lash out again.
Mich sighed and I saw the same sorrow in his eyes. It was surprising how quickly it came on. How much was he hiding? It must have been eating away at him all these years.
"You both... need to know a bit of history for this." Mich rolled his shoulders, switching hands to hold up the frozen packet. "In my day, when I was your age, Fiera-"
"Sixteen? Or seventeen?" I rolled my eyes.
He chuckled. "Sixteen. Yeah. Anyway, during those times. The relations between Fire and Water were a bit unstable because.. because of your parents. Your mother was the next in line to the Water throne and your father, was second in line to the throne but he was of pure royal heritage as well."
"My parents were humble origin. Died in a car crash when I was twelve. Raised by the State of the Light element. Your father was my best friend. Met your mother in one of my classes." His eyes glazed over. "She was beautiful. But quite a troublemaker. You both have her hair. She kept it in a short, spiky cut. Your father was a bit more of a conformist. They met through me. There was some... anger between the two at first. Opposite elements, you understand. But as I watched, they fell in love."
I exhaled softly, not having realised I was holding my breath. This was tense, I knew how it ended. Wafi was yet to hear it.
"Your mother wanted to tell her parents, your father was against it but she roped me into convincing him. They both bared their relationship to the world. The world... Our world... didn't accept it."
Mich closed his eyes as his body tensed. I could see even Wafi was completely absorbed, his fist clenched the white tablecloth like it was his lifeline.
"At the time, I was dating Mira. We were happy. Your parents were happy, despite the uproar in each of their families. Not so much in Fire, he was only second in line. Water protested like anything, they wanted it to stop but your mother railed equally hard."
Eventually, the two of them ran away together. Everybody thought it was to the human world. But that was only for a while. They returned to hide here again, this was their home. But... only I knew where."
"Our cottage." Wafi breathed out.
Mich nodded. "I helped them build it. I was Light. Used my own powers to hide it a little better. The illusion was a dense grove, everybody's eyes would just slide past it. It meant I had to visit quite often to replenish it. Being their best friend also meant, I was their best suspect in the escape."
I spoke up softly. "Did... Did Mira know? I mean, she's Light, too."
"Yes. She did." Mich sighed. "I was kept in prison for six months. She would visit your parents, help keep them hidden. Wafi was born when your mother was nineteen. Mira saw the delivery through. We tried to have a baby of our own and... you know the rest." He turned his head away from us for a moment. His lips pressed together. I'd always known those wounds had never healed.
"Even..." He continued. "Even after our divorce, I kept visiting. Told Mira that they had moved away so she could have plausible deniability if I ever got caught. Then things got truly worse. There had been tensions between the two elements for a long time. It rose to a crescendo... and the current ruling families of both were dethroned. Pushed out. More viable, and less biased, candidates put in their place."
Your parents were furious. They led the rebel faction against the new families." He paused. "A very... small faction, which started dying out pretty quickly. The crackdown was harsh. Someone must have cracked when people got arrested because there was news about it- possible tip to the location of runaway royals. A guard was placed on me, just in case I tried to warn them. They'd always suspected I knew where they were, just couldn't prove it. Even sent people to follow me. This time... I couldn't leave. And by the time I did... it was too late."
Tears rolled down Mich's face. I swallowed softly. Wafi leaned forward, hands now clasped in his lap.
"You... Wafi... You were gone. The Fire Regent knew exactly who you were. I couldn't even get close to you at the hospital. But I'd just replenished the magic so they never found Fiera, even after you told them about her. I destroyed it when I came to pick her up. Any sign it ever existed. The cottage was cleaned out. Any sign I'd ever been there there, or Fiera, or you, was destroyed. Then, I ran."
He hastily wiped the tears, packet of peas forgotten as it thawed in his hands. "And the rest is history. I've been running since." He paused and turned his head to look at me. "But it was time you came back."
Wafi also turned towards me, then faced Mich again. "What about our parents?"
Mich closed his eyes once more. There was no reply for a while but as his shoulders started shaking, I realised he was silently weeping.
"Dead." He whispered.