Rivia: Outskirts of Ajayib, In the middle of Desert Zawiyah
• Thunder •
"Thunder, hurry!" A child's voice sounded right ahead of him as he looked towards the little boy who's jumping and waving excitedly from the mid of the sand dune.
"Slow down!" he hissed, leaping forward to transform into his panther form while trying to catch up.
"I'll leave you behind if you're any slower!" Arell shouted.
Thunder roared, but Arell didn't heed to his warning. The child continued to make his way up the steep dune and stood proudly with both hands on his hips when he managed to reach the top first. Thunder made to the top eventually but was slightly breathless at this point as he glared towards the playful brat who's smiling cheekily by his side.
"Too old to run?" Arell teased.
Thunder crouched forward and went back to his human form. Hurling the child up into his arm, he pinched him on the cheek, "I'm only a few years older than your mother, you little rascal."
"Mother said you were already a big panther when she was a child!" Arell frowned, stretching his arms out to draw a big circle. "And Mother also said that bad people who tell lies would have long noses!"
"Is my nose long?" Thunder asked, pinching his own nose questioningly.
"No?" The child dropped his head to the side, seemingly examining Thunder's face carefully.
"There you have it," Thunder grinned, flicking Arell's forehead. "I'm neither a bad person nor one to tell lies."
The child scrunched his face grumpily and smacked hard on his nose. Taken by surprise, Thunder loosened his hold and Arell had escaped nimbly. Rubbing on his nose that still stung from the hit, he yelled angrily towards the child, "You!"
As always, the playful imp only stuck his tongue out and hurried through the dense forest of greens towards the hidden oasis that both of them had found while they were travelling across the desert the other day. Out of spite, Thunder strode forward and hauled the child into his arms again. Arell shrieked at the suddenness and struggled in an attempt to remove himself from the firm hold.
"Move and I'll drop you into the waters," Thunder cautioned, moving towards the banks of the lake.
"You won't," Arell retorted.
"Try me." Thunder straightened his arms and held the child out by his underarms, positioning him above the waters. A sad frown pulled at the corner of Arell's lips and he looked rather pitiful as his eyes watered slightly with tears. A pang of emotions struck right into Thunder's heart and he pulled his arms in together with the child. He patted on his small back and apologised, "Alright, I went overboard."
Arell giggled mischievously and pulled on Thunder's ear before wrapping his small arms tightly around his neck and clung onto him with all his might.
"Sometimes, I wonder what to do with you," Thunder laughed and exhaled a helpless sigh. He could only ponder if this brat had resembled Rowan when he was young because Elianna sure wasn't this impish.
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Rivia: Ajayib, Town of Central Rivia, Elianna's Residence
• Elianna •
"You're both back," Elianna smiled when she heard the door being pushed open.
"Mother!" Arell chirped, dashing through the room and went towards her. His small hands held firmly onto her arm as he placed something soft in her hand. She wondered what it was and brought it close to her. An earthy floral scent wafted into her nose and she recognised it immediately, "Lavender?"
"Yes, we picked a bag of it," Thunder mentioned, placing a hand on her shoulder before moving past her. "I'll go ahead and pass it to Kiran."
Elianna bent slightly and told Arell, "Could Mother trouble you to walk us to the sitting area?"
"Of course!" Arell replied excitedly, tugging her hand gently as he moved slowly in a direction. When he stopped, he reminded, "Please sit slowly, Mother."
"Thank you, mea lux," Elianna smiled and carried Arell up into her hold, settling him on her lap. She asked, "Up to the dunes again?"
"Yes!" The child chuckled.
"Did you give trouble to Thunder again?"
"N-No," Arell stammered guiltily and she immediately caught his lie. Frowning, she flicked on his forehead gently.
"Arell, what did I say about lying?" she scolded softly. "Whenever you're out of town, it's not safe and you've got to listen to Thunder. Don't make him run around just to catch up to you, do you understand?"
"He didn't make me run around!" Thunder shouted from outside the qa'a after he overheard their conversation.
"Always trying to cover up for you," she sighed as her fingers combed through the soft strands of her son's hair, removing a leaf that was stuck within his hair.
"Mother, Arell is sorry," Arell fidgeted on her lap. "Arell promise to be good."
"That's my boy," she grinned, leaning down and planted a kiss on his forehead. Smoothing her hand down to his back, she laughed and requested of her son again, "Let's have you washed up, there's sand in your hair, mea lux."
"Really?" Arell sounded confused, but he reached his hand out and held onto hers. The child guided them out of the qa'a.
"Where are you going with him?" Thunder asked, approaching them.
"There's sand in his hair," Elianna mentioned. "I'm taking him to the bath."
"I'll take him," Thunder reached to hurl Thunder up into his hold. The child had let go of her hand and she quickly frowned.
"I can do that," she sulked, knowing that everyone had always stepped in whenever she tried to do something. They kept forgetting that she's adept even without her sight and bathing her child is definitely one thing she can do.
"Eli, I'm heading to the bath myself too," Thunder laughed. "Plus, he's a big boy now. Right, Arell?"
"Yes!" The child exclaimed.
"He's only five!" Elianna gasped.
"Exactly," Thunder chuckled. "Five means that Arell is a big boy who can bathe himself already. Come on, I'll take him from here."
Unable to refute, she had allowed Thunder to take her son away before she sighed and feel her way to the kitchen to find Kiran and Jana to see if they require any help with the chores.
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The evening winds caressed against her skin as she stood by the wide ledge of the balcony listening to the soft sounds of the desert at night. She thought about how fast time had passed them by — it had already been five years since the divine deal was made and so much had happened within this span of time.
It almost felt like just yesterday when she had held onto her newborn son and within a blink of an eye, he had grown into this wonderful and lively child. Arell had been a real joy but his shenanigans had confused her. She wasn't sure who he took after because no one could keep up to his pace and it's definitely hard to imagine Rowan having these antics. Could Arell be a combination of their mischief? She laughed at the thought, wholeheartedly relieved that at least, Arell's liveliness had shown that he's a really happy child.
Children grow up exceptionally fast and Thunder had been complaining to her about how much he had grown to resemble Rowan with each passing year. It must've been his eyes and hair. She thought, smiling slightly to herself. There are times she wished that it wasn't her sight that was lost because she really wanted to have a look at Arell. If her son had resembled his father so much, he's undoubtedly a charming boy. These thoughts ached her but at the very least, she had remembered how Rowan looked like. Then again, it always haunted her that after such a long time, Rowan may not look exactly as how she had remembered.
Would he have grown out his hair or cropped it shorter? Would he have sharper features now that he's older and what about his physique? Would he still laugh in a deep, mellow way or occasionally, tip his head back slightly to let out a hearty laugh when he's really happy?
She exhaled a sigh, as her mind continued the line of questioning.
Would he still choose to drink the tea she prepares even though they're always too bitter to taste? Would he still remember that he shouldn't be sleeping in the study? Would he still have painful nightmares without anyone by his side? Would he still frequent the vast gardens behind his palace just to look up into the night sky and remember that stars are once people who loved us but left us? Would he ever notice that if he whispers her name while placing a palm over his chest, her heart would beat against his?
And most important, would he still love her if they ever meet again?
Tears trickled from her eyes as she balled onto the material of her dress. Regardless of all the questions with no answers, she had prayed in sincere earnestness that he's doing well. Over the years, every single victory and achievement of his was celebrated grandly in Ajayib as the townspeople sang praises to the honourable prince of the allied Kingdom. He had done so much in these five years, so much that she felt that he may have gone somewhere too far ahead beyond her reach.
"Mother, why are you crying?" A child's voice sounded from her side and she jumped slightly, trying to cast her thoughts aside. Her hands reached towards his voice and his small hands had grabbed onto hers immediately, allowing her to pull him into a hug.
"Thank you, Arell. But Mother is fine," she comforted and felt his tensed body relaxed a little.
"Were you thinking of Father?" he asked, worried but remained extremely careful whenever he approached this topic. Her son had never pestered her about it and she wondered if he wanted to know. There's quite a lot of things she found it hard to tell, but if he had wanted to know she would try her best to explain.
"Yes, mea lux," she nodded slightly. "Your father is an amazing person."
"Then, why did he leave us?" The five-year-old sounded slightly infuriated now.
"He didn't leave us, mea lux," Elianna quickly explained and her voice faltered a little at the end when she had made up a small lie, "Mother just hadn't remembered to tell him where we went."
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a/n: elianna, what did we say about lying? *laughs*
and just a note that eli calls arell 'mea lux' which means 'my light'.
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