"Oh, Silas! You're right on time for dinner. It will only take a few minutes." Silas' mother had a pleasant smile. One, only someone who's loving with all of their heart can express.
"There is actually some fish left. Sorelle and Dex agreed that you can have it because you're still growing. I want to have a strong and tall son don't I?" Elira chuckled.
"Oh, that really isn't..." Silas stopped talking as his mother sent him a threatening glance. "Alright..." he mumbled submissively, his head held down.
Elira's predatory expression turned into a joyful smile instantly, as soon as Silas answered. "That's how I love my son. Come, sit down. I'll go get Sorelle. Dex will come in a few minutes too, his shift will have ended by now."
Silas nodded and sat down, waiting for his siblings. Meanwhile, Elira was occupied by making food.
"Do you want to tell me about your girlfriend, Silas?" Elira chuckled.
As he didn't answer, Elira chuckled even more. "Well, then what are we going to talk about? We can't just sit here in silence." She pouted. "Ah! I know something. I'm going to tell you about how I met your father."
Silas was very delighted to listen to his mother. Especially while she talked about dad... and didn't pressure him into talking about his supposed "girlfriend".
"Hmm." She daydreamed joyfully. "Where do I start. Oh! I know." She chuckled once more, for some reason very happy about being able to talk about her deceased husband.
"A few years ago... 25 years to be precise, I was a 17 year old girl. Back then, my mother told me to look for work. After asking some neighbours and small businesses if they knew somewhere I could work, I finally got a job at the mines. Not inside, but at the entrance. I had to note, when the people entered the mines and when they left again. Some people wanted lunch there, so I helped in the kitchen too. It was a good work."
Elira had already stopped to chop the potatoes. Leaning on the counter, she was reminiscing peacefully and sighed.
"Then, one day, I was very bored... So I did something a little bit stupid. After the end of my shift, I wanted to go into a mine myself. The adventurous soul inside of me wanted statisfaction, yearned for something new. I put on safety clothing and went inside after most people had already left. Thinking back, I was really a stupid gal." She threw a malicious glance at Silas and mumbled something about "Apples falling near the tree."
"Anyways, I went deeper and deeper inside, not wanting to stop until I find something interesting. Like a gem or something alike." Her smile widened.
"And a gem, I found... Because after descending for a few minutes, I was a little bit scared. I tried to go back again, but... I am kind of... not good at remembering paths. My sense of orientation is barely existent... To my luck."
Elira continued to prepare the food and smiled.
"Still, I was lost down there for at least twenty minutes, stumbling around and looking for the exit. I started to panick because I didn't want to stay down there the whole night, apart from the fact that I would have probably frozen to death down there. " She turned around and rubbed her hands on her arms as if she felt cold. "It was very cold down there."
"And me, stupid. As I unexpectedly found someone who was still working. My foot slipped and I got a sprain. I made a squealing sound, and in that moment, the worker turned around. Since I was blinded by the pain, I didn't really realize what happened next, but..." Elira let out a dreamy sigh again.
"He carried me to the infirmary, and didn't leave my side for the whole night.
The following week, he came to me every day after working. My parents obviously scolded me like I had killed a puppy." She laughed.
"Well, they loved me a lot and were probably worried about me, so it's alright." Elira threw another glance toward Silas and continued preparing the food.
"As I returned to working again, Serrow, your father, asked me to accompany him at the marriage of his cousin...
So I accompanied him there."
She finished her work, carried the food to the table and sat down.
"Do you know how to dance Silas?" She asked suspiciously.
"Nooo?" Silas answered with a hint of caution.
His mother's eyes widened. "Then we need to change that. I will, from now on, give you dance lessons." She nodded as if approving her own thought.
"Soooo, back to the story. Your father wanted to dance with me. And dance with me he did. Everyone stared at us while he threw me around. Finally, when the dance ended..." She blushed slightly looking down. "He pushed me over, held me so that I wouldn't fall and kissed me." The last words were only a joyful whisper. Silas' mother sat there for a few moments like she was still 17 ,probably thinking about memorys, moments, that are long gone.
Finally she took a hold of her emotions and looked up again, glancing at her son.
"So, back to your dance lessons..."
"Dance lessons!?" Sorelle exclaimed enthusiastically. A smile playing on her lips.
"What dance lessons? Can I join?" She approached from behind, leaning on Silas shoulders.
'Oh, no. Please just leave me alone.' A shiver ran down Silas' back, remembering the "conversation", or rather torture session, he had with Sorelle.
"What have you done?" Silas said grimly directed toward his mother.
Elira tilted her head. When realisation hit her, she smiled even more sadistically than Sorelle has ever.
Silas' eyes widened. 'Two against one. I am doomed.'
Then, to his delight, the doorhandle turned and his brother entered. Instantly realising what his brother was about to experience, (he went through the same,) Dex intervened.
"Oh, hi Silas, I need to talk to you about something real quick. Would you come with me?" He asked tensely.
But he didn't know what he got himself into.
Silas, thinking he was safe, stood up, about to follow.
Then Sorelle hugged him from behind, pulling him down. Silas trembled. 'Please safe me' his expression begged.
'Sorry, you're on your own with this.' Dex implicated. "I am going to change clothes. I'll be right back." He was nearly there. Finally, he crossed beyond Sorelle and sighed relaxed.
"Hahahaha." Sorelle's laugh was nearly reaching the sadistic smile of Elira right now. And Dex...
He knew he was done. A strong grip held him back, making him tremble. He turned his head. And looked straight into Sorelles eyes. The gleeful sight made his hands tremble.
"You won't escape us." She whispered.