The crimson light fades along with the jingling sound of chains as Darian slams his door shut.
"Just gunna put him to bed!"
"Thanks D!" Elira responds from the garden.
My third 'first' house is small; only three rooms: the kitchen which doubles as a dining room and triples as a living room, Elira and Darian's bedroom and Darian's locked room that no one's allowed in.
I was born in Elira and Darian's bedroom; and the only times I leave the house is when Darian takes me into the garden to try to 'train' me, I don't know why he keeps trying. I'll never agree.
"Aven, you awake buddy?" Darian asks as he enters the kitchen. I reply with a blank stare. "Tough crowd huh?" He mutters to himself, "Well how about another story from my secret room?" He asks, a teasing grin on his face. I glance toward Elira who redirects her gaze to the ground before I answer, "Cheater…" whilst trying to mask the excitement creeping onto my face. Darian chuckles, "Stay there ok? I'll be right back." He tells me before running off to retrieve another book from his room.
There it is again… that red light, that breeze… Why does that always happen whenever he's out of sight?
The light begins to fade as the sound of the locked door slamming shut echoes throughout the house.
Each night, before bed, Darian reads me a fairy tale, each one different from the last. In my previous lives, I had heard the same narratives countless times over, but these stories are different, they're nothing like anything I've ever heard before. They don't feel like recycled fables, they feel too… detailed, down to earth to be pretend.
"Darian," He frowns when I call him this, "Why is that same symbol on all of the books we read?" Darian takes a seat at the table before placing me on his lap. "Every book we've read is published by the same author," He points at the fist, "No one knows their identity, because they choose to stamp their books with this instead of their name."
He opens to the first page, "This one's called The Seven Pillars; I prefer to call it the seven siblings, feels a lot less scary right?" He smiles as he takes an overdramatically deep breath, as he flips to the first page, "Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, a royal family of seven created the peace you live in today…"
Darian slams the book shut, "And… done!" He declares.
"What already?" I whine, rubbing my hazy eyes and the drool on my lip.
He nods, "Alright Aven, time for bed now okay? Make sure to get some sleep so we can start training your Craft tomorrow!" He proudly instructs.
Aven snickers, hopping off of Darian's lap as he heads to his hay bed, "Yeah right, Dad."
Darian smiles, silently punching the air in celebration, "Goodnight son." He says before heading toward the garden to see Elira.
I spent the next few weeks searching for the perfect flower for Elira, just to keep up appearances. Before long, I finally found it: it even has an Ocean blue stem!
That same night, I crept into my parent's room and placed it into her hair. It was easy as Dad was away for work that night. But I frustratingly slept through the whole of the next day, missing their reaction to it.
Anyways, before long I had turned four, and my memories are growing hazier. I can now only remember a woman who reminds me of Elira in some ways, holding my palm between hers whilst I stared at a starry night sky, just like the one we're staring at tonight…
"Aven, your father and I were wondering…" Elira begins as she glances at Darian, "Uh… yeah your mother," Elira forces a cough, "An- and me! Both of us…together, came up with an idea that we'd like to get your opinion on, okay?" Aven nods, his eyes glistening as he focuses on his parent's words, "What is it?" He asks, "Well, you're one of a kind and we truly mean that. You've learned things at a way faster rate than the average child should. So this decision is completely yours." He tells him with a smile. "So, what me and your dad were wondering," Elira begins, "is if you'd allow us to homeschool you?" Aven's eyes widen, "Homeschool? Why not normal school with everyone else?" He asks in surprise. "You see, Aven," Darian interjects, "even if we were able to find enough money to enroll you into one, the only way you'd be able to go is if you walked as far as Seryth Village and back every day. And I heard Seryth isn't the best of places to be around right now."
"But, you should still be able to learn about the wonderful world you live in." Elira adds, "Your father works far from here in a place with loads of different people of all ages, backgrounds and motivations! So he knows the way the world works and I know life skills that will help you to grow into the fine young man we know you can be." She takes Aven's palm into her own, "So… what do you think? Will you let us teach you?"
Aven gazes at the clear, night sky, "School huh?" He glances at his mother's supple hand, taking in a moment to embrace its warmth before answering, "Sure. If you think I can do it, I'd like to give it a shot." Darian smiles a silently proud smile whilst Elira pulls Aven into a celebratory hug, "Yay!" She exclaims, "You'll love it, I know you will!"
Aven chuckles, "Wait…" He shoots Darian a sly glance, "Is this just another trick to try to get me to train with you?" Darian and Elira glance at each other before simultaneously bursting into laughter, "N-no of course not." Elira replies between laughs, "Woah there, says who?" Darian responds, "They conduct physical education and SoulCraft training in mainland schools ya know?" Aven pauses. "SoulCraft? I've heard of physical education but never SoulCraft. What's that?" He asks, voice filled with curiosity.
"Look at the flower you got for your mother," Darian tells him to which Aven complies with a gentle nod. Once he does, Darian's hand begins to illuminate a bright crimson, warmth radiating off of his hand contrasting the gentle breeze formulating around him before the flower gently floats out of Elira's hair and into Darian's palm. Elira giggles, "Hey, you messed up my hair!" Aven doesn't respond. Instead his eyes widen in pure ecstasy, "So cool!!" He booms before jumping onto Darian's chest knocking him over, "Dad, you really gotta teach me how to do that! Please, please, please!"
"U-um, it's not that simple kid," Darian replies, taken aback by Aven's sudden burst of excitement, "But Mum said I'm a fast learner, and I've never seen anything like this before… not even in my dreams." He whispers the last part. Darian glances at Elira before responding, "Look kid, I just don't think-"
"Darian…" Elira intervenes, "It's fine. Remember what I said once he was born? Our boy will be free." She states with a smile, "If he wants to learn SoulCraft, teach the boy SoulCraft." She says, smile widening as she looks at Aven. "He can decide what he wants to do with his life from there."
"Really?!" Both boys respond simultaneously, "Why didn't you say sooner?!" They ask, once again in tandem, before Darian holds Aven into the sky, the full moon behind him casting a large silhouette over the garden. "Okay kid, starting tomorrow, you're going to learn everything this world has to offer. Trust me Aven, your life is only just beginning!"
Wait… why is she crying?
Darian locks the door.