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Gideon was up in the branches of an old oak tree when he saw the dust from the wagon. It was coming through the forest, on the road from the town. The road people took to get to the Duke’s castle. As soon as he saw it, he started smiling. His heart began to beat faster.
“Letty!” he shouted to his sister on the ground. “Letty, they’re coming!”
Even though he was excited, Gideon knew to be careful as he climbed down the big tree. He and his sister had spent the morning in the forest near their farm. They had filled a basket with the hazelnuts and walnuts that were ripe this time of year. Letty was too small to climb the trees--no matter how much she said she wasn’t--so she picked nuts off the ground that Gideon would toss down to her. Mama had also sent them out for the galls that grew on oak trees. She needed to make more ink her dame school.
Jumping down from the lowest branch, Gideon landed on the dry leaves. It was shady in the forest, with beams of sunlight casting gold from between the tree branches. It was his favorite time of year. All of the leaves were orange and red, but they hadn’t fallen yet. Before Gideon and Letty had gone out this morning, Papa had made them wear their cloaks, but they had both taken them off once they started working. It wasn’t cold. It was never too cold around Gideon’s birthday.
“We have to go tell everyone they’re on their way,” Gideon said. “You go back to the cottage with the basket, and I’ll find Papa.”
“No!” Letty stamped her foot. “You tell Mama. I wanna tell Papa and the sheep.”
For a minute, Gideon thought about arguing with his sister. He could tell her that she had to listen to him, because he was older and knew more things than she did. Knowing Letty, she would still say no, over and over again, until he got angry enough to shout at her and that would make her cry. Her lower lip was wibbling and she had that furrow in her forehead that she got when she was being stubborn.
Stubborn as Mama, Papa would say. She looked like Mama too, with curly brown hair and blue eyes and her hands on her hips because she was determined not to budge. When Letty got like this, Papa was the only one who could convince her that she would survive not getting her own way.
Gideon sighed.
“Fine,” he said. It wasn’t really something worth fighting over, not on a day when so many good things were already happening. He crouched down so he could look his youngest sister in the eye. “Papa and Croissant are in the pasture with the flock. I know you know the way, but I need you to promise me you’ll hurry. Promise, Colette. And go right there. Don’t get lost again just because you saw a butterfly.”
“It was a dragonfly!” she insisted. “And I wasn’t lost.”
“If Mama and Papa don’t know where you are, that’s lost,” Gideon said. “Now get going! We have to let everyone know Bae’s coming home!”
****
He was right to let Letty run to the pasture, Gideon thought as made his way back to the cottage. The full basket was too heavy for someone so little. He had to carry it with two hands. She would have spilled the nuts on the ground and then sat in the middle of the road and cried like the baby she still was. But Gideon was strong enough to carry it. Bae had always told him that he had to look out for people who were smaller than he was, and try to help with their burdens if he could. That was what being a big brother meant. Bae knew everything about being a big brother.
When Gideon got to the cottage, his other little sister Alma was sitting at the table with a quill in her hand.
“How many s’s are in ‘possible’?”
“Just two,” Mama said from the hearth. She was bent over a stewpot full of pears. They had picked a bushel yesterday from the tree by the cottage. The fruit would boil down into enough jam for them to eat all winter long.
Alma wrote the word down, then picked up the birch bark. She peered at the letters like she didn’t believe them. “Are you sure it’s two and not three?”
Mama straightened up slowly, rubbing her back as she did. Her round belly rose up under her skirt, like she was carrying a ball instead of a baby. “Sweetheart, there isn’t a single word in any language in this land that has three s’s all together in row. You have to talk to snakes before you start hearing words like that.”
Alma snorted. “Who talks to snakes?”
“Mostly other snakes, but a few humans.”
“How do you know that?”
“How many times do I have to tell you?” Mama laughed. “Before I was your mother, I was an eldritch abomination for a hundred years. I learned a lot of things.”
Alma snorted and shook her head. None of them believed Mama when she said things like that. They all knew she was just smart because of all the books she read.
Gideon stepped into the cottage. Mama smiled when she saw him. “What’s going on, Gid? Where’s Letty?”
“She’s telling Papa,” he said. “Bae and Morraine are back. I saw the wagon coming up the road from the castle.”
“Really?” Alma pushed herself away from the table. “Let’s go meet them!”
“Now, hold on, young lady.” Mama said. “If your brother just saw them on the road, they could still be an hour away. Maybe longer, if that silly mule is as ornery as she usually is. That’s plenty of time for us to get things ready for them. By the time they get here, they’ll both be tired and dusty and thirsty and hungry--especially Morraine, poor thing.” Hands on her hips, she looked at them both. “Alma, you put away your books and clean off the table so we can all have a meal together when they get here. Gideon, I want you to open up the windows in the new room and then get a bucket of fresh water. We’ll do as much cleaning as we can in there on short notice.”
Both of them hurried off to do what their mother said. They didn’t always rush to do their chores, but today was special. Today their brother was coming home.
****
It was much longer than an hour later when the wagon finally pulled up to the barn. Bae and Morraine had been living at the Duke’s castle ever since the sheering was finished in spring, with only a few visits over the summer. Now their work for the Duke was done and they were back to stay!
Everyone gathered in the yard to meet them. Gideon ran up to the wagon and started unhitching Parsley almost before the silly mule had stopped moving. The sooner Parsley was in the barn with the cows and chickens, the sooner everyone would know that things were back to normal. His family was together again.
The girls squealed and shouted for Bae to pick them up--even Alma, though she was too big to be held like a baby. Bae managed to get Letty on his shoulders and had Alma hang on to his neck while he balanced her on his hip. Papa saw the whole thing and chuckled.
“Well, you certainly look ready to be a father.”
Bae smiled. “I didn’t think we needed more practice, but we got plenty up at the castle. Seven children all under ten years old! I had to paint them each separately and do a group portrait with the Duke and Duchess.”
For some reason, Mama thought that was very funny. “And to think, some fools once thought the Duchess’s womb was cursed.”
“Did the Duke appreciate your talents?” Papa asked Bae.
“Oh yes.” Bae used the hand that wasn’t holding Alma to pat the fat leather pouch at his new belt. “He was quite grateful. I’m just glad Morraine was with me, or else the whole project would have taken twice as long and been less than half as good.”
Morraine was still sitting on the wagon seat. She was too big with her coming baby to jump down the way Bae had. She shrugged when Bae talked about her.
“What can I say? I know how to herd children and make cheese, and they weren’t paying us to work in the dairy.”
Mama laughed at that. “Do you need help getting down?”
“It’s not that high,” Morraine said. She looked doubtful even as she said it. “I’m just not sure of how I’m going to land.”
“I know all about that,” Mama assured her. “Gideon, get on her other side.”
They each took a hand and together the three of them managed to ease Morraine down to the ground. She held her belly and took a deep breath, but nodded, so everyone knew she was alright.
“You look about ready to burst,” Mama said. She wrapped her arm around Morraine’s and led her into the cottage. “Have you talked to your mother about your lying-in?”
“We stopped there on the way back,” Morraine said. “It was busy at the shop, but Mama says she’ll drop everything to help me when it’s time.”
“Of course she will,” Mama said. “Parents will do anything for their babies.”
While Mama and Morraine went inside, everyone else started unloading the wagon. The girls finally got off of Bae and started making themselves useful.
“Did you bring us presents?” Letty asked.
“Letty!” Gideon chided her. “You can’t ask people for presents all the time. Just be happy they’re home.”
“Besides, Let,” Bae pulled a small bundle of cloth out of his cloak. “It’s not your birthday.”
He handed the bundle to Gideon. Without asking if it was alright, Gideon pulled away the cloth and took out a leather belt with a pewter clasp.
“Well that looks familiar,” Papa remarked.
Bae crouched down to talk to Gideon. He had big brown eyes like Papa’s. Like his. His voice was rough and raspy, but he always had the right words. All his life, whenever Gideon was scared or sad, he always felt better when Bae talked to him. Bae was everything Gideon wanted to be when he grew up.
“Now don’t call me stingy just because I’m giving you a hand-me-down. Papa gave me this belt when I was fifteen. That’s the year you were born. I think you’re as big now as I was then, so I want you to have it.”
Gideon looked down at the leather belt. He’d seen Bae wear it all his life, almost couldn’t imagine him without it. If he had Bae’s belt to wear, it would be like his brother was never apart from him, no matter what else might happen.
“I love it,” Gideon said. He wrapped his arms around Bae’s big shoulders. He held on and didn’t let go. “Thank you.”
Bae squeezed him back. “Happy birthday, Gid.”
****
Between the five of them, they were able to carry all of Bae and Morraine’s things into the house. Bae and Morraine had their own bedroom in the cottage, with a loft built into the rafters for storage. Mama and Papa called it the new room, but Gideon couldn’t remember the cottage without it. Like Morraine herself and the cheese house she worked in, it had always been a part of his life.
Right now, Morraine was sitting at the table and Mama was buzzing around her, making sure she was comfortable and had enough to drink.
Papa came up behind Mama. He put his hands on her sides, touching her belly, and spoke softly into her ear. “Why don’t you sit down too, my love? Let us wait on you for a bit.”
Mama looked about to protest, but then she caught a look in Papa’s eye that made her shake her head in defeat. “Alright,” she said. “I’ll sit--after I give Bae a proper hello.”
“I’m right here, Belle.” Bae always called Mama by her name because he used to have a different mother a long time ago. It didn’t make a difference. Everyone knew he loved her--Mama most of all.
“So you are!” Mama spread her arms wide and Bae leaned down for a hug. She kissed him on the cheek. “There’s the boy who made a mother out of me!”
“I missed you.” Bae gave her a big squeeze and then let go. “We missed all of you.”
“And you’re never gonna go away again, right?” Alma asked.
Bae scratched the back of his head. “At least not until winter is over,” he said. “If the Duke tells other nobles who it was who painted those portraits he likes so much, well, the family might be down a shepherd.”
“Good,” Papa clapped Bae on the back. “Rise up in the world. I’ve always wanted you to have a better life than I could give you.”
“Nah.” Bae made one of his silly faces. He put one hand on Papa’s shoulder as they stood side by side. “I had a pretty good life, at least once Belle came along.”
Mama snorted, like Bae had said something funny. “Happy to help, son.”
He smiled back at her, and it was like they were sharing a secret. For a moment, Gideon wondered what all this meant, and if he would ever know more about Bae’s life before Mama and Papa got married. Maybe someday they’d tell him. Maybe someday he’d know as much about the world as Bae and Mama and Papa did.
For now, it was suppertime. It was his birthday. All his family was together.
“I’ve been away from the world for too long, dahling. I’m here for the fun and romance! The chaos and destruction! Perhaps a bit of revenge along the way.”
Story: Avire was born in Aerenal thousands of years before our story takes place. When she developed a Mark of Death, she was taken in by the Vols. She grew up with Minara d’Vol and they became very close. On the island of Thal Taluna, Avire and Minara worked together in experiments with necromancy, processes by which Avire was turned into a vampire. During the ongoing war between dragons and elves, the Vols sought to bring peace by combining the bloodlines. Minara herself was impregnated by the green dragon, the Emerald Claw. When she fell in love with the dragon, Avire was the only to know this secret, as she was a trusted friend to Minara, and had fallen in love with a dragon herself. When Minara gave birth to the child, Erandis, Avire was honored to be a godmother to her. When the dragons and elves found out about the experiments of the Vols, and the mixed-blood child, they united in a common goal to eradicate the house entirely. Avire was an ally in smuggling Erandis out of Aerenal and to Khorvaire. She, however, stayed on the island with Minara and her family. When the raid on Thal Taluna happened, and the last of the Vols were wiped out, Avire was the victim of a fortunate accident. She stumbled into a machine that caused her to blink out of existence, a process she likely would not have survived if she were not undead.
Avire returned some thousands of years later, reappearing in the ruins of her lab. The last of the Vols. She has heard horrid rumors, however, that her beloved niece Erandis is a fabled lich, Lady Illmarrow. Now walking Eberron again, Avire’s goal in her undeath is to get retribution for her house, and cause general mayhem on the way. But first, she has to reorient herself in a world so different than the one she left, partnering with a small band of unscrupulous individuals to do so.
So soon after returning to the world, she hears tell that her goddaughter is still around, and is aware of Avire’s appearance. As she leaves the party to connect with her only family, one must wonder how has Erandis, Lady Illmarrow, has changed in these thousands of years. What are her intentions with Avire?
“Avire d’Vol. My missing piece. A woman out of time. Go do as you wish. Follow your unbeating heart. I’ve waited this long for you, I can be patient a while longer.” -The Patron
In which an artist screws with the Add filter to make everything look neon
In all seriousness though I’m really proud of this, I love Sonic Unleashed and had an idea for a sort-of sequel, so I ran with it. Also, yes, those fire effects were hard, thanks for asking
