“When the Sunwell was lost so too, among us were the infirm and the young, You survived by a miracle. The other passed away because mana addiction stole them from us.” How, Pop had never explained why. Samiel had never asked, assuming it was Light-related and therefore, uninteresting to him.
But as he grew older he began to understand. There were few children near his age, if any at all, at times. He grew to understand some of the attention he got was due either to that he survived at all or because of the magical talent he possessed.
“She left.”
“I know.” Windsong looked down at Samiel beneath her blood red hood. As Samiel stared up he saw the gradually shifting and changing illusion. A square jaw became softer, red hair fading to blond slowly. One glimpse and the illusion changed just enough to make you doubt what you had seen. “Did you?”
“I had an idea. She doesn’t sound the type to settle in and make a home out of a abandoned room.” Samiel didn’t know what to say to that, shrugging. The tears that he had shed earlier had been wiped away. He stood at the entrance to Falconwing Square, staring at the road and all the trees he could see, searching. “I tried to offer you and Pop’s help but-”
“She said no.” Mother finished for him. He nodded again, feeling the backs of his eyes sting with unwanted emotion. “I dropped the subject about her dad Mother. But I- I tried. I brought food. I got the clothes you made her. I brought Buttons all the time.” The trees and road began to wobble in his vision, even after he had rubbed his sleeves against his eyes. “I was gonna ask Pop to fix the room up.”
“He probably would have done it. There’s nothing more Tyleril likes to do than to give. It’s part of his belief system.” She didn’t comment at all as Samiel continued to wipe at his eyes, simply staring ahead. Something that made him feel profoundly grateful. “it was going to rot away anyway Sammy. The main support beam in that house is rotting. Best she leave it now anyway.” It was a lie she uttered from between red painted lips. But it was a lie that made Samiel’s tears slow. “Prolly good then.” Samiel managed. “Before it broke.”
“Aye. Better now than next month.” If he believed anything about his mother more than anything it was the words she uttered, no matter how blunt she might deliver them. She saw the future and things nobody wanted to be found. If she said the beam was rotting them Samiel believed the beam was rotting. It never occurred she would lie to him. “But she’ll be back and you’ll go see her time-to-time.”
“You think?”
“I’m sure of it. I’ll talk to Tyleril.”
“‘Kay.”
“You tried your best Samiel. You can’t control someone else’s actions. The best you can do is what you can. Then hope it works out. Sometimes you gotta help by grabbing a sword and other times the most you can do is talk to them.”
“I tried to help fix things between her and her dad.”
“Some things you can’t fix Samiel and when it comes to those you’re just a droplet of water falling onto dry earth- you make a difference. But you can’t do enough. Not on your own. No, some things require more and this time you cannot bridge a gap made worse by time, wounds, and regret.”
“I really wanted her to stay.”
“I know. But if you tried to control her actions she’d hate you for it. If you argued she’d have dug her heels in. But because you cared, you made some difference, however small that might have been. You still made one where no other would have otherwise.”
As nice as Mother’s words were this time, they did little to soothe the ache in his chest. “Yeah.” He said softly. “But it didn’t help like I wanted.”
“Someday it might.” She promised, pushing herself off the wall. “But for now- let’s go home, hmm?” Turning from him she wrapped her illusion around her tightly. With every passing glance something changed and he knew once they got into Silvermoon she’d have to hold his hand so he wouldn’t lose her. But as they walked her kept glancing into the forest. Even the cheerful gurgling of Buttons at his side didn’t ease his mood when thunder rumbled through the forest and droplets began to fall. She’d promised to come back.
False! Buttons works at the forges as ‘assistant to the manager’ and his bed is beneath the largest table so he may ‘watch’ his employees on his breaks. (food coma naps.)
Tyleril Silversword 
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