Child of Fate

Chapter 2

Soon, Calamus and Alula had made their way to the dining room and had sat themselves down at the table. It wasn't the prettiest by common standards, but it was made of high quality wood found only in their homeland, making it valuable in the area anyway. Even though it wasn't well-made, Calamus was quite fond of it for its texture and color.

He sat at his usual spot, to his mother's right, with Alula across from him. Fork on his left, spoon and knife on his right and plate with bowl in the middle. Each of their place mats were a crimson red, complimenting the dark shade of the table itself. Everything was in place, he was ready to eat.

Their mother had already begun eating when they arrived. She always ate before they did, not out of rudeness or lack of table manners, but purely so that she'd be done before they were and so she could read to them as they finished up their meals. She interrupted her dining and, using a different, metal ladle, she poured some of the delicious smelling soup in their bowls, making sure they'd both get equal amounts of meat and vegetables as to prevent any bickering.

Calamus took his spoon and took the first sip from his bowl. He closed his eyes and swallowed after letting the liquid sit in his mouth for a few seconds. He let out a long, satisfied sigh. A smile formed in his lips and he opened his deep purple eyes to look at his mother. "It tastes amazing as ever!" He complimented her.

"Thank you, my dear boy," She spoke, seeming pleased with his enjoyment of the food she'd made them. "I'm glad you like it. I put my heart into it, as always," She added and turned to Alula. "And you, my baby girl, what do you think? Do you like it?"

Alula nodded, gulping down a decent amount of the warm dinner meal after blowing it cool. "I have to agree with Calamus, it's amazing! Even without any special ingredients to be found around this time, it tastes better than the food has the past while. Did you put extra effort in?"

She chuckled. "Yes, yes, I suppose I did, little one," She confirmed, her soft voice gentle as the breeze in spring. A few moments later, she had already finished eating, while the two of them were still busy, occasionally burning their tongues, having been too hasty. "Now, I'll be reading to you two while you finish eating, okay? Just like usual. Any special requests today?"

Alula nodded gleefully, immediately bringing in a suggestion for the evening: "I found this book today that I had never seen before! Can you read it to us? There's a chapter all on grandpa's youth. We've heard plenty about his older years, but never about when he was not much younger than you, momma!"

Her eager response was met by a light chuckle, much showing their mother's amusement. "Well, I'll have you know, Alula, I was actually intending on reading that very chapter to you both this very day," She answered, standing up from her seat. After briefly straightening her dress, she made her way out of the dining area, towards the designated book storage.

Strange.

Calamus stared after his mother, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. Not only had the book shown up mysteriously, seemingly out of nowhere, at random, but his mother had also planned to read that very book at that very time with no clear motive. Something felt off about it, as if this had been planned a very long time ago.

Soon, their mother would return, carrying the big, dusty book the siblings had been so curious about, though no doubt for different reasons. She opened it with care as to not damage it further, leafing through the pages one by one until she reached the desired chapter. "Don't forget to carry on eating as I read this to you, alright? I understand getting sucked in, but try not to let your soup get cold."

After both of them nodded, she began:

"Virmaer Ducatu, current ruler of the southern Elven kingdom, is regarded as the King of Wisdom. Even he, who is believed to have conquered wisdom and knowledge itself, known as the Wisest, was not always who he is now. He, too, was once a young man, foolish and unknowing. He, too, has made mistakes.