Mother is Here

Paint

It was a pretty peaceful day in Old Corona, lovely weather, and Varian was curled up under a tree with Ruddiger napping at his side and a notepad in his lap as he tapped a pencil against the paper thoughtfully.

"Hm..." He sighed and leaned his head back, letting out a heavy sigh. "Who can I talk to that might have some advice for this? Most people I know are only children..." He then gasped and sat up. "That's it! The Queen has a younger sister! I can talk to her!"

He picked up Ruddiger, who mrred at being woken, and carried him and his notepad into the manor.

"Mom?" He walked up to her. "Can I go to the Capital to visit the Queen? I need her advice on something."

"What do you need to go to her for advice on, sweetie?" Ulla asked, turning to him.

"It's a surprise for you and dad." He held the notepad close to his chest. "Please?"

"Mm...alright. I need to go to Xavier's today, anyway. I need more supplies." She set down her tool and started to clean up. "Go let your father know we're going out, alright?"

"Okay!" Varian nodded and went to put his notepad in his bag, setting Ruddiger down to do so, then let Ruddiger climb up onto his shoulders as he picked up his bag. "Let's go talk to dad!" He headed out of the manor and to the fields.

His father was hard at work with the other men, and Varian stood to the side and waved until he father noticed him. He picked up the hoe he was using and walked over to the fence Varian was standing at. "Varian? Is everything alright at home?"

"Yeah, mom just wanted me to tell you that we're going to the Capital." Varian assured him.

Quirin nodded. "Alright, have fun."

"Mmhm!" Varian smiled and then headed back to the manor, where his mother was locking up and had her own bag on. "Mom, are we taking the cart?"

"I figured that we could walk it, actually. It's a lovely day, and I could use the exercise." She smiled and rubbed his head as he rejoined her. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah!" Varian smiled brightly and then they started out of the village, hand-in-hand.

"Ulla! Where you off to this morning?" A woman asked as they passed by her house.

"Hello, Tina! We're just going to the Capital today. Did you need some help?" Ulla asked, stopping to talk.

"No, just being nosy." She laughed. "Have a safe walk, dears!"

"Bye, Miss Tina!" Varian said, waving as they walked on.

"It's a shame that she can't manage to keep a lover." Ulla said as they left her earshot. "Maybe she should marry herself a man that can cook, so he won't leave her because of her lack of ability."

Varian shrugged. "Clyde seems to like her cooking."

"Mm, that boy can eat anything, though. I'm pretty sure he's also immune to poison, though...I have yet to actually test that theory." She grinned, and Varian decided to change the subject.

"So, uh, you got a letter from Miss Donella, right?" He asked, looking up at her. "What was it about?"

"Oh, just the usual, asking about how we're doing, talking about how she's doing. I keep trying to get her to come back to Corona so you can meet her and to bring her adopted son, and I think I might be making some form of progress!" Ulla grinned at him.

"You haven't seen her in years, huh?" Varian nodded. "Hey, mom? How come Miss Donella didn't get married and have a kid the natural way?"

"Uhh...well, Donella is a lesbian, so she's only interested in women romantically. Besides, her way of adopting Hugo was very unconventional, so I think she'd have adopted him even if she did have her own child at the time. But, since she doesn't like men in a romantic or intimate way, she's unlikely to ever have her own biological child."