Death Returns

Reuniting

    The streets of Grzech buzzed with people, walking, running, talking, yelling. It was more lively than he'd remembered, more lively than he ever thought it could be. Calian was in the center of the town square and was currently looking for his aunt Cressida, who had raised him since he was eight. She said she would be in front of her little house with her husband, uncle Isak.

Calian wandered around for a few more minutes before he found a house he recognized and finally figured out which way to go. The village had changed a lot since he'd left, and it looked like it was for the better. Once he made it to the cobblestone road he had grown up on, he saw his aunt waving enthusiastically from her house, his uncle Isak next to her.

He left Lillith and the cart on the corner and hopped down, walking over to his aunt and uncle. His aunt attacked him with an enormous hug, almost knocking the breath out of him. His uncle hugged him as well, though less aggressively, which his ribs appreciated.

"My darling boy!! How are you? How have you been? What have your travels been like? oh you must tell me everything! Are you hungry? You look skinny, have you been eating enough?" His aunt said all at once, and he almost didn't understand her from how her energy was taking control of her voice.

"I'm fine, thank you. My travels have been good, though it isn't always that fun, running from the law. But I guess that's my own responsibility."

"I still can't believe that man got so upset over a little scam. And that woman over the stolen necklace. It's just a bit of jewelry." She stated nonchalantly.

His aunt had always been biased and overprotective, but ever since he left Grzech, she had been a little jealous. She and Calian's mother had grown up on the road, their father being a Gypsy. Calian's mother never favored the Gypsy life, but Cressida adored it. Once their parents bought a little house in the countryside, their mother stayed home, but their father left for months on end with his Gypsy family, being gone almost half the year. Sometimes Cressida would go with him for a few weeks, just so she wouldn't get so restless at home.

She'd always said she missed the Gypsy life, the traveling and sightseeing and socializing, but she was so grateful to be able to raise Calian, she didn't mind so much anymore. Since Calian had spent most of his life hearing about it all, he immediately wanted to travel the world when he was able to, which is why he chose his current profession. A traveling merchant/salesman/charlatan/thief.

"Well, I doubt they'll be able to catch you anyway." Uncle Isak added. Calian chuckled and they went inside. Another wave of nostalgia hit him, and he took a moment to take it all in. Barely anything had changed, like the house was frozen in time. It felt strange, but he liked that it was the same.

"Sit, sit. I've made dinner, your favorite, and I don't plan on letting it get cold." His aunt ordered, pulling out a seat at the table for him. His uncle sat at the head of the table and Cressida retrieved the food, setting it on the table and taking a seat across from Calian.

The meal consisted of mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, rabbit, and for dessert would be a homemade blackberry cobbler. His favorite dinner. They had it every year for his birthday, and his aunt's cobbler was the only thing that put a smile on his face in the months after his parents died.

As they ate, they talked of everything that had been going on in all their lives lately. Calian told them of everything he'd seen and everywhere he'd been in the past four years, and they hung on his every word. They told him of their jobs, his uncle being a blacksmith and his aunt being a school teacher. They continued to chat as they cleared the table and sat around the fire, the sky beginning to get dark.

Once the clock chimed eight O'clock, Calian decided to get some sleep before he had to be at the castle. He hugged his aunt and uncle goodbye, for he wasn't sure when he would be seeing them next, and everyone retreated to their rooms.

Once he shut the door to his room, he stood there in the doorway fro a moment. This was the room he had spent his late childhood in. The room he had hid in as a teenager. The room he rarely slept in as a young adult. He missed it, and was glad to be back. It had been a while since he'd slept in a secure and comforting bed.

He took off all his layers and changed into some pajamas, then sat on the bed and glanced around again, letting old memories flood through him. He looked to the bedside table and opened a few drawers, picking up keepsakes and trinkets. In the bottom drawer, he found an old picture his mother had drawn. It was of him, as a baby. He remembered her telling him that she drew that just after he was born, when he first fell asleep in his father's arms. He had cherished that picture for the rest of his life, but had forgotten about it in all the years since he left. He waned to leave it here so it would stay safe, but now he felt like he never wanted to leave it again.

After staring at the drawing for a few minutes, he set it on the bedside table and laid down, shutting his eyes, and quickly falling asleep.

***

This was probably the first dream he'd had in years. He couldn't tell if this was a good or bad dream, but he liked it so far.

Calian was about six years old, it was his birthday and his whole family was there. His mother, father, grandparents, aunt and uncle, even his very best friends. They were all sat around a huge table in a grand dining room, fit for a king. The table was white marble, trimmed with gold, and on it was the greatest meal he'd ever seen in his entire life, with a huge cake in the very center. He looked around at everyone and grinned with all his might, watching his loved ones enjoying themselves and being there together.

The feast continued as any other feast with family members would. Laughter, smiles, joy all around, and plenty of food. He was in paradise, and never wanted it to end. But when they cut the cake, it all stopped.

His mother set a piece of the large cake onto a porcelain plate for him, and just as she was handing it to him and they were about to sing happy birthday, a man and woman ran into the room, screaming angrily at them. Then about fifty guards stormed the dining room and started tying them all up to wooden posts that had magically appeared. Straw appeared at their feet, and just as he saw this, it all caught flame. Then, his vision moved to outside his body, and he was watching himself and his family and friends burn. He tried to escape, but it was no use, for the rope that bound their hands had turned to steel. As the flames started to lick at his face, he awoke suddenly, bolting out of bed in a cold sweat, grabbing at his face.

Once Calian realized he was safe, he looked at the clock. It was eleven twenty-four. He was late.

He hopped out of bed and got dressed in his finest clothes, then gathered everything he needed and wrote a note for his aunt and uncle. Before he left the room, he grabbed the drawing from his mother and stuffed it into his coat pocket. He quickly ran a comb through his hair, brushed his teeth, and left the house, trying not to wake his aunt and uncle.

He only grabbed a few things from his cart, then detached Lillith from it and hopped on her, riding up the street and heading to the large hill that led to the castle. He didn't know what would happen from this point on, but he knew he wouldn't be leaving that castle without accomplishing what he'd promised to himself nineteen years ago. To kill the King and Queen.

***

A/N:
I didn't have much time to edit this, so I apologize if there are some parts that haven't been edited. I will probably come back to this chapter and edit it more thoroughly later, but if you notice any errors feel free to point them out :)