The Force Helped Me Find Myself.

Chapter 10

I got back to the academy a couple of weeks later. It wasn't long enough at home, but I was looking forward to continuing my lessons, and maybe to start duelling with the training sabre. I had dropped my bag in my room and then went to the library. Part of the deal I made with Eron was to have access to all the footage collected. Not that I didn't trust him, more to have a second set of eyes to look at it. Also, an extra layer of protection in case something happened to him.

I was fast-forwarding through the footage from the last two weeks. It still took hours to get through each camera, but it was worth it. I got to see little snippets of Eron's life and interactions with his family. He would spend a lot of time playing with his siblings and would help his mum with things, mostly lifting things or getting high things off shelves. His dad didn't interact much with the family. He would eat in the morning or evening, disappear afterwards, sometimes at night he would stumble in, and then he would sleep. I was beginning to understand Eron and why he felt so cold that first time.

Just before the end of the second week, I found something that I wish didn't happen. They were in the living area with Eron reading something on the couch and the little kids on the floor drawing, colouring, or both. It seemed to be late afternoon, when Eron's father walked into the shot, seemingly yelling at the kids. I didn't have sound in the library. The little kids quickly took off, their father kicking the drawing implements out of the way so he could get to Eron. He was yelling at his oldest son, it almost looked like he was spitting at him. Eron sat there and said something calmly, then his father seemed to turn red, stumbling a little, then took a swing at Eron. The young man was amazing, he barely moved, but his father couldn't lay a blow on him. Eron was so calm as he sat there and dodged or deflected every blow with a small movement of his hand, I counted almost a dozen attempted strikes. His father stopped and stood back slightly, still angry but also surprised he couldn't land a blow. Eron stood up, standing tall, holding his book. He said something looking straight into his father's eyes, then went to leave. After a few steps, he turned to look at his father who was yelling something. Then his father took a big swing at him. Eron calmly raised his free hand and caught it, holding his father's hand tightly but not to cause injury. Eron said something with such force that his father's head went back, probably eyes wide too. Eron let go of the hand and went to his room. I was speechless but extremely impressed.

"What do you think?"

Eron had walked up behind me sometime while I was watching, Emmi wasn't far behind him, just walking up to me.

"Oh, you startled me. You were amazing. You looked like a Jedi, using the force to defend yourself and your siblings while staying calm and not trying to cause harm."

"Yeah, it felt surprisingly good. There was a part of me that wanted to hurt him, break both his arms and his nose, but I knew it wasn't necessary. He's all bluster and noise but no substance. I almost pity him."

"Are your siblings and mum going to be ok," asked Emmi.

"They should be. I told him that he was a bully and that he didn't scare me anymore. I told him if anything happens to the rest of the family then he would get brought to justice. He knows he can't do anything to me anymore and I think he's scared to do anything to the others. I just hope we can get them away before his drinking overrides his sense."

"We should talk to the Masters," I said. "This, with the photos and your scars, should be enough to prove your story. At minimum enough to make them investigate."

"I don't know. I couldn't get a lot of help last time I tried."

"I'm sure it will be enough. I want to do something before anything can happen."

"What do we do though? Even if we can do something they don't have anywhere to go. I don't think my father would be removed that quickly."

"I would hope he would be," said Emmi. "I spoke to my family last week and I might be able to help. We have a little flat out the back of our house that my grandparents lived in for a few years until they passed a couple of years ago. It's small but it would be fine for the short term if they need to get away quickly."