Michrinor: The Fates of The Heirs

Chapter 3 - Moving Day

Ava Robinson stood in the doorway of her empty room, her eyes scanning the barren space that had once been filled with her life's small but meaningful possessions. The old mattress on the floor was gone, along with the patched-up dresser that had held her worn-out clothes. All that remained were a few faint marks on the wall where she had once hung posters of distant, dreamy places she wished she could escape to. The room, now stripped of everything familiar, seemed larger and colder, a hollow shell echoing with memories she wasn't sure she wanted to hold on to.

She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself as if to ward off the chill that came not from the air, but from deep within. This room had seen her through countless sleepless nights, muffled arguments from the living room, and quiet moments of longing for a life she knew she might never have. But now, as she stood there, she felt a glimmer of something else—a fragile hope that maybe the move to a new house could mean a fresh start. A place where her family could be different, where the anger and sadness that seemed to permeate their lives could somehow be left behind.

Ethan's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "You almost done in there?"

She turned to see her older brother leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. At seventeen, Ethan was only a year older than her, but lately, it felt like a decade had grown between them. His once playful nature had been replaced by a cold, distant demeanor that Ava found hard to break through. He rarely talked to her anymore, and when he did, it was usually short and clipped, like now.

"Yeah," she replied, her voice softer than she intended. "Just saying goodbye, I guess."

Ethan stepped into the room, glancing around at the bare walls. "It's just a room, Ava. There's nothing to miss."

Ava shrugged, trying to mask the emotion in her voice. "I know. But it's still... I don't know, weird to leave it all behind."

He didn't respond immediately, and for a moment, Ava thought he might actually open up, share something about how he was feeling too. But when he spoke again, his tone was indifferent. "The new place will be better."

She looked at him, searching his face for any sign of the brother she used to know. "Do you really think so?"

Ethan's eyes flickered with something—hope, maybe, or just the desire to believe it himself. "It has to be, right? At least there's more space. Maybe we won't be on top of each other all the time."

Ava nodded, but she couldn't shake the worry gnawing at her. "Yeah, maybe. I just... I really hope things will be different there. That Mom and Dad..."

Her voice trailed off, but Ethan knew what she meant. The unspoken wish that their parents would stop fighting, that the move would somehow bring peace to their fractured family.

"Don't get your hopes up too high," Ethan said quietly, almost as if he were warning himself more than her. "It's just a house. The same people will be living in it."

Ava bit her lip, not wanting to argue. He was right, of course. A new house wouldn't change who they were or what they had been through. But maybe it could be a start.

"I just want things to be better," she whispered.

Ethan looked at her, his expression softening for the first time in what felt like forever. "Me too."

For a moment, it was like they were kids again, before everything got so complicated, so broken. But the moment passed, and Ethan was back to his usual guarded self. He turned and headed for the door, leaving Ava alone with her thoughts once more.

As she took one last look at her empty room, Ava allowed herself to imagine what it would be like in the new house. A place where she and Ethan could be normal teenagers, where their parents would laugh instead of yell, where the walls wouldn't feel like they were closing in on her. She knew it was a lot to hope for, but it was all she had.