Soft & Still

Chapter 15

"And he asked me to become the apprentice to the royal seamstress!" (Y/N) said with absolute incredulity as she collapsed dramatically into the armchair secluded to the corner of the living room while surrounded by family. They cornered her as if she were an anomaly they had never seen before. Her mother silently ushered them to their own seats in the room, noticing her daughter's growing agitation.

"No because this is an opportunity you can't pass up (Y/N)," Casimir said after they had all taken a silent moment in their seats to contemplate the implications of this offer, "This is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...!" He seemingly had the most quickly resolved feelings on the matter, his face beaming with self-satisfaction and pride in his sister.

"Hey, now let's not get too hasty..." (Y/N)'s mother patted Casimir's knee once, twice, and thrice to reel him back into reality where his head wasn't in the stars.

"I agree with your mother Casimir," (Y/N)'s father spoke up, being the most silent on this matter out of the bunch of them, "(Y/N), what are you thinking? What do you want?" He said bringing the attention back on the girl.

"I'm not too sure," she starts, "honestly it was all so sudden."

"And that's understandable," he said validating her feelings, "But you're 20 this year and it's your life." He adjusted his position in the fabric sofa's cushions with sunken-in places where they would often fight over to sit in due to the comfort of that spot on the sofa in comparison to the other open spots.

"I know, it's just so much to consider," Intertwining her fingers, then taking them apart; she wrung her hands, "He told me to inform him of my decision by the end of this week Saturday, and it's already Tuesday."

They all listened in silence to their loved one's voice filling with uncertainty but also dipped in the sweetness of excitement. (Y/N)'s father and mother made eye contact before her mom nodded her head in some silent understanding. She reached over and tapped lightly on Casimir's knee again before beckoning him with her chin to the direction of the kitchen. He had made a face trying to understand his mother's slightly obscure signs before he realized and quickly followed after her to leave the other two members of their family alone.

"(Y/N) you know, your mother and I are here for you whatever you choose," Her father began to say as he stood up, walking over to the chair directly beside the arms chair (Y/N) had curled herself into. He reached out and patted her sock-donned foot that was at the edge of the chair, her knees pulled to her chest. "We've told you this since you were a kid, whatever you decided to do with your life- barring a life of crime-," his sarcastic tone elicited a chuckle from (Y/N), "seriously, whatever you've wanted to spend your life doing, we've promised to support you as best that we could. You know we don't make the money that other families do, but what we do have is just as much yours," He gazed at his daughter's face. Love etched and written into every crease and wrinkle, "When your mother and I decided to bring you into this world, we knew from the very beginning that you were everything we ever wanted. You were what we wanted."

(Y/N) could only nod her head and mumble out a soft "I know" between her father's words. She blinked back the tears in her eyes that strained against the willpower she had to keep them from falling.

"So, what I'm saying is," he rubbed his hands together before blowing on his fingertips with hot air. It wasn't actually cold outside, it was simply something he had control over in this situation and it helped to keep his nervous, anxiety-ridden thoughts in check, "Whatever you want to do, go for it." He nodded his head as he continued to try and think before he spoke, wanting to make sure whatever came out of his mouth was everything he wanted to say, "If it doesn't work out, your room will always be your room. If it become too much, we- us- your parents," he cleared his throat as the emotions in him were becoming difficult to keep in check, "we're always your parents. When you need us, we're here for you as long as you need us, whenever you need us. Even if by society's standards you've succeeded and don't need us, we'll always stand by your side. So..." he coughed to cover the emotion in his voice, "I want you to do this if it's something you want to do."

(Y/N) nodded her head as he finished speaking, uncurling herself to be able to stand up. She stood in front of her father and waited for him to open his arms. When he understood what she was doing and stood up to open his embrace to her, she didn't waste even the most fleeting of moments. Leaning her head on his chest, his familiar scent overwhelmingly like home, more home than a house could ever be. Arms wrapped around him, pressing herself as closely to him as she could, a feeling of something being gained and lost simultaneously consumed her heart and mind trying to wrap around what that was. His embrace was as strong as always but a little tighter than normal, maybe he had been feeling the same as (Y/N) was in that moment. She couldn't know for certain but what she could know was the overwhelming support and love her family held for her. It was the reason she had stayed for so long and worked on chores and cooking and cleaning for so long. It was because she knew that she could support her parents in this way and because she knew that when the time came, they would support her in any way they could. Just the same as they had done with her playing around with the idea what felt like so long ago now of her starting to create and sell stuffed animals. The basic sewing lessons her mother would give her and the critique of whether her father thought her designs could use some improvement. Bless him, he couldn't give detailed critique since he was no professional, but he knew if he liked it or didn't and that was good enough for (Y/N) to learn more and grow more in her passions.

"Thank you, dad," (Y/N) said as they pulled away from the emotion-charged embrace.

"Anytime," he reached a hand to ruffle the top of her head and to hide her face from him. (Y/N) swatted his hand away with a small and soft smile. They stayed like that for a heart beat before she excused herself to her room. On her way to her room, she could hear Casimir bustling around in his, must have been ushered back there by their mom.

"-it go?" (Y/N) heard her mother's voice just barely and stopped right before her door clicked shut.

She heard her father's strained voice, "It went fine," the silence following his words were a little deafening, "Sadie, it's the first time she's actually been the one to bring up wanting to leave home and to start her own life elsewhere." The crack in her father's voice was heartbreaking and she clutched the doorknob more tightly. The tears pressuring to flow without abandon more harshly than they had been before.

"I know Abner..." Her mom's voice soft but steadily acting as a rock for her husband to fall apart on.

"Our baby's actually going to leave the nest," (Y/N) couldn't listen to anymore and shut the door. She didn't feel guilty for her decision, just a sense of loss for what was going to be a page of the past so that the future can continue to be written. She knew that the last thing her parents wanted was for her to not do it on their account, thinking that's what they wanted. She knew they would be mad at her if she didn't do this if she really wanted it. As strange and sudden as it had appeared before her, it was an opportunity that she was sure she didn't want to waste. She didn't want her fortunate opportunity to turn into someone else's.

Grabbing her pillow on her bed and curling into it, (Y/N) let her tears finally be free and to mourn for the past knowing that tomorrow would be a new day that she was going to, had to, greet with a smile and renewed vigor. This wasn't just for her sake, but for those around her who cared for her as well.

The night was as long as the time she had spent crying was short.