Radiant

Chapter Six

Even when I was so happy to see my parents at that moment, I couldn't help but wonder why or how they ended up in those clothes. And why were they completely unfazed by a giant monster-dragon thing that was probably 7 feet tall and in the middle of the hallway?

 In fact,they were looking at Scarlet's new appearance as if it happened all the time. If that was the case, then...were the parents I'd known my whole life different somehow from the ones standing here now?

"Hmph, so you managed to survive. I should've known that neither of you would've gone down that easily," Scarlet said. She winced once blood started to come out of her injury again. The arrow was still lodged deeply in her back, and it didn't look like it would come out easily.

"Your annoying little followers aren't very powerful. We've dealt with worse." Dad said in a steely voice. I'd only heard him speak like that once, when I was about five years old and accidently broken a glass vase from playing baseball in the house with Liam.

"I told you to NEVER use that in the house, Tamie! Why don't you ever listen???"

"I'm sorry, daddy. I didn't mean to..."

I remember crying a lot that day and begged him to forgive me at least five times. And instead of punishing me or staying mad at me, his gaze had softened and he'd picked me up, telling me to stop crying and that he didn't mean to yell at me. Even when I hadn't deserved it, he treated me nicely that day and even went and bought me ice cream. At the very end of that day, he'd given me a big hug, and mom had shown up and read me my favorite bedtime story, Cinderella.

"And they all lived happily ever after, The End."

"Yay! I love happy endings! Mommy, will our lives have a happy ending too?"

I remember that when I'd asked her that, she'd gotten silent, and looked at dad with a worried expression. He looked back at her with the same face, but once they looked back down at me, they both simply smiled.

"Of course we will, sweetie. Me and your father will make sure of it."

"Yay!"

"Tamie, there's...one other thing we should probably tell you..." Dad had said.

"What is it?"

"....Well...Tamie, we're..."

And I remember dad hesitating for the longest time, as if telling me would change everything.

Then, he finally spoke: "Never mind, Tamie."

"Wha?? But I wanna know!!!"

"We'll tell you when you're older. We promise. And you know what you do when you make a promise, Tamie?"

"Yeah! You keep it! You have to, or it wouldn't be very nice...That'd be mean!"

Mom and dad had laughed when I said that, and although I didn't understand why they thought it was funny, I laughed anyways.

"Alright, Tamie. No more distractions, you're going to sleep, young lady." Mom said with her playfully strict tone.

"Ok, nighty-night!"

"Good night Tamie...Oh, could you make us a promise, Tamie?"

"Yeah! I've always wanted to make a promise!"

" Heh, well in that case, we just want you to make us one little promise. Don't worry, it's easy."

"Tell me, tell me!"