TCGP (part 2): My journey in the Grand grotto

Part 4

I suddenly came back from my daydreaming and I realized that I had been here for over three days and that I had not gotten any real talk with Dokeb at all. I would hang out with them but I never said much as they did not seem to have any interest in me giving my input. Today however was different, I was now the subject of their discussion, my past, my present, my future. If I had been very passive and absent minded around them lately, the waterfall of memories that bloomed from my mind in an unpleasant way just froze solid and I interacted with life the same way I always do.

This was the real thing, he was right in front of me. I had not seen him in over ten years, or at least, not seen him interested in what I had to say for that long. It seemed he was considering me an adult now. My uncle Dokeb was before me in all of his splendor and even if he promised to give a kingdom to my father in order to pay him back, I doubt that I would get anything for myself.

He to both our suprise offered mother half of his kingdom in exchange for literally nothing at all and asked me to protect her with my life as she was more than irreplaceable to him. Well if there is one thing I assess, it is that as much as he sounded selfish back when he was my age, he surely did not look like it today. The way it happened is that Dokeb had not said anything to me yet about their past and mother put him right into the spotlight asking him if his promise to give my father some of his land was still on the table or if he desisted himself. He seemed to have a nervous breakdown as he clearly did not expect this to be brought his way in this manner.

(Dokeb): "I always wanted to give it to him, I owe Edega. I owe him. I want him to know, I need him to know that I kept my promise, (he looked towards the sky as if he spoke to my father directly) please friend, rule this land with me. RULE THE LAND WE ARE BORN ON ASIDE ME. YOU WON THE BET ALL RIGHT. I AM SORRY, I WAS JUST JEALOUS WHEN YOU WON, JUST PLEASE COME BACK TO ME... Come back to me. Please"

He just started walking towards another room as he whispered trough his teeth and mother hurried her way towards him and had one arm around his shoulder and one hand running over his abdominal muscles. To the few people allowed here, it looked like she was comforting him, but to me, it was obvious she was crying too. She was trembling and I could hear her swallow her pain as silently as she could every twenty seconds. I tried my best to stay numb and only my upper lip was twitching as both their body guards now looked my way to not make them feel uncomfortable. I have animosity when it comes to seeing my mother cry, as it almost never happens. But when it does, I lose my calm, every time. She made it very clear that all that mattered was her orders, not what I thought would be better for her if ever she got emotional. I knew better than anyone that he was an ally, but even so, I had the same reflex as usual. When someone makes my mother cry I want hit them with something heavy, right through their fragile skull.

Dokeb turned around towards us and I could see him wipe off tears because of how bad life went and how much he wanted his best friend to still be of this world.