Season's Change Winter's Plight Book 1

18 Late

Late! He was late. Young Avriel was long overdue. He should have returned from his quest over a fortnight ago, yet he had not. The youngest son, the last born to the Kaplan line was very late. He had gone on his journey quest to become a man, never to return, just like his older brother. His father paced the floor of the chamber he shared with his wife and put voice to the violent turmoil that his emotions and thoughts had become. "How? How? Why? Why have the Gods forsaken us? Both our sons. BOTH! The wilds have taken both our sons. Why? WHY? WHY DID THE GODS NOT PROTECT THEM?" He raged as he walked, his fist held high, balled, white-knuckle tight, and shaking at the heavens. "HAVE WE NOT SERVED YOU WELL?" His voice swelled, louder and louder until it boomed and filled the room. It was much louder than the only other occupant would ever care to hear it, as he filled it with his rage and frustration. His anger boiled and turned. She let him rage on, fully aware that there was nothing she could do with his anger, knowing it would sputter and die and give way to anguish and misery over the presumed loss of his beloved son. She'd never felt the heat of his battle rage, never wanted to. She had never known the feel of his angry hand and only seen his tears twice before. As always, they rocked her to her very core.

He dropped to his knees in the middle of the chamber. His heart was proverbially torn out, tears of anguish and grief streamed down his face. His words became garbled and incoherent as he cried, only his sons' names could be understood as he said them over and over again, repeating them and mixing them. He cried not only for the one but for both. He missed his sons. He missed them both dearly. His body shook as he buried his face in his hands and slowly melted towards the cold winter floor. His sons, his precious loving sons. His wife and his daughter; how their hearts would break.

Shelly Kaplan watched her husband face his grief for as long as a wife could stand to see her king broken on the floor, then she put her feet upon the stones and knelt by his side, her hand carefully moving over his bowed back. She slipped a hand under his chin and lifted his dark brown eyes to her gentle blue. He wasn't breathing right, his breath was heavy and hitching, his heart was clearly broken. Anger flashed again, how could she be so strong? Were they not her sons too? But that anger settled quickly, lost in her loving eyes. She chewed her lip as she looked at him. "We have not been forsaken. The gods, a God, has given him, Avriel, her protection. He lives, Michael. Avriel lives. I can feel him here." She placed his hand over her heart as her eyes held his fast. "He is here as he has always been. Since the moment his heart began to beat, it has beat in mine, and beats there still." She didn't need to say any more to convince him she spoke the truth. He knew, knew in his heart she spoke it, always. Never did he question a word his wife spoke. There was never a need. She spoke only truth to him.

As gently as a soft wind she kissed his tears away. She lent him her strength as he got up off the floor. "But he has not returned."

"No, he has not returned, but when his journey is complete, and he has done what the Gods have sent him to do, he will be returned to us, stronger wiser and prepared to fulfill his role and duties." She held both her husband's hands with the same strength she held his eyes to hers. "Our sons will both return to us. One will free the other and bring him home. He will right the wrongs and unite our people." She held tight to her beliefs and spread them to her husband.

~

Esther sat quietly on the edge of her bed with her feet dangling over the cold stone floor. She could feel the heat being pulled out of them as she sat and let her mind wander. How long, how long had it been since she looked upon his face? How long since she saw his shining eyes, blue and green and brown, laughing with her? How long since she had listened to his voice as he sang while he wandered the gardens. How long? How long had it been since last she heard his sword call out victory over another, how long since they had walked the halls, holding hands, loving, living and happy? When was the last time he told her of his dreams? Did she listen? What was the last thing that she said to him? Did it really matter? Would it really be the last? She hoped, and she prayed that more of her words could be given him, that more of his would come her way. She missed him, her little brother. She missed him and the way he smiled at everything.

She closed her eyes and let thoughts of all the moments they had spent together flood her memory and feelings. He was such a sweet boy, so very sweet, timid and quiet until he was much older. Her mind took her back, way back to before he even came into the world. She remembered watching her mother's stomach grow, then move as he moved around inside of her. She touched her stomach and wondered if she would ever know that joyous feeling. She helped her mother birth him, remember the sound of his first cry and holding him close moments after he was born. A smile flitted across her face. He had stopped crying when she put her finger in his tiny hand and just looked at her. He was her brother heart and soul. They were bound as if they had come into the world together. She watched his first steps, heard his first words, helped him lose his first tooth, was there the first time he fell, dusted him off and put him back on his feet. They spent his early years together learning about the world and everything she had to teach him. He learned so many of the skills that other young warriors to be would not. He could weave and mend clothing, cook and knew how to clean. He read to her and learned to sing and make music, though she was positive that he just knew how. Later when he was older and his training as a warrior began, he shared his lessons with her. Together they learned to fight. She was his first sparring partner. He was her best friend, her confidant, and constant companion. Likewise, he was hers. She missed him immensely. Even with her husband by her side, she felt lonely, like something someone was missing. That something was her brother Avriel.