The Nechi's Wife

✣ chapter twenty-seven ✣

aghhh sorry for not updating!! I've been so busy with school and college applications!! but the due date for them all was January 1st so I should have more time.

p.s. I promised myself I'd finish this story, no matter how long it took. So, if I ever disappear, don't worry, I will come back!

Sir Lorcan's POV

The castle had become terribly busy as the King sought to stamp out the betrayal. And I was becoming tired of the constant work. Although I wasn't supposed to leave, especially at a time of great need, I planned on doing so anyway.

I hadn't seen my mother in too long. I'd been thinking about it for ages and I knew that now was time to visit, before it was too late.

The last time I'd seen Ma had been years ago, when I'd left to become a Knight. Before my departure, we'd gotten into a fight. She told me I didn't know what I was signing up for. That I didn't have what it took. That it was too dangerous. I told her that if she wanted to rot in Witylt, she very well could, but I was leaving for the court.

It had been so long since I'd ventured outside the palace and seen Witylt city life. It was an entirely different world from the castle, so much more vulgar and raw and unbridled. It had been a world that was my own, when I'd been a mere village boy who occasionally like to play fight.

Through the Witylt market, a sharp left off the roadside, and into the forest. It was a route I'd never forgotten, though I hadn't used it in ages.

On the path, I saw it. Her cottage. I approached its wooden door, covered in moss and flowers, and knocked loudly. There was a muted shuffling from inside and then the door opened.

She stared at me, neither happy nor angry. "Lorcan."

"Ma."

She peered out, making sure no one else was around. "Why are you here?"

Her voice had become softer, but I heard the slight edge in it. Irritation. That bothered me. And it made it all the harder to apologize.

"I came to apologize."

Her expression froze, as if startled. "Lor—"

"I mean it, Ma."

She pulled me inside with a strength that never failed to amaze me at her age. She used to say it was all the work she used to do in the sun. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I imagined it had been brutal. Of course, I made it so that she no longer needed to work. Hopefully, she'd been using the money I sent her every month.

"How are you?" I asked as I sat in a chair I remembered from my childhood. She refused to move out of this hovel, even though I promised I could pay for a better one. She didn't like being pitied. Like me.

She grabbed a broom and began to sweep around me. Entirely ignoring my question.

"Ma."

"What? Lorcan?" She snapped. "What do you want from me? I have a life, you know, I have things to do."

I hoped she didn't see how much that had pained me. "I'm trying to apologize but I never had the best teacher."

"Don't you dare blame me for your arrogance. I never taught you that. You taught it to yourself."

"Ma."

The broom fell to the ground and she stormed in front of me, glaring. "Yes, dear?"

Ignoring the sarcasm in her voice, I took her hand. She tried to wrench it away, but I held fast. "Ma, I'm sorry. How many times do I have to say it?"