The air was tense. Riven’s father stared at the two of them, their eyes locked.
"Little brother," the woman spoke.
"Elaine," Riven’s father called her na.
"It’s been years since we last spoke," the man said. He smiled, but for so reason, Riven’s father felt tense when he saw the smile.
"I know it’s been a while, Eric, but there is a reason I called you two." He grabbed the edge of the table as he spoke.
"I’m guessing it’s not to talk about what happened before," Eric said.
"No, it’s not. There’s nothing to talk about anymore, no words needed," Riven’s father said.
"But there is a need, little brother," Elaine said.
"No, there isn’t."
Eric stepped forward, folding his arms. "You can’t keep running from it forever, little brother."
Riven’s father narrowed his eyes. "I didn’t call you here to rehash the past."
Elaine took a step beside Eric, her tone softer. "We know. But we’ve waited too long. If not now, then when? When it’s too late?"
Riven’s father clenched his jaw, gripping the edge of the table tighter. "Don’t twist this. The reason I called you here is not for all this—not for to say anything about the past and not for your apologies."
Eric’s smile faded. "It’s not about apologies. It’s about closure."
"There is no closure," he barked. "There never was. Not after what you two did."
Elaine sighed. "We were young. We made mistakes—"
"Mistakes?" Riven’s father snapped. "You think that was a mistake?"
The air crackled with tension. Eric’s hand clenched. He frowned in anger hearing what Riven’s father said. He took a deep breath to calm down, then spoke.
"We’re here now," Eric said. "Despite everything, at least we answered when you called. That should count for sothing."
Riven’s father’s hands trembled on the desk. His breathing grew heavy, his eyes burning with unshed emotions. Then—
SLAM!
He slamd the table with his palm, the wood cracking slightly under the force. "Stop it!" he shouted, his voice breaking. "Just stop... I don’t want to rember. I don’t want to talk. Not now."
Silence followed. Elaine lowered her gaze. Eric stood still.
"I need your strength," Riven’s father said, quieter now, his shoulders sagging. "Not your sympathy. The demonized are here. Father is leading the knights right now to battle them, to hold them back until the backup cos.
The entire town is in havoc, and I need help—your help—to fight. So if you two really want to help and make think about what happened, then please, co back ho and help us," Riven’s father said.
"We heard about it as well. Sapphire’s attack—it was unexpected, to be honest," Elaine said.
"To think they would go after only the towns... they must have realized it was the easiest way to weaken the entire kingdom and put it in a state of confusion," Eric said.
"Their attack is pretty strategic, and how they managed to get in without the kingdom knowing is also very shocking, but that’s not the matter we have to deal with. Ribest might fall if we don’t protect it.
Half of our n have already been called upon by the kingdom. She asked them to go to the border and battle, and there’s no way they’ll be able to make it back in ti.
Father might be extrely powerful, but without destroying the gate, the demonized will keep coming and coming. I need more n who can locate and destroy the gate," Riven’s father said.
"We understand, but even if we begin to co now, it will take us half a day to bring all our n to the town. You need to hold up for that long," Eric said.
"That’s true, but I don’t know where to look toward anymore," he said.
"How about those three—Dark, Lady Emily, and that drunkard? The three of them have been part of this town since we were kids, and we already know their true strength, despite how much they try to hide it," Elaine said.
Riven’s father had a flash of realization after she spoke. He recalled who she was talking of: the blacksmith, the seamstress, and the drunkard.
Those three were the strongest in the town after their father, no doubt. But they kept a low profile, and only him—the Baron—really knew about their worth.
"I’ll contact them imdiately, along with the guild master. If they can help us, then this town might survive long enough for you to show up," he said.
"They’ll help. After all, they all had a good relationship with Father," Eric said.
After saying that, the room went silent for a while. They looked at one another in that awkward mont and didn’t know what to say.
Then after a while, Riven’s father finally spoke. "Thank you for helping today. I’m grateful that you agreed to help," he said.
"You don’t need to. After all, you are our brother, regardless of what we’ve been through," Elaine said.
Riven’s father nodded, and their projections vanished. He took a deep breath and sat down on the chair. He pulled out the drawer, retrieving a small drawing—it was the perfect sketch of a woman.
He ran his thumb across the image slowly, and a teardrop fell from his eyes. He looked at the image. ’Can I really forgive them?’ he thought.
He stared at the drawing in his hand, his thumb brushing the edge of the paper gently. The woman in the sketch smiled softly, frozen in ti—forever peaceful. His breath shook.
A faint mory drifted in...
A small boy, barely six, ran barefoot across the manor’s open courtyard, laughter echoing in the air.
"Get back here, you little rascal!" a woman shouted, laughing as she chased after him with a cloth in hand. Her long hair flew behind her as she darted after the boy, the sun glinting off her silver earrings.
"I won’t take a bath!" the boy shouted back, dodging around a tree with practiced ease.
"You will, or I’ll throw you in the bath!" she shouted back, giggling.
The mory faded, swallowed by the weight of the present.
Knock knock.
A gentle knock echoed from the door. Riven’s father quickly wiped his face and returned the sketch to the drawer. "Co in," he said, voice low.
The door opened, and his wife stepped in. She wore a long, simple blue gown, her eyes laced with worry. "I heard shouting," she said softly, closing the door behind her.
He let out a slow breath. "It’s nothing. My father left for battle. And..." he hesitated, then t her eyes, "Elaine and Eric. They’re coming too."
Her eyes widened. "Your siblings?"
He nodded. "We spoke. They’ll return with reinforcents, but it’ll take half a day." He paused. "I also plan to contact the others—Dark, Lady Emily, and the drunkard."
She walked closer and sat on the desk, her hand gently covering his. "That’s good. You’ll need everyone."
"Where are the boys?" he asked.
She frowned slightly. "They’re refusing to stay in the manor. They say they want to fight."
His face darkened. "Of course they do," he muttered, dragging a palm over his face.
"They’re your sons," she said softly, a small smile on her lips.
He leaned back, groaning. "Just what I need right now. Luckily the other two are still at the academy. I’m sure they would co sprinting if they heard about what’s happening," he said.
"They should stay there. Their academy was attacked as well. I was so panicked when I heard the news of what happened at the academy," she said, a look of worry on her face.
"They survived. Our sons aren’t weak. And after we are done with this whole thing, we will head to the capital and go see them.
For now, just take Amber and stay safe until everything goes back to normal. We aren’t going to allow these demonized to take our town. They can try, but it won’t happen," he said, a look of resolve forming on his face.
She nodded and walked out of the office, and he followed after. He walked down the stairs only to see two of his sons standing there.
Rudy and Andrew, in their full armor, with their swords at their waists.
"You weren’t thinking of leaving us here, right?" Andrew asked.
"Yes, Father. We need to defend the town as well. As the heir, it’s basically my duty," Rudy said.
Their father sighed and spoke, "Normally I would refuse and say that you two aren’t ready yet, but there’s no ti to keep for that right now.
I need all the help I can get. The town must not fall. Ribest is our ho, so you’ll fight for it with ," he said and walked past them while they followed, he walked out of your house and got on a horse, they followed as well and rode out of the manor, their first location was Dark’s shop.
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