A revelation

Vel just sat there on his mother’s bed, lost in thought, for what must have been at least a few hours. No household guards came charging in, not that he had really expected that. Of course, his mind played out that and other unlikely scenarios, but he was simply too important to both this house and his mother for anything like that. What to do, though? Part of him wanted to seek out Adi and ask her for advice, but he did not wish to burden her with this. Besides, this was his problem to solve. If he couldn’t, perhaps he was unworthy of being the heir.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the door opening and he involuntarily took a sharp breath. Lady Rienne entered the room cautiously, but alone, and still clad only in her gown. That was good. Vel was seated on the edge of her bed, his legs hanging off the side and his feet on the floor. She slowly and tentatively made her way to stand right in front of him.

Vel met her gaze and found it unreadable. Her eyes were once again wide, but he detected no anger, so that was something. He didn’t dare touch her mind to find out more. Vel did not know what he could possibly say, and his mother had not opened her mouth either, so they just regarded each other in silence for a bit.

Eventually though, his mother broke the silence. “So, you’ve got the gift of mindmagic.” Her expression remained unreadable, almost blank. Her tone was fairly neutral too, but Vel thought there was an undercurrent of something else. Perhaps excitement, could that be right? His mother arched an eyebrow, clearly waiting for him to respond. It hadn’t really sounded like a question, but Vel confirmed it even so. “Yes, I do.”

Lady Rienne closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “And you’ve been using your powers on my mind without me noticing. I am trained, I should have been able to tell. But even now I can’t tell what you’ve done, just that you did something.” She opened her eyes again and slightly cocked her head. “You’re not a regular mindmage, are you?” His mother was sharp as ever. Vel inclined his head. “No, you’re right, I am not.”

There was no mistaking it this time, there was excitement in his mother’s voice, and her whole body seemed to tense up a little. “What are you, then?” Vel took a deep breath. “I will explain if you want me to, Mother, but it may take a while.” She smiled. “Remember, we have all night.” Vel didn’t quite have it in him to return the smile yet. He nodded and began his explanation.

“I don’t need to teach you about any of the creation myths, you know them as well as I no doubt.” His mother nodded. “They’re not quite right though. There was one being, one god if you will, that was greater than the others. The others hatched a scheme against that greater being and-“ It seemed Lady Rienne had heard enough. She drew in a sharp breath then dropped to her knees, kneeling in front of her son. Her eyes still shone, but with adoration now. “You’re the chosen.” Not for the first time tonight, Vel found himself at a loss for words.

His mother closed her eyes again, then tilted her head upwards to the ceiling. “I am sorry, Kal, for doubting.” Her eyes opened and she looked at Vel again. “And more than anything, I am so sorry, my son. I am sorry for doubting, I am sorry that I let that anything get between us. That I let anyone make me even consider that I gave birth to a….” She trailed off, took another breath, and a glowing smile spread across her face. “But I gave birth to the chosen.” She put a great deal of emphasis on the last word, and her voice was brimming with pride and triumph. Something clicked inside Vel’s head. He had never heard of the chosen before, but he was his mother’s son, and quickly reached a conclusion. It was likely some other name for the heir. She had mentioned his uncle too, so perhaps it was a Vashkai thing. If so, it made a lot of sense that his mother would take such pride in being the mother of the chosen. She was after all the perfect noble lady, and one of her main duties was providing male heirs. She had given birth only to one. And although she clearly did love him, no doubt his father’s words about him being a cripple and a failure had gotten to her to some degree. Now though, now she knew. She knew she had been right and his father wrong. Her son was the chosen. Vel finally returned his mother’s smile.