Walk inside you haven't been gone that long

You make your way to the stairs figuring that your father would be either in his study or the reading room. As you start climbing you feel one of the staff members enter the foyer, no doubt wondering who had just walking inside. "Good afternoon." You say turning on the stairs.

It was Summer, the head of the estates staff and had been since you were born. "Oh good afternoon, young master." She turned to face you and gave you a warm smile. "I didn't know you were visiting, would you like something to eat or drink?"

"I just flew in for a chat with my father. Is he in the study?" You turned around and smiled at her. She was always there to help you and you have fond memories of her sneaking you extra cookies when you were a kid. One thing you learned was that people let kids get away with a lot and are surprising easy to get the to give you cookies when you give them the puppy eyes.

"No he is reading in the courtyard." She answers walking to the door that would take you too him. "I think he has been missing you, he's been spending a lot of time alone." She sounded worried and her aura confirmed that much.

You'd come here to, if not to have a one sided confrontation with him, certainly to an have argument. Hearing that he was lonely made that intention harder to anticipate. You had been expecting him to, now that you were gone, start some sort of relationship, not marry or anything, you didn't believe he would sacrifice your inherited title to be a husband again. "Is he ok otherwise?"

"He's fine just lonely." She said. "I made sure the staff are keeping him company when he's been alone too long."

"Thanks Summer." You said with a smile, glad she was here for him. "How have you and everyone else been?" The walk to the courtyard wasn't long but should be long enough for a catch up.

"They're all well. Little Julian has started courting the local tailor. We are all missing having you around though." You could sense a tone in her voice and felt a bit sheepish all of sudden.

"I haven't had time to visit until now." As you say it something clicks in your head. They all must have known you were powerful and didn't say anything. "Did my dad pay you to lie to me?"

Summer stopped walking and looked at you with a serious expression. "Is that why you've come?"

Well that's a very solid yes. "Yeah." Speaking to her had cooled your anticipation of the oncoming confrontation but you were very suddenly reminded of it. "I want to know why he made everyone –"

"You should speak with him first." Summer interrupted. The concern for your father was replaced with a conflicted cloud hanging from her aura. "He, he always wanted the best for you, but," she trialed off and looked into your face. A sad smile broke through the conflict. "You have your mother's eyes Christopher." She reach over and used her thumb to lift some hair from your face then left.

Well that was cryptic. You thought as you opened the door to the courtyard.

Your father was stilling on a bench looking at the forest. It was the same chair you sat on each morning after your routine. He looked smaller than usual, a slough to his shoulders, a bend to his back. You'd never seen him hold himself in anything but perfect posture. You opened you mouth to call his name when the word caught in your mouth. It had only been two weeks since you'd seen him. "Dad."

He sat up and turned then gave you a warm smile. "My son, you came to visit. I hope you aren't abandoning her highness to spend time with me." He sat upright then stood his perfect posture maintained. It was that that snapped you back into your conflict readiness, it probably wasn't but seeing him change his posture when he saw you, it felt like a lie made physical.

"Why did you lie to me?" Your voice broke at the end of the sentence and very suddenly eighteen years worth of unending adequacy hit you. Every time someone had waved your accomplishments off as something less than normal flash in your mind. Every time you regarded what you thought was an accomplishment being thrown back at you as expected plainness replayed.

Your father ran over and hugged you and as his shirt pressed against your face your tears wet it. You couldn't explain to yourself why you were cry even through you understood it. Your father had lie to you for years and your image of him was falling apart, your could be one or a hundred, the collapse of that foundation was a lot to handle.

"I'm sorry Christopher. I gave my word." His words made you push him back.

"What? You lied to me for eighteen years because you gave your word." You cut off as Summer's words made sense. "Mum?"

He blinked and you saw tears in his eyes. "I love her so much." His voice broke at the end just like yours had a moment ago. "She was," he laughed, "crazy." Then he cried. You reached over to reassure him, your own sadness forgotten to try and help his. "No," he waved you back, "no, I need to tell you something first." He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes with a sleeve. "Come." He walked back to his seat and patted next to him for you.

You joined him and looked out of the forest. Memories of the times he'd sat her watching you show him some magical feat you'd figured played in your mind, suddenly those times felt less happy now that you knew he was lying to you about everything.

"We met at my debutante ball. My mother had several potential suitors lined up for me. They were nobles of higher rank and all very proper for me." He shook his head in remembered amusement. "Your mother walked onto the stage with me said she had been waiting to meet me, picked my up and kissed me in front of everyone." He sated laughing. "Your grandmother was furious she jumped onto the stage to try and separate the two of us but your mother let me go and vanished. I hated her that night. I thought she'd ruined my coming out, removed any chance I had being a suitable husband and resigned me to never being married."

It was more than you had heard about your mother than any other time in your life. You hadn't been expecting to hear they met and she immediately she sexually assaulted him.

"At the end of the ball on the carriage ride home she appeared again with a book." He looked at his hands. "She scribbled something into it then gave it to me with a wink and ran off when my grandmother saw her. On the carriage ride back I opened it and she'd written, 'stories you can read our child'. I've no idea why I kept that book and didn't throw it away at the time. Now I know it was the best decision on my life."

You had memories of that inscription. Your father used to read to you when you were a baby and show you the note.

"After that she would show up at the estate to meet me. After a while I stopped shouting at her to leave me alone and we started talking. She was so confident. When I asked if she was a noble she said no and it doesn't matter. When I tell her I couldn't marry a non-noble she'd winked and say we didn't have to be married to have kids. When your grandmother caught us together she'd laugh and let the guards chase her off the estate before showing back up an hour later with flowers.

"When I figured out I was in love with her your grandmother threatened to disown me and have another child. Your mother looked her in the eyes and said if she did that she wasn't worthy of my being her son." He sighed. "You would have liked your grandmother, she was as stubborn as you are sometimes."

Unlike your mother your dad had mentioned your grandmother. She'd passed away a few years before you were born. When your dad told you it had been because her bodied had turned on her all you'd really thought about was how that must mean cancer was a thing in this world despite the healing magic.

"When we got married we tried to have a child but had no success. She never doubted she would get pregnant though, after three years I asked her how she could also be so confident. She smiled as said somethings aren't in our hands. The day she fell pregnant she looked so sad."

Sad? Wait, Clare's sister said your mother had talked to her and you believed they had been friends. Possible that she had just appeared as the Mother of All to every mother of her ten potential champions but you didn't get that feeling from her. From what your father has said your mother seemed to know things with a certain certainty.

"After that day she started spending more time in her study. I would hear voices but whenever I went in she was alone."

Clare's sister hadn't been lying then, which did mean that your mother probably could see the future. But this didn't really explain why he was telling you all this or why he had give his word to your mother to only call you adequate.

"Master?" Summer's voice from you said pulled your attention from your dad and when you turned you saw all the staff members were gathered around and all of them had watery eyes. "The letter." She walked around you and offer you dad a letter.

He took and smiled at her. "The night before your birth your mother told me that no matter what I couldn't allow you to believe you were more or less than adequate. We had the worst fight of our lives that night. She shouted at me when I refused, I shouted that I wouldn't lie to our child. The shouting only stopped when Summer arrived to tell us that some Priestess had shown up and was asking to see your mother."

"She stopped glowered at the wall so much I was sure there was someone there before she told me to send them away and get the birthing room ready." Summer said with a sad smile. Clare's sister had told you your mother had turned down religious intervention at her birth so that also checked out. Having the words of a Goddess backing up the words of your father was kinda weird.

"While she was giving birth she said I had to give my word but she left a letter for when you found out." He lifted the letter to you and you took it. It felt heavy. "When she passed it broke me. She was everything, I couldn't even visit you for weeks after your birth."

You looked at him confused, you are sure he visited you in your first few weeks in this world. But it was long ago and your brain hadn't worked quite that well back then. You looked at the letter in your hand.

"The word I had given to your mother was all I had left." He looked at you for the first time and his eyes were so red but there was no tears. "If not for that I wouldn't have come out of my room." Every part of him believed that and it made you ... feel ... the only reason he had been your father was because of your mother?

"That isn't true Master." Summer said glaring at him angrily. The two of you looked at her a little surprised at her interjection. "You love Christopher, and you loved him the moment you saw him. Zara's instructions didn't save you you just don't want to admit she stopped being the centre of your world after that moment." The glare in her eyes was very motherly. "Christopher your mother's parting wishes were –"

"Enough Summer." Your dad said cutting her off.

"No, you've been living in the hole she left in your heart for eighteen years because you thought not doing that would be a betrayal. We've obeyed her words and yours for years because we loved both of you with all our hearts but Christopher deserves more than you not allowing yourself to love outside her!" Summer shouted for the first time in your life at your dad.

While you dad stared at her you opened the letter.

'To my heart,

I am so proud of all you have accomplished. I love you more than you can understand for now and when you do I hope you think of this letter and I know you have been confused about who and what you are.

I told your father and the staff to never let you know about your power. Reading this I am sure the man you have become will struggle to feel any anger at them for long. But it was at my instruction. The life you could have lived knowing your might would have been worse than the one you live now.

I can feel you kicking my belly as I write this and I know you would have wanted to ask me lots of questions. I am sorry I cannot be there for you. I wish I could be but there is more than my wishes at stake.

You have earned the love you receive. Your power might have been granted but you have never once failed to earn it. I do wish I could have met your lovers, scaring them out of hurting you had me consider alternatives, but I know they are happy with you.

I love you with all of my heart,

Zara.

P.S. please tell Summer and your dad to stop arguing about what they should have done for you and just fuck already. Seriously it's been eighteen years and the two of them have been so obsessed with not betraying the memory of woman long since passed they've been miserable pretending they aren't in love. Everyone is sick of pretending they aren't head over heels for each other.

P.S.S sorry I can't tell you more about the ring but trust me, it'll be worth the wait, just keep doing what you've been doing.'

She drew a little winky face at the end.

You looked up from the letter at Summer and your dad arguing. Summer leaning down close to him, eye top hanging a little open to show off her chest. Your dad, eyes ducking down to check her lips every so often sitting up as straight as he could. Wow eighteen years and you didn't notice this, you're dumber than you thought you were.

"Stop arguing already." You interrupted the pair. Your mother could either see the future or Summer and your dad had been in love for way more than eighteen years. "Read this." You said hold the letter to Summer and pointing at the P.S.

She started reading then her eye brows raised and she looked at you then your dad then the page then at the rest of the staff with a blush growing. You looked around and could see your mother was correct. They all had knowing looks on their face and a few were looking rather frustrated quite a change from their previous teary eyed.

"What?" Your father asked reaching for the paper. Summer gave it too him and it was his turn to do the visual rounds. The staff seemed to have figured out what was on the paper based purely on the two's expressions and there was some growing anticipation on everyone faces.

"I should check the kitchen." Summer said standing back upright arms tightly held to her sides.

"Y-yes I will be in the study." Your father jumped up showing you the back of the letter.

There was a collective groan from staff and you took the letter back to read the last bit of the note.

'Do me a favour and tell the pair to check the kitchen and mop in my study after they've fucked.'

You let out a sudden laugh and the two looked at you. You showed them the back. "I think mum's pretty clear on this point."

The two read the line then looked at each other.

"Sir I ..."

"Summer ..."

The spoke at the same time and stopped to let the other continue. You checked the letter for any other messages you mother left to sped this up.

"I would like to sleep with you." Summer said very loudly.

"I ah," your dad looked at you seeking some sort of excuse to refuse. You studiously looked at the paper pretending to not notice. You will make excuses for yourself every day of the damn week but you draw the line at helping others. When he say you were on your mothers side and relaxes and takes in a breath. "I would like that as well." The two held hands and kisses shyly.

There was a cheer from the staff and Summer whirled on them. "I'm sure you all have other things to do than watch this." She snapped. The staff giggled as they went back inside and Summer looked at you. "Christopher." You held up the back of the letter again and Summer smirked. She linked her arm with your fathers and they walked to the door. After two steps they picked up the pace and when the door closed you worried you were going to find a trail of your dads cloths leading to his room.

You read the letter again. Your mother could see the future, and decently well at that. She'd been the one to demand you not learn you are powerful but her knowing the future made it somewhat hard to be mad at her. Perfectly possible if you knew you were powerful you'd have turned into a massive dick. You would however have very much liked a bit more info. If nothing else more than a wait and see about the ring around your neck.

You take said ring off and hold it to the letter just in case it does something. It doesn't and you put the ring back on. Relaxing your eyes to check if the letter had any magic reveals a plain old piece of paper. You lower the letter without focusing your eyes and you look out over the forest.

The sun was behind your head so the beacon coming from the furthest part of the forest you could see wasn't that. You look at the letter. Your mother could see the future to point she could write accurately enough to be involved in this moment she knew you'd see this. And she knew your dad was going to be occupied for a while. You grabbed the ring around your neck thinking of P.S.S.

You stand up from the seat. There is some degree of irony you think. Ever since you came to this world you've been looking for the call to adventure. Two Goddesses later who would have you'd have only gotten it now.