Late night rendezvous

Vel tried to go back to sleep but he was too restless. He got up and wiped away the worst off the perspiration before putting on a fresh nightshirt, grabbing his cane, and hobbling out, leaving behind a peacefully sleeping Adi. He wasn’t sure where he was headed, he just wandered in the direction of a large sitting room that was nearby. The thunder kept rumbling, and the rain was audibly spattering against the roof and walls. Vel met no one on the way, he figured it was still the middle of the night.

Arriving in the sitting room, he realized what had drawn him there. The middle part of the ceiling was glass, meant to allow sunlight in. Right now, it allowed him to observe the torrential rainfall. He moved towards the center of the room, his cane making loud clacks on the hardwood floor.

“Who’s there?” The voice startled him, and he tore his eyes away from the glass ceiling. Someone had been sitting in one of the armchairs, one that had its back to the door. She was out of it by now, coming towards him. “Oh, Velas, it’s you. Good evening, Son.” Lady Rienne looked spectacular, even in her nighttime attire. “Good evening, Mother, though I fear it is actually the middle of the night.” His mother kept slowly advancing towards him. “Yes, well, one doesn’t ever say good night as a greeting, does one?” She had a point. “May I ask what you are doing here, Mother?” She came to a halt a couple of feet in front of him. “Much the same as you I expect, the storm woke me and after that sleep proved elusive.” She was not a short woman, but even so she had to look up at her son. “So did you come here to watch the storm, because I think that’s what I did?” She softly shook her head, making those luscious red locks softly bounce. “No, just to listen. The rain on the glass, I find it calming. I often come here when it rains.” This felt strange, how long had it been since his mother had shared anything with him? He found he had no desire to talk to her like everything was okay.

“Well, I should probably leave you to it then. Sorry to disturb you, Mother.” He was going to turn and leave, but his mother reached out and gently took his arm. “Oh please, there’s no need for you to leave, we can sit and…” She trailed off, perhaps because she had seen the expression on his face. “And what, Mother? Pretend you did not neglect me for a little while?” There was genuine pain in Lady Rienne’s face for a moment, but it was swiftly replaced by anger. “How dare you speak to your mother that way?” Previously when Vel had reached for her mind, it had yielded nothing to him, but he tried again even so. Her membrane was still opaque, nothing had changed about it, but something had changed about him. He was stronger and more versed in the use of his powers. He could push past it now, like the mental equivalent of straining his eyes. Unlike using feeling on anyone else, which pretty much didn’t drain him anymore, this would take a toll on his reserves though. Her emotions were in turmoil. “You can’t honestly think you deserve better, Mother.” He saw some anger at his words, to be expected. More interesting were the large amount of guilt and a significant amount of resentment. He had an idea about those two, but he would probe to confirm. He quickly sent a little mind sliver off towards his mother.

Lady Rienne was visibly emotional, which of course just wouldn’t do. She took a moment to collect herself and once again present the flawless face of a composed noble lady. “I do not think, I know I deserve the respect a mother is due.” He knew his mother well. The genuine tone was gone, this was the noble lady act. “And I know very few people in this family deserve anything from me.” The probe returned and confirmed what he thought. The guilt was, predictably, for having failed him. She knew, as much she might be pretending otherwise right now, that she had fucked up. Knew she had not done enough. The resentment was for the strain he had put on her marriage, and the divide he had caused in the family. That was unfair to lay at his feet, but he supposed he could see where it might come from. Still, it wasn’t right, and it angered him.

“Now you listen here young man-“ Vel’s eyes felt hot, he locked them onto his mother’s green ones, and she froze mid-sentence, mouth still open. “No. You listen, mother. Listen and hear.” Her reply was slow, her eyes looked vacant. “I listen and I hear.” What? She seemed to be in some kind of trance. Had he stumbled on some kind of new technique again? “Mother, are you there?” No change of expression, but she answered. “Yes.” Huh. He waved his hand in front of her face, no reaction. He had definitely put in her in some kind of trance or similar state. She had answered his question with a simply yes, that was unlike her. Would she give simple and honest answers to anything? “You feel guilty for failing as a mother, don’t you?” Again, no change in expression. “Yes, I do.” This situation had a lot of potential, Vel wished he’d been able to plan for this. He had no idea what the limits here were. How long would this last? Would something too wild snap her out of it? He had kind of hoped he was done flying blind with these powers. “You also resent me for the strain my existence put on your marriage, do you not?” There was a slight twitch of discomfort on her face that alarmed Vel, but she answered. “Yes, I do.” Fucking bitch. “How is that fair? I never did anything except be born. You wish to blame someone, blame father!” She slightly shook her head, but the vacant expression remained for now. He was afraid his outburst might snap her out of it. “I do blame your father, but you did more than be born.” He struggled not to shout. “What? What did I do that was so bad?” Again, discomfort. “You made things more difficult than they had to be, always fighting with your father and Amordina, and you divided the family by dragging Adeline into it.” Now that was bullshit. Should he have just accepted any injustice his father felt like throwing at him? Was rebelling against unfair treatment making trouble? And he had not dragged Adi into anything. Wherever she had gone with him, she sprinted full tilt all on her own. He felt himself growing angrier.

Vel took a deep breath, shouting would just risk snapping her out of whatever this was. “Surely at least some part of you knows that it is wrong to blame me for that?” A slight nod. “Some part of me does, at least some of it.” Some of it? “There’s some part of you think its okay to blame me for? Which part?” It looked like she was in pain for a moment, it was more than a twitch this time, but she answered. “You made things more difficult. Always getting into arguments, you could never just stay quiet.” He was getting angry again, but he kept his cool. “But you know that you failed me? That you failed as a mother.?” She just looked sad now, but he was worried about the growing expressiveness of her face, it probably meant the trance was slipping. “Yes, I do. I failed you. I failed as a mother.” It felt… Well, maybe not good, but definitely cathartic to hear her admit that. Trance or no. “Do you feel bad about it?” A tear ran down her cheek. “Yes, terribly.” He could work with that.

Vel thought about what angle to play here. He didn’t think his mother would respond well to the idea of punishment to atone. She was proud and used to being in charge. Unlike Lynn, who was submissive and docile by nature, his mother would probably scoff at the idea. But perhaps he could play on guilt and maternal instinct? She failed as a mother, and she knew it, maybe he could give her a chance to make up for it?