<6 Years Later>
Deep in the infamous forests of dread, lies a strange scene. This forest had taken the lives of dozen of strong adventurers, from rising wizards in the school of magic to members and descendants of low nobility.
However, regardless of its harsh environment and infamous stories, deep in this forest lay a pretty and peaceful cottage. It sits in the middle of a large clearing that is mysteriously bare of any wildlife besides the worms underground and the bugs required to keep the green forests alive. A strange sight indeed because in the clearing was a clean, freshwater lake, several resting spots under the sun, and a somewhat large garden at the side of the cottage; full of fruits and vegetables. And yet, not even a simple bird was near.
The contents of the cottage were a ground floor with a living room with two rocking chairs, a bathroom (AN: for those who are curious about waste disposal, the toilet is made of stone and is rectangular with dull edges. Disposal is done by a basic incineration rune), a kitchen, and a master bedroom. The second floor with two bedrooms and another herb garden that takes up most of the top floor. And an underground basement with a pool garden and a separate darkroom for plants grown in the dark.
Back at the top floor, in one of the bedrooms lays a boy, sleeping on a king-sized bed under a large silk sheet. The room is 18x14 feet and has a smooth and shiny wooden plank flooring. Everything was built orderly and professionally with a simple pattern in the placement of the wooden boards. Next to the boy's bed was a bookcase nailed to the wall with several books on the bottom shelves. Across from the bed on the other side of the room's wall was a large window placed in just the right spot for the sun to shine on the bed which lies neatly in a corner. There also sits a chest at the edge of the bed but besides that, the room was somewhat bare despite its cozy and welcoming look, with only an animal skull, a wooden dagger, a tiny toy dragon, and a small buckler shield made of wood.
The boy lying in the bed is young, just over 7 years old. His height sits at 4'2" and has some baby fat and his ears are long and pointed. His skin is a pale white with a nearly imperceptible blue tint. The hair on his head is straight with a natural steel grey color ending at his pointed ears.
After about an hour, the sun begins to finally rises just high enough to hit the boys' eyes directly, an effect from the boy forgetting to close the curtains and therefore waking himself very early in the morning. The young boy scrunched his face before sitting to stretch while yawning. Rubbing his face with his hands the boy finally opened his eyes. His breathtakingly beautiful pink eyes seemed to hold the depth of an actual diamond. The boy looked at his familiar surroundings, acknowledging that a new day had begun. The young lads' name was Nicholas Vesta Le Fay.
***
Waking up only made me wish I had stayed in bed. I had a bad headache for some reason. I sat up in bed with my face scrunched up for a couple of minutes hoping it would fade away. It didn't.
Sighing, I stood up from my bed and got dressed. Wearing a dark green shirt woven from some spider silk mom got from a giant spider cave and baggy pants of thin hide that ended on my shin.
Now fully dressed, I approached my bedroom door, which had a decently well carved image of an androgynous person with fairy wings so large that they nearly wrapped all of Gaia, our planet, which the fairy was orbiting. Opening it I stepped out into the warm hallway before trodding down the stairs to the living room and then the kitchen. Kalla had always woken up before me and at this time would be waking herself up with a hot cup of tea.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs and entering the living room, I saw Kalla sitting in her chair as expected. Kalla was beautiful for her age. At age 42, she looked like she was in her mid-twenties. Kalla was 5'6", she is short no doubt but it accentuates her curvy hourglass figure which held an impressive bust and a large, soft bottom that would leave men drooling. Her legs were deceptively delicate, long, and shaven. Her hair was her most dangerous quality, however, colored in a solid dark red that seemed to carry a depth and demanded attention at a moment's glance. Her eyes were a deep contrast to her hair, however; as they were a bright and clear topaz blue. Her face held an imperceptible blush, a rather cute nose, and a pair of natural, thin, rosy lips that seemed to pout slightly, drawing even more attention to her face.
Despite her attractiveness, where most would only see a top-class beauty, I didn't just see a mother "like" figure. I saw someone who cared for me, fed me, and did everything else required to raise me. She was MY mother, plain and simple, and nothing less. And she has cared for me my entire, short, 4 years of living. Okay, I haven't been with her for long but my heart still held a deep warmth for her. I already knew that I wasn't her child. Humans don't have wings. But I still loved her dearly.
My sudden appearance from down the stairs and through the living room had startled Kalla from her tea. To keep herself from spilling it; Kalla set down the tea and smiled at me softly before opening her lips, "You up quite early honey, is something wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
Snapping my gaze to her face, I responded sluggishly, "No... I just had a really bad headache."
Kalla gave me a short look of pity before casting a short spell on me. A light red glow at her fingertips and my mind was at ease. Magic. Great for curing headaches. Side effects may include death, pain, superiority complexes, lack of free time, and a need to go to school to know how to use it.
"Thanks, mom."
"No problem, just go to bed for a bit longer and breakfast will be done at 12 but you need to take a shower, so go get undressed and grab a towel."
"Okay."
I didn't dawdle and went back up the stairs as fast as I could on my hands and feet.
Walking back upstairs, I took a moment to look at the room opposite mine, Tia and Nadia's room. My older step-sisters, by 5 years each.
Kalla's girls, Tia and Nadia, were birthed from Kalla's own womb and fathered by a nice man who sadly had a gambling addiction, which he successfully hid from Kalla. He ended up three months late on a large payment and was offed for it. The guy behind it tried to get Kalla, Tia, and Nadia sold off to cover their 'losses' from Tia's fathers' debt.
Kalla was only a newly Journeyman rank mage at the time but she had recently made a forbidden contract with a Tuberci, a demon of gluttony serving under the devil of the gluttony sin Beelzebub, named Gula. The contract itself can do many things but she chose the option to increase her magical strength gradually with regular sacrifices of powerful creatures, granting a limited collection of certain selected powers or aspects of the most recent sacrifice, as well as short power boosts for a quick offering of something with strong magic.
So when the men came to take her and her two daughters, who were 5 at the time, Kalla offered a valuable magic heirloom for a power boost.
Long story short, they died. And then their bosses, their family, their friends, their associates, and the guard captain, town mayor, and lord of the land who allowed them to do what they wanted was killed too. She stole as many valuables from the criminal group as before running away into the next kingdom and then built her house in this forest. From what I remember her telling me, she had done a hasty sacrifice of a nearby drake, allowing her to form a temporary set of wings to escape patrols.
And then later she found me in the robbed caravan. Saved and adopted me, and brought me home with what would be my new family.
Entering my room I flop onto my bed.
I don't know why, but I felt I was forgetting something. I looked around my room and felt that everything around me was somewhat unfamiliar and foreign.
I sat in this weird state of mind for a few moments before I felt my head get fuzzy and like I was being zapped by tiny lightning bugs.
I sat there standing trying not to fall over when with one final zzzap! The feeling was gone.
I sat there... still. I was confused. I actually thought it was just my imagination or something I ate...
'Was some of the berries mom gave me bad?' I pondered as I sat down on the bed. I don't know what happened and I honestly didn't know what to think. Maybe it was magic? But I hadn't even gone outside yesterday. Maybe a side effect of the headache being cured?
I ran out of questions, no matter what I thought. Nothing made sense. And no matter how long I waited, the feeling never returned.
Maybe it's a fairy thing? I hope something bad isn't going to happen.
As the questions kept coming, I didn't notice the sudden drowsiness and sleepiness that was creeping up on me like a cat.
////////SLEEP////////