"Where have you been Sebastian?", Evaleen demanded as Sebastian arrived with Thunder. Her face was etched with worry and her voice shook with unshed tears. He had skipped lunch and dinner and her fear had increased tremendously. Thinking maybe he was with Nicklaus, she took a quick trip to Beatrice's house. On getting there, her worry increased when Nicklaus told her they both returned since late noon. Taking her distraught self back, she stood outside her home, hoping to see him galloping back with Thunder. Noon passed and the sun went down the horizon and still, Sebastian didn't return. She began to sob quietly, her mind wandering around different possibilities that might have occured. Maybe he got hurt and had no one to help him. Or maybe he was ambushed. Or maybe he was lost. Different scary thoughts went through her mind until it got dark and she got tired of waiting. She entered the house and prepared dinner. Her appetite was gone but she had to prepare something for Sebastian when he returned. She prayed endlessly to the great gods to keep her son safe and bring him home.
The relief that coursed through her when she heard the sound of hooves was so much that she rushed to the door even before Sebastian got down from Thunder.
"Where have you been Sebastian?",she demanded.
"Evening mother",Sebastian said and jumped off Thunder's back. He led the tired stallion to the stable and provided enough water and hay for the animal. The look on his mother's face when he emerged told him she was angry at him.
"Can we go in first mother?",he asked.
"Answer me boy",Evaleen said angrily. "Have you no respect for me? You left home in the early hours of the morning and you're returning now?".
"If you would just listen mother..."
Slap!
Sebastian's head snapped back with the force of Evaleen's backhanded slap. He was beyond surprised. He turned shocked eyes towards his mother, astonished to see the tears she had been holding pour out. This was the first time for him to get hit by anyone.
"I will not have a son who won't heed my words",Evaleen sobbed. "You're man, so act like one. And until you do, you're not allowed to leave this house".
Sebastian suddenly lost it. He had been silent ever since but he couldn't bottle up his anger anymore.
"Why are you so worried each time I'm out mother?",he burst out in a fit of rage and Evaleen stepped back in surprise.
"You never let me mingle with other people. You lock me inside at all times. My childhood was spent inside this house. I never got to make a single friend, apart from Nicklaus who always came here with aunt Beatrice. I'm all grown up and you still keep a leash around my movements, telling me when and when not to go out! Why mother? What are you so worried about? Is there something you're not telling me?".
Evaleen stared at her son, her heart beating wildly in her chest. Was he suspecting already? Was she holding him back too much?
"Sebastian...",she whispered.
Sebastian stared at Evaleen angrily for a moment. Then he pushed passed her and went into the house.
Evaleen flinched as the door to his room slammed shut. She was left standing outside the house, feeling terrible for hitting her son and wondering why he would think she was hiding something from him.
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The portal at the Garden of Paraden rippled as an Angel passed through it. She had a thoughtful look on her face and didn't notice the Mother Angelic standing beside her.
"You look troubled Aurora",Mother Angelic said.
Aurora jerked and turned round abruptly. She wiped the thoughtful look off her face and smiled.
"Hello Mother Angelic",she said softly. "I didn't see you there".
"Of course you didn't",Mother Angelic said. "Did you find it?".
"Yes Mother Angelic",Aurora said. "I sent it back to the abyss".
"I'm proud of you Aurora",Mother Angelic said. "This was your first assignment and you succeeded. More will come. I hope you will be prepared for it".
"Oh I will Mother Angelic",Aurora said. "I'm honoured to be among the Angels who make sure the realm of the human world and the supernatural world is stable".
Mother Angelic smiled. "Did something else happen at the human world?",she asked while her eyes never left Aurora's face.
"No Mother Angelic",Aurora lied easily. "It took me a while before I found the demon. As soon as I banished it, I returned here". She felt terrible for lying. She was a Pure One after all. Sins such as lying tainted her soul unless she purified it again.
"So nothing happened to make you look so lost in thought?",Mother Angelic asked again.
"Nothing happened Mother Angelic", Aurora said.
"Good",Mother Angelic said. "You do know the story of Evaleen, right Aurora?".
"Yes Mother Angelic",Aurora said. "She left the garden to the human realm and she lost her memories as a Pure One".
"Yes Aurora. She lost her memories and she can never come back here because she has been tainted. She is no longer a Pure One. I don't want you to go down the same path. This is your home. Do not let the temptations of the flesh lure you away".
"Why are you telling me this Mother Angelic?",Aurora asked.
"I'm pretty sure you know why",Mother Angelic said.
Aurora lowered her head in shame. Mother Angelic knew she had met someone and she waited to be asked if she erased the person's memories. However the question never came.
"It's alright sweet child",Mother Angelic said and smiled genuinely this time. "Go meet your sisters".
"Thank you Mother Angelic",Aurora said and flew away to join the other Angels.
Mother Angelic stood watching her fly away with a worried frown. The time she dreaded the most was approaching and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She had read the scrolls of time and she knew a time would come when Aurora would leave the Garden, just like Evaleen and Serenity did a long time ago. And she wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
______________________________________________
"Sebastian?",Evaleen called as she knocked on Sebastian's door. On her other hand was a tray of food she held.
The door opened and Sebastian stared at her with a sad expression.
"May I come in?",Evaleen asked.
Sebastian sighed and opened the door wider for her to enter. His room was elegantly decorated. A large bed filled with plump pillows sat in the middle of the room, opposite the window facing the east. A bearskin material was thrown over one part of the bed covered with white sheets. A framed photograph of Evaleen and another one of him and Nicklaus as babies were positioned on the bedside table and Evaleen dropped the tray beside it.
"Mother I'm awfully sorry...",Sebastian began.
"No darling",Evaleen said. "I'm sorry. I've kept you locked in for so long that I didn't realize....I didn't realize that I was preventing you from meeting new people. I'm such a terrible mother...". She began to sob.
"Please mother, don't cry",Sebastian said and took Evaleen into his arms. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I know you're looking out for me. I'm sorry".
Evaleen knew she wasn't being completely honest with her son. The fact that she was actually hiding something from him made her feel terrible and she couldn't tell him the real reason why she was being so protective of him. A tiny voice within her kept urging her to tell him the truth but she ignored it. If Sebastian knew of his true father and him being the heir to the throne of Duville, she was terrified that he would leave her and demand to see the King. And once it was proven that he was the King's first son, his life would be in danger. The Princes wouldn't let him take the throne without a fight. And in the end, she would lose her son. So she hardened her heart and silenced the voice within her. One day Sebastian would meet a girl he would fall in love with and settle down with her. Then the secret would never have to be revealed.
"Are you feeling better now?",Sebastian asked.
Evaleen chuckled and released her son. She smiled at him and held his face in her hands.
"I'm always better when you're here with me",she said.
"Then I promise never to make you upset again",Sebastian said.
"It's okay darling",Evaleen said and turned to bring the tray over go him. "You must be hungry".
"Starving",Sebastian said and his stomach grumbled hungrily as the heavenly aroma tickled his nostrils. He took the tray from her and began to eat.
"You won't believe what happened today mother",he said and was about to tell her his encounter with the Angel he saw when a knock sounded on the door.