"Hey, Edmund, when can I go outside? I mean, really go out?" Edain, who was sitting on the couch, asked his father with slightly pleading eyes.
Edmund had just returned home from shopping when he was asked this. He set out the food he bought and began preparing lunch, "What do you mean by that? You've been outside before."
"You know what I mean… Don't act like you don't." Edain responded in a small voice. He wasn't being dramatic, as far as he could remember, he hadn't been outside the house for more than an hour since he arrived in the village.
Edain lives with Edmund in a small, old house, just a few houses away from the village chief's residence. Despite being surrounded by homes with children his age, he has never once spoken to any of them. Edain's life has been entirely inside his home. His only conversation partner was Edmund.
Edain had been content with his life, but recently, he developed a desire to experience at least a few things that others his age are experiencing. Edmund knew these feelings would arise, but he had no choice.
Edmund continued cooking as he guiltily responded, "You're only fourteen, it's not unusual to rarely be out of the house."
"Yeah right! I've seen many families with kids even younger than me out the window, as if it's totally normal!" Edain swiftly called him on his bluff.
Edmund frowned slightly, "What? You know you shouldn't be near the window during the day!"
"Why? Is it because I'll see that I'm the only one with black hair and eyes in this village?! I'm not stupid. Through the window, I've never any color darker than your light brown hair!" Edain raised his voice a little. Not that it was any loud because he'd always been soft spoken.
"Why does no one else look even remotely similar to me? Why do I have to stay trapped inside? Why have I only ever talked to you?!"
"Ed… you are just special. You have a uniqueness that no one else in this village can compare to." Edmund tried to salvage the situation, but he knew the actions he'd taken had already caused hurt Ed.
"If this uniqueness of mine is so amazing, then why am I never allowed to see others my age, why am I never allowed to exit this house, why am I never allowed to truly experience life?" Edain's voice quivered and fell toward the end of his question. "No… never mind. I'm sorry for raising my voice."
Edain closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. He slowly lifted himself from the couch, turned around, and went up the stairs to his room, softly closing the door behind him.
Edmund set the now-finished lunch aside, gazing sadly toward the south end of the village, "Haa… raising a kid is difficult. He's usually such a good kid too... It would be better if he actually shouted when he was upset instead of just raising his voice a little." Edmund sighed.
He put the finished lunch into a magically sealed box so it would stay fresh and warm before placing it into the pantry. Edmund stood in contemplation for a while, before he let a small smile form on his face "I suppose I should pay the Dores family a visit. I wonder how little Aite is doing?"
He got up and headed to the door, not forgetting to shout up to Edain. "I'll be back in a few hours! The food is in the pantry!" He heard a door open and a distant response. "Okay. Be safe."
Despite his problems, Edain still saw Edmund off with a smile.
...….
— Kno-Knock
Jett heard a knocking at his door which caused him to pause his training.
"Aww Daddy, why'd you stop, it was interesting!" A little girl, Aite Dores, complained to her father.
Jett laughed slightly and raised an eyebrow, "You were that interested in my training?"
Aite jumped up with fervor, "Yeah! It was really cool! Your sword went swoosh left and woosh right, then you went even faster and I couldn't see it at all!" As she mimicked the moves of her father, her dark brown hair swayed in the air.
Jett smiled at his innocent daughter who was happily unaware of why he was truly training so hard despite having retired from the village guard.
— Kno-Knock!
The knocking resounded again, this time accompanied by a familiar voice. "Jett! I know you're home, I can hear you talking!" As Jett was about to head out of the training room to answer the door, his wife answered it.
"Hello Edmund, what brings you to this side of the village? Did you finally start to miss us~?" Jett's wife Lily instantly recognized the guest and welcomed him in with a wink.
"Not in the slightest." Edmund instantly rejected. "I'm not here for you guys. I'm here to see little Aite. I haven't seen her since she was just born." Edmund said with a smirk.
"Ahh~, I suppose you haven't seen her since she was a toddler because we had to move out here to the edge of the village." Lily said with a slight sadness in her eyes which she quickly pushed away.
At this point Jett had entered the room while Aite went to the living room to hide from the stranger. Jett lightly laughed at his daughter before he joined the conversation, "You talk of our daughter but I heard a rumor a while back that you've been taking care of a kid yourself."
Lily was very surprised by this and asked, "Is that true? I thought you never remarried or even got close enough with another woman to have a child?"
"Though I'm not sure how the rumor got out, you are correct in thinking that. My son, Edain, isn't actually related to me. He's also the real reason I've come to see you and your cute little daughter."
"Aww~ I'm sad. You only visit us when you need something." Lily said with a fake pout before letting out a laugh as she poked fun of Edmund like the old friends they where. "How old is he? Aite hasn't really made any friends for reasons which should be obvious. This could be a good chance for them to meet. It'd be even better if they're similar in age." Lily smiled, but once again had a sad face when she mentioned 'reasons'.
"Yeah, I think so too, though, they're similar in more than just age…" Edmund had a somber expression on his face as he alluded to something.
The couple's eyes widened to ovals as they realized what Edmund had meant. "You don't mean… he's…"
"Come to the living room, we need to talk more thoroughly about this." Jett told Edmund who easily complied. They migrated to the living room, scaring Aite on the way.
...….
"You're crazy! Truly crazy!" While Jett sounded as if he was insulting Edmund, his face had a beaming smile for the first time in a long while.
"Who's crazy?" A small girl, ten year old Aite Dores, entered the room asking. She now seemed used to Edmund's presence in the house.
"Ahh, Eddy, this is my daughter Aite. She is the cutest thing to bless this world and I won't accept any statement otherwise!" Jett introduced his daughter.
Aite was a little ten year old girl with dark brown hair tied in pigtails and light green eyes with a child like innocence shining through. She was wearing a cute, white and green dress with frills.
"So this is the cute little girl you've been praising." Edmund nods his head while admiring. Aite was the only Jett talked about whenever he and Edmund went out for drinks.
"And every word I've said has been nothing but the truth! Aite is the cutest thing in the world, and your kid couldn't even compare!" Jett praised while pointing aggressively toward Edmund.
"Yes, yes, you're right, my kid can't compare to the cuteness of Aite." Edmund said with an accommodating expression. "That said, he's ten times as handsome as you ever were!" Edmund exclaimed with a broad smile.
"Sounds like your saying I'm not as handsome as I used to be." Jett put on a fake offended face before laughing.
As the two shot insults back and forth, Lily spoke with an unnaturally serious, hopeful voice, "We've digressed. Eddy, what you said about your son. Where you being serious, is he really like Aite?"