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Sky remembered very little of his parents. He knew nothing of his mother but what the pictures of her showed, and up until yesterday he had thought the same about his father. Andreas of Eraklyon was a soldier, a war hero, devoted husband and amazing friend. That was what his grave said, what Silva had fed him for years.
It was safe to say that Sky's thoughts were whirling as he watched, in horror, his father walk among the living. His horror and confusion had only been made worse by seeing his mentor being taken away, put under arrest for attempted murder of said father.
"Sky" Andreas said, crossing the pavilion as the soldier's cars drove away, taking Silva with them. Queen Luna was surrounded by guards, with Beatrix next to her, and she was turning to the crowd of students watching that scene unfold.
Sky turned to look at his dad, heart racing. He had dreamed of meeting him, understanding that guy... Now all he felt was a bitter taste in his mouth and certainty that he was not trustworthy.
“We have a lot of catching up to do, don’t we?” The older man said with a warm smile, just as Rosalind walked out of the school and greeted everyone as Queen Luna introduced her to the students “Why don’t we find a quieter place?”
Andreas gestured for his son to follow him inside the castle, and Sky felt as his body was betraying his mind as he walked forward- Even though his mind was scrambled to the point he couldn’t form a coherent thought.
Sky took one last glance back, watching as the crowd of students returned to their duties, Beatrix and Rosalind approached Riven, who looked to be just as confused and apprehensive as Sky was, then he walked in, following his dad all the way up to Dowling’s office.
“Where is-” Was the first thing that came out of Sky’s mouth and Andreas shrugged him off.
“She stepped back from the headmistress position- Son… It’s good to see you again” His father said, pulling Sky into a hug “You don’t know for how long I wished for this moment.”
Andreas was tall, largely built and warm and hugging him was incredibly comfortable. Sky couldn't stop himself from melting into it, hugging his dad just as tightly.
"I thought you were dead..." he said, strangled and blinking quickly to shoo the sudden wetness in his eyes. Andreas patted his back, still hugging him.
"I'm so sorry, Sky... I had to go into hiding, it wasn't safe for me to be around."
"But why couldn't you tell me?" Sky asked, struggling to keep his mind clear. He knew something was wrong, but he wanted so badly to have his father back. For this to be good news and not what his intuition kept hinting at him.
"Silva kept you glued by his side. If he knew you knew... I don't want to think of what that damaged man might have done..." Andreas pulled back, planting both hands on his son's shoulders "He's probably lied to you all these years. You need to know the truth about him, Sky. He's not a good man."
"Lied to me...?"
"Yes" Andreas nodded, circling Farah's desk and sitting down on her chair, "poisoned you against your old man, I'm sure."
Sky stayed quiet then nodded slowly, "Yes... He said all sorts of things."
Andreas pressed his lips in a sympathetic smile, "I'm so sorry, son. I need you to know I'm nothing like he painted me to be. If I could- If I could've reached out for you, I would have. I wanted you by my side, with Trixie."
Sky frowned "Trix...? You mean- You mean Beatrix?"
"Yes... She's your sister. I wanted to tell you myself, so I asked her not to."
"Wait- What?" Sky frowned, pacing the room and trying to process everything.
"Rosalind rescued her from Aster Dell, before Silva, Farah and Ben destroyed it, and placed her in my care" Andreas said calmly, resting his elbows on the desk and leaning forward "Sky, I want our relationship moving forward to be based on trust. Ask me anything, I'll tell you the truth. Silva and Farah have lied to you for many years already."
"What happened... When you were- When Silva tried to kill you? Why did he do that?"
"I found out his and Farah's plan to burn down Aster Dell and kill all the witches living there. I tried to stop them. Silva didn't like it. He left me for dead."
"And why- Why didn't you come for me?" Sky said, surprising himself with the amount of resentment in his voice, "When you didn't die, why didn't you come after me? I was raised by advisors and diplomats, dad! Silva wasn't there the entire time!"
"I was badly hurt, Sky. I needed time to heal. I was out for a month. When I came back to, Rosalind told me to wait. That she had a plan and that she needed me to raise Beatrix. I wasn't happy about it but I couldn't face Silva and whatever lie he had said about me in my state. I am so, so sorry, son. I wish there could have been another way but there wasn't. All that matters is that we're together now."
“Yeah… All that matters is that we’re together” Sky sighed, but inwardly, he knew. He knew his father hadn’t said a truthful word since arriving.
As soon as he got back to his room, Sky removed the harness of his uniform, throwing it on the floor and falling down back on his bed and yelling into his pillow.
He was angry, furious.
Sky wished he had known the truth about his father since he was little. That way he wouldn’t have put him on such a tall pedestal, dreaming he could see his dad again, thinking he didn’t have one. He wished he had appreciated Silva more, had treated him as his actual father and not just a fatherly figure in the empty spot Andreas had left.
The truth was, Silva was more of a dad to him than Andreas ever was, or ever could be, and now he had lost him.
Riven walked in without saying a word, going straight to his side of the room and robotically removing his uniform and changing into his lounge clothes. Sky took it as an opportunity to vent.
“Can you fucking believe all this? Rosalind the new headmistress, my father alive ?! We just got out of a battle, but the real war has just begun, huh?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, mate.”
“You were outside this morning, you saw what happened. They took Silva away, arrested him. My father said Dowling retired.”
“Good riddance.”
“I know you didn’t like Dowling but come on, Riven, don’t be such a dick.”
"A dick? Dowling was training us for rainbows and flowers, Sky. Some fairy tale. Look at these past days! We need a real leader."
Sky's frown deepened and he sat up straight on the bed, "Whatever, don't you think it's a little weird that Dowling would just retire? In this situation, without talking with any students? Just pack her bags and go? And Queen Luna arresting Silva..."
"For something he did" Riven pointed out, "He didn't even dispute it, Sky."
"Doesn't matter! My father- Andreas is shady, Riv. I can tell, I can tell he's lying to me-"
"No" Riven shook his head, "No, you're just confused. The guy is brilliant Sky, he's exactly what you need. A good leader, someone who can teach you how to-"
"Aren't you listening?!" Sky snapped, glaring at his best friend, "He's lying to me! And I don't need a fucking mentor, Riven. I'm as old now as he was when he had me! When he was into battle!"
"What makes you so sure Silva wasn't the one that lied to you?"
"Why are you defending him so much?! My father is not the good guy, Riven. Rosalind is not- Beatrix is-"
"Don't you fucking dare finish this sentence" Riven said, taking three large steps forwards and shoving his finger on Sky's face "This school was a shit hole before. Everything is going to be better from now on. Are you going to keep being an idiot and defend those assholes you called mentors? Or are you going to pick the right side?"
"I'm not going to pick anything, Riven, I already have! I'm not siding with those-" Sky interrupted himself, taking a look at his best friend. Riven was like a brother to him. A very annoying younger brother, but still. Nevertheless, since they had come back for the semester, his behavior had been weird. Much more bitter, acidic and whatever was that mess with Beatrix and Dane.
Still Sky had never thought he'd see Riven say they were better off without Silva.
"Those? Those what?" Riven asked, furious and Sky shook his head, all fight leaving him.
"You're not my friend."
"What? Sky don't be ridiculous-"
"I'm not being ridiculous. You've been- You've made yourself very clear. I think we want different things in life."
"You're friend breaking up with me? Sky stop being so goddamn melodramatic-"
"SHUT UP!" Sky yelled, making Riven look at him, startled, "From now on we're roommates and that's it."
Riven stared at him for a good three seconds before scoffing "Fine. You made your choice. We're done, then." And with that said, Riven grabbed his jacket and left the room.