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The first thought that came to Audata’s mind when she awoke was: Khaslana. Phainon. Her little boy.
As she looked around the area, she spotted Hieronymus, looking around the place in wonderment. She slowly approached her husband, walking past a mismatch of many different people. Some that were clearly people from Castrum Kremnos, others that she knew personally, and maybe even Okhemans. Hieronymus met her halfway, holding onto her hand tightly, prompting her to ask, “Have you seen Phainon?”
Hieronymus gave her a worried look that was surely reflected on her own countenance. “I dont… I haven’t found him yet.”
Audata sucked in a sharp breath, counting down to ten in her mind. She could feel the sheer spike of fear bubbling underneath the surface. She briefly felt Hieronymus squeeze her hand. “Dear…” He walked around her so that he was standing in front of her, and tilted her head up with a hand to her cheek to face him properly, “We will find him, we will.”
She nodded her head at this, “Okay. Yes.”
As they walked down the unknown location, hand in hand, Audata could hear the people whispering about some ‘deliverer from beyond the sky.’ Her curiosity piqued, she tried to listen to conversations to try and gleam more information.
“It’s thanks to the chrysos heirs that we can finally be free!” She overheard some woman whisper vehemently at another lady.
“Personally, I think this is all a ruse. Some fake propaganda to make them look better.” The haughty lady rolled her eyes, a hand resting on her hip.
“Whatever, Lady Aglaea doesn’t deserve your petty skepticism.”
Bits and pieces of conversations filtered through her ears as Audata tried to look out for her son among the masses. Her husband noted out loud, “People keep mentioning these ‘chrysos heirs,’ you don’t think it might be related to Phainon, do you?”
Audata exhaled shakily, “I… hope not.”
For what feels like forever, Audata and Hieronymus walk along the visible pathways before reaching a, sort of, public hot baths? Audata stares in bemusement, as Hieronymus choked in a laugh. Suddenly, as she stared at the baths, Audata could feel the moment everything clicked in her mind.
“We’re in Okhema.”
“What?!”
From the pure absurdity of it all, Audata couldn’t help laughing almost hysterically. She heard her husband sigh next to her, “How are we gonna find Phainon like this?”
“We could try…” Audata looked around the place before suggesting, “asking around?”
With that settled, Audata and Hieronymus walked around, conversing with various Okhemans regarding a child with white hair, and bright blue eyes but those features weren’t exactly uncommon here. Without a proper lead to follow, they felt the desperation biting underneath their skin.
Audata held back a sob, covering her hands with her face as her husband held onto her shoulders as if to keep her from falling, “What are we gonna do? At this rate—”
“Mom?” That voice…
They froze. Audata took in a shuddering breath before glancing up in front of her, body shaking before gasping at the sight before her. There was her son in all his glory - except, except he was older. Little Phainon. Her baby boy. Khaslana. She stared in shock until her precious (not so) little boy ran up to their arms in a hug, “Mom, Dad! It’s – It’s really you!”
Audata couldn’t hold back her tears. She held onto his… cape? With a shaking hand, head nuzzling his neck. “Khaslana…” She whispered, “What happened?”
She could feel him tense up in her arms. God, she couldn't even wrap her arms around him entirely. How much time had passed, she wondered, for her boy to grow up and she wasn’t even around to see it. Standing here, with someone she practically didn’t even know, all Audata could feel like was a failure.
“Mom, I…” Phainon whispered, taking a step back as he wiped his tears, “There’s so much I have to tell you guys.”
Turns out, her son was a chrysos heir! A godforsaken prophesied demi-god that was supposed to take up the mantle of titan except that wasn’t even the worst of it, he lived through more than 33 million cycles?! It sounded like something straight out of a nightmare. The amount of suffering he must have gone through, Audata sighed, her head in her hand.
Sensing her discomfort, Hieronymus walked up behind her, “What’s wrong, dear?”
“I just… I feel like there must be something I could – we could do for him.”
“Hey, hey,” he sat down beside her and held onto her hand in between his, placing it on his lap, “We’re here now, okay? And we’ll do whatever we can for him.”
“It just, it doesn’t feel like enough,” Audata grimaced, “and look at him! He’s not that little boy we knew anymore, who knows if he even wants us here!”
Hieronymus tightened his hold, “But we have to try.” Audata nodded, a determined glint in her eyes, despite the fact that she felt her throat close up.
Audata abruptly stood up, her body tightly woven like a puppet being strained by its strings, “Let’s get going, Phainon’s waiting for us.”
They met with their son near their temporary house - hotel? Whatever it was. He shyly waved at them from afar, and Audata could feel her heart start back up from the pure wave of love that ran through her. Even after all those years - billions, god - she could still recognize those parts of him that accompanied them from when he was still just her child without this prophecy of worldbearing holding him down. As they walked up to him, Phainon admitted that there were some people, the other chrysos heirs, Audata assumed, that he wanted to introduce them to.
It wasn’t a long walk, and both Audata and Hieronymus got the chance to ask Phainon some much needed questions. Specifically on how he was doing and handling the current situation. Audata was able to learn about her son was his newfound ability to deflect from answering those questions. One thing she could concede on was the fact that her son grew up well. She wondered if he’d found a partner by now, or if he’s been waiting for the one, knowing how much of a romantic he used to be - influenced by Cyrene, obviously. That girl, Audata sighed, if only she was still here…
She could barely wrap her head around what had truly happened. Cyrene was permanently stuck in the past, in time? Audata shook her head, ridding herself of those grim thoughts. The very idea that someone as pure-hearted as Cyrene could be lost forever to time made her want to burst into tears, but this was not the time for that. Soon after, they arrived at an idealistic location, little chimeras running around the sunlit garden with pretty pink cherry blossoms blooming among the scenery.
“Lord Phainon!” A cute girl with pink pigtails called out, walking up to Phainon and his parents, “Have you been taking care of yourself? Lady Aglaea mentioned that you’ve been busy, I hope you’re not ignoring my recommendation,” She scolded as Phainon chuckled, scratching the back of his neck, “Oh! And who’re they? You must be Lord Phainon’s parents. Hi, my name’s Hyacinthia but you can call me Hyacine.”
Phainon smiled, “She’s a healer from the Twilight Courtyard, uh I don’t think I’ve shown you guys around yet, huh? She’s also a fellow - well not anymore - chrysos heir.”
Audata chuckled at her son’s ramblings, “It’s always nice to meet a friend of Phainon’s, I was worried he would be too shy to make new friends outside of Aedes Elysiae. You see, he was always trailing after Cyrene like a duckling.”
“Mom!” Phainon whined, a blush rising to his cheeks, “I’m an adult now. Of course, I can make friends just fine.”
Audata giggled, while her husband chuckled, hiding it behind a cough. He smiled indulgently at Phainon, “Son, your mom is just teasing.”
Phainon huffed, pouting, “This isn’t what I meant when I said I wanted to introduce you to my friends.”
“Ah,” Hyacine’s eyes glistened underneath the shining sunlight, “I saw Cassie and Lord Mydei near the fountain earlier.”
Audata watched as her son’s blush darkened, “Thank, Miss Hyacine.” Then he added as an afterthought, “And please just call me Phainon, I think we’re past that stage, yeah?”
Hyacine giggled as she teased him further, “Of course, Lord Phainon.”
Phainon rolled his eyes goodnaturedly, a bright smile on his face which made it harder for Audata to cover her own. As they walked towards the fountain on the long-winding stairs, Phainon talked about Hyacine and her impressive healing abilities as well as how she used to be the teaching assistant to another chrysos heir that went by Professor Anaxa. On the way, they ran into a girl with purple hair and butterflies and flowers adorned her gorgeous dress.
“Miss Castorice,” Phainon grinned at her, holding out his hand to which she squeezed minutely before letting go – something Audata filed away for later, “These are my parents. Mom, Dad, this is Castorice.”
“Nice to meet you,” His parents enthused simultaneously. Castorice smiled sweetly, and Audata almost swooned from her gentle features alone, “I’m so glad Phainon was able to find you again.”
Hieronymus tilted his head, “As are we, truth be told.”
Audata grabbed his hand, holding on, “Thank you for being there for our son.”
“Lord Phainon was always there for me, just as well,” Castorice looked at Phainon as their gazes met in a silent conversation, something that held back the true meaning of her words. Regardless, Audata found that she was beginning to accept their relationship, even if she wasn’t there to see it form. “It makes me happy to know you guys had each other.”
Castorice smiled once more, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, I should get going, I promised my sister we’d grab lunch together. Lord Phainon, Lord Mydei was waiting for you earlier.”
She tentatively laid a hand on his shoulder as a parting, before waving goodbye to his parents. At the touch, Audata and Hieronymus briefly glanced at each other, a signal. Not wanting to call attention to it, they both let it slide, promising to themselves that they would discuss it later. As they continued on their way, Audata had to get in a comment, “She’s really cute!”
Phainon giggled, “Isn’t she?” He sighed, glancing downwards - clearly pondering something but moved on a minute later.
“Mydei!” Phainon called out once they ascended the stairs, a shimmering fountain in the middle with a - frankly speaking, scary looking man, Audata had to admit - with his blood red tattoos and his bare chest visible. “Come meet my parents.”
Hieronymus, from beside her, was visibly trying not to sweat. “Guys, this is Mydei,” He gestured to the man that had walked up to them, a blank look on his face, “He’s the Crown—ah, King of Castrum Kremnos, actually!”
Both Audata and Hieronymus audibly gasped, while Mydei clicked his tongue at their son, “HKS, you don’t need to bring that up when I’m meeting your parents.”
He turned to them, “It’s my pleasure.” Despite what he looked like, he sounded regal and was graceful enough to not be mistaken for mere country folk.
From up close, Audata could see the appeal. He had long beautiful hair, with a braid on the right, and truth be told he was well-built. It made sense that he would flaunt it. “The pleasure is ours, your majesty.”
Her son coughed, hand barely covering his smile. Mydei side-eyed him before sighing exasperatedly, “Please, Just Mydeimos or Mydei, if you prefer.”
“Oh, we could never refer to you so informally,” Hieronymus spoke up, shaking his head. For some reason, that set a frown upon the King’s countenance. He glanced once more at her son, his eyes held a question she couldn't parse. Phainon, however, just shrugged. A cheeky grin on his face.
Just then, he threw a casual arm over the King’s shoulder, stumping Audata momentarily. “Mydei, here, taught me everything I needed to know when it comes to fighting.”
Oh, those claws – gauntlets? Caught her attention, glinting underneath a ray for sunlight. Her son was such a precious little thing, befriending everyone around. It’s no wonder he’s friends with someone as scary as the King of Castrum Kremnos.
“That’s not true,” Mydei responded, bringing Audata out of her spiral, “You were plenty strong by the time we met.”
Phainon’s grin widened, before he gasped as though remembering something, “You guys,” he turned to face his parents, “You should meet Mydei’s parents! Oh, Mydei – they have to try your cooking, he’s a great chef.”
“Hm, I recall that you didn’t share that same sentiment before—” Phainon cut him off, “I wonder why, anyways, that’s not the point right now.”
With the way the current conversation was going, these two would soon forget whose presence they were in. Before it could come to that, Hieronymus cleared his throat, just as Audata added in, “That would be lovely, dear.” She looked at Mydei, “We would be delighted.”
He blinked owlishly, his cheeks dusted with a light blush completely underwhelming the previously fearsome look. “...Of course.”
She shared a look with Hieronymus.
Turns out, Audata jumped to conclusions regarding her son’s and Castorice’s relationship. In her defense, the moment she saw the first sign of affection, she couldn’t help but start making assumptions. Mostly because she knew she missed out on watching her son grow, and was just automatically fearing the worst. Not that she has anything against the idea of him in a relationship, she just… wanted to be there to watch him fall in love.
On the other hand, she couldn’t begin to fathom what exactly Phainon’s relationship with King Mydei is.
One rather slow afternoon, Audata found herself on a walk around the marmoreal market. She strung herself along the long winded roads of Okhema, until she heard a distinctly deep voice ask, “How much did you tell them?”
“Enough.” Phainon. Then that other voice must have been King Mydeimos. She inched closer, noticing their silhouettes around the corner of someone’s place. She hid behind the corner, watching as they talked. “I couldn’t… I mean what could I have said?”
“HKS, they’re your parents.” Mydei crossed his arms over his chest, “You worry over such meaningless things.”
Phainon huffed out a breath as Audata felt her hackles rise, how dare he say that about her son!?
“That might be true… but how can I not?” She watched as her son self-consciously rubbed his arm, looking forlornly at the ground.
“Phainon.” Mydei stepped closer, “They are your parents. They love you and will continue to do so. You shouldn’t be afraid to let them in.”
Oh. Nevermind, Audata took back her previous statements about Mydeimos, maybe he isn’t that scary after all. As she stood there, peering over the corner of the building, Mydei had grabbed Phainon’s hand in his own, albeit gauntleted hand.
He slowly brought it closer to his face, gazing upon it like it was something deserving of such reverence. He brought it as close to his lips as he could without it touching his face before turning it so thought Phainon’s palm was facing his lips, and softly, almost gently, kissed it. “Mydei, what–?!”
Phainon wrangled out a sound that could only be described as a dromas choking on multiple chimeras. From where she was standing, Audata was unsure of the look on her son’s face but what she was certain of, was the fact that he was obviously blushing from that display of affection.
“You can’t just do that!” Phainon complained, voice teetering into a whine. Mydei let out a humoured huff, pulling Phainon closer with the hand that was lodged in his own. “I can do whatever I want, HKS.”
Phainon pried his hand away, taking hold of Mydei’s face. “Of course you’d say that,” Phainon said, tilting his face to the side and laying a kiss on his cheek before running away, cackling as Mydei chased after him, “HK—Phainon!”
Audata stayed where she was until she couldn’t see them from a distance, muffling a giggle behind her hand. As they prepared dinner for the night, Audata couldn’t help but comment, “I think Phainon and Mydeimos are – are together.”
“Together?” Hieronymus questioned, “Like together together?”
She rolled her eyes, “Yes. Romantically. Lovers. Partners, whatever you wanna call it.”
Hieronymus hummed, “I don’t know… Don’t you think he would have told us if that were the case?”
“What if he just wasn’t ready to tell us?” Audata argued, hands on her hips. Hieronymus shrugged, “Could be. But, Honey, either way it doesn’t matter until he does tell us.”
She sighed and sat down next to him, placing her head on his shoulder, “You’re right.”
He kissed her forehead, “We’ll be here for him until he does.” She nodded, planting a soft kiss on his lips.
The next time she sees them, she’s with Castorice. By chance they met near the cherry blossom trees once again, jumping from topic to topic. It wasn’t until she noticed her son sparring with Mydeimos that she felt the sudden need to ask Castorice about them but she held back.
Castorice didn’t seem to share the same qualms, “Oh, there’s Phainon and Mydei! You know, they once engaged in a 10 day duel.”
Audata stared blankly at her, “What?”
She nodded her head enthusiastically, “It’s actually what helped them become friends.”
Ah. Well, Phainon always did plan on visiting Castrum Kremnos to learn how to fight. In hindsight, it makes sense that this is what they connected on. Still, Audata worried after him, after all – warriors often got hurt, and her son wasn’t an invulnerable being. She asked, “Is there a way… you could get me an audience with the prince? Uh… whatever they call it,” she blushed, mortified.
Castorice giggled, placing a hand on her shoulder, “It’s okay, Miss Audata, I understand. I can ask him when he’s available for a conversation? I’m assuming you don’t want Phainon to know, correct?”
Audata nodded, biting her lip shamefully, “Oh, you must think I’m a pathetic mother…”
“No, no,” Castorice shook her head, “I know you’re worried about your son. Dare I say, that might even be rivaled by Mydei’s concern for Phainon.”
Her voice toned down to a quiet hush, “You see, the first person that would be wracked with constant concern whenever Phainon was off fighting alone or injured, was always Mydei.”
“Really?” Audata blurted out; she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, “My apologies, I do not mean to doubt his highness, I just… they really are that close.”
Castorice smiled calmly, “Phainon was never alone. He always had us,” she sighed then, “Even if he felt like he was at times, he never was.”
Audata exhaled, feeling like all the life inside her was sucked out, “A mother really can never stop worrying about her children,” she smiled weakly, “I’m glad you were there. That you all were.”
Castorice crossed her hands in front of her body, one on top of the other, “We are too.”
Castorice does her due diligence and manages to get the prince to agree to meeting Audata, or rather, she plans a meet-up without their knowledge and coincidentally doesn’t show up.
“Your highness,” Audata greeted him.
Mydei gave her an amused smile, “Please, call me Mydei, I can’t have Phainon’s mother of all people treat me like some kind of royalty.”
Audata tilted her head, “But you are… royalty?”
Mydei coughed to hide his laugh, “Yes, I—” he sighed, not unkindly, “You’re right, I just…” he hesitated, a blush high on his cheeks, “I would really like it if you called me that.”
“Okay, then you must call me Audata,” she argued, adding on, “Or, mother, if you’d prefer.”
She watched as his face reddened, and held back a giggle. Mydei didn’t seem to mind the joke, and instead, smiled to himself. Almost as if there was a hidden secret involved.
Determined, Audata said, “You better not be marrying my son without my permission, young man.”
Mydei froze, seemingly mortified, “No, I–I wouldn’t do that to you, uh… Au-Audata.”
She smiled disarmingly, “I appreciate that, Mydei.” She watched as Mydei’s shoulder relaxed, realizing that somehow, she made him feel nervous.
“I do have to ask,” she began, “What your intentions are with my son.”
“I want to marry him,” Mydei answered immediately, “He makes me happy and I would like to return that favour to him.”
“I doubt he sees it that way…” Audata commented.
“Yes, I’m aware,” Mydei sighed, arms limp at his side, “That’s part of the reason as to why I’m desperate. Phainon keeps telling me he wants nothing more from me than my presence, but I do. I want much more.”
Audata hummed, “And is there a reason why… you can’t just say that?”
“I can’t,” Mydei shook his head, “Phainon’s always putting other people’s needs and wishes above his own, if that’s the case here…” Mydei trailed off, sighing, “I don’t know what I’d do.”
“I understand, Mydei, but you need to be honest with him. That’s the only way you two will be able to properly build a relationship.”
“What if… what if he doesn’t want to?” Mydei looked pensive, almost fearful. Audata’s heart broke to see that.
“Then you wait for him,” she said as if it was simple, and she knew it wasn’t but sometimes, if things weren’t meant to be, then that’s all it was. Nonetheless, she knew Phainon and Mydei were written in the stars. “You love him, yes? Then you do him right by telling him, and if he loves you back, he’ll tell you.”
All’s well that ends well, it seemed. Or at least that’s how Audata perceived it when she saw her son covered in bruises and bite marks. She stared at the culprit in poorly concealed judgement. Mydei had a deep red flush on his face, and Phainon was practically sparkling.
“I see everything’s worked out,” She said, crossing her arms. Phainon spluttered, glancing back and forth between his mom and Mydei.
“Yeah,” Mydei smiled, hand interlocking with Phainon’s. Audata grinned.
“Good,” she patted his shoulder, “Take care of him for me.”