|
When Kids Grow Up
Posted: 22 Sep 2005 12:16 AM |
"Father... Father!"
Freya was horrified when she walked into her parent's apartment in the Icy Vale. There was her father, passed out on the floor, face up in a pool of his own vomit. Her mother was nowhere in sight.
"Damnit, Father, wake up!"
Freya quickly sprung into action. She first checked for breathing - Father was alive, but barely. After sweeping out his mouth and upper throat with her index finger, she turned him over on his side and began slapping his back to dislodge any foreign objects and promote breating.
He gasped loudly, and an audible gurgle emerged from his mouth. He was alive and breathing, for now. She quickly got him to his feet, slung him over her shoulder and carried him over to the Hot Springs. Surely Shaldriel would be able to help him further...
"Your father will be fine, Freya." He gave them both a weak thumbs up, then closed his eyes to rest. Freya could see on Shaldriel's face, however, that Father wouldn't be fine. Freya and Shaldriel walked outside, to the edge of the spring, to discuss the situation more candidly.
"He is not long for this world, Freya. This was a desperate call for help. With your mother gone, he has nothing to live for anymore...."
Freya cut her short. "My mother is gone? When?" she said incredulously.
"About a week ago. He came home after a late night of drinking at the Inn. I... think he tried to hit her again. She took all the possessions she could and ran straight into Whipsnade Pass."
Freya turned from Shaldriel and looked out onto the hot spring.
Shaldriel waited a moment, then spoke again. "He will recover. However, he will have to find a new place to stay. They are evicting him from the boarding house. And with all his woodworking tools gone, sold for ale, he has nothing. Nothing but..."
Freya whispered softly into the night's air. "... me." A solitary tear welled up and crested over her eyelid, and streaked down her cheek. "I never wanted this, Shal. This is why I left. I didn't want to be tied down to this."
Shaldriel nodded. "But here we are."
Freya now turned to Shaldriel. "I cannot keep doing this. Please, help me find a solution. What can I do for him?" She cast a mournful look back at the watermill.
Shaldriel came closer to Freya and put her hand on Freya's shoulder. "Go speak to Big John in the Farmlands. He's always looking for farmhands, and I know he can put your Father up in his house. If he can stay sober, he can start rebuilding his life."
Freya nodded and gave Shaldriel a hug. She had always been there for her, through all the nicks and scrapes, the broken ankle she suffered climbing the cliff faces near Spirit Lake, the death of Freyr and the family troubles. She slowly walked towards the farmlands, hoping to find a solution to a problem ten years in the making... |
Fury Hokkunen, Elven Rogue
Freya, Human Fighter |
|
  |
|