"It's my fate, warrior Augustus."
"The blessed land demands sacrifice."
"Promise me, you will do your best."
"You are …family."
Watching the fleeting moments of his life, August fell into depths of his memories. What he was searching for —he had no idea. All he wanted was —to remember, to live, to be with his loved ones and to find something that was lost somewhere along the past.
Even if it might be another illusion.
The sights of his past which he knew of and didn't—converged together. The scenes shimmered before his eyes and superimposed upon each other merging into only one —true reality.
The process continued until he saw the very familiar sight clearly before his own eyes.
He returned to that day, only this time as a spectator.
— —
In a small town situated in a forest near the city of Eldoria, thunder was raging. For some reason the storm was more violent that day.
Raindrops fell continuously outside as Lord Valerius looked from the glassy window of his wood-crafted mansion.
He had a youthful appearance and usually carried a gentle carefree behaviour. But today his long ashen blonde hair was disheveled, and pacing before a closed door wasn't helping much to calm him down.
His gaze was fixed on the ominous clouds outside for some reason, making him recall his haunting past.
He was considered the lord of this small nameless town now but back in the days, he was someone very different from his current self.
He was unstoppable, facing deadly dangers with calmness. But that was in the past. Now Valerius was a family man. The chaos of the bloody battlefield —he had left all that behind.
But today there was no time to act all cool and composed.
"Calm down everything will be alright," a man who was sitting on the chair nearby said, "... can't recall the last time you were this anxious. Maybe the time you fought Aurelion?"
The man was Victor Fiona, a good old friend Valerius' but even his presence today wasn't helping Valerius much.
"Easy for you to say," Valerius replied.
"Hey!" Victor retorted, his deep blue eyes staring at his friend, sounding playfully offended, "don't mock the moral support."
"Sorry Victor," Valerius apologized immediately, "I just can't rest easy until I know my wife and newborn child are both safe and healthy."
"It's alright," Victor waved a hand, "but you don't know how strange it is to see the great Lord Valerius who has defeated countless foes ...anxious and a little bit afraid. So out of character for you, I'd say."
The great part he said with a more dramatic tone.
"Now it feels like you are mocking me," Valerius said, trying to sound playful.
Suddenly he remembered something, "Wait, isn't your wife pregnant too? How many months have it been again?"
Victor rolled his eyes, "can't recall."
Watching him act so casual about it, Valerius shook his head, "I already feel sorry for your child."
The tone wasn't serious for it was just a playful banter Victor has orchestrated in order to calm Valerius' nerves down.
"Say, what if we marry our children to each other," Victor proposed with a teasing tone, "that way we can be relatives."
"Nope, not happening," Valerius replied almost immediately, "I'd rather keep my daughter unmarried."
"What if I had a daughter?" Victor teasing continued, "immensely beautiful one at that. Would you marry your boy to my daughter then?"
Valerius did not reply for a moment, only stared at Victor in disbelief, "immensely beautiful? …Your daughter?"
Victor acted as if he was offended and then both burst into laughter.
Finally the door opened, and a nurse came out. Valerius looked at her with tensed expression,
"It's a boy," she said, making his mood ease up almost immediately.
As he walked into the room, his gaze passed the other two nurses —finally falling on his wife, who was holding their newborn son in her delicate arms.
As his wife, Lady Sophia looked back at him with a warm smile Valerius was amazed that even giving birth to a child had not affected her soft and elegant beauty.
Gazing back at her ruby red eyes, Valerius followed the trail of her long dark hair and finally his gaze fell on his newborn, who had just felt asleep in his mother's embrace.
The boy mostly resembled his mother, raven black hair, fair complexion and tender delicate skin. His tiny hands were clenched in cute fists.
Slowly Lady Sophia handed him to his father, careful not to disturb his sleep.
The weight of new responsibility fell heavy on father's back almost immediately as he held his hope, pride and joy in his arms for the very first time.
That small moment of emotion was enough for the tears to find their path through his eyes.
Overwhelmed with joy, Valerius hugged his wife with one arm holding the newborn in another.
"Thank you," he said.
Sophia caressed his hair gently, "Our family is now complete."
Valerius gave her a warm smile, "for me …it completed the day I married you."
Sitting in her husband's embrace while looking at her newborn son Sophia whispered,
"Give him a name."
Valerius fell into a thought but not so long after the smile found its way back to his face,
"Augustus," he said as though remembering a very pleasant memory of the past.
For a moment there was peace, until it was broken by the child's loud cries as the rainy storm outside began to intensify.
Young August opened his eyes as his mother tried to lull him back to sleep.
His eyes were dark like abyss hiding a tiny hint of red in them.
"What a unique colour," Valerius said, looking at his son with a hint of curiosity.
"This is a sign, our boy here is a very special child," Sophia said as August slowly fell asleep in her arms. Looking at her husband, she saw a troubled expression,
"What's bothering you?"
Realising his wife had caught up to the slight tension in his mind, that he was trying his hardest to hide from her —Valerius shook his head and forced out a smile.
"No it's uh.. nothing," feeling Sophia's gaze still on his face, he tried to act more natural as he held her hand, "really it's nothing."
Sophia put already asleep August in his cradle and hugged her husband with both arms,
"I know you still can't lie."
As though she also remembered something her smile faded slowly,
"I am fine now. Really. His curse hadn't followed me here. You can take it easy, it wasn't your fault you know."
Suddenly a crack appeared in Valerius' emotions, even though he had tried his best not to show, he felt a chill run down his spine when his wife mentioned that 'he', recalling his only living nightmare.
The biggest fear of Valerius' whom he feared might be looming above his son also, from now on.
"How can I possibly forgive myself? I am responsible for what happened."
"We," Sophia added, "we… are responsible. We both. I share every half of your life, don't you dare forget."
Hearing her heartwarming warning, a smile appeared on his lips, "You're right. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me."
"Would you look at that?" Victor, who had just appeared on the door, looked at both with expressionless faces, "the child is crying and the love birds are doing …what exactly?"
A hint of embarrassment appeared on both of their faces as Sophia rushed to pick August in her arms who had just started crying.
Valerius cleared his throat, "what is the matter to you huh? joy killer?"
Victor didn't react to his playful retort and only said, "there are people at the door."
"And they want …what exactly?" Valerius asked while playing with young August who was still in his mother's arms.
"Isn't it obvious?" Victor replied, "they want to see their young lord of course."
— — — — —