The first thing Willow noticed when he'd awoken was the sweaty breeze of the afternoon winds pouring in through his windows. His head still tingled slightly as he assessed his surroundings.
Looking around him, he saw that he'd been transported to his bedroom, shared with his sister - that same person was sitting on a chair beside him, holding his hands as she rested her head on his thighs, merrily sleeping into the afternoon. A warmth spread across his chest as he felt nostalgic, having a younger sister who also dearly looked after him in his previous life as well. He laid his hands on her head, stroking her hair gently as a mother would do her children.
Drinking a bottle of water, he smiled at how their bedroom had grown alongside them. The drawings of Willow by Elm when she'd only been six years old on the walls that had resulted in a scolding from their mother. Scratches on their bedframe from one of their only fights they had back when they were both nine years old, when little Elm got jealous over a girl trying to, in her words, 'steal him away' from her although he never intended on going out with a kid. His mental age was still that of an adult male after all.
"Good times," Willow hummed.
A window and a chest separated his bed from Elm's - both around the same size but he could see the modifications their mother had worked on Elm's bed so as to accommodate her growing height. Beside Elm's bed was her wardrobe, and an assortment of awards all in the weapons handling and hunting category that told of her prodigious talent in the battlefield but Willow knew this was barely an ice-cap compared to the many achievements she would achieve in the near future.
The near future. Those words brought dread and an uncomfortable anxiety mixed with a hint of excitement to Willow.
He knew that tomorrow, everything would change and there was nothing he could do about it. But as tomorrow would be the end, it would also be a new beginning for Willow. That was if his plan worked.
He made sure to eliminate as many ifs in the plan as he could but then again, this was a world of magic and swords. A dragon could pass by tonight and lay raze to the entire town. Anything could happen.
All he could do was pray and hope nothing bad happened.
He was brought out of his musings as he felt Elm stir in her sleep.
"Brother. . ." She bit her lips, a habit of hers whenever she wanted to say something but was too scared to say it.
"I know," Willow said. "Don't worry about it. You're a young woman, now, Elm. I understand that you will start to have. . .urges but it's totally normal. I won't keep my distance away from you or anything just because you've grown a little."
He poked her forehead and smiled. "You will always be my little sister."
THat seemed to have brought a smile onto Elm's lips, as she grinned as well. "Mm!"
Then, someone knocked on the door. Elm quickly separated herself from Willow as she went to open the door, then closed it behind him.
"Is he alright?"
"That's why I didn't want him. . ."
"Well, let's just. . ."
"Leave it. Is he awake now? Yes?"
Willow heard an assortment of murmurs and chatters as he sighed, knowing that despite Elm trying her best to provide an explanation to his parents, his mother would use this as a chance to try and put him on house arrest.
It wasn't long before he heard Elm tossed aside and the door open, revealing his worried mother and father.
Sometimes, he always wondered how these polar opposites met and married each other.
His mother, Olivia was a dashing-looking woman in her 40s, with long, chestnut colored hair that had been tied up into a pony-tail. Her skin was of a healthy wheat color from staying out in the sun for work, and her stature was tall and imposing, hiding her gentle, and kind personality.
Beside her was his dad, Leonard standing at around 5'5, even shorter than him, but one could see where Willow had inherited most of his beauty from. With blue eyes, and golden hair tied into a braid by a flower pin gifted by his mother, he was a beauty. Oh, he couldn't count the number of times his mother had bragged about how much of a looker he'd been in their younger days, but he still saw his father as a beautiful man and father of two that didn't let the years age him at all.
It was weird having to change his pre-conceived notions about what a man and woman should look, when he got to this world but after 18 years of living, he was pretty used to it.
Honestly, it was weirder for him now to imagine a big, brawny man and a small, demure woman. It just felt. . .wrong. Perhaps this world had influenced him more than he'd thought.
Both his dad and mom had an expression of worry when their eyes fell onto Willow's form - their baby boy.
Behind them, Elm also entered the room with an apologetic expression on her face as she'd failed to deter their parents from coming in.
Both of his parents spoiled him, but his mother definitely spoiled and fussed over him more than his dad.
Case in point.
"My baby!" Olivia yelled, rushing over to him as she quickly embraced him in a tight bear hug.
"Mom!" Willow tried to get out of the embarrassing hug but couldn't. His mother would definitely win the world hugging contest. "Let me go. I'm not a kid anymore."
"Oh, don't be stupid. You are and will always be my baby boy." His mother said as she moved from hugging him to checking his body for any injuries. "I heard that you collapsed again this morning. That's the 5th time this week! I told you not to move around so much, you know that you have a weak condition!"
"I'll be fine, mother." Willow said, trying to stop his fussy mother. "You worry too much."
That was when his father entered the conversation with a worried look. "Now, you know you have to take better care of yourself, son. Tomorrow's the festival as well. Do you know how sad we'd feel for you to miss out on it?"
Now, while he could talk back to his mother, everyone in the family knew not to talk back to his father - the 'Iron-Man' of the house.
So, he just sulked instead. "Yes, dad."
"And dear, please stop squeezing the life out of our son whenever you see him," His dad said with a sigh.