Seris giggled the entire time.
She thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
I tried to protest, but no one listened.
My words were drowned in laughter, camera clicks, and the sound of my dignity crumbling.
I stared at myself in the mirror.
I was wearing a pastel blue shirt with a cartoon elephant on it.
This wasn’t how I imagined my last evening here going.
And the worst part?
I knew they’d be showing these photos to everyone for years.
Seris and Elira left after a few hours.
Seris had wanted to stay overnight, but her mom reminded her we needed to pack, and they shouldn’t disturb us.
Dinner that night was joyful.
My parents were talking about travel plans, logistics, some old contacts they might run into.
I mostly kept to myself, pushing food around my plate.
Later that night, Dad came into my room.
He didn’t knock, just walked in like he always did, and sat down heavily on the bed.
In his hand was a palm-sized black box.
He placed it beside me and let out a long sigh.
"Since we are going to my home tomorrow. You should listen to dad about a few things."
I looked at him, listening.
"In that place, there might be people who try to hurt you, but you don’t need to worry about that. I’ll protect you. And if something happens, anything at all, just tell me. Don’t keep it to yourself."
I nodded, keeping my expression serious.
He smiled and ruffled my hair.
"That’s my boy. Now come on, give Papa a kiss."
I tried to back away, but he was faster.
His beard scraped against my cheek as he kissed me.
I winced, and he laughed, rubbing his beard against my face even more just to mess with me.
"Get away, dad," I muttered.
Only when he was satisfied did he let me go.
He leaned back, still smiling.
"Now, before we head out tomorrow, there’s something I need to tell you. First off, our family name isn’t Estenwald. It’s Daelthorn."
"Family name?" I asked, acting clueless like a child.
"Yes. A family name is the second part of someone’s name. My name is Adrian Daelthorn. Adrian is my name, Daelthorn is the family name. Until now, we’ve been using Estenwald for certain reasons."
I tilted my head.
"So... I’m a Daelthorn from now on?"
"Exactly."
There was a flicker of sadness in his eyes.
But it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
He reached out and gently stroked my hair again.
"Also," he said with a grin, "I’ve got verrrrrry good news for my little man."
"What is it?"
"Do you want a little sister?" he asked, his grin widening.
"Huh?"
He burst out laughing.
"I’m just joking. But..." he paused, then winked, "don’t worry we are trying hard for it."
My lips twitched.
This guy really would let his mouth run whenever mom wasn’t around.
Still carrying me, he walked around the room and started picking up some of the children’s books from my shelf.
One of them was a simplified storybook version of King Arthur.
"Have you read this one?" he asked, holding up the book.
I nodded. It was a children’s version of Arthur Pendragon’s story.
He was portrayed as the heroic king, strongest swordsman, and legendary warrior.
"What did you think of it?"
"It was good," I said in the kind of voice a kid might use when pretending to be excited.
"What did you like about it?"
"I liked the magic, and the magical monsters, and the cool sword," I replied, still keeping up the act. "The parts where they can cut anything with swords. That was the coolest."
He laughed at my naïve words.
"You’ll like Dad’s home then. It’s just like that. You’ll meet people who can cut through boulders, run on air, leap over rivers. The people there are even stronger than your mom," he said, adding the last part as a joke.
My eyes widened in fake excitement.
"Really?"
"Yup. And guess what? You’ll learn to be just like them."
"You mean... I’m going to learn magic?" I asked, bouncing a little. "Yahoo!"
He chuckled again.
"Well, it won’t be exactly magic. More like swordsmanship. Or weapons training, if you choose a different people."
I let my face fall a little, just enough.
Acting like a disappointed child wasn’t that hard.
He caught on quickly.
"Ah—no, wait. I mean—you’ll learn magic. Yes, magic! Fireballs, or front nova! You can learn everything you’ve read in the stories."
My face lit up again, exaggerated and bright.
It was hard to keep acting like a child, but I had to do it.
Finally, he set me back on the bed and picked up the black box again.
This time, he opened it.
Inside was a single pill.
It was smooth, glossy, and a deep shade of red that almost looked black.
"This is an Awakening Pill. You need to take this before we leave. Only after that can I take you to our real home. That’s where you’ll start learning everything."
I stared at the pill for a moment, then back at him.
"Will it hurt?" I asked in a small voice, still pretending.
"No. It might feel a little strange, but it won’t hurt. And I’ll be right here with you the whole time."
I nodded again.
"What will the Awakening Pill do?" I asked next.