Family

Charlie couldn't believe his eyes. He knew that he had a father since it was given but he had subconsciously accepted that he wouldn't meet his father in this life either. Charlie suddenly became anxious; he was afraid of being rejected by this person that he'd only just met. It was a strange situation for him.

Adrianna wasn't as shocked as she was proud that Charlie could deduce that William was his father. Although it would be obvious to anyone that they were related because of their physical characteristics, Charlie was still only one. William, Charlie's father, however was surprised at his son's quick wit. "Hello Charlie" said William as he approached his son. The two looked at each other as William approached until stopping at Charlie's left side. William reached out his hand as though to touch Charlie's face but retracted it before looking down in guilt. Before William's hand could fully distance itself, Charlie grabbed it with both his hands and held it there. William first looked at Charlie in surprise but that expression quickly melted into a joyous smile. William then swept Charlie up into his arms and gave him a gentle hug.

Charlie quickly blinked the tears away that formed in his eyes before they could fall as he was placed back into his seat. Adrianna now approached the table with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes, eventually reaching out to hug William and then Charlie. After wiping the tears from her eyes, Adrianna gestured for William to sit down on Charlie's right while she sat on his left. Giselle then placed their meals in front of them before leaving the room. Adrianna and William received a meal with seasoned meat, steamed vegetables and some bread while Charlie was given some soft fish and rice. Charlie was the first to begin eating while the other two were stuck in place with a stupid expression on their face as they looked at their son. Realizing that they'd been staring, they begun to eat as well.

—

After they'd finished eating, the sun had long set and the halls were now lit by candles. Charlie had been brought to his nursery and placed in his crib while his parents stood near the window, talking in low voices. Charlie couldn't hear their voices but he could read between the lines as their lips met. Charlie decided to give them some privacy and began cultivating in his soul space. Recently, Charlie had discovered that cultivating could almost entirely replace sleep. At this rate, Charlie only required about an hour or two of sleep if he spent the rest of the allotted time cultivating. This did leave Charlie a bit mentally strained though so he often used his nap during the day solely for sleep. Charlie had begun to notice a similar sight in his core. The once fully dark red sphere now had splotches of a lighter tone of red in it. Charlie was a long way off from breaking through but the visible progress was reassuring.

—

After several hours of cultivating, Charlie went to sleep for a couple hours. These next few days, Charlie spent his time with his mother and father who both loved him very much. William had brought Adrianna some books which made Charlie realize why she'd only read the one book all this time, she seemed to only have had the one!

The three of them spent their time outside in the gazebo and even ate their meals out there some times. Charlie's parents would both read to him and Charlie would sit in the lap of whoever was reading to learn both new vocabulary and work on his understanding of the writing. Charlie adored his parents and they adored him. After those days, it felt as though William had never been away.

—

It was the seventh day after Charlie's birthday when he noticed a change in the atmosphere. His mother looked less happy and his father wouldn't meet his gaze. They'd just finished eating their lunch when Charlie asked "What's wrong?" Adrianna and William looked to their son in faint surprise before Adrianna turned to William and said, "You should tell him." Charlie looked to his father who finally met his gaze before saying "I'm sorry Charlie, I'll have to leave again soon." Charlie was saddened by the news but he remained rational and asked him where he'd be going. William paused before replying with "The spirit lands." Realizing that Charlie wouldn't know where that was he removed a folded slip of paper from his pant pocket and unfolded it in front of him.

In front of Charlie was a medium sized map that displayed several land masses. There were five larger land masses, three on the left and two on the right. William pointed to the land in the bottom left and referred to it as the "Spirit Lands". Next, William pointed to the mass to its right on its west coast and said, "That's where we are now." There was another land that stretched over those two which had more cities than the previous two combined but William didn't say anything about it or those on the right side. "What are the Spirit Lands?" asked Charlie. William hesitated before saying "It's a wild land filled with natural resources. The Byron family has been establishing trade routes and building settlements in the area for a few generations and it's been my job to oversee their growth."

After absorbing the information, Charlie asked "How long will it be until I see you again?" William paused before replying with, "a year" in a guilt riddled voice. Charlie didn't know what to say, he had finally met his father but it didn't seem like they would be allowed the chance to get close. Does he even want to be here now? Charlie felt betrayed and didn't know how to feel and before long, he had started crying. He wasn't producing a vocal wail like would be expected from a one year old and was instead silent as tears rolled down his face as he stared into space.

Charlie's mother and father felt horrible, his father especially. They immediately came to Charlie's sides to comfort him but he didn't respond and only continued crying. On the inside, Charlie's thought we're going rapid fire until they came to a conclusion, "Why can't we go with you?" The question surprised Charlie's parents even more than his blank tear-coated face. They both thought about the question before Adrianna said, "Lord Byron wouldn't object to it anymore. He'd probably allow it since he had planned this from the beginning." "But it's still dangerous over there, especially for a child." said William. "It's dangerous here as well. At least over there, the only threat are the beasts in the wilds. Here, they walk on two legs." said Adrianna. William looked as though he wanted to object to Adrianna's statement but instead donned a thoughtful expression. "Besides, I haven't seen my family in over a year. I said that I'd visit them as soon as I could" said Adrianna.

William removed his thoughtful expression with a sigh and relaxed his face. "I'll ask my father about it tonight so be prepared to leave tomorrow." Adrianna relaxed into a smile before watching Charlie hop out of his chair and hug his father's leg. He was pushing his face into the fabric to hide the tears that were evident in the previously unseen wet spots. William's face melted into a smile that held some hesitation behind it before he got down on one knee to pick Charlie up to carry him back inside.

—

After getting back inside, William had taken Charlie with Adrianna to the nursery and then left them there to talk with his father. After being asked, Giselle brought a suitcase to the nursery. Adrianna then packed almost all of Charlie's belongings into the suitcase, excluding a set of clothes presumably for tomorrow and his rattle. Charlie just watched his mother from the crib since he didn't know what else to be doing.

Charlie didn't have very much so it didn't take long before his things were packed. Adrianna told Charlie to take his nap while she packed her things before dinner and left in a fast pace. Charlie stayed watching the door for some time before deciding to cultivate. His father had said how the spirit lands were dangerous so he wanted his core to be as strong as it could. Although he didn't have an offensive spell, or any spell, that was due to him not wanting to get caught. If Geralt was able to sense him cultivating, then surely a spell would be sensed too. Charlie hoped that he would get some privacy soon so he could start working on his magic.

—

Dinner came quickly, and with it, good news. Lord Byron had agreed to William's proposal and they were set to leave tomorrow. The dining room was filled with a happy atmosphere that exuded from a one year old boy, sitting between his mother and father.