Goodbyes

The days passed by smoother than Henry expected.

Leo didn't even try to give Henry a hard time about him leaving once he gave him the news. It made the younger man feel lighthearted and he was in a good mood while he worked.

His replacement, Otto, was even starting to be easier to be around now that his mood had improved.

If Henry remembered correctly, he was around the same age as Otto when he started in the stable. He only took the job because he didn't want to join his dad in the potato fields.

At the end of his last day, he made sure to say goodbye to Leo.

Despite how sour the old man's mood was at times, Henry knew he was good at his core. If his dad could stand him for so many years, it had to mean he wasn't all bad.

After his goodbye, he offered his hand for Leo to shake.

Surprisingly, Leo ignored his offered hand and gave Henry a quick hug. He pulled away and ran his hand through the back of his white hair, unable to figure out how to handle the emotions he was feeling.

The last connection Leo had to his dearest friend was leaving, too. Saying bye to Henry was like saying bye to Robert all over again.

"I'll be here if you ever need something," Leo said.

And that was it.

He walked down the cobblestone path until it turned into the dirt path that went to his shabby house.

The other peasants who once made him feel insecure with their critical stares bothered him less than normal. He simply smiled and continued walking with his thumbs tucked underneath the belt at his waist.

The next morning, he would officially be an apprentice for Sir Trenton and his heart beat wildly at the excitement he was trying to contain.

Henry didn't fully understand why he was so excited considering he was definitely going to get worked more than half to death. Along with training, he was going to have to do everything Sir Trenton asked him to do. By now he knew Sir Trenton well enough to know that he would challenge him given the opportunity.

If he could just avoid the commander, he thought. That man's intense stare pierced right through him and made him feel like a fish that had been speared. Even learning that he was a peasant at one point in the distant past didn't help ease his fear of him.

As soon as Henry was home, he packed all of his things - which were very few.

He would have his own place to sleep in the knight's barracks where he could put all of his things.

He heard a commotion from the main room in his house and he peeked out of his door to see his aunt with a bottle in her hands.

"Another potion, aunt?" he asked.

"I can't rest well knowing you got cut and I have a potion to make it feel better," she immediately responded with a shrug.

To him, it was probably just sugar water. He was still going to entertain her because, although the magic wasn't real, the potions certainly tasted good and he felt hungry all the time.

As he took the glass bottle from her, she put her other hand over his before she could let go.

"If you or your mother ever need anything," she said. "You know I'm always here for you."

People were being sentimental about him leaving and he didn't know how to handle it. Normally the people he spent time around made an effort to hide their emotions, so he wasn't sure how to respond.

"Thank you, Aunt Sylvia," Henry responded.

She soon left Henry to finish packing up his things, saying she had to sell potions that evening.

Henry's mother had gone out, but he was sure she would be around soon. The goodbye to her was going to be the hardest by far.

With his bag in his hands, he left it in the main room by the front door so he wouldn't have to worry about it when he was leaving early in the morning the next day.

He heard his mother come in through the front door and he glanced in her direction. She seemed to have something wrapped in paper in her hands and she presented it to her son proudly.

"What's this?" he asked and turned the item over in his hands.

The paper was light brown and it was tied shut with butcher string.

"Just open it," Celia responded.

Instead of carefully untying the paper, Henry tore it open with great haste, not having any patience for his curiosity.

His mother rolled her eyes at his actions, but she couldn't stay mad at her son.

Henry nearly dropped the package when he saw what was inside. The thickest cut of steak he had ever seen was hidden inside butcher paper and rolled up a few times. It must have cost his mother a fortune.

He widened his eyes at her.

"Mom, where did you get the money for this?"

Celia looked sheepish and she gave her son a shrug as she looked up at him.

"Can't a mother feed her son before she sends him off for rigorous training?" she asked. "I'm going to save money with you out of the house."

Sadly enough, it was true. Even the bread he ate for lunch every day added up after a while.

Celia took the steak from her son's hands and decided to start the process of cooking it. There were already potatoes in their house so finding something to eat on the side was simple enough.

Steak and potatoes.

Both her son and her husband were fond of this very meal, but since Robert had passed away, she hadn't cooked it because they could never afford the meat that was worth making into a steak.

On her plate was a small cut of the meal, but Henry tried to make their portions more equal. She reassured him that he was going to need the energy more than her the following day.

Celia finished her food and watched her son scarf down the food as if he had been starved - which wouldn't be too far from the truth.

She wondered when he got so big - how such a scrawny kid turned into a man right in front of her eyes. Now he was old enough to leave the home of his own volition and she didn't want to let him go despite having nearly two decades to prepare for this moment.

A tear fell down her cheek and she quickly brushed it away, trying to dismiss it before her son saw and got uncomfortable.

As soon as he finished his food, she stood up quickly and pushed him towards the basin of water in the corner.

"You need a haircut before you go," she said, trying to keep the sadness from her voice and replacing it with sternness. "I won't rest well knowing you look like this for so many knights' first impression of you."

All Henry could do was follow his mother and allow her to baby him. He would try not to resist considering it would be his last night under the same roof as her for a long while.

He sat in a chair, allowing her to cut his hair and watching his dark locks fall on the floor around him. The sight caused him to get lost in thought and he reflected on the life he had with his mother.

She had always been caring and nurturing towards him while his father was more stern and strict. Their differences kept balance in his life.

After his father passed away when he was 17, he felt that his mother became overbearing. Looking back, he realized she just didn't want him to feel alone in his grief. It hit him harder than he originally thought.

His father used to be someone he wanted to be but when he disappeared, his motivation dwindled for a while. He felt lucky he had his mom to support him for the long year he lived a directionless existence.

Normally he wasn't affectionate, but when his mother finished his haircut and brushed the excess hair off of his shoulders, he suddenly stood up and hugged her.

She was so much smaller than he remembered. Times, when he could rest his chin on her shoulder, had long passed.

When he pulled back, there were tears falling from her eyes.

"Go to bed or you're not going to get enough sleep," she said in a strained voice, trying to avoid her emotions.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, mom," he said and gave her a smile.

He went to bed, uncertain about what his life would look like ahead, but there was an invisible force pulling him in the direction he was going and he couldn't help but follow it.

For the first time in his life, he really did feel like he was going to amount to something great.