The Lost Life of Laraine

Chapter 34

A/N: Reading back I realized I spell "Geris" as Geris and Gerris, uh I don't even know which one is correct so please just know his name is Ger(r)is, sometimes spelled with 1 r or 2 r's. 

News travels fast even across boarders.

Geris could feel his heart pounding and hear the beat in his ears from the news his old friend relayed to him.

"What did you hear about Laraine?" Jenova was also antsy, sitting at the nearby lounge chair of their luxurious bedroom.

She was always on edge ever since Laraine became an adventurer. They barely saw her, mere glimpses when she briefly visited the west wing.

The servants always seem to be in a better mood when she comes by, showering them in gifts and tales from her adventures. Jenova tried to pick up the chatter, seeing what her eldest daughter is up to, but the servants are always tightlipped around the family, even the children.

"She's going with a small group of adventurers the slay the dragon by themselves," Gerris mumbled, but Jenova heard him clearly.

"What?! She's going to get herself killed!" Jenova rose like she was going to go fetch Laraine and bring her back home. "We need to go to her!"

"And do what?" Geris snapped, regretting how harsh tone but was serious, "We missed the privilege to be there for her a decade ago."

"But she needs us!" Jenova cried, sounding like she was convincing herself over convincing her husband.

"She hasn't needed us since she was a child, we abandoned her and she learned to live without us," Gerris felt his chest tighten at the truth, and bile rose to his throat.

Even Jenova was silenced by the truth.

"But what can we do?" She whispered after a long moment of silence, but before Geris could answer there was a knock at the door.

"Enter," Geris called out and it was his eldest child, "Thresh? What's the matter?"

Looking between his parents, Thresh stood taller, "Mother, father, I was hoping to speak to you both regarding Laraine."

"Yes?" Jenova questioned, sitting up more to give her son her full attention. She was hopeful that he was interested in being a good brother to Laraine like he is with Delphonia.

"I curious why you both are so invested in her life so suddenly," Thresh asked , "You both didn't seem to care when she was little but suddenly when she's finally out of the family you seem to want her back."

"Don't speak about your sister like that," Jenova scolded, but Geris understood where he was coming from. 

Thresh was a sensible child, even now that he's of age he's more invested in the family name and reputation. It was Geris's and Jenova's fault that he had the idea the Laraine was a stain on the family tree, and with the family way of making the son's exceptionally independent, they never really corrected him. 

Terrible parents all around. 

"She is out of the control, travelling across the ocean to fight more monsters? It's unheard of for a noble of our status," Thresh was near-yelling, "Why are you allowing her to do this? To be an adventurer?" 

"It is what she wanted," Jenova reasoned, "She's been trapped in this place for her whole childhood this is the one way she is free." 

"What about me?!" Thresh suddenly cried out, acting like a spoiled child despite being 22 years old, "What about what I want? What Delphonia wants?!" 

"What are yo-" Jenova started but Geris cut in. 

"What do you want?" Geris was genuine in his question, but stoic in his expression. 

"I-," Thresh paused, not expecting this from his father. His father never cared for Thresh's desires, just gave him expectations. 

Do well in his studies. Become a master swordsman. Become the next heir to the Fortunith. 

"I don't know," Thresh finally concluded, "I just don't understand, why?" 

"Reparations," Gerris answered honestly, "She should've been raised exactly like you and your sister, but we abandoned her." 

Thresh never thought of it that way. 

Only to reflect on his behavior. 

The last time he actually spoke to his sister was when he mildly threaten her. 

Dismissing himself, the young master had a lot to think on his way back to the study, only to find himself in the west wing, going to his sister's study. 

It was untouched for a few years now and surprisingly there isn't much dust. 

Thresh found himself at her desk, where some books left untucked away. 

Advanced Analysis to the Spirit World. 

Calculus of Fire and Air and Applications of the Mind. 

The Legend of Ophira. 

Dragon Psychology and Biology. 

It's strange, these are all books he's read in his late years of education - with the exception of The Legend of Ophira - but she has been in and out of this place for 6 years. 

Meaning she's read these when she was 10? 

If this was the case, she must have been a really, really, smart child. Like prodigy-levels smart. This level of intelligence should've warranted some level of study or enrollment into the most prestigious university. 

But instead she was tucked away. 

In a forgotten wing of the manor, to be forgotten. 

Exploring deeper into the study, almost every book looked like it had been read cover to cover, well-loved and well-studied. Which you'd think would be impossible, Laraine was an exceptionally fast reader since the moment she could flip a page. 

  "Young Master?" 

A voice caught his attention, and he turned to the young maid who had always accompanied Laraine. He didn't know this maid's name, nor the young-looking soldier who was standing behind her with a stack of parchments and books. 

"Who are you two?" Thresh asked, "Why are you here?" 

"My name is Rebecca and this is Sir Howell," the maid gestured between them, "We're here to drop off some more reading material Miss Laraine asked us to pick up as well as do some tidying up." 

"Reading material?" Thresh approached the knight who tensed up but remained still. 

Origin of Elemental Spirits and the Dissipation of Power. 

Theory of Familiar Summoning and Control. 

And several other scholarly documents. 

"What is this all for?" Thresh asked, confused about all this. 

"Miss Laraine always has a list of things she wants to read when she returns from missions so she's always prepared." Rebecca explained, "These are part of her most recent list, and there are some more we're waiting for." 

"Like?" 

"Uh," Rebecca pulled out a large parchment from her pocket and skimmed through it, "Frontier of the Mind, Lester Fromel, and something called 'Yoshinel Escelmelt?'" 

"The story of the ice elemental?" Thresh questioned. Ice was a really difficult thing to master for a water user and Yoshinel Escelmelt was one of the few to truly master it. 

"Will that be all master?" Rebecca fidgeted, uncomfortable with the young master standing in the place her beloved lady's favorite room.

After a long silence, Thresh nodded, leaving the west wing with a lot on his mind.