Teach Me How to Say Goodbye

Time was growing short. With every day that passed came the knowledge that more and more of Resin would be slipping away from her down in her self-imposed prison. Each strand of her consciousness that left her was like another grain of sand sliding away in the hourglass, whittling away the time the Carpathius family had with her. Seeing her as herself when they received their birthday gifts had been a blessing, but it had also been eye opening. Artorias hadn't seen Resin since the day she locked herself up, when he had snapped at her, treated her like a villain, then vowed to complete an impossible task to save her. Seeing his mother wither away to skin and bones had broken his heart, but it had also driven the point home in his mind: Resin was dying, and he was losing his last chances to be with her because of his stubbornness.

So much had changed in the world above ground that Resin hadn't been a part of. The transitioning of the pack to Ulric, Artorias' promotion to the rank of Baron and his being named heir apparent, how he had almost murdered Sirius Fatalis, the impending arrival of summer and the end of the ice age to name a few. And through it all, Artorias had never lost focus of his mission to find a way to save Resin, even if it meant neglecting his opportunities to spend time with her while she was still here. Now, after reaching the inevitable failure of his quest, Artorias knew he had only one last thing to do. He had to see his mother and apologize.

He had asked Lúta to prepare the sedatives for her. Not a lot, just enough to grant them maybe an hour without the risk of losing her. He didn't know how much longer the herbs would be effective at staving off her madness. One day, she would never come back to them, no matter how many plants they stuffed down her throat. On that day, Resin Carpathius would be dead. The boy just prayed that day wasn't today. After giving the medicine some time to kick in, Artorias stood at the top of the dungeon stairs, staring down into the darkness below. It somehow felt like such an impossible task venturing down there, both knowing and not knowing what would be waiting for him at the bottom. He dreaded the idea of finding his mother as some feral monster pacing her cage, no longer the wolf he knew her to be. But if he didn't take this chance now, he might never get it again.

Paws carried the yearling wolf slowly down the stairs, past the first level penitentiary and down to the solitary cell that held Resin. He emerged from the shadows clad in his armor, his sword strapped across his back, in full regalia for his mother's appraisal. She had promised to train him to become a knight like she was, and he wanted her to see the results of her efforts before she couldn't any more. Fiery amber eyes peered through the dark to the cell, resolute but also shameful and guilty. He shouldn't have put this off for so long; he shouldn't have been so headstrong to ignore his mother. Artorias Carpathius crossed the floor with slow, measured steps, coming to sit near the bars, straining his eyes and his ears to find his mother and see if she was still herself.

"Knight Artorias, reporting in, Aegis," he spoke, voice low and troubled to keep the emotional quiver out of it. He knew his mother was no longer the Aegis, nor was he just a Knight, but for just a little while he wanted to pretend like everything wasn't coming apart at the seams. Now he waited—waited to either hear his mother's gruff voice reach out to him from the shadows or the snarls of a wild animal telling him to keep away...

"Artorias" | Corbin