Teach Me How to Say Goodbye

His attempts to calm his mother down only seemed to aggravate her further, drawing threatening growls from the unstable fae. When Artorias took a step closer, Resin lunged for him, seeming to forget the wall of iron bars keeping them separated. The clang of her skull hitting the metal made the boy cringe back, but in the next moment, once the ringing of metal had finished echoing around the prison, he heard a familiar sound. His name. His name on his mother's voice. Artorias glanced back at Resin, seeing the haze of amnesia lifted from her singular gold optic as she stared at him and told him he shouldn't be here. She was back. Resin was back! Artorias didn't know what to say, his mouth opening and closing while he stumbled to find the words.

Resin filled the silence by telling him to bar the door. The stunned boy didn't react for a beat, but once understanding settled in, he glanced rapidly around the room to find the metal bar resting against the cell door and ran over. He pushed the cell door shut, picking up the metal bar—and then freezing, staring at the metal that would be the lock to his mother's cage. He didn't want to do it. But he had to. It was his responsibility as Baron now to help safeguard his pack, and as much as he hated it, his mother was a potential threat. Shutting his eyes so he wouldn't have to watch himself do it, Artorias slid the metal bar into the latch, sealing the cell door with a slam of metal, the sound like a slam of a gavel on Resin's life. He released a held breath, not even realizing he had stopped breathing, then opened amber eyes to find his mother's face again, whining quietly while he sat just beyond the bars. He wanted so desperately to reach through the bars and touch her, to give her one last hug, but it wasn't meant to be.

"Mom, I... I just wanted to see you one more time," he said, paws carrying him to rest on his laurels opposite his mother, struggling to hold himself together while he saw what she had been reduced to. "I wanted you to see all of your hard work paid off. Ulric made me Baron of the Hallows. I'm going to be the heir to the pack, and I..." The words he wanted to say suddenly felt so much harder to knowing he only had a few precious moments left with his mother. He looked away, screwing his eyes shut to force back the emotions, centering himself with a deep breath before raising his eyes back to his mother. "I wanted you to see what you made and to be proud of yourself. You made me a knight, like you said you would. So, thank you, Mom. I'll do my best to bring honor to the Hallows, to the Carpathius family... and to you."

He was quiet after a moment, letting his words hang in the air. He didn't know how long Resin would stay herself for, but he needed to make every moment count. Then he could at least say he had done all that he could. He might not have been able to save his mother, but he could carry on her name, her legacy, her life and her memory in every day that would come.

"Artorias" | "Corbin"