Dragon's wrath

Chapter 2: With mom

As I was sitting in the corner watching them discuss the position of the guards, where to install security cameras and other things I didn’t quite understand, my mom joined me quietly. I could see she was really enjoying watching them work. 

“Good morning,” I whispered when she noticed me and joined me in my corner. 

“Good morning, sweetheart. How are you today?” she asked. She already knew about the lack of good sleep I had been having recently. I had slept plenty of hours, but was still waking up tired and restless. 

“Better. Alarick wants to go to the cottage in the mountains and also to the hot pools. They are discussing the security of the north dome, so everyone living here can actually have access to it.” I explained what they were doing. 

“It’s long overdue. When I visited there twenty years ago, it was partly empty, and I mostly saw guards stationed around the place. The only exception is Flower Town.” My mom said, and I turned my attention from my father and Alarick to her. It was the first time I had heard of Flower Town.

“What is Flower Town?” I asked her curiously. She looked shocked, clearly wondering how I didn’t know about it. 

“Alarick never took you there? How lame. I guess I need to have a little chat with him,” my mom said in a serious tone with a killer look, but I knew she didn’t mean it. “Flower Town consists of thirteen domes connected in a circular shape. When I saw the drawing on the map, it reminded me of a blooming flower and Ellion actually named it Flower Town. Most of the people living there are civilians. It’s exactly in the center of north, south, east and west. You really need to see it. The center one is a huge square with a small waterfall in the middle, and a pool surrounded by trees. I never saw a more beautiful place in my life.” The way my mom was describing it made me want to see it. At the moment I was too excited to get out to the cottage up in the mountain and enjoy the snow, and especially enjoy the outdoors and fresh air, but I would be sure to ask him to take me there next time as well. 

“I will definitely ask him. It sounds amazing just from your description,” I told her and she smiled at me. Then she checked her watch which must have been new because I didn’t remember her having one like that. It was already time for lunch by that time, but they both looked like they were far from done. 

“Let’s go eat?” my mom asked, and I nodded, lifting myself from the chair and heading to the entrance. Alarick and my father were too focused on their work that they didn’t notice that we had left. They didn’t even notice that my mom had come so they definitely wouldn’t miss us now. 

“Where do you want to eat?” I stopped in front of the operations building. We had several options, but I really missed the food from our town. I missed seafood. The last time I ate shrimp was the day we had the car accident. 

“Seafood would be nice,” she replied and her answer took me by surprise. I didn’t expect anything specific, but for some reason her answer was exactly what I wanted. My eyes widened, and she started laughing. 

“You didn’t think I would eat seafood without you, did you?” she asked, and I instantly felt guilty, not because I thought she would. I felt guilty that she actually refused to eat it without me. It made me think that she would never eat seafood again unless we were together and before we knew my father was alive and decided to rescue him, there was no way we could have known when we would be together again. 

“Mom,” I said with guilt, hugging her immediately. “I missed you so much,” I added and she held me close. We had been together for a month now, but for the first time I really felt like I was at home with my mom again. The only person I felt sorry for now was Anton. I knew he had feelings for my mom and she was even dating him back there, but now she was back with my dad and he was alone again. 

“I missed you too, honey.” She pressed me snugly into her arms and I was extremely happy to have my entire family back together. Now we just needed to get rid of the Damocles sword hanging over our heads thanks to the shadow called Ezekiel, and we could live peacefully for the rest of our lives. 

“Let’s go get our seafood, shall we?” she said while stroking my hair and pulling me away so she could look into my eyes. I was happy right now. 

“Mhmm,” I answered, while heading straight to the restaurant. There was one Italian restaurant. I didn’t know why they called this kind of restaurant Italian, but for some reason it was a common term used in the old times. They were always making stuff like pizza and pasta. I had already decided what I would order. 

To my surprise, before the food was served my father and Alarick joined us. My mom must have informed them that we were here by phone, but she didn’t talk to them so I was curious as to how she did it. I was sitting there, watching them talk to each other, laughing and enjoying the pleasant time with the amazing food in front of us. I really hoped that we would only have days like this ahead of us, but I knew it was impossible. None of us knew how much time we had left before Ezekiel tried something. 

“Are you alright, honey?” my mom asked since I was staring at them, and not actually eating my favorite seafood pasta with white sauce. 

“I am fine. I was just admiring how peaceful things are now and enjoying the time that our family is together.” Alarick leaned closer to me, kissing my temple and answered me with a smile. My mom and my dad looked at each other with smiles on their faces and held hands with their fingers entwined. 

“Moments like these are really precious,” my mom added, looking back at me. “We should be really thankful for what we have,” she added and I couldn’t agree more. 

“I decided not to talk about work during the meal, but since we were all here, I already discussed the security of the north and west with Alarick. In four days everything should be in place so if you decide to go to hot pools after that, it should be secure by then,” my father added, and it almost sounded like permission for us to head out. I really needed to get some fresh air. The only thing I was conflicted about was whether to take my mom and dad with us. I desperately wanted alone time with Alarick so we could enjoy being together, but at the same time I was afraid to leave my mom and dad alone. Deep down I was afraid I might lose them again. 

“Sure thing Ellion,” Alarick replied with a smile.

“When are you leaving?” my mom asked no one in particular, but I knew her question was mostly directed at Alarick since I actually had no idea. 

“Tonight. I sent Agnes and Thomas to prepare it, stock it with food and clean it,” Alarick informed them.

“I didn’t know you told him where the place was,” my father said, surprised. I had forgotten that they were talking about the cottage early in the morning and except for my father and Alarick, no one was supposed to know about the place.

“Thomas is my most trusted aide. He has been with me since I was a child and in case anything happens, you need at least one person who knows how to find us,” Alarick explained and my father nodded. 

“That’s logical,” he answered before we all continued to eat the food on our plates. 

Once we finished our food, Alarick and my father left first, probably going back to the operations room to discuss some other important matters before we left. Just as we were about to stand up as well, my mom looked at me curiously with an unreadable question in her eyes. She was curious about something, but I didn’t know what. 

“Let’s relax and drink coffee, shall we?” she asked, but without waiting for my answer she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the nearest coffee shop. We sat outside and watched people passing by. 

“How far you are with Alarick?” she blurted her question without beating around the bush. I almost choked on the pure air I was breathing, blinking several times in shock. 

“Mooom,” I shook my head, needing her to be more quiet and at the same time looking around in case someone overheard her asking such a question. 

“What? I saw how he was looking at you and more importantly how you were looking at him. You two are going to be alone several times. I need to make sure you know how to protect yourself,” my mom explained, and to my displeasure her voice was still too loud. 

“Please talk softer,” I pleaded. 

“Nah, come on. Don’t suddenly be shy like this.” She waved her hand around and I didn’t know if I was shocked, insulted or if I should start laughing. “And why should I be protecting myself? He is not going to hurt me.” This time my mom laughed pretty loud and several people passing by turned to our direction, curious about what was happening. 

“Oh, my poor little girl. I am talking about not getting pregnant, sweetheart,” she answered and this time my cheeks burned as a red hot blush appeared. I hadn’t even considered that. 

“Well, by your frightened expression and the blush on your cheeks I take it as you already went that far. We should probably go visit a doctor, unless you plan to have a baby right away,” she said with a surprisingly calm voice considering the subject of our conversation. I was really expecting some lectures or something at this point, but my mom was completely cool. My cheeks were burning, but at least I felt a bit calmer now, knowing that my mom knew what to do. I slapped myself mentally for not thinking of it and I was a little angry with Alarick for not caring about it either. 

We sat a little longer, drank our coffees before my mom made a call and made an appointment with a female doctor. The doctor would not only check me in case I was already pregnant, but would also recommend some medication that would prevent it from happening. Sure I wanted a kid, one day, but right now we were in no position to have a baby. I wouldn't want to bring a child into this world knowing that he or she might suffer or even lose his or her parents.