Chasing Circe

Chapter Four

The blowout part one 

When his mother would describe the Seelie Kingdom, she would start with the small village she grew up in before leaving the land of the fey. The village’s settlers had chosen the area due to the large water supply nearby, created from the huge river that split the village in half at its center. Her house was built a few feet from this center with fishing being her parent’s main investment besides going into the larger parts of the land to work. His mother would get a faraway look in her eyes when she reminencised on how she would bathe in the river after playing and then help her father plant seeds on their farm. 

Aiden wondered if that’s where they would be going, once the law passed. He had never grown up on a farm near a huge body of water where selkies beckoned you to swim with them till nightfall. His childhood was spent taking the bus to a packed public school and watching cartoons on the weekend as his sisters played computer games. There was no such thing as the internet in the land of the fey but magical devices he had asked his parents about once or twice. Posy had been the one to spend days listening to their father describe his heated debates with his kidnappers(adoptive parents) on what a tablet actually was. 

‘We’ll be going into the magical stone age,’  The teenager looked up from his dinner plate to face the woman who wason his mind, even if it was with a mere glance. She was busy talking to his father, having come up with some big lie as to why she had come home early. ‘It’s like she doesn’t care that he’ll be left alone.’

Deep down he knew that his mother was terrified of never seeing his father again but her behavior was too convincing. She had arrived home late in the evening when Avery had managed to calm everything down and change to subject of the conversation. When they tried to speak to her a quick look told them that the discussion wasn’t going to happen and they had to wait for her to be ready. His mother was childish in that way, she avoided confrontation and serious developments in her life like the plague. 

So they all sat, awkwardly eating the vegetarian pizza and french fries their dad ordered. He hadn’t commented on the silence between the three siblings, he was too happy speaking to their mom. Aiden couldn’t blame him for his obliviousness he hadn’t seen her in months. All of her trips to the land of the fey were like that, limited communication was a guarantee. Sometimes she’d be going on a jog, a grocery run and would be pulled into the land without warning only to come home months later. No explanation was given to him on why it happened that way, it just did. 

“I looked at some institutions for the triplets to attend. They cater to changelings and humans who happen to take a liking to the countryside.” His mother gushed as she began convincing their father to allow them to leave for a short period. She was holding his hand from where he could see. “It would be a nice opportunity for them to learn about my culture. What do you think?”

“Your culture is beautiful, sweetheart and I do wish we had taken the children to your home before now.” His father was still smiling at her, but there was a noticeable tightness in the way his lips curled upward. From out of the corner of his eyes Aiden could see Avery had stopped eating. “But it’s the middle of the school year and they're near adults, isn’t it too late to send them off to some fey summer camp?”

Both he and Avery were watching the exchange rather attentively, his grip on his slice of pizza tightening. He wanted to know whether or not his father was actually considering this. While his mother talked about the land of the fey with nothing but wonder and gratefulness, his father was cynical at times. He didn’t like his adoptive family all too much and his escape back to the human world left emotional scars that never healed. But his parents often buried their feelings to please the other and this appeared to be the case.

“And that’s exactly why they should go! When they head off to college I doubt they’ll want to come to visit my parents for a year in the land of the fey’s time.” She gave a quick glance over to him and had a strained look on her face before the mask came back. It felt hollow, to see her smiling about a trip that would be a permanent goodbye to his human family and life.

Avery cleared her throat and pushed her plate to the side, startling the two adults out of the stupor they had fallen into. If she didn’t have glasses on, he knew she’d be glaring at them. By the way, her leg was moving up and down he could tell she wasn’t in a good mood. “Why don’t you just let us decide, mom? We can hear you loud and clear from across the table. Unless you think we aren’t old enough to decide that?”

‘Avery’s going to set dad off talking to mom like that.’ Posy’s voice rang in his head while she seemingly was distracted by texting her friend. ‘He’s five seconds away from screaming at her.’

Their father stared at their sister with wide eyes, shell shocked by her tone. “I don’t know what’s upset you today young lady but fix your tone when addressing your mother. Fix it right now.” 

As kids, hearing their dad’s tone shift like that would make them scramble to do whatever chores they skipped and apologize for what they misplaced. But they weren’t really kids anymore, they were seniors with Avery having a job and Posy having multiple long-term relationships. They couldn’t be scared by someone yelling at them or smacking them in the face if they didn’t behave. And with everything that was happening, with Cassandra’s loss, with Avery having to fight classmates to protect him, his voice was a walk in the park.

Her eyes were cold as she looked at their mother who had notably become uncomfortable. “Dad, stop. She’s lying to you about it being a summer camp. It’s permanent and she’s just scared to tell you the truth.” Avery continued, her tone the same if not more serious in her delivery. 

“She’s telling the truth, mom told us we’re going to the land of the fey immediately” He added not wanting to see his sister argue about something so grave on her own. “That’s why she came home early, to take us.”

Aiden felt the mood in the room shift from awkward to serious as soon as his father saw him open his mouth. His mother looked as if she wanted to run out of the room and hide while his father was just frozen. Hearing two of his oldest children claim his wife was lying must have destroyed his day. And the teenager felt like shit, he felt like the biggest piece of shit ever when his mother started to cry. It wasn't a soft cry either but sobs as she tried to explain her reasoning and why she lay in between hiccups.

He looked over at Avery who was ashen in the face. Neither of them expected their mother to break down like this. The teenager folded into herself and ran out of the room before he could yell at her to wait. Too much was happening and he felt overwhelmed. His parents were arguing with his father heatedly demanding to know if she planned to take them to the land of the fey forever and his mom was just crying. It was like you were watching a train wreck before your eyes at a rapid pace.

The sound of the door slamming echoed throughout the room and with it, their father began to sob himself. It was like the realization of what was happening was finally hitting him and it was just too much. Unconsciously he found himself getting out of his chair and looking around the room, feeling empty and cold. He wanted to lock himself in his room and never come out.

‘Mom’s crying.’ Posy sounded heartbroken and she had started to leave the room. Her phone was clenched against her chest as she panted, she was also lost in the chaos. ‘And now dad’s crying too. Why did you guys have to open your mouths?’

‘Because he deserved to know.’ Aiden responded only to be met with silence as she spared their parents one more glance and left outside with their dog following after.