A few days pass after Sylvia invites Sara, Emily, and me to go out. The first week of the term is finally coming to an end. After asking Josie, she immediately tells me that my younger sister hadn't been anywhere outside Midsummer Academy. There's more to Terra than Midsummer Academy. Since we are allowed to leave campus, I guess it was time.
It is the end of the day Friday when I approach her to ask. The class bell had just gone off and she was about to leave to walk out of our homeroom. Mari nods to me in encouragement. She knew what I was thinking.
I manage to get Sylvia's attention.
"Hey."
"What is it, my brother?"
"Do you have plans this weekend by any chance?"
Sylvia shakes her head. "I don't have any plans. Why?"
"Since we are allowed to leave campus, do you want to come to our house? You haven't explored the city yet so I wanted to invite you over."
She nods her head. "I would love to. We are family. I have nothing to do besides walk around campus or lay on my bed bored." Sylvia smiles. "I'd love to go home."
***
Josie and Jordan tilt their heads to me as they join us Saturday morning as they follow the five of us home to my mom's place in the city. Mari wanted to tag along with us, so she is included as our fifth member. I asked the two guards if they wanted to walk with us but they declined to watch from afar.
As soon as we walk the mile from Midsummer Academy to my mom's place, at the door Sylvia starts sweating nervously. She is about to turn around when Emily places a hand on her shoulder.
"Sylvie, are you okay?"
"I haven't seen mom for five years, I don't know how to begin. What would she think of me?"
Emily shrugs her shoulders.
"That's up to mom. All you have to do is enter the door."
"Okay, let's go."
We enter the house. The smell of cooked food is in the air. We all take a good sniff of it.
So good!
I take my shoes off and place them on the rack beside the door. Everyone else has done the same. Josie and Jordan enter and do the same after verifying that we were all safe.
Jordan looks around. "So this is the former queen's house. It's so simplistic but very homey."
"The bathroom is on the first floor and the bedrooms are on the second. I'll show you around at some point after we eat. Sara, is Jason coming over later? He did say something about visiting his parents before he heads over."
Sara checks her messages on her Berry. "He's going to be a while before he comes over. They decided to go out to eat."
I sigh. "There's no waiting so let's go eat."
We all walk into the kitchen. There in a cook's apron, a woman with long copper hair with a red fringe, my mom. She was holding a pot of water which drops as we step into her sight.
"I've been waiting a long time. It's been days since I've last seen you step through those doors."
"Relax mom, it's only been five days. We've been gone for much longer than that. Do you remember that last trip across the country before the whole world changed?" Emily takes mom's hands.
Mom purses her lips and pulls her hands away. "I have a right to be worried. Especially since you went to the academy. The Headmaster had called to tell me that a huge ruckus had happened on the first day."
I panic. "Mom just saying now, neither I nor Sara started it."
Mari bows her head. "That would be my fault ma'am."
Mom notices Mari behind me.
"Who might this be?"
"My name is Mari Summers. It's a pleasure to see you again."
Mom ponders for a moment and drops to her knees. "Mari Summers, it's you!" Mom's voice shrinks to a whisper. She gets back off the floor and moves to hug Mari. "I hope you and your family are doing okay."
Mari pats Mom's back. "We had to take care of a few hurdles but we're doing fine. I'm thankful that I wasn't betrothed to someone else after you four disappeared."
Hold on a second… Betrothed?!
Mari looks at me and blushes in Mom's arms. "Enough about me, there is someone here that you have to see."
Josie pushes Sylvia forward. Mom looks at me and then looks back at Sylvia. Mom drops back to her knees in shock.
"Sylvia!"
Sylvia smiles with tears streaming down her face.
"Mom!"
Sylvia rushes over to give our mom a crushing bear hug.
"Don't ever leave me again."
"Ahh, you're crushing me."
Sylvia loosens her hold on Mom. "Sorry." She wipes her tears off with the sleeve of her shirt. "It's been five years. I hope you are doing well here."
"You already know that I'm into the medical field. I became a doctor at the hospital here in the city. Before that, I was a doctor even before the shift."
"You and my brother probably have a reason that you all came here," Sylvia whispers, but I could pick it up easily enough.
"I don't remember the reason but I assure you that doesn't matter anymore since you are here in my arms once again. You have grown into a very fine woman in your own right. I can tell by the mature air around you."
Sylvia's eyes shine brightly. "Enough about me. You're a doctor now Mom! You get to help people more directly! You save lives!"
Mom ruffles her hair a bit. "It's my civil duty as a doctor. Before I married and became Queen, I used to be a doctor for many years on Terra before I stopped the practice and left for Nansron City."
Wait, mom is originally from Earth?
"Mom, you are from Terra? You never told the family that."
"I never did tell the family this. To tell you the truth, the Roland family wasn't the head branch of the Micheals line at first you know. Ha. They still don't have the inheritance legacy either which that helps with making permanent spiritual pacts." Mom starts to go off. "I'm part of the Cooper Lineage that stayed behind to watch over Terra in the shadows." Mom snorts. "What good did that do us, Coopers? The planet change was inevitable. The Cooper family head couldn't stop it. The Spirits we made pacts with couldn't even sense it."
Sylvia takes mom's hand. "Since I have Cooper blood in my veins, would I be able to see and form pacts?"
Mom's head turns her head to me and then pulls back.
"Yes, you'll be able to make pacts. Will already has a pact he made with a Fire spirit. Since he forgets the pact, he'll have to reconnect with it to achieve stability or he'll over-exert himself. Forgotten pacts are overly complicated so I'd advise temporary pacts or the spirit will eventually take over your body."
We all tilt our heads. Wha….
"That was probably too much to get all at once."
"Yeah."
Mom makes a worried face. "How are your older brother, older sister, and the twins? Justin and Lacey are probably busy most of the time, yes?"
Sylvia nods. "They are extremely busy. I don't know how they get through the day. By nightfall, they would look so pale and sleep deprived."
"They aren't delegating tasks to the officials to lighten their workload?"
Sylvia shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know, but I was given the role of diplomat after I asked to help out. That seemed to help a little bit. It's one of the reasons I'm here on Terra other than being here to study and dealing with anything that our family here would encounter concerning politics."
"Oh, it's that role. That role was your brother's back when we lived together."
Sylvia fumes. "No one takes me seriously. Will set a big bar and I'm coming short."
I don't remember being a diplomat to other nations. So if I go to other planets someday they would all know me?
Mari nods behind me.
Sylvia looks at me and grumbles. "You don't remember at all do you brother?"
"I don't remember anything of the sort."
I find myself under such a strong glare.
Mom giggles at us. "Now don't be mad Sylvia. Your brother has no idea of his potential now. It was me that had wiped all their memories. It would be years for him to remember everything. There's no sense in pressuring them."
"How do you remember wiping their memories?"
Mom smiles. "That's a tale for another day. That day has not arrived."
My mom and her Cooper family seemed clouded in mystery, but I should probably leave the matter here. Mysteries always reveal themselves in time. One day I will remember but I have an inkling that how she did it was more complex to understand. I may not remember most of my childhood but I can cope with that.
Mom grabs my hand while I am thinking, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Tell me. How are your classes? I hear that all four of you are in the Nansronian class section."
"Well for starters we found out that Sara was part of the Elda family."
Sara looks down at her hands.
"Mom, I want to thank you for taking me in. Thank you for all you've done. I could be dead in the ground right now if it weren't for you. You may not be my birth mom but I love you all the same."
Mom hugs Sara.
"We were already like family in the past. You and Will were two peas in a pod." Mom smirks at Mari for a second. "If he wasn't betrothed to Mari, I would have had both of you get together."
Mari goes red in the face and looks away. Sara makes a stunned face and looks right at me.
"We couldn't, he's my brother."
"I think of her as a sister and a partner, plus she has Jason." My face flushes for a second and the heat on my cheeks disappears.
"Oh well then. Just gonna have to get Jason and Sara's children to marry into the family then."
Sara looks at Mom in horror.
"Mom!"