When Mother had asked Illeuid to see her for dinner, he was certain that it was the end of the world.
If this had happened during his first lifetime, he would have been so happy, seeing it as a chance to get closer to his mother. Back when he was deluded enough to think that all mothers were kind towards their children regardless of their personality. He had compared her aloofness to his first birth mother. She had been a single parent who had to take care of him and his four older brothers. Times would be hard as money would be tight, even with assistance from the government. Despite all of that, the family had each other.
Their living situation did become easier as each of his brothers grew older and were able to get their own jobs, contributing to the family's overall income. Their mother only made them responsible for the smaller bills while she paid for the rent, electricity, and internet. It was when Illeuid was on his way to his first interview that he collapsed, his blood pressure strangely decreasing before his head bounced off of the sidewalk. The last thing he remembered hearing were the screams of passerbys before everything went black.
He had traveled through darkness for what felt like years. He had called out the names for his individual family members. He had run in random directions, desperate to get home. He just knew trying to get a job was too abnormal for the baby of the family. Time passed. He never grew tired physically. He just grew tired emotionally and mentally. He eventually got use to not having any light guide his way. He did not know if he was seeing with his eyes or his mind. He was certain that he had been walking in the same direction for awhile. It was like something had grabbed ahold of him and was guiding him to his destination.
He did not get any warning. There was no meeting with God. There were no instructions of what to expect of his new life. One second he was walking for eons, the next he announced his arrival into his new life through the wails of a baby boy. His cries piercing the night. He heard the rustles of blankets, then slow footsteps to the bassinet he laid in. His vision was blurry, the only things her could pick out from the blob was the fact that the other person had black hair and may have been wearing white clothing.
"You're very vocal," came the voice of his new mother. Only, he was unable to reconcile that fact yet. She did not pick him up to check if his diaper was full. She did not coo to lull him back to sleep. There was no level of comfort. He eventually was under the impression that she was a horrible babysitter. After that one night, he did not see his mother for six months. He barely interacted with the servants. He was fed, burped, changed, and put to bed. There was no stimulation of any kind. He learned to roll over to the absence of praise. He stood on shaky legs, the soft bed making it difficult for him to find the right balance.
He would point at the various servants and babble the different nicknames he assigned them, his baby talk making the titles come out as nonsensical. This did not adhere him to them. In fact, before they treated him with disdain, they servants seemed disturbed by his curiosity. It was later he realized that they were unused to interacting with a normal baby. Most of the Veilkerhurst children had long since suffered from the lack of affection and would stop crying whenever distressed. Not Illeuid.
He still made complaints. He still reached for aid when he was finally allowed to leave his crib, gripping the pants or dress of the servants so as not to trip. he would waddle up to those he liked more and hug their legs. He would run off by himself, babbling at nothing but still happy.
Then his mother visited again.
He recognized the woman coloration. The hair that was so dark that it had an inky blue tint. The pale skin. Illeuid pointed at her and called her "Raven Lady". The servants, shocked by his audacity, hurriedly explained that she was his mother. Illeuid only had one mother. He was forced away from her and his brothers and would not stand for it. He crossed his arms, huffed, and turned his back.
"No!" He had insisted. He pointed again. "Raven Lady!"
Reina Veilkerhurst raised a brow, surprised by her child's audacity. To think that the one that came from her womb would be so audacious.
"Young master," Georgia, his nanny bent down to address him. She was his favorite visitor. As soon as she saw how precocious Illeuid was compared to the other children of his age group, she adjusted her own manners. She spoke to him clearly, which helped him develop his speech faster. She adjusted her pace so that he could toddle comfortably next to her. She watched as he carefully studied his surroundings, seeing that he never ran into danger headfirst. Instead he would try to navigate challenges--like stairs--with little no problem. If it was too much for him at the time, he adjusted, crawling awkwardly down the steps before he gained the confidence to go down himself.
"She is your mother," she explained to him.
Illeuid had already known that someone had to have given birth to him. The face he currently had was completely different from the one he had in the past. The only thing that he had his current self had was the fact that they had dark eyes and black hair. His eyes looked hard. He did not know how baby could have such eyes, but his did. Of course, he had to have a different other and family. That did not mean that he had to like it. He pouted at his nanny.
"I am telling the truth, young master." She assured him.
He knew that his nanny was not a liar. He looked back at the woman who came to visit him. He did not know what kept his mother away from him for six months. He should not assume that even though he lived in what had to be a mansion, that it may have been easy for her to come see him. Her workload may be quadrupled what his other mother had to go through. There was not a lot that he knew about this world. He toddled over to the striking woman. His arms were still crossed as he approached her. He had to rear his head back as she towered over him. Then he did something else that surprised everyone who was watching.
He hugged his new mother's leg and apologized. "Sorry, mommy." He did not know why he was stolen away from his original family. He had to accept that he was here now and that he had to adjust properly. With that taken care of, he ran to his nanny and grabbed her skirts. He tried to drag her out of the room as he did not want to be there any longer. It was still hard not being able to see his other family and he could feel the tears begin to sting his eyes. Then he was grabbed from behind.
The other woman turned him around to study him. She took in his red eyes, the way they grew shiny with unshed tears.
"At least you know how to apologize," She commended him. He hung limply in the air, not reaching out for her as he was not prepared to be affectionate with her yet. Still, he wanted to show that he was somewhat filial to his new parent.
He patted her hand.
Reina's eyebrows rose in surprise. Then she threw her head back and let out a bark of laughter.
"You're about to cry and yet you're comforting me?" She question him. Her eyes grew hard as the mirth left her face. "What gave you the right?"
Illeuid tilted his head as he dissected her inquiry. Was this like how his mother would sometime gripe at him and his older brother about how they did not know how hard she fought for them whenever they complained about their lack of amenities?
"Mama made me," he hoped that mollified his new mother. He did not need to hear another lecture about how "she brought him into this world and how she could take him out". Which she later did. Countless of times.
Reina's eyes did not necessarily melt, but it was softer than before.
"Well," she smiled at him. "At least you show the proper respect."
And he did in the beginning. He began to look forward towards his mother's visits. He would run up and hug her. When he saw her outside, he gave her flower bracelets. When she told him that she had no use of those weeds, he asked why they had a garden then? He would admit that he was a smart aleck. That was how he was with hos other family. He thought that it would be okay here. He grew to love spending time with his mother. He had so much fun.
But his love for her was one-sided.