THE APPLE OF SNAKES

iv. the greatest stallion

Nerluce sighed. He didn't know what he was doing here.

It was early enough that the sun had yet to rise but late enough that the sky began to lighten. Nerluce was meant to leave any moment now. He and twelve disciples of the clan - all of which were around his age - would depart together, riding for the Temple of Ethera, who had accepted them to train as Seraphs.

Nerluce should be preparing for the journey. It would be long and taxing. He'd never spent that long on horseback before. Instead, he was here, getting himself worked up for sentimentality's sake.

Mother's garden was heavily perfumed by flowers. Of all the gardens, hers was the only one that prioritized scent over aesthetic beauty. The sweet scent was made even more so in the crisp morning air. Frost spirits floated easily about, lax and lazy in the cold. It was far too cold for anyone but the spirits to linger in it for long. Even the ugly flightless birds that Mother kept were making noise and stirring about. 

Mother wore fine robes. A thick winter cloak was wrapped around her shoulders. It was such a bright crimson red that it made Nerluce's eyes ache. Her boots were just as fine as the articles of fabric and made every step she took the sound of nobility. 

Yet her eyes were vacant and her hair had to be brushed for her.

Nerluce and Mother walked side by side through the garden. Nerluce was wearing riding robes, a riding cloak - the same eye-aching red - and riding boots. Nerluce didn't know if Mother saw any of this. She seemed to know him. Or at least be vaguely familiar with him as she didn't break down upon departure from her caretaker. Instead, she hummed and walked beside Nerluce happily, pointing every so often at one of the birds or spirits.

"I'm going to leave for a while, Mother," Nerluce said to her.

She didn't say anything back. She rarely did. Instead, she bent down and picked a flower. She stayed crouched as she pulled the leaves from its stem one by one.

"I'm going to leave," Nerluce tried again. And again Mother gave no response she'd heard him or understood what those words meant. Nerluce had known it would be like this, yet he still felt his heart sinking. She wouldn't notice he was gone. She would likely forget of his existence entirely while he was away.

Imagine that. Forgetting you even had a son.

For some reason, though, Nerluce felt compelled to continue talking. "I don't know for how long. Ethera accepted us to train but they said that if we aren't qualified we'd be turned away just like anyone else." And since Nerluce was hopeless at both magick and academics, he doubted that he would last very long at all. But there was still a chance... "It might be a few years before I see you again."

At last, Mother turned to look at him. Her eyes were just as dark as his - darker still in the hours before the sun rose. She looked at him and in that single gesture, Nerluce felt his eyes start to water. His lower lip trembled. He commanded himself not to cry. He didn't want to cry just because his mother looked at him for the first time in what felt like years.

Sensing his distress, however, Mother stood up and did something even rarer. She pulled him in for a hug. Nerluce latched onto her, desperately clinging as she patted his head and murmured nonsense to him. She was clearly trying to comfort him, perhaps the same form of comfort that she herself received when she started crying. So Nerluce let her comfort him as he choked back sobs and wetted the front of Mother's robes.

But, as all things must, the moment came to an end as one of the disciples entered the garden to fetch Nerluce.

He cleared his throat and Nerluce forced himself to stop hugging Mother. He wiped his eyes and looked at the disciple, who dipped his head in respect to Nerluce and his mother. "Young Lord Hebikoti, it is time to depart," he said.