THE APPLE OF SNAKES

liv. homecoming

Being home was a strange thing.

Yusatsu was the same as it always was. The same buildings and the same people. Nerluce recognized all of them, but he could not longer remember their names. He felt like a stranger, yet he had never been greeted by them with more warmth. A little girl ran up to their horses and was hoisted onto her father's shoulders so she could place a crimson wreath of flowers on Nerluce's head. A boy placed a similar one onto Coam's head.

At first, Nerluce thought that it was planned. Some children planted among the crowd, their parents paid off to make the two children of the Hebikoti Clan look good. But, they were stopped several more times. Nerluce was given two jars of wine by a woman who looked familiar but Nerluce couldn't say which alcohol stand she ran. He smiled and accepted. A swordsmith gift Coam a new blade.

More presents and tributes were given. Nerluce accepted them all with baffled grace. He had never known this kind of celebration in his own name before. Then again, it was probably Coam they were celebrating, not him. She was the war hero and he was the kid that just came back from school. He felt a little ashamed at all the praise and things he was receiving. He didn't deserve them.

And yet he did not refuse them either.

At Hebikoti Palace, the gates were raised and they were greeted by Lord Father, high up. Nerluce had never seen him from this angle before. He looked a little softer and a lot older but that probably wasn't the distance.

"Welcome home my daughter," Lord Father said, "my son."

They dismounted and bowed.

When they rose again, Nerluce paid more attention to Lord Father's wives than Lord Father himself. Lady Okiachi looked as bitter as she always had. Lady Fanjie seemed to be exchanging quiet words with Lord Father himself. And then... Mother. Her caretaker was with her but Mother seemed to be better today. Not trying to toss herself off or acting afool. She just seemed to be rocking back and forth, eyes elsewhere.

As they all turned and started back inside, Nerluce focused on his horse and the task at hand. He led the gelding to the stables and started to remove his saddle but was quickly stopped by a rather alarmed servant.

"No need, young lord!" the servant said. "This one will do it."

"Ah..." Nerluce said.

He'd forgotten. Every time in Ethera when he'd taken Eden on a ride, he'd been the one to saddle and bridle him and when they returned, Nerluce had been the one to put away the tact as well. It wasn't just because no one else dared get close to Eden but because of one simple fact: Ethera did not have servants.

But home did. He didn't need to do all of those little things anymore. He tried to think of this as something positive. He had hated the chores forced upon him. He hated shoveling snow and he hated washing dishes. He would never have to do either of those tasks again. Yet... Lyana splashing soapy water at him, soaking his pants leg, himself throwing a snowball at Corbett's face... and that wasn't mentioning all the time he spent with Aristide in the stables...

Gods he'd miss those awful chores.

But he relented and let the servant take the horse and let another servant take all of the gifts he'd been given when riding in through Yusatsu. A third servant led him to a bath. Nerluce was more than grateful for that. He scrubbed the weeks of dirt from riding and a couple of days of Ethera's dirt from his skin. The water was warm and the soaps smelled sweet. How expensive were these soaps?

Nerluce got out of the bath after that. A couple of his old robes were laid out for him. He put them on, only to realize they didn't fit. Of course, they wouldn't. He'd grown. He'd grown in more ways than one. The robes were tight around his shoulders and arms and hung so high that his knees were almost on display.