Heir To The Iron Crown: Dyrith

23 - Tuttugu og þrír

I had chosen to wear something from my closet, clothes that I had long forgotten.

A bright red blouse tucked into black flowy pants. This was nothing like what I would normally wear, because I told myself wearing pastels would be a nice contrast with my jet black hair.

But in all honesty, I was just afraid to be seen. And bright red screamed, 'look-at-me'.

That was more Imadis than Rayne, and she gave me quite a hard time about it often.

I remember Gramma had bought this blouse for me. "To wear to a party maybe" she had said. I'd rarely been to parties, and it goes without saying that I'd never worn this.

But coming back home brought back the reality that she wasn't around anymore. And after drying my tears up alone in the bathroom, I realized I was going to do what Valente asked of me.

Cherish her happy memories.

I imagined her looking at me in these clothes, as I looked at myself in the bedroom mirror. Perhaps she would have liked them on me, and that thought made me feel a whole lot better.

I walked out once I was done, and slowly treaded down the stairs.

The hustle and bustle of the children from the living room quieted down.

"Shh Ymir, she's coming," I heard Bryn's voice.

Their hearing has certainly sharpened.

As I entered the vicinity of my family, I was greeted with exactly the welcome I'd imagined.

Bryn jumped over the couch effortlessly to rush towards me, giving me a tight hug, while Ymir ran around it to do the same.

The beautiful boys didn't let go of me even after a whole minute, and I had to laugh my tears away and pull their faces up to see them.

They had both grown so much taller, and their features were more defined now. Except for his father's hair, Bryn looked just like his mother. Ymir on the other hand, was growing into a younger version of Otto.

"Where did you go Aunty? You were never here when we came. We thought you died," Ymir said.

"No we didn't," Bryn replied sharply, hitting his brother's arm. He then looked at me with a serious face. "We didn't."

I smiled widely, watching the way he tried to cover up after his little brother.

"But mom cried so much," Ymir said, rubbing his arm.

I looked up to find Renee sitting next to her mate.

Guilt filled me.

I had thought about what it would be like for Renee after Gramma just died and for me to leave like that without notice.

But I had managed to suppress that thought out of guilt. There was guilt in staying too, and I'd already made the decision to leave, even though it wasn't completely my idea.

I looked at Valente who was sitting on the opposite couch, as memories of that night just before I left, flashed through my mind.

Regardless of the way things had played out, leaving seemed like an excuse now. An excuse to run away from the horror of what had happened. An excuse to hide like a coward.

I owed Renee an apology.
I owed them all an apology.

I decided to start with my nephews.

"I'm sorry," I said to the little boys who stood right in front of me, while ruffling their hair affectionately.

That was all I could manage to do and say.