One Surprise, After the Other
"By the way, why don't you guys come out already?", father said out of nowhere. I wasn't sure what he meant, but then ten Shades appeared out of nowhere. They kneeled in front of him, "Welcome back, Lord. We didn't want to disturb your family reunion". "Stand up guys. I told you not to kneel in front of me", father said. The Shades stood up, and just stood there. "What is going on?", I asked, totally confused.
Mother placed her hand on my head and explained, "Just like I mentioned before. I didn't want you to grow up like a spoiled princess, because that is kind of who you are. Your father is the Emperor of the Great North, its protector". "I told you guys that I'm no Emperor. Anyway, thanks for taking care of my family. Go back to Sedon, to your own families. You can also tell Crow I'm back, he should be happy…", father stopped for a moment to rummage in his bag. "...I still have some. Here guys, take this as my thanks. This poison should help you a lot. A small gift from me, for your hard work", father added while handing each Shade a bottle.
The Shades thanked him, then disappeared. "What.. What is going on? An Emperor? A princess? What is going on!?", I demanded answers. "Emperor my ass, didn't I say already?", father asked mother. "What do you want me to say? You think managing everything and taking care of Anna was easy? Man up to it, and accept the responsibility", mother retorted. There were thousands of questions in my head, but they were so slow to provide any answers. "Tell me! I want to know!", I demanded again. Mother smirked, "We will tell you later". "You are evil!", I exclaimed. "I told you she is a vixen… Ow, but you are!", father said but then mother slapped his head. "Hey glutton, you must be hungry, right?", mother asked instead. "Heh, I could eat something", father replied, lifted mother up and walked towards the house. "...Hey! Hey! I'm here as well!", I exclaimed before rushing after them.
While mother cooked, I took the opportunity to ask father about everything. "So you are the Emperor of the North, which means mother is the Empress. In that case, I'm really a princess?", I asked. "Sigh, well yea... ", father replied but then his face changed. He got up from his seat without a word, then approached mother. "You waited for so long, and to think I almost forgot about it", he said before kneeling down. "Sonia Clovergrowth, will you marry me?", he asked while taking a ring out of somewhere. The ring was a beautiful mix of white-silver and black metal or stone, just like mother's eyes. The design was also very beautiful. Well defined vines wrapped the ring, while the blue precious stone added great contrast.
Mother turned around, looked at him and replied, "Nah, not interested". "Oh, I see. Alright, I'll look elsewhere", father replied while standing up. Mother grabbed his head and made him kneel once more. "You said something?", she asked. "I asked whether you'd marry me, but then you said…", "Yes, of course I will be your wife, you idiot", mother cut him off, grabbed the ring and kissed him. "You call me a vixen, but you are even worse…", she complained.
This scene stunned me once more. I couldn't even react to that, it happened too quickly. "Look at our daughter's face. Doesn't she look cute like that?", father asked. "Wha… I'm going to die with you guys around!", I complained. "There's no need to be romantic about it, your mother waited seventeen years for that, I can tell. Besides, I never found a more beautiful being than your mother. Actually, I did find someone as beautiful as her. My own daughter, right?", father replied with a wink. Mother on the other hand was busy checking out the ring. I joined them to share the happiness, and check the ring out as well. 'No matter what they do, I feel so happy now… Having a father is the best!', I thought.
"Alright, let me cook our dinner… You hear? Don't stick to me so much", mother shooed me and father away. "You must be strong too, right? My attacks did nothing to you at all. By the way, where have you been? What did you do there? Did you see anything amazing? Have you brought something with you? How did you become the Emperor?...", the questions poured out from me like a fountain. "Slow down, Anna. One question at a time, alright?", father replied drily.
"How strong are you then?", I asked curiously. "Well, your old man is a bit strong. Does it matter though?", he tried to dismiss it. "Yes!", I exclaimed. "Alright. Have you heard about limits and all those different stages?", he asked instead. I nodded, then told him what I knew. "Actually, there are more than three stages, but how many more? Who knows? I never arrived at that answer, because the question lost its meaning. No matter how many times you break your limits, one day you will encounter a wall that cannot be broken. Hence the limits lost any meaning to me", he explained, but that didn't answer my question. "Yea, but you must've arrived somewhere, right?", I added.
"Well... I did arrive at the Primal Limits stage", he said. I could even hear mother dropping her spoon again. I was as shocked as she was, if not more. "...Mom, didn't you say only a few people managed that?", I asked shocked. "Hmph!", was her reply. "Give it a break Fox, I will help you improve later", father added. "Oh dear, you don't have to at all. You wife is fine, really", mother said in an evil voice. "She's not happy", father said quietly. I nodded, "Yes, I can tell too". Mother threatened us with no dinner, if we continued that conversation.
"You guys are so strong, yet I didn't even break past my limits once", I said dejected. "What are you talking about? Didn't you break past your limit just a while ago?", father asked, confused. "Huh? I did? When?", I replied, as confused. "Before you attacked me. Didn't you feel anything?", he added. 'Now that he mentioned it, there was something. I felt something snapping inside my body. This made me stronger and the energy filled my whole body', I thought. "Not only that, but you are really strong for your age and the stage. Although you only reached the Outer Limits stage, your strength can be considered on the same level as those who broke past their Half Step. Well, you are our daughter. We couldn't expect much less from you, right?", father explained.
"Don't tell her such things, dear. This will get to her head, and she'll slack off", mother complained. "It's a great achievement though. When I was sixteen years old, a simple wolf would scare me shitless", father added. "Dear! Watch your words, will you?", mother berated him. "Oh yea, I forgot. Anyway, I was a simple village boy back then… It's been years", he replied. I chucked then asked about his age. "Me? I'm pretty much fifty years old… Yea, I'm old", he said. "Don't worry, mother is almost fifty too, though she looks much younger", I tried to comfort him. "Anna sweetheart… Don't forget about your training…", mother's evil voice reverberated through the house. 'Uh-oh…', I thought and decided to stay quiet.
"Well, I don't look that old myself. I should probably shave a bit, eh? My wife is so beautiful, she must be ashamed to have such a husband", father stood up then winked at me. "The dinner will be ready soon, so don't take too long", mother reminded. "You are really happy to have him back, right?", mother asked once he left. "... I guess… He is warm and nice to us…", I replied a bit embarrassed. Since they explained a few things to me, I no longer felt hate towards my father. I felt happy when he was around. "You will get to know him soon… I'm happy to have him back as well", she added.
Mother finished preparing the dinner, but father was still outside. "Maybe he got lost?", I joked. Mother just rolled her eyes, and joined me at the table. "I'm coming, I'm coming", father's voice sounded from outside. "It's been a while since I trimmed my hair and shaved myself, you know?", he added while entering the house. "Huh! You are not fifty, you look no more than thirty!", I exclaimed. With his hair cut shorter and the beard trimmed, father looked young and much more presentable. "It will do", mother said and told him to sit down. 'She really is an evil wife…', I thought. "Don't worry Anna, your mother blushed when.. Ow.. she saw me, but quickly.. Ow.. hid that", father said. "Eat your food", mother ordered him.