Her Plan

Kael followed the old man into his house, his father trailing behind looking utterly exhausted. Kael had no clue what had been discussed between his parents and the stranger before the old man had decided to rough him up. Judging by his father's drained expression, the conversation alone seemed to have taken a toll on him.

And now, to top it all off, his son was in trouble. Great, Kael thought as he stepped through the front door.

Inside, the modestly furnished room appeared unchanged except for one critical detail: his mother was sitting on the lone chair, looking off to the side. As Kael crossed the threshold, she turned around and fixed him with a gaze that immediately conveyed her displeasure.

Kael's heart sank. The old man might have finished with him after their altercation, which he could handle. But the expression on his mother's face was another story entirely. At least Kael wouldn't be forced to go downstairs.

"Umm'an…" Kael began softly, using the formal term for 'mother' out of respect, but it did little to ease the tension. His mother clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"Quiet, Kael. You'll get your turn."

She stood up and approached the old man. Kael noted once again how the old man seemed tiny compared to his parents—not that Kael was much taller.

His mother sighed, bringing her hands together in a gesture of apology. "Hadhir, please forgive the foolishness of my son. He's still somewhat... immature."

Kael grimaced at his mother's words but remained silent. The tension in the room heightened as the old man scrutinized his mother with a penetrating gaze.

The room was sparsely decorated, with a few pieces of furniture that showed signs of many years of use. The walls were bare, except for some old utensils hanging here and there.

A faint light filtered through a small window, casting a dim glow that only added to the heavy atmosphere of the room.

Ammar stepped beside Kael and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, whispering, "Patience, son. Let's hear what they have to say."

After a few moments of silence, the old man slowly nodded, and instead of maintaining a stern facade, a slight smile spread across his face. "Let it be, Lyla. I believe the boy has already learned his lesson."

He turned to Kael and grinned broadly. "And from the looks of it, he's going to face plenty more challenges from you two," he added, shrugging his shoulders.

Lyla exhaled softly and gave Kael a brief look that suggested he should count himself lucky. Kael didn't respond, still irked by the old man's mocking grin.

However, his mother seemed not entirely satisfied with the outcome. "Thank you, Hadhir. But his behavior was unacceptable. Surely, there's something he can do for you."

The old man chuckled softly. "Ha, what can he really do for me? He can barely defend himself. The boy is just like his father was at that age."

Kael cast a questioning glance at his father, who just shook his head and rested his forehead on his hand.

Kael was somewhat reassured by the conversation. It seemed he might escape with only minor troubles, and he hoped his mother's anger would soon dissipate.

That was what he thought, at least, until Lyla Adar chimed in again.

"Yes, Ammar was just like that. I remember it well," she said, smiling at her husband, "which is why I know how much effort it took to shape him into the man he is today."

"My dear," Ammar interjected, "I think that's enough. We can leave our old man alone now and take care of Kael at home. He has already forgiven him."

"Exactly!" Kael thought to himself. "We're going home now, and later I'll come back, and we'll sort this out amongst ourselves. This time with a different outcome."

However, Kael's wish was not to be so easily fulfilled.

"I don't think so, dear husband," Lyla responded firmly, turning back to the old man. "You know, Hadhir, Kael would like to volunteer to come by once a week to help you out around the house."

Both Ammar and Kael's eyes widened in surprise.

"Is that so?"

"Do I?" they exclaimed almost in unison.

Lyla gave her two men a stern look, causing their shoulders to slump and their mouths to shut tight.

"Yes, he will," she stated decisively. "What do you think, Hadhir?"

As Lyla turned around, the expression on the old man's face amusingly mirrored that of the other two men. After a moment, the old man cleared his throat with a cough into his fist.

"I... um... that's kind of you, Lyla. I appreciate it, but I manage quite well on my own," he replied.

Kael couldn't help but smirk. It seemed his mother's proposal was more of a punishment for the old man than for him.

Yet, even while seeing the reaction, Lyla persisted. "No, please, Hadhir. You could also pursue other activities. I know how much work a house requires. Kael is young and energetic; he can take over many tasks if you show him briefly."

Both Kael and the old man frowned.

"Lyla, what's the meaning of this? I already said everything is fine. If you're unsure about the consequences, you can ground the boy in my name, but don't send him over to me," the old man said, his voice laced with confusion as he turned to Kael.

"I don't want that."

Kael grinned slightly. He felt the same. He didn't want to be there either.

"But just look around, Hadhir," Lyla said as she stood up, pointing to the dusty books. "There are food remnants back there... is that mold on the rice? Can rice even mold?! Please, Hadhir!"

As Lyla continued to scold the old man in a manner usually reserved for a misbehaving child, the old man seemed somewhat embarrassed. He turned his head away and began to hum innocently, "I... well, you know, I was just about to clean that up."

"For years?" Lyla pressed.

"...yes."

The old man sighed and raised his hands in surrender. "Please, Lyla, I know you're just trying to make sure I'm well by sending the boy here. It's not about punishment. I'm grateful for your concern, but this..."

Lyla crossed her arms, her voice taking on a commanding tone as if she had reverted to her role as Al'Shalin. Kael couldn't follow the swift change in the conversation.

"Shukran Horish, you can't continue living like this! We were worried when you said you'd move to this village, but now you've really reached a new milestone!" Lyla began to march towards the door, unleashing her frustration on the man who was supposed to be compensated.

Her tone was suddenly very angry, and Shukran, as Kael had just learned his name, seemed more apologetic than angry about being scolded in his own house.

"It's alright, dear. I'll take care of it," he conceded resignedly.

"Yes, you will," she said as she stepped through the doorway, "and Kael will come by tomorrow and every Wednesday after that!"

With those words, Kael's mother slammed the door, leaving a stunned silence in the house.

The three men just stood there, dumbfounded.

"What... what just happened?" Kael wondered aloud.

"That," Ammar replied, "was your mother making sure the old man is looked after. Congratulations, Kael."

His father patted his shoulder, "you've just been promoted to caretaker."

Kael stood dumbfounded in the room, his gaze shifting between the old man and the door that had just slammed shut. The old man, identified as Shukran, could only shake his head in disbelief.

The two men, who had just been embroiled in a heated exchange, now funnily found themselves in a strange accord.

"There's no way we're letting that happen," Shukran muttered, clearly annoyed by Lyla's demanding nature.

Kael nodded vigorously. "Exactly, it's madness!"

However, Ammar, who had observed everything with an amused grin, couldn't help but laugh. "You can try to stop it. Good luck with that!"

His words were laced with ironic sharpness. "Your mother probably planned this for a long time. Today just seemed like the perfect opportunity to implement it."

Kael frowned and turned to Shukran. "Really, the rice? Why can't you just manage on your own?"

Ammar looked at Shukran with a sympathetic gaze. "He won't tell us what's really going on, will he, Shukran?"

Shukran just shrugged, a resigned smile playing around his lips. "Sometimes Atherion has strange plans with us," he cryptically replied.

Ammar sighed dramatically. "You see, Kael? That's how it is. But tell me, why did you come here in the first place?"

Kael took a moment to gather his thoughts before responding. In the whole turnaround of the conversation, he had completely forgotten that he was the one that was supposed to be in trouble.

"Initially, I wanted to ask Mother some questions about the festival," he started, and his father nodded understandingly. "But then, when I found out you were here too, Safiya gave me another idea."

"Which was?" his father asked, visibly intrigued.

Kael took a deep breath, his resolve firming up. He had wanted to ask his father for this for a long time now, but whenever he seemed to have gathered his courage, his father vanished again.

A part of Kael wanted to wait a bit, for a better moment, maybe when they were alone. But if he didn't tell his father now, he might not ever do it.

"Teach me how to fight."