Chapter 2: Déjà vu

Zein woke up to a familiar ceiling, feeling dazed and confused he checked his surroundings realizing he was in his bedroom covered with his favorite blanket "Wha-what? Was that a dream?" He stuttered in disbelief as he quickly stood up from his bed.

He checked his surroundings, clothes, and the door, everything was the same as the 'yesterday' he thought it would be. When he came to, he wanted to confirm something he imagined, so he waited for a moment... "Hmm... I thought I had foresight powers." he mumbled to himself in disappointment as he thought his father would come banging through his doors like the 'yesterday'. - "Maybe because I didn't scream in my sleep this time?"

Zein went to inspect his wardrobe but then muffled footsteps outside distracted him, gradually the footsteps were getting louder as it was getting closer to his room but one person didn't make the footsteps.

They stopped in front of his door and he heard muffled voices arguing. "Hmm... Who could they be?" Zein wondered as he pressed his ear against the door.

It was the voice of an unfamiliar old woman who sounded like a strong brute of a woman. "It's been a few years. The boy is now about 8 years old is it?" — and the voice of a familiar old man, Zein's Father. "Yes... But he's still a child!" 

"That much is obvious, but don't you think now's the time? Look how frail and skinny he is. He doesn't even look like a true Nord. Or did you even teach him the basics of training?" she argued.

Behind the door, The eavesdropping boy ate her words like a mature person."Ouch... But yea, blame the old man for that... hehe" 

"Don't tell me how to raise my child Loydja!" The old man responded by raising his voice to the woman.

"Loydja, so that's her name... I wonder what her relation with my Father is, she seems to know who I am." The boy wondered as he was intrigued.

"Look Randjolf... If you treat him like a princess his growth will be stunted, and probably won't last a year. No... A month outside these walls." She replied trying to convince her person.

Zein grinned and clenched his fists mimicking the 'victory kid meme', "I agree with her! As annoying as it could be, I feel like a princess locked inside a castle and it disgusts me." Feeling happy, for once in his lifetime he finally had someone he could agree on. — "But wait... What's a meme?" — ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Zein's Father, who is called Randjolf grunted as he started to agree with Loydja after losing a short argument. "Heh... Women... (Sips on a coffee)" — "Huh? Why am I thinking of a foreign beverage right now?"

Suddenly the doorknob started to move...

"Oh, Shit!" Startled, Zein quickly jumped to his bed and pretended to sleep seconds just before the door opened.

With a big sigh coming out from Randjolf's nostrils he started to calm down. "You have a point... But look, I never met my father, or even had an acting one. So honestly, I don't know how to do this. The boy's mother... She alone took care of her when he was a babe. If you remember that was when our Lord and I went on an expedition." he explained trying to mutter excuses against Loydja.

Pretending to sleep, Zein finally heard something interesting from his secretive Father, "Lord? I never knew Father served someone before maybe someone powerful? but who; the High King? Hmm... Maybe Loydja was a colleague of his before?" He thought. — "But the most important part, this was the first time he mentioned my mother."

Loydja raised an eyebrow and then looked at Randjolf with a frown, "Wait... did the boy ever hear about his mother?" she asked.

Lowering his head and tone of voice, "No..." he answered truthfully.

Looking at her companion, her frown faded as she put her arm on his shoulder, "You should tell her about La-" She tried to encourage him but was interrupted by someone who they thought was sleeping.

"My throat... Shit, I'm about to cough!" — COUGH! COUGH! — "No turning back now..." he thought as he failed to resist the itchiness from his throat.

Both old people were startled, and one of them quickly rushed towards the boy with heavy concern in their eyes,

"Zein!" Upon calling his son's name, Randjolf offered to help him to a comfortable semi-upright position.

With no choice, Zein braced his acting skills as he opened his eyes as slowly as he could to make it look natural. "You mentioned mother." he said in an intentionally shaky tone while accepting his father's help to get up — "I said natural..." He imagined rolling his eyes at himself as he believed he failed to act natural.

The man stared at his son for a moment, then decided to reply with a cold tone, "So, you heard?"

To cover up the boy's failure he looked at his father's eyes firmly as he followed it with an answer "I thought I was dreaming, but I do heard you mentioned mother..."

Randjolf looked at Loydja with his eyes filled with the meaning "What should I do?" — She nodded in response to his companion's gaze understanding the meaning behind his eyes. "It's time you tell the boy."

"So that's Loydja..." the boy thought as he looked at her up and down.

Loydja, a fine-looking Nord despite her old age. Dressed in heavy steel armor adorned with Nordic designs. Standing slightly shorter than Randjolf but taller than Rayya, she has a height that adds to her aura. Her physique is buffed and well-toned, this indicates her warrior's lifestyle, with a weight that complements her muscular build. Her hair, covered in white with strands of black, flows down her back which also tells a story of age and experience. She has piercing blue eyes that look sharp and attentive, which blends well beautifully with her wrinkled, yet still attractive almost pale-ish skin. — "Ah! I'm not into old women, I'm just describing her!" Zein thought shaking his head while blushing.

Loydja noticed the boy's gaze from her sharp peripheral view but decided to ignore it as he kept her eye on her companion.

Continuing, Loydja's face and arms bear the marks of her past battles, with scars that add to her character rather than detract from her beauty, which also adds to prove her history with Randjolf as her companion.

Randjolf nodded back to his companion then shifted his gaze to his son. "I... uh... About that... I-" Stuttering, Loydja noticed.

"I'll leave both of you then, I'll meet you down with Rayya..." she said as she slammed the door close leaving the two. 

As both Father and Son see Loydja off, they wait for the footsteps to fade before they start their most awaited conversation. "So are you going to tell me about Mother?" looking at his Father with a determined look, he asked.

Randjolf noticed his son's determined eyes, "Before that.. how are you feeling?" changing the subject, he decided to prioritize consulting the boy's wellbeing.

He held his temple with his fingers massaging it, he answered, "It feels like my head's been hit by a horse."

The father raised his eyebrow and asked, "Have you ever been hit by a horse though?"

"Errr... No... It's an idiom, Father. I read it from one of the Manor's books" Zein facepalmed.

The man smiled and chuckled, "Just saying..." — but the smile wasn't for long before his face and tone of voice became serious, "By the way, you don't seem to remember what happened."

"What do you mean? What happened?" The boy asked in curiosity while also feeling uneasy as he noticed the change in his father's face and tone.

Upon hearing his son's response, he looked more worried than before, "You passed out yesterday, you were found in a tunnel." he stated.

He blankly stared at the air, his face emotionless. "Ah, I see." the boy responded.

Randjolf squinted as he was bothered at his son's reaction, "You seem rather calm?" he asked.

"Ah... Sorry, I was convinced that it was a dream." Zein replied as he touched his clothes and pointed at the door indicating what happened yesterday.

Curious, Randjolf followed the gesture, "Oh. Sorry about your door, it doesn't matter, it's fixed now." he said with a chuckle, scratching his head.

Moving on from that, Zein sat down on his bed and let out a big sigh, "Anyways, how did you find me?" he said, gazing at his father's eyes with a serious look... — "Also, enough with the side conversation, I want to get to the main point... my mother." He thought.

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[1st of Sun's Height, 4E, 309, Sundas]