Chapter 21: Liberation

Kelrian's father still stood in the door, preventing that Kelrian, who had gotten up in the meantime, could leave the room.

'You have just gotten yourself into serious trouble' he had said. Kelrian knew his father well enough so he knew he was serious about this. He had no clue what his father would do but he had a bad feeling about what could happen.

"I've told you what will happen if you dare to return to my house" he hissed, regarding his son with narrowed eyes.

Kelrian didn't say anything. He remained next to the bed where his mother was lying, regarding his father closely. He was prepared for the case his father would do a rash move. But he didn't. Instead, he crossed his arms in front of his chest as he regarded his son from head to toe.

"What are you doing here and why are you wearing that rag?" he hissed, pointing at Kelrian's ranger uniform. Kelrian didn't turn a hair as he listened to the insults. He didn't say anything in response, not even after his father had finally managed to stop talking.

"I would advise you to leave my house as fast as possible and never return"

Kelrian's response was short and simple. "No"

"No?" his father roared out, his face turned red with rage. "What do you mean with no?"

"I will only leave the house after I've spent some time with my mother" he responded. His voice sounded monotonous, his facial expression was impassive.

"Your mother doesn't want to see you"

Kelrian turned his head, looking at his mother who was staring at the blanket which covered her body. "I don't believe that for a second. She would have already sent me away or called for help if she didn't want me around"

"Bullshit" his father hissed as he made a step towards his son.

"Tell him the truth, mother" spoke Kelrian. His voice sounded soft and comforting. His mother took a deep breath, looking at Kelrian for a few moments before she looked at her husband. "Xenarion, my dear... You may not want to accept it but he is speaking the truth. I want him around and I can't expel him anymore. He is my son. OUR son. There is no reason to hate him and regard him as unworthy. He is our blood. He is..."

"SHUT UP, WOMAN. I HAVE NOT ASKED FOR YOUR BLOODY OPINION" shouted Xenarion, silencing his wife effectively. His furious look, his gritted teeth and his loud and strong voice were enough to intimidate her and cause her to crawl under her blanket. Kelrian noticed out of the corner of his eyes that her entire body trembled. She was afraid. Afraid of her own husband. Kelrian was right with his assumption.

This was the last piece of the puzzle which was missing. Xenarion intimidated his wife to get his will. Threating her with violence was his way of proceeding. It was the way of a bastard. Xenarion was nothing more than a bastard and a weakling who was taking advantage of his physical strength.

He may be a male but Kelrian was pretty sure that his mother would be physically stronger than him, at least with two arms. She was a paladin so she had been trained in combat. His father, on the other hand, was just a high ranked priest so he was not very good in close combat. His mother could have been able to defend herself if her husband would have become violent. But she had never resisted and never told him her opinion. Instead, she had endured his tyranny. She was too afraid of what he might do.

But that will end. Kelrian will make sure that his father will never speak to his mother like that. He won't leave until his father will treat her with the necessary respect and promise to never threaten her again.

"Don't you dare speak to her like that. She is your wife and my mother" Kelrian said, his voice was low and sounded dangerous. "You have no right to treat her like that. She is not your slave"

Xenarion tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "What did you say?" he asked. Kelrian repeated what he had said. His voice was louder than before but not too loud and his eyes rested on his father.

"YOU DARE TO ENTER MY HOUSE AND SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT? IT SEEMS THAT I FORGOT TO TEACH YOU RESPECT" Xenarion roared out. He came closer until he was only about twenty feet away from the ranger.

"You taught me a lot, father. You taught me respect towards others who deserve it. But you don't deserve my respect or my mother's, not if you intimidate her, hit her and treat her like your willing slave. You are nothing more than a violent asshole who uses brute force and intimidation to get what you want. You don't deserve anyone's respect" Kelrian responded as he stared into his father's furious blue eyes.

"Enough of this bullshit" he hissed as he stepped forward, raising his arm.

"Xenarion... Please, stop it... before you ruin everything"Liana begged, her voice was weak.

"I am ruining everything? You are the one who gave birth to this unworthy piece of shit. You have ruined everything"

"He is still your son. He is still OUR son"

"He is your son. I don't believe for a second that he is mine. Look at him. He is the only member of our family who is unable to use the light. He can't be a son of mine. I have only fathered children who became either priests or paladins. Even his younger siblings are able to use the light. There is only one logical explanation. He is not my son which means that you have cheated on me. He has to be the son of someone else"

Kelrian didn't say anything. He was not shocked or surprised. On the contrary, he was oddly calm. He didn't believe his father's lies. He didn't believe anything his father was saying. His words meant nothing to him. He ignored them.

But his mother couldn't ignore them. Kelrian looked at her, noticing that she had tears in her eyes. He assumed that it really hurt her that her husband believed that she hadn't been loyal to him.

Xenarion didn't deign to look at her. He didn't care that his false accusations had really hurt her. He didn't care what hearing such false accusation would do to the woman who was already traumatized because of the horrible events of the past days she had witnessed. He didn't stop insulting his son and his mother - his own wife. Rage had taken control over him so he was not able to stop himself. It was the rage who led him to charge at Kelrian, intending to hit him.

But Kelrian saw it coming. He knew that his father was intending to hit him, so he reacted quickly, ducking beneath his father's attack went into the air,surprising him. Xenarion tried to hit him again but the ranger had been taught by Sylvanas Windrunner, the best ranger of Quel'Thalas, so it was easy for him to dodge the next attack.

He moved behind his father but he didn't attack, even though he had the perfect opportunity to hit him in the back. "This is my last warning. Let me go and promise to never lay your dirty hands on my mother again, otherwise... Well, otherwise it will hurt you pretty badly if you try to hit me again"

Xenarion was too angry to keep a cool head. He didn't think over the whole situation, instead, he launched himself at Kelrian, intending to push him to the ground.

Kelrian intended to prove his father that rangers weren't just pathetic woodmen who lived in the forest and searched through the dirt for traces. Xenarion had always regarded the Farstriders as scum who are nothing more than hunters. He had despised them for all of his life and this despise had grown when Kelrian had joined them.

But this was the moment where Kelrian could prove him wrong. He could prove that rangers were very powerful fighters who were very important for society. They did their best to protect people from all dangers. In this case,his mother stood for the people and his father for the danger. And Kelrian would protect his mother by every means.

He countered his father's leap attack, grabbing his arm in the same moment where he made a step to the side. He turned his body, throwing his father over his shoulder in the same movement. A loud groan escaped Xenarion's lips as he landed on the hard floor. He was too shocked at this very moment to do anything, so Kelrian took advantage of this opportunity. He kneeled next to his father, tying his arms and legs together before he was able to do something. He used a piece of cloth, he had taken out of the sewing box of his mother, as a gag and put it in his father's mouth.

Xenarion tried to get free but he didn't manage it. It was impossible to get rid of these provisional ties without someone's help. He was shouting something but the gag muffled it and made it unintelligible. His furious eyes rested on Kelrian but the young man didn't care. He gave his father one last look before he turned around, walking to the bed. He pulled the blanket away, lifting his mother up. She was surprised at first but then she stood up, without asking her son what he was intending to do. She trusted him, so she allowed him to guide her out of the room.

But Kelrian didn't only guide her out of the room. He guided her through the corridor, climbed down the stairs with her and guided her through the house's exit. He told Cincia to look for Sindor and bring him to them as fast as possible. Cincia gave their mother a confused look, wondering what was going on. Their mother didn't say anything, she just nodded to her youngest daughter. Cincia hesitated for a few moments but then rushed upstairs.

She returned a few minutes later with Sindor who was holding her hand, a confused look was also visible on his young face. Kelrian waved at them, telling them to get closer. "What is going on?" asked the forty-seven years old teenager.

Kelrian kneeled next to him so that his face was on the same height as Sindor's face. "I will explain everything later but for now we need to go"

"But..." Cincia said but she didn't finish her sentence as she spotted the horse which was tied to a tree not far away from their house.

"You know how to ride, right?" Kelrian asked Cincia.

"I do but why do you ask?"

"You know where Liadrin's house is, right?"

Cincia nodded.

"You need to take mother and Sindor to her house. I will join you later and explain everything. Do you trust me?" Kelrian said, staring into her eyes.

"I do trust you"

"Good, let's go then"

Kelrian guided them to the horse, helping them to climb up. He made sure that they were steady in the saddle before he handed the reins to his younger sister. He gave her a key, telling her that she will need it to get in Liadrin's house. He looked at them for the last time before he hit the horse on its rear, causing that it started to move. He waited until the horse was out of his sight, then he followed the path they had taken.

---

Liadrin unlocked the door, opened it with one hand and turned around so she could keep the door open with her back while both of her hands were holding two bags, which were filled with food and other stuff. She pushed the door open, stepping into the entrance hall. The first things she saw were the strange pairs of shoes which were standing in front of her shoe cupboard. She frowned, regarding the pairs closely. She was sure that two of these pairs belonged to women while the last pair belonged to a man.

Her first assumption was that Kelrian had invited some guests and forgot to inform her on the previous day. She walked through the entrance hall, shouting her cousin's name. She met him as she entered the living room, his hair was as wet as hers, same counted for his clothes.

Like Liadrin, Kelrian hadn't managed to get home before the storm had started. The rain was falling heavily, the wind was blowing heavily, causing that the branches of the trees were getting could hear the raindrops drumming against the windows and the roof, and the whistle of the wind. She was even able to hear the quiet thundering in the far. A thunderstorm was approaching, she was pretty sure of that.

She regarded Kelrian for a few moments, giving him a questionable look. "You haven't warned me that you will bring visitors with you today"

Kelrian pursed his lips, considering what he should say. He was silent for a few moments but then he gave Liadrin an answer. "It happened spontaneously, to be honest. I haven't planned on bringing them to your house but I saw no other option"

"You mean because of the rain?" Liadrin asked.

Kelrian didn't say anything in response, he pointed behind him, telling Liadrin to follow him. She did that, putting the bags, she was still carrying, on the table in the middle of the room. Kelrian pointed at the couch on the right side of the room. Liadrin made a curious face as she turned around to look at the direction he had pointed at. Her face reflected surprise as she saw her aunt Liana and her other cousins sitting on her couch.

"Oh, hi..." she said, not knowing what else to say. "It has been a while since we last met"

Liana nodded, standing up immediately. Liadrin's eyes fell on her arm stump, her facial expression changed from surprise to compassion. Of course, she had heard about the massacre near the village where Liana had been stationed so she knew what had happened to her. Hearing what happened to her was one thing but seeing what happened to her was totally different.

Liadrin had been shocked when she had heard about what had happened to her aunt. Now that she was seeing her, she was even more shocked. She didn't say anything, she just stared at Liana. The older woman's comfortable smile was enough to cause Liadrin to relax eventually. She wasn't shocked anymore but she still felt bad about her.

Liadrin found her voice eventually, giving her aunt and her cousins a small smile. "It's good to see you. I'm really sorry about what happened to you. I..."

Liana lifted her hand, stopping Liadrin from speaking any further. "It's okay. I'm a soldier so I knew that this could happen. To be honest, I was pretty lucky. It could have been worse. I could have lost the entire arm. I also could have died"

"That's true. But I assume it's pretty hard to live with only one hand, not to mention that you wouldn't be able to fight without your sword hand"

"It is hard indeed but I will get used to it. I have to"

Liadrin gave her an understanding nod. "I hope you will manage it". She regarded her family for a few moments, still wondering why they were visiting Kelrian and her. "We haven't seen each other in ten maybe fifteen years if I remember correctly so it really makes me curious why you are visiting us now"

Once again, Liadrin scrutinized her aunt and cousins. It came in her mind that they weren't wet which meant that they had arrived earlier than Kelrian. They hadn't come with him so she interpreted that they must have come on their own to this place. At first, she had thought that Kelrian had guided them to her house. She had thought that he wanted to visit them somewhere his father and older siblings would never go. Now she was not sure what was going on. Nothing made sense for her.

Liadrin noticed that Liana wanted to say something but Kelrian was faster. "They are not here because they are visiting us for a day"

Liadrin frowned, signalizing him to explain what was going on. Kelrian tried his best to explain everything as simple and as quick as possible. In the end, he had needed half an hour to make Liadrin understood in which situation they were in. Liadrin made a thoughtful face, rubbing her chin as she considered what to say in return.

"You can stay here as long as you want"

Liana's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure?"

Liadrin smiled. "Of course I am. We may have had our differences in the past but we are still family, aren't we?"

"Of course we are" said Cincia, smiling happily.

Liadrin pointed at her. "See"

"Thank you so much, Liadrin"

"You are welcome, my dear. Come, I will show you your rooms while Kelrian will change clothes so he doesn't make my carpet wet"

Kelrian nodded to her, waiting until she had left the room with his mother and siblings, then he headed to his room.

A few days passed where nothing noteworthy happened. His mother and siblings slowly got used to living in their new home. They were glad that Liadrin allowed them to stay here because they wouldn't know where else to live. They couldn't live in their former home anymore. Kelrian would never leave his mother and his younger siblings in a household where violence and intimidation were tolerated. He had sworn to protect his family no matter what would happen.

His father and his older siblings may still belong to his family but only by law. He didn't regard them as members of his family anymore, not since he had found out that his older siblings tolerated their father's behaviour. Kelrian still couldn't believe that his father had hit his wife or threatened her whenever she had disagreed with something.

The worst thing was that his siblings had never said anything or did anything against it. In his opinion, they were the worst children a mother could imagine. Kelrian had never hated them before, not even after they had started to treat him like a piece of shit. But since his mother had told him everything, he detested them.

Same counted for his father. He was the worst. He didn't deserve his mother. He never had. Nevertheless, she had loved him. Loved him for a reason Kelrian couldn't understand. He could only assume that his father had been a different person back then when he had met his mother. He was really hoping that. Otherwise, he had no idea what his mother had seen in him. Maybe she had just been blinded by love.

It didn't matter for Kelrian what she had felt for him back then. He was just glad that she had realized who he truly was. He was an asshole. She had always ignored that in the past but now she wasn't ignoring it anymore. She had opened her eyes and unofficially left this asshole for the greater good.

Kelrian was sitting in the living room, eating a few grapes while thinking of Sylvanas. He hadn't seen her for a few days because she was too busy with paperwork and other necessary stuff. She was so busy that she hadn't left her office in five days. Verena had told him that she was busy considering how to improve the defence system in Quel'Thalas. She had told him that Sylvanas regarded it as her personal failure whenever a group of trolls or orcs manage to sneak past the patrols and get deeper than expected into the territory of the high elves.

Kelrian knew that it was impossible to cover every corner of Quel'Thalas because the Farstriders didn't have enough men for that. They could only cover up the most important places, so there were some areas which were only covered up by one or two patrols while the important areas were covered by five to six groups each.

He wished he could help Sylvanas. He wished he could see her and help her relax a bit. She must be really stressed. On the other hand, he would only distract Sylvanas with his presence so it was probably better that he wouldn't meet her until she had found a solution.

Verena had also told him that she visited Sylvanas from time to time to help her, not to mention she made sure Sylvanas ate enough and got enough sleep. Nobody wanted to meet a Sylvanas who was in a bad mood, was hungry and really tired. Kelrian was hoping Sylvanas would finish her work soon so he didn't need to wait too long to see her again.

He stood up after a while, walking to the door which led to the house's backyard. He opened it but he didn't walk out of it. He just stood there and regarded his siblings who were following their mother's instructions and healed an injured animal. They weren't ready yet to attend the examinations for becoming an apprentice of a priest, nevertheless were they able to use the holy light to treat smaller wounds. Whenever Kelrian's parents and older siblings had had the time, they had trained him, Cincia and Sindor. Kelrian had never managed to do what his family had wanted him to do. He had never been able to heal a mouse or a cat. He had tried hard but he had always failed.

His younger siblings, on the other hand, were able to heal smaller animals. Kelrian had to admit he had been jealous at first when he had discovered that Cincia and Sindor were able to use the holy light while he was not. But the more time had passed, the less jealous he had become. He had accepted that his destiny was not to become a priest or a paladin. Unlike the rest of his family, it was not his destiny to serve the light. He was able to choose his own destiny and he had chosen to become a Farstrider. He had chosen this destiny even though it would mean that half of his family would hate him while the other half would side with him.

He had never wanted that his family would split because of him. He wished his family could live together in peace without needing to quarrel. It was not his fault that things were like this. He had never asked for not being able to use the holy light nor had he ever asked for a father who would be so intolerant and manipulative. His father had incited his oldest son and daughter against his middle son. He was an arrogant, superficial, violent asshole and there was no hope that he will ever change.

Kelrian had accepted that so had his mother and younger siblings. Liadrin had allowed them to stay in her house as long as they wanted. Staying forever was also an option but Kelrian's mother was not sure if she wanted that. A lot of things had been going through her mind during the past days. She was pretty sure that leaving her husband had been the right decision but she was unsure what to do in the future.

She had no idea where to live, what to do about her husband and oldest children and she had no idea if she will ever be able to fight again. She had lost her sword hand so she would never be as good in fighting as she had been before. No matter how much she will practise fighting with her other hand, she will never reach her previous level. She will always have a disadvantage whenever she would fight.

Maybe it was the best if she would become a priestess and focus on helping the wounded. This way she could be useful and help others. It made more sense than dying against an opponent who didn't care about her disadvantage. She will find a quick death if she would keep fighting as a paladin. Becoming a priestess was the only real option she had.

Kelrian regarded his family for a few minutes before he returned to the living room. He was about to go to the fridge, to get something other than fruits to eat, as he heard knocks. He turned his head to the direction where the knocks came from, realizing that someone was knocking at the front door. He didn't hesitate to leave the living room, coming to the entrance hall. He opened the door, spotting two village guards. There was a woman with long black hair, whose nose and ears were pierced. Next to her stood a man with long brown hair who had a tattoo in the form of the sun on his neck. Both of them were wearing blue and golden coloured armours. The armours of the Silvermoon Guards.

Kelrian regarded them, wondering why they were knocking at Liadrin's door. "How can I help you?" he asked, giving them a curious look.

"I'm Captain Verosa and that is Soldier Jen" the woman said, pointing at herself and then at the man. "We are here to investigate something"

Kelrian raised an eyebrow, frowning at them. "What?"

"Are you Kelrian Sunsinger?"

"Yes, I am"

"And your father is Xenarion Sunsinger?"

"Unfortunately, yes"

"Your father has reported to us that you have kidnapped your mother and your younger siblings"