Chapter 35: Auntie's Comfort

Mitchell held his child in his arms and sighed in relief. A warm puff of air he had been holding in wafted away.

'Anette would have killed me if anything happened to him….haha.'

He inwardly laughed weakly trying to calm the chill down his spine. The mind image of her cold scarlet eyes staring at him scared the soul out of him. He wouldn't even begin to imagine what she could do...

After feeling the child's heartbeat and weak breaths, a burden seemed to be lifted from his shoulders. He looked at Bianca and nodded at her in affirmation. She turned away and walked to her own home without further lingering. She was busy making dinner before the disturbance. 

The last thing Mitchell had to worry about was how to apologize to Merlin. He knew he would not take it easy for barging into his house even though they were basically, family.

'The family wine stache should solve this problem…one magnum should do. Maybe Anette will understand as well.' Mitchell thought of the coming series of events.

He was already walking on a tightrope. 

He looked at the little Mikaela and decided quickly on what was most urgent.

A bath.

The child needed a thorough scrub and wash.

He rose and walked straight to the bathroom with a stinky child in his arms.

…

Mikaela woke up slightly distraught and groggy.

Cough! Cough! 

His voice was very hoarse. A very familiar room came into view. He felt a sense of Deja vu. Looking at the light coming in, he could tell it was daytime. His body felt very refreshed, but somehow he didn't want to leave the comfort of his bed. 

Mitchell woke up from a seat on the side at the disturbance.

"How do you feel, Son?" he asked.

Yawn!

He yawned while standing up. He walked to the side to fill a glass of water passing it to Mikaela.

Mikaela felt like his father knew exactly what he needed. He drank greedily before clearing his throat and voice. 

"Papa, what happened?" he asked.

His voice had improved, somewhat.

Mitchell looked at his son wondering how to explain. 

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked. 

"I don't know, I was swinging my sword, then I fell and it was very painful. I smelled something stinky and then I saw you and aunt. I don't know…Ugh!" Mikaela's head throbbed trying to remember what happened.

Only fragments of images appeared in his head and none made sense to him. 

Mitchell picked up a cold towel and placed it on his head. 

"You don't have to remember. Your body just went through some changes, nothing serious. It is a good thing." Mitchell said, trying to sound as positive and reassuring as possible. 

"Mnn! Okay Papa." responded Mikaela. 

Mitchell smiled. He was glad to have such an obedient little child.

'My baby boy is the best.' Mitchell thought in satisfaction.

Mikaela was tended to the rest of the day and only got a chance out of bed when Bianca came by to visit. 

"His body has completely recovered. His meridians and energy are cleaner than ever. It is a huge leap in progress." Bianca summarized as her eyes dimmed again. Mitchell nodded in understanding.

"It seems like you can practice as usual, Son," Mitchell said with a chuckle.

Bianca's words held so much reassurance that his father didn't hesitate to let him practice his sword again.

Mikaela looked at him sight in trepidation. His buried emotions of nervousness, uncertainty, and fear resurfaced when he heard of sword practice. It was the reason he ended up this way after all. 

Bianca noticed the silence and sat beside the child. A warm hug embarrassed him and buried his head in soft cotton balls. She gently stroked his hair and back in talking in a soothing voice.

"My little Kaela, what happened will not happen again. I am here, so don't worry. Nothing will happen to you. Understand, Mikaela?" she asked.

"Mn!" He gave a muffled reply.

His short small arms wormed their way around his aunt's waist and hugged her tightly. Her embrace reminded him so much of his mother's hugs. Subconsciously, he started crying.

"Sob…Ah, Sob! I-I was scared, Auntie…It happened so suddenly…I-I-I'm scared, Cough." Mikaela mumbled in sobs and coughs. 

His little fists grasped at her clothes tightly. 

"There, there! The pain is gone, Kaela," she said in a soft voice. 

Bianca shot Mitchell a cold look and rushed him out of the room. She hugged the little child who trembled in fear in her arms. Her heart was pained again. She truly did consider Mikaela like her child just as she considered Anette her sister. 

Seeing the child go through a trauma was painful, especially when she could only watch.

Mikaela fell asleep when he was done crying and out of breath, still not letting go of Bianca. His head was buried in her embrace.

Bianca escaped his hold and laid him and left with a few words. Those concluded after a while of thinking.

"The road ahead is hard, but our love and care will always be with you," she kissed his forehead and left the room.

Sometime in the night, Mikaela somewhat remembered being fed some food, he fell asleep quickly after that. He also woke up sometime in the night to go to his potty duties. He was a grown child, and no longer wet his bed. 

Morning came soon enough. The rare sun rays passed through his window into his room. Ingrained his body was the habit of waking up early. He opened his eyes and got off the bed, yawning lazily. He shivered slightly from the cold of having escaped the warmth of his covers.

Like always, he went ahead and admired his face and observed his growth on his full body mirror. The medicinal bath effects were not so drastic. He thought he had seen the entirety of the change to his face and body, but that was perhaps the start. 

He complementary doubted the person in the mirror to be him. Even with the striking crimson eyes and dark hair, it was unbelievable. 

Here was the reason.

Not a single blemish appeared on his skin, not a pole or a pimple was visible. His skin had smoothened out and he looked fair and pretty. Yes, pretty, very much like a porcelain doll. 

His lashes fluttered with each blink, his lips had a cherry red color and his cheeks held a healthy rosy glow. Somehow even his hair was glistening and sheen.

Mikaela wanted to shake the mirror and let himself know this look was his hallucination. No matter how many he looked at the mirror, the image wouldn't change.

'I think I look prettier than Lucien…'

ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ