Elunara was staring at the drawing with some concern. Something was off about it, but she couldn't figure out what. At the knock on the door, she stood up to answer it. Opening the door, she was shocked to feel arms around her waist. She looked down at Bradly.
"Shouldn't you be playing with the other kids?"
He shook his head.
"Can I help you?"
He nodded and wiped his tears on her shirt. With a sigh, she closed the door and sat her drawing on the table. "Go sit on the couch." She pulled out a chair and turned it around. She sat down, arms over the back. "Spill it."
"You were right." He wiped a snotty nose on his sleeve.
"I'm right about a lot of things, kid. What am I right about today?"
"My parents are breaking up."
"Ah."
There was another knock on the door and she got up to answer it. Seeing Harvard, she held out a hand and jerked her head. The relief on his face was obvious. He started to step forward, but she held out her hand and shook her head. Understanding, he nodded and stepped back. She shut the door in his face.
"Am I bothering you?"
Savage got up and licked the kid's hand. Yoona started bouncing around, but he whacked her with a paw and sat on her.
"Nah, I was just doing some paperwork."
"How did you know?"
"I've been studying people for years. I know them, often more than they know themselves."
"I just don't know what to do." The tears welled up.
"Kid, I'm going to give it to you straight. This was always going to happen. You not only have nothing to do with it, but there's nothing you can do ABOUT it. Even if you were never born, these two people would have come to this same point the same damned way." She shook her head. "All you really can do is man up and listen to your heart. I can't tell you what to do, I can't tell you what to choose, but I can tell you that your mother would only be happy if things were exactly as she had them. Your dad will only be happy if he follows his heart and joins this army. So, now you have to carve your own path. You can do it alone, or you can accept support from those who wish to give it. In the end, you'll be the sole decision maker in your own life. Dragged here, dragged there, it all amounts to the same, you are under someone else's power."
"Power?"
"You have more power than you think. In fact, you have more power than your parents think. They've known you all your life, but do they actually KNOW you? Can they tell you what you want? No."
"They treat me like a little kid." He pouted.
"That's the danger of being a parent. They saw you as you grew, but they still want to protect you, keep you little, keep you safe. It only last so long, and they want to hold on to it."
"You do the same to Darguni?"
"When I'm not thinking about how dumb that is. In the end, I think that parents have the difficult task of learning when to push you farther, and when to hold you back for your own good. I worry for Darguni's safety, but I also know who his parents are. He's going to be a monster, in the best possible way. The end result is that a parent should push their kid farther than they've ever been. As badass as I am, I'm going to screw up, he's going to be mad at me and I'm going to be mad at him. In the end, all I want is for him to be the best he can be."
"I wish my mom thought that. All she wants is for me to stop being annoying."
"It might just not be in her capacity." She shrugged. "What DO you want? And before you say it, you can't fix this between your parents. You can't. What YOU have to do, is to decide what's best for you. What would make you the happiest?" She stood up. "Hold on." She walked in the back room and pulled out a framed picture. She handed to him.
"Whoa..." He ran his hand over the glass. "That's me?"
"I took a little liberty with the pose, but I thought you'd like it."
"This is the coolest present ever."
She held up a finger. "Ah, no. It was a commission, you paid me and everything. I take my commissions seriously. In the end, you have to decide, is it going on your wall here? Or are you taking it back to Stormwind to show your friends there?"
He ran his hand over it. "Can I... send it with my mom? So she can have my picture?"
She spread her hands out. "It is yours; you may do with it as you please. You can always commission me again. Just remember, whatever you chose, it will be permanent. Choose your words and your actions carefully, because they can never be changed. Never act in anger or haste."
He nodded. Clutching the picture he climbed off the couch.
She opened the door. Harvard was sitting in the dirt, head leaned against the wall.
"Dad! Look!" He showed the picture to his dad.
"That's amazing, did she give you that?"
"I commissioned it!" He said proudly.
She leaned against the doorjamb as they walked off.
"Not good with kids, huh?"
Jordan's voice made her almost jump out of her skin. "Good lord, don't do that."
"My gods, I snuck up on Elunara? Someone mark this on a calendar!"
She smacked him on the arm. "Smartass."
Bradly was standing by his parents, clinging desperately to his picture. They had stopped speaking to each other and Elunara hurt for the kid. She stood beside Renwa and Grogek awaiting the next shipment of soldiers. The mages were going to send things back before they started bringing them forward.
The woman stooped down. "Bradly, this is it; this is your last chance. Come with me, come home."
"No Mom, I'm staying. I already told you, this is what I chose."
"Bradly you're barely seven, you can't be serious."
"Mom," He held up the picture. "Take this; I can stay with you like this. That way I can do what I-"
She slapped the picture out of his hand. "I refuse to take anything that whore touched."
Tears welled in his eyes. "But, Mom..."
She grabbed his arm and yanked him painfully forward. "I've had enough of this, you're coming with me."
"Barbara..."
"Oh, shut up, Harvard." The woman backhanded him.
Harvard rubbed his face in shock.
Elunara charged forward. Renwa reached out to stop her, but barely missed. "Shit."
"Listen here, you obnoxious twit. This child has chosen his path, and you will damned well let him take it."
"You shut your whore mouth!" Barbara shoved her finger in Elunara's chest. "I'm sick of you tainting my family. First my husband, now my child... You're just filthy. You can't get enough of them can you? Lord only knows how you've corrupted your half breed brat."
Elunara cracked her across the face. "Say what you will about me, but you will leave MY child out of it, and hell, YOUR child for that matter."
"You BITCH!" She held her cheek.
"This could be the last time you ever see your child, and you want THIS to be the last he remembers of you?"
"I'm taking him with me!"
Elunara grabbed her by the wrist and twisted. "You will let him GO. He has chosen his path."
"He's SEVEN!"
"Old enough to choose. He chose."
Barbara raked her nails across Elunara's face.
"Seriously?" She sighed. Elunara stood on one foot and kicked Barbara in the ribs. "I've had enough of you." She grabbed her by the throat and threw her into the portal.
Bradly sat, dumbfounded in shock.
Elunara picked up his picture and wiped it off. "I guess you're keeping it."
Bradly took it and stared at it for a moment before holding it over his head, obviously intending to smash it. Elunara grabbed it from his hands and then handed it back to him.
"Don't let her hatred ruin your picture. Don't let anyone's hatred ruin things you enjoy." She put a hand on his cheek. "Where did that bruise come from?" She whispered. "Let's heal this, heal some of the hurt you've endured."
With tears in his eyes, he wrapped his arms around the picture and then arm around her leg. She sighed as she waited for the next order of troops to come through the portal. Soon, the families of the troops came through. Bradly gasped and tugged at her pants.
She looked down and he beamed at her.
