Chapter 755 — Distance
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
family…
When Mary heard that familiar yet alien word, she was briefly overcome by a sense of unreality.
Only after a few seconds did she slowly recall that she really had told her mentor her decision a few days ago—that she wanted to see her family.
The young sorceress pressed her lips together and looked at her mentor with some hesitation. "They are…"
"In the parlor upstairs," Daniel said, his yellowish eyes fixed on Mary. "You had best wash up before you go up—especially your hair."
"All… all right."
Mary answered hurriedly, then left the basement where the immersion pods were housed as if in a daze. She returned to the ground floor, entered the communal washroom, and reached out to turn on the water valve. She watched the clear water supplied by the arcane pump flow from the metal pipes, and the rushing sound gradually calmed her heart.
Her family.
She could no longer remember what she had looked like when she left that home… a muddle-headed little girl who had gone "exploring" in the mountains with the older children, who had become separated from her companions after nightfall and strayed by some twist of fate into an ancient sorcerer's tower. Her life had been changed ever since, and her ties with her family severed ever since. Now, with more than ten years gone by, the memories of childhood had long since blurred and weathered away. The only impression she could still recall connected to "home" seemed to be a low, drafty old house, a dim lantern hanging by the door, and the bedtime stories used to frighten children.
Unfortunately, many of those chilling bedtime stories—about dark sorcerers, about ancient castles, about monsters in the mountains and arcane servants—had one by one become reality in the decade and more that followed.
The water gurgled on and on. Mary cupped the icy water and splashed it onto her face.
She could no longer remember what her parents looked like, but she still wanted to see them.
Leaving the washroom, the young sorceress gradually calmed down. She saw her mentor already standing in the corridor, gazing at her without expression. Seeing her appear, the old sorcerer in his black robe merely nodded, then walked silently toward the parlor.
Mary followed close behind.
They came to the parlor door, and a servant immediately stepped forward and pushed the door open for the master.
Mary saw what was inside the parlor.
A fire was burning quietly at one side of the room, its red glow shining on the brass shelves nearby. A long, dark red sofa stood in the center of the parlor, and on that sofa sat an old couple—clad in filthy gray cloth coats, hair gone white, faces covered in wrinkles.
They sat very carefully, most of their bodies perched at the very edge of the sofa, as if afraid of dirtying the splendid furnishings.
It seemed her mentor had brought only her parents, and not her sister.
The old couple on the sofa also saw the figures appearing at the doorway. Almost instantly they rose to their feet, showing Daniel reverent and fawning smiles—and only then did they see Mary standing behind Daniel. In that instant, a family separated for more than ten years finally met.
Mary stared fixedly at the old couple, watched their clouded eyes stir and settle on her sorcerer's robe, watched them slowly assume expressions of humble reverence, watched them slowly bend at the waist.
The whole sequence of movements was like a conditioned reflex.
"Honored sorcerer," she heard the couple address her.
Mary was somewhat at a loss. She heard Daniel speak from beside her, his tone cold and hard: "This is your daughter. There is no need to bow."
Only then did the old couple straighten up, casting Mary a glance tinged with astonishment, though an evident nervousness still lingered within it. Mary did not know what she was feeling at that moment. Her lips moved several times before she finally squeezed the words out from between them: "Father, Mother…"