Jarden owned the local forge. He had been a blacksmith there for most of his life, his father having owned it before him and leaving it to him. He was the same height as Ayden, but unlike his son, he was burly and extremely strong. He had very short black hair, the shadow of a beard, and a rough voice. Though Tess had never met Ayden’s mother, Aylanna, in person, she had seen the small picture of her that Ayden carried with him in his notebook. He got all his looks from his mother, practically a male version of her. Soft and slender with her light brown curls and warm hazel eyes. And apparently, he got all his sweetness from her as well. His father didn’t seem to have a kind bone in his body.
“Who’s that?” Jarden asked instead of a proper greeting as he set his hammer down and eyed her.
“Tess… you’ve met her before,” Ayden answered. “It’s been awhile though.”
“I think I was about ten the last time I was here,” Tess told him, using every ounce of effort in her to make her voice sound neutral.
“So, is that what you left for?” Jarden asked, noting their clasped hands. “Shacking up with her?”
“Yes,” Ayden answered, though he would have put it differently.
“Humph!” was all Jarden said to that. “So, what do you want?”
“Well, we’re leaving town for a while,” Ayden told him. “I just wanted to stop by and see you before we go.”
“Don’t know why you bother,” his father grumbled, looking around the messy forge for something.
“Just wanted to say hi and… stuff,” Ayden said. “Can I help you find something?”
“I’ll find it myself,” Jarden told him gruffly. “Not like you give a damn. Ain’t got no one to help out around here now, do I? Place is a damn mess. And you just up and left. Without so much as a warning, I might add.”
“Sorry,” Ayden said, once again. “I have some time right now, I could straighten up a bit,” he offered, ignoring Tess’ tightening grip on his hand.
“To hell if I want you touching my things,” Jarden spat. “Just take your damn hussy and get out of here.”
“She’s not a hussy,” Ayden said, his tone instantly changing from timid to angry.
“No.” Jarden laughed shortly, giving Tess a dismissive glance. “I suppose not. She ain’t nearly pretty enough to attract anyone. That’d be why she’s with my good-for-nothing son.”
“He is not a good-for-nothing!” Tess growled. “He’s amazing but you’re too much of an asshole to see that.”
“Asshole, am I?” Jarden rumbled angrily, taking a step toward her, which in the small room brought him almost nose to nose with her. She stood taller, unafraid of him in spite of his fierce scowl.
But when he started to reach for her, Ayden hit him with an energy ball, throwing his father back against a shelf. The heavy objects on it rocked but stayed put.
Ayden flinched. “I’m sorry, I—”
Jarden stared at his son in disbelief. “Magic?” His voice was low and deadly.
“Dad I—”
“Get out!” Jarden bellowed furiously.
“Yes, sir,” Ayden replied, guilty and sad. “I just need to get something from my room first.”
“You’re not touching anything of mine.”
“It’s mine, something I forgot.”
“Get out!” Jarden repeated.
“It’s important,” Ayden said. It was painful for him to defy his father. He moved toward the stairs at the back of the room, pulling Tess with him.
Jarden followed. “No, you don’t,” he said, grabbing at him.
Ayden turned before Tess could act and raised a hand. Jarden hit against Ayden’s shield, causing it to glow blue momentarily.
“How dare you use magic against me!”
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to,” Ayden said sincerely. “I just need to get something and then I’ll leave. I promise.”
“How about I alert the guard? Huh?” Jarden asked bitterly. “Let them know there’s a thief in my house.”
Tess laughed. “Yeah, you do that. Why not go straight to the captain? I’m sure my dad will come running.”
Seeming too angry to speak anymore, Jarden spit at them, then stormed off. Luckily, the shield protected them from that too. Ayden continued up the steps. It wasn’t until they reached the top that she noticed his watery eyes. “Oh Ayd,” she murmured. “I’m sorry.” She pulled him into a hug.
He held her and tried in vain to blink back the tears. Though Tess couldn’t understand it, he would have rather been hit than upset his father like that. And the fact that he had used magic was worse, because he knew that, under the rage, it hurt his father. “It’s okay,” he whispered.
“No, it’s not,” she said firmly. “You shouldn’t have to deal shit like that. You should have a dad that loves you.”
“He does… in his way,” he said quietly, but it felt like a lie.
She held him close and rubbed his back comfortingly as he cried.
After a minute, he took a deep breath and wiped his face with his sleeve as he pulled away from her. “We should hurry up,” he mumbled.
Ayden cast his light spell and led her through the place. The apartment was basically a long dark hallway. They passed a tiny kitchen on the left and a living room on the right, further down just across from Jarden’s room was the door to Ayden’s old bedroom. His room was small, with one west-facing window that overlooked the town square. The walls were pine and decorated with maps.
“What's so important here?” she asked.
Ayden got down on his hands and knees and looked under the bed that was set against the opposite wall, near the window. He pulled out a small box that was wedged in the far corner. “This,” he said as he stood. “The fairies reminded me of it. It’s fairy-made.”
“What is it?” she asked.
He walked closer and opened the box, revealing a ring inside. It was five very slender bands of silver, weaved together with graceful swirls. It was simple but elegant.
“It’s beautiful,” she told him.
“It was my mom’s,” he said softly. “But I want it to be yours,” he told her meaningfully.
She smiled, but then sighed. “I’m not getting married, Ayd.”
He pouted. “Why not? Nothing would change. We’d still go adventuring and stuff.”
“Exactly, what’s the point?”
“To show that we belong to each other.”
“We already do.”
“I don’t get why you’re so set against it,” he grumbled.
“And I don’t get why you’re so for it,” she returned. “It’s just something people do when they want to settle down and have kids, do the whole domestic thing. That’s not us.”
He sighed and closed the box. “It’s not like that for everyone. It’s just a show of commitment,” he said, unable to hide the hurt in his voice.
“You know I’ll never leave you, Ayd. Isn’t that good enough?”
He didn’t answer.
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Think we should use the window?”
He frowned. “Yeah, probably a good idea.”
She opened the window and jumped to the ground, landing lithely. Ayden jumped next, but used his feather fall spell to land softly. He took a last, sad look at the forge and then headed home with Tess.
