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<Endra?> Evin couldn\'t help but ask. <Were you always awake?>

<Don\'t talk to me. Focus on your mother. If you don\'t know what to say to her, then at least take her hand and maybe tell her that you don\'t want to think about all this yet. But make sure you accept her. You two don\'t deserve the pain of pushing each other away just because of what happened.>

Evin wanted to ask Endra more questions, but he was right. It wasn\'t the time. Evin looked at his mother\'s figure and approached her. He offered his hands to her, and Lora took it with teary eyes.

"I\'m sorry…" a weak voice came from her mouth. "I\'m sorry for leaving you…"

Even with their hands touching, Lora seemed hesitant to reach out to Evin for a hug. It was a sad state of things… for a mother to hesitate to even hug her child. All because of a man who had no qualms beating up his wife and later his child, and calling it love.

\'I need to do better than him…\' a thought appeared in Evin\'s mind, as he wrapped his hands around Lora\'s back. 

"It\'s okay…" he said, gently rubbing her back. 

It felt so awkward for the son to be consoling his long-lost mother. But after thinking about it, Evin realized he didn\'t have to care at all for this. If his father\'s actions taught him anything about life, it was that adults weren\'t always better than children, and that they did not always have their life in control. 

\'If she needs me to hug her first, then I won\'t make things difficult for her.\'

Finally, Lora rested her head on Evin\'s shoulder and began crying in earnest. Evin hoped he wouldn\'t feel awkward under everyone\'s stares, but he did. Eventually, he helped wipe his mother\'s tears and helped her up. Thankfully, his leg didn\'t bother him anymore.

"Seems like we don\'t have to travel all the way to Ankelite now," Arza\'s voice came from next to him.

Evin looked towards the boy and found him grinning from ear to ear. He sent Arza an inquisitive glance, and the boy began explaining. 

"Ms. Lora and her husband are friends with my parents. So, when I was visiting them for lunch today, I spoke about you… When she heard your name, she immediately asked for your full name and… well, who knew Ms. Lora would turn out to be your mother?"

Evin could guess the rest of the story. By the time that Arza left Ankelite city, Evin would\'ve been lying in his bed, still in shock from the loss of his leg. So, his mother must\'ve decided to go visit him immediately, considering how she was even asking Arza to carry her through the journey.

"Well, all\'s well that ends well," Arza shrugged. The boy was as nonchalant as ever. Honestly, Evin envied it – Arza would\'ve probably acted a lot differently than Evin did in a similar situation. "By the way, what are you two doing here?"

Evin looked at Bella, who met his eyes, and softly shrugged her shoulders. \'Do what you want,\' the gesture seemed to say. Evin then looked around himself and found countless curious eyes observing the three mages and a 3rd grade woman who was crying in one\'s arm.

"Let\'s find somewhere quiet to talk," Evin said and asked Bella and Arza if they knew such a place.

Arza said he knew a bar close by that also offered private rooms for its wealthier patrons. Upon arrival, the four of them entered an enclosed room, ordering the beef stew as per Arza\'s recommendation, plus some ale. 

As the four sat with their ales, Arza helped clear up the awkward atmosphere. 

"So? What are you two doing here?" he asked again.

"We… we decided to go travel away from the city for a bit, and ended up coming here, to Bella\'s hometown," Evin replied, slightly more evasively than he intended. He didn\'t know why he was suddenly feeling embarrassed about his relationship with Bella. Feeling dumb, he just said it outright. "We\'re now dating."

"Really?" Arza said and looked towards Bella. 

The latter gave him a dismissive nod, which Arza seemed to accept as confirmation. 

\'Why the hell would I lie to you about this in front of Bella?\' Evin thought and looked at his mother. 

She seemed entirely out of place, a 3rd grade sitting in a bar with three mages. Even the bar owner seemed to be reluctant to let her in. She also seemed to be struggling to not look out of place, with how she was pretending to look around her surroundings, while stealing glances at either Evin or Bella. 

But she was definitely more comfortable with Arza. Evin heard how Arza\'s family was visiting hers for lunch, so Aran must be a very good friend of hers… or else, why would a mage be visiting someone three social levels below him?

\'But if they\'re such good friends, why doesn\'t he help my mother\'s family rise up in social levels? It should be easy enough for him, right?\'

Evin suddenly realized he had many questions regarding his mother. He was sure that it was the same for her as well. 

"When did you become conscious, anyway?" Arza asked.

"Around two weeks ago. I think it was right after you and Phel left, actually," Evin replied.

"Is your leg okay now?" his mother suddenly asked. "I heard you had to get it replaced by a prosthetic."

Evin smiled at her reassuringly and replied. "It\'s getting better. I still had to walk on crutches after I got up, but I\'ve learned that I can walk on my own three days ago. It was weird and painful at first, but after a while, the pain subsided and after two days, I got used to the weirdness. I think I can move it around… like Aran\'s prosthetic in a few weeks, maybe."

He pulled up his pants a bit to show a bit of his metal leg. He was wearing boots over the metal parts now, since he didn\'t want to scratch his leg on something. 

"So you know Aran?" Lora asked.

"Yes. Arza and I are roommates, so I met him when Arza first came to his room."

"I see…"

The conversation was terribly formal, with everyone speaking as if they were walking on eggshells. Bella didn\'t even bother to speak, mostly just nodding or shaking her head whenever Arza asked her a question. Despite Arza\'s efforts, the atmosphere still felt terribly awkward, with silence descending at every chance. 

But when the stew came, Bella suddenly spoke up. "Barman, please put my and the redhead\'s food in another room." Then, turning to Evin, she spoke, "You must have many things to discuss with your mother, so us two will leave you alone."

Evin felt that her tone was a bit off, so he hurriedly grabbed Bella\'s hands and held it tightly. "Thanks."

The act didn\'t seem to lighten her mood, but she did offer a small smile. "No problem." Then, turning towards Lora, she spoke, "Sorry for shoving you away earlier." And bowed her head.

Lora swiftly got up from her seat and apologized. "No, no. Please don\'t bother to apologize to me. Anyone would do the same in that situation."

Bella didn\'t seem inclined to argue on that point and got out the small room, with Arza following behind her.