When Troubles Follow You Home

The time has come for Braydon to leave for the mansion and deal with Zydala, but leaving proves difficult. With Amery at his side, he manages to leave his home once again for a showdown a long time coming.

Audio version narrated by David Carroll:

As always, I hope you enjoy the story. Read previous parts here.

Braydon looked up from his glass of tea into his father’s eyes.  All his plans for coming home were on the verge of collapse.  There was so much to say to the man, but he knew that he may never return to say it.  He looked down again in shame.

“No matter what happens today, they won’t bother you again.  I promise.”  He said.

“I’m sorry that I never came to find you, my boy.”  The change in topic caught him by surprise.  “I’m sorry that I made you leave.  Your mother’s death was hard on me and I wasn’t there for you as I should have been.”

He looked up in shock to see tears on his father’s face.  “You didn’t make me leave, it was never you.  Her death made me sad for her; she never escaped this place, she never saw the world.”  He frowned at the pain he’d unknowingly caused his father for all this time.  “It was never you, father.  I just didn’t want to die like that.

His father laughed softly.  “Well I suppose you saw it, my boy, the world I mean.  Was it everything you hoped it would be?”

The question lingered in the air.  He wouldn’t change the life he’d led for anything in the world.  But it was that life that had brought death home with him; it was that life that might mean his own death later today.  How was he supposed to answer that question?

“It was worth it, father.  I’ve saved the lives of tens of thousands of men.  I’ve lead armies and advised Kings and Queens.  I lived as honest as I was able.”

His father looked up, smiling.  “To think, my boy advising royalty, there is so much that I want to know.  Too much to ask.  We have good, trained men.  You don’t need to do this by yourself.”  Braydon shook his head sadly and the old man nodded.  “Well, I had to try one last time didn’t I?”

He smiled back at his father.  The door opening interrupted what he was going to say.  It was the girl he had caught in the forest, Amery.  He’d learned a great deal about the state of the Order from her.  She was a perceptive and idealistic girl.  It reminded him of how he felt before the truth came out.

“It’s time to go, Ambassador.”  He winced at the words.  It was a title he hadn’t used in a very long time.  At least he had gotten her past using his other name.  It should have tipped him off as a boy that they required all followers to make a new name for themselves.  Despite what reason they claimed, it was only to create a split between new recruits and their families.  It was a form of control.

He turned back to his father, but was at a loss for words.  “I know, Son, I know.  You better get going.  For all these years I thought I had driven you away.  You have put my soul at rest by coming here and I am eternally grateful for it.  I feel that we will see each other again, this isn’t the end.  I know it.  No, don’t say anything.”  Tears flowed freely from the old man’s eyes now.  “Just go, my boy.  Go be a hero one last time.”

Braydon rose from his chair and embraced the man.  Then he left with Amery without another word.  She looked up at him sadly as he approached her.  She too didn’t think this their final goodbye, she’d said so more than once.

They mostly rode in silence on the way to the mansion.  So much of what was going to happen today was still up in the air.  With any luck, the note his scout had taken reached its target. Braydon was sure he headed to his death if not.

He’d contemplated for days before deciding against wearing his ceremonial garb, which he kept for all these years.  It just wasn’t him anymore.  Instead, he wore his nicest clothes.  Beside him, Amery was wearing the shawl of the Order proudly.  Braydon hoped letting her wear it would be noticed at the mansion.  The blue stitching all along the inside was not technically allowed by someone of her rank, but he didn’t suppose it mattered anymore.  There were no more Ambassadors.  Zydala had made sure of that, it showed the contempt that she still felt for him.

Amery informed him of some of the numerous changes over the years.  Rules and regulations Zydala set in place.  Magic that had been forbidden and lost.  The ranks and stations had been completely eradicated; now there were students and there were masters, and then there was Zydala, of course.  None could stand beside her, or anywhere near by the sound of it.

The stories brought about a sense of guilt Braydon thought long gone.  Zydala should have been dealt with.  She should have paid for her crimes and been unable to warp so many minds.

His heart began to beat faster, but Braydon kept full control of his emotions.  The moment of truth had arrived.  Would they be expecting him, or had his plan worked?

He opened his mind and felt the comforting strength that flowed into his muscles.  Amery had already opened her own mind.  This close, he could feel the waves of energy she emitted.

“There is nobody waiting, it seems your plan worked, Ambassador.”

“Please, call me Braydon.  I tell you again and again, I haven’t used that name in a long, long time.”

“I could not, Sir. You deserve my respect.”

Braydon sighed; she hadn’t even known he existed three days ago.  At the same time he hoped the others would believe what he came to say as easily as she.  It hadn’t been hard.  Apparently Zydala had done a decent job of building a natural distrust on her own.

With a focus of strength to his vocal muscles, Braydon’s voice boomed.  “I have come, Zydala.  I await you outside.”  One-by-one he felt people embracing magic inside the mansion.  He wondered again if he would live through the day.

Tags: Fantasy, podcast, Tuesday Night Stories, When Troubles Follow You Home, Writings

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