Chapter 107 - A Day Off

Chapter 107: 107 - A Day Off

Adrien came downstairs a few minutes later wearing a simpler coat than he normally used for meetings. Ariane was already near the entrance, and outside, a dark mana-powered carriage waited at the front steps.

A driver sat at the front behind a low glass screen, and no horses were attached to it. A compact mana engine beneath the rear section hummed steadily, and thin lines of light ran through the metalwork whenever the vehicle moved.

Adrien climbed in beside Ariane, and the carriage left Greymoor shortly afterward. The city they were heading to was several hours away, large enough for a proper market district and busy enough that merchants from across the kingdom passed through regularly.

Adrien hadn’t been there since waking in this world, although the original Adrien had visited a few times when he was younger.

Most of the journey was quiet. Ariane watched the road through the window while Adrien tracked the farms giving way to denser roads, villages and the outer streets of the city.

The driver stopped near the market district and stayed with the carriage while the two of them continued on foot. Adrien trailed his sister through the crowd before realizing she already knew exactly where she was going.

"So what are you buying?"

Ariane steered them toward a row of stores ahead. "Something for Mother. I’ve been putting it off for weeks."

Adrien kept walking a step before the answer registered.

"For Mother?"

"Her birthday is in three days."

Adrien stopped, and Ariane turned back toward him. She didn’t look accusing or amused, and her expression only shifted when she understood why he had stopped.

"You forgot?"

Adrien held the pause longer than he wanted to. "Yeah. I did."

The realization bothered him more than he expected. He could remember complicated spell structures, the names of nobles he’d met once and conversations from weeks ago, yet he had forgotten his mother’s birthday entirely. The memories of the original Adrien held the date, buried under everything else crowding his attention.

Adrien started walking again beside Ariane. "I should’ve remembered."

"You’ve had a lot happening. Half the house is still talking about everything that happened, it’s normal."

"That’s not really an excuse."

Ariane didn’t argue. She continued toward the shop she had chosen, and Adrien appreciated that more than reassurance would have helped.

He had spent all these last months thinking of Evelyne as his mother because, in every way that mattered in this life, she was.

She had worried about him, fed him, handled responsibilities he wasn’t ready for and continued treating him like her son even when he woke up acting nothing like the boy she had known.

Despite all of that, Adrien still knew surprisingly little about her, which became obvious the moment they entered the jewelry shop.

Glass cases covered most of the room, filled with rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Some pieces carried small enchantments, while others were valuable because of the materials alone.

A woman behind the counter greeted them while Ariane went straight to a display of earrings. Adrien scanned the options before admitting he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for.

"What does Mother like?"

Ariane didn’t lift her head from the display. "Nothing too large. She doesn’t wear much jewelry unless she has to dress formally. Silver more than gold."

Adrien studied the cases again. He hadn’t known that.

"What stones?"

"Usually darker ones. Green sometimes. Nothing that shines from across a room."

That was another thing he hadn’t known, and the list was getting long. Ariane moved along the display before stopping at a pair set into silver. Each earring held a small dark green stone cut into a simple oval, with a second, much smaller stone hanging beneath it, and they were expensive enough to suit Evelyne without carrying decoration she would never wear.

Adrien leaned over them. "The silver would suit her."

Ariane tapped the glass above them. "Especially with the grey in her hair now. She’d never buy these for herself."

That decided it. The shopkeeper lifted the earrings from the case and laid them on a dark cloth, and up close the stones were a deep green that brightened when they caught the light.

"Three thousand crowns," the woman said.

Adrien reached for his money before Ariane could, and she caught his wrist. "I was going to buy them."

"I know. Let me pay half."

Ariane weighed it, then let go. "Alright. But I’m carrying the box."

They each paid half, and the shopkeeper settled the earrings inside a small wooden case lined with dark fabric. Ariane slipped it into her bag before they left the store.

Outside again, neither of them seemed in much of a hurry to return to the carriage, and they walked farther into the market before stopping at a small place with tables outside.

Ariane ordered something sweet with fruit and cream, Adrien chose a hot drink and a plate of food he recognized, and for a while they watched people move through the street.

Adrien set his cup down. "Do we normally do something for her birthday?"

"Usually dinner at home. Nothing enormous. Father was away for a lot of them, so Mother stopped making much of it years ago."

"Did I normally get her something?"

"Sometimes. When you were younger, yes. More recently I usually picked something and put both our names on it."

That answer sat badly with him. The old Adrien had been sick for much of his life, and there were reasons for that, but Adrien couldn’t hide behind someone else’s past forever. Evelyne was here now.

"I don’t want you doing that anymore."

Ariane lifted her cup halfway and stopped. "Doing what?"

"Putting my name on things I didn’t help choose."

She measured him before giving a small nod. "Okay. Then you’re choosing next year."

Adrien turned back toward the market. It was a small thing compared to everything else occupying his life, but he cared about it anyway.

There were enemies to deal with, spells to learn, a Core to advance and an entire history surrounding his father that he still didn’t understand, and none of that meant he had to forget the people inside his own house.

When they finished, Adrien paid and they walked back to the carriage together. Ariane kept the small case safe inside her bag while the driver opened the door for them.

Three days from now, Evelyne would have her gift, and next year Adrien intended to remember without needing his sister to take him shopping.