From Real to Realm

Knock, knock, knock.

Everyone waited for someone to answer the door.

“How do you think she’ll react?” Lynesia asked, glancing at the girls.

Val chuckled. “A combination of surprised and overwhelmed.”

“Well, we’re bringing the goods too,” Amarisse said, holding up the bags she was holding. “We’re early enough to help make dinner, too.”

Click.

The door slowly opened to reveal Vesperia.

“Oh my,” she said, stepping back. “We were starting to get worried. Were you able to beat the boss you mentioned?”

Val nodded. “We did beat him, yeah.” She stepped to the side, revealing the rest of her party. “Mom, this is my adventuring party.”

Everyone gave a soft wave and hello.

Vesperia waved her hands. “Well, come in, come in. I’ve wanted to meet everyone else for a long time!” She turned away. “Volde! We have company!”

One by one, the girls walked into the main foyer. By the time everyone was inside, Volde turned the corner and stopped, a bit surprised.

“You weren’t kidding,” he said, walking over. “I guess dinner will be much livelier than normal tonight.”

Since her hands were empty, Val didn’t waste a second hugging both her parents. It had been a bit longer than she intended since their last visit.

“Sorry for not visiting sooner.”

Volde squeezed her tightly. “It’s okay. We’re just happy to see you’re still healthy and full of energy.”

Val chuckled. “If you think I’m full of energy, just wait till you get to know Mina.”

The girls all chuckled while Mina rolled her eyes.

“Well, no sense in standing in here,” Vesperia said, taking one of the bags from Amarisse. “Let’s move to the dining room.”

Lynesia’s hand intertwined with Val’s as everyone followed Vesperia and Volde.

“How’s the garden?” Lynesia asked, glancing down the hallway as they passed. “I take it everything’s barren with all this cold weather?”

Vesperia nodded. “It is. I’m looking forward to seeing everything bloom in the Spring.”

“I didn’t realize you lived in such a big house, Val,” Amarisse said, walking behind them. “Makes me wonder why you left in the first place.”

“There’s so much room,” Mina whispered, looking around.

Vesperia giggled. “We would’ve kept her here if we could, but she was too hardheaded to stay. After she left to become an adventurer, she insisted she needed to learn to be independent.”

“Hardheaded sounds about right,” Amarisse said, poking Val.

“I see she hasn’t changed much since leaving home,” Vesperia said, giggling again.

Cera shook her head. “Highly unlikely. She’s as stubborn as the day I met her.”

Volde and Vesperia pushed the dining room’s double doors open and held them for the girls. Once everyone was inside, Vesperia motioned for those carrying bags to follow her.

“Bring everything into the kitchen.” She turned to Volde. “Sweetheart, can you fetch Celestia? I’m sure Maxwell will be home any moment now.”

Volde nodded, leaning down to kiss Vesperia. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”

“So, who is going to help me cook tonight?” Vesperia asked, smiling.

Val was not much of a cook, but even she would be more than happy to help. It also seemed that everyone else was just as eager to help.

Vesperia giggled. “Well, it seems tonight might be the first time I run out of room in the kitchen, but we’ll make it work.”

The kitchen was a bit tight with six people working together, but it wasn’t impossible. It was easy to bump into each other accidentally. It didn’t take long for them to work out a plan, though.

“I’ve got the meat tenderized,” Amarisse called out, handing a tray of meat to Val.

Vesperia was currently chopping vegetables. “Good. Dice those up.”

Val took the tray and grabbed a knife. “How small?”

Lynesia was next to her. “Not too small. Here, I’ll help.”

Mina was currently rushing back and forth as a “runner” for everyone. It was probably the best use of her endless energy.

“I think I’m ready?” Cera said, holding up her bowl of chopped vegetables.

Vesperia looked surprised. “You caught on quick. You’re a natural.”

Even with the limited space, everyone was enjoying themselves. Vesperia seemed to be having the most fun out of everyone.

“Oh my gosh!” she yelled, one hand covering her mouth. “He was that big?!”

Val nodded, chuckling. “He was massive. His armor was black as night, too.”

Amarisse sighed. “He was not fun. Broke my arm taking a hit to protect Val.”

Cera quickly chimed in. “Don’t worry, though! Everyone came out perfectly fine. This was just difficult because it was our first time.”

Vesperia’s eyes lingered on Val for a few seconds. It wasn’t hard to see she was worried.

“I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through,” Vesperia said, shaking her head. “Valnarei tends to be light on the details when she comes over by herself or with Lynesia.”

Val opened her mouth, but Vesperia cut her off.

“I know, I know, sweetheart. You don’t want to worry us.” She looked down as she cut some more vegetables. “But you know nothing you say can stop us from worrying about you.”

Amarisse placed a hand on Vesperia’s shoulder. “She has us, and we have her. We’ll do our best to protect Val, just like she does for us.”

“Right!” Mina said, nodding quickly. “We all want to protect each other.”

Cera smiled. “I’m more than capable of healing her. Even if she does do something stupid.”

“And you know I’ll keep her in check like I always have,” Lynesia said, elbowing Val gently.

Vesperia was still worried, Val could tell that much. However, having her party speak up in support of her definitely helped.

“I’m never alone down there, Mom. I’ve always got them covering my back, just like how I cover theirs.”

Vesperia sighed softly. “I know you won’t give up on this dream, but it is comforting to know you’ve got this much support.”

“Not just us,” Lynesia said, shaking her head. “Val has caught the eye of multiple guild chapters. Not to mention her mentors, too. I promise, someone is watching out for her at all times.”

“Good. Because I want her to always come home to us.”

After such a heavy moment, everyone focused on finishing their respective tasks. There wasn’t all that much left to do as it was.

“I can handle the rest,” Vesperia said, shooing the girls. “Go meet the rest of the family while I finish up. Go, go, I won’t be much longer, I promise.”

As the girls made their way back into the dining room, a blur rushed past them and slammed into Val.

“Sis!”

Val coughed as the wind was almost knocked out of her. “I see you’re just as excitable as before, you little shit.”

Celestia giggled as she squeezed. “It’s been a while, so I had to make sure to really make it hurt this time.”

Val grinned. “Oh? You had to make it hurt, huh?”

Celestia immediately started trying to pull away. “No, no, don’t you dare!”

Val wasted no time picking her up and squeezing her. With Celestia stuck, she started tickling her without remorse.

“I guess I’ll just have to tickle you until you can’t breathe then!”

The dining hall was filled with giggles as Val tickled her little sister relentlessly.

“So that’s her little sister?” Cera asked, leaning close to Lynesia.

Lynesia nodded. “Yeah. Celestia looks up to Val a lot. I’d almost say it’s likely she’ll try being an adventurer just because Val did.”

“I give! I give!” Celestia yelled between giggles. “Please!”

Val finally relented, placing an out-of-breath Celestia on the floor. Val was a bit out of breath herself from laughing the whole time.

“I missed you,” Celestia said, giving Val a normal hug this time.

Val rubbed her back. “I missed you, too.”

“Now, where the hell is my hug?”

Val looked up as Maxwell walked into the room. “Come here, idiot.”

Maxwell gave a mock look of offense before scooping Val up into a big hug. He squeezed tightly like he usually did, but Val wasn’t really affected by it.

“Ah, hell. Don’t tell me my bear hugs don’t work anymore!”

Val chuckled. “Upset you can’t crush your little sister’s ribcage anymore?”

Maxwell set her down. “You make it sound so evil.”

“That’s because I know your true intentions,” Val said, poking his nose.

Maxwell’s gaze swept over the rest of the girls. “Well, are you going to introduce me? Or are you going to stand there like an idiot?”

Val elbowed him. “If anyone is the idiot, it’s you.”

“Everyone, this is Maxwell, my older brother. Max, this is Amarisse. She’s our party’s Tank.”

Amarisse held out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

After they shook hands, Val continued.

“This is Mina. She’s our Striker.”

Mina leaned to one side and waved. “Hello. Nice to meet you.”

Max returned the wave with a smile. “Nice to meet you, too.”

“And this is Cera, our Channeler.”

Cera gave a shyer greeting, barely raising her hand to wave. “Hello.”

Maxwell smiled. “Hello. Thank you for keeping Val healthy while fighting. I’m sure she doesn’t make it easy on you.”

Val smacked his arm. “Why does everyone assume I’m such a headache to deal with?!”

Lynesia was the one who chipped in. “Because it’s true most of the time.”

“You wound me,” Val said, hand over her heart, acting like she was about to faint.

Bump, bump. Bump, bump.

Val’s vision flared for a second as the room spun. She stumbled back, barely catching herself as Maxwell slipped in behind her.

“Gods, Val. You’ve gotten good at acting,” he said, holding her up. “You are faking, right?”

Volde was standing from where he had been sitting, his eyes wide and jaw clenched. Celestia’s hands were covering her mouth in worry. The rest of Val’s party was staring at her, also worried. Lynesia was the only one with even a hint of understanding in her gaze.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Val said, pushing off Maxwell. “I just got a little lightheaded, is all. I did my affinity test today. I think it just took it out of me.”

Her heart was racing, and the ache returned. It was hard to know what was going on.

“Are you sure that’s it?”

Val looked up at Lynesia.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.”

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