Lord Theodore's Favorite Ritual
Chapter 131: Loving Lydia.

Chapter 131: Loving Lydia.

Late Afternoon.

Courtyard, Theodore Mansion.

Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.

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Helena thought that this newsletter must be from the news writer who had disguised as a courier to deliver the letter the last time. She was pale and conflicted but thanked the heavens quietly for she had already left his house, so no more witch talk or anything.

To clear the air and make Helena feel light. Lydia said. "He would not read it, and this does not define you"

Helena met Lydia’s eyes, the similarity grinding her before she blinked letting a sigh slip.

"Will you attend the upcoming tea parties and soirees?" Helena asked off topic throwing Lydia off guard.

"Umm yes, if I was invited" she replied in almost a stutter.

"Ah, not to worry you shall be invited" Helena assured with a smile.

She knew about the unsolicited hatred in this house but she believed Lydia would scale through and soon be socially accepted.

"I really have got to be invited, my social life is awful and it is a necessity" Lydia complained, as she stretched her feet.

"Yes" Helena, her reply curt, "Can I get a room now please?" she asked with a tight expression.

"Oh yes, right after dinner, they are preparing it now" Lydia informed vacating her seat.

Helena raised her tired brow. "Dinner? Is it that late already?"

"It is indeed late, we talked the whole day away" Lydia announced, a somewhat proud smile resting on her face.

"I knew I could trust you" Helena praised, a small smile marring her face.

Helena joined Lydia and they started to walk back inside. "Thank you, Helena" Lydia whispered.

"For what? I should be thanking you" Helens asked with a shake of her head. She couldn’t believe the irony.

Lydia sighed turned to her friend and started. "For everything" she paused as if letting the past events flood her. "For saving me, Lena, for being here, for trusting me, for believing in me, I would say for loving me but I am unsure..." she trailed off.

Helena opened her arms. "Come here silly, I love you and you do not even have to tell me back" Her smile was genuine as she said this, wrapping Lydia in her arms.

"I would have loved you if you completely trusted me but I know you do not and I will not push you" Lydia’s voice is muffled in Helena’s neck.

"Thank you, but it is myself that I do not trust and the people I have met before" Helena confessed solemnly.

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Afternoon.

Garden, Jones Estate.

Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.

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The cobblestoned streets echoed with the clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages as Conan made his way through the narrow lanes toward his childhood home.

As he approached the house nestled amidst the sprawling side of Critic Arley, anticipation tingled in his veins.

He always anticipated his meetings with his mother because despite being blind, she was in his life more than his father was. Perhaps that happened because she was blind and if her sight had been fine she wouldn’t have been available, he would never know and he doesn’t wish to ever find out.

He reached, stepped out and started for the door, the few maids his mother maintained were up and about, one rushed to his side bowing as she told him. "Welcome Sir Conan, your mother awaits you in the garden"

"Thank you" he whispered more to himself than to the maid because as he crossed the threshold of their home, he sensed something different in the air.

Conan pushed open the creaky wooden gate, and entered the garden, in the garden, flowers bloomed in a riot of colours under the fading light it could rival the garden at the Theodore Mansion.

The scent of roses and lavender mingled in the air, a nostalgic reminder of his youth. With each step, memories of his blind mother, Sarah, flooded his mind.

She had been robbed of sight by a wicked witch, he’d believe, a cruel twist of fate that no one spoke about.

They all knew but never will they discuss it, by all that would be; Sarah herself, Rior her husband, Theodore the son of the culprit and Conan, the victims’ son, they knew who’d done it and why but they all decided they don’t talk about Queen Margaret. For varying reasons and varying hurt.

"Mother?"

He stepped gently towards her. "What are you doing out here?"

She turned to him, the action fast. "Oh Conan, look at you, you are looking healthier than I remember" she commented gazing at him in a way she hadn’t for years now.

With a racing and nervous heart, Conan called again. "Mother?"

She smiled. "Yes, son?" he was afraid of holding her gaze but she looked to hold his.

"Where is your stick? Where are the maids? Why are you alone out here?" he fired the questions rapidly, his face reddening.

Sarah’s eyes glistened as she opened her arms. "My sweet boy, come here" she invited warmly. Conan nodded and let her hug him. "I have missed you so much" she whispered before sniffing.

He drew away holding her at arm’s length. "Mother what happened, why are you crying?" he asked baffled, confused and anxious.

"I am so sorry I was careless with my words"

He shook his head. "Mother, let me take you inside" he offered.

With a warm smile still, she nodded. "Yes, Come I made your favourite" she said, grabbed his wrist and started for inside.

Conan was baffled, his mother was acting strange and different, he also wondered why she was so confident in her steps.

"Wait" he growled.

His eyes were narrowed to a slit, in consideration.

She paused in her steps before she turned to face him, his hand was no longer in hers and he had taken a few steps back.

"Mother" he whispered, she met his eyes with her comfortable brown eyes.

"You can see" he whispered breathlessly.

Her once sightless eyes were wide open, glistening with newfound vision.

She blinked.

"Mother you can see" he repeated.

And then Conan froze in disbelief, his heart pounding with a tumultuous mix of emotions. Joy surged through him like a river breaking free from its banks, washing away years of sorrow and despair.

His mother, who had known only darkness for so long, now beheld the world with eyes illuminated by enchantment. He frowned.

But beneath the surface of his elation lurked a shadow of sadness.

For Sarah, the sudden restoration of sight was a miraculous gift, yet it also brought with it a sense of displacement. She had grown accustomed to navigating life through touch and sound, forging a bond with the world that transcended the boundaries of sight.

Now, thrust into a realm of light and colour, she felt like a stranger in her skin.

"Mother" Conan whispered.

As he approached her, he saw the uncertainty flicker in Sarah’s gaze, a silent plea for reassurance amidst the overwhelming torrent of sensations.

Gently, he took her hand in his, anchoring her to the familiar warmth of their shared love.

Together, mother and son embraced, their hearts entwined in a moment that defied the constraints of time and magic, they cried their hearts out in sniffles and laughs unable to contain themselves.

In their enchanted loving home, they embarked on a new Chapter of their lives, guided by the light of hope and the enduring strength of their bond.

Now the new topic on Conan’s mind was how the sight was regained, Who was the powerful witch? He mused.

Queen Magaret had blinded Sarah as it was the only thing she could think of at that time, narrow but true.

"What happened, mother?" Conan finally asked, they were in the dining now, having a late afternoon or early evening dinner, and Sarah wouldn’t let him go without food.

"Do not talk whilst you eat" she chided her son softly as she watched him eat.

He paused. "But... mother I need to know" he reasoned.

Sarah sighed. "She came because you were not around, she saw my letter, the courier had opened before it reached her you see"

Conan continued to eat, his ears alert.

This was his favourite food by his mother and he couldn’t help it. She made this herself he could barely believe it, she had not made any food but egg since she went blind. In the beginning, it had affected Conan too much but then he became a knight and he was barely home.

Sarah continued. "She hated that I would feel lonely since you were gone, craving your presence, so she came in your stead and that was how she knew that I was blind"

Conan could no longer eat but she continued.

"She was too kindhearted and scared, she wanted to help but she also wanted to keep her identity hidden but I knew, we knew only a powerful magic practitioner could heal me, she did it in two days and I tell you she delayed it so she would appear a physician but you and I know a physician cannot do that" she completed, her plan was on Conan’s at this point.

Conan was getting the gist but he needed his mother to be plain.

With a racing heart, he gulped as he asked. "Mother, who was it?"