Chapter Text
"Mama."
I freeze at the tremble in Rolim's voice. I have never ever heard him sound like this. So lost, so full of both hope and sadness, and when I look down, I see that he's shaking, and yet still, he tries to get out of his wheelchair, pushing at the handles while struggling to put his feet on the ground.
The others are forgotten as I rush around to… What, exactly? Help him? Stop him?
Finding out what's wrong, I decide.
"Rolim, what are you doing?" I ask, but he doesn't even seem to see me, clinging to me while still trying to move in the direction of the Lathanderian congregation.
"Rolim!" I call out to him again, and finally, he flinches.
Yet still, he doesn't look at me.
"I need to—" he staggers another step forward. "It's her, Astarion. It's her!"
"Who?" I ask, brows knitting together in concern.
"My mother!"
His legs give out, and he clings to me tightly. I hold him upright as best as I can, but I'm reeling from the entire situation, just like I had been when he told me his father came to him while he was between life and death, telling him that Elasha is still alive, somewhere, out there.
Ulder excuses himself, walking over, concern written all over his face.
"What is going on?" he asks.
"It's complicated," I answer. "Perhaps we should delay this meeting?"
"No!" Rolim protests. "I have to see her!"
"And tell her what exactly?" I frown. "You were ten years old when she vanished. As it stands now, she doesn't even know your new name."
That makes him pause, leaning more of his weight on me instead of trying to get away and stumble over to her. He tears his gaze away from the group to finally, finally look at me.
"We have no idea where she's been all these years. If you rush this, things might go south." I keep my voice gentle as I cup his cheek. "You should talk to Vincent first, figure out how best to approach this."
Rolim sighs, leaning his head more into my palm and allowing me to help him back into his wheelchair.
"I'm sorry, Ulder," he says once he's seated properly again. "I… I don't want to explain this to you right now, but… I can't meet them, not right now anyway."
"No need to apologize," Ulder nods. "I will reschedule."
"Thank you," I incline my head in gratitude.
Ulder nods, seeing us off as I wheel Rolim away from the construction site before he goes back to the congregation.
My mind is a mess as Astarion wheels me home, caught between images of the past and those of the present.
Could I have mistaken the woman for my mother? The question is a valid one, after all, I haven't seen her in over two centuries. But even so, in my mind, there's no mistaking one's mother, is there?
"Did you—" I start, clearing my throat, my voice sounds too small, too hoarse to speak properly, "did you get their names?"
Astarion understands what I really need to know: the name of the woman I think is my mother.
"Elasha," he answers. It's really her then, my mother. There's no way someone wearing her face would also carry her name, right?
"The younger woman is Elora," Astarion continues, interrupting my thoughts, "the younger man Vesryn, and the older human Lachlan. All with the same last name. Runno."
"A family then," I mutter, my heart sinking. I still don't know what happened, how it all fits together, and why my mother started a new family, apparently far away from here. There was no way she could've recognized me during the meeting, brief as it was.
We lost her when we were ten years old, and since then, I've found my true self and changed a lot.
If she recognizes either one of us, it'll be Vincent.
"She looked… happy… right? Content?" I continue to ask.
"Darling," Astarion answers, "there's really no way to tell, with the short glimpse I got of her."
"But she has a family now, I mean… again," I frown. "What if—"
"Let me stop you right there," Astarion says, stopping for a moment and coming around. He crouches in front of me, gently placing both hands on my shoulders. "You're getting lost in what-if scenarios again, and I know what you were going to say. 'What if she's happy now and meeting me again is only going to make her remember stuff she'd rather forget,'" he perfectly imitates my soft tone, drawing a small chuckle from me.
"I know I can't force you, and that the decision on whether or not to approach her lies between you and Vincent," he continues, "but don't forget that she also has the right to choose, and if she does remember you and wants that closure, you'll have to decide whether or not to give or deny her that."
"Then what do you suggest?" I ask.
"We meet up with just Lachlan first, get the story of how she came to be with him," Astarion answers. "He's her husband now; he should know whether or not she'd be inclined to meet you, and then we decide on how to proceed."
I nod, drawing a deep breath. "Sounds like a plan."
Astarion smiles, standing up and pressing a kiss upon my lips before we continue our way home.
We arrive at an unlocked door, with Vincent already waiting inside. I don't have any illusions as to why he's here. He probably felt my distress through our bond.
"I'll go make tea," Astarion says, peeling away to head to the kitchen, leaving Vin and me to catch up.
For a while, Vincent stays quiet, simply helping me to sit at the table so we can talk. He's clearly waiting for me to start, but I don't even know where to begin.
But just as Astarion returns with a tray of snacks and tea in hand, Vincent seems to have decided that he's waited enough.
"So?" he starts. "Wanna tell me why you were freaking out not that long ago?"
"I saw her," I answer, my voice a mere breath. "I saw Mum."
Written by a human in Ellipsus.