1.21 - The Bird Flies the Coop

Elisedd decided he wanted to become a Grand Master Chess champion, so he invited over his first chess opponent. Little did he know that his first opponent would be his sister's father.

Derek cleared his throat awkwardly when he stepped into the house. "So, ah, you must be one of Shae's sons. How is your mother?"

Elisedd tilted his head. "You know my mother?"

Derek grimaced and replied, "Yes, but I think the story of our relationship is for her to tell you." 

Elisedd shrugged and replied, "Hey, whatever, man. Shall we adjourn to the chess table so that I might beat you?"

Derek arched an eyebrow and grinned. "We'll see about that."

Shae watched Derek playing chess with her son from the kitchen. He still looked young, as young as the day they first met.

"Earth to mom..." Diarmuid said, waving his hands in front of Shae's face.

She blushed, trying to hide her embarrassing thoughts. "Yes?"

"I was just trying to let you know I'm going for a run. Sheesh." Diarmuid rolled his eyes and pushed away from the table. 

"Smart boy, you've got there," Derek said gruffly as he strolled into the kitchen to see his former lover.

Shae smiled despite the sadness she felt about too many wasted years. "I assume he soundly beat you?"

Derek stepped closer and whispered, "Of course. I'm not really much of a chess player. I just needed an excuse to see you again." 

Shae took a leap of faith and stepped closer to him, walking right into his embrace. "It's been a long time, Derek."

He gave a half smile and a nod. "It's been a lifetime. Come out with me into the snow. Let's gaze up at the stars and forget about all the years of silence between us."

Shae followed him outside, thinking back to the first day they met, thinking back to the betrayal, to the birth of her daughter, to her re-acquaintance with Drest and the birth of her twins. She'd lived quite a life. She only wished that there had been less heartache.

A shooting star caught her eye. "Oh, look Derek. It's so beautiful."

"I'm already looking at the most beautiful thing out here," Derek replied, his voice low and warm. Shae felt a chill creep up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold weather.

Inside, Elisedd had moved on to his next opponent - Beverly Carfax. He didn't comment on her purple haircut, sleeve of tattoos or revealing clothing. He didn't really make conversation at all, preferring to just concentrate on the chessboard in front of him.

Diarmuid returned from his run, and sat down on the couch, attempting to keep his gaze averted from Beverly. What had happened to her? He had to know. His aunt and cousin seemed oblivious to his distress.

 Diarmuid watched her wander past him after being defeated by Elisedd. Quietly, he followed her and found her standing in Aoife's old room. He cleared his throat, trying not to startle her. She spun around and scowled. "What do you want, D?"

"Well, considering you're the one wandering around my house, I was wondering the same thing about you," he replied, returning her scowl.

"Just leave me alone for a minute. I'm not feeling great," she said, backing into Aoife's room and slamming the door.

Diarmuid waited literally one minute before pushing the door open. Inside, Beverly was wearing a completely different outfit and she looked...rounder. "What, what in the hell happened to you?" Diarmuid exclaimed.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm all knocked up. That's what happens when you get shoved into the foster care system."

"But, why? I could have helped you. I always kind of thought...you know, that one day..."

"I know what you thought. And now I'm just sullied goods to you, right? Whatever. I'm out of here." Beverly pushed past Diarmuid without waiting for his response. Diarmuid didn't follow her. He was too busy trying to work out in his mind what terrible events must have transpired to turn his best friend into such an angry, hateful person.

When the Beverly drama dissipated, Evandrus holed up in Aoife's old room with a book. But his peaceful reading was interrupted by his ringing cell phone. He didn't recognize the number, but picked it up anyway. "This is Evandrus. Why are you calling me?"

The person on the other line sputtered with laughter. "Hey Evandrus. This is Ericka..from class.You're kind of cute and funny and stuff. Would you go out with me?"

Evandrus contemplated momentarily before responding, "I will meet you in twenty minutes at the Boscombe Valley Crypt."

Ericka giggled and agreed to Evandrus' meeting place.

He went out into the kitchen to eat dinner before leaving. He remained silent as his mom and aunt joked back and forth about Derek being back in their life. Evandrus mostly ignored the conversation. When he finished eating, he pushed back from the table and announced, "I have a date. Goodbye."

Shae and Illdrid exchanged a startled glance, but Evandrus had already disappeared before they could question him further.

He took a taxi and and ran to the location where he told Ericka to meet him. Belatedly, it occurred to him that it was cold and snowy outside and that maybe he should have worn a coat.

To his surprise, Ericka was even more underdressed than he was. They stood for a few awkward moments, just staring at each other. The silence drew on. Evandrus began to feel uncomfortable. He didn't know why he agreed to this. Or what they should do now that they were here. He had no idea how to talk to a girl.

"Let's make snowmen!" Evandrus burst out. The cold wasn't really bothering him, and it seemed like a good enough idea. It would at least keep them busy.

"So aren't you wondering why I asked you out?" Ericka asked, while they started gathering up big balls of snow.

Evandrus shrugged. "It didn't really occur to me. I said yes because I've never been on a date before. I thought I should at least get the experience in. It will be good for my writing career. Write what you know, and all that. Can't really write romance if you don't know anything about it."

Ericka scowled. "Well you're really not doing a very good job at being romantic, anyway. Not like the other guys I went out with. They took me out to dinner and told me how pretty I am. You take me to some snowy field and make me build snowmen. What's wrong with you?"

"Doctors say I have an anti-social personality disorder. I just think I prefer books to people. No offense to you. Building snowmen is kind of fun. Carrying on a conversation - not so much."

"This date is over!" Ericka shouted and stomped off.

 Evandrus didn't care. He dove headfirst into the snow and began making a snow angel. Icy snow crystals clung to his skin. It was cold, refreshing. He wanted more of this feeling. So he wandered off to the ocean where he would be able to experience the full blast of what it means to be cold.

He took his clothes off, standing at the edge of the water. He dipped his feet in, the freezing water prickling at his skin.

He jumped in and swam around. He no longer even felt the water coursing over his skin. It was so cold, he was numb. And it felt awesome. This would make a great story.

When he was finished with the ocean, he decided there was one more place he'd like to explore. He wandered back to the crypt, still not wearing clothes. The people in town all looked at him funny, but he didn't care. He had one thing on his mind. And it was the weird pool of water in the crypt. He hopped up on the ledge and dove in. Down he went, further and further, until his lungs felt like they were on fire from lack of oxygen.

He emerged in a completely new location, a tomb. He sat on the edge of the pool, trying to catch his breath. From the cobwebs clinging to the stone walls, it seemed like the tomb hadn't been accessed for quite some time.

With a grin, Evandrus started exploring the tomb. He ran his fingers over the rough stone walls. Nothing happened, no doors swung open, no statues came to life. Then his eyes lit on the wall sconces. He reached his hand up, tentatively and curled his fingers around the wood. With a tug, he heard the distinct sound of stone scraping against stone. He spun around and saw an opening in the wall where one had not existed before.

He went into the next room, prepared to break its code, when a strange feeling crept over him. It was the sparklies. He had forgotten - it was his birthday. And what a cool way to spend it! This was better than cake and awkward family time any day.

His first order of business as an adult was to reach into a small hole in the wall and feel around for a hidden latch. He was expecting to come away with an arm full of wriggling bugs. But to his surprise, he found a latch and opened another secret door.

In this room, he had to clear a huge pile of rubble. He kind of wished Diarmuid could be with him. Diarmuid was the strong what. Evandrus sighed and got to work. He cleared the rubble and found a hidden stash of treasure and a key.

Unfortunately, in order to get into the next room, he had to run through an electric trap. He came away badly singed, but better off than the previous adventurer. His corpse had rotted to mere bones, left in the same place he must have perished. Evandrus shuddered and moved on. When he had finished clearing the tomb, he emerged from the same dive pool he had entered. He had amassed pockets full of treasure. It occurred to him, on the taxi ride home, that it would be a nice down payment on his on place.

Illdrid was waiting for him when he got home. "We had cake for you," she said, her voice quivering a bit. "I was worried."

Evandrus frowned, genuinely feeling bad for upsetting his mom. People, in general, didn't matter much to him. But he loved his mother. "I'm sorry, ma. I got kind of involved in something."

"Did your date go well?" Illdrid asked beginning to feel hopeful that maybe Evandrus would live a normal adult life."

 "Well no," Evandrus began before emptying his pockets of his treasures. "But I did go on quite an adventure." Evandrus launched into his tale, explaining all the dangerous twists and turns. He ended with his tales for the future. And by the next day, he had moved out.

 _ _ _ _ _

Life has kept me really busy, and this chapter was hellish to write. But I finally got it done, so hooray! Now off to play and get some more writing material.