Chapter 9: Farewell.
Things moved surprisingly fast after that. The days sped by with Elian preparing for his departure from his family home. He passed the time mulling over the things he needed for his stay at the academy, spending whole days just to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
Roderick, surprisingly enough, ended up being a great help in preparing for his stay at Lucenhall. Helping him keep track of everything, and making sure that all of his needs were met.
Elian was still stuck in his hurry to prepare when the inevitable day finally arrived upon him.
It was a comfortable evening. The remnants of spring were still on their way out, the wind blowing in from the east carrying a certain fragrance that Elian had come to associate with home over his long years staying here.
There weren’t too many people bidding their farewells to him, the small crowd that gathered in-front of the Valcourt estate only consisted of Roderic, Elian’s father, and a few servants including Nessa who had a huge part in raising Elian to be the person he was today.
The horse drawn carriage waiting behind him had been loaded with multiple boxes of his items, and Elian was carrying his staff in his hands.
He took a long at the entourage that had come to see him off, a certain tightness settling on his chest as he realised the weight of the expectations they were placing on him as they sent him off.
During these last few weeks, Elian had grown surprisingly adept at quietly bearing the weight of being chosen by the Everbloom. Even if he had been quiet rattled in the beginning, the blood of the Valcourts still ran within him, the same family that were famous for their stalwart discipline and tenacity.
He took a deep breath, and turned to his father.
"Thankyou, for believing in me." He made sure to keep his eyes steady, his posture straight as he had been taught, looking directly into his father’s dark eyes.
"I’ll make you proud."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned towards Roderic, showing a moment of hesitation.
"I’ll see y..."
Elian stopped, sighing, wondering what was even the point of keeping up appearances anymore.
’To hell with it.’
He took a step towards his older brother, wrapping his arms around him tightly.
"I love you, so please take care of yourself." He whispered tenderly, before letting go.
Then he turned towards Nessa.
The older woman seemed to be hesitating about something, her mouth half opened, words left unsaid in the wake of something that she thought was bigger than her.
Elian smiled, stepping towards and pulling the surprised woman into a hug as well.
"I’ll miss you." He said, the pitch of his voice a little higher than he would have liked.
It took him a long while to gather the courage to let go off Nessa.
When he eventually did, he felt like he had left something with her, something that had made him comfortable all his life.
He took a step back, addressing the entire crowd.
"Thank you for everything so far."
He looked at them.
"I will make sure to bring glory to the name of Valcourt."
A small pause, Elian taking a breath.
"So make sure you all take care, okay?"
He took turns gazing into each of their eyes, quietly thanking every one of the faces here that has given him so much in life.
Then he took a deep breath, waiting for the wind ruffling his hair to settle before speaking again.
"Cede et perdura."
A long moment of silence.
"Cede et perdura." His father replied, followed by the chorus of the crowd.
"Cede et perdura!"
Elian didn’t linger much after that, quietly climbing into the horse drawn carriage without looking back. He didn’t even have the courage to take a glance at his people when the doors closed, having leaned back into the soft matting of the seats of the luxurious carriage.
After a long while passed as Elian let his thoughts run wild, unknowingly, he closed his eyes, slipping into a light, dreamless slumber. Only waking after the carriage had finally come to a stop, reaching his destination.