Ascension of the elder

Chapter 82: Wife power

"God I hope their enemies are long dead."

Kyle didn't sleep for the rest of the night and as the first light of the morning crept through the window Kyle roused himself and took a shower and freshened up for the day ahead. For the first time since he came to this world Kyle just wanted to lie in bed but he had work to do.

Heading out of his room he was surprised to see neither Miranda nor Clara was present instead Ash was waiting for him. Ash looked at Kyle and noticed his pale face and noticeable black marks under his eyes. Even though they could go several days without sleeping at Kyle's age he still needed to at least sleep for a few hours a night.

"Good morning Kyle I decided to look after you today. Miranda will meet us in the kitchen."

Kyle remembered how scared Miranda looked last night so he could only nod his head in shame before he and Ash walked through the halls. As they walked Ash tried to engage Kyle in conversation.

"So how are you doing? You disappeared last night and everyone is worried about you."

"I'm doing.....I'm not doing fine to be truthful. I think I did the necessary thing but I don't know if it was the right thing."

"Well none of us who were involved in the mission think what you did was wrong if that's any comfort. You have to decide if what you did was warranted in the end no one can help with that, all we can do is give you our support."

Kyle and Ash fell silent after this and carried on towards the kitchen. As they got nearer the sounds of life and laughter could be heard which caused Kyle to slow his steps. He didn't want to worry his people and was thinking if he should stay away for now.

As Kyle was thinking of running away he felt a hand on his back pushing him forwards.

"Don't step away from the people who care about you. You're going to need them especially now."

With Ash's encouragement Kyle took a deep breath and entered the kitchen. As he passed the doorway he saw the usual hustle and bustle that accompanied breakfast in his house. The whole crowd was there including his mother and father with Shauna and Isaiah. Lady Sparrow and Faye were also present; it appeared that a call was put out so everyone had arrived early.

When Kyle had entered the room a few people who were banned from helping in the preparation noticed his arrival and gradually the others noticed as well. A silence descended as people turned to look at him which gave Kyle a shiver down his spine as in his mind he thought he could see blame and accusation in their eyes.

This only lasted for a second before he felt an impact and was almost sent flying ass over tit. Looking down he saw Chad and Theo had rushed over and hugged him. They were still young and looked up to Kyle as a hero after he had saved them yesterday.

"Big bro you disappeared last night, are you okay you didn't get hurt did you?"

"Yeah you can't be hurt you're really strong!"

Chad and Theo began chattering asking if he was okay which brought a little tear to the corner of his eye before he tried to reassure them.

"Yes I'm fine I was just a little tired. You should go and help the adults now."

Both the little boys nodded before they sprinted back and began to ask what they should be doing. Kyle looked around and saw Miranda sitting with Clara who was patting her back, he could see Miranda must have had a bad night as well as she had red eyes and seemed to be trying to avoid looking at him.

Kyle sighed at this as he knew Miranda was a kind and gentle girl and he needed to apologise for scaring her so he made his way over closely followed by Ash. As he got closer to Miranda and Clara Ash stepped away to give them some space and instead began to talk to Landon who was seated nearby.

"I'm sorry Miranda I didn't mean to scare you last night; I was just having a bad dream. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes sir I'm fine you don't need to worry about me." Miranda responded in a slightly high than usual voice.

"I've said before Miranda you should call me Kyle at the breakfast table."

When Miranda heard this she gave Kyle a small and shy smile before she regained a little bounce to her. Clara huffed at this as she had been trying to cheer her up for a while now and all it took was a couple of words from Kyle and she was wagging her tail again, but it was good to have the cheerful Miranda back regardless.

"Thank you for looking after her Clara." Kyle thanked Clara as well as he knew that these two had become close after their training and he hoped they would continue to be friends. Seeing that they had finished speaking Landon approached and placed his hand on Kyle's shoulder.

"Excuse me ladies can I borrow Kyle for a little while. I promise to return him with no damage." Landon spoke to the girls with a grin on his face which made them both go red from embarrassment as it looked like their little crush was already known to him.

Landon steered Kyle away from the crowd and led him to a little room just off from the kitchen. This looked like another storeroom but it was pretty empty with just a few wooden boxes still scattered around.

Landon leant against one of the boxes and stared at Kyle without speaking. He continued to watch him for a couple of minutes which began to make Kyle feel uncomfortable. This felt like one of those interrogation techniques the police use when they try and get a suspect to break from pressure.

Kyle refused to break and instead leant on a box opposite and returned Landon's gaze. This deadlock lasted with neither father nor son being willing to back down first. Eventually Landon grew tired of this and broke the silence.

"So Ash tells me you killed for the first time last night? How do you feel, like a real man?"

Landon's question was harsh and it caused Kyle pain hearing him ask like this. He lowered his head and hunched his shoulders in a clearly defensive pose and spoke while keeping his eyes firmly on the floor.

"Honestly I didn't think I would feel anything and I didn't during the mission but once it was over I felt like...I don't know what I felt but I hate it."

"Good that is how you should feel; if you enjoyed it I would be worried. Let me tell you a story I first killed a man when I was 13 years old, as a noble we may be required to fight and kill other people and the worst thing you can do is freeze up. Knowing this my father took me with him on a bandit clearance, I wasn't supposed to be involved I was only meant to observe but I saw one of them running away so I gave chase. I won't go into the details but I killed him and was happy I had helped but it was only after I realised I had taken a life. That night my father took me with him to the barracks of the unit I was with and they got me blackout drunk. It took me months before I could pick up my sword again but I got through it."

Landon stopped at this point as he was remembering the feeling and fear he felt during this time, it was better to have some training in this but he hadn't thought his son would have to face it this early.

"Father I did more than just kill them, I tortured one for information and used the body of another as a means to send a message." Kyle spoke out on what was really bothering him at this point, while the killing had taken a toll it was the extra bits that made him fear what he may become.

"Was it necessary?"

Kyle thought on this for a minute and the torture was necessary as they needed the information to save the children without them getting hurt and he felt that creating fear of the 'shadow hand' was also needed. He may have been able to do it in a different way given time but it may have caused problems further on.

"Yes I believe so."

"Then you only have to remember that I believe in you."

When Kyle heard this he began to cry so Landon hugged him until he calmed down. It appeared that he had been affected by his young body and had lost control of his emotions but at least it let Landon act like his father.

"Better?" Landon asked.

"A little, we had better get back or mom will be angry." Kyle responded which made Landon pale a little before they rushed back to the kitchen, only for Landon to have to dodge a small lightning strike from Maria.

"Where have you been?" An annoyed Maria asked with a cute pout to which Landon responded with a question of his own.

"What type of wife would try to shoot their own husband?"

"All of them!"