"M—My mother?"

Papa grunts, "Mmm, she was a caring woman. Much like you. She fought alongside me in the war back then, you know, child. Her name was... Roxanne,"

He pauses for a moment, "I am sorry for yelling at you earlier, my dear,"

"It's okay, Papa,"

He waits another moment.

"Your mother was a fine Falcon Knight. We met out on the battlefield, her and I. I was only a young Cavalier at the time, it was near the start of my career, you see. I was always reckless, always trying to do tricks with my lance while fighting,"

I chuckle a little bit, "Really? Were you trying to impress her?"

Papa chuckles with me, "After a while, yes. But not at first. She warmed up to that's just how I was, and she started getting used to it. Whenever trying a trick would cause me to get injured, she would rush up to me on the top of her Pegasus, use her healing staff on me and I would go right back into doing them,"

"Wow, she was always the one healing you, huh Papa?"

Papa grunts, "All the time. She was a seasoned Pegasus Knight who was given the promotion into Falcon Knight from King Zeke, so she learned to use the healing staff. She was one of the very few Falcon Knights,"

He shuffles around in his seat and stops talking for a short bit. I don't really remember my mother. I did not know she was also a warrior. Maybe there is something bothering Papa and that is why he protects me like this.

"Until one day..."

Papa's voice trails off. He finds my hand with his and holds it tightly before continuing, "We were together for quite some time, doing the tasks given to us by Zeke. It did not take me long before he was starting to talk to me about making me one of his generals. I was still young, so I did not think too much about it. I agreed when he mentioned it and he laughed. I led many battles as a general, before I even was granted the promotion to Paladin,"

He releases my hand slightly but still holds it firmly, "On the day I receive my promotion, a horrible battle rushes upon us. It was that day when your mother became severely injured that she told me of you, Katarina,"

"R—Really?"

Papa's voice got slightly shaky near the end when he mentioned my name.

"Sh—She said to me, 'we have a daughter', before she was rushed to the healer's tent,"

"She didn't tell you before? Was I already born then?"

Papa pauses, "Y—You were. She was always kept busy by Zeke. We actually didn't get much time together as the Pegasus Knights and Cavaliers were separate groups given separate tasks. It was only on the larger missions we would be joined up as one unit,"

Papa takes another unusual long pause as he tightens the grip onto my hand once again, "An arrow... I trained so hard to block arrows from hitting her Pegasus. But one slipped by me..."

The wavering in his voice makes me believe he is fighting tears away at this point.

"It hit your mother... and she fell from the sky right in front of my eyes. I was never the same again. I only cared about stopping those who oppose Zeke so the death will be stopped. I became serious... something my personality before would laugh at..."

An arrow... so when I go hit by that arrow... something triggered inside of him...

I'm sorry Papa. I did not know.

"When I heard the news, Zeke let me off to go see you... Katarina... since now you will not have your mother anymore. Zeke was a kind-hearted man. We had many of times where we would share laughs and good times. He allowed me to keep you there in the castle for a while... because he still had many more tasks for me to complete,"

He releases my hand and moves my hair away from my face, "Do you know what happened to her Pegasus? Or its name?"

A short moment of silence passes, "No, I do not... So, when that arrow struck you, my dear, my serious side came through and there was nothing I could do about it. Before I knew it, I had already picked up my armor and my lance,"

I can tell a few tears have made their way down Papa's cheeks now as another long moment slips by, allowing silence to swallow us up.

Papa's voice comes out like a whisper now, "I knew an arrow would be the death of me one day... I am sorry that arrow took me away from you, my dear. I have never told anyone this story. Please don't be angry with me... when I told you no... I'm terribly sorry,"

This time I hold his hand with both of mine tightly, "I'm sorry, Papa. I could never be truly angry with you,"

He holds me close to him and we sit in silence for a while.

"Then the day came. I had finished every task Zeke asked of me and then the day of the battle at our castle occurs. The very battle that made us lose the war. Zeke gets injured by one of Rhea's generals and we surrender. I wanted so badly to end the fighting right there. But when you lose, you lose all power. I asked Zeke to allow me to retire... and so he allowed it. Not long after... Zeke passed away,"

I wait another moment before I say anything.

I ask softly, "Papa... do you think I will ever see Cain or Abel again?"

Papa does not answer right away, "Yes... I am sure of it, child. There was no way I was going to get in their way, my dear,"

"But why? Do you know where they are going?"

Papa grunts, "No,"

I'm not going to argue with him anymore. I have a feeling he knows as well but none of them wants me to know.

We sit in silence once more for a while and he holds me while I rest my shoulder. I don't know how long we sit before Papa starts to lift me up in his arms. He carries me up the stairs and into my bedroom. He gently places me down onto my bed and kisses my forehead.

"Goodnight, Katarina,"

"Goodnight, Papa... thank you for talking to me tonight. You helped me feel better,"

Papa smiles down at me, "I'm glad, my dear. You can come to me anytime,"

I watch him leave theroom and it takes no time at all before sleep starts to pull on me.