"Terra," Mama begins.

She pauses a moment. Is she wanting me to respond? Does she want me to tell her what Terra is? Of course I know what Terra is, Mama. What does she mean by telling me this? What does that have to do with anything?

"What about it? The world we call home, is what Terra is, Mama,"

"Good," She takes several steps forward, towards the open doorway, "Terra is where we live now. However, you and I are part of another race not from this world, my son,"

I feel my face twist into confusion, "We are not human?"

"No, we are not Terran. We are Darphorian. A member of the outer planets in this universe, Darphor, is my home planet, the same planet you could call home as well,"

What? Why did she never tell me...?

She walks over to the other side of the room and picks up something from a shelf, then wanders back over to me. She finds my gaze now as she unfolds the rolled-up scroll she holds in her hands. I slide my gaze away from hers and down to find an image on the scroll. It is of a planet which appears to be black in color with streams of red flowing on its surface.

"Darphor is a planet filled with dark magicians born with the magic that can warp energy. It flows through our veins. This is where I was born before my mother left to live here on Terra,"

I study the image, while no words come to mind. Out of everything I expected to hear Mama say, this was something not on that list. I am speechless. So, this is why we are different. This magic we wield is literally out of this world. No one from Terra can have this magic. I have something that everyone has where Mama is from, but no one has where I actually am. I thought it was something you learn...

I move my gaze back up to Mama's as she rolls the image back up, "That is why we are different, Merric,"

But why have you not told me this before...?

Is this why our features are so different from one another? My hair and eye colors do not match Mama's, Papa's or my brother's. And Mama's hair and eye colors do not match her parent's colors either. I study Mama's features as she looks down at me.

Her lips droop a bit when she studies me for another moment like she can hear my thoughts, "I am sorry for not telling this to you before. There have been strange occurrences that have been forcing my attention away from properly raising you and giving you the knowledge you are entitled to as your birthright,"

Strange occurrences? My birthright?

"What do you mean, Mama? You have raised me just fine," I ignore the thoughts that fill my mind. Mama has other things to attend to. That is why she has been constantly training and worrying. Right?

She shakes her head at me and a pained expression fills her face. I have never seen her this way before, "No, my son, I have not. This is not how... a future Darphorian Queen should raise a Prince,"

My eyes widen at her words. I have never heard such things drip from her mouth before. Queen? Prince? But we are members of a group that fight! We take orders from the King! If Mama is a Princess of Darphor, then why is she here and not living a life of a Princess elsewhere? Why is she living far away from Ma and Pa? I thought Ma married into the royal family when she married Pa, a king...

"You're a Princess too, Mama? But then... well...?" I cannot find the words. I have so many things to ask her but I cannot find the way to ask them. She studies me with no emotion, like she does not know what emotion to show.

But then, what are we doing fighting like we are common peasants? Unless that is your choice, but what of your kingdom, Mama? I guess that would make me a Prince still, despite what kind of life I live, but I just never thought of it since I do not live like one. I slide my gaze away from hers for a moment.

"That does not explain why we are fighting or what we are fighting, Mama. I grow tired of training. Why must we train every day? Why do you push me so hard to learn my magic within me? Why do you train like you are not already strong? What does Papa Greil mean when he sends you out to battle? Why are we members of this group that trains in the arts of battle, Mama...?"

I allow myself to ramble. I let the words flow out, meaning them to or not, to let Mama hear my concerns. I did not know any other way to ask them. The words would not come to me otherwise. I do not want to fight anymore. I want to know why I am fighting. I don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to kill for some unknown reason.

Mama sits back down next to me on the bench. She looks down at the floor for a moment, in what feels like years, before turning to face me. She picks up my hands in hers and studies me, "Merric,"

"What now, Mama?" My voice comes out colder than I meant it to. I feel like Mama is holding back a wince or something but she does not respond to my harshness.

"There is something else about our race that makes us different,"

"It's the magic that makes us different, Mama,"

She shakes her head at me and sternly studies my eyes intently, "No, my son. There is something else,"

Her eyes stab me like ice daggers and her words hit me like ice shards spewing from her mouth. Her dark red hair falls around her face and her deep purple eyes stand out within the darkness it casts around her.

"There is a thing called the Dark Lord that every dark magician fears. The Dark Lord picks and chooses the dark magician child they will chase until they take them away,"

Her eyes narrow at my own and I feel them digging deeper into my soul, "To take their magic, force them harm and remove them from this world. The Dark Lord will try anything necessary to get their magic. The Dark Lord seeks power to rule over all other races. To rule the entire universe. The dark magic we wield is what it seeks,"

A... Dark Lord? Is that chasing Mama? Or... is it... chasing me...?

I narrow my gaze back on hers, to match, "But that does not answer why we are fighting, Mama!"

Her eyes soften, like something pains her. She studies me with sadness splashing around in her eyes like waves on a shoreline. I notice my grip on her hands is tighter than before and I quickly loosen my hold.

"Daein used to be a peaceful kingdom. Ylisse and Daein held no hatred towards one another,"

"Apparently, they do now, Mama!"

Mama does not respond to my cold words once again and continues, "The King calls upon us to help him protect his people and his kingdom, Merric. We must answer his call—"

"Why do we, Mama? You are a Princess! Why must we fight—"

"Because Chrom is our King, Merric!" I wince at Mama's harsh words. I feel the sharpness drip from her lips as her eyes narrow even further, digging even deeper into my own, "You will learn your place!"

Mama's anger washes away from her eyes immediately and something else rushes in right after. Her gaze does not leave mine, the grip she has on me loosening, "Vladimir... is different now. He is not himself. I fear he has been taken by that Dark Lord. We must save him and both kingdoms before any more damage is done, Merric,"

I remove my gaze from hers but she moves her hand under my chin to lift it up again, forcing my gaze to keep hers, "I—I'm sorry, Mama, for yelling. I—I'm just—"

Mama lowers her hand from my chin and sadness waves around her once again. She pulls me into an embrace, "No, I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner. You do not deserve to be forced into these problems while you are still in training,"

She pauses, then whispers so softly that I can hardly hear, "Your emotions must become stronger than mine. I cannot afford to expose you and risk them being weakened,"

The room is encompassed with silence for several moments while Mama holds me near her. These words I do not wish to ask float around my mind and they threaten to leave my mouth. I fear I already know the answer but they threaten to spill anyway. I fight back tears and all emotions that are pushing to emerge.

"I... I am going to have to kill... aren't I...? That's what we are training for... isn't it...?"

My voice comes out cold once again and emotionless. I hate myself for even asking these words. They spilled from my mouth freely and bit the peace in the room like venom attacking its prey. The room feels colder by the second, attacked by a bitter truth. I hate the words more because of the answer I fear I already know. Mama pulls away slightly and her pained expression worsens all over her face. Something emerges within her eyes and fogs them over, dulling them from their standard shine.

I feel an unknown emotion emerge within me as she nods slowly and lowers her gaze slightly, then whispers softly in a tone that shatters my heart into a million pieces.

"I'm sorry,"

One of my favorite chapters so far. So much emotion here. This only marks the start of it.