The Butterfly Effect

"We're going to be visiting your grandparents."

When Serafina said that over dinner, Beika and Titham first looked at each other, and then up at her, with pure confusion. They'd never heard of "your grandparents" before. They knew that some children had grandparents, of course, but Serafina had never told them theirs; she rarely even made a passing mention to her parents, even rarely associating it to the two of them.

But, of course, they were also children. They didn't stay confused—rather, they were excited.

"Does that mean we're gonna go somewhere pretty?" Beika asked.

"Outside of the city?" Titham added.

Serafina nodded. "It's going to be quite a long trip, but yes. We're going to be traveling to Jaden territory."

"Merchants go there all the time!" Beika pointed out. "It can't be that far!"

"Merchants come from Levi Asari, or some of the other bigger cities near the coast," Serafina explained. "We're going closer to the mountains, almost into Tobiah territory—a town called Ryobel. I'll help the two of you prepare your things after dinner, then we're going to leave tomorrow morning. We shouldn't bring a lot, but… we've got plenty of spare coins. Maybe I'll be able to get you both a souvenir or two when we get there or on our way back."

…

Her mother gave her a quick hug, of course, but her attention was almost immediately taken by the two kids Serafina brought with her.

"Oh, hello there!" Serafina's mother held a hand out to Beika and Titham. "I didn't think she'd bring both of you darlings here! What are your names, sweeties?"

They both looked up at Serafina—after all, this woman was still a stranger, and she told them not to talk to strangers—and she nodded. That gave them the reassurance that they needed.

"I'm Beika! And this is my brother—"

"Titham."

Her mother's smile grew even further. "You two can call me Nana, and that's Papa. Alright? Now, I've made a small batch of cookies for the occasion, so would you like some? You can help me make some more for today's patrons, too, if you'd like."

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The kids cheered in unison and followed her back inside. Now alone, Serafina's father turned his attention to her.

"I'd say you've come a long way from punching other kids in the face," he remarked, "but you've barely been here an afternoon."

Serafina smirked. "You won't give me the benefit of the doubt, at least?"

"You know you've got to earn it," he returned with a laugh. His smile faded a bit, though. "I thought I told you to bring another adult with you. You didn't have to be married or anything. Just someone to make it look like you are. You know what people here think about that kind of thing…"

"Well, then they should just deal with it. I know how to defend myself. I'm not afraid to use that knowledge if I need to. Or at least give them a good enough look of what might happen if they try."

He sighed. "That answers my other question, then. You know your attitude certainly doesn't help anything, right..?"

"Perhaps just because they don't want to admit that it was their own actions that made me this way." She decided that was enough of that conversation, and instead said, "We've spent a long time just traveling, I think I'm going to take a short walk around town. Could you and Mom keep an eye on the kids for me? If they wonder where I am, tell them the exact thing I told you. They know what they should and shouldn't be doing, so they'll behave without me."

"You're going to get yourself into trouble, aren't you?"

"I'm keeping both of you, and the kids, out of trouble by doing this. I swear I know what I'm doing."

"You're going to let someone know if you ever get yourself into something you can't get out of, right? You know you can trust us. Whatever's been going on these past few years, we're here to help if you need us to…"

"I know you are. And in any other circumstances, I'd be fine with that. But not this. I want you as far away from all of this as you possibly can be."

"And you don't think I would say the same for you, hearing you tell me that, and without knowing what you're getting into?"

"Just trust me. What I'm doing is to keep all of you safe."

As much as she knew he wanted to argue, she knew better than to stay any longer. She just left then and there, hoping her flash of a smile might've been enough to reassure him. She knew it wouldn't but, well, she had to try.

And she was grateful that he walked back inside, though it was likely to mumble to her mother about her actions. Serafina would nearly think "they could thank me later," except she hoped they wouldn't.

After all, such a thing would imply that they knew, and Adidell wasn't exactly the kind of group to just let them get away with that.

Or, at the very least, that's the reasoning Serafina used to justify herself. This was never about just seeing her parents—not since she'd first learned about what was going on, and likely not even for the rest of her life. All of this was about Adidell, their Homunculus Project…

And desperately hoping she could plant enough red herrings, set off enough false alarms, to buy her and her children more time together. Never mind the fact that so often meant sacrificing the time they had together in the present…