Bonus Short Story

Another Reason I’m Glad I Married You

It was only just recently that Reggie had learned that his mother was still alive. The one to inform him had been Kiara, immediately following their victory over the queen.

No sooner had he learned the truth about his mother, however, than she gave up her life to save Kiara. Reggie had never been less sure of what to do than in that moment.

When he was on the verge of losing Kiara, he had felt as though his world had come crashing down around him. He could hardly believe it when he’d heard there was a way to save her, and he had refused to leave her side until the moment she opened her eyes again.

It was then that Kiara had revealed that the Thorn Princess was his mother. Is she delirious? he had wondered for a fleeting moment. However, Kiara blowing the dying woman’s cover and storing her soul—if nothing else—inside a doll had given him a chance to talk to her and learn the truth. She was, without a doubt, his real mother.

“Your father wasn’t exactly the most thorough man. As accomplished as he was, he had his blind spots when it came to showing consideration for others, which led him to aggravate his brother’s inferiority complex time and time again,” the ocher figurine had reflected with a deep sigh.

She was posed strangely, one hand raised and the other one lowered, and her eyes and mouth were just little round holes. His mother’s new look was certainly odd, but also endearing... or that was Reggie’s opinion, at least. He had found it uncanny at first, but he wasn’t about to tell Kiara that.

As of late, his mother would start reminiscing about the past whenever they were together. Apparently, Reggie’s grandfather had been so horrible to her that she’d hesitated to so much as speak to him. She had found his uncle downright personable by comparison.

Reggie could understand parts of what she was saying. His uncle’s attitude toward him had taken a dramatic turn for the worse upon becoming his adoptive father. Prior to that, Reggie didn’t recall him ever doing anything quite as egregious as picking on a young child.

When Reggie asked what the man had been like before getting more deeply involved in his life, he found out his uncle had spent his time picking fights with his father. According to his mother, his father had been the greatest source of the man’s inferiority complex, so that didn’t come as too much of a surprise. Of course, the passing of his rival had led to his second biggest insecurity becoming his new adoptive son, and thus all that animosity had been directed at Reggie instead.

Though it all made sense, that didn’t mean he was about to forgive the man. Despite the slipshod burial Queen Marianne had given him, Reggie therefore considered the book closed on the man’s funeral—his excuse being that they were in the midst of a war. There was no need to make a big occasion of his death all over again.

When he had informed Kiara and his mother of his decision, they had both made the exact same comment: “Too much hassle?” And in unison, to boot.

Perhaps my mother and Kiara are two incredibly like-minded individuals? As Reggie started to consider it, he asked Groul for his opinion.

“Would you say that Kiara and my mother have a lot in common?”

Groul gazed back at Reggie as if he’d just witnessed the most heartwarming sight. “That’s a fairly common phenomenon, Your Majesty. I wouldn’t let it get to you.”

For whatever reason, his knight encouraged him not to stress about it. Not that he had been worried about it in the first place.

That was when Felix, who was also present, inserted himself into the conversation. “What do you mean?”

“Men have a tendency to go after women who resemble their mothers. Aha... Now I get it. Back in the beginning, I did wonder why Your Majesty had chosen Lady Kiara of all people. That’s one mystery solved.”

That comment brought a smile to Felix’s face as well. Though Reggie knew this was indeed a universal phenomenon, he didn’t appreciate his knights looking at him like he was some kind of child.

“And what about you, Groul? Would you say your wife bears a resemblance to your mother?” he shot back.

Groul immediately averted his gaze. “Well... I suppose you could say that, yes.”

“I do recall Commander Groul describing it as being bombarded with the same complaints from all sides,” Felix teased him. From the sound of it, his wife and his mother were always at odds with each other.

Having recalled the predicament for himself, Groul heaved a deep sigh. “Their similarities only serve to sow the seeds of strife, I suppose. In that regard, I’m almost jealous that the ladies in your life get along so well, Your Majesty.”

True enough. I’ve never once seen a fight break out between the two of them, Reggie thought to himself.

◇◇◇

The following day, Reggie bore witness to Kiara’s dependence on his mother, watching her wail “Oh, Mother!” every other word while tearfully clinging to her and refusing to let go. By the end of the day, she even told him, “I’m sorry for hogging your mom all to myself,” offering to hand her over to him whenever there wasn’t official business to be taken care of. She sounded terribly guilty about it, too.

His mother, in her bizarre clay doll form, didn’t seem to think there was a pressing need for her to see Reggie every single day. Exasperated, she said, “There’s nothing to apologize for, Kiara.”

“But I bet Reggie wants a chance to talk with you, too.”

That reply left his mother stuck for a response.

Each time Reggie saw one of their little exchanges, he felt something frozen deep in his heart begin to thaw. After all that time he’d spent convincing himself that he had been abandoned as a sort of coping mechanism... no doubt the vestiges of that still lingered somewhere in his heart.

And so, when he took his mother out of Kiara’s hands, he gave her a pat on the head and said, “I’m so glad I married you.”