Childhood Talk

When I walked into the room, Shay and Mom were in the middle of a hearty laugh. Shay turned to me, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Hey, sweetheart. Your mom was just filling me in on some of your childhood antics.”

Shay was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down her face.

I rolled my eyes and groaned, looking at Mom. “I swear, that was a different kid. They swapped that kid out for me, a well-behaved one who didn’t cause such a ruckus.”

Their laughter only grew louder. I sat down next to Shay, pulling her close. Her body was shaking with laughter, and I couldn’t help but chuckle, imagining the stories Mom must have shared.

I wasn’t exactly a poster child growing up. There were times when I tried to escape this life. But they always found me attempting to scale the garden walls.

The guards would let me climb over, chase me for a bit until I reached the forest, then bring me right back. They were kind enough to let me believe I had escaped.

The first time they brought me back, Noah and Conner were at the castle, crying because I had left them behind. But the moment they saw me, their tears turned into smiles.

From then on, they joined me, refusing to let me try it alone. We never made it to the forest, but we always had a blast running and hiding from the guards.

“Zane, is it true you locked yourself in the tower for three days with the guys? They had to slide food under the door so you wouldn’t starve?” Shay asked, her eyes still wet from laughter.

I wiped her tears away and sighed.

“Yes, we were mad at Dad one day. Conner managed to get some tools, and we switched the lock so it was only on the inside. Mom sat outside the door for almost a day, trying to coax us into opening it.

“They slid food, blankets, and other necessities under the door or passed them through the bars that used to be on the door. We refused to come out, and it gets cold up there, even in the summer.

“We used the blankets to build a fort where all three of us could sleep. Eventually, they had to call a locksmith to open the door so we could shower.

“There’s only a toilet up there, so they knew we needed to clean up properly. We were three dirty boys who stank because we had played hard without bathing.

“We didn’t care at the time, but after three days, it started to get unbearable. And when they finally got the door open, we had no choice but to clean up.”

“They looked like three boys who had just crawled out of a hole in the ground. Their hair was a mess. Clothes were strewn all over the floor. They changed into clean ones that we gave them.

“Needless to say, they never did that again because we made sure they couldn’t get back up there.” Mom looked at Shay, her eyes twinkling as she recounted the story.

“Now there’s an iron gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep us out. It stays open now that we’re older, but back then, it was locked, and Dad was the only one with a key.

“Believe me, we tried many times to get that key from him. He wore it on a chain around his neck, so there was no way we could get it. At night, he locked it in the safe.

“Conner managed to break into it one night, but Mom caught us before we could leave the room and made us put it back. After that, it disappeared, and we could never find it.” I ran my hands down my face, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Mom laughed. “That’s because we put it in plain sight, but they never thought to look there.”

I looked up at the ceiling, then laughed again. “They hung it from the chandelier in their room. We never thought to look up there. We could never find it again, but when we got older, we asked for it when some boys from school started jumping the fences to try to break into the castle.

“But when we got older, we asked for it when some boys from school started jumping the fences to try to break into the castle. She pulled out a ladder and climbed up there to get it.

“We all laughed so hard because we felt so foolish for not looking up there. We unlocked the gate, then gave the key back to her. The boys were envious of us because we lived here.

“Needless to say, they didn’t come back after we chased them out with bullets hitting the ground around their feet.”

“Please tell me you didn’t shoot real bullets at them,” Shay said, pushing herself off my chest.

I shook my head. “No, we weren’t that reckless. Dad always kept a stash of rubber bullets in the armory; that’s all we were allowed to use as teenagers unless he was with us.

“They hurt like hell if you get hit, but we just shot at their feet to scare them. Dad told us not to hit them because their parents could sue us, even though our cameras showed them trespassing.

“He didn’t want to deal with any of that; the parents did come to talk to him, but once they saw the video, their kids had to apologize to him, which was the hardest thing they had to do.

“Everyone knew who he was, and can you imagine four fourteen-year-old boys having to stand before my dad and apologize? We laughed at them from the vent above his office, seeing how scared they were.

“They never bothered us after that.”

“Tell me, when did you start using guns? I never asked when your training began.”

“Dad started us out at six with targets, then the serious training began when we turned ten. Hours of physical workouts, going to the training field he built, and mental training as well.

“By the time we were fourteen, we were homeschooled so we could train more. We went to the local school until middle school, then stayed here with top-notch tutors.

“After graduating, we attended college here for a few years to get the degrees we needed. The rest was just us living our lives as rowdy boys getting into trouble.”

“They were a handful to raise, but we wouldn’t trade any of them for anything,” Mom said. “All three of them were really smart, good boys, and the loves of our lives.

“Now that you’re starting a family of your own, I hope you two experience the same joy.” Mom rose from her seat, pulling Shay from my arms to envelop her in a warm hug.

“I think we will. He’s shown me just how much I mean to him. Our kids will be loved and raised the same way he was. In a home filled with joy, love, and rules they’ll need to follow.”

Shay shot me a smile, the kind that always made my heart skip a beat.

“Mom, I hate to pull her away, but we’ve got a celebration dinner in about an hour. We need to freshen up. We’ve wrapped up our business, and now Dad wants a big dinner to celebrate it all.”

Her face fell a bit. “What happened to Christian?”

“He’s been placed under Forest’s watch, but with strict supervision. If he steps out of line, they’ll deal with him.”

She offered a small smile and nodded.

“I was hoping for the best, that nothing too terrible would happen to him. He’s just a man who lost his way, blinded by power. I’m relieved they found a solution that didn’t involve ending him and his family.”

Mom always had a soft spot for people. Her compassion often kept Dad in check, reminding him of the potential outcomes that didn’t involve violence.

“Don’t worry, Mom. We planned this all out very carefully over the past few days. Everything went exactly as we wanted. Now, Dad’s waiting for you to get ready for the dinner he’s planned.”

She rose and left the room, and I guided Shay back to our bedroom. We needed a bit of rest, a shower, and to get ready.

Sure, there’d be a quick round of love-making somewhere in there, but we couldn’t afford to be late. Dad would be pissed if we were.