Molly had always treated Cypher with love and kindness. The best thing about her was how sweet she always was, how attentive to his needs and wants she had always been. In terms of surrogate mothers, Molly was probably the best he could have asked for. However, when she was mad at him like she was now there was almost nothing more terrifying.

“I. Thought. I. Told. You. To. Be. Careful,” she said, punctuating each word with a huff of anger and a step closer to him. Cypher closed the door behind him and seemed to shrink in his clothes. He could never quite tell what she was going to do when she was upset with him.

Of course, she had never once laid a hand on him. That kind of punishment was something she never even considered. Although she had once or twice grabbed him quite firmly by the ear and dragged him off for a stern talking to. This was probably one of those times, but thankfully they were already in his room. She wouldn’t be dragging him off anywhere this time.

“Molly… I’m sorry, I really am! I tried my best I promise but things got out of hand and…” Cypher began but was cut off as she planted herself directly in front of him and crossed her arms. Her face was scowled and it was clear that she had a lot to say on the matter.

“And what? You just thought you’d put yourself at risk? Get yourself hurt and almost killed? I heard about everything from little Tymand himself! And I DO mean everything!” she replied anger laced in every word.

Cypher was confused and then, shocked, “Tymand? WAIT! You mean Tym?!?” he asked. “But how? When?”

“You think I don’t have eyes and ears around this place? I’ve served the Galvans for years! I’ve watched guards and servants alike come and go and if you think I was foolish enough not to make a few connections in my time you’re sorely mistaken! I made sure to have a little chat with Tymand before you all headed out and told him to keep an eye on you! Getting him to talk was hardly more difficult than swatting a fly I’ll have you know!”

Cypher shrunk even more at that. He had hoped that perhaps he could have kept some of the details a secret from Molly but if Tym had spilled the beans…

“How could you do something so foolish? You should have waited or called for backup or… or ANYTHING! Take your shirt off! Let me see it this instant!” she demanded.

Cypher quickly set his bag down and pulled his wool shirt off without a word. Molly adeptly sat him down on his bed and removed his bandages. She let out a gasp as the last of them fell away and his ragged wound tasted the open air. She collapsed to her knees and pulled her tray of medical supplies closer.

Minutes passed in silence as she recleaned his wound and applied her own healing salves to the area. It was a nasty cut. Gelath’s blade had been chipped and jagged and the wound it had left behind was even worse. Cypher’s leather armor had done a good job of keeping the damage somewhat minimal but in the end, it could only do so much. It was a miracle that it had not gotten infected but it looked absolutely gruesome.

By the time she was done cleaning and redressing his wound, she was silently sobbing and Cypher reached out a hand to console her. She swatted it away and stared up at him with tears streaming down her face. “What would I have done if something had happened to you? You’re so young! I knew that sending you out on a mission like this was too dangerous but I thought that I could trust your judgment! I thought that you had enough sense in your head to ask for help against someone so dangerous! Imagine! My boy going against Gelath the Ghostly!”

Cypher could only stare at her with a remorseful expression on his face. She was partially right, there were plenty of things he could have done other than chase down Gelath and face him all alone. At the time though, it had seemed like his only option, but in truth, he simply hadn’t considered another alternative. He had been high on his victories against the lesser bandits and underestimated the clearly superior one.

“Molly I’m sorry…” he managed to choke out as his own emotion began rising in his chest. Molly wiped her tears away and swatted his thigh. It was a firm hit, but nothing painful. Even now she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him in even the slightest way. Still, through that hit Cypher could tell just how upset she really was.

“Stupid! That was very stupid of you dammit! You can’t do this to me ever again you understand? You need to be better than that if you’re going to be out in the world galavanting about swinging that thing around!” She continued to wipe away her tears, and Cypher hugged her tightly. Pain radiated through his body as his chest pressed against her but he didn’t care. He couldn’t help but want to console her right now.

“Wait, you mean you aren’t going to stop me from being a knight?” he asked confused.

“Of course not you silly boy! It’s no secret that it’s always been a dream of yours to go out and do good in this world. I suppose it’s my fault for letting you read all those damn stories! But what’s done is done. I won’t take your dream away from you! But you have got to be more careful! You have to use that sharp mind of yours moving forward okay? Promise me you’ll do that!” she replied.

Cypher only nodded as the dam holding back his emotions finally broke. So much had built up inside him over the last few days since his battle. He still wasn’t sure that he wanted to keep walking down the path of a warrior but for now, that didn’t matter. He was touched by her acceptance of the situation and upset with himself for being so careless.

He poured out every emotion, every thought he had had about his experience in Gett. He spoke of how proud of himself he had been when he felled the four bandits and had been able to see the fruits of his training firsthand. He talked about how he had buried his fear deep inside while he was fighting against Gelath, and how easily that fear had wormed its way back to the surface when his life was in danger. He sobbed harder as he got to the part about how he felt as though he had let those people down just before Agnad had arrived to save them all.

All the while Molly hugged him and stroked the back of his head. The two of them sobbed as they held each other and he forgot all about his troubles as she consoled him. Once again she was taking care of him like she always had. When the moment passed and the two of them regained their composure she pushed him back, her hands on his shoulders, and looked him in his deep cerulean eyes.

“Promise me you’ll be more careful in the future, okay?” she repeated and Cypher nodded and swore to her that from here on out, he’d be more careful, for her sake. With her anger spent and his tears finally drying up, she helped him get undressed and comfortable in bed. After giving him one of her signature forehead kisses, she dimmed the torch burning in his room and took her leave to let him rest.

She stopped at the doorway and looked back at him in his bed as moonlight beamed in from the window. “Are you going to be okay, little one?” she asked.

Cypher paused and nodded slowly before offering her a gentle smile. She returned it and closed the door gently behind her. Cypher laid his head back and closed his eyes as he heard her footsteps fading away as she returned to her own quarters. He was thankful to have her in his life and once again, in the peace and quiet of his room promised himself that for her sake, he’d be more careful.

In Cypher’s eyes, there wasn’t a lot in this world that she couldn’t fix with a little love and care and as usual, she had done just that. He still had his reservations about continuing down the path he had chosen but now it felt like he could rest easy no matter what choice he made. He knew that she would always be there for him and even if he chose to return to a simple life of cleaning and serving the Galvans she would still be there.

That night he slept without a care in the world.