The Hunter Mage

CHAPTER TWO

None of them moved as reality dawned, Vernon was really about to be taken away. He felt his mother's grip on him tightened as she tried to keep her emotions in check but the tears that landed on his shirt told him she was doing a terrible job.

The knocks persisted and Vernon knew if they didn't answer fast, there was a high chance the mage hunters were going to barge in but the second round of knocks must have gotten to his father because he snapped out of the shock and slowly opened the door.

His mother didn't move from where she knelt him and she still had her hands firmly around him as if the longer she could hold him, the longer she could keep him. Vernon was crying at this point, he was never a loud crier so tears just flowed down his face as he sniffled against his mother.

He heard one of the mage hunter's voices, as they began the procedure. They called out his father's title and name and asked if he had a mage in his house. His father could only nod at the question but knew that was enough.

"Yes," he answered stiffly but Vernon could hear the c***k in his father's voice. He swallowed before he spoke again. "We have a mage in our household."

No sooner were the words out of his father's mouth that Vernon felt his mother's grip tightened and her sob intensified. The mage hunters took his father's agreement as permission to barge into their house and barge they did.

They all trooped in almost pushing Vernon's father out of the way as they rushed towards where his mother held him right as she knelt down. Thankfully, when they got to her they slowed and carefully reached out to pull Vernon out of her grip.

She didn't let go, didn't want to but Vernon did. He slowly let his hand slide from his mother's grasp, weakening her hold on him and giving the mage hunters the upper hand as they pulled him away.

"Don't take him," she pleaded knowing she was about to lose this tug of war. "He couldn't survive on his own."

Vernon felt his tears increase but he did brawl, didn't struggle, he just smiled. It was already hard enough for her to let him go, he didn't want to make it harder. His smile must have gotten to her for she faltered a little and her grip completely gave way.

He took one last look at her, his glowing eyes enhancing his sight, in that fleeting moment because he knew might not see her any time soon. None of the young mages that were taken were ever returned.

Her blond hair was tied up but a few had escaped the band, his father loved her hair and so did he. Her bright shone with tears and she had on her favorite earrings, it was an anniversary gift from his father.

Why did he know this? Because his mother occasionally spoke about it, it was ok of the few things she was proud of and would always urge him to remember to get a gift for his wife. Of course, he didn't take her seriously but he didn't forget her words.

The earrings however weren't special at least to an onlooker. They were made of wood with shiny stones that weren't all that expensive but they were handmade by his father who has stayed up a lot of nights in secret to get them done. It came as no surprise why his mother loved them.

He quickly glanced at his father who was quick to react and immediately pulled back his wife before she reached out for their son. She fought against her husband's hand but he held her still.

She moved from kneeling to sitting as she kicked but his hold on her didn't falter, they couldn't afford to for one slip and she could injure the baby. She must have realized this because she stopped struggling a few seconds later and just watched as the mage hunters took her son out of the house.

"Help me up," she muttered to her husband with tears and short Fallon down her face.

He glanced down at her unsure if he should grant her request. His wife could be crazy at times. The chances of her running to the mage hunters and fighting for her son were very high.

"I won't do anything crazy, I promise." She added as if reading his thoughts. "I just want to see him go." He nodded and slowly helped her up. She rested her head on his shoulders as he wrapped an arm around her waist and they walked out together.

Vernon was just getting thrown onto one of the horses when he saw his parents standing on their porch. He didn't think about it, just waved and his mother let go of the damn she had been holding in.

"Wait!" She suddenly screamed out. "Please wait!" She fled into the house hitting a few items but she didn't care, she had to give him something to take, anything. She entered his room and knew exactly what she wanted to pick.

She ripped it off the bed and rolled it into a ball, there wasn't any time to fold it and she fled back out of the room. The mage hunters were already riding away with the horse. "Wait!" She screamed again, trying to run after them but her husband came to her rescue, and taking the bundled-up blanket from her, he ran up to the horse that held his son. The mage hunter had slowed down and he was able to give Vernon the blanket.

It was thick and hard for the boy to hold but the mage hunter collected it either way and placed it in front of Vernon, on his lap, and immediately drove off. His father stood watching until his wife came to join him and neither moved until they could no longer see the horses or their dust.

By the time they turned to go into their house, it was bright and people were going about their morning business. He held his wife gently as they walked together, she had stopped crying but the evidence was still on her face and he hated that he couldn't do anything about it.

They had known this day was coming but it didn't stop it from being less painful and he knew they both wished they had more time. They wished that they had been able to keep Vernon for much longer but that was a dream that had been drastically cut short.

The worst part of it was, they had no clue when they would see him again and their unborn child was going to face the same date as soon as they were born. The chances of children born to a family being all mages were very high and even if the child didn't have magic they would be taken away to confirm, sometimes they were returned and most times not.

He closed the door of the house, against onlookers. Nobody had approached them and somehow he was grateful for that. They needed this time alone, maybe much later they would be ready to receive well-wishers.

He returned his eyes to his wife to find her sprawled on the ground. He didn't hesitate but joined her, held her. She wasn't crying anymore but the tears didn't stop flowing. He rubbed her hair, hoping he could offer some sort of comfort to kind of ease her pain but there was nothing he could do, they had the same pain.

He held her until she couldn't cry anymore and still, he held her. He soon lost track of how long they were on the cold floor but he didn't feel it. The only indication that he might need to stand soon was his legs felt a little stiff.

"Do y-you think we would see him again?" She asked.

He wanted to give her false hopes, anything to make her feel better but he knew that was not going to do either of them any good so he said what he was sure of, "I don't know."

She didn't say anything more, just sank further into his embrace. He held her for a couple more minutes before saying, "let's go get you something to eat."

She shook her head and pushed her weight to the ground to prevent him from lifting her. "You can stay here any longer. You'll catch a cold even if you won't do it for me, do it for the baby."

He felt her shoulders slack at the word baby and when he tried to lift her up again, she gave in easily. He lifted her completely off the ground and she screamed in excitement but he didn't get a smile, he wasn't expecting one. With her in his arms, he walked to their bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. She fell asleep before breakfast was even ready.