We both got a guest room for ourselves. The family really had to own a lot of money to live in such a big estate. The room I got was furnished in a modern way and was definitely not small. It even had a balcony attached to it and I had my own bathroom. That was amazing!
There was even a telephone on a small table. "A telephone!", I noticed excitedly. "May I take a call to Germany?", I asked expectantly. The maid in a simple creme white dress, who introduced herself as Carmilla, nodded. She was around her thirties. Her black hair was tied together into a bun. It complimented her green eyes. She looked like she was doing sports. Her dress had short sleeves which didn't cover her trained arms. It wasn't that her arms were all muscly, but they had a defined shape.
"Is that where you're from? I heard you came back from the other world as well.", Carmilla asked carefully.
"That's right. I accidentally ended up in the other world. I haven't seen my family and friends for nearly four months now. It's nowhere as long as you must have missed Law, though.", I answered. Three and a half months were nothing compared to 19 years. I didn't want to sound overdramatic.
"Oh I knew there was a missing son, but I've not been here for that long to have known him personally. Your parents must be worried still. Take your time with the call.", Carmilla smiled at me. She was just closing the door, when another question popped up. "One more thing! Where are we? The UK?"
"This estate is located in the southwest of England. The nearest bigger city is called Barnstaple.", she replied and closed the door behind her.
I stepped in front of the telephone and took a deep breath. "Why am I so nervous? I'm just calling home. Home... I was gone for so long.", it rang through my head. I took the receiver and dialed the prefix for Berlin. Then I realized I had to begin with the international area code.
"So it's +49 30. Plus... Plus... How do I enter the plus? A zero in it's place I guess.", so I dialed with one zero at the beginning and was not connected. After a moment I remembered it must have been two zeros up front. Nervous, I dialed the number again. It rang. It rang for quite a while. It rang until the call was ended automatically.
Nobody home, I thought, while putting the receiver back onto the telephone and stared into the air. "Happens.", I tried to cheer myself up.
I went onto the balcony. The view was very nice. The estate was on top of a hill, fields all around it, as far as I could see. Underneath me was a big labyrinth behind the mansion. There was a single hut in the center. Only a small ring of forest seemed to seperate the estate from the fields. It reminded me of my grandparents, who were also engaged in agriculture. Only did they not live in a giant villa. With the chance of getting home now being so close, I lay down my head on my arms resting on the rail of the balcony, lost in thought.
"Catherine-ya.", I jumped in surprise, turning around as Law cut through my thoughts. Our rooms were next to each other. "I knocked on the door, but you didn't answer so I came in.", I couldn't relate to that logic, but neither did I press the matter. I was much more wondering where his trade mark smirk was, that was supposed to decorate his face after a statement like that. His figure was still tensed up as well in that dark red shirt. It was still an unusual sight.
"What is it?", was all I asked nevertheless. He probably wouldn't answer me honestly anyways, even if I were to ask.
"Do you know when you will depart for your home yet?", I guessed he wanted to guide the conversation to a certain something. Curious as to what he wanted, I played along.
"Not yet. It will probably take a few days. I'll need someone to take me to the airport and to lend me the money. Your father will probably be the one to decide those things.", I explained. He frowned when I mentioned his father.
"What... is he to you? Is he your actual father?", I asked after a moment of silence. I admit, I didn't think about that question before speaking. It wasn't very smart to ask either, as Law didn't know I knew about his past in Frevance. And we weren't friends, but my curiosity was big. The possibility that he might be from my world was just far too interesting and it nagged at me the whole time.
Still, I knew it was insensitive of me to ask. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. Anything else you wanted from me?", Law hesitated a moment before revealing his reason for coming.
"Teach me how to read the writing of this language.", he prompted. That surprised me. I never teached anyone how to read, but he had teached me the local language of the other world, so I had to give it a try. "Alright. I don't know how good of a teacher I am, but I'll try.", I assured him.
We started right away, as we didn't have anything else to do until the master of the house returned. Law learned fast. The fact that he could already speak the language, was a big advantage. The only thing he actually had to learn was the alphabet.
"Learning that fast, you could ask for a book that interests you to train your reading skills. I bet the books about medicine from this world interest you.", I advised him. It was actually fun to be the teacher for a change.
"Is the medicine here more advanced than in my world?", of course he was interested in the medical advance. Maybe he could learn something new.
"I'd say so, since we seem to be more advanced regarding technology, but your world has other methods. You probably wouldn't even need x-ray or sonographic units. But they should be interesting nevertheless.", Law agreed. With his abilities he wouldn't need any imaging devices, but as a surgeon, he was always searching for new treatment or surgical methods.
The next day came and with it the master of the house. Lord Trafalgar. Laws biological father. The pirate captain and I were called out of our rooms to greet him.
"I see you found some books to read.", I said, smiling, when I saw him. The dark circles under his eyes even darker than usual. Law just grumbled in response. He had changed back into his black and yellow pullover, as well as his spotted pants. I kinda liked the dress they gave me, so I kept to that. As we walked down the central staircase, we stopped abruptly, as a tall, slender man ran towards us. Arms wide open, eyes wet. This had to be the man. He ran straight to Law and wrapped his arms around him. Tears rolled down his cheeks. "I missed you so much my son."
Lord Trafalgar had short brown hair, which slowly faded into grey. He was just as tall as Law, who beared the embrace reluctantly. There were mixed emotions to be seen on his face. I continued down the stairs to give them some privacy. His father most likely would not let himself be bothered by me, but Law definitely. If there was anything he wanted to tell that man, I wouldn't want to be the reason he didn't.
At the entrance, every employee was assembled, Mr. Sheffield inclusive. All of them had tears in their eyes. Me too. His joy of reunion with his son was too emotional to leave any dry eye. Besides, I had to think about my own parents missing me. It was just impossible to hold back any tears.
Carmilla, standing next to me, lay a hand on my shoulder. She seemed to be assigned to me and we got along well.
Law pushed his father off him at some point. They exchanged a few more words before walking down the stairs. I couldn't decipher Law's expression. There were hardly any signs of joy of reunion. That alone did not surprise me, but there was something else to see. Maybe it was longing. Longing for the love Corazon and his family from Fravance gave him. After all, it was the doctors couple that raised him. And it was Corazon, who made him trust into people again. Bittersweet memories.
As the two joined the rest of us, tears were wiped away and the lord was now officially greeted by Mr. Sheffield: "My lord, Wilfred, welcome back.". We learned that Law's father actually bore the title of earl. He was officially called Wilfred Maxwell Trafalgar, Earl of Devon. No wonder the mansion was this big, If we were at the house of an earl. It didn't take long until the four of us sat in the same office like yesterday again. Lord Trafalgar first wanted to know more about my person. "We finally found a way back and now I only need to get back to Germany.", I finalized my short story. I was very relieved to hear that he would gladly offer his help. "I know how it feels like, as a parent.", he explained.
"So, Law, please tell me. How was your time on the other side of this portal? Did you grow up safely? And did you find a loving family that cared for you?", the father's questions were filled with worry. They were questions he must have asked himself all those years. Questions, that robbed him of his sleep and questions, that drove away his sanity. Questions never to be answered. Until now. Now finally. Finally, his dear son returned and could take away all those worries. But he hesitated.
"I... grew up as the son of two doctors. They were very loving to me and my younger sister.", it surprised me, that he actually spoke about his past. I had expected him to avoid the question with a brief, hardly satisfying lie. Did he feel like he owed those answers to him?
"I wonder if he can still remember his childhood here. Maybe there is still some kind of bond to his biological father with those memories. There has to be some bond, sure, but was that strong enough to share his traumatic experiences?", my doubts were confirmed, as Law skipped the tragedy of Frevance and his time with de Flamingo.
"And what are you doing now? Did you settle down somewhere or are you still traveling around the world?", the father asked in excitement. The relief clearly on his and Mr. Sheffield's face, though there was also a bit of regret. Obviously, Lord Trafalgar wanted to be the one to raise his son. Not an unknown family.
"I studied medicine succesfully and still travel around on my submarine.", I was surprised by his answers yet again. I expected him to bluntly tell the two men he was a pirate.
"So you're like a swimming hospital? Wow! That's my son!", with a beaming face, the father imagined his son to be a hero. I had to pull myself together to not burst out into laughter.
Trafalgar Law, surgeon of death. A hero. I looked over to him, just to see him having to restrain himself as well. Just not because of laughter. "Well, surgeon of death. That was your own fault. You're the hero of the house now.", smiling, I couldn't help myself but to play along.
"Yeah. You see I was really, really lucky to have been woken up on his submarine. As there are a lot of crazy pirates in this world, he can be considered a hero there with his yellow submarine.", I reaped an angry glare, but that was worth it.
"A lot of pirates? Is that why you have that sword?", Lord Trafalgar asked with newfound worry.
"I can't have my patients harmed and robbed, now can I?", he answered innocently.
"That is why you need to go back, right?", the father asked again wistfully. Law only nodded. "I understand. I am very happy you came here, even if it cannot be for long. I don't need to worry anymore now. I only wish your mother could have seen you one more time.", the father's expression darkened, "She passed away a few months ago due to illness.", his voice cracked due to the relatively fresh wound being ripped open. I saw his hands clenched in fists.
"She hoped all this time that you would return someday.", Mr. Sheffiel spoke, "If only she could have held on a few months longer."
"What illness did she have?", the doctor in him found interest. His father told him about an autoimmune disorder. The immune system attacks itself. The spinal cord eventually gets affected as well, leading to a generalized paralysis. With the respiratory system included, the patient dies eventually.
The conversation pretty much ended with the topic of Lady Trafalgar's death. Her husband didn't want to talk about when Law would return to his world, much to the captain's discontent. He wanted to get back as soon as possible, but he also still needed to find out how to open the gate.
We were on our way to our rooms.
"May I ask you something?", I interpreted Law's silence to be no protest. "Do you remember how to open the gate?"
"No.", he said briefly. "Do you remember where it is?", I continued. "No.", his voice changed into a deeper tone, indicating his mood had fallen as well. I didn't continue my questions. I wanted to know wether he had an idea on how to get back to his world, but I didn't want his mood to drop any further. Besides, we had arrived at our guest rooms.
Just as I opened the door to my room, Law said a single word, using the language from the other world and disappeared into his own room. "[Balcony]?", I wondered. He obviously wanted me to meet him on the balcony, but I had to let him wait a bit.
"[For a moment I thought you hadn't understood.]", he greeted me impatiently.
"[Toilet.]", I answered briefly, "[Why are we not speaking english?]", I asked right after.
"[I don't want anyone to listen.]", he explained, "[I will look around the estate to find the place the portal will be. You will help me with that.]", he prompted.
"[Got it.]", I nodded. Law had helped me to get back home. I would do the same in return.
I understood why Lord Trafalgar forbid us from entering the library and walking around the estate looking for the portal. He said he understood why Law needed to return to his world, which he probably really did, but still. His son had finally returned home, he couldn't just let him leave like that. He didn't phrase it that way, of course.
"I advise you not to wander around on your own. As the estate is quite big, you could easily loose your way, we wouldn't want that.", "We do have a library. But I have to apologize, as it is currently being renovated. You cannot enter, you might hurt yourselves.", was what he said.
As a nobleman, it was easy for him to think of an excuse on the spot. It was only for our protection.
It wasn't that Lord Trafalgar was a bad person. He was just a father longing for some time with his long lost son.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGWWNA5uD8
