During this time, Nathanielle continued to grow and develop rapidly, learning new words and phrases every day. He would often ask questions about the world around him and express his curiosity about different things. Lillian would often be amazed by his intelligence. But his physical growth was no joke either. He grew from being 95 cm tall to around 110 cm tall. Although he would still come home with his hands filled with cuts and bruises , he would not cry any longer.
As for Aiden, he continued to work hard on the farm and made many new acquaintances in the village. Almost to the point that he was now comfortable sharing dirty jokes with them. Their harvest of peas and tomatoes was a great success, and they were able to sell some of their surplus produce at the local market. Aiden taught his fellow farmers simple concepts like crop rotation and shifting cultivation. He would often share his knowledge with other farmers owing to which the community was getting richer and richer day by day. Slowly but surely Aiden had managed to earn their trust.
Lillian, on the other hand would spend most of her time taking care of Nathanielle and little Aurelian. Well, she was not allowed to do much since she was pregnant herself. During this time, she managed another hobby other than reading , gardening. Lillian was thinking of opening her own herb store once their third child comes into the world.
As for Aurelian , he was only 15 months old , but he could already walk , since he started talking at the tender age of just 6 months , now he was able to speak 3–4-word sentences. Sometimes his growth would scare Aiden. Until now his additional arm did not seem defective either. They seem to be functioning just like his normal arms. But owing to them it was a lot harder for the two of them to control him. If Aurelian did not mature fast enough , Lillian would have gotten bald. Thankfully Mary was there to sometimes help her out. And although 17-year-old she got married off to another village, making both Nathanielle and Aurelian a little sad.
Finally, after several months of anticipation, Lillian gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who was named Valentina. Nathanielle was fascinated by his new sister and would often play with her, trying to make her laugh or holding her hand. Aurelian, who was now walking on his own, also seemed excited to have a new playmate.
Two Days after Valentina’s Birth…
Aiden and Lilliana were sitting outside their cottage, watching the sunset as they sipped their evening tea. Aurelian was playing with his toys on the grass while Nathanielle was sitting beside them, looking at the sky.
Lilliana broke the silence, "Aiden, we have been talking about it for a long time. Do you think it is finally time to introduce Aurelian to the village?"
Aiden looked at Aurelian and then back at Lilliana. "Yes, I think the Villagers have already warmed up to me and Nathanielle and they surely have a positive impression of you."
"But what if it fires back? What If they call him devil child? What if they alienate him ?" Lilliana said with a hint of concern in her voice.
Aiden tightened his lips, "Lily he has to adapt , God has already gifted him with this amazing ability. He has to overcome the small tribulation himself. Of course, we will play our part and support him. We can't keep him sheltered forever."
Lilliana nodded in agreement, "You're right. But I still get scarred. I don’t want him to get shunned."
“And what about Nathanielle’ s education ?” Lillian then added.
“I too have been thinking about it for a while now. There are no academies nearby. And sure, this life is comfortable and slow. But I want our children to have more privileges than we had.”
“But I want them to stay away to stay away from politics and such.” Lillian said anxiously.
Aiden held Lillian’s hand and said in a soft tone “Lily ! the only reason we are living safely as mere farmers because we know that no noble can do anything to our family. Life as a farmer is not as easy for everyone. Even bandits can snatch their daughter. You want our children to go through such experience.”
“Then what are you suggesting. Aiden you can teach them self-defence. I can teach them Magic. Cannot we just Home-school them.” Lillian was getting anxious by each passing moment , tightening her grip over Nathanielle’ s hand.
“Lily” Aiden caressed his wife’s cheek. “Lily, you know I can only teach them how to use swords. You can only teach them wind magic. You know everyone is born special. What if they are not gifted in those areas. Lily, they have to leave us one day. One day we will die , then they will have to support themselves. Why not be assured ?”
“BUT THEY ARE NOT READY.” Lillian yelled and then continued to embrace Nathanielle. “How old is our Nathanielle. He is not even 4.”
“Lily … Lily Look at me. Look at me Lily.” Aiden forced her to look at him , her eyes were teary. Aiden felt an unexpected guilt. He knew he was right. He knew that he was doing this for the kids. Yet it felt as if he was tearing a part of himself. “Lily we are not letting them leave now. Not until they turn 7. We will home school them till that time.”
That night Lillian tossed and turned in bed, unable to shake off the anxiety that had settled in her heart. She could not help but worry about their decision to let her kids leave them at such a tender age. Aiden, who had noticed his wife's restless state, reached out to her, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Lily , are you alright?" he asked, concern etched on his face.
Aiden tried to reassure her, "Lillian, we have plenty of money and resources to make sure that Nathanielle will have a comfortable life and a good education. We need to provide our children with every opportunity and every resource possible. We can't let our worries get in the way of their future."
Lillian understood his point, but she still could not shake off the worry. "But Aiden, what if something happens to him? What if he does not like it there?"
Aiden took her hand, "We'll visit him as often as we can, and we'll make sure that he has everything he needs to be comfortable there. As for him not liking it, we will just have to trust that we have raised him well enough to adapt and thrive in any situation.
His words seemed to calm Lillian down, and she snuggled into his embrace, finally able to relax and fall asleep. Aiden stayed up for a while longer, watching over his family and silently vowing to do everything he could to give them the life they deserved.
The next morning , sun had just begun to rise and the first rays of light were just creeping in through the window of Aiden and Lillian's cosy little home. Lillian slowly opened her eyes and stretched her arms, feeling the softness of the warm blanket that had kept her snug all night. She could hear the sound of Aiden's footsteps as he walked out of the house to tend to the farm. Lillian lay in bed for a few more minutes, enjoying the peacefulness of the morning.
As she got out of bed, she looked at Nathanielle who was still sleeping soundly. She could not help but smile at the sight of him, so peaceful and innocent in his slumber. Lillian quietly went about her morning routine, getting dressed and preparing breakfast for herself and Nathanielle. As she sat down at the table, she realized that she did not want to let Nathanielle go out and play today. She had been feeling anxious lately and the thought of spending the day teaching Nathanielle new things seemed like a good way to distract herself.
Nathanielle was still groggy as he sat down at the table. Lillian smiled at him and said, "Good morning, Nathanielle. Today, we're going to learn new things." Nathanielle looked at her curiously, wondering what new things she had in store for him. Lillian started by reviewing the basics - counting, the alphabet, and basic shapes. Nathanielle was eager to learn, and he soaked up every new piece of information like a sponge. Lillian was thrilled to see how quickly he was able to pick things up.
As they were going through the different shapes, Nathanielle started to get a little restless. Lillian knew he was itching to go outside and play, but she encouraged him to keep going. Just then, As Lillian and Nathanielle continued to learn together, Aurelian also joined in the fun. He was fascinated by the letters and would point to them with his four hands, trying to mimic his siblings.
Lillian smiled at Aurelian's eagerness to learn and decided to incorporate some activities for him as well. She took out a set of wooden blocks in different shapes and colours and asked Aurelian to identify them.
"Aurelian, can you show me the red block?" Lillian asked, holding up a red block.
Aurelian looked at the block and pointed to it with one of his hands. "Red!" he exclaimed, proud of himself.
Nathanielle watched his little brother with amusement, happy to see him learning new things. Lillian continued to teach Aurelian about shapes and colours, and Nathanielle about counting and body parts.
After a while, Lillian decided to take a break and prepare some snacks for the children. She made some sandwiches and cut up some fruits, placing them on a wooden tray. The children were delighted at the sight of the snacks and eagerly reached for them.
After finishing their snacks, Nathanielle looked at Lillian with puppy eyes and asked, "Can I go play outside, mom?" Lillian thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, but take Aurelian with you this time." Nathanielle’ s face lit up with joy as he ran towards Aurelian who was playing with his blocks. Nathanielle held his little brother's hand cutely and whispered to him, "Let's go, but don't run away from me, okay?" Aurelian nodded with a big smile on his face.
As they stepped out of their house, Nathanielle led Aurelian towards their favourite spot to play. Nathanielle’ s friends were already there, and they welcomed the brothers with open arms. "Hey Nathanielle, who's this with you?" asked Frey , one of his friends, pointing at Aurelian's extra pair of hands.
Nathanielle proudly replied, "This is my little brother Aurelian. He was born with four hands, and it is really cool!" His Friends were initially taken aback by Aurelian's unique feature, but they quickly saw it as something amazing when Aurelian picked up four wooden swords at once.
As they played together, Nathanielle made sure to keep an eye on Aurelian, and the other kids also looked out for him. However, not everyone was accepting of Aurelian's condition.
"Look at this freak! He has four hands!" the 7-year-old boy jeered, pointing at Aurelian. The other boy joined in, laughing cruelly. Nathanielle tried to protect his brother and asked them to stop, but they did not listen.
