JACKAL AMONG SNAKES

Epilogue 4.1: Family Reunion

A tall, black-haired man with a white eyepatch over his right eye stared out across the ocean. The eyepatch had a peculiarly round ruby embedded on the front, giving the faintest illusion of an eye in the socket. His good eye was gray as slate. The sapphire-blue waters of the shore washed at his feet, while a faint smile played about his lips.

“Vincent!”

Vincent turned his head toward the voice. There, Sophia of Vasquer waved at him as she ran carefreely. She had grown to be a vivacious woman, with bright red eyes, cheeks full of color, and a touch of innocence that hadn’t faded even after ninety-seven years. Seeing her, Vincent’s smile only widened. He walked up to greet her, giving her a hug.

“Missed you,” Vincent said.

Sophia pulled away and looked up at him. “You always say that.”

“It’s always true.” Vincent patted the top of her head. “Did the trip go okay? Anybody give you trouble?”

“Would that you would show such concern for our other siblings,” Sophia said dryly. “I’m fine. I always am. But enough about me—what do you think mom and dad have planned? Their invitation was a little ominous. ‘The world will change forevermore.’ They don’t tend to exaggerate.” Sophia began to walk away from the shore, back toward the estate.

Vincent inhaled, following Sophia calmly. “Perhaps they’re abdicating to you.”

“Pfft.” Sophia scoffed. “What would be the point? All they have to do these days is a bunch of ceremonies on one day, twice a year. Even if it was true, hardly world-changing.”

“Hmm.” Vincent looked around, spotting distant grand orchards and beautiful gardens in the approach to the of-yet out of sight mansion. “Perhaps they have another child on the way.”

Sophia inhaled through her teeth. “Could you imagine? Can they still, even? Mom’s an elf, and they have Raven... anything is possible.” She almost looked excited at the prospect, but further thinking ensured reality hit. “Still... it’s been a long, long while. Not sure they’d break discipline now. They don’t really know how to stop being disciplined.”

“Then I’m out of guesses.” Vincent shrugged.

“Really? You don’t know?” Sophia sounded genuinely surprised. “It always seems like you know everything.”

“I just loaf around all day. Why do you have such a high opinion of me?” Vincent asked.

“Do you remember when you were just a little baby, newly born?” Sophia looked at him.

Vincent narrowed his eye. “Does anyone?”

“You never cried,” Sophia continued. “You wouldn’t even feed. You had... well, the missing eye. Everyone thought there was something wrong with you, with your brain. But then I came, remember? And you cried, came alive, grabbed my finger with your little itty-bitty fingers... it was such a happy day. Mom and dad were so happy, so relieved.”

Vincent put his hands in his pockets. “You’re telling me I was too stupid to feed, so you think I know everything?”

“No. I could just tell, even then, that you were smart. A genius. You knew everything that was going on, you just didn’t want to feed. You needed a little push.” Sophia grabbed his arm. “So, stop lying to me, you little gremlin, and tell me why our parents called us here. I know you know.”

“Do you think the good times will go on forever?” Sophia asked. “I mean... they can’t, can they? It’s just not possible. Enrico showed us all that.”

“Maybe not.” Vincent nodded in agreement. “Though, good times, bad times... I think we can always be happy, at least. Our parents have built something that’ll always give us the opportunity for happiness.”

“Sometimes, I wonder if we deserve all of this,” Sophia continued. “Can we enjoy life so liberally when another person on another continent suffers because of the choices our parents made? Can we stop and rest while a single person yet suffers?”

“You do plenty,” he assured her. “Argrave and Anneliese did plenty. They’ve suffered plenty, too. Could you do more? Yeah, maybe. Everyone can. If every living person spent every second of theirs helping everyone, we could solve every problem in the world at once. So what? That’s just not the way things are.”

Sophia didn’t say anything for a while, enjoying the sounds of distant revelry. “It just makes me think about my blood-related brother,” she eventually admitted. “Griffin was just as trapped as I was. In a twisted way, the only reason I get all of this... is because of what he did.”

Vincent turned his head to look at her. “He said he loved you, didn’t he? Then he’d be happy. He’d be happy that you’re living an idyllic life, helping people around the world like you do, giving so much. He’d be proud that you held fast to your beliefs. If he was honest in all that he said, at least.”

“Maybe.” Sophia nodded. “’Survivor’s guilt,’ dad always called it. I still can’t shake it, after all this time.”

Vincent crossed his arms. “You never know what happened. Maybe things turned out just as nice for him, even if he doesn’t deserve it. Luck doesn’t pay any mind to good or evil, after all. And all we are is lucky. The both of us.”

“Sophia!” called out a distant voice before she could respond. “Come here a minute!”

Sophia glanced at Vincent as she walked toward the voice. “Coming?”

“Nah.” He shook his head. “Think I’ll go nap somewhere until the meal’s ready.”

“Okay,” Sophia agreed. “Be nice this time. Don’t make your niece cry by calling her fat again.”

“She’s a thirty-year-old woman, and she was fat,” Vincent argued. “Now—look, she’s thin again. I was helping.”

“Be nice.” Sophia pointed firmly. “I mean it.”

“Fine,” Vincent sighed.

Vincent couldn’t honestly say if the good times would go on forever. Maybe the Vasquer family would continue to expand until they consumed the entire world. Maybe more tragedies awaited them in the future. Whatever the case, Vincent would do his damnedest to be sure his family was happy. He retreated back, looking for a nice tree to seek shade under.

“Uncle Vincent!” shouted a child, who shortly after barreled into his leg. As his knee protested, he looked at the kid. “Can you take off your eyepatch? How’d you lose your eye? Was it a battle?!”

Vincent closed his eyes, reciting Sophia’s words of ‘be nice’ like a mantra.