Chapter 4: James Armsworth.

Eldric didn't just sit around while waiting for his 'Father' to come.

The mansion was massive from what he remembered. As such, it would take him a substantial amount of time to arrive here.

He would have still had other chances to move his body, but this was all new to little Eldric... He wanted to relish the feeling of walking on his feet once again. Likewise, he couldn't have enough of it.

*Thud* *Thud*

The sound of small and uneven steps filled the room.

Eldric walked around in circles and perpetually moved his arms up and down. It somehow looked like some demonic ritual to summon the souls back from the void. More so with the wild grin smile, he had on.

All that missed was a star in the middle of the imaginary circle he had made himself to

"Man…*Cough* This is pretty hard." wheezed Eldric. The smile never left his face.

He wiped the sweat beads that accumulated on his forehead. His chest weaved back and forth in exhaustion.

Eldric bent down and grabbed his shaky knees in pure exhaustion.

Anyone would get at least somewhat cranky at that underwhelming level of physical performance.

But not Eldric. For him, it was just the beginning of his journey. Such minor setbacks meant absolutely nothing.

He would fix them instead of whining about them; that was the promise he had made to himself: To be the best possible version of himself.

'I just need to work hard.' He thought in a matter-of-fact tone. No other thoughts clouded his judgement.

"Lord Count Armsworth is coming in!"

A high and commanding voice ringed in Eldric's ears.

Despite the sharpness of the voice, a few seconds passed, and no one entered.

Eldric used that moment to stop any foolish actions he was doing beforehand. He stood up straight, waiting for his 'Father' to enter.

The man who entered was the same male Eldric saw in the paintings.

Although, one could see that he has aged by at least a decade relative to his counterpart in the painting.

His hair no longer reached his shoulders: it was shorter. His once happily shining golden eyes dimmed down with the stress of a weary life. The warm smile displayed on the painting no longer decorated his face; his military uniform appeared to be more decorated than before. The exact same one he wore.

James's expression was dull and bored when he entered the chambers. He wants to believe what he has been informed; that was easier said than done.

His son hasn't left his bed for two years now. He didn't want his hopes to get crushed.

The man's visage brightened up when he saw his son standing at attention. He immediately seemed to regress a few years, and his smile was so brilliant it lit the whole room.

Eldric had to fight back the urge to put his hand in front of his face to cover his eyes from the metaphorical light.

"Father." Said Eldric bowing to the head of the Armsworth household. A hand caught his shoulders halfway through his bow. Eldric looked in confusion at his father.

James didn't say anything. He directly kneeled to meet his son's eyes. "Sorry, I could not do anything to help you, son." he passionately said.

He dearly hugged his son, almost choking him in the process. Eldric had to punch his father's strong arms for him to stop.

"Hahaha… That's my son!" James said proudly, his chin rose high up in the air. He flexed his arms as well.

Eldric could only roll his eyes at his father's frankly irresponsible behaviour. He violently coughed; his lack of air apparent.

"My bad, son." Said James hitting Eldric's back with a bit too much force for someone that just supposedly came out of an extended comatose state.

'I know you're excited your son is healthy and all that, but that's not the way to go about it.' thought Eldric as he barely resisted landing on his face.

James nodded at that, seemingly satisfied.

What Eldric didn't know was that there was a reason why James was doing all of this. He was simply testing him and how far he recovered.

Although those moves appeared rough and unassuming, they were instead precisely measured.

You don't become the head of the Armsworth household for no reason. Besides, James wouldn't dare to risk accentuating his son's illness.

"Good." Said James, rubbing his chin. He warmly gazed at his son. That expression somehow irked Eldric.

His childish side compelled him to somehow blame his only left parent for the death of his mother. Yet, his more rational and mature side urged him to be more understanding.

Eldric's emotions were in turmoil on this topic. He didn't know what to think.

James seemed to be looking beyond him. The underlying obsession making its way on his face didn't help with his inner conflict. Not at all.

"Eldric. How do you feel?" said James, looking at his son.

"Very good, dad. Never been better." Responded Eldric. He punched his father on his thigh with as much force as his seven-year-old self could muster up. He looked up to his father to measure his reaction.

The whole charade elicited a burst of deep, growing laughter from James." Good, you got the fight in you." He proudly ruffled his son's hair, much to Eldric's frustration.

Eldric slapped his hands from his head, crossed his hands and angrily looked at his father. Too bad that only registered as cute in his father's eyes.

"Come, Eldric. I'm sure the family would like to see you moving after so long." James declared happily.

James stopped for a few moments. He seemed to think for a while about something. Eldric couldn't see the grin he had on.

He looked at the empty air and commanded. "You may go."

Eldric tilted his head to the right and looked at his father for questions, 'James didn't appear to be a madman from the short time we conversed. And not from what I remember as well. What could he possibly be doing?'

"As you wish, Lord Armsworth." Came an old, coarse voice from the shadows of James.

Eldric couldn't help but jump in fright, wide-eyed. His hands rested on his chest.

One look at the grin that graced James's face was all it took for Eldric to realise something. The previous scene had to have been orchestrated by his father.

"Father?" Eldric asked, his eyes practically rolling off his head.

"What?" James was doing his best to suppress his laughter. He was failing horribly at it because some snickers escaped his mouth involuntarily.

The father and son pair went on their way, hand in hand.

It was time for Eldric to meet his family.