My Servant Is An Elf Knight From Another World

949  God-Given Solution

My left pocket suddenly started to rumble. And right there, fishing through the soft cashmere linings of my suit, I was given the grave reminder that I really shouldn't be where I was right then.

That, right now, I was actually supposed to be someone else, somewhere else. Miles and miles away. "Someone needs their star back on set?" Sammy asked, guessing right. She walked past me, unhitching Lyn from the post, and began leading her away by her bridle. "I'll go put Lyn back into her stable. Meet at the barn when you're done, and we'll head right back there. Oh, say bye to Lyn before we go. One last pat, c'mon." Lyn smushed her entire face into my palm bidding goodbye; becoming a sadder, more depressing sight the further Sammy pulled her away. But I couldn't linger on farewells for long.

I barely glimpsed the name on the caller ID before I slammed my phone onto my ear, mustering up the temperament of someone who did not just bail in the middle of a gig to relax back home.

"Amanda?" "Yes, hello," the voice on the other end greeted back, the speaker strumming the thin metal grills with a sour note. "So, apparently, I can't even go for a short walk without you disappearing on me, huh?" "Sammy just wanted me to show her around the place," I quickly made up. "We're pretty nearby, so…" "Ah, just so being a doting big brother, I see," Amanda said. "Well, FYI, break time's over. Director's calling us over. All of us. It seems we had a problem." "A problem?" I repeated, before hearing her properly. "Wait, did you say we had a problem? Not…?" "Had, yeah," she affirmed. "And now we don't have a problem anymore." This was confusing. "So, then… what's the problem?" I asked. "Better you see for yourself," Amanda said a little louder, speaking over the sound of scurrying shoes and the reverbs of a megaphone in the background. Sounds like things were ramping up again on set. "I'd hurry back if I were you." She hung up immediately after, and I wasted no time at all in returning to Sammy, who just barely got out of the barn before nearly colliding into my mad dash. "That urgent?" Sammy scoffed, flinging me back my top hat from the barn, and took my hand into hers, holding on nice and tight. "Just like before. Deep breath first." "Wait, Sam—don't, hold on," I said, tugging her back right before she could take a step. "First things first—we aren't gonna pop up right in the middle of everybody, are we?"

"Relax, we're appearing in front of Dad only," she said. "I told him just now. He's standing by at some empty spot right now, he said." "Dad—You told Dad about this?" "You rather I told Mom?" She spurred onward again, tugging me right along. "Deep breath, Big Bro." I had one last look at the frozen rally we made of the expanse before the abrupt, familiar feeling of vertigo swept away my sense of everything, and in an equally sudden stop, I landed on my feet once more mere inches away from breaking my nose on a solid wall of muscle.

Dad held me still as I gathered my bearings; a hand squeezing my shoulder while balancing a paper plate of food in the other. I could see trees, I could see skies, and I think I see the set too; little blurs of colors and movement eclipsing the far horizon. We were all the way on the other side of the park, it seems. Certainly was an empty spot if nothing else.

"Thanks," I said to him, as soon as I could feel my feet again. "So, um, anything I missed?" "Your girlfriend was looking for you," Dad informed, stabbing a potato chunk on his plate and scooping it up to his mouth. "Before that, your mother was too."

"Mom was?" Sammy inquired from my left, her eyes squinted and strained and speaking through a brief daze. "What'd she want? Uh… you didn't tell her, did you?" "I should," Dad said. "You aren't supposed to be using your powers like that. You know that." "Yeah, yeah, I know, Dad," Sammy said, too woozy to recognize a reprimand. "I need to sit. I'm gonna sit, gimme a sec."

"If you already know, then why did you go?" "Don't worry about it," Sammy collapsed onto the grass, catching her breath. "We were just—"

"No, Samantha. No excuses," He interrupted, a rare hint of disapproval rousing from his lifeless tone. "When your mother tells you something, she usually means it. And you not listening really belittles that trust she has for you as well as mine. You understand that? Do you want that?" This was an unusual development. Dad might have the build of a sergeant, but when it came to disciplining, more often than not, he'd let things fly… he just simply couldn't be bothered, I guess.

"Um…" was all Sammy could say. Scoldings from Mom were one thing, an everyday thing, done to death. Needless to say, Dad hits different. "Sorry, I… I didn't mean to—"

"I asked her. Blame me," I said, taking the fall. "Got a little homesick, Sammy just helped me out." "And probably helped herself out at the same time while she was at it," He said, blinking slowly at me. "Nevermind. I won't start. You're in a hurry anyway, so hurry. Don't forget to talk to your mother when you see her." I gave only the slightest nod of acknowledgment before I was off, leaving the both of them behind. Whatever Mom wanted, it was gonna have to wait until I'd sorted out whatever the hell Amanda was on about. Only got so much space for first place on the priority list.

It wasn't long before I was hopping over cables nestling along the grass, swarmed by the incoherent buzzing of last-minute preparations. I quickly swept my hair back, put my hat back on—and slid myself into a small gathering happening by the wayside of the production.

"Oh, and here's our M.I.A," The director loudly declared, announcing me to the rest of the group; thick, blocky shades turning squarely my way. "So nice of you to join us. I didn't think you had the space to fit us into your schedule."

"Yeah, sorry about that," I muttered. "Was just catching up with family."

"So they distracted you? You were slacking off? And here I was assured they wouldn't get in the way of anything. Was that a lie?" "Oh, don't start," Amanda stepped in, her hair and outfit renewed with a fresh set of flora that had fallen off of her over time. "You're really gonna complain about inviting his family? You sure you want to do that now?" Hayley, to the right of her, cracked a smile; throwing a little leer that her character wouldn't be caught dead giving. "She's got a point. You really oughta be saying 'thank you' instead." "What?" I turned to them both. "Thank me? What am I missing here?" "Well, for starters, you called it," Leon chimed in, garbed in all his regal, heroic glory. "Celine is an absolute no-show. We lost our Terestra." "The problem I was talking to you about?" Amanda said, wearing a grimace. "Well, there you are."

That was quite the problem, alright. I know we might be all playing make-believe here, but I think enacting a scene with the most pivotal figure nowhere to be seen in the picture was just a step too far into actual delusions. Still, it's not like no one could have seen this coming, right? Backlash like that… I can't really say I wouldn't do the exact same if I was put in her position. Some people might have thick skin, sure, but even the sturdiest shields rust and turn brittle over time, don't they? Can't say I can really blame her for stepping down from her role. Especially that kind of role.

"Except, wait…" I frowned. "Didn't you say it was already solved?" "Yes, it is," Amanda nodded her head, the stiff, uneasy look on her face becoming more pronounced. "See… our genius director here apparently found a brand new Terestra to come on board with the project."

"A new Terestra? That fast? Where even would…?" And that was when it clicked. Like the hammer on a revolver. A revolver, a hefty, impending pressure I really wouldn't mind pressing up against my head right then. Who else could it be? Seriously, who the hell else in this minuscule pool of eight billion could be up to such a task?

I snapped my eyes back to the director, my expression staring back at me in dark, mirrored reflections. Shock on one lens. Horror in the other. "Did you hire my mother?!" "Seems you could guess who it was," He remarked stoically. "So even you know just how much she already embodies Terestra's character. Not even Celine could match that… that… particular air… that mood, that gravitas. Your mother on the other hand? She's practically her reincarnation." "I got shivers just talking to her," Hayley added with fervor, ogling at me in disbelief. "And she's your Mom? Seriously? How do you sleep at night?" giggling, she prodded Amanda with her arm. "In-law like that? How would you sleep at night, right?" "Oh, shut up," Amanda sniped back.

I was reeling too much to even gather the cognizant to form words. Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this. She was supposed to just be here to visit, just a family visit, how the hell did it evolve into her suddenly sharing top billing?

"It's only for a single scene, a few minutes of screentime," Leon said, the only one apart from Amanda to notice my distress and offered me a consoling pat on the shoulder. "Terestra only shows up one time in the entire story and this is it." "She says it's no trouble if that's what you're worried about," the director said. "Happy to do it if it would help her son out, she says. Quite generous." Then, as if on a cue, on a timing so suspiciously deliberate, a stark figure stepped out of a nearby trailer. Blackness, falling, unraveling in frills and threads. When she walked, an endless cascade of darkness streamed along across the bare earth, and it clung to her, almost as if a part of her, her skin, her flesh, her soul, seared as one. Her hair would sway, unbraided, unrestricted, curled locks draping over her narrow shoulders. And she carried a smile. Of course, she had a smile. Ominous, mysterious… yeah, that's my mother, alright. "Ah, and there she is," the director said, catching sight of her, as did everyone else in the vicinity. "Now if you would excuse me for a moment…" The shrill feedback of a megaphone began to churn out from his hand, and immediately he pressed the receiver to his lips, an ecstatic smile protruding out from ear to ear. "Ladies and gentlemen, if I may just have your attention for a moment," He blared from all around. "I am delighted to introduce to all of you a brand new member of our happy family! May we please have a round of welcome and applause for Asteria's very own Terestra the Vile!" In some vast, faraway plane of existence, I could hear people clapping. They sounded loud, rambunctious—approving. And somewhere in that empty expanse of echoing applause, Mom was there, taking it all in stride. Humble, grateful. Just a kindly, selfless mother helping her son, right?

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