The parents were always there....

[Devora]

I came up with an idea for my novel where when one of my MCs are being told about his parents. His father was a Grand Wizard of the Kingdom, and his mother is former high priestess in a Druid society. I must explain that my MCs backstory involved him, as a baby, was nearly assassination (there is an ongoing war in the story between two Elf Races, with Man getting involved at one point), which he finds out at the beginning of the story after he is told that his father was killed and his mother order for him to be returned.

Recently, I suddenly came up with the idea that wat if he was told, after he asks why his parents never visited, that his parents visit him from time to time under the guise of different identities (friends of his foster father/Caretaker).

Would this work in a story? And how should i go about writing the scene of the visits, or should I at all?

 

[Saigonnus]

Anything can work in a story done properly. I think you need to sit down and jot down a few possible scenarios or reasons for them visiting. Bringing the "supplies" he ordered, asking about whether ot not he has work available, maybe even staying on to be a gardener for a while. During the visits, perhaps they play games with the boy, or help with his lessons. Maybe they bring him a toy of things he "happens" to likes. While he may not catch it right away, eventually he'll be more curious about the nature of the relationship between the caretaker and the visitors and will ask about it.

 

[iWant iStrive]

I suppose the thing with that is that it then becomes quite a big element of the story. The MC would want to know who his parents were and after that, and you'd need a good reason why they had to keep their identity secret from the MC instead of just secretly meeting him from time to time.

 

[Xaysai]

Could it be as simple as they didn't visit him at all because it was too dangerous to expose the relationship?

Call me heartless, but if I was a high profile figure and my child was nearly assassinated because of it which led me to send him away to live an anonymous life, I wouldn't chance it.

The struggle for the child then becomes understanding how important and difficult the decision was for the parents to send him away.

 

[razzazzika]

Could it be as simple as they didn't visit him at all because it was too dangerous to expose the relationship?

Call me heartless, but if I was a high profile figure and my child was nearly assassinated because of it which led me to send him away to live an anonymous life, I wouldn't chance it.

The struggle for the child then becomes understanding how important and difficult the decision was for the parents to send him away.

I tend to agree with him actually... Not that it wouldn't be a cool idea to have had his parents visit. It's just not very plausible. They sent him away to keep him safe, why risk his existence being found out by visiting him?

However this might help...
I can't say without major spoilers to anyone early in the series, but the main character of my favorite series had to make this same descision. He gave his daughter to one of his very good friends to raise. He only ever sees her when he goes to his friends house for other business. To his enemies, it's inconspicuous because he would always go to his friends house from time to time. And of course he hasn't told his daughter who he is at all.

 

[The Tourist]

People offend say that science fiction is not about space ships. It's an interesting way to comment on issues of the present. That might be the hook to your story.

It was in my case. I never knew what guise my mother would adopt--the paranoid, the screamer, the liar, the nag, or the drunk. Finally, I just quit, took two pairs of really good fitting blue jeans, wrapped them in a sleeping bag, hopped on the bike and left.

I didn't really understand the dynamics of this span of time until I took a social disorganization class in college.

This "guise of parents" theme has great traction. You have drama, thrills, a social statement and the immediate recogitive aspect for a large demographic of readers. Drape that is fantasy (to shield the reader from his own painful connections) and it sounds like a page turner.

I do hope you finish this story. It's an important one.

 

[wordwalker]

Question might be, what's the contrast between what the MC believes about his parents, what he does about these people who visit, and the rest of his life?

Do they seem like good, appealing folks that he kind of wished didn't avoid him --or think they were creepy for how they watched him? Do his parents seem larger than life and these two give a hint of that, or are much too ordinary to get his notice... and also, which does he prefer, risks or mundanity? Are they telling him to be more patient in life when that's the one advice he hates getting, or are they the only ones who seem to understand him? And, how does his father's impression (or his reputation) differ from his mother's?

 

[Devora]

Could it be as simple as they didn't visit him at all because it was too dangerous to expose the relationship?

Call me heartless, but if I was a high profile figure and my child was nearly assassinated because of it which led me to send him away to live an anonymous life, I wouldn't chance it.

The struggle for the child then becomes understanding how important and difficult the decision was for the parents to send him away.

I must add that both parents are quite powerful in magic being that the father is the Grand Wizard of the kingdom, and mother would was a Druid high-priestess (Druids being humans that are powerful magic users). I would probably have them disguise themselves on each of their visits.

I've also thought of the idea that they don't visit at the same time. They both would carefully plan when they would visit at times. They're never their at the same time.

 

[Amber]

I am new here but I want to way in a bit. A hard lesson I learned is, is it relevant to your story? How will these visits influence your character? Is it better for you character to realize he has always known his parents and they never said anything or that they stayed away completely? Maybe you can let only one of them visit? I do not know anything about your character of course but it would be kind of cool if he didn't inhered much of his parents' talent... Letting his disappointing mother to completely abandon him at an early age and his father still visiting because the boy remembers him of his mom (or something like that).

The problem that I have with all powerfull wizards as parents that can come and go as they please is that it is not giving any depth to the story. Then you make it seem like their opponents are not that strong and therefore the reason for the boy to be away from his parents doesn't make any sense. It could be that they visited when they where on the road anyway offcourse, keeping it as lowkey as possible. But if assassins are brazen enough to attack the kid of two powerful people then they certainly will not give up the hunt for the child and any repeating visit to a superficially uninteresting location is suspicious...

Loads to consider here! Good luck.

 

[Xaysai]

Oh man, you should have the real parents work out something with the new parents where the real parents take on the guise of the new parents every now and then. The new mother walks out of the room to get a drink and the real mother walks in and the MC never knows the difference. Or maybe he/she suspects something is different, but doesn't know what.

Or maybe the real parents disguise themselves as an animal that appears to the MC like a deer or rabbit or something.

 

[Devora]

Question might be, what's the contrast between what the MC believes about his parents, what he does about these people who visit, and the rest of his life?

Do they seem like good, appealing folks that he kind of wished didn't avoid him --or think they were creepy for how they watched him? Do his parents seem larger than life and these two give a hint of that, or are much too ordinary to get his notice... and also, which does he prefer, risks or mundanity? Are they telling him to be more patient in life when that's the one advice he hates getting, or are they the only ones who seem to understand him? And, how does his father's impression (or his reputation) differ from his mother's?

I should mention, as to clarify details, that after the assassination attempt the Parents, who live in the king's castle (being that the Father is the Grand Wizard and Childhood friend of the king), were convinced for both safety, and tactics (there's a war going on), that the would fake the baby's death and have one of the agents of the king, and friend of the father. But in the present day events of the story the Th'an (my name for Dark Elves) have found out that he is still alive and must come to the castle because his life is in danger.

I could put a detail that showed that they were told not to see the child, but went against that order in secret and did it anyway.

 

[Devora]

Also forgot to mention that the parents will assume different names and identities, even around the MC.