Konnor and Richard entered Ciscera before noon, after weeks of uninterrupted travels they finally were back home. They had just dropped Isabella at her home so she could rest from the long journey. They started making their way to the tavern and noticed the city was way less lively than what it was when they left, the main period of the Circadium had just passed and foreign merchants were gone with their bags empty of their goods and full of coins. With all that went down, the two companions barely had any time to notice that spring was almost over, in a few weeks summer would be upon them. Konnor stepped inside the tavern and took a deep breath, all the familiar scents were filling his nostrils, the ale, the freshly cooked meat, the perfumes of the waitresses.

  " Ahhhh, it's good to be back! "

  Next to him, Richard was looking around the room in search of Malik. He spotted Jessamine first who was busy taking customer's orders, he waved at her and she held out a finger to tell him to wait a bit.

  " Lets go sit down boy, I'm starving "

  " Same. "

  They walked in the crowded room and took their usual spot near a window towards the end of the building. Konnor was so deep in thoughts once he was sitting that he did not even realise that Izi was standing right next to him to take his order. Annoyed, Izi gave a light punch in his friend's shoulder.

  " Carefull! I'm injur- ... what .. are you wearing? "

  Konnor looked at Izi from head to toe and was slowly realising his uniform was not the usual one.

  " My uniform got dirtied because a customer spilled his drink on me last night and we didn't have any spare clothing... so Maureen gave me her spare uniform. "

  For some reason, the petite and feminine figure of Izi looked like it was made for the waitress uniform and to top it off his hair now grown were below his shoulders and you could really forget he was a young man if you simply looked at him.

  " Can you ... stop staring at me so much? "

  " It's just .. wow. "

  Embarrassed by his friend look, Izi nervously brushed his hair behind his ears.

  " Do I look weird? "

  " No, you look very good! "

  For some unknown reason, hearing this compliment and having his friend look at him so intensely was almost making his heart pop out of his chest. To shift the conversation, he looked at Konnor's arm still in the sling.

  " What happened to you? "

  " Oh that? Nothing, just a run in with some old maniac. "

  " An old man did this to you? Man, you really are a bad fighter. "

  " Shut up Izi! He was experienced and it was dark! "

  " Richard, is that true? "

  Richard sighed.

  " The man was indeed strong, can you get us some bread and wine and maybe tell Malik we have arrived? "

  " Yeah but Malik is currently on an errand so I don't know when he'll be back. "

  " It's alright, I will drop our bags upstairs, just stay here and rest. "

  Konnor simply nodded and sank deeper in his chair while Izi headed for the kitchen. Richard started walking upstairs and when he reached the top he bumped into a young blonde woman with short hair. The woman had a particular color of eyes, they were purple. Somehow he felt like he had already seen her somewhere before.

  " I'm very sorry miss, are you alright? "

  " I'm fine, I'm just busy. "

  She quickly put a hood on her head and started heading downstairs, Richard could not shake this feeling of uneasiness, he had to know who she was.

  " Wait! "

  She did not stop and started walking even faster. Richard went downstairs as fast as he could while trying to make her stop.

  " Wait! I have a question, I think I know you! "

  Still no answer from the mysterious lady who was now engaging in the street away from his sight. He ran into the street and saw the hooded figure disappear into the crowd. " Who was that? I'm sure I've met her before. " Still shaken by this strange encounter, Richard went to his room to drop his bag and decided to lay down for a nap. " I'll just eat when I wake up. " Still thinking about the mysterious woman, Richard fell asleep.

  Eliza entered the duchess's castle without being noticed. Due to her magic she was used to people not recognizing her and most of the time not even notice her presence. Ever since her magic had awakened years ago, people could forget her face in a heartbeat after seeing her but today was the first time someone remembered her without her wanting to. " He somehow knew it was me even though when we spoke I had a different name and face, he really is something else. ". She entered the building, used the stairs made out of polished marble and headed to the duchess's apartments. On the way she passed many servants that stared at her as she passed, it sure was hard to not stare at her fairly pale skin and purple eyes. She entered the duchess's personal chambers, a few weeks ago, the duchess made an entire part of the castle hers and her personal handmaiden was the only one allowed in. Most of her servants were unaware of what had pushed her to become an hermit in her own home. The public hadn't seen her in months and she had been sending messages instead of seeing people. Eliza checked a few of the rooms but couldn't find the duchess anywhere.

  " Olivia? You requested me? "

  No response was heard. " This is strange and unusual, I don't like it. " She heard a fast tapping on the corridor coming from her right, she turned her head and saw the handmaiden Lucretia power walking towards her.

  " Lucretia, where is your mistress? We were supposed to have a meeting. "

  " I .. don't know.. " The handmaiden seemed fidgety and was nervously playing with her rosary " May the creator help us in his mighty name I pray to thee that y- "

  " Shut up and look for her with me! Prayers won't help us find her quicker. "

  " Y-Yes madam! "

  The two women started looking for the duchess in the whole closed off section, soon they extended their search to the whole floor but with no success. After half an hour of search, Eliza was starting to really get worried.

  " Did you see anyone come into her chambers lately? "

  " No! Only me! "

  " Are you sure? "

  " Y-Yes ..? "

  Eliza grabbed the handmaiden by her shirt and pinned against the nearest wall, she was tall for a woman, standing at around a hundred and seventy-three centimeters, she was towering over the young handmaiden. But her size was not her only threatening feature, in the blink of an eye she had taken out a small blade and applied pressure to the handmaiden's throat, her cold purple eyes penetrating the blue eyes of the young girl.

  " I said ARE YOU SURE?! "

  " Yes yes yes please don't hurt me I don't know anything I swear! "

  The girl was now praying with tears in her eyes. In order to release the pressure, Eliza let out a heavy sigh and tried a different approach.

  " Are there any secret ways within this building? "

  " Wh-What ? "

  " Is there any secret passage she could have used to get out of the castle somehow? "

  " None that I know off. "

  Felix walked behind the two women and Eliza seized her chance and tried getting his attention by tapping him on the shoulder.

  " What do you want? "

  " Do you know where your lady goes if you can't find her? "

  He squinted as if he was suspicious of her.

  " Why? "

  " Because we can't find her? "

  " And what makes you think she wants to be found? "

  " She could be in danger, aren't you her personal guard? Shouldn't you be worried? "

  " She doesn't want me around her right now so .. no. Now if you don't mind, I have other things to do. "

  Felix smacked her hand away and started walking down the stairs. Eliza shook her head in annoyance. " Prick ". She turned around to see Lucretia looking at the ceiling with her eyes closed and still praying.

  " Can you stop praying already?! It's not gonna help unless the creator reaches out from the sky and - "

  Eliza stopped mid sentence. " The sky! "

  She walked to the handmaiden, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

  " Is there an access to the roof?! "

  " I .. I don't know, maybe? It was closed off years ago! "

  " How do you access it? "

  " You can get to it through the tower on the east side and from within it you can get to the roof, but in her condition there is no way she- "

  She had barely finished her sentence that Eliza grabbed her wrist and started running towards the east side of the building. Lucretia was barely able to follow her. " She runs so fast, oh may the creator give me strength to survive in this mad woman's steps! ". They arrived at a small wooden door that looked like the door leading to a closet. Eliza opened the door and they could feel cold air from the outside coming from it. They both peeked inside and looked upwards to notice a series of wooden ladders leading to another door. Without thinking, Eliza started the ascension, a few seconds later Lucretia followed her. Once they were at the second door, they looked at each other and Eliza opened it. What they discovered had both of them frozen. Lucretia let out a piercing scream at the top of her lungs.

  " OH BY THE CREATOR! "

  They had stumbled upon Olivia laying down on the roof unconscious under the warm sun of the afternoon. Lucretia was literally shaking and tears were rolling down her cheeks. Eliza grabbed her and gave her the most powerful slap she ever received.

  " Calm down! Go downstairs, get some water, a few towels and despite what your lady said get all the handmaidens ready to tend to her! Alright?! If you don't I swear I will send you to your creator you love so much. Now go! "

  Without a word, Lucretia ran out and went to get the necessary aids. Eliza rushed over to the duchess and checked on her, she leaned in and pressed her ear against Olivia's chest. She stood back up and let out a sigh of relief. " She is breathing ". Olivia looked awfully pale and her eyes were sunken, she was wearing a dirty white dress and Eliza's eyes were attracted to her belly which was now fairly big.

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  " Milady! Milady can you hear me!? "

  " Eli ..? "

  " Yes it's me, save your strength! I'm gonna get you out of this place. "

  She grabbed the duchess and made her pass her arms around Eliza's neck and carried her to the tower. When she reached the ladders she realised it would be difficult to go down. " Been a while since I have done this but I can't waste time!". Without thinking any further, she jumped down to the bottom of the tower. At the last second she stopped as if she was held by an invisible hand. She then sprinted to the duchess apartment as fast as she could, shoulder bashing door after door with the duchess still in her arms, most servants were watching the strange woman rush through the castle while carrying a weakened Olivia with a look of shock. She reached the corridor in which the duchess bedroom was located and spotted a group of handmaidens rushing to help her carry the duchess. Giving them a threatening look, they understood that at the moment only Eliza was allowed to carry her. She entered the room and saw Lucretia getting hugged and comforted in the arms of another maid. Eliza slowly dropped the duchess into her bed and gave a nod at the maids which was a sign that they could now operate freely. Instantly the small group started tending to their lady and giving her the utmost of attention. The adrenaline of the situation was now going down and Eliza exited the room and sat on the floor next to the door. " You better make it alive. "

  A few hours had passed since the duchess had been found, she was well but was suffering from a heavy fever. Eliza was still standing guard at the entrance of the room.

  " Eli ... "

  A faint voice coming from inside the room made her turn her head.

  " Eli, come here. "

  The duchess was awake. Eliza walked up to her and kneeled near the bed, Olivia reached towards her with her hand and Eliza grabbed it. The duchess turned her head to look at her and had a slight smile.

  " Are you upset with me? "

  " No, I just don't understand why you would put yourself in danger like this when you carry life! "

  " I didn't think I was that weak. " She started looking at the ceiling as if she could see something. " When I was a little girl, I used to skip my lessons and I would hide on the roof, no one could find me or bother me. It was my own version of heaven, I could just feel the wind and be closer than ever to the sky. Oh, how young and silly I was, I didn't have responsibilities. "

  Eliza touched the duchess forehead. " She is burning up, she sounds delirious. "

  " Just rest milady, I'm gonna have someone fetch you some water. "

  She stood up but before she could walk away, Olivia grabbed her wrist.

  " Is he back? "

  " Milady ... you should really rest ... "

  " Is he?! "

  " Yes, he came back just today. "

  " Bring him here, I want to tell him about it. "

  Eliza let out a heavy sigh.

  " I will, please, just rest Olivia. "

  She gently pushed the duchess back to her laid down position and arranged the sheets around her, finally she gave a slight kiss on her fevery forehead. She walked outside and gave a sign to Lucretia to follow her.

  " Listen, she is not well, and I fear not only is her body ill but probably her mind too. "

  " Tomorrow I will go into town and bring the doctor. "

  " No! No one in town can know about her being sick or pregnant alright? This is not the time to show weakness, first thing in the morning tomorrow, you will take a cab to the herborist that lives in the forest, you bring her here even if you have to drag her out of her shitty shack and she doesn't leave the castle as long as milady hasn't received her full attention! Are we clear? "

  " Y-Yes maam! "

  " Good, I'll be back here in a week to check on her, if she isn't better by then .. " She leaned in closer to Lucretia's face. " .. I will hold you personally responsible. "

  Lucretia swallowed her spit with difficulty and nodded her head. Eliza smiled, put her hood back on and made her way out of the building.

  It was late in the evening when Richard woke up, he stood up, stretched and yawned. He opened the door to his room and headed downstairs. There were barely any customers left and the waitresses were busy cleaning up. Richard spotted Malik at the main counter counting his coins. He looked up and saw his friend finally awake, he waved at him and gave him a sign to come closer. Richard walked up to him and leaned on the counter.

  " Hey Malik. "

  " Hey Rich, how was your trip? "

  " Exhausting. "

  " Hmm. "

  Malik turned around and grabbed a bottle of wine from the kitchen and some glasses. He poured both of them a glass of wine. Richard took the glass and raised it.

  " To what are we drinking? "

  " Since when do we need a reason? "

  " Ahah true, to us then! "

  " To us! "

  They both drank a sip of it, Richard catched Malik smiling like an idiot.

  " What with the smile? "

  " Nothing, I'm just happy. "

  " Bullshit, there has to be a reason. "

  " Well ... "

  Before he could say anything, Jessamine arrived at the counter and gave him a slight kiss.

  " Hi Richard, did you have a good trip? "

  " Yes, perfect Jess, thank you. "

  " Great! " She turned towards Malik " I'll see you later "

  " Yeah. "

  Before she disappeared in the kitchen Richard noticed the reason the both of them were so happy, a ring on her left annular.

  " Malik? Did you ..? "

  " She said yes Rich', holy fuck man! "

  Richard stood up and walked around the counter to hug his best friend.

  " Congratulations man! "

  " I'm scared as fuck lil bro! I'm gonna be a husband! "

  " That's great! When did you do it? "

  " Last week, I bought the ring once I had enough money and that's kind of thanks to you. "

  " How? "

  " So you know this guy in Ryzeon who gave you the wine, Solus? I had sent Maureen to get a form of contract with him so I could get better wine and guess what? The guy gave us a full chariot for FREE! With this we gained popularity and business has never been better! Also he apparently has a present for you, a circadium gift but it has to be given by hand. Man, life is smiling at us, more money than ever. I can now propose better services and I plan to expand the tavern, get more rooms and all of that. "

  " The future seems bright for us. "

  " Could have been this way earlier to be honest but eh we take what we can. "

  " Yeah, I'll go to Ryzeon soon then, maybe I'll find a circadium gift for Bella but I'm gonna go see her in the morning. "

  " You have an idea already? "

  " None. "

  " How about doing the same as me? "

  " What do you mean? "

  " The ring idiot! "

  " Malik are you crazy?! I can't ask her to marry me like that!! "

  " Why not? You love her right? "

  " Yes but we - "

  " And she loves you right? "

  " Yes bu - "

  " There is no but! Just do it! "

  " As if it was that simple, I know her for less than a year Malik. "

  " I have known jess for seven month and we have been together for three. "

  " I'm not like you Malik, I don't just jump into things. "

  Malik stared at Richard and waited for him to realise what he just said.

  " Ok I don't do it, MOST of the time ok!? "

  " Yeah sure. "

  " It's just, it's scary, we just went through a tough phase and I can't stress her with this right now. "

  " Orrrr it could be what cements your commitment to the relationship! There is no better way to show a woman that to you she is the one and only right? "

  Richard leaned on the counter and buried his face in his hands.

  " You make things sound so simple ... "

  Malik slapped Richard in the back with enough force to make him cough.

  " Ahah! Because it is simple! Stop torturing yourself and go back to sleep, looking at you makes ME tired. "

  " Yeah you are probably right. "

  " Oh? "

  " About me needing sleep, not the rest idiot! "

  " Too late, you said it. "

  " I hate you. "

  " Love you too brother, have a good night. "

  " Have a good night Malik, and again good job with Jess. "

  " Thank you. "

  Malik went back into the kitchen to help clean up, Richard went back upstairs and fell asleep the second he laid down.

  In the other room, Konnor was sitting on the bed trying to eat his soup with his uninjured arm, his shaky hand was making it difficult and he ended up spilling more than he could eat. Izi ,still wearing maureen's uniform, entered the room to the sight of his friend spilling his soup all over himself, he instantly bursted out laughing.

  " Stop laughing stupid! It's harder than it looks. "

  " I'm sorry it's so cute you are like a little baby ahah! "

  Konnor just groaned in annoyance, using his non dominant hand was probably the most difficult thing he ever did. The bowl was resting on his lap and when he got close to getting a full spoon in his mouth he ended up dropping it in the soup, making it splash all over his shirt.

  " I hate my life. "

  " Ok, stop moving. "

  Izi sat next to his friend, he took the spoon and held it in front of his friend's mouth.

  " Open up. "

  " You can't be serious .. "

  " Come on. "

  " Izi .. "

  " Are you hungry or not?! "

  " It's strange. "

  " Why? "

  " You are still in a woman's uniform spoon feeding me soup. "

  " I don't see the problem. "

  " Eugh.. "

  " Just stop complaining. " Izi placed the spoon back in the bowl and leaned to whisper into Konnor's ear. " If you eat all your soup like a big boy, mommy Izi will give you a kiss. "

  " You realise I can still punch you right? "

  " Sure, come on, just eat. "

  Konnor let out a heavy sigh and looked at Izi smiling at him. " Why does he look so cute? Fuck! "

  " Ok but don't you dare tell it to anyone. "

  " Promise, now say ahhh "

  Izi led the spoon to Konnor's mouth and started feeding him, they spent this little moment in silence, enjoying each other's presence, the air felt tense for some reason but not the kind of tension they were used to. Finally, Izi fed him the last of his soup and some of it spilled out of his mouth, before he could wipe it off, Izi leaned in and slowly licked the soup from his chin to his lips. The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds, their eyes full of glitter. Izi brushed back his hair behind his ears and looked down in embarrassment.

  " Sorry. I don't know why I did that. "

  " No it's ok, I didn't mind humm .. yeah .. "

  Silence fell between the two of them. Izi readjusted his uniform, he was really looking good in it.

  " Soooo .. hmm, you ate it all, y-you want that kiss I promised? "

  Konnor looked at him again. " He is way too cute for a boy. "

  " I guess i'll take it. "

  Izi took the bowl off Konnor's laps and placed it on the ground next to the bed, they stood there looking at each other's faces. Finally he leaned in and gave a small kiss on his friend cheek. Feeling playfull, Konnor tried to push him further.

  " Oh is that it? I didn't expect that kind of kiss. "

  " Idiot. "

  " Ahah! "

  Konnor Laid down on the bed and removed his cast, he closed his eyes, ready to sleep when he felt a weight on him. He opened his eyes to discover Izi on him, his face so close that his hair was tickling his nose. Even if his skin was tanned, it was easy to see that Izi was heavily blushing. Without a word he leaned in and kissed him with more passion, they stayed like this for a while and then Izi stood up straight.

  " Was that enough of a kiss? "

  " Yeah. "

  " Do you .. hmm .. wanna try again? "

  " Yeah. "

  Izi smiled like never before and leaned in again to resume their kissing session, their embrace would last late into the night as they abandoned themselves to their passion.

  Early in the morning, Richard woke up and got ready to visit Isabella. He took a quick breakfast composed of bread and grapes, immediately mounted his horse and set out towards her home. He reached it fast and when he arrived he was surprised to see her getting on a cab that seemed to belong to the duchess. " What is going on? ". He rode up to the cab and knocked on the door. Isabella turned in her seat and welcomed him with a giant smile, across from her was sitted a young blonde girl.

  " Hi Richard. "

  " Hi, what is going on and who is your friend here? "

  " Hum meet Lucretia she is - "

  " The duchess' handmaiden, now I remember you! "

  The young woman was already nervously touching her cross.

  " H-Hi, please could we hurry up to see milady? "

  " What is wrong with Olivia? "

  " Can you get in sir? I will explain on the way. "

  " Of course, my horse will follow us. "

  Richard got down from his horse and entered the cab. He sat next to Bella and Lucretia tapped on the roof of the cab to signal they were ready to go.

  They arrived at the castle before noon. They all exited the cab and Lucretia was already leading them to the duchess, Isabella was now understing why Olivia was so annoyed at how dirty her home was in comparison to the immaculate tiles of the corridors.

  " You told us your mistress was sick but you did not give us anything else. "

  " You need to see her yourself to assess what to do. "

  " Hm hm. "

  Isabella was annoyed at this situation, luckily Richard being here was making it more bearable. They ended up reaching her bedroom, Lucretia knocked on the door and a faint voice telling them to come in could be heard from the other side. They entered and found Olivia in bed covered in sweat. Isabella approached her slowly. " The maid was right, it doesn't seem like a common cold or fever. ". Richard was staying outside of the room and simply peeked inside to see how she was doing, she was indeed weakened, he had never seen her in such a state. Once she was done with her examination, Isabella took Lucretia outside with her to debrief the situation with her.

  " So from what I understand, you found her on the roof and she has been like this since yesterday? "

  " Yes and sometimes she rambles and seems not completely conscious even though she is moving and speaking. "

  " That's not a simple heatstroke, it's like something is siphoning her life force. "

  Lucretia looked down at her feet. Isabella noticed and felt like she was guilty of something.

  " You know more than you let on, tell us or we can't help her. "

  " Well, milady is currently carrying life inside of her. "

  " I have never seen a pregnancy do that to a woman. "

  " Do you think ...? She is nurturing a demon? "

  " What are you talking about? "

  " Well, words goes around between us maids and, for years she couldn't have any child and when she finally is able to carry one it just consumes her so- "

  " Are you saying I planted a parasite in your duchess? "

  " No no no! Forget I ever said anything! Can you do anything for her? "

  " I can try to collect a few herbs that can calm her fever and also help her go through the pregnancy easier. "

  " We have a room full of medicinal herbs and a garden that you are free to use, follow me I will show you. Mister Richard, can you stand guard here? "

  Richard crossed his arms and nodded.

  " Of course. "

  The two women walked away and he was left alone in the corridor, he then heard the voice of Olivia calling for him.

  " Richard... "

  " Yes? "

  " Can you come here please? "

  Richard entered the bedroom and approached Olivia, she tapped the side of the bed with her hand to signal him to sit down. He went and sat next to her. The woman was not only pale but looked as if she had lost a considerable amount of weight. Despite the state she was in, she tried to smile at him slightly.

  " You have seen me in a better state I fear. "

  " You do indeed look a bit paler than usual, please rest. Isabella and I came to make sure you are getting the best of treatments. "

  " It is great to know, have you heard the news? "

  " Yes, congratulations on your pregnancy, the duke would be glad to know that his legacy is insured. "

  The duchess remained silent. " I have to tell him now. "

  " Richard, give me your hand. "

  Without asking questions, he gave her his hand, she led him to her swollen belly. She looked him in the eyes while making him touch and feel the life growing inside of her.

  " He is not the duke's child. "

  Richard looked at her with surprise.

  " What "

  " Can you help me sit down? "

  " Yes .. "

  He helped her raise herself and placed a pillow behind her back so she could sit up straight.

  " A few months ago, during a party, I received a man in my chambers. He made love to me for hours. It was the best I have ever felt in years, he is the man I am in love with, and the child I am carrying now is his. This child is yours Richard. "