The rulers of the continent stood silently at the top of the stairs to the castle. Annika stood several feet to the side of the Queen as Knights lined the stairs leading all the way down to the ground. Mr. Howard, mage Lee, and Lord Fuks stood at the very bottom of the stairs wearing morose expressions. Everyone waited under the cloudy sky without a word, the dark mood of the day smothering.

There hadn’t been word sent from the witches since the Captain and Katelyn had set off to meet them, and everyone grimly assumed it was because Katelyn Ashowan had been beside herself with grief over the loss of her son.

A messenger had relayed to the monarch that the ships had returned, and that the Captain was on his way back up to the castle, but nothing else was communicated.

The Queen cast a sad glance at her best friend, but Annika kept her eyes fixed on the drive, waiting… Waiting to see the body of another loved one in less than a week.

At long last, the inconspicuous black carriage crested the hill, and made its way slowly to the front of the stairs. Even the driver looked grim.

Annika’s heart pounded in her chest, as she tried to focus on remaining as composed as possible…

Captain Antonio was the first to step from the carriage, his face pale, and the usual light in his lone blue eye had been extinguished.

He stood alone, and stared at the second carriage that had followed his while standing completely still.

All sounds ceased, and aside from the faintest of breezes that gently tousled his long gray hair, nothing dared to shift him from the centre of all attention.

When the second carriage stopped, the driver stepped down, and the Captain nodded to the nearest Knight, who immediately went to assist.

When they pulled the door open, and slowly pulled out the long stretcher with the body covered in a white sheet, Annika felt pain and heat surge through her chest.

“Men! Hero’s Salute!” Captain Antonio roared as he raised his hand to his brow. The Knights then drew their swords in perfect unison, the tips pointed to the sky.

As the Knight and footmen carried the stretcher up the stairs, Annika could feel intense warmth flush through her body. Swallowing with great difficulty, she struggled to focus on each breath.

The King and Queen stepped aside, and dutifully bowed their heads as the body was carried past them into the castle.

In the haze of emotion and dwindling control, Annika vaguely recalled thinking that the figure on the stretcher seemed far too small to be Fin…

“Good Gods what-!” Mr. Howard’s exclamation drew Annika and the monarchs’ attention.

There, at the bottom of the stairs, his hand raised in salute to his brow, was Finlay Ashowan.

Alive.

*

The King was still in shock when he received Fin in the seldom used throne room. It was customary to receive the body of a fallen hero with the utmost decorum. The body upon the stretcher beside the redhead, was still wrapped in the white sheet, the identity of the individual unknown as everyone failed to mentally grasp how the cook was alive…

The King saw to his report alone however… sensing that perhaps it was for the best.

Oddly, not only was the redheaded witch alive, but… he was healthy. He looked exhausted, pale, and there was a strange glow in his blue eyes that seemed ethereal somehow… but he was standing. His tunic was stained with enough blood to warrant a man’s death, yet he seemed perfectly fine on his own two feet. Though he seemed to have aged years in a matter of days...

“Lord Ashowan, what… has happened? Last we had heard you were, well… dead.”

Fin’s hollowed gaze was all the more eerie with the strange glow that gleamed behind his eyes when he stared up at his King.

“I was. I’m told I… I died last night.” The redhead’s gaze dropped down a few degrees for a moment, as though haunted by a memory.

“Then are you… is this… witchcraft of some kind? Are you passing a message from the grave?” Norman asked quietly.

“My… my mother… cursed me.” Fin’s voice had become hoarse.

Norman frowned, there was something he was not understanding…

“Your Majesty, for a witch to cast a curse, it means they have exhausted not only their magic, but also their life. Their spell becomes permanent.”

The King’s face slowly stretched into astonishment blended with understanding as his gaze moved to the body wrapped in the sheet.

“Your… Mrs. Katelyn Ashowan… brought you back to life by sacrificing herself,” the King sounded out, his words sounding distant to his own ears.

“Yes.” Fin bowed his head. “Your majesty, the Troivackian military will be upon us in a matter of three days. I do not know where precisely, but I would presume both the cities of Austice and Xava are in their sights given that the King’s ship met with Aidan’s within a day’s sail.”

Norman nodded seriously. “Thank you, Lord Ashowan. I am sorry that your time aboard the Troivackian ship came with such pain. Your mother was… was one of the best women I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. She truly was a hero of Daxaria, and I will see her honored as one. On a more personal note, she was a warm, strong individual that we were blessed to get to know. I am deeply sorry, Fin.” The King stood then, and stepped down from the dais until he was only a few feet from the redhead.

When Fin finally raised his tearfilled gaze to the ruler, Norman bowed deeply to him.

“I can’t ever apologize enough.”

Sobs wracked the witch’s body as he covered his face with his hands, unable to maintain his composure.

Slowly, and hesitantly, Norman reached out and hugged the redhead, his voice cracking.

“My friend, I am so sorry.”

*

Annika sat in her chamber with her eyes closed. She was trying to focus on calming herself down so that the blistering heat that raged through her would subside.

She hadn’t a clue what in the world had happened. Fin hadn’t even spared her a glance as he had slowly entered the castle, his face marred with weary distress.

‘He’s alive. That’s all that matters… he made it back.’

She had just succeeded in becoming mildly warm as opposed to sweltering when the chamber door burst open. Clara rushed over to her and immediately dropped down to her knees.

“It’s his mother. It’s Katelyn Ashowan.”

Annika’s eyes flew open. “What?”

“It was his mother’s body they brought back. I overheard one of the Knights tasked with contacting the coffin maker about it…”

Annika’s face morphed into one of deep sorrow and pain. “Oh, Gods no… he has to be devastated. She…”

The healer’s smiling face and gentle touch flashed in Annika’s mind, and she felt her throat closing.

“Gods, she was a good woman… but how…” Annika dropped her forehead to her hand and allowed the tears to spill from her eyes.

After a few moments of the two women silently mourning the beloved witch, the Lady raised her gaze. “Where is Fin now? Is he still with the King?”

Clara shrugged, while looking apologetic. “I don’t know. It was difficult enough getting that information.”

Letting out a long breath, Annika stood with a new objective in mind.

“I need to help with the funeral, and I need to find my husband.”

Clara rose with her, though even the normally cool maid had to wipe away a few tears from her own cheeks. “I will speak with Kasim about flowers.”

“I will go see the Queen to find out if the debriefing has concluded.” The Lady and her servant gave each other reaffirming nods, and both set off with their objectives fixed in their minds.

*

Hannah’s vice grip around Fin was commendable as Jiho sat quietly weeping behind her. Sirs Taylor, Andrews, and Lewis bowed their heads as a show of respect for their friend’s pain.

“I w-wish I could do more to help,” the blonde gasped through her own watery sobs.

“I understand… nothing more can really be said at this point,” the redhead acquiesced quietly.

“H-Have you seen L-Lady Asho-”

“No. I haven’t. I need… time before I am alone with her,” Fin interjected, his voice hoarse.

“She… She was so b-broken when w-we thought you’d died though… y-you should g-go s-see her.” Hannah finally released the cook and pulled back while still grasping his arms.

“It’s… It’s complicated. I will try to see her a bit later…”

“Fin… that’s… that’s too cruel,” Jiho finally spoke with a small frown. “She literally collapsed from grief when she thought she’d lost you.”

“I… I can’t… see her yet. She… they… don’t deserve…” Fin trailed off, unable to look at his friend as he swallowed back his next words.

“Cook,” Sir Taylor stepped forward then. “I lost my mother when I was younger than yourself… she passed while giving birth to my youngest brother. They both died…” The large burly man’s blue eyes dropped to the floor. “I know the world seems empty and uncertain now… but… your wife will help. Family, always helps.”

“Why do you think I’m here with you all now?” Fin replied with a sad smile. Sir Taylor’s gaze snapped up to the redhead’s, and the two shared a silent moment of understanding before Hannah released him and stepped back while dabbing her cheeks with the back of her wrist.

“Yes, we are your family, but Fin? So is she. I don’t understand why you are being pigheaded about her again-”

“Annika’s pregnant,” the witch announced suddenly.

Everyone immediately fell silent, and dropped their jaws in shock.

“I don’t want the moment she finally tells me to have any ties to the conversation we will have about my mum dying. I want… I want every moment of my child’s existence to be a happy one. From the moment my wife tells me, until I die.”

No one said a word for several long moments.

Jiho was the first to come to his senses. “You already know though. In her condition to have gone through such stress… Fin, you can’t-”

“I just need a bit of time alone. Please. I want to see her… desperately I do, but let me just have a bit more time. I know it makes me selfish, and cold-hearted even to her, but… at least until tonight. I need to grieve my mother, and not feel any kind of happiness.”

Jiho’s shoulders slumped forward in defeat. The Zinferan wordlessly nodded, and slowly collapsed back into the kitchen chair with a single nod.

Fin then turned to the kitchen door, and slowly trudged out of the room, his hands pressed into his pockets, looking like the loneliest soul in the world.

*

Clara gently closed the greenhouse door behind herself, and was setting an impressive speed as she marched back towards the exit of the courtyard, when she happened to careen into none other than the King’s assistant Mr. Howard.

“Oh, my apologies,” she curtsied dutifully.

“Not a problem, no harm done. Were you just in the greenhouse tower?” Mr Howard asked while straightening his tunic.

“I was, yes.” Clara kept her head bowed.

“What a funny coincidence, I was just on my way there myself. Was Kasim-”

“He has already gone home for the day.” Clara interrupted calmly.

“Ah, unfortunate. I will have to speak with him tomorrow then. Well, good evening.” The assistant nodded his chin to the maid and directed his toes to walk away, when he suddenly frowned and turned back to her.

“How is Lady Ashowan faring? I heard her health has been less than ideal with all of the chaos as of late.”

Clara kept her face bowed down to avoid eye contact. “My Lady is managing to be quite resilient. She is searching for Lord Ashowan even now.”

“Ah, yes… I’m surprised he isn’t with her already. I know his mother’s death was a tragedy, however given her condition she-”

Clara suddenly straightened and gazed directly into Mr. Howard’s blue eyes.

“Condition?”

The assistant let out a small pitying sigh. “Yes, I am sorry to say his majesty, the Queen, and a few others are aware of what ails the Viscountess. We are all quite happy to hear Lord Ashowan’s marriage has been blessed with a new family member so swiftly, though-”

“Family member?” Clara’s smile was peculiar, and Mr. Howard wasn’t at all certain he understood its nature in its entirety.

“Yes… we all discovered she was expecting her first… child… with- why on earth are you looking at me like that?”

The infamously emotionless maid to the Viscountess was looking gleeful. Normally she would never share any personal information about her Mistress; however… it seemed the majority of the news was already shared.

Her eyes sparkling with mischief, Clara leaned in a little, which in turn made the assistant do the same.

“The Viscountess isn’t expecting a new family member.”

Mr. Howard’s cheeks flamed red. “Oh… no. I offer my deepest apologies. I never should have said anything when it had not yet been officially announced from the Lady. My sincerest-”

“The Viscountess is expecting twins.”

The assistant’s eyes bulged, and his mouth froze in place.

“The… th-that witch… has made… double…”

“Yes. I don’t doubt we will be seeing two very troublesome future nobles in the not-so-distant future. How wonderful, wouldn’t you say?” Clara’s delight over the response she was getting was foreign to her. She normally hated gossip, but the assistant’s well documented irritation with the redhead just made the opportunity too… delicious.

“I… I think I’m going to bed with a bottle of wine now. Good evening.” With that, Mr. Howard turned on his heel and scurried away, his complexion as white as a sheet while the maid for the first time in what felt like a year laughed aloud. Though admittedly it sounded more like a cackle…