Tiffania eventually cried herself to sleep. Once that happened, Caspian left the sewers, traveled up the flight of rickety stairs, and then exiting via a rusty old door.

The sewers ran through the entire city. They were a series of interconnecting channels that created a network similar to a maze. Several access points allowed one to enter the sewers, though people normally required a key.

This particular access point didn't require one because it was usually the place where a lot of criminal activity was conducted. It had been left this way on purpose, because the Peacekeepers of this city had been bribed to keep quiet.

Headmaster Stratello probably knew about this. He was likely keeping quiet because he knew that it was easier to keep an eye on criminal activity if one knew where it was being conducted. At least, that was what Caspian assumed.

Carrying Tiffania in his arms, Caspian held the girl close as he walked up a set of large stone steps. The area opened into a somewhat narrow alley that was still much larger than the enclosed sewers had been. It was mostly abandoned. Only a few homeless people were present on the streets. They sat against the walls, their knees curled into their chest, and their heads hanging down. Caspian ignored them as he walked resolutely through the alley.

The darkening sky cast a dim palor on the world. Shadows stretched out before him like tendrils reaching out to grasp the intangible. It was nearing nighttime. Caspian had not realized how late it was. Discovering the location of Tiffania and fighting those thugs must have taken more time than he'd realized.

Eventually making his way onto the main road, Caspian merged into the traffic, seamlessly blending into the crowd. No one gave them a second glance. Perhaps they only saw a young man carrying his tired sister, or something to that effect.

Entering The Boar's Hat, Caspian immediately made for the stairs, weaving between tables and patrons.

"Hey!" the bar owner called out. "Ain't you that Caspian kid?"

"Yes," Caspian replied. Tiffania stirred in his arms. "Is that a problem?"

"Naw, no problems here. That sorceress is out looking for ye, though. Said that I should tell you to wait in her room if you stopped by."

Well, that was different from the standard reaction. This guy normally responded with insults and taunts. That said, Caspian should probably count his blessings and not comment on this newfound respect that he was being given.

"Thank you," Caspian said as he made it to the stairs and walked up. The wooden floorboards creaked beneath him as he ascended the stairs, which opened into a long small hallway. His feet thunked dully as he strode along wooden panels, eventually reaching Erica's room.

Erica had given him a key several days back-for emergencies, she'd told him. He used that key to unlock the door and walk in.

Collafloore was inside. The boy's face was drawn, worn, as if he'd run himself ragged. When Caspian entered, his head shot up and he stared, wide eyed and mouth agape.

"C-Caspian! You found Tiffania!" he shouted.

Tiffania whimpered, her grip on Caspian tightening. He sent the other half-elf a mild glare and said, "be quiet. I'd rather not wake her right now, especially after what she's been through."

"Oh... sorry," Collafloore lowered his voice to a contrite whisper.

Caspian moved over to the bed and tried to set Tiffania in it-tried because he failed. The moment he attempted to set the girl down, her grip on him tightened. He tried to pull her off, but it didn't work, as the little half-elf had gotten a good hold of him and wasn't letting go.

He looked over at Collafloore. "A little help, please."

"Huh? O-oh, right!"

With Collafloore's help, Caspian was able to remove Tiffania's grip on his clothing and set her in bed. After pulling the blanket up to her chin, he slumped down on the floor and leaned against the bed.

Collafloore sat down next to him. "Thank you for rescuing my sister."

"There's no need for that," Caspian said with a sigh.

"But there is," Collafloore insisted. "My sister and I are living a good life now. Erica treats us really kindly-though she likes my sister a lot more. Anyway, without you, neither of us would be here. I'd probably be in jail and my sister would be dead or a slave on the black market. Even now, you just rescued my sister from slavers. I cannot thank you enough for that."

This boy didn't understand. They'd gone after Tiffania because she was close to Erica and Erica was close to him. What happened just now with the slavers had been his fault.

He didn't say anything about this, though. Caspian was too tired to talk. Exhaustion had settled deep within his bones. His fight with Heracles and then the rescue had taken its toll. The edges of his vision was growing blurry.

Darkness enclosed around him, and Caspian embraced it.

***

Caspian woke up with a crick in his neck. Moonlight spilled in through a window. There was a small candle sitting on the nightstand by the bed, flickering like tiny sprites dancing to an unheard rhythm.

He was still sitting on the ground, leaning against the bed. Groaning, Caspian placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to stretch his stiff neck. He really missed his bed right now.

"Finally awake, I see," Erica's voice rang out, causing him to freeze. "I was wondering how long you planned on sleeping."

"Erica..." Caspian stretched his arms above his head as he yawned, extending the "a" of Erica's name. "... What time is it?"

She was sitting in a chair, dressed in the same outfit that she'd been in yesterday. He paid no intention to how the skirt shifting, revealing her expansive legs as she crossed them.

"It's Just a little after one in the morning," she answered.

Clambering unsteadily to his feet, Caspian nodded. "Since you're here now, I'll head back to the academy."

"Hold up, Caspian," Erica said, her use of his name stopping him cold. "There is something that I must do before you go."

"What's that?"

"I would like to thank you, of course."

Caspian eyed Erica warily as she stood up. Knowing her as he did, there were numerable ways he imagined her "thanking him," and all of them involved trying to embarrass him. He imagined her coming up to him and holding his arm between the magnificence of her cleavage, of hugging his head to her chest, of pressing her body to his as she thanked him. That was the kind of woman that Erica was, and so that was what he expected.

She did none of those things. Bowing low, a full bow at the waist, Erica said, "I can never thank you enough for saving Tiffania for me. I am in your debt. If you ever need a favor, do not hesitate to ask me."

Caspian's insides churned with guilt. "Do not thank me. The only reason Tiffania was even kidnapped is because someone found out that you and I have a history together. I'm the reason she was kidnapped."

"Is that what you think?" Erica gave him an admonishing expression, as if he was a child about to be lectured. "Even if that was the case this time, it is not like what happened today will be limited to just this one time. Tiffania is a half-elf. Half-elves fetch a high price on the slave market. What's more, she is close to me, which makes her a more than appetizing target for my enemies, of which I have many."

Caspian clenched his hands into fists. "Even so, I-"

"You are not to blame for what happened here. It was my own carelessness that is to blame. I let Tiffania go alone because she said she was a big girl. I was careless." Caspian wanted to talk, but his mouth froze when Erica stared at him with eyes that were gentler than anything he'd seen from her. "So, I will say this again: Thank you very much for saving Tiffania for me."

Perhaps it was because he was unused to seeing Erica show such humility, but he felt distinctly uncomfortable as the sorceress bowed to him. "It's... you're welcome... I guess."

"Ufufu, such an innocent young man you are," Erica giggled. "Seeing you like this makes me want to gobble you up."

... And the uncomfortable moment was suddenly killed with a rusty spork.

"Innocence is hardly the word I would use to describe myself," Caspian said.

"Hm, if you say so."

Erica sat down on the bed and reached out to tenderly stroke Tiffania's hair. Caspian watched her, uncomfortable and awkward. He felt like a peeper taking a glimpse into the private life of someone else. Yet even though he wished to look away, to leave, he remained rooted in place.

"You... really care about her, don't you?" When Erica frowned, he gestured toward the girl sleeping in bed. "Tiffania, I mean."

"Oh, yes. Yes, I do."

Erica turned back to Tiffania, her frown leaving to be replaced by a smile. It really did look like the sort of smile that a mother might give her child. On Erica, it was easily the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"Hundreds years ago," Erica started speaking softly, almost as if she was talking to herself, "I had been just another girl living in the countryside. My dreams didn't stray far from what most normal girls dream of, I imagine. I wanted to marry the man of my dreams and start a family. More than anything else, I think, I wanted to be a mother." She looked up at Caspian, her lips quirking in a self-deprecating manner. "Does that surprise you?"

"Not particularly," Caspian admitted.

"I suppose not. You're awfully observant, when you choose to be." Turning back to Tiffania, Erica made a contemplative noise before continuing her story. "When I became a sorceress, my dreams of having a family shattered. Sorceresses cannot have children, after all."

Caspian was not surprised to see the bitterness in her eyes. He'd noticed it back when he was acting as her replacement knight. Even so, seeing such a cynical expression on someone who was normally so playful was off putting.

"I did try to have a family at first," Erica admitted. "I fell in love with a wonderful man, and he pledged himself as my knight. Since I couldn't have children of my own, I adopted several who'd been abandoned by their parents." Something about the smile on her face told Caspian that she had adopted more than just several children. "With my knight by my side, and my best friend guiding me through the beginning stages of sorceresshood, I was happy."

Experience told Caspian that there was a "but" coming soon.

"But happiness isn't meant for those who are no human."

Caspian didn't think he'd ever seen Erica this vulnerable before. She seemed like a shell of her former self. Like the shed skin of a snake, there was an emptiness about her. Caspian rubbed his chest.

"What... happened?" he asked.

"Many things happened. My best friend was killed when she tried to negotiate with the dwarves, my children all grew up while I remained ageless, and my knight..." Erica closed her eyes for a moment. The hand that had been so tenderly stroking Tiffania's hair stalled.

"Your knight?" Caspian prompted.

"My knight became... bitter. As you know, we sorceresses are practically immortal. However, that immortality does not extend to our knights. While I remained young, he aged. While I remained strong, he weakened. Eventually, my knight began to blame me for all of his problems. 'If only you'd never become a sorceress,' he'd say, or 'if only I'd never agreed to become your knight.' It got to the point where my own knight couldn't stand to be in the same room as me, and all I could do was watch as he grew weaker and weaker, until he just became so old that his body shut down."

Caspian rubbed his chest again, wondering if the pain he felt was physical or just imagined. He couldn't believe that a knight would do something like that to his sorceress. All knights are aware going in that sorceresses are immortal, that they will outlive you. It was common knowledge. The only way a knight wouldn't understand this was if...

"He was a commoner, wasn't he?" Caspian realized.

"Yes, he was a commoner," Erica said. "He and I had known each other since childhood and promised to marry. He lived in a different town, so he wasn't with me when I became a sorceress. After finding out about what happened to me, he rushed to my side and asked to be my knight. Against Sylvia's wishes, I performed the knighting ceremony with him."

Yes, that made sense. A commoner who didn't understand what being knighted to a sorceress truly meant would eventually grow bitter. This wasn't some romance story dreamed up by little girls. The prince and princess didn't live happily ever after in this story. Sorceresses lived forever and knights lived, at most, 40 to 50 years, 70 if they died of old age. That was just how this situation went.

What is this guilt I feel?

Maybe the knowledge that he existed outside of this tale of tragedy bothered him. He and Elincia would not experience the hardships that Erica and other sorceresses had. As two beings with elven blood, the knighting ceremony would do more than bond them as sorceress and knight. Their lives would be shared between them-or so Sylvia had theorized. Since Caspian was only half-elf, there was no way to know for sure, but it did bring him hope that he and Elincia would never be parted.

"Do you regret it?" Caspian asked, curiosity overcome his sense of shame.

"You'd think I would, but I don't. Even now, I can't bring myself to regret my actions. Perhaps I'm just a masochist."

Erica smiled, and even though it was filled with a pain that he could never fathom, it was still one of the prettiest smiles he'd ever seen.

"I don't think that's true," Caspian said softly.

"Oh, I don't know," Erica countered, her eyes glinting in the light. "That wasn't the only time I've tried to have a normal relationship. Years of failing at love has made me realize that the only time I ever feel close to that way I used to is when I'm having sex and when I'm grieving. Those are the only times I ever feel alive. If that isn't masochism, then I'm not sure what is."

To that, Caspian did not have an answer.