- Rivelle -

“My child! Urie! How hurt he must be!” Rivelle was in a panic.

She hurriedly made her way past the crowd with the two maids following right behind her. At a distance, she saw her son still sitting on the ground with his head tilted down. She could only imagine what sort of emotions he must have been feeling.

"My little Urie! It'll be alright, it'll be alright."

Rivelle sat down after reaching her son and embraced him. Tears of concern formed in her eyes as she looked for words that would be able to console him.

Perform a private ceremony? She wasn't sure if it would work. There was no precedence for someone not being able to form their mana roots during the Harvest Festival. She did not want to get Urie's hopes up.

"Urie dear, let's go home. Alright?” She softly pleaded. ”We'll figure out what to do after your brothers return." She could only rely on his siblings.

Her son tried to stand but struggled as his knees buckled. Rivelle tried to support him, but her legs felt weak as well. Thankfully, just as she was about to stumble, the two attentive maids behind them helped them up. Rivelle asked one them to call for a carriage after they made their way to the side of the street.

She glanced at her son's face, he wasn't crying, but she could see in his eyes staring listlessly at the people and carriages passing in front of them, that he was incredibly dispirited. Not knowing what to do, she could only caress her son's head while whispering words of comfort on their ride home.

However, with the festivities still going on outside— the music, the cheers, the laughter— the atmosphere within the carriage only grew tenser. Rivelle could only take a breath of relief after they had reached the quiet of their home.

A few hours later, around evening, a knock was heard on the front door of the Loeth residence.

“Are the boys back?” Rivelle wondered.

Her son, Urie, was resting his head on her lap. He had spoken a few words but was still not back to his usual self. She hoped that her older sons' arrival could get him to cheer up.

"Milady! A letter has arrived!" The maid, Patty entered the room after a quick knock on the door.

A letter? From who? Rivelle stood up after gently laying Urie down on the couch and left the room with Patty. They returned to the front door where she received the letter and a message from a courier.

"Milady, I was also entrusted with a message from the young masters.” He said. “They wanted me to inform you that they could not be relieved from their posts as the magic creatures' attacks on the wall have gotten fiercer."

“Ah...” A headache. Rivelle thanked him and told him to come back the next day for her reply letter. The young man bowed in courtesy before bidding farewell and going on his way.

"Patty, go to the kitchen and help Ersha with preparations for dinner. Tell her Vigril and Kyron won't be back tonight." She instructed.

"Yes, Milady." The maid bowed her head slightly.

Rivelle turned to walk back to the lounge room with slow steps. She raised her hands and started rubbing her temples. “What should I do now?” She thought. How should she explain her older sons' absence to her youngest?

She made it to the lounge room door and was about to reach for the handle but stopped. The door wasn't closed. There was a tiny gap indicating it was opened.

“Urie, dear?” Rivelle softly called.

There was no answer. She opened the door and looked to the couch, her son wasn't there. Taking a quick glance around the room, he was nowhere to be found.

“Could he have gone upstairs?” Rivelle thought.

She left the lounge and walked up the stairs to the second floor, intending to break the news to her son.

“Urie, dear?” She checked his bedroom, but he wasn't there.

“Urie, dear?” She checked her bedroom, but he also wasn't there.

“Urie? Little Urie, where are you?” Suddenly feeling disquieted, she hastened towards the remaining rooms. “Urie? Where is he!?” Rivelle was beginning to panic.

“The kitchen? Yes, he might have gone to the kitchen!”

Her heart rate had begun to go up and her palms were getting cold. She hurried down the stairs and dashed through the corridors with frantic steps.

"—With the young masters' return home, they might have been able to talk with young master Urie, but now—?"

She entered the kitchen and interrupted a conversation between Patty and Ersha.

"Urie—Is Urie here!?" She stuttered.

Patty and Ersha were startled. Rivelle's face was pale and her breathing was heavy. The two of them dropped what they were doing and rushed to support her.

"Milady, what's wrong?"

"Urie! I—I can't find him! I checked around the rooms and I couldn't find him anywhere in the house!" Her voice was trembling.

"Milady, maybe— do you think he might have heard what the messenger had said?" Patty addressed.

“That's right! He could have been listening!” Rivelle paused to think.

An idea appeared in her head as she regained a bit of her composure.

"Ersha, check by the garden if he's there. If not, wait by the door just in case Urie comes back. Patty, go ask a few patrol guards to accompany us outside." She instructed.

Ersha nodded and took a quick look around the garden before coming back. Since Urie wasn't there, she went upstairs to get a coat for Rivelle. Patty had gone outside shortly after to look for patrolling guards.

“Surely he must be there.” Rivelle thought, a past incident resurfacing in her mind. “There is no other place he could be.“

Returning with a coat, Ersha helped her put it on, and they left the house once Patty had come back with a patrol guard.

“I'm sorry, ma'am.” The guard said. “We're a little short-handed at the moment. You know how it is, with today bein' the Harvest Festival and all.”

“I understand.” Rivelle said. ”We only need someone to accompany us outside and look for my son, I have an idea of where he is.”

“Lead the way, ma'am.” The guard replied.

Rivelle led Patty and the guard outside and they headed for the main road. A few of the lamps along the streets were unlit as they were still covered with decorations, but it wasn't dark. There was a full moon out tonight, bathing the surroundings in its light.

Once they'd reached the main road, they kept walking towards a single direction, the same path they took earlier on in the day. And of course, the same sight, although in a different light, had welcomed them as they reached the end.

Erden's Tower, it looked massive up close, but Rivelle's eyes weren't looking up at it. Arriving at the entrance of the square, her gaze fell on the fountain in the middle, a flash of red light had caught her attention.

Her eyes opened wide and her heart dropped, she ran. She ran towards the fountain, towards her child lying unconscious beside it. She couldn't say anything, her words were stuck in her throat. As she knelt down and touched his skin, the air had finally escaped her lungs.

He was alright. He felt a bit hot, but he was alright, he had just fallen asleep.

Patty and the guard had arrived beside them. Rivelle instructed Patty to call for Ersha, to help carry her son back home, but the guard stopped her and picked Urie up.

“I can carry him, ma'am.” He insisted. ”We better get you all back home for some rest.”

It was only when she heard him speak up that Rivelle had noticed, they didn't talk at all on the way here. Neither she nor Patty spoke a word. She felt grateful to the guard and nodded, leading the way back to the Loeth Residence.

After passing her son onto Ersha, who brought Urie up to his bedroom, the guard gave a slight bow. “I'm always glad to be of help, ma'am, especially if it's the commander's family asking.” He said.

“Oh, you knew?” Rivelle replied.

“White hair ain't really all that common round here, isn't it ma'am? And well, the big mansion kinda gave it away. I was kinda nervous when that maid came up to me and asked to come here.” The guard chuckled and bid farewell as he still had to return to his duties.

Left at the door, Rivelle stared at the bright ball of white high up at the night sky. Her shoulders lost their tension after she took in a deep breath and exhaled.

She closed the door behind her and made her way upstairs, running into one of the maids who was on her way down.

“Is he still asleep?” Rivelle asked. “Are there no problems with his body?”

“Yes, Milady. I checked, nothing seems to be a problem.” Ersha replied.

“Alright, thank you. I'll sleep in his room tonight, so let Patty know.”

Rivelle left the staircase and entered her son's bedroom. Feeling her exhaustion catch up with her, she collapsed onto the bed and laid down right beside her son as she fell asleep.

***