Lazarus felt his heart quicken, his eyes narrowing as he stared bewilderedly at the door wondering, -’ Why is she here?’-

“Big brother, are you there?” A muffled young voice resounded from behind the door followed by the constant twisting and clicking of the door knob.

It has been a while since Lazarus last saw and spoke to Reisha, just the memory of her sunny smile was enough to make him want to jump and rush to the door to see her but-..

“Big brother?” She called again.

“.....”

Lazarus said nothing and kept quiet. It was already a month ago since Lara left.

She left because his disease had made her manaless for a moment. He wanted her to stay but he knew she wouldn’t, he understood why. Lara had more important things to her than just staying with him.

When it was revealed to him that he was manaless, he felt the rug pulled from underneath his feet and it felt like the world was crumbling around him. Day by day he studied and practiced, only to be told he could never become a mage-... that feeling he felt, perhaps that was what Lara felt too? If it was, then he understood. Only made sense she left.

With that in mind, Reisha, who was considered a prodigy and his beloved little sister, was someone he never wanted to end up that way. Maybe it was best if he stayed silent, maybe just act as if he wasn’t here and maybe she’ll go somewhere else…Maybe that way, Reisha wouldn’t leave like Lara would.

A tiny part of him wanted to see her smile once more but he pushed that feeling down.

Lazarus just stayed quiet.

“Where are you..?” Reisha said softly, the pain and frustration clear in her voice and it shocked Lazarus. From her tone, it made it sound like she had been looking for a while.

He wasn’t being selfish. Lazarus told himself.

-’That’s right… I’m just making sure Reisha isn’t infected by my disease… I’m not being selfish..’-

And so, Lazarus just stared at the door and suppressed down the urge to say ‘I’m here.. I’ve missed you..’ he just clenched his fist and forced down the ball in his throat.

This is to protect Reisha…

This is for her…

The sound of heels clacking on the stone floor could be heard, and the sound slowly faded into the distance.

Lazarus stood there, staring at the door. He looked at his hands, they were shaking. It wasn’t because he was afraid of Reisha leaving him… It was to protect her… So he wasn’t being selfish.

Now that he thought about it…There was a purpose in him being here.

He smiled sarcastically. He was protecting everyone–.. from himself.

He had to be here.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day when Lazarus woke up, his body felt heavier for some reason. He opened the window and the mint cool breeze of the early morning brushed his cheeks.

Just like yesterday, and everyday he has been here, he wondered.

When will he be able to go back and be with Emilia once more? He missed the scene in the palace gardens. The softness of his mother’s lap and her ever so gentle voice and calm smile. Above all, the warmth he felt whenever she held him… And the story telling with Reisha…

He missed so many things but could only stare at the different shrubberies and trees that blocked the view.

The next day, Lazarus just spent it lying in bed after having his breakfast. At this point, he sometimes wondered if even Anastasia found it strange that he was missing. She’d probably be happy with this but still, would she think about him?

Dinner came, and the moment Lazarus plunged the spoonful of beef in his mouth, he frowned and looked to Falon.

“Why is there no salt?”

Falon raised a brow, “It is seasoned. I always season the same dish the same way everyday.”

“Oh, you cooked this and not the chef?”

“Yes. Apparently they are too afraid to even cook for you. Illogical but, humans are always fussy and needlessly paranoid so I guess it was natural?” Falon surmised, scratching his chin before he glanced back to Lazarus and sighed, “In any case, that was seasoned the same way as usual. Why do you ask?”

“O-oh.. nothing..” Lazarus looked away and continued to quietly eat his meal. For some reason, it tasted duller than usual.

After Falon cleaned-up the plates and left, Lazarus layed down on bed. He folded the blankets and wrapped it partially around his upper body.

“It’s not the same…” He muttered.

It felt hot… It wasn’t the kind of comforting warmth he was used to…

He smiled sarcastically to himself as he thought,

-’Maybe they’ve forgotten about me?’-

If he disappeared, would anyone even notice?

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days continued to pass, and the never ending days of nothing but eating, sleeping and doing nothing was almost maddening.

But at the same time, Lazarus was slowly getting used to it. As he once again looked to the outside, he noticed a couple of birds flying by. Chirping happily and flying about.

The sound irritated him and he closed the windows.

What else could he do?

Lazarus thought for a bit and when he scanned the room, he realized he hadn’t read a book in a while. After randomly picking a book from beneath his bed, he began reading.

It told the story of a hero being raised in a village. His father would tell him inspiring words, and his mother would always cook delicious meals for him. At night, his mother would embrace him and tell him of legends that inspired the young hero.

Lazarus stared at that part for a bit, imagined himself as the boy and Emilia as the mother. It wasn’t too far off as he still vividly remembers that just a few months ago, Emilia had held him in her lap and told him a story… If only..

Lazarus scoffed. Why was he thinking of these things knowing they’d never happen?

He skimmed over the text until it went past the family scenes and went to the part where the hero began his journey to fight the demon lord.

As he read through, whenever familial scenes would come, Lazarus would find himself feeling a sort of longing, only to scoff at himself. A bitterness slowly grew in his heart.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The days went by and Lazarus shut the book he was reading. It was the last of Falon’s story books. Maybe he could request for new ones?

He looked outside the window and it was already dark. Maybe he can ask tomorrow.

For some reason, the past few days have seemed to be peaceful… The harrowing silence he hated before, now brought him a small sense of comfort.

It was time to head to bed, and-

*Knock* *knock*

Lazarus looked to the door. Who was it this time of night? Did Falon forget something?

“Big brother, are you there?” A muffled young voice resounded from behind the door followed by the constant twisting and clicking of the door knob.

Reisha again? Wasn’t she here a couple of weeks ago?

A tiny part of Lazarus wanted to see the precious smile of his little sister once more. The other part he felt was laughing at himself for wishing for something so stupid. For some reason, the latter was making more sense to him as of late.

Lazarus got the feeling that since Lara left, and Emilia had chosen to stay away, then wouldn’t Reisha do something to that effect? Then there was no point in seeing them. If there wasn’t any point in seeing them, why see them at all?

Lazarus said nothing and just… stared, hoping she’d go away.

At the same time, Lazarus felt like he still wanted to see Reisha… to see his mother. And the emotions that were at odds felt like fireworks in his chest and it was almost suffocating.

Still, he said nothing.

“I know you’re there big brother… Why.. Why..is it that you refuse to answer me?” Reisha said, her voice, crumbling.

Lazarus’ stomach dropped, his eyes widening. Impossible.

-’How!? No-.. wait…’-

Maybe she’s just saying that to lure him to speak. In that case, he wasn’t falling for it.

“You do not want to see me? Do you-...perhaps hate me?” Reisha said softly, her voice crumbling. An overwhelming sense of guilt assaulted Lazarus and he wanted to say ‘No, I don’t hate you!’ but he resolved himself and kept his mouth shut.

“ *Hic-... S-so you do hate me… I can sense you’re there! Why? Why do you refuse to talk to me!? I know you’re standing in the room so I know you’re not sleeping!”

Crap. How!? But her voice… Clearly she was sure he was there.

“Uwaaahh!!” Reisha wailed.

Oh no.

Lazarus’ felt a pressure on his belly that twisted and churned horribly from hearing her cry. He couldn’t take it and went to the door.

“Reisha stop! I’m sorry, please listen to me!”

“Huu-... Hic* T-then why? Why do you refuse to open the door??” The young princess complained, sniffling.

“It’s locked. I’m locked in here. I can’t open it. And even if I can, there is a barrier that stops me from going out.” Lazarus sighed. It’s not like he wanted to be here in the first place.

“Why are you locked in there? Who did this?”

“It’s because I’m sick-... I-..,”

Lazarus looked down, after thinking about it for a month, he knew that he truly had the disease. Why else would Lara suddenly become manaless? Why else would he get locked up so abruptly? Why else would Emilia refuse to see him? It’s the disease he undoubtedly had. He was convinced of it.

“If you get too close to me, you will lose your ability to use magic. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”

There was a brief silence and Lazarus could imagine Reisha looking shocked.

“... Are you telling me the truth?”

“Yes. I am.”

Silence.

Lazarus smiled sarcastically and sat back down on the bed. The jig was up…Now Reisha knows…

There was no point in standing since Reisha was going to leave sooner or later. Just like how Lara left. No one was willing to lose their magic, no one. Not even his mother.

*Click* *click*

“R-reisha, what’re you doing!?”

“I wanna see you!”

“Stop being so stubborn! Didn’t you listen? If you get too close you won’t be able to use magic anymore.”

“I don’t care!!” Shouted Reisha, making Lazarus’ eyes widened from surprise at her words. Impossible. No way would anyone risk losing their mana. Even his own mother thought her magic was more important so why would Reisha think otherwise? It was just impossible. Perhaps he misheard her.

“I don’t care…”

“You can lose your magic, why can’t you understand?”

“It is big brother who cannot understand!” Reisha said, stomping a foot and surprising Lazarus. “I’ve waited for years-... For years I was alone. I’ve wanted to see you for so long and yet now you’re telling me I can’t?! T-this is unfair! It’s unfair…”

Lazarus just stared at the door. His chest felt a sort of warmth that permeated and seeped through his bruised heart and it surprised him. How badly had he wanted to hear those words from Emilia. For his mother to just show up, just to see him despite the risks.

“Reisha…” He muttered ever so softly, that she probably couldn’t hear. Was she truly willing to see him? He couldn’t bring himself to believe it, and yet…

His doubts were immediately cleared-up by the soft sobbing noises from behind the door.

He smiled.

“Reisha, I can’t open the door even if I wanted to…”

“How long have you been here? Mom said there were healers trying to help you and yet, where are they? Why is no one helping you?” Reisha asked, the worried tone clear in her voice. And despite wanting to give an answer, Lazarus couldn’t. There were no healers healing him and no one was helping him besides Falon. But perhaps his mother told Reisha that to protect her.

Yeah… Mother must’ve done that to protect Reisha. Lazarus understood so he didn’t want to tell Reisha that Emilia had lied to her.

Lazarus approached the door so he could better talk to Reisha and said, “You should go back, they might be looking for you.” as he placed a hand on the door. Just meeting her has made him feel he could face tomorrow—to know that someone still knew he existed and cared. It was enough.

“Big brother…” Muttered Reisha. She realized he was indeed right and it wouldn’t be long before they’d start looking for her. And yet, “I don’t wanna…” she said softly.

For a moment, no words were exchanged between them.

It was Reisha who broke the silence first.

“Is there a window there?”

“Yeah,” Lazarus looked to the window before glancing back to the door, “Why do you ask?”

“I’ll be right back!” Reisha said excitedly, then Lazarus heard the rapid sounds of heels clacking on the stone floor and he realized Reisha was leaving.

This should be fine… at least this way, she won’t get infected. But why? Why did Lazarus feel like something bad was about to happen?

Just a few minutes later, as he was lying on his bed, he heard something.

Lazarus looked around and he could’ve sworn he heard a voice-... but it was faint. Maybe it was his imagination?

He lied down once more, only to scowl when he felt a cold chill on his skin, asking himself if he forgot to close the window.

When he turned his gaze to the window to confirm his thoughts, what he saw, instead, made his eyes grow wider.

Indeed it was open. But there was a misty air that hovered around the window like a smoke screen. It was starting to fade.

“What the-..”

The misty air finally cleared up but this only made him even more confused when he saw something that wasn’t supposed to be there. He stood up and approached the window to get a better view.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the something he saw, was in fact an two meter tall ice blue stairway connected to the window from the ground.

Then he heard heels clacking on the ice rapidly, a figure emerged and jumped down from the window.

A young girl with lustrous black hair and gentle green eyes in a blue one piece dress.

Lazarus jumped from his bed and stared at the window in horror.

“R-Reisha!?”

Reisha’s eyes glistened, she looked relieved but at the same time, she was about to cry, “Finally-... Finally.. I’ve found you!” Then she lunged at him.

Lazarus took a step back but was unable to get out of the way.

“I’ve missed you so much!”

“How did…?”

Reisha said nothing and just held Lazarus tight, her embrace got tighter and tighter as her shoulder trembled. Lazarus was unable to move.

The warmth from her embrace shocked him. He had gotten used to Emilia always hugging him and suddenly she just stopped, it has been a very long time and Lazarus could barely remember what it felt like even though it’s been only a month. And yet, now, Reisha’s warmth as she desperately held him as if he was going to disappear made him feel a ball on his throat.

He hugged her back and she snuggled to him.

“Reisha, why can’t you listen?” Lazarus scolded softly, yet despite that, his tone was soft and he was happy. Reisha finally loosened her arms, enough to keep him there but give her enough space to look at him.

She didn’t answer him and instead looked worriedly at him as she asked,

“Why didn’t you say anything when you left? Why did you suddenly leave?”

Lazarus patted her head and signaled to the bed. “Let’s sit there.”

“Okay..”

Reisha obliged but kept her hand on Lazarus’ shirt as if to prevent him from running away. Lazarus did look strangely at her and wanted to say she didn’t need to do that, but the anxious look she gave him made him shut his mouth. Not like he would run anyway as he was happy to see her and couldn’t run anywhere else honestly.

After sitting themselves on the bed, Lazarus glanced at Reisha who was still giving him an anxious look and kept pinching the hem of his shirt. Her hands were trembling a bit, he noticed.

Lazarus thought he really needed to explain to her how this all happened. Perhaps it might ease her worries.

“It just suddenly happened… Falon entered my room and told me-”

He told her how he was just suddenly dragged into this room and locked in here with a barrier on the door. This seemed to anger Reisha as her brows creased to a frown while listening to him. Reisha mentioned how when she’d try to sense him inside with her mana, she felt a wall of mana on the door so she was sure that it was there like Lazarus told her. But this point made Lazarus curious, he asked,

“Wait, you can sense me? But I have no mana…”

“That is why. I can feel mana everywhere, but there was an empty space where it felt like there was nothing there. It’s how I know you were here! It’s a skill that mom taught me just a few days ago!”

Lazarus just stared at her with widened eyes. He now realized after all this time, that was exactly how Emilia would find him when they played hide and seek.

“But that’s not important.” Said Reisha, urging him to continue with the explanation.

And so he did.

Lazarus recounted the events of Lara losing her mana and Reisha just listened quietly and then her expression shifted from anger to sorrow when he told her that ultimately, Lara decided to leave.

Lazarus had tried to explain it more like stating facts but he never mentioned how it hurt him badly. It seemed that just listening to him talk made Reisha feel down.

She was hurt in his stead. At that point, Lazarus already explained everything to her.

Reisha was now just looking on the floor with a sad look.

“So that’s why I told you, you can’t be here. Maybe you might get sick tomorrow…” Lazarus looked away and scratched the back of his head. Now that he had time to calm down, he realized this was bad. If Reisha, the crown princess, gets infected, who knows what kind of hell would happen? No doubt Veyron would slap him across the room or maybe even worse, skin him alive.

“I don’t want that…”

“Reisha, please, be reasonable.” Lazarus pleaded. Right now, he truly wanted to protect her and not just use it as a reason to push her away. He was hoping she’d understand but Reisha vehemently shook her head.

“No! I want to be able to see you…”

“Do you want to lose your magic?” Lazarus said threateningly, he didn’t want to. But he had no choice. He had to scare her if that’s what it took. She might even be infected right now for all he knows!

Reisha stood up, faced Lazarus who’s eyes widened, she stomped forward with both fists clenched, she took a deep breath and shouted, “I’d rather lose my mana than never be able to see my big brother again!!”

“But-!”

“No! No! I won’t listen, no!!”

Lazarus frowned. He was happy to hear that. But at the same time the fear of infecting Reisha felt numbing and it paralyzed him.

Maybe if…

“Reisha…” Lazarus pleaded, “I beg of you…”

“No.” Reisha crossed her arms and looked away with a ‘Hmph!’

This stubborn girl.

The two continued to argue for a bit but eventually tired out. None would give an inch.

Oh no.

Lazarus looked outside, he wasn’t sure what time it was but it had to be late already.

“Reisha, you need to go back.”

Reisha furrowed her brows defiantly, “Are you still-”

“No! It’s just that, it’s getting late. They might come looking!”

Reisha’s eyes widened. “Oh no!” she looked around and looked to Lazarus, “W-what should we do?”

“You need to get back. Okay?”

“O-okay..” Reisha agreed and jumped to the window as she was about to leave, she looked back to Lazarus who asked,

“Did you forget something?”

“No-... But I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“What? No!”

“I’m coming no matter what!”

Lazarus sagged his shoulders and sighed,

“Fine.. just get going.”

Reisha smiled. Glad she got his approval, albeit a little forced but she was happy. “Bye bye big brother! See you tomorrow!”

And with that, Reisha went down the ice stairway she made. And when she reached the ground, she made sure to look back and give Lazarus one more wave goodbye and he too waved back to her before she ran and turned to a corner.

Honestly… Why was she so stubborn?

Lazarus was quite annoyed, but when he looked in the mirror beside the bedroom, he was shocked to see, he was smiling like an idiot.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------

The very next day, when Lazarus woke up, he opened the window and the minty breeze of the early morning blew in, giving him a cool and fresh feeling. The grass seems greener, the chirping of the birds seemed melodic.

He smiled.

Lazarus couldn’t help but grin whenever he remembers last night and how Reisha stubbornly searched for him. He still mattered to someone. At least to his clingy and stubborn little sister.

If only-... If only his mother-

There was a knock on the door and he turned to look and thought -’Oh right..’-

Falon wheeled in for breakfast as usual, but this time was different. He looked at Lazarus and said,

“I have a letter for you from Lady Emilia.”

Lazarus felt butterflies in his stomach as he ran up to Falon and took the envelope.

Finally!

Finally!!

He tried to open it but realized his hands were shaking so much. He felt the ball in his throat as he tore the upper part open.

Inside, was a piece of paper with a handwriting that undoubtedly belonged to his beloved mother.

[‘

Lazarus my dear child, I had agonized for days on end on how we can possibly communicate, and when I received a letter from the Azure Kingdom, I realized we could do it this way too! What do you think? I’ve missed you so much, my heart aches everyday at the thought of you being alone. Please know that mommy—that I love you so very much and miss you that it pains me everyday. But with this, we can finally talk…Have you been eating well? Falon says you have, but I want to hear it from you. How are you?

Love Mommy,

’]

The words he wanted to hear…To know that Emilia still cared for him…

Lazarus’ stomach churned and twisted painfully. He could feel something overflowing from his throat and-

*Hic-..Uhh..Mommy!* He hugged the letter with all of his might. He had stopped hoping but meeting Reisha last night made him realize he missed them.. And just today he got a letter from his mother-... How blessed could he get?

Lazarus cried for a good while and after calming down, he began to write back and after finishing, he gave it to Falon.

When Lazarus began eating, his eyes widened. The taste of salt and egg yellow on his meat was vibrant and juicy. It was far better compared to the tasteless food of yesterday.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Reisha once again sneaked inside his room. At first, Lazarus told her she couldn’t come as he was still afraid she’d get infected. But Reisha continued to push through and made the ice stairway once more, Lazarus closed the window but Reisha threatened to blast it open with a fireball and he ended up hurriedly opening the window.

He scowled when he saw that Reisha already had a ball of flame on one hand. The young princess only looked away and made her spell disappear and continued inside.

“Were you really going to blast it open?”

“N-no…”

“Really? So can I close the window tomorrow?” Lazarus challenged, only to be met with a defiant glare from Reisha. He sighed, no way she wasn’t serious. He could tell she really would have done it.

“Uhmm big brother?”

“Yeah..?”

“Here!” Reisha gave him a cupcake that she hid in her pocket. It was encased in a blue film of light, making Lazarus eyes widen and he inspected it for a while, looking at it from every corner asking,

“What’s this light?”

“It’s a mana shield so it won’t get dirty!”

Magic sure was convenient, Lazarus thought.

Reisha dispelled the mana shield and Lazarus took a bite. It was sweet and it permeated throughout his mouth like a syrup and the sweetness felt like it would melt his cheeks. He loved it.

After gobbling it up, he noticed that Reisha was looking at him, with an anxious look,.

“Did you like it? I thought you’d like it since I loved it too…”

Honestly…

“Yeah, thanks a lot Reisha. I loved it.”

Hearing his words of gratitude, Reisha beamed him a smile. “Really!? I’m glad!”

To see her be happy from giving him something was strange… If only she wouldn't get infected so he could continue to meet with her…

“Wait-... how are you feeling?” Lazarus asked, Reisha seemingly misunderstood and said,

“I’m happy that you like it!”

“No, I mean, how does your body feel? Don’t you feel sick?”

“Oh-.. uhmm no, I feel fine.” Reisha said as she patted herself all around.

“Thank god… But Reisha-”

She puffed her cheeks and put both of her hands in her hips as she leaned forward, daring him to finish his sentence. Lazarus just looked away. It wasn’t threatening to say the least but instead, she just looked cute, the problem was what she might do.

At this point, he could do nothing and simply hope she’d never get infected.

He wanted to make her happy while she was here so-..

“How about I tell you what happens next when the baker is about to get forced into a political marriage?”

“Really!?” Reisha’s eyes seemed to sparkle as she leaned in on him, making Lazarus lean back, smiling ruefully.

“Yeah, I think that’s where we left off with the story.”

“Yes! But wait-... what about Suzi? The girl is adventuring with.. She deserves him more than that haughty princess!”

“Hmm… Well-”

Lazarus began telling her the story he had once forgotten. And just as usual he just made things up as he went.

As he told the story, sometimes Reisha would make several expressions, sometimes she was mad, sometimes she was sad and sometimes she laughed.

Every single one of her expressions was etched in Lazarus’ heart and seeing her happy made him feel like everything was going to be alright.. She would always be here.

It got late and as usual, Reisha left but this time, before she went back, she hugged Lazarus who was surprised at first, but hugged her back too.

“Big brother I love you!” Reisha said as she snuggled to him.

A warmth permeated through Lazarus as he held Reisha a little tighter and said, “Me too.”

When Reisha finally left, Lazarus could only watch her back as he felt he had been saved by her smile alone.

If only-... if only she won’t get infected…

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The very next day, he again received a heartfelt letter from Emilia. This time Lazarus wrote about different things but kept his interaction with Reisha a secret. And when Reisha came, she was smiling once again,

“Hey! How about this time we play outside?”

“Wha-? N-no.. I can’t.”

“Don’t worry-.. Cmon!” Reisha pulled on his arm and Lazarus resisted for a bit. But when he saw Reisha make a sad look, he gave up and went with her down on the ice stairway. It was slippery but Reisha did something to him so that the slipperiness went away and it was as if he was just standing on stone.

The moment he stepped on the grass, and heard it crunch, his eyes widened.

How long has it been since he felt the grass beneath his feet? Although he was wearing shoes, he still could feel the difference. He looked around, it was a bit dark and he could barely make out the things around him from the dim light provided by the light from his room.

But the cold air, the scent of baked apples was all too overwhelming for him. He looked at Reisha who was also looking at him as he said,

“Thank you, Reisha… Thank you so much. I’ve nearly forgotten how the outside felt…”

When he said that, Lazarus immediately regretted it as Reisha made a pained look as she muttered softly, “Big brother…”

“I-in any case, this is nice but I’d like to get back to the room.”

“Why..?”

“Uhmm… being outside feels like I’m doing something bad-.. And-” Lazarus looked around, it felt like at any moment he might get caught. “I might get caught”

“Don’t worry!” Reisha said happily, “Everyone is busy around this time!”

“Still, I’d like to get back for now… But-” He then reached for Reisha’s head. “Thank you so much, this means a lot to me…So let’s go back inside, okay?”

“Okay!” Reisha nodded happily.

In return, Lazarus modified the story of the baker. Instead of having him forced to marry a princess, the baker managed to run away and met with the girl Reisha wanted him to end up with. Upon hearing that, Reisha ended up crying so much from happiness.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Months went by, and Reisha sometimes wouldn’t visit him but those days were very few as it was sometimes due to her being caught sneaking out and she made sure to be even more sneaky about it. Other times, Emilia would want to sleep with Reisha and Reisha happily obliged.

Lazarus was fine with it and was happy to hear how Reisha would gush about it. Other times she came in and was grumbling how hard the magic training was and Lazarus would just comfort her with new stories he came up with, or play with her or just let her vent.

Of course as a child, he didn’t care much about it but when he had nothing to do, everyday of Reisha’s story was like an adventure to him.

The letters he exchanged with Emilia always reassured him that she still loved him. And it was enough for Lazarus. It made him happy knowing that Emilia kept her promise.

The promise she once told him before, that ‘She’d always be here for him’.

Since nothing happened to Reisha, Lazarus stopped worrying about his disease infecting her, thinking a genius might never get infected.

A year had passed and when Reisha went inside as per usual, Lazarus raised a brow when he noticed she was fidgeting, glancing back and forth between him and the floor.

“Reisha, is something wrong?”

“It’s going to be my birthday soon…”

“R-really? That’s great! You’re turning six soon, right?”

Reisha nodded sheepishly and was staring at Lazarus with upturned eyes, prompting him to ask, “Is something wrong? You don’t seem to be happy.”

“I-.. uhmm, I wanted you to be there.”

Lazarus' eyes widened. “N-no I can’t. You know why.”

“But… Everyday, when I was in Elerun I always dreamed that I could have a big party with my big brother and mommy beside me. Please…” Reisha pleaded and held the him of his shirt.

Lazarus always gave in to Reisha. He always wanted to make her happy, and he could tell that being with him made her very happy too. But-..

“I can’t…”

Lazarus knew everyone still saw him as being an infectious manaless child. He didn’t want to ruin her party if he could help it. Not to mention what the consequences would be if he went.

Upon hearing his answer Reisha just looked down and said, “In that case, I don’t want a party…”

“No! You can’t. Just because I’m not there doesn’t mean you can’t have one!”

“I don’t want a party without my big brother in it…”

“Reisha…”

Lazarus clenched his fist. No way was he going to let this happen. He wanted Reisha to enjoy her birthday. But how? How could she convince her? He racked his brains for an answer as Reisha just stared at him with upturned eyes, hoping he would give in.

“Ah,” Lazarus said and smiled, “How about I celebrate your birthday here in advance!”

Reisha pursed her lips, seemingly unconvinced but Lazarus continued his explanation.

“That way you’ll be able to celebrate it with me and the others?”

“It’s not the same.” Reisha said as she hugged her knees while keeping her upturned eyes to Lazarus.

What now? Reisha didn’t seem to like the compromise. Lazarus just sat down beside her and sighed.

“Reisha, it’s the best I can do. I really wanted to be there. But I can’t… So please make do with this,” He looked at her and patted her head. “Alright?”

Reisha turned her gaze away and just silently stared at the floor. After a while, she looked back to Lazarus and said, “Okay…If I have to. But, will you please come next year? I’ll try to convince Mom and Dad.”

“If they allow it.” Replied Lazarus, but of course, deep down he knew he would never be allowed to.

The rest of the time was spent on Lazarus trying to console Reisha. Of course, he did follow through with his promise several days before Reisha’s actual birthday.

He gave her more parts in the new stories than he usually did and he even sang her a happy birthday song. Reisha seemed to enjoy it, but when it already got late, her mood plummeted once more.

Reisha tried to convince him once more, but of course, Lazarus refused.

Time came when it was Lazarus’ birthday and he received another letter from Emilia coupled with tons of different food. He had wanted her to be there to celebrate it with him, but Reisha brought in different sweets and celebrated it with him. That was enough for Lazarus but still-

He yearned for the day when he would once again meet with Emilia.

The entire year it was the usual, Lazarus spending some time reading, eating and sometimes gazing outside the window but when night came, Reisha would come to hear his story and play. Other times, they would go out and venture into the night, it was exciting, especially the part where they had to hide around so that they didn’t get caught.

And again, when Reisha’s birthday came, the two had the same argument last year. The problem now was that instead of moping around, Reisha ended up crying, saying ‘But you promised me last year!’

It ended with Lazarus just trying to calm her down. The following days Reisha didn’t come, but a week later she came again and was all smiles.

Lazarus decided to ask,

“Why do you look so happy?”

Reisha’s smile grew wider. “I’ve convinced them to let you join my party this year!”

Impossible. They would never agree to it.

“Really?”

“Yes, Really! I just have to win a magic tournament!”

“Thats-...” Lazarus thought that was too hard, after all, adults would join too. Reisha had no chance. But then again, he hasn’t seen her progress so he wasn’t sure, but he felt like adults would easily overpower Reisha.

When Reisha left that night, she didn’t return for a couple of days.

And when she finally did, she smiled happily and made a peace sign as she sat on Lazarus’ bed.

“I won!”

“W-what!?”

This was the problem of being stuck in this god forsaken place. He wanted to see Reisha battle in the magic tournament but couldn’t. But wait-.. Couldn’t he?

“Tell me about it!” Lazarus demanded and Reisha happily nodded.

She recounted the events, most of it was against other children the age of 10 and above. Reisha said she even fought Anastasia and Clovis and won.

Apparently, it was restricted to people to the age of 16 and the youngest competitor was Reisha. Her final opponent was the oldest.

“It was Trishia Valestine, the daughter of Cornelia Valestine!” Reisha said as she was now standing up on the bed and was gesturing her fights. She told Lazarus how intense the fight was but ultimately she won when she used a trick Emilia had taught her. It was close and the crowd was roaring, but Reisha also noted how fierce Count Valestine looked when his daughter was defeated.

Reisha thought he was mad his daughter got hurt and went to apologize, but instead the man just left and didn’t speak a word to her.

It didn’t matter though, as Reisha only had one reason why she fought in the tournament. She hugged Lazarus who was a bit surprised and said,

“I’ve won… so with this.. You can finally join me on my 7th birthday, big brother!”

“Y-yeah.. Maybe…” Lazarus said, hugging her back.

Reisha’s shoulder seemed to tremble as she tightened her embrace and sobbed softly. “Finally… You’ll be there…” tears flowed down from her cheeks.

Lazarus felt like it wouldn’t happen since he knew Veyron probably only made that promise thinking Reisha would lose. The very next day when Reisha came in, seething, he realized he was right.

He had expected this and was already planning on how to console her. The day before he already asked Falon to make some sweets for him and when Falon came wheeling in, he had already set aside the sweets and saved it for Reisha.

However, no matter how much he tried to console, her mood never improved.

“You’re not sick, I know for a fact!” Reisha clenched her fist, tears still streaming from her cheeks.

“We don’t know that.” Lazarus said softly.

“No! I’ve been with you for several years now and nothing has happened! You’re not sick!”

“Maybe you’re just unaffected.”

Reisha didn’t seem to be convinced and just lowered her gaze.

“B-but I’ve tried so hard… I hate magic battles…” Reisha said as her shoulders trembled and the tears kept coming down from her cheeks. Lazarus could only patt her back. As she continued, “I hate hurting people with my magic! I hate it all!!”

“You shouldn't have fought there..”

“I had to! I wanted you to be there above all and yet..! *hic* Now-... They lied to me!” Reisha looked away and clutched the bedsheet. “Even mother looked away when I asked…when I pleaded with her! This is unfair! You’re not even sick!”

She cried for a good while and even after calming down a bit, Reisha still seemed to be frustrated.

Lazarus could only look at her. That’s when Reisha stopped to look at the table. She was staring at his cup for some reason.

“Maybe-...” Reisha muttered something under her breath and blue runes showed up on her feet.

“Reisha?”

Reisha took Lazarus' cup where he drank from and immediately stood up and went behind the table, Lazarus upon realizing what was happening hurriedly stood up and shouted, “Don’t!”

“You’re not sick and I’m going to prove it!” Reisha immediately drank from his cup despite Lazarus lunging at her and trying to take the cup from her, she easily evaded him and hopped around and downed it all.

Lazarus could only stare with widened eyes. “What have you done…”

—--------------