Nearly everyone sucked in a cold breath at Solomon's question.

Apart from Grace, Roland and the currently blank-minded Reina, everyone else was thinking what basically amounted to: Holy fucking shit!

Aries and Mephisto literally choked on their food, coughing wildly, while Fenris spit out the juice she'd just taken a drink of onto the white marble floor.

"I knew it!" Mercury exclaimed, jumping up out of her seat. "You two were fucking! Sonuvabitch, denying the great me yet sleeping with the pretty redhead...the injustice! Aaah....and the shame...." She sighed. "Oi, be honest, you been shagging the brunette on the sly too, haven't ya? Hey, Fenris, this is good. Wasn't as staunch as I thought, this guy, you got a real chance here....hm...but I wonder it it'd be okay for me to have a taste before then?"

Fenris was still too stunned by the great mage's words to retort, glancing between Roland, Reina and Morrigan like she couldn't quite understand what was going on.

As for Grace, she had a strange look in her eyes. "Daddy..." she murmured, voice trembling, " Ah, no...I can't blame daddy." She shook her head. "That's right...he met sister Reina before mommy and me...is that why I felt like she was similar to daddy? Because I had a little brother or sister growing in her tummy?" She wondered aloud.

She smiled wonderfully. " I'm so happy! This is great!" She looked very excited about all this. "I never had any siblings before..." She mused. Then, growing more solemn, "I have to be a good elder sister, yes...." She nodded to herself.

However her expression dimmed as she realized something.

"Oh, wait, what about mommy?" Grace grew anxious, grabbing Roland by his sleeve and and staring at him with her large, innocent eyes. "Daddy, you won't leave mommy, will you?" Again her face brightened, as if she just had an idea. "Or, no, I guess you'll just have to marry Reirei too then? No, step-mommy Reina?"

Roland got a cold sweat. "Step-mommy? Grace, don't be ridiculous, how can she be your step-mommy!"

She continued to stare up at him, making him even more uncomfortable.

"What do you mean? Daddy, you'll have to marry Reirei, won't you? You have to do right by Reirei, don't you? So once you're married, Reirei will become my step-mommy, won't she? Therefore I have to call her step-mommy." The little girl spoke very logically, stunning the room yet again. "I don't want you to leave mommy!" She became more passionate in an instant. "But I also don't want you to wrong Reirei and my half-sister or brother that's currently growing inside her tummy, so this is the only way isn't it!"

She tightened her grip. "Which means daddy's going to have to become married to both Reirei and mommy in order to make this all fine, right? If you don't then either mommy or Reirei will have to be cast aside, and I'd hate that!"

Grace had an aggreived look on her face. " Since the riceis already cooked, what else can we do?" She asked miserably. "Daddy, you have to recognize Reirei! She...she's going to be the mommy of my precious brother or sister, so, this is the only way to make everything right!"

Roland felt his head swim with every word.

Goddammit, what kind of situation was this! This is insane!

He glanced at Morrigan, seeking aid. But she only looked at Reina's stomach with a saddened face.

When he finally did catch her eye, she had the look of a woman who'd been greatly lied to. Appearing shocked, angered, sad and a little helpless.

Morrigan, at hearing her daugters words, was snapped out of her reverie. She approached Roland, her face cold.

"You told me..." She said quietly in his ear, "That there was nothing between you two. You told me that you felt nothing like that for her." She took a deep breath. "Did you lie to me?"

She trusted him. He assured her there were no feelings between them. She believed him. But now? She was unsure. Certainly, she felt that those two were attracted to each other.

The girl to him, if nothing else.

There was only one reason she didn't fly into a fury: Because that girl had been by his side before Morrigan herself had got here.

If they had an affair after that, she'd not blame him. She'd blame her. And Morrigan might have wanted to even kill her.

In fact, even now she was holding down her anger. But she knew she hadn't the right to be angry at either of them. They met each other first, after all.

That red-haired girl was currently in the prime of life, her body still developing to boot. And Roland was a vigorous man if ever there was one. A beautiful young woman in an age where emotions ran high, and a strong, handsome man living under the same roof...

There was always a high chance of them wanting to release their carnal desires upon each other. That was especially true when the man was as powerful as her husband. Women were attracted to strength, and he definitely exuded that with every casual movement.

So Morrigan understood well that she couldn't blame either of them for giving in to primal need.

But to have him lie to her like this...she didn't want to believe it.

Shy really didn't. She hated when people lied to her. And Solomon's words made doubt cloud her heart. So although she trusted her husband, she needed to hear it from his own mouth.

She'd believe whatever he said, because she wanted to...

With Morrigan standing so close, with Grace pulling on his sleeve, Roland was put in an awkward position.

"Lie to you? What reason would I even have to do so? I never touched her!" He said firmly.

"Oh now that's gotta be bullshit!" Mercury rolled her eyes at him. "I clearly saw you two eye-fucking each other the day we all boarded Apollo's ship. There was so much sexual tension there that I thought you'd tear each other's clothes off and start fornicating right there and then! If you two aren't fucking then do you dare say the girl just got knocked-up magically? Did the Heavens just suddenly decide to place a babe in her belly, hmm? The Virgin Mary 2.0?"

Lilith, not bothering to display any sort of tact, also said something just then, "Is it true?" She asked. "That day you and Reina went into the woods... You said it was just training, I think, but she was practically glowing back then. I wonder if this why? Did you and my sister really have that sort of relationship?"

She wasn't sure what to think about all this. Her sister had looked very trusting of him right from the get-go. And Lilith knew, objectively, that he was an attractive male....

Did Reina really get into some kind of affair with him that none of them knew about? But that was ridiculous! Reina nearly never left Lilith's side, unless it was that once, when would they have found the time to...to do those kinds of things?

Roland's face turned sour. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I was training her, nothing more. Or rather, I was giving her a gift."

He saw the sister raise her brows.

"Not like that!" He said irritably. "Do you think I'm some sort of beast? Besides, why would I even do something like that in the woods? Do you even understand how uncomfortable that can be?"

Mercury grinned once more. "So you have quite a bit of experience in that, do you? Good to know. But I don't think you'll have to worry, my Fenris here always enjoyed being in the wilderness. She'd not~ complain~ at~ all~ " The woman sang.

"Mother!" Fenris snapped. "Exactly what do you think you're implying there!"

"Implying? Nothing, though? Ugh, you're so stubborn. Mommy dearest is trying to get you laid, girl, and yet you don't appreciate my efforts! Most girls would love having a mother like me. I mean come on, look at him, do you even know how rare it is to find someone with that kinda sex appeal? It just like, oozes out you know? And he don't even have to do anything! He's like me in that way, actually..." She trailed off, looking thoughtful.

"...But moving on, really, are you dumb? Do you have some sort of weird sense of aesthetics? If so, you really don't know what's good! I mean here I am, holding myself back, just so my beautiful, loving daughter can have a wonderful experience with a man without having to worry about things like him comparing you to me. If you don't want him then fine, but at least give me the OK!" She coughed. " Ahem. Well, not that I'd really make a move on another woman's man." She gave a sneaky glance towards Morrigan, who was too busy focusing on her husband at the moment to care what was said. "But like, if fate brings us together one of these days, I at least don't want to feel guilty about it?"

Mercury thought it was reasonable. If they ever got into some kind of, shall we say, "situation" in the future... Then Mercury wouldn't really say no? Morrigan wouldn't have to know either, wasn't that so? It'd be a one-time thing, probably. It wouldn't be cheating...It'd be....what's the phrase..."accepting one's fate"?

Indeed. One couldn't fight fate, right!

But Mercury wouldn't want to do it with the guy if her daughter actually wanted him for herself. Cause then it'd make things weird. Mercury wouldn't mind too much, but her daughter would, right? Plus, what if the guy requested something outrageous later on due to it?!

Like having a mother-daughter sandwhich?

Hmm....Mercury actually thought that the words themselves were kinda a turn on. If she were a man, it'd definitely be something she'd aspire towards.

But when it applied to her, as a woman, doing something like that with her own daughter was just too weird!

No, even if he didn't request that, though, it's still be sort of weird. It would be similar to finding out you and your daughter had been using the same toothbrush? Or maybe "had been unknowingly using the same dildo" would be more accurate in this situation. Either way it just wasn't really a good feeling, eh?

Mercury wouldn't mind all that much, but Fenris would. In regards to sex, Mercury was pretty easy-going. It was just sex, right? Why care over much if you'd eaten from the same bowl someone else had?

It's just that Fenris was pretty territorial. So that would be another reason why it wouldn't work out. But if Fenris gave the OK, and fate decided to bring them together...Mercury wouldn't have any worries and just follow her body's desires~

Meanwhile Grace froze in response to what she was hearing. She'd long since began looking at Fenris with doubt.

Her heart was in disarray. "Is....Is sister Fenris... interested in daddy?" She didn't know if that was the case, but if it was true then she didn't know how she'd feel...

It was too late with Reirei, but sister Fenris... Even if it's her, would Grace be able to wish her well? But if even she became interested in daddy, and wanted to be with him, where would that leave mommy?!

Grace didn't know if she could support sister Fenris if she became like that! Daddy would already have to divide his attention between mommy and Reirei as it was!

Although Grace did believe in "the more the merrier", when it's applied to things like this wasn't everything just too complicated? Would that even work here? Daddy, she wanted to spend lots of time with him, but would she be able to if the situation turned out like what she thought it might?

She had to prioritize mommy's own happiness first right! Grace urging her daddy to recognize Reirei was already testing her limits. If sister Fenris was added into the mix, she didn't think she could do the same another time!

But what if daddy liked sister Fenris back? Grace didn't know if she had the right to try and get in the way of love, but... No, this was all too much. The potential implications of all this was simply too painful to think of...

Grace began a series of circular thinking that threatened to fry her brain. She held her head painfully.

Roland was surrounded by stares from several of the women in the room and they questioned him intently. Lilith and Morrigan being the worst offenders.

Everyone else, namely the men, had looks that said they'd not want to touch this with a ten foot pole. No support there, apparently.

He glared at Solomon, having finally gotten a chance to address him. "Explain yourself, Sol!. What do you mean, pregnant? Mine? Exactly how do you think that could happen!"

Solomon replied calmly, "I would assume that it'd involve a bit of oil, a sturdy bed and a lack of protection. But who knows what sort of kinky things you're into? Whips and chains could have been used, I suppose. Not that I'm judging. Even I had once--. "

Roland wasn't in the mood for games. "Me and Reina never had sex!" He ground out, cutting the man off mid-sentence.

"Well how do explain her having your blood inside her then?" He narrowed his eyes at Roland. "Don't take me for a fool, Ro, because I can even clearly sense a living being within her! One that has your aura all over it! I can sense her blood running through her along with it. You want me to explain? Why don't you?"

Roland didn't bother to explain about the blood part, it'd take to long. But the other?

"There's nothing to explain!" He insisted. "And bullshit!" Roland growled. "What living being? Reina! Come here!" He called out, holding in his anger as best he could..

Reina heard his voice, but it sounded so far away...

She was in a state of epic confusion, going numb.

The man's previous words had made her feel like she were struck with lightning, unable to form any coherent thought to even try to come up with a response.

"Reina?"

She whimpered. "But...but I don't want to be a mother..."

"Reina!"

"What?" She blinked, finally snapping out of her reverie.

"You're not pregnant." Roland assured her. " Just...come here and let me check you."

"O-okay..."

Reina obediently walked closer, nervous.

When she followed his command Roland then touched his hands to either sides of her head and closed his eyes.

After a few moments he became lost to everything else. Both he and Reina seemed to enter a state of complete obliviousness.

This lasted all of ten seconds before Mercury sniffed loudly. "Yo, there it is. Lust. Can ya smell it, Mor? That's grade-A arousal right there!" She nodded in satisaction.

The sad thing was, Morrigan could smell it. And she hated it. With them being so close, how couldn't she smell it? It was thick, heavy and permeated every inch of their bodies.

She wanted to kill her. Here, right now, every part of her being screamed at her to end the girl's life.

But she didn't.

Couldn't.

No, she could. But if she did, he'd be angry at her. If not for that, the girl would already have had the life drained from her eyes.

"I wonder how she was in the sack." Mercury went on shamelessly. "As I understand it there's a special appeal from corrupting a young, innocent girl like this little chick here and spilling hot smegma all over their previously pristine selves." She acknowledged with a nod. "But wouldn't one prefer a woman who knows what she's doing? I mean I should think he got a bit annoyed at having to teach her everything right? Or who knows, maybe the girl's the sensitive type. I hear those kind of women are fun to play with, so perhaps she was surprisingly goo-"

"Mercury, come with me. I wish to speak to you in private for a moment."

Morrigan calmly walked up to the woman and grabbed ahold of her hand with unparalled swiftness before dragging her away.

Everyone watched them for a moment but wisely chose to not intervene. Only Fenris was debating whether or not she should follow, but ultimately chose not to.

That mother of her's, she had to take responsibility for something at least once in her life. None of her parents bothered to do so in the past, it was high time that changed.

So Fenris turned a blind eye.

Whatever Morrigan would say had nothing to do with her.

***

Morrigan took the woman by the throat and pinned her roughly against the wall.

"You know, I've had just about enough of you, Mercury." She coldly announced. "I don't give a damn about what you say about others, but leave my husband out of it!"

Mercury, feeling her neck being crushed, teleported away.

In an instant the roles changed, with Morrigan having herself kicked into the hard stone by Mercury's foot.

Although her face bore no mark whatsoever, although Morrigan's face barely changed even after such violence was placed upon her, it was still a sorry sight.

"And you, Morrigan," Mercury began in a rasp, her voice slightly strained as she tenderly held her neck. "Had best not be saying any hurtful things to my Fenris."

Morrigan extracted herself from the indent her body had made, laughing scornfully. "And since when have you, Loki or any of her other so-called parents ever given a damn about the girl? After all this time you finally show some concern? Please. Don't you think it's a little late to be acting like a mother, Mercury? You were never one to her before, I fail to see why you think you have the right to start now."

And that was it. That was the thing with Morrigan. She understood exactly what to say to bring people pain. To scar them in ways that went past mere physical wounds.

She brought people to their knees with her tongue alone, and Mercury was little different.

The woman's eyes misted up, glaring at Morrigan hatefully. "You know very well that we couldn't...that we..." Words failed her, her throat closing up for an entirely different reason from before.

Morrigan gave a paper-thin smirk. "Oh, I know. You couldn't even go to see her when she was growing up, could you? But then...what about after she'd already left that place? Did any of you bother to go to her when it was needed? Did you make a move when she was living amongst beasts, probably cold and starving and yet unable to be given the peace of death? Or what about when most of the other deities called her a slut behind her back because of how loose you and your other selves were? Did you think your actions didn't affect her? Did any of you even know what she had done for the first thousand years after she got away from that hellish place?

"Since you've never shown any sign of caring for her in the past, don't dare to preach to me about hurting her." Morrigan spat. "Her parents had done enough of that without my help. And I doubt anything I could say would trump the damage your neglect had brought her. I doubt my words could compare to the pain of having had the misfortune to be born the daughter of such unloving parents...if you people can even be called that."

There was something unbearable harsh and unforgiving in those words. Something dark and twisted that made each sentence into a sword that mercilessly stabbed into Mercury's heart.

Because Mercury couldn't retort at all. Couldn't deny anything.

Mercury took a moment to take tight reign over the dark, heavy emotions that rolled about within her. Then, once she calmed down, a change occured. Whereas before she had shown pain and sadness, now there was only something akin to sympathy in her gaze. No, pity.

But it was fake, and only malice could be seen in the depths of her eyes. A desire to hurt, the worst way she knew how, the person before her.

Yet there were no sudden attacks. No wild displays of power.

No. She didn't do any of that. Because wounds like that would heal, as they always would. And Mercury didn't want to just wounds Morrigan. She wanted to break her.

And so, after a heavy silence, the storm began.

"You know, Morrigan, I feel sorry for you." She started, her voice soft. Kind, caring, like how a mother would speak to her child. "Because although you finally found someone that you love, although you found your happiness, eventually it'll all fall apart. Eventually he'll see you for what you really are. A mean, black-hearted woman that ruins everything she touches. And then he'll leave you. Not only him, but Grace too."

"...Don't..." Morrigan warned.

She didn't listen. "Someday the both of them will realize how much better off they are without you. That's what you fear will happen right?"

"Mercury..." Her eyes flashed dangerously.

Mercury paid the woman no mind. "That they'll abandon you, that he'll find someone else, someone better--kinder--than you."

"That's enough!" She snarled.

"That she'll call someone else her mother instead of you, love her more than you. But don't worry, my dear." The corner of Mercury's lips curled upwards in a faint, mocking smile. "Trust me when I say that they won't abandon you. No. You'll just drive them away."

Morrigan's pupils shrank, something in her mind snapping.

"Really, just so pitiful..."

Mercury's taunting laugh resounded throughout the hall.

An instant before a pillar of dark, deathly energies slammed into her, she'd disappeared.

Morrigan was left there, a complete mess, falling to the ground and hugging herself so hard that the nails bit into flesh.

The pure, unblemished white marble floors soon became stained with small drops of red.

Followed quickly by translucent tears.

**********

"So I see that you've met that child again."

In front of Roland, a great beast stood tall.

Large, powerful wings, steady eyes full of wisdom, a body that seemed to dominate the space around it with the regal aura of a king.

But, most of all, the familiarity and warmth those eyes displayed were what Roland noticed first. Like it was looking at a friend. A brother.

He felt guilty, for that gaze was lost on him.

The ancient Dragon spoke the words just now with a saddness he didn't understand.

"Yeah. I mean it isn't as if I could drive her away, her being the mother of my kid and all."

The Dragon beat his wings as if rousing himself from deep thought.

"...Hm. Yes, Morrigan. Her as well. Quite lucky, that one."

Roland felt something was weird with his phrasing, but ignored it.

"Lucky?" Roland smiled a touch bitterly. "I left her for little over a decade as a single mother and my daughter grew up fatherless until but days ago. I should think that luck isn't part of any of this, Blue."

The Dragon shook his head in disagreement. "Your other loved ones aside, Morrigan is one of the very few wives that you met once more in a different life from the one they originally got to know you in. Her's is a special case, because In all but this one they either never meet you again or you avoid them like a plague if they revealed themselves to you. In this regard Morrigan is quite lucky indeed, because she isn't like the others. For if she did not bear your child, would you have let her be by your side?"

"No." Roland couldn't say he would. As a father to her child he had an unbreakable bond with Morrigan, he couldn't turn her away. If Grace was mortal, maybe it would be easier to. But neither she nor her mother were, so keeping them at a distance wasn't much of an option.

Which made him think of something. "You mentioned other wives...I'm curious, exactly how many others did I have?"

Blue, as Roland had taken to call him, considered for a moment. " five that I know of. You don't usually marry, for obvious reasons. But as for the question you didn't ask...no, you hadn't had any children with them. I can't know of your life before you met me, but I doubt you had a child with any woman who was immortal. If you had an immortal wife and child before then it stands to reason they would not remain unknown. They'd have likely found you eventually and you would also just as likely have accepted them as much as you did the two outside.

"But up to now, in all the years I've been with you, none other than them stepped forward. You had met a wife or lover before, but either you didn't know who they were to you or you didn't let them be with you if you did. Not surprising. Other times they didn't even say anything and just became a casual affair. Without a child you had no reason to interact with them after the life you spent with them."

Which meant either there had never been a case like Morrigan's before or if there was then none of the people involved came to him like she had. If they did exist, it's not like Roland wouldn't understand their shyness.

As he always thought without his memories of them not many would be very happy to meet him. He knew Morrigan felt the pain of that, and even though she withstood it maybe she was just the exception to the rule. Maybe not many others were as strong as her.

Whatever the case, he decided to stop thinking about it. He was curious since Blue made it seem like a truly rare occurance, which apparently it was, but he wouldn't pry any more.

"...So you see, Morrigan is lucky." Blue returned to the original topic. "While some spend centuries looking for you, she only had to wait a few years." He suddenly had a far-away look in his eyes. "It's almost tragic that she has such good fortune. I wonder how frustrated that child would be if she knew about this. It'd make all her effort seem pointless, wouldn't it? Truly a sad thought to contemplate..."

Roland stayed quiet.

He rarely spoke to Blue, but he knew there were times where he just broke off into little tangents like this.

"So, why're you here?" Roland finally got around to asking the question he came here to find out.

"What?" The Dragon snapped back to reality. "Ah, yes... It's nothing important, really." He made his trademark fumu-like laughter. Dragons weren't like humanoids, after all. " I simply found the girl interesting and so sent a fragment of myself into her. This blood bond should not be as strong as it is, I wondered why she had such a high affinity with someone like yourself. What I found was rather surprising."

"Indeed? And what was it that you found?"

"Doesn't matter, that man will tell you in more detail soon enough.

Roland sighed. "And that's the only reason? Curiosity?"

Those deep eyes grew inquisitive. "Do you think I would have another?"

"Maybe. I doubt you'd tell me if you did though."

"Quite right."

"I suppose we're done, then."

"It appears so..."

"...I guess...I'll just take my leave. Good-bye, Blue." He paused. "It was nice speaking to you again."

The ancient being didn't respond.

**********

"Alright...just a few more...come on baby...mommy gots to collect what's owed her..."

Mercury, moving oh-so-slowly, with beads of sweat along her brow, had her tongue sticking out of her side as she carefully worked the buttons free.

Everyone else stood several feet away, not wanting to get close to the woman for fear whatever she had was contagious.

Mercury paid them no mind, however. Nope. She was entirely focused on the task at hand. Or rather, like 70% focused.

She couldn't resist a grope or two, and the hard chest that was beginning to show itself was a great, tantalizing temptation to a woman who rarely practiced restraint.

"Mercury...what do you think you're doing?"

She jumped up in fright, slipping and landing hard on her ass a moment later.

"&#^!!!" A glare. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Mercury accused angrily. "Ugh, whatever." She rose and gently patted her hurt rear, massaging it tenderly to help with the pain. "As compensation you can just kiss my foot and slowly make your way up until I say stop. A fair trade, no, for scaring a fair lady such as myself? Oh, right. And stay still for a sec, will ya? These damn things are a bitch to get undone. I enjoyed the challenge at first but it's really getting annoying now!"

She got back to her original place before he was able to react. It was an awkward position, with her hugging him from behind and messing with the unruly buttons on his shirt.

Roland turned away from Reina--who was entirely lost in a daze due to what he'd just done and unlikely to come out of the fugue state for a few minutes more--then extracted himself from her grip and flicked the woman on her chest.

The goddess was magnificently sent flying through the air.

She caught herself quickly, unfortunately. A pity, that.

He looked over and saw Grace sleeping peacefully on the floor.

"What did you do to my daughter?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, she tried to stop me from taking what rightfully belongs to me, so I put her to sleep for a bit. I assure you that no harming of any lolies, specifically that one, took place. Trust me fam, I was real gentle-like."

Roland supposed he should be mad, but he was more irritated than anything else. "I'm going to hit you."

This didn't seem to scare her."Do it. Hurt me daddy, make my bleed." Mercury grinned.

"Left cheek or right?"

"Dealer's choice."

"Very well."

Roland didn't hold back, directly sending out a hand to attack...which met only air.

Mercury teleported behind him. "Hey!" She yelled out, feeling wronged. "You were actually going to hit me!"

"I was. And?"

She spluttered, raising her voice."Well fuck, I don't mind if you like doing it rough but at least warn a girl before you start fisting her!"

Ignoring her ranting Roland went to go kneel beside Grace.

"Grace...Grace, wake up..." He gently called out to her and soon a pair of deep blue eyes, blurred from sleep, met his own.

Alarm quickly spread across her face and she jumped to her feet instantly.

"Daddy! Bad woman! Run!" She looked around vigilantly until she saw Mercury, then shouted, "You-you-you...you she-wolf!" Snarling, she charged.

Mercury shrugged off the girl's rage. "Actually that would be my daughter. I'm more of a cougar in this case?"

"Shut up! Bad woman! Die!" The girl charged at the woman in a show of blind fury.

Which forced Solomon to step in, erecting a golden barrier between them. "Yeah, sorry, but I don't feel like having my lab stained with blood. If you're going to tear into each other I suggest you do it outside. Otherwise one of you--Mercury--is getting turned into a toad. And I'm not the romantic type, so don't expect any handsome princes to come running along either."

"What? Me? Why me? She started it!" Mercury complained.

Solomon gave her a contemptuous sneer. "I'm sorry, would you like some cheese with that whine?"

"Hm. Depends, whaddya have?"

"Alright, enough. Honestly, thousands upon thousands of years of life experience and you still act like a child. Actually, you're worse than a child!" Roland cut in, shaking his head in disappointement.

"Thank you. I try." Mercury took that as a compliment.

Grace continued to glare, a small blue light slowly building on her fingertips.

"And you." Roland chided. "Don't sink to her level."

"But daddy, I'm--"

"More mature than her." Roland stated, believing it. "So you shouldn't be getting so worked up. Remember, she's just a kid."

This was a great blow to the goddess in question."You're a little kid. Hmph!" She muttered underneath her breath, becoming moody.

The little girl looked at him like he'd grown another head.

"But...but daddy." Grace began. " To you, she...she was...but she..." Words failed her. " Ugh!" She stomped her foot in sheer frustration. "That woman, she's just evil, okay! Evil! And evil women must be purged! Mommy said!"

Glancing around again, he noticed something.

"Speaking of, where is Morrigan?"