'I can't believe it.'

They were back at the apothecary. Harry was in her room, sleeping from exhaustion. She couldn't sleep at all. The image of the burning orphanage constantly replayed on her head.

'Why, just why?'

She plopped down beside the sleeping child. His eyebrows were furrowed in pain. "Nngh. No... no..." mumbled Harry.

She softly brushed his back, like she did when her sister was crying. His face relaxed. She was about to pull away, but he suddenly tugged at her hands. She tried prying his hands off hers. "Don't leave me... Please..." Her heart broke at the child's dream-induced murmurs. She lied down beside him to bring comfort to the child.

---

'Ugh, my head is throbbing.'

Her hands went to touch her temples. Well, she tried to, but a heavy weight enveloping her hands prevented her from doing so.

'Huh?'

She tried pulling once more, but it wouldn't budge. The thing was also warm. Unbearably warm. A trickle of wind and something wet grazed her skin. 'Huh? What is happening?' She opened her eyes.

The light from the sun came rushing all at once, causing her to hiss in pain and close them once more. After several minutes of adjusting to the brightness, her eyes landed on Harry's sleeping figure.

Everything came crashing, punching through her sleep-induced confusion. Memories rushed in her brain at insane speeds. 'The orphanage...' Her eyes landed on the blissfully resting child clutching her hand like a teddy bear. His koala-like grip didn't leave any room for movement. She gave up and resigned her fate.

Moments later, the child loosened his grip and turned. 'I'm finally free.'

She went outside the bedroom and prepared some breakfast. The sensation of warm milk sliding down her throat made her feel elated. She sighed deeply, lost in her thoughts.

---

"Sarah! Sarah!" A silver-haired woman, Lumi, barged into the apothecary. Her head swerved frantically as she sought Sarah's presence. Vera barely let out a squawk before Lumi descended unto her.

"Sarah! Are you fine?" Lumi held her at arms' length. Her eyes scanned Vera's whole body. Vera felt goosebumps, and pulled herself away.

"What are you doing!?" Lumi's darkened eyes made her feel the creeps crawl on her spine.

"Checking you!" Lumi went on hovering over her, looking for injuries.

"This is ridiculous!" exclaimed Vera as Lumi examined every little detail. Seeing no injuries, she let out a breath of relief.

"I'm glad you're fine! I was so worried when I heard about the fire!"

"I told you, I'm f---"

Rhys barged into the apothecary, panting from exhaustion.

"Lumi, h-honey! Hah, hah, why did you le-leave me like that?"

"I was just worried!"

"But honey---"

"Shhh," cut Lumi. "We're here for Sarah, aren't we?"

Rhys let out an exasperated groan. He focused his eyes on the confused Vera. "By the way, Sarah, are yo really fine? We can postpone the potion---"

"I really am fine," said Vera in a voice that left no room for arguments. "As Lumi may have noticed from her thorough inspection, I am still here, alive, breathing, and uninjured."

The couple had decency to look sheepish and embarrassed. Both of them just sent her a grin. A sigh escaped her lips.

"Regarding the potion, have you got all the ingredients?"

"Wait! Are we talking about---"

Rhys ignored his wife and became serious. "Yes. I managed to procure all of the ingredients from the royal storage, aside from that."

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" protested Lumi. "If we're talking about the Forbidden Fruit, I did not agree with it!"

"I thought you convinced her already?"

"She changed her mind once again, but we're pushing through whenever you're ready."

"Actually," she considered her options. She didn't have enough time to hesitate, but the mere thought of killing a child made her queasy. However, she's here because of a mission. A mission she'd rather not fail. It required her to steel her heart, to shed her humanity away.

So she did.

"I'd like to show you something. Follow me."

They shared a questioning look with each other, but they still followed her lead. Lumi gasped as she saw the child on her bed.

"Is this..." uttered Rhys.

"Yes," answered Vera. The three remained silent and watched the child slumber in peace. He was blissfully unaware of the fate that waited for him.

---

"I can't believe you really want to push through with this!"

"I can't lose you, Lumi."

"But a child!?"

"But it's the fourth day already! We only have three more days. I can sacrifice anything, Lumi, if it was for your or my loved ones' sake. You know that."

"But still---"

"It also is a part of becoming an emperor, Lumi. I must be prepared. I'll make sacrifices as big as this, or even worse." Rhys reached out for her hands and looked deep within her amethyst eyes. "And when the time comes, I hope you'll be with me, and prevent me from losing my humanity."

"Rhys..."

Vera just ignored them and focused on preparing for the ritual. 'I must be done before the sun sets. It would be the ideal time to do the ritual.'

Her thoughts drifted back to the slumbering child. 'I just hope I'm doing the right thing.'

Vera dropped the last ingredient for the preparation, and put it in a bottle. 'I need all of my courage for tonight.'

The child woke up with a groan.

'Tonight will be the end. That, I promise.'

---

The child stared outside the window, melancholy evident in his eyes. He stared at Vera, looking deep within her soul.

"The orphanage... It burned, right?"

Vera's silence confirmed his speculations. She ignored his inquiries.

"I've brought some food, Harrison. Come with me and pick whatever you'd like."

The child only picked one, but that was enough for Vera's plans.

'I'm sorry,' thought Vera as she watched the child's eyes droop. 'I wish it doesn't need to end like this.' Seconds later, the child succumbed to Morpheus' calls.

Tears burst forth, trickling down her face. She went closer to the child, tears dripping one by one on his arms. Her legs trembled as it struggled to support her weight. 'I'm sorry.'

---

The night came too fast for Vera's tastes. The cold breeze swept through the meadow, rustling the leaves around. The clouds above parted, revealing thousands of diamonds twinkling beside the waxing moon.

A steady hand pressed over her shoulder. "Sarah---"

Her heart jumped in fright. Her hands travelled over her quivering heart. "Rhys!"

"Calm down. Don't pressure yourself." His eyes had a concerned looked. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Don't feel obligated to do this, Sarah. We don't want---"

"I want to do this, not out of obligation, but because you're my friends..." 'and the ones whom I have to grant a wish.'

"Sarah..."

"Let's begin."

---

Put 5 drops of vampire lily essence on the cauldron. Stir it 5 times in a clockwise direction. The liquid should turn to crimson.

The contents of a tube that contained maroon liquid was emptied into the black cauldron. Vera stirred the cauldron's contents 5 times, just as indicated in the instructions. The liquid inside turned crimson. She looked over at the book once more.

Put the a pint of ruby shirew blood. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.

She followed it once more. As she waited for the potion to simmer, she drank some water. The coldness of the water quelled some of her thirst. Lumi and Rhys paced behind her.

"Lumi, Rhys," called Vera. The couple turned to look at her. "Bring the child here." Rhys nodded.

'Now, for the most difficult part,' thought Vera as she glanced once more at the opened Olde Noire Family Magycks by Aren Brooke.

Cut out the heart of the living unwanted child with a silver knife. Drop it in the cauldron...

She averted her eyes from the book. 'Curse this book, curse you Aren Brooke. How did you even discover this... abomination?'

Rhys returned, a sleeping child on his hands. He placed him on the rock near Vera, carefully as to not jostle him in his sleep. The child remained asleep.

Vera nodded at him. Rhys put an arm over Lumi and dragged her away. Lumi tried to complain, but upon seeing Vera's disheveled appearance, she just obeyed.

The innocent child, oblivious to what was about to happen to him, was laid before her. A glint of the moonlight shone from her silver knife. She felt her heart beat in distress once, twice, thrice, until she couldn't count it anymore. Her tears, glinting, shining, trickled down her chin as she gripped the knife even tighter that her knuckles went white. She stood strong even if her hands, her knees, her whole soul was trembling about what she was about to do. 'This feels wrong. This is wrong.'

Her hands reached below her eyes to wipe her tears away. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down. She gently moved the child's warm body to let it lie on his back. The knife's tip was above the child's heart.

Cut out the unwanted child's heart.

'Here goes nothing,' her eyes went over the child's face, peaceful and calm. 'I'm sorry.' She closed her eyes once more to remind herself that this was for her, for Rhys, for Lumi, for her sister---

"Big sister?" said the child groggily. She opened her eyes in shock and stared at the child's innocent, questioning, confused eyes.

"What---"

---

"---IS HAPPENING HERE?"

The child shivered as his father's slurred voice boomed across the cold, silent house. He clutched his knees even tighter, trying his best to conceal his hiccups. He bit his lips until it bled, praying, hoping, pleading to the stars above, to whomever was listening that the man, his father, does not find him.

"You worthless rag! Show yourself to me!"

A bottle cruised through the air and shattered. The child yelped as he has pulled by this father with his hair.

"Stop! Father! It hurts!" The tears that trickled down his face became a torrent now. His father's face only reddened in anger. He raised the child up to his eye level.

"How dare you talk to me like that!?" His sight turned blindingly white as his father's hands hit him forcefully across his face. A spatter of blood trickled down from his lips. His lips trembled in pain, in fear. "You useless, ungrateful swine! I wish you were the one who died, instead of your mother!"

Loud footsteps made the ground shake. His insides churned as he anticipated and braced for the upcoming hits, yet he felt none. He only saw his father's retreating figure, yet he did not feel relief. Pain was the only thing he knew. The cold floor became his friend, drenched in sweat, tears, and blood. His gaze landed on the skies above, peeking through the open window. His young, tender heart, did not understand. Why did his father treat him like this?

So he ran away.

Yet no matter where he settled, he did not belong. Everyone shunned him away. No one wanted him. Despite how many times his heart was broken, his heart, his poor, poor heart, remained stubborn. He watched the children play with their parents, and his heart sang in anguish.

'I wish I had a family that loved me unconditionally.'

---

"---are you doing?" Clueless, innocent, trusting eyes gazed upon her. The knife between her hands tumbled down onto the ground. One moment she was standing, poised to plunge the knife deep, then she was sitting on the ground, unable to do anything but recall what she learned. Her insides painfully churned and froze.

'I made a big mistake.' Her eyes stared listlessly on the ground. 'What should I do now? I almost killed a wisher, a child! What were you thinking?'

Despair and guilt clawed at her heart. She was lost. Numbness and sorrow were the only things she knew.

Then warmth seeped through her. She snapped back to reality, and felt the child embracing her. She almost recoiled, as if she was burnt by his presence. She only gazed up to the sky with a plea in her heart.

'Please,' she almost choked as she swallowed a sob. 'Tell me what I should do. I can't do this anymore.'

A blinding light filled her vision.