Camila John and Saoirse eat with much less ferocity; in the ghoulish, cold stone Dining room, which is only illuminated by the warmth of their banter and laughter, As the fire fades and the warmth with it. Camila asked a question, "John, why don't you joke with me like you did with William? "Well, Camila," John says, "I don't believe it's okay to speak to lasses like that." Hatred flickers of Camila's face " But murder is she bites."

Saoirse, intrigued, asked, "What are you guys referring to" with a tinge of concern on her face maintaining her graceful composure.

Camila tells her, "John murdered two girls when he was ten girls" Soairse asked "what did these girls do" John says, "They beat her up every day; one day they… took it too far."

"He made the monster they imagined me in… a reality," Camila says, her voice dryer than the cold stone walls they live in; as hollow as the wide corridors.

Saoirse chimes in, "I don't believe martyrdom should be indulged in at such an early age, and I don't believe murder should be indulged in at that age either.

However, Camila and John, I have killed far more than you will within the coming decade—not because I'm right or wrong or for any reason like that, but to protect the things I love, and that includes myself. I think that self-preservation is the most natural of instincts. You wouldn't do it for yourself, so someone did it for you.

Never let anyone make decisions about yourself for you, Camila. You have to set the tone and assert your will; otherwise, people in the world will sort you according to their own will. As a result, you will never know the joy of knowing yourself. And John, it would do you well to learn the boundaries of your will and the cost of asserting it."

This insight stabs John in the heart; The memories of the villagers executing his father and mother in front of him flash before him.

One day, Saoirse told John and Camila that, as a reward for their hard work, she would grant them a day in the town without her supervision. She could sense they were growing weary of each other's constant company. She gave them 100 copper coins each and told them to enjoy themselves in the town, but Camila had to wear robes and a veil.

As John was walking out of the administration building, Cornelius pulled him aside the door and asked, "How's the weather down there? Dry as the arid desert, I assume?"

He chuckled. "You remind me of myself, boy. Probably had a good mother who took care of you, but what about the mother within your heart? How much of her do you neglect because you can't see it in the mother without?

" It's why you have no compassion for what you deem to be evil, boy. I notice how you look at people when confronted with their darker aspects—a hatred possesses you. Hatred." John glances down to the side a pang of shame wrenches his gut

Well, today, John, I invite you to connect with the mother within, as it's the greatest beauty to participate in the cycle of life." Cornelius spat and chuckled, "Unless you're scared the girls will laugh you out of the whorehouse, boy."

John's pride was piqued. His Determination sewn together on his face.

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John and Cornelius walked to the brothel and had a discussion. The snow decorating their cloaks; the cold air igniting their throats and piercing the edges of their ears

"I would have done the same, boy, I would have done the same," Cornelius said. But I wouldn't have taken it that far. Human life is sacred, but it needs sustenance, which is finite; hence, we take human life. John pauses for a second, then nods his head in agreement, fighting his way through the crowd of people in the marketplace.

Do well to remember that, boy. It's just hive minds fighting other hive minds, each with their own god. But an old man who lived long ago asked whether an action is good because God dictates it, or does God dictate an action because it is good?"

"That sounds like something Saoirse would say."

"These are things I've learned through hard days of war. Saoirse is a warrior as well. No, no, Saoirse is far scarier. I fear the day when I get on her bad side."

"You make it sound like you're lovers."

Cornelius rests his shakes the top of John's head and ruffles his hair;the snowflakes dance around his angular face

Cornelius gave a mischievous grin. "I wish, boy, but some days she almost gives in. But to see her betray her beliefs, her life's work, for me... would crush my heart. So, I remind her of herself."

"So the Arbiters dislike the flesh?"

"No, John. They're against the overindulgence in the mother at the expense of the father. Does it apply in the opposite way? Yes, it does."

"Why?"

"It knocks the soul off balance, boy. It's one of the laws that govern this world. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. An indulgence in the material or the immaterial creates tension in the soul that launches it in the opposite trajectory with force equal to its displacement; at least, that's what she tells me.

However, Saoirse, your maternal figure, used to belong to this very whorehouse." John looked up. "When she was but a young lass, far too young to be exposed to such a thing. She's working hard to restore the balance of her soul. You see, she got sick of it; she became disgusted and stabbed the man who was her regular.

The man was a noble, so one day, the court decreed to burn her at the stake. When it came time to burn, she remained unscathed, without any talismans or tattoos. The clergy took this as a sign of great spiritual power, but despite this, her past is the only reason she's not of a higher rank within the clergy.

John paused for a second, letting every single word Cornelius said sink in,everything Cornelius told him. As he bumped into Cornelius, he was broken out of his thoughts.

Here we are

When Cornelius and John walked into the brothel, Cornelius chuckled, "You're not getting cold feet, are you, boy?" John's heart was racing, but his face betrayed nothing. "No," he said coldly.

"Hello, John, my name is Meridia." She grabbed his hand eagerly. "You don't think Saoirse would feel bad about this?"

"She's the one who told me to bring you here."

And so John lay with Meridia, and he felt as if his soul, his very essence, was bound to her as they joined. When they were done, they lay there, bathing in the warmth of each other's presence. But the warmth was replaced with coldness as an image of John's mother and sister flashed before him, alongside the two girls he murdered. He threw up on the side of the bed.

"John, are you okay?" Meridia asked. John quickly got dressed and began to clean up his mess. Meridia stopped him. "I'll clean it." John put on his cloak and abruptly walked out.

"Do come back," Meridia said shyly. With a muted determination, "I…really enjoyed you." John paused, his hand hovering over the doorknob, he contemplated embracing her once more, but he steeled and walked out

In the bustling street, Cornelius sat there, resting against the wall. "Minute, man," John said while softly punching Cornelius on the shoulder, In jest; But a tear bubbled up from John's eyes." that

He begins sniffling. "She was sweet. She was sweet." He whimpers. "I see now that through killing those girls, I not only robbed a man of the chance to love them, but now I shared a heart with my sister and my body with Meridia."

his crying intensifies Cornelius comforts him with a hug, and this time, unlike in the woods, he accepts, "I understand, son." I also realize I have been unfair to Camila. And

"I used to see her as an angel, John says; and holding her to the standard of a god is the cruelest thing I could have done to her."

Cornelius says, "Humans are not things to be cast out of your graces because they rebelled against the will you have for them." John says "yes" once again, and his sniffling ends just as fast as it began.