“I'll see you home,” I look over at Maya and she nods and smiles back at me.

“Give me a few moments and I'll go with you,” Iris immediately declares and hurries out of the room before anything else can be said.

“She must be going to get her sock,” Maya giggles and steps in next to me.

“Sock?” I murmur and think about the wool lined sleeves that the two of them have for going out, “Is that what they are called?”

“That might as well be what they are called,” she shakes her head, “It's what everyone calls them anyway.

“Calling them socks makes the most sense,” Shiva agrees with her, “Sweater doesn't really fit, tailters doesn't really roll off the tongue and just sounds silly anyway.”

“Why not stockings?” I shake my head, “They are longer like stockings.”

“Have you ever seen a wool lined leather stocking?”

“I suppose I haven't.”

“What are you talking about?” Maya links our arms while we wait.

“Why they aren't called stockings instead.”

When I answer she starts to laugh and after a moment she is wiping tears from her eyes. “And here you were looking so serious about it,” she manages to gasp out while she starts to settle down.

After a few minutes Iris comes back into the room while holding her cloak over her arm. “All right,” she nods, “I am ready.”

We stand up and follow her towards the front door where we start to get dressed ourselves. “You know,” Maya pulls her cloak over her shoulders and glances at Iris, “You could stay in.”

“How could I do that,” Iris tuts, “Lily might need support on the way there and back if her headache gets bad. Besides I can help her bring our child back.”

“Oh,” Maya raises a brow at her and looks her up and down while I put my gloves on, “Shouldn't she be our child? After all we both look like Kitsunes after all.”

“Bah,” Iris shakes her head and opens the door for us, “Lily might as well be a full blooded Succubus, and since she looks like a Kitsune Fiona could be a Lamia for all we know.”

“I don't think that's how it works,” I shake my head at them but don't say anything. I flip both of their hoods up as I step out into the cold with them flanking me.

A bundled up head plows into my thighs and stops giggling as it grabs onto me to stay standing. My thighs throb slightly from the blow and I look down as the bundle looks up to find a familiar little face.

The girl's face is a little red from the cold and she isn't carrying a flower basket today. After a moment of staring her eyes seem to sparkle and she points at me, “It's the pretty lady.”

“Pretty lady?” Maya asks but before she can fully form a sentence the girl runs backwards while her cloak gets brushed around by her tails.

“Mama,” she calls out and heads towards a woman standing at a stall, “It's the pretty lady.”

“See I didn't scare her too much,” I defend my previous actions when I took the Death's Lily from her.

“She was on the verge of tears,” Shiva sighs and I can imagine her shaking her head at me.

“You've met that little girl before?” Iris asks and turns to look at the little girl tugging at the woman.

“During one of my trai-” the woman turns and I feel my heart stop and my voice vanishes as fear clutches at me. It starts to walk in our direction with the little girl and I whisper, “Go along with whatever I say.”

“Wha-” before Maya can say anything I slip my hands free and rest them on my daggers on my belt. Shiva doesn't say anything either but I can feel her bristle

“My, my,” the monster murmurs as she walks in our direction. I don't know how it did it but I can't feel any leaking energy from the sigils and I try to relax my body. It steps over and stops in front of me and looks around with a small smile.

From this close their scentless body causes my skin to crawl. “It has been quite some time hasn't it?” it grins and looks me up and down, “Are these two your-”

“I'm escorting them,” I interrupt it and try to keep my voice normal, and it just laughs at me.

“That's all?”

“That's right,” I keep a close eye on it, “I don't know them beyond guarding them.”

“Lily?” Iris sounds confused and a bit hurt, and I feel her hand hover around my elbow, and my chest feels stuffy.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The monster across from me laughs again and shakes their head, before slipping into ancient Elfish. “You've clearly not thought things through, nor have you explained how they should act when meeting someone like me,” it pauses and switches back, “The two of you shouldn't be upset. She is just trying to protect you in her own misguided way.”

“Protect us?” Maya asks and takes a half a step closer to me.

“That's right,” The monster nods, “We were privileged to know each other in the past. So she acted like that to try and draw a line in between me and the two of you. That the two of you are unrelated to her. In a way she isn't wrong, and that would be for the best if she was believed.”

“Mama knows the pretty lady?” The little girl asks in the momentary silence and the monster laughs again before kneeling and scooping her up.

“That's right,” the monster coos and rubs her cheek against the little girls. With their faces pressed against one another it is easy to see they are related and that leaves me stunned and distracts me. “I was more surprised than you,” the monster changes languages again and sighs, “I didn't think that this body would be able to bear a child.”

“How?” I manage to ask a question though my stupor.

“Well I made very sloppy love to my husband every-”

“That's not what I meant,” I interrupt it before it can continue.

“I don't know,” it gives me a shrug and the little girl looks confused as she looks between the two of us, “Maybe because this vessel was so fresh. Maybe a result of your genius.”

“Can't understand,” The little girl interrupts us with a pout and it laughs again.

“Mama's sorry,” It playfully pinches the her cheek, “Mama and the pretty lady always talk like that.”

“What brings you here?” I ask and hope she can read between the lines.

“My husband and I settled down here once we found out I was pregnant,” it explains. So it didn't come here looking for me at least. “It was a happy accident that we got to meet like this after so many years,” it nods and flashes a friendly smile.

“Ah there you two are,” A man walks over and stands next to it and her reaches out for the little girl who almost jumps into his arms. He shifts her up onto his shoulder and she squeals excitedly, and after a moment he turns and looks us up and down, “And these ladies are?”

“Ah this is little Kaede's grandmother,” it nods and gestures towards me.

“Grandmother?” Iris and the man question at the same time.

“Yes the one who helped me in the past,” it elaborates with a cheeky smile.

“Ah you must mean godmother,” the man shakes his head with a chuckle, “You'll have to forgive my Sariel, she sometimes confuses words across the languages she speaks.”

It, Sariel, throws another glance at me and the meaning of her gaze is clear. She didn't confuse her words, she meant exactly what she said.

“Papa,” Kaede slaps at his head, “The pretty lady bought flowers from me.”

“Ah did she now,” he laughs like he is indulging her.

“Uhm,” she nods, “Her and the handsome lady.”

“Handsome?” I find myself asking and then I remember Stephanie bought flowers at the same time, “I refuse to acknowledge her as handsome.”

“Now, now,” Shiva snorts and it finally breaks the tension in my body, “The knight uniform is quite dashing. I'm sure children that have grown up here have heard all about how it makes them handsome.”

“I suppose we will have to thank them then?” the man looks up and Kaede nods and holds her head up proudly.

“That's right,” Sariel nods, “Thank you very much.” She pauses and switches back before continuing, “Make sure to swing by my shop in the future. Not only will you find it useful for you work, but we also have a lot to talk about my little sleeping flesh-eater.”

More than anyone else I don't want to be called something like that from her. “We should go home and prepare our lunch,” the man interrupts before I can complain and they offer their farewells before leaving.

“That was...” Maya speaks up after a moment and pulls my arm back to her. Iris is quick to take a hold of my other and as much as my reawakened instincts tell me we shouldn't walk like this I can't bring myself to deny them.

“We can talk once we get to your shop,” I shake my head and pull them away from any prying eyes.

We finally step back into her shop and I twist the lock behind us and lead them in away from the windows. I stop and step forward before turning so that I am looking at the both of them and after a moment I sigh and shake my head.

“First I should apologize,” I chew on my lip, “I didn't have time to explain and I just said that I didn't know either of you coldly.” They both look like they want to say something but I hold up my hand to stop them, “And I want you both to think about if you want to stay next to me.”

“Of cou-”

“I d-”

“Think! Don't just answer immediately,” I interrupt them as they go to speak at the same time, “It's important. I won't be able to give either of you a proper romance. No trips to an opera or fairs. No picnics when the weather is nice. No walks under a full moon. No one outside will be allowed to know. So long as I am remembered it isn't safe to be with me.”

“Sariel said you wanted to protect us by saying you don't know us?” Maya calmly asks for an explanation, and Iris nods her head.

“I … have a lot of enemies,” I sigh and lean against the wall, “If they ever found me and figured out that we are close... they would use you to get to me.”

“They wouldn't,” Iris immediately denies what I said.

“I did it,” I scoff, and they both pause, “It's a good tactic... Grab someones weakness and crush them with it... Lovers, siblings, children... I've used them all and worse; just so that I would come out on top.”

“That's why,” I continue in the silence that crushes me into the darkness, “the two of you should find some that-”

“I don't want someone else,” Maya strongly denies and stomps her foot, “You are the one I want.”

Iris moves forward and takes my hand in hers, “I've said it before. It is who you were not who you are. While your name might be used to scare children from going out at night, no one has actually heard of you doing anything in over half a decade.”

“It was me or them right?” I lie to myself once again as I look at the two young women in front of them.

“That's right,” Shiva feeds me the lie I always want to hear, “It was important to save yourself, or else you would have never made it back to your home.”

Meeting Sariel today reminded me of my numerous sins but even still I want to reach out and grab the little light these two are offering me. After a moment I steady myself and stand up straight before I look over the two of them once more.

“Mals ar Lily,” I start to give them the only deceleration I can, “Falric aren Rose, Dolc relpai Senesteria pyop ar Iris ar Maya tsu gadrimos kro sipinum.”

Iris looks slightly confused but before she can ask Maya lets out a breathy squeal. Iris looks over at her and Maya almost excitedly waves around. “It's a wedding vow. I declared Lily, daughter of Rose, Hereby swear upon Senesteria, to Iris, to May, to love and treat equally,” she explains to a growing red Iris, “Or roughly anyway. Gadrimos doesn't translate well but that's mostly what it means. The only thing I'm uncertain about is the final phrase.”

“Tha-”

“It would ruin the happiness if you explained it now,” Shiva interrupts me, “There will be time for it later.”

“It's...” I cough and feel myself growing warm at what I said so I squeeze pass them, “I said it there. Lets go check on Fiona and Talia.” I quickly retreat deeper towards the living area while they rush to follow me.