After lunch, Basha and I went into the garden alone after he explicitly asked that we have some privacy. We sat apart from each other on the ground. "This space is not as open as the garden at the Temple." He observed. "The wind must struggle to blow here, it is rather isolating."

"Yeah." I said. "But I spend most of my time training in here, when it is cool, it stays cool, and when it gets hot, there isn't much respite, but that is perfect for training in less than ideal conditions."

He nodded. "You still proudly bear the name Bahrot." He said. "I am glad that your experience with the Temple, short as it was, did not leave you despondent."

"How are things at the Temple?" I asked.

"As the week has passed, the faithful were able to understand that it was not the Temple that sought to take them, but a single man, and they returned, resuming their studies and prayers. Those who allowed hatred to fester cried out against the Temple, but in the intervening time, I was able to publicly speak of what happened and offered what restitution there was. Their cries were seen less as the cries of a victim, and more the whining of a petulant child." He bowed his head to me. "Bahamut could not have chosen a more fitting champion."

"All I did was what I would want done for me." I said. "You treated me well, you were nice to me, and when it came down to push and shove, you wasted no time in beating the hell out of Elian."

Basha nodded. "Are you sure you do not wish to join the Temple?" He asked.

"Am I not technically a part of it?" I asked. "After all, wasn't the point of that sermon to show that location is irrelevant, as is association."

He nodded. "I am glad you understand." He said. "We do have our traditions, though, and even the ones that are odd have some use. The vestments of the Initiate bear a curse so that one may learn to break them."

"Speaking of that." I said. "Cier and I got rid of the curse that Elian put on the vestments, so you can take them back if you want."

He nodded. "You both work hard, and you do the Dragon God's work." He stood up. "Take me to where they are held."

I nodded and led him to the room with the cursed items. He looked around the room and nodded. "There is much suffering within this room, studied and contained so that what was made in error, or what was made in malice, can instead bring peace."

I gathered the vestments into bundles and set them aside. I noted the crystal bearing the Holy Fiend and picked it up. Merely holding it caused my body to begin to change, and as it did, I could feel the flames of Bahamut burning brighter within me. I dropped it, my heart thundering, and the changes reverted. For a moment, I had been able to perceive Bahamut, and any longer and I would not have been able to let go. I picked it up again, feeling the intensity of the Fiend's devotion surround me. And then suddenly, it stopped, the crystal gone from my hand. I felt oddly empty as Basha put the crystal into a bag.

"I am sorry, Bahrot, though it may seem a good idea, this crystal is dangerous." He looked at me. "It is like what Elian did, and I could not subject that to anyone who is unwilling."

"Thanks." I said.

He smiled. "Thank you." He answered. The vestments were gathered up and he left with the Initiates. I wondered, briefly, if Richt was with them...

After Basha and the Initiates left, I went to Lissana's room and knocked on the door. "It's Rex." I said. "I have some important information."

"Enter." Lissana said, and I did. Nash was the only other person in the room, it seemed they had been discussing something when I knocked.

"What is it you wish to tell me?" Lissana asked.

"Please make it quick, we are discussing important business." Nash stated.

I nodded. "First things first, Bahamut's avatar appeared before me, Basha, and Draxkatar." I said, they both looked amazed at this. "He had information for me, I think partly as thanks for dealing with the Faith Vampire and for helping put Basha on the right path, among other things. He told me that-" I tried to tell her about the thing or things that had led to Lodran getting the Conceit Fiend's crystal, but my voice stopped. "He told me something that is likely connected with my curse, and also, that your brother, Lodran, is dead."

"What?!" Lissana shot up from her seat. "My brother..?"

"I'm sorry." I said. "I couldn't keep the information from you."

"If this is true." Nash said. "Then it means there are unknown individuals who are manipulating events." He looked at Lissana. "Shall I inquire regarding your brother's state of well-being?"

"No." Lissana stated softly. "I do not doubt Rex, he has no reason to lie about this to me." She looked up at me. "Can you confirm whether or not there are unknown individuals who may have done this?"

I tried to speak again, but couldn't. "I am unable to confirm." I replied.

"Then it is as I feared." Lissana said. "Someone is indeed targeting you, likely for your royal lineage, which means that everyone here is by association a target. The only logical thing to do is to ensure that everyone here is protected. Nash, I want you to speak with the Guild, hire protection, and if you see anyone who would be a good match for Rex..."

"I already have someone in mind." Nash said. "Is there anything else, Rex?"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Yes." I said. "Bahamut granted to me the ability to cast another divine spell, but not because I earned it, but because it will give me an edge against-" I couldn't reveal that they were able to hide from Bahamut himself.

"Against things that concern even a God." Nash said. "The things you are unable to say are just as revealing as the things you do say."

I nodded. "Lady Lissana." I said. She looked at me. "Do what you need to for everyone's safety. If I need to leave to ensure that everyone here is safe, well, Basha would be ecstatic to have an Initiate back."

"I will keep this in mind." She said. "And if I feel it is necessary, I will ensure your safe travel to the Capital."

Since I didn't have anything else to say, I bade them farewell and walked to my room. As I passed through the main hall, I saw Cier speaking with Mira in the building, who was shaking and was having trouble breathing.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, walking over to them.

"Mira is experiencing a rather strong case of hysteria." Cier stated. "I am trying to calm her."

"Your heart is racing, as if you've been running for your life, or as if you were terrified. You are unable to adequately catch your breath, and when it isn't, it always feels like something isn't quite right, like there's a fire somewhere but no matter where you look, you only see signs, but never the fire itself."

She nodded. "Yes." She gasped.

"We call it a panic attack on my world." I said. "I've had dozens of them before. Right now, the most important thing is to bring you down to zero, that means, get you to a calm state. Cier, please bring her to my room."

Cier seemed hesitant, but he obliged and we went to my room. "The most important thing." I said as I walked over to my bed and smoothed out a spot for her to sit, "is to remove as many stressors as possible. Do not think of this as my room, or that you are bothering me, your well-being is a priority." Cier sat her down on the bed. "Cier, in my time here I've identified several herbs as being similar if not the same on my world, I need a tea made of these herbs-" I listed off Chamomile, called Sweetsong; Lavender, St, John's Wort, called Golden Wort; and Mint. I also explained the parts to use and how to brew them. "-Please see to it the tea is made quickly."

He nodded and went to the door. He glanced back at me before leaving.

"Mira, I want you to focus solely on taking deep breaths. Do as I do." I did the breathing exercises and she copied them. The important thing here was to stop her from hyperventilating, and it took her a lot of time to get to a point where her breathing was even.

"I am fine now." She said.

"No, you're not." I stated. "Just because your breathing's normal doesn't mean we've identified the root cause and dealt with it accordingly. I had Cier leave because I wanted to eliminate as many distractions as possible, to give you as few stressors as possible. Now, please, tell me what happened today, don't exclude anything, unless it is deeply intimate such as-" I cleared my throat. "-self-care."

She closed her eyes and recounted her day in detail. There had been a lot of work that needed to be done, someone had caused a mess in Lissana's private chambers, there was a shortage of food and someone needed to get groceries, one of the servants was bedridden due to them being attacked in the city- her hands clenched at this detail. "And my fa- and Cier was asking me to ensure the main hall was cleaned as we were expecting a guest."

"Cier's your father?" I asked. "That explains his hesitance." I rested my hand on hers and she flinched. "Squeeze my hand, as hard as you can without hurting it too much. A little hurt's fine."

She took my hand and showed impressive strength. I sucked my teeth but I did not try to pull away. Her hand trembled, but her grip slowly relaxed.

"That was, oddly, helpful." She remarked.

"That's good." I said. "Now, I have a personal question, and you are within your rights to refrain from answering. Does Cier have unreasonable expectations of you, or otherwise has you work harder than others of your status among the servants?"

"He expects me to do more, yes." She said. "But it is to be expected of our family."

"How did you come to work here?" I asked.

"I am here for training, my Lady was gracious enough to allow me to work here." She paused. "My father sees me as a failure, no matter what I do, he is disappointed, even when my Lady praises my work. I feel as though I will never amount to anything, and that my training has been for naught."

"Honestly, you're about even with Cier." I said. "I've seen the way you do your work, not that I'm explicitly watching you work, that would be creepy. No, in the moments when you're focused on your task, you do it extremely well, and you do not hesitate to help those who are struggling. You are every bit as competent and skilled as him, he just expects a lot from you and wants you to surpass him."

"You are certain?" She asked.

"Trust me, if your father was disappointed in you, he'd make it abundantly clear. I know mine has." I added bitterly. "Now, we're going to sit here and rest, I will take full responsibility if you get in trouble for not working, and I will explain that you being bedridden due to excessive stress would only serve to put you out of work for longer."

She looked down at the floor. "You are the only one who has spoken to me about this, rather than using a calming spell." She looked at me. "Is this because you're unable to use magic effectively?"

"I mean, I do have access to a couple of divine spells and I can cast at least one spell naturally if I prepare it in advance." I remarked. "But using magic to cover the problem is like putting a bandage on a wound without treating it first. It's only going to fester, and then you get an infection, and then you have to do more work to treat the underlying cause."

"Then I will not experience these 'panic attacks' again?" She asked.

"No." I said. "Allowing yourself to become stressed to this point will cause them to happen again. And that's presuming you do not have a genetic predisposition for it. Take time to rest and relax, if you need to take a bath specifically to relax, then do so, if reading relaxes you, do that. Find something for you to do for yourself that makes you happy, and if you ever feel like you're about to experience another one, just remember to breathe as I showed you."

There was a knock at the door before Cier entered. He set the tea down.

"She looks as though she is doing better." He observed.

"Yeah, there were a lot of stressors that compounded together and caused her to panic. I've taught her the tools to help her cope, but I want you to understand that if she begins to show signs of this occurring again, you are to allow her to step out of the room and collect herself properly. Five to ten minutes, or even an hour, of her taking care of herself is better than her being bedridden for a week because she was overworked."

I poured her some tea and she took a sip.

"I understand." Cier stated.

She had three cups before she was ready to resume her work. "Cier, I have something important to tell you about what happened with Basha and Draxkatar."

He nodded and remained while his daughter left.

"What is it?" He asked.

"First and foremost, while there is something important regarding that, I needed it as an excuse for you to stay while your daughter left."

His eyes narrowed. "And the reason for the deception?" He asked.

"Because you're being a hardass." I said. "Mira feels pressured to do more because she feels as though you are disapproving or disappointed. This panic attack was greatly influenced by the cumulative stress caused by this. You need to tell her when she is doing a good job, and the times when she does not do as well, you need to be understanding and show her how to do the job better."

"Do not presume to tell me how to raise my daughter." He said with a tone of threat.

"My own father, any time I did anything he disapproved of, no matter how innocuous, he yelled at me for doing it wrong, and he never explained what it was I did wrong. I lived in constant fear that I would do something to piss him off." I stood up and looked him in the eyes. "And I am speaking from experience when I say you must do this if she is to do her job properly. If you cannot do this, then she will have to work somewhere else before she can do her work properly."

We stared each other down for the longest time, his gaze felt like my father's, and for me, it was like having to stare him down again. I could not allow myself to falter.

"Mira is an adult." I said. "And as an adult, she must be seen as one. She may be your daughter, but she is not your child, she is not your servant. You may be her boss, but that does not mean you can expect more of her than what is expected of her peers."

"She is born of a long line-"

"That's irrelevant." I interrupted. "She's just as good as you are, if not better, but if you personally hold her to a greater expectation than she should be held to, you will only sabotage her hard work, and you will cause her to become an emotional wreck. Compliment her when she does her job well, help her when she doesn't. Let her become skilled by her own merit."

"Very well." He said. "I will do this."

"Good." I said. "Now, about what happened in the treasure vault..."