(From Lillie)

Mama and I had moved a lot when I was younger. We finally settled down in that town a year or so before everything happened. She said this place was far enough away, and that it should be safe. At the time, a gigantic tower was being built nearby. Mama started to sell lunches and pastries to the workers who had come from far away to work on it, and we made enough money to buy a home that was truly ours.

It was rather small, just two rooms; a kitchen, and a bedroom with a bathroom to the side, but I never felt like we were missing anything. As long as I had my mama, and I could eat her delicious food, I was happy. But… sometimes I had weird dreams. Places where I had never been, things that I couldn’t find anywhere, and people I had never met. I could never make sense of them, but they weren’t that scary, so I didn’t mind them. In fact, for the longest time, I thought everyone had dreams like that.

That morning, I got up before the sunrise as usual, but mama was already working. I started to get ready to go out to sell the pastry that was just coming out of the oven. I dressed on my own, wearing the hat and scarf that mama had gifted me on my birthday. I didn’t care when the other kids made fun of my clothes for being a bit worn, but it was nice to have something new, especially when it was something made by my mama. Once I was ready, I walked into our kitchen/living room/storefront, where my breakfast was waiting for me. A sunny side egg with sausages and a small pastry roll.

—I’m going out! —I said once I had finished my breakfast, as I picked up my basket and walked to the door.

—Ah, wait —mama said, taking a moment from kneading the dough—, the Mayor’s assistant said some people from the church are trying to find someone within the young girls. He knows you, so it would be better if you go, but please be careful. If anything happens, come back home running as fast as you can. And more than anything, remember-

—to never tell my name to strangers, I know.

—That’s my girl —she said, as she gave me a kiss on the forehead.

Mama told me the meeting was going to happen in a few hours, so I first went to my usual route and sold most of the pastry. I ended up meeting with a friend that also had been called by the people from church, and went alongside her and her father.

—What do you think this is all about? —she asked me, but I had no idea.

—They are keeping all the people who got sick at that place… —her father muttered.

The sick people… I had seen one of them, an elderly woman named Ruth whom I always visited at the end of my rounds. She was like a grandma to me, I think. Whenever I went to deliver to her, she would give me a cup of warm chocolate milk, and we ate our pastry by dipping it into the hot beverage. She would tell me stories of her youth, where she had been quite a tomboy and an adventurer, even as a grown up. Ruth and her husband traveled a lot, but after he had passed away, she retired back to her hometown. She wanted to write down all of her stories. She was one of the wealthiest people in town, she was one of the first people to get one of those new radios. And she loved listening to it.

That day… when I knocked at her door and nobody answered, I thought she might have gone out for a moment, but I heard the radio playing. I had a bad feeling, so I went to the back of the house and entered through the cat’s door. She was lying on the floor. She didn’t respond when I called her, and she was acting as if she was having a nightmare. The skin in her hands was turning black, and she seemed to be in pain when I touched her. I couldn’t do anything to help her, but I called for help, and thankfully people came quickly. They tried to help her, but even the nurses that the Mayor had hired couldn’t do much.

Later, I learned she hadn’t been the first victim of this unknown illness, but she was still among the earliest. More and more cases started to appear. The adults started to talk about curses and the wrath of the gods. They took all the sick people to the place that adults told us to never go, the Temple of… Tiamat. The same place where we had been called to. Once we arrived there, we met a woman with a very curious appearance. A long and grayish dress covered her body, her face was covered by a mask that looked like a fox, and she was carrying a sword. Despite all of this, her voice was kind when she explained what she was going to do.

—There is probably one among you with a power that can help us cure all the sick people here —the nice sister said —I need to analyze your souls to find them. I promise that I won’t hurt you, but if you feel uncomfortable in any way, you can tell me to stop, alright?

She went through each and one of us, but despite her best efforts, apparently the person she was looking for was not among us. Even with her face covered, she seemed pretty sad about it. I wanted to try to cheer her up, so I walked towards her. That’s also how I came to talk with her companion. She was also wearing a mask and the same uniform, and she was just as nice as the first sister, but there was something unusual about her. Her voice, and the way she talked, it sounded so familiar.

She ended up buying everything that was left on my basket for the people helping the sick. We ate the last two together. She then gave me an alias, as I had to keep the promise I had made to mama. Giving my real name was not allowed, even to such a nice lady. She looked like she was thinking very hard to come up with one.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

—Then, how about this one; Lillie.

—Lillie?

—It isn’t good after all, right? —she said dejectedly.

—I LOVE IT! —I yelled, jumping from the emotion.

The woman was shocked, but I felt like she was smiling.

—I am glad you liked it. Then, it is a pleasure to meet you, Lillie.

—The pleasure is mine —I said, mimicking what Ruth would have said.

But then I realized I didn’t know what that woman’s name was. And when I asked about it, she froze up.

—W-well, I was supposed to be incognito, but I already told you so much about myself, I don’t think it matters. Just promise me not to tell anyone else.

—I promise!

—My name is Rosanne.

—Wah! That’s a beautiful name! —I said— Ah! And the three of us match! Roses, Violets, and Lilies!

The woman let out a high pitched squeal, getting up and walking away a bit, until she faced a wall.

—Rosanne? Are you alright?

—Y-yeah, don’t worry about me, I just need a moment.

It took her a bit to calm down. A bit later, she showed me how she could make thread with magic, and even control how they moved. I challenged to make the shapes of several animals, and with some effort, she managed to do them.

—Oh, hi there, little lady —a man said as he came out of the building to stretch his arms.

—Lucius, good work. This is Lillie, her mother made the pastries that Ingrid shared with everyone.

—Is that so? It was really delicious, but I couldn’t finish it in one sitting. I am not one to eat too much sweet stuff, but I’ll try to finish it later with some coffee.

—Don’t force yourself, just eat it if you want —Rosanne replied—, isn’t that right, Lilie?

—Yeah!

—Well, I am glad that you found a friend, Madame —the man said with a gentle smile.

He returned inside and we kept talking for a long time. She told me more about her daughter, Violett, and her friends, Julius and Gaius. She told me about the people she considered her family, Carmilla, Nora, Gabby, Sophie, Eve, and Alyssa, as well as her own friends, a family of adventurers, and a botanist named Victor, and the mother of Julius and Gaius, Erzy. Finally, she told me about the people who had come with her, the two priests Lucius and Ingrid, as well as the doctor and her personal confidant, Maxwell. It was so fun listening to her, that I didn’t realize how late it was getting, the sun was about to set.

—I have to go home, mama is going to be worried!

—Ah! Sorry for keeping you here —Rosanne said— It’s going to get dark, I’ll take you home.

She said, but before we could say anything I heard a familiar whistle.

—That’s my mama! —I said, and turned towards where the sound had come from— We are over here!

Mama soon appeared from the road and I ran to hug her. Rosanne followed me.

—You must be her mother. I’m sorry I kept her distracted until so late.

—It’s… fine, right? —my mother said, looking at me.

I nodded. I told her what had happened, and while it was quite apparent that she was suspicious of Rosanne, after they talked a bit, mama started to open up to her. The turning point was perhaps when Rosanne described how much she had enjoyed my mama’s pastries. Just as I had, mama got engrossed with the conversation, until almost all the light had disappeared from the sky. It wasn’t completely dark, the fireflies had come out, and the whole place was lit by their light.

—Now it has become really late. Let me ask one of my companions if they can accompany us back to the town —Rosanne said.

We followed her to the entrance of the temple, but at that exact moment, I heard a loud noise. I covered my ears and fell to my knees, my vision became very blurry, like if I was suddenly under water. I felt my mom reach out to me, and I think I saw her saying something to me, but all I could hear was one loud noise after another.

I tried to look around, the people in the beds, the cursed ones, were shaking and thrashing around, everyone else was running around, trying to help them. Rosanne… I could see her clearly. She was standing in front of me. I couldn’t see her face, she was wearing a mask and she was facing the other way. But still, I think I could feel her emotions… somehow. She was suffering just as I was, the noise was intolerable but she was more worried about the others. She was trying to find what was causing them so much pain.

I wanted to help her, but all I could think about was the loud noises. But then, I noticed something. There were some pauses between each noise, and not all of them were the same noise. It had… certain rhythm. I remembered, earlier while we were eating pastry, I could hear music playing from the inside of the building. There was a radio here, just like there was one when Ruth was cursed.

—It’s the radio! —I yelled, not sure if she could hear me through all the noise.

She looked back at me, and then turned towards the source of the music. She stretched her hand towards it, and I saw the red threads emerge from her fingertips. The radio was picked up from the table where it laid, and then it was turned into pieces as the threads cut through it as if it was made of butter. The noise stopped immediately, and just as suddenly, I felt perfectly fine. The cursed people had also calmed down as well.

—Thank you, Lillie… —Rosanne said, breathing heavily, but sounding relieved.

In the motion she had made to destroy the radio, her mask had fallen, so I saw her face for the first time, and I also saw the horns that came up from her forehead. Why? Why did that look so familiar?