Fenris broke free of her mother's grasp as soon as they arrived at the terrace, coldly walking off.

Mercury followed by her side.

After a few moments she poked her daughter on the cheek with a finger.

"You seem a bit put-off, my beloved Fenris. What's up?"

"Nothing." She replied shortly, continuing her march. Mercury wasn't even sure she knew where she was going.

"...Yup. You're mad. What is it? What's got your panties in a twist?" Mercury lost her previous whimsical face, replacing it with a more serious one.

"Do you really have to ask?"

"Would I be asking if I knew?" The woman shot back.

That wasn't what Fenris wanted to hear.

Mercury had to struggle to keep up with the girl's increased pace.

"Okay. My bad. But seriously, what is it?"

"Look, it's fine. It doesn't even matter."

Mercury's cheek twitched. "I'm not a mind reader, daughter, but I know know when something's bothering you." She put a hand to her shoulder.

Fenris shrugged it off coldly.

It was only now that Mercury was starting to really grow concerned. What had gotten into the girl so suddenly?

"Come on, Fenris, talk to me."

"Really, just forget it. It's not as if you'd really listen if I talked anyway."

"So you admit something's bothering you?"

"Exactly how would you know when something's bothering me in any case?"

"I'm your mother, dearie, it comes with the job."

"If you think of it as a job then perhaps you should learn how to do it properly."

Mercury stopped her. "And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked, feeling uncomfortable.

"Like I said. Forget it. Nothing's bothering me, I'm fine, let's just move on."

"Is this about Morrigan?" Mercury's eyes narrowed. "I thought she had said something mean to you, but didn't know what it could be. The bitch." She sniffed in disdain. "Alright, out with it. What did she say?"

"Morrigan has nothing to do with this."

"Bullshit. That woman knows how to rile people up and don't even try telling me she doesn't, because I've known her a lot longer than you."

Fenris peered at her mother, looking fed-up. "She has a habit of saying a lot of things, but at least the things she says or does won't reflect back on me personally."

Mercury stiffened, gaining a flash of insight. "This...is about me then?"

"Haa...just you? That's cute, mother dearest. But no. Although I truly wish you'd not involve me whenever you decide to make passes on a man while in the company of both his wife and daughter, you're really only part of the problem."

"See, I don't get what you mean. What problem? What did I do? If you don't tell me what I did then how can I apologise for it?"

But Fenris just shook her head. "The fact you don't already realize by yourself what it is that you did wrong is a problem in and of itself. As for apologising, trust me, it's a little late for that." She snorted. "For now I'd be happy if you just at least left me out of the conversation when you decide to sexually harrass a married man in front of his own family. That'd be good enough."

" Heavens, girl, you're being ridiculous. Just tell me already." Irritation wormed it's way into Mercury's tone. "This passive-aggressiveness is really getting annoying, Fenris. Honestly, sometimes being your mother can be truly tiresome" Mercury spoke mildly, sighing.

Fenris laughed, the entire things sounding forced. "Yeah, well, being your guys' daughter grew tiresome centuries ago."

The woman continued on her path, leaving Mercury stunned on the spot.

**********

"That Mercury, she's no tact whatsoever." Morrigan's tone made it clear how much she disliked the woman. "She said that to provoke me, I know she did. She knew I'd hear. She seems determined to get under my skin."

"Perhaps. "Roland said, "But maybe she's a good reason for it."

"And what would that be? I've done nothing to her." Morrigan completely didn't understand his words.

"Yeah, maybe not to her." Roland said proddingly.

She looked at him blankly. "Meaning?"

"Meaning did you say anything to Fenris earlier?"

"Fenris?" Morrigan considered. "No, nothing comes to mind."

"Morrigan...." He stared.

"Alright, yes. However I never speak anything but the truth, dearest. Fenris... she didn't." She said after a moment.

"What did you say, exactly?"

"Nothing she doesn't already know herself." She avoided the question expertly. "But Fenris is a surprisingly petty woman, did you know that? Making false accusations against people, that's a truly unsavory habit that she's picked up."

"False accusations?"

"Indeed." She smiled. Her eyes roamed across the beautiful landscape idly, saying, "The woman presumes to speak about other people's families when she has little notion of what a proper one even is. And she has the gall to belittle another person's love, making it seem like some dark and twisted thing. Even when she herself has never known what that's like either."

Roland had imagined what it was that Morrigan could have said to the woman. From her current words Roland got an inkling of what had been said. and it wasn't pretty.

He knew that he was probably underestimating just how sharp Morrigan could be when angered.

"Morrigan, what did you say?" He insisted.

" I simply reminded her exactly how little room she has to talk about others."

"Morrigan, don't. Just tell me."

Her eyes flashed. "Do you really care so much? Why don't you seem at all concerned about what she said about me?"

"I'm very much concerned about that too. But you're a lot older than her, and hopefully a bit more mature too."

He felt it very weird that he, a mere 19-year-old mortal man, was saying this to an ancient Death Goddess. But he pressed on.

"But that doesn't mean I can just ignore it if you do the same. Because from what I know of you, which is quite little, you've a tongue that can flay a person's skin off and a temper to match."

He didn't even have to know her personally, this was widely-known knowledge.

"Mercury love her daughter quite a bit, Morrigan. She told me in no uncertain terms that she'd not easily let you go if a few careless words  from you hurt her. Which would force me to act as well. Which eventually just wouldn't end well for anyone. So just tell me what happened."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Morrigan let out a breath in frustration. "I don't see why any of this matters. Is Fenris really so weak that words alone can hurt her?"

"It's not about that, Morrigan. Physical scars can heal. That's especially true for those like you who can recover from pretty much any sort of injury. But emotional scars run a lot deeper. Words are powerful things, and the harm they can inflict are a lot more severe than most people give them credit for."

People who lived as long as a god did almost never came without a bit of baggage. You simply didn't llve for centuries on end without accumulating a few wounds in the process.

And if what Mercury said was true, then Fenris probably had more than most of her kin.

He didn't want to seem as if he was favoring Fenris' problems over Morrigan's. He also didn't want to paint Morrigan as the bad person here, because she wasn't one.

In situations like this, no one was right or wrong. But their little spat could have become a very serious matter. He needed to know eveything that was said.

Morrigan ground her teeth. "Okay. If you want to know so badly, then so be it. Come closer, my beloved, and let's see if you don't think her slanderous words as hateful as I do!"

Under her urging, he leaned in.

"Well?"

Morrigan looked towards Grace and the rest, whispering into his ear softly. "She had said, basically, that I'm merely using your love for Grace to make you stay. That I'm guilting you into being here. With us... with me." Her voice became raw. "But she's wrong. I'm not a good person. I know that. I'm not very nice, either, but I'd never do that to you. I don't want to hold you prisoner, I don't want to make you feel like you don't have a choice in the matter. I want you to stay with us because you want to.

If I truly was doing as she thought, if I was that sort of person, you'd only grow to resent me. And other than you completely not caring about me at all, that's one of the worst things I can imagine. I don't..." She stopped, looking away, instead saying. "...I'll live a very long life, you know. Gods don't ever fall in love easily, but when they do, when it's real, they fall hard. I don't know about any of the others, but I don't think that I'd be able to handle an eternity of life if the person I loved hated me. It'd be worse than any hell. When you left me, were Grace not there--if I didn't have her to take care of and hold onto--I probably wouldn't have lasted long enough to see you again..."

Roland's brows knit together as he tried to process all this. "...Is that what made you so angry that time? When Fenris said all that, did you think that I'd come to the same conclusion?" He asked intently.

"...Fenris has known me much longer than you have. If even she began to question my motives, how long would it be until you suspected me of doing that too?"

"Do you think I would?" Did she not trust him, then?

"How couldn't you think that?" She shot back bitterly. "Unlike in the past, you don't love me at all. The fact of the matter is that without Grace you wouldn't have let me be with you. You'd certainly not be as you are now, indulging me like this. No, you'd avoid me as much as possible. As if I was some sort of plague. Just like you did after I first found you in this life.

And I know what you're thinking. It's not about trust. I trust you, I do, very much so. But don't say my fears are unfounded. If you felt trapped, wouldn't you hate me for it? For seemingly tying you down? We aren't in the same situation as before. You saw me as a person to be pitied and cared for the majority of the time I was with you. And I was.

But not anymore. Now that I'm not the same frail thing I was back then, why would you endure being with me long enough to fall in love with me again?"

Morrigan had an advantage back when she first met him: She wasn't able to take care of herself. So he took it upon himself to do it in her stead, to take responsibility for her well-being.

No matter what awful things she said or did he didn't pay it any mind, because he knew she was someone who probably wouldnt't have been able to survive without him.

Was the same true now? No.

Other than Grace, what tied them together? She loved him, but it was one-sided. What reason did he himself have to stay by her side? He didn't have to endure her many, many faults like he did last time.

He would be able to see past those faults, she knew that much. But would he care to stay around long enough to do that, to love her like he once did? Other than her beauty, she had little to give him. Her personality, she knew it didn't exactly scream sunshine and rainbows.

She was serious about getting him to love her again. No matter how many other lives he had after this, she was determined to make him fall for her again and again.

But she just didn't know how. It had progressed so naturally before....when had he even begun to love her back then?

Although that's what she wanted, whenever Morrigan thought about how exactly she would accomplish it, her mind blanked.

It seemed an insurmountable wall.

And she'd have to do that multiple times, probably, in mutliple situation, maybe having to face a few rivals along the way.

It made her want to scream just by imagining how hard it'd be, getting him to fall for her over and over again.

But she took those doubts and firmly sealed them away.

It was only now, as she was being pressed by him, when he had asked her that question, that they came to the surface.

As for Roland, it wasn't like he was dense enough to not know how she was feeling.

"Morrigan..." He began. "Your thinking is completely wrong. I fell in love with you once. I trust I wasn't a fool in my past life. If I could put up with you then, I would be able to do so now. You don't need to court me." He smirked at the appearance of the word. "Whether it be in the past, present or future, if I fall in love with you it wouldn't be because of your epic wooing skills. I'll fall in love with you...for you."

He let that sink in for a bit before continuing. "The me of back then would have fallen in love with who you are at your core, not some version of yourself that he thought up." He wasn't quite that shallow a person. "I said it many times before, Morrigan, but you're a very beautiful woman. Your physical appearance aside, I'm sure you're equally beautiful in other ways too. I think my past self saw that. I'm also thinking that once all this is done with, that I'd like to spend the rest of my time finding out exactly what those other ways are."

For a long time Morrigan was too choked with emotion to speak once she heard that.

If they were alone, if it was just the two of them here, then she believed she might have actually cried.

With all the kids much further ahead the two of them were given a bit of privacy, but even still she didn't let any tears fall or make any other kind of noise.

After walking in a strange, comfortable silence Roland once more spoke up. "Are you going to apologize to her then?"

"...I'm not a petty person. Of course I will." She let out a wavering breath, doing her best to stop herself from showing an unsightly appearance.

"I see."

"Even if Mercury had said nothing about it, would you still have asked?"

"Of course. Grace adores her"

"Oh." She said. "And you? How do you feel about her?" She looked straight ahead.

"She's the daughter of one of my good friends."

"...I see."

"Yeah."

"..."

"Did you really expect anything else?"

"I thought that maybe..." She went quiet. "...I don't know, really. I mean you two seemed to get along. Very well."

"No. Not like that."

"That's...that's good, then."

"Happy now?"

She let out a rare smile. "Yes."

"I'm glad."

With their arms linked, they once more lapsed into silence.

The walk seemed a little too short.

************

"You guys sure took your sweet time. " Solomon was sitting on a giant silvery throne when they arrived.

They had opened the giant doorway, finding themselves in a giant throneroom. From a large, stained glass window threads of golden sunlight drifted in and illuminated everything.

Solomon cut a very imposing figure just then, appearing almost regal. "Come with me." He gestured with a hand, entering a stairway to his left.

When they reached the bottom, they entered a exceedingly large hallway.

Numerous doors stood at either side of the room in neat rows.

Saren felt a surge of curiosity, and sneaked a bit away.

His hand inched towards the handle.

"That doorway leads to a world full of large, man-eating predators and poisonous gas that can literally turn your insides to mush. Unless you know the spells capable of counteracting that, I wouldn't recommend you opening it."

Saren snatched his arm back so fast that the others thought it was a wonder he didn't dislocate it.

Not one of the other three dared even think about walking towards the other doors. Reina and Lilith in particular unconsciously moved a bit closer to Roland, as did Saren and James a moment later.

Grace held the hands of her parents, right in between them, humming happily.

As for "Evie"...she had, oddly enough, jumped atop Roland's head not long ago.

It was a very curious thing. First Fenris, now the little fox?

And for some reason he felt like a small draining sensation? He wasn't sure how else to describe it.

How odd....

Finally they reached the end of the hallway, Solomon opening the large door in front of them.

"Everyone else is already inside." Sol told them.

Inside they were greeted by a large space. Circular, with a glass ceiling.

Completely white, the room was full of complex machines of varying sizes.

Aries and Mephisto sat off to the side, bottles of wine in one hand and chunks of meat in the other.

Fenris was also beside them, chowing on a large bone that easily gave in under the power of her teeth.

"Your four, stand on the magic circle."

Solomon waved a hand and a large magic circle appeared in the middle of the room, glowing a very faint purple.

"Go on." Roland reassured them after he saw the hesitation on their faces.

They reluctantly did as they were told.

But they didn't get far before Solomon raised a hand to stop one of them.

"Hold up, kid, you'll have to wait a bit. Need to ask you something."

Surprise flickered across Reina's face.

"Me?" She pointed to herself, unsure.

He nodded.

"What do you have to ask her?" Roland came up from behind her, directin the qestion at his friend.

"Ah..." Solomon gave a small cough, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "It's nothing much, but the question I have is a bit personal...."

"What...do you want to know?" Reina asked slowly.

"Hm...Well, like I said, it's a bit personal...maybe a little too much...but it is kind of important, I don't want to make you go through this without knowing the answer....But I don't know if I should ask it here."

"On with it, Sol." Roland urged.

Solomon grew more uncomfortable, sneaking a glance behind Roland.

"It's...Look, are you sure you want to do this here? You two don't want to go to another room for a bit so we can talk with more privacy? Maybe weave a spell at least, or... something?"

Roland frowned. "What? No, there's no need. And why me, too?" He asked. "Hurry up, just ask."

"It's a rather sensitve subject, Ro, as you should well know." Solomon huffed. " I'm trying to help you here. Hell, does Morrigan even know?"

"Know what?" Roland was growing more irritated the longer this drew on. "No, nevermind. Just ask the damn question already, will you?"

"Okay, okay. Fine!"

He once more turned towards Reina.

" Yes, well, let's just ask directly then." He cleared his throat. "Ahem. I'm going to ask now..." He warned.

Reina nodded, listening closely.

"So..." He cleared his throat once more, adjusting his tie. "...Exactly how long have you been pregnant with Roland's child?"***

********************

Author Note: ***no comment here. Just roll with it for now. Will explain in next chapter.