Early one morning, Hilma came to visit Jerome and Ravea. Her maid, Lima came along with her. She had her breakfast with them and stayed over to help with some things in the house, but Jerome didn't let her do any work.

"I don't get why you do all these chores yourself, you need to go out more often and hangout with your friends." Hilma nagged at Jerome.

"If I go out, I wouldn't be able to do the chores. And my friends are okay with the distance we keep." He replied while washing plates in the kitchen.

Hilma turned to Ravea, "Sweet heart what about you? Don't you have any friends? I haven't seen anyone come to visit you apart from your mother and I, and occasionally, your sister."

Ravea thought about it for a moment and realized that the only friend she actually had was Hopas. Even though their friendship was built on a toxic base, he was still the person she spent most of her time with when she wasn't with her sister. "None close enough to come visit I guess." She replied.

"That's sad."

Jerome set the last of the plates aside, grabbed a hand towel and walked into the living room. "How's father?" He asked his mother.

"Oh he's fine", she replied immediately.

"Really? I heard what happened to the businesses of the Elders and, although he wasn't directly involved with the incident, somehow he was still affected." He leaned against the wall and continued cleaning his hands with the towel. "So tell me the truth, how is he?"

She kept silent for a while, "He's having a really rough time trying to patch the business back together, and it's really affecting his mental health. He's angry all the time, he's never around, but when he is, he's complaining about one thing or the other. I tried talking to him but it didn't make much of a difference."

"Is that why you decided to bless us with your presence today?" He threw the rag on a table in the kitchen.

"Yes", she replied.

"I thought as much. Alright then, let's go see him, together."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Indeed. We have to make him understand that no matter what he's facing, we're his family and we're still here for him." Jerome had the feeling his father wasn't going to accept their visit with an open mind, but he also felt it best that he tried nevertheless.

"Alright." Hilma was so happy. It was so like Jerome to do something like that. He always thought and cared for his father even though the man barely ever did same.

"Feel free to go on ahead of me, I'd like to change my shirt. It got a little wet when I was washing."

"Alright", Hilma replied and helped Ravea up before leaving the house.

Jerome didn't know what to wear. He wanted something that'd be formal and classy enough to tell his father that he was doing well, but also subtle and easygoing enough to fit the main purpose of the visit. After a while, he found one. A pale yellow shirt with green hemming. He quickly put it on. Just as he was about leaving the room, he heard someone scream outside. "Not again!" He thought to himself as he rushed outside.

But when he got outside, this time it was his mother who was screaming, and beside her stood a bare chested man wearing a red robe knotted at one end of his shoulder. It covered half his chest, his stomach and everywhere down from there. He was a sanctuary helper, and with him was a basket covered with red cloth which he held towards Ravea who was in utter confusion.

He rushed over to his mother and tried to calm her down but it was to no avail, so he instructed the maid to take her inside. He then faced the Sanctuary helper.

"Good day, can I help you?" Jerome asked.

Bright eyed and with a big smile on his face, the sanctuary helper said, "Rejoice believer, for the gods have chosen your child to be the next tribute to his glory."

Jerome immediately felt like he was hit by a moving carriage. He looked at Ravea and she looked like the message was yet to hit home. A few moments later it did, but her reaction was unexpected. She growled and shot back in fear, "To hell with that! My unborn child is not a tribute!"

Then Jerome realized something, "That's true, the child hasn't even been born yet, this doesn't make sense."

"Your child was selected as a tribute earlier than usual because the gods are so desperate to have a taste of the fruit of your love." The sanctuary helper replied, still with a smile on his face.

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"That doesn't make sense-"

"It doesn't need to", the sanctuary helper interrupted Jerome, "The ways of the gods cannot be understood by the likes of us. I have done my part, I have delivered the gods message to you, good day." He bowed then turned to leave.

Just then, "Milady please calm down! That's dangerous!" The maid's voice echoed from inside the house. And just as everyone turned to look, the sanctuary helper included, a pestle flew right past them and hit the sanctuary helper on the head, immediately causing him to slump.

"Is he dead?!" Hilma screamed as she marched out of the house.

Jerome who was still stunned, knelt down and placed his head on the sanctuary helpers chest. He could hear light thumping. He looked up and shook his head.

"Alright then", she went back in and brought out another pestle, this one much bigger than the first.

"Mother!" Jerome rushed over and held her. "Stop! Do you want to kill him?!"

"Yes!" She bluntly replied and pressed forward.

Jerome held her tightly. "But mother! It's not his fault that the gods want our child, he's only a messenger!"

"Well if I kill this one, they won't send anyone to come tell us such nonsense again, and if we don't know, we won't have to do squat. Ignorance is bliss!!" She hit Jerome's foot with the edge of the pestle and he let go off her.

"Ughh!" He grunted in pain. "Ravea wake him up! Please!" Jerome fell to the ground and held unto his foot. He then held his mother's leg which caused her to fall as well.

"This child! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Of course not!"

"Don't you dare touch him Ravea! That bastard wants to take your baby away from you! Are you going to save him?!" She shouted at Ravea.

Ravea fell still.

Jerome looked at the maid who was behind him and she immediately understood without him having to say a word. She ran inside and got a pail of water, then ran back out and poured it on the sanctuary helper. He immediately woke up with a jolt and started looking around. His forehead was swollen and bleeding.

"Leave!" The maid helped him get up and started pushing him away.

"Lima! What're you doing?! You'll lose your job for this! I promise you that!!" Hilma was enraged.

"Mother please calm down!" Jerome begged. But Hilma was on a completely different wavelength, she was like a crazed woman. Meanwhile, Ravea stood at the motionless at the same spot with her hand on her belly.

After the whole incident, Jerome had to secretly resort to adding sleeping tonics to his mother's food to make her calm down, but when she refused to eat, he added it to her water and pretty much anything she planned on putting in her mouth. Eventually his plan worked and she fell asleep.

While she was laid upstairs in the Dernewts house to sleep, Jerome waited downstairs for his father to get home. It was the first time he had been to his parents' house in months, and unsurprisingly, it still boiled up a sense of warmth in him. Nevertheless, as he sat on one of the chairs in the living room and intensely pondered on what to do, he looked over at Ravea. She still had the same look on her face as when the sanctuary helper first delivered the news to them. It was somewhere between confusion, shock and anger, but he was certain it wasn't any one of them.

All the while, her hands were still on her stomach, almost like she was stopping the baby from coming out.

Just then, they all looked up as his father walked in. He looked at Jerome, then at Ravea, making eye contact with both of them. He didn't seem surprised to see them there. As he walked towards the kitchen, he looked at Jerome and shook his head before shutting his eyes and looking away.

"What does he mean by that?" Jerome thought to himself, "He can't be serious. I came here to seek help, not for you to shake your head at me!"

"You're an Elder! Do something! Please", The last part he couldn't hold in any longer.

His father stopped in front of the kitchen but didn't look back at him. "I'm sorry but you're not the first family to lose a child to the yearly thanksgiving. Be a man and do the right thing." Then he went inside.

Jerome slumped back unto the chair. He could feel Ravea's gaze on him but he couldn't look at her. She must have been incredibly disappointed in him.

"The child hasn't even been born yet and you stupid idiots are already dictating its life", Hilma said as she slowly came down the stairs.

"Mother!" Jerome exclaimed and rushed to go help her.

"Don't touch me! You think I don't know you put sleeping tonics in my drink?" She shoved him aside.

She walked over to Ravea and held her face up. "I understand how you're feeling now my dear, don't worry, no one will take your child away from you."

Mr. Dernewt stood by the door of the kitchen and accidentally slurped loudly on the tea he was drinking. They all looked at him. He shifted his gaze and began walking towards the stairs. Hilma rushed over and blocked him. He tried going left, she went left. He tried going right, she went right. He grew restless, "Hilma stop th-", he was saying but was interrupted when Mr. Semira and his wife barged into the house.

"Ravea!" Agnes sighed in relief as she rushed over and hugged her. "We came over immediately we got your message but no one was at home so we thought to come here instead." She hugged her again.

Rima walked in and quietly greeted Hilma who gladly acknowledged her greeting, she turned to greet Mr. Dernewt but he was already locked in a staring contest with her father, so she just gave up and sat beside Ravea. "Well, aren't you going to say something?" Mr. Semira asked Mr. Dernewt.

"What do you want me to say? You're the one that just came barging into my house like a vagabond." Mr. Dernewt replied almost indifferently.

Mr. Semira took a deep breath. "Is there really nothing you can do about this?"

"What do you want me to do? It's not like I'm the one that made the demand, I'm just... A messenger. An Elder" Mr. Dernewt sipped more tea.

"Yes but you're also a father, y-", Mr. Semira tried to reason with Mr. Dernewt but he lost his patience.

"I'm this! I'm that! I'm the villain here arent I? Just because I'm a servant of the gods!"

"No one said you were the villain", Hilma said calmly.

"Well you're looking at me like I am! Like I'm the one that asked for the child!"

"Mr. Dernewt we didn't-"

"You think it doesn't hurt me to have to do this?! You think it doesn't pain me to be unable to help my son?!" His eyes began to water, his voice wavered, "Having to watch my child pass through the exact same mess that I passed through without being able to do anything, you think I enjoy it?" He dropped the cup on the dining table. "Every family faces this at some point, this time it's yours." He sighed, "It's ours. Once the baby is born, we'll begin the ritual, that way you won't get too attached." Then he climbed upstairs.

No one said anything after Mr. Dernewt left. There wasn't much to say, they all knew he was right.