A carriage pulls to a stop in front of Ortho and Artho Apothecary.
No one takes notice of the hooded figure stepping out, their robes far too heavy for the hot summer weather.
"Madam,"
A servant addresses them, back bowed respectfully.
"Wait outside."
"Yes, Madam."
The figured enter the apothecary silently, the door barely making a sound as it opens and closes.
Their boots click as they land on the floor, each step channeling the natural poise and confidence of a war hero.
The owner of the establishment, a dark-skinned, white-haired man, stands behind the counter, a perplexed frown on his face. He wears a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that obscured most parts of his features.
He opens his mouth to speak.
"Sister, how lovely it is to see you on this fine day."
The hooded figure undoes the clasp of their cloak, taking it off and hooking it onto a coat hanger.
She is revealed to be none other than Vespera Odum.
"Ortho. You look well."
Vespera steps forward, making her way to the counter.
"Marriage has softened you." She says idly, a bit of a smile appearing on her murderer-like face. It made her look like a psychopath.
Ortho was about to reply to the comment when his face suddenly slackens.
A moment goes by and his face twitches.
A hand slowly moves up to remove his, revealing a long scar down his right eye.
"Sister-in-law, it is so good to see you. Would you like some water? Tea? Perhaps coffee? Why don't you sit down and I'll go get that for you? Come, come. The weather must be very warm."
Artho fronts, greeting Vespera as politely as he can. This is his in-law. He hasn't seen her since he and Ortho accidentally eloped and dragged Malark with them to the Francois Republic.
That was years ago.
There was a lot of alcohol involved so he and Ortho don't remember much.
Malark had advised them to steer clear of Vespera for a while.
He had predicted she would be the angriest after Ortho and Artho got married.
It was bad enough that he and some herbalist from the Polska Nation also eloped after the end of the Lesser Krieg War, but for Ortho--Vespera and Malark's half-brother--to be eloping with Malark's third personality--who clearly isn't related to any of them--it had caused some scandals throughout the Empire.
The only person in the family who clearly hasn't eloped was Vespera.
Their parents had so many expectations for Vespera to be the eloping child, but they were wrong.
They were so, so wrong.
"Artho." Vespera greets coldly. "I take it you have been treating my brother kindly."
"A-ah, yes?" The answer had come out as a question, which resulted in a nasty death-glare from Vespera.
"I mean, yes! Yes, yes. Yes, of course! Of course, I would treat Ortho with all the respect and kindness that he deserves..."
He trails off, and adds, quietly this time, "Ma'am."
"Good."
It's been a few years since the elopement.
Artho has been avoiding Vespera like the plague. He would have been fine never fronting in front of her as long as he existed.
But not today.
Today, Malark pushed him to the front.
As to why? Artho had accidentally over-watered his Moon Dew Flowers...
It had taken him nearly three days to save the roots from rotting.
So he's feeling particularly vindictive and grumpy.
"You should save him. Artho is acting like a fool."
Ortho speaks from the back of the mind.
"Serves him right. If he had read my instructions clearly, he wouldn't be in this situation."
"Sicking sister on him isn't going to teach him shit, Malark. I'll pay for the damage to the plants. How much Nectar Serum do you still need?"
"... Three jars," Malark admitted begrudgingly.
"I'll go to the market after closing up. Now go help Artho."
When Malark fronts, he is giving his sister a shoulder massage.
He drops his hand and sits down.
"Why have you come, sister?"
Vespera takes a sip of coffee that Artho had brewed her before answering.
"It is an urgent matter, Malark. Regarding your nephew."
Sensing the seriousness in Vespera's tone, Malark stands up and begins making his way over to the door behind the counter. "I see. Please come to the back, sister. We shall speak there."
Vespera follows after him. As she does, Malark continues speaking.
"Be wary of the Delusion Daisies," He gestures to the pot of daisy-like plants on the counter. "Security has been tightened as of late."
"Should I presume the underground has something to do with it?" Vespera raised a hand to cover her mouth and nose as she passed the plants.
"Yes. The activities of the Iron Lotus have become strange these past few days." Malark opens the door and ushers her inside.
The back of the store is a large nursery of plants.
There are the usual herbs that can be seen, used for the common cold and the likes.
In the very back, however, laid volatile poisons and rarity that some would kill to get their hands on. Surrounding those particular plants are even deadlier plants that can kill in an instant. Only their breeder can bypass them.
No one else. Not even his other two personalities.
The two siblings sat comfortably on two large stone platforms by the herbal nursery.
Vespera eyed the area with the deadly plants, a curious look appearing on her face.
"Keep an eye on them. My family has no time for useless criminal rebellions."
"Certainly. Our trackers have found something the other day. We believe their headquarter is in the south."
"Good. Make sure they don't lose the scent. Have them search the mountains and desertlands. They would have to find something eventually."
Malark nods sagely. He, Ortho, and Artho were already monitoring the situation. Once they locate the Iron Lotus Headquarter, it is decided if things get violent, they will interfere with enforcers.
Hopefully, things won't escalate to that point.
The underground should know better than to get civilians involved.
He lowers his voice a bit, as if afraid someone could be listening, and provides a bit of information.
"A few of our contacts have gone missing. The organization has their hands dipped in more pies than we initially expected."
Vespera grunts. "Give me a list and I'll see what I can do. Any words on their leader?"
Malark shakes his head. "Some of our remaining contacts claim that there's a power struggle happening in the inner circle. After the coup, the first-born child succeeded the position as the Head Lotus."
"The previous head only has one legitimate child. Why are they suddenly making a fuss?"
Again, Malark lowers his voice even more.
"There's a bastard who suddenly showed up. No one knows who they are, but they claim to be the true heir. Many in the Inner Circle are supporting them because the current Head Lotus is crueler and more vicious than the last. They purged most of the Inner Circle after coming into power."
Vespera paused, mentally compiling the information for later use.
The mention of the Iron Lotus reminded her of something important.
"Can you check on the activities of the Moores and Dartmouth Family?"
"Certainly," Malark assented. "What for?"
Vespera shakes her head. "Nazareth came into contact with them a few months ago. My husband thinks little of it, but he seems to forget that children are connected to their parents. Even if the young aren't involved, you can never know with the adults."
"You believe the Dartmouth and Moores have something to do with the Iron Lotus?"
"I don't believe, Malark. I know."
The atmosphere dampens as the two siblings sit.
It is always like this between them when they start talking business.
Malark was first to break the silence.
"You came to me for an urgent matter. I doubt it's about the Iron Lotus. Why have you come to visit, Sister?"
Vespera takes another sip of her coffee. "My eldest son has been poisoned."
"Aurelion?" He cocked his head. And then, after a pause, he decided to ask. "Again?"
Vespera frowns. "No. Nazareth."
"Ah, I see-- wait, what?!" The herbal supplier yelled out in surprise.
Vespera raised a brow. "You seem quite shocked."
"Of course! Step-nephew knows much about these things. How can he fall to something so simple as poison?"
Nazareth looked practically immune to all poisons.
Malark had wanted him as an apprentice ever since the boy began coming to his shop, but the boy's recent interest in medicinal herbs seems to outweigh his interest in poisons.
This was surprising since Nazareth had once heavily favored the subject of common poisons. Malark still remembers the little boy who first came into the apothecary with that neat little book of his, requesting cinnamon and Fire Nettles.
He hadn't known what they were used for, but the spark of intelligence in Nazareth's eyes had him moving before he could think of the consequences. The boy had looked so eager, so determined, it had reminded him of his younger days.
How he would practically devour any book that mentioned poisonous plants.
His parents were concerned, yes, but he had never intended to harm anyone with his expertise.
To the enemies of the Empire, he would gladly have them drink Lily Acid.
To those of the Empire, his skills are at their disposal.
Malark didn't have a very complicated moral compass. No one in the Arcadia Family really did. Their first loyalty is to the Empire. Everything else is either family or safety.
So was it wise of him and his brother and brother-in-law to give Mistletoe to a little kid?
No.
Did they still do it, though?
Yes.
It had felt like a pull, really.
He had wondered how far the boy would go in learning about poisons. How much he was capable of learning. Malark saw himself in Nazareth so he began supplying him with the poisons, expecting him to research and dissect every part of the plant.
Their side effects, their death rates, and how quickly they killed.
Perhaps, if Malark had known that his sister's step-son used these poisons to kill people, he would have never given them to Nazareth.
Perhaps, if Malark had known he, Ortho, and Artho--in another lifetime--would be implicated for treason, for allowing a traitor of the Empire access to deadly poisons, he would have killed Nazareth himself to stop the horrors of the years to come.
It had never occurred to them that a child of the Odum could do such evil.
They were naive, despite living a life of war and bloodshed. Their family values had blinded them from the truth--and in another lifetime, they paid the price for their ignorance.
"We suspect he had been poisoned twice," Vespera explained, a look of murder in her eyes as she remembers her son bleeding all over the bed.
Malark nods in understanding, still unsure of the severity of the situation. "How did this matter come to be?"
"Tea party." His sister snarled. "He drank something laced with Bellodon."
"That should be an easy fix--"
"We fixed the problem." Vespera snapped, though Malark knew she didn't mean to be so vicious. He can tell it's been hard on her. "But it was during his recovery that we think the perpetrator did something else."
Vespera brought out a small piece of fabric that looked to have been roughly cut out. It was a piece of white bed sheet with a speck of purple stained on it.
"We don't know what happened, but he started bleeding all over from the seven orifices. Eyes, nose, mouth, ears. It required a transfusion to stabilize him."
"Oh..." Malark sucked in a sharp breath.
He could feel Ortho and Artho both trying to front, but he pushes them down with a sharp, "Not now!"
They stop pushing, but Malark knows they'll make a second attempt to come out.
"It's been two days. Despite bringing the Royal Physician, he still has not awakened from his sleep. He is still like the dead, brother. They don't know if he will wake up."
Vespera's voice may be monotone and frosty, but Malark is her brother. He can see how distraught she is. He worries she will soon become a grieving mother.
Artho pushes to the surface as Malark is caught in his own well of grief.
After all, Nazareth is the favorite nephew.
Aurelion and Guinivere are also loved equally, but Nazareth visits the most.
"Something similar happened a few years ago with the current Elysium Heir. The symptoms are similar. Bleeding orfices, comatose state. It could be something different, but I think there's someone who could help."
Vespera is skeptical after hearing Artho. After all, even the Royal Physician wasn't able to cure Nazareth of his ailings. However, she is willing to do anything as long as Nazareth wakes up.
"Have you heard of Laurel Elysium?"
Who hadn't heard of Laurel Elysium? She is the first person in the entirety of Rhine History to ever marry an Elysium Duke.
It was said that she was the one to save the current Elysium Heir's life. Eubulous had fallen in love with her after what she did to save his son and the two wed within a year's time.
Vespera should know.
She and Gareth had attended as witnesses for the private ceremony.
They weren't able to come for the public one since the Elysium and Odum are supposed to hate each other on paper.
"Laurel Elysium hasn't been seen for a few years. Didn't she retire after getting married?"
Artho shakes his head. "She's still performing miracles, but it has to be in secret. Her techniques are considered unorthodox. If the Church hears about this, you know what they will do to her."
Vespera clicked her teeth. "The Church has always been an eyesore. If anyone were to go against their methods, they claim it is devil's work."
"But the Empire requires them at this moment. We cannot remove them until the people are ready. Not to mention, the Saint and Saintess are still being held there."
Vespera's gaze sharpens when she hears the words "Saint" and "Saintess."
"If they try anything, you can start speeding up the process of their destruction. It's about time the people started believing in new religions."
"I cannot agree more."
The siblings-in-law sit for a moment longer.
During this time, Ortho fronts.
Vespera stands up, and Ortho takes this as cue to escort her out.
The war-hero gives her brother the empty cup of coffee.
"Your husband has some talent for brewing."
Ortho couldn't help but agree. "Among other things."
They head for the door.
"We will see what we can do, Sister. Please invite us over when you find the perpetrator who poisoned our dear Step-Nephew."
"I will offer a quarter of their flesh to torture."
"That is acceptable."
---
Young Master Nazareth's heart stopped.
The healing barrier raised around him changed from its pale, shimmery blue to a blood-like red in a matter of seconds.
Healers swarm the room when they found their magic pulse erratically.
"Someone! Get the Duke!"
The heart crystal on the bedside, tethered to the heartbeat of Young Master Nazareth, flatlined.
They were losing the patient.
The Duke rushed into the room.
"Your Excellency-"
"Do something!"
The healers started to do chest compressions.
Another checked for breath.
A third began to write out electric talismans, in case they would have to perform defibrillation on the patient.
---
Neo blinked.
He awakens to a room--plain, simple, and small. Bereft of any personality or interests. He is like a sheet of paper, blank and empty, with no true purpose.
Countless stars remain in his eyes.
He has seen things beyond it, yet, he forgets the moment he remembers.
The limbo of death and life is like a dance, pulling and pushing his consciousness to and fro.
He cannot see what is beyond him, but he cannot remember what he has left behind.
A figure stands in between him and the veil of this world. They hold two things in the grasp of their hands, but he doesn't know what they're holding.
They are too far away--or perhaps, too blurry?--for him to see them clearly.
They turn their head and meet his gaze.
It is a look of surprise that contorts their face.
A gasp, the sound of frantic shuffling, pen to paper, scribbles.
What is it? What are they doing?
He tries to take a closer look, but then, the ground comes out from under him and he is falling and falling and falling--
He sleeps.
---
"There's a pulse!"
Every person in the room finds a sense of relief as the head healer confirms this.
"It's very weak, but the boy lives. Your Excellency,"
The healer approaches Gareth.
"Will my son be alright?"
The old man shakes his head. "He will need to be tethered to someone's lifestrand. Perhaps your other son or daughter-"
"I'll do it."
Gareth immediately volunteers.
He is familiar with the lifestrand process.
He has done it before for his older sister in the past.
Lifestrand Support, as the healers would call it, is a technique used to tether a person's life to a patient. It is to ensure that the patient will survive if anything were to happen--such as the stopping of the heart.
The tethering only lasts until the patient either wakes up or is out of immediate danger of dying.
Since Nazareth is currently neither of these things, how could Gareth not volunteer to be his son's lifestrand?
The procedure is temporary and requires the lifestrand and patient to be immediate families, or else, it won't work.
There are, of course, dangers to being tethered. It isn't so much for the patient, but more for the person playing the role of the lifestrand.
If anything were to happen to either the patient or lifestrand, their lives could be at great risks.
"Your Excellency, please think this through a little longer-"
"Healer Wardolf, he is my son. He is my responsibility the moment I brought him to this manor. I will be the lifestrand. You may start the procedure."
Gareth made no room for arguments.
Looking back, he has always been lacking as a father.
Aurelion and Guinivere have never voiced their displeasure, but what about Nazareth?
He had never understood his eldest son.
He grew too lax and thought that nothing could harm him, falling into a state of self-assurance that made him too confident in himself.
Nazareth being poisoned had reawakened him to the dangers of Noble Society.
Gareth has realized he had disappointed his children for too long.
That child he had brought home from the streets of the Red Light District had already grown up and become someone unrecognizable.
How much has he missed?
And is he too late to see more of that child?
Gareth approaches the bed of his sleeping son.
The rise and fall of his chest, weak and small and slow, showed that he was at least alive.
The father reaches down and tries to smooth out the wrinkles between his son's brow.
He fails, so he tries again.
When that, too, fails, he goes for his son's hand.
Taking the small hand in his own, he gives it a little squeeze.
"Are you ready, Your Excellency?"
A healer brings out the tethering blades.
"Go ahead."
Gareth doesn't notice when they undo his hair ribbon and began cutting a good portion of the black locks off.
He doesn't blink when they slice off the back panel of his shirt.
The man doesn't wince when they carve the runes onto the protrusions of his spine, starting from the base of his neck, all the way down the ladder.
His focus is solely on his son and the feeling of too-cold hands in his own.
Eubulous had to do this five times.
Gareth can't imagine the pain of losing a child, and Eubulous had lost five.
He prays, for the very first time, for any God who is willing to listen.
'Please, Lord, if you are listening...'
'Please don't take this child away...'
'Please... Please... Please...'
The sun shines bright outside the Manor.
Summer has come to full bloom.
It is a wonderful summer, with the breeze warm and the flowers growing.
Children laugh and play under the heat.
Life goes on amidst all that is happening below the sky.
Up there in the clowds, they remain forever ignorant to the sufferings of mortals.