***(2 months later)
Grenier was in the sitting room holding Arya while Freya had gone to the store with Reyn. The two had kept Arya a secret from all their neighbors since they would one day have to part with him, and would garner suspicion if one of their children were to suddenly disappear.
Grenier insisted that he go to the store with Reyn instead, however Freya had counter argued that seeing a baby without her mother was suspicious. So Grenier was stuck caring for Arya instead, much to Freya's delight.
As Grenier sat on the wooden chair in their living room, rocking Arya back and forth, the baby stared at him silently. As if it were aware of what was going on around it.
"Look it's not that I hate you. Had you been born of a tribe I would've gladly accepted you, however now that you're a Dermitas," whispered Grenier heavily, as if he were removing a huge boulder off his chest.
"It's just that I never thought I would have a family. But now I'm putting that all at stake just to care for you. I'm not evil I swear, I'm just scared of what might happen if you're one day discovered."
"What if the Dermitas that left you here was followed, and the only reason the guards haven't killed us yet is because they were waiting to see what we will do?"
"What if this is a test from the gods? And if we continue to care for you we will be shunned as well? And even if we did somehow manage to hide you, what will happen once the curse of the Dermitas starts following you around?"
"We're already having a hard time, I just don-" Grenier stopped his rant midway once he realized that he was just talking to a baby.
"Look at me. Oh how pathetic I've become. You know I was once one of the most feared men in one of the human cities, though that was a long time ago. Imagine what my colleagues would've said if they saw me tell a baby about how scared I am," laughed Grenier.
"Freya is right. If I was given a second chance at happiness, you deserve a chance too," whispered Grenier, caressing Arya's cheek.
'Unbeknownst to him, Freya was at the door listening, tears of joy flowing down her cheeks as she heard what her husband had said.
"Fatum mother of all gods, thank you for giving me this family," whispered Freya before wiping away her tears.
***(1 month later)
"It's nearly time for Reyn's Benedictio," said Freya as she played with Reyn in her arms.
"Ahh, she's nearly 6 months, isn't she. Then that means it won't be long before..." whispered Grenier, a tinge of sadness audible in his voice as he rocked Arya in his arms.
"We should prepare to journey to the church. We have to get a priest to confirm which god has blessed her," continued Freya as she nuzzled her nose against the laughing Reyn.
"Yeah, I'll talk to Banji. Anyway, I was thinking..." said Grenier, the last part coming out as a whisper.
"I can't hear you, dear," replied Freya as she continued to play with Reyn.
"I said I was thinking, maybe Arya isn't really a Dermitas. I mean you said that the man who brought him here was a giant. Perhaps he was just a demonkin who had angered one of the gods. Perhaps he wasn't necessarily shunned," said Grenier as he continued to play with Arya.
"A Demonkin? Arya's skin is as pale as yours. You know Demonkin only learn to change their form once they're older. If Arya really were a demonkin he would have charcoal black skin," replied Freya, sadness audible in her voice as she stopped playing with Reyn and looked at her husband with concern.
"I mean, I wanted a son, and there's a possibility that Arya isn't a Dermitas. Perhaps if his hair isn't white when his Benectio ceremony comes, then we can keep him," said Grenier holding on to him tightly.
Over the past few weeks, Grenier and Arya had become closer. Seeing as how Grenier had grown up without any parents of his own, he had come to feel a stronger bond towards Arya after realizing that his hate towards Arya was a mere figment of his own fear, a weakness.
"Perhaps, but how will we take him to a church? How will we explain the white hair to the priest if he really is a Dermitas?" asked Freya.
"Leave that to me," comforted Grenier, holding onto Arya with a smile.
***
A few days passed and it was finally time for Reyn's Benectio. The couple traveled to the church on horseback, taking three days to reach the nearest city from the village they were living in.
"Pfft look. The peasants have come for their kids' Benectio," whispered a few women who passed by the couple in the town square.
"They should just hurry and leave. They're making the city look dirty," replied another.
The city was massive, with pristine yellow sidewalks, and medieval European-style houses. At the center of the town square stood a fountain with a giant statue of a man holding a staff. The words "Grandus Magus Arcem," written in gold at the base of the statue.
Behind the fountain was a large white building with a silver cross above it. The words "Custodiat nos Fatum" were etched onto the uppermost part of the cross while the words "Laudamus Strephicam nostram deam" were below them in finer print.
The front of the church was filled with others of similar clothing to Freya and Grenier, holding onto babies of their own.
"It seems like others have come for their children's Benectio as well," said Freya with a smile on her face, ignoring the rude comments that the rich locals made about them each time they passed by someone.
"I swear I'll bu-" Grenier was about to say before Freya held his hand.
"You're scaring Reyn," said Freya softly as Reyn looked at her father's angry face in confusion.
Meanwhile Arya was sleeping on Grenier's back with a cloth covering him, hiding him from the view of others.