The Night was quiet, and the stars were shining down on Alex as he sat near a campfire. He looked around and saw Anna, his mother, asleep in her tent with Eve. She had been through a rough day where nearly her entire life was turned around. Her daughter was sent away to marry a random noble; her best friend, whom she treated like a sister, betrayed her, and now she was on the road, homeless.
Alex felt guilty about doing this to his mother. She didn't deserve for almost her entire life to be flipped upside down in a single day.
Alex was resting on a tree; he didn't take either of the two tents they had. Anna and Eve shared one, while Veronica had her own.
Before everyone turned in for the night, Alex told them everything that happened.
After Anna heard what Edmund had planned to do with Alex and Raven, she herself wanted to kill him but was upset that Alex had stained his hands with his blood and, even more so, that he showed little emotion after it.
Alex also described to them his plan.
*Earlier that night*
"Where are we going?" Eve asked.
"To Lapis City." Alex stated it clearly.
"Are you going to save Raven?" Anna asked.
"Of course, I promised her after all." Alex once again stated clearly
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Anna asked, still worrying about the details.
"Simple, I'll save her by any means necessary. She doesn't deserve to be sold off to the Tarren Family." Alex said.
"I agree, but I'm just worried." Anna said.
"I know, but I promise you by the end of the week she'll be safe and back with us." Alex said he smiled at Anna to calm her down.
*Later*
Alex took a drink out of his water can, but nothing came out.
"Dammit, I need some more." Alex thought to himself.
He had a full canteen of water, but he had to share it with Eve since they didn't, and she forgot to pack one for everyone.
Alex decided to take a walk since he couldn't sleep. He walked around the woods for awhile before stumbling upon something surprising.
A small but beautiful hot spring.
"Bless my luck, thank you goddesses." Alex said to himself before he undressed and sat down in the water.
He had never been to a hot spring before, but he knew they existed in this world because of the stories he had read in books.
While relaxing in the soothing hot water, he heard a voice he didn't expect.
"Enjoying your bath, young master?"
Alex nearly stood up in shock. It turns out something was blocked off by the steam that he couldn't see.
It was Veronica sitting near a rock in the hot spring.
"Oh, Veronica...I'm sorry. I'll leave if you want." Alex said.
"It's fine, young master; I need to talk to you anyway, and this is the best chance I have."
"Oh, well, ok, what do you want to talk about?" Alex asked.
Alex tried not to stare, but it wasn't easy. Veronica was in her glory, with only some parts blocked by the water, but he could still see a few things, even if just barely. She had unblemished skin and a near-perfectly sized chest. Not too big, not too small. He had never seen her like this before, so he didn't really know how to react.
"I apologize." Alex said, putting his head down.
"It's fine; you're at that age after all." Veronica said while she was still relaxing with her eyes closed.
Alex once again looked up at her and asked, "I've been wondering, how come mom and you maids haven't seemed like you aged a day? You still look the same as you did when I was a baby."
Veronica opened her eyes and looked at Alex. "Oh, that's because of your mother, didn't you know?"
"Know what?" Alex asked.
"Done staring?" Veronica asked.
"Your mother's family, The Morrigan house, has a very special type of magic. Life magic. While your mother didn't inherit these abilities, instead inheriting her father's lightning magic, her sister however was the opposite. Your Aunt Lyanna was a prodigy with her magic; she gave your mother basically immortality. Every few years she goes and visits your aunt and receives these pills that she takes once a year, and she doesn't age, at least not physically. She eventually gave all of us maids some, and she did plan to give you and Raven some in a few more years."
"Immortality? That's possible?" Alex asked.
"Well, I shouldn't say we're immortal; we're just highly unlikely to die of age. If we're stabbed or something, we will still die." Veronica said.
"So you're a vampire but without the thirst for blood?" Alex asked.
"Crazy, isn't it? I honestly didn't believe it at first, but once I learned the details of everything I understood, and no, I'm not telling you, you'll just have to ask your mom and aunt about it." Veronica said.
"That's insane." Alex said.
No more aging; live potentially forever. How could he not have known about this, and what kind of magic could do that? Alex thought for a bit, but Veronica had more to say.
"Now, I think I'm ready to talk to you about something." Veronica said.
"If you're comfortable with it, I'll listen." Alex said.
"Im ready; now your mother and aunt know, but Eve and, well, Mary didn't. It's a family secret, if you will. Let me tell you a story—a story that hasn't ended yet."
"There was a girl born in the Islands to the west. However, her family was less than normal. Her mother was an inhabitant of the islands; however, her father was a member of the nobility of an empire to the far east of the mainland. Her father had fallen in love while on vacation and moved to the Island to stay with her mother and her for a few years. However, one day her father left, and they didn't know why. Her mother had to raise the girl all on her own, and it wasn't easy. When the girl was about ten years old, her mother fell sick with a fever and passed away after about a week. The girl didn't have any other family, so after about two years of pickpocketing and sneaking around, she finally managed to sneak on a boat heading for the Empire. She had enough money to get food for the first few weeks, but she had one goal. To find her father.
She was determined and thought her father would welcome her back with open arms and that she would have a family again. After a year of searching the Empire, she had found her father. He was the baron of a small town in the west. When the girl knocked on the door of the house, a strange woman answered. The girl asked the woman where her father was, and it confused the woman. She told the girl to take a seat while she went to talk to someone. A few minutes later, a man came into the room she was in. The man was her father, visibly older, but there was no mistaking it. She ran up to hug him, but he stopped her. He said he had no idea who she was. The girl said it was impossible, but the man ordered a guard to escort her out of the house. The girls one last family member didn't want her. It broke the girl. She had to resort to living off the streets for almost two whole years afterwards while also trying to get her father to accept her, but it never happened. She lived on the streets and had to learn how to fight.
She was found by a man; the man was older, but he was kind to her, fed her what he could afford, and never harmed her. The man only had one request. "Let me teach you what I learned throughout my life." She agreed to his training. It turns out he was a former assassin for another country. She went through the same training he did and even took jobs he offered her to do. Killing people for money. It was never enough to set her up for life, but it kept food on the table. Then she received another job. To kill the two daughters of a noble family.
The job offered her an insane payment. She knew that if she succeeded, she could feed herself for a month. She tried to do so but was caught, and her assassination attempt was thwarted pretty quickly. To her surprise, the family were trained magic users who had their senses heightened. She thought her life was over, not only failing to kill her target but also trying to kill a noble family. She was dead either way, whether it was other assassins or execution. However, something strange happened. The family had two younger daughters who, instead of punishing the girl, fed her. They took her to a local restaurant and told her to order whatever she wanted. The girl hesitated, but a hungry stomach overcame any thoughts she had. It was the best meal the girl had eaten in years.
The two daughters then asked her a life-changing question. "Would you like to eat meals like this for the rest of your life?" It was too tempting an offer. She accepted. She went on to become a maid for the girls and never went hungry again.
She changed her name and her identity in order to hide from the assassin guild she was part of. She never contacted the old man again except to say goodbye one last time.
She became a member of a new family, and they treated her like a daughter even though she was just a maid. Then the younger of the two daughters decided to have her go with her when she married another nobleman.
It was then that Raven and you, Alex, were born, and honestly, ever since, both of you have become important to me. You two brought me happiness, although I rarely showed it."
Veronica moved over to where Alex was and told him.
"My real name is Kaede Lamonia. Former Assassin and Current maid to the Morrigan family. I promise to help you save Raven, and I will always do everything I can to protect all of you. You have become my new family."
Alex was surprised. Not only because of such a sad story but also because she had finally opened up to him.
"It's nice to meet you, Kaede; by the way, I think your name is beautiful; you honestly, even just with us, go by it more at least just when you're with us." Alex said.
She blushed as a result. "Okay, only with all of you will I use my real name; I'll also tell Raven the same story when we get her back." She said.
"Good, I'm relying on you, Kaede."
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btw for those of you waiting for the NSFW stuff, i do have one chapter to that soon. also remember the plot relevant NSFW stuff will be for free while the not so relevant stuff will be on patreon for all patrons(its as cheap as a dollar)
shoutout to Daiost267530 for the 3 power stones
Patreon:
https://patreon.com/Alex_Blackwood628
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https://discord.gg/97ejzvAGKb