A few hours later, Tristessa walked through the somber halls of the Lord's Castle. Free to wander and mostly ignored by the imperial guards, servants, visitors, and workers of various kinds. A few couldn't help but glance sideways as she passed and grimace in disgust, repulsed by the dense aura surrounding her; what the Nekromians identified as a malevolent miasma. And a select few…

  “She's a guest of Lady Eramisaptor? When we escorted her to the hall, I thought she was a prisoner. She arrived with Jin Mercer and his family!”

  “Do you think she or the Mercer-Archeos had anything to do with our Lady's accident? What could have happened to her that she had to leave the Shield of Ill-Omen in charge?”

  “Lord Youngblood didn’t answer the General’s questions. There’s something going on…”

  “And have you seen who’s with her? Ungraceful wretches and outlaws!”

  “Perhaps Lady Aurelia took a liking to that girl because she also seems to be a she-dragoon. That aracross may be small, but it’s still frightening.”

  “And what about the Mercer-Archeos? They were exiled; they can’t just come back like that without consequence!”

  The murmurs of the curious and suspicious quickly became a nuisance, forcing Tristessa to wander the castle in search of a peace she was unlikely to find.

  It wasn’t until sunset was imminent and its last rays filtered through the great door of the main hall that calm seemed a promise about to be fulfilled, with the end of the workday and the return home of more than half the people.

  “Now that I think about it, it might be a good time to visit the back courtyard,” the girl thought while being followed by Vergil and unable to find any of her companions anywhere after a long search. She wasn't desperate enough to bother the castle staff; it was just the habit of having company for several days that accentuated the loneliness. “They say that the flowers transform the courtyard at nightfall. I can’t wait!”

  She didn't take long to find one of the many exits leading to the courtyard. What did take her a long minute was breaking free from the spell cast upon her when she stepped outside and had the field of flowers at her disposal. Abundant, covering every little space except for the earth and cobblestone paths and the tall, well-trimmed bushes, turning the place into a charming labyrinth.

  “So beautiful…” Tristessa sighed, descending the wooden stairs and finding herself surrounded by the first examples of the famous flowers in every direction she looked, alongside small insects akin to Earth’s fireflies highlighting the courtyard even more. She bent down to examine them more closely, and Vergil, beside her, sniffed some of them and sneezed. “If you’re allergic, you’d better wait for me inside.”

  “Graa!”

  The thousands of flowers were white and in bud, leaning sideways like sleeping beauties waiting for the moment to open their eyes. Nightfall was not far off—in fact, the few lanterns scattered throughout the courtyard had just been lit, serving as faint guides through the shadows that were beginning to cover more ground.

  Tristessa longed to see the spectacle unfold, letting her imagination run wild with the experiences she'd heard firsthand, and to breathe in all those delightful fragrances and scents carried on the cold but gentle breeze…

  “Miss Tristessa!”

  Hearing her name and looking up, the girl smiled warmly at the adorable boy who was running toward her through the walls of evergreen plants. Someone had given him a cloak as small as he was to protect him from the cold, and a large, thick, emerald-green book that he clutched to his chest like a stuffed animal.

  “Now I understand the rumor that the books in the Lord's Castle are in danger!” Tristessa took the boy in her arms, surprising him since he hadn't expected such a show of affection. “I'm so glad to see you, Lucci.”

  “M-me too!” he squealed in her ear, unsure how to react, his face burning. Without letting go of the book that was being crushed between him and the girl, he stammered, “M-miss, the herbology book…!”

  “What? Your book can't breathe? Hehe… Just kidding.”

  Tristessa let go of him and patted his head, slightly ruffling the hair he’d inherited from his mother. And, as if that weren’t enough, Vergil came over to give him a few affectionate licks on the face—his most effective battle tactic—after they’d kept each other company on that grim execution platform.

  “Alright, alright, that’s enough, Vergil.” With that command, which made the happy lesser demon back away, Tristessa allowed the boy to stop laughing and wipe himself with his sweater sleeve. “Were you out for a walk with your parents?”

  “That’s right! But I didn’t want to stay with them because they were getting touchy, yuck!” He explained, making a face of disgust so typical of a child his age, that Tristessa felt a pang of nostalgia for a past she couldn't remember. Perhaps it was the normalcy of Earth, so different from the lack of childhood life in a world as hostile and with such imposed low fertility as Nekrom. “Miss Tristessa, I read about this castle and its courtyard in one of the books we had at home.”

  "Oh, really? What can you tell me about these flowers?" Tristessa asked, running her fingers over the closed, fallen petals of the one closest to her.

  “They are known as Pale Widows: they take the form of hunched women weeping over the graves of the fallen. And when night falls, they open, their petals pointing toward the two ladies who have seen the most death and misfortune in all of history.” Lucahn pointed to Nekrom’s two natural satellites, already taking their rightful command over the dark heavens. “…or at least that’s what that book said.”

  “And the one you’re holding?”

  “It’ll bore you…b-but I could read it to you if you’d like, miss.”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Of course, that blushing, innocent boy named Lucahn Archeos always arrived at the same offer from all the timelines. Managing to win Tristessa’s sweet smile, which hid the horror and heartbreaking sadness of having seen that child die a gruesome death or be kidnapped by the witches of the Coven, never to return.

  Even though Lucahn was alive and safe behind the walls of the Lord of End-World's Castle, those wounds in Tristessa's soul would always remind her of blood, ashes, and screams… And whenever she saw that adorable, chubby face that loved knowledge and all the world had to offer, Tristessa would always see the same dead face. Eyeless. Mutilated. Reduced to ashes.

  “Hey… I need to talk to your parents. Would you like Vergil to stay with you?” Tristessa offered, patting the Aracross on the back. “He likes you, you know?”

  “Graa!”

  “I’d love to!”

  In a matter of seconds, Lucah was scampering through the courtyard paths, followed by Vergil and the curious eyes of the guards patrolling from the galleries, leaving Tristessa alone among that sea of ??widows weeping as they waited for the last rays of sunlight to fade.

  Finding Jin and Tiara wasn't difficult at all: she simply had to follow the less traveled and more…private path, away from the last lords and visitors of the Castle. That wasn't to say that the courtyard didn't have secluded spots where couples might engage in certain indecent practices, but tolerance for love was unquestionable. It didn't matter who they were, where they came from, or what social class they belonged to: love was more than welcome in a world where there weren't many reasons left to enjoy such beautiful and, at the same time, destructive emotion as love.

  Tristessa had never seen them together and given the unfavorable and dark circumstances in which they lived, it was understandable that displays of affection or sentimentality weren't a priority… Seeing them there now, holding hands, their union resting on Tiara's belly, filled her soul with joy.

  “…”

  Seeing them share a kiss filled her heart with warmth…and a touch of envy.

  “Can’t I be completely happy for a couple who went through hell…?” she thought, smiling at the hunter when he noticed her. “You really are trash, Tristessa Irandell.”

  They sat on an ancient stone bench beside a beautiful fountain that cast a verdigris glow from its depths. They were indulging in the well-deserved luxury of a peaceful moment, even though they were in the lion’s den—as they say on Earth—but fortunately, the beast was gagged with chains engraved with the symbol of the Shield and Skull.

  “Tia. Tia, wait,” Jin whispered as his wife sought his lips. “We’re not alone.”

  “Who in the Abyss dares…?” Frustrated and as passionate as ever, Tiara looked through the shadows for the culprit who had ruined her private moment with her husband. When she spotted Tristessa’s awkward figure peeking out from the bushes, her reaction, oddly enough, was to roll her eyes. “Ah, it’s you. Not surprising. Always sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, girl.”

  “Tiara…”

  But before Jin could jump to her defense, Tristessa was already ready to respond to that woman for that offensive comment.

  “If it weren’t for me sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, you’d be dead now. Your husband would be dead,” she spat, walking slowly toward the couple and spewing out truths with the anger she carried from past timelines. “Your daughter would have ripped your belly in two and torn your unborn child from your womb. Your daughter would have kidnapped Lucahn and given him a fate worse than Death.”

  Every word she spoke left her mouth with an extra dose of anger and fire from the hell she had experienced, meeting Tiara’s icy expression, unmoved by this barrage of would truths.

  “…tch.”

  The woman stood up and walked past Tristessa, shoving her with her shoulder, which only infuriated her further. She walked away without another word, not wanting to be in that girl's presence.

  “Damn it!” Tristessa cursed at the air and rubbed her eyes with her fingers, feeling weary from just having to deal with her. Jin had also stood up, wanting the irate girl to hear him. “Look, Jin, I'm not expecting her to kiss my hands and thank me every minute of her life for saving her skin, but sometimes I'd appreciate a little humility from her, you know?”

  “Miss Triss... Tessa.”

  The hunter cleared his throat and stood before her, right next to the lantern that illuminated that part of the courtyard. Although the lantern's cold white light was different from the lamp he used when he went hunting in the Sea of ??Trees, Tristessa remembered their first encounter as if it had been yesterday. She remembered his blond hair tied back, the same length of his bushy beard, and those emerald-green eyes full of prudence, but also empathy. The first human being she had met in this new world, and who, fortunately, turned out to be someone with a big heart.

  “Tiara is grateful, but she'll never show it. She'll be angry with me if she finds out what I'm about to tell you, but she cried all night after your victory against Lady Eramisaptor. I hadn't seen her cry like that in years... And those were tears of happiness.” Jin placed his hands on the girl's shoulder, his lips chapped by the cold, forming a smile. “Do you know what it meant for her to return to this Castle and hear Jonas Youngblood himself telling us that we were forgiven? Do you know what it means for me, for my family?”

  “I can only imagine...”

  “It’s something we thought impossible. A wish. A [dream]…” he whispered, that last word carrying a special weight that Tristessa understood in an instant, having seen and heard the same in her companions. “Now I see that stories are real. But I won’t ask for more.”

  “Jin…”

  “No, wait. Listen to me. I’m not naive enough to think that End-World will see us differently now that we’re not exiles anymore: the Mercer-Archeos name is synonymous with pain and malice, and that will never change… Nor am I naive enough to think that Lady Eramisaptor will let us go in peace,” he said, sighing. “But I can’t ask for more. I can’t ask for more from you. After spending years with Tiara fearing that any day could be our last, here we are, alive. We couldn’t have asked for more.”

  “No, Jin! You can’t settle for that!” she exclaimed, hearing in her mind the outrageous words Aurelia had spoken to her that very day about the fate of the Mercer-Archeos. “I’m going to…!”

  Jin interrupted her with an emotional embrace that Tristessa could understand to a certain extent, manifested in tears he couldn't hold back.

  “I thank all the Gods and their angels that you came into our lives, Tristessa. You are our savior, and not even in a thousand lifetimes could I repay you for what you did for us,” the man whispered in her ear, his words of gratitude mixed with babble and sobs. “In the name of my wife and my children, thank you for this chance to live again... Thank you!”

  Those athletic, strong arms had imprisoned her in a prison from which she could have escaped whenever she wanted. Jin's arms were fragile in those moments, just like the rest of him. Vulnerable, subjected to such a myriad of emotions developed during those almost two interminable weeks, to the point that the true miracle was that this man still had his psyche intact.

  That's why Tristessa decided not only to return his embrace, but to stay like that with him for a while. She wanted him to know, even though it was impossible. To silently tell him everything she felt too, from the joy of seeing them alive…to the deep pain that still lingered in her soul after having seen him and his family die so many times.

  “Never again,” she thought, keeping to herself all the misery and despair that lay dormant within her like a disease waiting to awaken once more. “I won't let them die again, never again.”