Tiir and I are adjusting well to parenthood. Lorelei can only be described as a smiley baby. She rarely cries unless she'd hungry or needs a diaper change. She even gets herself to sleep pretty easily as well.

I have recovered well from the childbirth. I don't even hurt from it anymore. I have begun breastfeeding the moment I healed. Beforehand, Tiir would feed Lorelei with substitute formula. I rather her feed from me, though. She seems to prefer me anyway.

Tiir is a good father to Lorelei despite not being related to her by blood. I think that fact hurts Tiir some, but he does his best to not show it. Especially in front of Lorelei. She may not be able to understand, but Tiir is still of the mentality of not showing his feelings. I still know what he feels, though. I'm his girlfriend. How could I not know what he's feeling?

One night, as I am putting Lorelei down for the night, I hear soft sounds coming from the room adjacent to Lorelei's room. The one I share with Tiir. I leave the sleeping Lorelei and enter our room. Tiir is sitting on our bed with his back to me. His shoulders are shaking. I hear him sniffling. "Tiir?" I whisper.

Tiir jumps slightly. He rubs at his eyes before turning to me. "Skye? What is it?" Tiir asks.

I take in Tiir's disheveled appearance before I respond. "Tiir, you're upset. Please, tell me what's wrong? I just want to help you," I reply while resting a hand on Tiir's shoulder.

"I…I don't know. It's just…I thought I got used to being Lorelei's father without us being related, but I'm not. I'm not really her father, no matter how much I wish for it to be true. I'm not her father…" Tiir whispers before he begins sobbing in his hands again.

"Oh, Tiir, you are much more her father than that Gastarkian bastard! Look at how well you take care of her! She is your daughter and you her father. Never forget that, my love," I hug Tiir tightly.

He sniffles once more before we break away. He wipes the last tears from his eyes. "Thank you, Skye. I needed that," Tiir smiles.

"You're welcome, Tiir. Now, it's late. We really should get ready for bed," I suggest.

Tiir nods his head. "Yeah. You're right, let's get some shuteye. Chances are, Lorelei will wake up in a couple of hours," Tiir replies.

The two of us don't bother undressing. We're just too tired. Instead, we just crawl under the covers. I snuggle up against Tiir and feel his arm wrap around me. A few moments later, we are both snoring away as the night grows darker.

Tiir and I wake up to the sounds of shrill screaming. I bolt upright, my maternal instincts kicking in. "That's Lorelei!" I screech. Tiir and I lunge out of bed and into our daughter's room. There, we only see an empty crib with a letter pinned to the outside. I read the letter:

Tiir and Skye,

I have your daughter.

Come to me at Crescent Rock.

It's on the border of the Central Continent and Gastark.

The trade will be made there at midnight the next night.

~The Gastarkian Bastard~

I gasp when I finish reading. "It must be Lir. He's the only one who would take Lorelei. He's been watching us the whole time!" I cry out, tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

Tiir wraps his arms around me. "It'll be alright, Skye. We'll get her back," Tiir assures me.

I nod my head, wiping at my eyes. "How?" I ask.

"We'll find a way. We'll find her. I promise," Tiir answers. He leads me out of our room to wake the other God's Eye bearers. We'll save Lorelei, but to do so, we need help.