Normally for her, knitting would be a relaxing pastime for Cassie. A way to blow off some stress from a hard day of work. Years of raising children and dealing with hero shenanigans would pile on the stress quite a bit. Today wasn't any different. Yet the knitting wasn't working. She still felt stressed. Extremely so. The scarf was half made and already she felt like throwing it away. Burning it. Something.

An ugly grimace came to her face as she thought about these feelings. She knew why she had them. She knew what was causing it. Yet she also knew she had to get her mind off of it. She was ordered to keep that 'thing' alive. So that meant she had to bury any resentment towards the beast. A hero was to be obeyed. That was the duty of one of her station. She was a maid. Her life's goal was always to serve a hero or a noble.

Yet…

She could hear it crying. With a frustrated sigh, she put away the knitting supplies. She was frustrated but she had her duties. A maid never shirks them even if they abhor her. It didn't take her long to stroll into the little beast's new room. As a maid in charge of a baby, she had to be close at all times. Babies were needy creatures by nature and couldn't do anything on their own. She had plenty of experience dealing with them. Sasha was a good example. Such a well behaved child, although she had quite the set of lungs to her.

This 'child' was trying to match little Sasha's wales in volume. He wasn't living up to that standard but it was a good effort. She walked into the little thing's room and grimaced. It wasn't for the smell, thankfully she didn't have to change him right now. It was simply looking at the creature that made her reel back. He looked like a normal little baby boy in some ways. A cute face with pinchable cheeks. A healthy mop of purple hair was on his head. Any woman would just love him dearly.

If they could get past his non-human parts that is. Dragon parts littered his form. She idly thought about how easy was it for the baby to shred her skin without even trying. Now that was an image she didn't want to dwell on.

Her eyes twitched slightly as she fought to glare at the little thing. It was a monster, no matter how young it was. It made her sick just looking at it. It was still crying and the noise was irritating her. She wanted to shut it up. She couldn't punt the thing into the wall. She couldn't smother it. Drown it. None of that. She had to watch over the little thing.

She knew why It was crying. It didn't stink. It was just hungry. She was good at guessing a child's concerns. The issue was that she refused to breastfeed it. She turned and walked away, ignoring its cries for attention. Her mistress no doubt had a few bottles of milk about. They shouldn't have gone bad. Milk products tended to have magic used on them so that they last longer.

The kitchen cabinets had what she needed. She made a mental note to go shopping later. They were running low on a few things. Her mistress was a smart woman but she tended to let the home collect a bit too much dust sometimes, in more ways than one.

As she walked back to the room, she couldn't help but notice something. It was a little knife. Normally she wouldn't think much of such an item. It was just a normal utensil. Yet her eyes were fixed on it. Why was that? Why did she want to pick it up? The crying got worse. Her agitation with the situation only grew. The monster wanted to be fed.

She picked up the knife. Cassie wanted to shut it up. She marched to the room. The blade held firmly in her hand as was the bottle. As she entered, her anger grew tenfold. There it was holding out its little hands to her. Such a greedy thing it was. It just wanted everything to itself. A true monster's mindset.

She moved closer. Her mind went into overdrive for a moment. Should she do this? It would make their lives better. Snuff out a potential threat and keep her mistress's name squeaky clean. They would all be safe. If she was punished for this, let it be so. She did everything for her mistress and the Order. She raised the knife.

It would be so easy to bring it down. End it right here and now. The baby seemed to notice her looming over it. It stopped crying. It was still sniffling but it looked up at her with its big eyes. Cassie let out a little gasp. Those eyes looked so innocent. So full of life. It… No, he was trusting her completely.

Was she to destroy that trust? No. A true maid kept true to their words. She shook her head and steadied her arm. She shouldn't be thinking like that. This was not a person. This was a monster. He… Wait, did she call it a he?

The baby whimpered. Cassie's heart shook at the sight. She grit her teeth. Her mistress would be mad at her. She would be breaking her oath. She would be killing a literal baby. She… She couldn't do it. Her arm lowered and she placed the knife down on a nearby table. She sighed and picked up the baby.

Cassie placed the bottle at his lips and watched as he started to drink. She could have breastfed him herself but she still was not that comfortable with a monster baby. She watched the baby eagerly drink his milk. "There you go, little master. Drink up and be quiet."

This experience was really going to try her nerves.


"I simply cannot believe he strong armed you into this," Jeannite said. Eliza had been talking to her for a while and naturally the reason she came to this ball in the first place was brought up, "Why, I have half a mind to slap him silly for forcing you to attend."

"Well it's a good thing your other half has a bit more sense then the other," Eliza pointed out, "I'd hate for you to be thrown into jail over something this minor."

"I imagine he'd just love to do that," Jeannite snipped with a roll of her eyes. It was no secret that her and the Norscrim family didn't get along. Ever since their great grandfather's time, the families had vied for power in the city. The Blanchett's, her family, still had quite a say in the city but the Norscrim's basically owned it. It was only through some connections that she was still allowed to live here.

Jeannite chuckled, "But let's not dwell on that old geezer. Tell me, Eliza. How was your last mission? I have just been dying to hear about your tales of heroism again."

Eliza frowned, "I don't think you need to hear about it."

"But momma," Sasha spoke up, "I want to hear about your hero stuff."

Eliza's frown just deepened as she looked down into that innocent face," Sasha-"

Jeannite giggled, "I think you have been outvoted. So out with it. Come on." She tapped Eliza's chest a couple of times in a joking manner.

Eliza gave out an annoyed 'huff', "You just live to make my life that much more aggravating, don't you?"

"It adds a bit of spice to my life, yes." Jeannite's smile only grew at that, "Unless you don't wish to tell me of your exploits. Do you want to keep them all to yourself? You big meanie." She gave a cute pout.

Eliza just rolled her eyes. It was always like this with her but at least she could stand Jeannite unlike the rest of the nobility here. She opened her mouth to start speaking. Of course she'd omit things and change a few details here and there. She couldn't tell Sasha the bloody bits and she really didn't want to go over some things she personally didn't like or did. Jeannite was her friend but there were things she'd keep close to her heart even with her. That wasn't just because she saved a dragon.

"Well, well," she was cut off by the sound of a cocky voice, "If it isn't the two most beautiful ladies in the kingdom."

Whatever good mood Eliza had been able to scrooge up evaporated. She turned to glare at Pierre. He was currently wearing a gold and black suit. It also came with a sideways cape for dramatic effect. He was right beside the little group in no time. A pleased grin on his face as he took in their appearance. She wanted to swipe it off his face but kept her hands to her sides.

"I didn't expect to see the beloved hero Pierre so up and close today," Jeannite smiled but it didn't reach her eyes, "Whatever do we owe this blessing?"

"It is I who is blessed today," he bowed, "To be in the presence of two lovely ladies fills my heart with joy."

Eliza scoffed, "Get up, Pierre. Bowing and sweet words will get you nowhere with us."

"I can certainly keep trying if that is what it takes," Pierre smirked as he raised himself up.

"Never in a thousand years will I enjoy having you around," Eliza glared at him which made him start to sweat in nervousness.

"Then I shall keep trying for a thousand and one years," Pierre shot back.

"You never know when to quit, do you?" Jeannite quipped with a teasing grin.

"A hero never quits when faced with adversity," Pierre's eyes darted to her. Eliza noted how they fell down to her friend's chest. "They persevere to the bitter end."

"A bitter end is what you'll get if you don't leave," Eliza growled. She really wished she had brought her sword with her.

Pierre smiled and snapped his fingers, "To die beneath you would be a dream, Eliza. To feel those beautiful curves against me would be divine. Why, I imagine you may even outdo our goddess with your beauty."

"Why, Pierre." Jeannite smacked his arm, "Shush you. That is heresy."

"Excuse me," Pierre said as he placed a hand over his heart, "I meant no offense to our glorious goddess. My mouth speaks for my heart and it knows what it wants."

Eliza wanted to open her mouth to speak but she was starting to notice something. Did Pierre seem faster in her eyes? He seemed to talk faster than normal. Perhaps it was nothing. Yet as she raised a hand, she seemed to notice it being sluggish. It didn't feel like it weighed less. Just that it took longer than normal to raise. Perhaps it was the alcohol getting to her. She shook her head slightly to clear up those thoughts.

Eliza's mind felt a little fuzzy. Yes, it had to be the alcohol, "It is wise to learn when to keep your mouth shut, Pierre. Lest you say something that will offend another."

Pierre laughed, "Offense is not at all my goal, fair Eliza. For all i wish is to live my life with you," he turned to Jeannite, "Although I would not mind your company as well."

"Flattered as I may be," Jeannite chuckled but her eyes glinted malevolently, "I shall have to pass. I am a taken woman after all."

"Your husband is a lucky fellow," Pierre said, "To have beside him a lovely woman like you is wonderful. I am sad that he is not here today."

Eliza knew that wasn't true. Pierre didn't stop himself from hitting on and even sleeping with married women. It made her blood boil but she kept herself from taking action. She started to move her head to look at her daughter. Perhaps she'd usher her away before this man did something inappropriate in front of her.

Before she could, Pierre moved and grasped her hand. Her eyes burned into him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Eliza said heatedly as she moved her hand away.

"I simply wish to take the hand of the woman who captured my heart," Pierre said, brushing aside some of his hair. He gave her a smile that many could be called suave. It made her angrier. "Your skin is beautifully smooth."

Eliza narrowed her eyes and took a step forward. Her eyes widened as she saw Pierre move rather quickly out of her reach. She hadn't used that much power but she knew she was normally faster then he was. Even if she thought of the alcohol, she hadn't had that much as of yet. Just a couple of glasses. She didn't want to set a bad example after all and wine was fine. There was no way he was that fast.

Then she remembered something. Something in the back of her mind. She didn't interact with Pierre all that much so she didn't care to remember most of his abilities. Yet his foremost one was his best skill. It's why he was able to best more capable opponents.

Pierre had the ability to slow down his opponents. Not their time but how they perceived and acted. Their minds would process things at a snail pace so they wouldn't react as well as they normally could. Most people wouldn't notice it. They'd just think he was incredibly fast when that was a lie. They just thought he was fast because they didn't know better. Jeannite wouldn't notice her perception being slowed but Eliza did.

She knew a trick to get around it. She flooded her body with magic and cast a speed spell. Her mind cleared. Pierre's eyes widened as he caught wind of the spell. That was rather unusual for someone to notice and actually be able to counter. You'd need to be both skilled and powerful to get through his perception dappening skills. Eliza was lucky to have both.

Eliza turned her head and her eyes widened. Sasha wasn't there. Her heart started to beat faster. Her eyes darted around her. Was that why he was using that skill on her? To get her mind on him and not her daughter for a good while? How long was she out of it?

"Miss Fullmoon?" Pierre gulped nervously as he knew he had been caught, "Are you-geh!"

Eliza's hand clutched around his throat. With only one arm, she lifted him off the ground, "Where is my daughter?"

Eliza's eyes were alight with fury. Pierre knew he had to answer or he'd be dead. The people around were already staring at the pair in fear and apprehension. He had to act or they'd get a public showing of what it takes to kill a hero.

"High Priest Norscrim wanted to talk to her," Pierre gasped out, "It wasn't my-"

Eliza threw him to the ground. Before she could even hear his 'oomph', she was already racing out of the ballroom. She ignored any protests or guards that asked her to stop or anything of that nature. She had to find her daughter. She couldn't stand the thought of her alone with that man. Thankfully her magic also helped with this kind of situation.

Her senses could pick up individual auras. The place was too big to pick up her daughter's. While she was special, the place was packed with people so it was messing with her perception. If she had a calmer mind, that wouldn't be an issue but now she was panicking. However, Norscrim's aura was easier to find. She raced up the stairs. Her speed mind boggling and she pushed over a number of people onto the ground as she raced by.

She stopped right in front of the door. She parted the door to find the High Priest sitting at a table beside Sasha. He had a large book in front of her as he read her stories. If you were to look at it from a newcomer's perspective, it would have looked like a happy grandfather reading to his cute grandchild. The scene just pissed Eliza off.

"Norscrim!" Eliza snarled as she stomped on over.

Infuriatingly, he just looked over at her with a smile. "Ah, lady Fullmoon. How happy I am to see you."

"Hi momma," Sasha gave her a little smile and wave, "Mr. Norscrim was reading me all the bestest stories about heroes."

"I was telling the best ones for her own growth of course," Norscrim said as he patted her head. "She has the potential for being a hero. I want to see it grow."

"She will-" Eliza started.

"Mr. Noscrim promised he'd teach me," Sasha spoke up, "He said I could be a great hero. Can I mom? Can I?"

Eliza's eyes widened as she looked down at her daughter's pleading expression. She wanted to say no. She wanted to take her daughter and leave this place. That's what she should have done. Yet as she looked up into the smug expression of that bastard Norscrim, she knew she was in a bad spot. He had her daughter wrapped around his finger. The nice old man who could teach her to be a hero just like her mother.

If she didn't agree, he would keep trying. He'd succeed eventually. Unless Eliza sat down and told Sasha about every bad thing in the kingdom, he'd win her over. Eliza wouldn't do that. Firstly, Sasha was too young to know about the evils of the world. She deserved a childhood. The next was that Eliza knew that the High Priest could easily deny or pass the blame of any bad event onto someone else. If he pushed the right buttons, he could even turn Sasha against her.

Eliza was tempted to blow this place up. Just kill the bastard and leave this kingdom. That also wouldn't work. It was a bad move any which way she looked at it. She couldn't live on the run. Not when she had two children with her. She also didn't think she was invincible. She may be the strongest in the kingdom but there were plenty of other kingdom's filled with heroes. One of them could have a chance of killing her.

Her shoulder's sagged. She knew this day would come. As long as she lived here, she had to play by the nobility and clergy's rules. Which meant that if they wanted her daughter, they could take her. She narrowed her eyes.

Eliza kneeled down and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "Being a hero isn't everything it's cracked up to be. Do you still want to be one?" She knew the answer already.

Sasha eagerly nodded, "Yep. I want to grow up and be just like you."

Eliza couldn't help but smile at that and patted her head, "If that's the case," she stood up and stared at the High Priest, "I will allow this but I should be present or at least privy to her training."

"But of course," Norscrim nodded, "You are her mother. I would never deny you the chance to watch her grow."

The liar. Plenty of heroes had been taken from their families. The Order needed heroes. They would take them if they had to or just felt like it.

"However," Norscrim looked down at Sasha like a loving grandfather. It made her sick, "You should have a proper childhood. Training can come later. For now I want you to live a happy life full of smiles."

"I will," Sasha gazed up at him with a returning smile.

Eliza kept her scowl from her face. She had given Sasha a few warnings about the Norscrim's but perhaps she hadn't done enough. Either that or Norscrim himself was just that good. Probably a mixture of both. She lightly grabbed her daughter's shoulder and pushed her out of the room, "We're leaving now."

"Okay," Sasha said. She turned her head to give the High Priest a wave, "Bye Mr. Norscrim."

"Bye," High Priest Norscrim returned the wave.


High Priest Absolon Norscrim felt that everything had gone well. Of course he'd go back on waiting to train the girl. He'd send some tutors or get around Eliza somehow. He had only said that to appear as the 'good grandpa' sort of person. He knew Eliza could turn this around. That was a good possibility. However he had his foot in the door. He could patiently wait until he got Sasha on his side.

He looked up when he saw someone walk into his room. It was Acel, his top mage. The man cooly walked in and stood in place. He bowed, "My Lord."

"It is good to see you," Norscrim stood up, "So what news do you bring me?"

"It appears that the king's cousin is making his way towards a dwarven city," Acel stood up as he spoke, "He should be surrounding it soon."

Norscrim quirked an eyebrow. He had known of this for a while. The king's cousin wasn't a strong king. It seemed they were a weak family through and through. This attack was a ploy to strengthen his position as king and gain all the riches that the dwarves held. If he did that, he could conquer Lascetie if he so wished.

The High Priest smirked at that, "Ah so he's making progress. No matter. I very much doubt he'll get anything done. Dwarves aren't easy to conquer."

Most people in the Order believed that dwarves were on the brink of extinction. That most of them had been corrupted by Demonic Energy. That was a lie. A lie with a grain of truth. Yes it was true some dwarven holds had given to corruption. The problem was that these were cities above ground and close to human civilization. The cities built into mountains or underground were unaffected. As well as a few cities that still held out in areas outside of the Order. The dwarves were friendly to mamono but they were not so foolish as to push themselves to extinction.

So a strong dwarven city should hold out. He knew that the king's cousin's army consisted of twenty thousand strong. It wasn't enough. Not with their resources. He had also received reports of the battle. The dwarves had been bleeding the army the whole time they marched to the city. No doubt the army was tired. If Norscrim was lucky enough, the king may even die in the battle. If that happened, perhaps Lascetie could 'lend some help' to keep the kingdom of Marseille stable. If eventually the two kingdom's territories could become one, it would be a nice bonus. He chuckled.

Pierre raced into the room. He was huffing and panting, "I'm sorry, My Lord. She-"

High Priest Noscrim held up a hand, "It doesn't matter. I got what I wanted. You did well, Pierre." He turned to Acel, "How is Avignon?"

Avignon and Marseille were the two kingdoms that were closest to Lascetie. He had no worries about Marseille. That kingdom was always unstable in on way or form. He could keep it that way until they took it for themselves. Peacefully of course. Avignon was much more militant. It had a strong army and was much more fervent in their worship of the Chief God. While other areas of the Order allowed some leniency to some mamono and the worship of other gods, Avignon would have none of that. All mamono were to be killed on site and only the Chief God allowed to be worshipped.

That didn't bother Norscrim. He didn't care for mamono and while the gods could be useful, most people preferred the safety of the Chief God. It's just he didn't care for their fanaticism. It was hard to control and it meant that if Avignon wanted Lascetie gone, he couldn't stop it politically. Hard to talk to those kind of people.

"They had not made any moves on us," Acel said, "Their ruler seems content to police his country for the moment."

Norscrim nodded, "Good. With them as they are now, they are a good buffer region to our more troublesome Order friends."

While the Order was a collection of people that fought under the Chief God, they were a haphazard collection of nations and city states. Through war or politics, the nations of the Order played a game of 'who was stronger' whenever they could. Norscrim was thankful that it seemed Ares limited warfare, a secret only the top heads knew. That way a small city state like Lascetie was allowed to grow. He'd use this to his advantage.

He just worried about kingdoms like Avignon or the growing influence of Angleterre. Truly it was a headache to keep up with all of that but he'd manage. The future was his oyster if he played his cards right. For now, he'd worry about what was in front of him. Sasha would be one good step forward. He could tell her powers would only grow. With strong heroes like her, it would be easier to get neighboring territories in line.

"Gentlemen," Norscrim said with a smile, "The future looks bright for our country."


Thank you for waiting. Sorry about that. Life's been a bit of a mess and stress kept me from writing. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and until next time, take care.

MGE point: For now I'm thinking of putting up facts or opinions on aspects of the MGE world. I hope that they may be of help to other MGE writers to make better stories.

The first is that the Order is obviously a representation of medieval Europe. When it comes to Europe, it was more of a collection of small nations and city states (cities that held quite a bit of influence to be micro nations) then it is one super nation. Given how Europe and human nature are, they won't see eye to eye a lot of the time. I notice how a lot of people just write the Order as just one nation instead of how Europe actually was. It's much more interesting to really write it like this and how the politics of the Order keep the nations together or how they fight amongst one another.

Secondly, dwarves. I know how the writer of the book said about dwarven corruption. However, given how stubborn dwarves are and how smart they generally are, on top of how most dwarven cities would be far away or hidden from humans or even some from mamono, it's highly doubtful that the situation is as bad for dwarves as it is lead on. It's more likely that this 'thought of extinction' just came from some settlements that lived near humans that were more open then some of their kin and got corrupted rather then the whole race just threw themselves into extinction. So expect to have a healthy amount of dwarves still around in this story.

Until next time and I can't wait to read your thoughts.