Eliza calmly took a breath and then let it go. She was currently sitting quietly in the forest. Her eyes closed as she focused only on relaxation. The air here was quiet and still. She could appreciate it for that. No constant noises. None of the busy distractions that came with the city or the annoying dealings of the church. Just her alone. Peace and quiet. She could relax and not worry about any danger surrounding her. She was safe and relaxed.

At least, that's what she wanted it to appear as.

Her every sense has been honed through years of practice and combat. There wasn't a moment where she didn't know what was around her. She could hear the wind rustle the leaves of a tree a hundred yards away. If she opened her eyes, she could perceive the minute details of a fly on the other side of a ballroom. She could sense the energies of the living forest around her. Perhaps that's the reason one would assume she was at peace. What could possibly get around her senses? Who would even be foolish enough to try such a thing?

The world seemed to pick that moment to try and prove her wrong. Something shuffled in a tree nearby. It was subtle but she could pick up the sound. Then the figure inside of it pounced.

"RAWR!"

Eliza simply leaned forward at the last second. The little figure narrowly missed her. Instead the figure crashed into a large bush, yipping in surprise as it did so. The warrior lady straightened her back and simply went about herself as though nothing had happened. In that same moment, a beam of light based magic came for her head. Just as quickly, she leaned backwards to avoid it. It passed by without issue. Eliza had raised a finger in just that same second and released a small beam of magic from it.

She could hear a 'yelp' as someone was struck by it. Next came the sound of broken vegetation and someone rolling around. Eliza sighed. She was honestly disappointed by this attack. She had at least hoped to move an inch but it seemed like this would be on the easier side of things.

Even with that thought, her two attackers weren't in the mood to give up. Quite commendable. The first one jumped out of the bushes. It was a little dragon boy wearing a shabby brown pair of shirt and pants with a pair of metal sheets hastily tied around his chest. She was still wondering why he put those there since he had scales far tougher than that naturally. Probably to replicate her armor. Very cute.

The second figure was a teenage girl wearing a white and blue cleric outfit. The skirt was a bit short for Eliza's liking but the black stockings covered up most of her exposed legs so that was something at least. It normally was fine on most anyone. This being her teenage daughter though, caused her to worry a bit. Now was not the time to ponder these feelings.

The two children yelled out war cries as they charged. The dragon boy coming at her with nothing more than his claws, while the teenage girl coming at her with a metallic staff. The woman sighed as they finally reached her, each one taking a swipe at her.

With nothing but one finger, she deflected both of them. Each hand nimbly pressing back their attacks as though they were nothing more than flies. This didn't deter her attackers. They kept up the attacks. Yet neither claw or staff could get through Eliza's defense. She simply sighed as they kept at it. Just as they made another attack, she pressed a finger against them. A small bit of magic flowed to her finger as she did so. Then she released it, sending them both flying.

Eliza shook her head and stood up, "That's it for today."

The boy dragon gave an annoyed whine as he sat up, "Oh come on. I almost had you."

"At the rate you were going," Eliza said, "It would have taken you centuries to even scratch me."

"Alright," the teenage girl sat up herself, rubbing her now sore head. "That wasn't exactly our best try."

"No it was not," Eliza huffed and crossed her arms, "It was sloppy. Coming at me from different angles was a good ploy but that meant that you couldn't properly back each other up. You were not a team. You were just trying to gain the honor of victory for yourself. Never forget that you're not fighting alone. The moment you do, your ally may be at risk."

"Yes, mother." Both children muttered.

"Come again?"

"Yes, mother." They said louder this time.

Eliza nodded, "Yes, that will do for now." She stood up, wiping off the dirt from her clothes. "Now then, I think today's training is over with."

"But we didn't even touch you," the boy dragon groused, "Can't we try again?"

"That was your fifth attempt today, Draco." Eliza said firmly, "I very much doubt that your sixth will be different. Instead, I want you to converse with your sister over your failings. Perhaps you'll do better tomorrow when you two actually devise a strategy instead of just flailing about."

It was strange to see how much Draco had grown. He was no longer the little hatchling she could hold in her arms. Now he was a little boy. Well not any normal boy. His scaly limbs, claws, and wings stood out. She hadn't noticed his horns much as a child since they were not a bother to her. Now they are becoming more prominent. Trying to disguise him as a regular child went right out the window unless she learned disguising magic.

In the meantime, she had been strict with him. That wasn't just because she wanted to keep him hidden. Draco was a good child. She had raised him right and aside from a little impatience, which was normal for his age, he was a delight. That didn't assuage her worries. She had never heard of a male mamono before. The old legends told of male monsters but one hadn't been seen in centuries. So she didn't know how to deal with this. It didn't help that she worried about his 'appetite'. Thankfully he was still too young to know about sex, but he would one day. She'd have to keep a tight grip on him once he hit puberty.

She glanced at her other child. Sasha was already growing into quite the woman. Eliza was going to have to worry about suitors soon. That was not something she was looking forward to. Not that she wanted to deny her daughter romance. It was just that, since her station and relation to her were quite known, most of said suitors would not have good intentions. That wasn't even getting into the fact she was an up and coming hero.

That fact made her clench her fist slightly. She had wanted to deny that request from Norscrim. To deny her daughter the chance of being a hero. She should have known that was pointless. Sasha had grown up idolizing her. All those stories and prestige. Even if she was kept away from the public for most of her life, she still would have gotten some thoughts of being a hero. That blasted priest just pushed that idea further into her head. Now it was impossible to dislodge it. So she might as well make sure her daughter survived her first fight and every one after. It was the least she could do.

"A message for you, My Lady." A hand held out an envelope by her head.

Eliza nearly jumped out of her skin and reached for her sword before she calmed herself down. She turned to see her dutiful maid with a slight smirk on her face, "I don't know how you keep surprising me."

"Stealth is my forte, my lady." Cassie bowed her head.

Eliza nodded before taking the envelope. As she took out the small letter, she had an inkling on who it was from. She slightly frowned as she read through it before sighing. Of course her friend would ask something like this of her. Typical. She looked back over at her children.

"I'll be gone for a short while," Eliza said, "Don't harass Cassie while I'm gone."

"I'll make sure they stay safe and sound," Cassie said.

"I'm not a baby anymore, mother." Draco pouted as he crossed his little arms, "I'm really strong now."

Eliza chuckled and patted his head, "Of course you are. However, Cassie is stronger so listen to her."

"I'll make sure he does, mother." Sasha said, standing behind her little brother.

"Good," Eliza said, before turning and walking off.

Traveling through Lascetie was never a pleasant experience for her. No matter where she went, something rankled her. If it was the noble houses of the inner city, their gross splendor would make her sick. It was all so fake and forced. The people there smiled but it was never genuine happiness. At least, not because of any kindness. That was a generalization as there were some good ones but those usually kept their heads down. Trying to maneuver through all that hearsay and politicaling was tiring.

The rest of the city was no different. The rotten core of the city was so apparent the further out from the center you went. The less impoverished lived in squalor and barely held on. The scraps of the nobility were the only thing keeping them going. She didn't know if she wanted to puke or punch someone every time she saw it. Of course, the nobles made sure there was a shiny path in and out of the city so the run down parts weren't in view when they went traveling. Because of course that's what they did instead of fixing the issues at hand.

The carriage she was riding in stopped before a large, old building. As she stepped out, Eliza couldn't help but wonder how it was still standing. It looked like it was going to fall at a moment's notice. Then again, that went for the rest of the buildings around her. She nodded at the coach who took off. She noted she wasn't the only one there. A couple of other coaches were on the other side of the wide street. A dozen soldiers at the ready and one woman with splendor to spare.

"Eliza!" Jeanite cried out as she rushed over to hug her.

Eliza smiled as she returned it in gusto. She pulled back, "Come on. We just met the other day. You don't have to run at me every time."

"Well I can't help it," Jeanite said, "You're such a splendid friend that I can't keep myself in check around you. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way."

"You aren't," Eliza said, "But you're the only one I'd let hug me."

"And what an honor it is," Jeanite giggled, before frowning. "But you must know why I brought you here, correct?"

Eliza nodded before staring at the building, "Is that it?"

"Yes," Jeanite sighed, "A dreadful place, isn't it? Not a place I would place a child at all."

Eliza inwardly sighed. The letter had been about an orphanage plan Jeanite had concocted. She hadn't given her much details but she got the gist of it. She could see why Jeanite would want to help out in this way. She couldn't have children of her own. She'd tried but nothing had come of it. Then again, her husband wasn't among the living for a few years so that was out. Neither of them were torn up about it since he wasn't exactly a good fellow and the marriage had been forced on her.

He had died fighting a duel over a pastry. Not the brightest man.

All this coupled with her actual willingness to help out those more unfortunate meant the future of this venture was clear. Eliza just wasn't sure of her role in all of this. Jeanite looked over and could plainly see that question on her face. The socialite sighed.

"I hate bothering you like this," Jeanite said, "I really do. It's just you're the only one I can turn to with things like this."

"I'm happy you feel that way," Eliza said, "But I've got my hands full with raising my own kids and doing hero work. I don't know what I can do to help out. Besides, you've got the gold for all of this."

"That's the thing," Jeanite said, "I do but it would ease my burden if you could persuade some of the other nobles to help out. I don't just want to help out one orphanage. I want to help them all."

"So you want me to be the poster girl of your campaign," Eliza said, crossing her arms.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Jeanite said.

Eliza opened her mouth to speak before she eyed something in the windows. The children were peeking out at her. They ranged in ages upwards from teenagers to a couple of babes in their arms. She sighed. Just looking at them made her heart ache given how dirty they were. Jeanite's smile grew when she heard her sigh.

"It shouldn't be much of a problem," Eliza said, "Was that all?"

"Well a little tour around the area won't hurt you," Jeanite said, "But I did want to discuss the location of this new orphanage. You have just the perfect spot for one."

Eliza went rigid, "Come again?"

"You have a large villa you don't like using out beyond the walls," Jeanite said, "I've seen it before. It's just perfect for what I need. I'm sure you won't object to using it for this noble goal."

Eliza wanted to grind her teeth. That place wasn't used since she didn't need to live like an opulent noble. It was far enough that it 'shouldn't' be a bother but close enough that it did raise a few concerns from her. She couldn't voice them though. None of her objections really could dissuade her friend. She wasn't ready to tell her about her son yet.

"Oh thank goodness!" An old lady shouted as she rushed out from the old orphanage. She ran over and bowed before Eliza, "Blessed hero, it is an honor to see you here."

"You can stop with the bowing," Eliza said, using her hand to gesture for the old woman to stop. "I'm just here to-"

"Help with our little venture," Jeanite said, ignoring Eliza's slight glare.

"I'm so relieved," the old woman took Eliza's hand and kissed the top of it, "Chief God bless you. I don't know what we'd do without such a kind hero at our backs."

Eliza just did her best to smile, knowing she was trapped into this. "I'm glad to be of service."

She swore she'd have a 'chat' with Jeanite later.

It's been a while. Sorry about that. Writing a book and life have been difficult. I'm glad to finally get back into writing this and my other stories though. Hope you are all well and take care. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.