"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."

  Agatha Christie

  The gentle nudge on her shoulder stirred Milly from the depths of midnight slumber. She mumbled sleepy protestations at the intrusion into her dreams.

  “Milly, wake up,” whispered Rain, her voice low so she would not disturb Calista.

  “Huh? Rain?” Milly yawned as she cracked open her eyes. “Is something wrong?”

  Rain looked as if she hadn’t slept. Her overly alert eyes with dark bags beneath told the story of a woman who had spent the hours after they had returned to the Castle of Glass in her workshop.

  “That depends on your frame of mind,” Rain answered as Milly sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. “And what you’ll decide to do next.”

  “What I’ll decide…? Rain, I’m too tired for riddles,” Milly grumbled as she slowly eased the blanket off her chest. Calista’s snoring was on full display, so there was little chance of her rousing. Passi had decided to finally sleep in her own room tonight.

  “Xavier’s awake,” Rain said simply. “Ying just let me know.”

  “Xavier is…”

  It took a moment for Milly to register Rain’s words through the sleepy haze in her head, but when they finally broke through, Milly was instantly fully awake. Now she knew why Rain didn’t want to wake Calista. Xavier and Calista’s mutual animosity stretched back far before the God Contest.

  Rain led Milly out of her bedroom and to their alchemy workshop before she said anything further. The alchemy tables were filled with bubbling brews and there were five bronze daggers set in an orderly row on the side table.

  “I’ve been enchanting them,” Rain explained as Milly’s eyes flickered to the weapons. “For throwing daggers. My advanced dagger specialization showed me I needed more diversity in my fighting style. These five are all fire enchanted. This one coats its blade in flame. That one shoots two small firebolts horizontally on impact, which is useful for fighting groups. That one on the end just explodes on impact.”

  Milly stared at the daggers, but her attention was on her former friend in the medical clinic.

  “What are you going to do?” Rain asked.

  “I’ll do what I must to keep everyone safe,” Milly replied with fridged determination.

  “He saved my life, Mils,” Rain reminded her. “I can’t forget that. Gorath would have killed me if Xavier hadn’t fought tooth and nail to keep the beast away. Xavier got his head split open because he tried to protect me. That means something. He’s not evil. He’s lost, just like the rest of us.”

  “He hurt Passi, Rain,” Milly countered coldly. “She’s so traumatized by her time with him that she won’t speak a word of what happened. I think he…”

  “Killed her clan, the Walking Palms?” Rain finished for her. “Yes, I think that’s the most likely scenario.”

  “And you still defend him?” Milly accused, her voice raised. “I know you tolerate him better than most, but he’s become a monster.”

  “Mils, you can shoot lightning from your hands. I use a dagger that poisons creatures and rots them from the inside. We’ve both seen what Cally can do with that spear. How many monsters have we killed in the past three weeks? How many of those monsters died in horrible ways?”

  “We were defending ourselves,” Milly refuted. “Xavier crossed that line with Passi’s clan.”

  “Nothing is black and white in this contest, and we can’t afford to separate ourselves into good guys and bad guys. We’re all just trying to survive in this game. A game where only a few of us are likely to make it to the end,” Rain reasoned. “Can you really blame Xavier for wanting to be one of them? He didn’t know Passi’s people were real. We didn’t know that either, until a few days ago. As far as Xavier knew, the Fairies were just another programmed race in an artificial world designed to kill us.”

  “So, we should just forget about it?” Milly’s anger seemed to boil within her, ready to erupt. “Xavier goes on being an asshole, and Passi lives her life in fear of him? What if he decides to finish the job? What happens when she goes back to the Fairies and we aren’t here to protect her anymore?”

  Rain sighed. “I don’t have any answers for you, Mils. I just don’t think we should be so quick to turn on one another.”

  “I’m not going to let Passi’s childhood get taken away like mine did, Rain,” Milly promised. Her Obsidian Fists formed across her knuckles in response to her rage. “I know what she is feeling, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect her.”

  A tiny squeak broke through Rain and Milly’s argument. Milly turned and saw Passiflora’s translucent wing sticking out from behind the hallway corner.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Passi, come here, sweetheart,” Milly said, her anger evaporating in an instant. She knelt and held out her hands for the child. “It’s okay. Rain and I are just talking. Did we wake you?”

  Passiflora hesitated for a moment, then stepped out from around the corner and shambled into Milly’s arms, embarrassed. She was dressed in blue and purple pajamas they had purchased from the Emporia. Rain had modified the shirt to fit her wings.

  “How much did you hear, Passi?” Milly asked gently. She tried to stay calm, but inside her was a whirlwind of uncertainty.

  “… he’s awake,” Passi said softly.

  “You don’t need to see him,” Milly promised. “He’ll still be in the medical clinic for a few days. I’m sure Ying will pause your training until…”

  “No!” shouted Passiflora desperately. “I… I don’t want to stop. I need to do this.”

  “Passi…,” Milly said hesitantly. “I don’t want you around him. It’s not good for you to see him.”

  Passiflora scrunched her face up with determination. “I can do it. I’m not scared of him. Even after he… even after he killed my clan and kidnapped me. I won’t let him win.”

  There it is. She finally said it. Xavier killed her clan. But what do I do now?

  “I hate him. I hate him so much,” Passi declared with insurmountable anger. “I wish he was dead.”

  “He didn’t know who your people were, Passi,” Rain tried to explain. “He fought to save your people the battle, and he saved my life.”

  “I don’t care! He’ll do it again. He’ll kill my new family, and I’ll be left all alone,” Passi said, as she shook with a mix of anger and fear.

  “The Chief Elder wouldn’t let that happen, Passi,” Milly assured her.

  “What do the Fairies know about keeping themselves safe?” Passi ranted. “They let themselves become prey to the wolves. They forgot about those taken as slaves. They should have fought back. They should kill the wolves, and you should just kill the evil man.”

  “Passi!” Rain said, shocked at the child’s declaration.

  “I wasn’t talking about the Fairies anyways…” Passi mumbled. “They aren’t my family…”

  “Passi, I won’t let Xavier hurt you,” Milly promised, though she knew it would be faint comfort to the child. She needed to deal with Xavier tonight. “Rain and I are going to talk to Xavier now. We’ll talk about this in the morning. Go back to bed and get some sleep.”

  “No…” Passiflora protested, tightening her grip on Milly’s gown.

  “Get some rest, sweetheart. Why don’t you go crawl in beside Cally?” Milly insisted, but it just made Passi’s grip stronger.

  “Cally would agree with me,” Passi said softly, burying her face into Milly’s gown as angry tears fell. “She hates Xavier too.”

  Yes, Passi. She probably would. And I’m not sure you are wrong. But I can’t tell you that. You’re just a child.

  Except for her choked backed sobs, Passi sat there in silence for a few minutes, until another tension settled over the child.

  “What is it, Passi?” Milly prompted. She could see the child had more on her mind than just Xavier.

  “I don’t want to leave…” she said, soft as a mouse.

  “Leave? Sweetheart, leave what?”

  “… leave you. I don’t want to go back to the Fairies after my apprenticeship. I want to stay with you and Cally. Forever.”

  “Passi…” Milly whispered, as her heart filled with a powerful, protective love.

  “My grandfather raised me,” Passi said, as she forced out each word through her tears. “I… I didn’t know my parents. They were taken by wolves when I was a baby. Sometimes, in my dreams, I can remember how it felt to be held in their arms. It’s the same feeling I get when… when you hold me. I feel safe… and loved. I feel like I belong. I don’t want to go back to the Fairies. I want to stay here with you.”

  “Passi, sweetheart, you are loved,” Milly assured her, pulling her in tight. “You’ll always be loved, and I’ll always be here for you.”

  “Milly… can you… you…” Passi stammered, as she desperately tried to ask the most important question of her life. “Can… can you be my new mom?”

  The fairy child’s question pierced straight into Milly’s heart.

  In another life, in another world, Milly had been Passi’s age when she had asked her first foster mother, Becky, the same question. She could remember how anxious she’d been. How desperately she needed the answer to be yes, so she could finally feel like she belonged somewhere. How much she needed the stability and certainty that only love could provide.

  Milly had been cared for by Becky for the first three years after her parents died. The thin-haired elderly woman and her husband ran a state-funded foster home that Milly shared with three other children, though the children were constantly rotating in and out of the home. It was her foster mother’s business, but Milly, as a child, didn’t know the difference.

  Becky had looked the young Milly in the eye, and a chill had run down Milly’s back.

  “No, honey,” Becky had said with a resounding sigh. “No, I won’t be your mom. And you shouldn’t ask that again. You’ve never get the answer you’re looking for.”

  It had crushed Milly to her core, and within the month Milly was moved to her second foster home. She never saw Becky again.

  She had learned a valuable lesson that day. Never ask for love.

  It was a lesson that had taken a death game in another world to finally unravel.

  “… Yes, Passi. Yes, I’ll be your mom,” Milly promised, as she clutched the child and kissed her forehead. “Of course I will.”

  In that moment, amidst the sound of Rain’s gasp and Passi’s elated silence, and after so many years, Milly’s family – Milly’s heart – was finally complete.

  It all happened so fast. Three weeks ago, I was a lonely girl without purpose. Now, in this new world, I’m a girlfriend and mother. I know it should feel like it all moved too fast, but it doesn’t. It just feels… right. As if this life – this family – was where I was always meant to be.

  “I’m so happy for you, Mils,” Rain said, embracing new mother and daughter in a tight hug. Passi was so happy she forgot all about her anger with Rain.

  Milly cradled Passi in her arms for a long while they cried happy tears. Eventually, Milly felt her new daughter’s grip on her dress weaken, and the child’s soft snores began to rumble against her chest. The overwhelming mix of anger, joy, and exhaustion had finally claimed the child, and she fell asleep in her mother’s arms.

  Milly carefully cradled Passi against her chest and headed to her and Cally’s bedroom. She placed Passi gently on the bed, careful to spread out her wings just how she knew Passi liked, and tucked her in.

  Milly looked at Rain. Rain nodded.

  “Let’s go, Rain. I need to make it perfectly clear to Xavier what will happen to him if he lays a single finger my daughter,” Milly said with cold determination.

  They stepped into the elevator and headed down to the clinic.

  * * *

  Passiflora waited a full ten seconds until she was certain her new mother and Rain were gone. Sneaking out of bed, Calista’s deep snores providing ample cover, Passiflora headed for Rain’s workshop and grasped the nearest enchanted throwing dagger. It looked oversized in the fairy child’s tiny hands.

  She hid it under the pillows in her tent, her eyes blazing with fierce determination.

  “I won’t let him take away my family,” Passiflora promised. “I won’t let him hurt anyone ever again.”

  The Non-Canonical Aftermath