The world looked brighter with Dawn born, as if she lent to the sunlight that shone down on the country. Her horn nubs had breached skin a few days later. Her tail and wings fluttered with life. Now that she opened her eyes, they saw that the girl was also heterochromatic, with a blue left eye inherited from Alicia and an amber right eye inherited from Kanae.
After school had ended for Kanade and Suvee, they went to Parn Park together for a stroll. Children ran about on the grassy fields and playgrounds. Passing parents came to offer their regards and meet the Commonwealth's youngest princess.
When Dawn started crying, Alicia recognized that she was hungry and breastfed her on the spot. It brought memories back to Kanae when she and Arenade took turns feeding Kanade.
"Alicia, can I hold Dawn when she's full?" Suvee asked.
"Of course, you may. Just remember to be careful." Alicia smiled.
Dawn turned her head, seemingly finished feeding. She erupted with a cute little burp and started squirming in her cocoon swaddle. Suvee reached out, and Alicia gently passed the child over.
"I'm the big sister. You're the little sister, Dawn. We're gonna be best friends! I wish we could show you Feraline, but she's all the way in Radevic." Suvee pointed in a random direction.
"It's that way." Kanade grabbed Suvee's finger and directed her southeast.
Both of them carried Dawn for a little walk, probably to show off the baby to other kids.
"Don't go too far. Stay within sight!" Kanae shouted.
"Okay!" they replied.
Since no one could be sure that Charlotte was still in Ehmvier, Kanae had brought with them a large number of castle guards out of an abundance of caution. They stood vigil and patrolled around the park. Some of the children tried to play with them, and only a few had been tempted to abandon their posts to do so. She didn't mind though. All of these young ones were going to be the future of the Commonwealth. The Empire of Sin. It was important to her that everyone from the highest to lowest echelons of society serve as their guardians.
Raising a child required a village, something Kanae missed out on as a child back on Earth. Parents who worked too much and cared too little could only beget misery in their kids. Although… Kanae hadn't exactly been as present as she would have liked. She might have to be absent from Dawn for a while, too.
"That's quite the expression you have when you should be smiling instead." Alicia pinched Kanae's cheek.
"I was just thinking that it'd be safer for you and Dawn to go back to Radevic now that she's born. It's safer. Farther away from Temptation and the cult. Eliza can teleport you two there in an instant with her tower," Kanae said.
"I'm sure it would be much safer, but look at them." She gazed at the playground where Suvee pushed Kanade and Dawn on a swing. "Do you really want to split sisters apart? I'll return eventually. Claudia deserves to see her niece, and I don't doubt the rest of your daughters will adore Dawn just as much as Kanade and Suvee do. For now, I just want to stay and enjoy this peace. It's also been rather nice to be doted on by you."
Kanae turned red and looked the other way. Thankfully, Zadris came flying in. She touched down before them, dropping to one knee.
"By your command, I have dispatched my Sisters in White to intercept oats shipment harvested from up to two months ago. We've traced the source to three large farms and have begun disposing of oats in Ehmvier. With luck and speed, they should be able to reach Talahurah, Highgreen, and our northern villages before things get too out of hand. Getting to Port Kandis to prevent the cargo from sailing to Savir will be cutting it close," Zadris explained.
Kanae expelled a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Savir's went through enough. They don't need to accidentally eat infected oats. Good work, Zadris. Your intelligence network is scarily efficient."
"Such praise strengthens my resolve, Your Majesty!" She curtsied.
"You're the intrigue arm of the Eminence of Sin, yes? What news of Temptation and the Cult of Lust and Depravity have you uncovered?" Alicia asked.
Zadris nervously shot a look to Kanae, who nodded to allow her to speak.
"During your expedition into Savir, your sisters attempted to seize the sunken temple which you once served in. Empress Arenade, Inquisitor Gretchen, and Lady Andora foiled them. They haven't attempted anything since— well, until the Mistress of Excess' plague. Inquisitor Gretchen believes many of the Ortesians left behind from the invasion have been kidnapped by the cult. Temptation has been surprisingly quiet. Letters from Lynn Alton, the new head of House Alton and our spy within the Ortesian Empire, suggest that internal fighting is nearing its peak. We know that some of the greater lords are beholden to the cult. I, in my capacity as spymaster, can only surmise that Temptation is waiting on Ortesia to conclude their civil strife before making any more moves."
All of which Kanae had already been told upon returning to the Commonwealth. One day, they were going to come to a head with Ortesia and Temptation. She could only hope it wasn't any time soon.
"Seeing as Charlotte is Mistress of Excess, it wouldn't surprise me if some of my more capable sisters have also been elevated in status. These patient moves of theirs are calculated. Mother always acted on her impulsive emotions, and Ambrosia thinks too highly of herself. Someone other than the mistresses we know is directing them," Alicia explained and fell into thought.
"And I thought dealing with Jhene and Elaine was bad enough." Kanae groaned.
Zadris bowed and took her leave. That was when Suvee and Kanade came running back over.
"Moooom! Dawn won't stop crying. Is she hungry?" Suvee gently rocked the baby in her outstretched arms to little success.
Kanae instinctively picked up Dawn to cradle close to her chest. Slowly but surely, her daughter's crying softened and eyes closed shut.
"The trick was to let the baby listen to the sound of a heartbeat. After all, Dawn spent months inside Alicia, with nothing but the sound of a mother's beating heart for a lullaby," Kanae explained.
"That's silly." Suvee scoffed. "There's no way I'd fall asleep listening to a— waahh!"
"Oh?" Alicia hoisted Suvee up onto her lap, then pressed the girl's head against her chest.
"There's… no way…" She yawned so hard, a whole apple could fit in her mouth.
"Big baby." Kanade teased.
Suvee snapped out of it and broke free from Alicia, who giggled warmly at the two getting into a fight. They played for a little while longer before returning to the castle with a parade of guards flanking them. Kanae carried Dawn all the way back so that Alicia could take a breather. She instead held Kanade and Suvee's hand until they made it home.
They sent the kids inside first. Kanae and Alicia took a detour around the castle to Elizabeth Bedlam's tower. For the time being, Alicia and Dawn would reside with the sorceress. Between all of Edina's undead and Eliza's magic, it was going to be the safest place in the city. Safer than even the castle.
"I'm coming!" Eliza announced from the other side.
The sorceress answered the door and led them upstairs to the guest quarter directly across from her bedchamber. When they opened the door, Kanae was appalled to see Alicia's room looking like something out of a horror show. A crib for Dawn had been fashioned out of a large beast's ribcage. The rotating ornamental toy that dangled above had skeletal animals attached to it. Small undead critters like squirrels and rabbits darted about the room, too.
Aside from all that, the rest of the room appeared normal. Alicia had a bed near the window. Protective enchantments on the walls hummed with magic. Bookshelves and a desk at one corner of the room were furnished with things to read. It was just… the undead killed the vibes of the comfy bedroom.
"Is… Is this Edina's doing?!" Kanae gasped.
"Why, yes it is! The decorations are lovely, aren't they?" Eliza smiled.
"Lovely isn't the word I was thinking…" She turned to Alicia, who seemed perfectly fine with the arrangement.
After putting Dawn into the ribcage crib, skeletal critters climbed up to watch over her. She followed their movements with curiosity. Really though, being a newborn, most of these things were probably blurs in her vision.
"Hey, I put a lot of work into this." An undead finch with Edina's voice landed on Kanae's shoulder. "This way, I can keep an eye if something happens. Where's my gratitude, huh? Huh?"
"We could've bought normal stuff from a store instead." Kanae rolled her eyes and flicked the bird off.
"I'm happy with it, and it seems Dawn is, too." Alicia peered into the crib where their daughter had a baby's stranglehold on a squirrel.
Well, if they were okay with all this…
"The walls of my tower are enchanted with an alarm spell. I'll be alerted if anything breaches it. A secondary enchantment launches a blast of fire should someone attempt to force their way in. Additionally, Edina's undead serves as guards. She showed me that everything here can transform into a bone brute, fighting if necessary while Dawn is safe inside the ribcage," Eliza explained.
"That would be a sight. Speaking of blast of fire, I think I found the simulacram a few days ago hiding in Dirt Town. It shot a fireball at me when I gave chase. Are they supposed to be able to do that?" Kanae asked.
"Not necessarily, but a possibility." She shook her head and walked up to the window facing the eastern forest. "See, we do not know who or what exactly the soul that now inhabits the simulacrum is. They could have been a powerful adventurer, a farmer, or tyrant. We can't know. Now, whoever they are runs free in a body that is not their own in a land unfamiliar to them. But you have a lead. Perhaps, we can find them by their tracks alone."
If only. Days had gone by now. Tailing someone's tracks wasn't as easy as simply following footprints on the ground. People came and went from the city all the time. They needed a specific class in order to find them now.
Gretchen might be able to sniff the simulacrum out, but finding Charlotte was a much more pressing matter. Kanae jumped to being poked in the back. She spun around to Alicia giggling at her.
"Do you need to leave? Don't let me stop you. Elizabeth and Edina have provided us with a secure place," Alicia said.
"I should start looking. I can't help but feel like I'm torturing some poor soul." Kanae frowned.
"Now you know why Radevic banned the practice. Honestly, I blame Edina. She should have been more vigilant about what skeletons to give us. Do you hear me, foolish necromancer?" Eliza picked up a skeletal snake off the ground and shook it.
"Hey, screw off. Checking for souls was on you. Also, I know you've been banging Cantu! You better start showing some respect to his maker, or else I'll replace his cock with something puny instead!" Edina taunted.
Eliza's face flushed red, and she tossed the undead serpent across the room.
"You guys have fun here. I'll come by again later in the day." Kanae picked Dawn up to kiss her on the forehead, put her back down, and waved goodbye to Alicia and Eliza on the way out.
The adventurers hall was the best place to search for potential trackers. It was noon when Kanae arrived. Around this time, hundreds of adventurers would be gearing up to set out and do quests. With the plague still affecting people, that number had dwindled to a meager double digits.
Receptionists at the hall looked bored out of their minds. Some had their heads on the desk, fast asleep. The alraune Tearal, whom Kanae had befriended years ago, was using her many vine appendages to file paperwork into cabinets behind the counter. She finally turned around when Kanae rang the desk bell.
"Kanae? Just a second. I'm nearly done." Tearal tidied up her workspace and filed the rest of the papers before turning around. "Shouldn't you be at your throne room, not picking up quests? Though, I wouldn't mind if you picked some up. With how many sick adventurers we have, the quests have been piling up. We don't have enough people completing them."
"That bad? Sorry, but I'm not here to do quests either. I was thinking about putting up a request for a crowned Tracker, Scout, or Pathfinder," Kanae explained.
"Let me see…" The sentient plant monstrosity fished up a couple of documents from under the counter, replacing some to pick up more, and finally grimaced. "We have no Pathfinders. All the Trackers and Scouts have listed themselves as sick and unable to take any quests." Her vines sulked. "I apologize. Perhaps there is another class that may be able to help?"
"No, it's alright." She spun around to leave.
Finding a goblin simulacrum without help was going to be tough. Kanae considered taking Titan to fly out east and enlist Petyr to search with her. Lost in thought, she bumped into someone who was coming in.
"Sorry," Kanae said.
"Kanae?"
The familiar voice was enough to make Kanae jump with joy. She glanced down, and a bug-eyed goblin man was staring back up at her. He was dressed in hardened leathers, had a crossbow slung over his shoulder, and boasted a smile that reminded her of their older daughters.
"Mitty!" Kanae swooped him up for an embrace. "I've missed you so much! It's been forever!"
"I missed you, too! I haven't stopped thinking about you ever since you left for Savir. I'm back from Highgreen since Noah and I finally charted a decent path through the mountains. It took forever, but now the Commonwealth and Artaggon are connected enough to conduct regular trade," Mitty explained.
Traversing those mountains was no joke, and those stupid yetis…
Kanae put Mitty down. Her heart was full. She had a lovely new daughter. Her mate was back. Charting a way through the mountains to the Cup of Carsin served as a triumphant and prosperous boon to the Commonwealth, too.
"What are you doing in the adventurers hall anyway? I thought you put that behind you?" Mitty asked.
"Actually, Mitty. Your timing can't be more perfect. I need your help finding someone, and you being a Pathfinder is perfect for that. Will you help me? There's a lot in it for you when we set up camp tonight." Kanae winked.
"Even if you didn't tempt me with sex I'd still say yes. I'm always ready to help my mate!" He flashed a grin.