The next morning, while still inside the tent, I hear the tent flaps with high speed winds for about an hour or so until suddenly we’re at the front gates of grandmother’s lair.

“Your brother could’ve just blindfolded us,” Nillin’s voice surfaces. I completely forgot that he was there. That we were on the same bed, pillow, and sharing the same sheets together.

I quickly get out of the bed feeling that it is solid ground under me, “Sorry.”

Why did I apologize? I didn’t do anything wrong, right? Or anything considered wrong at least?

Nillin makes a confused face, but I decide it’s best if I just leave the him in the tent and go out to greet my grandmother.

Somehow the snow here is colder than when we were father away, the sky is blue–as blue as Nillin’s eyes, and grandmother’s lair is still a giant castle no matter how old I get.

I can hear Nillin calling out to me, but I ignore it and run inside.

Everything is still the same. Ugly gray stone walls yet the floor is quartz marble with lapez viens. A grand painting of great-great-grandfather with great-great-grandmother greets me at the door.

I run through the halls, up the stairs to the left, down that hall to another left, down another staircase, and to a giant ball room behind the grand painting.

At the corner is a group of people playing weird songs with rhythms only grandmother can dance to. So yes, in the middle of the ball room is grandmother dancing to her weird music.

I nod along with the beat finding the right moment to jump into the dance. After a few seconds, I find it and do as I plan.

However, the music abruptly changes and I fall flat on my bums.

Grandmother waves a hand and the musics stop so that her laughter can fill the room.

“You’re so naive, Maeve. Oh that’s why you’re named Maeve,” she further tease me. I get up to give her a hug, but she stops me in a striking motion, “What are you doing? You want little old me to catch a disease? Go take a bath, you little rascal.”

See what I meant by ‘grandmother has a way of speaking that triggers our generation’. Well, I guess it could trigger any generation or anyone for that matter.

“Then don’t go anywhere,” I pout and turn away. “I’ll give you that hug after I take a warm bath.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Someone take my grandson to get a bath.”

A butler instantly comes to my aid. He leads me up the stairs to the right, a left, down another staircase, and into somewhere in the west wing.

I find myself in a tub big enough for half of my family, or before everyone starts getting married. Feeling like a child again, not worrying too much about my problems outside of this room, I take off my winter armor and jump into the bath.

The water is warm and the color is this golden silvery solution. It smells like a farm of lavender expanding for miles.

Floating on the surface as I stare at the constellation mosaic, I feel at peace like I am one with something greater than myself.

My own breathing becomes white noise.

I close my eyes to take in everything. However, I might have lost consciousness because when I come to, I am laying on a bed with chattering close by.

“—Blame you. I will see to it myself,” grandmother seems angrily disappointed. “Now leave me with Maeve’s Nillin.”

I think she was talking to Trieu, who is now out of the room. I continue to shut my eyes and pretend to be asleep.

Again, I’m fucking eavesdropping. I’m not proud per say. I just don’t know what to do, and I think I should hear this.

“Son Nillin.”

“Yes, what is it?” Nillin still has his silver tongue.

“Make a great-grandchild with Maeve tonight. It is abhorrent for Maeve to not have the scent of you or sex when he is a newly wed. Ahh—Ahh. I know it’s not his fault but yours alone.”

“What make you so sure, Grandma?”

“He’s my stupid grandson, so I’m taking his side.”

Nillin laughs, “Well, whoever’s fault it might have been is now in the past. But Grandma, how will Maeve and I make children? Unless?”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t ask. You chose the bigger box rather than the prettier one; little did you know it’s just a pandora box wrapped in rags. Although you knew this was going to happen.”

“You’re giving me too much credit—”

I feel a sudden pain just right under my belly button. It spreads all the way across in a straight line—like a two tons bar.

“MmmNnnn.” The pain expresses itself through the white cage of my mouth.

Now that I gave myself away, I open my eyes only to notice grandmother and Nillin rushing my way.

Nillin takes my hand with one of his, “What is it? What is hurting?”

“Here,” I answer is my strongest voice which is like a squeak.

Again, my greens in his blues.

“It’s working!” Grandmother’s face has an aging surprised face and her smile gradually grows like one of ghibli’s.

Nillin and I perhaps share the same expression, “What is?”

“The womb! Your body is making the womb!” She leans in to hug me before opening to the doors to shout, “Someone get Carcyne for me. I need her A-S-A-P!”

The pain only seems to grow, and I don’t know how to control the pain even the slightest bit.

An idea comes to me. I hook both of my arms around Nillin’s neck and I distract the pain away with unrequited romance.

I hear the doors slam open. My brother’s voice rises in volume, “What are you doing grandmother? Is this how you ‘see to it’? You’re betting on the slim chance that Maeve might survive this life changing spell so that they can produce an heir through sex? There are more than one way to produce an heir through magic and you ch—”

“Silence! You dare raise your voice at me?” Grandmother starts with a loud burst.

They continue to argue with one another until I couldn’t take it any longer.

“Stop! I say stop!” I’m short of breath and my head gets lighter with every moving second.

“My Queen, please leave her with me,” a woman of my age pushes Nillin away from me. “I’ll see to it that he survives.”

Grandmother nods her head.

And as everyone leaves, I manage to plead, “Please don’t fight because of me…”