Garrison Fawkes’ POV

Prince Alex and Cassidy had just announced their pregnancy to me again. They were far more cautious about it this time but equally excited as the first one had made them. Truly, I was happy for them. Especially after the last one hadn’t ended well. 

This was two years after the whole coup debacle in the Kingdom of Lupus. My two friends were safe in Nasales now and Cassidy’s pregnancy would be monitored here. I, too, had spent my last two years in Nasales. There had been enough excitement for me for a while. It meant that the last time I’d met the Madame had been in Lupus. 

And the main reason I was thinking of them now was because three days ago, I’d gotten the worst migraine of my life. It had struck me as I was sparring with Prince Alex, giving him the opportunity to pin me down. I’d been taken ill for the next two days after. 

When I finally resurfaced from my painfilled bedrest, I had a head full of visions featuring the Madame and several other characters I’d never seen in all my travels.

Perhaps it was time to pay them a visit.

~

My request for some time off was swiftly approved. I suspected that Prince Alex’s worry for my health had a hand in the decision. Regardless, I got what I wanted without too much fuss. 

I journeyed without incident to Edenis, but the quietness of the town seemed strange to me. Still, I rode all the way up to The Harem, where the Madame resided. The paint on its front façade was duller than I remembered. 

Securing my horse to a post, I entered the establishment. It was dark and quiet and, most of all, empty. 

“Hello?” I called. “Madame?”

I started to worry when nothing happened. No rustle of drapes or opening doors. As I turn to look around the space, my heart skips a beat when I see them standing there. They weren’t there the last time I had looked in that direction.

“You haven’t changed, Captain,” they said. Their voice is barely louder than a whisper, but the room is silent, and I hear everything.

Cautiously, I wandered closer to them. Even in what little light that came through the heavy curtains, I could see that the Madame had aged. “You look older,” I said thoughtlessly. Pale lips curved wryly at the corners. And there were lines that hadn’t been there before. “Sorry, that was rude,” I added belatedly with an embarrassed flush. 

They gestured to the bar and I took a seat on a stool. The Madame poured me a drink.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, studying them over the rim of my glass. 

At that moment, the shadows on their face made them appear tired and gaunt. “Gone,” they said.

I didn’t ask any more after that. 

As the sun set, the town remained quiet and empty as it had seemed when I arrived. A far cry from the usual nightlife and festivities. In fact, Edenis had been a hotspot for robust nightlife due to the town’s allowance of non-human participants.

Sub-divisions of lust demons, the incubi and succubi, had been allowed to feed here as long as they obeyed the rules. Edenis had been popular for this and The Harem thrived. What exactly had happened here?

The Madame watched me quietly as I ate the dinner they prepared. They weren’t eating. “Not hungry?” I wondered idly.

They smirked. “Not like that.”

It was an innocent answer, but I blushed hard. 

~

Dinner was a short affair, and we moved their sitting room—the same one I’d been in last time. There was a little more light there and the décor hadn’t changed from its darkly luxurious setting. 

As the Madame moved to draw the curtains and let some starlight in, they stumbled, a pale hand pressed over the black lace veil at their temples. I hurried to steady them. 

Fine lines of stress bracketed the corners of their mouth as they rested their head on my shoulder. I guided them to the settee. The questions I had since my arrival bubbled in my chest, but I’d quashed them. Now though, I was sure they needed to be asked. 

Starting with, “What’s wrong with you?”