Belgrieve awoke to the sound of crying. His five-year-old daughter was sleeping beside him, and she seemed to be weeping in her sleep.
The moonlight streamed in through the window, casting the room in dim light. Belgrieve gently placed a hand on her belly and softly patted her. Her eyes faintly cracked open.
“Dad...?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Angeline wriggled her way over and hugged him. He smiled at her as he gently rubbed her head. “What’s wrong?”
“Had a bad dream...” Angeline buried her face in his chest. “Dad was gone. I was alone... Everything was black.”
“Yeah... I see. That must have been scary.”
“But it was just a dream. That’s good.” Angeline looked up at Belgrieve, smiling through her tears.
Returning the smile, Belgrieve patted Angeline’s head. “Do you think you can go back to sleep?”
“Dunno.”
“How about something to drink?” he said as he climbed out of bed. He lit the lamp and stoked the embers in the fireplace. There was still some of the goat milk from Kerry left over, so he warmed it up in a small pan with a bit of sugar. As soon as it began to steam, he poured it into a wooden cup and handed it to Angeline. “Make sure you blow on it before you drink. Whew, whew.”
“Okay!” Angeline happily took the cup, blowing on the warm goat milk as she drank it. “So sweet. It’s tasty.”
“That’s good. Once you’re done drinking, let’s go back to bed.” Belgrieve smiled as he sipped at his own cup of goat milk.
A piece of burning wood snapped in the fireplace, giving off a trail of smoke that disappeared up the chimney.
Angeline cradled the cup in both hands as she sat on Belgrieve’s lap and gazed absently at the flickering flames until she had drunk the last of her milk. She stood up. “I’ll rinse my mouth...then sleep.”
“Yes, yes. Good girl.”
They rinsed out their cups and washed their mouths with water before returning to bed. Angeline clung fast to Belgrieve, her hands clamped like vices to his sleeve.
“Dad...”
“Hmm?”
“You’re not going anywhere, right, dad?”
“Yeah, dad isn’t going anywhere.” Belgrieve smiled and gently patted Angeline’s head.
○
After he’d gotten an explanation of everything that had transpired, Belgrieve did not hesitate a moment before he said he would follow Angeline. He put down his basket and straightened the sword on his belt. Phantom pain still pulsed faintly in his amputated leg, but it was a lot better now than it had been earlier.
Belgrieve’s heart was surprisingly calm even after learning that Angeline had been the creature that had taken his leg away. Even he thought he should have been a little more perturbed by that and didn’t exactly know why he was feeling so levelheaded, but there wasn’t any particular resentment surging within him, so there wasn’t much he could do about that.
What he was certain of was that Angeline would be feeling sad now and that reaching out a hand to her was his duty. “She’s a kind girl. I’m sure she’s beating herself up over it and hurting,” Belgrieve muttered.
“I...wasn’t able to believe in Ange,” Satie said, sniffling. “I’m her mother, but for a moment, I was scared of her... I’m the worst.”
“It’s all right. It’s not your fault.” Belgrieve gently rubbed her back.
“What should I have done?” Kasim muttered, clutching his knees. “I’d think about it now and then. If we hadn’t run into that fiend back then, if your leg wasn’t taken away, maybe the four of us would still be on adventures together. Maybe I wouldn’t have gotten so twisted and wasted half my life getting up to no good... That’s why I couldn’t do anything. I mean, I know that she’s still Ange, but...”
“Kasim...” Satie sobbed.
Perhaps Kasim was right—had they never come across Angeline, perhaps they wouldn’t have gone through so much pain in the past. Even so... Belgrieve inspected his bag of tools. He carefully made sure his peg leg was properly attached before tapping it against the ground. Everything seemed to be in order. Belgrieve nodded slightly before turning to Graham.
“Graham, what happened to you...?”
“I cannot triumph over old age. One swing put me in this state. It’s pathetic.” Graham closed his eyes and sighed. Then, he held out his greatsword, which was growling softly. “Take it. I can’t move, but this one still has energy to spare.”
Belgrieve accepted it with a smile. “Thanks.”
“Take care.”
“Mr. Bell.” Anessa had come up to him with her bow and arrows. She had a nervous look on her face, and so did Miriam. They both held their weapons tight as they looked at Belgrieve.
“We’re going too.”
“I don’t know about everyone’s past and whatnot, but Ange’s our ally and leader, and...you know.”
“If that’s what you want. No one has any right to stop you,” said Belgrieve.
Marguerite raced in carrying a basket filled with a great many hanks of yarn. “I got them!”
“Thanks. How were the kids?”
“Apparently, they suddenly started to act up. They had a hard time getting under control, but they’re sleeping now.”
Belgrieve frowned. So that branch has the power to awaken all demons... Apparently, this had caused a bit of a ruckus in the village, but with Yakumo, Lucille, Duncan, and the Bordeaux sisters there to handle it, nobody had been injured. It helped that the adventurers hired to guard the peddlers had chipped in when it counted.
To think that the effects of the magic reached as far as the children that weren’t even around... Solomon’s powers were fearsome indeed, and it was only through sheer luck that nothing significant had come of the incident.
Marguerite, having treated her wounds, stamped her feet with a pout on her face. “That’s everything, right? I won’t let Ange get away with a win. I need to give her what’s coming to her. I won’t let the curtain fall with me on a losing streak.”