Anita stared at the aftermath that had unfolded in front of her eyes. She had never experienced or thought of encountering such unusual developments. However, here she was watching dumbfounded at the scene in front of her, witnessing armed people being slain by a child. Everyone had heard the voice of that girl. She knew who it was but, did not want to believe that it was the child that she had healed less than twenty minutes ago. Just what on earth was going on?

“Sofia?! How even is she?” thought Anita, quickly glancing over. She witnessed the man holding a dagger to her throat, but he collapsed in fifteen seconds. “What happened to him? Alviona had not cast any magic, nor had she touched him. He does not seem to be breathing, so he is dead. Just what on earth is going on?” she kept thinking.

Meanwhile, Alviona was looking at the young woman, who was the last person remaining from the assailant’s company. She said that she wanted to live. Solomon said the same thing, so it means I have to use my skill no? But, is she not already alive? Her behavior is confusing. Perhaps I should ask her? No… she is crying. It is all-right miss. I will protect you as long as you don’t harm my mommy. Oh, maybe if I use my skill, it will cure her like it did Solomon? Thought Alviona as she patted the woman's head.

After deciding to utilize her skill, she waited for her reply. Seeing that the offer was returned in affirmative, curiosity took over Alviona’s body once again. However, the message that she received from the skill made her a little bit confused:

[ Report: You have already subjugated one powerful being. Subjugation is unusable and becomes obsolete. If you decide to destroy your subjugated subordinate, then you may utilize this skill once again].

The woman, on the other hand, seemed to have fainted from all the nervousness that she experienced within past 5 minutes. The post-stress from battlefield also seemed to carry over. Alviona kneeled down and analyzed her. Seeing that her status displayed Alive, she gently stroked her face and turned around.

Mommy! I want to hug mommy! I am finally home, thought the child as she ran to Sofia whose face was frozen in terror. Alviona did not pay attention to it, for she was overly excited. The swirled wings went back to its original position as she flapped them and jumped to reach her mother, embracing her mother’s neck with her gentle hands and landing a kiss on her cheeks.

Anita froze, for she had just seen the girl unfold her jet-black wings, while Sofia’s expression was that of shock.

“W-who are you, young miss?” whispered Sofia, her voice full of confusion, fear, and shock.

“Mommy. Can’t you recognize me? It’s me! Alviona,” came a soft and a gentle reply.

Sofia hoped and prayed that the girl would not say it, despite having heard her declaration to the assailants earlier. She had expected that perhaps this girl was an angel or a fallen angel that her daughter had met in her dreams; a sort of miracle that would rarely happen to a select few people. The mother was willing to believe any level of absurd story that would come her way when talking about her extraordinary daughter. However, she refused to accept this one. It was too much.

How did she grow up so quickly? How did she come out from the forest when she was in her bedroom with a high fever? Furthermore, the girl in front of her was too beautiful. What was up with the wings and the small horns? Where did the weapons come from? How did she win the combat against the soldiers and remain calm after their deaths? Those were thoughts of a distressed mother who was unable to comprehend the current situation. As she was about to begin asking questions, Anita approached her.

“Just what on earth is going on?!” shouted Anita furiously at Alviona. “You have a lot of questions to answer! I knew that you were not ordinary, but this is a bit too much! What on earth are you? Just what in the name of mother nature are you?” she continued shouting at her.

Alviona, unable to understand how she had angered Anita, released her mother and hid behind her figure. As she listened to Anita’s questions, her vision began to blur, and the voice flowing into her head became distorted. She felt her knees getting weak and her hands trembling. She appeared to start losing consciousness and fainting.

It appeared that Anita and Sofia had noticed this, for Anita stopped her questions mid-way and glanced at the child, while Sofia felt trembling directly. As the mother attempted to touch Alviona, the girl ended up collapsing, giving no room for either of them to react and catch her.

Anita bit her lips and rushed over to check her pulse and seeing that everything was fine, she rushed back into her residence and summoned Piu to move the child to her room for recovery. After binding the hands of the young assailant, she was also brought inside to the 2nd floor. Anita had many questions for her as well, and nobody was going to slip past her right now. At that moment, she noticed Sofia’s absence. A light jolt of panic rushed through her body, forcing her to quickly run outside. However, after seeing Sofia unharmed, Anita was relieved.

The half-elf seemed to be staring at the skies. Anita, understanding that she was contemplating over the developments of the past 30 minutes, decided to slowly approach her and as she did, the woman began whispering.

“You know, I always enjoyed watching the skies,” started Sofia, forcing Anita to stop moving and listen. “Ever since I was a kid, I would look up every night in hopes of seeing the stars, extending my hands while trying to grasp them. “The world will be mine,” I thought. As I grew up, I realized how far away those stars were and how cruel the reality was. My father had passed away after my birth, leaving my mother alone to care for me. At some point, my mother got married to another man, who ended up being of noble status. We lived a happy and careless life. Eventually, she gave birth to two sons, who were my half-brothers. I loved both of them and was very happy that I was blessed with siblings, until one night, at the age of 15, assassins broke into our mansion and slaughtered all the guards. Can you imagine what they did after that?” she asked Anita with tears welling up her eyes.

“They sliced the throats of the poor infants. My brothers were only four months old. And you know what the worst part of the tragedy was? Nobody woke up in time to stop them. The moment my mother walked into the nursery, she grabbed the heads of my siblings and cried for one full day and night, while tightly clutching them to her chest. The next morning, she ended her life. My father in law sent me out to the orphanage to protect me. I begged him to leave me by his side, but he condemned me for isolation,” continued Sofia, clenching her fists and taking out her bow.

“Can you comprehend the feeling of being helpless for the majority of your life Anita?” asked Sofia while creating an elemental arrow that was made of the wind element.

Anita shook her head. While she had never met her father, she always had her mother by her side. She also had Piu, so saying that she understood that feeling despite her mother falling into a slumber would be a lie.

“It is as if the entire world is crumbling around you at any given time. You attempt to fight back and get strong, but no matter what, one is always met by more sorrow and grief. The harder you try, the more impactful the ricochet that is always directed at your heart,” said Sofia, fully stretching the bow and letting it loose the next moment. With a wailing sound of the wind, the arrow jolted in a straight path, puncturing every single tree in its way at a distance of 100 yards, before finally coming to a halt.

“I was in that orphanage for five full years. Never sleeping properly and always being uneasy. The nuns found out that I had a magical talent in temporal enchantments. I loved wielding a bow, so naturally, I was sent into the care of hunters. There I became stronger and managed to develop my techniques of archery. After some time, I tracked those assassins down and eliminated them one by one. After a while, I discovered about my father’s whereabouts. And so I visited him to tell him of my vengeance, to ease his heart,” she said while creating another arrow and letting it loose. “Imagine my disappointment when I found out that he married another woman a month after I was handed to the orphanage. I just laughed at him and wished for a new group of assassins to successfully take his life."

Listening to Sofia’s story, Anita felt sympathy towards her. “How would a mother feel, when watching her only daughter grow up so quickly, without the ability to do anything to protect her? She is likely blaming herself for what happened in her past. And, she probably is blaming herself right now for endangering her daughter. Granted, a lot of unknown has happened. I think I went overboard with shouting at Alviona too. It is mandatory for me to apologize,” thought Anita. However, before she could open her mouth, Sofia burst out into tears and began sobbing.

“I am such a fool. The only true happiness I experienced was when I met my husband, Duncan. And it was taken away from me by some noble. Now all I have left is my daughter, who I am also losing too rapidly. I do not know anything about what is currently going on…” kept saying Sofia whose heart was sinking into depths of the abyss.

Anita’s emotions were also stirred. Ever since this woman had entered her forest, nothing but adventures and excitement has come her way. Something that she longed for quite some time. Granted, she could not abandon the forest due to her mother still needing care; however, denying the fact that past month and a half had not been a blessing for her would be equivalent of lying to herself. Being by the side of Sofia and watching Alviona grow has been the pinnacle of her happiness, even if the child was odd and caused a lot of unknown phenomena. Piu also seemed to be keen towards the two of them.

“… I am truly sorry Ms. Anita, for causing you so much trouble and disturbance. I am thankful for everything you have done for my daughter and me, but we seem to be delivering too much headache for you,” continued Sofia.

“You sheltering the two of us has been the biggest blessing for me. However, I do not think that it can continue. I can go out of the forest and talk to the captain of those soldiers that Alviona has slain. If I can give them my life in exchange for yours and hers, I will do it. I think that nobody will care if I disappear. The only thing that I beg of you is to take care of my daughter for just a while longer. You wanted to teach her druidic arts, and I am certain of it, with her powers, she will become a good one,” she finished with a face full of regret and sorrow. Her crying had ceased, and now tears were drying up on her face. With those words, Sofia began walking away.

After hearing those words, Anita’s heart began pounding louder than ever. Her mind was overtaken by unimaginable anger, not directed towards anyone but herself. “Was Alviona truly the reason why I sheltered the two of them?” she asked herself “Or, was it because I liked the courage that her mother displayed? That unwillingness to back down, that strength exerted to protect her offspring. I have hunted alongside this woman for one full month. Her talent is exceptional, and her character is overly loving and caring. So what that she has a dark and a twisted backstory!?” exclaimed Anita in her thoughts. Without realizing it, she caught up to Sofia and stood in front of her.

“Stop this madness this instant!” ordered Anita. “You are doing nothing but harming yourself with this!” she continued.

“You do realize that those people were of combat unit yes? If we do not appease and or satisfy them with blood, they will raze the entire forest regardless of whether or not the golem protects it” replied Sofia coldly. “Let me go. Please. As I have stated prior, my life is useless, and nobody will ever regret my disappearance. It is the least I can do to protect you and my daughter."

“Protect me huh? All-right then. I apologize, Mrs. Sofia,” replied Anita, quickly grabbing both of her hands, interlocking her fingers and pulling her to her chest. Her subtle green eyes, filled with passion and overwhelming devotion, met Sofia’s deep blue. Gently and slowly moving her head forward and closing her eyes, the lips of the two met, causing Sofia to widen her eyes in shock and disbelief of what happened.

Anita could feel it. The rich and savory mouth of a young mother caused by the tears that she shed from her grief. The sweet taste of saliva that resembled honey. All these sensations and feelings stirred up inside her mouth as she landed a deep kiss, making their tongues meet. It was as if Anita’s lips were curing and cleansing Sofia’s entire body from negative emotions accumulated throughout the years.

This delightful sensation was further reinforced by the new streams of tears that slid down from Sofia’s face as if carrying an element of holiness and purity.

Sofia did not seem to resist, as she did not push Anita away at any given time.

As Anita finished and moved her mouth away from Sofia’s, a thin strand of Saliva was visible between the two tongues that were swirling a moment go.

“Why… Why did you do that?!” demanded Sofia, tears continuously streaming down her eyes, her face showing evident anxiety from what just happened. She did not seem to be angry but rather, confused.

Anita however, did not hesitate to answer.

“It is because I am truly in love with your Mrs. Sofia. I understand what you are feeling and disagree with your actions. I do not want you to be harmed. You said that nobody would worry about your life disappearing from this existence. This is foolish and not true, for I would be devastated by your death," said Anita, tightly clenching her fists.

"Even if my feelings are one-sided and you decide to reject me, have you thought about the trauma your death would bring to your child? The child that risked her life to save yours? And you mentioned being a nuisance to me. How dare you say such a thing? Why not ask me directly, instead of assuming? The moment we first met, I have fallen in love with you. I have not realized it back then and thought that it was due to your daughter, but the truth is that it is because of you," said Anita with tears welling up her eyes.

"I am sorry. I understand that you were married and that you truly loved your husband, but there is no bringing him back to life. Yes, a lot of misfortune has occurred in your past. But why dwell on it?” Asked Anita firmly.

“You are a person of unbelievable strength and resolve. One that is loving and care-taking of her family. You are not weak. You are not useless. You are Sofia. A half-elf that is willing to go above and beyond for her daughter’s well-being, and a woman that I fell in love with. So please, stop trying to always protect others. Instead, allow those that love you to protect back!" finished Anita, tightly holding her hands around her heart, waiting for Sofia's reply.

Hearing Anita’s speech, Sofia could not help but be relieved. Tears were still flowing down her cheeks. However, those were no longer of grief or weakness, but instead of joy and relief.

Sofia had no doubts about the truthfulness of Anita’s words and statements. She too had developed some form of affection towards her from the little time that they had spent together but felt like it would be wrong to confess her feelings due to her being a widow. When Anita had told her how elven society worked, her entire body and soul was beyond happiness. Sofia hoped to deepen the relationship between them further. After the incident with the assailants, she was even willing to throw her life away for her daughter and Anita.

“I too… love you,” replied Sofia to Anita’s feelings.

“…W..h…” before Anita could respond, Sofia had already made her move. Like a predator seeking its prey, she embraced Anita. Closing their eyes, the two of them kissed. Seeing her actions, Anita relaxed her body, allowing herself to be wholly dominated by her lover.

Tears carrying joy dropped from the eyes of both girls. The two of them snuggling in each other’s embrace continued their act of devotion to each other without either side willing to let go until satisfied.

After calming down, both girls looked at each other and chuckled.

“I am truly thrilled and happy,” stated Anita while looking at Sofia.

“The feeling is mutual,” replied Sofia, her eyes showing her excitement.

“Then shall we go home?” asked Anita while extending her hand to Sofia, who gently accepted it and interlocked her fingers.

With a nod in affirmative, the two of them finally made the way back to the residence.

As the couple approached, a new sight came into view. It was a shape of a tall man leaning against the door. As he saw them approach he waved with his left hand.

“Greetings. My name is Solomon. I think it is finally time for us to meet and talk.”