After the travelers went their separate ways, Ophilia, Cyrus, and Olberic started off through the town square. There was no way of saying for sure where Derryl, Emil, and Nate would be playing, but Ophilia was determined to find them and at least ask how they were doing. She had left them on a high note, and she could only hope their relationships had continued to improve in her absence. There was no way to know but to talk to them for herself though. Beyond that, Ophilia was looking forward to talking to the three boys far more than she was looking forward to talking to the bishop. She was certain the news about Morlock's death had traveled to Saintsbridge already, and she didn't want to have to tell Bartolo what she had done. Ophilia was going to make herself say it no matter how anxious the idea made her, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

Luckily, she didn't need to worry about going to see Bartolo so soon at all. Almost immediately after she arrived in the town square, she caught a glimpse of the three boys standing near the bridge, all of them talking and laughing happily. Ophilia pressed a hand to her chest with a fond smile at the sight. "I'm glad to see they're still doing well," she remarked as she glanced over her shoulder at Cyrus and Olberic. "I was a bit worried, but I'm glad to see I had nothing to fear."

"Of course not. You changed the lives of those children, and you should be proud of yourself for it," Cyrus smiled. "I believe now would be the perfect time to go and speak with them. We don't know how long it will be until we have to meet up with the others again."

Ophilia nodded before approaching the three boys. Cyrus and Olberic flanked her from either side, quiet but still very much present in the conversation. "Hello, you three," she greeted. "I hope you're having a lovely day."

Derryl was the first one to turn, and his eyes went wide as a smile brighter than the sun spread across his face. "Sister Ophilia!" He rushed toward her, and Emil and Nate were quick to follow his lead in hugging her. Ophilia staggered backwards by a few steps, but Olberic placed his hand on her shoulder to ground her. She cast him a grateful nod, and he returned the gesture as she continued to hug the three children tightly. 

"I'm glad to see you're all doing well," Ophilia told the boys as they pulled away from her. "It's been a while since I was last in the city, and I was hoping I would be able to catch up with you before I left town. I'm just passing through, so I won't be here for long."

"That's a shame..." Emil said softly with a shake of his head. "I was hoping we would be able to introduce you to one of our new friends. He's kind of shy, but I bet he would really like you if you two had the chance to talk."

"New friend?" Ophilia echoed with a slight tilt of her head. "I would love to hear you tell me about him even if I don't get the chance to meet him. I want to catch up with you in any way I can, after all."

"His name's Tim," Nate told her. "It's short for Timothy. He's new in town. He and his mother just moved in here a week and a half ago, so they're still getting settled in, but we've been showing him around. It's hard to get used to living in a new place, so we're doing what we can to help him out."

Ophilia bit back her surprise, and behind her, she felt Cyrus and Olberic both go tense. They had just seen a child by the name of Timothy collapse as a result of what appeared to be an allergic reaction in the tavern. Ophilia had already met him, or at the very least, she had seen him. She couldn't tell the boys that though. She didn't want to scare them by saying Timothy had been sick just half an hour ago. It would be too much for them, especially after all they had been through when Ophilia was last in town.

Instead of saying any of that, she just continued to smile. "That's incredibly kind of you," Ophilia beamed. "I'm sure he appreciates having the extra help. You're right about moving being very difficult. It took me a long time to get used to my current home after I left my old one behind." No, she couldn't think about Flamesgrace right now. She would just end up wanting to go back, and if she returned home... She didn't know if she would ever be able to get back on her feet and back on the road again. 

"He's spending the day with his mom though," Derryl explained. "We were going to hang out with him today, but he was too busy to see us in the morning... Maybe we'll be able to play with him in the afternoon. We'll just have to see."

"I'll be here for the rest of the day, so I should be able to talk to you again later if you want to introduce him to me," Ophilia said. "I'll be in the area if you need me. Maybe I can even properly introduce you to a few of my friends. I know you saw them when I was last here, but I don't think I ever introduced you to them."

Emil opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off when he heard a whistling sound come from nearby. "Oh! That's my mom. I bet she's calling us off to eat breakfast," he told Ophilia. He looked up to her with wide, innocent eyes, and Ophilia found herself smiling just at the sight of him. "Do you promise to come and see us again later on after we've eaten?"

Ophilia nodded, pressing one hand to his shoulder. "I promise," she assured him. "I can't wait to see all three of you after you're done with breakfast. I'll try to introduce you to the rest of my friends later this afternoon when you were going to hang out with your other friend."

All three boys nodded before they took off in the direction of the whistle from a few moments prior. Olberic smiled as he looked over to Ophilia. "You have a way with children, Ophilia," he commented. "I cannot say I've ever seen someone as effortlessly great at speaking with kids. You and Alfyn have a gift."

"I must agree," Cyrus chimed in with a nod. "I've met many children in my time, but I cannot say I've ever gotten to know them with the same grace you have." 

Ophilia's cheeks blushed bright pink at the compliment, and she brushed off their words with a loose wave of her hand. "I appreciate the compliments, but I'm just doing what anyone would. They're good children with good hearts, and visiting them is the least I can do before we leave Saintsbridge," she said. "I hope we get the chance to meet that other friend of theirs, though something tells me we already have."

"Timothy is the name of the child who collapsed in the tavern... I can only imagine the two are one and the same given the description the boys gave us," Olberic frowned. "I believe that keeping his condition as our secret was the best call though. We wouldn't have wanted them to worry about their friend when they had no way of knowing if he was alright or not. If Timothy's mother wants to tell them later, then she can. That is not our place though."

"I agree," Ophilia nodded. "It wouldn't be right for us to tell them. For now, I think we should just do our best to enjoy our time in the city. We'll be leaving soon, and..." She trailed off, her thoughts immediately going blank in her head. The Ember glowed a bit brighter in the lanthorn, almost as if it was reacting defensively, and Ophilia stared off into the crowd. 

And that was when she saw her. 

It was the woman with deep purple hair and red eyes the travelers had run into back in Bolderfall after delivering the ruby dragonstone. She was gliding effortlessly through the crowd, following the path that would take her up to the cathedral. Ophilia stared at her for a long moment, her chest growing tight, before her field of vision tilted and began to fall. 

"Ophilia!" Cyrus cried out. He and Olberic both threw out their arms to catch her before she could completely collapse. Ophilia only snapped out of her trance when their hands wrapped around her upper arms, but even so, when she came back to focusing on the world around her, she barely registered what was happening. Her eyes were glassy, and her skin had gone pale. 

"You saw her, didn't you?" Olberic questioned softly. "It was the same woman we saw outside the Ravus mansion after finishing our business in Noblecourt." Back then, he had immediately moved to defending Ophilia after realizing something was off about the woman with purple hair, and she couldn't have been more grateful for it. He had been there to protect her this time too when she nearly collapsed under the weight of her shock. 

"I did," Ophilia replied softly. "Though I felt her before I saw her. I... I don't know how to describe it. Something about her just makes me feel... Sick. I don't think I'm supposed to be around her, and I... I know she hasn't done anything wrong, but I can't shake the feeling that I... I just can't be near her."

"Perhaps we should retire to our inn rooms a bit early," Cyrus suggested. "If you still want to meet with the boys this afternoon, then you will need to rest to recover your strength. Beyond that, we fought Steorra this morning. I believe all of us are a bit tired, and you just so happened to hit your limit sooner than the rest of us."

"I agree," Olberic chimed in before Ophilia had the chance to offer her input. "Perhaps this is a bit excessive, but... I think it might be for the best if I carry you back to the inn. We have a ways to walk, and I don't want you to push yourself after you nearly collapsed just a moment ago."

Ophilia nodded slowly. "Yes... I would appreciate that," she admitted softly. She leaned into Olberic gladly as he picked her up, and she let her cheek press against his chest once she was in his arms. The beating of his heart was a stabilizing force to her, especially since the world around her was still spinning after her brief spell of nausea. She didn't know just what that woman was doing in the city, but whatever her reasoning was, it was making Ophilia sick. She needed to rest and make sure she didn't collapse when she was visiting with the boys that afternoon. She wasn't about to set a poor example for the three boys who had brought her so much joy during her first trip in Saintsbridge. She owed them better than that. 

All the way back to the inn, Ophilia couldn't help wondering just who that woman was. She had been a mystery ever since she first appeared to the group, and it made no sense to Ophilia. There must have been some reason for her to have such a horrible reaction when she was so much as in the vicinity of the woman with purple hair, but she didn't know what it could have meant. She needed to focus on resting for the time being. Maybe the other travelers would be able to fill her in later. For the moment though, sleep was the best thing she could give herself. 

Deep down, Ophilia hoped that by the time she awoke from her nap, the woman was gone from both Saintsbridge and her life.

~~~~~

"Thank you!"

Tressa walked merrily out of the weapons shop of Saintsbridge, a smile on her face earned from a massive bargain she had struck with one of the store owners. "I think everyone is going to love this upgraded equipment," she declared. "An arcane dagger for Ophilia, a bow for me, a sword for Alfyn..."

"You really know how to catch a deal," Therion remarked. "I'm impressed... Though it'll never quite beat the five finger discount I always get when I decide to pick up something useful."

"I'm never going to get a five finger discount because I don't steal things," Tressa reminded him, and Therion just playfully snorted in response. "Besides, we'd never be able to show our faces again in Saintsbridge if we stole things. I don't want to make us fugitives in one of the cities Ophilia had to visit for the Kindling."

"I'm a fugitive here," Therion told her simply, and Tressa whirled around to face him with a horrified look on her face. "What? It's fine. It's in the past. It doesn't matter." 

"I would disagree," Primrose said as she walked just a bit too close to Therion for his comfort. He looked up at her with a deadpan gaze, waiting for her to say something to try and get on his nerves. It was to be expected after the two had established what was essentially mutual blackmail to get the other to confess their feelings to their crushes, but Therion hated it anyway. "I think being in Saintsbridge is putting you in a bad mood. I saw the way you were looking at Miguel while Alfyn was healing him."

Not for the first time and certainly not for the last, Therion was thankful for his scarf hiding so much of his face. His cheeks went warm behind the mask of the fabric, and he glared up at Primrose with all the rage in the world. "Just what are you talking about?"

"You're jealous of Miguel, aren't you?" Primrose asked, her tone lilting and teasing in a way that Therion despised. "Alfyn was giving him a lot of attention back there, and the two of them started bantering fairly quickly."

"Alfyn was giving him medical attention, Primrose," Therion reminded her dryly. "And if you're trying to bait me into saying something I'm going to regret later, it's not going to work. Nice try though. You'll have to give it a bit more effort than that."

He said it with such absolute confidence, and he hoped it was enough for Primrose to not realize that he was absolutely lying. He hadn't thought of the word 'jealous' specifically in relation to Miguel, but he certainly didn't like seeing the redheaded man so comfortable around Alfyn. That wasn't entirely because he was jealous of another man getting close to Alfyn though. That would have been petty, and while Therion was the king of being petty when he wanted to be, he didn't want that right now. 

Instead, he was bothered by Miguel because he felt just a bit too familiar for Therion's taste. He hated Miguel's accent first and foremost. It sounded too much like what he had heard just before he tumbled off the edge of a cliff and straight into Aeber's eternal debt. Miguel even had red hair just like the ginger and green phantom of Therion's worst nightmares. It was probably just a coincidence, but Therion still couldn't convince himself to feel completely safe around Alfyn's newest patient. 

Therion was pulled out of his thoughts when Tressa spoke, a hesitant frown on her face. "I feel like I'm not supposed to be here," she confessed as she glanced back and forth between Primrose and Therion. "Did something happen between you two?"

"Nothing at all," Therion assured her. If Primrose was going to try and poke fun at him for being jealous of Miguel for something as ridiculous as receiving medical attention, then he was going to have to turn the tables on her. "Or, at the very least, it would have been nothing if a certain someone here would just talk about her problems instead of bottling everything up."

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Primrose countered with a smile that was too sweet for Therion's liking. He glared at her, and she winked in his direction. He rolled his eyes, hoping he would be able to come up with something else that would catch her by surprise. If she was going to force him to think about how he felt towards Alfyn under circumstances like these, then he was going to make her consider her feelings for H'aanit at the same time. It was the least he could offer her. 

Therion never got the chance to say anything else to Primrose though. Instead, she glanced off into the nearby crowd, catching a glimpse of a man pushing his way through the people in the square. The man stumbled out of the crowd with a heavy sigh, and his shoulders slumped heavily in exhaustion and frustration. "I followed her all the way here... And she still won't even look at me..." he grumbled under his breath. 

Therion blinked at the man for a long time, trying to figure out just what he could have been talking about, but he never quite got the chance to deduce the reasoning behind his behavior. Instead, Therion was interrupted by a sudden feeling of having met this man before. That voice was familiar, though Therion didn't know where he could have heard it from...

"You're... Alphas, right?" Tressa questioned, and all of a sudden, everything made sense. Alphas was the name of that man who had been trying to impress the weird woman near Ravus Manor in Bolderfall after the group retrieved the ruby dragonstone. Therion was amazed that he remembered so much about the situation, but given how much trouble that strange woman had given the group, he supposed it made sense. 

The man perked up at the sound of his name, and he nodded. "That's right," he confirmed. After a few seconds of staring, recognition flashed in his eyes. "I remember you three! You were traveling with a larger group when I first saw her... The love of my life..."

Intrigue flashed in Primrose's eyes at that, and Therion could already tell he was in for an insufferable time. "The love of your life?" she echoed. 

Alphas nodded. "Her name is Lyblac," he explained. "She's the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid eyes on... But she does nothing but ignore me. I fear I truly mean nothing to her even after I've followed her to the ends of the world... Maybe I was wrong about all of this... Maybe no woman out there is perfect for me... If Lyblac keeps ignoring me..."

That was the name of the purple-haired woman then. Lyblac. Something about that combination of letters felt like poison on Therion's tongue, so he chose to not speak her name, but he was going to keep this in mind going forward. Given Ophilia's awful response to seeing Lyblac for the first time, he would have to remember her no matter what. He just hoped Ophilia hadn't run into Lyblac if she was in the city. Therion remembered her strange reaction to seeing Lyblac for the first time, and he really didn't want an incident like that to repeat. 

Primrose's mind was stirring with an idea, and Therion didn't even notice just how much her eyes were sparkling until after he looked up at her. "Perhaps we could help you," she suggested, and Alphas perked up in confusion and hope. "Even if this Lyblac woman doesn't wish for you to be in her life, I'm certain there are others in this city who are searching for a lover, and we could find the perfect person for you." 

"You... You would really do that?" Alphas questioned, his eyes wide with barely restrained optimism. 

"I would," Primrose confirmed. "You should tell us a bit more about what you want out of a relationship, and I can help you to find the perfect person to fulfill your dreams. There are many things that go into falling in love with a person, but if we play our cards well, we should be able to find someone for you."

"That's awfully generous of you, Primrose," Tressa remarked. "I would love to have you scope out a person for me to get together with one day... You know, once I'm actually ready for that. Right now, my trade is the only love I really need."

"It is generous of you," Therion said dryly. "Almost like you're trying to fill some hole in your heart caused by a lack of love in your own life." This was how he could turn the tables around on Primrose. She was doing this because she was afraid of confessing to H'aanit. She didn't know how to handle her own emotions, so she had turned to using Alphas as the perfect subject of all her projection. If she couldn't bring herself to talk about her own feelings, then she would just fill that void in her heart by finding Alphas someone to spend the rest of his life with.

Primrose glared at him as she smiled sweetly, and Tressa glanced back and forth between them in concern, confusion, and vague fear. "I'm not filling any holes in my heart," she assured Therion even though they both knew she was lying through her teeth. "I want to do what I can to help someone who wants to meet a potential suitor."

"You want to meet a potential suitor even more, don't you?" Therion questioned in return. "Or to be more accurate, you want to talk to one, but you're too afraid to actually say anything about it. Talking to someone isn't going to kill you, Primrose."

"I could say the same to you," Primrose returned through gritted teeth. "There's no reason for you to be jealous of someone when you could just talk to the person you've been watching for the last few weeks. It wouldn't be hard, you know. Talking to someone won't kill you either, Therion."

"How about we just get back to helping Alphas?" Tressa cut in with an anxious laugh. "I don't know what you two are talking about, but could you maybe save it until after we've taken care of helping Alphas? I feel like I'm interrupting something personal by watching this."

There was something Therion could agree with, and Primrose clearly felt the same way. The dancer took in a careful breath before turning back to Alphas, nearly entirely composing herself in just a few seconds, though Therion could tell she was still trying to come up with a snarky comment to fire back at him when she was given the chance. "How do you feel about the woman of your dreams?" Primrose questioned. 

Alphas thought about it for a moment before he instead stuck a hand into his pocket. When his fingers came out a moment later, they were grasping tightly at a folded piece of paper. "I wrote this a few towns ago while I was following Lyblac," he told her. "I believe written words are far more effective at expressing one's affection than speaking ever could be. Much more thought goes into what is written than what is said."

"I can agree with that," Primrose nodded as she read the page in her hands. A smile spread across her features a moment later. "This is an incredible poem, Alphas. I'm certain there will be a woman in town who will be infatuated with your words. I'll help you to find her too."

"You know what else you could do after this is over?" Therion questioned, ignoring the way Primrose refused to even give him a second glance as she started through the crowd toward the cathedral. "You could talk to the certain someone who I know is on your own mind."

"Or you could admit that you're jealous and use that as a starting point to confessing your feelings to a certain someone else," Primrose countered. "It's okay to be jealous, you know. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It happens to everyone."

Therion let out a heavy sigh at that. "I'm not jealous," he snapped back. He wanted to believe that was true even though he knew it was most certainly a lie. He was desperate for his feelings toward Miguel to be normal. There was nothing for him to be jealous of. Who cared if Alfyn and Miguel got along so well? They had only shared one conversation together. It was nothing to worry about. 

Therion just couldn't shake the feeling that maybe there was something he should have been scared of though. Miguel hadn't done anything openly offensive nor had he crossed any boundaries previously set out by the travelers, but he still bothered Therion far more than he had any right to. He sounded and looked just a little bit too much like Darius... But that wasn't fair, was it? Therion couldn't just say Miguel was irredeemable and awful because he had red hair and that bitterly familiar twang to his voice. It was nothing he needed to worry about. Darius was out of his life. Miguel wasn't Darius. It should have been that simple. 

But it just wasn't that simple. There was something about Miguel that continued to bother Therion in ways that made him want to punch something. He couldn't shake the feeling that something about Miguel wasn't to be trusted. Why had Ogen decided to not save his life? There had to be a reason for it, and Therion needed to know what it was. Could it really be true that Ogen had made the right call by not wanting to save Miguel? Did Therion have a right to make that call? 

Maybe he was just letting his head run away from him because he was jealous. If he assumed he was just jealous, then he could ignore all of this. He could write it off as him being ridiculous and overly dramatic. That would have been easier, and in all honesty, Therion would have preferred it. He was jealous, yes, but he wished that was all there was to the situation. He didn't want to be right about something that could put Alfyn at risk. He didn't want Miguel to be like Darius. 

No... Miguel wasn't like Darius. It didn't matter how much they had in common. Therion was smart enough to know he couldn't jump to conclusions like that. He trusted Alfyn, and it would be wrong of him to doubt his judgement over his petty memories. Therion was being ridiculous. There was nothing for him to worry about. He needed everything to be fine. He had already been stabbed in the back once that week, and it had ended with him getting a concussion. He didn't want Miguel to be the same way. He couldn't let Miguel be the same way. 

Before Therion could get too lost in his thoughts, Primrose came to a stop in front of him. They had just arrived outside the cathedral, and a woman with blonde hair was sitting on a bench near the door with a frown on her face. She was alone, and she looked beyond sad at that fact. There was something Therion could sympathize with. Of course, he would never dare to admit that on account of it definitely coming back to bite him if he turned his back for too long, but he couldn't help wishing he could find someone to fill his days with joy. 

That was another ridiculous thought. Therion was happy. The travelers had given him a new place to live, a better path to the future, and an incredible group for him to rely on. He didn't want to ruin that by confessing to Alfyn. What was he going to do if he wasn't interested? If Alfyn didn't like him back, then it would squander every good thing Therion had spent the last few months building up. He couldn't do that to himself, and he didn't want to ruin it for everyone else either. He was willing to bear his loneliness if it meant that everything else stayed intact. He wasn't really alone. He had amazing people in his life, and he felt safe for the first time since what happened with Darius. There was nothing for him to worry about. Everything was fine, and not talking to Alfyn wasn't going to kill him. 

Primrose smiled to herself as she looked between the poem in her hands and the woman sitting on the bench. "I think we might have the first person to share the poetry with," she declared. "I'm sure she's going to love it."

"You know what else I know a woman in our lives would love?" Therion questioned dryly. If Primrose was going to make him think about confessing to Alfyn, then he was going to return the favor with H'aanit. Primrose wasn't going to get off quite as easily as she would have liked, and Therion was determined to make sure she knew it. 

Primrose didn't entertain his quip though, instead just rolling her eyes as she started to walk over to the woman. Tressa lingered for a few moments as Alphas passed her by, and she glanced back and forth between Therion and Primrose. "What's going on with you two?" she asked carefully. "Do you want to talk about it? Should you talk about it?"

Therion shook his head. "It's nothing. Primrose is just getting on my nerves today. Let's make sure she doesn't get into any extra trouble." He brushed past Tressa at that, and she sighed before following him. The last thing Therion needed was for Primrose to drag Tressa into this mess. He had enough on his plate even without the merchant starting to nag at him too. 

Between his poorly hidden jealousy, his growing feelings for a certain apothecary, and his paranoia about being betrayed, Therion had too much to think about, and he hoped it all resolved itself soon. He didn't know what he would do if he had to sit with this for much longer.

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Next chapter! Woohoo!

This chapter was a lot of fun to write for a variety of reasons. It was nice to be able to kick back and have some fun with Therion, Primrose, and Tressa even if they spent a lot of their time bantering and arguing with each other. Well, at the very least, Primrose and Therion were arguing with each other. Tressa was watching in confusion. 

The bulk of this chapter came down to the second part of the Daughter of the Dark God sidequest. It's been a while since we've thought about that, huh? I put it here in this second trip to Saintsbridge for a reason, and it's the same reason I decided to hold off on the In Search of Father quest until the second trip to Noblecourt. We can address that later on though. For now, there's a lot for the group to think about, and that massive list has nothing to do with Miguel. They're in for a rude awakening soon to say the least. 

Next chapter, we're going to wrap up the Daughter of the Dark God quest and then get back to the main plot with H'aanit and Alfyn. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital