"So?" I picked at the black gravelly rock around us as Rivi paused in the telling of her story. "What happened next?"

Rivi sighed and looked down "Well I killed one of them at least—that sleazy bastard Derick. The others managed to get away, but when I took Evera out of the protective sphere I put her in, she was…well, furious to put it lightly, and also half-scared to death. In my mind I'd merely killed a bastard who'd bullied her and driven away some pricks, but in the politics of the Divine Court I'd just declared war on the Human Pantheon. Naturally they wouldn't allow me to survive.

"When I realized the magnitude of what I'd done I finally got back in contact with Noe and told her everything that had happened. When she heard what happened she was…angry, probably the angriest I've ever seen her. I was supposed to come to the continent to grow, and observe the strengths and weaknesses of a growing power, and instead I had declared war on them on my own without even realizing what I'd done.

"She told me to stay and stand the consequences of my actions, and to not let slip that I was an incarnation of Melphinoe under any circumstances. We even gave up the shards I had taken from Derick to sell the illusion that I was simply a demigod who had gotten too big for her own britches. The only consolation was that she took back Evera. I…didn't want her to see the fall of her own kingdom.

"When the gods from the Court finally came there was no stopping them. My kingdom was consumed in flame, and Riviera Waterspirit died that day. And ever since I haven't stepped foot off of this continent."

"I thought…" I watched her picking her nails against the soft flesh of her fingers. "I thought you were punished for giving up secrets? Was it just that you screwed up with attacking the envoys?"

"Well…There was more..." Rivi sighed. "During my fight with the demigods I might have said something like 'you bastards, I see why my sister asked me to investigate you.'"

I winced.

"So even though we gave up the shards, not all of the gods were convinced the matter was ended, especially the demigods who were actually there. And one of the prime candidates for suspicion was Our Lady. In response, Noe had to change our strategy from aggressive probing to a passivity that bordered on negligence in order to get the gods to drop their guards against her. Which has been going on for the past couple millenia, so…yeah I really messed up."

I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to me. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that Rivi," I murmured, stroking her shoulder. "But we all make mistakes. You don't have to beat yourself up forever about it."

She exhaled deeply, her head curled against my shoulder. "Thanks Silvie…it feels a bit silly getting comforted by someone so young, but…"

"Shhh," I tried to stop her, though in that moment I truly felt inadequate. Me? A seventeen year old? Comforting an immortal goddess? Who was I kidding? But I tried to shake the doubts from my mind as I stroked her hair. "We all need someone to lean on sometimes." I said, trying to sound surer than I felt.

Rivi smirked, pulling her head away from my shoulder. "You don't have to pretend," She said, pulling my head into her lap. "This master will take very good care of you," She leaned down over my head and whispered into my ear.

I turned so red I could almost feel steam coming out of my ears as I buried my head deeper into her lap to avoid my own embarrassment. Right? Of course! I'm just a kid, who was I fooling? There's nothing I can give her…

"But thank you very much for trying anyways," She stroked my hair, a hint of that earlier vulnerability creeping back into her voice.

I sighed, letting myself relax into her lap, letting myself be truly hers. I wasn't sure of anything about myself, even such seemingly simple things as my name or gender lay tangled in an incomprehensible net of thorns that seemed to ache terribly every time I tried to pull them apart. But I knew one thing: here, in her arms, I felt safe.

***

That evening when we set up camp Rivi watched me a while as my breaths grew regular and my body relaxed itself into sleep. After a long while had passed, she got up silently and moved out to the entrance of the tent where she sat just in the shadow of the entrance, summoning a strange magic that folded inwards rather than outwards. At last her form slumped back against the tent wall, as if she had merely drifted off to sleep.

***

Evera was sitting in a small council meeting with her closest advisors, the early morning light streaming through the window as they reviewed the upcoming work assignments they had for the day when she felt a familiar tug at her soul.

She took a breath, old memories churning in her mind, as she slowly got up from her seat. "Excuse me, something just came up. Continue with the assignments, but reduce my work load today by 20%."

Selicia frowned, her cat ears twitching as she carefully watched Evera for signs of what might have occurred, but only bowed and said. "Yes, my lady."

Evera strove out of the council chambers into her own quarters, found a comfortable sofa to recline up, then layed down, carefully positioning herself so that if she fell unconscious she would not fall. Then, responding to the tug on her soul, she closed her eyes, her body, to all appearances, suddenly slipping into slumber.

She opened her eyes again in a black void, a familiar figure standing at a little distance, their head turned away from her.

She took a breath then called out. "Mother." The figure turned, revealing that same delicate and bubbly face that she had fallen in love with so many countless years ago when she had picked her up off the streets of Erlania. Evera gave a half smile, pain and joy doing a strange dance in her heart. "It's been a while."

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