Alysanne's life was mostly quiet and uneventful, which was just like she wanted. The days passed between care for little Devin, work and sleep.
She never knew she was pregnant right until the sharp pain of a miscarriage, but the fact that she had never expected the child didn't make its loss much easier.

In her sorrow, she clung even harder to little Devin, checking for any signs of illness in him and never resting even when she found none. With Delia almost grown and out on her own most of the time, Devin was the one who needed her as well as her future. She did her best to give him all the care he needed and more, all the care she would have given the dead baby, but she still couldn't help but wonder if it would have been a boy or a girl and what would it have been like.

Marcus, meanwhile, was still circling around Delia and her family. He still felt a little strange about approaching the girl herself, unsure about what to speak to her about, but her parents were something completely different. He found out he could find common ground with both Tomas and Alysanne very fast, drawing on their desire for normal, stable lives. A few compliments and reassurances and they were both completely on his side.
Not that he knew what exactly that side was... but good relations could never hurt, right?

And all the time Devin continued growing. Still smaller and more delicate than Tomas would expect from a boy, but healthy and curious and learning very fast.

Soon it was his birthday again and, just like the last time, both of his parents celebrated with genuine joy while Delia just stood there, lost in her own world.
"If you blow out all the candles, you will get a wish!"
"I want..."
"Ssh! If you tell, it won't come true!"
Delia just rolled her eyes at how childish her mother was. And she wanted to tell her what to do?
Still, the more focused on her baby brother her parents were, the more freedom she had for her secret life. The less they knew about her trips with Finn or her budding relationship with Adrian, the better for everybody.

Time passed quietly, until one day the Arell family got an unexpected visitor.
"Are your parents inside?"
Delia turned after the sharp voice, recoiling at the same time. She had never had any direct contact with the lady Ellara, but she knew that her presence here could only bring bad news.
"Has the cat got your tongue, you insolent girl? Where are your parents?" The lady asked again, her tone even sharper.

"Yes, they're home. What...?"
But the lady was already turned away from Delia before she could finish. Ellara swept into the house as if it belonged to her and walked straight to Tomas.
"How dare you lie and insult me?!" She spat at him.
Tomas was too shocked by the lady's sudden appearance he was unable to speak at first. "M-my lady...?"
"I heard you were calling me old and ugly. That you said the future lady Lorimer is more beautiful than me. How dare you insult me so?"
"New lady...?" Tomas still had no idea what Ellara was speaking about, but he did his best to appease her. "I would have to be blind to deny your beauty, my lady."

Ellara was still frowning, Tomas took a step back and Alysanne came to his aid.
"Please, my lady.. we would never dare insult you in any way..."

Ellara exploded. "Stop lying!" She screamed and slapped Alysanne hard across her face. "I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses. Like father like daughter, everybody knows what you are and not to trust you."
Alysanne just bowed her head and stayed silent as Ellara glared at both her and her husband.

At this point, Delia could just bear it no further.
The house's walls were thin enough for her to hear everything, every drop of venom in Ellara's voice and all the fear in her parents'. It was just so unfair!
She had stayed outside, hiding her helpless rage behind the wooden door, but when she heard the slap, it was finally too much for her. She just couldn't listen any longer.

She stormed into the house and flew straight to Ellara, too fast to think about what she was doing.
"And everybody knows what you are!" She spat at the lady. "And everybody hates you for it. Can't you just leave us alone?"
Lady Ellara was so surprised at this outburst, that she stepped back. She wanted to strike back, to put the insolent girl back in her place, but faced with her energy and conviction it was hard to find the right words. For a few seconds they just stared at each other, Delia clinging to her fire and Ellara doing her best to hide behind her haughty expression.

What was worse than having no suitably scorching reply for the girl was not having one for herself. Delia's words, however crude, had hit a weak spot Ellara didn't even know she had, but couldn't deny once uncovered. As much as the lady enjoyed being universally feared, it was a poor substitute for the genuine respect and love she missed ever since her father's death. Even her husband rarely looked at her the last few months.
One last look at the girl and Ellara turned and walked out of the house, her head held high and her skirts flowing behind her. She would never admit any weakness, but she just couldn't be sure it wouldn't peek behind any further action.
Tomas, Alysanne and Delia were left staring at each other, their faces mixtures of fear, surprise and incomprehension.

Delia had half expected a terrible punishment for insulting the lady, but as days passed and nothing happened its lack made her even bolder. It was easier to forget any regret and decide she had been right.
When she told Finn about the encounter and her victory in detail, this belief grew even more solid and she felt like a heroine, the only one standing for what was right. Lady Elara was a bully, she had no right harassing her family, and she needed to be put in her place. And as Finn clapped and congratulated her, she got an idea so bold and crazy she just had to say it out loud.
"What about visiting the manor at night? Just to remind her. She has so many enemies she wouldn't know where to look and if anyone needs some broken windows, it's this witch."
"For her, we would have to think of something truly special..." Finn's eyes were shining as he already started imagining the grand excursion and himself as a rebel fearlessly protecting the weak.

The night they had decided on came and the pair set off full of excitement, feeling heroic and untouchable and with no idea how soon they would regret ever leaving their homes.
Delia once again went through everything that happened, trying to find the exact moment everything went wrong. It was still better than thinking ahead, to the interview with her parents and whatever would come after, as she walked behind the resolute-looking guard.
She supposed she really should have been grateful to him, if she wasn't too frightened and angry to feel anything else. When he discovered them at the manor, they hadn't really done anything yet, but it was already too clear what their intentions were. They had tried to run - Delia once again cursed herself for not running sooner or faster - but then Finn tripped over something, she went back to him and then the guard was on top of them. He shined his light into their faces and when he saw Finn he looked as if he had just been given a great gift. From what Delia understood, the guard had been suspecting Finn for a long time, looking for a way to finally punish him, and now he had a perfect opportunity. And then came the surprise. She herself was not supposed to suffer the same fate. When Arthur was getting ready to escort her home rather than to any prison Delia had tried to argue, to defend and support her friend, but it took a single mention of a public whipping to shut her up.
Only now, as they were almost at the door to her parents' house, she was starting to doubt it was the right decision.

When her father heard everything, Delia thought he would strangle her on the spot. "Caught stealing? From the manor? After everything... have you lost your mind?"
He turned to the guard, thanked him both for the mercy and for informing him, and promised he would punish his wayward daughter soundly himself. Just the thought of this made Delia shiver, and her father was in no way finished.
When the guard left and Tomas turned back to her, he exploded again. "Look at me! Can you even imagine what happens to thieves and other criminals? Were you even thinking? Public whipping is the very least you could expect, do you know how your grandfather Dorian ended up?"
Delia only cringed as her father continued, describing the punishment he would give her himself and prohibiting her from ever even speaking to Finn again. When he finally sent her to bed, she was grateful, even if she knew she wouldn't be able to get any sleep.

"I still think hanging would have been better. But I suppose there's always next time, these types never learn..." Finn just growled in response. He knew what would come in the next few moments, but he was too angry to feel scared. He was angry at Arthur, who was no doubt enjoying his victory, angry at Delia for dragging him into this business and then getting away herself, angry at Ellara, even angry at lord Anselm for his so-called mercy. Whatever the accusations Arthur piled on him, whatever other punishments he could have faced, Finn still hated being in a noble's debt.
But soon anger and shock were replaced by completely different feelings.

He tried to distract himself from his punishment by inventing ways to get even with all of them, but it didn't really work. Even the most creative payback scenarios couldn't really hide the situation he was in,as all the facts begun to show clearly to him.
It was the humiliation that was the worst of all, the fact that everyone was looking down or downright laughing at him. This would never happen to any of his heroes and models, he was sure of that. And what good would revenge be, when he it wouldn't make him the rebel king of the night again?
When he was finally released, he was in despair. His whole life seemed in ruins and he had no idea how to change it.