Lady Leandra still wasn't fully used to her new situation. Still in mourning, lonely in the mansion that had never felt fully hers and now probably never would, she still saw memories of her husband everywhere.
She had still not recovered from the time she had met the Grim Reaper face to face and tried to unsuccessfully plead with him. She had never expected to see that dark cloak outside of her nightmares ever again before her own death. But there he was one morning, just as looming and cold, threatening to take her baby daughter. Threatening to take the only joy she had left in life.

Once again she fell on her knees, too shocked and frightened to even know what she was saying, unsure if she was actually speaking at all.
Either way, the Grim Reaper seemed to understand, because he motioned for her to stand up and offered up his two bony hands to her. Leandra obeyed almost without noticing it. Everything was in a haze and nothing seemed real except those two fists. She reached out automatically, almost touched the one nearer to her, but then she drew back again. The last awful time was still too strong in her mind.
She had no idea for how long she stood frozen like that, it felt like forever, but she supposed maybe no time had passed at all. Then she heard a voice inside her mind, telling her to either choose or to forfeit her chance.
With her eyes closed and her hand trembling, she reached blindly out until she touched one of those terrible fists.

She could feel the fist slowly opening and see the light shining from it despite her closed eyes. Hope flared up in her heart despite everything and Leandra pushed it back again, too afraid to hope, too afraid to even think.
Only when she heard the voice in her head again did she open her eyes. "Very well. Your daughter will be returned to you." At first she couldn't really believe it. Her head was spinning, her vision blurry even after she opened her eyes. Even when she watched her daughter's spirit floating up and back into her little body she still wasn't able to move or react in any other way.

Only later, when Nadine woke up and started demanding attention, was Leandra able to fully realise she had her baby back, and only when she held her in her arms again did he relief come. It felt so good and peaceful Leandra never wanted to put her down again.

Tristan, meanwhile, was practising his sword skills. Becoming a knight was still the vision that pushed him forward, something that would make everyone respect and admire him. With a sword in hand he felt strong and confident, even if it was a practice wooden one. He would get a real one soon. And with a sword in hand, working out so hard he was covered in sweat after only a while, it was easy to believe that was all it took, all that really mattered to really become a knight. To believe that the stupid school didn't come into it at all.

When ignoring school, though, life was good. Adrian was around often enough that Tristan felt special. After all, he was his oldest son and that had to mean a bright future for him, especially when Desmond was dead. He invited Tiriel to meet his father - both Adrian and Damien, in fact - in one more attempt to impress her. And, somehow, it seemed to work.
Suddenly Tiriel was there, visiting almost every time Tristan invited her, playing darts with them, accepting Adrian's compliments and chatting happily.

There was only one possible thing that could be in Tristan's way. Or rather, one possible person. Devin, his annoying cousin, joined them far too often, trailing after Tiriel like a lovestruck puppy. Tristan tried to tell himself there was no way the lovely, confident girl would choose Devin rather than him, but at the back of his mind he still couldn't keep wondering. After all, she had chosen his stupid cousin once already.

He watched Devin and Tiriel nervously, trying to guess how close they were. Were they friends already? Were they perhaps more than friends, however unlike his dull cousin it would be?
His fears were confirmed when he saw the two of them holding hands, Tiriel all dreamy eyed and Devin grinning like a lovestruck fool. He pretended not to see them, but inside he was full of jealous rage.

After that, Tristan couldn't really take it any more. Every time Devin and Tiriel were even remotely near each other, he felt like he wanted to scream. Even when they weren't actually interacting at the moment, what mattered was that they could. What mattered was that they were obviously at ease and comfortable around each other.
He turned the full extent of his charm on Tiriel, using everything his father had taught him. He assaulted her with compliments, dazzled her with his sword skills and the great future before him.

And this time, finally, it worked. Suddenly Tiriel finally saw how good-looking he was and responded to his charm and all his other gifts.
Finally, everything was as it should be.

After Tiriel finally started showing interest in him, everything went smoothly and fast. Tristan took her on dates all around the village, usually staying out long after dark. At night the village was quiet and it felt like it all belonged to them. And unlike his slow cousin, Tristan's wasn't one to leave any opportunity unused.
When he surprised her with a kiss one night, she seemed overwhelmed at first, but she didn't resist and afterwards he could see she looked at him differently.

It was like the confident, adventurous girl became someone completely else once Tristan started pushing their relationship further. Suddenly she was shy and rather sweet, in love and rather unsure about it. She wouldn't say it in so many words, but Tristan was almost sure he was her first love, the one who tamed her. And he loved it.
The way she was looking at him, and how she blushed and looked away when he caught her, was making him feel like a king. It felt great to be almost worshipped in this way rather than having to pursue the girl himself. She even brought him flowers, leaving them by his door after dark and them disappearing again before being seen.

Not that everything was just shy and sweet, though. As long as he made the first steps Tiriel was learning fast. He wasn't sure whether she was simply lovestruck and wanted to please him or whether it was the active, adventurous Tiriel shining through, but he didn't really care about the reason. What was important to him was the action itself, that their nights together continued and each was hotter and more fun than the last.

While Tristan was enjoying himself, however, a tragedy was waiting just around the corner.
With two almost grown children Anna had not really expected to have another one, especially after her last miscarriage. When she begun to feel ill in the morning again, it took her long to even suspect she might be pregnant again. And even when she realised the possibility, her feelings about what it would mean were too conflicted for her to truly consider it.
She never told anybody else and went through the next weeks in half-ignorance, until the pain came.

Anna recognised the feeling that something was wrong and went pale, all the terrible memories rushing back. She broke down in tears, too overwhelmed by the pain and shock to do anything at the moment, to even think.
And there was so much blood...
Before Anna could realise this was much worse, much more serious than last time, she was too weak to do anything about it. She only managed one weak cry for help before she collapsed.

When she came to, Damien was bending over her, his face all scared, babbling something barely coherent. She could catch questions if she was all right, promises she will be fine, more questions and promises to help, all the while she was lying on the cold ground in pain and her husband wasn't really doing anything useful.
He helped her stand up and looked at her like a lost puppy without a master. "Can I...?" He started asking once again.
Anna didn't even know where she found the strength to scream at him. "Find a doctor... a healer... someone... even Alysanne, NOW!"

Then her vision clouded again and she only barely felt that Damien caught her before she could fall and helped her to her bed. Her last thought before she lost consciousness again was that she hoped he would finally stop hovering around her and hurry. She was feeling weaker with every moment.
She died early in the morning, before Damien could get back with any help that could be found in the village.

Damien decided to bury Anna near his father rather than in the village graveyard. They had lived free and he refused to chain his wife to the church after her death.
What was originally supposed to be a small family ceremony grew larger when more family came than originally expected. Alysanne came with her whole family, looking heartbroken for someone she barely knew. And there was Adrian, looking way older and more somber than Damien ever remembered him, as if Anna's death reminded him of his own mortality.

But when the small family returned from the funeral, life seemed to go on for the rest of them in a way young Elena couldn't understand. Her mother had just been taken away from her, completely without warning, and nobody else seemed to care. Her father seemed even more ignorant if anything, lost in his own thoughts and often disappearing into the woods for whole days. And Tristan didn't change his behaviour at all except looking bored. Even when Elena gathered her courage to ask him directly when they were once again alone in the house, he denied ever missing his mother or feeling anything at all.

Elena tried to tell herself he had just wanted to hurt her, but there were times it was just too much to bear for her. She felt like she was the only one grieving, completely alone with no one to comfort her.

Delia just wanted to forget Marcus and the whole courting fiasco and move on, but he wasn't going to let her go that easily. He made it clear he didn't want her back, but still he kept coming just to show off his righteous anger and remind her nobody else would ever marry her. It would be driving her mad if it wasn't so exhausting.
And Delia just didn't see the point. She tried to be sorry for losing him, even feel guilty like her mother wanted her to, but she just couldn't help being glad to be rid of him. He was a bore, she didn't really need him, not with her white knight taking care of her, and being finally able to tell him just that felt great.

Adrian, her white knight, was attentive as ever, both gentle and passionate, and he filled all the empty places that remained in her life. The longer their affair lasted, the more at ease they both were, until they felt almost invincible. Life was good and easy, even with a small baby requiring attention. They just started meeting at Delia's house more often, to stay close to their son, and after a while even Delia's fearful parents stopped trying to stop them.

Devin remained the only one who complained: "Are you sure it's a good idea? That it's safe? I mean..."
"Stop whining already! What could happen?"
Devin could list many things, but it was clear his sister, lost in her fantasy romance, didn't want to hear any of them. In the end he settled for the most obvious danger: "If lady Ellara ever found out you would..."
"She won't!" Delia snapped back. "And even if she did, what would she do against her own husband?"

"Well..." Devin considered saying that it was lady Ellara who had political power in the area and it was her who was the scary one, but stopped under Adrian's glare. How do you tell a noble lord he wasn't scary or powerful enough?
There was a moment of silence and then Devin turned back to his sister. "And how do you plan to live? Who will support you?" He asked, trying hard to sound grown-up and responsible rather than like a whiny boy.
"I will, of course."
Devin turned back to Adrian, who was staring daggers at him. Devin involuntarily took a step back.
"Do you expect me to abandon my own son? What do you take me for? What gives you the authority to doubt me?"
Devin took another step back. He opened his mouth to reply, but found no words that would stand up to Adrian's anger. "I... I'm sorry..." He managed to stammer in the end.
Adrian just walked past him, not really acknowledging the apology, but at least he stopped glaring at Devin.

To be fair, Adrian really did at least try to help.
Devin's bad feeling didn't entirely go away, but what else he would have wanted he wasn't sure himself. Adrian brought them enough money to more than take care of the baby. Devin knew well enough he couldn't expect anything else, marriage would be out of the question even if lady Ellara wasn't alive, and the affair was far too public and official already.
Maybe this was what was worrying him so much. He felt that the anger of discovery was growing every day and his sister just didn't see it. He could see how much Delia wanted a family of her own, but somehow she wasn't able to see that could never happen with Adrian.
And that fear was something no amount of money or fresh venison, however good, could dispel.

And all this time little Edric kept growing and keeping his mother busy. He was a bright child, learning new words and making more and longer steps almost every day, and Delia was more than happy to guide him in everything.
As time passed, she was still content with her life, no matter the reservations the rest of her family had. She had a healthy child, she was in love, and she was happy with that.

The passing time wasn't as good to everyone, though.
Lady Ellara had been doing her best to hide her grey hair and wrinkles, but eventually it became clear even to her that she was just wasting time. Ellara hated not being beautiful anymore and the more she saw other, younger women, the more bitter she became. Her only son was dead, her husband was avoiding her... the only consolation she could find was that the new lady who ousted her from her rightful position wasn't any happier.
But even though she hated what her life had become, Ellara still couldn't imagine it could be almost over. Being old meant being tired, yes, it meant wrinkles and grey hair, but the concept of her own mortality was completely foreign to her until the dark figure of Grim Reaper himself stood before her.
And even then she was more shocked than frightened, unable to believe death could really apply to her.

She stood there frozen until a stern voice which seemed to come from inside her head changed her shock to anger. Her time wasn't yet up, couldn't be, and how dare anyone tell her otherwise.
NO!" She put all her righteous outrage into that one word, all her noble breeding and inborn right to command others. When the hooded figure didn't move away, she reached for the hourglass the Reaper was holding just before her eyes. She wasn't sure herself if she wanted to turn it around or simply throw it away so it wouldn't mock her anymore, but it didn't matter in the end. The Reaper appeared bony and frail, but she was unable to move him even a tiny bit.
The last thing she heard were the words "Nobody can cheat time and death. Now leave this world," echoing in her head just before everything went black.

The funeral was mostly quiet. Adrian wasn't sure whether he should feel sad or relieved or even what his role should be now that his wife was dead. And lady Leandra was clinging to her daughter, only half hearing the funeral speech. She still hadn't stopped wearing mourning for her deceased husband and found it hard to care about any other death, however much she may have wanted to.

Delia's life, meanwhile, went on without any visible changes. Her affair with Adrian had become a routine for everyone involved, to such a degree that it took months for anyone to even get the idea that Ellara's death might affect it somehow. Not that anyone knew what exactly should change and what was even possible.
Delia was mostly content, but then she started feeling ill in the mornings again.
When she told little Edric he was going to get a baby brother or sister, she tried to show and feel only joy. But no matter how much she looked forward to seeing the little one's face, there was still something in the back of her mind, telling her this wasn't how life was supposed to be. That it was one thing to love a baby born out of wedlock and quite another to have a family, with more children, without a husband.

When that feeling didn't go away after a few days, she finally gathered enough courage to tell Adrian, nervous it would break their life together. She was afraid he would be angry, maybe call her a demanding nag like he had so often called his lady wife. But instead he took her in his arms.
"I love you. You know that, right?"
Delia nodded, expecting the inevitable but...
"Then you have nothing to worry about. I will always take care of you and the children."

Soon after that Adrian took her shopping for baby clothes, fancy food and anything else she might need. Delia was so happy at the fact he was taking her somewhere in public she almost didn't hear him say how money was no problem.
That whole day she was almost floating with joy, imagining what the next steps might be. Adrian was clearly planning to make their relationship official, would he move her and Edric to the manor next?
She was so focused on her daydreams she even forgot to watch and enjoy the people in the marketplace. They might become part of her life later, she would be due some respect as Adrian's partner, but right now they were not really important.

But as time passed and Adrian made no further steps to formalise their relationship, Delia grew less sure of his intentions and her future. Edric's birthday came and went, the baby in her womb grew and still nothing happened.
Delia wasn't sure what exactly she was hoping for, what exactly she could expect. She only knew she wasn't content with silence any more, not when there would soon be a second child with an unclear status.

She loved Adrian, she trusted him, and he always knew how to calm her. It just didn't last as long as it had used to.
He invited her to the manor a few times, always half in secret and explained his love and difficult situation. She was heavily pregnant and Adrian swore he would always take care of her and her children, but he had to at least appear he was in mourning. And she always got lost in his eyes and said that she understood. She really did, at that time, while he was near her.
And when the doubts appeared again in a few weeks, she hated them and she hated herself. Anything to stop herself from hating him or his promises.

Her baby was born, a healthy boy who took her mind off everything else. He was much grumpier and more demanding than Edric had been, as if he felt he could have been born in comfort as nobility.

And life went on. Edric was going to school and doing reasonably well. Alysanne was more tan happy to help him with his studies and if Edric was dissatisfied with anything in his life, his family or the way other children treated him, he was keeping it to himself. Baby Lucien was healthy and growing every day.
Everything was well and Delia was doing her best to be happy or at least satisfied, even though her hope for a real family with the man she loved was almost completely gone by then.

At the same time, Devin was making a new friend. He had met Katharyn at the village market and felt immediately drawn to her. She wasn't as exotic as Tiriel, probably not even as beautiful, but it only took a while for them to feel they had known each other for a long time.
Katharyn was the oldest of five siblings and had grown up with her own share of family drama. Like Devin, she was used to be the quiet responsible one, always putting her own desires and feelings aside, but when she let herself relax for a moment, she was great fun to be around as well as a great and generous friend.
If it didn't feel so natural, so easy and pleasant, Devin would have wondered what she saw in him. She claimed to admire him, but Devin couldn't even imagine why.

He wasn't sure when exactly he started falling for Katharyn, when he stopped being in love with Tiriel or if he ever did. But he kept noticing her more every day, thinking about what they could do together. If that was love he wasn't sure, but did it matter?

Even after leaving the convent, Kaella didn't really expect to ever marry, to ever have any other family than Celestine. She learned to live quietly and to never ask for more than fate would decide to give her, focusing all her energy on making her daughter's life as comfortable as she possibly could. That was why standing before the altar with Dermot seemed so much like a miracle.
She had first started helping out in his house, like she did in many others, after his wife had died. Already then she had noticed how kind he had always seemed, but she never expected there to be anything more between them. Even when Dermot started inviting her and Celestine for supper, she merely thought it another proof of his kindness and only realised his feelings after he proposed to her.
As the priest recited the ancient oaths and prayers and pronounced them man man and wife until death would part them, every single word felt like a solid stone forming a strong new life.

Celestine felt like everyone was watching her, the bride's daughter who was almost old enough to be a bride herself, and while there really was nothing about the attention that would be meant to hurt her, she still couldn't help feeling strange and strangely exposed. During most of her life, she had been invisible - or wished she were.
But still, Kian seemed genuinely enthusiastic and genuinely interested in what she had to say and that felt nice. Maybe it was her dress? She was still trying to remember the last time any attention from boys her age was positive rather than teasing.

Meanwhile, Tristan was nearing teenage years as well and his problems at school were growing rather than becoming in any way better. Eventually it got so bad he couldn't hide it even from his normally oblivious father. Other children in his situation would probably fear punishment from their parents, but Tristan had no respect for either of them and felt mostly humiliated from showing any kind of weakness.
Damien's response was stricter than Tristan would have imagined, though. He had grown up thinking that both of his parents were uneducated and stupid anyway, but maybe Damien's convent upbringing meant something after all.

The fear of punishment finally appeared in the back of Tristan's mind and he wanted to defend himself, but what came was only a command to sit to his studies at once. A strict command with a promise of supervision, but still only that. If he had not been so annoyed about the whole thing, he might have smiled in relief. When he bent over the hated books with his father standing over him, he tried to at least console himself with the thought that it wouldn't last.

True enough, it was only a few days until Damien lost interest in his son's studies again and Tristan could go back to ignoring his books completely. And only a couple more days until his birthday, to which Tristan had been looking forward as the day marking his independence. After it nobody would be able to order him around any more.
He forced his mother to make him a cake like he had for Elena and made sure Adrian would be there for the celebration. He was the only person Tristan really wanted to impress.

He didn't talk to anybody else during the whole party, didn't even notice them really. The only thing that mattered to him was that Adrian laughed at his jokes.
Tristan was sure Adrian saw him as family, as his own son, and he was determined to make him proud and be a better son than that wimp at the Manor could ever be. And when knight training was suggested, he was sure he was succeeding.

The problems he had with his studies didn't go away, though. Tristan had half expected to just stop going, but with knight training on the table it was no longer possible.
A few days of honest effort and Tristan felt the worst he ever had. He just wasn't getting it and even trying didn't seem to help at all. He was getting almost desperate enough to ask Adrian for help, but even if he really could do away with the requirement, he was too afraid of losing his father's respect to ask.
He even thought of falsifying the records, but that didn't work well enough either.

The fact that his annoying, ever so lucky younger sister was excelling in everything she even tried only added insult to the injury. Even the fact that their mother wasn't the type to care about books and learning didn't help much. Even when she wasn't getting attention, she was better than him and he hated even the thought.

He was definitely stronger, though, and so at least he could show the annoying brat where his limits were. Every time she laughed or smirked at him, every time she interrupted him or done anything else he didn't like, he had ways to show her how angry he was. All he had to do was make sure mother wasn't anywhere around.

The less confident Tristan felt, the more he tried to look so to his friends and everyone else who would happen to be around. His cousin Devin was an especially especially good mood booster - shy, awkward, eager to please and easy to impress.
Every time the boys would hang out in the village Tristan would act the confident and experienced friend, all too happy to give advice to the other boy. Most of the time he didn't even need to listen to him.
That day they were speaking about girls, Devin shy as always and Tristan trying to hide the fact that most of his experience wasn't exactly of the romantic kind. So naturally when Devin pointed out a girl and said how much he fancied her, Tristan just had to brag. "If I were you, I would just go talk to her. A few words, some charm and we would be in bed the same day."

Devin frowned, but said nothing, still looking at the girl. He should have been impressed, but instead he seemed lost in thought. Tristan continued speaking, something about his imaginary experience and sure ways to get a girl's attention and after a while Devin's face brightened.
"You're right. I'll try it." He said and then Tristan watched him walk over to the girl and say something to her.
And the girl smiled. Devin was blushing bright red, but Tristan could see the girl was responding to him, leaning in, her face bright and friendly. And only now did he notice that she really was pretty, far too beautiful for his dull cousin.

For Damien and Anna, life continued like it always did. Winter made way for spring and that meant not only less worrying about cold or food running out, but mostly more space for fun. Adrian continued to be a frequent visitor, spending probably more time with his friends or at his hunting camp than at the Manor with his lady wife, and the lady wife seemed blissfully ignorant or indifferent about the whole thing.
The bigger the surprise when she turned out of the blue, walked through the door in the middle of one friendly gathering, on her face a frown that could spoil milk in seconds.
"Ellara?" Adrian stared in shock, trying hard to find the right tone and expression. "What... brought you here?"
"I wanted to see what you prefer to your own home and family! Or who!" Ellara stared pointedly at Anna, who did her best to act natural. She focused on the meal she was cooking, telling herself to not react, not try to throw the witch out.

But it wasn't enough.
Before Anna knew what was happening the lady was standing right in front of her. "I'm speaking to you. And I won't be ignored! Keep your hands off my husband, you understand?"
"What...?" Anna's anger turned into cold fear and back again. Did Ellara know about Adrian? Did she know about Tristan and why her wedding to Damien was so rushed? But surely she would say something, unless...?
"I have seen how you look at him. And how he looks at you, even inviting you to my nephew's wedding. If I ever find out there's something between you and him, you filth..." she ran out of words and just stood there fuming for a few long seconds while everyone else was holding their breath and trying hard to turn invisible.
Damien froze in place and turned away, torn between an instinct to protect Anna and fear of punishment. Devin hid his face in his plate, silently regretting ever accepting the invitation. He was only grateful Delia had stayed at home. And Adrian was standing by the door, all innocence, just waiting for his lady wife to leave.
And then Ellara just slapped Anna and turned away. "Come! We're leaving!"
Adrian followed her out of the door without another look at anyone else in the house.

Tristan remained mostly unaffected by the drama. He may have wished Ellara gone so that his father could elevate him to his rightful place, but, unpleasant as she was, she had never threatened him personally and Tristan found it hard to truly care about other people.
He had finally learned how to charm girls and was using this new skill to boost his self-confidence. He wanted to feel adult, important and, most of all, as much like his father as he could.
As much success as he had with village girls, though, he couldn't stop thinking about the one he had not tried to woo yet.

Eventually he decided to approach her. If she had smiled at Devin, who had absolutely no people skills, she couldn't be too picky.
But to his great surprise the girl didn't react to any of the lines he had spent so much time perfecting, she completely ignored his winning smile, and was less than impressed when he tried to tell her about his knight training and great future. The more he pushed, the more irritated she seemed, until she exploded.
"Will you ever stop your ridiculous bragging? I don't care who your father is or about your wooden sword. If you were really going to be a knight, you would at the very least have a real one."

For a while Tristan just stared dumbfounded. How could she just leave? How could she not be charmed? What could Devin have that he didn't?

It only took a few moments until Tristan's shock was replaced with anger. He stormed up to the girl, determined not to let her escape again.
"Don't you dare look at me like I'm some frog. I'm the prince! Or should be at any rate! If anyone is the frog it's Devin, but he's not going to turn into anything nice even after a kiss, so if that's what you're hoping for..." He finally noticed the girl was watching him with an expression that was half bewildered and half amused. Definitely not what he had intended. "What I mean is..." He tried to change tracks, but the girl just shrugged.
"Don't bother. I'm simply not interested."
Tristan watched her leave and swore to himself he would win her over somehow. After this humiliation there wasn't any other choice.