Tomas had not seen lady Ellara since the church and after some time he had stopped thinking about her entirely, writing their collision off as the lady being in a bitter mood. Himself and Ellara existed in two completely distinct words and he could see no reason for them to intersect.
He certainly never expected her to turn up on his doorstep.
"Well?" Her glare made Tomas realise he had been staring at her for a few moments. He managed a late bow and a muttered "my lady", but it was not enough for Ellara.
"How long do I have to wait for you to finally pay me enough respect? Haven't you learned anything?"

"I... haven't... my lady..." Tomas was still too shocked to muster a proper response, even if he had a clue what a proper response might be. He wasn't aware of ever insulting the lady and had no idea what was expected of him.
Before he could make any sense out of the situation, Ellara slapped him across the face, far harder than he would have expected of a gentle noblewoman.

He did his best to mutter an apology, wondering at the same time whether it sounded as absurd to her as it did to him, or whether it had something to do with his ears still ringing from the slap.
He definitely felt confused and maybe that was the reason of what happened a few seconds later. Ellara reached out to slap him again, Tomas held out his hand instinctively, pushing her away... and then they were somehow trading slaps and pushes.
Tomas didn't know which of them started the real fight, he didn't think at all. All he knew to do was defend himself from Ellara's nails.

When he finally managed to break free and wrestle the woman to the ground, it felt good at first. She had felt so vicious that his victory did not seem as self-evident as it probably should have.
It was only a seconds later that he started to fully realise what had happened, what had he done, and what the consequences might be...

Before this realisation was complete and before he could gather his thoughts, Alysanne was there, her face full of terrified anger.
"You idiot! You... what had you done?!" She didn't shout, her voice was too shocked for that, but it was more than enough for Tomas to draw back.
Alysanne gasped for breath. She wanted to scream, but her throat was too tight with fear to do so. This felt so much like the incident that had sent her father to the prison camp for the rest of his life that it was almost unreal.

Lady Ellara smiled to herself as she watched both Alysanne and Tomas. This wasn't exactly what she had wanted, but it would have to do. She would teach him respect, by the Watcher she would, and nobody would ever dare question her again.
As she turned to leave and Alysanne darted after her to try and beg for mercy, Tomas could only burst into tears as the visions of possible future for his whole family came flooding before his eyes.

"My lady... your highness...?" Alysanne managed to catch up with lady Ellara, but she couldn't help the uncertainty that creeped into her voice as she bowed as low as she could.
Before Alysanne could start begging for mercy, Ellara turned and froze her in place with a single stern look. "Haven't you learned your place?"
"...please... your highness, I beg you..." Alysanne tried once more, determined to at least do her best, but the lady didn't let her finish.
"Don't you dare. You don't deserve to speak to me at all. Now get out of my way, before I have you punished as well."
With that Ellara swept past Alysanne and left the girl standing there close to tears.

When Tomas was called before lord Anselm for judgement, Alysanne didn't have to go with him, but she still saw it as her duty. Her mother had been rejected by her family, her father and herself ultimately disgraced, but she was still the young lord's cousin. She had heard rumours Anselm was kind, maybe he would take pity, if nobody else would?
They both fell on their knees before Anselm and Ellara. Tomas once more begged for mercy while Alysanne could only look pleadingly up at the young lord.
"You attacked someone of noble blood, kin to your liege, and, worst of all, a lady. Is there any reason you shouldn't be executed?" Ellara's first words shocked them both.
Tomas froze and Alysanne only wrung her hands in helpless plea. She wanted to say it had been Ellara who attacked Tomas, but she knew that would only make everything worse.
Tomas mumbled something about deepest regret, but fell silent when Ellara just kept smiling.
And then Anselm spoke. "I don't think that is necessary."  Ellara glared at him, but the young lord continued, as if he had heard Alysanne's thoughts: "I believe the man must have been driven momentarily mad by some circumstances and no harm or disrespect was made."
Alysanne found herself nodding furiously and hoping against all hope.
"He attacked me! He must be punished!" Ellara almost spit the words out, full of rage and shock, but Anselm's face was saying everything Alysanne needed to know. By then she knew the lord understood and whatever the punishment would be, whatever it had to be for such a crime, it would not be fatal.

When Tomas heard the final sentence, all he could feel was relief. While the young lord measured the money he would have to pay as a fine and the severity of corporal punishment, the only thing Tomas heard was that he would live.
It wasn't until after he was chained to the punishment pillar and the number of whip strokes was announced once again that the idea penetrated his mind at all.
He knew he was lucky, he knew in the eyes of laws no circumstances could ever fully justify raising a hand to a noble lady. But still, just as the punishment was about to commence, he was terrified.
A few moments later everything disappeared in the haze of pain and Tomas didn't feel anything else anymore.

He spent the rest of the day in his bed, cared for by his worried wife. The next day he was called to Lorimer Manor again, to pay the fine to the lady in person.
Still moving stiffly, he made sure to bow as low as his back would allow him when he presented the tribute. Ellara was beaming with satisfaction and Tomas didn't care whether it was because of the fine itself or because she had noticed his pain. He was just hoping this would put an end to the whole thing.

Still, the pain, humiliation and fear took more time to fully pass. Tomas had done his best to be brave, to forget everything and continue with his life, but there were moments when he simply could not.
At least he made sure to hide these moments from his daughter and especially his wife, saving his tears for when he believed he was truly alone. He didn't want to appear weak.

He needn't have worried.
When Alysanne found him crying, she didn't even speak. She just pulled him in a hug and held him tight until he stopped. He held on gratefully. Had he completely forgotten how warm and gentle she was?
When they finally broke apart, she drew back a little and bit her lip, suddenly nervous.
"I'm sorry. Have I...?"
Tomas only shook his head. He didn't really know what to say, but he knew she had nothing to be sorry about.
"Thank you." He managed eventually, which didn't say anything, but it was the best he could do.

After that, mas made sure to notice Alysanne more. At first she blushed nervously after every kind word, unsure it was real. She expected Tomas to turn around again any moment, but he didn't.

At first she didn't even believe her luck, but eventually she allowed herself to relax and smile again. There were many things that were troubling her, be it her husband's conflict with lady Ellara or Alvin's strange magic, but it was good not to feel alone anymore.
When they took comfort in each other, Alysanne felt she might even be falling in love with Tomas for real.

And when they cuddled together in bed, after what felt like forever, she was happy and at peace.

Damien's life continued the same as before. Hunting was somehow bringing him enough money to make his simple life easy, and his friends supplied everything else he needed, especially considering some of them had influence.
Damien was already good friends with Adrian and was a frequent visitor at his noble hunting camp, but when he met the young lord Anselm himself, it felt like winning a huge prize.
"Welcome to my humble home, your lordship. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Damien's tone was formal and full of respect, but his smile was genuine and friendly.
Anselm returned the smile, but his whole face betrayed uncertainty. "Uncle Adrian told me..."
"I told him he should live a little." Adrian finished for him lightly. "And I told him I know someone who might help. Are you with me? Let's take the lord on a proper hunting expedition."
Damien's smile widened when he assured both men how delighted he would be.

The hunting trip soon turned into pure fun, as Adrian persuaded his young nephew that the felled deer must be properly celebrated. Damien didn't know how - or how often - was the ale and wine brought to Adrian's camp, but it was enough that they were always there and always good. A few drinks were enough to really liven up the atmosphere, even originally shy and rather meek Anselm suddenly eager to show his fighting skills.

The three men soon forgot both passing hours and flowing wine. Adrian was completely in his element, Anselm seemed almost surprised by the fun he was having and trying to keep up with his friends and Damien was still amazed by who he was socialising with and unable to believe his luck.

All until Anselm suddenly went very pale and sick.
Damien's first thought was panic - did something happen to the young lord? And, even more importantly, would he be blamed? But then Adrian was there saying something about his mead being very strong and a good night's sleep making everything all right and Damien remembered his own experience from not so long ago.
He frowned in sympathy as Adrian was leading his nephew back home.

The worry Damien might have felt for the young lord however passed soon. After all, his own experience clearly showed hangovers were not lethal and furthermore, there were completely different things on his mind before long.
Anna was always around and she was always fun. They would spend hours talking about anything or nothing at all, laughing all the time.

And when winter tightened its grip and it got too cold to stay outside, there was warm fire in Damien's little house, and enough privacy to do anything they wanted.
It was mostly Anna who pushed their relationship forward, unafraid of any consequences. Damien found himself dragged along, trying to keep up and not look like a little boy in her eyes. Often he cursed his sheltered upbringing and the nuns who brought him up, but he was determined not to let that hinder him.
Anna just called it endearing.

Damien woke up one night to strange sounds in the woods surrounding his house. At first he wanted to dismiss the howling as a lingering part of his dreams, but it continued even when he came fully awake, only growing closer if anything.
He quickly dressed and went to investigate. He was a man, a hunter, certainly not one to be afraid of a wolf or anything else living in the woods. Actually, the fiercer the wildlife was, the better story the adventure would make when he would tell it to Adrian, Anna and his other friends. He went out to investigate and there, just outside his house, was indeed a wolf, a dark shape with eyes glowing bright yellow.
Damien was captivated, coming closer and closer to the animal almost against his own will. The wolf didn't seem afraid at all, not when Damien came so near he could touch it, not even when he tried to chase it away.

Instead, the wolf followed Damien when he walked around the house. It didn't look threatening, not really, even though the glowing eyes were strange and a little frightening. And it certainly didn't behave like any normal animal should.
Running out of ideas, Damien eventually brought some scraps of meat, leftovers from his meal that day, and offered them to the wolf. He was nervous at first, frightened of the animal's sharp teeth, but it ate calmly and there seemed to be intelligence in those strange eyes.
And then, after it had eaten all the scraps Damien could find, it just left, with no more explanation than when it had appeared.

No matter how hard Damien thought about the encounter, he didn't come up with anything else than his original puzzlement. Soon, however, he had completely different worries when real winter came and everything was covered with snow. Damien found himself spending more and more time getting enough wood to keep his house warm and be ready for any necessary repairs.
Winter would be hard, work never stopped and there simply wasn't enough time to dwell on something that had nothing to do with either.

Delia, meanwhile, was enjoying all the fun winter and snow made possible for her. The thickness and quantity of the stuff fascinated her so much she didn't even mind the cold. She spent all of her free time outside, building snowmen or snow houses.

What she loved even more, though, was when she had friends to play with her. She was becoming rather popular in her classes and often invited other children to come play with her. Soon she was considered the snowball champion even amongst older kids.

Still, the freezing weather meant more need for firewood, and Alysanne finally gathered courage to venture out of her house to help gather some. Tomas let her go without much interest and Alysanne herself didn't think much of it. After all, she was only going to the very edge of the wood, gather some fallen branches and return.
She definitely didn't expect to meet Alvin again, but that is exactly what happened.
He looked just like she remembered from happier times, before all the trouble and his exile, from the time that now seemed almost a lifetime ago. Her heart was racing, but a small part of her still couldn't believe it was really him, still thought she was dreaming.
Then Alvin came closer, looking nervous and determined at the same time. He breathed her name and she almost broke down sobbing.
"Are you all right? How... where have you been?" She wanted to ask if he had been punished and how bad it was, but she felt too guilty to say it. Still, his robe could only mean he was forgiven, didn't it?
"I was contemplating the nature of temptation and ways of dealing with it." Alvin replied with a smirk. "Nobody wanted to ruin the reputation of the Church, luckily for me, probably. We're just pretending nothing happened." There was anger in Alvin's voice, but when he looked at her, his expression softened again.
They just stood there for a while, unsure what to say or do. Alysanne reached out to touch him, but then she drew back. She couldn't. No matter of what her heart was telling her, she had learnt her lesson, or at least she was desperately trying to remember it. She couldn't betray Tomas again, not when things were slowly getting back to normal...
"I... I have to go..."
She fled without looking back, too afraid she might lose her resolve if she did.

Alvin was back in his role, but privately he was far from forgiven. He didn't know if he had made the mistake of showing any signs of still being in love or if Lorentz just wasn't the sort to forget any transgression, but the older priest was constantly after him, looking over his shoulder with a glare, always reminding him of his sin.
Alvin was trying to think of Alysanne and tell himself it was worth it, except it wasn't. Not when she belonged to someone else and definitely not when she didn't even want to see him again.

He must have let some of these feelings show on his face, because suddenly Lorentz slapped him hard.
"You unrepentant..." Another slap. Alvin grunted, keeping himself from fighting back. "...sinner. I will do something about the girl's bad influence, but meanwhile you must focus on resisting her temptation."
Alvin expected another stinging blow, but instead Lorentz turned away and walked towards the front of the church.

Alvin watched his back, seething with anger. How dare he pretend he had perfect knowledge of the Watcher's will. He knew nothing about love and  only wanted to spoil it for everyone else. And to imagine what he could so to Alysanne...
Suddenly the anger was too much to bear. It bubbled up, flowed through him and completely filled his mind for a moment. Alvin didn't really realise he was doing anything until he was murmuring some words he only half understood in the direction of the other priest.

Only when he released the strange energy flowing through him did he notice Alysanne, who was standing close to the door and staring at him in shock. At first he didn't care much, but as the anger was fading, he begun to realise how horrified she looked.

He glanced again at Lorentz and for a moment couldn't believe his eyes. The second priest was frantically waving his arms around, desperately trying to drive away a swarm of bees. Alvin blinked a few times, but the bees were still there, inside the church, in the middle of winter. A few more moments before he understood what had to have happened.

Lorentz was too busy to look at him, but it could be a matter of seconds and Alvin didn't want to be there when it happened. When he saw Alysanne slipping out of the church with a frightened look he turned and ran after her.
"Wait! Alysanne!"
The girl turned, but there was still fear in her eyes. "What... what was that?"
"I don't..." Alvin made a few more steps toward her, only to lower the volume of their conversation, but when she drew back he could feel his anger seeping back. "Something to teach him a lesson to leave us alone." He said.
"I never knew you could... that was magic, wasn't it? Where did you learn something like that?" She drew back one more step.
"Never mind that. I did it for you, too, don't you see that? I thought you would be overjoyed, after what we've both been through."
Alysanne's expression was only growing more incredulous with every word he said.
"I... should be overjoyed from hurting someone? In a church?"
Alvin just stared at her, challenging her to continue.
After a while of silence she just shook her head. "It's like I don't know you anymore."
She turned and walked off, leaving Alvin looking after her in disbelief. Didn't she see that he loved her?

Days were turning into months and eventually years, but Alysanne and Tomas were still mostly avoiding each other. The only life and joy in their quiet house was Delia, their daughter, who was greatly loved by both her parents.
They both tried to make the child neutral ground, but it was mostly Tomas who taught Delia her first steps and first words.

There was nothing concrete Alysanne could point her finger at, but ever since Tomas grew satisfied with how much Delia resembled him, it was almost as if he was trying to push Alysanne out of the important moments of the child's life.
She did take care of her, fed her fed her and put her to crib, but when she started sitting up with a bedtime story for her daughter, Tomas was not happy.
"Such ridiculous stories. Your priest might enjoy tales about such creatures as centaurs, but I think they can only confuse the child. Do you want her to grow up and go searching for all kinds of fairies deep in the woods?"
Alysanne just shook her head. She could have said Delia was just a child, but she didn't think it would have helped.

When Delia's next birthday came Alysanne baked a cake for her, but it was Tomas who brought the child to it. Alysanne just watched and tried to look happy. She desperately tried to believe it was all perfectly normal and everything would be fine.

Delia actually tasted her cake for the first time in her life and Alysanne tried to eat her own slice without looking at her husband.
What had she done to make Tomas glare at her again? She had been trying to hard to be pleasant and apologetic or invisible, to act all normal. And it had been working, at least most of the time. Would she be truly never forgiven?
She forced herself to look down into her plate.

Long minutes passed. Delia asked if she could have a second helping of the cake and Alysanne muttered agreement, but then she couldn't take it any longer. She ran up to her husband and started yet another apology.
Tomas just stared at her until her words trailed off.

"Does that guilty look mean you've been sneaking around again?"
"No, I..." Alysanne gasped at the accusation. "No. I haven't. You must know that?"
Little Delia put her cake down, tears forming in her eyes. She wasn't hungry anymore.

Delia didn't understand a thing, all she knew was that she wanted to cover both her ears and her eyes at the same time. Even hiding in the bed didn't seem enough.
She ran out of the house.

Just a few seconds later Alysanne ran after her.
Delia was standing just outside, shaking with sobs, all energy gone out of her. Alysanne put her arms around the girl, trying to find the correct soothing words and failing. For a while they just stayed like that, before Delia's sobs gradually quited down.
"It will be all right." Alysanne spoke eventually. "Your father loves you. He loves both of us, he is just..." She searched for the right words and didn't find any. "It will be all right." She repeated. "You will see."

Delia went to bed quiet and sulky that day, with tears still lingering in her eyes, but the next morning most of it was gone and she was again the energetic girl Tomas and Alysanne knew. If anything, she tried to act even more cheerful, doing everything to make her father see and appreciate her.
Tomas responded with the same enthusiasm, looking all concerned when she told her "totally important" news and cheering loudly at her showing off.

Delia's energy and enthusiasm was only upset when she started going to classes. Even with her natural eagerness to please and all the hard work she could muster, the art of letters still continued to elude her.
Alysanne did her best to help the girl as much as she could, but even after Delia grasped the basics, nothing could make her enjoy it like her mother did.

Still, both Alysanne and Tomas made sure Delia knew she was loved and that was the most important thing. Alysanne remembered far too well her own childhood and wanted something better for her daughter.
And Delia, in turn, was growing content with her little family, the coldness between her parents becoming something normal rather than a threat.

When Damien turned up to visit his sister again, he was hoping the troubles had passed already and he wouldn't get sucked into trying to solve them.
Alysanne seemed perhaps quieter and less cheerful than when they had first met, but otherwise everything seemed normal and she was pleasant company again. But what made the visit even more enjoyable was little Delia. Damien couldn't really believe how much she had grown since the last time she had seen her. She was just a baby then, but now she was a young person with amusing ideas and seemingly endless supply of energy.
Damien liked her from the beginning.

They talked and played games - many of which Damien suspected Delia to have invented herself - and soon it was as if they had known each other for ages. She was quick to trust him and generous with affection, her childish eagerness refreshing.
She made Damien realise that he missed his childhood - the real, carefree childhood he never got to have in the convent - and she seemed more than willing to share in her own.

But, unfortunately for Delia, she couldn't spend all her time just playing and making friends. She didn't really understand why her mother insisted on her studies so much. They were living in the middle of the woods, mother still almost didn't go out or meet anybody, it wasn't as if she needed the stuff. And it was so hard! She was doing her best and even that wasn't always enough to stop other kids from laughing at her. And she hated the way the cold priest was looking at her, always slightly disapproving.
Her mother said it would get easier with time and as Delia struggled with yet another page, she hoped she was right.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Alysanne and Tomas was slowly improving. The illusion of normal family life they maintained for Delia was gradually turning into reality as the pair carefully tried to avoid any potential conflicts.
Tomas found his anger was gradually vanishing with time and he was beginning to warm up to his wife again, partly despite himself. Alysanne didn't dare hope for anything, but she beamed from any attention she received, each day a new gift for her.