Walking behind Vim, I shifted the bag in my arms a little since something within it had been poking me in my right arm. Not so badly as to hurt, but it was bad enough to want it to stop doing so.

“Stay here Renn,” Vim said softly as he gestured gently at me.

I nodded a little sluggishly as I finished messing with my bag. Vim stepped down into a small stairwell, one submerged in utter darkness, leaving me behind.

For a few moments I heard his heavy footsteps as he descended down into the darkness, but then even his footsteps faded away. Glancing around the entrance to the dark stairwell, I wondered how he was able to tell which tomb or vault he was supposed to enter. There were no signs, no markings, and no way to tell if any of the seemingly random stairwells led anywhere important. Especially since there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to their placement. I could probably remember which was which, had I been the one reclaiming stuff I’ve stored away decades ago, but I knew now that Vim struggled with such things. He’s lost entire safe-houses before, over the years, after all. It made me wonder how he was able to remember some things, yet not others.

We had just walked down a long hallway here far underneath the Cathedral, one that had been so packed of these tombs. This hallway though that we were currently in, only had this tomb and two more down the way. Then the hallway met with another, one that was larger and had a slightly different style of bricks for its structure. There were no lights down here. We were below even the section where there was water and little holes for light. We were even below the baths Vim and I had used during our last stay here. Vim had offered to bring a source of light, but so far I’d been fine. The only places I couldn’t see well enough in to function were the little stairwells and hallways that led to tombs. As long as I stayed in the main hallways, I was fine.

Like usual we were alone down here. And judging by the stale air and the smell of stones and dirt, we’d likely been the only people down here for a very long time. It made me wonder just how many people even knew these underground areas existed.

Vim had come straight here after talking to the Chronicler. I was honestly… a little relieved. I was upset and bothered, of course, over how it had gone and how indifferent the Chronicler had acted and seemed… but at the same time I was super relieved that Vim had not needed to kill anyone. Even if a part of me wanted them to be punished for their foolish deeds.

And although him informing the Chronicler of his plan to step down was a terrible thing, he had made it clear he wouldn’t do so until the vote a year from now. That meant I had time to change his mind. To alter the course, and maybe even convince him otherwise.

“If that’s even possible…” I whispered as I stared at the bag in my arms.

It was my bag, the one I always carried around, but it was now full of stuff that wasn’t mine.

Vim had been spending the last hour or so gathering up things he felt were no longer safe to leave here. He had gathered some from a storeroom first, and now was going in and out of what he had called tombs. The last thing he had brought out had been a small bag of what had sounded like coins considering how they had clinked and clanked when he handed them to me.

“If what’s possible, Renn?” Vim asked as he emerged from the dark.

Shifting a little, I frowned at him. When had he neared the stairwell? I hadn’t heard his footsteps. “Are you really robbing graves, Vim?” I asked instead.

“Basically. Here, Tor’s heart. Or well, his elder’s heart,” Vim said as he stepped up out of the small stairwell and up to me. He messed with my bag in my arms as he placed what looked like a small black leather pouch into my bag. It had looked the shape of a monarch heart.

“So you’re okay with giving it to him?” I asked, a little surprised.

“You promised you’d bring it to him, didn’t you?” he asked.

I had… but… “Why would you leave it here all this time, Vim? You’ve said you didn’t want them to have hearts before,” I said, concerning the church.

“They hadn’t known about it. And sometimes the best place to hide a tree is within a forest,” he said.

Right…

Vim then turned and headed deeper down the hallway. I joined him, walking a few feet behind him as I shifted the bag in my arm and wondered how much more he’d collect down here. The bag was almost full, since it still had my stuff in it too. We hadn’t had the opportunity to go to the house and deposit our stuff yet.

“How are you feeling, Renn?” Vim asked, his calm voice not echoing down here even though our footsteps did.

“Tired. And I want a bath now, I feel grimy thanks to the sweat,” I said honestly. I felt like I’d just spent the last week fighting and running for my life. My clothes under my cloak and outer layers felt weird now, and my whole body ached a little. Particularly my shoulders and legs, for some reason.

I saw him nod in the dark. “I’d offer to take you to the baths above us, but after we’re done here I want to go back up top. To check on Randle and the rest before we get complacent,” he said.

“Check on them…?” I asked, picking up my pace a little so I could walk beside him.

“Yes. Randle is acting odd now, so I can’t count on him doing what he’s always done. So I want to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,” he said.

“What has he always done?” I asked.

“Be smarter than most,” he answered.

Hm.

Vim then slowed, and stared down a new hallway. One that didn’t seem to have any of those weird stairwells that led to tombs, but instead normal doors lining its walls. Wooden and stone ones. It was dark enough I couldn’t see the end of it, but it looked like the others around here. A hallway that seemed to go on endlessly. I stared down the hallway too for a bit, then glanced back at Vim. He was still standing there… just staring off into the dark hallway.

“Vim?” I asked gently. Was he okay?

He took a small breath, coughed and nodded. “So… um… Rennalee,” he said my name, and I squeezed the bag in my arms as I nodded quickly at him. He gave me a gentle smile, one that honestly didn’t fit the moment. It was the smile he usually gave when we were alone, and flirting over dinner or something. Far from chaos and drama. “We have issues, as you can obviously tell,” he then said.

I nodded again. “A lot, I think,” I agreed.

“Yes… so what did you get from the Chronicler’s words and actions? Just then?” he asked, pointing above us.

I couldn’t actually tell if we were directly under her office or not, but odds are we were. Vim was odd like that sometimes, able to pinpoint such things with ease.

“She either knows nothing, or knows everything and is just… very good at playing the fool,” I said, reliving the moments again.

While Vim had gathered up the items in my bag, I’d listened and watched Chronicler again and again in my mind, trying to find out the meaning and truth of everything that was going on. Oddly, thinking back of those moments revealed more about Vim than it had her and her schemes.

About half way through our conversation, sometime around when Mapple and I had shut the door or at least tried to since Vim had broken it, Vim had… seemingly relaxed a little. He had originally seemed intent on getting the truth out of the Chronicler, and possibly even furious enough to do something about it if she didn’t reveal it. Then before I knew it he had calmed down, and had eased up on his questioning.

Was it because of what she had said about Randle? What Mapple had said, maybe? That he had not just attacked Light, but had tried to attack her again after being forgiven for doing it the first time? Did that justify his banishment, and loss of arm, to Vim? Did that justify Vim’s lack of asking about Lomi’s village, or their schemes? Did he believe them about how they were manipulating the vote?

“Do you believe what they said about the vote, Vim?” I asked.

“Yes. They’ve done such things before. I told you that it was possible that it was just a scheme of theirs,” Vim said.

“Yet you still plan to step down…? Why?” I asked.

“You focus on that part right now Renn? Really?” he asked as he shifted a little, to face me more properly.

I nodded. “Obviously?”

Vim studied me for a moment, and then sighed. “Ignore that for a bit. Let’s focus on what was said, or rather what the Chronicler said,” Vim said.

“But…!” I stepped forward, and the bag I held clattered a little with noise because of how brisk of a movement I had made. Vim though just gently raised a hand and shook his head at me.

“We’ll talk about that after, I promise. For now I want to talk about their schemes,” he said.

Glaring at him for a moment, I grumbled and reluctantly nodded. “Fine. If what they’re saying is true, about Randle and the vote, then that means they’re not actually trying to harm you in any way are they? So it’s just the standard schemes of the church, isn’t it? But what about Lomi’s village? What about what Meriah claimed? Why didn’t you place down the map that she drew, which led to their village?” I asked. That very map was in my bag too.

“Because it wasn’t time for that yet. Odds are Light is pulling the strings. Even if I confronted the Chronicler fully, in theory I could punish her or kill her for being involved, but odds are she doesn’t know much more than the bare basics. She’s not capable of seeing prophecies Renn,” Vim explained.

“So… you’re just going to leave her be until you face Light?” I asked, not really liking the idea at all.

“To confront her here and now would send this church into chaos. I will kill and punish her if she’s actually guilty, if you’d like, but will you be able to look the many members who live here in the eye as you tell them they must now flee into hiding? Abandoning the home they’ve had for centuries?” Vim asked.

I gasped a bit and stepped back, quickly shaking my head. “No,” I whined at the idea of doing such a thing. There weren’t just our own members here, but dozens if not hundreds of humans too. People who had grown up here, in those orphanages. They did not deserve such a fate at all!

“Then this must be handled properly. Plus… I’m not saying I don’t think they’re not guilty Renn. In fact, now that I know what I know, I’m more inclined to believe that they are not only guilty… but guilty for the wrong reason,” Vim said.

“What… what do you mean?” I asked.

He pointed at me. “She congratulated you.”

I blinked and nodded. “For marrying you, yes.”

He shook his head. “The word she used, and what she said afterward, was very telling. Tell me, you’ve spoken with her a few times. Alone, even. Has she ever told you of any prophecies? Or brought up our relationship?” he asked.

Lowering the bag a little, I frowned at him. “Prophecies…? No… But she’s spoken of our relationship since I first met her, back when we first came here,” I said.

“How so?” Vim asked.

I sighed at him; since it was obvious Vim was onto something now. I couldn’t understand why this was more important than him stepping down, or Randle, or the vote, or anything else… but fine. I’d indulge him, for now.

“She teased me at first. She knew I liked you even back then, and basically told me you hadn’t noticed yet but would so not to worry about it much. After that, our conversations have been… short? Usually you’re there when I talk to her. You were there when I put my name in the tome, and gave them my word for the banks and letters. When we were here last time I only spoke to her a couple times. That one time with Mapple and another time with Angie. She congratulated me then too, on my finding your heart and taking ownership of it. We spoke more about my trip, how I’ve enjoyed myself, or about Angie than we did anything else though,” I said as I thought about all the conversations related to her.

Though…

It was weird so many people kept referencing Vim’s heart when it concerned my relationship with him. I had simply assumed it was just a term or phrase we non-humans used, or maybe the religious did since it related to their gods and divine monarchs. But…

“Did any of Celine’s prophecies mention you and me? Our relationship?”

I lifted and squeezed my bag again. “Vim…” I whispered.

“This is important Renn,” he whispered back.

Staring into his eyes, I suddenly felt cold. Even though it was winter, these tunnels and sub-floors were actually a little warm. So I knew it wasn’t because the temperature had changed.

“You’re going to make me sweat and hurt again,” I said softly as I stared into the eyes of Vim who was being completely serious.

He seemingly actually wanted to know. But I didn’t want to tell him.

I couldn’t.

He had warned me. He had told me already.

Here in these very halls. Upstairs, on that bed in the mansio. Elsewhere throughout the world.

Vim has made it clear that if I, or anyone, ever told him a prophecy of our love he’d abandon me on the spot.

So…

“So she did,” Vim then said.

“Vim!” I shouted at him, suddenly more afraid than ever. Nearly dropping the bag, I caught it just in time before it slammed into the floor. The stuff within clanked and made noises as I panicked and stepped towards him. “You told me not to ever tell you!” I shouted further.

“You don’t need to tell me the actual prophecies. Just if there was one that directly concerned you and myself. In the way of love or something,” Vim said gently as he reached out. His steady hand grabbed my elbow and arm, and as he did I actually felt a little steadier. A little relieved. I leaned upon his grip, his firmness, because I suddenly felt weak.

“You said to never tell you,” I whispered up at him, my ears twitched as if suddenly terribly itchy.

He nodded. “The word she had used, Renn, is consummated. It doesn’t just infer marriage, it means to finalize it. Particularly, usually, it’s done while in bed together. To them, in their religion, it extends beyond that to include the act of trying for a child,” Vim explained.

My ears stopped fluttering as I narrowed my eyes at him. “Huh?”

Vim’s own eyes narrowed too. “Yes. She was not congratulating us on our marriage, Renn, she was basically congratulating you on becoming pregnant, or at least attempting to do so. Did you not note her comment afterward?” he asked.

Frowning terribly, I heard her words again in my head. They rung a little, as if loud, as I smirked and laughed at that. “Why’s that so important, Vim? Why’s it so serious to you? Isn’t that just what one expects from a husband and wife?” I asked. Especially newlywed ones!

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Really! That was why he was being so odd? That was what had been bothering him?

Relaxing a little, I allowed a great sigh of relief to escape. How wonderful. So it hadn’t been something terrible.

“Ponder it deeper, Renn. For a moment. Consider that fact, and who she was, and what I’ve told you about her. About how she doesn’t have the ability to see prophecies. And take into account the fact they had sent Less and Mapple to watch of you, and protect you from afar, while you traveled to Lilly’s with Cat. While I was away from you,” Vim said gently, squeezing my arm as he did.

I smiled at Vim for a moment as I did as he told me to. I thought about the Chronicler… her position… the things Vim was pointing out, and I took into account how serious Vim was taking it and…

“You’re saying Light, or another saint such as Celine maybe, had a prophecy about us. That I would have a child,” I said softly, being very careful to not say too much.

I couldn’t tell Vim of Celine’s note to me, about not letting my daughter touch the moon. If I did he might do all he could to ensure we never had children, just to avoid that. And such a thing would break my heart in ways I couldn’t describe. The mere thought of it made me want to curl up in a ball and weep.

Vim though nodded. “The Chronicler firmly believes it. I have had a few odd conversations with her, especially a few years ago before you and I became what we are. I remember them now for what they were. She had not been teasing me, but had already expected it. She had known it. I had played it off as her just being odd, because she likes to pretend she knows more than she does. But now, today, her little quips are rather obvious. I’ve always thought they had a saint hidden away, but had always assumed it to be a human one. One incapable of knowing or seeing anything about me. But if she’s been in contact with Light all this time, her knowing stuff about us this entire time makes sense and explains it all,” he said.

He was speaking seriously, but luckily didn’t look furious or upset. If anything he looked… worried. His grip on my elbow and arm was gentle, but firm.

“Okay…? I know you hate prophecies Vim, but it’s not like I knew of them before you and I became something special. Or are you going to actually stop loving me over this? If you actually try to end what we are over this, I’ll kill you,” I said stiffly.

Vim blinked… and then smiled and laughed at me. The way he did so made me calm down a little, since it was not the laugh he had when I made a funny joke but instead when he found me adorable. “What…? No. Like it or not you’re stuck with me. I still don’t want to hear any prophecy you know Renn, and I’d likely fight them if I heard one, but I’ll not actually divorce you over one. I promise,” he said calmly with a smile.

“So…? Then why is it such a big deal, Vim? So they had known of our meeting and eventual relationship from who knows when? Why does that matter? Why does that change if they are guilty or not, or should be punished? Why does that mean you should step down as protector?” I asked.

“Because it means they’re basing their actions on misguided information. A false prophecy,” he stated.

My tail perked up a little as I instantly understood his meaning. “I’m not pregnant yet,” I said.

He nodded. “No. I’d hope not.”

Frowning as I pondered that fact, I shook my head a little as I failed to comprehend its importance. “How does that… change anything? What if they’re just off a little? Like how Elaine once saw you and I meeting her for the first time together, not separated like we had been?” I asked.

“That’s just it. They likely did see a future. Maybe even a guaranteed one. But they think it’s not the future, but the present. If the Chronicler believes you are pregnant with my child, it explains a lot actually. It explains the vote. It explains Light’s return, amongst the rest. It explains their attempt to protect you, while we’re separated. It could even in a way explain Lomi’s village,” Vim said.

“How…?” I whispered.

“What if we would not have met had their village not burnt down?”

My stomach turned as I shook my head. “I don’t like that,” I said stiffly.

“Me either. And I’m not saying it’s plausible or anything, just that it’s an idea. The others are more believable. Light might not have returned until they believed they could either fully control me, kill me, or accept me. You becoming pregnant, with my child, and becoming my wife could be viable routes for those things in their eyes. Them protecting you is the same thing. If you had gotten hurt or died while I was separated from you, on Society business, I might have become a problem. The vote too, especially, because it will allow them to modify my agreement with the Society to their fitting and needs while taking your situation… our situation, in account. They likely would have used your pregnancy as to manipulate me. Didn’t you hear what she said? She mentioned making you and I help build their new church in Lumen. I’d not do that right now, since there are so many who need my attention… but with this vote, and you being pregnant? Maybe I would have. Or maybe they fear us having children will make me want to step down or something. It could be anything really, but the source is all the same,” Vim said.

“You’re stepping down anyway, already!” I shouted at him, remembering the thing that annoyed me most right now.

He had just said many good points, which really disturbed me, because I found myself believing him more and more with every word he said. So I tried to focus on the most important thing right now, not their schemes that may or may not destroy the Society but his guaranteed failure which would.

“Yes. And she had gotten shocked over that. Terribly so. Which only further proves my theory. I can’t say for sure, it might not even be about me at all, but I can’t imagine why else they’d act so oddly just because they think you’re pregnant,” Vim said as he released my arm and crossed his.

A little sad he had let me go, I huffed at him. “Are you sure you’re not really overestimating me, Vim? Or this supposed theory? What if they just had a prophecy a long time ago of me showing up and getting pregnant? What if it’s just coincidence?” I asked.

“It might be. But I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said.

Me either. But still…

“You’re saying this is all my fault,” I whimpered as my heart thumped in my chest.

The vote. Their schemes. Randle getting hurt and banished. A good portion of the Society losing trust in their protector, to the point of even denying him the right to visit them! All of it…!

“What…? No… Renn, no, not at all!”

“Isn’t it…? You’re saying their schemes are somehow because of me? My presence? Our relationship?” I asked quickly as my head began to hurt.

Vim grabbed me by the arms, and I actually dropped the bag this time because of it. It fell upon my feet, and I was thankful I was wearing thick boots because the stuff in it would have hurt otherwise.

“Renn, that is not what I was saying at all. Even if my theory is right, even if they’re basing all their actions and schemes around the prophecies around you, it is not you who is at fault but them. You are just a tool for their own twisted desires and ideals. I don’t blame the sword, or the one who fashioned it, but the one who swings it,” Vim said quickly.

Staring up at him, I squirmed in his grip. I wanted to grab at his arms and hands, but the angle just wouldn’t work thanks to where he had grabbed me. “What if it is me?” I whispered.

“Then all the more reason we deal with it properly. Let us go to Lumen and confront Light, let’s handle it,” he said firmly.

“Together?”

His left eye narrowed as he smirked. “Why wouldn’t we do so together, Renn?”

“They don’t want me in Lumen…” I said softly as my eyes began to water.

“Screw’em.”

“Vim…” I groaned.

He nodded. “Screw them. Plus you hadn’t been actually banished Renn, just told you can’t stay there without me being near you. And who cares even if they did? They can technically only banish you from their halls, not the city itself, anyway.”

But… “But…!”

Then I was lifted. I startled a little, letting out a tiny yelp as Vim lifted me off the ground. He did so gingerly, but did it while holding my arms still. I was lifted upward high enough that I felt a little silly as my feet and tail dangled and I stared straight down at his upturned face.

“What are you doing, Vim?” I asked as I sniffed and smiled. Was he trying to replicate what Oplar had done a little bit ago? If so he was doing it wrong, the angle and height was all off. Plus she had more so did it for only a few moments as she turned it into a hug. Yet…

What a neat feeling…! It was a little uncomfortable, since although Vim was holding onto me carefully it didn’t change the fact I was still dressed in heavy clothes. The weight and feel of my many winter layers didn’t feel comfortable while dangling like this. He was nearly holding me up above him as a parent would a young child, to make them laugh and play with them. But none of the pinching clothes or tugging could diminish the lovely feeling of being held upward like this. It made me feel…

“Why are you smiling like that?” Vim asked with an odd tone.

“Like what…?” I asked back. I could feel the weird smile, so I knew what he was talking about.

“I was going to shake you a little. To shake the stupid out of you, but maybe I should shake you for another reason,” he said with a smile.

“Rude!”

He nodded as if it was obvious. “Do not blame yourself Renn. For any of this. I have the blame. They have blame for being foolish. If you want to accept blame for something… then just accept the fact you’re too gentle for your own good,” he said.

I tilted my head at him and a lot of my hair fell down, sliding out of my hood and from behind my back. It rained down, smacking Vim in the face before hanging a little before him. “What will you do if you find out Light was responsible for burning down Lomi’s village?” I asked.

“I’ll kill her. And any who were involved. But I’ll need to do it correctly, and will need to make sure others know the truth. If I slay her, and her compatriots, without first revealing the truth than all it will do is turn the whole of the Society into our enemies. It’s the same reason I didn’t fully confront the Chronicler too. I’m not sure yet if I want to do that just yet,” he said honestly.

“Yet you’ll still step down…? Why, Vim? Why abandon them? They need you,” I asked.

His eyes softened, and I shifted a little… and wondered if I should ask him to put me down or not. It was a fun feeling, but I wanted to give him a hug too.

“I told you to find a solution, Renn,” he said.

“You told me I had until the vote. But I still want to know why you’re so willing to abandon people you’ve spent untold years and grief to protect and uplift, only to abandon them so heartlessly,” I said.

Vim then lowered me. I smiled as my feet met the ground, and I shifted and moved my shirt and clothes a little, since they had slipped a bit. Vim released my arms, but his hands lingered a little before me. Right in front of me, half-cupped as if…

Staring at them for a moment, I smiled and took them. We clasped hands, and I nodded at him. I had wanted a hug, but this was fine too.

“Did you see and hear how the Chronicler treated Mapple?” he asked.

I nodded quickly, a little upset he had brought it up. I had been enjoying the moment, and that was a sad thing to talk about. “I had. She’s cruel to her.”

“Over the years I’ve heard and seen them say terrible things to her, and send her on terrible tasks just because they see her as expendable,” he said.

Frowning, I nodded. “Poor Mapple,” I whispered.

She had seemed odd, but no one deserved such a life.

“Celine had treated everyone like that. She had indeed loved non-humans. She had cherished humans… but when it came to her goals and dreams, people were nothing more than tools. The Sisters, Chronicler’s siblings and cousins, were the same. Are the same. And it seems Light has inherited their methods and perspective. If Randle really had attacked her in such a manner, and pursued them even after losing his arm and being separated from each other, then it’s hard to deny his wounds and banishment. But her quick decision to cut him from the church, as swiftly as she had cut off his arm, is an obvious trait. Celine had been the same way. She would abandon and remove any who she deemed more trouble than they were worth. It was why Merit and so many over the years were members, yet only distantly and tried to expand beyond Celine’s reach,” Vim explained.

Slowly nodding, I gulped a little. “And what does your rules say of such people, Vim? People that would toss aside even the good so readily?” I asked.

Vim was quiet for a moment, but then nodded. “That’s the problem, Renn. If it was just one or two people… I could justify punishing them. But what if it was a good portion of the Society that supported such things? Even if manipulated and misguided… what if Light’s actions, which spurred Randle into such an extreme reaction, is and was supported by a large portion of the community? Then it would not be the will of one but of many. And thus…”

“Thus you’d allow it. Because it would be what they wanted, and you doing something about it would be forcing them all against their own wishes,” I said knowingly.

He nodded.

I sighed at him. “So you stepping down is truly your way of keeping the peace. You wouldn’t actually want to support such people so cruel, nor sow discord, so will step down to diffuse and avoid it completely,” I said, admitting and accepting what he’s been saying this whole time.

He nodded again.

“Why did you allow it back then, Vim? With Celine? If she was like this too, why did you put up with it all?” I asked. Especially since supposedly there had been massive wars and infighting back then too.

“Because I felt responsible,” he whispered.

“Responsible…?”

“For non-humans. As a whole.”

I frowned at that. “I don’t understand that, Vim. If you feel responsible… why doesn’t that encompass this moment too? Why wouldn’t you just endure it today as you had back then?” I asked.

“Multitude of reasons. For now just know it’s related to my mistake, Renn. At least, a part of it. I feel responsible for the current state of non-humans. How they live. Their numbers. Their lives and even their happiness, too. I feel… regretful. So I’ve been trying to pay for what I had done all that time ago. By protecting them. But my rules, my ethos and beliefs, have always kept me from doing certain things or going too far with it. For instance I will not eliminate another race just to ensure the longevity of another. So I’ll not kill humans in mass just for the non-humans. That had been a big debate back during the wars… Light herself had been involved in some of them,” he said softly.

I gulped at that. “If you step down… or rather, now that you’re willing to do so… does that mean you no longer feel that desire? That you no longer feel responsible? For us?” I asked him.

Vim’s eyes softened a little. “I still do. I always will. I just… know better than to keep doing the same thing over and over for eternity. That is insanity. If I step back and allow Light and the rest to keep doing as they are, with their schemes, then the end result is obvious. Because I’ve seen it a thousand times. That route only ends with me making another mistake. I can live with hating myself, I’ve been doing that. I can’t be the cause of the Society’s final death knell. I refuse,” he said.

“But the alternative, Vim… to abandon the rest of us just because of a small portion does something wrong? Even if more than half are on Light’s side, that still leaves hundreds of people Vim! Hundreds of souls!” I argued.

“So then you better figure out how to stand tall for me, and figure out a solution for us all,” he said.

My grip on his hands tightened to the point I knew nails had pierced skin and bones had creaked. Vim didn’t even flinch as he allowed it.

“Vim…” I whispered.

He nodded. Firmly. “Figure it out for me, Renn. Do for me what Celine was supposed to have done. I gave her the chance, and this is where it brought me. A Society of tens of thousands of your kind, with hundreds of thousands of humans to support it, reduced to a fraction. Entire kingdoms reduced to tiny enclaves hidden within human settlements and dense forests,” Vim said as he gestured with his shoulder around us… then he smirked and nodded again, as if at himself. “To a Protector who would have been voted out of his position, possibly the Society itself, had the people in charge not manipulated the votes,” he added.

Groaning at him, my ears fluttered as I tried to comprehend everything.

Suddenly everything seemed inconsequential. The vote. Light’s schemes. Possible traitors, and who knows what else. Even Randle’s predicament suddenly felt small. Insignificant. But it wasn’t. The poor man had just lost everything. Yet here I was… once again being tasked with something momentous. Something that I knew I wasn’t ready for, at all.

“They’re scheming around you. Whether you’re the cause or just a byproduct doesn’t matter. Use it against them. You’re smart Renn. Smarter than all of them, and you got the strongest bundle of muscles right behind you. So figure it out, fix the problem and if you can do it I’ll think about staying the Protector,” Vim said.

“Stand tall,” I whispered, understanding fully what he wanted. What he meant.

What he needed.

He nodded. “Stand tall.”

For a moment we just stared at each other, and then I loosened my grip on his hands. I stretched my fingers a little in-between his, since they had gone stiff from the strain of clasping so tightly.

“Sorry,” I apologized.

“Hm. Honestly I had expected blood to be drawn today, though honestly had not expected it to be mine…” he said with a slight mumble.

Laughing at him, I nodded. “Right!?”

He sighed, and then bent down. Our hands were a tangled mess for a moment until I finally released him, and he gathered up the bag I had dropped. He didn’t hand it to me though, and instead just patted it. “Just two more things, then we can go back upstairs,” he said.

“Hmph. You know if we were going to grave rob you should have told me. I would have worn a mask or something, to enjoy it better,” I said as he turned away, as to return to walking.

“We’re not robbing… Just picking up stuff the dead don’t need any more…” Vim defended himself, pausing a moment to glance at me with a look.

I chuckled at him, and smirked happily as I pointed at myself. “Can I go into the next one? Or is that seen as sacrilegious?” I asked.

“Hm…? You can. They’re just very dark and the air in them isn’t safe so I’d been having you stay outside. Just make sure you hold your breath as long as you can and it should be fine, if you’d like,” Vim said.

Nodding quickly, I decided to try. “I’ve never seen a tomb!” I said as I stepped forward to join him.

“Hmph. Technically you have, just not these types is all,” he said.

“Maybe… by the way Vim, do you know any prophecies about us?” I asked as I took my place next to him.

“What do you mean…?” he asked slowly, carefully, as I actually walked past him. He hadn’t returned to walking even as I did so.

Twirling my strained fingers around each other, I shrugged lightly as I thought about the one Celine had mentioned. And how Randle had known, and called me Vim’s heart, when he had handed her letters and my elder’s heart to me.

If I, who actually knew such prophecies existed, had not put one and two together back during that conversation… how did he do it so quickly? Did that mean he didn’t just know of them, but maybe knew in more detail than I did? Vim kept a lot of secrets, so it actually wouldn’t surprise me at all to be honest.

“Well… you connected the dots so quickly just now. About what the Chronicler was thinking, and her meaning. So… I was just…” I felt an odd blush form as I turned, and found him many steps behind me.

He was glaring at me.

Then off down the hallway… somewhere in the darkness, I heard something crack.

I flinched as I heard a brick fall onto other bricks. Tiny echoes of rubble and rocks clattering made my ears flutter, as my ears shifted wildly while I tried to figure out where the sounds had come from.

Giving him a very worried smile, I quickly waved at him. “It’s okay. Never mind! Just uh… forget I said anything!” I said quickly, before he broke more and the whole cathedral fell upon us.

Vim took a deep breath, released it, and nodded as he stepped forward.

Standing still, I did my best to keep my smile big and happy as he walked up to me. “Maybe they don’t have any prophecies. Maybe they just see your brazen attitude and simply assume the obvious. Schemes by my enemies. Schemes by my allies… and now schemes from my wife? I should rebel,” he stated as he stepped past me.

Smirking at him, I resisted the urge to laugh.

“If that’s the case then at least actually get me pregnant, Vim. If all this drama is actually because they think I am, I may as well get something out of it all,” I said with a huff as I stepped forward, to join him.

He scoffed.

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