“Let’s take an initial vote,” Louis suggested, “So we know where everyone stands on this matter.”

Renae stayed silent. Mayura was curious about what was wrong with her friend.

Louis provided each Divine with a quill, some ink, and slip of paper, then put a basket in the middle of the table. “Once you write your answer down, put it in the basket.”

The Divine all wrote down their answers and put them in the basket. Once it was all said and done, Louis asked, “My Lady, would you please do the honors and count the votes?”

Mayura counted the votes. “...All but one are against his offer.” She glared immediately at Drax.

Drax looked back at Mayura, looking offended. “Why is it that when there’s one person who disagrees with the rest of the group, you immediately look at me?”

“Because you’re usually that person, Drax,” Malum answered. “Plus, it was in your handwriting.”

Drax paused, then nodded. “Yeah, that’s about right.”

“This alliance would be legal,” Louis analyzed. “But he’s asking us to sacrifice our own for some materials we can get ourselves if we wanted.”

Drax argued, “Is that really all that bad? We get lots of resources at the cost of sending a couple of guards with the guy every now and then. I think the benefits outweigh the costs.”

“And what would you know about costs?” Arex quickly argued. “Those resources won’t be adding much to what we already have, and he’s asking for our people to stand around him and take on whatever he can’t deal with. Our people in exchange for stuff we could get more easily.”

“There’s also the aura he had,” Malum included. “Remember those bad feelings we had yesterday before he showed up? I felt that same feeling shortly before he showed up here. It felt even stronger when he was at the gate and in the hall. Every time we see him, we always get that feeling.”

Renae soon started to feel a pain in her stomach, Malum immediately noticed and stopped his contribution to the argument. “Renae, are you alright?” Malum asked. Renae tried to reply, but the pain grew worse. She crossed her arms over her midsection, collapsing to her knees. Mayura's suspicion increased.

Malum rushed to Renae’s side, kneeling down next to her and checking her vitals. He spoke softly, asking Renae questions to which Renae answered by nodding or shaking her head. She needed to be taken to the healers to check and see if her child is alright.

“Malum, what is going on?” Mayura questioned him.

Malum quickly responded, “I need to get her to my office. She needs medical attention.” Picking her up, he began to rush out the door, shouting, “You’ll know what’s going on when we’re done.” With that, he left.

“....Renae's pregnant.” Mayura finally figured it out. A swarm of emotions flooded her mind. She was ecstatic that her friend had taken a step towards maturity, furious that Renae had broken one of the laws, and worried about her friend all at once. Arex's eyes widened, realizing what Mayura realized a mere few seconds ago.

Shad broke the silence, asking, “So, does this mean the answer is no?”

Louis nodded. “Majority rules. We will reject Cain’s offer.”

Drax stormed out of the room, cursing under his breath. The other Divine left the room, returning to their duties.

Mayura headed for Malum's office to go see if Renae was alright. And while she was going there, she was trying to decide if she should get rid of the law that put Renae in danger. 

Finally, she made her decision.

Mayura entered, and all the assistant healers bowed when they saw her. Mayura gave a calm smile to them and headed to the room where Renae was.

Malum stood by Renae, keeping an eye on her vitals and referencing research he had conducted some time ago. He noticed Mayura’s entrance, but didn’t acknowledge her presence. Instead, he kept his eyes on his work.

“How is she doing?” Mayura asked him.

“Well, I can safely say that she’s about halfway through,” Malum replied. “Both of them are gonna be okay, so long as we’re here to keep an eye on things.”

“Do you know the gender of her child?”

Malum nodded. “The little bundle of joy that’s giving Renae a hard time is gonna be a girl.”

Mayura's eyes widened, tears began to form in her eyes. “A…. Girl…?” Mayura seemed overjoyed. 

Malum continued to check on Renae’s vitals. “If you two need to talk, I’ll finish up and get going soon.”

“I'm getting rid of the law, Malum.” Mayura announced. Renae could barely hear their conversation, but heard clearly what Mayura just said. She was so relieved.

Malum smiled. “That’s great!”

Renae was almost asleep. But the pain was keeping her awake. Mayura looked at her friend and walked over to her, but was soon interrupted by a guard coming in. “My Lady, Shad needs a word with you immediately!”

Mayura seemed confused at first. But sighed. “Drax and Arex probably got into another fight again.” She muttered.

Unfortunately, that is not what Shad wanted to talk about. He stood on the wall separating Haven from the Wilds, looking concerned, almost scared. When Mayura arrived, he turned to her and his fear turned to relief. “There you are! I have good news and bad news.”

“What's going on, Shad?” She asked.

“Do you want the good news first or the bad news?”

“The former.”

Shad shifted his stance, leaning on one of the cannons that lined the wall. “The good news is that Cain has left and is never coming back.”

“And the bad news?”

“He didn’t leave without a warning,” Shad continued. “He told me to tell the other Divine to ‘be wary of those who call themselves Solaria’s blessed.’ Apparently, they’re sentient beings that ‘speak without talking’ and ‘harness the power of the storm,’ and all that. They hail from a whole different planet, but the point is that he claims that they’re powerful. Judging by Cain’s tone, probably more powerful than us.”

“Why should we believe him?”

Shad shrugged. “But that’s not all the bad news. He took his resources and his cursed mules with him… And Drax.”

“WHAT?” Mayura was furious. Shad immediately became terrified. “He took Drax with him?! Oh that son of a b*tch-!” Mayura put her hands over her own mouth. Shad's eyes were wide, shocked at Mayura’s violent response.

“I am so sorry…” Mayura apologized.

Shad’s shock turned to trying to hide his laughter. “It’s okay, one of us has probably said worse.”

Mayura had never cursed in public. Some of the nearby guards had their hands over their mouths. They were completely shocked by what they heard come out of their lady's mouth. Shad told his men, “Stand down, everyone, it’s just a slip of the tongue. Happens to everyone.”

Louis just so happened to walk by and saw what happened, but he didn't hear anything. “What happened?”

Shad replied, “Mayura said her first naughty word.”

Louis wasn’t filled with shock, instead being filled with disappointment. “It’s a shame she decided to let loose out in public.”

“So what if people heard her?” Shad asked. “We’re just proving that we’re like the commoners that we rule.”

“It slipped out of my mouth. I didn't mean to say it.” Mayura said, still in shock.

Louis shrugged. “What’s done is done. Just try to be more careful next time.” With that, he left.