Meralf and I walked into the inn, still smiling and laughing. We made a lot of noise, so Svi ran out of our room, walking up to me. She appeared upset, yet confused for our joy. She looked over the both of us, placing her hand over her face.

"Hey, Svi. I missed you," I affectionately spoke, happy to see her.

"What happened?! Why didn't you come back?"

I pulled her in, hugging her with one arm. I was in a completely blissful state. Svi allowed me to do it, but she seemed aggravated by my behavior. I kissed her forehead, my head light and gleeful.

"I couldn't come back drunk. I had a good night yesterday," I explained, smiling at her.

"What did you do? Why is Meralf naked, and why do you both have shirts drenched in alcohol? You reek, Cri."

"Yeah... Meralf and I were drinking our essences!"

Meralf started laughing, Svi becoming irritated. His laughter sparked my own, so Svi became even worse. She was pissed. I pat her head, not helping. It was soothing for me.

"What the hell does that mean?! Are you sure you're not drunk still?!" Svi shouted, looking at me with clenched teeth. I saw her reaching for her daggers from habit, which filled me with slight fear, though it was extinguished by my joy.

"Calm down, Svi. I'm fine. We acted like imbeciles last night, and we ended up having to figure out what we did. We're cheerful from the experience as it was completely dumb on our parts."

"Nocri's the toilet obliterator!"

We started laughing again, and I accidentally started choking on my spit. I coughed and wheezed, but started laughing again. Svi wasn't impressed, giving a scoff.

"How were you and Noc yesterday? Are the two of you alright?"

Svi looked upset with me, though I was grinning at her.

"Noc was saddened when you didn't come back. He stayed up reading, and I put him to sleep. I taught him how to basically use the sword."

I started feeling a bit of guilt, but I couldn't give up my smile. My brain felt fried.

"I'm back now. What's Noc doing?"

"He's still asleep. He went to bed extremely late," Svi replied, her voice low.

"Good. I can sneak in and take a shower. Can you wash our clothes?"

"Sure..."

Svi looked disappointed in me as I handed her my shirt. Meralf passed her his, as well. I stripped off the rest of my clothes, passing them to her. I didn't really care if I was naked, though I wasn't in the room. Strangely, Svi didn't even blush. She usually would...

"I'm going to go wash these... There's a sink downstairs..."

"Cheer up, Svi. I'm here. I feel good, too."

"Great..."

I tried to kiss her, but she started walking away from me, completely avoiding it. Meralf laughed at me, but I didn't really care.

"You pissed off your lover. What are you going to do now?"

"She'll get over it. Svi's strong. Anyways, what are you up to?" I asked, changing the topic. Meralf sighed, scratching his head in thought.

"I'm showering in my room. I've already got a vampire bringing me replacement pants. I'll come for my shirt later."

"Will you switch with Flarem after that? You took him over."

Meralf sighed again. I was worried about explaining everything to Flarem.

"Sort of. I want to talk to him. I need to."

I stared at him with confusion.

"What do you mean? How will you do that?"

"I'm also having paper brought to me. I'm writing to him. If I write on a piece of paper, then switch to him, we can keep switching back and forth to talk to each other. I'll explain to him the farm situation. Don't worry about it," Meralf explained, nervous. I was amazed that he figured out how to speak. It was a wonder why we didn't do it sooner...

"Good. I'll see you later."

"Yeah."

Meralf walked into his room, so I ventured to mine. I was chipper, not focusing on any of my worries. Noc was sleeping soundly, so I strolled up to his bed. The blankets were neat, and he was surprisingly still. If he wasn't faintly breathing, I'd be convinced he was dead. I smiled, traveling to the bathroom.

I turned on the water, stepping in. The water was cold, as I was thinking of Svi. It felt nice. I had a lot of stress building up, so it was good to have relaxing moments when I could. I thought of Svi more. I felt bad about ditching her that night, but I needed it. I shouldn't have stayed the whole night, but I don't regret it.

A lot has happened. I just met her again, which I was, and still am, really glad about. Svi's definitely the only woman for me. I gained a son, as well, and right after Svi emerged back into my life. Flarem's like a brother, and Meralf's my best friend. It felt, and still feels, good to have a family. I wish it wasn't covered in blood.

I decided that I want to live without much fear. I want to hurry and conquer everything. I want to fix the kingdom, though it'll cause guilt to cloud over my mind. I'm not completely in the right, but I know as long as I'm somewhat in it, I'll continue. Too much danger exists for us, and I decided that I'll try to protect us, and I know they'll protect me as well.

I stepped out of the tub, drying off. I tied a towel around my waist, water occasionally dripping from my hair. I combed through it, then walked out of the room. Noc was starting to awaken, as he was sitting up in bed, his eyes rubbed. I strolled up to him, sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked to me, slightly sad.

"Did you just wake up?"

"Yes. Why were you gone for so long?" Noc asked. He was mostly monotone, a hint of sadness in his voice. It made me feel remorseful.

"I was out with Meralf. I had a lot on my mind, so it cheered me up. It went out of hand, so we were gone longer than expected."

"I see. Why wouldn't you bring Mom or me?" Noc asked, appearing as if he and Svi were lonely.

"Meralf is a friend, so it's fun to hang out with him occasionally."

"It's not fun to hang out with us?"

"No, it is. It's just fun to hang out with other adult male friends. Anyway, how're you doing?" I questioned, wanting to know about him. Noc was unimpressed with me, but I was cheery. I was in an all around good mood.

"I'm rested."

"Good. Do you want to do something today?"

Noc sat in thought, so I stayed silent to let him think.

"Could we get more books?"

I sat in shock. I was amazed he wanted more, as he had a lot from Meralf and Flarem. The books were large too.

"Don't you still have more to read?"

"No. I finished them."

Noc saw the surprise on my face, as he appeared fretful.

"How late did you stay up?"

"The sun was coming up when I fell asleep. I finished the books, then Mom put me to bed. I was reading for a while."

Svi wasn't good with all aspects of parenting... Noc should've been put to sleep sooner. It was amazing that he finished the books, as it takes me a while to finish one. Usually a few months of picking it up every once in a while.

"We can get you more books. You shouldn't stay up so late, though."

"Okay. I was exhausted by the time I fell asleep. It didn't feel good, but I wanted to read."

"Don't do that to yourself. You should go take a shower," I suggested, realizing I need to be with Noc most of the time, as Svi isn't the best with children.

"Where's Mom?"

"She's cleaning my clothes downstairs. She'll be back."

"Is Uncle coming?"

"If he's here by then. I'll look for him before we go if you'd like," I offered, smiling.

"I'd like that."

"You should go take that shower, now."

"Okay."

Noc stood up, and I noticed he had bags under his eyes.

"Are you tired?"

Noc looked up to me with curiosity.

"I'm good enough. I'll be fine."

"You can sleep for longer," I insisted, knowing a kid his age needs rest.

"No. I'm good."

"Alright. You can sleep whenever you'd like, so you can after the shower if you need it."

"I'll think about it."

I stood up, moving to the bed Svi and I used. Noc closed the door behind him, walking into the bathroom. I lay on the bed, covering my eyes with my arms. My eyes shut, and I fell asleep in comfort and happiness.