[** Downstairs **]

Eclipse petted his daughter's head. She calmed enough to be able to apprehend her surrounding and to make a sentence. "Mom... was I just a mistake?" she looked at her with teary eyes. "He told me... He... He was..." she started to cry even more.

Eclipse hugged her tighter. "It's alright! You are our daughter, no matter what." Her mother heard Lancelot roar upstairs. "You know, let's take a walk. It will help you and there is this nice place I know."

Between two hiccups she nodded. Eclipse kissed her on the forehead. "Alright, I'll tell it to father so he will know where we will be." He wanted to let her go, but she was grasping him tightly, he took her in his arms with him.

"... nothing wrong!" The end of the sentence was the first thing Eclipse heard, before entering the room.

"Lance?" His husband turned towards him. "I and Aalis are taking a small walk. We will be back in a while."

"Alright," nodded his husband.

Eclipse glanced at Mephiles, before saying the last words to his husband: "And if I see new cracks here, don't count on seeing a meat on your plate anytime soon, mister knight!" He growled toward the dumbstruck ebony hedgehog before happily waving at Galahad and going outside.

The silver knight felt his corner of mouth twitching. This was so... priceless. He wanted to laugh, but that would make his focus waver, resulting in weakening barrier. His father growled, turning back to them. His anger was hardly vanquished. Galahad took a defensive pose, but his face was betraying him. He wanted to laugh... so badly.

"Mephiles..." Lancelot jerked with his head, gesturing him to follow him. "You stay!" he glared at his son.

The dark knight slowly stood up.

"You want to go? But-?" Galahad was sure his father wants to hurt him. He still had no idea why, but he was certain it was just misunderstanding.

"It's alright," he assured him, going down.

Lancelot waited for him in front of his house and then he guided him farther into the forest. The atmosphere was tense. Mephiles' head was little down and his ears were drooping. He was anything but scary, dominant or intimidating. Lancelot finally stopped, turning to face him.

"Now, the fate of your face depends on your answers," he growled and he didn't need to voice his question.

"I only approached Aalis this way, because I knew, I won't be given a chance to do it normally. I only wished to tell her the truth behind her birth."

"You what?!" barked the knight and the crystalline hedgehog shivered even curling a bit in an attempt to avoid his angry voice. "You told her she was just a mistake?!"

"No! I have never meant it that way!"

"Don't tell me you don't feel that way!"

Mephiles jerked, avoiding his stare. It was the truth... Aalis was supposed to born from his body. He had no answer and Lancelot snorted.

"How did you deceive Galahad? You must have sweet talked him into this!"

There was a spark of an anger in Mephiles' eyes, but it was quickly gone. "I didn't lie to him neither I sweet talked him. We have met by a chance and he was able to follow me to my ruined castle. That's all."

"Hardly," Lancelot was keeping his urge to beat him into a bloody puddle in check with his iron will, otherwise he would turn into berserk minutes ago.

"He discovered my cave and all it had to offer, I haven't chased him away. He could leave, enter or take anything freely... yet he never did so."

"There is no way you haven't done anything to him. Why is he wearing a dress? Whoever heard of a knight in a dress?!"

"You are asking the wrong person. Even if I know the answer, I won't tell you. You should ask him," his voice sounded a bit rebellious.

Lancelot made deep growl but refrained from a violence. He shall ask it his son later. "Why do you think he is the one for you after all the time?" He suspected the reason, but he still refused to believe his son is destined for some monster.

"Because I have slept with him—Ugh!!" He gasped as Lancelot's anger burst. He couldn't hold it any longer, he leaped, wringing his neck and pushing him to the ground. How dare he take his son like that!! Mephiles didn't stop looking into his eyes and Lancelot noticed he isn't trying to break free. Instead, he was holding his stomach. With a loud bark, he let him catch a breath. He was as well panting, surprised by his own reaction.

"I... gah... was the... ghh..." he coughed for a bit. "Ah... ah... hah... woman..."

"You mean?"

"Yeah, he was inside of me," he stood up. "I figured he has no experience and since my time was meant to be short anyway, I used my body to give him some knowledge of physical love. I didn't believe neither knew he is the special person for me."

"So after that, you knew..."

"No, after the second time..." he put one hand on his chest. "After it, I have heard my heart to beat... it never did so before, so I knew he is the one... It happened just an hour or so before my death."

"And why are you alive?" this thought struck him. "I have got the impression your time was up."