GARROTH'S POV

I had told (Y/n) that we would visit Lucinda after patrol today. We had walked up and down the wall for a while before (Y/n) said she was tired. I still had a half hour before my shift ended.

(Y/n) kissed me on the cheek before climbing down the ladder to the ground below. I watched as she walked towards the old guard station. I had told her that I would come by after my shift. I planned on taking off my armor before we headed to Lucinda's.

For the next half hour, I walked up and down the wall, searching for anything suspicious. I saw the shadow portal, still disabled. I sighed at the memory.

I felt awful for freezing up on Dante and Laurence. We could have been killed if Laurence hadn't practically screamed at me.

I smiled.

Laurence deserves to be the head guard here. He doesn't have a family, yet; he's the closest to Aphmau; he's someone who's brave enough to risk his life for Aphmau.

I know Dante and I would do the same thing, a year ago. But a lot has changed in a year's time. We're both engaged, I have twins on the way and Dante already has a daughter.

A year ago, I was just a guard. I became head guard a little later. And now, I was losing that title.

I frowned at thought, but it quickly turned into a smile. Yes, I was losing the head guard title, but it was at the expense of my family. I love (Y/n). And I love the twins. They're my kids. Everything is going well in life at the moment.

Except this fortune telling thing. I thought that (Y/n) was overreacting at first. I mean, they're just little machines that give you a random fortune.

But after she told me about how the machine isn't there anymore, it kind of puzzled me. I'm sure it's just some kind of joke or something. But somewhere in the back of my mind knew that it wasn't. It wasn't a joke.

YOUR POV

When I had arrived at the old guard station, I immediately went to mine and Garroth's room. I was really tired from... well, everything.

Nicole had said stress is bad for the twins, so I tried to sleep it off. But I couldn't get to sleep. This fortune telling thing kept on creeping into my mind whenever I thought of anything else.

I sighed and sat up in bed. I looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. Garroth would be here to pick me up in fifteen minutes, so it was no use trying to fall asleep.

I slipped in the bathroom and in front of the sink. I slowly turned on the cold water, I watched as the water dripped down the drain. I cupped my hands and scooped a cupful of cold water onto my face.

The cold water dripped of my face and into the sink. I turned off the sink and dried my face off with a towel.

"Garroth will be here soon." I thought, bringing a smile to my face.

I guess one of the twins agreed, because a few seconds later, I felt a bump.

I smiled even broader. The twins knew their daddy.

I went out into the bedroom and laid down on the bed. It had been a long 8 months. "I'm so tired..." I mumbled out loud.

I closed my eyes, waiting for Garroth to come get me, so we could go to Lucinda's house. A few minutes later, I felt a dip on the other side of the bed. An arm snaked around my waist and I smiled.

"Hey, beautiful." Garroth whispered.

I smiled as he kissed my ear and got out of bed.

"Are you ready to go see Lucinda?"

I groaned. "No... but I have to don't I."

Garroth grinned and held the door open. "After you, m'lady."

I giggled and sat up. I slipped on some shoes and walked over to where Garroth was waiting for me.

Garroth guided me downstairs and out the door. He showed me the path to Lucinda's house.

As we approached her house, I gaped in awe. Her house was amazing!

"This. Is. AWESOME! Does she have magiks?"

I turned to Garroth who shook his head. "No, but she is a witch, so... sort of."

I nodded and then turned back to the house. The path leading there was made out of some sort of cloud.

"Umm, Garroth. I can't jump from one cloud to another."

He looked thoughtfully at the path. "Oh! Lucinda showed me this after she came here." He walked over to the beach sands and entered a little cave. Suddenly, the clouds formed into one giant rainbow cloud.

"Whoa! Cool!"

Garroth smiled as he trekked up the hill to my side. "You ready?" He took my hand in his and took a step forward.

But I stopped. "Garroth, is this... safe?"

He chuckled and urged me to take a step. I did.

"It's perfectly safe. Watch, I'll go on first. I have complete faith in Lucinda." Garroth let go on my hand, much to my discontent, and took a step onto the cloud.

At first it shimmered, like light, but as soon as Garroth put his second foot down, it stopped.

He looked up at me and smiled. "See?" He started jumping up and down.

"Okay. Hold on." I took another step forward before I was at the edge of the bridge. I took a deep breath before stepping on. The same thing happened. It shimmered, then stopped.

I hesitantly walked towards Garroth who was holding out his hand for me. I grabbed it and we finished crossing the bridge.

When we stepped onto Lucinda's porch, I started freaking out.

"That was AWESOME! The way it held us, even though it was a cloud! It's like magical, floating cotton candy!"

Garroth smiled at my little fan-girl session before turning to the door and knocking.

We could both hear the knock resounding throughout the house. We waited about 30 seconds before we heard the lock on the other side being unlatched.

"Hm?" The lady turned around. "Oh! Garroth! Come on in! Oh, and (Y/n), was it? Come on in!"

"Thanks, Lucinda!" Garroth beamed.

I frowned a little at his sudden burst.

Lucinda showed us into a main room. Her bright orange hair swished back and forth when she walked. I noticed Garroth staring intently at her back.

I frowned again. Was there something going on here?

We followed her into the room and sat down on some couches that were in the middle of the room. As I looked around the room from the couch, Lucinda and Garroth were on the edge of their seats, talking to each other.

"So, Garroth, how have you been?"

"Oh! I've been great! How about you?"

"You know, the usual. Mom's a lunatic living in a forest, Dad's running a village. Same old, same old."

Garroth grinned. "Yeah! Are you going to become Lord after he dies?"

Lucinda smiled. "Yeah, as far as we know."

Garroth stood up and sat down next to Lucinda. He gave her a side-hug.

"MY side-hug... Does Garroth... LIKE her?" I thought. "Stop jumping to conclusions. Maybe they're just... super good friends. Or Garroth has a sister I didn't know about. Like Zane; or Vylad. Well, Vylad doesn't count. Garroth didn't even know about him."

The two didn't seem to notice my wondering and continued to talk. I shifted my weight, uncomfortably.

Garroth seemed to see that, because he got up and sat next to me again. "Lucinda, this is my fiancé, (Y/n). Who also happens to be about eight months pregnant."

"WHAT?!? GARROTH, YOU'RE ENGAGED AND DIDN'T TELL ME?!?!?! AND YOU HAVE A BABY DUE IN LIKE... A MONTH?"

Garroth laughed. "We tried to tell you, but you have been gone for almost nine months. Also, they're twins; a boy and a girl; Ophelia and Finn."

Lucinda smiled and stuck out her hand for me to shake. Her eyes scanned over my body, and I swear I saw her roll her eyes at me. "Also, nice to see you again (y/n). I believe we met when you first got here."

I plastered a fake smile on my face and stuck out my hand. "Yes, you were in a hurry to get leaving though, so it was brief."

Lucinda and I shook hands.

"So, what has brought you to my, humble, abode?"

Garroth laughed. "Actually, we came because (y/n) has been having a... problem."

Lucinda made a weird face at him. "Problem? Like what kind?"

Garroth turned to me and I nodded. I told Lucinda everything. About how Garroth and I went on a romantic date in Okasis with each other and I used the machine. How it disappeared the next day, and no one saw it but me and Nicole.

She immediately turned her attention to Garroth as soon as I was done talking. "Garroth, did you see this machine? Were you with them when it happened?"She placed her hand gently on Garroth's. What I noticed most, was that he didn't exactly pull away.