Sighing, Lore takes a seat on the bed. He stares at the floor as I further explain my reasoning, "Leaving Arline and Cyan in the dark when we may potentially set ourselves up to be attacked does more harm than good, doesn't it? I still don't understand why you've never told them."

"I planned to tell Cyan. He has proven that he can handle himself and, out of everyone, I also feel he has the right to know the truth," Lore admits. "However, I worried Draven would not be able to handle Cyan's involvement. He'd become preoccupied with protecting Cyan and thus more likely to put himself in harm's way for that very reason."

I suppose I can see where he's coming from there.

"Arline, it's a bit more complicated with her," he adds, running his hand through his hair. "Let's just say she would not agree with me working alongside the Red Moon."

Because she has some ties with them somehow. I know Arline was also adopted, or at least fostered by Lore based on the wall of plaques I saw in the school house. Her name was up there, but I don't know how old she was when she arrived, where she's from, or what her life was like before coming here. Out of everyone, she's the person I know the least.

"She's happiest here, and frankly a back up plan. If anything were to happen to me, if the children needed protecting, then Arline is here to do that," he finishes.

Taking a seat beside him, I grasp his hand. "Yes, and that is why she needs to be as prepared as possible. Both of them do. We're too far into this to risk being taken off guard."

Lore hesitates, continuing to ponder this dilemma. It makes me think of before; how he was so adamant that his children will live happily. Though Draven, Arline, and Cyan are grown, it doesn't change the promise Lore likely made to himself. He worries about all of them and maybe that's holding him back more than he realizes.

"They're not children anymore, Lore. Far from it," I say, noting the tension in his shoulders. "Arline and Cyan can fend for themselves. Draven may be uncomfortable, but he has to also realize what is best for us. And yes, we must also warn Cyan and Arline; let them choose if they want to be a part of this fight."

When Lore doesn't respond, I rest my head on his shoulder. He glances at me, eyes dark and distant, lost in thought. This isn't easy for him. None of this has ever been, even after all that he has done. It's not easy for me either. Though I've trained, I've taken lives before, this is bigger than all of us. This is risking everything.

"You don't need to make your decision tonight. Think about it and we can talk more tomorrow, if you want," I suggest, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "It's late anyway. We should get some sleep."

Nodding, Lore gets up to head for the bathroom. He hesitates in the doorway, giving me a curious stare. "Are you joining me?"

I smile. "I suppose I should. It'd be a waste of water otherwise."

Lore chuckles, taking my hand when I grow close to tug me along behind him.

I know Lore doesn't get much sleep that night. He accidentally wakes me a few times from tossing and turning. I try to ease his discomfort by curling my arms around his waist, holding him flush against me. He stops squirming so much, but I hear him sigh or hum every now and again. Sometime in the night, someone knocks at our door. We didn't unlock it after we returned, though I suppose that's a good thing considering I'm half asleep watching Lore hurry out of bed to greet one of the children before they realize he isn't alone in here.

"Papa, I had a nightmare," Oliver says between sniffles. "I wanna sleep here with you."

"How about we sleep in your room?" Lore suggests.

"No! There's monsters in there. It's scary. I wanna sleep here."

I hear the door squeak open in Oliver's attempt to get into the room. I sit up, noticing Lore has picked Oliver up so his attention is on him, but Lore catches my gaze. All I can give is a nervous shrug, not sure if I should hop out the damn window or accept our fate. Though Oliver kind of makes that decision for us by turning around, revealing that he has Missy in his arms.

"Hi Seren," he says, rubbing his tired eyes. "Did you have a nightmare too?" I bite my lip, keeping back a chuckle when Oliver makes a fairly sound argument, "If Seren can sleep here, I should be able to sleep with Papa too."

Lore releases a puff of nervous air. "I suppose that's true."

Lore leaves the door slightly open seeing as we don't want to lock Missy in here. He approaches the bed, letting Oliver scurry over the mattress to make himself comfortable next to me. Missy remains in his arms, also making herself comfortable beside him once I've covered Oliver in blankets. He wiggles his feet, smiling when Lore gets back into bed to rest an arm over him. Oliver looks back at me, grabs my arm, and puts it over him too.

"There," he happily declares. "Now we're all safe from the monsters."

Oliver hugs Missy close, who doesn't so much as squeak, seeming more than content with her face against Oliver's. And he's asleep in half a second.

"That went better than expected," I whisper, smiling at Lore's slow nod.

"I told you that you worry too much," he says, scooting closer so I feel his legs against mine.

I choose not to comment on that. It's late and Lore finally looks like he might get some sleep. His eyes flutter closed, breaths evening out, then we're all asleep, warm and cuddled in bed.

Draven wakes us the next morning by knocking on the door announcing breakfast. I'm surprised by a pressure against my arm, waking abruptly to see that it's Oliver leaning over me to shout back at Draven, "Okayy!"

"Seren, it's time to wake up," he adds, smiling at me with an energy I wish I possessed so early in the morning. Then he swings over to play with Lore's hair, twirling it around his little fingers. "Papa, wakey wakey!"

"I'm up," Lore groans, proving that he isn't really up. He's barely conscious, same as me. Oliver's squirming wakes us fairly quickly though. He crawls over me, almost sending his knee into my ribcage, giggling all the while. Missy must have left sometime during the night because she's gone, but there's a furry imprint on the bed.

We all wake for our usual morning breakfast where Oliver makes no mention of sleeping in bed with me and Lore. I don't know if he'll tell the older kids, like Isabella and Darika, who will definitely be able to put the pieces together. Possibly Reegan and Hyun Woo too. I don't know how they will react to that, so I guess we'll see?

I try not to think of it, focusing on tending to the children. From time to time, I look to Lore. Though he smiles and speaks to the kids, there's a darkness to his eyes, the same as last night. He's still thinking about it. Though it appears he has come to a decision when breakfast ends. He requests that Draven and I follow him to his office. We all take a seat, me next to Lore and Draven on the couch across from us. I'm assuming Lore has come to a decision based on his soft scowl.

"Seren and I have decided to inform Arline and Cyan about what has been going on," Lore says, making me feel warm for some reason. I guess because he said we decided on it, that he took what I said into heavy consideration. It's nice. "It's safest for all of us if they are aware, if they know what might be coming our way."

"You're aware that Cyan will want to take part in our plans, right?" Draven asks. His hands tense on his lap, slipping into tight fists.

Lore nods. "He'll attend jobs with you, if that makes you more comfortable."

I don't think Draven will ever be comfortable with Cyan being anywhere near this mess. However, Draven gives a reluctant nod that reminds me of Lore's hesitancy last night.

"Are we certain about telling Arline? She isn't..." Draven hesitates, then sighs. "Fond of the Red Moon. She is aware that we have dangerous jobs, that something could happen to us, so she's already prepared."

"This is a lot bigger than anything we've done," Lore mumbles, showing that he doesn't like what he has to do. "She should know."

Lore calls for a maid, requesting for her to call Cyan and Arline while she'll keep an eye on the kids for a moment. I'm surprised he didn't send Draven. Though once I notice how stiff his shoulders are, I understand. Lore must not have wanted Draven to be the bearer of what he considers to be bad news.

A few tense moments later, Cyan and Arline arrive, both confused on why they've been called. Cyan sits next to Draven and Arline next to him.

"What's going on?" Cyan asks, glancing between everyone with the typical eyes of scientific curiosity. One can see the gears turning in his head, calculating all the reasons they could have been summoned.

Leaning forward, Lore requests that Cyan and Arline listen to everything before they speak. Both agree. Lore looks to me. I give him a reassuring nod, then he reveals the truth of what has happened. What the Holy Church and the monarchies are doing, how we wish to work with the Red Moon, that we aren't entirely sure what the exact plans are yet, but this is a big moment. A time where something may finally be done against those who have been abusing us, abusing everyone for so long. We need to be prepared for what may happen, if we succeed or fail.

I watch their reactions, Cyan going from shocked, disgusted, upset, and downright furious. Red in the face, he glances at Draven, obviously bothered that even he had been keeping secrets from Cyan. That pained expression drifts back to Lore, but he keeps his promise and remains silent.

Arline is similar, confusion and anger, though that anger heats the room when Lore mentions the Red Moon. One sees it in her eyes; the disbelief that Lore would suggest such a thing, let alone go through with it. She shakes her head, eyes clenched shut as if she wished to wake from a bad dream. But Lore continues and her hands shake in her lap.

When Lore finishes, I don't know who will speak first. Cyan and Arline must have a lot to say.

"How could you work with them?" Arline asks, her voice low though her tone trembles with the desire to scream. She shakes, jaw set and teeth grinding behind her lips. The more she speaks, the louder she gets, "You know how they are, what the Red Moon is capable of. A group of psychotic tyrants, same as the others. They may work with you now, but the time will come when they deem you aren't useful anymore, that you're too much of a risk, and they'll abandon you. You're nothing to them, a tool to be disposed of when they're done!"

"I've taken everything they've done into consideration, Arline," Lore says sternly. "And I refused to work with them before because of that, but things have changed for all of us and I believe now is the time to take a chance. I am not saying that we trust them to always be on our side. We just need them to get the job done."

Arline glares at Lore, who maintain a calm expression. They don't break eye contact for a long, incredibly tense moment. Then Arlien huffs.

"If that's what you believe," she grunts, standing. Her eyes glisten blazing red. "But I won't help in these endeavors if they are involved and you're a fool to put the kids in harm's way."

Arline storms out of the room, leaving us in awkward silence. If Cyan had something to say earlier, he doesn't speak of it now. Our gazes drift to Lore, who leans back on the couch, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. A vein throbs in his forehead. I rest a hand on his arm, offering a sad smile when he looks my way.

I suppose things could have been much worse...

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

Oop, Arline didn't take the news very well. What kind of past do you think she has with Ristain and the Red Moon? What will Cyan say, if anything? This story is completed on my patreon, if you wish to read it as well as all extra content available there. Just go to patreon.com/Twoony ^_^