I sat hunched over Geshich's book, quill in hand, staring at a blank page. It was almost like it refused to be filled.
I was in my room of the house the girls built. I still kind of called it a shack, though recently it began to look like a small manor.
My room was the biggest of all. I didn't choose it that way. The girls decided that this one was mine, and I didn't refuse to take it.
It was the middle of the night, and there was a little thing that came to bother me in this new world.
There were no lamps. Nor were there any lighters to start a fire.
Sol and Ra were there for light and fire.
I cast Sol a few times for light, but it seemed that I hovered over the page for so long that the light I created just dissipated as the spell ended.
Just casting it, as normal as I could, would give me about half an hour of light, like a lamp would. It was just light and nothing else, but I could move the source anywhere if I put my mind to it before I cast the spell.
And that was it. But I had other concerns than not having a lamp right now.
Every time I thought to write something, it felt off.
I didn't really have much to tell after Grandfather's first visit.
I mean, I was trying to learn his chaos magic, but if I wrote it down, it would just be reiterating what I'd already written, and that was no good.
The only thing that really happened was that I asked the girls - Catherine, Juliet, and Elizabeth - to do something strange. Necessary, yes, but undeniably strange.
I kind of cringe at myself even remembering it.
I told them I wanted them to check each other. Thoroughly. For anything unusual on their bodies.
Because I needed to know.
Grandfather's tattoos - the openings to chaos magic etched into his body - if the girls had anything like that… if that was the thing that made them so strong… it would explain much, or at least some.
They didn't question me about it. They agreed right away.
I hadn't seen anything when I put them together, not even a single thing out of order, but maybe the eyes of the girls were different from mine.
But I wouldn't check their bodies now that they were living, breathing people, and I thought that it would make things easier if they checked themselves and each other.
It didn't.
The embarrassment didn't come from me asking.
It came from them dealing with each other.
Catherine tried to stay professional, but not even halfway through, I caught a glimpse of her face, even while trying to avoid looking at them, and I saw that she was as red as a tomato.
Juliet was fine with it, or seemed fine with it, but Elizabeth was really vigorous in her search. She went over them again and again, and she forced the others to do the same to her.
I don't want to use too harsh language, but she basically molested them.
By the end of it, Catherine and Juliet were blushing, and they must have felt like rubber bands that had been stretched too often.
And after all that?
Nothing.
No runes. No hidden marks. No trace of chaos.
Just three girls and me, trying to pretend the whole situation hadn't happened.
I sighed and dipped the quill again.
Maybe I should write about it. Maybe stories needed pieces like that - awkward moments that didn't belong anywhere except that they really happened in real life.
The quill touched the paper.
It was a very private moment, so should I really?
Maybe Geshich was a fan of ecchi moments?
I swallowed and lowered the quill again, then lifted it up just as fast.
Maybe later, when I figured out what or how to write it.
I tapped the quill on the page.
A sense of dread came creeping. I was frozen. It felt like the moment I turned around or looked over my shoulder, I could see darkness itself.
There was a pressure on my spine, and here and there I felt like I could feel a coldness on my neck.
Even if it wasn't good, I had to write something!
Something to keep the void at bay for the moment.
So I wrote about it.
That today, the girls did 'that', and got flustered with each other.
I wrote and wrote, and wasn't very proud of it, but the darkness behind me, suddenly lessened.
I stopped for a moment mid sentence, and clear enough, the darkness came back.
So, I wrote even more about it, in embarrassing detail, even that which I shouldn't have written about.
And when I was finished, the darkness was completely gone.
I breathed and-
Wait a minute. Why did it suddenly go away for something so trivial?
Was I right? Did Geshich enjoy those sort of moments?
Was there such a thing as a lecherous god?
Why am I even asking? All mythological stories reinforced that notion.
Before I could write more, I heard footsteps padding outside my door.
They were familiar, Elizabeth. They were light and quick. She always paused before knocking on the door to my room in the shack, like she rehearsed every visit.
And then, right on cue, I heard the knocking.
"Come in," I said.
"Father?" Elizabeth said. She was full of life. "Are you busy?"
I looked at the blank page.
"No," I called back. "Not really."
The door opened just a touch, and I could see Catherine and Juliet peek in just a fraction.
"I wanted to see how you were. And also… could we maybe spend time together later? Not for training. Just… together? You're always so busy, and when you're with us, you're always training us."
I felt myself nod before I even thought about it.
"Of course we can. Just let me finish this."
Her whole face brightened, and she jumped up.
"I'll tell the others!" she said, then rushed out before I could stop her.
The door closed behind her.
I stared at it for a long second, then looked back down at my blank page.
Okay. Maybe I'll just hang out with them for today.
Being around the girls always pulled me out of the void.
I ended up giving up on the page entirely.
Real life was knocking on the door, and all my storylines came from it, so I should embrace it. Plus, I felt just a little bit guilty. I haven't spent a lot of time with the girls recently, other than ordering them around and forcing them to train - "forcing" being a liberal use of the word here because it seemed that they wanted to.
So, I stepped outside into the sunlight where the girls were already gathered, waiting like I was some visiting noble.
Elizabeth practically dragged me to them as I exited the shack.
"We thought we'd go for a walk!" she said, like she'd been storing the sentence for an hour. "Unless you want to do something else?"
"A walk is fine," I said. "A normal walk sounds nice."
She beamed as though I'd gifted her a treasure.
We strolled through the edge of the forest.
It was peaceful, almost too peaceful.
Catherine hummed softly under her breath. Juliet kept glancing at me like she was evaluating my mood. Elizabeth matched her steps with mine, swinging her arms.
After a while, I cleared my throat.
"So… what do you girls do when I'm not here?"
All three of them paused.
"We train to fight with you, Father," Catherine said.
"I mean, I know you train, but… the rest of the time. What do you do?"
"Other than that?" Juliet repeated. "We explore."
"…Explore?"
Catherine nodded. "Yes, Father. We go to different places. Woods, ruins, villages. It's how we found Elizabeth, remember?"
That part I knew.
But something in their tone made me frown.
"How far do you usually go?" I asked.
Elizabeth shrugged like it was nothing. "Oh, not too far. About as far as Astar most days."
I stopped walking.
"Astar?" My voice almost cracked. "The… city of Astar?"
"Yes," Catherine said, utterly calm. "It's not that far."
"They have sweet bread in the marketplace, and it's my favorite," Elizabeth said. I could almost see her drooling.
My mind focused on the words "not that far".
Not far?
Astar was a week away by carriage.
I kept my face steady - at least I hoped I did.
Juliet must have noticed.
"Is something wrong, Father?"
"No," I said immediately. Too fast. "No, I just… didn't realize you traveled that far."
Elizabeth blinked innocently. "Should we not?"
"No, it's fine. I mean, you're strong. You can handle yourselves."
Probably more than I could.
"Just… be careful, alright? I wouldn't want to worry about you."
They nodded in unison, pleased that I wasn't upset.
I did worry, and I did wonder. I had to. I visited the girls at least, the bare minimum, every three days, except if there was something I couldn't get out of, like the coronation of Deimos Amoon.
If they could visit somewhere as far away as Astar and then return without me noticing their absence, that must mean that they were far faster than I had originally thought.
They must have been far faster than Maren and even faster than Sera, the latter being so fast that I couldn't keep up with her movements at all.
Were they stronger too? More durable?
I could try to measure their strength, but how was I to test their durability? I didn't want to hurt them, or even try to.
Maybe I should just let it be. I'll train them to fight and give them discipline, and that should be the end of it.
They were important girls - and women - in my life.
I wouldn't want to pit them against each other.