The Daughters of Merlin

Virgil was at last seemingly given a break in life, allowing him to enjoy three wonderful years with his wife and daughter who they named Laria Guinevere Pendragon.

Zana had left for a week to visit Aether, though Grace only knew that Zana had left to visit some friends. Valia, meanwhile, went to also track down her adoptive parents. Since the Mage was gone, Grace and Virgil had decided to spend a quiet week at the cottage with Laria.

Grace was standing in front of the sink, washing the dishes by hand. As she did this, she glanced up, looking through the window and into the backyard garden where Laria sat picking flowers with Sky next to her, occasionally feeding the sheep a flower petal.

Unlike her mother, Laria looked like a regular mortal which Grace was grateful for. The young princess had long wavy blonde hair and her father’s brown eyes along with his perfect tan. She was wearing a white dress.

Grace couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her toddler’s laughter as Sky licked her palm, taking the petal she held out to him.

All of a sudden, there was a loud crash coming from further inside the cottage. Grace jumped, before smirking as she set down the plate in her hand back into the water, turning to face the hallway.

“Virgil, are you still trying to fix that leak?” Grace called.

“I can’t believe out of all of the times for it to leak it just happens to be the one time Zana isn’t here.” Virgil said, entering the kitchen, rubbing the back of his head.

“You could call one of the servants, you know.” Grace said, walking over to him. “Let me see.”

“It’s fine, Angel. I just hit the wall as the ladder fell.” Virgil replied, waving her off.

All of a sudden, there was a loud howl coming from outside that Grace recognized as Raven’s, one full of urgency, worry, and sadness. Furrowing her brows together, Grace rushed over to the kitchen window to check on Laria, only to find that Laria nor Sky were there.

Grace rushed outside just in time to hear Sky faintly bleating, coming from inside the woods.

And then there was a brief scream that was cut short.

“LARIA!” Grace shouted, her motherly instincts telling her that something terrible had happened to her baby girl.

Grace took off running into the woods, following after the sound of Sky and Raven’s cries. Virgil shouted after Grace, following after her.

It only took Grace a minute or so for her to finally reach her pets, who stood at the edge of a very familiar cliff. Laria was nowhere near them. Grace rushed to the edge and when she saw what was laying at the bottom, she let loose a scream of terror and heartbreak.

The entire gorge became covered in ice, the small stream also freezing over. The frost even grew over Laria’s body which lay sprawled on the bottom, her body bent at odd angles, blood pouring from her knees, head, and trickling from the side of her mouth, staring up into the sky with vacant eyes.

Had Virgil not caught Grace in time as her knees gave out beneath her, she would have fallen over the edge of the cliff as well.

"Peles.”

Grace fell unconscious in Virgil’s arms, causing him to look over and see Zana with one hand on Grace’s head, Blue perched on her shoulder in her dragon form, a foot tall.

Zana peered over the edge of the cliff before quickly looking away, lowering her hand, a fiery tear falling down her cheek. Zana looked over at Raven. “What happened?”

Raven’s ears were pinned to the sides of his head, his tail tucked between his legs. ”I blacked out. When I opened my eyes I could smell Lilith’s magic in the air and Laria was gone. Sky said she had purple eyes."

“Why can’t she just leave us alone?! She’s supposed to be dead!” Virgil shouted in anguish, picking his wife up, bridal style, so he could hug her closer, not bothering to fight the tears that gathered in his eyes and fell down his cheeks. “She’s taken enough from us already!”

“I’m going back to see Samuel. Maybe he will have an answer. For now, we’ll keep Grace asleep. I’ll be back soon.” Zana told Virgil before disappearing once again.

“So, what did he say?” Virgil asked when Zana pushed the door to his and Grace’s room at the cottage open.

Virgil was laying on his side next to Grace who was laying on her back. He was gently playing with her hair, watching her sleep, his eyes red and puffy from crying. His hair was also askew from having run his hands through it many times in frustration. Both Sky and Raven sat next to the bed on the ground.

“Lilith is dead. She will not be returning for the rest of this life.” Zana answered, sighing.

“This life?” Virgil questioned, looking over at her.

“Grace and I have had two lives before this one. Once Grace and I die we’ll come back though it’ll be a different time period as well as slightly different people.” Zana explained. “We’ll probably meet you again but you won’t know who we are and we might not know who you are either but we might.”

“Hopefully you’ll have better luck in the other lives.” Virgil said sadly, looking back down at Grace.

“This life isn’t over yet.” Zana replied.