◇Daddy, Will You Take Me to the Mill Again?◇

(Amarande Pov)

It took close to a week to put the plan into motion. They needed to wait until both Renard a day Taillefer were out of the picture. Then, that time finally came. Renard was out to Myrcell on a trade deal, taking Taillefer as his advisor.

As soon as both brothers were completely out of sight, they made their move. A knock on the door had Amarande hurrying out of her bed. She'd felt terrible for what seemed like weeks now, but the exhaustion shook off her at the opportunity of seeing her love.

Osana greeted her from the other side. She took her arm and led her out to the gardens in the courtyard. There was a secluded pocket, surrounded on all sides by shrubbery and trees. They had to duck under a branch to get to the clearing.

It was worth it, however, when Amarande saw Luca situated on a bench. He glanced up at the sound of rustling, face lighting at the sight of her.

She couldn't get farther than a few feet before tears burned in her eyes. She met him at the bench. For the first time in ages, the arms encompassing her were in comfort, not manipulation.

Luca, ever so carefully, cast his hands towards her face. She leaned against them, allowing him to pepper kisses all over her face. She pried her eyes open, seeing the grin split his face made the tears break.

"Ama," the use of the nickname just made the tears worse. "Oh, I've missed you."

She squeezed him as tight as she could, wanting to savor the warmth of his skin on hers. In response, Luca made a repressed groan. Amarande frowned, pulling away enough to see the pain on his face.

"What happened," she asked. Nothing seemed amiss, but something was clearly wrong.

He opened his mouth, changing the shape of the words on his tongue a few times. "Nothing, Ama. I'm fine."

She smoothed the crease between his eyes. "You're not."

He pulled in a long breath. He messed with the hem of his tunic before pulling it up far enough to reveal a scar on the left of his torso. Amarande gasped. He released his shirt, letting it cover the horrors Taillefer had inflicted on his body.

"Oh, Luca," she whispered. She pressed her palm gently against where the scar resided. He caught her hand, kissing against her knuckles. "I can't believe I let him do that to you."

Luca brushed the tears off her cheeks. "You didn't let him do anything. You didn't know."

"I married Renard to protect you! That's the whole reason I did it. Now, Taillefer is using you as a plaything!"

"Hey, hey, hey," he murmured. "We would have both been killed otherwise. You did what you had to do. As long as you're safe and happy, Taillefer can do whatever he wants to me."

That was what broke Amarande. They were both suffering in different ways. Neither one was happy in their position. Both of them were pushing through, assuming the other one benefited from staying silent. In reality, they were both just surviving to see the next sunrise.

So Amarande ripped off the bandaid. She didn't know how to get it out otherwise. "I'm with child. I'm so sorry, Renard didn't leave me with any other choice."

The way Luca brushed through her hair with his finger paused. "What?"

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. She couldn't look him in the eye. The shame washing through her locked her into place. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. He wouldn't leave me be. He threatened you if I didn't let him."

Luca coaxed her to face him. He didn't look mad. Amarande wasn't sure why, she'd convinced herself he would. It wasn't in his nature to get upset so quickly. "Why are you sorry. You had no choice. It's not your fault."

She let him pull her onto the bench and into his lap. "I feel like I betrayed you. I made such a fuss that I would never be one of those queens to submit to my husband. Now, here I am, carrying his child while you're being tortured underground."

"You didn't betray me. You said it yourself, he threatened you." Luca began combing his hands through her hair. Despite...everything... it soothed her in a way nothing else could. When Amarande didn't respond, he asked, "How far along are you?"

"I think close to six weeks," Amarande breathed. The reality of it all was too terrifying to speak aloud.

"And how have you been feeling? Physically, I mean," he specified.

"Awful," she admitted. She butted her head to his chest. "I hate this."

Luca rubbed circles on the small of her back. "I hate this too."

Luca's other hand hovered over her abdomen, hesitating, waiting. Amarande nodded. The touch was gentle, caring. It had been so long since she felt cared for. Since she was asked for permission. She was starved for this kind of gentle affection. Especially in regards to her vulnerable position.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear. "This doesn't change that. Nothing will. Always."

"I love you, too. Always," she repeated.

Amarande placed her hand against his. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine that they lived in a different life, in a different reality. A universe where the stars didn't despise their existence, and this really could be their little family.

(Ula Pov)

Ula and Urtzi wound down the dizzying flights of stairs. Ula had given Urtzi a quick rundown of what was going on and the plan. They had agreed not to tell Luca Amarande was pregnant, letting her be the one to break the news to him. This was purely to set up the meeting between them.

They unlocked the door, expecting to see Luca where he usually resided, resting on the table with a thin quilt pulled over his body. However, he was absent, a pool of blood taking his spot.

Ula's heart clenched in her chest, thinking the worst. Urtzi reached for her arm, bracing himself.

"Luca?" she called, venturing further into the room.

"Here."

She turned to the far end of the room where the boiler was situated. Luca sat in an armed chair, that frayed quilt pulled around his shoulders. The air had begun to aquire an autumn chill, but being so far underground and with him being from the mountians, it seemed like a trivial drop in temperature.

"What did Taillefer do?" Ula dared ask.

Her and Urtzi were no strangers to the horrors Taillefer could come up with. They'd walked into the aftermath of his twisted curiosities so many times, it was difficult to shock them. But this—blood in puddles on the ground, Luca huddled up to a source of warmth, his skin scarily pale and gaunt—was such a petrifying sight. He swayed, as if any moment he would drop.

It took a moment for him to gather the strength to awnser. "He did an operation. I was awake for it. He took... something out and put it in a jar, and..."

Luca's head lolled, eyes sliding shut. Ula reached for him, shaking his shoulders to keep him awake. He yelped, clutching his side, gritting his teeth.

She pulled back, shocked at his intense reaction. She exchanged a look with Urtzi. He had been asked to commit many atrocities by Dunixi and their employers. He always obeyed, following orders. But this. This was enough to make him look green

"Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked.

Luca pulled his eyes up, forcing a pained grin on his face. "I'm alright. I just... need some time."

It was unnatural to watch. He was in such clear pain. But here we was, smiling at her, looking a wisp away from joining the stars. It didn't seem possible for this to be occuring.

Urtzi padded over to the jar, stepping over the maroon stains on the floor. He squinted at the looping script, his brown eyes growing wide. "Ula, come look at this."

Ula looked between the two boys. Luca had closed his eyes again, shuffling deeper into the warmth of the blanket. Not passing out, she realized, but resting. She stepped away from him to join Urtzi's side.

She read the writing. It was Luca's spleen, preserved in a formula of chemicals. Beside it, was in-depth descriptions of the surgery. From the beginning cut to the final stitch. It was truly vile. She had to take a step away from it, choosing for her own sanity to focus on Luca.

"This complicates things," she murmured to him.

He snorted, immediately regretting it with a wince. "You're telling me this?"

"No, I mean," Ula chewed on her words, making sure they came out carefully, "We were trying to set up a rendezvous for you and Amarande."

Luca sat up, strength renewed. He still had that sickly, colorless palor to him, but his eyes were bright with news of his love. "What?"

"She wanted us to find a way to set a meeting spot up for you two," she explained. "But now... this happened."

"I can still walk," he interjected. "I managed to get over here myself."

"Up five flights of stairs?" Ula challenged.

"If that's what it must take."

She shook her head. "No, you could hurt yourself—"

Luca gripped her forearm. She knew it was supposed to show strength in his resolve, but in reality, his shocking weakness worried her further. "Please," he begged. "I must see with my own two eyes she is safe. Information you two give me isn't enough. I need to see her face."

Ula opened her mouth in a rebuttal, but Urtzi beat her to a response, "We'll bring you to the surface as soon as we see an opening."

She met eyes with him from across the room. She wanted to argue it was too much of a risk, but Urtzi held firm, his posture unwavering. Ula was one for a good back-and-forth, but she knew a losing fight when she saw one.