#astarters

The first rays of light are already peeking through the agricultural world, slipping elusively through the convent windows and directly illuminating the face of the little girl curled up in a ball, hugging two teddy bears—one made in the image of Demetrian Titus and the other in the image of Elitheia Agni.

Lilia lets out a small moan as she feels her head being struck by an invisible hammer. Her face is completely red, and she's sweating so much that a thick layer of it covers her skin. She's been tossing and turning all night, unsure of what to do, as everything is painful and uncomfortable. Even though she is suffering from a fever, she didn’t tell anyone how bad she felt.

Like her lungs, she's gasping for air almost all the time. Even when she breathes, it’s as if she is suffocating. It’s the same feeling she had when the director's lover grabbed her slender neck with her bony hands. The little girl closes her eyes tightly, trying to erase that image from her mind.

Lying on her side, hugging the two bears and crying silently, even if she is slowly forgetting the past, she still has memories that won’t fade away—emotional wounds that still need to heal. She can remember how, in the past, she couldn’t complain when she got sick. She remembers all too well what would happen if the director of the orphanage heard that a child was ill: a sure beating, pain worse than what she would endure from the sickness.

“— The garbage is thrown away —”

The little girl opens her eyes wide as the headmaster's voice echoes in her mind. With teary eyes, she finds herself looking at the two bears she's cuddling. She wants to call them, but she doesn't know what to call them. She wishes to refer to him as Dad and her as Mom. She doesn’t want to address him as Lord Titus and her as Lady Elitheia like the other sisters in the convent do. Yet something inside her prevents her from naming them that way. Rather, it’s a fear that will never go away.

She’s so afraid that Demetrian Titus and Elitheia Agni will discover that the garbage is thrown away that she doesn’t want to get her hopes up, even though from the first moment she met them, they were kind and sweet, even spoiling her with gifts she couldn't have dreamed of.

The fear of emotional attachment haunts her; she’s terrified of clinging to them and growing attached, only to be discarded.

Small whimpers escape her every time she tries to move; her head feels as though it is going to explode if she keeps moving. Tears stream down her cheeks, yet she doesn’t cry at all. She remains silent, trying to wipe her tears and sweat with the sheet.

She forces herself to move, forces herself to get up and say everything's okay even though she feels like she will faint from the pain at any moment.

Gentle knocks on the door alert her. She feels so sick and confused. Her small room in the convent shifts to the dirty, moldy room in the orphanage, filled with rotten things and items stained with heretical Slaanesh symbols, where more than fifty children huddle together, trying not to die of hypothermia.

— Lilia? Are you still asleep, little one? I'm coming in —

Sister Eva's voice echoes, bringing her back to the convent room. The sister opens the door, revealing the scene: a small white ball hugging her teddy bears and covered by the sheets.

— Haven't you been able to sleep well, Lilia? —

The sister asks again, noticing that the little girl in the bed isn't responding, but she does see the little girl trembling beneath the covers.

Lilia had never been capricious; no matter the situation, she always woke up to help out at the convent, so this is certainly new for Sister Eva.

Sister Eva quickly approaches the little girl, her hand instinctively moving to the girl's head when she feels her red, hot, feverish face. The touch of Eva's cold hand on Lilia's forehead makes the little girl let out a small sigh of relief. The sister notices the tears streaming down Lilia's face, her chest pounding; she's starting to feel a little upset. Who are we kidding? She's completely upset right now.

— I'll get a bucket of cold water and a cloth. I'll also inform Lord Titus and Lady Elitheia about your condition. Hang in there, little one —

The sister says, Lord Titus has become Lilia's legal guardian after a private conversation with the convent's senior sister. No one knows what happened in the office, but Senior Sister Elizabeth surely opened Lord Titus's eyes, while Lady Elitheia is Lord Titus's partner, so it would also be right to inform her in a situation like this.

Lilia's eyes narrow as she sees Sister Eva quickly recover and almost run out the door. The little girl raises her hand toward the door.

— Wait... Don't leave me alone... Please... Coal, I'm scared —

That last murmur ends with her soft voice breaking. When she realizes she’s completely alone in the room, she feels so alone that she's terrified. Her mind begins to spin with all sorts of scenarios.

Her convent room shifts to the orphanage again and again, like images flashing before her eyes.

— …Coal… I'm scared… —

She murmurs that name again as she stops hugging the teddy bears and curls into a ball, wrapping her legs and burying her head completely under the covers. She begins to cry loudly, biting her lip in an attempt to muffle the sobs.

“—Shhh… Calm down, Bean, I'm here. I won't let them hurt you— ”

That voice echoes in Lilia's head, hoarse and broken but still as sweet and kind as she remembers. She closes her eyes tightly as memories of the past quickly begin to drown her.

[ . . . ]

Soft footsteps are heard walking toward the girl lying on the floor. The little girl holds her breath, fearing it might be an inspector sent by the orphanage director to check on the children. She closes her eyes tightly as she tries to stop the tears from coming. She listens as he stays still and crouches down in front of her.

She's afraid of opening her eyes and getting hit, so she prefers to continue pretending she's asleep. To the girl's surprise, a small, calloused hand caresses her cheek.

— ...It's me, Bean —

That voice, which the girl would recognize anywhere, makes her slowly open her eyes, seeing the child's face completely covered in dirt.

— ...Coal —

She murmurs toward the boy, who only nods as he helps her sit on the lap of the boy several years older than her. Coal, as everyone knew this boy, was the oldest in the orphanage, always covered in coal because the most capable children were sent to the mine to help extract minerals. In the eyes of the planet's nobles, they were sweet children who wanted to help the orphanage that cared for them so much, which is why no one questioned why there were children in the mine.

The boy searches in his pocket for a small, battered, and dirty leather canteen.

— It's clean water, the miners gave it to me. You should drink a little and then eat something —

Coal's voice is soft, trying not to wake the other children or alert any adults in the orphanage.

Coal tightly hugs the girl's thin body, trying to keep her from falling as she's so sick, helping her drink the clean, cool water. After taking two small sips, her body feels a little relieved almost instantly.

The boy looks at her silently, letting out a small sigh of relief. For some reason, ever since Bean—what he'd nicknamed her after the first few days of watching her sleep like a bean—arrived at the orphanage, the director's mistress had become increasingly present, punishing the girls there.

Being one of the older children, I always try to help the other kids. I save my rations from the mine for any child who had been punished by missing a meal, and I take care of anyone who gets sick so the director won't beat them.

Coal's hand rises toward the little girl's forehead, so small for a ten-year-old, so thin she looks like a tree branch that would break at any breath of wind, but with the brightest smile of all.

The girl struggles to stay awake; she's tired. The small piece of bread she was eating remains in her hand after three microscopic bites.

— Everything's okay... You can sleep, Bean. . . I'll protect you as always —

Still in Coal's arms, Bean nods, slowly falling asleep on Coal's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

The mere presence of Coal in such a place is completely comforting for the children of the orphanage.

Small moans of pain escape her lips between soft gasps; the little girl's eyes slowly open, looking from side to side. Perhaps it’s because she's sick or because she's still half asleep, but she still doesn’t realize she’s in someone's arms.

Her soft breathing is the only thing he hears. Seconds later, he also notices Coal's breathing as he holds her in his arms, never having stopped protecting her.

The girl's smile slowly spreads; she really doesn’t know what would have happened to her if Coal hadn't been in the orphanage.

— …Thank you —

She murmurs so as not to wake the boy. It seems he stayed wide awake all night and only decided to get some rest in the morning.

[ . . . ]

Lilia's eyes slowly open, noticing the cold, damp cloth on her forehead. A soft hand clasps her small hand. Until her eyes adjust to the light, her vision is blurred. She blinks several times until she realizes there are two adults in the room, Demetrian Titus and Elitheia Agni. He stands at the side of the bed, occasionally checking the cloth on the girl's forehead to moisten it again. She gently holds the girl's hand, praying soft prayers to the Emperor.

The first person to realize she is awake is Elitheia, who, while still holding the girl's hand, composes herself slightly, raising her hand to the little girl's cheek, wiping away the tears that have fallen down her face. To say they were both scared is an understatement. When Sister Eva's holo message reached Demetrian, it took him no more than two seconds to almost run to one of the dropships and fly toward the little girl without looking back. He and his partner had agreed to see the little girl together, but he hadn't expected his little surprise for her to turn out like this.

Without a second thought, he notified Elitheia, and they headed toward the agricultural world. The last thing they heard were some comments from Gadriel and Leandros. And that's how an Astarte and a Sororita Adepta almost broke down the convent door in search of the girl. It took them no more than fifteen minutes to arrive. If there were speed limits, they probably would have broken them just to get there quickly.

Demetrian's sigh resonates in the room, filled with relief at seeing his little daughter's face awake. He bends down, raising his large hand to remove the cloth from the little girl's forehead. She still seems quite bewildered and certainly lost. She hasn't spoken a word yet, only staring at the two of them in the room over and over.

— Lilia? —

It's Theia who breaks the silence, bringing her face closer to the little girl's, touching her forehead against hers, noticing that her temperature has dropped noticeably.

— How are you feeling, my little girl? —

Theia's sweet, soft voice is all the little girl hears right now.

The room falls completely silent again as Elitheia and Demetrian wait for any reaction from the little girl. She only blinks a few times and gives them the biggest smile on the planet.

— ...Mommy... Daddy... —

The moment she calls them that, they both react instantly. Warmth begins to fill the room. Elitheia smiles warmly in return as she lifts the sheet a little and gets into bed with the little girl.

— Yes, my dear daughter? —

He hugs her to his chest while Lilia settles a little more. It seems that the storm has passed and now calm has arrived. Titus, who had been completely frozen watching the situation, moves a little closer to his partner and his… daughter. It's still so strange to him, but it's strange in a good way. It's something he's never experienced. He grew up and matured, filled with rage, but right now he can only feel the warmth and love overflowing in the place.

Elitheia gestures to her partner, as if squeezing herself a little further onto the bed to make room for him. Even though the bed is small, I don't think Lilia would complain at all about being sandwiched between her two favorite people.

— ...Thank you for being here with me —

Lilia murmurs, closing her eyes again, as they hug her.

— You have nothing to thank us for, my little one. We'll always be with you, we'll never leave you alone, right my dear? —

Elitheia looks at Demetrian, and he nods automatically. As I said before, this is the first time he's felt such warmth, this is the first time he's felt such peace.

— Never, no matter where you are, we'll always take care of you, Lilia. Don't ever think for a second that we're going to leave you, my little one —

— Thank you... Daddy... Mommy —

Elitheia's eyes gaze so sweetly at the little girl as she continues to murmur "Mommy" and "Daddy" Demetrian slowly brings his hand up to Lilia's face, caressing his daughter's small, fleshy cheeks with his large thumb.

— Stop being thankful, Lilia... Mommy and Daddy will always take care of you —

Another little story of the little Titus/Agni family!

It's a bit short but I loved the result and didn't want to add filler.

Also featured in this chapter is Coal! He's my first male Oc for Wh40K ( ՞ ܸ. .ܸ՞ )

Soon when I have time I will make some drawings of Coal and Bean (Lilia)

✨💕