July 5th, Vecria Estate.
The estate was quiet that day.
Xaessiarerich sat on the edge of her bed, barefoot, the silken hem of her nightgown dragging faintly against the floor. The muted glow of the holographic screen in front of her painted her face as the news report replayed the same dramatic headline for the fourth time that morning:
"Breaking News: High Council reports Lord Richer Nivarea Argemenes in critical condition after Xana overload episode—"
She sighed softly, closing her eyes halfway through the sentence. Her expression didn't change much — it rarely did these days — but her hand twitched slightly at her side.
She turned off the holo-screen. The light in the room dimmed, replaced by the natural gray of a July morning. She began to use her senses around her. She could hear the sound of the fountain in the courtyard. The estate was much too vast for its small number of inhabitants now, and every sound carried through it like a ghost walking the halls.
Then came three gentle taps that could only belong to one person. Xaessia didn't turn immediately. She knew that knock by heart.
"Come in."
The door creaked open and in came September, her youngest sister. She was just five years old, still in her morning dress. She held her stuffed bird by the wing, dragging it across the carpet, and when she saw Xaessia, her small face lit up like the world was suddenly all right again.
"Sister!"
She chirped, running across the room with bare feet, laughing the kind of laugh that only children untouched by sadness could make. Xaessia smiled faintly and opened her arms just enough for the girl to crash into her lap. September climbed up, curling there like a kitten, holding her stuffed bird tightly against her chest.
"You're home. Mama said you'd be gone for long this time. Sorry I didn't see you for five days. I was training."
"I came back early but it's okay. I missed you."
"Then you'll stay?"
Xaessia hesitated. That one word stay carried a weight she wasn't ready to touch.
"I'll stay for a while," she said finally, softly, knowing 'a while' was always shorter than anyone wanted it to be.
"Sister, did you hear? They said Papa got sick again. It's on the news."
Her hand froze.
"Yes. I heard."
"But Mama said he's fine. He's in bed."
"She's right. He's fine."
It should have felt reassuring to her but it wasn't.. Because even if he was "fine," she knew that didn't mean well.
Her father Richer had Flux Syndrome, which is a cruel, unpredictable condition that turned Xana sensitivity into a death sentence. For most, Xana was life, breath, the radiant pulse of existence. For him, it was poison. And it turned anyone into a Fluvium at the end of the day. And for some reason, for reasons no scholar or physician could explain, her own Xana was worse than any other. To him, it was unbearable, like acid in his veins.
Ever since her birth, his body had rejected her presence.
She remembered being a child of six, maybe seven years of age, standing at the edge of his study door while her mother begged her to leave, her voice caught between anger and heartbreak.
She remembered her father's hand reaching out, trembling, even as blood welled from his nose and his vision blurred, still reaching for her. And she remembered running away before his body hit the floor.
Since then, she'd kept her distance. Not because she wanted to but because every time she got close, he would be in critical condition. Even now, even though he was just a few corridors away in the same estate, she couldn't see him or even stand in the same hallway. It hurt more than any headline ever could.
September tugged at her sleeve.
"Do you miss him?"
Xaessia's throat tightened.
"Every day. But sometimes loving someone means staying far enough not to hurt them."
The child frowned. "That's silly. If you love Papa, you should be with him."
A soft laugh escaped her.
"I wish it worked that way."
September tilted her head, not understanding. To her, love was simple. It didn't break you just by existing.
Xaessia envied her for that.
"Come on. Mama said we can have breakfast in the garden today! The lilacs are blooming!"
Xaessia blinked at the shift in tone and then smiled again, softer this time.
"Breakfast, huh?"
"Uh-huh! You'll come, right?"
She hesitated again. The garden was close to her father's chambers. The Xana residue there would be heavier. But September's expectant little eyes…
How could she say no to those?
"Alright. I'll come."
September beamed, sliding off her lap and tugging at her hand eagerly. Xaessia stood, adjusting her silk robe, letting the sunlight from the window spill over her pale hair.
°°°°°°°°
Xaessiarerich walked slowly, still barefoot. as September ran ahead through the flowers. The child's laughter was cute and Xaessia almost smiled. But when she stepped through the archway, she froze.
Her mother was already there, seated gracefully at the long glass table beneath the white pergola. She was draped in a light white dress. Her eyes were rimmed with faint red, probably from crying. Beside her sat Verdamona.
She had forgotten about her for five days.
"Ah, there you are. Finally decided to grace the garden after five whole days, Xaessia?"
Xaessia stopped halfway to the table, unsure if it was scolding or relief in her mother's tone.
"I just needed time."
"Five days of time? And your poor friend Verdamona has been waiting to see the estate. You could have at least given her a tour. It's not every day the Vecria Estate has guests."
Verdamona smiled faintly, brushing a lock of golden hair from her face.
"I didn't mind, Lady Anastelle. Xaessia's had a lot on her mind."
Xaessia took a seat across from her mother. Even though the breakfast was appetizing, she didn't reach for any of it.
"I didn't want to make Father's condition worse."
Anastelle sighed. It was a long, exhausted sigh of a mother who was carrying the weight of worry for too many years.
"Xaessia, you know this isn't your fault. You always think—"
"It is my fault!"
September, who had been chasing a butterfly near the hedge, stopped and turned. Verdamona looked up too, startled by the sudden edge in her tone.
"Every time I go near him, every single time, he gets worse. His breath falters, his eyes go white and his Flux goes wild. Do you think I don't know? I can feel it, Mother. The moment he senses my Xana, it's like his body burns from the inside out."
"Xaessia—"
"I can't even see him without hurting him! "You tell me it's not my fault but who else's is it?"
The garden fell silent except for the rustle of leaves. Even the wind seemed to stop. Verdamona set her cup down and spoke softly, carefully, as though afraid the wrong word might make everything shatter.
"Xaessia… please. Calm down."
Xaessia drew a sharp breath through her teeth, her eyes flicking toward her friend. Verdamona continued to assure her.
"Phaser told me he's been working on something. He said he found a cure, remember?"
At that, Anastelle froze. The teacup in her hand trembled slightly before she set it down again. Her eyes, wide now, darted between the two young women.
"What… did you say?"
Verdamona glanced at Xaessia, uncertain. Xaessia exhaled slowly, her anger slipping into a weary expression.
"He's not just looking. He found it."
Anastelle's breath stopped. She leaned forward, her hands pressing against the table.
"He… found a cure? For Flux Syndrome?"
"When he met the Frostclave Stag as you already know, he asked it for a cure. It didn't give him one directly but it gave him rare ingredients that could be combined to create a Flux stabilizing elixir."
Anastelle's eyes flickered, disbelief and desperate hope warring in them.
"What ingredients?"
Xaessia hesitated for a moment, partly for effect and partly because even saying their names felt made up.
"The Black Bleeding Rose, which he already plucked from our garden before he left to go to Rome. Then the Cyan Alabaster Bloom, the Netherine Fern, the Shardmoss, and the Aurelic Resin."
Anastelle blinked, her lips parting soundlessly. "I've never heard of any of those."
"They're ancient flora so rare they've vanished from modern records. Phaser told me he gave the Black Bleeding Rose to Princess Radellei, Princess Hinesia's sister. Hinesia used her Rameses connections to find the other ingredients. But two are still missing. That is the Shardmoss and the Aurelic Resin. Both can only be found in Antarctica."
Anastelle's hands clenched together. Her voice was faint. This was the first time Xaessia saw her mother this troubled and worried before.
"Aurelic Resin… Shardmoss... I don't even know what they look like."
"Neither did he. But he had a rough image. Visions, almost, from the Stag."
"If that's true, then why didn't he tell me sooner?"
Xaessia's voice softened, regret shadowing her tone.
"He didn't want to give you hope unless it was certain. Thars why he wanted to hide it from you."
For a moment, Anastelle looked at her daughter not as the Vecria heir or the bearer of a cursed Flux, but as her child. She was a girl she had watched grow up afraid to hug her own father. She still whispered goodnight to a door she couldn't open.
"You said you came home for a reason. Was it for this?"
Xaessia nodded. "I did. I came to help find them. Please Mother, let me do this. Let me try. If I can't be near him without hurting him, then let me heal him from afar."
The plea cracked her voice again. For the first time in her life, she bowed her head slightly to her mother.
"Please… I just want to help."
Anastelle looked down at her trembling hands, then up at her daughter again. Her cold expression returned.
"Is it legitimate? Can you swear to me this isn't just a story?"
"It's not. Even Princess Hinesia confirmed it. She found old records mentioning the same plants in the Library of Alexandria. The cure exists, Mother. It's real."
For a long moment, the only sound was the quiet chirping of the birds among the lilacs. Then Anastelle closed her eyes, exhaled shakily, and nodded.
"Alright. We'll mobilize everything, whatever it takes."
Xaessia's eyes widened with relief.
"Mother…"
"But, you will go to the Aicrev Estate first."
"The Aicrev Estate? Why?"
Anastelle took a slow sip of her tea.
"Because since your brother's training in Egypt and the massacre in Nairobi is known by the House. He has grown far stronger so your position here will change. The Council will want updates, realignment, and... you'll need to represent our bloodline there until your father can attend again. I can't stay for long because of my duties."
Xaessia's mouth opened slightly, surprised.
"You mean… I'll be the Vecria representative?"
"Temporarily."
Anastelle stood, brushing invisible dust from her gown.
"It will only be until Phaser returns. Until then, you do as I've asked. And if you truly believe in this cure, then find it. Can I trust you with this, Xaessia?"
Xaessia rose too, her heart pounding faintly. She bowed her head in acknowledgment.
"I promise I will find them."
Anastelle looked at her for a long, lingering moment and a faint, wistful smile, reached out as if to touch her cheek but stopped an inch away. Her hand trembled. The air between them rippled faintly with Flux interference.
"Be safe, my daughter."
"I will, Mother."
As the morning light spread across the garden, Xaessia stood there a moment longer, watching her mother turn away towards her father's chambers.