The water in the cave felt warm again as Blanc let his body float around as he kept thinking about what had happened and what came next to him and the family he had in his care.
He kept his promise to the old woman whom he killed.
He returned the remaining Vita's Mercy to her cottage.
And he also wrote a letter in her name, lying about her whereabouts and giving his family a guide to follow on how to use the potion.
He hoped that, with this, his sin would be considered a lesser one.
Not forgiven. He knew such a thing would not be forgiven.
Not by the Vita nor by the Order, if they were to find out.
But that is not an issue for him to worry about at this moment.
He hid his sin as well as he could.
That was all that mattered.
There were important things to worry about.
What happened with his parents? With Valar? Did all of them get captured? Were they alive?
He will not find the answer to this here.
And here was not safe any longer either.
They could wait for the Moroi to leave the Golden Forest and hope that they could leave out here for a time, but that is a foolish dream.
Even if they were safe, now that he knew that they had lost the war, staying in the cave would just be a death sentence.
Celine might still be pregnant, and in here, without any help from women with experience, she will most likely die.
Her or their child.
Kael and Lune, after what happened to them, will certainly want to leave, as far away as possible.
It broke Blanc's heart to know he would have to tell them the truth that their family was captured or somewhere unknown to them.
And that their home, the home they all grew up in for all their lives, was now a ruin made of ash and rubble.
And Miyanna… well, even now, Blanc's mind felt like drawing a blank page when thinking about this woman.
He felt politics was easier to deal with than her.
Yet they still had things to talk about.
With Miyanna, Celine, and the twins.
They could not leave now. Not until they were back at full strength.
At least, this gave them a few days to at least talk and figure things out.
His shoulders felt easier now that he had washed his sweat away, and now that he had managed to get over this crisis with the Moroi without losing anyone.
But he knew this relief he felt now was only temporary.
He had harvested the Raw Vita of twenty-eight beasts… twenty-nine if he counted the old woman as well, so far in his life.
But he still felt weak.
He needed hundreds to feel stronger and to achieve the point that all Noble Bloods strive for.
To develop their Bloodshard.
Without it, he will not be able to harvest True Vita.
And without True Vita, one could not call oneself truly strong.
The strength he needed if he ever hoped to somehow help the rest of his family.
But for now, at least, since all the people in the cave were still sleeping, and the immediate danger had passed, he finally felt his physical body tired. In need of rest.
But he, at least, had to prepare food for the others before sleeping.
So he got up from the pool, got dressed in clean clothes, and went to the kitchen to make food with the things that they decided not to carry with them, to at least eat everything before it rots away.
As he was finishing preparing a rabbit and fish stew for his family, a few small steps could be heard slowly coming towards the kitchen.
"Brother?" asked Lune, wiping the sleep away from her eyes.
"Lune?" asked Blanc, going towards her, "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," she muttered.
"Let's see…" said Blanc, crouching down and putting his hand on her forehead, "The fever is going down, but you need to eat and sleep some more before you will be strong again. Are you hungry?"
"Mhm," she nodded, "But can I ask?"
"What, little flower?" Blanc wondered.
"What happened?" she asked.
He offered her a smile, playing with her hair, "I will tell you everything when you get better. Now you need to eat. Could you go wake everyone up as I put the food for you all?"
"Even Miyanna?" Lune asked.
"Even Miyanna," he nodded to her, "Can you do that for me?"
"I can," Lune nodded, acting a bit more like herself now that she was better.
When he poured the Vita's Mercy, Lune acted like a wounded animal. Scared.
Showing its fangs, hoping it will intimidate the source of her pain.
Her fever was high enough for such a delirium to happen.
It made Blanc relieved to see her better, as he watched her slowly make her way towards the other rooms.
He prepared four bowls filled to the brim with the steaming hot stew.
There was more leftover in the pot over the fire.
Enough for all of them to eat properly and regain their strength.
As for him… well, he wasn't really that hungry.
The smell of the dead bodies from last night still haunted his nostrils.
But he ate from time to time as he cooked, using that as an excuse to taste the food.
It was enough for him.
Others would shortly come to the table who needed the food more than he did.
So he made sure that they were the ones to first have their fill.
If there were some leftovers after he woke up, then yes, he would eat.
"Good morning," said Celine, coming to the kitchen and smelling the food Blanc had prepared.
"Good morning, my love. How are you feeling?" he asked her.
"Better. A bit sick but better," she nodded with a smile.
"Sick? The pregnancy?" he asked, wide-eyed.
Celine shrugged, not wanting to say yes when she wasn't sure herself, "Perhaps, I can't say for sure yet."
"No matter, help me with the bowls and eat properly. Rest some more if you need to after eating," Blanc said, grabbing two wooden bowls and turning around.
"Are you not eating with us?" Celine asked, following Blanc with two bowls as well.
"I'm too tired to think about food. I will eat when I wake up," he replied as he got near the table, just as the rest were heading towards them.
"Morning," said Miyanna, her eyes to the ground.
"Good morning," said Kael.
"Morning to you all," began Blanc, "Eat and rest for today. Regain your strength. When I wake up, we have things to talk about."
With a nod from all, Blanc went towards his and Celine's room, falling straight into the bed and hoping that sleep would bring a better future with it.