The Hero looks at the bde in confusion with panic slowly starting to creep in. He opens his mouth to say something, instead what comes out are cries and whimpering.

  The Hero-”Wahhhhhh Wahhhhhh!” He tries his hardest to move once again but wrapped in cloth and surrounded by bars, escape is futile. Before the bde can come down a woman rushes into view and grabs the arm of the assassin.

  Mother-”Get away from my baby!” A dy with short white hair and a night gown wrestles with the knife. The confrontation doesn’t st long as the woman gets knocked to the ground. The assassin goes back to stand over the crib and the door to the small room is kicked off the hinges drawing everyone's attention.

  A bulky man stomps through the door, dirty blond hair is tied into a ponytail. His eyes are Emerald green and filled with rage as his sights nd on the assassin standing over the crib. He crosses the room and lunges at the assassin in one powerful stride. He sends the assassin crashing into the wall with a fierce punch. He turns his attention towards the woman on the floor only to see her cradling a crying baby.

  The Hero looks at the woman holding him, she has beautiful light blue eyes like an open sky on the perfect day. She has pale skin rivaling that of an Ice empress, but all he feels is warmth while in her arms, her smile is the prettiest thing he has ever seen.

  Alik-”Neeka are you all right?”

  Neeka-”I’m fine Alik.” She doesn’t look at him when she speaks, continuing to give all of her attention to her son.

  Another woman walks through the splintered door looking surprised. She doesn’t have any features that make her stand out. Her brown hair is average length and matches the color of her eyes. She notices the crumpled body of the assassin and the knife on the floor. Before getting a chance to speak, Alik turns around and basically barks at her.

  Alik-”What the hell is your problem Jade! You're lucky I figured out what happened and made it just in time. If something would’ve happened to them.”

  Jade-”Hold on, this is definitely not what I asked him to do.”

  Assassin-”No I’m pretty sure you were the one that set me out to do this.” They say from the ground.

  Jade-”I told you to take the baby and the woman out of town and send them on their way. I didn’t ask you to try and kill them.”

  Assassin-”Isn’t that the same thing?” He says dumbfounded and still groggy.

  Neeka-”You set this up Jade?”

  As they argue, The Hero hears the Goddess speaking inside of his head.

  Goddess-”HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, you were crying like a baby when you thought you were gonna get stabbed, HAHAHAHAHAHA.”

  The Hero-(Shut up, was this your idea of a sick joke.)

  Goddess-”It was my idea of a good joke on your life, yes. But the funniest joke has yet to be said.”

  The argument is halted by Jade's screaming voice.

  Jade-”NO! You will not bme me!” She gets close and sticks a finger in Aliks face. “You were the one that betrayed me!” She points her finger at Neeka “You went behind my back, slept and impregnated this tramp! I only did what I did to keep our family together and to keep everything we built from crumbling to the ground because of your mistake.” She puts extra venom in her voice at the word mistake and looks with cold eyes at the baby in Neekas arms.

  Goddess-”HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, you're the bastard son of a cheating husband, with a jealous wife, and your mother is a prostitute. Talk about an interesting life path.”

  Jade stomps out the same way she came without looking back or apologizing.

  Alik and Neeka stand in the room not saying anything. Alik with his head hung low and Neeka still giving all of her attention to her baby.

  Assassin-”H-Hey Alik, Jade was supposed to pay me but obviously she left so I was wondering-” Alik cuts him off with a gre sharper than the knife they were using. He holds up his hands in surrender. “I’ll just track her down.” He shuffles around the two very slowly, thinking any sudden movements will give Alik a reason to hit him again.

  Alik-”Neeka I’m so sorry, I had no idea I swear.”

  Neeka-”I believe you, but I would like to have some time to myself if that's ok.” She phrases it like a demand more than anything and seems to avoid Aliks gaze all together and he notices. He nonetheless obliges her. He hangs a bnket in the doorway and pauses.

  Alik-”I’ll get that door fixed for you, but this bnket should be fine right now, and I'll have some guys I trust to stand guard.” Alik takes a long look at his son, his eyes saying words his mouth refuses to speak. He drops his head and leaves.

  Neeka finally moves when he’s gone, strolling over to the bed humming a little tune the whole way. She ys her baby down and ys next to him still humming.

  The Hero is captivated by his mother showing him so much care, the way she tucks him in and the kiss she leaves on his forehead sparks a raging fme in his chest.

  Goddess-”Awwwwww I’m gd I was here to watch a child's love for their mother blossom.”

  The Hero-(You mean to tell me you haven’t spied on your other captured souls?)

  Goddess-”None of them were a Hero so I didn’t give them any extra attention.” Her voice turns pyful and somewhat serious. “Sooooo tell me how you are liking your situation currently, forget what happened earlier and tell me how you feel right now.” The Hero decides to indulge her.

  The Hero-(I honestly like it. I’ve had people care for me obviously.” Memories of his past life fshes across his mind. The Hero Party is the main culprit. “I could always rely on my friends to have my back in any situation and I know they loved me, but this is different.)

  Goddess-”Are you saying you didn’t have a mother figure previously.”

  The Hero-(Aren’t you a god shouldn’t you know that already?)

  Goddess-”You are no fun. Hmph.” The Hero can practically see her turning her back on him.

  Neeka-”I got it.” She breaks their internal conversation. “I figured out the perfect name for you.” His heart skips a beat.

  Goddess-”I wonder what she thought of. Maybe you’ll get lucky and get something cool and unique like Chooba.”

  Neeka-”You’re gonna be a strong smart man when you grow up and I know you’ll be very handsome. So you’ll need a name befitting your capabilities.” The Hero can practically hear the goddess breathing waiting in anticipation. “I love you Monte.”

  Goddess-”What, that’s so me I was really expecting something cooler than that, but good thing that's not my name.”

  The goddess compins while Monte accepts his name with pride. He would stand up straighter if he could. So he tries to show his appreciation by saying ‘I love you’.

  Monte-”Ahh wuaaav uuuur” He tries his best.

  Neeka-”Oh you like that huh.” She has a huge smile on her face and cuddles closer and nods off to sleep shortly afterwards. Monte follows right behind her, despite all that's happened he thinks he can enjoy a pretty good life here.