Selfless Love

Madness

Maxi groaned tiredly as she awoke in her large, empty bed. Rudis, who had been quietly stoking the fire, rushed out of the room. A few moments later Riftan appeared. He swiftly made his way over to her side of the bed and carefully sat on the edge of the bed.

Maxi sat up as she tried to recall the last thing she could remember about her attack. Surely it hadn't all been a dream.

"The children are safe, shaken up but otherwise alright," Riftan said in an unusually quiet voice as he placed his hand on her large belly. "The maester said the baby is fine."

Maxi couldn't help but flinch slightly. So it wasn't just some terrible nightmare. A mad man sought justice for the death of his daughter by threatening the lives of her family.

"I need to see them," Maxi said quietly, almost pleading.

Riftan gave his wife a small understanding nod before lifting her into his arms. Maxi didn't protest, she knew Riftan wanted to hold her close just as much as she wanted to be held, to know this was real.

The children slept soundly in their beds and Maxi gave a silent prayer of thanks that they appeared to be having pleasant dreams. Once she had seen with her own eyes that her children were alright, she and her husband returned to their room.

"How did we..." she trailed off trying to recall the last thing that happened as Riftan sat her down on the edge of their large bed before sitting beside her.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Riftan asked as he gently tucked a lock of her curls behind Maxi's ear.

"He told me to choose which of our children wouldn't be coming home and would die by their hand," she choked out. She shuddered and Riftan pulled her into a fierce hug. She sobbed as the reality of what happened finally came crashing down on her. She could have lost everything and just the thought of that nearly broke her. Eventually her sobbs subsided and she collected herself as best she could.

"I shut my eyes trying to wake from what had to be a horrible nightmare," she spoke barely above a whisper as though fearing speaking it any louder would make it more real. "The last thing I remember is that vile man tightening his grip on my throat while the children screamed in terror. And then...then there was nothing, a slight ringing sound but nothing after."

By the end of her recollection she was crying again. Riftan held her close as she wept, as the reality of what had happened to them came crashing down on her.

"The men who had captured you were already on the ground when we finally caught up with you in the alley. We were already headed towards you when there was a blinding burst of pure energy exploding from the alleyway. When we arrived the children were already beside you. They were leaning over you, holding you as though they were trying to shield you from further harm." Riftan's voice cracked as he recalled the memory. "It was the children who stopped the attack. Your bindings restricted your magic but your attackers did not think to try to dampen the children's abilities, which they were unaware of. Magic is more powerful when triggered by strong emotions and in such a dire life critical circumstance the children unleashed their mana to save you and each other."

Maxi remained quiet, trying to remember anything else about the attack but she couldn't so she continued to listen patiently.

"The impact of the release of their mana to protect themselves was a little too strong. They lost control and in trying to protect you by throwing back your captors, you were thrown back as well and hit your head and fell unconscious. When we arrived, the men who had restrained the children were badly hurt and out cold. They are currently awaiting a trial and corporal punishment. The children were beyond exhausted, having used most of their mana but they sat with you all the way home and only left your side so that the maester could check them for injuries."

"And the other man?" Maxi asked quietly.

Riftan looked troubled as though he still wasn't sure what to make of the encounter.

"He was dazed but still conscious and angry. He wouldn't stop shouting and screaming about how we killed his daughter. It took two knights just to hold him down as he began flailing and acting irrationally. They were able to restrain him and we brought you straight home. The children were healed for their minor injuries and the maester said they will be fine. He said you needed lots of rest and so the staff and I took turns so that one of us would be here when you woke up."

The room became silent once more with the occasional exception of the crackle of the small fire warming the room.

"What is it?" Maxi asked curiously. Her husband's brows were slightly scrunched and his eyes looked far away which told her he had more to say but he wasn't sure if he should.

"I don't wish to overwhelm you," Riftan said, trying to gauge how tired she was even though she had just woken up.

"Tell me," she said encouragingly. She placed her hands on his as she sat up a bit more, knowing full well that she would not be able to fall asleep again anytime soon.

"The children told me that your attacker believed that he was turned away from the charity centers due to greed and corruption. We investigated and questioned all levels of the organization and found nothing."

"Why would they tell the truth and risk being caught in such a scandal?" Maxi countered.

"Maxi," Riftan said gently, "we checked with the medical ward. His daughter didn't die of starvation, she died of typhus. According to the healers, despite their best efforts the disease had spread beyond their ability to help."

"Then why did he say that we were to blame?" she asked.

"The same reason he thought the charity center was to blame for the loss of his child," Riftan said solemnly. "The man had gone mad with grief. In his mourning he created an elaborate story to help himself cope with the loss of his child and was so convinced by it that he was able to sway others into believing it as well."

Maxi released a shaky breath. She had felt an overwhelming amount of emotions during her encounter with that man in the alley. Fear, anger, and empathy had been the most prominent. Having heard what actually happened, she still felt angry that her family had been targeted but now she mostly felt sorrow and even pity. If she had experienced the same loss, with no family left, losing the only child you have would drive just about anyone mad.

"Where is he now?" she asked.

"He's in a holding cell. He was starving and is unfit for travel but once he is, he will be transferred to an institution that can hopefully provide him with the help he needs to process his grief. For his own safety and the safety of others, he doesn't need to be an active part of society. He will likely never regain enough of his sanity to stand trial for his crimes but at least he won't be able to hurt himself or anyone else."

Maxi slowly nodded. She leaned against Riftan who slowly scooped her up in his arms before placing her in his lap. He held her close, reassuring her as well as himself that she was safe.

Part of her still wanted her revenge for threatening her children but a deeper maternal part of her understood that this man could not suffer more than he already has. He has lost his family and his sanity. Perhaps he acted with such violence because he yearned for death, for a blissful release, but did not want to damn his soul by claiming his own life. He would spend the rest of his days apart from society, slowly waiting for the day that his suffering would end, and that was punishment enough.

No doubt it would take a while for her family to move on from this attack. She would have nightmares, they all would. She dreaded the long nights ahead but she was grateful that they were safe. The nightmares would pass, eventually. They always did. As long as she had her family, for them to support her as she supported them, then everything would be alright in the end.