A Different Path

Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Cult of the Lamb. I am simply a fan of the game. I was inspired by Jbrine061. Please check out her story. She is amazing. Now onto the story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose recovered gradually thanks to the medicine she received, and from the care of her loved ones. Narinder was there when she woke up from the fog and delirium, as was Ricardo. He was fast asleep by her side, possibly having stayed up late to make sure she was okay. Honestly, he was just like his father at times. Ricardo was named after him after all, as was Helios. Ricardo had his father's middle name as his first name, Helios had his first name as his middle name. Rose couldn't help but chuckle and pat her son's head. Her throat was sore, but that didn't matter. It wouldn't be long until she recovered. Narinder was happy to see she had awakened, especially after the scare she accidentally gave everyone. Rose didn't expect to fall ill just like that, though it was to be expected after all that happened. She lost her husband, her best friend, so many others over the years, was kidnapped and she used a good amount of magic and so on. Rose had to admit that she preferred the medicine that Ricardo and Kallamar developed rather than the IV edition since it was working well. However, the IV helped those who could not drink the medicine, even if it was painful feeling the needle...

Rose did like that she got to spend more time with Narinder, even if he had Cult matters to attend to. Helios or another older sibling would drag Ricardo to rest up in his guest room or bring him home. His wife was one of those who dragged him back. She loved her husband, but that overworking attitude of his worried her. At least it was an opportunity to visit her mother-in-law again. Rose got along well with all her in-laws, and was glad it was so. She had seen the relationship of others with their own in-laws and... some people are just plain evil. She didn't want to be a mean mother-in-law, nor a pushover if she was too nice. Rose observed what worked with each of her children's spouses and worked on that. Not everything was smooth with them at first, but it eventually got to the point of everyone being cordial with each other. It wasn't long before they were all friends. If any problems arose, they would deal with them. Thinking about it got Rose thinking... maybe... in another year or so, maybe she and Narinder would get married. They haven't been dating for too long now, so it might be too soon to plan a wedding at this moment.

What would Narinder think? Does he want to get married soon? Maybe they could discuss marriage after one official year of their courtship. Only a few months to go before they reach a year anyway. Plus, she needed to talk with her children about it. They got along well with Narinder, sure, but he would become their stepfather. Not everyone was okay with the idea with a stepparent, but the five of them got along with him. It helped that her children were all grown adults in human years. As the first official phoenix hybrids born between the unity of a human and phoenix, their growth was to be determined. They aged the rate a human did, but much slower. Rose's five children looked like they were in their late teens or their early twenties. They would look like that for many years to come. Rose herself looked like she was in her mid twenties. She would remain like that for a good number of years. Rose had been a bit worried about their mentalities, but it seemed like the human genes were a bit more dominant in that department, especially since they were raised as regular children.

Once Rose got better, she needed to have a talk with them. Speaking of which, Helios did go home, but he didn't forget that Narinder wanted to speak with him about something. He waited until his mother was almost completely better to write Narinder a letter asking what he wanted to speak about. Narinder replied not just to him, but addressed all of the five children. He wished to speak to all of them regarding Rose. Narinder assured them that it was nothing bad or anything like that. He wasn't going to break up with her, and yes, he knew that if he broke their mother's heart, he was at their mercy. If it was one thing the Phoenix family didn't condone, it was a heartbreak depending on the circumstances. If a partner was cheating on someone, that was often unforgivable. If there was abuse of any kind at play, that was also unforgivable and it's best to get out of that relationship as soon as possible! While Helios showed his siblings the letter, Maria Rosalía already had an idea of what Narinder wanted to speak to them about. Being the one most into romance and romantic situations, she was sensing that Narinder wanted to ask them for their blessings to marry their mother!