There was a strange tenderness to co-parenting a child that wasn't even yours.

The moment Mel had been born, you had swooped in and scooped her up, and from that day forth you were her nanny, all by the order of Ambessa.

The General wasn't the most motherly of women, and she knew this, so hiring you to take care of Mel was doing her daughter a kindness, perhaps the most kindness the girl had ever been shown.

But you weren't left to your own devices, no. Ambessa made sure you were adequate, training you up so you could physically protect Mel if need be, and ensuring you were as highly educated as possible so that her daughter had a perfect tutor.

In your 15 years of work for Mel, you had grown a strange form of closeness with her mother, since you happened to be sharing the role. It was clear she cared for you as she cared for Mel, and was eternally grateful for your work. You even took care of her if she needed it.

And so, as routine, you put Mel to bed around 10 before wandering down the endless hallways of the Medarda Palace to your own room, when a familiar voice called to you from an open doorway you had passed.

"Are you retiring for the evening so soon?" Came Ambessa's low, husky voice from behind you, making you turn.