Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

"What… What do you mean? What do you mean you're pregnant?! W- We haven't done anything yet, have I?" Griar almost lost his balance upon hearing what Flor told him, his brain nearly momentarily forgetting how to operate the most basic of things.

"No, we haven't done anything, the baby is from someone else… From my original realm…" she said with her hands joined together.

Griar stood still for a moment, taking in the unexpected news that had just rammed into him at the speed of light.

"...And that person is…?" he asked tentatively, feeling the answer and truth behind that pregnancy was far from simple, would he have to go back to the Stagnant Realm to beat someone up over this? He didn't 'have' to, but it definitely felt he was going to very much 'want' to do it.

Flor looked away, not in shame, it appeared like she didn't know how to approach the subject in the least.

"Griar… So you know how I got taken in as a priestess by Lady Fe, right?"

"Yes…" he replied somewhat tensely.

"Well… You see, Lady Fe has a somewhat… Peculiar relationship with her priestesses, everything was relatively normal for me at first, but a few years after I became an adult, I got to learn of… Another duty we priestesses have toward Lady Fe" she began to explain, Griar was becoming a little bit confused, how could this have anything to do with a pregnancy? But he let her continue without interrupting.

"Basically, Lady Fe wants the priestesses to be… Romantically… Involved with her" she really strained the word 'romantically' leaving little imagination to what she truly meant by that, and immediately, Griar felt like warping over to the Stagnant Realm and teach some manners to that cult leader, he certainly had not sensed such obscure tendencies when he met her, clearly, she had a very personal reason to gather young, beautiful priestess to surround herself with.

"If I may ask… How does this lead to you becoming pregnant?" he asked as Flor marked a lengthy pause"

"It can be a bit hard to explain, but you see… Lady Fe is without the shadow of a doubt the one most closely linked to the stagnant water, they share a deep and profound symbiosis, her control over the stagnant water and its powers is immense, this include the mutagenic properties that you may have seen, the stagnant water can not only infect and affect the mind or behaviour, but also the physical body"

'Wait a minute…' Griar felt like he was understanding where this was going.

"And Lady Fe is very talented in that regard, so… Well… She uses that special talent on the priestesses as well- And she used it on me too…"

"By the gods"

"So what I mean to say… Is that Lady Fe is the one who fathered the baby inside of me… The undead who noticed that I was pregnant said that I was two months into the pregnancy at the time, and that was a month ago, so…" Flor rubbed her stomach.

Griar breathed in and out heavily.

"That witch used you" he said.

"Please, do not put yourself into more danger for my sake… I know that you must be mad on my behalf, but I am fine, I really am"

"I just thought that you should know, I didn't want to lie or trick about it, I… I want to keep this baby, the undead said that it was a little boy- I always wanted to have one… I understand if that makes you feel differently about having a relationship with me, and I don't want to force you to help me raise a child that isn't yours-"

Griar raised one hand silently, placing it on Flor's shoulder.

"I'll admit, I nearly passed out from shock several times throughout this conversation, but my love for you isn't impacted because a vile witch forced herself on you with her… Transformation powers or whatever… I still want to marry you, and as for this child… Well, he didn't do anything wrong, so even if he isn't my son, I don't mind helping you with raising him" said Griar, not that he knew how to raise a child anyways, he was the youngest sibling in his family, so he didn't even know what it was like to have a younger brother or sister.

But considering the circumstances, it seemed obvious to help Flor in this situation that she had not chosen to find herself in, and if anything, Griar was feeling guilty that it had taken him so long to rescue her, if he had been faster, none of this would have happened.

He kept such thoughts to himself, as he knew that everyone would say that he was not to blame, and that he would have died had he attempted to venture into the Stagnant Realm without proper preparation, but still, Flor was just a regular girl in a world without magic, against Lady Fe who wielded power created by the undead, she was vulnerable and completely at her mercy.

Flor could do nothing but do what was asked of her, she could only wait for someone else to come to her help, and that was something Griar could have done long ago had he not been so pitifully weak.

At least, now they were in the Peaceful Realm, and Flor was right, even if he believed that some righteous justice should be delivered to Lady Fe in the form of his knuckles impacting her teeth, going back to the Stagnant Realm would be idiotic, he should focus on his life here with Flor, his family and friends, he should just forget about that other realm entirely…

And true to that, a few month passed before Griar officially turned eighteen, according to the norm he was used to, he had been an adult for several years already, but Flor had been raised with much different beliefs in mind, and had wished for him to be older before considering truly engaging into a romantic relationship.

By then, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Flor was pregnant, wherever she went, it was like a small shadow followed, taking her job ever-so seriously, Minli was standing ready for the baby's arrival.

Whenever that little buy decided to show up, the healer would be there to take care of things.

It was a bit off-putting to be constantly followed, but also reassuring to have a professional nearby.

In any case, after his eighteenth birthday, not much time passed before Griar and Flor officially married together, sharing their first kiss that day.

Amongst the attendees to the celebration, Helena heaved a sigh of relief.

"Finally, I'll have some grandchildren soon enough… I can count on Griar, in that regard, unlike you girls who haven't ever brought a single boy at home! You should consider getting married too, you girls are getting old!"

"Mom, I am the oldest and I am twenty-four"

"That's what I said, you'll end up sad, alone and childless with only your sword to keep you company, Lizi! Why don't you go find a handsome young man willing to sheath his sword into-"

"Alright! I get it! No need to go that far!"

"I thought that having children would be a burden too when I was young, I was completely wrong, it is a blessing! I don't want to watch you squander it"

The marriage was… Rather lively.