After not sleeping for nights on end, Blanc finally fell asleep only after being convinced by his wives that, too, affected his thinking and reasoning.
It was difficult at first, even after Celine explained to him what the Daughter had said to them. Only because of the letter and its content.
But constant bickering from his wives, as well as calming his stressed body down, allowed him to accompany the dreams for a few hours.
The hours in which Celine and Miyanna stood awake, talking about many things.
"At least he now asks us for help," Miyanna sighed.
"But is that enough, sister? Look at him," Celine wondered, "His mind cannot handle too many things at once."
"Who can?" Miyanna asked, "Surviving is difficult enough, and he learned I was pregnant recently; no wonder learning about his older sister made him like this."
"His parents and older brother, surviving, Lune and Kael, our pregnancies, getting stronger, getting all of us to safety, taking care of our supplies, cooking, and now his sister," Celine listed, "Not to mention thinking on how to get his family back. Blanc's mind, regardless of whether he asks for our help or not, is filled with these things, constantly eating at his brain."
"So what can we do then?" Miyanna asked.
"We both know that telling him not to worry about all of them will not solve anything," Celine explained, "What we can do is to get him to that same safety he wishes to take us, my Father's domain."
"That's why you-"
"Exactly," Celine nodded, guessing what Miyanna was about to say, "That would surely speed things up."
"But why not tell him everything then? Do you think he will not agree with it?" Miyanna wondered.
Celine shrugged, "He might, but I'm not letting him make that decision. He is too vulnerable to his own mind at the moment. Telling him everything and alleviating some of the things too early might have the opposite effect. That's why I refrained from telling him many of the details."
"You are right," Miyanna nodded, "Better for us to have our own secrets, as well."
"Surprises are but another form of love, sister," Celine giggled.
"Yes, but the services the Daughter requested are out of the question," Miyanan said, her soft approach from earlier now a rough rage.
"Do you understand why such a thing exists?" Celine asked.
"No, but neither do I care," Miyanna shrugged, "Even if there is a noble reason, it sounds annoying just thinking about it."
"Be not quick to judge, sister," Celine replied, an amused smile on her face, "The Sanguinarch Order is made entirely of women of Noble, Regal, or Imperial descent, with very rare cases of commoners in their midst. But to be a part of the Order, you need to either be born with the capabilities of their magic as a gift from the Vita, or be born inside the Order itself."
"Is the Order taking kids from their families if they have the capabilities for it?" Miyanna asked.
"Not without consent from the child's mother," Celine answered, "But to be part of the Order is an honor for many women, so if their daughters are capable of wielding the Daughter's magic, many women give off their daughters to offer them a better future, even an Imperial Blood could give them."
"And born inside the Order, I assume, is because of…" Miynanna muttered.
"Exactly," Celine nodded, "All who are employed are chosen by the Order by using a criterion not even my father knows, but it always yields better results than taking daughters from their mothers."
"Because the mothers are the Daughters themselves?" Miyanna wondered.
"Correct," Celine nodded, "And Blanc will not know if we choose to do it, after all, the wives must consent to this, otherwise, they will not push the issue further."
"How will he not know?" Miyanna asked, baffled.
"Magic will put him to sleep, with no recollection of it ever happening," Celine began, "If we choose that, that is. Having aided the Order is a great honor, and even more than that, a very reliable ally, who, in special cases, can be the difference between life and death if one has a good relationship with them. But the sleeping part is only if we want to have the Order as an ally, but not give our husband the memories that come with it, nor the attachment to a possible mother of his children."
"My head hurts," Miyanna sighed.
"I learned this at five years old, I will let you guess how much of a headache it was for me then," Celine laughed, "But all the same, consent is paramount, not only from us, but from Blanc as well."
"How could Blanc give his consent while asleep?" Miyanna sighed, tired of asking yet another question.
So, as Celine explained, yet another wheel of the complicated systems of the Empire, and all its organisations, the conversation between the two women continued until dawn.
Deciding that no sleep would come their way today, they took it upon themselves to prepare breakfast together.
An hour later, after waking everyone up, all five stood around the fire, eating the porridge Celine and Miyanna had cooked for them.
"This is delicious," Blanc muttered, surprised. "Thank you for taking care of breakfast as well, beautiful wives."
A compliment which they took to heart, both offering him a warm smile, "Thanks," the two ladies replied in unison.
Even the twins gave their compliments as they ate the meal and enjoyed the company of the others for a bit before a large army of soldiers came their way towards the Metamorph campsite.
It did not faze the five, nor did it disturb their breakfast. They understood why the soldiers were approaching.
The Metamorphs, however, panicked, scrambling to ready themselves in case a battle broke out.
But no battle came.
The soldiers passed the camp without pause, only halting before the five Noble Bloods, who continued eating with calm, as though a thousand eyes weren't fixed on them, watching every bite.
"Make way," yelled a soldier in the back.
At his request, a large straight line was formed, splitting the soldiers into two, as large carts passed between them.
The carts were each carrying a large metal cage, and inside each one were the beasts Blanc had written on the list.
The carts passing the soldiers made a large circle around Blanc and his family, blocking the view for the Metamorphs watching, leaving only a spot open for a man atop a horse to pass.
"Enjoying your meal?" Alvin asked.
"Was," Blanc replied, eyes still in his bowl of food, "Seems your men were at it day and night to bring them this early in the morning."
"The earlier I get you and the marauders off my land, the sooner I'll sleep peacefully," Alvin said, getting off his horse.
"And here I thought we were making leaps and bounds in our friendship," Blanc said sarcastically, not looking at the unconscious beasts inside the cage.
"Oh, humble yourself, Lord Blanc," Alvin giggled, his complexion better now that he had slept, "Your Blood will never be friends with mine."
Blanc stopped eating, placing his bowl on the ground before getting to his feet, "Then let's rid ourselves of one another."
"Now we are speaking the same language, my lord," Alvin smiled, turning towards the cages and yelling to the soldiers, "Cover the outside."
At his words, soldiers ran off, cloth in hand, and threw them atop the metal cages.
Then, they climbed into the carts, next to the sleeping beasts, and pulled the cloth over their side, obstructing the view of the beasts from the outside.
"The cages can be opened from this side, so have at it," Alvin said, walking towards his horse and stepping outside through the gap, before the soldiers pushed it closed. "Give me a sign when you are done."
Blanc looked at the beasts unconscious in their cages and started counting them.
Ten water buffaloes and fifteen hippos, as agreed upon.
Beasts of pure strength and resilience.
One is a calm, peaceful, yet durable beast, while the other is pure instinct, violent, territorial, and full of strength, a perfect combination.
"Well then," said Blanc, turning towards his still-eating family, "Time to harvest."
An hour later, when Blanc threw a hippo's head over the carts as a signal, the carts started moving away, revealing the five piles of beasts surrounding them.
Two buffalo and three hippos were harvested by all, equally shared between them.
As well as two new light gray Marks on their bodies.
The Mark of the water buffalo was its horns on each of Blanc's collarbones, and the hippo's tusks behind each of his ears.
Alvin, seeing the dead beasts, grinned, satisfied with the carnage in front of his eyes, as it signaled the near end of the three-way deal between him, Blanc, and Allegra of the Spirit Bear Clan.
"Pack your things, Lord Blanc," Alvin said, now that safely escorting them all out of his Domain was the only part of the deal left. "May your Blood never walk on the Domain of Blood Certa ever again."