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It'd only been about a hundred years since Silver's death.
It'd been the worst day in Lilia's long life, but somehow he managed to get through it. Just don't ask him to explain how he did it, because he wasn't sure himself. Malleus and Sebek supported him through it but they were grieving as well. It had been a rough time for their family.
Lilia had found himself especially missing Silver lately. Everything recently seemed to remind him of his late son. The sound of the birds singing in the morning, the seasons changing from winter to spring, all of it made him think of Silver.
Speaking of, Silver's birthday was coming up soon. Lilia still made sure his grave was well kept. He'd have to make sure to bring him some flowers to mark the occasion. It would be quite a long time before he could see him again, wouldn't it? Lilia was beginning to think his life span was more of a curse than a blessing. Of course, he wouldn't want to leave Malleus and Sebek like that, it wouldn't be right. He didn't know if their hearts could take another loss so soon.
Malleus would need to be reminded of Silver's upcoming birthday, he would surely be upset if he missed it. He still wasn't good at remembering certain occasions. While others might've been annoyed by this, Lilia was glad some things would never change.
Lilia didn't have much to do today. Perhaps he could allow himself some time to go back to the old cottage he and Silver used to live in and do some tidying up. Lilia wanted everything to be nice for his son's birthday, even if he wouldn't be there to see it.
He decided to walk there. He could've used magic to travel there faster, but the time to think would be nice. Cleaning wouldn't take much of his time anyway, that he was planning to use magic for.
He hadn't come back here much unless it was to plan for Silver's birthday. He was hoping at some point he'd be able to visit the cottage again in seasons other than spring, but he just doesn't think he'd be able to do it. Without Silver it just didn't feel right.
The wildlife out here had diminished over the years. Lilia remembered when he used to find Silver outside talking to the birds or helping the squirrels gather nuts. Even though there weren't many children around for Silver to play with, Lilia was glad he had the animals as his companions.
As Lilia began nearing the cottage, he heard a strange sound.
It almost sounded like...an infant crying.
No, he couldn't do this again.
But, there was no one else that could take care of the baby, was there? Lilia didn't have to take him in, but he did have a duty to take him somewhere safe.
If the baby was human again by some miracle, then he could find somewhere outside of the Valley of Thorns for him to live. If he was a fae, then he'd ask the queen what she wanted him to do with the lost child.
He could never fathom how parents could be so cruel as to abandon their children. They didn't deserve to live after doing something so cruel. If Lilia happened to come across the parents, well...that didn't matter right now, what was important was making sure the child was okay.
Lilia used magic to teleport to the cottage and unsurprisingly, on the doorstep there was a child. All alone, cradled up in a blanket and left in a basket.
Was this some sort of sick joke?
"Come here little one," Lilia sushed the crying baby, gently picking him up out of the basket and wrapping the blanket around the little one so he could inspect him closer.
Silver hair. Eyes a mixture of blue and purple. Round ears. It was indeed a human child. A human child with an uncanny resemblance to Silver.
He wouldn't. He couldn't. He knew he wouldn't be able to survive losing another child. He'd just have to find someone else to raise him. He'd make sure to find someone suitable. Someone that wouldn't mistreat him, and would care for him like their own, like Lilia had not too long ago.
Lilia gently rubbed the child's back until the cries subsided.
Why had this happened so close to Silver's birthday? Was there someone who knew of his situation and was trying to get to him? To get to Malleus? Was the child in danger? Lilia didn't want to be the reason any little one got hurt, never again.
Perhaps he could ask Malleus, no, that would be too painful. Maybe he could convince the queen to help him check the child for any curses or spells?
Lilia must've gotten lost in thought and stopped rubbing the baby's back because suddenly he felt a yank on his hair.
"You have quite a strong grip, young one." Lilia said, and he couldn't but smile when the baby giggled.
He looked so much like Silver...
"Fa-fath-fa....fa." The baby babbled happily, yanking on his hair harshly.
Lilia chuckled. "You know when my son was little, he used to do the same thing. He grew out of it rather quickly, unfortunately. I found it quite adorable."
That earned him another yank on his hair. This baby was very accommodating. Whoever had the honor of taking care of him would be lucky indeed.
"I was coming here to prepare for my son's, Silver's, birthday." He explained to the little one.
"Fath-fa!" The silver-haired baby exclaimed, giggling while pulling on Lilia's hair again.
"I thought you might be here. Silver's birthday is coming up, isn't it? Though that doesn't explain the child of man that you're holding." Malleus said, teleporting behind him. He supposed he had been gone for quite a bit now.
Ah, Malleus had remembered this time. It seems things do indeed change, he thought bitterly.
Lilia turned around and was about to greet him when the infant in his arms started moving, reaching toward Malleus and trying to escape his hold. "Mal-Mal! Maly!"
There was no way Lilia could've masked his shock even if he wanted to. "Have you ever met this child before, Malleus?" He questioned. Usually, children tended to be scared of Malleus, especially human children.
"I can't say that I have. I think I would remember a child that looked so much like Silver." Malleus said, appearing shocked himself.
"Mal-Mal!!" The baby was getting increasingly fussy. Before he could start to cry, Malleus scooped him up.
"There, there child of man." Malleus said, gently patting the baby's back.
"Nii..." The baby said, grabbing Malleus' shirt.
Did the baby just refer to Malleus as his brother?
Silver had thought of Malleus as an older brother to him. Malleus had also thought of Silver as a younger brother, but that was something Malleus admitted to Silver in his last moments.
So how could this child know that? Of course, it could indeed just be a coincidence. Babies babble strange things all the time.
Unless...
Reincarnation wasn't proven, but some people believed in it. Mostly humans, but perhaps they were on to something. Or perhaps faes lived so long they didn't care to consider living in another lifetime.
Lilia had heard stories of course, of children saying peculiar things, knowing things they possibly couldn't have. They usually grew out of it as they got older, not having any recollection of the strange occurrences.
This was too much to be a coincidence, wasn't it?
"Lilia, do you think..." Malleus asked, probably having a similar train of thought to his own. He cradled the child protectively to his chest.
"It wouldn't hurt to investigate the matter further." Oh yes, it most definitely would. But he had to. For his son, for both of his sons, he had to.
And if this baby was indeed Silver, would he go through all this again? All the pain and joy that comes along with raising a child? The immense sorrow of watching him inevitably pass away again?
Without a doubt.