Chapter Text
Lilia was silent as he stalked through the castle halls, not wanting to alert anyone nearby of his presence. Normally it wouldn't be a place that held any interest to him. It was a small castle, abandoned long ago, evident by how it seemed to be crumbling into nothing, and there was very little sign of its previous inhabitants.
But the most important thing, and the reason he was here, was that it sat on the border between human and fae territory. Forest fae had come to the queen with reports of human activity in the area. Since they were fresh out of their war with the humans the queen saw it fit to send her best knight to make sure humans weren't trying to reside in territory that wasn't their own.
Given the small size of the castle, Lilia was able to quickly make a sweep through it. He could find no traces of humans having been in the area, at least nothing recent. The only thing of note was the lingering traces of light fae magic, what light fae wanted with this place Lilia couldn't even begin to imagine, but there was no reason to be suspicious of them.
He was just about to wave off the rumors as just that and head back to the castle with his report when he heard something. He stopped dead in his tracks, ears perking up to try and catch the sound again. He was half tempted to ignore it and move on, it was more than likely nothing, just the sounds of the castle settling or the wind blowing through it.
But his instincts told him to stay, that something was off. And he was not one to doubt his instincts. Not after how many times it had saved him in the past.
There it was again.
It had sounded like something mewling, maybe some animal that had made its home in the castle? With his curiosity slowly growing, Lilia found himself moving towards the direction the sound had come from, what was once the throne room.
A cursory glance of the room turned up nothing at all. It was just as empty and derelict as when he first passed through it. There were small traces of light fae magic that had caught his attention before, but nothing about it had changed to signal that the owner had returned through the area. Lilia started a more thorough search of the room, perhaps his instincts would be sated if he turned over a nest of rabbits or wolf pups.
It couldn't have been more than a few seconds of searching when the sound returned. But the soft mewlings quickly turned into the harsh wailings of an infant begging for attention. Lilia's head whipped around, instinct demanding he find the noise and soothe it. His eyes settled on the rotting wood that had once been a throne and he rushed over to it.
There, hidden in the shadow of the throne was a cradle. Lilia wasn't sure how he had missed it his first pass-through, but that was little concern at the moment as he rushed to soothe the babe inside. He reacted the same way he would when Malleus was still a hatchling and needed soothing, scooping up the bundle and holding it to his chest, rocking them back and forth.
" I know you I walked with you once upon a dream~" Lilia softly sang a lullaby to the infant, one he had vague memories of being sung to him when he was still new to the world. " I know you the gleam in your eyes is so familiar to me~"
As he continued to sing to the baby, Lilia looked over the cradle, in hopes of finding something that could point to where it or the baby came from. A small glint of gold caught his eye, and using his free hand Lilia was able to fish it out of the blankets.
"And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seemed~" Liia continued as he held up what he'd found. It was a thin gold chain, and on the end of it was a ring that was shaped like a crown with a beautiful gem set in the center. " But if I know you, I know what you'll do~"
The baby's wails had died down to soft whimpers and sniffles, but Lilia hardly noticed. All of his attention was on the ring, and the fact that he knew this ring, he had seen it before. He could never forget it.
It was the same ring worn around the neck of the Knight of Dawn the day he had slain Princess Mallenoa.
Lilia's hands shook as he gently set the baby back into the cradle, not trusting himself to not drop them. It was only then he noticed the baby's features, the rounded ears that signaled they were human, the golden hair that shone like the sun even in the moonlight, and the aurora-colored eyes that stared at him with wonder.
He would have to be a fool not to accept that this was the child of the Knight of Dawn.
For a short moment, his blood burned at the thought of getting revenge for Mallenoa and Lavern. It would be so easy, just a slip of his claws, and the infant would be no more. They had taken his loved ones from him, surely it would be fair to return the favor.
But as the infant stared up at him, unaware of the thoughts running through his head, Lilia felt his bloodlust die down to nothing. He could never hurt such an innocent thing. It would make him the world's greatest hypocrite. After all, his life had been spared in a situation not too dissimilar to this. It would have been so easy for his Queen to just finish him, but she had instead spared his life, giving him a chance to prove himself.
He would extend the same mercy to this child, and hopefully do right by her name.
As if sensing his change of heart, the infant cooed and reached up for him. Lilia couldn't help but smile as he indulged the infant and scooped them up once again. It reminded him so much of when Malleus was still just a hatchling and would throw a fit anytime Lilia tried to set him down.
Looking down at the child in his arms he once again was left to fathom how anyone could abandon such an innocent child. Were humans so heartless to just throw away their children? If he was being honest, he couldn't bring himself to care anymore, it was their loss. As far as he was concerned, this child was his responsibility from now on. With his resolve strengthened Lilia made a declaration that would only be heard by himself and the child, though he did not need witnesses.
"Child of dawn, today will be your new birthday, and as is the custom of the fae, I will give you a blessing. The blessings of the night, may the silver light of the moon guide you no matter how dark your path."
Before his eyes, the child's hair changed from golden blond to a silvery white that matched the moon itself. He was caught off guard but took it as a sign that his blessing had taken hold.
"My my, it seems even the moon itself approves of your blessing." Lilia chuckled, "All the better, golden hair would have made you stand out back home. This will allow you to blend."
And now, onto the second most important part of a baby's first birthday, their name. Lilia knew the baby likely had a name before, if he searched around the cradle enough he might find something with their name on it. But it was of no concern to him anymore. That was the point of this birthday, after all, their life before this was no more, and they were reborn as Lilia's child. And with their new life, they deserved a new name.
His attention was once again drawn to the child's silver hair, their blessings from the moon. It would be so simple to name them after their most striking feature, so he figured, why not?
"Alright, I've decided. From this moment on, your name shall be Silver. Silver Vanrouge" Lilia declared, and to his delight, the child giggled as if in agreement with their new name.
The baby's giggling was cut off by a big yawn, and they tiredly swiped at their eyes. Lilia couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the sight.
"Ah, you must be tired little one. What do you say we get you back home where you can get a proper rest?" Lilia hummed, and accepted the baby's coo as confirmation.
As he readied himself to teleport them a long distance, Lilia found himself finishing his lullaby from before in an effort to help Silver fall asleep.
“But if I know you, I know what you’ll do. You’ll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream~”
With a swirl of his cloak and a flash of green lights, Lilia teleported the two of them far away from the castle. Unaware of the mayhem that would take place when three fairies returned to the cradle, only to find it empty.