Alexander's non-magical foresight was spot on when he telepathically contacted Margaret and informed her, in a very abridged fashion, what had happened. Margaret, for her part, informed Madeline and Martha that the master and mistress of the house were in mourning and that the girls should act as they usually would, though a bit more subdued, and should postpone their proper return greetings until a later time.

Alexander brought the duo to just outside of their manor while under an Invisibility spell. It consumed copious amounts of mana to maintain three Invisibility spells, while teleporting a small group across vast distances, but luckily, he shouldn't be needed very much for the rest of the day, at least not when it came to actually casting spells. Alexander gave the duo a moment to stabilize before he helped them to their feet. Isaac's brain had more or less turned off from emotional overload so he simply did as he was told and looped one of Lenna's arms around his shoulder. Alexander took the other one and deactivated the Invisibility spell. The duo would find out later that one of the wards that Jala had installed into their home was one that dispelled invisibility of every detectable kind, which was to say, all invisibility that wasn't Isaac's. Another was one that prevented teleportation which was why Alexander was not able to take them to their roof or terrace.

Alexander and Isaac helped Lenna through the gate and down the path towards the front door. The iron gate felt like an invisible wall that held the rest of the world at bay. The stone path between the countless wild violets in full bloom reminded them of the beauty in the countless dark corners of the world. The tea tables and chairs set about were perfectly clean as they caught the soft false-sunlight with their redwood frames and practically glowed as they nearly matched the scarlet quinces, which were also in full bloom and framed the tops of the walls around their little courtyard. Flaming walls and bonfires inside walls of stone and iron and embraced with the beauty of those that hid in dark places, that was what the courtyard both invoked and represented. It was their little haven, their fortress against the rest of the world. The pair of oak doors, stained a muted dark purple that matched the wild violets, were propped open and Margaret stood off to one side while Madeline and Martha stood off to the other.

The girl's eyes went wide as they saw the state that the duo were in but all, even Martha, reigned in their reactions. Margaret walked forwards and met them nearly half way. "Thank you, Magus Alexander, for bringing them home. I will take it from here." The fallen noble, widow, and mother of two brokered no argument with her words nor her tone. Alexander nodded and he handed his side of Lenna's weight off onto the smaller woman. Margaret took the burden without any sign of struggle and gave Alexander a nod. Madeline whispered something to Martha and the younger girl quietly moved around Isaac, Lenna, and Margaret to meet with Alexander. Madeline led the way inside to make sure that every door was open and their path to wherever they needed to go was perfectly clear. She was also keeping a mental note of anywhere that they got specifically dirty so she could clean it again once she had the chance.

"Magus Alexander." Martha greeted Alexander with a deep curtsy. "We apologize for our inability to offer you any hospitality."

"That is quite alright, young miss, do take care of them for me." Alexander's voice trailed off with a look of concern on his face as he stared after the duo and the other two maids.

"Who died?" Martha stage whispered to Alexander, luckily, the rest of those present had moved entirely into the house at that point so they hadn't heard her.

"From what I understand, Lord Wexler's closest friends and two people whom he owes a lot to." Alexander informed her. "It was the woman who officiated the wedding and her partner."

"The huge balled guy?" Martha requested clarification.

Alexander nodded. "Yes." He confirmed. "If you need anything, or even if there is just something that I can help with, let me know, alright?" He added as he finally turned to lock eyes with the littlest maid of the house.

"Okay." Martha agreed with a smile. "I'll let mom and Madi know as well."

"Good." He told her with a polite smile of his own. "Then I must be off. Remember to knock first and I'll get the door for you." He reminded her of the warning that everyone should know about when it came to a Court Mage's tower.

While Martha was seeing Alexander off, Lenna was explaining to Isaac and Margaret that she was fine, just really tired, and that was no excuse to drag her filthy boots through the house.

Margaret eventually just sighed and let Lenna stand with only Isaac's assistance so she could take the older woman's boots off. Lenna was capable of standing alone, probably, but picking up her heavy boots and moving with them just felt like an impossible task at the moment. She was so entirely exhausted and sore all throughout her entire being that even keeping her eyes open was an effort of willpower. Margaret's expert hands quickly and efficiently removed Lenna's boots and Madeline saw to Isaac's while he continued to help Lenna stand. It only took a minute before they were heading up the stairs to their room.

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The stairs made Lenna feel like they were climbing the Altian Mountain Range, in a straight line, while completely ignoring the roads. Every footfall was preempted by a deep breath and a focusing of wills. By the time they had reached the second floor, where the bedrooms were, Isaac too could hardly walk. Lenna had barely been able to keep her feet under her so he and Margaret were bearing nearly her entire weight. Isaac was not ready to be carrying an extra hundred pounds up the stairs.

Madeline got the door to the bedroom and then returned and locked eyes with Isaac. "Lord Wexler, I must insist that you pass your load onto me." She told him in a tone and with a look that matched her mother's from earlier almost exactly.

"I've got her." Isaac told the young maid.

"With all due respect, my Lord, you do not." Madeline stated clearly and concisely.

Isaac wanted to argue, but he really didn't have it in him. When he didn't respond, Madeline took it as an argument won, and wordlessly moved into place to take Lenna's arm. Isaac stayed behind for a moment, catching his breath, as Madeline quickly began to struggle holding up her half of Lenna. Margaret was more than capable and, even though she was tired from the stairs as well, still looked as stable as a mountain in a thunderstorm. Madeline looked more like a tree. She hadn't fallen, yet, but it would only be a matter of time. It was a good thing that they only had a dozen feet to go before the open door.

"My Lord, might we request the assistance of Master Shamesh?" Margaret grunted out.

Isaac blinked as if she had just inserted a thought into an otherwise empty brain. "Y-yes." Isaac stammered and called upon his retainer.

Shamesh arrived and quickly pinpointed the issue without needing to be informed. He wrapped Lenna in a gentle grasp of telekinesis to support her as the maids guided her into the room. It took Isaac a little while to follow but he eventually did. His feet had hardly left the ground with each step so he more shambled than walked into the master bedroom. Shamesh helped keep Lenna in a standing position as the maids dismantled her armor

Once Isaac was inside, Shamesh shifted most of his attention to helping Isaac get out of his own armor. Isaac put each piece into his Inventory, so his steps unfortunately didn't get any lighter, but he probably wouldn't have been able to tell either way at that point. He put the pieces into his Inventory completely via habit. Isaac and Lenna's clothes were more or less clean so the maids and retainer saw no reason to force them to change as they were. The duo were practically dumped into bed and covered with a large soft quilt blanket. Lenna was asleep before the blanket had even been thrown over her but Isaac really had no idea how long it had taken him to drift off to sleep.

Isaac didn't remember Shamesh, Margaret, and Madeline leaving, nor Shamesh's return. He didn't remember very much of anything until after noon the following day. Most of the next day had been a blur as well. Margaret had brought breakfast for them, apparently around an hour after noon, and helped both of them sit up in bed to eat. Isaac and Lenna were famished but Isaac was hardly aware of it as he ate via muscle memory alone with a thousand yard stare.

Lenna practically gulped down her food and was given a second helping until she felt like she was going to explode. She could feel the near total nothingness inside of her mate as if he had used up all of the emotions that he was allowed to have for the next only he knew how long. She wanted to help him but she really wasn't sure how. The seventeen hours of sleep had helped her a lot, so she was finally about to think and move on her own, but the pain made any movement akin to bathing in molten metal. Luckily she was able to get the medicine which both she and Isaac took, but it did nothing to help her mate's emotional damage.

Lenna felt like Isaac was mourning the loss for the both of them. She wasn't sure how, but his violent vocal expression of loss in the tunnel had eased her own feelings of loss over Aria and Claus. Lenna had bonded with Claus over their partners being talkative and much more prone to getting into trouble. Aria had read their futures and most likely saved their lives. Lenna still wasn't sure if it was a good thing that Lua had tried to make sure that their Protection from Divination items were off around the time that it had happened. Isaac probably wouldn't have had his wedding ring back on yet but Lua and El'No were most likely not entirely certain as to when the tragedy would occur.

After having eaten, and with the medicine fully in effect, Lenna turned to Margaret. "I am going to see if I can get him to meditate. It should help, at least in the same way as the medicine." She told the maid and then turned to the retainer. "Shamesh, inform Alexander."

Shamesh and Margaret both bowed. "Yes, my Lady." They said nearly in unison.

"And thank him for everything." Lenna added towards Shamesh. "He has helped us a lot and we will not forget that."

"As you say." Shamesh replied and did as he was told.

Lenna then turned to her husband. "Isaac, you need to meditate, remember? It is the fastest way for you to heal." She told him. When he didn't respond, she sighed. "Isaac. Meditate. Now." She ordered him in a voice that could have stopped a rampaging bull.

Isaac jolted at the sudden loud noise and intense non-magical aura that accompanied her words. He turned to look at her and just blinked for a moment.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" She questioned him. "You healing soul damage is healing mine too. So if you want to help me, get to it."

Isaac slowly nodded and closed his eyes to do as he was told. Her words had cut through a solid fog of dissociation that had nearly completely taken hold of Isaac's mind. He took a deep focusing breath and felt his mana, where it came from, and where it went. He felt its embrace and he felt Lenna's presence right next to him.

'Hopefully Father Mannen will have better luck with him.' Lenna thought as she watched her mate almost instantly fall into a deep mediation. His mind was so blank already that there had been nearly nothing to quiet down. That simple fact was honestly what worried her the most. If even Isaac's internal thoughts were silent, then something was well and truly seriously wrong. The thing with loss was that everyone dealt with it a little differently, and Lenna knew that Isaac's way of dealing with it was stacking bodies, specifically of those responsible, en masse. Something that they neither had the power nor were in proper condition to do.

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