The Last Options?

”Go on…” Fred said nervously.

”The plan we had started to discuss earlier – transferring your persona to the unborn child. We could still attempt it.”

”I just don’t see how that would work. So you’d transfer my persona to the baby’s, put ‘Hannah’ back in control of my body, end the stasis on the pregnancy, but what then? Belboz will be free in a matter of days, a week at best. Couldn’t he just undo everything once he was free?” Fred asked.

”I may be able to successfully obscure the fact that your persona had been transferred to the child. I’d then tell Belboz that you voluntarily gave up your existence in favor of restoring Hannah. He wouldn’t be able to detect your presence, even with a magical examination. At that point, while he could continue his mischief against Hannah and your family, why would he? I can wipe Henry’s memories of this night as well, so neither he nor Hannah would even recognize Belboz. I suspect that if he believes that 'Fred' is gone, he’ll simply leave your family alone, as the object of his sport would no longer exist.”

”What of my concerns about having my mind be placed into a newborn’s body?” Fred asked, still somewhat dubious of the plan.

”You wouldn’t be awake and aware - not for the latter days of the pregnancy, nor the actual birth, or even the first years immediately thereafter - in essence, your persona will be dormant, much as Hannah’s is now. Your personality and memories will return to the fore slowly, once the child begins to age and mature. It’s necessary to do it this way, in order to effectively ‘hide’ you from Belboz. He may keep tabs on this family for a while, as you seem to be a particular obsession of his, but I suspect he’ll eventually lose interest as the years go by and give up. By the time your personality emerges again, it's unlikely he'd still be actively looking for you."

Henry quickly nodded his assent. “It seems a viable option, at least.” Of course he would say so - he’d be all too happy to have his wife back, her pregnancy back on track, to be blissfully unaware that there was anything unusual about his future child, and most of all to forget that Belboz and Fred even existed.

"The other option I can think of would be to remove the stasis spell on your pregnancy and try to induce labor and delivery of your child in the next few days, while Belboz is still trapped by the seal. It's risky, as the pregnancy's only seven months along, but my magic should be able to reduce the risks to the child somewhat." Jeppeline said.

She paused, letting the scenario play out in her head for a moment before continuing. "Of course, you'd still be stuck in your current form, only now with another newborn in tow, Hannah's persona would still be dormant within your mind, and once Belboz was free again, there's no telling what he could do in response - I mean, I don't think he has the power to actually make you pregnant again instantly - at least, I sincerely hope he's not that powerful. But, he could just as easily put Hannah back in control of your body and she and Henry could get you pregnant again the traditional way."

Fred sighed audibly. ”Any other options?”

”I could always banish your personality for real, instead of just hiding it. You’d cease to exist at that point. I take it you don’t favor that option?” Jeppeline snapped.

”Of course not!”

”Look, Fred, I’m trying to help you here. This is the best I can come up with. I don’t have a spell powerful enough to destroy Belboz outright, nor affect his mind to the point of forgetting you exist. There may be mages in this world who are capable of those things, but I’m not one of them, nor do I know of any who I could call on for aid. I’ve risked his anger thus far to try to help you, and find his actions detestable. That said, when he does break free of that seal, I don’t intend to throw my life away on a futile magical duel to try to stop him. I will, if necessary, flee from here alone, and you two will be left to his mercy.

Presumably he’ll then do exactly as he stated he would - But he could easily change his mind in the next few days and do something else, perhaps even worse. I could attempt to come back to you at some point, but there's no telling how soon, and maybe not at all, if he comes after me next. I'll have to remain hidden for a while, at least, and coming back to help you later would entail great risk."

1. Fred agrees to Jeppeline's first proposed solution, which despite her significant reservations seems the best chance to get out from under Belboz's thumb.
2. Fred agrees to Jeppeline's second proposed solution, despite the sorceress' reservations as to how things might play out
3. Fred advises Jeppeline to flee, and decides to accept whatever Belboz has in store for her - for now, at least.
4. Before she could make a decision, there was a bright flash from the direction of Jeppeline's cabin...

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