Okay. Here's the deal. I deleted The Silent Voice, because… Well… While I am quite proud of pieces of it, it really wasn't the best fanfic in history. Some of it was even very OOC, I think, and that bugs me, a lot. SO. In its place, I am putting this new story. This will be the new third and final installment of the More Than Meets the Eye trilogy.

Raine: Hopefully one in which you do not kill us all.

Are you still bitter about that? Sheesh. Let it go, and do my disclaimer, please.

Raine: If I must. MixedBreedMaiya does not own Tales of Symphonia or anything associated with such. May I go now?

Nope. You have to stay and keep me company.

Raine: …Oh, brother…

Special thanks:

God

Namco. HUZZAH FOR THE SEQUEL, COMING NOVEMBER 30!

Readers. You're all so great, and thank you so much for the support you did give me in The Silent Voice. I sincerely hope you like this one.

--

"…Regal. You sound like an idiot; stop it."

Rolling her violet-tinted blue eyes – which held perhaps just a touch of amusement to those who knew her enough to look beyond the chiding irritation – she returned to dusting. She couldn't cook; she couldn't do laundry. Cleaning, however, was something she fancied herself capable of accomplishing without incident. She had taken it upon herself, in the past year of their marriage, to play the maid. He could, and should, as far as they were both concerned, handle most aspects of the stereotyped homemaker. But if she could keep their home clean and neat without blowing it up, then by golly, she was going to. …Unfortunately, the revelation of two months prior that she carried a child was making him antsy, and annoyingly protective.

"Raine, I told you: leave the housework to me. You are supposed to be resting."

"I will not be a vegetable for the next three months, Regal. The child is nowhere near arriving, and I feel fine. You work all day. Therefore, allow me some small sense of usefulness." Did all expectant fathers get like this? Since they had received the startling news, Regal had practically been begging her to sit down and relax every time she took two or three steps across the room. Oh, how she hoped this would pass when he got used to the idea. Eventually he had to realize that being pregnant did not mean she was dying. They still had a quarter of a year to go until they welcomed their son or daughter, and Raine knew she wouldn't be able to take his fidgeting and jumpiness for another ninety days. Maybe she needed to keep a stock of sedatives, the half-elf mused to herself.

As she brushed strands of soft, silvery hair from her deceptively delicate features, she felt him slip his arms around her. She realized too late that his motive for this was not a simple display of affection, but rather an attempt to take from her the cloth she had been using. "Is it so hard for you to accept concern for your well-being from another?" he asked, speaking right next to her pointed ear.

"Is it so hard for you to accept that I wish to be treated as myself, rather than a fragile invalid? I keep waiting for you to start tip-toeing across the floor in fear of breaking me with too heavy a footfall." Her voice was sarcastic. "Surely I have proved to you by now that I am a capable woman."

He drew his fingers backward through her hair, combing it gently. "Indeed. A very capable woman – who is also exceedingly stubborn, and who happens to be my love, and carrying my child. Raine, I am not doing this simply because I'm afraid for you. Yes, I am on edge, and I will take these precautions regardless of what you say – however, has it occurred to you that perhaps I am trying to do something nice for you? To indulge you as you won't yourself?"

Here he withdrew one of his hands briefly. When he wrapped his arm back around her, he held a lily before her nose, such that the sweet scent tickled it. Shaking her head, she took the flower and examined it, bemused. "If I didn't know you better – and thank goodness, I do – I would say that you remind me of Zelos." Not that she didn't appreciate this; the more sentimental woman hidden somewhere within her shivered every time Regal pulled a Romeo stunt. It was almost amazing how much of a romantic he was at heart.

"There is no need to insult me," he teased her, dryly. "Zelos is not the only one who knows how to make a woman smile. I simply don't try it with every passing female creature."

"I certainly hope not." Raine threaded the stem of his gift through her hair, situating the flower behind her ear. This done, she turned to face him, though he kept his arms about her. Perhaps now it really was affection. After all, he had effectively ceased her cleaning efforts. "May I have my cloth back, please? I'm not finished." She held out her hand, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, you are. I believe you have recently acquired a new book that suits your fancy. Therefore, I suggest you sit somewhere, get comfortable, and delve into it." Regal matched her expression, a tiny spark of amusement now glimmering somewhere in his own blue eyes. Oh, yes, he knew of her passion for reading, and he had even brought her home a book he had known without a doubt would grab her interest. She knew that that was a shady act, too, designed to keep her immobile and subdued.

"I fully intend to. After I finish dusting. Regal, we both know how this is going to end. We've been through it many times before. Just give me the cloth, and we can get back to our lives." He had been right when he'd said she was exceedingly stubborn. But then, obviously, so could he. "I'm not tired; I'm not in any pain; and I don't feel sick right now. I'm fine."

He shook his head. "I don't want you having to work at all."

"Alright, so I don't have to. I get that. But you've never forced me into anything, Regal, and even now I do it because I want to." He seemed convinced that this was all a chore for her. How many times did she have to say it? She took his chin between her thumb and forefinger, lowering it a little toward her. "Think of it this way. Just as you enjoy cooking for me, and even as you want to keep me from work now, so also do I enjoy cleaning as a service for you, to save you time and effort. Does that ease your conscience?"

"Not particularly." He smiled at her, then blinked as she took the cloth right from his hand. "Raine—"

"Regal. If you really want to do something for me, would you bring me something to drink, please?" Maybe it would make him feel better about everything. Rolling her eyes toward the ceiling again and shaking her head, she groaned inwardly. As much as she loved him…

He needed to relax.

--

Haha… Regal amuses me as an antsy daddy-to-be. XD You cute li'l ex-con, you.

Raine: What's wrong with you? Nothing idiotic happened in that chapter.

Raine, this is chapter one. It would be kinda' confusing to start off with you dying. That has to wait until at least chapter two.

Raine: …Please tell me you're joking..

Well, yes, I am. What, did I scare you? Ahaha. Take your own advice, Raine-si-poo. And readers? Reviews, please!