Disclaimer: Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.
Author's Note: The principal reason why this chapter took so long? Writing a particular character who appears in this story. GAH. She drives me up the wall! This takes place about four months following chapters two and three. I apologize for the delay and because of it, I'm posting chapters 4 and 5, the latter of which has been written for a year now, up together. The events discussed at the end of this chapter will take place in a future fic.
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Chapter 4: The Princess's True Identity, or How to Send Lina Inverse into Labor
"I'm hot, I'm tired, my feet are killing me, my back hurts, and I'm hungry," Lina wailed as she stumbled through Zefiela's royal palace, following the footsteps of her elder sister as they made their way toward the main chamber where Zefielia's queen was greeting the team of negotiators from Saillune. "Why did I have to come again?"
"The princess has specifically requested to see you," Luna replied curtly, not bothering to toss a look over her shoulder at her sister.
"But, I'm pregnant! Look at me, I'm nearly ready to pop!"
"Lina, you are not the first pregnant woman to grace this planet," Luna snapped at her, suddenly halting and nearly causing Lina to plow into her. She whirled around, jabbed a finger in her sister's face. "Don't go crying to me for special treatment because you didn't have the sense to take your potion as you're suppose to."
"It was one lousy time!" Lina protested, throwing her hands in the air and nearly knocking herself off balance in the process. As it was, she wobbled and she immediately covered her burgeoning abdomen with her hands to protect the human being floating inside. "Look, I told you, it wasn't my fault that the village got so picky over the fact that I happened to expose the fact that they were swindled. If anything, I did them a huge favor!"
Luna rolled her eyes, shook her head, turned on her heels and marched into the royal chamber.
Lina followed, grumbling the entire time. She and Gourry had arrived in Zefielia at the beginning of her seventh month of pregnancy. It was worth it just to have her mother faint from pure shock, her father accidentally break his fishing pole, and Luna to drop her tray when they got a good look at her distended stomach. It had all made the discomfort that went along with pregnancy very much worth it. So did the unlimited amounts of food she'd gotten. Lana Inverse had prevented her daughter from lifting a single finger to help out with chores and even Luna had gone easy on her … until now.
A royal summons was something that Luna never took lightly. It had actually been for Lina. A group of trade negotiators from Saillune, led by the recently returned Princess Gracia, Lina had gotten a letter about Gracia's return from an overjoyed Amelia shortly before she and Gourry headed to Zefielia. Her sister wasn't to remain in Saillune long, but had agreed to help oversee some trade negotiations before resuming her travels.
Those negotiators had made their way to Zefielia and now apparently Princess Gracia wanted to see her younger sister's best friend. Lina groused beneath her breath. If it had been Amelia herself, she would have come to her, not the other way around! She thought of the letter she had sent in response to Amelia's last missive - notifying her about her trip to Zefielia and the baby. To be honest, she was surprised that Amelia wasn't there in the final days of her pregnancy. She missed her - and missing Amelia was the only reason she wanted to see Gracia herself. Maybe Gracia could use the communicate spell to get her sister out there.
Lina waddled to the door and grasped it with one hand, waiting to catch her breath. She drummed her fingers absently on her stomach, which seemed to have dropped in the past day or so. "You're already wearing me out, and you're not even out of me yet!" Her response was a cramp and Lina winced. She'd had cramps throughout the pregnancy, but they'd been coming with more regularity in the past day or so. The sensible part of her told her to call out for Luna because she just might be in labor, but even she wasn't quite sure. The healer had said it'd be another two weeks and other than the cramps, Lina felt relatively normal.
You know, you're probably in labor, the nagging voice in the back of her mind said.
She was just about to agree with it when she heard a loud, trilling laugh echo through the chamber. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and instinctively, Lina reared back with one hand. "Fireba…"
"Lina Inverse!!!" Luna bellowed, whirling around just as Lina was about to launch the attack.
She let her hand drop to the back of her head, rubbing it sheepishly. "Yeah … um … Sorry about that, Your Excellency. Your Royal Highness."
"Mrs. Gabriev," Dinasa, Eternal Queen of Zefielia, cooly replied with a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Lina flinched. Being addressed in that manner made her feel old.
"It's just Lina Inverse. None of that Mrs. stuff." Lina slowly walked into the throne room and inclined her head to the queen.
Dinasa stepped aside and Lina saw a figure clad in a red gown with long, curling black hair. "May I introduce you to Princess Gracia ul Naga Saillune?"
The woman whirled around, smirking at Lina, her very large breasts bouncing with the movement and nearly spilling out of the dress. She jabbed a finger at her and screeched with laughter once more. "There she is! My rival, Lina Inv…" Gracia's eyes dropped to Lina's stomach. "What?"
Lina's jaw dropped. "Oh, god… Naga?" She suddenly doubled over in pain as terrible cramp tore through her body.
Then her water broke.
——-
Everything started happening so fast that Lina could barely keep track of what was going on. Horrific pain ripped through her body - worse than when she had taken a direct hit for Sylphiel and far worse than whatever memories she retained of having the Lord of Nightmares take over her body. She felt herself being hefted up by Luna, doctors yelled for. She dimly heard Naga in the background and swore that alone was a nightmare. She heard Luna issuing orders and the commanding voice of Dinasa ordering that a room be prepared and that soldiers be sent for Gourry and her mother.
Somehow, in the sweltering heat of early summer, they had found a blessidly cool room for her. Contractions came and went, racking her petite frame as they decreased from five minutes apart to barely two. She heard an argument between Luna and a healer, something about cutting open her body, that she couldn't handle a normal delivery, and everything inside her screamed against this. She tried to tell them not to do it, try to scream it really, but she could barely make a sound. All she could do was grit her teeth, work her way through the contractions and wish with all of her heart that Gourry and her mother were there.
Then, suddenly, Gourry was there. His long hair was plastered to his head with sweat, and it rolled down his forehead and cheeks. She gripped his hand hard and wanted to yell at him that this was all his fault. But, a mangled scream emerged instead as another contraction ripped her to pieces.
"She can't take this." Gourry's normally calm voice, now higher-pitched with panic, addressed someone she didn't recognize. "Can't you do that surgery?"
"It's risky. It's experimental at best and with her having gone through this much already, I'm not sure she can take it." Gourry was nudged aside, and Lina's eyes widened as Sylphiel came into view. "Lina-san," she said in a gentle voice, "are you prepared to see your child?"
"Get this thing out of me so I can kill him!" Lina screeched and Gourry paled.
"Okay. We need to get your strength back. Prepare her for delivery," Sylphiel ordered another healer, then took Lina's hand and chanted. She felt the Resurrection spell wash over her, and suddenly strength flooded through her veins. The room snapped back into focus and Lina saw Luna standing next to Gourry. Her mother stood on the other side of the bed.
Lana Inverse pushed her daughter's sweaty bangs out of her eyes. "Don't worry, sweetheart, it's almost over," she said in a soothing voice just as the next contraction tore through her.
It all became a blur once more. Sylphiel issued more orders and as the pain grew unbearable, Lina reached for Gourry's hand and clamped it like a vice. She swore she heard bones shift, but he barely winced. She looked up, focused on his face. She could see the worry in his eyes, but he had a smile and was urging her on. Then, just for a brief second, her gaze flickered to Luna's and her sister merely arched an eyebrow as if to say, You've been stalling long enough. At Sylphiel's next command, Lina bore down and seconds later she heard a cry of delight from the foot of the bed.
She slumped against the pillows, breathing hard as tears leaked from her eyes. The throaty cry of a baby sounded and Sylphiel emerged with little, wet wringly thing that seemed no bigger that Gourry's hand. "It's a girl," Sylphiel said, barely holding back tears as she handed the baby, loosely wrapped in a blanket, to Lina.
She stared down at the little creature with an immense sense of awe, and the world suddenly narrowed to the two of them. She was so mesmerized that it took a moment to realize that something was splashing on her arms. She craned her head and saw Gourry, his arms wrapped around the two of them and tears rolling down his cheeks. He was staring at the baby, looking as if he'd been handed the greatest treasure in the world.
——-
Hours later, Naga sailed into the room. Her family had gone home and Gourry had escorted Sylphiel back to her chambers - Lina having found out in the interim that Sylphiel had accompanied the trade negotiators as their healer. Naga started to let loose with her signature laugh, then it ceased when she saw the small-wrapped bundle tucked next to Lina on the bed. She approached them, shaking her head with disbelief.
"I can't believe this!" Naga cried, sweeping a hand over them. "They allowed you to spawn?"
"Well, if I'm allowed to have a kid, you're allowed to be a princess … Gracia." Lina glowered at her, wishing she had the energy to summon a fireball. Princess or not, Naga deserved to be fried. "All these years and you never told me?"
"You never told me you were pregnant!"
"And just how was I suppose to convey that information to you? Write it in the sky?" Lina picked up the baby and carefully cradled her; partly to protect her from Naga and partly to keep her from trying to kill her.
"But how …"
Lina's eyes glittered. "Shall I remind you about the birds and the bees? You did meet up with me and Gourry a couple years back, remember?"
"Remember? I've been trying to get that memory out of my head!" Naga groaned and downed the mug of ale she'd brought in with her.
"And that's what you get for barging into our room without knocking!" Lina yelled at her. The baby whimpered in response to her mother's distress. Lina grumbled, but forced herself to calm down before she had a screaming newborn to go along with everything else. "That's why you ran away - right before we saw Amelia and Zel. That's why you didn't want Amelia to see you. Why didn't you want Amelia to know that we've known each other for years?"
Naga had the grace to look somewhat sheepish. "It's nothing like that, I assure you. I just didn't want to go home."
Lina arched an eyebrow. "Didn't want to go home?"
Naga leaped to her feet and paced the room nervously. "You didn't want to come home either," she accused Lina.
"Point," Lina conceded and figured she could see where Naga was coming from. By coming back to Zefielia, Lina had stepped into a role she hadn't occupied in a decade - that of being Luna Inverse's little sister. No matter what name she had made for herself in the world, once she had come back to Zefielia, all of that had been swept under the rug. The Lina she'd been when she left home at 13 was nowhere near the person she was at 23, almost 24 now. She didn't want to go back to that person. She imagined the fit wasn't too comfortable for Naga either.
"So? When do you plan to ditch Phil and Amelia and go out on your own again?"
"It's not like that," Naga huffed. "They were training missions."
"Sure they were," Lina replied dismissively.
Naga started to laugh In response, but then remembered the baby. She huffed and dropped back into her seat. "I can't do anything fun with you because you're holding her."
Lina shot her a cryptic grin. "Why do you think I'm holding her?"
"You're mean!" Naga whined.
They fell into silence, watching as the baby rooted in her blankets. "Will you give it up?" Naga asked. "The traveling? Everything?"
"I … don't know. She wasn't planned." Lina stared into her oldest rival's eyes and felt the doubts that she'd been trying to hide for the past few months bubble back to the surface. She quickly suppressed them before she could be teased about them. "We're just going to take it one day at a time right now. Getting married didn't stop us. I suppose baby won't stop us either."
"Little Naga will be thrilled!"
Lina glowered at her. "Who says I'm naming my kid after you?"
Naga preened. "Because you're going to name it after the most worthy rival you've ever encountered and who will finally best you after so many years! Ohohoho…" Her laughter came to an abrupt stop as Lina tossed the only weapon she had at her disposal at Naga - her daughter's soiled diaper.