Cat-Alin does not gain any profit by writing or publishing this story.
All characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi and TOEI Animation.
A little chapter - the sequel chapter of the pregnancy.
Not sure if it's going to be as long as the last one.
"Happy about hearing of Helios, Chibiusa is approaching her final months
of pregnancy - is it a boy or a girl?"
"Thank you." Helios repeated, holding his dear maiden close to him and enjoyed feeling
her stomach press slightly against him. Slowly, Serenity put her arms around him
and finally backed up a bit to look into his face.
"What are you thanking me for?" she asked confused.
"For choosing to give birth to my child." he answered with a sweet smile. "I'm grateful for that."
Serenity felt her eyes burn and fill with tears suddenly, already running over her cheeks.
"Maiden ..?" Helios looked at her worried, wondering if he had said the wrong thing - but the girl
quickly shook her head and tried to wipe the tears away.
In the months she had been pregnant she had heard a lot of people congratulating her
and cheering for her, some seemed more concerned or worried, but mostly it was good news.
But nobody had ever thanked her ..!
Hearing those words made her feel all warm and appreciated, although she had known how
much she was liked and loved at home, she felt like she had needed to hear those words
for a really long time now.
She calmed down quickly and got rid of any rest fluid from her face and smiled,
trying to show that she wasn't angry or sad. The priest had watched her all this time and
felt reassured when she smiled.
"Ah, maybe standing isn't so good. You're probably tired." he mumbled suddenly, realizing how
long they had been standing there and how uncomfortable it might be to her.
"No, it's okay ..!" she stuttered and gasped when he suddenly picked her up into his arms
and carried her over the short path. And, soon enough, they entered his chambers where
they had spent their nights during her previous stay.
Setting her down on the soft bed, Serenity felt herself almost losing her balance - she had
forgotten just how soft the bed actually was - and Helios sat next to her, keeping an arm
around her shoulders.
Being so close to him made her feel calm and relaxed and, when she helped herself to his lap,
leaned her head against his chest and could hear his heart beating slightly.
Helios tugged her a little closer, feeling her soft skin under his hand and carefully, like he wasn't
sure how to touch it or how much pressure to put on it, he put his other hand over her stomach.
It felt hot, like fire, and, through her clothes, he could also feel how soft it was.
Serenity giggled when she saw his slightly confused and even intimidated expression,
knowing how hard it might be to know what to do. She nuzzled his cheek with her fingers
and played with a curl of his hair - Helios, feeling her touch, looked down at her and almost
gasped when he saw her expression.
It was one of bliss, with a slight sense of sadness in it and something in her eyes that seemed
to call him to her, to seduce him. Finally, Helios cupped her face into his hands and kissed
her, almost immediately reciprocating the little explorational game with her tongue.
He thoughroughly enjoyed tasting her, he had missed her badly during the last six months
and, although his heart had told him to immediately meet her again in her dreams - something they
had done regularely - duty had prevailed. It told him that he had to keep his mind focused on his job,
to give her some time as well. Wait for her to get back into her own routine, maybe - if she was
pestered long enough - to tell her friends of her little retreat.
And once he thought of re-entering her dreams, after waiting a month or two, he realized he couldn't.
Her willpower, and maybe even a little power of her Pink Moon Crystal, had put a strong barrier around
her dreams, preventing anyone from entering them. Helios had been confused, started to worry that
maybe she was angry at him - that her stay couldn't be extended, maybe she even had thoughts of
him not wanting her in Elysion. Or even that - and he hated himself for letting his thoughts stray
in such a direction - she had met someone else during that short time and fallen in love anew.
Now, though, he realized that she hadn't thought or done any such thing.
Subconsciously, her anxiety and insecurity about her condition and how to tell him had made
that barrier. She hadn't really meant to shut him out, but she had - not on purpose, though.
Finally, the deep kiss broke as the two lovers were in need of oxygen and gasped slightly,
their eyes locked onto another.
Serenity's hand caressed his cheek again and she wound her arms around his neck,
their faces barely an inch apart and looked at him with her ruby eyes, a glitter of lust and of longing
mixing in them.
"Not yet .." she moaned quietly and kissed the priest again, her tongue licking his lips,
exploring every corner of his mouth, trying to taste everything of her lover that she could.
Footsteps echoed loudly in the long narrow hallway and sunlight played with the crystal walls,
making pretty color games and dotting everything in a rainbow. It was still a bit early in the morning,
but he saw several maids and valets passing him, looking as if they had prepared things for a few hours.
"It's you, right?" a high voice said and a hand slapped him on the back in a playful matter.
The priest stopped and turned, seeing a young woman with long blonde hair and a grin on her lips.
"Wow, it's really you! Been a while." she said.
"Ah, Venus-sama .." he greeted her. "It has been, yes."
She pointed at him and wagged her finger in a disapproving way. "Call me Minako, everybody does. Mi-Na-Ko."
"Minako!" a woman with brown hair in a ponytail caught up. "Don't run off like that ..! Oh? Helios?"
Through the most mysterious workings of large buildings, it barely took two minutes and the other
guardians of the Queen appeared in the same corridor.
And even the King and Queen soon met them all.
Helios bowed to the reigning royals.
"Helios, something's been bothering me for a while." Minako said. "How come you haven't shown your
face at all until now, what with Small L-ah, Serenity being pregnant? You're not the type to hide away
from this responsibility .. are you?"
"Of course not." he answered quickly. "I merely had no knowledge of the pregnancy. My maiden didn't
tell me anything about it until just yesterday."
Surprised that the princess hadn't said anything about it, they all were quiet and didn't notice the maid
passing and then retracked to stop in front of them.
"Mizuno-sama, the Miss requires you." she said, looking a bit worried.
"Oh? For what?" Ami asked, wondering what her patient wanted her for now that couldn't wait
until later in the afternoon.
"Ah, she's complaining of stomachaches .."
Concerned, Ami hurried with the maid into the princess' chamber while everyone else stared after her,
their expressions stricken with either worry or shock.
Waiting anxiously, they stood stock still in the hallway - or walked along it - hoping that whatever
might be going on in the room was harmless and nothing to really worry about.
Finally, after what seemed to be an hour, the door opened again and Ami came out,
feeling everyone's gaze on her.
"She's fine. Just a bit overexcited over having seen Helios." she calmed them down. "It was a bit much,
if I understood correctly it had been a while. She should take it easy for the rest of the day, though."
Helios sighed relived, a bit uncomfortable over their meeting being the reason for this situation.
"I'm glad to hear that .." he muttered.
The door opened wider and Serenity stood there, then waddled a bit as she almost jumped at the
priest, a bright smile on her face. "Helios!"
Helios smiled and embraced his maiden.
"Serenity, I told you to take it easy!" Ami scolded her, pushing her decorative glasses up. "You should
stay in bed for today!"
"Only if Helios joins me." the princess mumbled from the folds of the priest's shirt, her words getting
varied reactions from the others. Helios sighed slightly amused.
"I get it .." he said and carried her, walking into the room and sat down on the bed.
The doctor sighed. "Just make sure she doesn't do too much .." she warned them, closing the door
to leave.
"No naughties!" Minako's voice yelled into the room before the door shut and they merely heard the
reactionary discussion.
They were lying on the bed that was much bigger than one person needed it to be,
enjoying the quiet and each other's presence. Serenity played with his fingers, keeping her legs
interlocked with his and was resting the protrudging stomach on him.
"This is the most comfortable I've been up to now .." she said lazily, feeling her happiness being
swept away with drowsiness, the comfortable position made her want to sleep and to catch up
on any sleep she might've been deprived of lately.
Helios chuckled and curled a strand of her hair around his fingers. "Maiden, I've been wondering .."
"Mh?"
"Are we going to have a son or daughter?" he asked, feeling her fingers stop and looked down at her.
"I .. I don't know. I chose not to find out." she answered. "Do you want to know?"
".. No. I'll be just as surprised as you when he or she is here. As long as nothing bad happens to
either of you, I'll be happy."
Smiling, the princess sat up a bit and kissed him on the lips.
She settled back down, her head resting against his shoulder and slowly felt herself falling asleep.
Helios watched his maiden's sleeping face, wondering for a moment if he should enter her dream
and calm his curiosity - it could be that she was dreaming of their child, how it might act or
what it might look like - but he decided to not do so. Entering dreams took a lot of energy and
he felt that he should let her have her own dreams, she would be sleeping less sooner, anyway.
After a while, he noticed slight goosebumps on her arms and slowly unwound his legs from hers,
trying to get her to lie a bit more on him and move the blanket at the same time.
With some quirky movements and some one-footed jumping, Helios managed to lie back down onto
the sheeted matress and pulled the blanket over himself and his maiden.
"Mh .. mhh?" Serenity squirmed a bit, close to waking up.
"Shh .." the priest held her closer, making sure her stomach wasn't in either of their way,
and put his lips against her forehead.
The princess mumbled something incoherent and snuggled up to him.
Time passed slowly, uneventful, where both merely enjoyed their time together - even if one of
them was in rather deep sleep.
When Serenity woke up again, it was late afternoon and she sat up, still groggy.
Helios couldn't help himself and chuckled at her rather disorientated behavior and her hair roughed
up and tangled, he hadn't seen it very often but it was a hilarious sight.
Yawning, Serenity crawled carefully over him and got up, stretching when her bare feet touched
the cool floor. "I'm going to take a bath .." she mumbled sleepy.
"Didn't Mizuno-sama say that you should take it easy and stay in bed?" the priest asked, sitting up
and looking worried.
"What could be more relaxing than a nice warm bath?" his maiden asked back, smirking. "And I'll
make sure to not get it too hot."
Helios sighed, knew that she had made up her mind and let her go into the adjacent bathroom,
while he lay back down onto the bed and wondered what he should do for the time-being.
In Elysion, most of his time was spent with praying and otherwise with reading the filled
bookshelves. Over time, though, he had read everything and kept looking for ways to
pass the time ..
Hearing the water running, he was concerned - perhaps it wasn't a good idea to let her take a bath.
At least not alone. He didn't know much about pregnancy - it was something that never really
interested or concerned him much - so he wasn't sure what to do or not. Although he knew that
trying to talk his maiden out of the idea was a thing of the impossible, he should've tried.
Sighing deeply, the priest noticed a book on the bedside table he hadn't seen before and curiously
picked it up and saw that it was a preparation book for pregnant women.
It couldn't hurt to learn now, so he carelessly opened the book and began reading it.
Sporadic water splashing or even a few tunes being hummed assured Helios that Serenity was
doing fine on her own - at least, that she hadn't fallen asleep or fainted from the heat.
Being thouroughly entertained with the informatic book, the priest began to relax and
thought that his maiden should come out soon - an hour had already passed.
A loud clatter and dull thud made him start!
Throwing the book onto the bed and jumping up to rush to the bathroom,
Helios threw the door open, forgetting any sort of mannerism, normal for such a situation.
"Maiden?"
Serenity was sitting sideways on the bathrug, holding a towel in front of herself and took deep,
calming breaths. A small wooden basket lay overturned on the ground next to a white stool
and bathing oils and shampoo were scattered close-by.
"Maiden? Are you alright?" he asked and knelt beside her.
"Ah .. a bit dizzy .." the princess stuttered between breaths. "Guess the water was hotter
than I thought .."
Wondering if he should move her or tell her to wait and get a doctor, he saw that she was slowly
starting to get up herself and quickly lent a helping hand. Escorting her to the bed, Serenity
sat down with a sigh, still clutching the towel.
"Try to lie down, I'll get Mizuno-sama so she can check you up." Helios said and turned to leave,
but felt her pulling his sleeve to stop him.
"I'm fine, Helios. Really. Just a bit overheated."
"But the fall .."
"I barely fell any distance." she calmed him down with a sweet smile. "I was pretty much sitting on
the floor anyway. I bent down to get the body lotion but felt dizzy and knocked the basket over."
Helios still didn't look very reassured, but felt powerless against her smile and finally agreed to
not get the doctor. He didn't feel very comfortable about it, though.
The princess fanned herself a bit, starting to cool down. "Could you get the body lotion from
the bathroom, please? I haven't used it yet."
The priest nodded and entered the bathroom again, looking at the various bottles on the floor
and finally found one that said body lotion and picked it up, putting the others back into the
basket he had turned over.
"Thank you." Serenity said when he gave her the bottle. "Say, would you put the lotion on my
back, please? Hard to get to, after all."
Sitting down next to her, Serenity turned her body slightly away from him and,
with some of the lotion on his hands, began to spread it over her back and shoulders.
Helios got rather conscious of the fact that she was naked and, like on cue, the senses in
his hands seemed to intensify and told him of every line and curve his maiden's figure was made of.
Feeling her soft skin beneath his hands as he massaged the lotion in a bit, the shape of her neck
pronounced so much because she still had her long hair tied up, his mind took him back to the
times with her in Elysion - times where he had held that slender form in his arms, where her hot
breath had tickled his ears, their bodies and hearts joined as if they never wanted to let go.
The priest sighed deeply when he realized that this was torture for him ..!
A cool breeze nuzzled the cheek of the priest and he felt himself wake up, realizing at once that
the two balcony doors were wide open. A peek at the clock told him that it was five thirty and
he stretched, trying to go back to sleep. But he noticed that nobody was next to him in bed and
he sat up, looking around for his maiden. Thinking the obvious, Helios got up and threw a thick
bathrobe over himself and headed for the balcony, seeing the heavy raindrops splattering on the ground
and making the ivory tiles glisten and sparkle.
Serenity was standing out on the balcony, her head lifted a bit to stare at the thick dark clouds and
equally dark patches of sky and the rain falling all around her. She was still standing under a slight awning,
the ground around her just barely getting hit and herself completely dry.
"What are you doing?" Helios asked, still a bit sleepy.
Serenity turned her head towards him, then back. "Couldn't sleep. I thought fresh air might help."
The priest said nothing, but thought plenty of her getting up and going out without wearing anything
except her nightgown, which had no sleeves. And despite summer approaching, this wasn't a warm summer
rain but quite the opposite of it.
"I kind of wanted to go outside today .." the princess sighed defeated, letting her head hang.
"Well, it would be nice, but .."
"The weather is against it, I know."
Helios noticed that she was barefoot as the wind and rain picked up. "Come back in, maiden. You shouldn't be
standing here, getting cold."
"I'm not cold." she answered, but he didn't believe.
"Come on."
Something in his voice made her turn and she saw him smiling sweetly at her, spreading his arms in a welcoming fashion
and bathrobe whipping about it from the wind, exposing his chest now and then. "I'll warm you."
Happily, Serenity almost leaped into his arms and enjoyed the warmth of his chest, the strong protective
feeling his arms around her gave her. They both stood like that for a long time, before finally going back to bed.
Her fingers traced his collar bone, feeling his soft skin beneath her and feeling a bit disappointed that she still
wasn't very sleepy.
"Helios."
"Mh?" the priest's calm breathing calmed her down as well, but she knew she had better say what she wanted to soon,
as she could tell that he was tired and close to falling asleep again.
"I want to go to Elysion."
He smiled a bit at her words. "You know, it's just going to rain there as well."
"I know. It's just .. ever since I came back here, I've been confined in my room or just a few of the rooms close-by.
To be honest, I'm quite sick of it. I know that they're just trying to make sure I'm fine and the baby's safe, but .."
Helios ran his hand through her hair, playing with a few curls.
"I can understand that. We'll ask if it's alright for you to travel there."
It wasn't a definite promise, but something to look forward to and they both got quiet and fell asleep,
although Serenity took longer, and they slept almost until noon.
"You want to what?" Ami asked surprised when she came into the room an hour later for a check-up.
Serenity had almost immediately told her about her request on taking a little trip.
"Please, I'm tired of just seeing the inside of my room for the past six months." the princess begged. "I know that
during the first trimester travel can be dangerous and it's pretty much forbidden in the third trimester, so I'm
in the absolute okay-zone, right?"
Helios remained quiet, not wanting to enter this conversation, but he did feel that Serenity was right and
should be allowed outside of the palace, at the very least. But he didn't know how strict Ami might be or what
everyone else might think of it.
Ami set her small computer and little kit onto the bedside table and sat down in a chair. "While I do not want
to punish you or make you feel bad by staying inside all the time, I do have to be sure that any sort of trip wouldn't
harm you or the baby in any way. And I'd need to be sure that, in case of an emergency, somebody would be there
who could help you."
They all were quiet and proceeded with their usual check-up routine, completely ignoring the topic they had just
discussed. Helios was holding Serenity's hand, having his lap used as a pillow substitute, during the sonogram and
he did feel curious as to what the gender of his child might be. But he had decided to not ask and even if he gave
in, he'd feel bad about knowing while his maiden didn't.
Ami smiled mysteriously as she moved the roller carefully over Serenity's stomach and finally hovered her fingers
over different keys on the board. "Want a little treat for yourselves?"
Not knowing what she meant, the two shrugged their shoulders and nodded at the same time, which Ami took
as a sign that she could give them a treat if she wanted to or not. Pressing keys, she moved the roller a bit up
and, pressing one last key, a loud heartbeat sounded from her small computer. The heartbeat was different from
what one would usually associate the sound of a heartbeat from, but it was loud and steady. And the two expecting
parents' cheeks flushed as they heard the first full proof that they had a child, that it was alive and well.
Ami giggled and left the heartbeat continue to sound until the sonogram was done.
"So, you feeling alright? No pain or cramps, dizziness or bloody discharge?" she asked professionally.
"No, I'm fine."
"Well .." Helios hesitated, fighting with himself if he should tell her or not. "She was taking a bath yesterday and
fell to the ground afterwards."
"I told you, I was just a bit overheated." the princess replied immediately and looked at Ami. "Ami, really, it was barely
a fall. I was really close to the ground, I bent over and slipped a bit. And I didn't have any cramps or pain or anything
going wrong afterwards."
"And you're not just saying this to make me let you go?" the doctor asked and smirked a bit. "Don't worry, I believe you.
If, as you say, you barely fell any sort of distance and didn't feel worse afterwards, it was nothing."
Serenity sighed relieved, thinking everything was alright now.
Ami wasn't done with her examination, though, as she felt Serenity's throat, her forehead and asked her some more questions
or checked her pulse and sugarlevel. "Mhh .." she said thoughtfully. "you're a bit cold."
Hoping that her lover wouldn't mention the standing in the rain, Serenity remained quiet.
"And your pulse and sugarlevels are a bit high .."
"Probably because I haven't eaten yet." the princess admitted, smiling. "Slept in."
Ami raised her eyebrows, but decided to not go into that part any further. She asked for a maid and, a few minutes later,
the King and Queen, as well as the Queen's and the Princess' personal guardians entered the room, wondering why
they had been called here.
"Serenity wants to go on a little trip to Elysion. Now, in my professional opinion, I don't see any problem with her going.
She and the little one are just fine. But I'd like to know if any of you have any objection to it or not."
"I think it's fine if Serenity leaves Crystal Tokyo for a while. She hasn't been outside for a long time, anyway, and a change
of space is always refreshing." the Queen said and her husband agreed.
"I'm rather against her going that far away." Rei admitted openly. "Things could get out of hand, but I do trust Helios to
make sure she's going to be alright. So, as long as she's safe, I don't mind."
Similar opinions were heard from the rest - some more willing to let her go, others felt that at least one of the guardians
should come along - and Ami clapped her hands in a final matter then.
"Well, that's good news for you then." she said, turning to the princess. "You can go to Elysion for a while, but I do have
some things to say about this."
Listening intently, despite their excitement being obvious, the two expecting parents leaned forwards.
"First of all, come back soon - you can stay a few days, but not too long. Nothing against Elysion, Helios, but I really would
prefer for Serenity to be in the palace when she goes into labor. We have all the equipment we might need." Ami counted off,
her eyes gentle but her voice quite strict. "Second, I have to agree with some of them - I'm not very comfortable with
you going on your own. Like I said, if an emergency came up-"
"While I'm not a trained doctor like you, I have some medical knowledge and could help if small things came up." Helios said,
interrupting, which wasn't his fashion. "And if you are needed, I can come to the palace faster than you'd expect.
And Serenity wouldn't be left alone, the maenads are there all the time and would be most willing to help."
Ami pushed her glasses up and studied the priest.
"Alright. I'll leave it to you and the maenads, then. I won't insist on one of us coming along." she agreed
and sighed slightly. "And finally .. I insist that you two eat before leaving. And, Serenity, take something to wrap up in,
you need to warm up." She then left the room, ordering a rather late lunch for the two.
Serenity sighed relieved and leaned against Helios, happy to know that she was allowed to finally get out and to return
to Elysion, a place that she loved and where everything had begun.
That gentle breeze she felt familiar with greeted her and Helios as they entered Elysion a few hours later.
Like Ami had ordered, Serenity had wrapped up nice and warm and both had taken a rather late lunch to themselves,
but - after a last-minute check up - they were on their way to Helios' home.
Now, in Elysion, it somehow felt to the princess like she hadn't been gone that long after all.
Everything still looked and felt the same way, but the weather was as bad as it was back at the palace - and yet,
it felt much softer and warmer than there.
Walking towards the shrine, the priest holding a large umbrella over himself and his maiden, Serenity playfully
grabbed his hand and squeezed it, realizing that they hadn't done that very often. Or at all.
Getting a squeeze back, they noticed someone hurrying towards them who was also holding an umbrella.
"Helios-sama!" the young girl said, her pale-pink hair in high tails and long gown flowing along it to the ground, said.
She stopped and sighed, catching her breath for a minute.
"My sister and I were worried! Please, don't just leave all of a sudden."
"I'm sorry, Eos." the priest apologized, noticing that the princess was looking at him surprised.
"You left? Just like that?" she asked, confused and rather annoyed with him, but didn't stay that way very long
when she saw an embarrassed grin on his lips.
"The news excited me and I wanted to see you soon."
"News?" Eos asked and saw the bulge on Serenity. "Why, you are expecting ..!"
Serenity smiled the same embarrassed way Helios had. "Yes."
"Congratulations! I must tell my sister immediately!" Eos gasped and turned around, rushing towards the shrine.
Slowly following her, the two lovers took a little detour to Helios' chamber to get out of the rain and rest.
They weren't alone for very long because the door opened and two girls entered, looking identical.
One of them, the one they hadn't met before, took Serenity's hands into hers.
"I first thought Eos was joking, but it's true. Congratulations, I hope you will have a safe delivery!"
"Thank you, Selene. I hope so, too." the princess giggled.
The shrine maiden looked at her. "Do you know what it'll be?"
"Ah, no, we decided not to know .. let ourselves get surprised."
Helios noticed how Serenity's voice wandered off for a moment and ruffled her hair affectionately. "I think a nap would
suit you well, Maiden. Getting up at ungodly hours .."
And with barely any arguing, Serenity lay down on Helios' bed and was asleep in two shakes before she knew it.
"Mylady Serenity!"
The princess stopped and turned, seeing one of the shrine maidens coming up behind her.
"Ah, .. um, are you Eos or Selene?"
"I'm Eos, Mylady." the shrine maiden giggled, knowing how hard it could be to distinguish her from her sister. "What are you doing?"
"Ah, just going for a walk. I didn't see everything of Elysion the last time I was here .."
"Do you mind if I walk along with you?"
Serenity looked at her surprised, then giggled and set off, Eos following her. "Let me guess, Helios has set you on me.
He thinks I can't be trusted on my own while pregnant? Merely because of one little fall?"
"Not quite .. while you took a nap yesterday, he told us that we should watch out for a bit. He told us about the fall,
but I think he's just worried about you in general. And he wouldn't want anything bad happening to you, of course."
The two women walked over a long stretch of grass and the pink sky reflected in the crystals that formed out of the lake at
various places, the air almost glittering. Seeing a curve around a group of trees and an even larger portion of this land,
Serenity sighed.
"Elysion sure is big .."
"Much larger than one would think at first." Eos agreed. "Even Helios-sama needs his pegasus to see it all, Mylady."
"Say, Eos, could you and Selene just call me Serenity? Due to the name, most people refer to my mother as Mylady Serenity."
"If it's alright with you .. although I'd feel quite rude doing so."
The princess just smiled, but flinched so badly it made her bend over slightly and grab her stomach.
The shrine maiden stared and kneeled down when Serenity did and looked worried. "Mylady? Do you require assisstance?
Shall I fetch Helios-sama?"
Serenity didn't answer but looked quite perplexed and stared blankly into space for a few seconds,
not realizing how anxious Eos was getting. The shrine maiden put a hand onto her shoulder, shaking her very carefully.
"Mylady? Are you alright? Are you hurt? Please, lie down and let me run to get Helios-sama!"
She was already standing up and turned to run off, but the princess grabbed her arm and so she turned back to look at her.
"No .." was all she said and lay the girl's hand onto her stomach, feeling the stretched skin, how soft it was, and her bodyheat
almost burning her hand.
And then she felt something bump against the palm of her hand.
Quietly, like all strength left her legs, Eos sank to the floor and didn't move her hand, which Serenity was still placing over
her stomach, feeling the baby kick and move about. For several minutes, they didn't say anything, didn't move, they barely
even breathed, and paid attention to the baby moving wildly inside the womb for the first time.
Eos' eyes strayed from the stomach to the princess' face and saw a serene expression on it, her eyes closed as if she wanted
to turn off all of her senses except her sense of feeling. The shrine maiden swallowed and felt a little spark of envy flareing up
inside of her, wanting to know what it felt like to be pregnant from the man she loved and how it must feel to have the baby,
the living proof of their love, move inside one - really making itself noticeable.
After what seemed like forever, the kicking stopped and Serenity giggled, slowly getting up.
"I think we should head back, before Helios looks for us. If he saw me on the ground, he'd take me home right away." she said
and still held that serene expression. "I suppose I'll have to wait until after the baby is born to see all of Elysion."
Eos agreed silently and the two slowly made their way back to where they came from and didn't speak, although they both
thought plenty and wanted to talk about it. But somehow, they couldn't.
"I hope everything will be alright." Eos finally said when they were close to the shrine and almost at the private chambers again.
The princess looked at the shrine maiden, slightly surprised. "Why?"
"Well, you flinched badly .."
"The sudden movement startled me, that's all." Serenity said and hugged Eos for a second. "I want to thank you. That was the
first time the baby moved and I'm glad that I could share that moment with someone. It wouldn't have been that memorable
if I had been the only one."
The shrine maiden flushed deeply at those words and laughed embarrassed. "Ah, well, glad I could help! E-excuse me." she stuttered
and left quickly. Barely a second after she left, Helios was walking towards Serenity with a sigh.
"There you are. I know Eos made sure you would be alright, but I was still starting to worry .." he told her, relieved to see that
she was doing just fine and had seemed to enjoy that walk.
Serenity turned towards him and smiled a beautiful smile, almost leaping into his arms.
"Maiden?" the priest asked, just as she put her lips against his and kissed him deeply, like all her love for him was put into that kiss,
like it was flowing out all over the place. When the kiss finally broke, both were out of breath and a deep flush had risen in their
cheeks. "What was that for?" Helios teased her, their faces barely apart from each other.
As an answer, Serenity just kissed him again.
Serenity lay quietly in bed, sitting up with a bunch of pillows behind her to support her back and one of her hands was
entwined with Helios', the other playing with a few of his curls. The priest was laying sideways to her, his head on the bit
of lap she still had, what with her stomach taking up more and more room, and closed his eyes, a tiny smile hovering on his lips.
Serenity had told him about how the baby had moved and while Helios was glad to hear that it had and knew how happy
his maiden was for being able to share that moment with someone else, he did have to admit to himself that he felt rather
disappointed or even jealous for not having been there. The princess had quickly cheered him up by saying that the baby
was moving a bit again. And instead of merely feeling it move by the way of his hand, Helios had said he wanted a more direct
feeling - and having his ear as close as possible to the baby, he not only felt it moving, but also heard it move inside of his maiden.
Wondering how much it already perceived of it's surroundings, if it knew how much joy and happiness it was already bringing to
his parents and friends even before it was born.
"I am getting curious about the gender." Serenity confessed when the moving stopped, they remaining as immobile as
the baby was now.
"If you really want to know, you can ask Mizuno-sama."
"M-hm. I'm not going to. I'm going to get surprised." she said, shaking her head, and noticed that Helios had fallen asleep.
The next few days in Elysion were almost eventless.
The baby started to move a lot and everyone got to feel it for a bit, but mostly it was just Serenity and Helios,
forming their own private experiences with the pregnancy. Even if there was no movement, Helios still enjoyed laying his head
onto Serenity's lap and staying there for hours, enjoying the closeness and even ending up taking naps more often.
On their way back to the palace, neither of them said a word on the long ride, as both were feeling relaxed and refreshed at
the same time, it made them sleepy. And returning to Serenity's room, it didn't seem like a place that she was confinded to
anymore - the little stay in Elysion had freed her and made her look forward to coming home, to see her family and friends
again and to wait out the last months of her pregnancy.
When they entered the room, their eyes fell immediately onto the new object that had been placed inside it.
It was a baby's crib, made from wood that had been painted white and carved with an intricate design along the bottom,
the curved legs smoothed out perfectly to let it cradle gently and the little matress inside was covered with an olivegreen
sheet and fitting pillow, a white blanket tucked in at the last third part.
"Ah, I see you've found it already." the Queen said, who had heard of their arrival and hurried to greet them, her husband
a few steps behind her. "Welcome back, you two. Or, three."
The two turned to her and Serenity was embarrassed to notice slight tears in her own eyes. "It's perfect!"
The Queen giggled, "Actually, your father made this. He started shortly after you two left."
"Really?" the princess asked and looked at the King, who avoided her gaze shyly. "Thank you, Papa!"
And she threw her arms around his chest and buried her head against it, giving him a bear hug the best she could. The King
was rather surprised by this sudden gesture and a blush crept up his cheeks until he hugged his daughter back.
Once the first wave of emotions ebbed away, the family parted from each other and the King looked at the priest.
"Helios, we still need to have a little chat." he said in a slightly darker tone and nodded to tell him that he should follow him,
that the two of them would talk. Now.
"Yes, Sire." the priest said and gave Serenity's hand a quick squeeze before the two men left, leaving the women.
"Um, .. Papa isn't going to be too rough on him .. will he?" the younger woman asked uncertain.
"I'm sure he won't .. well, I think so, at least." the Queen admitted and giggled.
The two men retired to the study and sat opposite each other in thickly cushioned wine-red armchairs, the oriental rug
underneath their feet and the musty smell of books got barely noticed by the two as they locked eyes.
It took a while until either of them spoke.
"Well, Helios, to be quite frank .." the King finally said, leaning back in the chair. "As a father, I have mixed feelings for
this situation and your relationship with my daughter."
Helios was the opposite, leaning forwards slightly. "I know that the child she is expecting was not planned, but I can
assure you that I'll do anything I can to make sure that-" He stopped when the King held his hand up.
"I know that. You're are a responsible man, Helios. You are a good priest, who has done his job well for such a long
time. I value you as a companion and a good friend." he assured him.
The priest was silent, waiting for anything the King might have to say.
"I'd lie if I said that I wasn't uncomfortable, or even worried, when my wife and I allowed Serenity to stay with you
for a while." the King admitted, smirking slightly. "I had almost expected her to return home, different from the way she
was before. Although I hadn't counted on an unplanned pregnancy so soon."
Helios' gaze immediately fixated onto the rug, his face a bright peppermint pink color, and knew better than to tell
his maiden's father that they had made love almost every night.
"I apologize, Sire .. maybe it had been a bad idea .." he muttered almost inaudibly and heard the man laugh.
"I don't blame you, Helios. Neither you, nor Serenity. It's natural to want to sleep with the person you love. I'm her father,
so I hate and like you on various levels. I'm a bit irked that you made her this happy by being with her, but I'm also glad
that you did - every father wants his daughter to find happiness with another man. But also resents it. Complicated, rather."
The King got up and the priest followed automatically and saw his superior stretching his hand out.
"Thank you, Helios. Let's hope that the baby will be born healthy and you two will have as much joy in being parents as
Serenity has with me and my wife. You two have my blessing." the King said and shook Helios' hand, who nodded vigorously.
Smiling and showing that The Talk was over, the two left the study and saw their respective lovers close to the doorframe.
Caught, the two laughed sheepishly and turned away, their cheeks flushed. Especially Serenity, as she had heard most of
what they had talked about and felt happy to know that her father was content with her relationship with Helios and yet
embarrassed and guilty for having found happiness with him.
"You know you shouldn't be on your feet too long." the King sighed at his daughter.
"Ah, I .. I was just on my way back, anyway ..!" the princess stuttered.
The four made their way slowly, the two girls having a whispery conversation, wondering what else the King might've said
to Helios and if another Talk was to come.
"Say, Helios, do you two know what the baby will be named?" the King asked suddenly, curious and wondering.
"Actually, no .. since we don't know the gender, we haven't thought of any names. We should, though .." the priest admitted,
noticing how Serenity flushed and knew her mind was whirring with several names already.
"You don't know? Ah .." the darkhaired man's gaze strayed to his wife. "Maybe my Serenity is hiding something else from me?"
The Queen coughed slightly, then giggled and smiled at her husband. "Oh, no, I'm not. The youngster'll be here soon enough,
so why hide anything now?"
Helios' ears picked it up and he blinked, thoughts running wild in his head and wondered if he had heard correctly.
"I've been waiting!" Ami said sternly when, a while later, Serenity and Helios entered her room again and saw
the doctor sitting on a chair, her portable computer next to her. "You're late for your scheduled check-up."
"Ah." Serenity went and hadn't really registered that Ami wanted to check her up just after she came back,
so she quickly lay down on the bed and lifted her dress and let Ami begin the routine sonogram.
Sitting next to his maiden on the bed, Helios waited.
"Did anything happen while you were in Elysion?" the doctor asked, typing furiously on the keyboard with one hand.
"The baby kicked!" the princess answered immediately, giddy with happiness and saw Ami smile, too.
"That's good news." she told her. "It might move a bit more within the next week or two. After that it'll stay quiet
for a while. If you feel it move a lot in a month or two, it's because it's turning around, preparing for birth."
The two expecting parents nodded at the information.
"How are you feeling, actually? Feverish? Tired? Or did you hurt yourself anywhere?"
"No, I'm fine. A bit tired, but I'm getting used to it."
Ami nodded and continued to examine her in silence until she slowly started packing up.
"So .. how's the baby doing?" Helios finally asked, wondering if Ami would say the same as the Queen.
"Such a cutie's just doing fine!" Ami said and smiled. "In a few months, you'll hold a little royal sweetheart in your arms."
She bowed slightly and left, not noticing how confused Helios looked.
"Helios?" Serenity asked, sitting up.
The priest frowned. "So .. is it a boy or a girl?"
"Mh?"
"Ah, your mother said youngster, so I thought she meant we're having a son. And I wondered if Mizuno-sensei would
say something similar, but she says sweetheart, so .. it's a girl?" he wondered out loud, sighing deeply.
Serenity giggled, remembering that she hadn't told him. "It's just teasing. All the girls are saying sweetheart,
rascal, cutiepie and such - they change it all the time. They just want to drive us insane with guessing."
Thinking that they were succeeding, the priest sighed and quickly came to the conclusion to not ask any of the girls
about the gender. That teasing would drive him insane - and it seems like the King didn't know the gender, either ..
"Hey." Serenity said and took his hand, putting it on her stomach and he felt the familiar warmth and tiny bumps.
Smiling, he almost immediately lay down and held his ear close, listening to his child.
Weeks passed and everybody was getting excited - Serenity was well into her eighth month now and the birth
would be imminent. The weekly check ups with Ami changed to daily ones and Serenity was absolutely forbidden
from doing any heavy lifting, strainious exercise or anything that might stress her out.
So she spent her days in her room, usually lying down, and reading a book, daydreaming or even napping.
Helios was walking briskly down the hall to the princess' chambers, eager to see her again. He had left for Elysion
a while ago, resuming his duties as the shrine maidens couldn't take over all the time.
The Queen met him in the hall. "Ah, hello, Helios." she said. "Nice to see you back again."
"Morning, Queen. You have met Serenity?" he asked, the princess' chambers being the only rooms down that hall.
"Yes. You're on your way to her, aren't you?" she asked back and he nodded. "Not to put you off, but I'd rather give you
a little head-start - Serenity is not feeling so well today."
"Is she ill?"
"No, just .. rather in a bad mood. It's the pregnancy." the Queen explained. "She's nearing the deadline, she's having
mood swings again and might be even impatient. So, if she snaps at you or talks ill of anything, don't take it too
seriously. She might seem angry for no reason, but it's just emotions. Nothing to do with you."
"I'll remember that." Helios smiled and continued, finally stopping in front of the door and knocked.
Hearing a muffled sound, he entered and closed the door behind himself. "Morning, Maiden."
Serenity was sitting on her bed, her stomach positively huge, and had her arms wrapped around herself, an abandoned
cover up lying next to her. Her head was turned to look out the window, but she looked at Helios when he drew closer,
and she remained silent.
"Maiden?"
".. Morning." she said, changing her gaze to the tiled floor.
"How are you? And the baby?" he asked friendly, smiling.
Serenity sighed and hesitated. "Fine. Glad you're back."
Helios opted to sit next to her on the bed, but kept a little distance between the two of them - she didn't seem her usual
self and getting too close might upset or annoy her. Both were quiet for a while, until Serenity broke the silence.
"How long are you staying? After all, you told me that you can't stay in this world too long."
"Back when I was cursed. I can stay as long as I want to - since you broke the seal on the Golden Crystal and I have
complete control over it, my powers aren't limited the way they used to be."
"So, why did you go back to Elysion for a while?" she asked, trying to be nonchalant.
The priest tried to be patient, knowing that he had explained it to her before and tried to remember the Queen's words.
"Because I'm needed there. It's my duty to watch over dreams. I can leave for a while, but I need to resume my position.
I know that Eos and Selene are almost as powerful as I am, but I can't dump all the responsiblity on them and go away."
Serenity flinched slightly when the two shrine maidens were mentioned and frowned, her gut flareing with a fire.
"Yes, they're perfect! Almost as powerful as you, they can take care of things." she said, a note of perhaps jealousy in her voice.
"Maiden .." the priest begun softly, but Serenity interrupted him.
"That's not my name! Why do you think you need to go back, when those two are so powerful? Hiding away in Elysion is just
a coward's way to avoid taking responsibility for me and the baby! Tell it to me straight, if you don't want the child or
would rather stay away from me, and don't go to the other maidens!" she yelled at him and turned her head back to the window,
glareing at the sky through the window panes. "Just leave me alone ..!"
The priest hesitated for a while, but knew that arguing would be useless right then, and patted her hand gently before he got up
and left the room. Closing the door behind him again, Helios sighed and leaned against the door, trying to remain calm
and controlled. Like the Queen had said, Serenity was merely having mood swings and shouldn't be punished for her outbursts.
At least not much, because he was sure a part of her feelings were honest and while a part of him was happy to know that
she felt comfortable enough with him to be honest with him, it was a tiny part. A different part, though, felt like starting
an argument with her, to get all sorts of honest, but intense and maybe even painful, feelings out and once that was done,
they could go back to an excited state over the baby's arrival. If they were to speak with each other after the fight ..
"Intense, isn't it?" the Queen asked. She had stayed back to wait and see how her daughter might act towards Helios
and had seen him leave just a few minutes after entering.
"You could say that." the priest admitted.
"I hope that you aren't taking her words to heart." the Queen looked concerned. "Like I said .."
"I'm trying to pass it off as nothing more than emotional blab, but .." he sighed. "I can't get it out of my head. My mind is telling
me that I shouldn't dwell on it, but it still stings. I think she was honest about some things .."
The Queen looked at him, wondering what Serenity might've said to him that could hurt him so much and finally put an
encouraging hand onto his shoulder. "I don't know what she said. But if it hurts so much, I suggest you talk with her about it
and see if you can work it out. Give her some time, though."
Helios smiled a bit. "I don't think I can stop her from feeling jealous of the shrine maidens, to be honest. I might be able to
calm her down and relax a bit, but her not having suspicions at all is impossible."
The two of them talked a bit longer, wondering if another little vacation or day-trip might lift Serenity's spirits or maybe something
that would take her mind off the pregnancy, the door behind them opened and they saw Serenity standing there, slightly lopsided
from the weight of the stomach and leaning against the door a bit. Her eyes looked red, as if she had cried for a long time and
she shyly look at the ground.
"Helios, .. would .." she muttered barely audible. "want to come in again, .. please?"
The priest smiled a bit and nodded, bowed to the Queen and the princess closed the door after a few seconds.
Helios noticed things he hadn't before - in the week he had been gone, the room had been re-decorated a bit. The sheets were
changed to green ones with white branches drawn on them, the curtains had been changed as well. And more baby things had
been added - actually, the wall to the adjacent room, which was unused, was knocked down and had the frames of a new wall
and door already built up. A changing table, a little twig basket that was like a portable cradle and other things were standing
or lying around. He noticed a lot of baby clothes were folded on the table - they were varied in colors, from blue to green and
yellow, even orange and black. It seemed like the present-givers were making sure to not stick with 'gender bound' colors,
so as to not give it away.
"I .. I wanted to apologize .." Serenity said and Helios turned towards her. "I snapped at you and .. said bad things, but I ..
I really didn't mean them .. not that much .."
She kneaded her hands nervously. "It's just .. I'm scared, what with the birth soon and such things. You left for Elysion
pretty fast and that confused me, it irritated me and I .. I just felt left alone. B-but I know how important your job is!"
Helios said nothing all the time and had a smile hovering over his lips, until he embraced Serenity and held her close.
"I'm sorry that I left so fast. I was worried about Eos and Selene. Continuous prayer takes a lot of energy and I didn't
want them to overexert themselves." he explained. "I never thought you'd be jealous of them. But, really, there is nothing
romantic going on between any of us - they're like sisters to me. And I'm a brother to them. A romantic relationship
isn't between us. That's reserved for you, Chibiusa-chan."
Serenity nodded and giggled at hearing that old nickname of hers from him, she even felt like she could hear the grin in his
voice when he said it. She snuggled up to him and enjoyed his hand running through her hair. "You haven't called me that
in a long time."
"Chibiusa-chan." he repeated and she giggled again. "Or would you prefer it that I call you Serenity?"
"I'm fine with Maiden." the princess told him.
"You sure I'm not too heavy?"
"Not at all."
The weather had heated up over the last few hours and with the summer already there, the two lovers had migrated onto
the balcony and sat in the armchair, Serenity sideways on Helios' lap. In the distance they could hear the cicada chirping.
"How have you been sleeping lately?" Helios asked when he noticed how Serenity drifted off into a light sleep again,
although she pretended she hadn't.
"Horrible." she replied. "I can't get comfortable. And I'm not used to sleeping without you anymore."
"It's barely been two months that we have." the priest chuckled, counting the almost-two weeks Serenity had spent
in Elysion with him to the total.
"Well, I'm used to it, anyway."
Her voice swung with a superior sense of crankiness and Helios let it be, knowing that he felt much better after a night of
sleep when he was lying next to her. Both had a hand on her stomach, knowing that the baby hadn't kicked for a while
and was lying dormant until it was time for it to come out, but both missed the closeness they felt when Helios had his
head in her lap and listened to the baby moving. It was harder to do that now as Serenity pretty much had no lap anymore.
They kissed for a while, lost in their own little world until a tiny cough made them turn around.
Ami was standing in the doorway of the balcony and had a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Sorry to disturb you two, but there's a tiny exam scheduled. If you want a few more minutes, fine."
Serenity giggled embarrassed and slowly unwound from Helios and stood up, stooping over when she flinched
and immediately the two other people surrounded her.
"Ah, just a short stab." she stuttered, not wanting to worry them.
Ami mumbled to herself and kneeled down, patting or pressing carefully against the baby stomach,
nodding or 'hmm'ing a few times. She then stood back up. "The baby dropped."
"Eh? Isn't it a bit early?"
"No, no. You aren't in labor, Serenity." the doctor calmed her down. "The baby just dropped a tiny bit into the birth canal,
it's still safe and won't suddenly give you any pain. Actually, you should feel a bit free and have an easer time breathing."
Having been getting used to a slight breathing problem for the past few months as the baby took up more and more room,
Serenity realized that she did feel like she could take deeper breaths than before.
After the short exam, where Ami confirmed the baby dropping, the three sat in the room and Ami flipped through the
digital pages of her computer. She hadn't said what she was looking up or searching for, but the two lovers decided to
remain quiet until the professional said something.
"Well, since you got pregnant around late October, I guess you're about in your thirty-seventh week." she finally told them,
tucking the computer away. "You said your period had been irregular, right?"
Serenity nodded.
"Generally the due date is calculated with reference to the last period, but since it was irregular .." Ami sighed slightly. "But your
growth and that of the baby pretty much fit into this week, so the birth should be around .. oh, middle to late July, I think."
Serenity sighed slightly, having wondered if the baby might be born on June 30th and would share it's birthday with it's
mother and grandmother.
After Ami left, the two sat around and felt rather bored. Baby-Preparation books had already been read and the King had just
entered with some workers, continuing to build up the wall again and fitting it around the new door. Serenity sighed and
slowly got up.
"I think I'll go take a bath."
"You sure?" Helios asked, wondering if an incident similar to the previous one would occur.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep the water warm but not hot." she said and then smirked slightly. "If you want to make
absolutely sure, we could take a bath together."
It was something they hadn't done before and the priest's cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink within a second,
a very strong contrast to his pale complexion. "Um, no. No, you go ahead. I'll trust you to watch out."
The princess giggled as she walked to the bathroom and closed the door, letting the water stream into the tub and
held her hand under the tab for almost a minute to make sure the water wasn't too hot.
The loud noise of the workers doing their job had subsised within an hour, they had worked incredibly fast and
the priest stared at the finished wall. It still needed to be plastered and then painted, but they said they'd take care of
that the next day and it would be done within two days.
"Helios?" Serenity called calmly from the bathroom.
It didn't sound urgent or worried, so the priest thought that maybe she wanted to ask him to get something for her,
perhaps a book to read. So he opened the door slowly and entered. "Yes?"
Sitting in the tub with her hair held up again, the princess looked rather embarrassed.
"Could you help me a bit to get out? Getting in is easy, but out .." she admitted and sighed.
Helios nodded and, while Serenity held onto the shower rod with one hand, supported her back and other arm slightly
until she stood up in the tub. Slipping slightly, she got out and dripped water onto the bathmat.
"Thank you."
Helios just smiled slightly and handed her the towel and she started drying off.
He couldn't help but notice just how much she had changed over time. He hadn't seen her naked for a while, except
when she had fallen the few months back - but the changes were still obvious. Aside from her stomach having gotten
huge, it surely obscured her feet and half of her calves in her perspective, but he noticed a few very fine freckles
on her arms and shoulders and neck. Even a pimple here or there had appeared on her face, but they were not
in plain sight as they were slightly obscured by her bangs. Her breasts had gotten bigger as well, almost doubling
in their size and the aereolas had gotten darker - all to prepare the milk with which she would feed the child after birth.
"Mh?" Serenity looked at him while drying her face. "Something wrong?"
Realizing suddenly that he was ogling her, he flushed and coughed slightly.
"Ah, yes, dinner will be brought in a few minutes, the maids said." Helios stuttered and turned on his heel to leave the room.
True enough, dinner was brought and Serenity, probably lured by the delicious smell, had hurried to dress and appeared at
the little table shortly afterwards.
While eating, Helios watched her and couldn't help but notice something. "I thought you hated carrots." he said and yet
he noticed with what ease she was eating them, mixed in with the other vegetables in the rice.
"Makoto makes them taste differently, so I can eat them." she explained. "I still don't like eating them, but everybody says
I have to, so .."
The priest smirked at that almost childish dislike of hers, but decided to let it be. After all, everybody had something they
just plain didn't like or didn't want to eat. He also noticed that she almost fell asleep during the last few bites, so
they went to bed almost immediately after dinner.
Lying on her side with Helios behind her, Serenity still had trouble falling asleep. The weight of the stomach was in the
way - it was too dangerous and uncomfortable to lie on her back all the time, but lying on her sides meant the weight
pulling her down slightly and it even hurt a little. So she had been given a Pregnancy Pillow - it was a long and slightly
wide foam rubber thing that she half lay on during the night, as it lifted the stomach a bit if the pillow was underneath.
Helios, who also couldn't fall asleep so easily, stared at his maiden's neckline, the smooth curve it made to her shoulders
and used a finger to carefully trace it. She squirmed slightly, but liked it and he knew that he wasn't really waking her,
so he didn't stop.
"You astound me, Maiden." he finally said and lay his arm over her, pulling her closer. "You seem so sure of everything."
"Sure?" she asked sleepily.
"About the pregnancy and everything. So knowledgable and calm."
Serenity turned her head slightly towards him and stared in surprise. "Calm? And sure? Quite the opposite, Helios!
I'm .. I'm pretty scared, actually. There's a lot to think about and to consider. I only seem like that to you because
I tried to read everything up and learn it before .."
Helios smiled slightly, nuzzling her cheek with the tip of his nose.
"I see. Actually, I'm a bit sad that I missed the first part of the pregnancy." he confessed, having felt rather
excluded or even shoved away because he hadn't known earlier.
"You didn't really miss much .." Serenity admitted. "Mostly morning sickness, pain and barely anything exciting.
It started to be really fun after I told you. But don't feel too bad about it," she smirked slightly. "when we have our
second child, you'll be the first to find out and experience everything with me!"
The priest blushed at her words, the prospect of having another, or maybe even a third, child.
"Sex."
Helios, carrying a small tablet with teacups on it, stumbled slightly at the word and quickly lay the tablet onto
the table so as not to spill anything. He kept his back to the two ladies and busied himself in slow motion to
get everything ready.
July was almost over and the due date of the baby had passed a while ago, much to the disappointment of
everyone. But nobody was more disappointed - or even slightly annoyed - than Serenity, who had a pinched
look in her face. She was starting to get sick of carrying around the extra weight all the time, to continue to
follow the diet - and she was told to keep it up while nursing - and she finally wanted the baby out.
Ami had come in a while ago, telling them that the baby was fully matured - lungs, heart and other
organs were ready to start their job and nothing whatsoever was wrong with the baby. It just hadn't come out yet.
Despite Serenity having complained about feeling labor pains the past few weeks, she was told that they were not
the real kind as these remained the same strength and didn't change their length of time between them.
So now, Serenity had asked Ami if there was anything that she could do to forcefully induce labor.
Neither of them had actually expected that answer!
"What?" the princess asked flatly.
"Sex might trigger contractions and induce labor." Ami explained in a matter-of-fact voice. "The prostaglandins in
the semen are what can start it all. 'Bathing' your cervix in it could even break the membrane and release
the amnotic fluid the baby is surrounded in - an orgasm could also trigger contractions and-"
"Stop, stop." Serenity interrupted her, her cheeks the same color as her hair. "A-any other way, maybe?"
"Well .. walking and some other standing exercises can push the baby further into the birth canal.
You could also try eating spicy food that contain garlic or cumin, although I don't really believe that will work."
"Ah."
Ami got up and pushed her glasses up a bit. "You could try any of that, but I wouldn't force anything too much.
At some point, nature will take it's course and who knows, there might be a reason why the baby's taking longer."
She said goodbye and left, Helios finally bringing over the tea and carefully avoiding the girl's eyes, wondering
if she would comment on his red cheeks.
A few days later, in another sleepless night for the princess, she lay on her side and drew little patterns with her
finger on the sheet. The warm air blew into the room, nobody had bothered to close the balcony doors in the
warm weather.
"Helios?" she said softly, wondering if he was awake. "about what Ami said a few days ago, about .. about sex
inducing labor .. you .. you wanna try it?"
Her face felt hot and the silence was so long, she knew even before she turned over that Helios was fast asleep.
Feeling slightly envious, she cuddled up to him. Ami's words had stuck with her and Serenity had to admit to herself,
the suggestion of having sex did sound tempting. Ever since her stay in Elysion where she intially slept with him,
they hadn't .. and, she blushed as she admitted it to herself, she had wanted to sleep with Helios over the last
few months, but she had thought it would be weird or even a bit dangerous for the baby.
But Ami had told her it wasn't ..
Again she felt the slight twinges and stabs she had started to ignore.
Over the last few days she had kept having these pains and knew they were the fake labor pains,
which annoyed her as - scared as she was of the birth - she really wanted to stop being pregnant now.
"Maiden," Helios said and kneeled before her, having noticed the pinched look again. "are you alright?"
"I'm fine." she sighed and thought of going onto the balcony for a while, so she got up slowly.
Suddenly, she flinched and doubled over, kneeling on the floor and feeling wet and slightly sticky between
her legs, excess liquid already splattering onto the floor.
"Maiden?"
Clenching her fist into her lover's jacket, she gritted her teeth as the pain became worse and made her
feel faint. In a few seconds it would be over, she thought, but it kept going for almost a minute until it stopped.
Lifting her slightly, Helios helped her straigthen up, but the pain started again - stronger this time.
"Helios ..!" Serenity gasped and tried to breathe calmly. "I think it's coming ..!"
Knowing what she meant, and now noticing the puddle on the ground, he rang for a maid who appeared almost instantly
and ordered her to get the doctor. Carefully, Serenity sat down onto her bed and continued to cling to Helios,
who was trying to remain calm and to keep her calm, too.
Ami burst into the room, followed by the maid who had fetched her and two other maids, who were going to assist her.
Taking a few minutes to examine Serenity, Ami made her lie down and timed the pain and breaks between them.
"She's in labor." Ami nodded and turned to Helios. "Go tell the King and Queen and the girls. I'll take care of Serenity."
The priest nodded and dashed off to find the reigning royals.
The first person he actually found was Minako, who - when hearing the news - shrieked happily and ran off to tell
her friends, while Helios was still looking for the King and Queen.
Almost fifteen minutes later, the royals, the Queen's and the Princess' personal guardians were standing or sitting
in the long hallway in front of Serenity's room. Helios was feeling distinctly uncomfortable, leaning against the wall,
and wished he was inside with his maiden.
Loud screams, muffled moans or strict orders were the only things they heard and seemed to make it all worse
for them, as they weren't sure what was going on and their minds were in overdrive. Hours and Hours went by
where nothing seemed to change for them, everything seemed like it was on hold - only changed positions or
nervous walking around showed that time passed.
"Sure is taking long .." Makoto sighed when she glanced at her watch and saw that it was past midnight.
"It's her first child, it takes longer." the Queen giggled, hiding her nervousness well.
Night was over the entire kingdom, even the ones waiting for the birth to finish had fallen asleep wherever they
were standing or sitting or, in Helios' case, sitting on the ground with their legs tucked in. The screams had
subsided a while ago, but the door still didn't open and his thoughts were circling over things that he was trying
hard not to think of.
Maybe something had gone wrong, maybe his maiden was in grave danger or even the baby - maybe it was horribly sick
or had a disability. Trying to shut his mind off, Helios wondered if he should've told the shrine maidens - they were his
family, surely they wanted to be here for the birth but everything had happened fast and ..
A short, high pitched scream came from the room and then everything was quiet again.
Like a signal, everybody woke up or lifted their heads, Helios scrambled off the floor, staring at the door and waiting
for something to happen. It took several minutes for the door to open and there stood Ami, her doctor's coat thrown off
and slightly sweaty, but with a big smile on her face.
"Mother and baby are doing just fine." she announced and almost defeaning squeals and congratulational
words were yelled, making her words hard to hear. "He weighs 4200 gramms and is perfectly healthy. If you want to
congratulate her you can go inside, but try to not be too loud."
Everybody entered, except Helios who was rooted to the ground in shock and awe, a wave of conversation took place
in the other room. The two maids who had helped out left, carrying away several towels, sheets and hot water, looking
positively exhausted and yet very happy.
Finally, everybody came out again and grinned slightly at the still standing priest.
"What were you waiting for? Get in there." Makoto said cheerfully, making room but the priest didn't move.
It was like his body and brain had been detached, although he knew that he should and wanted to move, his body didn't
follow and so he just stood there. The King finally stepped next to the priest and gave him a slight push, making him
stumble. Helios' cheeks flushed a pink color and he scratched the back of his head before he sighed and awkwardly
and slowly entered the room.
Serenity was lying on her bed, fitted with new sheets, and a thin blanket thrown over herself. Her back was propped up
against several big pillows and she held the baby in one arm, holding it's tiny hand with her own.
After a few steps in the room, the door was closed from outside and Helios continued to force himself to step closer
to the bed, not remembering the last time he had felt this awkward.
"J-Jo .." he said, wondering what sort of thing that was to say.
"It's a boy!" Serenity looked at him and smiled.
She was sweaty, rather red in the face, but she looked happy and exhausted, calm and excited - all at once.
She scooted a bit to the side and, Helios seeing the sign, smiled even wider when the priest sat down on the edge.
The baby was barely longer than a loaf of bread, it was wrapped in some blankets to keep warm. It had it's eyes closed
and made little sucking noises with his mouth, a few stray black hairs on his head. What fascinated or surprised Helios
the most was just how small his hands were. He wondered how small his feet were, if his hands were already minuscule.
"Heh," Serenity giggled embarrassed. "I did it."
"Ah, you did."
Watching him, Serenity took his hand and placed it onto the baby's head and Helios felt how warm it was,
feeling it squirm slightly and then saw how his expression relaxed and the baby fell asleep. The two new parents looked
at each other and Helios bent down to kiss her.
"Thank you."
Another long chapter, more birth information.
I had never heard of pregnancy pillows before, they seemed rather like dumb inventions to me - like Nursing Covers!
But they are pretty handy.
I might even make a chapter of Chibiusa's stay in Elysion, like a prequel to this.
But I'll probably do some short One Shots beforehand.
Also, the maenads are never officially given names, but it seems popular to name them Eos and Aurora.
I opted for Eos and Selene, as those are the mythology names of Helios' sisters. No, they are not really related in this story, just a metaphor.