Chapter 10: Darkness to Light. Light to Darkness.
Several months later it was time to mount another attack against the Mews. Evan stood next to Erika as she stood before the troops of the Dark Emperor. Intelligence had delivered the message that the Mews were close to creating a serum that would give them power over the wilder types, like the diclonius and the fire dragon. Assuming the intel was good, this needed to be destroyed or these types could horribly dampen the efforts of those loyal to the Dark Emperor.
Evan looks up at Erika. Over the last few months, he had stood beside her many times, but he knew today was different. Though she stood tall, he could tell she was in pain. He also knew not to speak to her before a battle.
So many things had changed with Erika since the accident that sometimes Evan felt like she was a different person. Other times, she clung to his sleeve, destroying his worries and making his heart race just as she always had. He watches as her long hair blows in the wind.
He himself was no longer in the outfit of The Red Knight, but wearing his own version of black and red leather. He felt as though he had no right to wear it as long as he was on this side.
Part of him had hopes of returning to the side of the Mews and Knights, but he was trying to resign himself to the fact that he could never go back. It wasn't he, per say, that couldn't return. That all depended on the Mews and Knights who knew that he intended to follow Erika to the ends of the earth. But, Erika would surely never be considered. Therefore, he tried to resign himself to his fate of dying as a servant of the Dark Emperor. All that mattered was Erika.
Erika let out a high-pitched sound and was answered in kind by the entire unit. Everyone broke into a run, racing toward Mew Mansion under the cover of the thick forest. Evan ran beside Erika, toe to toe.
A grunt.
He turns to look at her, and he sees her teeth gritted together, but he doesn't have time to do anything. Almost immediately, he hears the trumpet of Mew Mansion call all the guards and students to attention.
They pass a few more trees before they see a swarm of flying creatures, most of which Evan recognized. A shower of bombs began to descend toward them.
They reach the ground, the loud explosion merging with the cries of the hit.
Several come close to Erika and Evan, but they easily outmaneuver the blasts and head toward the lab.
Just as they are about to leave the forest, a bomb falls right before them and explodes, knocking them back. They fall hard, but Evan quickly rises with nothing more than scratches. He turns to Erika, but she lies there, grasping her stomach and cringing. Evan checks her out for injuries, but he sees nothing but small scratches from the fall.
"Erika!" he reaches out to her and she slaps his hand away as she tries to rise to her feet. She stands for only a few seconds before dropping a knee, still clutching her stomach. She doubles over and vomits.
Evan puts an arm out for her to grab, and reluctantly, she accepts it, after almost losing her balance. She collapses in his arms, the sound of bombs exploding around them. Evan clutches her close and carries her away from the battle.
What do we do? No one will give medical care to us!
She throws up once again, then leans back against the tree. She looks over at Evan who is panicking. She smiles at him weakly. "Stop worrying. I'm fine." she says.
"How do you know? We need to get you to a doctor!"
She touches his arm lightly, "I'm pregnant, Evan."
He freezes. Pregnant? As in... Erika and I made a baby? He stares at her, "I'm going to be a dad." he says, scarcely able to believe it.
He grabs her hands, "What were you doing leading an army while pregnant!"
"I figured I had a few more weeks before I had to stop," she answers. "Guess not."
Evan breathes a sigh of relief and kisses her forehead, "Lets get you back to the cave."
Months later they find themselves commandeering a gynecologist's office whole Erika gets an ultrasound. She had insisted on going in alone, but considering the doctor couldn't leave without coming face to face with about a hundred hideous creatures, they let her go.
A half hour later, she came out with a black and white photograph of their child.
"Is it a boy or girl," the first question came out of Evan's mouth.
"Boy," Erika answered, pointing to a spot on the photo, "See?"
Evan and several of the beasts take a peek, "Ahh..." they say.
Erika passes around the photo. Finally, a troll says what all of them were thinking, "How can you tell? It just looks like a bunch of shapes."
She hears a murmur through the group in agreement as they stare at the photo again.
Erika just smiles.
When they return, Erika goes straight to her quarters, Evan following behind her. She takes a seat on the bed.
"I wish I could have been in there with you," Evan remarks as he takes a seat next to her. "How was it? Did she say he's healthy?"
"That would be too embarrassing..." Erika leans against his shoulder, "Our baby's fine. He'll grow up to be strong."
Evan watches her expression. It was as if she wasn't looking at the present, but the future. He puts his arm around her.
She looks up at him, "We should give the child to the Mews to raise."
Evan's expression saddens, but he nods, "This is no place for a baby." It's no place for us... His mind goes to all the things he'd seen since he'd been there. The torture of captured guards loyal to the Mews for information and experiments on kidnapped citizens. He wanted to reveal the location of this place to the Mews so badly, but he didn't want to be separated from Erika. So, he stayed, turning a blind eye to every horror in this dark, damp underground.
3 months later, Erika sat on her bed eating breakfast. By now, her tummy was huge, and she was due any day. During the first months or so, the leaders would stop by to see her, but after reporting it was a boy, they stopped visiting her. Without their leading general, the attacks had gone horribly, causing them to become impatient. For a while, Evan was hearing talks of forcing her to have an abortion, but he quickly put an end to that idea with the explanation that an abortion could cause her to lose the ability to have another child, namely the Mirai no Ichigo they were waiting for.
CRASH!
Evan turns away from buttering more toast to face the source of the noise.
"Sorry," Erika says. "My hand slipped."
Orange juice and glass were all over the floor. Erika starts to get up to deal with it, but Evan motions for her to stay in bed. He grabs towels, a broom, and a dust pan, and quickly has it all cleaned up.
"Evan," Erika starts, "I am having a craving right now for tonkatsu."
"But you don't even like pork."
"Sorry, I just really want tonkatsu."
"I don't know how to make that."
"You could buy it from Mitsuwa."
"That's all the way in Arlington Heights! It's about an hour from here..."
"Sorry, I'm asking too much."
Evan sighs, "You really want tonkatsu?"
"Mmm hmm," she responds, putting on her cute face.
Evan's heart beats faster, "Okay." He throws away the paper towels and broken glass, grabs his coat, and heads out the door.
Erika convulses. She stifles a cry with her hand. Then she grabs a timer. The contractions are coming so fast now!
She quickly fills her tub with water, leaning over the side. The water couldn't fill it fast enough. She breathes heavily as she flinches hard again. She feels her water break. Come on! Come on! She says toward the faucet. Eventually, it was full enough to get in. Almost immediately, she feels the baby start to be born. Not long afterward, she lets out her final scream, grasping the sides of the tub rather than stifling in. Less than a minute later, she sat in the water, holding her child.
She stands up, cleaning the baby in the sink before dressing it in a diaper and a blue one-piece. She clutches the child closely. As she walks over to the bed. With the child in one hand, she uses the other to write a note.
"Minto,
This is Eron..."
Just as Erika puts the finishing touches on the letter, she hears bustling outside. They must have heard my scream. She folds up the letter and places it in an envelope, sealing it.
Choosing to ignore them, she sets her attention on the sleeping child. Erika lightly touches the baby's cheek. You're so soft... she thinks.
It seemed as though she hardly had any time with her newborn before Evan returned. She heard him blurt out a few, "excuse me"'s to get through to their door. When he opened it, Erika could see some of those that had gathered outside. He shuts the door behind him.
He walks straight over to the baby, picking up the newborn and handing Erika her food.
Erika smiles.
"So tiny," Evan remarks, touching the newborn's little wisps of hair.
After a half hour or so, Erika hands him the sealed letter. He nods sadly to her, then takes the letter, grabbing a blanket for the baby. Erika rises, kissing her child once more, her eyes tearing up.
Evan walks through the doorway with Eron and shuts the door behind him.
Erika begins to cry.