It had been a month and no one had seen neither hide nor tail of Freya. She had formally requested residence in Alexandria when she declared her pregnancy, and of course Garnet had set her in the most comfortable chambers in the castle, but then she disappeared. Everyone knew, even without being told, that she had gone onto bed rest. But now it just felt like there was ghost living in the palace. And Amarant wordlessly wandering around the city certainly didn't help.

To an outside observer, he would have seemed exactly the same; just as silent and brooding as ever. But, to an experienced Amarant watcher, things had changed. He walked around like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Amarant was very good at many things, but carrying guilt was not one of them.

Unfortunately the field of friends who were willing or able to help was rather limited. The new baby prince got the whole palace into an uproar. And because they ended up deciding it was best to remove both his horn and his tail, Eiko refused to leave his side. She kept spouting that she was tired of being alone so she treated that boy like he was her own child. Garnet never complained, she was like a free nanny service. But she took her responsibility as new mother very seriously allowing many of her courtly duties to fall to the trio of Zidane, Beatrix and Steiner. Leaving only Quina with the drive to enter Freya's quarters.

But then again, Freya had told Quina she could cook for her child. And if there was one thing Quina took seriously, it was her duties as a Gourmand.

Which was why it was so odd when Dagger found a fully loaded tray of finely cooked Burmecian cuisine (complete with a side of frogs legs) dashed in the hallway in front of Freya's room. So she adjusted the infant in her arms and knocked on the door. Under her knuckles, the door opened a couple inches and from inside came a poorly stifled grunt of pain. "Is everything OK in here?" she asked, finally opening the door.

The scene that greeted her made her gasp and tightly clutch her son's head to her chest. Freya stood at the end of her bed, one hand supporting herself on the bed post, the other gripping the front of her titanically swollen belly. The entire front of her white maternity skirt was soaked in blood and as Garnet took a moment to stare, more of the life-sustaining fluid seemed to be pouring out. "Go find Amarant..." She whispered.

Words weren't necessary. Amarant had never seen Quina looking panicked but the moment she came bursting into the construction site where he was working with those wide Qu eyes, he knew what was going on before she even had the chance to open her mouth. So he dropped his hammer and took ff running. Under other circumstances, he probably would have been impressed that even with all the speed and endurance training he had put himself through, even with his large stature and great strides, his overweight companion had managed to keep pace. But he couldn't think of anything but Freya, how ever fiber of his body was telling him that he physically needed to be near her.

That physical need was what made the normally tranquil ferry ride from the city to the palace intolerably slow. On numerous occasions he found himself wanting to throw himself off the boat to try to swim to the palace but being wet in addition to tired and still slower than he wanted to be was really not worth it. He realized this especially when Quina, gentle oblivious Quina, took his hand. He looked down to see the most steely expression he had ever seen across her Qu face. "Don't worry," She said, "Freya strongest lady I know."

Amarant nodded and gave her hand a squeeze.

Everyone was waiting in the hallway outside Freya's chamber as they approached. There was an air of graveness, like everybody knew that this would not end well. Zidane stood leaning against the wall, gently bouncing his infant son. Steiner and Beatrix carefully leaned on each other, trying their hardest to maintain their regal demeanor but still gain as much comfort as they could out of one another. Eiko was the only one whose outlook seemed cheery. She tittered excitedly about Burmecian babies to Vivi who paced nervously. All heads swiveled up as the father of the problem approached, as if looking to him for guidance. Amarant did the best he could to puff up his chest, hide his nervousness and strode confidently up to the door.

But before his hand even made contact with the handle, the door burst open, Garnet stepping out to block his path. "Thank goodness you're here, Amarant," She said, placing her hand on his arms both as a motion of comfort and to bar him from entry. "He's trying everything he can but she's getting weaker by the minute-"

Without really pushing her aside, he put his hand on her arm and she sighed sadly, letting him pass.

Once Amarant stepped into his room, his heart nearly stopped. Freya laid pathetically on the bed with a white robed medic sitting between her raised legs. His breath caught in his chest as he took in her sweaty, emaciated form. But she smiled nonetheless and reached out her hand to him. He wordlessly dashed over and knelt on the floor next to her so she could nuzzle her rodent face in his thick hair.

"I take it you are responsible for this woman?" The medic asked.

Amarant nodded.

The healer put his hand on Freya's lower abdomen and quietly chanted "Regen", releasing a green glowing spell from his hand. "That should hold you for a couple minutes, My Lady." He said, flicking back his red triangle-accented hood. "May I have a word with you, sir?" He addressed Amarant as he stood up. Amarant gently caressed Freya's gaunt face and also stood up, joining th doctor by the door. "Your lady wife certainly is something else." Doc said, taking off his bloody gloves. "She has lost more blood than I have ever seen. The baby is fine but if she doesn't deliver soon, she's going to need something a bit more powerful than a can-do spirit."

"Tell me what I can do to help." Amarant said, a surprising authoritative note to his voice.

"I don't think there's anything you can do to help," He sighed, "Unless you can literally give her more blood or bolster her life force or something."

He quietly growled at himself, why did he have to pick now to be so useless. Would it have killed him to take some medical training? Why couldn't he have been a healer instead of a monk? Suddenly realization dawned on him and he looked back at his bed bound wife. Quickly he dashed to her side. Without a word he flicked all the cushions she was leaning against aside and hastily took their place, trying his hardest not to jar Freya. He put one leg on either side of her and pulled her body back against his. With one hand over her heart and the other over her tummy, he began pumping her full of his Chakra.

As his life force began flowing through her, she sighed, her head falling back against his shoulder. "You feel so good." She mused quietly.

"Too bad," Amarant said, "If you hadn't said that thirty weeks ago, we wouldn't be in this mess."

She laughed weakly. "What a time to try to be funny."

He didn't stop his Chakra flow but hugged her tighter. "I'm not doing it for you."

"Too bad," She said, stroking his wrists, "Because I'm doing this for you."

He lowered his head, resting his forehead against her neck. "I never asked for this."

"I know. But what better way to physically show your love for someone?"

"You could just say it."

"Actions speak louder than words. Besides, I knew you would never say it back- Gyuahhh!" She cut herself off with a painful howl.

"OK, this is a big one, my lady, try to ride it out!" The healer said, putting a fresh towel against Freya's body. "Sir, try taking to her, encourage her."

"Stay with me, Freya!" He commanded. But with each word that tumbled out of his mouth, his voice got weaker and weaker. "You know better than anyone I can't do this alone. I'll be a terrible father, just look at the stock I came from." She yowled and dug her fingernails into his knees. But he was beyond pain as he brought his mouth up to her ear and continued talking. "Do you remember when we went to the Fire Temple together? I asked Zidane not to send me with you. It wasn't because I doubted your skills or thought we couldn't work together; I just didn't want to fall for someone I knew I couldn't have. From the first second I laid eyes on you I knew we were two halves of the same whole. Even once I had you I didn't want to love you because I didn't want to hurt you." Tears suddenly sprang to his eyes but he fought them back as hard as he could. "But I fell for you anyway, Freya. I physically cannot not love you, you are just too much for me."

She finally let loose; a pain filled, blood freezing scream escaping her lungs. As she did, her body twisted, her pelvis pushing forward. And from all her pain, all her suffering, a tiny, shrill voice cried out. The baby, the result of her labor of love, finally announced itself to the world.

"Great job, My Lady!" The doctor said. "You have successfully delivered!" He hummed a short, triumphant tune. "And it's a girl!"

"Do you hear that, Freya? It's a girl. We have a daughter." Amarant whispered to Freya.

"We have a daughter." Freya weakly repeated, her voice as thin as the heartbeat under Amarant's hand. "What's her name?"

He seemed taken aback by the question. "We never discussed any names."

"What's her name?" She demanded, her voice barely audible.

Tears finally began oozing from his eyes. They never talked about it because she knew she would never meet her child. This was his decision so she was leaving it completely up to him. "Her name... Rasaleelah... Rasaleelah Crescent." He said.

"Rasaleelah... That's a... beautiful..." She trailed off, her body going limp in his arms.

"That is a lovely name, Good Sir." The medic said after wrapping the baby in a soft blanket and returning to the bed. "Shall I go make record of it-" He stopped. Amarant sat rocking the unmoving body of his wife, great sobs shaking his mountainous form. The smile drained from the doctor's face and he slowly turned to the door. Once he was out in the hallway, he could only take a hand full of steps before Eiko blocked his path.

"Awwww, baby!" She sighed, even though she wasn't tall enough to see the baby in the man's arms. "I sure hope you took good care of Freya cause-" She finally looked up into his grave face and stopped. He didn't say anything, only shook his head solemnly. "No." She said, turning to the door. "No no no no no!" She continued repeating as she dashed into the chamber.

Steiner was the first one to react. "Eiko, no!" He said as he took off after her. But he only took about two steps before suddenly the wind was knocked out of him as if someone socked him right in the gut. He stumbled forward into the wall, clutching his chest as if he had been dealt a physical blow.

Garnet however took off after the youngster. She had collapsed right inside the door, clearly struck by the scene that greeted her. Amarant sat, still pumping his Chakra into Freya's limp body. A choke caught in Garnet's throat as she heard him sobbing into Freya's neck. But she placed a hand on Eiko's shoulder, trying to lead her away.

But Eiko swatted at her hand. "No!" She shouted. "This isn't it. Life!" A powerful healing spell left her hand and came to rest on Freya to no effect. "This can't be the end! Curaga!" Another healing spell, then another and another escaped the child mage but to no avail.

Garnet wrapped her arms around her quivering shoulders, drawing her up into her chest where they both accepted each other's meager comfort.

Vivi didn't enter the room, he already knew what was going on. He had experienced enough death when living with the black mages, he didn't need to see it again. Slowly he reached out his hand for some kind of support to keep him from collapsing. But instead of finding the wall, his hand caught onto something warm and fluffy. Quina grabbed his arm and pulled him forward against her robe. As she quietly began chanting in her native tongue, Vivi was absorbed by the vibrations of her lungs and the smell of the desert she had been cooking this morning that permeated her robes. This is what comfort felt like, he thought as he let his grief flow from his eyes and lungs.

The shrill cry of the baby as the doctor slowly took it to the healer's wing was the only announcement made to the palace.