Here I am again. I'm sorry it always takes such a long time for me to translate ... I thought, now that I'm done with school I would be much quicker but it seems like I was wrong ... ^^" But I promise to give it my best.

To silent romantic: Thank you again for your review. ^^ There will be some more funny chapters until it becomes serious again.

Chapter 11: An old promise

Zelos lay on his couch and held his hurting head. "This little devil! If he hadn't been there then …"

Sheena sighed and put an ice bag on his forehead. "Don't blame Ashton for everything."

"But if it is his fault? I don't know why but for some reason he doesn't like me! These aren't normal pranks anymore! Apart from that he's only four or five years old! How will it be in a few years? Fortunately I'll be rid of him soon … I'll be so glad when he's gone … Martel, please let this day come soon before the boy antagonizes everyone against me …"

"You sound like you don't want to have children sometime," Sheena said and dedicated herself to her book again.

The children were already sleeping and Sebastian handled the washing up as usually.

After the king had found Zelos in his bed-chamber and had made him responsible for all the ravage he had let the cooks and bookworms chase Zelos out of the castle and had given Zelos an order to stay away from the castle for a month. On his way outside Zelos had gotten more than one book and one pan thrown at his head. Everywhere on his body were bruises and his head felt like it was to explode every second.

"I do want to have children but not such a little devil. My children would respect me and love me …" Zelos answered.

"If you say so," Sheena muttered. She was too preoccupied with her book. It was quiet for some time until Zelos asked: "Do you want to have children, Sheena?"

"Hmm … Sometime …" she responded still reading her book. "When I found someone I want to have family with …"

"Hm." Zelos gazed sadly at the ceiling.

This person would probably not be him. But he wished for Sheena that it was someone who treated her well and loved her, someone who would gave his life for her without a thought. Because only someone like this deserved Sheena.

Zelos slowly fell asleep on the couch but awoke sometime later because of noise. He blinked a few times and then realized that it was Lilly who was crying.

Sheena held her already in her arms and tried to calm her down. She didn't seem to be hungry because she ignored the feeding bottle Sheena was holding towards her entirely. A change of the diaper was not necessary either, at least Zelos couldn't smell anything.

Sheena swayed the child in her arms but Lilly still seemed to miss something.

The kunoichi sighed. "What's wrong with you, sweetie? Do you have fever?" Sheena put her hand on the forehead of the baby. "No … Hmm … Did you have a nightmare?" (I don't know if little baby can have nightmares, too, I don't even know if they can dream at all … But it doesn't matter xD)

Lilly gave her of course no answer but kept on crying.

"Shhh … Everything's fine," Sheena murmured and then began to sing quietly. It was an old lullaby which calmed children normally down. But why she knew this she didn't know. Maybe her grandfather sang her the song but she doubted it because he had a terrible singing voice and didn't sing because of this.

In the meantime Zelos had straightened up and was watching Sheena the whole time. Never before had she looked so beautiful as now with the open hair and the baby in her arms. If Zelos hadn't already loved her with all his heart then now he would've fallen deeply in love with her.

Zelos envied Lilly a little bit because Sheena sang her so softly to sleep. She was never so soft to him but that was probably his own fault.

Sheena finally stopped singing but kept on summing the lullaby until Lilly had fallen asleep. "Sleep well, sweetie …" She kissed Lilly on the forehead and wanted to lay her in her bed again when she realized that Zelos was awake.

"That was wonderful, Sheena …" he said truly touched.

Sheena knew that he was serious and blushed. "I'm sorry that you had to hear my terrible singing …" She went upstairs and Zelos followed her.

"Terrible singing? Sheena, not even the loveliest songbirds could compete with you! With your voice you could melt even the hardest heart!" Zelos stated and probably the first time in his life he paid an honest compliment.

"You're exaggerating, Zelos," Sheena replied and laid Lilly in her bed. Then she left the room and closed the door.

"Can't you at least once accept a compliment from me?" Zelos asked sighing.

"You're right, I'm sorry," she answered. She hesitated a moment, then she leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks." She smiled because of him being perplexed. She already wanted to go downstairs again but Zelos stopped her.

"Sheena …"

She turned back to him and looked at him questioningly.

"I love you. I know I've said this already once and you probably don't want to hear this but I want you to believe me that I'm serious. I love you and I will always love you, no matter if … if our ways will continue separated from one another or not."

A cold shiver ran down Sheena's spine. Again. Again he managed for her to feel so helpless, so indecisive. What was she supposed to do? Why did he have to confuse her this much? Couldn't he just behave like he always did? Then it would've been simple for Sheena to wipe him out of her life after a week and to forget him but now …

What was she supposed to do?

She just stood there stock-still but Zelos hadn't expected an answer anyway. "Well, I think I'll go to bed now. A little bit of sleep can hopefully ease my headache …" He turned around and wanted to go to his room as he suddenly felt two arms entwined around him.

"Why, Zelos? Why can't I just hate you? Why are you making it so difficult for me?" Sheena whispered and leaned her head on his back.

"Sheena … I'm sorry … I didn't want to …"

"Cut it out, you're becoming like Colette … You apologize for something for which you can't be blamed … Do you remember the first time we met?"

"Of course, how could I ever forget this?"

:::

Sheena sat on the ground leaning against a tree and cried. As long as she was alone she could allow herself to let the tears come out. But she wasn't allowed in front of others.

She was a ninja girl and as such she wasn't permitted to show any feelings, never. But apart from that it was her pride which prohibited her to cry in front of others. She had to be strong. She belonged to the ninja.

It had been only one day since she failed to make a pact with Volt and killed half of the village. Everybody wanted to convince her that it wasn't fault but in the eyes of the villagers and her friends she could see that they did thought it was her fault.

And Sheena knew that they were right with their quiet allegations. It was her fault. She should've been stronger. Because of her failing many citizens of Mizuho had died and the chief, her grandfather, was in a coma.

She had failed and had disappointed everyone. She had no right to be trained to be a ninja anymore. She was too weak.

While she was sobbing all the time and hated herself for bringing so much harm upon the villagers of Mizuho she didn't realize someone was coming closer.

She didn't realize it until that someone was standing directly in front of her and blocked the sun.

"On such a nicely day nobody should cry."

Sheena looked up but could only make out the dark outlines of the person.

"I don't cry!" Sheena said and wiped quickly the tears away. "Something just got in my eye!"

The person crouched down in front of her and now Sheena saw that it was a boy about her age. His red hair had shoulder-length and his eyes were as blue as the sky. He wore such elegant clothes that he had to be an aristocrat. Sheena wondered what he was doing here, in the midst of the Gaoracchia forest.

He nudged her forehead. "Come with me, I'll make you laugh today." He grabbed her hand but she freed herself from his grip.

"And if I don't want to laugh?"

The boy sighed. "Well, then you'll have to continue sitting here and drowning in a sea of tears. And who would benefit from this? Nobody."

"No, many people would benefit from it …" Sheena murmured quietly.

"I don't think so. You certainly have friends and family who care about you," the boy replied.

Sheena shook her head. "I don't know my parents, the only family I have is my grandfather and he's in a coma because of me … And I have lost all my friends … one way or another …" The tears threatened to run down her face again.

The boy looked at her contemplatively for a while. "Then we're alike … I also don't have neither friends nor family … Hey, since we're so similar let's be friends!"

Sheena looked skeptically at him. "I don't even know you."

"I'm Zelos Wilder. What's your name?"

"Sheena … Sheena Fujibayashi." Somehow his name sounded familiar but she couldn't remember where she had heard it before.

"So, Sheena, are we friends now?"

Sheena nodded slowly. "Ok."

Zelos grinned and grabbed her hand again. "Come, I want to show you something. I show it only to my friends and since I never had ones before you're the first one to see. Well, apart from the people who get there by coincidence …"

"Where are we going to?" Sheena asked. She was afraid that she wouldn't find the way back to Mizuho; one could easily get lost in the Gaoracchia forest after all.

"You'll see in a second, it's not far from here." Then he stopped and turned around to her. "You know that there are only dark places in the Gaoracchia forest, right?"

Sheena nodded. "Yes, and because everything looks alike one gets lost easily."

"Right. But not all places here are dark and creepy."

They walked on and suddenly they reached a beautiful clearing where a river flowed and the sun shone through the crowns of the trees. While the rest of the Gaoracchia forest seemed dead here pure life ruled.

Birds were chirping happily, butterflies flew around, rabbits hobbled across the clearing … It was beautiful.

"How … How can it be that there is such a nice place in this creepy forest?" Sheena asked taken aback.

"It's due to the balance of the world. When there is death there also has to be life, when there are shadows there has to be light as well, when there is something ugly there has to be something pretty," Zelos explained. "And when there is sorrow there has to be happiness, too."

Sheena smiled.

"You see?" Zelos smiled now as well.

They stayed for a while at the clearing, let their feet dangle in the water of the river and listened to nature but then Zelos said that it was time for him to go.

"I'll bring you back to the place where we met," he stated.

When they arrived there Sheena asked: "Will we see each other again?"

"I don't know. I won't have often the opportunity to come here."

Sheena looked depressed at the ground but then she lifted her head again and smiled at Zelos. "I'll wait for you at the clearing."

Zelos smiled as well. "Someday we will be together there again, I promise you."

:::

"You never came …" Sheena whispered.

"I know. I could leave Meltokio only a few times. And when we met again you were like a different person …"

"I was angry with you because you never came … You were my only friend but I had the feeling that you had abandoned me as well …"

"Sheena …" Zelos turned around and saw that Sheena had tears in her eyes. He wiped them away. "I never meant to hurt you … I'm sorry. But it isn't too late yet to keep the promise. And I promise you that we will visit the clearing again sometime soon."

"Will you this time be able to keep your promise? I don't want to hope for something again that won't come true anyway …"

"We'll be there again, trust me," Zelos said.

"I trust you …"

What happened next Zelos had never considered possible. Sheena leaned forward, laid her arms around his neck and kissed him. He was surprised but came quickly to his senses again and responded to the kiss.

Slowly they got to his room and Zelos wasn't sure if he was the one leading them there …

Sweet, huh? ^^ Yeah, I think everyone can imagine what will happen next ... And just so that you know: I will not describe THAT part. xD I'm not a lemon writer although a friend of mine always wants me to write a lemon ... But it's not really my thing. I like to read them, though ... *cough*

Well ... Obviously Zelos and Sheena sleep together but what will happen after that? Will they be together? Or will it be an awkward situation?

To be continued ...