Crimson Rain

by The God Slayer

Decades after the planet has finally known peace, through great sacrifice and struggle, something ancient and sinister stirs beneath the surface. A mad man rises with power the world thought was extinct and declares war on the planet, igniting a turn in history millenniums in the making.

25. Take Me Under

Notes: I thought the title fit this chapter perfectly for Emma. Tell me what you think, or give me your suggestion for the chapter—would love to know! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy!

Take Me Under

Her head was throbbing so fiercely that she just couldn't ignore it. She opened her eyes slowly, so that the light would not worsen her headache. The room was dark, with the curtains pulled almost entirely shut. She couldn't remember what had happened, and how she had gotten to her room. She lifted herself up on her elbows, stifling back a stiff groan, and looked around the room for any clues as to what happened.

It was empty, and thoroughly cleaned. The last she recalled she hadn't the time to clean anything, wishing to push it for 'later' because of her pregnancy making it too uncomfortable. Recalling her pregnancy with alarm, she tore the blankets off and sighed in relief that she...that her baby...was fine.

If anything had happened to you...

There was a knock on the door and she looked up, startled. "Robert?" the name sounded strange on her tongue. She hadn't used his name before, not out loud. She could feel an anger to that usage tinkle inside of her mind, barely there but trying to be heard. The door opened and he came in, face weathered in concern. He had a few scratches and bruises on his face, but looked fine overall. That confused her even further, though. What had happened? Did he get hurt while working? "What...what happened? How did I get here?"

His eyes softened in a way she had never from him. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

He sighed and stepped further into the room. "A day ago you woke me in the middle of the night." as he spoke, pieces of that memory started to reveal themselves to her and it felt foreign. Unbelievable. "You told me you heard something, so I went to investigate while you stayed behind in my room, where it was safe."

"...what did you find?"

He looked down, further alarming her, and then said, "Two men, sent by Luke."

No! No!

"I went out to meet them and engaged battle with them both. However, one of them managed to slip by me to enter the house, where he found you."

"Me...me? What—what d-d-did he do to me?" she was starting to fear the worse. Whatever the man had done to her, it had taken her memories away. Did she even want to know? It must have been so horrible!

"I'm not sure, but I was unable to come to your aid because the other caught me in battle again. A few minutes later, the sky darkened and the man who had went after you appeared in front of us through a bolt of lightning."

She blinked confusedly at him. "From...from lightning?"

"Aye, and another bolt hit in front of him and...well...you were there."

No...not me, she thought, realizing what had happened.

"You had transformed into this," he paused for a second, considering, and she knew it was bad. "Esperish form and attacked him and his ally. It didn't take long for you to...kill them."

I...I killed them? She looked down at her hands, as if she could see their blood on them. Even if they were evil men, they didn't deserve to die. Not by her hands, not by what she knew her transformation might have done to them. They deserved a trial, a fair one, in accordance to the Figaro ways. But even as a Figaro princess, she had denied them that basic human right and took judgement into own hands. Tears swelled to her eyes. I'm out of control.

Robert moved closer. "You weren't in control, Emma, none of this is your fault. They intended you harm...do not weep for them."

She looked up at him. "How could you say that? Life is precious, no matter who holds it...and...and I took it from them, brutally. It doesn't matter if they wanted to hurt me. I—I killed them."

"In this world, in reality, we must do what we must to protect ourselves against evil, against danger. You need to realize that there will always be circumstances where murder for self defense is understandable...acceptable."

"How many have you killed?" she asked him quietly. "How many?"

He made a face, and then shook his head. "Too many to count."

"I've killed thousands," she said coldly. "I have eradicated village after village, soldier after soldier. I fought and killed...all so that I could be spared from something."

"Emma—"

"A part of being the better person," she whispered, now looking back down at her hands. "Is to know when something is wrong regardless of justifications. Life is scared, and I have taken it from so many. Some evil, most not."

Robert was quiet for such a long time she thought he had nothing left to say, that he understood her now, but he scoffed. "If that is what being good is, to let evil happen around you in a hopeless dream that evil will change or stop, then I am glad I am not apart of it. Yes, life is sacred, but we are talking about people who would willingly take that life from innocents. Humans aren't perfect, and maybe in the future there won't be a need for death punishments, but right now we must do what we must to protect the greater good. No one said it would ever be easy to take a life, no matter who it was, but one can take solace in the fact that at least the life they took will not be taking any more innocents. And for you, Emma, you had no choice in any of the matter. You were forced to do the things that you did, mentally and physically dominated and enslaved. So much so that you now possess a fragile psyche. It doesn't make you a bad perfect, and it won't ever."

Her thoughts were so jumbled. She knew he was right, that there was no other choice, but what difference did that make? More blood was on her hands, and no matter who it was and what they were going to do to her, she had ripped something indescribable away from them. She knew they were evil, but she couldn't help that she didn't think that was enough reason to kill them.

Her silence must have said something to him, because he bowed his head and knelt, brandishing his sword. She looked up at him in confusion. "I will not allow this to happen again. No one will come near you so long as I live, and never will you have to deal with the problem yourself. This I swear."

Emma felt a measure of peace from his words but knew such promises were better left unsaid. Do not make promises you can't keep.

---

Cambyses wished he never had to see the expression he was seeing on Maria ever again. Is this what child loss looks like? He wondered, watching Setzer try to sooth his wife nearby the airship platforms. He was standing further away, waiting for their moment to be over, before he interrupted with his questions. The Gabbiani parents had just returned from another search for Alexander, empty handed. Cadence had refused to come with him, too hurt and tired, so he was left to deal with this on his own.

I have myself to blame. I will not, should not, drag others into it.

Just as the scene seemed to end, he picked up the courage to march forward and greet them the best he could. He bowed to them and gave Maria his condolences. "Maria...Setzer." they looked at him, and he could see the anger clearly in their eyes. He cleared his throat. "I have been thinking on what we...what I can do to help."

"What can you do?" Maria hissed.

"I can lend the submarines." he said, and that caused Setzer to startle. "It is the least I can do, considering..."

"But you need them against Aluzar," Setzer muttered. "Are you sure?"

"Aluzar barely has a navy...I don't think we need to worry with the submarines too much." he explained. "Take all three if you must. I just hope it can find answers for you."

Setzer nodded and leaned over to shake his hand. "Thank you Cambyses, this will help tremendously."

Cambyses glanced at Maria for a second, and then said, "I would like to say that I do not think your son is dead. He was trained by the best to man airships and ships...a little weather could not have done him in."

They were quiet for a moment, and then Setzer said, "We appreciate the sentiment, Cambyses, we do. Is there anything else?"

Damn. He knows there are more reasons to this visit... "Now that you say that, yes, actually."

Maria scoffed and rolled her eyes. "It has been long enough, and I need someone to visit Emma." however angry Maria was, the girl's name perked her up—if only for the fact that she carried her grandchild. "I need updates on her condition as well as resupply lists. And a message delivered, of course."

"Are you insane?" Setzer growled. "What do you expect us to say to her? She will know something is wrong, and we won't be able to lie to her. Do you think telling her Alexander could very well be dead is such a wise idea?!"

"I will leave that up to you two," he said. "If you think she should know, tell her. If not, don't. Either way, I think seeing Emma will lift your spirits. And hers."

"We won't lie to her," Maria snapped.

Setzer laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Maria, we should talk about this on the way over. We have to consider the outcome, too. Emma is in a very fragile state...you know this." she looked away in anger and disgust. "Cambyses, please have my sons prep the subs for long travel. I would like to pick up where I left off immediately upon our return."

Cambyses bowed to him. "Of course Setzer. Maria," he said, bowing to her too. "I will see you both when you return. Safe travels."

After he saw them off, he went in search of his parents hoping they would have some advice on how to proceed with Emma, if Setzer and Maria decided to tell her the truth. He knew she was going to take the news terribly and wanted to prepare. He found them in the library, reading over tomes not from the Royal library itself. His mother clamped the book shut when she saw him and rose to hug him.

"Is Henry doing well? And Cadence?"

He smiled. "Yes, they are both doing fine," he said. "Henry is growing so fast though. He's gotten so..."

"Fat?" Edgar teased with a laugh.

"Not my son," Camb remarked proudly. "Just getting really big, I guess. I didn't expect him to grow so fast but I guess that's how it is." and then remembering why he came to talk with them, he said, "Mother, Father, we need to discuss Emma. I gave Setzer and Maria the right to decide if Emma should know the news about Alexander."

"That was the wiser decision."

"I know father, and I would like to ask you two advice on how to talk to her if she is told. She will hate me so much, and will be justifiably angry. How should I proceed?"

"Well," Terra mumbled. "This will be tough on her, surely you can understand that, but don't assume. Your sister consistently proves to be a very difficult but different person from the rest of us...you never know how she will respond to this."

"But I do know a very likely outcome," he muttered. "Regardless I would like your advice."

"Well, son, hmm," Edgar nervously rubbed the back of his neck and then quickly looked at his wife for help. "Terra?"

She smiled patiently as she faced her son. "Any advice we can offer will only be given once we know how she responded. I'm afraid you will have to wait on it." Cambyses sighed heavily.

"Then I suppose I must wait," he looked towards their collection of books. "What are you two reading, anyway?" they exchanged looks quickly, as if unsure if they should say. It made him suspicious. "Well?"

Terra fidgeted. So that's where Emma got it from, Camb thought with a smile. "You see...we thought that something in the Ancient's library would help us."

"With?"

"Helping your sister," Edgar explained. "Magic came back with new rules son, and we want to know how to figure them out. If we can, might be we can help your sister's unstable transformations and figure out a way to stop Derell and Luke quickly."

"We suspected anything of usefulness would be in the Ancient's library, but all we have found are what seems to be historical tomes."

"What seems like? You can't read it?"

Terra's expression darkened with sadness. "I have never seen this language before. It almost feels familiar, but no...I cannot read it."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Trying to learn, of course," Edgar said through a weak smile before he turned to one of the books. It was one of the largest there, and bound in leather. "We are trying to find examples of untranslated text in text of Ancient Figaro or Doman."

"Have you found any?"

"Some," Terra said, picking a smaller book up to show to him. She flipped several pages and then placed her index finger on a row of words she underlined. "We found archaic words. The pronunciation is a bit different, but undeniably the same." Cambyses read over the list of words. The letters looked alien for most, but some of them were clearly the same words he knew today, like 'water' and 'sun'. "This can get us closer to understanding this unknown language, because it means it is in the same language family, or perhaps talked about heavily in one of our ancient tongues."

"That is fantastic news!" he said, awed completely. His mother had once started learning Ancient Doman long ago, which is how she had come across his name. She must have a talent for languages, he thought. "Do you think progress will be slow, though?"

"Most likely," she admitted softly. "Learning languages itself is a hard and long process, but to learn a dead language older than probably human existence or language? Even harder...probably impossible, if we can't find any other texts or resources that can shed light on it. Edgar and I are the only ones trying, as well, which of course makes it even more difficult."

"Why not accept help from the Figaro Scholars? They have been dreaming of ancient tomes for hundreds of years. I'm sure their knowledge can greatly benefit your endeavors."

"Because we don't know if we can trust anyone outside of our family and friends," Edgar explained. "What if the scholars work for Derell or Luke?"

"We can't let Derell or his son scare us out of trusting our people and those around us. If we allow him to force us into fear and hiding like this, he wins. If it means so much to you to make sure that you won't be betrayed, take each into a room and talk to them thoroughly. Trick them up if you have to. Either way I think this lead deserves more attention than just two tired parents."

Edgar and Terra once again looked at each other, this time they were considering the help, the idea of it. And then Terra smiled tiredly and nodded ."Fine. We will try it. We can run test projects first, so that if anything is fed to Derell it won't be so important."

"That seems like another good idea, mother," he said. "I shall send word ahead to the Scholar's Temple, to let them know you will be coming." he took his mother's hands. "If anyone can figure this out...it will be you two." he kissed her knuckles, inclined his head to his father and then departed.

---

Alexander groaned.

Something was pressed against his head, and his hands were stiff and locked behind his back. His legs felt wrapped in something tight and ropy, too. He tried to open his eyes but the light from a torch hurt his head too much. He shut them tightly and groaned again. What had happened to him? Where was he? What was restricting him so painfully well?

The last thing I remember...the images of shadowy figures flickered in his mind's eye and he gasped. People had attacked him! He opened his eyes again and forced them to stay open despite the pain and then glanced around the room he was in. It wasn't a room at all, but a well lit cavern. The wall had been painstakingly worked until shelves or other furniture like pieces had been made. Murals, painted with beautiful and sharp colors, decorated each and every wall—some bigger than others. The floor was almost entirely covered with furs or grass. Torches were hung on walls, suspended from iron-like clips, while an iron bowl sat above him full of fire.

He lifted himself up, struggling against his restraints, and took the chance to better look over the room. It was so...alien. He had never seen such craftsmanship. Where am I?

"Hyooman whak."

Alexander twisted his torso in surprise to look at the source of the gluttoral voice. Standing behind him at around ten feet at least was a muscled...man? He was huge and dressed in dark red fabrics, though most of his dark skin showed. His eyes were rounder than humans, and had a tint of lavender over white eyes. His head of wavy brown hair was tied back by a large rope carrying the largest sapphire he had ever seen before. Alex gasped. This must be one of the giants...! "Hyooman whak?" he said again, moving toward him at unbelievably grace and quietness.

Hyooman? Oh! Human! He swallowed back whatever fears he had and said, struggling once again against his restraints. "I am Alexander; I have come to search your mountains, but I do not mean you any harm."

The giant's intense eyes widened. "Hyooman...sound...hard."

"What?" Alexander looked around, hoping someone else was around to act as a translator, but then realized such a hope was pointless. If the legends and stories were true, thee giants have been isolated for so long that language, human language, was dead to them and that the likeliness of human visitors to translate was just impossible. Instead he tapped his chest and said his name slowly. "Alexander. Alexander."

The giant seemed to have understood and nodded his head vigorously. "Alhuks!"

He laughed. Close enough, I guess. He pointed at the giant and he nodded again. "Torzon!"

Well, that is easy enough to say. "Hello Torzon."

The giant shook his head. "Torzon! Torzon!"

Oh, right... "Torzon?" the giant laughed and rushed him so fast that Alexander barely had time to flinch before the giant took him up into a strong hug. The force of it felt like it would break him in two, but before he could complained the giant released him. "Maybe not so tight next time, okay?"

Torzon looked at him for a moment and then shouted. "OHKAI!"

He learns quick, Alexander thought. "Where am I?"

Torzon gestured. "Gods inside."

I'm inside a god? "Gods inside?"

"Gods..." Torzon struggled for a word. "...place? Hyooman...walk gods place...why?"

Alexander knew he was asking why he was here, but he wasn't sure that telling the man the reason wouldn't have him killed. But what choice do I have? I doubt this giant is going to let me go if he is suspicious. I have to tell him the truth. I just hope he can pity my cause. Alexander looked away and said, very simply, "Power."

The word was clearly recognized and understood by Torzon, because he growled. "Power no have."

Alex looked up at him, shocked. "You don't have power?"

"No power Torzon," he said. "No give not have."

"I don't understand," Alex muttered. "Who has power to give, then?"

Clearly not frustrated by the conversation, he howled into the caverns. To Alex it sounded like words, like he was saying something, but he couldn't be sure. Not, at least, until two more giants appeared behind him. These two were different in the fact that they were females; almost as tall as he was and still very muscled. Their hair was braided and decorated with sapphires still, and their clothes were more like a robe that revealed the upper chest, shoulders and legs beyond the thighs.

Torzon turned to talk to them, using the same harsh sound language as before. The two females nodded and whispered along, until one started toward him. Her eyes were pale blue but just as round as Torzon's as she knelt before him. "Human in gods' place. Torzon no power to give human."

"Where can I get power?"

The female shook her head, obviously flustered. One of her hands reached out to take his arm, strongly, as if urging him to understand. "Torzon no power to give human."

I...I don't understand, he thought, equally frustrated. If he has no power to give me then...and then he froze, suddenly understanding. "You mean Torzon cannot give me power himself?"

The female's face contorted in an attempt to understand and then she nodded happily. "Torzon ate power but no power to give. Power gives gods duty."

So...so their gods give power, but not them? "The gods have power to give me?" she nodded again, happier. "How do I get this power?"

"No take power," she snapped angrily, eyes darkening as she straightened and backed away. "No take...no take...eat!"

"Eat?"

"Eat power!"

What the hell is she rambling about? "Fine. Where do I go?"

She turned back to Torzon and hurried through an explanation, Alex assumed, in her language. Once she was finished, Torzon approached slowly, bending down so that he wasn't so high above him. "Torzon walk hyooman." he started walking away as the female leaned down to remove the restraints. After a moment Alexander was free and stood carefully, swaying as his vision flared. The female took his head and turned it forcefully to look at his wound and then made a happy, girlish sound before gesturing to the cavern entry that Torzon went through.

"Walk Torzon!" she gestured again and then took Alex by his arm before shoving him toward the cavern door. "Walk!"

"Alright, alright," he laughed. "No need to be so pushy."

It was easy to follow the giant through the caverns, and would have still been easy even if there weren't any torches to light the way. The man's walking seemed to shake the ground, and made a certain presence that even Alexander couldn't deny feeling. The giant led him through cavern after cavern, and after an hour of walking, Alexander was beginning to think that he was being led into an ambush of some sort.

There is no way I will be able to take him in a fair fight, he realized, eying his surroundings for something to use, to run, just in case. One hit and I'm dead. But just as he was considering running back the way he came, Torzon stopped before another opening in the cavern's wall. He gestured to it with a broad smile. Slowly Alexander entered the room and became even more nervous when this room had absolutely no light.

Torzon entered, and the room suddenly lit up. Alexander gasped as beautiful lights started shimmering from the walls all the way up to the room in bizarre patterns. There were reds, blues, greens, yellows, pinks, oranges and more, all in different shades and all as individual sources of light. It was amazing, and absolutely beautiful. He stepped further in, only then noticing the raised platform that led higher up, to a twisting column of rock that led to yet another room about fifty feet above them.

"What...what is this place?"

"Sleep place are dead."

A graveyard? He thought, looking up at the lights again. How sad. "What happened?"

Torzon's eyes narrowed and then he shook his head and pointed to the twisting column. "Walk." Alex couldn't help but laugh as he went forward. Emma sure would have loved to see it, though. One day I will bring you here Emma...I swear it.

At the top, Torzon slowed and took him by the shoulder. "Wait slow." he went in first and then said, "Walk!" very loudly, indicating Alex to come in. Once he was inside, he was greeted by another raised platform showered in the light of a giant crystal at least one hundred feet high. It was a pale white, with specks of blue around the base of the light, and seemed to pulsate gently.

Torzon went to the platform and waited for him to catch up before looking up at the crystal solemnly. "Place train." and then he looked at Alex. "No train. Tell one why."

I'm guessing he means explain myself... "Someone I love is in danger, and the only way to protect her is to gain power. Real power."

Torzon slowly sat down crossed legged on the platform and patted the spot before him; Alex took it immediately. "Her tell Torzon."

"Uh," Alexander tried to think of a way to start, to describe her, but couldn't imagine where to begin. "Her name is Emma," he began softly as Torzon leaned forward to hear better. "She was thirteen years old—winters—old when I met her. She is..." he continued on almost quickly, omitting things too private to share or things he thought weren't important at all. He kept it to describing who she was, and some memories they had together, leaving out her rape and such. After what seemed like hours, he had no more to say and the giant was grumbling thoughtfully to himself, brows bunched in thought.

"Hyooman...love?"

"Yes, she's my love."

"Hyooman name what?"

"You mean what does her name mean?" he made a face Alex couldn't really understand. "It basically means 'everything' in the world—from the soil, to the trees, to the ocean and to the stars. Everything in existence."

"Ah!" Torzon howled happily. "Everything-girl! Hyooman protect everything-girl?"

"It is the only reason I seek power."

"God speak now hyooman." he gestured to the crystal above. "Hyooman..hyooman man? Man god speak one."

"I have to learn a language first?" he asked, confused. "What does that have to do with power?"

"Much do, hyooman." he said grumpily. "Speak god one. Power after."

"I guess I don't have much of a choice," he said aloud, disappointed. "Where do I start, then?"

"Slow," he said. "Ear god speak. Learn."

"I don't have time for this," he stood, almost angrily. "Can't I bring her here instead? Surely she will be safe here, with you and your power."

"Everything-girl here, no hyooman man." Torzon replied hotly. "Learn god speak. No stay if back." Alex growled and sat back down. He had no choice now for sure. "Listen wait slow. Eye shut two. Go."

Alexander closed his eyes. "Fine."

I will do anything for you Emma. Anything.

---

It had been a couple of days and Emma was sure there was something Robert was hiding from her. What more could have happened when the two strangers attacked that he felt was too much to say? It was driving her insane thinking about the possibilities, and soon enough her voice began to return and announce her frustrations and fears too, because she couldn't remember anything either—and she always did, she assured Emma.

It was enough, hearing that, to break her into absolute terror. What if I hurt him? Or...or threatened to kill others?

Whatever happened it is clear we have to figure it out ourselves, the voice said. He will not tell us. Not without your brother's approval.

What made matters worse was that Robert had told her she was to stay near him at all times while the house was as damaged as it was. He didn't have the supplies to fix everything yet, so he he made her swear to abide by this rule. It normally would have taken all her might to agree, but she feared what happened so thoroughly she was ready to do anything to avoid it again. On the week following the attack, she built up enough courage to ask him for details.

She wanted to know what she had said, or done, but once again Robert disregarded her and sent her to the main room to wait while he prepared her something to eat. While she waited, she grew anxious; nothing was safe in this place, not anymore. The night she had been playing her musical box...had that been the cause of the men finding them? Was it her fault once again? She shivered in fear of what could happen due to her incompetence.

That day, when he came out of the kitchen with her dinner, she accepted the bowl of beef stew quietly, and then looked at him. He didn't noticed at first, but when he sat down and started drinking his morning mug of beer, he sighed. "What could you possibly want?"

She looked away, comforted a little by the heat of the bowl. "Do...do you think more will come?"

"It is unlikely," he said. "They happened upon the cabin, I suspect, because of your music box." So she was right—it was her fault. "We just have to be more careful for a while. No more fire at night...which means you will be colder. But your endless supply of blankets should suffice for a while." She nodded, quiet again. "I will have to stay in your room as well. I cannot take any chances."

That made her startle and turn red. "You—you can't!"

"I do believe I can, actually," he smiled at her, smugly. "I will behave and stay near the door, I promise."

"No! I don't want you in my room!"

"Why? What is the reason?"

She blushed and looked down at her fingers. "B-because I...I'm..." she gave up halfway in, knowing that no matter what she said he would win the fight. He corked a brow at her, drank his beer and then leaned forward.

"Are you afraid I will watch you undress?"

She wanted to say 'yes' but before she could, he laughed. "You have nothing to fear, precious princess, I won't lay an eye on you while you are in an unmentionable state. I will stay by the door while you sleep, long after you bathe and dress."

She asked, "I—I can't s-s-say no?" he nodded. "O...Okay then." and to his surprise, she said, very sharply, "If—if you touch me...I'll...I'll tell Setzer!"

He started laughing heartily. "Alright then. No touching you while you are pleasantly undressed, either."

She finished her beef soup and stood slowly, her pregnancy more than enough of a physical burden to her to make her begin to wobble and weak knee at the weight. "I'm going to—to bed now."

"I will be up there as soon as I square away the dishes," he said, standing and smiling at her. "You should be well dressed by then."

It was a tease he was not going to let go, it seemed. She brushed it off and hurried to her room to dress before Robert could "accidentally" enter without warning. Just as she struggled into her sleeping trousers, he opened the door. He was carrying a cup of water and a book, probably for himself. He sat the cup down on the table beside her bed before he turned to look at her standing beside her bed with a dumb expression.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get into bed." Nervously she got into bed and for the next ten minutes after he blew out the candles but one near him, so that he could read, she tossed and turned. He sighed. "What is it now?"

"I—I can't sleep with the lights on." Another sigh, though he blew out the last candle and leaned back into the chair. She rolled over to face him, curiously. "Is that where you're g-going to sleep?"

She could only see the blur of his shape in the darkness, and was thankful that he couldn't see her when he said, "Are you inviting me to bed, dear princess?" because she blushed terribly and then turned away from him to sleep.

The next morning she woke to a distant roar. It took her a moment to figure it out once she was sitting up and when she did, and yelled happily, it startled Robert out of his sleep and up to his feet, sword in hand. She was already getting out of bed, despite him protesting her movements. "You aren't supposed to just get up so quickly. You could black out."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she hurriedly said, digging through her drawers for something to wear.

"Right now you are, next time you probably won't be so lucky. If that is Setzer and Maria, they won't disappear if you take one moment before standing."

She turned to glare at him. "I need to get dressed! Get out!" He scoffed, turned and stomped out of the room. She found something simple for her shirt, since she didn't feel like getting out of her trousers in her state. She heard the ship settle sometime in changing and then hurried down to greet them as fast as her legs could take her.

Downstairs she saw Robert standing away from the two with his head casted down and arms crossed, almost defensively. Maria was sitting on the sofa, eyes red and foot nervously tapping the floor. Setzer was the only one of the three to look calm, level headed, but the way that he looked up at her made her freeze in terror. Something was horribly wrong, but what? She approached them slowly, twisting her hands together and praying that whatever it was, it was fixable.

Maybe it had to do with what she had done. Were they mad? Worried? Scared? She gulped back a cry. "I—I didn't mean to do it, I swear."

Setzer gestured toward the sofa. "Emma, sweet girl, please sit for a moment..." Doing as he said, she took a spot beside Maria. "There is a lot we need to discuss."

"Is it my brothers? Are they okay?"

"They are fine, Emma, perfectly fine...it has to do with Alexander."

"You found him?" she asked, ignoring Maria's quieted cry. "Where is he?"

"He...well, dear, we...we found his ship." she blinked dumbly at him. "It crashed somewhere in the Southern Sea."

"Is he okay?" in the background, Robert shook his head with a silent swear. "Is he okay, Setzer?"

The man opened his mouth, gentle tears in his eyes, to reply but his wife broke and spilled everything. She covered her face with her hands and wept. "He's gone, Emma! He's gone!" she could barely understand the words but when Maria broke further into unmanageable sobs and her husband went to calm her, they sunk in. Alexander was dead. Before he could even know he had a child of his own, before she could tell him one last time how much she loved him and take back all the vile thoughts she had since he was taken away from her.

Her tears went slowly at first, but then she too broke, but no one was there to comfort her. Robert awkwardly watched for a moment before storming out of the house, Maria was too lost in her sorrow and Setzer was too busy tending to his wife. She covered her eyes, unable to slow the tears or the pain.

This is my fault. Now I have lost him.

No. This is your brother's fault and only his fault. The voice whispered into her mind.

[-]

Robert ran through the woods, trying to get a safe distance away from the house—from Emma's hearing. He went on and on until he topped a hill and could see a field spread out below the mountain and only then. By then his anger was worse; it had built into a hurricane and he wanted to kill the one he thought was responsible for it. He growled.

"Face me you coward!"

Something moved behind him. "Why have you called for me, Gunarr?"

Robert swirled around, seething. "Why have you done this?! To teach me a lesson?"

"What have I done, son?" Ignur asked, brows furrowing. He stepped forward, out of the shadows of the forest canopy and further into the thinning snow. "Explain."

"You didn't have to kill him!" Robert howled. "You didn't have to take him away from his family to teach me a lesson!"

Understanding filled Ignur's eyes, and he frowned. "Ah...the young human who crashed in the Southern Sea."

"He was an innocent man! He had a child to raise and a woman he loved and protected! Family who cared for him!"

Ignur's eyes burned with anger. "You mean the girl you protect? I didn't see that man here, protecting her. Who I saw was my son trying to act like a human, all in order to protect a monstrosity and her spawn."

"Don't speak about her like that," he growled, taking a threatening step toward his father. "You know I wasn't going to be here forever, that this was temporary!"

"Then come back with me, son," he said softly, holding a hand out. "Abandon your foolish mission to save the humans—they don't deserve another chance."

Robert scoffed and stepped away. "No...because of what you have done I will stay behind until she no longer needs me. You have ruined every chance you had to sway me back to our people. You only have yourself to blame, now."

"For a monster?" he asked hotly. "You will abandon your people and your post for some...some harlot? What would Jul—"

"Shut up! You don't get to say her name!" he tried to maintain his anger to continue on. "If you would just spend time with this girl father...you would see the good in her, in the humans. She's just an innocent girl, not a monster, but a girl."

Ignur chuckled. "I see...you like this human-esper hybrid."

"That has nothing to do with this," he snapped. "I can see the good in her eyes, in humans' eyes."

"Is it her eyes, then, that you adore?" he shook his head, clearly disappointed. "Our people have women with all assortments of eyes, and yet you fall for her? Why don't you just have her here and now and get over this asinine infatuation?"

Robert reacted faster than he thought possible of himself. He knocked his father to the ground and held him down by the throat with his boot. "These people worship you like a god! But you barely have the decency to acknowledge the humans. For hundreds of years I watched them walk this planet worshiping you...you don't how badly I wanted to tell them the truth. That girl in that believes in you so deeply that I have never seen anyone with such devotion."

"Get your foot off my throat, Gunarr."

"There will come a day where that girl gets her revenge on you. God or not, the day will come and I will stand aside and watch it." he pressed harder. "If you harm another person she loves, that I love, I will hunt you down until I am the last of our people, do you understand me?"

"Perfectly," Ignur said calmly.

"Good." Robert released his foot and turned to leave without saying another word. His father vanished instantly.

Back at the cabin, he found Setzer outside, pacing the porch quietly. As he approached, the pilot lifted his head and sighed. "I was wondering where you went off to...I suppose you wanted to give us some privacy or whatnot."

"Aye," Robert mumbled. "How...how is she taking it?"

Setzer glanced back at the house quickly. "She lost it when you left. I couldn't get her to calm down, not even for a second. Maria snapped out of it to help me give the girl a sedative to rest."

"Is that wise, drugging her like that?"

"It was all that we could do to keep her from hurting herself," he explained. "She's out on the sofa right now, with Maria watching her."

Robert nodded. "Will you two be leaving now?"

"After I clear out the supplies from the ship, I intend to return home swiftly so that I can tell my sons what has happened. And then I will spend my days looking for him, even if it kills me."

"Let me handle the supplies," Robert said. "You take care of your wife and rest for a while. I'm sure the drive over was tiring, especially with this news."

Setzer clamped a hand on his shoulder and smiled tiredly. "Thank you Robert...that would be appreciated." He went in to coax his wife away, to rest, while Robert wandered in behind him. Emma was indeed out like a light on the sofa. Her breathing was a bit fast paced and her head hung in an uncomfortable angle against the sofa arm, but otherwise looked like she hadn't heard terrible news.

I'm so sorry Emma... he picked her up carefully, supporting her head, and then carried her upstairs. Once he had her under the blankets, he brushed hair out of her face. "Rest easy, Emma. I will stay with you as long as I have to." he pushed a chair towards the corner and sat down to watch her. His eyes slowly closed sometime in though, and he was asleep.

When he woke, it was darker and Emma wasn't in bed. He got to his feet quickly and unsheathed his sword. "Emma?" he called into the dark room; no answer. He checked the closet, under the bed and the basin room for her, but found them empty. Trying not to panic, he left the room and went to Setzer and Maria in the guest room, but she wasn't there either. They were asleep fitfully and unwilling to scare them over something that might not be bad, just yet, he closed the door and went on for the living room.

"Emma? This isn't the time for you to be ignoring me." silence. Damn that girl! I'll beat her ass red for this! He checked the kitchen, the safety room, the gardens and the library for her. All were empty. He turned away from the library and was about to leave when he heard a quieted sob. He turned for the stairs and at the top, he found her sitting on the floor against a bookshelf, rubbing a handkerchief against her snotty nose. Her eyes were red and her face flushed and tired, and he knew she hadn't much sleep to go on. He sighed and took a spot beside her, surprised when she did not move away.

"Are you alright?" She shook her head noiselessly. "What can I do for you?"

"I...I never got to t-t-tell him how much I l-love him," she whispered, trying her hardest not to break her words too much. "Or...or that—that I'm s-s-sorry for all the horrible th-things I thought a-a-about him." she sniffed, rubbing at her nose again.

Watching her, he felt all forms of pity. She's pregnant...she shouldn't have been told this, not now. Stress is too much for her. The one time lying to her would have been for her own good, truly, and the stupid king has her told? Pathetic. He struggled to find the words to comfort her, but knew the pain all too well and that no words could ever hope to take that pain away. It was like losing a part of yourself, losing something you absolutely couldn't afford to lose. It was unimaginable and unable to be explained. All he could say was, "I'm sorry." he got up to give her some privacy, when he was stopped.

"Please...don't leave me. Not...not right now." He looked back at her. She wasn't looking at him. "I don't want to be alone...not right now."

He went back and sat down. "Alright...I'll stay for as long as you need." He remembered a point in his life where he felt exactly the same way.

Robert waited until she slouched against him, exhausted, before he carefully peeled her away and laid her down. He covered her with his jacket and went to greet Setzer and Maria at the kitchen.

Maria was left in a quieted state on one of the seats, eyes staring blankly at her breakfast. Setzer wasn't paying much attention pouring his tea and looked a thousand miles away. It was as if they were the dead walking. Robert cleared his throat at the entrance, gaining their attention sharply. Maria looked away quickly, but Setzer tried his best to smile.

"How is she?"

He tried to keep his need to chew them out for telling her back. "She's hurt...she probably won't be okay for a while. She could really use her family, though."

"I agree," Setzer said softly, before looking at his wife. "Maria, dear? Maria?" she looked up at him, confused. "Would you mind talking to her before we leave?"

"What am I supposed to say to her?" Maria asked, sharply. "I'm sorry that the man you love is dead? How is anything I have to say going to help her?"

"Maria..." Setzer reached over the table to take her hand. She yanked it away. "Don't do this..."

"You let Cambyses do this," she spat, standing. "You hardly did a thing when he told you what he did to our son. I don't care if he is a king; what he did...it...it was monstrous!"

"He made a mistake Maria! What do you want me to do, kill him?!"

"No! Of course! But you could have shown more anger! Acted like you cared!" she covered her face and sobbed. "I lost my baby! My baby Setzer!"

The pilot eased and went over to hold her soothingly. "I know, my dear wife, I know...I hurt beyond words, but I know there is much to be done still, for our two remaining sons and our soon-to-be grandchild. We have to make this world safe for them...and for me to do that, I need your help. Without you I would lose my mind with grief."

Robert looked away from the scene, tears in his eyes. Why did you have to be so reckless Alexander? Why would you sail across the ocean instead of going to your parents? What is wrong with you?

"...I can't comfort her Setzer. I don't know how."

"Sometimes that is how you comfort someone with the same pains," he said softly. "Just...just be there for her. Please, she needs someone."

Maria sighed. "Fine..." she looked at Robert. "Is she awake?"

"I last saw her in the library, asleep on the second floor."

Maria's eyes widened and she stood. "You let her sleep in a cold place like that? Aren't you thinking of the child?" she rushed away quickly. When she was gone, Setzer sighed and rubbed at his eyes weakly.

"This whole situation is a mess...I told them we don't know for sure if he is dead, and neither of them refuse to listen."

"You mentioned a crashed ship to Emma...of course she wouldn't see hope in that. And Maria saw it. I can only imagine what she is feeling right now as a parent."

"I suppose," he muttered. "Have you cleared the supplies yet?"

Crap. I forgot about that entirely. "No, but I will right now. It shouldn't take me long...should you join your wife?"

"No, I would only make it worse," Setzer said. "I would rather spend the time productively. I can fix anything here, or count supplies you need. I noticed that the damage to the safety room is a lot worse than you explained to us. But I suppose that's a price to pay if it means Emma is safe." he hesitated a moment, and then asked, "You never did tell us how you stopped Emma's transformation."

"I got her to expend her energy," he lied coolly, and it was believed. "She collapsed right after that."

"I see. Hopefully it will be detailed enough for her brother. Well, I shall be off to assess the damage. If anyone needs me, come get me." he took a muffin off a bowl on the table and headed off.

[-]

Emma woke to a gentle shake. Startled, she sat up quickly and groaned at the headrush that came. She lifted a hand to her head as the person who woke her spoke.

"Sweety, you shouldn't be in here sleeping. It is too cold."

She had no will to argue, or to even care. "Come, stand up and we shall go someplace warmer and—"

"I don't want to leave," she cried. "I just want to s-s-sit here."

Maria sat down with a sign. "It hurts me too Emma, but you have someone else to love now too, and you must protect him with your life. Alexander may be gone, but he has imparted you with the world's most wonderful gift and endeavor."

"It—it wasn't supposed to be like this," she sniffed. "I thought I—I would be h-h-happy for once. That...that we would m-marry."

"Did you not hear my husband earlier? We found a ship, but not a body. There could be a chance he lives...but either way, you need to face the difficulty of life without him soon. Life is full of hardships Emma, and part of it is learning to accept what cannot be changed."

"He...he was your son," she muttered. "How—how can you be so calm about it?"

"Calm? Me?" she gave a dry laugh and shook her head, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Oh Emma, if only you knew how much this was hurting me. You lost a lover, I lost a son. I carried him for nine months and raised him from a baby to a young man. Our pains are great, yours and mine, but to lose a child is the worse feeling in the world."

Emma considered that for a moment. She had heard such comments from Sabin and Karin before, as if it came from personal understanding. Whenever she pestered them about it, they would just ignore her. Was it true a child's death was so...damaging? Was there truly something that hurt more than losing someone you romantically loved? She felt sick just thinking about it and protectively pulled her knees up towards her belly, as if they could shield her baby any better.

But how could she help how she felt? It felt like someone ripped a part of her away violently. It hurt more than the torture she went through, more than anything she had ever felt before. She lost her best friend and the man she loved.

Maria had been talking the entire time. "...it won't become something you won't remember or feel, but with time...we both will feel better. It gets better."

Emma looked at her, surprised to hear that from her. "How could this ever get better?"

"It just does, I guess," she mumbled. "I didn't say it would be easy, or forgettable. Unfortunately this is something that will be with us for the rest of our lives...but we can live. You can live—for your baby."

Something in her felt strange though. It was as if she could feel Alex's presence. Maybe I am feeling the baby... she sighed softly. Then so be it; she would live for her baby and for the legacy it represented. For the man she loved.

[-]

Robert finished unloading the supplies an hour or so later, and was heading to the kitchen to get some refreshments when he happened upon Setzer returning from his task as well. He was looking through a list he had created with an irritated expression.

"You probably noticed, but I didn't bring any lumber or mechanical parts to fix the safety room. It will have to wait until the next visit, I'm afraid."

Robert took a swift chug of water and sat aside his cup to say, "It can't be helped. Do you have everything else written down?"

"Aye...you really need to control her snacking. Her sweets were supposed to last for two more visits."

Robert laughed. "There is no stopping her. I've learned to work around it...so should you."

Setzer shook his head, disapprovingly, and then stuffed the list into a pocket of his shirt. "Are they still talking?"

"Possibly," Robert muttered. "They were in the library last I knew."

"I suppose I shall seek them out now, and say our goodbyes. We must be back quickly, I'm afraid."

"The girl could use you two a bit longer," Robert said, following Setzer as he headed for the library. "She just lost the man she loved...you could stand to stay for the day."

"I wish I could, but we have things to do. This war isn't over yet and I need to make sure my son isn't alive somewhere in desperate need of help." he stopped outside the library. "Is that all? Or shall we argue this longer than necessary?" Robert scoffed. "Good."

They make it so hard to have faith in them, Robert thought. But I suppose what he said isn't all that untrue...

---

Cambyses was overseeing construction for his son's room in their wing when a soldier caught him with a message. Before he listened, he instructed the carpenters to take a break and then turned to the soldier. He didn't expect to hear that Setzer and Maria had already returned, and were urgently requesting his audience in the foyer. Unable to tell the soldier to tell them he would be there when he could be, as the soldier once again stressed that they said "this is important!", he went on his way to the foyer.

Inside he was not the least bit surprised that his parents and wife were already waiting. He sighed and looked at Setzer as he closed the door. "How did she take it?"

"We have something more important to discuss first," Setzer said grimly. At that, Terra shook her head and Camb realized there were tears in them. "The cabin was assaulted by two strangers working for Luke. They were equipped with gloves and weapons that had magical properties to them, Robert said."

"Is my sister okay?" Cambyses asked quickly.

"Yes...she transformed and took care of them herself, apparently."

"Where was Robert during this all?!"

"He was engaging them when she appeared and put him under a spell so that she could deal with them herself. Robert had to get her to exhaust her reserves in order to get her to turn back to a human."

Cambyses swore. "Do you think she's in any further danger of being found?"

"Robert said he was sure they only found her because she was playing her music box when she wasn't supposed to be. He's going to avoid using fire at night and keep her from making noise for a while."

"Damn it all," Edgar growled. "She isn't safe there after all! Now we can bring her home, where she belongs."

"Don't force me to repeat myself father...it gets tiring. You know why she isn't on Figaro land."

"But she's not safe—"

"She's not safe here either; not from Derell, not from the people and not from the council. This was a slip-up. No one knows where she is but the people in this room and Robert. She will not be moved." Cambyses looked back at Setzer while his father fumed visibly. "Now what about the news? How did she take it?"

"Terribly," Maria said sadly. "She's in need of her family now more than ever. She feels abandoned and alone."

Terra looked at her son. "Camb, please, let me go to her. Just for a while."

"Soon mother, soon," he said softly. "I swear it. For now, I'm going to see her with Cadence and Henry. She deserves to scream at me or vent her feelings towards me since I am the one that caused this all to happen. I haven't allowed her or given her the chance to feel how she feels...and I intended to stop my selfish behavior today. If you and father could wait, just a bit longer, I promise you that you will not regret it."

Terra was quiet for a long moment before she turned and left the room. Edgar glared at Camb before hurrying after his wife. Cadence smacked him across the arm. "Why are you so persistent in keeping them away from her?"

"Because their presence causes Emma to become unstable emotionally more than she can bear," he said. "And I need to evaluate her before I can give her the chance to face feelings she's not ready to face. Especially about father."

"Do you not remember she forgave your father?" Setzer asked.

"I did not forget," Cambyses started. "But regardless of her forgiving him, she still feels things far more than the rest of us. I don't want to give her a chance to transform. Can't you all understand that or do you all forget what happens when she feels too strongly?" they were all quiet, unable to answer him. "Good. Cadence, we will leave in the morning. Make sure that you bring enough supplies for Henry."

"Henry came come, truly?" She asked through a wide smile. Cambyses chuckled.

"Yes. I made a promise, didn't I?" she squealed and ran out of the room happily. He faced the last two in the room; Setzer and Maria. "I understand you two wish to go look for your son now and I will not stand in your way. The submarines have been fitted and sent out to search the crash site. Just...just be careful out there. You still have two sons to care for."

Maria nodded. "Cambyses...promise me you won't try anything like this again."

Cambyses nodded and then took her into a hug. "I'm so sorry Maria...I really am. I swear I won't do it again. I swear it."

She hugged him back tightly. "That's all I wanted to hear."

[-]

In the morning, when they were ready to head out, Cambyses had to deal with his parents once again. He felt terrible for denying them the chance to see their daughter, but he had to be firm; it was for Emma's good. It hurt the most to see how his mother took the rejection over and over again, as if it broke off more and more of her each time. His mother was just too sweet for her own good, and far too trusting.

But that was another reason why he couldn't afford it just yet; Emma took after their mother emotionally too much—far more than, rather.

Cadence had already set Henry down in his crib aboard the ship so that she could say her short goodbyes to her parents and in-laws. Terra took her aside and whispered to her for several minutes while Cambyses and the rest talked about what to do while he was gone. Celes and Benjamin were in charge, with Edgar as Advisor and Locke as Ambassador while Setzer was away with his wife. Sabin was so busy training the soldiers, and his sons, that he passed up Benjamin's position to his nephew. Even to this day he hated ruling with a crown.

"I will trust this kingdom to you all," Camb said, looking particularly at Celes. "Do whatever you feel you must Celes to protect this nation should something happen to me."

She smiled tiredly. "I will only serve your brother, but through it I will be this country's sword and shield. Do not worry."

"Cambyses, I'm ready to go."

Cadence touched his shoulder. "Are you sure you won't bring your parents?"

Edgar and Terra looked hopefully at him, but he shook his head. "I am sure. Now we should go before the morning gets too late."

Cambyses led his wife onto the ship and as soon as he closed the doors and turned, he saw a box full of things he was never told about. When he went over to inspect them, he chuckled. "Cadence?" he said aloud, to catch her attention from the next room. "What is all of this?" he lifted some odd looking toy out of the box just as she came back out. "I said pack stuff for the baby, but this? He's not even old enough to play with toys yet."

"I know that," she said, defensively. "This is all for Emma and her baby...for when he or she gets older."

"Cadence—"

"I will not hear any complaints, do you hear me?" he swallowed back his retort. "Now hurry along to your job while I sort through this mess." he decided not to test her fury and went to start the engines and take off. He glanced off the side of the ship deck to see his family waving him off and smiled. At least he had them waiting for him. The thought suddenly soiled though, as he recalled that Emma did not have that luxury.

He sighed and took off with sour thoughts.

He set the ship onto auto a few hours in and went below deck to see what his wife was doing. She had Henry with her on a rolled out blanket as she still sorted through the box of things she brought with them. Henry was kicking his feet and cooing at all the things his mother brought out.

"It looks like he wants to play," Camb said, coming to stand beside them. Cadence smiled as she stashed a few things of baby clothes, unisex and folded, back into the box.

"No. He likes the bright colors. Do you see the way he lights up when he sees your mother's hair?" Cadence giggled. "Oh, I better remember to warn Emma..."

"She will be fine," Camb laughed. "We should be there in a few hours, so you should get some rest while you can. You and Henry." She sighed and sat down a little red dinosaur toy. "What was that sigh for?"

"You are trying to handle me...why?"

"That's not true," he mumbled. "I just want you well rested. Your body still needs it."

"Oh Cambyses, I'm fine," she shook her head. "Save your worries for your sister. The way Maria describes it, the poor girl is going to have a tough delivery."

That put scary thoughts into his head and he looked away. All of this is my fault...from her rape, to her trade, to her treatment, to her pregnancy...to Alex's death. I'm such a terrible person. Cadence felt the sour mood immediately and reached out to take his hand. "Cambyses...if it means so much to you, I will go rest."

"No, no...it is fine. I—I was just thinking about Emma, is all."

"About what, in particular?"

"How someone like Emma could be a mother," he admitted. "She's just so young, so...so childish. And so tiny and thin. How can she possibly do this Cadence? How? What if something happens during birth? What if she loses the baby? What if she doesn't know how to take care of it?"

Cadence had gotten to her feet to take both his hands and squeeze them. "Listen to me Camb; Emma is not the same thirteen year old girl she was back in Figaro, or the girl you saw cry and stomp so much in Thamasa. Se's smart and sweet, and determined. That, in my opinion, matters more than her age of seventeen. She's nearly a woman grown now, Camb, and will birth and raise her child like all of the women before her."

"But...but how can you be so sure? So worry free?"

"Because she's made it through everything," she simply said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "You should rest instead. You haven't had a good rest in days, weeks even. I can fly the ship as fine as you can, so don't worry about that."

He considered it for a moment. He was tired, but would that be right? He didn't want to do anymore selfish things, especially toward his wife. She's been taking care of Henry...she needs it more than me, but I know if I argue she will her cool with me. He sighed and then nodded. "Alright...but wake me before we arrive, okay?"

She smiled brightly. "Of course. Take Henry with you, please."

"Come her, my little lion prince," Camb laughed as he picked the baby up. "Daddy needs some sleep and you—oh, you need a change first." he walked away as he heard his wife head upstairs to the deck.

He sat Henry down in his crib and plopped down onto the mattress with a sigh, realizing for the first time in months just how tired he was. He decided he would only close his eyes for an hour or so, but when his eyes closed, the currents of exhaustion swept him under and held him captive.

When he woke again it was because his wife was waking him. In the background Henry was crying, very loudly and most likely due to his father's neglect and failure to wake, so he pushed himself up on and rubbed at his eyes. She was smiling at him, patiently.

"How...how long was I asleep?"

"About four or five hours." she answered, jostling Henry to cheer him up; it was working. "The mountains are within sight, so I came down to get you."

You should have woken me sooner, he thought, though only he was grateful she didn't. "I will take it from here, then. I'm sorry I had you up for so long on your feet."

"I'm not an old crone yet," she said through a smile. "I'm fine, Camb, really. I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway, with all this excitement in me. I just can't wait to see Emma."

Cambyses quickly got up and headed for the kitchen while his wife dealt with their son. He chugged down some tea Cadence had brewed and scarfed down a nearly stale piece of bread and went up to the deck. As his wife had said, the mountains were within sight. But she had neglected to say she had landed the ship outside the forest. He looked around the vast open land for anyone watching or heading their way. Relieved that it seemed as abandoned as they all suspected, and hoped, he started the engines again and took off.

Several minutes later Cadence joined him on deck as they soared over the frozen forest. "What will you say to her?"

He sighed, heavily. "I'm not sure...I suppose that I'm sorry and then I will let her hit me and yell at me all she likes. If she hates me...then so be it; I will have deserved it."

"Camb..." she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't ever give up on your sister...please. No matter what she says or does...don't give up on her."

He smiled and laid a hand over hers. "I promise Cadence, I promise."

When the clearing to his sister's cabin appeared before them, he tightened his hands on the wheel and took several deep breaths. Please don't let this ruin her...please. As he started the landing process, he saw Robert appear at the doorway, arms crossed. Great. He forgot he had to deal with Robert and his incompetence. He failed so thoroughly...I knew he was bad for the job. When the ship dropped to the ground and the propellers stopped, he was sure he would have seen his sister join Robert at the door at the very least, but there the man stood alone, glaring.

I suppose she doesn't have much interest in seeing anyone now...

Downstairs he found that Cadence had already opened the door to let down the ramp, all with Henry in her arms. He was not pleased about the sense of urgency she was displaying, and asked her to slow down. She did not stop to acknowledge him, not even once, as she went down the ramp to greet Robert—who had finally left the porch and uncrossed his arms. When Cambyses caught up, he had heard the end of their conversation only.

"...I would appreciate that, Volkovska, thank you."

"Follow me, then." he said through a smile of manners as he turned and went back into the house. Furious that he was being ignored, he stomped after them. The inside of the cabin was far grander than he ever thought. It was built in such a short time that he was sure the quality would be sub-par at best, but this was unbelievable. The main room, while spacious, still managed to be cluttered not only with furniture but Emma's possessions (childish or not). Cadence actually almost tripped over a hundred pieces of a wooden puzzle a few seconds into the walk. She was smiling though, glad to see it in fact.

Cambyses wondered why. Emma was not a child. She shouldn't have been playing around like one, especially now that she was pregnant

Robert stopped them near the kitchen and gestured to a crib in the back, under a tiny, lovely window. It was the arranged baby area, clearly, by the way it had been decorated and setup out of the way of traffic. "Your son will be fine there, or the one in the kitchen. Are you hungry? I've just prepared breakfast and she's not coming down, so you might as well eat something."

"No thank you," Cambyses all but snapped, but his wife thanked him.

"That would be lovely, thank you. Alright Henry...behave for mommy." she sat him in the crib and went after Robert.

"That can wait, can't it?" Camb asked as he followed after them. "We aren't here for fun or visiting, but to—"

"Not another word," his wife warned him. "This is a visit! Now be good and set up the table. I will try and get Emma to come down and eat with us."

Robert shook his head. "Good luck with that. Normally she doesn't ignore food no matter how angry or sad she is...but this...well, it will be tough. I tried sweets, her favorites, threats...nothing seems to work."

"You threatened my sister?"

"Sometimes it is the only way to get her to respond. I threaten to take away her sweets, a toy or whatnot, or to tell on her. It works."

"How dare you!" Cambyses howled, reaching out to grab at him, only to be stopped by his wife coming between them. "Cadence...move!"

"Excuse me?" she dared him to go on, but he blushed and looked away. "You two...if this ends up being another Camb-Alex war I am going to lose my temper, do you hear me?" she was mostly directing him, he knew it. "Robert, perhaps it is best if you bring Emma a plate and see if she will eat and receive company. I don't think putting her in the same room with you two right now is wise at all."

"Agreed," they both said, looking at each other briefly before turning away. Robert immediately left them with the said plate of breakfast. Cadence sat with a content sigh and began to eat while her husband paced the room. "He walks through this house as if it is his."

"Do you expect him to teleport with consent?" she teased, hmming a spoonful of spiced and peppered scrambled eggs.

"Don't be ridiculous Cadence," he said. "I expect him to show more respect. This is Emma's house and he...I think this all was a mistake. We should replace him, with Sabin and his family. I can justify moving him off of training the men."

She rolled her eyes. "No you can't and you know it. What is the problem here? You also decided on Robert. You know that he's the only one free we can trust that can do this job."

"But that's the problem! He's not doing his job! He couldn't even protect her..."

"He couldn't stop her transformation from happening, but he did manage to turn her back, didn't he?" she asked after another bite of eggs. "Just leave it as it is. Besides, she's very luck to have such a chef serve her."

Reluctantly he sat down beside her to await his sister's arrival. He ignored his wife's comments about the food for the remainder of the time, as well. Finally, after half an hour, Robert returned with an empty plate and no Emma. He sat the plate in the sink and then faced Cadence. "I'm sorry, she's not wishing to come down stairs. She knows you are here and all..."

"What did you do to her?" Cambyses demanded, tone hot as he stood. Robert bit the bait.

"What did I do? You can't be serious!"

"Enough!" Cadence howled, once again going to stand between them. "I'm sick and tired of childish fighting! I do not want to hear another word or gesture that makes me so much as think you two are about to fight, do you understand me? If I have to repeat myself I'm going to be very pissed!" Cambyses ducked his eyes while Robert scoffed and crossed his arms. "Good! Now if you two morons don't mind," she pushed her chair back under the table and went for Henry in the main room.

"Cadence, wait just a moment..." Cambyses followed after her. "We should see her together and—"

"No," she stopped him quickly, with Henry sniffling in her arms. "You will stay down here." and then off she went, leaving the two men alone. They cleared their throats and went about their own thing—far away from each other.

[-]

Cadence took a moment to collect her thoughts outside the girl's room. Henry was gurgling happily for some unknown reason as he stared up at the roof when she knocked on the door several times. Instead of waiting for a reply, she let herself in. She expected a protest, but instead she saw Emma sitting at the window sill. Henry squirmed and sneezed, the smell of the room—as if doused with pine cones. "Emma?" she said quietly, and held back a gasp at the sight of the girl's face when she turned away from the window.

The poor thing...

And then Cadence saw the swell of her belly and couldn't help but smile. "May I come in?" as if just noticing the baby, Emma gasped and nodded quickly, hurrying over to the bed to clear it of books and things Cadence wouldn't understand ever needing or wanting. "Oh, thank you dear girl, thank you. Alright then..." she laid Henry down for a moment before going in for a hug on Emma. The girl squirmed not much unlike her son, but settled with wrapping her arms around the woman's back. "I'm so sorry, I really am. Did those men hurt you any? Do you need anything?"

Emma looked down, and a look of shame crossed her face. "No...but—but Cadence, I—"

"Sssh," Cadence said, laying a hand on the girl's shoulder. "We can talk about him later, if it will be easier for you. Now what do you say about meeting your nephew, hmm?" Emma shyly came closer, hands twitching nervously. Cadence unwrapped Henry and lifted him up and toward her. She backed away fearfully, shaking her head. "What, why not?"

"I...I don't want to drop him," she whispered.

"You won't and even if you did, the boy has a thick head, just like his father. Henry, meet your aunt! Now take him Emma!" with one arm, she pried Emma's open and deposited the boy in them before she could further protest. The weight of the boy seemed to much for Emma as she arched back and struggled to readjust the boy in her arms before he doubled out of them. Cadence giggled. "Just hold him Emma, you won't shatter him. You can sit if you are that afraid you'll break him." Emma sat on the edge of the bed and used the support to help rebalance the baby in her arms. He squirmed fiercely but gave up a moment later, now staring wide eyed at her. He started gurgling and she paled. "Calm down, calm down...remember what the books said? You have to support his head. Like so..." she helped Emma find the best way and then smiled. "Just like that! See, he adores you!"

Emma held her breath as she watched the boy's soft, almost black eyes search her face wildly. Although his face was round and pudgy, and pinkish in color, he looked so much like Cambyses that she could not believe her eyes. She smiled at him when he cooed happily. "He's...he's so perfect." Cadence merely smiled in agreement. Suddenly Henry reached up and took a handful of hair and yanked. Emma gave a sharp cry and tried to pry him away, but he had an iron grip. Finally she got him away, though now he was crying.

"He does that to Terra, too," Cadence explained. "He really loves bright colors, especially green and yellow."

Emma didn't mind so much. She supposed she could get over the pain. She lifted the boy enough so that she could look him in the eyes and then laughed. "He looks just like Camb...and he's so...so..." she obviously wasn't sure how to say it, so Cadence finished it for her.

"Fat?"

Emma blanched. "I...I didn't mean it like that."

"It is fine. He is a huge baby...I think he may be part giant." and then Cadence reached for something in the bag dangling across her shoulder, a bottle, and held it out. "Why don't you try to feed him?" for the next moment or so, Cadence showed her how to feed him and went to sit down while her sister-in-law handled the baby. For a few seconds Henry would not stop fussing but then he grabbed at the bottle hungrily and began to drink.

His dark eyes were closing slowly but surely, and Emma was watching him intensely. My nephew, she thought, touching the warmth of his little belly and the tuft of hair on his head. There was just something so wonderfully perfect about how trusting and loving babies were that made Emma want more than anything to meet her child already. From where her hand was on the bottle, she felt his little fingers lightly touch her and was shocked to see just how small they were. She didn't even hear or notice Cambyses and Robert enter the room or that they were watching her closely.

Cadence, however, noticed and smiled as Cambyses walked further in. "She's a natural Camb..."

Emma looked up at the mention of her brother's name. Henry had fallen asleep. Emma tried to raise, but didn't wish to wake him. Cadence hurried over to take him from her arms so that she could get to her feet. Cambyses said, "I can't even get him to sleep like that, at least not so quickly. He must like you."

Her quietness alarmed him, so he looked away. "I'm sorry Emma...for everything I've said and done to you and to Alexander. If it weren't for me he...he would be here, with you."

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, almost sharply enough for him to actually drop the subject. But he knew she needed to vent...even if it were against him.

"Robert, why don't we head downstairs, give them some privacy?" Cadence suggested, grabbing his arm to tug him out the door. The guardian looked ready to deny the suggestion but then shook his head and followed after her. When Camb couldn't hear their footsteps down the stairs any longer, he sighed.

"Emma...please, talk to me. You shouldn't just stew in this pain. I know that—"

"Why are you acting like you care?" she interrupted quickly, brows furrowing. "I know you hated Alexander. I know you don't care if he's gone."

"That's not true...not...not anymore, at least," he tried. "I know I made mistakes. I know I hurt you, time and time again, broke promises after promises...I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, not anymore, but that's not why I am here." he tried to take her hand but she stepped away. "I am here to be whatever you need me to be. You can yell at me or hit me, or don't forgive, just...just do something, Emma. Do something."

"What will any of that do?" she challenged him. "Nothing I say and nothing you say will make this better. Alex is gone and...and I am alone."

"You aren't," he said, desperately. "You have me, Ben, mom and dad, Cadence, Setzer and Maria, even uncle! You aren't alone!"

"I am!" she howled. "None of you understand me, and...and I don't blame you for it." she sighed and sat down. "You still don't understand. You are surrounded by family and friends, constantly, and even though we share blood we couldn't be further apart from each other. The differences between me and the rest of you is just too...too much to handle. Alex wasn't just someone I loved...he was my first and best friend, my only friend."

"And Alexander could understand you but the rest of us can't? Why? What are we doing wrong?"

Frustrated she shook her head. "You aren't doing anything wrong Cambyses, none of you are. I'm the one doing something—everything—wrong."

"But how could Alex understand you but not us?"

She couldn't answer that, it appeared, so Camb knelt before her. "Listen to me Emma...I know we are all apart and I know you spent most of your life away from family, but distance doesn't make a bond. It is the feelings of each person that creates a bond. Did you love Alexander any less, or even understand him less, when you were in Aluzar and he half way across the globe?" she shook her head. "And mother! Do you know how much she thought of you when you were in Thamasa? There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't and didn't react on those thoughts verbally. And I know it seems unlikely but...father loves you so much that he's willing to give this world away to save you. And he's been far away for some time now, hasn't he?" She sniffed, nodding. "I know a part of you that cannot be replaced or explained is gone—or, probably —but you have to know that you have people who love you still here trying their hardest to make this world safe enough so that we can all be together, for once. And right now you need to know you can express how you feel without feeling guilty or ashamed, or whatever else. I will take whatever you have to give Emma and I will shoulder it as your brother—as someone who loves you."

Emma reached out to hug him. The swell of her belly kept them a little apart, but that only made her tighten her hold. He laughed and returned the gesture. "I am mad at you, Camb."

"That's okay," he said, understandingly. "I am mad at myself."

"But I forgive you," she whispered, tearfully.

"Tell me about him," he whispered. "Please."

"I can't, I can't..." she admitted through tears. "It hurts too much Camb to even t-t-think about it."

Cambyses took her into another hug, stronger this time. "Let me take some of that pain Emma...please."

---

His back was aching by the time they stopped for refreshments. He had been doing this quiet sitting for days now and nothing seemed to change. He would wake early in the morning with Torzon and head to this room, where they meditated for hours and hours straight before stopping for their first meal of the day. After a first and second complaint of that, Torzon explained—through rather broken language—that 'it was the way', so Alex left it be...until today. He was sore, tired, sweaty and hungry, and wanted more than the thick bread and odd purple-y goo stuff they gave him.

He sighed, annoyed, as he pushed his bread through the goo. Torzon looked at him from his spot. "Hyooman tired? Not eat?"

"A little..."

"Sun train over. Day train start. No tired!"

"Easy for you to say," he mumbled, lifting a piece of bread to point at him. "You've had this kind of training before. I've been sitting here for nearly two weeks and haven't made any progress yet. And I don't have the time to throw away." he sighed and tossed his bread into the goo. "Couldn't we at least train outside? I haven't seen the sky, night or day, in so long."

"Hyooman outside? Train?"

Alexander shrugged. "Sure. Why not? Better than in here."

"Not same train," Torzon said, standing. "Must train, we train." he gestured for him to follow and led the way outside of their now accustomed training room, the gods' place. By the time Torzon led them up through various turns and stairs, Alexander was starving and regretted not eating the goo when he had a chance. The climb made him so much weaker but the instant he walked out of the dark and into the fresh night air, he forgot all of that. The sky was deep navy blue all around him, not a single cloud in the sky. A streak of pearly colors streamed across a large section of the sky, the Healer's Wind, it was called and it was clearer than Alex had ever seen it before. Thousands and thousands of stars, so many counting was impossible, filled the sky and together with the brilliance of the moons, provided ample light for them.

Alexander was awed. It was more beautiful than he had ever seen the night sky before. Even the dark, tiny brown moon looked beyond description against its silver sister. Torzon already took a spot on the mountain, nearer an edge than any human would dare take, and laid down on his back to look at the stars. Alex soon joined him, unable to resist it either. He kept his mind busy off of training and even Emma, as it saddened him too much, by recalling all of the constellations above. That is, until Torzon sighed.

"Night...gods home. Spirit feel."

Is he trying to say the gods live in the night sky? He looked at the stars again and held back a chuckle. He believed that if god or gods were real, they wouldn't be physical or comparable to humans or any other create. They would be the universe itself; unable to be seen traditionally but felt and seen in everything that happened and free from humans imposing their image and will on it, as if expecting some greater power to be held down by their laws and logic. No. He believed that's why bad things and good things happened—the universe, 'god', made all things and they were as they were and there was no getting around that.

Of course if he ever said any of that to Emma, she would probably giggle at him endlessly for his stupidity. He smiled warmly at the thought. He would love to even hear her yell at him.

If only you were here Emma...you would love this place so much. He hadn't noticed he was crying, so when Torzon glanced over at him with a frown and said, "Hyooman eye water? Why go water?"

Alex sat up and rubbed at his dirty cheeks, embarrassed. "It is nothing, really. Just forget it."

Torzon laughed. "Hyooman no lie under night. Gods watch. Torzon know lie." he sat up, eyes watching the stars intensively. "Everything-girl...Ehma...sad you?"

Alexander tried his best to keep tears back as he nodded. "I miss her so much...I fear I won't see her again, or be able to help her before something terrible happens. Do you know that feeling? That horrible useless feeling? I have nightmares of her screams, of her pain, and I'm sitting here...hoping for a handout from gods that clearly do not think I deserve power."

Torzon reached out a hand and laid it on his shoulder. "Alhuks...not worry. Torzon help train."

"Training hasn't helped me yet," Alex said with a shake of his head. "I think I wasted time here...I should have gone to face Derell myself."

The giant man watched him quietly for a moment before looking up at the moons. "Alhuks no eye water. Job not done. Ehma not safe."

"I already know that," he snapped.

"Power Alhuks want, Torzon give. Torzon help." he got to his feet, eyes shining under the moon light. "Up Alhuks. Follow. Torzon train Alhuks." he took him by the arm and started dragging him back into the caverns. At first Alexander struggled to get out of his grip but gave up quickly, knowing that much was impossible of him to even dream of. Soon enough they were back in the training room but Torzon did not stop, taking him into the room at the end of the hall. This room looked almost identical to the other, except the platform was lower to the ground and there were six giants meditating in a circle under the light.

The giant tossed him into the center of the giants and stood with his arms crossed to block the man out. "Torzon...move. I'm too tired to train today."

"No," the man growled. "Sit!" he pointed to the spot at the middle. "Now." doing as the giant ordered, Alex sat crossed legged in the middle of the circle, watching everyone wryly. Whatever was going to happen, he feared it wouldn't be very comfortable for him. Torzon sat next and took off the rope around his forehead, setting it down before him in a neatly folded placement. That's when Alexander noticed the others had done so, too, so Alexander took the rope they had given him a few days into his training and did the same thing.

The giant's eyes caught him. "Alhuks want power?" he nodded. "Torzon no like power here. Alhuks need so Torzon do. Alhuks follow what said?" again he nodded. "No move, no speak. Close eyes, listen god. Torzon help." now the giant closed his eyes and took his meditation pose, cupping his hands over his lap and making his back straight. The others took the pose too, and soon enough they all began to hum quietly, until Torzon's voice took up a chant in their language.

Alexander closed his eyes and tried to meditate. It wasn't hard with the oddly beautiful chant and humming, and soon enough he was lost in the sound. He thought he could hear other voices, in a language that did not sound like Torzon's or any he knew of. It was gentle sounding, and warm, but cluttered at the same time. His body felt like it was on fire now and he wondered if this is what the training was supposed to be like. Was he supposed to hear the voices of the gods? Were these voices even from the gods?

"No, it isn't," a voice said to him and startled, Alexander opened his eyes and saw that he was in an all black room. He couldn't see anything.

"Who...who said that?"

"The gods you sought out so desperately," another voice said, male and very annoyed.

"What the hell...you are real?" Alex looked around the dark when he heard laughter, multiple laughter! "Where are you all?"

"You came for our power and you didn't even believe we were real?" This voice was female, and gentle and warm, like honey. It reminded him so much of Emma that for a moment he thought it was. "That is...odd."

"Regardless, we can't give you the power of gods." the first voice said, another female.
"Why not?" Alexander challenged, getting frustrated by the dark now. "Why aren't I good enough for your power?"

"Because we aren't gods," the gentle woman said with a small laugh. "We never were."

"Then...why does Torzon think you are gods?"

"His language...your languages...does not possess words often times to accurately describe something. Tell me...what do humans do when they encounter something they don't understand?"

"A whole bunch of things," he admitted.

"One of them is imposing themselves on that something," the male said. "Your understanding of what we can do likens us to gods—creatures with unfathomable power that created everything. Even if we cannot and do not possess such power."

"Then what are you?"

They were quiet for a long moment. "We are what we are. You are a human. Torzon is a Gigas—" now Alex knew what the race was called. "—and there are some on your planet that are even Esper." the gentle voice paused for a second. "And then there are some like the girl you came her for." at the mention of her, Alex was shown thousands and thousands of images of Emma, from his memories. It caused his head to hurt tremendously. "who is neither human, esper, or gigas. She is...beyond words, like us."

"Emma is human," he growled, forcing the images away that she was forcing to stay. That made them whisper in surprise. "If the word you give next is 'monster' that you will regret it."

"You come here for our power and you have the nerve to threaten us?!" the male asked. "Like all humans you are a greedy fool!"

"Silence!" the gentle voice ordered, and now the black was starting to disappear, replaced instead by a pearly background and shadowy figures that had no faces or distinct features. He only knew each for the voice they had. The gentle voice was the one in the middle. "What you can call us are...well, you can call us the Aegyl. And I am Janos, young man, and I can see why Torzon felt you deserved to meet us this way. But you must understand...we are not gods. But the power we can offer you comes at no little cost."

"I will pay it," he said quickly. "Whatever it is."

The male voice chuckled. "Humans never change, just like the Occuria. Tell me boy...what is it you come here for? Why do you require our power?"

"I wish to protect someone I love," he answered. "I can't right now. I am too powerless and the more I wait here, the threat to her life grows stronger. Soon he will wield magic and will stop at nothing to recover her. In his hands she will not only suffer...but cause others to suffer."

Janos sighed. "I see this girl you speak of." there was something in the way she said it that made Alexander suspicious. "We understand that you require power and power quickly, less you would not have been brought here by Torzon. This, we understand. But in this...we cannot help you."

"Why not?"

"While we know your intentions ourselves, we cannot hand out power like we did to Torzon or his people so long ago. Our power has dwindled and it is difficult to maintain even this contact we have with you." the male voice said. "That is why no one but Torzon has been given power in the past six hundred years by any of us."

"What Memran says is true," the other female voice said. "Our power, our existence, has been weakened."

"How? Why?"

"That is too much too soon, sister Taro," Janos said. "If you wish to gain our power, you must first help us regain the ability."

"How do I do that?"

The voices were quiet for a moment, and then Taro said, "There is a temple atop the mountains by the name of Zemrana. Within, you will find a room with a spear. Find that spear and contact us again. We are open to you now, and we will come to you."

"Be careful with the spear when you find it," Memran said. "For it holds not only your fate, but ours as well. Recover it, and we can help you."

"How do I know any of this is true?" he asked after a moment.

"I suppose you won't know until you do," Janos said through a soft giggle, again reminding him so much of Emma that his heart sank. That reinforced him though—he would do anything for her. Even help would-be gods or misconceived gods.

"Then I will do it...but I have one more question."

"And that is?"

"Are you the same people the world worships as gods? I know you aren't really, but are you what they conceive as gods?"

Janos was the only one to answer. "We are among them." and then he was returned back to the room, or rather, his mind was given back to him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Torzon staring at him drenched in sweat. The others too, were staring at him, expecting much.

Should he tell them all what had happened, even the information that they were not gods? When he looked at Torzon, he felt the obligation to be completely honest with him. When he explained what had happened, he didn't even notice he was speaking in their tongue or that Torzon was smiling at him.

"They are not gods. We knew this. They are friends, not idols."

"You did? Why then..." and then it hit him. He wasn't speaking his language! He smiled. So the Aegyl gave me this knowledge? Is this how it worked for Torzon? He looked at the giant and laughed. "Thank you Torzon, for everything, but I must leave in the morning."

"Where to?" he asked softly, as if he expected nothing else.

"To Zemrana temple, at the top of the mountain."

Torzon smiled. "To find the spear?"

"How did you know?"

"They have told us much, but none of us have ever succeeded in trying to help them. Perhaps you can." he got up, trembling a bit, and then grabbed Alex's hand and helped him up. "In the morning...you will go. But for now, you must rest and eat. Nourish the mind, and nothing is impossible for you."

"Torzon, I..." he could not find the words. 'Thank you' just seemed empty. "I owe everything to you."

"Speak not like we are apart, friend," the man said, patting his back. "When it is time you have to leave our land, then we will say our goodbyes. And when we do, they will not be permanent. Bring your human girl with you next time...she will be welcomed here, this I guarantee you." again Alexander felt suspicious, but shrugged it off.

"I will Torzon, I promise."

---

It took another hour for his sister to calm down, and then another to get her to come down stairs with him. She wrestled the idea with tremendous will, but gave in to his pleas to meet her nephew properly and spend time with him. When they arrived at the main room, Cadence rose from the sofa to smother Emma in kisses and hugs. "Oh my! I just noticed how big you have gotten...it won't be much longer now, will it?" she knelt to touch Emma's belly, which made her turn red all over. She brushed the woman's hands away shyly. "And still so shy..." she sighed. "...well, can't help that, I suppose. Come over here and hold your nephew." she took Emma by the arm and practically tossed her into the sofa.

Cambyses took the time to take a seat and prop his feet up on the table to relax. There was no way his wife would let them leave any time soon anyway, so he might as well enjoy the time he had. Just as he kicked his boots off, his son started pulling his sister's hair like crazy. Emma took it like a sport though, and just tried to disengage the tiny fingers that held onto her. Cadence was giggling and providing verbal support and instructions for her to follow, but the situation was too wild for Emma to have been listening to instead of paying attention directly and only to the boy holding her hostage.

"Try burping him," Cadence said.

Emma tried, but that made him throw up down her back. Emma's face went white, as if she were ready to puke herself. Cambyses started laughing so hard that his sides hurt. Cadence leaned over to smack him and tell him to shut up. "Oh...but she's got to get used to it now, doesn't she? Her babe'll spit, throw up, pee and poo like crazy. You can count out sleep for the first few months, too."

"Cambyses!" Cadence hissed. Tears bubbled in her eyes as she carefully held the boy away from her, as if she expected him to throw up again. "You did great, Emma, truly."

"She's right," Camb said, leaning forward as he brought his bare feet back to the floor. "You did fine. Don't beat yourself up over it. It happened to mother, to father, to me and Cadence...to every parent. Babies are difficult life suckers."

Cadence smacked him again, playfully. "Just relax. Use our son as practice...we don't mind." they shared a chuckle over that, and Emma smiled. Perhaps they were being honest with her. She looked down at the boy in her lap and thought she would try something she read in the books as well as seen Relm and Gau do. She cooed at him. At first he giggled and kicked about happily, and then he got mad all of the sudden and kicked her right in the face.

Her gasp of pain was silenced by the boy's wails. Cadence quickly swooped him up and wrapped an arm around Emma's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, he's such a little rascal. Are you okay?"

Emma removed her hand from her eye and was sure there was a bruise there by the way they were looking at her. Cambyses chuckled. "I checked to see if we could trade him in for another...no deal."

That made Emma giggle. "I don't mind..." she looked at her nephew once more with a wistful expression on. Cadence then started a conversation Camb wasn't particularly interested in (girly stuff, you know) so he leaned back into his sofa with a tired sigh and closed his eyes to rest.

Far away from Figaro, and his troubles...? Life was good.

[-]

Robert had watched them talk and laugh and be happy for awhile from his spot in the kitchen, where he was preparing the ingredients for the day's dinner. It sounded like Emma had forgotten about Alex, if only for a moment, and for that he hoped it would continue. He decided that in order for that to have a chance of happening, he had to stay away as much as he could. Emma didn't seem to like him, that much he knew the moment they met, and his presence would just upset her.

So he spent much of his time in the house within the kitchen, and then he went outside to work on his project. When he finally returned back to the house, it was later into the night and he needed to cook the night's meal before Emma went to sleep. He popped into the main room to see what was happening, and found that Cambyses was the only one awake now. The women were curled up together on the sofa; Emma's head was rested against Cadence's arm, while the queen herself was leaning against the sofa's arm, neck craned in an uncomfortable position.

Cambyses was watching them closely, sadly, when Robert stepped up behind him. "Supper will be done in a few minutes..."

"I don't have the heart to wake them," Cambyses muttered. "When was the last time my sister slept like this, I ask?" Robert glanced back at the girl and noticed that she did, in fact, look pleasantly...relaxed. "Cadence has been so tired lately that she barely has the strength to do much more than tend to Henry. She's tired Robert...and so is my sister."

"Aren't we all tired in some way?" He asked. "Now wake them." he walked away, purposely ignoring the king when he motioned for him to stop and come back.

When Robert returned with the food, the ladies were up. Cadence was yawning and apologizing for her snoozing off while Emma was still groggily rubbing at her eyes, barely even awake. So when Cadence asked the girl if she needed help with anything, the girl hmm'd. Cadence must have taken it as a no, because she turned to accept the bowl of vegetable stew. The queen told him just how wonderful it smelled and tasted before urging Emma to eat all of her food.

"But it smells weird," she whispered, thinking that Robert couldn't hear her.

"It smells fine," Cadence said. "Just eat. It is good for you. Afterwards, I would like you to show me around your lovely home before we head to our rooms for the night. Is that alright?"

"Okay," Emma said, this time brighter and with a smile. She ate the soup with a disgusted expression though. Once finished and off to show Cadence the cabin, Robert started to clean the dishes from the table.

"What do you think I should do, Robert?"

He paused to look up at the king. This was a trap, in some way. It had to be. "...about?"

"About Emma," he clarified, as if it were simple to understand. "You must have, through this entire time, noticed the pain in her eyes. Tell me how to make this better for her, or give me your best idea. You knew Alexander probably better than anyone else—what would he do if she said she would rather not deal with her problems?"

He would kill you for locking him away in the first place, he thought dryly. "He would respect her wishes." and then he left the king be, to hopefully consider the advice seriously. Perhaps doing some chores would take his mind off of it all, and his desire to beat the living hell out of the king would maybe go away. There surely was a lot to do around the house now that the little princess was further along in her pregnancy.

And in doing so he, by absolute chance, happened upon the ladies in the garden. He was going to use the free time he had to pick the food so that Emma would not have to, but the moment he saw them he ducked behind the berry bushes. The last thing he needed was Emma screaming at Cadence that he was following her around. As he turned on his heels to leave, he heard their discussion and paused.

"You aren't fat," Cadence said hotly, picking a flower absentmindedly. "You aren't even, in my opinion, at a healthy weight right now. You should eat more." Emma was, at the moment, picking grapes and eating them. "And I don't mean candies and little foods like that, Emma." she gestured to the grapes. "I bet all you eat is junk food."

"No, I don't, I s-swear. He won't let me, anyway."

He? He did not like that she did not wish to even say his name. Was he truly that bad?

"Good. We didn't bring him here to pamper you and stuff you full of sweets. He's here to make sure that your life is not only safe but well fed. For you and your baby. Thank gods he's not that stupid."

Damn women... he thought, irritated.

"That reminds me," the queen said, shuffling about the bag hanging across her shoulder. "I brought over a ton of things I think you will love, for the baby, but while I was looking through your room..." Emma made a face then, as if she hadn't considered something for so long that thinking about it again hurt physically. "...and I found this. Your mother said it was your favorite?" she held out a stuffed brown bear, with one eye replaced with an entirely different color piece and a few stitches here and there, from injuries it recovered from.

Emma accepted it slowly, looking over it as if it were some lost memory she wasn't sure was her own. She smoothed her thumbs against the bear's chest and something clicked in her eyes that Robert couldn't recognize. She quickly held it back out and turned her head away from it, as if it would help her give it back. Cadence took it slowly. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want it...take it back."

"Why?"

"I..." she hesitated. "I'm too old for it. Throw it away...I don't care."

"Nonsense," Cadence snapped, taking Emma's hand and forcing the thing in them. "You aren't too old for it. I'm not too old for the stuffed animals my parents gave me. They are treasures, memories, that must be kept. They are precious, Emma."

"They didn't give me this," she said softly. "Relm and Gau did..."

"Oh..." there was a long, awkward pause and then she held it back out. "Your parents probably asked them to give it to you but regardless...why would you want to throw it away? They gave this to you because they love you."

"I don't deserve their love," she whispered, tears trailing softly down her cheeks. "I betrayed them. I...I nearly killed Gau and—and..."

"Emma," Cadence started, taking her by the shoulders. "Look at me." the young girl did, reluctantly. "None of that was your fault. You were not in control of your actions. Now I want you to take this," she once again shoved the teddy in the girl's hands. "And keep it. Don't you dare throw it away or lose it. If you feel like you still don't want it or deserve it...pass it onto your baby. He'll love it, I'm sure."

Emma accepted the stuffed animal quietly, defeated. "Okay..."

"Good! Now that we have settled that...we should really discuss pregnancy itself. Your mother wanted me to make sure that you are well versed in this matter before anything should happen."

"What do you mean 'before' something happens?m W-W-What could happen?"

"Nothing to worry about Emma. But we can put that aside, if you want? How about we talk about something more steamy?"

"Steamy?" the girl asked innocently, as she followed after the woman toward the peppers. Robert chuckled at her ignorance.

"Yes, of course. Like what sex was like with Alexander Gabbiani. I bet he was a thorough lover."

"Cadence!" Emma gasped, red from head to toe. She hid her face in the teddy's chest.

"Oh, come on now, we're both women here and one of us is still expecting, of all things. And yet you are still too shy to talk about it? The thing that got you here in the first place?"

Robert flinched a bit. That sounded harsh even to his ears. Emma was still hiding her face in her teddy's chest. "I won't press for too much in terms of detail, but please? Was he tender? Was he considerate? How many times did you—"

"I...I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled, voice muffled.

Cadence sighed and shook her head. "Alright Emma...I give, I give. I guess that leaves us to the pregnancy, itself."

Robert, deciding she needed to be spared from the queen for a moment, made a loud entrance and stepped out behind them. "There you ladies are...I was beginning to think you two had wandered out into the woods."

Cadence made a cruel smile. "My, Robert, what perfect timing you have." he was smart enough to catch that, and he was sure that if Emma wasn't so naive about such thing, she would have too. She knows I was standing there. He kept his cool though.

"I'd say so, too," his remarked with just the right smile. She narrowed her eyes. "It is late and Emma needs to get some sleep. I'd advise you take your husband with you to your room before he passes out on the sofa."

"What? Why?"

"He's been drinking," he said, watching Emma lift her head out of the teddy to look at him. He felt a tinge in his heart looking at her eyes and quickly looked away. Damn girl...damn her. "I'd rather not have to drag him up there."

Cadence shook her head. "What an idiot...I suppose I have no choice. Later then, Emma?"

Emma looked at her with a relieved expression. "That's—that's fine with me. Goodnight Cadence."

"Goodnight Em," she leaned over to kiss the girl's cheek, hugged her and then walked right by Robert with a typical, girly 'hm!'. When they were alone, Robert shifted on his feet.

"Would...would you like help going to your room?"

She gripped the teddy close to her and shook her head quickly. "I'm...I'm fine." and then she hurried right by him, and Robert felt stung.

Damn her...

---

The end of this chapter!

Yes...I've made changes to the plotline. I feel they fit more with the theme I am setting up here...and if I haven't made what theme that is clear it is attaching the universe of FFVI and FFXII together. They are obviously the same universe, just set apart thousands and thousands of years. I feel like there is potential for SE to make a game that connects to the two, perhaps with the lore of VI moving onward to the creation of XII's lore. Maybe they could explain the Occuria more, and the Aegyl as descendants of Espers-Humans or something. I don't know! I'm just spit balling here but it would be awesome.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the turn of events and the chapter. I'd love, as always, to hear from my readers through review or pms. :)

Have a good day everyone, and thanks for reading!