DIsclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice
"I'm happy that you're feeling better now, Nobara." Mikan said, taking the consorts hand in hers. "I was really worried about you."
Nobara smiled, squeezing the empress's hand. "I am glad too, Mikan-sama. A bit more and I can take walks around the palace again."
"Yes, and once you do, come by my palace to have tea." Mikan replied, before glancing at the little girl behind her. "Come here, Haruka. You don't have to be as formal around me as it is only us in here."
At the invitation, the princess went forward, going straight to the arms of her mother. Haruka started to tremble quietly before sobs broke out of the girl. "I was so worried. I thought you were going to leave me." The princess wailed, clutching at her mother.
Nobara laughed lightly, caressing her daughter's long raven hair. "Would I ever leave you?" She gently tilted her child's face up to look her in the eye. "I will move heaven and earth; I will evade death even for a hundred times just to come back to you, Haruka. To me, you are the most precious treasure I have ever received and I will never lose you. Do you understand?"
The girl cried harder, nodding her head against her mother's chest. Mikan laughed tearfully as she watched Nobara try to calm the girl down. "Your mother will be alright now, so you don't have to worry anymore, Haruka. She only need to rest and refrain from stressing herself out and her recovery will go smoothly, so be a good a girl and keep you mother happy, alright?"
The princess pulled away from Nobara's arms and wiped her tears away before nodding to the empress. "Yes, Mikan-sama."
The brunette smiled softly at the girl. "Good, now why don't you go to Sayuri's palace and play with her there. I'm sure she'll keep you busy while your mother and I talk."
Haruka nodded once again, giving her mother one last hug before running out of the room. Mikan then called on Michiko and had her attendant prepare tea.
"I wanted to ask you something, Nobara,"
The blue haired woman nodded. "Please ask freely, Mikan-sama."
"Do you remember anything about the night that you were poisoned?"
"Natsume-sama asked me the same thing yesterday. There was nothing different actually, just another ordinary night, I was reading some books and was waiting for my tea. The only difference is that this time, a different maid brought it to me."
"And do you recognize the maid that gave you the tea that night?" Mikan asked, accepting the tea that Michiko poured for her.
"I would once I see her, however I have called all my servants here and she was not among them, although the other girls did confirm that there was another girl, only that they have last seen her a day after I was poisoned. I sent word about this to Natsume-sama this morning, but I have not been able to get a response."
"Ah, Natsume left early this morning to talk to the governors about an issue." Mikan shared, smiling a bit at the memory of her husband donning his robes in a hurry, reprimanding his attendant, Hiroshi, for waking him up late.
Nobara smiled softly at the brunette. "I am delighted that you seem much happier these days, Mikan-sama. Pregnancy suits you beautifully and I am sure that we will be soon blessed with another beautiful child here in the palace."
"Yes, I am very excited as well, waiting for your child to be born is like wanting to open up a present so much and yet you are not able to. It is such suspense and honestly, the waiting is torture."
The consort joined the empress in laughter, stopping short when Michiko announced that the emperor is outside.
"Natsume-sama," Nobara greeted where as Mikan merely smiled as Natsume took a seat beside her.
"I was about to go to your palace to fetch you, good thing I met Haruka along the way and she told me you're already here."
"Ah, yes, I forgot to send someone to tell you." Mikan explained while Nobara poured tea for the emperor. "The children ate with me in the palace earlier and Haruka was in a hurry to visit her mother."
Natsume nodded in understanding, accepting the cup his consort is handing over to him. "So, what have you two been talking about?"
"Mikan-sama was just asking me about the night I have been poisoned, Natsume-sama." Nobara replied.
The emperor regarded the empress quietly, to which the woman smiled. "Are you feeling well now?"
"I am alright; I just had a coughing fit yesterday." Mikan answered. "Did your meeting go well?"
"Yes it did, Ruka wanted me to tell you that your best friend will come visit you later." Mikan smiled and nodded. "I received your message earlier, Nobara."
"Yes, the maid seems to have disappeared the morning after the incident. I had them all here this morning before Mikan-sama came, and she was not among them."
"Are you positively sure that she is among your servants?"
Nobara nodded. "I am positive, Natsume-sama. The other servants also confirmed that there is supposed to be another girl however she has been absent for days."
"She must have slipped out of the palace before we can even tighten the security. After all, Mikan and I have only heard of what happened the morning after. She could have slipped out the same night." Natsume sighed before standing and gently took hold of his wife's arm pulling her to a stand as well. "We'll leave for now; you should rest a bit more. When you are better, come by Mikan's palace."
The said woman threw a confused look at the man holding her arm. "I can stay here, Nobara will feel better if she have some company besides, I also want to have someone to talk to."
Natsume merely shook his head. "You will be safer inside your own palace; I will stay there with you so you can talk to me. How will Nobara rest if you are prattling on beside her?" He smirked at the brunette's indignant look, throwing an arm around her shoulder to turn her to the direction of the door. "Let's go, rest well Nobara."
The consort smiled as she watched the emperor smile at the pouting empress. "I'm happy, Mikan-sama, you of all people deserves happiness. This is how it should have been from the start."
"Why are we suddenly going back?" Mikan asked as they walked towards her palace.
"I told you, you're not safe out here besides, Imai will be here soon." Natsume replied, taking the brunette's hand in his. "How is the baby?"
The empress merely sighed at the blatant change of subject. "The baby is fine, although it has been moving a lot these days. Just four months more and we will have another child."
Natsume smiled at the thought. "This time, let's take care of the baby together." Mikan nodded, thinking back to the times when her husband only takes their child with him and coming back after a few hours to give them back, never spending time with her. "When the child is born, let's watch him grow together, this time, it will be different from how we both watched Ryuu and Sayuri grow."
"Yes, let's do that." Mikan agreed, smiling brightly. "This time, let's do it right."
"So the girl is no longer here in the palace?" Hotaru asked the emperor who was sitting in front of her with Mikan at his side.
"That's what Nobara said. When she gathered her palace maids this morning, the girl was no longer there and apparently, she was last seen the morning after the poisoning."
The raven haired woman pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes in frustration. "Then she could be anywhere by now. She is the only solid evidence we have that will prove that Luna is the one who poisoned Nobara. We have Ayame as a witness to her crimes against the empress but it would be better if we have the other girl as well."
"I already sent my men outside of the palace to search for the girl, they have a drawn portrait of her based on the descriptions her fellow maids gave the investigators." Natsume added, fiddling with the lace embroideries on the table mantle.
"So it really is Luna?" Mikan interrupted. "Is that why you want me to be away from her?"
"I haven't heard the story from the servants she used, but right now, the information we pieced together all points to her." Natsume replied, taking her hand in his. "Once we get the full statements of the two maids, the whole story will be complete and once they point her as the mastermind, that's the only time I'll be able to pass out the punishment, but as it is now, it will be better for you to be safe lest she tries something again."
"Natsume-sama is right; you should always stay where you are safe. Especially now that you are close to your due date." Hotaru added. "I was able to speak with my brother last night. Have you been drinking the tonics he gave you?"
"Of course," Mikan replied. "Michiko arranges everything; she makes sure that I drink it after every meal. Anyway, Subaru-nii will be here later for another check-up."
The empress's best friend sighed. "I'll take my leave then. I'm also nearing my due date, and Ruka won't stop yapping every single time I leave the house."
The brunette laughed as she watched the woman stand. "It shows that he's worried, you know? You should be happy that he is concerned."
"Yes well, my ears get tired." Hotaru replied before executing a bow and turning for the door. "I'll come back some other time, Mikan-sama."
Once the door closed, Natsume also stood and offered a hand to Mikan, urging her to stand as well. The empress took his hand and let him pull her up. "What are you doing?" She asked as he guided her to the bed.
"Let's take a nap; I had to wake up early because of those governors. I'm tired and I want to sleep, so let's lie together, alright?" Natsume replied, waiting for her to lie down.
Mikan gave him a disbelieving look. "Its midday, you're supposed to be working. And I told you, Subaru-nii will be here."
Natsume sighed before turning to the door. "Michiko, don't disturb us, don't let anyone in, don't announce anyone no matter who it may be, however, if it's Imai Subaru who comes, tell him to come back later. Understood?" The empress could only look at him incredulously as Michiko gave an affirmative answer from outside. "There, now no one will come, happy?"
Mikan merely laughed and started to climb up the bed and lay down, immediately throwing an arm around her husband the moment he was beside her. "Yes, I'm happy. Deliriously happy."
The emperor pulled his empress closer and laid a soft kiss on her temple. "Me too, Mikan, me too."
"Luna-sama, please rest for a while. You have not been able to sleep since last night." Hikaru pleaded. The consort ignored her and continued to pace around the room. Shortly, the woman stopped and whipped around to face her attendant.
"Where exactly is Yumi now?" Luna asked, speaking in a low voice.
"She is at the village near the port, ready to board a ship at your command."
"Very well, tell her to leave. Give her the payment, tell her that she is never to set foot in the palace ever again and never is she to show her face here again." The consort ordered. "I can only calm down once I'm sure that no one will ever know. It is bad enough that she failed to kill Nobara, if the investigators find her, I'm dead."
"What about her family, Luna-sama? You promised her to help them as well." The attendant asked.
"Do you think I care about her family? Make her leave, I don't care if she takes them with her or not. She should be grateful that I still paid her after she failed."
"And if she refuses to leave without more money?"
"Then pay someone to kill her. It would do this country some good if there are less of her kind here, people who asks for reward when they cannot even do things right. If she gets killed, at least the people we paid will be more worthy of the prize." Luna replied, not noticing the way her attendant shivered in fright. "It will be more convenient to me if she is dead, after all, dead people tell no tales."