"Gourry!" Trudy exclaimed as he walked into her chambers with Lina to find his sister sitting on one of the plush couches, snug under a pile of thick quilts. She reached her arms out and he knelt down to hug her, and the hope once again fanned that maybe this time he could build some good relations with a member of his family. Doubt was quick on its heels, reminding him that he just didn't have one of those families. Gourry pulled away while Lina stood there uncertain of what to do. "We're sisters now! Do give me a hug! It's good to see you. How are you doing?"

"We're well. A bit tired from yesterday." Gourry said as Lina knelt to give Trudy a hug. He sat down on a couch opposite Trudy and Lina sat down beside him as he observed Trudy. "How are you doing?"

"Absolutely drained! That healer gave me an earful for my brief participation yesterday and said I was not to leave the couch today. Not that I have the energy, but it has been rather boring. I am glad that you stopped by. That was a marvelous spectacle, more fit for royalty than the children of heroes. Your Queen must believe the mythology that has been spun."

Gourry felt the hairs on his arm stand up and he worried about giving away too much information. He was relieved when Lina said, "The Eternal Queen isn't spinning fool's gold. I did those things and earned that recognition. Don't believe me? Ask your brother."

"Extraordinary." Trudy said as her eyes sparkled. "And the bit about your children being blessed by the Lord of Nightmares?"

"Blessed?" Lina said as her eyes fell upon the fruit bowl on the table, "Cursed? Who's to make that determination? But they were imbued with powers. That much is certain."

"My sister, you must be famished. Have some." Trudy said.

"Thanks!" Lina said as she grabbed a pear, "I'd stopped by the nursery to feed Midas before we came here and I forgot about how hungry I get after I feed them!"

"You're nursing them! My goodness." Trudy exclaimed.

Lina shrugged, "It's hard to keep on a wet nurse, given how dangerous Maninstit is."

"You truly are an interesting young woman. Who would have thought that a heroine would tie herself to the nursery? But then again, your children sound as though they are genuinely special. No wonder Mother wanted those babies to go to the Elmekian Empire."

"How did you know about that?" Lina asked as her hand stopped in midair as she reached for another pear.

"Greg and I kept in contact until our disagreement about Garm. And as you know, he was deep in the cahoots with Mazoku, though he was such an idiot he could never see it. Dreadful business, how I would have liked a different outcome." Trudy said with a sigh as she shook her head, "Still, until our falling out, he kept me informed."

"Well, what did you think of Mother's plan?" Gourry asked as he grabbed an apple.

"I would never separate a child from their parents!" Trudy replied as she put her hand over her breast and her eyes grew wide, though as far as Gourry was concerned she did tip her hat that she had a vested interest in the twins. At the same time, so did Zeferia. "It's why I invited you to the Elmekian Empire and offered you status that you won't have here. Granted, or so I thought. After what I saw yesterday you two are treated practically like gods. I can see why Elmekia has so little to offer. Yet, I seem to recall overhearing something about how you'd like to leave Maninstit."

"You know how siblings are." Lina said coolly as she finished her second pear. "Sometimes you just need distance from them. And lots of it."

Trudy sighed, and the showmanship seemed to drain from her demeanor as an air of someone who was terrified replaced it. "Look, I'll be straight with you. I was a fool to think I could offer you more than what you have here. Bearing that in mind, we need you. With so much of our country bordering the Desert of Destruction, and given that our country has seldom seen stable leadership since the days of the glorious Emperor Farisael, well, our situation is dire. More dire than I can admit publicly. I need to build a strong country, and to do that I need heroes who can battle Mazoku…or just miasma soaked animals like Garm. If you move to the Elmekian Empire, I will give you all that I can."

Gourry exchanged a look at Lina as his gut told him that Trudy was being honest about that much. And he was relieved when Lina responded, "I think we can agree that it is important for the Elmekian Empire to be strong. Gregory, and the Emperor before that, their courts had been infiltrated by Mazoku..."

"And I would give anything for the assurance that mine isn't!" Trudy said.

"And I do have this feeling that if the Elmekian Empire falls to the forces of evil, as it were, the rest of us would be at tremendous risk." Lina continued as she grabbed a banana and looked at it, "With the goals of building a strong defense against whatever is in the Desert of Destruction and fighting Mazoku, I think our nations can build an alliance. But you would need to work with my sovereign."

"I intend to." Trudy said. "I have a meeting with her later this afternoon in fact. Yet that won't solve my problem. The Gungeniel Knights, sadly, were decimated when Shabranigdu was reborn. The demon uprisings hit the Elmekian Empire hard. Our land is crying for a hero, but finding that there is none to be had. For a while, with that coat, I thought I could be that hero. Damn, I was a fool."

"It's an option we're considering." Lina offered, "Among several."

Trudy stared her directly in the eye as she pounced, "How can I make it more tempting? Name your terms."

"You can't meet them." Gourry said quietly. And while it was hard to be so honest, he also knew it was the right thing to do. "Our children have been attacked by powerful forces twice in their short life. Lina and I don't want more risk for them. We want safety and security."

"I see." Trudy said as her voice faltered. "You have me there."

"We're not ruling anything out, yet. We're keeping our options open." Lina said. "But, if I'm honest, the Elmekian Empire isn't what our family needs right now."

"And neither would the fall of my empire be in your families' interests." Trudy said sharply.

"Of course it wouldn't." Gourry said quickly as his stomach twisted as he felt they were navigating a dangerous place. How would Trudy react if they refused to move to the Elmekian Empire?

"With that in mind, we have nothing like the Luke and Milina school in the Elmekian Empire. Would you consider taking in a group of students from our country in and training them, with the understanding that they will one day return to the Elmekian Empire to defend us?"

Lina nearly dropped her banana as Gourry watched Trudy carefully. If Trudy was genuine then it could be a good idea. And the Eternal Queen had invited people from other kingdoms into Maninstit before so that their school could be replicated in other places. But they hadn't even considered taking in students from foreign countries to train them and then send them back. It seemed a riskier step. If Trudy had ulterior motives, then they could be walking into a trap. After a moment Lina said, "I'll have to discuss that with my sister, and the Eternal Queen."

"I understand." Trudy said, "It would not be much. Just ten students or so to begin with."

"To begin with?" Lina repeated.

"And yet, during those years when you will, hopefully, be training my subjects, the Elmekian Empire will remain poorly defended." Trudy persisted, "And, my brother, if there is any part of you who still feels fealty, loyalty to our country, then please consider defending it."

Gourry felt a familiar struggle rise within him, even as every reason he'd turned his back on the Elmekian Empire rose through him. He'd loved the idea of loyalty, of standing for something greater. But what the Elmekian Empire stood for was shallow and corrupt. Lina put a hand on his knee, and he smiled a bit as he remembered the larger purpose he had found once he left. "And what has changed in our country since I left?" Gourry asked.

"Ouch." Trudy said. "I'm afraid I've been too busy stabilizing our power against such odds that I've not have a chance to…"

"If you keep putting off that chance, then that chance will never come." Gourry said. "There will always be some crisis that keeps you from implementing meaningful changes that prevent noble families from conscripting peasants to be a meat shield so they can slaughter another noble family over a sword. Or from people in court allying themselves with Mazoku to get further up the ladder."

Silence filled the room as Trudy flushed crimson. Gourry shifted uncomfortably as he worried that he had been too honest with someone that he still had very little reason to trust. It started to feel like a dumb move, as though he'd just stripped himself of his armor in front of Xellos, even if at the moment he could not think of what she could do to harm him. Other than extinguish his last ember of hope for finding another decent member of his family of origin.

The realization that somehow establishing a warm relationship with Trudy was more important to him than he'd ever admitted to himself flooded him as he cursed his idiocy. If Trudy was about to gut him, he would never again be able to dream of reconciliation with his family and country. He wasn't ready for that.

Trudy took a deep breath and ran a hand over her bald head. "That hurt to hear."

"Trudy…" Gourry began.

"But I needed to hear it." She added quickly, and Gourry felt himself relax. "I'm going to have to put a lot of thought into that. How to fight the rot in our empire while defending it from Mazoku. A good ruler, a great ruler, will find a way to combine the two. And when I took the throne, I vowed to be great."

Trudy slumped back on the couch and closed her eyes. "I have much to think about now."

"We'll let you rest." Gourry said as his anxiety built again as he wondered if he was pushing his luck. "I have one more question though. Before, when you first made the offer to go to Elemkia, why did you want to talk to me without Lina?"

"You hear so many stories." Trudy said without opening her eyes, "That Lina is a powerful witch who has you under a spell. Forgive me, dear brother, but given how men tend to seek partners who are like their mothers can you blame me if I was cautious given the type of person our mother was? I wanted a chance to talk to you on your own so, if you were forced to stay in Zeferia by some domineering dragon spooker, I could help you."

Beside him Lina tensed, and Gourry quickly said as he put a hand on Lina's knee, "Lina is powerful. And she did dazzle me with that power. But what made a greater impression on me was how, with the Sword of Light, she did the right thing."

"What do you mean?" Trudy asked as she opened her eyes and leaned forward a little.

"When Lina first learned I had the sword she wanted it. Of course I didn't give it to her. When we were fighting Shanbranigdu for the first time I gave her the sword to defeat him. She did something where she merged it with a spell and that's how she took him down. After the battle she could have kept the Sword of Light. Without the sword she was stronger than me and I would have stood no chance at getting it back. But she just handed it back to me and respected my ownership. That told me so much."

Gourry could feel Lina looking at him incredulously. "You remember all that?" she asked.

Trudy smiled a bit as she rested back on the cushions. "That is good to hear."

Gourry squeezed Lina's leg, "She's powerful. And she earned my loyalty. And my loyalty is to Lina, not to any country or leader. She is my wife, my chosen companion for the rest of my life, and I trust her judgment, which has saved our world several times over. So if there is anything you want to say to me that affects my life, you can say in front of her as well."

Trudy's eyebrows raised approvingly as she noted and replied coyly, "Noted."

Lina stood up and smiled at him glowingly as she said to Trudy. "We should let you rest."

"Thank you. And please stop by again." Trudy said.

"We will." Gourry said as Lina grabbed his hand as he got up. They made the short trip to the door as they exchanged farewells, and once they were out into the hallway Lina leaned her head against his shoulder as she smiled as he asked, "What did you think?"

Their chambers were not far from Trudy's, and soon they were at their door as Lina's smile turned sultry. "I think…" she said as she opened the door and they walked in. As soon as he closed the door behind them she turned and backed him against the wall as she put finger on his chest, "You started something dangerous."

"I did?" Gourry repeated dumbly, as a look of confusion crossed his face, and Lina could tell he wasn't sure if she was about to pummel him or kiss him. Somehow it was so endearing that he'd had no idea what his words about loyalty and support for her would have on her. It made them more authentic because he'd had no ulterior motive, no expectation of a reward in the bedroom for saying them. Gourry had said them because he'd meant them, and it had sparked something within Lina she'd not felt since the twins were born. While she still wasn't sure she was ready for this, she was burning for him so badly right then that she was ready to give it a try!

She smiled as she shook her head and said endearingly, "Idiot."

And then she reached up on her toes to kiss him as she grabbed the lapels of his shirt and followed them down to unbutton it. She moved closer to him as she caressed his chest and she continued to kiss him slowly and tenderly. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close for a moment before he pulled away to rest his head against her shoulder for a moment before he whispered in her ear. "You ready?"

"Yes," she said as she pulled his shirt off and let it fall to the floor and then she put a hand back on his bicep, enjoying the feel of the strength coursing through them as he reached out to caress her cheek before his hand moved downward.

"I've been looking forward to playing with these!" he said as his hand went to her breasts, but as soon as he touched them and she felt a shock of pain instead of pleasure, and she slapped his hand away as she pulled back.

"Huh?" he asked, his eyes cloudy as a look of confusion spread across his features.

A sinking pit opened in Lina's stomach as she pulled her arms over her chest and yelled, "Don't you know anything!? The girls are off limits!"

"They are?"

"Yes! They hurt and…and they're leaking!"

"I'm sorry, I'll keep my distance."

"Too late, they're leaking." Lina said through clenched teeth as she glared at him accusingly.

"I don't mind." Gourry said with a smile.

"I do! I'm wasting milk!" Lina said as she turned from him and walked over to the couch as she continued to yell, "Do you know how much effort it takes to produce milk?"

She drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them as she rested her head on her knees as she tried to fight the numerous and conflicting feelings that had suddenly assaulted her from nowhere. "I didn't think of it that way." Gourry said as he sat beside her and put a hand on her back, "I'll get one of the twins. Which one did you feed last?"

"Idiot!" she yelled, "I don't want to nurse! I want to have sex, not nurse!"

"This isn't the best way to get it." Gourry muttered as he reddened.

"What did you say!?" Lina screeched.

Gourry took a deep breath, "But you said you were wasting milk."

"I am!" Lina shot back, furious that he didn't understand what she herself didn't understand as she started talking faster and faster, "And I'm so sick of nursing! But if I don't do it then I waste so much milk, and I hate wasting it! And if I give it up and let the wet nurses take over then I worry about them starving, and then I'm thinking about being a mom and all the worries I've had since they were born and how hard all of this has been even though we have so much help!"

"It's been a lot. We need more time. It wasn't too long ago you were at death's door and you have so much on your plate still. Just because the mood arises doesn't mean we're ready yet. No wonder you're panicking." He said as he rubbed her back as his words rang in her mind.

"I'm not panicking!" Lina shot back. "I'm….I'm…."

Gourry raised an eyebrow, and she buried her face back into her knees. "Maybe I am panicking." She finally admitted.

"Did it hurt you that much?" he asked quietly.

"No!" she said as she recognized what she was feeling, "It just came from nowhere…like when you're standing in a field and all of the sudden the hairs on the back of your neck prick and you duck without knowing why, and it's because someone fired a shot at you, but you had no idea they were there. It's the fear and panic that rises before you know there's a threat that keeps us alive on the battlefield. But why did I feel it here…?"

"But you know I wouldn't hurt you."

"I know." Lina said as she tried to not think about how disturbing it was that it happened during an intimate moment with Gourry. But the more she thought about the, the more she knew it wasn't about him. "But it leads to all this, doesn't it? And I don't want to do it again."

"Do what?" Gourry asked.

"Damn!" Lina said as she lowered her voice, "what if I get pregnant again? That would be the absolute worst! That's why I'm panicking!"

Gourry ran his free hand through his hair as he said, "But wasn't there a spell you were using to prevent these things?"

"But what if I cast it wrong?" Lina shot back.

"How often do you cast a spell wrong?"

"I mean, it wouldn't be likely. But I wouldn't know! There's no way to check if it's working properly! It's not like a Dragon Slave where the proof is right there in front of you!" Lina said as the panic rose within her. "If I miscast this I could go along my merry way thinking I'm protected and then, whoops, baby number three is on the way!"

"Well…that would be a lot. Especially when you're nursing twins, and we're not sure where we're going to live or if we'll be attacked again." Gourry said as he thought for a moment, "Do you really think it would be a big risk?"

"I don't know! I could be panicking and ruining this moment over nothing!" Lina said as she buried her face in her knees again. There was a part of her that was telling herself she was being crazy, but the fact that her body had shut down so rapidly and was reacting so strongly…

"It will be hard, but we don't have to do anything until you're sure you're protected. Or we get to a point where we want a third one."

Lina looked at him from the side of her eye as she asked with a voice flat with terror, "You want a third one?"

Gourry shrugged as he wrapped an arm around her. "Right now I'm just wanting to get through the rest of this year without an attack." Gourry said, "Whether or not to grow our family can wait until the one that we have now is safe. It may suck, but we can manage."

She felt herself relax as she curled up beside him, relieved that he hadn't told her she was being silly or selfish as she finally started to calm down. She grabbed his hand and kissed it as they sat in silence for a while. But there was nothing awkward about this silence. In the absence of words there was the security of presence and support and the knowledge that they were in this together.

The moments passed, and desire grew in its wake as the fear and panic retreated. Lina lifted her head up to look at Gourry, who had dozed off. Damn, but the idiot looked so beautiful in his sleep! She smiled as she leaned over to whisper in his ear, "You know…there are things we could do that don't result in pregnancy…"

His eyes shot open and he tensed for a moment. But then he sighed and relaxed as he shook his head while he ran a hand through her hair. "One thing is for sure. You know how to keep me on my toes."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Shut up and kiss me."