Even though she was mentally exhausted, Lina still found sleep elusive. After Gourry had drifted off she found herself grabbing a shawl and wrapping it around her nightdress. Given that there were so many ambassadors in the house she likely stood a good chance of running into someone when she went to the library so the task of hiding the bump got no rest.
She was glad that she managed to avoid anyone as she walked down the hallway, but once she got into the library her luck ran out. Still, if she'd had to run into someone then she could have done a lot worse than Sylphiel. Even if there was a high potential for some awkward conversations ahead.
"Dame Inverse." Sylphiel said as she sat the book she was reading on the coffee table and stood up.
Lina waved at her dismissively, "Lina is fine. Come on, we fought side by side."
"We did." Sylphiel agreed as she sat down and Lina joined her. "I apologize for not congratulating you earlier on your nuptials."
"We were both rather busy earlier." Lina said awkwardly. Sylphiel seemed as formal and polite as ever and she couldn't get a read on what she was feeling.
"I do want to offer my congratulations." Sylphiel persisted.
"Thanks." Lina said, eager to get away from the topic, "So how did you end up here?"
"Well, after we separated I met up with some other survivors of Sairaag. We wanted to rebuild our city, but needed some funds and support, so we went to the King to petition for help, and he directed us to his son. The Crowned Prince of Lyzeille was very interested in what he had heard about your school and wanted to establish a similar school in Lyzeille. He also had heard that I was acquainted with you, and he agreed to give us the funds if I came here on Lyzeille's behalf to observe your method and establish a similar school in Sairaag."
"Wow, that sounds pretty exciting. And considering the trouble Sairaag attracts it would be a good idea to have people trained in fighting powerful magical beings."
If Sylphiel was excited, she hid it well. Evenly, she said, "It does seem like a wise idea, and something I can support. We can rebuild Sairaag and make It stronger than ever."
"So are you still going to pursue the high priestess thing, or perhaps be headmistress of the school in Lyzeille?"
"It does seem as though I have a lot of options." Sylphiel said as she finally broke a smile. That it was mirthless disturbed Lina, "As long as Sairaag is thriving again, I will be happy."
"It's good to have a big goal to shoot for."
"I've never been afraid to aim high." Sylphiel said as she ran a hand through her long, black hair. Then she quietly asked, "How far along are you?"
Lina blushed, and touched her stomach, "Do I show that much?"
"No. But when I was staying at Saillune I trained with a midwife. Ever since I've just known."
"Thirteen weeks." Lina said. "We're not ready to make any big announcements yet by the way."
"I understand." Sylphiel said. "I must say I'm surprised. I didn't think someone like you would want a baby."
Lina raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean no offense. It's just that you are such an adventuress."
Lina decided to take her at her word, "I guess I don't see how this would keep me tied at home. Even when I was young my parents would take me places around Zeferia."
Sylphiel smiled, "I guess that does make sense then. So many women trade their power to marry into wealth. You managed to secure both."
"Where did that come from?" Lina sputtered.
Sylphiel looked at her sweetly, and Lina wasn't sure if she had just been insulted or not. "Good night, Lina."
Lina sighed in relief as she walked out, as she reminded herself once again to always watch out for the quiet ones.
Lina put her hand on her back to ease the dull ache as she did her best to get herself pumped for the day ahead with a flock of diplomats trailing her every move. At least according to the itinerary left at her door that morning they would be having breakfast with the Eternal Queen and the Maninstit staff while everyone else dined elsewhere. And then she'd get a break when they observed Gourry's class.
The cramp finally subsided, and she grabbed her shirt and put it on, and tried not to focus on how unsettled she felt. Something didn't feel right. Naturally, with Guloisa being in their house, it wasn't too surprising because things were far from right. Lina decided that she'd rather whatever was going to happen strike soon so she could get it behind her as soon as possible.
"Hey," Gourry said as he came in from the bathroom and grabbed her and leaned down to give her a peck on the lips.
She smiled a little and he looked at her. "Everything okay?"
"Just feeling a bit off today." She said. "Your super senses aren't alert, are they?"
He shrugged, "No."
"I guess it's hosting so many people in our home, then." Lina said. "Especially Gelo and your mom."
"If it helps I'll be sure to keep an eye out."
"We'll need it." Lina said as she grabbed her brush and started combing out her hair. "You got a big lesson planned for today?"
"The usual." He said as he considered whether to wear the pale blue shirt or the paler blue shirt.
"Listen, I need you to talk to these kids about when to retreat and how there's nothing shameful in doing so."
"Sure," he said, "But didn't you do that yesterday?"
"Half took the message to heart. The others droned on about honor and nobility or whatever. Much as I hate to admit it, I think if they heard it from a big, strong man who oozes nobility they'd be more receptive."
He pulled his shirt over his head and gathered his hair to pull it up from behind his shirt. "I think they need more than a talk."
"You're not suggesting we let them find out on the battlefield!" Lina exclaimed.
"Hear me out. Look, they're used to being the best at everything they do, so facing down someone who has much more power than them like a Mazoku is not something that they can really understand. Some of them have been challenged since coming here and were a bit humbled, others haven't. So perhaps we should start doing games. Something like Capture the Flag? Sometimes they'll win, but they can also learn that sometimes you can play a good, honorable game and still lose. And perhaps we can rig things so that sometimes the teams are evenly matched and other times they aren't so they understand what it's like to face someone vastly more powerful then them."
Lina handed him the brush, "Well look at you coming up with a good idea."
He grinned wickedly, "Must be you rubbing off on me."
"Oh, you are asking for it, mister!" she said as she reached up on her toes and kissed him. She relaxed as she wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "You leave me no choice, you know. You are now tasked with organizing a series of Capture the Flag games."
He sighed, "Gee, I come up with a good idea and you reward me with more work! You are mean."
"Hold it, or you might find yourself on guard duty with the kids!"
"But then you'd have to sleep alone." He pointed out.
"Well it looks like you did grow a brain!" Lina exclaimed as he gently squeezed her as they laughed a bit. "Come on, I'm getting hungry."
He smiled as he reached down to caress her stomach, "Well we don't want to starve Dimmy would we?"
"We're not naming him 'Dimmy.'" Lina said, her voice low as she moved towards the door.
"What's wrong with 'Dimmy?'" Gourry asked as Lina rubbed her back once more as it started to ache.
"Do I really even have to explain?" she replied as she resigned herself to face a day filled with diplomats with an aching back.
Zel and Amelia were the only ones who had beaten them to breakfast. They said their hellos as they sat down. "I know we're supposed to wait for the Eternal Queen, but would it really be so bad if there was an exception for the pregnant ladies?" Lina grumbled as she stared at the pastries.
"Manners, Lina." Amelia said sternly, "You won't starve."
"Gourry, pull that chair over here, will ya?" she asked as she spied a tempting looking scone.
He brought it over and she put her feet up, and she sighed. "I didn't think that the back aches would start this early."
"I'm doing fine there." Amelia said, "It's still strange how our symptoms are so different!"
The cramped abated, but Lina kept her feet up and hoped it would prevent it from coming back, "Well, maybe you're having a girl and I'm having a boy, or vice versa. Or something like that."
"Oh, I'm having a girl." Amelia said confidently.
Lina perked, "You can tell for sure?"
"I listen to my gut!" Amelia explained as Han and Leia walked in. "And my gut says girl!"
"She's already got a name picked out and everything." Zelgadis said, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice. "I keep telling her we need to find a name just in case it's a boy."
"Not that we have to worry about it, but it's a simple fix." Amelia said.
"So what are you naming her?" Leia asked as she sat down.
"Justina." Amelia explained.
"So if it's a boy we're going with Justin?" Zelgadis asked.
Amelia smiled, "See? Simple fix!"
"You okay with those names?" Han asked.
Zelgadis shrugged, "We agreed she could name this one if I get to name the second one."
"Wow, you're really planning ahead!" Lina said with a low whistle. "What are you going to name the second one?"
"Well, let's welcome the first one first."
"You sure are taking a gamble." Leia said to Amelia. "He could have something very horrible in mind. I'd never trust Han to name our children."
"Justice will prevail." Amelia said. "So what are you naming yours?"
"It's a bit early…" Lina started to say as Gourry loudly and proudly proclaimed, "Dimmy!"
Lina turned to him and screamed, "WE ARE NOT!"
"You should get so upset, Lina, it's not good for Little Dimmy." Zelgadis joined in.
"Oh, no, not you, too!" Lina said.
"Good morning." The Eternal Queen said as she came in, Aliciane at her side.
Everyone rushed to their feet and waited until the queen was seated before sitting down. Lina waited eagerly for the queen to start loading her plate as she hoped that she wouldn't steal the plump looking cream scone she had been eyeing. Fortunately the Eternal Queen reached for some fresh fruit. The moment the fruit touched the queen's plate, Lina grabbed the scone before anyone else could and put it on her plate, where it would be safe from everyone. Except Gourry.
"Steal my food and you'll be sleeping in your own room." She muttered as she continued to pile food on it.
"I'm dumb, but I'm not dumb enough to steal a pregnant ladies' food!" he said. "Though that scone looks good."
"Don't even think about it."
Once everyone had loaded their plates the Eternal Queen announced, "Thus far this has been a success. The other kingdoms aren't buying the story spun by the Kingdom of Dils, and are even seeing the utility of forming such schools in their own kingdoms. I am pleased."
I'm not, Lina thought a bit resentfully as her back started to hurt again. As she shifted her weight to try to get comfortable she reflected that at least she hadn't angered her sovereign by messing things up. Even with the constraints on her life, having to host unwanted guests was better than being poor and destitute.
"If I may, what has been going on with the Elmekian Empire?" Gourry asked.
"Things have been in flux." The Eternal Queen explained, "With such a drastic change in power, a lot of different factions are vying for Gregory's favor. The dust hasn't settled there, however, so it means that for the moment that they are too busy consolidating power to be much of a threat. Of course, as we saw in Dils, this also makes them the perfect target for the Mazoku to infiltrate."
"Have they?" Zelgadis asked.
"We don't know either way." The Eternal Queen explained.
"Guloisa was making some noise about being there when the baby is born." Lina said. "I don't know how she even figured out that I'm pregnant! But if the Elmekian Empire is in league with the Mazoku…."
The Eternal Queen looked at her curiously as, to Lina's relief, her back stopped hurting. "How would that explain how Guloisa got her information?"
Everyone shifted nervously. They had not been able to relay the information about their spy to the Eternal Queen yet. And sending for Susan would just make things suspicious. Lina tried to see if she could sense if the other presence was there, but as it was she was so overwhelmed with hosting that her nerves were shot. She just couldn't be sure. Lina exhaled and thought through her words with more care than she usually did. "I mean no disrespect, but understand that for the safety of our kingdom, I can't reveal that right now. When it is safe, I will."
The Eternal Queen's clear grey eyes widened in surprise as Amelia quickly rushed in, "I second that."
The Eternal Queen looked at them both, and Lina did her best to remain calm as she evenly met her gaze. Finally she said, "I will trust your discretion then."
And Lina didn't have to be told that the addendum "and there'd better be a good reason," hung in the air.
"Getting back to Guloisa, though, she was threatening to be there at the birth. It goes without saying that I don't want her anyway near me then!" Lina explained.
"While I understand why you wouldn't want her there," Zelgadis said, "It's not too unusual for a woman to want to be there when her grandchild is born."
"It sounded like a threat." Lina snapped.
"Well, you are inclined to think the worse of her." Leia pointed out.
"Right, Mom. Are you wanting to deal with her while I get this kid out?"
"I didn't mean it like that." Leia said soothingly, "I just wouldn't so worried that there is some nefarious reason that she wants to be there."
"I guess," Lina said as she grabbed her hair and pulled it off her neck. While she usually liked the blanket feel of having it surround her, given that it was still early in the morning and her neck was already a sweaty, sticky mess, she wondered if she should cut it. And then she quickly backed away from the idea. If she could live with the backaches, she could live with the heat.
They continued to talk about the other ambassadors as they finished breakfast. As Gourry and Han stood up to get ready to go to the field Lina asked, "When you see Susan, could you tell her I'd like a word. Now, not after class."
"Why?" he asked.
"Well, as she is from Dils, she might have some insight into the going ons." Lina said. "I think it would be helpful if she talked to the Eternal Queen about them."
"Sure." He nodded as if he understood. He then reached down to kiss her, "See you after classes."
As Lina's back started aching again she wondered just how long they would be able to keep Susan's telepathy a secret. Surely whoever was observing them was suspicious by now about why they would bring her into rooms with them just to stare at her in apparent silence for long periods of time. And a smart spy likely would have put the pieces together. But Lina didn't know any better way. "Right."