That Greater Beast Zelas Metallium was in a foul mood was not unusual or surprising. Usually Xellos let it wash off his back, but it was harder today. Today one of the underlings that she was mad at was him! And it was not a position that Xellos was used to being in. Thankfully, she was even more mad at Stover, and as she paced before him in her more intimidating armored wolf with wings astral form, she did little to conceal her displeasure.

"Just how did Guloisa Gabriev find out about Lina Inverse's pregnancy?" Greater Beast demanded to know.

"I had to tell them to get in with them!" Stover said meekly.

Greater Beast growled, and Stover deepened his bow, "You don't understand what it's like to work with those humans! I needed something big to tell them for them to even give me the time of day! And you never specified that it was a secret…"

Greater Beast leapt forward in smooth motion and knocked him backward and growled even more loudly in his face. "Unless I give you specific orders to release information then you are to treat it as confidential!"

"Yes, my Lord Greater Beast!" Stover said, "How can I make this right?"

And now the spotlight returns to me, Xellos thought in resignation as Zelas backed off, "I'll deal with you later. Away for now, I need to talk to my priest."

Stover teleported quickly, and Greater Beast sat on her haunches and fixed Xellos with a piercing stare. "Is there any way we can use this to our advantage?"

Xellos shook his head as he reluctantly admitted, "Unfortunately, relations between the Gabrievs and the Inverses are rather sour. I do not believe that there is a remote chance that Lina Inverse would allow Guloisa Gabriev to attend her birth. Lina Inverse is already suspicious that Guloisa Gabriev may want to kidnap her child."

"Which will make them more alert and guarded at that time, which makes our job harder!" Zelas said. "Further, your plan to turn the other kingdoms against Zeferia have also been foiled. The Eternal Queen has been making swift progress with not only getting the other kingdoms to see us as a threat, but to start their own schools to defeat us. It has been a long time since our race has been so imperiled. And you, who have been so useful to me, who performed so admirably during the Kouma War, to fail like this when I need you so desperately. Well, let's say that I hope I won't have to consider putting you out to pasture."

Xellos bristled, but said, "If that is what you think is for the best, my lord. If you would give me the benefit of time, undeserving though I may be, I feel I can turn this around."

"Oh, is this one of those situations where your grand scheme needs the element of time to be seen?"

"No, but hear me out." Xellos said as he tried to keep his own frustration over his newfound incompetence under control. "Manipulating one human is easy. I was mistaken in believing that manipulating a mass number of them would be just as easy, and I fear that I have gone about this the wrong way."

"Explain yourself."

"So much of my plan has been focused on convincing the other kingdoms that Zeferia means to cause them harm. But the Eternal Queen has been reigning for as long as anyone living has been born and has a reputation for staying within her borders and seeking peace. The groundwork was simply not there, and the Eternal Queen was too smart to give us an ounce of ammunition to build it. Gourry Gabriev, on the other hand, is known for being estranged from his family. And while he is seen as an innocent party, if people could be led to believe that he is just as capable of their bloodlust if his family was threatened, we could kill two birds with one stone, and use this to drive a wedge between the kingdom that protects him, Zeferia, and the remaining powers."

Greater Beast examined her paw as she thought it over, "Are you planning a bloodbath, Xellos?"

He grinned. Greater Beast smiled, "Get busy. And do inform Lord Dynast Grausherra. He needs the misery a good bloodbath brings to humans to feed off of so he can heal faster."

"As you wish, my lord."

Lina wondered when Susan would lose the look of a frightened kid about to be dressed down whenever she was summoned, and then she kicked herself as she remembered Susan could read her mind. As usual, Susan gave no indication that she had heard any unkind thoughts towards her as she said, "You wanted to see me."

"Come in." Lina said, "The Eternal Queen wants to talk about what you know about the situation in Dils."

Susan sat down and exhaled as she said, "The spy isn't here right now, if you want to speak openly."

Lina breathed a sigh of relief. If the person watching them was gone then that would make things a lot easier. "Looks like he finally got bored."

"Spy?" The Eternal Queen asked, and Lina launched into an explanation. Once she had finished the queen concluded, "So if the Mazoku are spying on you, and if they relayed that information to Baroness Guloisa, then it would explain how she knew about your pregnancy."

"Right." Lina said. "Susan, do you have any insight to share here?"

"I'm sorry." Susan said as she shook her head, "When there are so many people in the room it gets a little loud. I could only really focus on whoever is front and center."

Lina closed her eyes as her back started aching again, worse than it had been! "If they know about the special nature of this pregnancy and the child, well, given what Gourry has explained to me about his family…"

"Suddenly your concerns about having Baroness Guloisa attend the birth seem very real." Amelia said, "She could easily slip away with him in the chaos, especially if anything happened to you."

And I could easily see her using that opportunity to make it look like an accident. Lina thought to herself.

"That's something we're going to have to plan for, then." Lina said as she put a hand around her belly possessively as the pain abated. "What could you gather from Dils?"

"They're set on war." Susan said. "And willing to stir up whatever trouble they can to cause it. There's not a route to peace with them, it's only a matter of ensuring that they make as few allies as possible."

"Well, that much was apparent." Lina said. "Perhaps if we called each of the ambassadors in one by one and let you scan them. Hey, what was the read you got on the rest of the group? Are they buying the swill that Dils is selling?"

"The general vibe is that if it hadn't been for the demon uprisings last year then they would be more likely to believe it. But Dils has never provided a satisfactory explanation for them, and yours makes too much sense. So they're willing to take a risk with you, and the Queen's decision to teach them how to open their own schools was also important in convincing them of our intentions. Further, there are strange stories coming from Dils about citizens going missing and people fleeing with horror stories about various atrocities. They aren't highly regarded right now."

The hair on Lina's neck prickled as Susan's voice suddenly rang in her mind, He's back.

Lina and the Eternal Queen exchanged a glance. "Thank you, Susan. You may return to class."

Once Susan left, Lina shifted and stood up. Now that the spy was back, there simply wasn't a lot of use continuing a conversation. It would be easier if she drew the spy away so the Eternal Queen and Amelia could converse privately, "If it is alright, I'd like to take a walk before lunch."

"Oh course." The Eternal Queen said, "I've taken quite enough of your time. Enjoy your walk."

Lina had hoped that the walk would help with the backache, but it continued to get worse. She endured it stoically through lunch, and if anyone noticed that she was unusually quiet, no one said anything. While she really wanted to cancel her next class so she could lie down and try applying some heat to her back, with all of the ambassadors there she simply couldn't. She needed to represent the school, and if word got round that she was canceling class for a mere backache it would cast doubt on whether or not she had slain Shabranigdu and all of the other stuff she had done! She would just have to grin and bear it for another hour.

She walked into the classroom and noted that everyone was there except for Ambassador Gelo. And there was no way she was going to hold up class for him! With one hand she grabbed some chalk as she turned to face the board, and she quickly put the other hand on her lower back as it spasmed once again, and she was soon grateful that she was facing away from the class as the pain suddenly radiated from her back to her stomach and it was all she could do to keep from crying out.

She squeezed her eyes shut as her right hand remained suspended in air as she took a moment to collect herself as she wondered what was happening to her. She did her best to shake it off as she wrote, "Dragon Slave" on the board.

As the cramp subsided she turned to face the class and noted that some of the kids were whispering among themselves. Had they noticed that she wasn't well? Instead she asked, "What do you know about this spell?"

The class stared back at her, finally silent, and it was all Lina could do to keep from rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Look, I don't care if we have an audience! You'd better start participating!"

"It's the strongest spell in Black Magic." Jean-Luc said as he raised his hand.

"Right."

"It draws power from the Dark Lord of all Dark Lords." Clark added, "Shabranigdu."

"Good." Lina said as she continued to let them supply bits of information for a few minutes before segueing into her next bit, "What sort of damage does it cause?"

"It can level a town." Pippi said.

"Excuse me," Guloisa said, and Lina found herself biting her tongue, "Is this really an appropriate spell to teach to children?"

"We can debate my methods after class!" Lina snapped, "As you are an observer and not a student, then your choices are observe quietly or leave."

Guloisa glared at her, put didn't say another word. Lina turned her attention back to her class, "What else can you tell me about the Dragon Slave?"

"It was discovered by Lei Magnus." Danielle piped in.

"Good. Now earn that star and tell the class who Lei Magnus was."

Even though Lina had put her on the spot, Danielle was able to concisely give a brief history of the most influential sorcerer of all time. "Thank you," Lina said when she was done, "What else do we know about this spell?"

"It can kill some low level Mazoku, right?" Peter asked.

"Right, but given the potential for damage, you'd better be in a place where no one will get hurt." Lina said as she felt her back start to ache again. She did her best to brace herself and hoped that the strain didn't show in her voice. Still, she felt herself bend forward a bit as the force of it hit her as she asked, "How far away from the nearest town do you need to be to cast this spell safely?"

"Dame Inverse." Sylphiel said as she stood up, just as Zelgadis walked into the room.

"Lina, might I borrow Honor?"

Lina tried to get a breath in, but it was hard when it felt as though someone was driving a knife into her spine, causing the pain to radiate from her back to her stomach and legs. She did manage to ask, "Why?"

"Nimitz has Ambassador Gelo trapped in Ambassador Arkowitz's room and won't let him out." Zelgadis somehow managed to say in his deadpan manner. If Lina hadn't been in so much pain she would have laughed at the idea of the golden housecat cornering the much larger ambassador.

"What?" Ambassador Arkowitz yelled as he looked up while Honor's face paled.

"Everyone else stay here." Lina instructed as the pain finally released its grip on her. While she should have stayed with the class and let her capable staff handle this, she also couldn't resist seeing Ambassador Gelo cowed by a mere tomcat, "Honor, Ambassador Arkowitz, with me. Everyone else, if you haven't already, read pages 321-390. Or get started on the papers I assigned last week!"

Lina was a bit surprised when Sylphiel got up to join them, but didn't feel like arguing as they made with haste towards the stairs. Thankfully, Guloisa stayed put. "Dame Inverse, I apologize for the poor timing, but we need to get you to your room."

"What's wrong with you?" Lina asked irritably as they got to the stairs and noted that she could hear the sounds as hissing as well as raised voices. "Can't you see we have a situation?"

"I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about." Sylphiel said as she gently grabbed her arm. "Dame…Lina, how far apart have they been?"

"How far apart has what been?" Lina asked, alarmed as something shifted within their relationship. And while there was none of the unacknowledged rivalry, Lina did not like the change.

"The cramps."

Lina felt something clutch at her heart as she stopped walking and let the others get ahead of them. "It's just been a bit of a backache. I mean, pregnant women get backaches, what's the big deal?"

"Has it been growing in intensity?" Sylphiel asked, and irritably Lina wondered why Sylphiel was talking to her as though she was her midwife.

"Well, yeah. And it's starting to wrap around to my stomach if you must know."

Sylphiel gently moved her towards the stairs, "Please, I need to examine you."

"What?" Lina asked, alarmed, and suddenly feeling very ignorant, "Why?"

"What you're describing are contractions."

"But…this can't be what contractions feel like!" Lina protested.

"Is this your first pregnancy?" Sylphiel asked. Even though it was a question, Lina was fairly sure that Sylphiel damn well knew the answer.

"Well…yeah."

"Then how would you know?" When Lina didn't answer as they reached the top of the stairs Sylphiel continued, "Even then when contractions build from the back they feel different from those that build from the front. Even mothers who have already had children can be caught off guard by it."

Lina clutched at her stomach. There had to be a mistake! "But it's too soon!"

"I know. Your waters haven't broken?"

"No," Lina said.

"Good, there's still time. I'm going to examine you and see if there's a heartbeat, and if there is we can save your pregnancy. You'll be off your feet for a few days, but that's it." Sylphiel said calmly as she opened the door to her room, which Alona was still cleaning. "Good afternoon. If you could please send for Dame Inverse's mother and Princess Amelia, I would greatly appreciate it."

"And my husband." Lina added.

"Is everything alright?" Alona asked as Lina grabbed the doorframe as her back started to hurt again. Only while before she had felt annoyance, now she was terrified knowing that each pain was bringing her closer to losing her baby.

Sylphiel put a hand on her shoulder, "That is all for now. Thank you for your work." Alona finally left, and Sylphiel wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Thank goodness the bed was made. Come on."

And that was when it sank in that she was now Sylphiel's patient. Last night she had been Sylphiel's rival, the winner in a competition she'd never consciously acknowledged they were in. Now she was her patient. And even through her fear, she marveled at this strange twist that life had thrown at them.

Gourry had been talking to Zelgadis when he heard the commotion, and they wasted little time in joining his in-laws and Amelia outside of the hallway where the guests were housed in. Zelgadis took a mere moment to watch the scene before he smiled, shook his head, and left to fetch Honor while Gourry stood beside his in-laws as he watched as Nimitz paced the entrance to Ambassador Arkowitz's room as Ambassador Gelo stood inside, looking livid at being cornered by a mere tomcat. Yet every time he tried to leave, Nimitz's back would arch and he would hiss and spit and rear to attack. A few specks of blood actually lined the ambassador's face from what looked to be an ill-fated charge, and Gourry had wished he'd been there to see it.

"You!" Gelo said as he pointed at Gourry, "You supposedly have defeated Mazoku! And now you stand there and do nothing to stop this animal?"

"Well, I like this cat a lot more than the Mazoku I've met." Gourry said, "So I don't want to hurt him. Besides, I've never seen Nimitz do this before, so I'm guessing he has a good reason to do it now."

"Nimitz!" Honor scolded as she came down the hallway, followed by Zelgadis, "What's gotten into you?"

"We're wondering what Ambassador Gelo was doing here in the first place!" Amelia said mightily.

"That cat backed me in here!" Gelo maintained indignantly as Nimitz jumped on Honor and perched himself proudly on her shoulder.

"Considering you have already tried to plant false evidence on us, we are highly suspicious." The Eternal Queen said.

"As am I." Arkowitz said as he burst into his room and started tearing through it for anything out of the ordinary. Nimitz jumped off Honor's shoulder and walked over to the desk and jumped on it and circled around a box that was on it. But before he could open it, Alona came up to them.

"Mrs. Inverse?" Alona asked, "Princess Amelia? Sir Gourry?"

"Can this wait?" Amelia asked as the other debated whether or not to open the box then and there or to wait for it to be checked for explosives.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but it looked like an emergency."

It was then that it dawned on Gourry that it was strange that Lina hadn't come up with Zel and Honor. Somehow, he couldn't see her resisting the urge to check out what was happening unless something else was going on. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Dame Lina was with one of the female ambassadors and she's in her room. She requested you, and the ambassador requested Mrs. Inverse and Princess Amelia."

"Lina and Sylphiel were right behind us." Zelgadis said, "I know Sylphiel was talking to Lina about something but I wasn't paying attention…"

Gourry didn't wait for Zel to finish speaking. Leaving the Eternal Queen, Han and Zel to take care of things, he took off down the hallway as fast as he could.

AN: If you don't think a tomcat can corner someone in a room, I have some stories to tell you about a certain tuxedo cat I used to have who loved me but hated everyone else. And geez, ya'll, why can't I keep things happy forever? 😉