Lina watched with Amelia from the doorway as the painters worked on the nursery. While Lina hadn't wanted to do anything extravagant, Amelia had eventually persuaded Lina to do something about the outdated colors. And Lina couldn't avoid the fact that the paint was peeling and definitely needed to be refreshened. Lina watched as a soothing pale blue replaced the garish orange and felt oddly satisfied, especially considering that she was not doing any of the work.
"My, that's looking nice." Leia commented as she walked up with Sylphiel.
"Isn't it?" Lina replied, her voice oozing with such pride that one would think that she had painted it herself.
"See, wasn't I right?" Amelia asked.
"Yeah, it happens every so often." Lina said.
"Well, we aren't just here to look at the nursery." Leia said as she nudged Sylphiel. "Show them what you've got."
Lina straightened in interest as she watched as Sylphiel reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial, "The potion just came in."
Lina and Amelia crowded around her, "Is that what kills the labor pains?" Amelia asked.
Sylphiel nodded, "Come on, let's go and sit down and discuss what will happen when you give birth."
"Sitting room." Lina said as she moved towards that direction and the others followed her.
"I did attend one birth." Amelia said chipperly.
"You don't sound nervous at all." Leia commented wondrously.
Amelia shrugged, "Right now I'm just ready for her to get out and have my body back! Labor can't be worse than these past eight months! Especially with this potion."
"How well does it work?" Lina asked as they entered the sitting room and found seats.
"I know of two noblewomen who said they didn't know how they made it through their previous deliveries without it." Sylphiel replied.
"You never know what you can endure when you have no other choice. You girls are so lucky." Leia commented wryly.
"Right. How does it work?" Lina asked. "Do we just swallow some?"
"Unfortunately it's not something that you just take and forget. You have to continuously use it. I'll apply some to a rag, and then you inhale it with each contraction." Sylphiel explained, "It takes the pain away, and sometimes it leaves some giggles in its place."
"How long do the effects last?" Lina asked as she straightened in alarm. If someone attacked she would need to be in her right frame of mind.
"It's rather fleeting." Sylphiel said. "If it's not applied continuous the effects wear off in minutes."
Lina relaxed a bit, "Sounds good."
"It sounds incredible!" Amelia cooed.
Sylphiel smiled indulgently, "Miss Lina, I know you've been doing some reading, and Princess Amelia, I know you have training in such matters. Still, I want to discuss what to expect and to emphasize that you can send for me any time you have a concern. I would much rather be woken in the dead of night for a false alarm than to not be there when you need me."
"What do we need to know then?" Lina asked, and then she and Amelia listened attentively to Sylphiel's instructions.
When Sylphiel finished she asked, "Princess Amelia, who are you planning to be there while you give birth?"
Amelia started listing on her fingers, "Zel, my daddy…"
"Your daddy!?" Lina yelled.
Amelia looked at her in surprise, "Of course my daddy. What's strange about that?"
Lina shook her head in disbelief. Much as she loved her father she did not want him in the room while she was half naked! Meanwhile Amelia continued, "Leia, oh, how I wish my Sis were here!"
Lina squirmed awkwardly, and then Amelia looked at her, "Do you want to be there?"
"Huh?" Lina said.
"I'd consider it an honor!"
Lina's eyes widened. While she knew there was a chance she could deliver before Amelia, generally women who weren't related to the expectant mother who had not been through childbirth themselves were not invited to the event. And between Amelia's desire to have her and Phil there, Lina shook her head and wondered just how many people Amelia was going to invite, "Right. Sure!"
"It was all a farce!" Luna yelled, gesticulating wildly, as she walked in with Gourry, Zel, Han, Phil and Rick.
"What?" Sylphiel said as she blinked in confusion.
"Arnold is no hero of Hollyred!" Luna proclaimed as she collapsed beside Lina on the couch.
"Well that's been apparent." Lina said.
"Why did everyone say he was?" Amelia asked.
"Because he's such an insufferable prat that the whole town decided to get rid of him by telling tall tales about his heroic exploits so we would take him off their hands!" Luna explained as she reddened in anger. "Oh but they pulled one over on us good!"
"What!" Amelia exclaimed, "That's horrible!"
Gourry furrowed his brow in confusion, "But did Arnold realize that it was all a lie?"
"Someone knocked him out and when he woke up they fed him the story and said he didn't believe it because of the bump on his head. After enough pressuring though, he no only bought it, he started adding more and more elaborate details!" Luna explained.
"What!?" Amelia exclaimed, "He bought it even though he had no memory of it?"
"Well, he certainly strikes me as delusional." Lina said.
"Still, I feel a bit sorry for Arnold now." Sylphiel said as she brushed her hair from her face.
"What?" Lina exclaimed.
"Well, that would be terrible prank to pull on someone."
"Actually, I agree." Gourry said, and to Lina's disbelief Rick and Leia nodded in solidarity.
Lina shook her head incredulously, "But he is a prat!"
"Yeah, but what if he's a prat because everyone in that town was really mean to him?" Gourry asked. "I mean, if they pulled something like this, just imagine what else they're capable of."
"And they had to have known that if he came here he would have been publicly humiliated when the joke was revealed." Leia added, "Or worse, they hoped we would be attacked and he would die."
"In the latter case, they wouldn't have to worry about him returning." Zelgadis said darkly, "A way to commit a murder and keep your hands clean."
"Well it won't work." Lina huffed, "He can't stay here, he has to go back."
"Surely you don't want to send him back to Hollyred!" Sylphiel exclaimed, "If they've already treated him this cruelly I'd hate to think of what they will do in the future!"
"They created him, they can deal with him." Lina said, "It's really not our problem."
Gourry thought for a moment and then conceded, "Much as I hate to send him back to Hollyred, Maninstit isn't exactly safe right now. If we are attacked, and if he reacts with panic like he has been on the sparring fields, he could easily be hurt or killed and risk injuring or killing another student, or teacher for that matter."
"But if he was provided with guidance and support…" Rick interjected.
"I did try to work with him." Han said, "That boy needs more help than we can give, and he certainly won't blossom in the time before we're expected to be under attack. It may seem harsh, but there are too many lives at stake here. He'll be safe in Hollyred, and we'll all be safer for it."
"His body may be, but his mind would continue to be under assault." Sylphiel said as she dug her fingers into her knees. "I will take responsibility for him."
"You are naive." Luna said.
"You know little about me." Sylphiel countered.
"I've seen boys like him all the time as a waitress. If you're just doing your job and being nice to them they'll start thinking you like them, and next thing you know you're fielding off unwanted advances, which they justify making because you were nice to them." Luna explained.
"That's why I will take responsibility for him with her." Rick said as he wrapped an arm around Sylphiel, "We will shower him with kindness and nurturance and change the path that he is on!"
"If you're wanting to devote yourself to this then I guess there's not much we can do to dissuade you." Zelgadis said, "And while security is a concern, my hunch is that should we be attacked, Arnold would be very good at fleeing like the rat he is."
"I just think you're wasting your time and energy that would be better served by helping our other students." Luna said, "He is a prat, he has no talent, he doesn't belong here."
"You may be right. But we will give him our best." Rick said.
"Someone has to." Sylphiel added.
"But will he continue classes?" Amelia asked. "I mean, he didn't exactly get here on merit, but…"
"That's a good question." Lina said as she stood up, "One that I would prefer to discuss with everyone somewhere else."
"Why?" Amelia asked.
"I will explain." Lina said as she left the sitting room, and the group followed her down the hallway. On the way she half listened as Phil praised Rick and Sylphiel for taking Arnold under their wing until she reached the room she had selected to give birth in and pulled the key out of her pocket and unlocked it. She checked to ensure that the magic circle and crystals were still in place, and then watched quietly as everyone filed in before she closed and locked the door. "This room has been sealed from the astral plane so that we can't be spied on and so no Mazoku can teleport in or out. That's why I called you in here, because when I go into labor, everyone at Maninstit will be in danger, and we need to plan for this."
She was silent for a moment as she looked at each of them to ensure they were taking in the gravity of the situation before she continued. "Here's what we know. The Mazoku are aware that I am carrying a child with a fragment of the Lord of Nightmares. We also know that before they realized that, they were becoming aggressive in trying to infiltrate and attack this school. This school is a huge threat to their existence, and I believe they have stood down only for fear of hurting the Lord of Nightmares. But once this baby is born that protection ends."
"Do you think they are going to attack?" Amelia asked.
"I think it's something we are going to have to be prepared for." Lina said. "And I don't think that they are going to let a child with a fragment of the Lord of Nightmares in their soul be raised among humans without a fight."
"You think they're going to try to take the baby!" Sylphiel exclaimed.
"We've gotten whiffs of a plan to abduct him. Nothing concrete, but they are likely very much aware of the threat this child presents to them."
"I'm betting you've already given this a lot of thought." Luna said, and Lina felt a flare of annoyance with her. Had Luna not thought this through when she decided to manipulate events so Lina would rush to conceive a child? Had she considered how the Mazoku would feel about it?
Still, Lina nodded, "I'll be here when the time comes. It's the safest room in this manor. Sylphiel, obviously, will be delivering the baby. Mom, Sis, I want you in the room with me."
She looked beside her at Gourry and grabbed his hand, "And I want you, standing right outside the door, guarding it, and ready to be at my side at a moment's notice. You're the only one I trust to sense anyone in the hallway who shouldn't be there."
He patted her hand and nodded, "I'll be right there."
Lina smiled for a moment, and then continued, "We also need to ensure the safety of the children in this manor. A Mazoku already attacked them once, this would be the perfect time to stage another attack. As soon as I go into labor I want the children alert. I understand babies tend to come in the dead of night, but I want them awake. I also want Dad, Zel, Phil, Rick, and Moe downstairs and with the kids at all times."
"What about me?" Amelia asked.
Lina shrugged, "It's such a wildcard, isn't it? You'll either be healing from your own birth and caring for a newborn, or you could still be pregnant yourself."
"Or we could go into labor at the same time even!" Amelia said.
"Talk about cliché." Luna muttered. "Isn't that what happens in all the books and plays when two characters are pregnant at the same time?"
"Basically let's wait till it happens, and then we'll figure out where you need to be." Lina said. "If you're able to I would prefer for you to be downstairs. I would feel better with an adult magic user who can use healing magic spells. But if you're not in the right condition then I don't want to rely on it."
"Understood." Amelia said.
"What else should we know about?" Zelgadis asked.
"I wish I knew." Lina said with a sigh, "This may be an overreaction on my part even. Unfortunately we just don't know enough."
"Well, in this case it's better to over prepare than underprepare." Han said as he put a hand on Lina's shoulder.
Every nodded, and Lina was relieved that they weren't dismissing her as a hormonal pregnant lady. And then Zelgadis said, "We should figure out the more strategic way to place the children down stairs."
"Also, don't forget this gift that Memphis gave us." Lina said, "Zanaffar bombs. Let's hope they work right. We need to introduce how to use them to the kids."
"How do they work?" Zelgadis asked, and Lina felt a burden lift from her as they set about the task of defending Maninstit from whatever potential attacks may come.
"The nursery is right in here." Lina said as she marveled at how nice it looked now as she showed Karina around. Exposing Arnold had not been the only purpose of Luna's trip. She'd also managed to find and secure the services of a wet nurse who could perform shamanist and white magic and had gifted her services at the baby shower.
"This will be nice and cheerful." Karina said as she snuggled her own infant to her chest as Amelia followed them in, with Gourry and Zel right behind them. Both of the men were carrying boxes and boxes of goods from the shower.
"The rooms for the wet nurses are in here." Lina said as she showed her a bedroom right off the nursery, "Princess Amelia's will be up here next week. The nanny will be over there. He'll be up in two weeks."
"It's a bit bigger than I was expecting." Karina said as her eyes widened in amazement.
"We'll let you get settled." Lina said as pride filled her, "We'll just be in here getting the nursery organized."
"Thanks, ma'am." Karina said, and Lina went back and joined the others.
"Wow, this room looks so tranquil now." Zelgadis mused as he set the stuff down. While they could have tasked Alona with organizing it, Lina and Amelia had both experienced a primal urge to do it themselves.
"Yeah, the old colors were very loud." Gourry said.
"It was the fashion about a century ago." Amelia said as she started to sort through a box of baby clothes.
"I like this so much better." Gourry said as he helped Lina sort through the linens.
"Hey, how does anyone know how it went when Sylphiel told Arnold the truth?" Amelia asked.
"About as well as you could expect." Lina said, "He started yelling, wondering who set him up, shot off accusations at half the people at Hollyred. Sylphiel eventually managed to get it through his thick head that he could either go home or stay here as Nelly's assistant."
"Nelly's assistant?" Zelgadis interjected.
"Despite Sylphiel and Rick's noble intentions, I don't want to make this easy on him!" Lina said, "He can see how hard her job is before he puts people like her down. And we can't let him stay on as a student when he's not up to scratch. I did allow for the possibility of him becoming a student again if Sylphiel and Rick can get him caught up. But I'm not holding my breath. I was hoping his pride would lead him to decline the offer and he would go back to being Hollyred's problem."
"You mean he took it?" Amelia exclaimed.
Lina nodded, "He's basically a scullery maid now, helping Nelly in the kitchens."
"Wow, Hollyred must really be bad if he wants to stay here." Gourry said as he and Lina finished putting the crib sheets on.
"Fair point." Lina said, and then she smiled as she looked at the crib and she was surprised to feel her heart lurch. It looked so pretty and expectant, just waiting to cradle a tiny body within. Lina put her hands on her stomach, and reflected that she had done everything in her power to prepare for his arrival. All that was left to do now was to wait.
Soon.
AN: So...bets on who will pop first, lol!