Ardeth sighed. He knew it was the only way as she placed the Spire back on the ground. She winced in pain from the movement. Ardeth held onto her arms still as he aided in her in lowering back down to the bed.

"Catlanda, why did you try and kill yourself?" he suddenly asked her.

"Spire, no outside contact for the moment!" she quickly ordered it.

Her eyes met with Ardeth's as the spell was cast.

"There. Now no one can hear us until we say so. The reason I did it is because of you. I saw how hurt you were because of your promise to my father. I thought it be better if I didn't have this child. The only way I could do that was if I killed myself. You know I can't ask the Spire to take it away. I feel violated Dad. In more ways than one. You understand this more than they ever will," she explained. "And what about you? You tried to kill yourself as well. The reason I know is because of the Spire."

Ardeth looked away from her ashamed.

"I did it because I believed I failed both you and your father. I didn't feel worthy to be alive for what I let happen to you," he explained, the tears welling up in his eyes.

"You never failed me. At least I never thought so," she told him.

She sighed as she reached up to give him a hug, the blanket falling down a bit as she did so, revealing the bandages around her torso. Ardeth saw them out of the corner of his eye. He put his hands on her sides and they both looked at them.

"Catlanda," he said as he looked at them. "What did you do? Is there anything wrong with the baby?"

She shook her head.

"No, there isn't. Spire said so. I wanted to so much kill myself yet not the baby," she replied.

"Yet you would've killed the child if you didn't live," Ardeth told her as he looked away from her.

Catlanda closed her eyes as she put a hand on her stomach. Ardeth put a hand on top of it and they made eye contact.

"I will treat this child no differently that what I have treated you all these years. I promise. If it should be a boy, I want him to carry on our name and be leader to this tribe after I am unable," Ardeth told her.

She smiled as she closed her eyes, Ardeth putting a hand up to her head.

"I will never leave you," he told her as he stroked her hair.

"We won't leave each other," she quietly said. "Though I have one question."

"Go ahead," Ardeth told her.

"Shouldn't we tell your mother and my grandmother about this soon?" she wondered.

He sighed. He knew she was right. The two would be upset if they weren't told almost immediately.

"We will tell them sweetheart. Real soon," he whispered to her as she fell asleep.

00000

Ayanna, Iscantil and Marok headed towards the tent, hoping they could find some answers from the two. They walked into the tent, to meet some resistance. They were slightly confused by this as they walked up to the sleeping Ardeth and Catlanda. Isis was asleep on the ground at the foot of the bed. Ardeth stirred and raised his head. He groggily looked at the three before he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Ardeth, we didn't mean to wake you up. Now that you are, do you care to tell us what happened? We're sure she confided in you about it and we would like for you to tell us why you did what you did," his mother told him, crossing her arms.

Ardeth sighed as he gazed over his daughter. His stare went back to them as she stirred from sleep. She saw the three before she made eye contact with Ardeth.

"May as well," she whispered to him.

"Mother, Iscantil, Marok, I'll tell you what happened though we request that none of you tell anyone else about this. Noone should know besides us. The Spire will know if you tell and will have to something about it," he told them.

The three nodded their heads before sitting down around the bed as Ardeth gave a deep sigh.

"The reason Cat and I have been acting differently is because she is pregnant with our attacker's child," he finally told them, looking away from them.

The End

Author's Note-So how was it? Good? Bad? What?