Expecting

"Are you sure, you little Egotistical Punk?" asked Reis, "You're not just making up stories to annoy the heck out of me and Beowulf? Because if I find out that what you've told me is all a lie, you're going to be one sorry little healer as of today." She glared at the younger man, menacingly.

"No chance, Mrs. Kadmas. I never make a mistake. You're going to have a baby. Isn't that great news? I mean, you and Beowulf have been wanting one for so long. And when the little kid comes into this world, you can bet I'll be able to help you two with the labor without any problems whatsoever. After all, I'm not the greatest healer in Ivalice for nothing," bragged Leon, his chest swelling with pride.

Beowulf thought, 'Best healer my butt. All that kid does is brag. I'll admit he's good, but he's not the best. Better make sure Sage is on call too on that day. I trust her a whole lot more than him. Even though she's a little bit petty, and materialistic, she takes her job much more seriously than he.'

Reis looked down. "Too bad you guys'll be down a warrior. I really can't risk the life of my unborn, unless I am attacked and must defend him or her. So, Ramza can't rely on me to fight if those demons decide to come back." It made her happy, having a child. She was already thinking of it in terms of boy or girl, and she wasn't even a month pregnant as of now, if what Leon said was true. She had conceived at the beginning of June, and it was only June 25 on this day.

The other guys in the camp began to congratulate Beowulf on his unborn child. Those who were over the legal age were drinking some of the finest beer to be found in the city of Bervenia. Everyone else had some milk or water instead. Izlude, however, was partaking in the alcohol. As a ghost, he was unable to get drunk, and had no need for a limit. And since he was already outside the flow of time, an eighteen year old forever, he really had no need for an age limit either.

* * *

The next day, Izlude confronted Meliadoul on the outskirts of the city. She had been sitting on the cool grass, feeling the wind in her hair. But he could tell that something was wrong. It had to do with the fact that Reis was going to be a mother, while she hadn't even found someone to love her yet. He well remembered the days when they both served the temple. Most of the men stayed away from her, they were all afraid of a woman who could fight as well as she did. That was why Mel's whole soldier group had consisted of women, men didn't want anything to do with her.

"Meliadoul," he began, "Is everything alright? I can see that something is wrong, you're not your self today. Does it have something to do with Reis's baby? I mean, you've never formed an emotional attachment to anyone outside your own family before. You are looking for someone to love you for who you are, someone who is not afraid of your skills. I'm right, aren't I?"

'If only you knew. I have been longing for love for years now. People only see me as a warrior, not as a woman. To men, I'm just a man in the clothes of a woman. You, however, were accepted for who you are. After all, men are more accepted in the warrior trade, while women are often pushed into becoming back row mages and other supportive jobs,' she thought.

To her brother, the woman said, "Everything is all right. I'm just thinking about Lucavi, and how we're going to handle them if they attack again. After all, you can never be too prepared if you are in danger of being killed by a group of demons, crazies, or bounty hunters."

Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her, vaguely familiar one. "Quite right, you can never be to prepared. But your journey will end here, foolish woman who fights for Beoulve. And this time, you don't have any back up but the boy. No ghost in sight here." When the siblings turned, they saw Deverca, flanked by his men. A wicked smile crossed his face, he had been waiting a long time to fight Meliadoul again. He could not recognize Izlude as the ghost, though, as he'd taken off his hood.

"Oh, really," Meliadoul said, "Well, if you try to kill off my brother, you might find that your little theory is completely wrong. For he's the ghost you are so afraid of. But I don't need him to defeat you. Let's fight, just you and me. You're minions will stay out of it, and so will my brother. We'll see who the better fighter is, you or me. Just because I'm a woman, doesn't mean I am weak."

She brought up her Save the Queen against his two Zorlin Shapes. Deverca was overconfident, he believed that he was better just because he was a man. But since Izlude had stepped in before she or Alma could deliver one blow to the thief in their last battle, he had no idea what he was dealing with.

Meliadoul started by destroying his armor with Shellbust Stab. Deverca tried to throw a Dagger, but it only did menial damage. One Zorlin Shape was destroyed by her first Hellcry Punch. The thief tried to toss a Iaga Knife this time, Meladoul's Maximillian preventing much damage. A second Hellcry Punch finished off the other Zorlin Shape, leaving Deverca without anything to fight with.

"Witch! I'll kill you with my bare hands then!" exclaimed the thief. He then charged her, only to be knocked back by Meliadoul's own fist. She had put away her weapon with Equip Change the second she had seen this, wanting to see if his fist fighting was any better than his Ninja fighting.

She told him, "It'll take much more than that to defeat me. For one thing, it takes skill. For another, it takes the heart of someone who is willing to fight for the sole reason of protecting someone they care about. Greed leads to your downfall, thief." With that, the young woman tossed him over her shoulder with ease, and to the ground. Deverca hit his head, but wasn't knocked out from the injury, due to the helmet that he had seen fit to equip before the start of this battle.

He got up, rubbing his wounded head. "Everyone, I want all of you to retreat. We will come back later, after a better plan has been found. These guys are just too much for us to handle at the moment. Maybe we should even just run, they can find another band of fools to take Ramza's men on."

With that, the eight thieves ran off. Meliadoul knew though, that she hadn't seen the last of them. Even if they were afraid, they were the type to be easily won over with money. If their worth was deemed good, her father and his allies would just up the price on Ramza's head, until they were satisfied. Then, if they managed to kill Ramza and the rest of them, Vormav would simply eliminate Deverca's team, and save himself the trouble of having to pay them for their services.

- - - -

It may seem inconvenient having two kids on the way, but Balmafula's is going to be born in a few more chapters, so she can join the fight in Reis's place. I liked this chapter, bumbling thieves and all. Next chapter features some humor, anything involving Malak is humorous in my book, he's just so fun to tease.